Time for a New PC

Today is a beautiful day. It was incredibly windy and rained on and off, mostly off until the evening came. It was blustery, a real Winnie the Poo blustery kind of day you might even say!

My husband and I both got new computers this week. Both our hard drives on our old computers blew out about the same time and threw us into fits. So off we went to buy new ones. We both got the same make and model, HP Pavilion 8 GB memory, 1 T HD,  ...phew ~ that is a mouth full! What all that means is they are fast and they are wonderful!

The Direction We Go In...

This poem is a favorite of mine I first read in the 1970's...

But to every mind there openeth,
A way, and way, and away,
A high soul climbs the highway,
And the low soul gropes the low,
And in between on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.

But to every man there openeth,
A high way and a low,
And every mind decideth,
The way his soul shall go.

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
'Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

Edna Wheeler Wilcox, 1916

Free Motion Machine Quilting

Free motion machine quilt is an art form of freedom of expression where the possibilities are limitless. If you can imagine it you can sew it! The photo on the right shows the front side of a teapot trivet I made for my friend and neighbor Lora. I used a copper metal trivet for design inspiration.


The photo on the left shows the backside and reveals the teapot's details more clearly. A small project like this one is an excellent beginner project for free motion machine quilting.

Linda Matthews: cloth whisperer – Wild Flower

Linda Matthews: cloth whisperer – Wild Flower

Linda Matthews is one of the most ingenious and creative persons I have ever heard of. She does things with fabric and thread that are just amazing!

This link will take you to some of her free motion machine embroidery.

http://www.linda-matthews.com/tips-for-machine-quilting/

Kitties in my Sewing Room

Here is one good reason to close the door to my sewing room. This is why I must wash every quilt upon it's completion. Miss Freckles is a rescued kitty and as such she really does get away with a lot at our house. It's taken three years for her to come "out of her shell". She had one tiny kitten and was hard pressed to find food for herself and the kitten when we discovered her hanging around the outside of our house. Her life is free of worries now and she is becoming so sweet and friendly. We just don't have the heart to scold her when she is "bad".

This new pink fabric quilt I am working on is a practice piece for learning how to use the walking foot that came with my sewing machine. I have had it for 5 years now and have not used it once; the walking foot that is. I found a wonderful book that illustrates the use of it and I am having a great time with this small quilt, a lap sized one.

New York and back...

A whirlwind of a trip which culminated from a nearly four month wait for pro bono surgery.

Here is a selection of photos of the crew from Park Slope Productions.

A Cute New Blouse

This cute little blouse is super easy to make and is made from
Simplicity pattern #2596. I embellished it with two appliqued flowers that have little buttons sewn on for the centers.

It's an easy to make pattern and has endless possibilities for personal creativity.

Quilted Bed Topper

After sewing many months for others I decided to take a little time to start a quilting project for home. This bed topper graces the foot of our bed and usually has one or two kitties sprawled out across it at different times of the day.

A Quilting Frenzy

This quilt was made from scraps left over from another quilting project, a bed topper. I am making this one for my nephew who also happens to be my Godson.

It has been a fun one to make and features a new design cut from an X-Square. You can really get creative with these squares.

A Quilting Frenzy

I have not logged on for a few months because I have been so busy sewing and I simply forgot about my blog. So I am back today to show off the fruits of my labors.

This quilt is aptly named "Blue on Blue" and I made it for a gift for a great niece who has graduated from high school and is headed off to college.

The Ides of March ~ or What I Did While Waiting for Spring

Old man Winter is still with us and the weather outside is still frightful so I am spending more time indoors sewing. The calmness of my sewing room is continually broken with the whir of my Juki's motor; thrrrrrr, thrrrrrr. Well, okay, what does a sewing machine's motor sound like? Whrrrrr, whrrrrr? Whatever!

So here is a good look at what I made so far this month. The first quilt is from a pattern called "The Zoey Throw" by Valori Wells Designs. It's a perfect quilt for a beginner but would be enjoyed by an intermediate quilter as well. There are many ways to personalize this quilt and it could be embellished in many imaginative ways.

The pattern called for a pillow to be made with the quilt and I designed mine to match the quilt top using some of the left over pieces for the center of the pillow and framed it in with the tiny striped yellow and white backing. I used the larger print roses fabric on the back side of the pillow. I outlined the roses in a cream colored thread and used mercerized cotton crochet thread in coordinating colors of peach, canary yellow and tango orange for hand tying the quilt. So it was top stitched as well as hand tied. Instead of hand typing any of the roses I used three french knots, using double crochet thread, in the center of each rose and the effect was very nice.

This was the first quilt I had made in five years so my skills were a little rusty in the various components of the quilt assembly, such as in the binding, but with practice I will improve. All in all I am quite pleased with the end result.

February Creations ~ Sew Cute!

This is my newest project, a patchwork handbag with a matching
checkbook cover. The fabric is Bliss by Moda. I love the bright happy colors and patterns!

The instructions said to make the lining of
the same patchwork design but I thought,
"why, who would ever see it?" So when I
was done with the exterior of the bag I layed it flat on the lining fabric and cut it
out to the same shape and sewed it together
and then sewed the interior and exterior at
the seams and voila!

I could not find a simple checkbook cover pattern so I made a template for my own.

February ~ Share the Love XO XO

Happy Anniversary to us!

This month my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We have known each other for four years now. They have been the happiest years of my life. It is wonderful to have a man in my life that appreciates me and loves me just the way I
am! God has been so good to me!


My husband is not only good looking but charming, well mannered, kind, easy to talk to, a good companion and friend, considerate and just plain wonderful!

