Merry Christmas To All and To All A Good Night!

Being as this is now the ......day after Christmas, I hope that that means everyone has had a wonderful day with family and friends and that now you are recuperating! I stayed up wayyyy to late on Christmas Eve. sewing and watching sweet Christmas shows and just enjoying. So having stayed up late the night before, last night also being a late night I was somewhat lagging b/4 bed last night! I tumbled into bed and slept and slept. Now that I'm refreshed.... I'm ready to go again! 

DH has off until next week sometime and we plan on playing a bit..... you know the drill, movies, puzzles, left overs... pie.... sewing, more pie, hmmmm playing with the grands... and did I say pie? I never made it to the cookie making... but I promised DH I would b/4 New Years... (although, he did say that he wasn't really worried at all about not having any cookies!.... Mostly, cause there is ..... hmmmm

pie! LoL...) I only made 2 pumpkin... but it's nice to have it around... although, he finished off the last piece of 1 pie just a bit ago! Lots of other fun treats... that I need to try to stay away from! 

We had a wonderful Christmas time, spent with family and visiting on the phone with the ones that are not close at hand. Sharing our evening meal with some family and a friend who had no where else to go.  Last night we went over to one of our DD's house all the intentions in the world to watch the new BatMan movie.... (I still haven't seen it, and don't feel like I missed anything.... sorry for you who love it!). DD and I played with her new Brother sewing/embroidery machine! What's not to like? We learned all sorts of fun things and she ended up making a cute Butterfly patch as her first testing of the machine. Things to learn and play with. 

While DH is off skiing I'm planning on my own "playing" down in the sewing room.... plans are the best when laid out to sew!!!! 

So, enjoy the time off that you may have... and for those of you who have to go back to work! Enjoy that too.... you have a job! Many do not. We must above all count our blessings! 

Actual Sewing Post Coming

Stay tuned, actual sewing related post..... soon! :)  Hard to believe... I know, but things just get complicated sometimes. I wanted to Sew Burda pattern 116  from 08/2011 which you can see here!
http://allisoncsewinggallery.blogspot.com  on her 2012 07 post.  But after borrowing it from a good neighbor.... reality came knocking at the door and I just couldn't even trace out the pattern! I'm spoiled, I've used the Big 4 patterns for sooo many years that actually tracing out from the ohhhh soo many lines from Burda's patterns.... it about made me dizzy! LoL... you win some you loose some I suppose. Now I guess I will just have to see if I can find something similar in either one of the Burda patterns (that are in envelopes) or some other company! I really did want to make it with a 3/4 length sleeve anyway!

I did find this pattern though, which I plan on making in from view A; with 3/4 length sleeves. Maybe a tad bit shorter also... I will need to make it shorter in the waist as I'm very short waisted. Such is life!


I will have to go back to the fabric store and see if I can find something similar as I mentioned above!
Back again... hopefully sooner rather than later!
Oh, and we cut our Christmas tree yesterday... it took us far shorter time wise than in years past.  Funny story, I will have to relate later when I have a bit more time. We were home and back to our left over's by.... 6:15 p.m. Friday evening!

Keep your scissors sharp!

Happy Thanks Giving Every One

 So many of the people in our Nation and around the world have had trials, disappointments, hardships of all sorts, some people have been morning losses of loved ones or even homes or jobs. Today is a day to reflect on the past and strive to move forward. As hard as these trials can be, we truly need to work hard to over come these things. And the way we can help is too look around us and see what we can do! You may know of someone who needs a helping hand, words of encouragement and love can do a lot for those who have suffered from any type of trial.... whether it be getting a bad grade on a mid term.... or losing a home. Everyone can use words of love! Maybe someone just cut you off on the road somewhere... try to put yourself into their shoes... they may not of even realized that they did this to you. Turn the other cheek, maybe shake your head... instead of your fist! Share a smile, a hand shake or even put what you can into a donation pot. I know a few of us.... (o.k., maybe just me) have a hard time trying to decide whether the person pan handling at the side of the road is doing it professionally or really needs help. (Can you tell I've seen way too many shows like 60 Minutes! LoL)  To be honest, I guess that's not for me to decide! If you don't want to feel like maybe that person is going to take advantage... maybe help out through a local Church, halfway house, non-profit organization etc. There are a lot of ways to help... United Way from what I understand is a great organization also.... the Red Cross does good work all over the place. Oh, and if you can't help out with a donation of money (let's be honest, this can be a very wallet stretching time of year) volunteer to help with your time. Granted this also is hard sometimes this time of year. But.... then again, what about helping kids read at school or some other volunteering during the rest of the year! It doesn't have to happen like.... TODAY! 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while your counting your blessings today... please make sure and see if you could maybe answer someone else's prayers! Be good to your self, your family, your friends and your neighbors... you never know when you may be the person who needs to be uplifted or helped; whether it be financially, mentally, physically or Spiritually. 

Take care and God Bless You and Your Family During This Wonderful Season of the Year And all the rest of the year too!

Oh, and don't get caught with an empty bobbin! :)

When Is It Going To End?????

You know, sometimes I wonder what I've gotten myself into as far as canning goes! LoL... it's my own fault... I got my family used to eating home canned stuff and now well... that's what we like!
Spaghetti sauce, veggie soup, green beans, thick chunky apple sauce (and at this point I say, yum!), various fruits... tomatoes, beets (well, most of the family doesn't like those... just me! I'm worth a little effort aren't I?) and dried or/fruit leather fruits. You get the idea... this all takes time... time, time, time!!! Late to bed, early to rise.... makes a person... CRANKY!
Sewing time has been sadly neglected!!!! What is that saying; if you want to make something a habit, do it for 2 weeks (or is it 3) and you will just keep doing it! Guess I had better work on that!
O.K. that's my rant! Now.... breakfast and off to see the grands play soccer!  O. K. so it's not sewing, but it is something very worthwhile! ;)
Grandkids.... doncha love em! :)

Hopefully I will have a sewing related post soon!

