New bag

A glimpse of our backyard

Finally, I made myself a new tote bag.  This one is based on the Mill House Inn tote on Moda Bake Shop but I used 5 FQs from the Cloud9 Fabrics that I won from the Green Bag Lady (this post).

I have been using a tote bag, the first one I ever made, that has seen better days - the handles are starting to fray.  I've learned a few tricks since then. For example, my linings were always so big.  Taking a 5/8" seam allowance on the lining seams instead of 1/4" means they are still big enough but so big to be annoying.

Late addition:  Handles - if the pattern does not say to use batting, fleece, interfacing - DO IT ANYWAY.  The handles will be that much stronger.

I added some pockets - one specifically for my Joann and Hancock flyers and any other coupons/flyers that I print.

A couple of giveaways:
Leona's Quilting Adventure for a bunch of goodies, ends July 3rd, 12AM EST.

Pigtales and Quilts for a Moda Dottie FQ bundle. winners drawn on July 4th at 12PM EST.

Our stay-cation is drawing to a close but it's very quiet and relaxing.  Only done a little laundry and I haven't cooked since Friday!!!!

Have a great day!

We're free.... (Stash Report Week 26)

Visitors to our yard this week.

Child free, that is!  DS is at Papa and Grammy's house, i.e. on the farm, this week.  He was amazed at how big everything is, the yard, the horses, the dog (a giant schnauzer)!

What did DH and I do on our first free day?  Well, we watched some shows on Netflix and napped - exciting, huh?  Today we are heading out to Missouri wine country and due to storms overnight, I'm packing not only the unbrella but a couple of towels.

So, here's a short bit about what I've done this week.

A couple blog wins.  The first I had forgotten about and so had Moda Lissa but someone reminded her and she contacted me, sew there was a lot of reminding going on!  All of this was in a little box - can't wait to try the Auriful thread.

Then, Teresa at The Green Bag Lady gave away more green bag lady bags (have you made one yet? - sew simple) AND some fabric.

This is a bundle of 10 organic FQs from Cloud9 Fabrics.  I started making a Mill House Inn tote bag yesterday that I had hoped to finish up but I'm adding pockets and, well, just taking my time. 

Now, my bag will have the same dimensions and construction, but it won't look quite like the Mill House Inn tote, which is based on using a honey bun (1.5" strips).  Maybe I will have time to show you when I finish it in the next few days!

Here's one near finish.  I finally got around to quilting the wall hanging from the QAL with Sew Lux Fabrics.  Got a new single line rose template - love it!

I plan to bind it by turning the backing to the front.  Never done that before but should reduce bulk on something so small.





Sew...here are the numbers:

This week's numbers:
Used this Week:  0
Used year to Date: 40
Added this Week: 2.5
Added Year to Date:  65.8
Net Used for 2011:   -25.8

Head over to Judy's blog for more stash busting reports.

Links to giveaways!

I've been really lazy about letting ya'll know about giveaways out there in blogland, so here's a few:

Check out Stray Stitches for a cute Connecting Threads table runner kit and scissors, ends July 3rd at 8PM.

For a chance at an Accuquilt Baby GO!, head over to Our Busy Little Bunch.  Winner will be chosen on July 1st.

The fabulous Shawna is giving away more stuff - Strawberry Fields FQ bundles and some Bella Solids!  Head over to 1 Choice 4 Quilting to be one of five winners. Ends June 7

For another chance at a Baby GO! see Samelia's Mom.  This one ends on June 26th at 9pm AEST.

Good Luck!!!!  Have a great day!!!!

Allergies!!!!!

How many of you suffer from allergies?  The older I get, the worse they get.  Or, could it be that I have slime mold allergies and live in a county with 3 rivers running through it, 2 of which are less than 8 and 20 miles away, respectively?  And it has rained like mad here for the better part of the week. The county health department says that the mold spores are "high" today.  Hhhmmmm.....


I do see an allergist and he is my favorite doctor b/c he wants to get at the "why" of my problems and not just fix them for now.  I like that! 

So, rather than being outside on this beautiful day I am waiting for my headache that I woke up with to go away.  I lost 2 days last week to allergy problems and now they're back so the regimen is in high gear: sinus wash 2-4 times per day, mucinex, prescription nasal spray, prescription pill, Advil for inflamation tons of water/tea (juice and soda do not count as water according to my allergist, however the soda helps with tummy ickiness), and the final ingredient to try before I head to the doctor - Affrin.

