8.31.2011

Sanity Saving Sewing Sessions

I've had lots of time to spend in the sewing room over the last week.  Here's what I've been up to:

--COMPLETE--



Color Wheel Charm Swap

- Cut Charms - CHECK!

- Mail my charms - CHECK!





Sunshine Mail Swap

The Sunshine in the Mail Swap was hosted by the lovely Seaweed and Raine.

- my package is off to Australia!!!



--IN PROGRESS--

Happy Hippo Stenciling (new!)

I showed you a sneak peak of this last Friday.  Just a little something I was playing with using the reverse stenciling. 

I put two pieces of fabric together, both facing up, stitch a design (in this case a hippo), and then cut out the inner hippo part to let the second fabric show through.  It's a really fun technique and I am enjoying working with it!


Crewel Spring Flowers
I picked this project back up because it's so easy to take it anywhere in the house and have been addicted (again) ever since.


Doesn't the yarn horse look great with the light shining through?


Here is a quick look at the whole piece -- soon to be pillow.  I have four flowers left to go... more than half way now!


And here is a closer look at the ones I have finished.  So hard to pick a favorite.  Which one is your favorite?


--ON PAUSE--

Star Struck

Star quilt-a-long by Melissa at Happy Quilting.

I am still deciding what size to make and haven't started any stars yet, but at least I have all my fabrics now and I am getting close to cutting!








I am looking froward to getting back to this one, but decided I needed a finish, so this one was put aside. 



Big Blue

Still waiting for one last sashing row to be cut out and attached. 

Still thinking about putting a border on this one as well.





X Marks the Spot

Haven't started quilting this yet. 

I need to clean off my desk and just give this a go!




Katie Fiber Art
No action here.

You Can Sew-a-thon!!
You haven't heard of it??... check it out here or read about our first project (Strawberry Pincushion).

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:
Last WiP Wednesday Total: 7
New Projects: 1 (Happy Hippo stenciling)
Finished Projects: 0 (But getting so close)
Total WiP's: 8 (up one)

8.30.2011

Creative Tuesday: Ideal Coffee Break

It's Creative Tuesday and I'm grateful for that.

This week was particularly special as I really needed the excuse to pause my worries and sit down with my pad and watercolors and create for the theme over at Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesday's assignment!

Here is a quick peak at my desk as I started.  Messy, yet inspiring.  And it's a little strange because there were no less than three times that the power went off and came back on while I worked (at times by candlelight).

This week's theme is Ideal Coffee Break!  Why so challenging?? 

Yes, I drink coffee.  In fact, I have a mug of it every morning.  But coffee for me right now is associated with driving to work in my car and I don't think I will be drawing that.  So, I let my mind wander back to college days when I would shuffle off to the book store, buy a cup of coffee and daydream in a big comfy chair.

My ideal break has an orange mug filled with coffee that has a little sugar and milk.  A pink frosted cupcake and my favorite idea pad accompanied by a nice sharp pencil.  Here is a look at the whole design!


Finished piece on my desk.


And here is a scanned version.  Although I realize now that the watercolor pad that I got is bigger than the scanner, so that colors got a little weird in this one.


I hope you consider joining in this or the next assignment (really hope you do) and please take a look other artists in the community here 

8.29.2011

All is Well

I wanted to let you know all is well here.  Irene is out/done and aside for wetter ground and a few lost trees we made it through very well.  Katie and Sammy wanted to thank you for your thoughtful comments and prayers!!



We have a bit of clean up to do and some new firewood to cut and split, but I will be back later today with my Creative Tuesday: Ideal Coffee Break posting.  Muah!

8.27.2011

Hands in the Dirt: Calm Before the Storm

Yes, come on Irene.  Get here and leave already.  We are all prepared for the hurricane a comin' and now we are just waiting.  Took advantage of the calm and got the dogs out on a pre-storm hike and walk through the garden.



















Hope you are dry and safe where you are. 

I think I will go whip up a batch of hurricane cookies (walnut chocolate chip) since those will make a power outage much happier.  And cheers to lots sewing time! 

8.26.2011

Happy Moment #38: Happy as a...

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too!


“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”
~Omar Khayyam

日本のための多くの愛
Much love for Japan

8.25.2011

Sunshine in the Mail Swap Sent!

I signed up for the Sunshine in the Mail Swap hosted by the lovely Seaweed and Raine last month. 


And I have spent my time since then stalking my swap partner's blog.  Reading about what she likes and her hobbies.  Watching as her creative space fills with lovely and inspiring things.  It's been a lot of fun!

I brainstormed some ideas for my swap package as we were to include 3 of the following 5 ideas:

1. Stationary OR  note cards with envelopes.

2. 1 Handmade postcard.

3. Something you have made.

4. Something that makes you think of Spring.

5. A surprise for your partner

Fun, right?  The overall meme is to put something other than bills in your partner's box and to celebrate Spring in the lower half of the world (for those in US and Canada... isn't it refreshing to think of Spring again so soon?).
And, I probably spent to much time over thinking things, but alas... my package is finally on it's way to Australia.  Whohoooo!  And because I love surprises, but also loved to be teased about surprises... here is a little idea of what I sent....


