Amazing story from Texas

On Facebook today I saw this amazing story from another quilter, who shared this story The Blind Quilter. Really inspiring story.


On another note, I am trying to finish up the B-day quilts. As I went to pin the binding onto the photo quilt, I noticed that I am shy by about 3/4 of an inch of fabric in one corner and I have over 2 inches of the same block on the opposite corner... yep, it has been 'cut & pasted' and doesn't show (that much...). It is after all the bottom back of the quilt... maybe nobody will notice... yea, right, my sister (who reads this blog on a regular basis) will be checking to see if she can spot it...

So, I need to get finished on this quilt. And the WIP's are piling up and I need to have the American Girl jackets cut and sorted for the class in less than two weeks, I need to have at the very least 3 jackets. I think I'll make it into a tutorial... and share... I'll have to check that out...


In the meantime... today has been one of those gloomy winter days, typical New England weather in February... so I was thinking about sun, and sun catchers... and I cam across this idea for some sun catchers... 

You can purchase a sun jar here, but you can make your own for much cheaper! i am not good with technical things, like putting together a solar power cell, so i found the easy way :)what you need:a mason jar with a clear glass lid like this one from ikea, a solar garden light like the ones pictured above, which i found here, adhesive and glass frosting spray.start by spraying the inside of the jar with the frosting spray – this will help diffuse the light and give it a warm glow. don’t spray the lid though! it needs to be clear in order to work. next you’ll need to take apart the solar lamp – apparently this can be a lot easier than it sounds, depending on what kind of lamp you purchase.  certain kinds can simply be unscrewed and the solar/battery pack remains intact, whereas others will require some reassembly with adhesive. see here and here for examples.glue the solar cell, or the parts you’ve harvested from the garden lamp, to the underside of the jar’s lid, and you’re done! close the lid, put your jar in direct sunlight, and it’ll glow all night long!

More from Free People: http://blog.freepeople.com/2011/03/wednes-diy-63/#ixzz1mU3o5AAS

I think I might just need to make one or two of theses... 


Thanks for stopping by, Ciao for now!


J :)

Sunday Sewing

Sunday Sewing at the Quilt Shop...

Yes, this really is the inside of the Cambridge Quilt Shop in Cambridge Massachusetts. I am typically there on Friday night for Finish Up Fridays. One of the members of our happy band reserved the basement classroom for today from noon to 5 pm. It was great to be able to sew for a large chunk of time!

I am working on a few projects at this time (surprise, surprise, surprise!!!) one is the b-day quilt, another is thank you mug rugs for some special people (think sewing machine), and then I am making a T-shirt quilt from T-shirts of a young women who passed away on January 5th after battling breast cancer for the past 14 years. 

She was a wonderful women, my girlfriends niece, who fought a hard fight for so many years. As the years passed, she came to live in T-shirts and sweats. She was at her mom's house for the past 7 or so years. The quilt is for her mom. It is so hard to loose a child. Krissy will be missed, but I hope to keep her positive attitude in the T-shirt quilt. 

I have to update my quilting WIP list... I know that some of them are threatening to become UFO's... not a good thing. Also on my list is to clean out my stash closet... yes, I said closet... a walk-in-closet to be exact. So it will take a little bit to get thru it. 

We where talking about "shopping in our stash" as New Year resolutions... I confess, this is one of mine. I really need to either use, donate, or trade that which I have in my closet. 

How are you doing with your resolutions? Well I do hope!

Off to eat dinner, thank you for stopping by! 

Ciao for now!

J :) 

BOM... Another one!

A few days ago, while reading my email, I came across one from Craftsy announcing that they were producing FREE Craftsy Block of the Month online video tutorials with hostess Amy Gibson. The big word here was FREE! I have come to the unfortunate time of no longer having an income, so Free is a good thing. But, hmm, another BOM? Yes, you guessed correctly... I’m joining in the fun as well... it is after all a "Stash Buster" and my stash is not that small... It needs to shrink and I need to refrain from purchasing... 


As with the Blogger's BOM there is no cost to join and you don’t have to prove anything to anyone (except yourself). 


If you are interested in joining, go over to Craftsy Block of the Month website and sign up. There are some other lovely classes... but not free... so I will have to wait for those. Just so you know the web site has this to say about the BOM class: (including the pictures...)

The Craftsy Block of the Month is a year-long class in twelve segments, each one posted on the first day of each month. For the first ten months, you’ll learn to create two of the most versatile, eclectic, fun and creative quilt blocks. Then, the last two months of the year will be dedicated to binding, backing and finishing your quilt. So that means the Craftsy Block of the Month will give you a total of 20 blocks plus a ton of techniques, and by the end of the class, you’ll have a COMPLETED quilt!

I really need to find a job to support my quilting habit! But this is a stash buster so.... it's a good thing :) Also, I like the thought that I will end up with more than enough for a quilt top! So, I have signed up :) It will keep me busy... along with finishing up all of my WIP's/UFO's.


