Monday, December 17, 2012

It seems that I have only been posting of late after a tragedy. That has been true, but once again there is a need.

With the tragedy in the Connecticut school that struck the hearts of so many across the world just a few days ago, leaves most of us with questions that may not ever be answered.  But if one of the questions you have is what can you do to help make a difference in the children who did physically survive this ordeal there is something that may seem simple but it could still be so touching to know they are being thought of as well.  And you can do this easily with your own children, it is making pillowcases!  :-)

I saw on Facebook yesterday that Becky, of Quilter's Corner  is trying to collect 600 new home-made pillow cases for the children who still attend Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut by the return of Christmas break.  


Quliter's Corner in New Milford, CT is collecting pillowcases for the children at Sandy Hook School. She is trying to collect around 600.  Please pass this message to any sewing friends. Pillowcases can be mailed to her at:  Quilters Corner, 312 Danbury Rd, New Milford, CT. 06776.  

Okay, I can make a few pillow cases. The best part is this video on how to make the tube pillow cases from when Missouri Quilt Co was helping to raise a Million Pillowcase Challenge.

Easy Tube Pillow Case Tutorial - Support the Million Pillowcase Challenge!
www.youtube.com http://missouriquiltco.com/ 

This is the easiest, cutest, quickest pillowcase y
ou will ever make! 


So now, can you make a pillow case or two? I do hope you join me in this effort.

Ciao for now! :)
Take care, J

Monday, November 19, 2012

Superstorm Sandy Quits & Blanket Drive


I know that I have mentioned this Quilt and Blankets Drive a number of times on Facebook, but I have been among the missing here..

If you could help it would be great!

Because as if the devastation from Hurricane Sandy wasn’t enough, NY & NJ, which where the areas that where hit very hard are experiencing snow and really cold temps, the winter temps that had not been around. 

There are many people who are still homeless or have no power. 

While there are quite a few efforts in the works in the quilting community nationwide to gather quilts and blankets for these hard-hit areas, one of which is being spearheaded by Victoria Findlay Wolfe 

SUPER STORM SANDY
has devastated much of our area.
QUILTS AND BLANKETS are needed ASAP.
Homemade or Store Bought, ANY SIZE.
Acacia Network
Attn: Pete Gonzalez
311 East 175th Street
Bronx, NY 10457

Victoria is a friend of a friend, and that connection makes me trust that this is a valid effort to help. I have started to collect quilts and blankets to support this effort. 

I have been going through my closets and pulling from my quilt closet. Several people who saw my post on Facebook earlier have already contacted me. These quilts and blankets don’t have to be new (but please…in good condition and freshly washed!) and can be handmade or store-bought, all sizes are needed. If you are sending a quilt/blanket, please make a label with your name and email :)

When mailing them:
Please include your

name,
address
and email
and phone inside the box.

SHIP with Delivery confirmation.
Quilt Questions please contact:

Lane Falcon
at



I know that I have been among the missing and we did not suffer as much as NY & NJ, but life has gotten busy and my blog has suffered. Thank you all who continue to check in and see if I am still here :)

Ciao for now! J

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Yep, among the missing...

So last night was our first guild meeting of the new year. We have a Quilt Show on October 13 & 14, 2012 and this was the only meeting we will have before the show.

Of course, because I have not posted since August, I was asked last night if I had forgotten my blog... Nope, just a tad busy...

Since I last posted I have done some quilting, made a slew (about 90) of signature blocks, wrote a note to go with them, labeled them, and gone to the Post Office to mail them off. As they are going all over the world, it was necessary to seperate the different countries and get the correct postage for the different area's. I think I sent out close to 40 for different parts of the US, 24 to Canada, 24 to Australia, 2 to Malasia, and then other countries. It took a while to get them all made, signed, and on their way. This was a Facebook swap... so now I wait for people to receive their blocks. :)

I also went to "Quilter's Take Manhattan" last weekend. We left Boston on Saturday morning on the 6 am bus for NYC. We arrived in NYC around 10:30 am, we stopped for brunch, and I was off to my show and my husband went to catch the ferry to Long Island. We both had a great time and met up around 4:30 and went to the City Quilter to pick up some fabric that I can't get in Boston (all New York City themed fabric). Then it was off to an early dinner and off to catch the bus back to Boston. We got home around 12:30 pm. A quick and fun time :) Yes we would take the 'Go Bus' to and from NYC again. It leaves much closer to our house and early enough to make much more sense.

So now I have to make a sleeve for one of my quilts for the show, finish a jacket and start and complete my challenge quilt.

