Monday, Monday

Pop over to Judy's to see other DWM participants.

First, see my little man, Austin with his quilt. Isn't he a cutie!!

Sorry, I just had a GoGo moment. He has a cowlick that his mommy can't seem to tame. You can just make it out if you look carefully. He's such a happy baby and weighs a ton already. I know this because every time I get to play with him and lift him over my head a few times, I'm completely worn out, my arms feel like limp noodles.......LOL

Here's what I've gotten done along with baling hay & canning.

A little machine embroidery. It's not much but I think I'm back in the saddle again!!

Here's hoping everyone has a great last week of July...........can you believe it's the end of July!!!

Out of My Mind

The hay process has stopped for the moment due to all the wonderful rain we are having here in central-ish Texas. I say that because this type of rainy weather is unheard of in the middle of July in Texas and the temp is 70 degrees but nobody that I've spoken to is complaining.
Anyway, I decided to get in some machine embroidery but first I'd have to load the CD on my new computer. Of course I have forgotten how to do that so I pulled out my trusty Janome Handbook, got out the CD and started to read the instructions.
Aren't you proud of the fact that I actually was reading the instructions!!!!
I got to the part where it mentioned that I'd need to insert the "dongle" when prompted.....
"DONGLE"
......omg......where is my dongle. This is not something that can be easily replaced.
I couldn't remember where I'd put it and if the handbook hadn't shown a picture of it, I'm not sure I'd have remembered what it looked like. This was like losing my MoJo..........omg.......
So, I started searching. I knew it couldn't be in too many places.

1. Looked the my Janome carrying case......not there.
2. Looked in my Janome front storage panel......not there.
3. Looked in several thread drawers under my Janome........not there.

At this point, I began to panic but was still hopeful. I started a more serious search.
I poured out all of the drawers under my machine......btw, that's eight of them and thread, scissors, needles and other sewing paraphernalia were everywhere... (sorry I didn't get a photo of that mess because by then I wasn't thinking clearly....as in hair standing on end, glasses askew, rumpled clothing and frayed nerves)

Have you ever heard that you can't see for looking????
That was me because after ten frantic minutes or so where I'd overlooked the "thing," I found it..........can you say WHEW!!!!

Here's what the dongle looks like. I thanked the Heavens, kissed my dongle and happily had my computer identify it.

By then, I was totally out of the mood to do any machine embroidery.

FYI.........put your dongle where you can easily find it.

From My Garden-BOW

Oh boy, this one is a tuff one......so tuff that I left out some kernels ......

 hehehehehehe ......

.don't you think that adds character to this block?

 

Fresh Corn Salad

From The Food Network

Ingredients

• 5 ears of corn, shucked
• 1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.
Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

Back From Retreat - DWM

My "whacky" girlfriends and I had a blast over the weekend on retreat.  Needless to say we laughed and ate our way through the days and evenings while actually getting some sewing in.
Here's a look at what we accomplished.

Kathy was really driven. She made two Jelly Roll quilts within a 4 hour period the cutest fabrics. She inspired us to try the technique.

It's a Boy - Jelly Roll quilt.

It's a Girl - Jelly Rolls quilt.

Annie (no blog) showed off her skills with a Jelly Roll quilt of her own plus, she showed us what she's been working on for a while.

 

The Christmas tree is from a challenge from two years ago.

This layout is from Annie's request from a row quilt challenge the "whackies" did.

 

 

Molly, our hostess, worked on braided strips made from her scraps. It was amazing to see the rows develop.

Note the wonderful scrappiness, all from Molly's stash which seems to grow rather than shrink.

Kathleen worked on a quilt top from her stash and a hand embroidery BOM that is going to make a stunning finish.

This quilt top was from a panel - WOW!

 

These hand embroidery blocks are from a winter scene BOM.

 

And finally, here's what I was up to and was happy to get that far.

BTW make sure you pop over to Judy's to see what everyone else is up to on this Design Wall Monday.

 

One new mug rug. Look for it to be given away as I post the "A" is for Aardvark blocks.

I finally sewed my red teapots together. The girls suggested that I sew strips between each teapot so I took their advice and added the cornerstones, as well.

I'm sure you all remember this one. I thought to never get those shoes sewn down but it happened. Again, the girls suggested the black fabric separation. All I need to do is find a suitable final fabric for a 2 to 3 inch border.

And can you believe it, this baby is finally put together. I've been working on it off and on for two years. I need to find a border for it.

 I might change out that green fabric above the buffalo. I probably will because it is bothering me just looking at it. What are your thoughts??

 

 

ABC Quilt

I'm on a roll for the moment.......LOL
So I decided to make another little quilt for my little princess, Ayden. I machine embroidered the alphabet using several colors of threads onto black Moda fabric squares.....BTW, Moda fabric is fantastic!!!!!
I trimmed squares with a twist, cattiwompus!
I added a floral fabric to the mix and sewed the alphabets with the ABC song in mind.
Well, allow me to just show you, why don't I.

I love the way this looks because it saved me from have to figure out how to keep everything in line....hehehehehehehehe

I'm planning on adding that same floral fabric as a 3 inch border to complete the look.

