Tip of the Moment

This is a cheater's tip. Sometimes when you're using a satin stitch or embroidering and the tension isn't quite right the stupid little bobbin thread likes to rear it's ugly head. To fix this you loosen the tension and viola beautiful sewing. But if you're just doing a little thing, and you don't want to rip it out to resew. Simply take a Sharpie of a matching color and gently color those little threads.

For me it's always the black that wants to show, nothing like a bit of marker to cover it up. It's not perfect, but the stuff I colored a couple of months ago still looks nice and black.

Tea for three

I made plenty of progress on my curtains today. I find myself surprised that I completed six of the seven needed. No hem for now, I wont do that until I know where they will hang and how they will hit. Putting them together was a bit of a pain in the beginning, but once I got the routine down they went just like clock work. I'm planning a seasonal center for the long wall, so I have a bit of embroidery still to do.

Each panel is between 15" and 20" depending on the size required. Even the cats pitched in to help Tiny from a box at my elbow and Sunny from the corner, by the end I was draping the curtain over him just to run the last two seams through.

Jessica was running a low grade fever this afternoon, hopefully she will have a good night's sleep and feel better in the morning. Last night I twisted my knee seemingly doing absolutely nothing and after a day of dealing with it now its popping. It would seem everyone here could use a good night's rest. Wishing you all the same.

Two Bowls with one Quick Zip

I love when things work out. I've been battling an ear infection this weekend, and didn't think I'd be up to figuring out something to make for dinner when I found Garbanzo Bean Soup tucked away in my freezer. A little bit of thawing and a nice healthy meal right at my finger tips. Jessica ate two entire bowls, granted her servings are small, but hooray! She loves everything but my mac and cheese, which isn't very good anyway.

Last night I made an emergency repair on Jessica's pj's, when they had been run through the Serger a small spot missed being sewn in. No I didn't make they they were a great Clearance deal at Gymboree. They are already covered in snowflakes, but because of all the embroidery I've been putting on my sister's jeans to repair them, Jessica thought her repair should also have embroidery on it. No great sakes I have an snowflake that stitches out in 2 minutes, it matched so well you can't tell it from the screen printing that was already on the pants. It made her happy and that's what counts.

Since the Hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 my kitchen upper level cabinets haven't had doors on them. Rob made doors for the bottoms but never made it to the tops. It's on the list of things to do and take care of, but something else always seems to come first. For a while now I have had an embroiderable tea pattern set stitched out, with no real plans in mind. Well I have decided I will make curtains with them. Nice and homey, someday we'll get around to making the glass ones I'd like but for now it will be nice. Look for those in future posts.

Tuesdays

Oh My oh My! For dinner tonight we had Corned Beef, Boiled Cabbage, and wild rice. A a teen I would have never dreamed of wanting. Yet I have made it for years and I just love it. It's so simple and goes in the crock pot without a speck of trouble or bother. YUM!

While I served up seconds for DD "So this is love" from Cinderella played. That is such a beautiful song. A perfect example of classics standing the test of time.

Today I found that I can buy a mug embroidery blank from allstitch for only $1.50, I'll be adding at least two to my next thread order. They have a snowflake ornament blank for about the same price. I might need one of those as well.

The Row Robin Ladies are doing wonderfully, each row adds a facet to the first making it even prettier than before.

A couple of nights ago I taught myself how to purl when knitting. I've been trying to pick it up for a while, but DH got the swing of it first. I think it will add just the right touch to the scarf I'm working on. Though it would help me make progress if I moved it off the kitchen table!

Speaking of the kitchen table I completed 10 of the embroidered labels for the 2008 that means just two more to make. They look so nice stitched on the corners. Since I will have all that extra space leftover in my hoop I'm planning on making a little pot mitt with all the information on it, for the group's Hostess. I hope she likes it. I'm planning on using two layers of heat resistant batting. I hope it will be enough, of course if it still feels thin I throw a layer of flannel in there as well. I don't think it's worth using the water soluble stabilizer on the top of muslin. With a more expensive delicate object it would be worth the extra steps, but there was no noticeable difference in the muslin stabilized with two layers of 50 gsm stabilizer, and the muslin stabilized with 2 layers of 50 gsm + the water solvent stabilizer on top.

Orange Juice!

This time of year is one of the best times to live in Florida. All Citrus Trees more than 4' tall are producing marvelous fruit. My neighbor's tree is easily 20' high and they have been sharing with us. Their tree makes oranges that are great for juicing, and with the two bags I'd been given I was in fresh squeezed heaven this morning.