See Ms. G I did update my blog :) Thank you for the nudge!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Ciao for now!

J :)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Pondering

It is Sunday, a day of rest, for some. Around our house it is catching up with the chores for the week, which means laundry. As we rent, we do not have a washer or dryer in our place, but we do have one next door.

I do have to admit that there is one in the basement of the house we live in, but the back stairs are down right scary to use and the people who live downstairs store everything they are not using down there so there is no room to move. That and the cat litter box for their two cats is in the basement and they do not clean it up on a regular basis is enough of a reason for me to refuse to go down there.

This morning, as my hubby was taking some laundry next door, the landlord stopped him to apologize for the  people downstairs having a yard sale on the front lawn yesterday. I am sorry, don't tell me the day of that you are having a yard sale on the shared front lawn, are going to block the driveway and porch, and wonder why I am pissed off... Are you that dumb?

Instead of ranting and raving I started working on some signature quilt blocks that I need to mail out this week. I also need to get the measurements of the picture quilt I did for my brother for his birthday. The quilt show will be here before you know it and I have to register my quilts. I also need to finish off my jackets to submit those as well. So I will be busy sewing up a storm in the coming weeks.

The best news I heard all weekend is that my younger sister will be coming up for the quilt show and be stopping to pick up my Aunt in NJ. They will all be coming this year! I was disappointed last year that no one in my immediate family, outside of my husband, could attend. It was, after all, the 1st time I had a quilt in a show. I had good friends come, step-siblings, in-laws, husband, but none other.

I think that being an artist is difficult, you need to self promote, self support, and continue to keep yourself in a positive space. It is not that easy. I find myself being rather hard on myself and ditching items that others would say are great.

Ok, so today is more of a rant than saying what I have been doing... but that is why I continue to say "Life gets in the Way...

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and a lovely week :)

Off to Sunday Studio! Five hours of sewing with friends :) What a lovely way to spend a Sunday. Today is the 1st time at the new shop, and I will need to take some pictures!

Take care, thanks for stopping by :)
Ciao for now!

J :)

Monday, August 6, 2012

Sewing needles

Or, Maybe I should say, things you look at when your awake at 3am...


So I found this site when the description is:

Friday, August 3, 2012

Resume Redo Time

This was the most interesting article that I have come across regarding strong words. I really need to review my resume for some of these words and change it to include many of these words. It is a blog article about a study done by Yale University on the 10 most powerful words in the English language.

Resumes need to be powerful enough to attract attention, create some excitement and prompt a prospective employer to call for an interview. Some of the 10 like You, Love or Discovery may not fit in a resume, but I could fit in some into my resume, check out some of the proven words that I am going to change within my resume rewrite.

This is from the blog:


1. Results. Use the word and give specific examples. Education and experience are important qualifiers, but employers are interested in results. Accomplishment statements describe a problem, action taken and result. Each job listed should have at least one or two accomplishment statements, showing results.

2. Health. Have you found ways to improve the financial health of your company? What about healthy profits? Or instituted programs to improve the physical health of employees, clients or customers?

3. Guarantee. Everyone feels comfortable with a money-back guarantee. While you may not use the exact word, how can you show you guarantee results? Why will you deliver a guaranteed return on investment? Accomplishments that list specific projects are perfect interview talking points that show how you can deliver for a new employer.
4. Proven. I like to use this word in the summary statement at the very top of the resume, as in “proven professional.” If you say you have experience in an area, your resume work history and accomplishment statements are the “proof” of your ability. Past performance is a good indicator of future behavior. If you’ve proven your worth in the past, it’s a reasonable guarantee you’ll do the same in the future.
5. Safe. Again, you may not use the actual word, but companies want employees who are responsible, trained in workplace safety and have experience with compliance and problem resolution. OSHA safety training certification can be a plus for a manufacturing or industrial job
6. Save. Use this one liberally when describing how you were able to save the company time and money. Instead of just saying you saved money, use actual dollar amounts or percentages to make an impact. Were you able to save the company from negative media coverage, embarrassment or exposure to liability? Some things can’t be measured in dollars or hours.
7. New. Are you on the cutting edge in your industry? Up on the newest ideas, concepts, processes, software or technology? Have you introduced new, innovative ideas or products or processes that have saved (#6) money and delivered proven (#4) results (#1)? Whether you’re a new grad or have 20 years of experience, being up on the latest in your field or industry is a powerful asset.

Check your resume over and see if you can incorporate at least some of these power words. Have you come across other words that are just as powerful?