In the meantime, don't sew with your presser foot up! LoL...

A-l-l  A-b-o-a-r-d....................................................!

In August this little guy down below.... (ahem, the one on the left!) turned 4! And for birthdays, we have

decided that the grands don't really "need" another toy. So, we are taking them on dates! This little guy loves trains, although from looking at his concerned face you wouldn't really know it! We  DH/Dgrandpa and I went to this train park on a families private property where they have 4 trains. The other 3 are much smaller, where each person sits one behind another and hangs onto the sides of the train... we figured little guy would really love it.  He took one look at the smaller trains and pointed at it and said, "I don't think I want to go on one of those!"  There was no way we were going to get him onto the small train. So, we took him to see the larger train...(see above) and showed him how big it was and that we could sit inside (and that we would be with him) and he relaxed a little bit! 

After a few minutes, he relaxed and let go of the death grip he had on my arm. He was pointing out all sorts of things. Your supposed to keep hands/arms/feet inside the cars at all times (hmmm, sounds like a Disney ride doesn't it?) and next thing we know he is just about hanging outside the train! LoL... he had a great time.

We bought him a wooden train whistle that you really have to work hard to actually make much noise out of... (thinking we were safe w/DD #1, so he wouldn't drive her nuts with noise) to be given to him later.... didn't want him to drive us nuts in the Jeep! LoL... we weren't born yesterday you know! On the way to lunch after the train ride, he started making train horn sounds on his own.... (he didn't even know we had bought the whistle) and so DH and I looked at each other and then opened the whistle and handed it to DGS... it was cute. We ate lunch, with him bee-bopping to the music (right in sync to the music) put a french fry into his mouth and started using that for a whistle.... ( we didn't let him take said whistle into the eatery...).  At home while we were taking the booster seat out of the Jeep he ran into the house and almost hyperventilated telling the family how much fun he had! Cute cause we weren't all that sure he enjoyed it that much. He wasn't doing a lot of talking and all.  We had a great time. Next one will be in a few weeks.... DGS's birthday is coming soon... First DS's birthday and then FIL's 89th birthday and then DGS's #7 birthday. Hard to keep up! Another passenger took this of us all together... guess we should have squatted down...

Now, onto sewing...

Trying to Keep Up With Karma, Not Really

Funny how time just gets away from me sometimes. Here it is another Season of the
year already. Wasn't it just Summer?
Karma's daughter found something on Pinterest that was cool... but it did take a lot of
work to do.  I don't have any pictures of it... (note to self... take pictures of Karma's
files) yet! But I will! O.K. so let me explain; Karma is a quilter/seamstress emphasis
on the quilting! So of course that means she has a huge stash of fabric! It got to the
point that if she couldn't find what she needed (and this happened all the time) she
would go buy more! Makes sense right? Not really, because later she would find
out she already had some... and well this is a bit wasteful in a couple of ways, time
and money. So organization was what she wanted, but how was another matter.
Center stage Pinterest! Her daughter found a picture of this filing system (using
actual hanging files to support the fabric! What they did was this; take 1 hanging
file folder open out the folder so it's laying on the table flat... now cut it in half
at the fold. Easy enough! Next take your fabric piece and fold it so that it hangs
nicely over the top part of the file folder so that you can still hang it in the file
cabinet. You want to make sure that you fold it so that the fabric isn't hanging
past the folder or it will be harder to keep it neat and tidy. We did a lot of
pinning of extra pieces (as a quilter you get lots of smaller pieces that you don't
want to waste, so we pinned them onto the larger piece of fabric or hung them
separately over the same folder). And because Karma has lots of smaller pieces
i.e. fat quarters etc... we also hung similar colors on the same folder. Overlapping
them so each piece could be seen. I must say, her files are very colorful! It took
us around 3-4 weeks at 5-6 hour a day (mind you it wasn't every day of the week
and only several days in each week) to get all of her fabric done! Wheeeee,
we did get it all done though. It was funny, just when we thought it was all
done, and nice and tidy in her sewing room.... I turned and said what's in this
smaller closet... you should have seen her face; fabric she says to me! We got to
the point where we would laugh cause everywhere we looked (while we were
working on this system) there was fabric.... (thus the need for "a" system).
We found an old filing cabinet at the local D.I. (Deseret Industries) for all of
$15 that had 5 huge drawers. We not only filled them all up, but she bought
a bunch of plastic hanging file boxes to store in the now somewhat empty
closet. We took the sliding doors off of the closet in her sewing room and
placed them outside in the shed. Then because she has soo many nice deep
shelves, we used the new boxes to start sorting the fabrics into color groups.
Plus, she had a lot of fabric that for all practical purposes... was too much
yardage for this system. So that we stacked in flat-folds into some of the old
milk crates and bins that she had been using before. Although, instead of
placing them so they were just stacked one on top of each other so she can't
see what is where, we turned the crates/bins on their side facing out and the
fabric was layered so you can see the edge of each piece. Karma also does
lots of scrap booking so the under side of her cutting table was sorted out
so that now it holds nothing but scrap booking stuff. And yes, we of course
found  "more fabric"! LoL..... it got to be a bit of a joke cause it was every-
where! Stuffed in plastic bags... of all sorts/sizes... anyone need any bags ?
We also ended up with all sorts of containers... cloth type storage bins,
plastic bins (the non-hanging file sort with lids) all shapes and sizes. Karma
is a lot like me in that manner... I love containers... all sizes, shapes, materials.
So, we got her entire sewing room re-organized and now we just need to
get together to do some major sewing! Also, now that we've done her's,
mine is looking a bit outta sorts.... hmmmm, I wonder.....

