New Project

As I promised —  a project that I have been working on.

 

 

This is a patchwork quilt-simple in design with 17 different fabrics used for squares. It is 17 by 18 rows.  The first row is repeated for the last row to make 18. Each square measures 5 inches finished. I am using a different fabric for the border. I’ll get to that later.

 

 

I have this western print that I wanted to use on the back with the blue. I had planned to use the blue for the border on the front but there were two pieces on the bolt. I couldn’t make it work like I wanted so I’ll be going back to the fabric store. 🙂

 

 

As usual, I have a helper… 🙂 He thinks this is just for him.

 

 

The quilt is made for a king size bed but can be used for a cover on my sofa. I still have to decide on a quilting design. Sigh. All of the quilt will be 100% cotton. It was machine pieced but will be hand-quilted. Of course there is a story about this quilt but I will wait to share it later. 🙂

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Butterfly 3 :D

wikipedia

Peace. True peace. I want that for myself, for others—to be so satisfied and content. It can happen. 😀 Imagine a world with peace. Hmmmm. Is that achievable? My adulterated response is, “No!” but my faith response is, “YES!” We can never achieve something if we fail to try. It doesn’t just happen by chance. It requires work. So, what does a butterfly have to do with peace?

 

A butterfly signifies various things in differing cultures and religions. Some cultures see it as the soul of life—the part of us that makes us who we are—a living thing that desires to live but it leaves the body when we die. Some see the butterfly as a symbol for resurrected life that carries on after death—some see it before death. Some see the butterfly as the innocence of life. What does the butterfly mean to you?

 

Peace, true inner peace. I will venture to say that most religions/faiths have the belief that there is “something” greater than ourselves and that our faith is not just a rigid regime but a call for us to better ourselves in the hopes that we can live together in peace. Many times we get caught up in the thinking we are better, superior, more knowledgeable, etc.

 

Whatever a butterfly symbolizes, it is usually of life of some sort. Young children love to watch butterflies…and chase them, too 🙂 . As the butterfly rests on a flower and the child reaches for it, the butterfly will fly away—usually not far and this act is repeated again. Children. Hmmmm. Their innocence. That is what I strive to be more like—a child 😀 . One who does not hate, does not have animosity toward others—only the innocence needed to see God.

 

Peace… It begins from within… within each of us. As our souls find peace, we are linked together. 🙂

May your soul be the butterfly of life forever more!

  

Note:  Years ago a friend was being treated for cancer and we (my women’s group) made a prayer quilt for her to use and have through her treatment. She still treasures it to this day—butterflies are her favorite. The butterfly background I added to my blog is from the prayer quilt I made another friend who is undergoing cancer treatments. The butterfly… symbol of life and hope and of course, peace!

Be blessed always! 😀

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What’s growing in the garden?

This is my clutch that I am making to carry my super duper cell phone, credit cards, and thousands of membership cards (maybe not 1000s). I have more to do… (these photos were taken with my phone–I’m not impressed)

   

Left–Clutch closed  …………  Right–Clutch open        Zippered pocket is for change; pocket behind zippered one is for cell phone; card pocket above is only tacked in and not finished. More work to be done.

I used batting and flannel to pad it and then machine quilted it. This is not exactly what I wanted but it will do.

 

And, this is how far I have come with my tatting for the towel—more than halfway done but I have gotten sidetracked.

I worked on it when I had to have my tire replaced because I ran whammed into a curb drain at the cemetery. 😦  As so many tell me, “If it wasn’t for all of the bad luck you have, you would have no luck at all.” 😕

 

New project…

I am making some changes in ‘my’ bathroom–little things. When we bought this house 20 years ago I chose a shower curtain that had a similar design as the wallpaper. I want to remake this room into something like a spa for ME. I have to take more baths now because of pain—I want to really enjoy this room. I want to close the door on the world and have the bath be transformed into my own private sanctuary.