Time to go redo my resume! STAT!

Thanks for stopping by!
Ciao for now :)

J :)

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Canton Village Quilt Works - BOM

Just in case you think I forgot... Here is a list of the


Blogger's BOM Block Links
  • Month 8  -  Mrs. Schmenkmanquilts
Month 11Bumble Beans Inc. 

Thanks for stopping by!



Ciao for now! 


J :)

Where oh where is the time flying off to?

I have emerged! Oh, that's true, you all did not notice that I was stuck under a pile of stuff! I really am, I need to take a week off and just clean... Thing is that I'll just end up in front of my sewing machine (Smiling face) sewing up a storm, instead of cleaning!

I want to give a shout out to A, who just gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Emma. Congratulations to A & J! Yes, I am trying to finish the baby quilt for Emma... I am a tad behind in my projects... and BOM's...

So I found one project that I think I need to make about a 1/2 dozen of in the next two or three weeks...



I know y'all need one of these!!!  They are quite handy.  They can hold store cards, credit cards, business cards, and any other little card you might have. So grab your supplies and let's get to work!

Supplies Needed:
  • 4 Scraps of Fabric at least 8" x 8"
  • Medium Weight Fusible Interfacing
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Thread
  • Sew On Snap
  • Sewing Machine
For the outside & lining:
Cut your outside and lining fabrics into 8"x 8" squares. 
Also cut 2 squares of interfacing 8" x 8".

Iron the interfacing onto the squares following the manufacturers directions.

For the pocket pieces:
From the other 2 fabric cut rectangles 4" x  8".
I cut 3 of each.

Fold each rectangle in half, WRONG sides together, so it is now 2" x 8" and iron.

To assemble the wallet:
Grab you lining piece. Starting at the bottom draw a line 1" up from the bottom. Draw 4 more lines each 1" above the previous line.

Starting at the line closest to the bottom lay a pocket piece with raw edge  facing AWAY from you on the line.
Sew it in place using a 1/8" seam.

Continue doing this until you have sewn a pocket piece on each of the 5 lines.
Don't panic! You should have 1 extra pocket piece.  We will add that in just a minute.

Starting at the top fold the pocket pieces up and iron in place.

Now grab that extra pocket piece and pin it to the bottom.
 This time the raw edge will be pointing towards you.
Baste it in place.

Draw a line down the middle (4") and then sew. 
TIP: ***  Sew from the bottom up to prevent folds or buckles in the pockets. ***

Now lay other square on top of the pocket square. Make sure right sides are together.

Sew using a 1/2"seam allowance.  Make sure to leave an opening to turn it right side out.
Clip the corners.

 Turn right side out and iron.  Whip stitch the opening closed.
Fold it in half and iron.

Sew on a snap as pictured above.

Fill it with cards.



Hope you get a chance to try this pattern out. It is rather straight forward and easy :) Just my kind of pattern these days!

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao for now :)

J :)

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Great Idea!

Have you ever had a moment when you thought ... "where did I see that post?" and you really want to make it, but you do not have the time? Ah, yes, I am right there with you. I found this wonderful tutorial for a bag to bring to the beach. It would be a great bag to make for my nieces... for Christmas/Chanukkah that they would be able to use for the beach, for laundry, for stuffing clothing into for a sleep over, I could go on and on...

Anyway, I saw this over at iCandy Handmade and had to capture it here so I can make a few... I only have 12 nieces... but I think that this would only work for the ones under 20 years old, so that would bring it down to 5 nieces.

So here is iCandy Handmade's posting July 20th and her part of the series 'What do we do in the summertime?'



I'm excited to be a part of Kierste's series this summer called 'What do we do in the summertime?'
at iCandy, we spend most of our days lounging in our beach chairs, drinking diet cokes and watching our kids play for hours at the beach!  So, my summertime craft for you is just a quick something that is making my life a little easier, and my car a little less sandy!
 I just needed a bag that would successfully store all of my sand buckets, shovels, rakes, and other sand accouterments, would be easy to carry, would allow sand to filter out, and still allow the wet sand to dry out. 
check, check, check and check... 
All I used was a cheap, mesh laundry bag from Target, and a clearance-d cut of utility fabric (you know, the kind they use to make re-usable grocery bags?) and I'm loving the results.  
This just might be genius!  :)
Want to make one yourself?