Last month my DD Cindy and my friends daughter Jill and I went to a library
book sale. That's where the local library sells off old or duplicate or donated
books to raise money for newer books or items they need. It says having to
raise taxes for that sort of thing. And while there, I found a few books
(meaning of course there were tons... but I figured I will just borrow books
from my DD instead of buying more and then having to find places to
put them) I wanted; mostly I bought cook books; which I love. And then
while waiting for the girls to get thru the huge line (I'm talking I could have
read all the books I bought and maybe then they would be done) I found a
great 3 drawer solid wood lateral file cabinet for $30. Now looking at this
picture below; add another drawer taller to it and make it wider! I couldn't
find a picture of it... and I'm too lazy to go get my camera... hmmm well,
maybe later. Anyway it's 43 inches tall x 21 1/2 inches deep x 371/4 inches
wide. So really it's huge and heavy!!! My DH as he had to ask a neighbor
to help carry the unit down stairs to my sewing room (mind you that is with-
out drawers; cause it was wayyyy to heavy for me to help with) said, this
thing is solid wood... I'll bet it cost over $500 to buy new! Yep, and his
wifey got it for $30! And it's in great shape. I did have to wipe it down a bit
and vacuum out the spider webs and the spidey egg sac's.... aurgh. But now I
have the perfect spot to file all of my sewing patterns! Yes, I have a lot! It
practically filled the  entire thing! Although, there was room for all my lining
fabric's too.

  
So that means that of course I had to re-arrange once again! Plus, since I got a
new computer earlier in the Summer... I have a hard time using DH lap top. The
keyboard is way to narrow for me... hmmm, or my fingers are way to big? You
choose.... choose wisely! LoL.... It's a wireless so now I can use the keyboard
at sewing machine desk or anywhere else. Plus we got a wireless printer, that
we both can use wirelessly... go figure!
Still need to build myself or have DH build some shelves into the closet for
my fabric... as long as it took to sort out Karma's fabric... I'm thinking that it's
not what I want to do to organize mine! Life is too short! I would rather be
sewing!
I have all of my half square triangles all sewn/cut/pressed/tails trimmed for
the quilt for our bed. Just need to take the time to lay them out. Probably will
take them outside and lay them onto the grass to see what I can come up with.
Maybe pictures will help with the lay out too!
Also, I have cut out 12 sets of flannel pieces for receiving blankets. We have
so far had 11 babies born into our ward at Church this year! Have to get on
that project! They will be all grown up b/4 I'm done at this rate! LoL....

If your working on a project.... keep up the good work.
Remember, serving others is a blessing in it's self!

Sometimes Pattern Companies Just Goof

Sometimes when I go visit other people's blogs and comment, I think about something that might be of help to others in a post. I was visiting this post http://www.stitchesandseams.blogspot.com/2012/07/mccalls-6397-nearly-done-sneak-peak.html
and thought of a similar thing that happened to me.
Years ago, my DD #3 was in the process of getting ready for Girl's Camp (it's a camp for Young Women of our Church). They want the girls to be modest in their clothing so in stead of wearing a regular swimsuit, she decided that she was going to make some short pants out of swimsuit material... killing two birds with one stone so to speak.... (no, I don't encourage killing birds... just so you know!). But, as happens sometimes, time just got away from her and she didn't get them made b/4 she left. As she would be at camp all week and I was to go up there for some reason that I clearly don't recall now, I told her that I would sew the shorts for her. Famous last words..... o.k. so I have mentioned that I have sewn wedding dresses for lots of people, done lots of alterations etc... with out  as much headache as these shorts were to make!  They were a Simplicity pattern and honestly.... the name of the company does nothing for that pattern! They were the farthest thing from simple (as far as how the instructions were written) that I've ever seen in my life! Honestly, I was so thankful that my DD had not tried to make them... I'm afraid that she would have decided then and there that sewing was something she would never want to do again!  After getting totally frustrated with the instructions, the company and finally myself, I stopped and decided that I needed to step back and do it my own way. Once I did that it made sense to me and I was able to finish up the shorts. They ended up being cute once all the headache was over and done with. But, all I could think of was if someone who had never sewn b/4 got a hold of this pattern... that would be it for their sewing enjoyment. There was certainly nothing to enjoy about it and mind you the only enjoyable thing about that pattern was when I folded it up and put it into the garbage! Not to let something like this keep me down, I did what I typically would do. I complained, first to DH and then because he just looked at me like.... o.k. what would you like me to do about this, I emailed the Simplicity Company. I explained the in's and outs of all I went thru trying to figure it all out to no avail and finally just did my own thing. Believe me, when I was done, I felt much better! Nothing like a good rant (albeit the non-nasty sort) to blow off a little steam. I did explain that I knew that the person on the other end of the email I was sending had most probably nothing at all to do with how the instructions were not that instructing at all and I didn't hold them personally accountable for it... I just wanted them to know that it was frustrating to me and I'm sure to anyone else were they to pick up this same pattern. Believe it or not.... my email did not go right into the  "delete bin"..... (how do I know you ask?) because I got a reply!
The sweet person on the other end of the email address responded to me within a day or so. To which I was really surprised!
Basically, she told me how sorry the company was that I had had such a problem with one of their patterns. She went on to tell me that although they couldn't reimburse me for my fabric (which I neither asked for or wanted because I did make the shorts finally work) they wanted to make sure that I would return to be a customer again.... she asked for my snail mail addie and with that sent me a coupon for a free pattern. And on top of that she asked if I would be so kind as to maybe send any thoughts I had on how the company could improve the pattern. And that any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! To be honest.... I told her the best thing they could do for that pattern was to toss the instructions and start again! I can just see her laughing about that one!
The important thing that I wanted to pass on to any one who has a problem with pattern company instructions is... make sure read them thru 2-3-4 times.... and then if they still don't make sense to you...you can do another thing that I've done and that is to call someone else like say someone at the local fabric store. Ask them if they have  a minute or two to listen to the instructions and read them to them.... (it does help if they can pull a copy of the pattern... if it's a current one that's fine, of course, if it's not you need to either take it in so they can re-read it themselves or read it over the phone to them).  I found that if the person brought the pattern into the shop (when I was working) I could check it out and help them walk thru it.
Just know, that if in doubt check it out!!!! Don't forget to let the pattern companies know if there is a problem. Hey, they want you to buy their products, we keep them in business! If not for us... there go their jobs! So... proofread your patterns b/4 hand.... there is nothing like being up at 1 o'clock in the a.m. trying to figure out what in the world this pattern is saying and then.... you can't call anyone to ask questions. Well, I suppose you could call your mom or other bestest sewing friend, but I doubt if that person would truly appreciate it that much! Hang in there. Oh, and remember,  we sew so that we can do what we want, the way we want.... there are no sewing police out there  coming to knock on your door if you don't make something exactly like the pattern cover! If you make a mistake and it's something you can live with.... go with it! Sewing should be enjoyable! Granted, if someone is looking over your shoulder while your sewing, I get where that isn't all that enjoyable... but you probably wouldn't be doing it if you didn't like to sew. 
One more silly thing; while working at the fabric shop and dealing with customers that were having problems with pattern instructions.... I can't tell you how many times we wondered out loud, if the person who wrote the instructions actually ever sewed? Yep, sometimes.... I think not! Think about that the next time you look at a pattern and then say.......  they want me to do what? Believe me, it makes you feel a bit better!  

