Some Quilting Done...

I hope this weekend finds everyone doing something fun. The weather here in Houston is dreary, gray and very cold. You know the wet cold that goes right thru you. So I have chosen to just stick around the house and get some sewing done. Didn't have a particular project when I started out but at least I was sewing. Started sewing a lot of "old" charms together from some fabric that I ordered a few years ago on eBay. So it will make a perfect small charity quilt...

Next I took a Moda jelly roll "Crazy Eight" which is Xmas fabric and started a coin quilt. I have it all stitched and it is now ready to be put together for quilting. I will save that for another day as I am ready to stop for a bit.

You can see from this picture what a wonderful sewing view I have in the sewing room. I recently moved over to this bedroom (it's small) but all of the windows allow me to overlook the pool while I sew and that makes it more relaxing. The old sewing room only had a tiny window in it and was awfully dark. I actually have to use 2 of my bedrooms for my sewing/craft things but it is nice to be able to spread out.

In November I purchased a new Brother Quattro sewing machine and I can't tell you how happy that machine makes me. It sews like a dream compared to what I had been sewing on. My family gave me a hard time for spending the money but I will just give up a trip or two and it will certainly be worth it.



Now I am about to go take an early bath as my shoulders are killing me from sitting at the machine all day. Then will cook a little dinner and sit down to continue reading the last Twilight book. It has been a good read so far and what better way to spend my Saturday night.


So life is good... Wishing you all a great weekend as well!!!

Linda

Charity Bee...

I went to my first "Charity Bee" today and met some lovely new friends. It was a good time working on something that a "youngster" will be enjoying in the future. The Charity bee is part of our Quilt Guide and they do a wonderful job of various projects they work on. I did throw my camera in my bag this morning but of course got busy and simply forgot to take it out and snap photos. But don't worry I will make sure to take a few next month.

Finding things to include in a post isn't easy but I am trying. I just need to make myself take more photos and go for it. I like the connection with people out there who are working on various "works of art" and it is so much fun to see what is going on in every one's life. So basically, life is good and I do have a few ideals as to what some of my next projects will be. Stay tuned to hear what they are... We are getting some rain over the next couple of days so maybe I will have some new projects to show you. Happy stitching!! Linda

I'm Excited...

I've been busy making purses for the past 2 days and loving each one. One of my quilting bees (Coles Crossing) had a sew-in where one of our members "Rachael" taught us how to make an "Origami Purse". We had been admiring her's before Christmas as she made approximately 14 of them to give as Xmas gifts. The purse is really quite simply to sew and we were finished in about 2 hours. So afterwards I headed to Hobby Lobby to buy some cute fabric and have now managed to make 3 of them. The pattern is from "Yone's Origami Purse Pattern." The purse has an outside pocket on each side and I am thrilled with mine. I may have to keep this in mind for unique gifts for friends and family.



I am really partial to the one with the safari fabric...





Let me know what you think of them as I always love to hear everyone's thoughts on my projects...

I am so thankful that it is Friday. My sisters and I always meet on Friday night and usually have other family members joining us as well. It is always fun to sit and chat with family and it is our way to unwind from the week. Plus -- we love those margaritas!!! Just so yummy... Well it's time to close for now so till next time... Linda

Blue Monday...

I am still dragging my feet from this terrible cold that I have and it is really hard to motivate myself to go to the sewing room right now. I have a sewing bee tomorrow morning so I have to decide what my project will be to work on. I can't miss going because the quilting store that we meet at (QuiltWorks) is having their big customer appreciation sale so everything is 25% off. So I don't care how bad I feel in the morning I have to be there for the sale. Such FUN!!!

I do have something that I can show you... I finished this pillow the first week in January and it is a YoYo pillow that I think turned out pretty good. It goes perfect on the couch with my zebra stripe pillows so take a look at it! I have always loved making yoyo's and even have a king size bedspread made from them and a tablecloth.


Well it is time to run -- until next time... Linda

Bad Cold!!

Well I am under the weather today suffering with a bad cold that makes me want to crawl back under the covers and hide out. But I need to not waste the day so thought I might sit at the desk and work on a little project (landscapes using batiks). I'm just going over the colors I have and figuring out what colors I really want to work with. I just love batiks!!!



LuLu and Maggie have been playing this morning. LuLu thinks it's funny to be on a higher level than the dog so she can aggrevate her. She's been known to nip her on the lip!! They are so cute together...



Till next time, Linda

Some quilting done...

I am having trouble jumping into another big project at the moment. Yesterday I spent the morning sewing strips for a new "jelly roll" quilt with some fabric I bought off of eBay. I was able to pick up this Moda jelly roll of Xmas fabric for around $18 so that is what I am using in this simple quilt. I have finished my jacket and I am quite pleased with it so tell me what you think. The jacket is reversible so one side has the red and the other side is with grey. I think it will be perfect for the cruise in March I have planned. So now it's time to find another project to start so I think a trip to the quilt store where I can browse the books might be the thing to do.

The weather is back to being cloudy and rain is in the forecast for later today so I will jump out there and get my errands done before it starts. Hope everyone is having a good day... Linda

Beautiful day...