what I used:
1 Heavy Duty Mesh Laundry Bag (from Target)
1 yard (I have left-overs) Utility fabric ($2/yd clearance at JoAnn's)
serger (not required)
scissors, pins, sewing machine, yada yada
 Cut:
-8" x length of the fabric strip (for the bottom)
-6 1/2" x length of the fabric strip (for the top)
-8" x 35" strip (for the strap)
 (I serged the top and bottom of each strip except the strap strip (that one doesn't matter)
You don't have to serge them, this fabric doesn't fray, but I liked the finished edge that it gives.  You can choose to zig-zag stitch the top and bottom to finish it, or just leave it plain!
 Fold the Strap strip (the 8" x 35") directly in half (the long way) and use a ruler to crease along the edge the entire length of the strip to make an obvious line.
 When you open it up, you want to be able to see that line!
 Next, fold each side into the middle of that line and pin.
 like so:
 And then again, fold it in half along that crease that you made before.  This creates a quadruple thick strap to make it more sturdy, while simultaneously finishing the edges.
 Sew around the perimeter of the strap. 
 Next pin your completed strap onto the drawstring side of your mesh bag, near the top.  You just want to make sure that you leave enough room for the drawstring to do it's job, so a good 3 inches from the top (ish) is great...
 Take your top strip of fabric (the one measuring 61/2 x the length of the fabric) and pin it over the strap, running parallel with the top of the bag.
 To sew the top strip around the bag, I began at the end of the strip that ran along the strap, and began sewing up, toward the drawstring, and along the strap, then made a right-hand turn to begin sewing around the bag.  (I hope that makes sense.)  The picture below shows where I started.  Sew up the strap/end of the top strip, and then turn the corner to begin sewing parallel to the drawstring.  I pinned the strip in place as I went around the bag, measuring periodically to make sure I was equidistant from the top.
 As you approach the beginning, fold the end of your strip under to finish it nicely.  (you may need to trim your strip a little bit depending on the size of your mesh bag.)
 Sew a rectangle over the top strip, where the strap and top strip layer to reinforce the strap.
 Next, lay the fabric flat, and sew, again, around the perimeter of the bag, at the bottom of your strip.  This step was a little tricky to get the fabric to lay flat, but if I can do it, so can you!
 Here's what the top strip should look like when completed.  Now onto the bottom!
 Trim off the bottom seam of the mesh bag.
 Again, line the strap up with the bottom of the existing bag, and layer the bottom strip over the top of it to reinforce it.
 Sew around the top edge of that strip exactly the same as you did the top strip edges, and fold the edge under when you circle around to the beginning of your stitch lines.
 To finish off the bottom with a square edge, turn the bag inside out, and serge straight across the bottom (not a necessary step)
 And then re-stitched along my serge, and again about a 1/4 of an inch up from the bottom, just to reinforce my stitches.  (you never know how heavy those sand buckets will get!)
 Next, turn the bag sideways, and press the side-seams and the bottom seams together to create a right triangle at the corner (see picture below)
 You can use a ruler, but my Mother-in-law taught me to grab one of the little cards that bias tape comes wrapped around, and cut a little triangular notch out of it about 2/3 down from the top, and use that as your marker...put the top of the card at the top of your triangle, make a little mark where your line is...
 and then turn your card sideways, and use it as your straight-edge to draw your stitching line...
 Stitch along this line, twice...serge if you'd like, and trim off that little triangle on the edge.  Repeat with the other bottom-corner, and you have a square-bottomed bag.
Voila!
I hope this comes in handy for you this summer, and if you can get a chance, stop by and look what else we've got going this summer over at iCandy!


Thank you for stopping by! Hope your having a wonderful day!
Ciao for now :)

J ;)

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Dawn Jahn Moses ~ An amazing women


Hello All, I need to share this obituary of a very wonderful women who has left us much too soon. This obituary is from the Boston Globe and ran on July 10, 2012 by  
Dawn Jahn Moses recognized the prejudice many harbor toward people who lose jobs and homes.