Can you hear the waterfall, the birds chirping, and smell those beautiful flowers…oh, wait, that is my bubble bath … 😀

 

I looked through countless shower curtains online and in the stores…found a few I liked but there was something not right about each one—not in stock, wrong material, too much, too much for shipping, takes too long to get it, etc. And, if I order online I won’t know exactly what I am getting. This is a big deal for me. I have picked out 5 automobiles (4 NEW cars and 1 used truck) in the same time I have had this same shower curtain… I really didn’t want to make a curtain but guess what…yes, that is what I am doing. 🙂

 

I found a king size sheet SET for cheaper than what I was planning to pay for a curtain, made out of the material I was looking for…  It doesn’t match my wallpaper but without much thought, I proceeded to get a matching bath rug and now need a matching or coordinating/contrasting bath mat.

Ok, it’s RED. Kind of reminds me of my hair color right after I dyed it. I think this color has become my favorite though purple will always have a place in my heart. 

 

What’s next? A tattoo? Maybe a red heart? I am not a tattoo person but I need things to signify that I am making changes in my life. I draw the line at any more piercings though I can’t feel on the right side… 

 

Have a most blessed day and Happy Gardening! 😀

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Humbled

I am so humbled. Today I received a note in the mail that someone at church added my name to a quilt memorial that is being sewn together to raise funds for the state church camp while also remembering people and their work with the church.  I was really shocked.

 

Quilt top with names given to me by a friend

I know this may sound a little cheesy but this means so much to me that someone thought enough of me to do this. It really lifts my spirits and humbles me. I began to cry as soon as I read the acknowledgement. My oldest daughter said that there are a lot of people that love me. I don’t know if there are a lot but there are a few and that just makes me grin all over. I hope there are people who love you and that you know it so that you can grin all over, too! 😀

 

Happy Gardening in all of your gardens and may they be forever beautiful! 🙂

 

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Isn’t he adorable?

Simon

Is he not the cutest kitty? This is my helper who sometimes is more help than I want, but he is so adorable. Quilting can wait a bit…

Hope your day is going well! Happy Gardening! And, Simon says, “Happy Scratching!”

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Last of the May projects

• I have several projects I have been working on at one time—not usually a good thing for me but it keeps me motivated.

The first is a soft block–a cube. Again, Simon likes it so it will probably remain with him. It is made from some of the same material used in HIS quilt 🙂 though it wasn’t meant to be his quilt—or his block :). I thought about making blocks with lettering on the sides for a baby or something to that effect—actually, to go with the quilt—but I’m not into baby things right now. Here is Simon with HIS quilt and HIS block…

Simon and HIS quilt and HIS block

The pantry shelf cross-stitch is complete. The one on the left is the new one and the one on the right is the one I did many years ago.

Pantry Shelf cross-stitch

I am not happy that canning lids have changed since I used to make these. I have several hanging in my kitchen and if I add to them, I will have to change the rings to match. Progress… Change does not always equal progress.

Then, there is this simple cross-stitched cross with beads.

Cross

My first thought was to give it a halo effect with thread and add some beads on the main part of the cross but I opted to add beads for an outline. It is ok and looks better than this photo but next time I will stick to the plan…

The next table runner is coming together. At least the blocks are pieced together. I have to add the strips and begin quilting.

Pinwheels

For wall hangings, I like to use polyester batting but I will use cotton batting for the runner. BTW, the next quilting project will not involve pinwheels or watermelons but will consist of flowers—oh, I love flowers!

Lastly, I made appliqué templates for another sewing/quilting project.

Applique templates

I have misplaced a project that I didn’t finish and cannot seem to locate it. The pattern I drew is also AWOL and must be with it. I have to start over and I really hate that!

Overall, it was a fair week for creating, designing, and finishing projects considering the pain I had after the procedure. The pain is not as bad but my leg still looks like someone ran over me with a car and backed up to do it again :). In time, I will be back to my old self–I hope!

• What projects have you been working on? And, do you find that you have more or less time to work on them in the summertime?

When the girls were younger, I couldn’t wait for them to be out so I wouldn’t be on the road running them everywhere but then when summer came, there was always something I had to do other than making things—grownup things and not kid things and was relieved when school began. All of my time spent with the girls was so treasured but there never seemed to be enough time for everything–still isn’t :).