Hope your week is wonderful! Don't forget to contact the pattern company if you have a real problem with something they have done! Oh, and don't tell them I've sent you! LoL.....

I Squeezed A Delayed Post In

If you check out my posts for April; you will see there is only one! And that just got squeezed in because apparently it has been sitting in my draft section since it was written! Pretty sad when I get distracted and forget to actually publish the post that I took time to write.  I knew that I had done more than what I had written about. Now I feel vindicated about all the work I've been doing in the sewing room. Oh, and lately I've been doing lots of mending too. Gotta make room for the projects that are calling my name! O.K. WOULD YOU BELIEVE I NEED TO CORRECT THIS ALREADY! APPARENTLY I POSTED THIS POST AND THEN PULLED IT TO EDIT AND THAT'S WHEN I NEVER RE-POSTED IT. MISTAKES... HOW MANY MORE WILL THERE BE? STAY TUNED! LOL....
It's Summer here in the U.S. and time to quilt, sew, pull fabric from the stash and dream of what the next project will bring! Remind me some time and I will tell you a silly story about tying a quilt on a Summer's Evening and how my youngest DD and I were so tired and laughing ourselves sick from flicking Daddy Long Legs off the Quilt! Too Funny....
Time to get other things done.... as my Hubby would say.... We're burning daylight!!! Things to do, veggies to water!

What To Do When A Fabric Store Does You Wrong!

I know, I know.... it's been a while... I do have lots of excuses... but then again... this is my blog and I guess I get to it when I get to it!  LoL

I was reading a new to me blog the other day and the writer mentioned that she had bought a cute cut of material that was a knit. This piece was cut really badly so much so that she couldn't get the short sleeves out of it to make the  shirt she had planned on making! She ended up making a sleeveless top which is fine.... she make "lemonade"! Good for her!  But, there are a few things that we can do to prevent this from happening. I have worked for one of the big chain fabric stores and believe me when I say..... They Want Your Business! So let's see what we can do!

#1 When you are buying fabric in store; (no matter what kind) watch how they cut the fabric! If you are a quilter some stores will tear the cottons for you to guarantee that your cut will be straight! Although, it may also tend to make the grain pull. So either way you need to decide how you would like it done. Some stores won't do this at all. But, if you are buying a quilt backing that is one of the 72" or larger size....(especially a cotton)  ask them to tear it for sure... otherwise ask them (b/4 they cut) if they will take it back if you find when you get home that it is not even! This way you have what you want, not some material that they are just trying to get rid of! And believe me when I tell you that I worked with some people that didn't care how they cut fabric and we got back stuff that just could not be used for the purpose they bought it due to this lack of care! As long as a piece of fabric had not been washed or cut different from what the receipt said... we could take the fabric back. It was never we cut it, you bought it.... tough luck! That just isn't good business. Or at least that is what the company I worked for thought. I'm not sure if they still feel this way.

#2  If the fabric you are buying is a stretch/knit/lycra etc.... ask the cutter to show you how it lines up.... if they aren't willing to show you, that is a problem..... bring it to the attention of the manager! You are the one that has to take it home to use it and if it's lined up wrong..... it's a waist of your money and time if you can't even it up enough to be able to get your pieces out. Pattern companies usually account for extra material so there should be more than enough if your following the patterns guidelines....

#3 The fabric company's want your business.... and believe me when I say that if they are reputable, they will make things right!  They know that if they don't..... they will loose you as a customer and possibly any body else you decide to tell about the problem you had. So... this being said, talk to the manager or supervisor if you have a problem with how a fabric you bought was cut. Remember though... if your loosing your temper that isn't going to win a whole lot of points... as they say "You get more flies with honey than vinegar".  Most companies will try hard to fix the problem. If for some reason (only known to the company/store) they decide that they can't take it back.... (say maybe you already pre-washed it). Ask them what they can do for you? Maybe there was a flaw that wasn't seen ahead of time and now there won't be enough fabric to make what you had planned. Ask if they can give you additional yardage? Or some other discount. It doesn't hurt to ask.  Many a time if I as a supervisor or as a sales associate couldn't do anything for the customer,  they would ask to speak to the manager/or assistant. You would be surprised how quickly money back was handed over!  Like I said, the companies (especially the big ones) want your business! Complaints = bad business!!