This afternoon I dug out everything I have for 2008's Block Challenge. I know it's hard to believe that stuff is still kicking around, but the mailing deadline was pushed back till the middle of March. After going through it I decided to redo my labels on the embroidery machine, a bit of something nice to go along with each block. So far the first five are soaking in the sink to get the last of the aquafilm stabilizer off. I had read on the Martha Pullen website that a wash away stabilizer on the top can really help keep things still and pucker free. Since my base material is muslin I thought I'd try it out. Muslin always seems to want to pull out of my hoop. While it seemed to work, I'm not entirely certain it's worth the extra cost and effort. I will use it on a few more projects before saying for certain.

Have you been watching TMC as in Turner Classic Movies? They are currently running something called 31 Days of Oscar and let me tell you, it is a great lineup - uncut and commercial free. All of the best classics. Last night was "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" followed by an old favorite of mine "The King and I", afterwards was "South Pacific", I fell asleep before that last one came on, but DH came home from his night shift and finding it on admits to sitting down to watch the ending.

Today I blog.

In color! Today has been a good day. I started out my morning with my daughter telling me that her "clothes had grown up" because she had a growth spurt this Winter and has shot up out of the 12-24 month outfits she was wearing. While she's whining about it I hurry her off to her room.

Me: Do you want to go shopping in your room?
DD: (Whining badly) I don't want to go shopping in my room.
Me: Come on let's go shopping in your room.
DD: (near laughter from my silly behavior but still whining) I don't want to go shopping in my room.

Once in her room I start going though her dresser. As that's where I stash all of the "when she grows clothes". Poor me, she hasn't done much growing so it had been a while since I'd been digging in there. Then it happened, my fingers touched the bag.

DD: (in awe) What's in the PRINCESS BAG mommy?!?!?!?! (packing something away in a Disney Princess bag is a sure fire win no matter what is in it!)
Me: (Dumping it out on our laps) I don't know, let's see! (I buy what is cute and whatever hand-me-downs that aren't so ugly that I climb the walls (there was one dress... Hounds tooth... oh it was awful but that is another story) Most of the time what I have put up and away is as much of a surprise for me as it is for her. After going through (and passing over a beautiful purple hoodie with flowers for "later" she settled on this mock tank and dress. Not what I'd have picked for her, but she added a necklace and I'm here to tell you I spent the rest of the day thinking how pretty she is. I know I'm biased, but I only get one child so I'm allowed.

Then she wanted to work in her dearly beloved "workbook". My child loves working in her workbook. She makes sure we do one page a day, but sometimes demands a second one in the afternoon. We've been working out of her preschool book for about a month now, and I am really surprised at her progress. Today we started the "Get Ready to Write" chapter (I skip around depending on where she is at, and what looks good at the time). This chapter begins with those dashed lines and progresses to curves, ect. all for tracing. When we started it was a war trying to convey what "to trace" even meant. Today she buzzed through it like the wonderfully smart child I know her to be.

Then my sister and I tried to run an errand and failed, but still had a great lunch with an AMAZING waitress, at one of our local haunts. A mom and pop place called "Gringo's" where the food is yummy, the service comes and goes, and doesn't cost much.

When we arrived home Jessica wanted to play outside and it was so beautiful outside I couldn't resist her. I took care of my roses and had Sunny out on the leash. There is nothing funnier than watching a 12 pound - nearly five year (OMG!) old Maine Coon Cat with one eye PLAY. He looks like a kitten trapped in a huge furry cat body. After a while daddy came out and joined us, doing a bit of "housekeeping" around the yard. When he found a volunteer tomato plant from last year. It might look scrawny now, but with a bit of love and care I'm certain I'll me photographing it's tomatoes for you this summer. I even picked up a little sun while we were outside. On the craft front, I read that when a knitter is very poor they can go to Good Will and look at the sweaters. Picking carefully they can find a yarn that they like and take the sweater apart for the yarn. Well I found a maternity sweater that I just loved (super nice cotton) with a stain, and started attempting to take it apart. I didn't have much luck, so before to long DH took it from me. Once he found out that I had started taking it apart from the wrong end (FYI start at the top) he made short work of my beloved sweater, and it became 14 oz of yarn! Since DH has taken all of my Christmas yarn to make a mat for the cat water bowl, it's nice to have a bit of yarn for myself to work with. Since it's white yarn I wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first and have settled on another scarf for Soldier's Angels. I will make it as white and then dye it later into a nice co-gender color. Most likely green as I have a pair of curtains in the front bedroom that used to be Sage green and have "sunned" to a strange peach. There is just the right nip in the air. My shorts fit and aren't riding up, my $5 Sam's Club organic (I know! Who knew you could buy organic cotton for $5?!?!?!) tank top makes me look cute, and it's an all around nice day.