After all of the cold weather we have been having, today was just a wonderful day. It was a little nippy early on but I managed to go without wearing a coat and the sun was shining so I think we were blessed... Today I had a 5-hr class at Quilt Works on how to make a reversible jacket. The class was a blast and I think when the jacket is totally finished it is going to be something that I will really wear. I have both sections made and tomorrow I will work on joining the two into the one jacket. It is called an "origami jacket" and each side has 3 different pieces of fabric. I thought it would be perfect for the cruise coming up in March because just a pair of black pants and one jacket and I would have 2 different looking outfits. Here is a picture so tell me what you think so far!!!

After I wrote on my blog yesterday I felt so guilty for not having made anything at all so I rushed into the sewing room and stitched up 2 nice little pin cushions. So at least I can say that I made something over the weekend. LOL!!

A Very Lazy Weekend...

I have been so bad this weekend and have not accomplished a single thing. The weather has been so cold I just want to sit in front of the fireplace and chill out. And I have to say that I have been on the computer way too much. But starting tomorrow I will be back in the swing of sewing because I have a "Jacket" class going on at the quilt shop so that is going to be my new project to start. I guess everyone is entitled to have a weekend off... LOL!! I have been running back and forth to the backyard because with the freezing temps my pool is constantly running and the pool cleaner keeps getting stuck. I mean really stuck!!! I have named the cleaner "Pepe" because sometimes before I even get back into the house he is already heading back down to the end of the pool where he wraps himself around the handle going down into the water. I may have to amputate the handle in order to solve this issue. Now don't laugh as it is not funny when the water is freezing and you are out there in it trying to untangle this little machine. I am going to make a note to call the pool builder first thing in the morning and see if he can fix this issue. I am enclosing a pic of "Pepe" just so you can see the trouble he gets in...




I think I will now go to the sewing room as I am wanting to compile a list of supplies that I always need to have on hand when taking a class at the quilt shop. Need to pack a bag just so it is easy to grab and know that I have everything I will need for a class. This will keep me out of trouble for the rest of the afternoon. So stay warm and cozy till next time...

It's Been a Busy Week!!!

Wanted to share with everyone the 2 quilts that I managed to finish before Xmas for my wonderful DIL and then one for my granddaughter Kaila. Hopefully they are cuddled up in them tonight as the weather is extremely cold here in Texas.





Well it has been a very busy week with several "Bee" meetings and a wonderful Susan Cranshaw workshop. I will post a picture of a wall quilt that Susan was teaching and I must say that her work is simply incredible. I chose the "Roadrunner" pattern but don't have a clue where it would go in my house but just learning the technique was important. The second picture is of the cactus bloom which was also a stunning work of art.





Well it has been a long day and I need to tidy up the sewing room so thanks for stopping by... Linda

Hey Everyone!!

Well I am taking a break from sewing and going to get this post done. I am presently working a new piece and just need to put the border on it. Plan to hang it in the office over a big chair. It is my first piece using so many little 1" pieces. May be my last as well! LOL!! Here is a picture of it as it is now. What do you think??


I've also spent the past couple of days setting up my "old" sewing room into a library of sorts. The room only had one small window in it and was always on the dark side. I thought to put a daybed back in the room but my sister suggested just leaving it as a library so that is what I am doing for now. I have cleaned out about 200 books and am trying to only keep the better reads. I use to keep every single book I read but now realized that is just too many books to keep on hand. It is definitely time to clean and organize and the less stuff I keep the easier it is to keep clean and organized. For 2010 I am all about organization...

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day - the sun is shining here in good ole' Texas!! Linda

Beginning of my BLOG...

This will be my first post so please don't laugh... I am still trying to figure all of this "blogging" out. I do promise to try and stick with it. I plan to post my pictures and let everyone know what is going on with my life. I know that I love reading all of my favorite blogs out there so I'm hoping that eventually mine will be worth reading as well. Just excuse the mistakes till I get the hang of it...

I have spent the last two days at the house still rearranging some of the rooms since my son Kelly has moved out. I must say that it is so nice to have my house back to myself. Kelly is now having fun decorating his new apartment and I think it will be good for him to have his own place.

I have been working on a new wall hanging that really is giving me some problems. So many little pieces but I thought it would be fun and challenging... I plan to hang it in the office where my desk is so that I can look at it on the wall. Some of you don't know but I lost my husband almost 4 years ago to cancer and when I moved into this house I gave up the office to put all of his things in here. So the room had deer heads, gun cabinets and all of his fire department memorabilia in it. I had wanted a room that my sons and granddaughter could go and sit in and that we would never forget the wonderful man that their dad was. But time has passed now and everyone feels that it is time for me to let go a little... So I have moved my desk into here and really wish I had done this sooner. So now my big desk and computer is in here amongst some of his memoriabila and I have big windows to look out over the front of the house. So here I sit and this is where I will do all of my blogging from...

Blogging is going to be a big learning experience for me but I promise to plow thru it and try to figure it all out so we can all enjoy it... HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!!