#4 Try to be flexible!  For example; when one of my daughters was planning her wedding, she wanted us to decorate the reception area with white twinkle lights and also white toole. And I'm telling you... we needed lots of toole! 250 yards of it! I went to one of the local chains to make the purchase (they were having a sale.... 59 cents per yard! Yeah!!!). I asked if they had that amount in the store? The answer was no! Could they get it from some of their other stores in State? Yes! O.K. here is the being flexible part! First I asked if they could do this for me? She said they could. Then I requested that there not be any piece less than 5 yards long (I didn't want to be trying to decorate with all of their old odd pieces.... 1 yard or less long.... we were going to be draping these like a canopy and 1 yard pieces just would not cut it!!! Pun intended! LOL).  She said that they could do that. One more thing I asked was if there would be any extra charge for this? She said no!
I had to wait a week or two to get it all in one store, but it was well worth the wait! I paid up front for 1/2 of it, that way I got the sale price.  Then I paid the rest when I picked it all up.

#5 If all else fails, and your just not happy with whatever you have purchased; hopefully it's a one time thing. Companies do make mistakes, fabric gets printed wrong, people make mistakes too... just ask me... I make them all the time!  I try not to write off a store just because I'm not happy with something an employee did. Sure it's different when it happens again and again. I guess what I'm trying to say is if all else fails and you don't like the store, products or employee's. Find another store! Or if there isn't another one in your area.... as much as I'm one who loves to touch fabric b/4 I buy. Shop on Line. From what I have seen from reading other people's blogs there are wonderful fabric stores on-line. Life is too short to be un-happy shopping!

Now go.... shop.... sew! Have a great day!

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due!

Nothing like being called on the carpet when you have made a mistake! I'm here on the very edge of it right now making up for what I did not do! For anyone that may have read my March 22nd post... I need to give credit. It seems that having posted a cute story on Pheromones; the actual writer found that she had not been given credit.... So, without further ado I do that here; oh, and also with the story... we don't need anyone else making the same mistake as I have done!
Kathy from  http://barkingdogsquilting.blogspot.com/2012/06/fabric-pheromones-is-at-it-again
apparently wrote it quite a while back. Go check out her blog... from what I read when I checked it all out, it's cute!

Summertime, Summertime, Summ, Summ, Summertime

Hmmm, there is a song in that title I think!

Here it is June.... awwww Summer you have decided to come and well you have. At the moment it's all of 94 degree's outside. Wait, this is June, not August! Somewhere along the line the
weather man made a bigggg mistake! Summer is supposed to come on gradually,
with mild sunshine and heat... making one appreciate all the waiting we did for it to
get here! Not pour on the heat and make us want to stay inside hiding from the never-ending
sunshine...  Just goes to show it's certain that I'm not in charge!
We just finished up an engagement tending the grands and so I feel somewhat carefree!
LoL... we had some fun, they were good helpers and for the most part they got along pretty well.
What can we expect 3 kids 6 1/2 and under. They did great! And of course, we have
a few new catch phrases to play with too;  our granddaughter (almost 5) will sit for a while
and her foot will fall asleep; she tells me Gramma; my foot is sparkly. Cute! And at
one point I had just the oldest and he told me one day that he would like to be a
hippopotamus cause then he could craw out his bedroom window and go play. I informed
him that if he was indeed a hippo he might not be able to fit out the window... let alone in
his bedroom! He then informed me that he would be a skinnier hippo!  What a hoot!
We then in turn talked about what types of noises hippo's make and whether or not they
would scare lions. He said that the only lions they would be able to scare would be the girl lions!
What can I say; he has a sister and she does tend to scare easy... so I suppose he figures
all girls are easy prey! Next Fall, she is signed up for soccer, that will be fun to watch, have you
ever seen the little 4-5 year olds play.... it's pretty funny. Someone kicks the ball, then it hits
someone else.... that person falls down.... sometimes they start to cry (not really all that funny) and then after coach picks up the first kid (or encourages them to get up...) they start again. Run, run, run, fall down.... run,run, run, fall down! Lots of panting and sitting on the grass deciding whether to get up or not... run, run, run, kick, connect.... kick, fall down! Any way... you know what I will be doing next fall on Saturdays... And being as the oldest and the middle will both be playing... we will have our entertainment all planned out! LoL. :)

I haven't been doing a lot of sewing, mostly mending and ironing and trying to organize still
cut out more blocks... (one of these days I will have to stop long enough to get some of them
put together!) I have done some re-vamping or re-styling of some clothes. Oh, and I also
have been busy switching out some of our computer stuff. I got a new hp computer...
(nice!!!! ) can't believe how much faster this one moves... I just need to put some of the ole
stuff onto this one so I can add my pictures etc... And then I will need to learn how to
use some of the various things on this one. Always something to learn!
Well, I just thought it would be a good idea if I actually posted something b/4 the month got
away from me. More when I can.
Enjoy.... oh, and the end of the needle with the hole in it.... yep... it was meant to be there!