I'm hoping this is a good tease and you can't really tell what this is... and for certain you have no idea about all the goodies hidden in the thing that you can't figure out.  *wink*

You will have to wait, just like my swap partner, until it arrives on her doorstep/mailbox and she opens it. 

Then I'll dish on the goodies.

And not a second sooner.  Seriously.  Even though I want to tell you about how much fun I had with some of the things.  But I won't.  Not yet.

Switching subjects... how about sleeping dogs? 

Yes, seriously.  The pups had fevers two days ago.  Nothing serious we think, but that entails a lot of sleeping.  And they are so darn cute when they are sleeping.


Especially, when they are sleeping together!


Or stretched out.


Or noodling nose to nose.


I'm so happy they call me theirs!!  Mucho Sunshine-o to you-o!!

8.24.2011

Savy Sewing Summary

I've had lots of time to spend in the sewing room over the last week.  Here's what I've been up to:

--CONNECTING THREADS FABRIC DESIGN CONTEST--

As Happy as a Hippo!!

To all of you who have voted for "As Happy as a Hippo," thank you from the bottom of my heart! With one week left in round one, I have received more votes than I ever thought I would get and I'm humbled

The top 5 designs with the most votes go to round two, I'm looking like a major underdog, but have learned so much from this experience!

If you like, click the image to vote, it's four rows down on the left.  Thank you for making this such a positive experience for me!!



--GETTING MORE ORGANIZED--

This may be the case with you too, but I have a lot of bent pins in my pin cushion.  I honestly think that all this time I have been using pins that I purchased in my high school years.  I shutter to think about how many moves these pins have made with me.
It was time for a change.  I removed all the bent pins and pinned them to a scrap piece of paper that I later folded up and put in the garbage.  Trying to do my best to not hurt anyone with them.  I put the other straight pins in a spare (and I'm guess handmade by me in my younger days) pin cushion.  The ones I left on my pin cushion jar were a few 'pretty' ones that had been pinned in fabric that was thrifted to me.
  
 I treated myself the other day to these beauties.  Just look at those popping Caribbean sunshine bright colors!!!


I ripped open the package and quickly stuck them all in my jar.  And my work space is all the happier to have them along for the creative journey!!  A pinning we will go!


--IN PROGRESS--

Big Blue


Yes, it finally has a name!!  Since this quilt is for my Giants football loving husband and it's all sorts of lovely shades of blue I shall be calling this quilt Big Blue.  And, I have nearly finished piecing this top!!

Backing up for a moment I should also mention that I started with Colored Bricks pattern from Stitched in Color.  I made the sashing a little wider.  The top a little bigger.  And instead of random placement of the bricks, I decided on an organized pattern to suit the mister.  You can see a bit more here and here.

X Marks the Spot
I laid out my backing.  Taped it down (with the clear stuff... masking tape was hiding somewhere in my closet -- don't laugh Mr. Happy)

Smoothed on the cotton batting.  I used Warm and Natural this time around and really really like it!  So smooth, no puckering, nice to the touch, not too stiff.  Pretty excited to see how it quilts too!


Then I laid out the top and smoothed smoothed.  Then pin, pin, pinned.  I probably don't use as many pins as others.  I'm a rebel that way.  So, the next natural question is how should I quilt this?  Any thoughts?  I have done the last few with free motion loopies... my comfort zone.. I wouldn't mind branching out to something else.


Yup, I'm falling hard for this one all over again!  Looking forward to start stitching... I bet I will be winding bobbins with peach thread tonight in anticipation!!


Oh, and here is a portion of the scrappy backing I made up using left overs and larger pieces. When I get a better shot... you will see there is a giant X on the back.  Too cool!





Color Wheel Charm Swap

I am cutting my charms for this swap!

I got the colors Orange and Orange-Red.  Looking forward to playing with all the colors of the rainbow shortly!

And last, but not least, I joined another quilt-a-long by Melissa at Happy Quilting

Remember the last one we did with her: Tribal

I am going to call this one Star Struck.



Star Struck

Remember those vintage sheet fat quarters?  I decided that I will be using them to make up the stars.  And because I never just go along with the crowd, I am going to try and use this light brown flannel as the background color.  Can't wait to make up the first few stars!!



--ON PAUSE--

{Insert Name Here}: Bottled Rainbows {ticker tape quilt-along}
I am looking froward to getting back to this one, but decided I needed a finish, so this one was put aside. 

Crewel Spring Flowers
Nada -- poor pretty flowers.

Katie Fiber Art
No action here.

You Can Sew-a-thon!!
You haven't heard of it??... check it out here or read about our first project (Strawberry Pincushion).

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:
Last WiP Wednesday Total: 6
New Projects: 1 (officially added Star Struck)
Finished Projects: 0 (But getting closer on two)
Total WiP's: 7 (strangely still the same as last time)
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