Gotta be careful with Affrin, apparently it is addictive.  You can only use it for 3 days, then 3 days off. I'm back to the the 3 days on today!

While I'm sitting here waiting on the "treatments" to kick in, I thought I would take time to say "hi" to everyone.  I usually only post on Sundays b/c I just don't have time to do more this spring and summer.  Between my 4 yr old, housework, sewing/quilting, walking the dog, going to the gym/yoga, and working on the current consulting gig, time is all taken up.

Speaking of the DS: he goes to Papa and Grammy's house this weekend for a 4 day visit on the farm!  DH and I are so excited.  Since none of our family lives close, we don't get many breaks, especially overnight ones.  My in-laws, who are city people, asked DH if he was afraid that DS would get kicked in the head by a horse!  Puh-lease! - see, these are the farm girl moments that I need to share!

Have a wonderful day!

Happy Father's Day (and Stash Report Week 25)

Happy Father's Day to any father's who happen to be reading this.  We celebrate in our house by giving Daddy the day off - no chores and a little fun.  In this case, DH has decided to go to a movie - probably the new X-Men.





Sew, this leaves me little time for other things so I'll get right to the "dones" and "starts" and "used" and "added".....

 Last night was Sew Down at my LQS and I got 5 blocks done!  WooHoo!

These are North Star blocks for my guild's Civil War BOM.  I'm keeping the little one, isn't it cute?

Here are 3 Friendship Star blocks for the guild's
 charity committee to add to the Quilts of Valor tops.

Here are my blocks for the Clover & Violet embroidery 101 quilt along, minus one (forgot to pack that last FQ).  They aren't done yet, each gets one more color around to measure 18".

Vroomans' Quilts said she would put the last border on after she did the embroidery to make them easier to handle while stitching.  Sounds good to me!

Here are some make-up additions.  I forgot to show you the pretty Civil War fabric that one of my quilty friends gave me last month.  I used it in the 6" North Star block.

And the polka dot I picked up at Hobby Lobby a couple weeks ago.  I heard they had clearance section and got this 7/8 yd remnant for $2.47.  It's the same fabric that Joann's sells as their "premium cotton" fabric.  It's very heavy, just like a cut of Moda.




Since getting fabrics together for the polka dot charm swap, I've had polka dots on the brain.  I finally came up with an idea for the hexies - I will do polka dots in the 3/4" size.  Here's the first one...

This will be a very long term project!

This week's numbers:
Used this Week:  0
Used year to Date: 40
Added this Week: 1.125
Added Year to Date:  63.3
Net Used for 2011:   -23.3

Head over to Judy's blog for more stash busting reports.

 A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need.

~Sidney Carroll

Summertime and Stash Report Week 24

Hello and Greetings to everyone!

How have you been keeping busy this week?  Any special summer activities?  Or, maybe not "special" but just changes to your normal activities with the change of season?

That's what happens here.  We dont' have any special plans but since the heat advisories have gone away, we are making our regular trips to the park's playground and farm stables.

And, then there is the trip to the library for the summer reading programs - we saw top spinning this week.  One thing about the metro area is that there is a large library system.  The downside is that it is, of course, broken up into multiple branches.  Our local branch is the smaller than my LQS.  Sew, we happened to be near a different, larger branch last week and DS loved it.  Friday we were there for at least an hour looking and then reading books.

Speaking of books....here's what I've been reading.

I love biography and mystery and this is the first autobiography I've read in some time.  Amazingly, I can't put it down.  Maybe it's b/c, unlike the Beatles, I truly don't know anything about the Stones or it's members except what I hear on the radio.  Maybe it's b/c Keith is actually a musician who happens to make money at it - very interesting read.

Rather than sewing in the evenings I've been going to bed to read - and then staying up late b/c I can't put the book down.  Does that ever happen to you?  Have you ever had 2 books going - one that you can't put down and one to put you to sleep?

On to the sewing stuff.....

I did manage to get a few things done this week.  Like this UFO....

WOOHOO!  Another finish!  It's 51x59 and used 6 1/3  yards.