Back In The Saddle Again

I've been busy trying to clear out all of the projects that needed to be finished. I managed to get the quilt from last post outta the sewing room (yeah, more room!) also I sent off a couple of baby blankets that I bound for my niece's twins (a boy and a girl... even more room!).  A while back I mentioned that I had a bunch of patterns that I no longer needed... (heavy sighhhh... more room still!) after having a total of around 7 gals from Church and neighbors go thru them the rest were sent to Savers because as far as I know they are the only ones in the area that will actually use them for re-sale. Plus, I get to write them off on the taxes!  Granddaughters little "Princess Dress" that her mommy made her for Christmas needed to be altered a bit bigger, (mommy made it to fit her like a "real dress" not a dress up dress) so  that she could wear over clothes. That is now back with granddaughter.... believe me she is one happy little girl.... she wore it yesterday to our house for dinner! LoL... cute! Oh, and that makes a bit more room too... cause it was sitting in a cloth bag waiting for me to get to it!!!!
I also managed to go thru a bunch of my fabric that was sitting in boxes, I sorted it out by colors and got rid of 3 more empty boxes! I still have a few little odds and ends of bags to go thru from my sewing room move, but on the whole; I must say that it's looking much better! One of my DD's gave me a shelf that has 2 dowels on it that you slide ribbon on to keep them organized. So I filled that right up! She said that she had wayyy to many to fit it and so was going to give it to the D. I. (our Churches 2nd hand store) so I just shopped in her car b/4 she went! I know, I'm terrible... but it's helping me be more organized! What can I say... it's the little things that count!
There are 14 ladies at our Church that are preggers.... and 2 are having twins... I will probably make a few things to welcome the little ones... mostly those that are first timers.... and those that may be having a 2nd child of a different sex then the 1st! We shall see!

The closet still looks pretty bad and hard to find things in but, I will have to get some shelves either made or purchased to fit the space. It is pretty amazing to actually see floor space! Hard to believe I know.... but it's nice that I can move around without having to move something first! The basket next to the sewing machine table is full of ironing... it's Monday... that's to be expected! Oh, and the cutting table has fabric blocks still in the process of being cut! I only have to cut out 40 or so white eyelet blocks b/4 I can get started on my 1/2 square triangles for a quilt for our bed. I keep changing my mind about what I want... but now that I've cut so many 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 prints I'm committed so I will be making it! The small chest on top of the 4 drawer dresser was made by my FIL. It was a tool chest... but now it's my thread drawer (well at least the 2 bottom drawers are. I turned the thread side ways and lay them down by color... like at the fabric stores.... It's really handy to see what I'm grabbing. The other 3 drawers I use for wrapping paper on the tubes!
The little onesies  that are hanging I made into little tu-tu type dresses... so easy to make! One of my friends's daughter just had twin girls! Always fun to sew for babies!  If interested let me know! I will send instructions.

Anyway... here is a thought I heard yesterday that I liked!

It matters not what we eat; but what we digest!
It matters not what we learn, but what we comprehend!

I know, I'm getting a bit deep... but you know, it's alright as long as we can comprehend what we just learned!
LoL.... Have a great week!

Long Time No Blog?

 Yep... no excuses from me; just lack of posting interest I suppose. I've been lurking each day on other blogs to see what everyone has been up too. I have been catching up on lots of post-poned things. This is the quilt I showed you a while back... It is for a sweet friend of ours and her new hubby... well they got married in December... and I've finally gotten it to them! It's a recycled denim quilt. She has a tendency to get cold when they go camping so we put fleece in the center to make it nice and heavy! Hopefully it will keep them nice and toasty! The back I believe I explained has the same prints on it.
Hmmm, I've moved my sewing room down into the basement and now have more room to spread out, or at least I will again after I clean up the mess that I've made! There were a bunch of things that I left upstairs and just moved them down Friday and well... I still haven't found a place for them yet!
I  made a bunch of bow tie blocks from a kit that I won (a loooooong time ago from here;http://redgeraniumcottage.typepad.com/  )

 Anyway, I finally got to it and the blocks are done. There are 20 of them, mostly all 30's reproduction prints.  I need to square them up and add the sashing still. Its a wall hanging or at least a baby doll quilt size. Hmmm, maybe one of the granddaughters needs it for her dolly....
I've also been cutting all sorts of squares etc.... so I can get busy and build a quilt soon!  The size of blocks range from really large.... 10 1/2 inch square down to 2 inch squares... I'm planning on making half square triangles out of the largest blocks... with white eyelet cotton squares and so that will make the quilt top go really fast! As you can see in the 2nd picture the ones in the box are the little ones... although they are small it will be fun to have soo many scraps used up! Yeah... nothing like a bit of

scrap management to use up some of the fabric in my stash. A lot of stuff that has been sitting there for a while.  It will be nice to use these up.  

Kristy from http://loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com/   had her baby... what a cutie.... I'm sure that she is glad that he has finally arrived! He's a big boy.... 9 lbs. 7 oz.  Congrats again Kristy; and to your DH too... he did put in some of the work! LoL.... You both do good work by the way!

So  these pictures show our little bird friends ... we have some pretty Maple tree's in our front yard by our drive way, and just like last year there are birds nesting. Well, at least one bird nesting, and another nest but no family as far as I can tell. It's hard to get a really good picture of her because although I stood on a stool the wind kept blowing the leaves back and forth. I didn't want to scare her. Though, she is looking at me pretty hard!
Last year we couldn't believe how quickly the eggs hatched.



It seems like one day we saw her sitting, and then a day or two later she was teaching them to fly. This one is a morning dove or just a dove. Last years residents were robins if I remember right. Parts of the nest remained from last year, at least this one. The other nest is brand new.  Hopefully none of the neighborhood cats don't get wind of the nest... it's pretty far up in the tree and well concealed. The little twiggy area in the center left shows the nest (just barely) but as you can see... you can not see any birds. Makes me wonder if they didn't like the neighborhood or the neighbors! LoL... we do the best we can about the noise!
Update: Unfortunately; something got at the eggs of this nest... the mother bird is gone and I noticed broken egg shells on the lawn today... but; on the better side: The other nest this one above: now has a momma bird sitting in it! Fingers crossed, this family makes it!
Until next time; enjoy the world... take time to look around! You never know what you may be missing!

