Tote party #2

Oh geez, I can't believe that it's already past 2:30 and this is as far as I have gotten!  I just finished the outside panel for my first tote.  Because the background is so open, I chose to do a more dense diamond hatch to give it some visual interest.  Unfortunately, that meant tons of lines to stitch one way and the other.  On top of that, half way through, the lines started to bend so I had to rip out each one half way back and redo them.  Arrgh!  OK, on to my next panel!

Tote bag party!

10:30 AM:

Getting a late start here!  I am going to be working on two totes today, both from the same pattern.  I've made the tote before, so that will help speed things up a little bit.  Here are my fabrics:

OK, the first step is get the outside panels cut and quilted.  This part takes the longest to do.

Quick project

My co-worker is getting married this weekend in Las Vegas and we took up a collection for him in the office.  I volunteered to create a holder for the money and spent this evening working on it.  Here is the result:

This is the front side which I personalized with their wedding location and date, accented with doves.

The envelope back has a border using the same dove motif that is on the front.

All in all, I think it turned out pretty well.  There are a few things that I'd do differently the next time around but not bad for something right off the top of my head!

April projects

Just a quick post for my April projects since it took way more time than I anticipated this evening to set up my new printer in my sewing room.

First up, my Saturday Sampler blocks for this month. This time it's trees with a lot of flying geese in those trunks! There will be four blocks all together as I will be making two of one particular block. I haven't done too many flying geese so this should be interesting.


Next up will be to get started on the Wedding Ring quilt. I'm shooting for finishing 10 full squares and 5 half squares a month for six months in order to make this more manageable. I have to piece a lot of these arcs together before I can applique them to the squares and this way I won't get too overwhelmed by it. Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to give this to our niece right away but I'd rather give her something that is well made than a hurry up job full of mistakes (and I'm really prone to them, too, when trying to do something too fast.)

Some new toys

One of the things that I really enjoy doing aside from sewing is knitting. Most yarn that you buy in yarn shops comes in hanks that have to be wound into balls and usually that's not a problem as the shop is happy to wind the yarn for you. Not so long ago, I spotted a pattern for a lace stole in a yarn catalog that I really wanted to knit to wear to my niece's wedding in May. The only catch was that to get the pattern you had to buy the yarn as the pattern came with it. That was fine by me so I ordered and didn't give it another thought until the yarn arrived and I realized that it would have to be wound. Now, I really hate winding balls by hand and it would be really pushing it to go to my local shop and ask the proprietor to wind them for me seeing as how I didn't actually buy the yarn from her. I finally broke down and got myself a swift and ball winder. Tonight I set them up and put them to work:

The final result- a nice tidy yarn "cake" all ready to go in minutes:

Sweet!

March tag and finish

This is an exciting post for me because it's the first time I'm using my laptop in my sewing room. We finally got our new desktop PC installed downstairs along with a wireless connection so that my computer would be functional upstairs. I'll finally be able to spend some time in the evenings visiting the Charming Guys and Girls blogs in peace and quiet without Eric's JAG DVD's blasting away nearby. It's kind of hard to think coherently when it sounds like an F-16 is landing next to you! It's kind of my fault, really, because I gave him all ten seasons worth of DVD's to begin with! The man just never gets tired of watching them either.

OK, the March tag was to post a joke. I don't know if this qualifies, but I just saw this the other day and, oh boy, is it ever the truth:

"One of the saddest things about getting older is the trail of smaller jeans you leave in your wake."

I tend to be more of a visual joke kind of person and LOLcats is one of my favorite sites to visit. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

This one because I deal with this response a lot at work-

These next two illustrate that my sense of humor can be kind of off-beat at times...

And last, but not least, here's one especially for Joan-

As for my finishes this month, I only managed one. I had just completed my Saturday Sampler block a few days before my father-in-law passed away and after that I simply didn't have time to work on my Wedding Ring blocks. Things are starting to get back to normal and I'll have more sewing time soon. Eric's been helping his mom quite a bit with stuff that needs to get done and she's coping remarkably well. Sometimes it doesn't seem real that his dad is gone and other days it's felt all too keenly.

This was the first time I've set a block on point and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Springtime in the Rockies

Saturday was was the first day of Spring, my most favorite season. This is what my garden looked like early that morning:

A little later, the clouds had cleared away, the sky was blue, and the cheery little crocus were once again brightening up the yard:

Alas, tonight they are buried under snow- again. I think Spring is the toughest time for me to bear, garden-wise. We usually get warm spells though March that encourages all the daffodils, jonquils and tulips to bloom just in time to be crushed under the late Spring snows. Last year everything budded out so early only to be killed by a late freeze, leaving us with no pretty trees or lilacs in bloom that Spring. Needless to say, I was heart-broken. But for me, hope is always eternal and I'm optimistic this will be one of those years where we really do have a beautiful Spring. It's been cold enough that the green shoots are just now appearing in the beds and the trees aren't really budding yet so maybe, just maybe, my flowers, trees and bushes will put on a glorious show come April. I really, really hope so.

This has turned out to be a difficult month for us. Eric's father passed away March 12th and his funeral service was last Tuesday. He had been ailing as the effects of his emphysema were finally catching up with him. He managed quite well for many years with oxygen but the last year really took its toll. He passed away at home early in the morning while napping in his favorite chair. We are all thankful that he went so gently and that he is no longer suffering. However, it goes without saying that he will be greatly missed. He was a really terrific father-in-law to me, I couldn't have asked for a better one.