Tomorrow is Valentine's, and DH will be working. I don't have any plans, shoot I don't even think I have any chocolate in the house. I did not get the top of DH's surprise apple quilt done. In fact it's so far from done as to still be mostly pieces. I tried working on the last blocks the other day, and I'm finding it quite hard to get motivated. Perhaps I'll just email him the photo and say "Happy Valentine's Day" I know, I'm such a shlub!

While the quilts aren't talking to me the wheelchair bag I'm making is coming along swimmingly. This bag is made up of three canvas bags that I have taken apart and sewn back together - once again on my reusing mission. One was a Disney Trademark bag so it will have the Disney date emblazoned on it. I'm even planning on making it with a little something special so it will be able to hold shopping bags. A nice feature I'm sure I'll be glad I included in years to come. I'll post that when it's completed.

So get out there and have a great Valentine's Weekend!

Mary Jane's 2nd Row

February is a short month, so I needed to be on the stick about this row. Right up to the very end this row had a quiet but heavy handed way of dealing with me, the quilter. It looks very little how I thought it would, but in the end, it's beautiful. I hope Mary Jane likes it. I have the label embroidered, and will be packing up the row to mail shortly.
The center detailing doesn't show up well in the overall photo, so here is a close up. Mary Jane's Theme is Traditional Elegant Christmas. Candles traditional and elegant, the red blocks are a twist on a very traditional block called a Log Cabin, and antique lace style snowflakes, very traditional and elegant if I do say so myself.

He cooks and bakes too!

For years now my husband has bemoaned that he can cook but he can't bake. Well I'm here to tell you that I have slowly been bringing him "around to momma's way of thinkin'" as just yesterday he made this - oh so yummy cinnamon rolls.

I've been in cohorts with Mary Jane's Row for the Row Robin. That is one quietly speaking quilt! And the things it has told me to do!!! All the same it's blocks are completed, and after putting sewing it all together I will of course post a photo. I believe after I wrap that up, I will work some more on my Carpenter's Wheel Charity Quilt.

This morning I went online flannel shopping, you see it's been so cold we have had one comforter and one quilt on the bed together. Considering the combination you can only imagine... They do not like being on the bed together at all. If the quilt doesn't give up the ghost and slide down off the top, the comforter will creep out one side and way. So I've been talking to my DH about making a quilt for "our" bed, such a crazy concept I know, but this would be a special flannel quilt that would resist falling off, because after all what else is flannel for. So I played around at one very nice website only to discover a 9 flannel bargello would run $45+/- for the top. ACK! If only I had a bigger fabric budget, because that is in no way "expensive". So then I started trying to find less expensive flannels from there. That is not an easy task, and I dare you to do better, looking of course for "adult colors" namely red and blue for it's strong and beautiful contrast.

I did not find anything cheaper... But what I did find is diaper flannel over at one of my new favorite fabric haunts, for only about $2 or so a yard! YIPPIE! Now I'm thinking can I dye it? Sure enough I can... I'll just need extra dye, and more fixative. Sounds great hu? So that's my plan for the future anyway.

While shopping for flannels, I started poking around for purples for Jessica's quilt. I found about 7 fabrics that would put her quilt top around $35, but I still think it would be cheaper and more fun to go to Joann's and pick around in there for a while. Who knows maybe Jessica will offer some insight without knowing it.

Scooba Doctor

I am an original owner of the 1st ever Roomba, how's that for bragging rights? It always did an okay job, and when Jessica was little she loved to sit in her baby swing and watch it go round and round. Well a vac for entertainment will soon loose charge and it wasn't to long after that that the original Roomba became robot trash, sad I know. But I never begrudged it. I always felt like it had worked hard and deserved to retire.

Then came the Scooba. Oh boy oh boy oh boy... And those are not good boys! The directions say you don't have to sweep first, but trust me you do. It would make me crazy watching it blow the dust bunnies around. Before to long the Scooba ate it's first battery. We called irobot and they told me the directions on the battery were wrong and I needed a new battery. They sent me a new one. Well the new one never worked like the old one, so I called them again. This time the man told me to keep my battery in the freezer when not in use and that perhaps it would be best to charge it before using it. Well trust me I do not know ahead of time that at 3 pm I'll want to wash the floor. I was not a happy camper, but I did it anyhow. Well of course this one started to go bad as well, that made me really mad, because even in the freezer of all crazy things to keep a battery that powers a floor cleaning device.... etc. you get the picture.
Well "footmarks" (barefoot prints) on the wood floor make me a little crazy. So as of late, DH and I have talked about buying a new battery for it. So I set about seeing what I could see... It would appear that the new battery will run about $95, this one is a different type of battery and should not give me the fits the old ones did. Meanwhile, Scooba has sat all this time and I could really use another pair of wheels on hand, those run about $12. To stall off that $100+ bill, I cleaned the Scooba all up today, and DH set it to charge. Tomorrow we will put it to work and see how it does, but in the mean time it's parts are spread all over my counter.