What I Did Last Summer

     I know that the title of this post sounds vaguely like a movie time but it kept me pretty busy with a couple other ladies. I told you about it somewhat last Fall. Anyway, here is the quilt all put together and hand quilted by a bunch of us! And then one of the ladies who helped quilt took it home and bound the edges. If you aren't familiar with quilting  I will tell a little bit about this method we did... if you are.... just skip this part! The Sunbonnet Sue girls are all appliqued onto a base fabric... and then I machine stitched using a button hole stitch around each and every figure and separate piece of material to make sure that it would stay in place! Mind you if I had done it all by hand it would have looked nicer maybe... but would have taken sooo very much longer. Then each block was laid out on the floor so that we could decide which block should go where... placing a blue print piece in between. The rows were sewn starting from the left top corner and then the next piece down and the pieces going up at an angle. Anyway... the quilt was started in July 2011 by 4 women and then it was finally finished in March 2012.  Making the finale count of people who worked on it 8.  

(The reason it's standing like this is because it's on display so the ladies could see it all put together; thus encouraging them to buy raffle tickets during their meetings elsewhere.)

This quilt was made for a raffle to earn money for members of  The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. This organization gathers together to talk about and write up the histories of their ancestors that crossed the plains to come to Utah in the 1800's. It's pretty amazing what those people gave up to come here. Most left your property, their homes and some even gave up family. Some can by wagons and if that wasn't hard enough.  A lot could not afford to buy wagons and so pushed/pulled two wheel hand carts and walked a couple thousand miles to find a place to call home. Children and adults alike walked across this country to get to Utah. Some walked thru the terrible heat; many died along the way. Several handcart companies (as the groups were called) had a very fateful trip.... They  were hit with snow and ice along the way. Many died but many made it. Someone once said that they didn't think that they (as in the company of people) should have made the journey. But, a gentleman who as a young child had actually made that long arduous journey stood and said, (and I'm not giving an exact quote because I couldn't find it) "You were not there, or you would not be saying what your saying. No one that made that journey, ever said that they should not have come! That journey, strengthened our testimonies as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And I would do it again." Amazing these people... I am humbled by their testimonies and the strength and love they felt for one another to do what they did. I know with out a shadow of a doubt that "I" could not have done what they did! The stories that these people have written down, copied from journals of these ancestors are more than amazing, they are powerful testimonies of our Heavenly Father and His love for them and us.

A Warning Every Seamstress and Quilter Should Read!

For the past week or so I've been moving my sewing room and fabric stash....which means I haven't been doing any sewing to talk about.  Since this is the case I thought I should pass this Warning onto you. Do with it what you will:  
                                                         Pheromones
A recent study has indicated that fabric gives off certain Pheromones that actually hypnotize women & cause them to purchase ungodly amounts of the stuff.
When stored in large quantities in enclosed spaces, the Pheromones (in the fabric) cause memory loss & induce the nesting syndrome (similar to the one that squirrels have before the onset of Winter, i.e. storing food), therefore perpetuating their species & not having a population loss due to their kind being cut into pieces & mixed with others.... (the fabric)
Sound tests have also revealed that these fabrics emit a very high-pitched sound, heard only by a select few-a breed of women know as "Seamstress's & Quilters". When recorded and then played back on an LP, the sounds are heard as chants:  "Buy me, cut me, sew me!"  In order to overcome the so-called "feeding frenzy effect" that these fabrics cause, one must wear a face mask when entering a storage facility (fabric/quilt shop) & use ear plugs to avoid being pulled into their grip.
Studies have also indicated that aliens have inhabited the Earth, helping to spread the effect that these fabrics have on the human population. They are referred to as "Fabric Store Clerks".
It has also been the experience of many of the older female members of this department that these same Pheromones cause a pathological need to secret these fabric purchases away when taken home (or at least blend them into an existing stash). When asked by a significant other if the fabric is new, the reply is: "I've had it for a while".
Memo
To: All Sales Associates
From: Nevada Pheromones Warnings Dept.
CC: Unconcerned Fabric Store Management
Date: 3/22/12


Hope that you enjoyed this little post;
Check out http://barkingdogsquilting.blogspot.com/2012/06/fabric-pheromones-is-at-it-again
The Author of this blog Kathy wrote it! Kathy Smith Harris 1997


 Remember to measure twice, cut once! 

Trying To Catch You All Up On My Many Endeavors

One of the projects that I've been working on is an O.P. Simplicity 3582
for our youngest granddaughter. I couldn't decide which pair of pants to make her.... cause they are both so cute! So, I made them both!

 
The shirt will go with the ruffled bottom pants, although, as a friend said, "It's not like your DGD is going to really care which pants she wears with it." Oh, and just so you know, I do have some sense of color taste!  They look better in person then in the pictures.  They went into the post last Saturday. Yeah! Hopefully they will fit her for a while b/4 it gets too warm to wear them.  Oh, and by the by... these were all made from my fabric stash! I did buy some white Velcro and then was informed by my DD that if I had snaps that that would be a better choice! Seeing as Velcro has a tendency to get all threaded up (if you forget to close them b/4 washing/drying) thus making it harder after a while to have them closer close. Nice thing was I had snaps in the stash also. So I will save the Velcro for some other project. You never know when your going to need to close something up! Hmmmm?