Whatever you are working on, I hope your projects are coming along nicely. Happy Gardening and may your day be truly blessed!

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Finished projects

I finished two projects Sunday. One is a pillow that was begun last year. It was hand pieced from one of the quilt tops I received from  a friend. I hand quilted it but wish I had made the border wider. The plan was to quilt a design on the border like the other pillows but I decided against it.

Quilted pilllow

The other is a wall hanging that I designed to hold cards, letters, or whatever. I started on it the other day and actually finished it fairly quickly. It didn’t turn out just like I envisioned but it was machine pieced and hand quilted. I like the summer look it has.

Wall hanging

Both of these will be going to the church shop to be sold. I am also working on some more cross-stitch things to put in the etsy shop which is almost ready to go–it is taking too long for me to get all of this done. I stopped by Hancock Fabrics this past Sunday to pick up some zippers-about 32 of them :). They were half off! I could not resist. Next on the agenda will be a table runner and some stuffed blocks if I don’t get busy with something else.

I hope everything is going well in your sewing garden. May you have a bountiful harvest!

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Quilt is finished

Finally! This is some of my worst work if not my worst but I’m ready to get on with something NEW! I had planned on sewing the edges and turning it before quilting but I machine quilted-in the ditch-and turned the backing under to bind it. It’s finished and that’s all I can say except that Simon loves it! It was supposed to be sold at the church but I’m not sure I can do that. It looks like it might remain with us for him to sleep on. I put it down after I clipped some threads and he stretched out on it-full body! Earlier, he curled up underneath like it was a tent. Ok. I’ll consider keeping it. I cannot keep everything! I need to give some donations and make some money, too, but it’s worth it for him to be happy!

Have a Happy Day and Simon says, “Happy Scratching!”

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Hearts growing in the garden of life

A card stitched with a garden of hearts.

I haven’t been as busy sewing and doing crafty things as I would have liked but this is something I did the other week as a gift.

I have been working on a quilt–the orange, yellow, green one that I was supposed to have done by this time last year. I’m not happy with it and really just want to get it out of here so I can work on my other projects. It is such a terrible feeling to not be able to finish something. I want to feel completed so that I can reestablish my value in the world. I have gone for so long feeling less than adequate. We all need to feel valued and worthy.

I hope you are busy in your gardens of life and things are growing without much problems. Life rolls on. Make today count. Happy Gardening!

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I lied-I am working on a quilting project

Ok, I lied. I feel like I have been just spinning my wheels but there are things starting to blossom in my sewing garden. Remember when I said that quilting had taken a backseat—that came out of my mouth just a few days ago? I now have the quilt top pieced together that I began working on last year. I had the pieces cut and felt like they were telling me that I needed to get busy. It is really nice to see something come together though this is not some of my best work. I knew it would have its moments as I am using different types of fabric (and polyester knit is not my favorite). Anyway, this is the result of the plan that you can see I wrote about here (link to Baby/Lap quilt ready to being) and here (link to Patterns and Such).

The quilt top all pieced together with my helper buddy (Simon) wanting to be in the photo. He thinks I made this just for him!

Embroidery work for quilt

Original design

My project designs (many designs and not just quilting) were on the computer that went “kaput” some months ago, so I had to redo. I have decided not to add a bias edge but to sew and turn it. The jury is still out on the type of quilting though machine quilting has been ruled out unless I stitch in the ditch. In the photo with Simon you will notice shadows that appear to be on the fabric, but it is from the table cloth that is underneath.

I should already be done with my cross-stitch piece but for some reason I was missing one of the colors the pattern called for. Anyone who knows me will be shaking their head in disbelief because I pride myself in keeping stock of almost every color there is-a lot of thread! This is it so far…

I used to do these when I spent a lot of time waiting on doctors with other people.

Lastly, I am still not ready to show you my other little project, but it is almost complete—I just have to add a biased edging. There are other little things happening, but these are the main ones. So, I lied when I said I would not be working on a quilt any time soon. Now, I have to get it finished. Maybe I can get it done before April of 2012 rather than April 2011.

May you find great happiness in all of your gardening pleasures!

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