What's on the line?

If you follow my blog, you may recognize this little quilt on the line.......... It's one I made about a dozen years ago called "Charlie's Snowman"...........

I took the photo in September of 2010. You can see by the lush green in the background that it was a beautiful fall day and not wintery at all. I shared the quilt and it's story in November of 2010 in this post.......... go here. I told you all that I'd share the pattern and a tutorial for the quilt in January. And then came January and I had to post a "change in plans"...... go here for that post. After that, it seemed that the year just "got away from me". There were a lot of "behind the blog" family events and doctor appointments and just plain Stuff! Then the weather warmed up and who needed a snowman in the summer?!?!?!  But now it's January, a whole year later and I am going back through my blog to see what I need to catch up on. Going to start with this project and then slowly but surely I'll fulfill a couple other tutorial promises that I've made. :-)  Today, I'll be taking photos of the steps to make this little snowman quilt. Check back on Wednesday, January 25th and you'll find the pattern and a tutorial for this project. There might even be a giveaway of some fabric.......and maybe even some chocolate, too. :-)
Have a good Monday!
Sandi

You'll find the tutorial in three parts.......it begins here.

What's on the line?

Pretty hexagon flowers are on the line!!! Last Monday, I shared a vintage quilt that was bordered in lavendar/purple and here is another one............

This one just sings "Spring" and I thought it would be a good one to share mid-January. I thought there would be lots of snow on the ground by now but we only have about an inch of snow cover.  Obviously, the photo above was not taken now as that's some pretty green grass in the background. It was taken last September on a beautiful fall day.

Here is a bit of a close-up of the hexagons on the quilt..............

This is another one that was bought at auction by my mother and dad. I love the variety of colors and patterns in this quilt. It is just so colorful and cheery. Great way to start the week!
Happy Monday everyone!!
Sandi

Waiting for the snow..........

I That's right............waiting for the snow. It's been a little warm lately......50 degree temps earlier this week, almost no snow on the ground and that is just not normal for Minnesota at this time of the year.  We got a teeny bit of snow on Wednesday and lots of wind. I am ready for the snow and cold. I mean really ready for the cold and snow........just look at my scarf..................................
It's perfect for keeping me warm on a cold day! 
The scarves are called Infinity scarves and they are so fun and easy to make. I bought the furry fabric at Firefly*Quilt*Shop and I made three of them like the one I am wearing in this photo.  They were Christmas gifts my daughter and my son's girlfriend and I "gifted" me, too. LOL! The scarves are so warm and soft. Great for when I'm walking the dog which is not my favorite thing to do, but now I don't mind so much.   :-)

I enjoyed making the scarves so much that I also made one for my niece, Sue Ellen. I found the tiger print fur at Hancock Fabrics and made her a scarf, then trimmed a fleece hat and plain mittens with left-over fur for a very "fashionable" look.

If you want to know how to make a scarf..........it's simple. Just take a WOF (width of fabric) piece of fabric that is 12" to 18" wide. The width you choose will depend on the fabric and the fluff that you want in your scarf. The fur pieces I purchased were pre-cut at 12" widths. I made the one for Sue Ellen a little wider.

You just fold that strip in half and stitch it up........but ......... you leave about two inches unstitched at each end............

Then you turn it inside out and pin the two ends together and stitch across the ends.............

Then you should have an opening about 4-5" wide that you can just slipstitch closed and your furry scarf is finished!

I called in a couple of my Bear Buddies to model these scarves that went off to a couple blogging/Facebook friends that make me smile. They both have dogs and I know they will welcome the warmth of the scarves when they are out walking their doggies. :-)

These scarves are so easy to make and so fun to wear. I have plans to make more from fur and even have some other soft fabrics that may end up as scarves. If you want to know more on how to make these, just google "Infinity Scarves" and you'll find plenty of inspiration!

And just in case you all are wondering...........nope, I haven't bought any cotton quilting fabric so I am remaining faithful to my challenge. And boy, am I glad these scarves are poly faux fur!!  LOL!

Have a good day!
Sandi

What's on the line?

Something purple is on the line today! Well, actually, it was "on the line" last September when I took several quilt photos.  This is another quilt bought at auction by my dad and mother.  It's not fancy but someone put a lot of work into the applique..........

Here's a close-up of the design that was blanket-stitched to the white blocks...........

