Where did you get all of that talent?

Because I love to do crafty things and because I do lots of different types of "crafty things" many people ask me where I got "all of that talent". I'm not sure that I do anything any better than the Average Joe, but the things that I love to do, I like to do well! And at this time of my life, I have time to devote to the things that I like to do.

I am sure that my talents are a gift from God. He also gave me Grandmas that were willing to teach!

Both of my Grandmas were farm wives and worked long, hard hours every day! The time that they had to sit was time that they took to do sewing, knitting, crochet, tatting, etc.

My Grandma McPhee was a top-notch seamstress who did sewing for "ladies in the city" until she was busy with family of her own. When I first started sewing as a young girl, she gently looked over every one of my sewing projects to show me things that were not quite right and ways that I might have done things differently. I learned a lot about sewing from her. I hope that she looks down on me from heaven and is pleased! She also knitted the most beautuful things. I loved to watch her and because I am left-handed, we found that if I sat across a narrow table from her that I could see what she was doing and copy it! Grandma also tatted lace for the edges of all of her fine linens, but I never learned to do that particular type of hand work.

My Grandma Erskine could make ANYTHING with a crochet hook and a ball of yarn or thread. I was fat as a young girl and I would rather read a book or sit with Grandma as she crocheted than go outside and "play". I remember sitting with her in her big green chair by the picture window as she crocheted edges on linens or skirts and shawls for my Barbie doll. She would let me put my hand over hers when she crocheted so that I could feel how her hand moved the hook and yarn. She also had a treadle sewing machine that she allowed me to sew on. I guess she figured that I couldn't get it going fast enough to really hurt myself. I wonder what ever happened to that treadle machine?

A lot of what my Grandmas made were things that we see today as crafty. These things were certainly not crafts to them. My mom tells me about the quilts that they would make, not for beauty or for show, but for winter warmth! The quilts were brought downstairs each spring, the ties cut so that the tops could be washed and then when dry, each of the quilts had to be put back on the frame and re-tied to get them ready for the next years use.

My Grandma McPhee knitted mittens for each of her 18 grandchildren every year! She also knitted the neatest hats and sweaters. While I am struggling through knitting a mitten, I keep thinking that I could buy the kids mittens - probably for about $2 a pair. Why am I doing this? I guess because MY Grandma knitted mittens, I think I should be able to. Thus far I have only been marginally successful at the mitten thing. I also have several books on knitting socks. Yep - socks. I have yet to turn out an actual sock, but I sure would like to learn. My grandmas both made that handful of knitting needles look easy. Trust me - holding 4 needles in the right position at the same time is NOT easy.

My dad told me that when he was young, his Grandma Maria Erskine knitted new thumbs for his mittens on a regular basis. Working on the farm in the winter wore out the thumbs, so Grandma knitted new ones!

My hobbies are supposed to be fun. When I find that I'm not having fun doing something, I'm done with it! I do tend to go "all out" over any new craft that I discover. And, over the years, this has been kind of a costly way of doing things.

For example, I invested a LOT of money in knitting machines and the special kind of yarn that they use. I worked at it until I got pretty good at it, but found that I didn't really LIKE machine knitting. So, I sold all of the knitting machines and still have a huge bin of top quality machine knitting cone yarn in the basement. I did keep the large gauge Bond knitting machine. It's fun for basic knitting and someday, I hope the kids will want to learn how it works.

So, I love sewing, (and sewing machines), quilting, knitting and crochet and I believe that I have my Grandmas to thank for that.

A time to heal

As my gorgeous new BabyLock Ellisimo sewing and embroidery machine sits idle in my basement sewing room, I sit - held hostage by my recliner chair - as I heal. Healing is a slow process! And, this particular healing will take anywhere from 20 weeks to a year.

Last Wednesday, renowned foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Donald Bohay, performed a triple athrodesis of my left ankle. This means that all of the joints in my left ankle have been permanently screwed and bolted together. I am the proud new owner of 7 more screws in my ankle! Now we wait...... all of these joints need to fuse together. In 16-20 weeks of non-weight bearing on that leg, a CT-scan will be done to see if there is any new bone growth.

So, instead of hobbling downstairs to my sewing/quilting room, I'm sitting in a recliner chair with my toes pointed to the ceiling. Hubby is wonderful about bringing pain pills, ice bags and meals. But, trips to the powder room mean that I need to transfer from my recliner to a wheelchair and back. Can you say EXHAUSTING?

I have lots and lots of things to do while sitting in my recliner. I have oodles of knitting needles and crochet hooks plus enough yarn to circle the globe! I also have a bazillion fabric circles to sew into yo-yos!