Monday, January 24, 2011 ` a Day to Reconnect

Several days back I found the online obituary of the father of an old friend of mine from years ago. I did a little searching and soon found her telephone number listed at her place of business. It didn't take much thought before I found myself dialing her number and leaving an after-hours message.

When I did not get a return telephone call right away I felt badly, thinking she had decided not to reconnect with me. We had both shared some unpleasant experiences together and I wondered if they were just too painful for her to reach out over the miles and years to reach out to me. Today the telephone rang and when I saw her name appear on the digital readout of my telephone I was so elated.

I don't recall how long we talked but every audible word just seemed to hang in the air as I listened to her voice. We had been separated for over thirty years but the conversation flowed as easily as it had when we were neighbors, friends and sisters-in-law back in our twenties. We would sit over cup after cup of hot tea and talk for hours. She dearly loved my son and I remember feeling that if anything ever happened to me Becky would be the one who would take him in and love him as much as I did. I knew she would one day make a terrific mother and wife; she just needed the right man! Unfortunately the right man was an elusive dream for both of us during that time in our lives.

Becky this is how I look now; the above photo being taken in the last few weeks. I stopped coloring my hair last year and let it grow out to show my natural color.

Two Thousand Eleven ` a Fresh Start

One ship sails east and another west with the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sail and not the gale which determines the way they go.
The winds of the sea are the ways of fate as we voyage along through life,
'Tis the act of the soul that determines the goal, and not the calm or the strife.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The above quote is one I have enjoyed reading for many years. In my time on earth I have discovered that none of us are alone when it comes to encountering difficulties in life; we all seem to have a tale to tell of personal tragedy, misfortune, suffering or illness. None of us skates through life untouched. I also believe that our personal suffering leads us to the realization of a higher being, our Creator, God the Father Almighty. We all end up calling out to Him at some point.

The above quote illustrates that although we all have free will and can certainly make our own decisions and choices, the way it all turns out depends on whether those decisions and choices are centered around earthly wants and needs or those of our Creator. There is a tremendous difference in the outcome of our lives when we choose to follow a Godly path!

The above photo is one that was taken when I was about 28 years of age, at around the time I was sporting the quote on my living room wall. Little did I realize the significance of the quote and how it would prove to be true in my own life!

Yikes ~ I'm Sick Again

Late in the summer I started volunteering at a local school two days a week; as a pre-kindergarten grandma one day and as the school cook another day. I've really enjoyed doing this but unfortunately it has taken it's toll on me. I have been sick a total of 6 weeks in the past 3 1/2 months, catching every cold virus that was passed around. As much as I've enjoyed it I feel it is best if I discontinue this work as it has adversely affected my health.

To Knit or Knot

I started knitting about 2002 or 2003. I bought a beautiful knitted scarf at a craft fair, spending far more than I would like to and as a result spent little other money that day. I was so taken with it's beauty, texture, color and style. I decided immediately afterward that I would enroll in a knitting class at a local yard parlor in town. My first class scarf was ripped out no less than 6 times before it was completed. I would start talking and visiting with the other people in the class (several women of varying ages, a young boy and an older man) and before I knew it I would be knitting in the wrong direction and the long rectangular scarf would take on more of the look of a sleeve for a sweater than a scarf! Yikes!

October ~ a month to forget

With the passing of my dear dog the end of September my heart was already heavy with grief when my mother, who was hospitalized for several weeks, passed away on October 21, 2010. I did all I could for her in her last year on earth; emotionally, spiritually and financially. I gave her my time, my love, my support and when she was in need of something to make her life a little easier I sent it to her. Her death pulled apart the already unraveled rope of what was left of my relationship with my older sisters, who would not let go of the grudges they held against her for what she did, or didn't do, over half a century ago.

Seeing mother dying in her hospital bed was a very sad sight I will never forget. It made it so easy for me to drop whatever remnants I had of my own past grievances with her. Her last words to me about my other sisters were, "where are they" and "are they coming?" It broke my heart to see the look on her face when I said they wouldn't be coming to see her. I think that is when she stopped trying to live. She had told me over a year ago that the one thing she constantly prayed for was that all four of her daughters would be talking to her, having a relationship with her. It was one wish, one desire of her heart, one prayer that never happened for her.

I am reminded of a quote that was written on a picture I had on my living room wall back around 1975. It read:

One ship sails east and another west with the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sail and not the gale which determines the way they go.
The winds of the sea are the ways of fate as we voyage along through life,
'Tis the act of the soul that determines the goal, and not the calm or the strife.

-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Blog a Dog

Our dog died three weeks ago. Our hearts were tattered and torn by his death. Our other dog was so mournful and lonely that in spite of our feelings to not get another dog, that is just what we ended up doing. We bought a Border Collie Labrador mix from one of our local animal shelters. He is three and a half months old and we decided to name him Siegfried, Ziggy for short. The German name was my husband's idea and it certainly seems to fit him. He is a very active, loving and adorable little guy. We are hard at work to get him house broken so he can become an active member of our family indoors and outdoors as well as in his little crate, where he spends his night sleeping. We have to get up a couple times during the night to let him outdoors to relieve himself. Sometimes it is hard to get back to sleep so we will curl up on the couch with him on his little red blanket and fall asleep with him nuzzling on our laps or next to us.

Christmas Bazaar Projects

Pot Holders and Pot Pinchers ~ pictured on the right. Pot Pinchers are cute little pot holders that you slip your fingers into and hold onto the handles or lids of pots and pans. Small and convenient to use and very affordable to make as you can sew them from scraps or fat quarters.

The pot holder at the top left I have dubbed my "kitchen diva" pot holder. I gave it to my aunt for her birthday and she loves it.