It's time....

It's time to get back to the sewing room. I spent much of September, October and November in a wheel chair with absolutely no desire to sew and not able to stand to quilt.

The first of December found me taking tentative steps with a walker - not really walking, just stepping. Even though my sewing machine was calling me, I still didn't have much enthusiasm to get down to my sewing room and get going on anything.

Now, it's time. I am still only "stepping" and still in a full leg air cast, but I need to get back to doing what I do. So, a quick ride down the new stair lift, and there I was - back in my sewing room. I spent a few minutes working on a "10-minute block" project from a Moda layer cake that had been sitting on the shelf for months and months.

After about an hour and a half of sewing, It became apparent that I do NOT have the stamina for the up and down sewing, pressing and cutting method that I have used for years and years. It's going to take me a bit of time to get back fully into the swing of things!

So, I decided to really take a look at things and see exactly what is waiting for me down there. Here is what I found (and the list may change as I find more projects hidden away in the cupboards and cabinets of my sewing room.

QUILTS THAT I HAVE PROMISED ( guess I should work on these first)

1. Emily and Paul's T-Shirt Quilts - graduation gifts.

I have a tried and true method of doing t-shirt quilts, so a I'm ready to go with those as soon as I can stand long enough to cut the shirts.

2. Elise's "big girl" quilt. Elise's quilt will be made from Moda's Butterfly Fling line and I have a gorgeous bundle of fat quarters ready for that project.

3. Donation block for the 2011 fair quilt

_______________________________________________________________

UFOs (Unfinished objects - projects that have already been started)

1. Candy Kisses Lap quilt

2. Civil War Tribute BOM quilt (I should be getting the final three months blocks from my niece's quilt shop - Two Sisters Quilting in Bear Lake, Michigan any day now

3. Fiddlesticks Floral - this quilt is all cut and ready to be pieced

_________________________________________________________________

PIGS (Projects in grocery sacks)

1. Moda's Legacy Pineapple quilt - kit

2. Wildflower Serenade - two kits but will probably combine into one queen size

3. Beep Beep toddler boys quilt. Will finish and put in my Etsy shop

4. Mary Rose - shabby chic throw

5. Oriental fabric throw

6. Gathering Leaves kit from Moda's Alspice collection

7. Oak Leaf and Reel - Moda applique quilt kit

8. Snow Crystals kit

9. Shimmer Stars quilt kit

10. About a dozen novelty print pillow cases for the grandkids

___________________________________________________________________

I also have quite a collection of Moda Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls and fat quarter bundles that I have not decided yet on a pattern.

PLUS, a multitude of bins full of fabric scraps for making my favorite quilts. SCRAP QUILTS! I have dozens of scrap quilts planned out in my mind! Not to mention my favorite scrap quilts designed by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville Bonnie is currently running a quilt mystery called Roll, Roll Cotton Boll. I would love to be in the middle of this mystery quilt but I am afraid that I am not quite up to doing the fabric cutting that this quilt requires. I have however, printed out each and every clue that has been posted and I will do this quilt at some time in the future!

It appears that I could piece quilts for about 10 years without ever setting foot back in a fabric store.

It’s time…..

8 new screws - still healing

I'm still healing - and still not sewing. I've now spent 10 1/2 weeks non-weight bearing in a wheelchair. My initial incision did not heal well so I returned to surgery on October 25th for more surgery. I am getting pretty antsy to get downstairs to my sewing room. However, I wonder if the pain meds I am taking will allow me to concentrate enough to sew! Perhaps it is not yet time for sharp things like pins, needles and rotary cutters.

My surgeon has just given the okay for me to do some "partial weight bearing" while wearing my big ole boot and using a walker. With any luck, I will be graduating to a cane by the first of the year!

I have a whole list of things that I want to start working on. The top of the list is a "big girl" quilt for my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter who is moving from her crib to a big girl bed. The next thing on my list is the current Bonnie Hunter Quiltville Mystery Quilt - Roll, Roll Cotton Boll. I have printed out all of the clues and my mind is just swimming with all of the fabrics in my stash that would be appropriate for this quilt!

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.