And another look at the full-sized quilt..........

I think this block would be fun to do in wool. Add that to my ever-growing list of "gonna make this someday quilts".  :-)

While the photos of these quilts were taken last September, I actually could have taken photos of quilts outside yesterday or today because we have almost no snow on the ground and temps in the 40's. It is hard to believe that it is really winter here in Minnesota!

I don't know if it's the good weather or what, but I have had the "cleaning and sorting bug" this past week. I finally unpacked the last of the four boxes from our move here in 2006. And in the process, I decided it was time to toss some stuff. Nothing of value and I let my kids take what they wanted, then some things will get donated. I was also rearranging my stuff in my kitchen cupboards and so between moving boxes and climbing up and down on the ladder..........well, I didn't do my back any good at all. So, the last two days I have pretty much done nothing and not planning much for the next couple of days either. I did a little sewing and have a project I'll share in my next post. Maybe by then we'll have some snow?

Have a fabulous Monday!!
Sandi

Sweet Angels..............

Another Christmas photo of some sweet vintage angels. Well, I thought they were vintage when I found them at a local thrift shop a couple years ago. Then I looked on the bottom of the two larger ones and the date stamped on them is 1981. Not quite vintage but they look it and I really like them. There are tiny bulbs in the candles that run on batteries. Yes, I really like them. They sort of remind me of the Angel designs that I drew in 2006. I offered the patterns here on my blog and am sharing them free again in my Seasons BOM Yahoo group. If you like to do Redwork or other embroidery, just click on the Angel Connection button in the sidebar, join my group and you'll get a new Angel design the first of each month. January and February angels have been posted to the group.

This year is off to a good start. In just the last couple of days, I've caught up on a few things that have been waiting for my time and it feels good to get them done!  Some of you may remember that I mentioned that I am not going to buy any cotton quilting fabric during this coming year. It might not be easy but I'm determined to not buy any quilting fabric and just use the fabrics that are right here in my sewing room. Oh, and in the boxes in the basement. Um, and there is a bit of quilting fabric in each of the bedrooms. So you seeeeeeeeeeee......I don't need to buy any fabric because I already bought a storefull and have been storing it at my house. LOL! My husband doesn't think I can do this. He's seen how much I love to buy fabric. He just doesn't know how committed I am to this challenge, plus, ........ there is nothing that works better at getting me to do something than when he tells me I will never be able to do it. Sound familiar?

Have a good day!

Sandi

What's on the line, uh, make that..what's on the tree?

I am still in the "Christmas Spirit" and so instead of a quilt, I'm going to share more of the ornaments that hang on our Christmas tree.  I thought I'd tell you a bit more about them. Many I've made and some were my made by my mother, my daughter and by friends. Each one is a treasure. Yesterday, I shared this photo..........

The four straw ornaments were some of the first that we added to our tree. Bought years ago in San Diego. I often cluster ornaments from special places together. Hanging the ornaments on the tree is like opening a book of memories!  The little Joy ornament was made by my mother, Mary.

The Joy ornament is this photo came straight from Hobby Lobby. :-)  The little egg ornament is a real egg. I will eventually post a tutorial on how to make these egg ornaments. The Christmas tree is felt and is one of several that I made when I taught ornament classes at Murphy's Landing and at Community Ed classes. The snowman is another one I designed and you can find the tutorial for him here . I started a blog to share my ornaments but then life and family health issues just kept me from getting back to it. This year will be different. More ornaments tutorials will be posted!

The Santa in the photo above and the one below were made my mother in the 1960's. I am sure the patterns were in an issue of Pack-o-Fun or perhaps Workbasket magazine! The little snowman is just a sketch drawn on a styrofoam plate and then glittered and embellished with puffy paints.

In the late 1970's, daughter Collette and I drew designs on balsa wood and then colored them with marking pens. You can see the one with the candle in the photo above. She was about eight when we made a dozen different ornaments from balsa wood.

Some of my favorite ornaments are the ones made from real chicken eggs like the pink angel above and the blue angel below........

The angel made from tulle and with the bright yellow hair (my grandson thought that color was a little bright) was made in 1971 while we were stationed overseas in Japan. My father-in-law knew how much I enjoyed crafting and tucked in some supplies with a package they sent.