Ok, now back to looking for work online... 


Ciao for now!
J :)

Contemplating...

Have you ever had one of those moments that you really need to think about what you are doing? Yes that was me this morning (already).


A good friend asked if I was going to be joining in the weekly FIUF group, that was not what I had to think about, as I had told someone else that Friday's are Off Limits!


What I had to think about is... "I need to make some clothing for Ms. E's American Doll (Birthday Present), finish sewing the jacket I was making before Ms. Piggy, do the sewing on the jacket for the class I took... And start a major birthday quilt..." Ok, so my "To Do" list seems to be expanding too fast and I really need to finish the items on the WIP list before I start another...

 

Add to all that excitement and I may be getting another machine... my aunt called to ask me if I would care for another one as the person who has it now can't find the parts in TX where they live. That will be a trip to the local dealership to have the machine serviced. I'll have to wait and see... 
I really am excited :)  As it is always nice to get a new (even used - as it is new to me) sewing machine... Does it show that I love to sew? And No, it is not a Singer... but I could not resist the picture...

Back to that growing To Do list... 

So this is Not my pile of fabric scraps... though it really could be... it does look like the pile of projects that I need to get back to...

I do have a few to finish... and a few birthday's up coming... Nothing major, well... I think turning 5 would be considered major for Ms E. With that I am off to find some fabric to make some clothing for an AG Doll... Now where did I put those patterns...

Ciao for now!

J :)

Back to the sewing machine...

Home again from class :) Ah yes it is done! Just have to prep for an exam within the next few weeks. In the meantime I have some projects screaming my name real loud!

Talking about projects, I was on FB and there is a group Quilt N Bee that posted the following challenge:

Join the Finishers . Just leave me a comment and I will add you to the group.

Ok Quilt N Bee is going to sponsor a UFO party for 2012. Here are the basics.

Find all of your UFOs
Post how many that you have along with photos of all of them we will set up a facebook group for THE FINISHERS 2012
At the beginning of the month let me know how many you plan to work on and finish.
At the end of the month post how many you have finished-along with a photo
Each month (the 5th of the month) the one with the most completed will be awarded a prize-if there is a tie we will draw for the winner.

Are you on Facebook? Have you "Like" Quilt N Bee? Their FB link is here. If your not on FB, don't worry... You can go to Quilt N Bee's Blog... As well I'll post my UFO's and WIP's and the progression on finishing them up.

Sew it is back to the sewing machine to finish up projects and enjoy the rest of Sunday evening as my hubby watches the football game on TV.

Ciao for now!
J :)

4th Sunday of the month

Time for a late cup of coffee and I hope you enjoy today's rant...

Every 4th Sunday of the month is a quilting studio at one of my local quilt shops (about 17 miles from home) for 5 hours. I am working on getting my WIP's done, but the list keeps growing... Ah well.Today I finished a couple of WIP potholders for my aunt, who I will be visiting this week. Worked on a thread portrait that was supposed to be done today (it's not, but I will work on it and send it as a late present).

While getting my supplies together for studio, on Saturday, I realized that my short list of projects really has about 15 - 20 more projects to add. Yes, it does appear that there are some UFO's (UnFinished Objects) in among my stash. They are going to have to be finished! 1at they need to be added to my running list of WIP's that I will need to update on a regular basis.

I have missed going to Sunday Open Studio for the past three months. Time fly's when life has you running like crazy! Last time I was there was February! March I was on a family trip, April was a family issue that I needed to attend to, and May was a local (if you call New England area local) family trip. I have missed the therapy session that occurs at Open Studio. There are a few of us that have become regulars. It is much like "Finish Up Fridays" my other quilting therapy session that I have missed more than I have been able to attend over the past four months.

Well, I did not name this blog incorrectly, Life has been getting in the way of my quilting!

Hope you have enjoyed today's rant and enjoy your coffee.
J :)

'Works In Progress'

It's Friday! Yea, I have made it to the end of the week and not had a hissy fit. I am stressing out over not working outside of the house right about now. 

I thought that I would enjoy myself and get a lot of my 'Works In Progress' finished and I have not. I have a log cabin, a double wedding ring, 2 quillows, a cowl neck (knitting), a thread portrait, three handbags, and six chairs to re-finish. Now that I look over my list, I am wondering if I have forgotten anything. Oh, I have been really looking at doing a 'Dear Jane' quilt. I really need to finish off the list before I start the DJ quilt, still, I think I will machine paper piece the DJ. 


So, today's thought is that I will need to work on my WIP's (Works In Progress) and I'll be accountable to my blog!


First off, I need to clean as the kiddos will be here within the next two hours to mess the place up. 2nd thing will be to work on the thread portrait as I need to have it in the mail to the recipient before the 28th of June!

Hope you have enjoyed today's rant and had time to enjoy your coffee as well.
J :)