DH kept DS busy yesterday so I could finish this up.  Last weekend the free motion quilting came so easily. Maybe it was all the free motion embroidery I had done previous to quilting.

Then, the weekend was over and the regular week happened and I lost all that momentum.  Does that ever happen to you?  How long does it take you to get back to it?  It took me a couple days and I must admit, I really wanted a finish to include on my stash report today.

Here's a small hexie.  I really like the fabrics but I didn't have enough of any of them to create a 2 color flower.

Here's something I've been toying with all week and finally decided that, "Yes, I will join the fun," over at Clover & Violet.

Another reason to finish a UFO - so I can start another.  Nine FQs and just less than a yard of fabric - I have that (check my numbers below!). I have no expectations that I will finish this quilt any time soon.  It's not hard and the blocks finish to 18" - but I have a few other things to do this summer.  So, I plan to get a few blocks together with 2 borders on them, embroider them, and then add the last border.  I love quilt blogs - trying new things without a great big commitment from my wallet or my time!

I added more fabric this week.  This is my first-ever layer cake - Perennials by Kansas Troubles.

Last summer the Fat Quarter Shop had a special on gift certificates.  I bought a $25 gift certificate and had to use it by July 9th.  Sew, I bought this layer cake on sale this week.  Have no plans for it - probably will use a Moda Bake Shop recipe - someday.

This week's numbers:
Used this Week:  6.83
Used year to Date: 40
Added this Week:  3
Added Year to Date:  62.215
Net Used for 2011:   -22.215

Not a big difference but it's a move in the right direction!

Head over to Judy's blog for more stash busting reports.


Here's a little quote from Stray Stitches that I need to keep handy when I'm near fabric.
 A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need.
~Sidney Carroll

Whewwie, it's hot! (stash report week 23)

It's HOT, HOT, HOT!

Hope ya'll have had a good week.  We altered DS's pre-school schedule a bit this week.  He still goes 3 mornings a week but what difference it makes when those 3 mornings are Tues-Thur rather than Wed-Fri.  I'm sure it was mostly in my head but I just felt so far behind before I even started with no free time in my week til Wed morning.

A couple weeks ago DS asked me to teach him to sew.  I bought some tapestry needles, burlap, a hoop, and a whole bag of embroidery floss all on sale at Hancock's.  He likes it.  He isn't stitching even stitches but he understands to put the needle in the same side it came out, to pull the thread all the way through, and to leave some thread for a knot.  He wants to "make" things so we made a pincushion for his needles.

A pattern arrived this week that I won from Primitive Quilts and Projects blog. Isn't it cute?  I've never worked with wool but would like to try.  Hhhmm, maybe my mom can get me some wool to felt (she loves to shop Goodwill).


I have been busy cutting charm squares for two swaps.  The first you saw last week.  Karen at Sew Many Ways is hosting a red & white swap so here are 125 squares and the selvages. This swap is closed already.

Sewing in the Wendy City is hosting a polka dot charm swap and there are probably some spaces left if you are interested!  I bought 4 half yard cuts, 2 of which are batiks (on the left), for a total of 80 charms.

Most of my sewing this week has been a little free motion embroidery to finish off my "Be Merry" block of the month.  I hadn't worked on these in ages.  All they need is the finishing touches to the applique blocks and then the very simple setting kit (8.5" squares and four patches).

Here's what the embroidery can do for a rather dull looking little piece of fabric.

Wish I had a "before" shot of the red bow - it made a huge difference as the red was a solid.

I did one more hexie this week.  I really like the 3/4" size, which this one is, because it appliques nicely on a leftover charm square.

I signed up for the Inchy Hexie Swap.  Sew, I bought the 1" paper pieces and showed you the one I made last week.  Here's the size difference:

No finishes but I did start quilting another quilt for DS this afternoon.  If I can get to it tomorrow, I may have a finish for next week. I don't count yardage until the project is completely finished, a little extra incentive to get them quilted and bound.

This week's numbers:
Used this Week: 0
Used year to Date:  33.25 (33 1/4)
Added this Week: 2
Added Year to Date:  59.215
Net Used for 2011:   -25.965

Head over to Judy's blog for more stash busting reports.


Here's a little quote from Stray Stitches that I need to keep handy - and to share:
 A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need.
~Sidney Carroll