Caddy so far

I spent most of today continuing to work on my caddy.  A lot of the time was spent doing the embroidery and figuring out how I wanted to construct the pockets.  My embroidery machine was cranky today so I had to spend some time undoing and then redoing some portions of the designs.  All in all, though, I think it's coming together pretty well.  I took some quick pictures to post before I shut down for the night. 

Here's the caddy cut out and the top pocket sewn on:



I managed to get one half of the bottom pocket embroidery finished.  It's still in the hoop but I think this picture gives a much better idea of what the colors are like since they are a bit washed out in the top photo.

Word Up sewing party!

I'm a little late getting started as I just got home from my Block Of the Month class that was scheduled for today.  My project for the party is to design and finish a hanging caddy with pockets that I can put all the things that I need to complete my outfit for the day when I get dressed  for work in the morning.  I'm notorious for not being a morning person and trying to squeeze out the last possible z before I'm forced to get up.  My routine pretty much consists of rolling out of bed and into the shower, getting dressed and going down the stairs and out the door where Eric's waiting.  Since he drops me off on his way to work, I get to my office about 45 minutes before my workday actually begins, so I do have time to eat my breakfast and get my daily treat, a Starbucks coffee.  In an effort to make this more streamlined, I've been putting out my outfit the night before and need something to hold my jewelry, tights, slip, etc. together with my clothes.  Having a caddy with designated pockets will also insure that I have everything that I need and that I'm not forgetting something.

OK, while the fabric that I've just pulled from my stash is in the washer, I'll be drafting my pattern.  I'm planning on embellishing my caddy with vintage butterfly embroidery in honor of my word "metamorphosis."  I'll post some pictures as soon as my fabric is out of the washer and ready to go.

6:37 PM

OK, making progress!  I got my fabric washed, ironed and already got the main piece quilted.  I also spent some time noodling around with the pattern and embroidery placement and think I've got it down.

Here is the fabric.  The body is a off-white tone on tone print and I am using the print to band the pocket tops and to bind the edges.  It's hard to see the colors as the lighting isn't the best in my sewing room at this time of the day.

Here's my pattern laying on top of the quilted body with my embroidery templates.  The lower right will have a mirror image of the left corner.  There are two pockets that will be divided in the middle with the bottom one deeper for larger items.

Well, Eric just got back from Boston Market with dinner so I think this will be it for the day.  I'll  continue on tomorrow starting with the machine embroidery which takes a bit of time to do.  I've learned to hard way that it's not something that I want to do when I'm tired.  Thanks to all who have stopped by!  After dinner I'll be going around and seeing what everyone else has been up to today!

Word Up!

Happy New Year! I’ve been very busy with redecorating rooms in my house lately. LOL, no Christmas decorations this past December as the house was and is too ripped up. I took time off from work and did a lot of painting over the holidays and will be putting the last coat of paint on the trim in our den this Saturday. After that, we can begin putting it back together. I’ll be so glad to have our computer set up again just as soon as the new desk arrives (in hindsight, packing it away wasn’t the brightest idea but I didn’t expect it to be down as long as it has been.)


Now, on to my word for the Word Up. This year will be one of change- lots of them! We’ve been in our house for 17 years now and it’s time to freshen things up. It’s also time to pare down the stuff that we have and do a bit of decluttering. This will be a lot harder on the packrat in the house than me, LOL. And since I always consider myself to be a work in progress, I’m contemplating personal changes, too.

As I near 50, I find myself wanting to spend the rest of my working life doing something that I love, that I am passionate about, and that I excel at. This means exploring ways to transition myself from what I am doing now into something that involves doing what I love most which is sewing and creating. Back when I was in Junior High (the dark ages!), I took what were almost the last home ec classes to be offered and excelled in them. Sewing, however, was not considered to be a viable career option by then. I actually ended up majoring in Interior Design in college but soon realized after working in the field for a few years that it was the fabrics and creation of furnishings that I like best rather than working with clients designing interiors. In hindsight, I should have then gone on to a tech school and learned how to construct window treatments and soft furnishings like bedding. Learning how to upholster would have been a plus, too. However, these things just weren’t encouraged by my mother who had a decidedly negative view of that being any sort of career. And at the time, I didn’t have the gumption to buck that.  So here I am at 48, having spent most of my life working but not doing anything that I have a passion for. And since I want to change that, the word that I intend to live by this year is: Metamorphosis

Secret Santa runner is finished- finally!

OK, I was chugging along on this and was well on my way to having it done by the first of the month when I was hit by a series of nasty migraines.  Because the first couple of weeks of December are a very busy time for me at work and I had to be there, I pretty much toughed it out and went to bed every night as soon as I got home.  Needless to say, this really cut into my sewing time significantly.  I'm feeling so much better this week and finally got the last of the quilting done.  After burying tons of thread ends, I got the binding done Tuesday night.  Just as I was ready to pack the runner up and get it on its way, I realized that I had forgotten to put a label on it so I'll do that and get it in the mail this weekend.

I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.  The blocks in the center were plain, so I machine-embroidered the letters in them.  Quilting was the hardest part mainly because I haven't done all that much in the past so my skills are still a little shaky.  I hope that the recipient enjoys it as much as I did making it!