Going Buggy! Block #1

Some of my blogging friends asked me about doing a BOM for the bug embroidery that I did while mom was re-copping from her surgery. I said, of course, but I'll be doing a Block of the Week (BOW) instead. Each Wednesday for the next nine weeks I will post and link to one of the little critters.
There is no pressure to complete anything, just go at your own pace.  I will only leave a LINK on the post not on the sidebar.

Enjoy this little project or big one if you care to enlarge the images. It would make a great "boy" quilt.
Remember the LINK is on this post!!!

I will always post the link at least twice on each Wednesday so that you won't have a hard time finding it.

Eagle Update and More

I finally got the eagle sewn onto the background. I used one of my fancy stitches for the outer circle. I did a chain hand stitch with black DMC floss and a satin stitch for the inner circle. I love the little black circle between the inner and outer circles, just sets things off.
So far so good. I'll have to think about the next round  so I'm placing this in my UFO box for a week or so.

 This little quilt was made using 3 fabrics of solid blue, solid yellow and a small floral print. I was practicing making half square triangles at the time so this was quick and fun.

This final quilt top is one that I've been working on of a couple of years.... LOL..... I finally settled on the grains of wheat at the top and "Harvest" at the bottom to finish off the look.
What are your thoughts???

Friday Night Sew-In Results

Craftyvegasmom hosted the FNSI this time. Pop over to see what others do.
Finally got the last two block done.... Whew! Life was crowding in but I managed it.
I placed the blocks on my EQ to get an idea of what to do next. I really like this layout because I want to add one large block in the center with more wording...... something to the effect, "For All Things, There Is A Season" but I haven't decided on a picture to go along with the words...... maybe do some hand embroidered vines around the words or......
Any ideas?
Next, I finally chose the backing for my "boot" chair covers. This fabric as been in my stash for quite some time and it was high time that I cut into it. My plan to use batting and then sandwich the pieces. I have to make ties but haven't gotten that far yet.

Design Wall Monday & Dress Up Your Roll

It's Design Wall Monday again. Here are my next installments for my calendar quilt.
The first October block was not to my liking. I machined embroidered the spider's web but things just didn't go well. The fabric I chose for the lettering was too busy and the overall presentation was off.
I really like the black cat on the fence so that 's the one I'll use in the quilt. I used more of my fence rail fabric and a little bit of a batik hand dyed fabric for the pumpkins. I hand embroidered a couple of curly vines to each pumpkin.
Remember to pop over to Judy's to see what everyone else is doing!

 I decided to make another toilet roll cover. I tried my hand with an half and half theme.... thus the night and day scene.

Jane is hosting this great challenge. Pop over to learn more.

Happy New Year and New BOM

Happy New Year Everyone!

Wow, it's 2012!  I can't believe it. Way back in grade school, 1960s,  I never thought that I'd be living in the 21 century with all these new and marvelous gadgets to play with..... iPhone; iPad; iPod; HD television; Bose radio systems; cars/SUVs with video capability and GPS; e-Cards; Kindle which is a great way to read just about anything (novels, in my case) and saves our "trees;" refrigerators that house TVs; computered recipes, shelves that slide, constrict, and have several temperature controls to store meats, milk, veggies and whatever else you can think of  easily; the ever changing computer and then there are the wonderful embroidery/sewing machines. Alot of these gadgets do several things that make our lives more livable.
But I'm babbling. So allow me to get to the point. I've been working on a new BOM. This one involves loads of hand embroidery fun.  I've named it "Leafing Through The Year" Don't worry, When Nature Calls BOM  will be posted in a day or so.

Link here or at my Sidebar!
This is also Design Wall Monday. Judy has a list of great quilters with some wonderful projects going on. Pop over and check them out.

Bugged Out - Part 2

I decided to make a large area to place the insects and arachnids.  I then decided to  add a flower and leaves for interest.  The next stage is to stitch everything down and add antennae on the butterfly and grasshopper.

I found an embroidery design of a spider and its web to add to one corner.  I used soluble webbing so that the web is free-standing (used warm water to dissolve the webbing).  I straight stitched around the web.  This technique, I like because there's less puckering.

Glimpses of Talent

Last week the girls and I traveled to Tyler, TX for their annual quilt show.

Some of us have been members of the guild there but not for awhile.  But we love looking at all the talented ladies' work.

 A lot of applique` and quilting went into this quilt.

 Ditto!

 Isn't this a great Dear Jane quilt ....... personally, I'd never be able to complete one of these ...... I'm always to busy running away from critters.

 This Slampler quilt is one of my favorites. I love the color choices.

 Love this one, too. Machine embroidery with pieced blocks ...... love it!

 This one is great, as well. Looks complicated but it isn't.  It's just a matter of combining to types of blocks and great placement.

 Look at the quilting on this whole-cloth beauty.  In a word ..... WOW!

 I'm a big fan of Log Cabin designs and this diamond log is an eye catcher.

 I know I've seen this kit somewhere ....... love the color choices for this one.

 Very interesting and look at all those HSTs around the borders.

This quilt shows a great way to snazz up the border by adding applique`.

After the quilt show, we visited A Nimble Thimble , one of our favorite quilt stores. If you're ever in Tyler, check our the shop or visit their website. Click on the link I've provided and take a gander.