Dawn Jahn Moses, 46, advocate for homeless children


Few constituencies have less political clout than homeless children, whose lot in life Dawn Jahn Moses tirelessly tried to improve over the past 17 years.
Recognizing the prejudice many harbor toward people who lose jobs and homes, she helped turn the focus from adults to children with “America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness,” which the National Center on Family Homelessness first issued a few years ago and updated last year.
“It was Dawn’s foresight and vision to say: ‘How do we bring this to people’s attention? We have to package this around the kids,’ ” said Dr. Ellen Bassuk, founder and president of the center, based in Needham, where Ms. Jahn Moses had been a vice president. “Dawn was a warm, compassionate, very smart, politically savvy, personable human being who had just tremendous commitment to social justice issues.”
Ms. Jahn Moses, who was a policy adviser to Tipper Gore during the federal health care overhaul attempt in the 1990s, died June 6 in her Arlington home of cancer that had metastasized by the time she was ­diagnosed four years ago. She was 46.
“Dawn’s passion and determination to eliminate homelessness inspired and impacted so many,” Gore said in an e-mail. “In each of her public leadership roles, she was masterful at understanding the issues, inspir­ing people with her passion, and driving towards change.”
Ms. Jahn Moses had a sure grasp of how federal policies get made and was a go-to adviser in the nation’s capital and in Greater Boston as she advocated for those whose voices often go unheard.
As she worked with Gore and others during the health care debate of the 1990s, Ms. Jahn Moses made sure everyone remembered that each dry statistic represented a vulnerable person.
“Dawn loved policy, but she loved people more,” said Skila Harris, who formerly was ­Tipper Gore’s chief of staff and special assistant to Vice President Al Gore.
“Throughout that period when we were working on health care reform, the thing that sticks in my mind about Dawn is that she always brought us back to who would be served by the mental health and substance abuse coverage that we were crafting. She had a very true moral compass in that she never let us forget who this was for.”
Ms. Jahn Moses also paid close attention to those with whom she worked at government agencies and at the ­National Center on Family Homelessness.
“She was thorough and was an incredible strategic thinker and had such a commitment to homeless people,” said Katie Volk, who considered Ms. Jahn Moses a mentor at the center, and now works for the Center for Social ­Innovation. “Beyond that, she wanted to get to know you as a person. Even when she was so ill, she knew exactly what was going on in my family and the different people in my life, and she knew that about everybody.”

The youngest of four children, Dawn Anne Jahn was born in Princeton, N.J., where her father was an aerospace science professor and dean at Princeton University and her mother taught at the University League Nursery School.
She graduated from Princeton High School and went to Princeton University, from which she graduated in 1988 as a history major, with a certificate in women’s studies.
In a freshman Spanish class she met James Moses, whom she had first encountered in nursery school, though neither recalled those early months ­together. “She had taken four years of Spanish and by all rights should have placed into a higher level,” he said. “I think she stayed up a little too late the night before her placement. We might not have met if not for that little twist of fate because we traveled in different circles. We got lucky.”
They began dating the following year and married in 1994.
Meanwhile, after graduating from college, Ms. Jahn Moses took a job at the National Institute of Mental Health, working on programs for the homeless mentally ill.
She went to the University of Texas, graduating with a master’s in public affairs, and ­returned to federal government. Along with advising Gore, she worked with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration.
Ms. Jahn Moses, who moved with her husband to Massachusetts in 1995, took great satisfaction in working on policies designed to help the homeless, the mentally ill, and substance abusers.
“She never articulated it, but I think she felt a calling,” her husband said. “She could have done anything. She could have been a great lawyer, she could have been a great banker, but that wasn’t her. She needed to do this work.”
Said Volk: “She doesn’t take credit for things, but in her quiet way, she had a big impact on our field of family homelessness.”
Just as involved with her own family, Ms. Jahn Moses set aside illness to attend the many activities in which her 13-year-old daughter, Georgia, and 9-year-old son, Henry, participated. Despite her diagnosis, Ms. Jahn Moses was so spirited that “I thought to myself: ‘This illness has no idea who it’s met,’ ” Volk said. “She was just so tenacious.”
In addition to her husband, daughter, and son, Ms. Jahn Moses leaves her father, Robert Jahn of Princeton; a brother, Eric Jahn of Princeton; and two sisters, Jill Jahn of Princeton and Nina Gustin of Greenwich, Conn.
Family and friends will gather to celebrate Ms. Moses’ life at 2 p.m. Saturday in Town Hall in Arlington.
“She was an incredibly thoughtful and loving mother and wife,” her husband said. “Georgia and Henry were her pride and joy.”
Though the illness was ­advanced by the time she was diagnosed, Ms. Jahn Moses “defied all the odds, all the statistics in terms of survival,” he said. “I think she was able to do it because she wanted to be around as long as she could for the kids.”

The gathering this past Saturday was a wonderful outpouring of Dawn's life, she touched so many people. The stories, antidotes, smiles, chuckles, and many tears brought so many different corners of her life together.   Dawn loved color and asked that all the ladies wear hats to her memorial and we did. 

Thank you for stopping by today, Ciao for now 

J :/