BTW, I'm going to try taking a better picture to post.  This one was taken laid on the carpet with me standing on a stool over it and no matter how I tried, the edges always came out looking crooked.  They really are straight!

Charming Girls November/December goals

Now that it's getting cooler, my sewing mojo is returning full force and I'm really looking forward to working on my projects that I've selected for my November/December goals.

First off is my secret santa which gets top priority since the deadline looms ever closer.  After mulling over several possiblities, I've finally selected a runner pattern and have begun pulling fabrics out of my stash.  I just love the green and red print and am happy to have a chance to finally use it.  I still need a few more fabrics to round it out, a perfect excuse to drive to Harriet's and do a little shopping (heh, like I ever need an excuse to go there!)

Next up is the quilt that I started for my Dad back in June before life got a bit frantic.  I'm sort of designing it as I go along and will be putting it together using the Cotton Theory method so that the quilting is done as it's assembled.  Along with the log cabin blocks, I will be embroidering blocks with farm animals and buildings.  Daddy grew up on a farm and is very much still a farm boy at heart.  My uncle has a small farm and Daddy loves to visit there.  By the time he leaves, the chickens are so spoiled because he's always giving them whatever a chicken considers a treat.  I'm calling this quilt Farm Memories.

Ok, right now, this project doesn't look like much because it's still in the planning stages.  I'm making this tote for a dear friend for Christmas and will be using the hand-dyed perle floss to do bobbinwork embroidery on the front panel using an iris design.  She was with me when I spotted the floss at the Quilt-a-Fair and just loved it so at least I know that I'm on the right track color-wise!  I'll be getting coordinating batik fabrics for the tote.

I made the same tote when I was at Camp Cotton last year.  My version has an embroidered rose stitched with red floss in the bobbin.

Also on my list is to catch up on my American Beauty blocks that I am doing as part of a BOM at Harriet's.  I missed a few classes and didn't get some of my blocks completely finished in others.  The fabrics for this quilt are just gorgeous and when I first saw the line in the shop, it's not much of an exaggeration to say that my head just about exploded because they are so "me."

Rounding up the lot is the cover for my acrylic portable sewing table for my machine that I take with me to classes.  It's another project that I'm creating as I go along and I really want to get it finished because I'm getting tired of shlepping my table around in a pillowcase, LOL.

Here's a close-up of the cute quilter's crest embroidery design that I found and couldn't resist adding to the front of the cover:

Ok, I think that's enough to keep me busy for a while!

Contrary to rumor, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth

Wow, I can't believe that the last time I posted was in April.  A lot has happened in the meantime, including my parents having some serious health issues that had me making an unexpected trip to Tucson (in the sizzling heat of July!) at one point.  Things have settled down pretty much but my dad has decided that he no longer wishes to spend much time with my mom (that's a story for another day) so he's up here frequently for three week stretches at a time.  He stays with my sister or goes to visit his brother up in Ft. Collins and it's usually me who has to drive him back and forth as his hearing and eyesight are rather bad.  I love my dad but this really was putting a crimp in my weekends (my only free time to really work on my projects or on the house) so we are currently working out the logistics to make things go a little smoother while he's up here.  And that's how things are at the moment in my life.

On the fun side of things, Eric and I had a great time visiting Lincoln, Nebraska when we went in May for our niece's wedding.  We stayed at Atwood House, a lovely B&B that is very romantic and was the ideal place to celebrate our anniversary which was also that weekend.  Naturally, I had to sqeeze in a visit to a local quilt shop and hunted up the Quilted Kitty.  Good thing I had some extra room in the suitcase to pack all the goodies that I found there!  We also paid a visit to the International Quilt Study Center & Museum on the University of Nebraska campus and Eric surprised me by how much he enjoyed the exhibits that they had there.  The wedding itself was beautiful and all in all, it was a terrific weekend. 

In early August, my friend and I did the local shop hop, visiting the six participating shops that were spread around the metro area.  We had a lot of fun and I managed to spend, spend, spend.  Later that month we went to the quilt show in Loveland where the entries for the Hoffman challenge were on display.  So many gorgeous things to look at and it's amazing how many different designs that people can come up with using the same fabric.  I always find the show to be very inspirational.  Then in September, my most favorite event of all took place:  Quilt-A-Fair.  Booth after booth of fabrics, patterns and notions from shops all around the state and others all under one roof.  My pocketbook will never be the same!

Finally, October rolled around and I was more than ready to pack in the yard for another year but so far it has been hanging on because it has remained unseasonably warm.  Here is a picture that I took today of my geraniums still blooming away.  Last year at this time they had already been buried under snow.

Well, uncooperative weather or not, it's time to get back in my sewing room and create!

April finish

Well, only one measly block to show for this month!  This Saturday Sampler block didn't go together easily since I had cut some of the flying geese pieces bigger by accident and it took me a long time to figure out what the problem was. Needless to say, my seam ripper saw a lot of action that night!  I have three more blocks similar to this one to make but by the time I finished this one, I just wanted a break from doing them.

I've been in the spring cleaning and reorganizing mood lately so I've been spending time doing that rather than sewing.