My Accuquilt GO! cutter with the circle die made cutting a bag of scraps into circles a snap! Perfect circles and a tiny dent in my scrap basket!

What to with all of those yo-yos you ask? Isn't this a cute monkey?

Each monkey only takes 120 yo-yos! And with 8 grandchildren that means I only need to make....... a LOT of yo-yos!

T-Shirt Quilts plus a twist!

Several years ago, my cousin lost her husband to an incredibly fast growing cancer. He left besides the bride that he married right out of high school, 3 teenagers.

Several months ago as Mary (the widow) was attempting to clean out some of Jim's clothes, she asked me to help her "do something" with all of his t-shirts. I suggested a small "lab robe" size quilt for each of the kids.

They each chose their favorite t-shirts and bundled them up for me to "do something with". After I finished the three small quilts, I was thrilled with the results, but sad that there were no shirts set-aside for something for Mary for HER memory quilt. What to do? She insisted that she was fine and as long as the kids got something, she would be happy. As I was cleaning up the mess in my sewing room, I had a thought. What about all of these perfectly good t-shirt BACKS? Maybe I could make something out of them?

After cutting the remaining shirt pieces into large "fat quarter" size pieces, I used a simple Turning Twenty pattern for a simple quilt top. I quilted it with edge to edge dogwood blossoms. I think Mary will love it. I hope Jim, up in heaven, isn't upset with me for putting flowers on his old t-shirts!

Sunday is a family reunion and I hope to take all of the quilts to her at that time.

2010 Fair Quilts have been judged

The 2010 Free Fair quilts have been judged and are on display. I am proud to say that once again, one of my quilts occupies one of the showcases with a blue ribbon! Better yet, is that it shares a spot with my Granddaughter's first quilt, sporting a gorgeous red ribbon!

All in all it was a good fair for me. Three blue ribbons, one Best of Category, 2 seconds and an honorable mention.



My 1930's Reproduction quilt on the left and Hannah's "Gadgets" quilt on the right

1930's reproduction quilt took a blue ribbon

Moonglow took a 2nd place

Yellow weekender bag took a blue AND a BEST!

Shakespeare in the park (purple and teal) took a blue ribbon

RWB tote bag ( a donation to the fair sale) took an Honorable Mention

Burgandy crumb quilt took a red ribbon.

Another Finish from my scrap bag!

A wise old quilter once said that even the fabric SCRAPS cost $10 a yard! Keep them and figure out how to use them! I have scrap baskets that must be 15 years old! I keep TRYING to use them up but they seem to multiply. Each and every time I finish a scrap bag quilt, I love it. I love my scrappy quilts more than any of the quilts that I make! This quilt uses up some of the "crumb blocks" that I made last winter. Alternated with a burgundy solid made a really pretty quilt. Even the batting was an old bat that I had laying around in a big garbage bag waiting for the perfect top. And, horrors! I even pieced a backing for this instead of cutting new wide back fabric from the bolt.

Another finish - Shakespeare In The Park

My Shakespeare quilt is finally finished! Pieced, Quilted, and bound! Yea! When I first started this quilt I loved it! After I finished the piecing, I still really liked it. Once I had it quilted, I didn't like it so much. Now that I have the binding on it, I really don't like it. Maybe I'm just tired of looking at it and maybe it will grow on me. It's hard to believe that you can put that much money into a project, invest weeks of your time and not be totally thrilled with the finished work. Oh well - on to the next project.

A fun, busy week - teaching Hannah to sew

My eldest granddaughter has been asking for some time with Grandma to "learn to sew". So, this week, she spent 3 days with me. We started out sewing on my old Singer 301 - a machine so basic that you could never hurt it, with no thread. First off, the rules. 1) never put your fingers in front of the needle, always beside it. 2) Pay attention to the needle and the machine. Not singing, not watching TV, not playing with the dog, etc. 3) Never sew faster than you feel you can control. 4) If you are in trouble - STOP - then holler for help! She sewed on the lines of writing paper to get the feel of the machine and to learn to sew a straight line. Then I drew swirls and squiggles for her to sew! She is a natural! In no time at all, she was using thread and real fabric. Hannah then moved on to Grandma's new Babylock Ellisimo to piece her first quilt. Of course, now was the time for a little lesson on pins and irons. I elected NOT to introduce the rotary cutter this lesson! The quilt was a kit from "Quilts for Kids". She did a wonderful job. And the quilt will be sent to a hospital to be given to a sick child. The Ellisimo has the added function of sewing with on ON-STOP button instead of a foot pedal. It also can be dialed down to a very slow speed. What a nice job she did! Then, while the quilt was actually "quilted" on the quilting frame, Hannah discovered my scrap bag, my bin of pre-cut squares and my design wall. I have created a monster!



What a fun week!