During our time in Japan, I loved to trip to an area called Asakusabashi that was known for it's dolls and craft items. I found the snowflakes you see in these photos. They are thin but sturdy foam and were plain white. I embellished them with pretty pins and beads. There are six of them and they are usually the first ornaments that I put on the tree.

I also covered styrofoam balls with velvet and ribbons, trims and cut-outs from Christmas cards like the blue velvet one in the photo above.

I made lots of felt ornaments like the heart above and enjoyed teaching felt ornaments to kids and adults!

Sometimes Collette and I made patchwork ornaments and sometimes we cross stitched designs like those above.

I love the embroidered felt ornaments above and remember when we made these for a church bazaar. I remember someone found them in a craft magazine but it was years ago so I am not able to provide a source.
Many of my ornaments were gifts like the quilt block one below that my sister gave me in memory of our Grandma Goldie. The horse was bought at a craft show that I attended with my friend, Sandy. Every year it reminds me of her and the many craft shows we went to together.

Almost all the ornaments on this branch were made by my friend, Judith. We connected over Crazy Quilting more than a dozen years ago and when we held our Christmas potlucks we often exchanged ornaments. Judith made me the Scandinavian elf.......the twig tree......the knitted snowman and stocking......the basket of yarns and the fabric covered ball..........

and the best one is a tiny soft-sculture sleeping Santa in a twig bed! He has to be seen in person to appreciate the detail!
In October of this past year, I taught a county extension class in decorating real eggs. This next October (2012), I'm going to teach the Christmas tree ornaments made from clay.......

Some are embellished with bits of clay, others with rhinestones and some with those old cooking crystals (remember those?). Easy to make and I'll share the tutorial next fall.

The Redwork ornament in the photo above is one I designed and shared with the Prior Lake Quilter's several years ago. I only ever made a couple but my friend, Marianne, made a couple dozen for her tree that year!

Some ornments recall family and friends who are no longer with us like the candy cane snowman. It was a gift from my friend, Cindy. She is the one that left me all her fabric and I shared about it in this post.

 There are a couple dozen bears that are nestled in the branches of my tree.........

and one of my newest ornaments is this felt Reindeer from blogging friend, Cindy in Arizona. Makes me smile when I see this one. :-)

Every year, I make something new and the red holly trimmed ornament was this year's addition to our tree. I promised I would show how I made it but never found time before Christmas. I promise I will show you eventually. :-)  The unique Snowman ornament above and also the Santa below are two favorites. Collette and I went to a large craft event near Waseca, MN and we each bought these ornaments. They are wood slabs that are diecut with the snowman or Santa outline and then hand-painted!

There are spool themed ornaments that were gifts from friends and a little wool stocking made by my friend, Sue, that remind me of special friends that I don't see as often since we moved. But, as I said.........hanging the ornaments on my tree is like opening a Memory Book. I would show you more but I'll save a couple hundred for another day. :-)
Have a good Monday! I'll be watching that Rose Bowl Parade in the morning and then doing some sewing. I'm learning how to use that new sewing machine. Quilty projects will be coming up soon............
Sandi

2012 is here!

I hope you have enjoyed a great start to this new year! My day got off to an interesting start as I settled down to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade only to discover news programs. Oh, boy, I should have checked the TV schedule because it all happens tomorrow. LOL! 
Today was a blustery day. It started late last night with snow and then in the wee hours of the morning the winds arrived. I took this photo in "the calm before the storm"...........

Those stockings have hung on our porch the last couple Christmas holidays and this may be their last year. The wind and sun take a toll on anything that I put outside. If they have to go, I'll make new ones. I'm already planning a stocking project for August of 2012. More on that in a future post. What I really like about those stockings is the word JOY !!!!

JOY is one of my favorite words. I like to wish people joy, I hope they enjoy their day, and sometimes when sadness comes, there is even joy in sadness. It's a good word. I also like the word Delight. I love to surprise friends and family with little things that give them Delight!!!  I'm going to add Delight to lots of posts this coming year. I'm also going to keep sharing JOY! And I'm going to share another word  ........ Christmas! ....... because I plan to keep Christmas all year long! I love Christmas, the whole season, all of the stories, the decorations, the music. It all makes me smile, makes me so happy! It all brings me

JOY!!!

and more

JOY!!!

These are just a few of the ornaments on my tree. More tomorrow. Happy New Year for today!! See ya tomorrow.........

Sandi

Happy 2012!!