      My mom unfortunately had a bad fall the first part of February and broke her shoulder in three places. So being as she has to wear a brace for another month or so I thought that she needed to have a few options as to what to wear... and hopefully these will be easier to get into. I bought a couple scrub tops and unpicked the left side seam all the way up thru the arm hole and the sleeve! I sewed several pieces of bias tape doubling them over onto the tabs, that I had ironed out flat.  I enclosed them so they wouldn't ravel. Then place velcro pieces on the tabs and onto the scrub shirts so that she would be able to get in and out easier. The tabs go around to the back of the scrub which from my pictures is hard
to see. But you get the idea!

Hmmm, let's see what else? 

Oh, I weeded out a tub full of patterns I felt I didn't need any more. Guess I told you that in the last post; I've had  a bunch of gals from Church come thru and look and take home at least 3or 4. Then again there were a few that managed a good haul! LoL... I was tickled to see them go out the door with them!

We have a friend who was recently married; and because we are always a day late and a dollar short (mostly just time wise) the project/gift is now getting to the near completion point! 

 Actually its farther along than this, but I'm just too lazy to go take another picture then wait for it to download and well... ahem, you get the picture right! These are blocks that are made from a pattern called "Turning Twenty" by??? (Guess I had better go check,) Tricia Cribbs. Normally it is made from 20 fat quarters that you cut 4 different pieces from (there is also a border piece) but, we went with denim pieces due to the fact that this new bride wanted a camp quilt. We (and I say "we" because one of the DD's will be helping with this; and you know who you are don't you!!!!) will be putting the same red/cream print on the back (that is on the front)  with possibly a few other pieces to fill in the blanks... there isn't quite enough of that print to do it so I will have to dig into the stash to see what I can find that is similar weight. I may have to look for some navy blue corduroy to do the trick! Maybe red! (I know Missy... but it would look good!) All of the denim came from old blue jeans! Yes... I managed to whittle down the denim pile too! You should see I can actually get into the closet I keep them in again!

I've also been working on making some bias binding for several fleece quilts. One winter one for us.... it's a pretty Red Berber Fleece, I've appliqued White Snowflakes onto it.... and the bias binding I've made for this is a white with a print of winter scenes. DH can hardly wait for it! I had the bias put on and I started to hand sew it... but I wasn't happy with the way I had first sewed on the bias... so I un-picked the entire side I had done! Then I have 2 for a cute little set of twins I know.... and one more for a humanitarian quilt. Nothing to elaborate but I wanted to get these done and out of the way! Oh, and out of my sewing room! Oh, and all these items have also come from my sewing stash... except for the batting for the insides of the quilt, which is coming from DD#3's stash!  Oh... one more quick story concerning the quilt! A long time ago I bought the print for the quilt.... it sat and sat in my stash and then DD#1 used it for chair covers, one color (the prints  are a blue/cream and a red/cream) for each chair. When she was done... (she likes to change up her decor, more often then her mom.... that's another story... I like to move furniture! Ask her DH!) I got the fabric back! It sat for a long spell... until now! So nothing like recycling to add to the history of the quilt!
All right, this post is way long and I appreciate your patience.... I had to get a lot off my chest and catch everyone up! I will post  final pictures of said quilt and the blankets I get bound!

Don't forget to check out the fabric store/on line ads b/4 you go to make purchases... you'll be surprised what types of sales they have each month! Patterns at the brick/mortar stores (i.e. Hancocks/Jo Ann's) usually have their patterns on sale every month for around $1.99 or so for some of the Big 4 pattern companies. It pays to watch these ads! I sure don't pay full price if I'm looking for a pattern!

Spring Stash Cleaning

     This will be very short... not sure how sweet... but it will be a line or two!  I've been trying to clean, clear out and organize what's left... (it's not like what I removed really made much of a dent in the fabric and or patterns department) but let's just say some of the bins are easier to put onto the shelves now. They slide instead of having to be jam-packed in order to get them on the shelves. I pulled patterns that I have never used, some slightly used and some I thought.... (what was I thinking?) and offered them up to some of the sewing newbies I know. So far 3 or 4 gals have come by dug thru and basically helped themselves. I mentioned that "if" they change their minds about some of the patterns that they took.... to find someone else to pass them along too! I thought about donating them to our local Deseret Industries... but apparently they don't sell well there so the only thing that they use them for is to wrap breakables in. A girl wants to at least think that someone is going to get some use outta some of the patterns that have taken up residence here for a time at her home. And I really don't want to put them into the land fill! So... being as I don't have a huge readership... I figured I would see who would like them in my area. If I had more people who looked at my blog and sewed I would paste them up here so everyone could have a good look. But this is not the case, but,  if your interested let me know and I can put a few at a time up on the blog and send them your way... you would have to pick up the postage but other than that I will probably get rid of them in the next few weeks.
I also went thru my fabric stash and weeded out some items that I have been hanging onto for a number of years.... let's be honest now... I found some fabric that was dated 1997... yeah, gulp! Can you say fabriholic!!! I'll admit it.... there was a time that it was hard to pass up a pretty piece! If/when I do go to the fabric shop .... I very rarely purchase fabric.... mostly I just shop my own shelves, drawers, bins! So, I'm happy to say that I just carried a large box of fabric plus one large Ross bag over to a sewing neighbor! Honestly.... it barely seemed to put a dent into my stash! She told her DH that it was just Jean.... ahem, her enabler! Too funny... though I did tell her that if she decided that she didn't want any of it... to please find someone else to pass it on to. I think he rolled his eyes! Probably thinking, she won't be passing it onto anyone! She is keeping it all! Nice to know that that I'm not the only one! LoL.....
In a while I will post some pic's of some of the sewing that I have been up too.
In the mean time.... hope it's nice where you are.... it's somewhat Spring-like today... although, last week we had snow and cold! LoL.... guess March isn't sure whether it's a Lion or a Lamb!
Don't forget to clean your machine... we all work a lot better when we are clean don't we?