No quilting today, but I have started work on my pin cushion i.e. fancy pin display. I embroidered a meerkat on it, and it says "All Pups Great and Small" a play on the word "pins" of course, the meerkat even looks a little pregnant, so isn't that special?

Marker Love, Washable Love

For Christmas I took the plunge and gave Jessica markers. She would tell you Santa brought them, that's not the case as they were under the tree, but in her mind Santa brought EVERYTHING that came on that special day. She loves her markers. Even more than her past preferred arts. I'm sure it will swing back around but it hasn't yet. Woe to her preschool and kindergarten teachers if it doesn't, as she insists that crayons are "slow" and will only use markers in her work book. None of this really bothers me because about oh gee a year and a half at least now, we've been a washable household. Only washable paints, crayons, and markers. Nothing else. It costs a bit extra yes, but how much is your time worth to you? When she colored on the bedroom all the way down the hall to her bedroom back then...

While coloring on the walls has become a thing of the past with new loves comes a renewed desire to "mark" what's hers. Last night I went around the living room with a damp cloth and wiped away all those marks. That damp cloth was wet with nothing other than a bit of water. What a joy to remove! Call me crazy but one simple wipe of something as completely nontoxic as water is worth every penny.

Next time I'll be buying her the 12 pack!

Your morning Cuppa Joe

I recieved a blog award! Thanks Heather.

So this morning, I'm popping in for a moment before I race off to do a bit of seam ripping. I couldn't stop thinking about the Apple quilt last night, so it seems that it's back on the front burner again. Silly quilt I wish it would make up it's mind to simmer or boil!

Jessica has been asking me for about a week at odd interverals "What time is it?" I tell her and she says "okay" or something simliar and goes on with her day. She's asking a couple of times a day now. If she knew more of her numbers I'd be happy to show/teach her, but I don't think she's quite ready.

Snap...Click, does it look better in a photo?

That was the question I asked myself as I took a photo of this quilt. I have been hard at work over the past 24 hours working on the Carpenter's Wheel I told you about in my last post. This is a purple Quilt for Charity. My darling daughter just loves purple. When she saw part of it earlier she said "Who are you making that quilt for?". I explained it was for a child who doesn't have one. To which she said "okay, purple is my favorite color" and walked away. Later when it was unfurled for the photo, she did something similar and commented again that her favorite color is purple. Well ladies and gentlemen this quilt will just about wipe out my entire stash of purple fabric, so of course I will have to buy more. Yardage this time, not just fat quarters, and I plan to pick out something nice, so that dd of my can have a purple quilt perhaps for her birthday. There's plenty of time to plan for it. Perhaps even work on it under the cover of her sleeping so she wont know.

The apple quilt has slid firmly into a father's day gift. No matter, I already knew what I was doing for Valentine's before the apple quilt inspiration. I've had food poisoning over the past weekend, so in spite of what it looks like with the purple Charity Quilt, I haven't really felt up to working on something as big as the apple quilt.

A Plan and Everything for the Plan

Happy February! Most everyone I know is happy to shake the dirt of Jan. and leave it behind them eagerly looking forward to a new month still bright with the possibilities. As for me I am looking forward to have a little spending money in my pocket, perhaps to buy a little fabric with, but for now I have some eye candy to share with all of you.
This is the current layout plan for the apple quilt. It will involve a bit of seam ripping, but I think the black on the diagonals will suit it just fine. That leaves me with four squares of apple fabric and four squares of embroidered apples. And a deficit of 8 blocks for the completion of this quilt. I'm not sure how it will work out. I'm hoping it will come to me as I purchase a bit more black and sew together a bit more of the layout. I have also added another block to my sampler. This was a nice looking block from a BOM so of course I couldn't help but go ahead with the pattern. Aside from planning a Dresden plate and or a Grandmother's fan, I will also be sewing a circle block into this Spring Sampler of mine. So be on the look out for those.
A couple of copyright issues have arisen on the Quilting Board, so I will be posting my personal creation, the April BOM (block of the month) right here first. Yes, that's correct a previously unpublished Elizabeth Rogers original will appear right here for my follow bloggers to see. Look for that sometime later this month.

I have also begun to process a concept for my Charity Quilt 2009. This one is destined for a suffering young child, as I have heard quilt lore that if an ill person sleeps under a quilt. The quilt having been made of love will heal the sleeper. This is to be a large Carpenters Wheel in Shades of Purple. I look forward to working on it.

Now before I depart I would like to offer my congrats to my Row Robin ladies. I have had confirmation from all but one that their rows were sent out by our Jan. 31st deadline. Kudos to all of you. As we embark on the second row look within yourself for the answers that lie within.