Wednesday WOW - December 29

Whoa!  Last WOW of the year.

Seems like there should be something special about this post.  How about a look at where the Thimbleberries BOM is now?

Just some more border work and it's complete!  Don't know if it will happen before 2011, though.

Wednesday WOW - December 22

My worktable is Santa Central this week!  Finishing shopping and wrapping gifts.  Not much time for stitchin' this week!  We will return to regular programming after the holidays.

Super Saturday

Apparently, that is what the last Saturday before Christmas is called.  Sort of a final rush for shopping.  So, guess when this little country mouse decided to go to the City?  Yup!

A few thoughts on Super Saturday:

• I'm very glad I am not working as a clerk in any store this week!
• I'm thankful for the remote that allows me to find my car in the mall parking lot!
• I'm thankful I do not have young children who get tired much too soon, and want everything they see, which is much too much!
• I'm glad I have mellowed (can't be because I'm older!) and bustling crowds and long lines don't blow my cool anymore.
• I'm thankful it waited to snow until I got home (yes, flakes are coming down now!)
• I'm thankful for my warm, quiet home in the country!!!

And I think I am ready for Christmas now.   A little wrapping and a little baking - and all week to do it.  This is probably a FIRST!

Wow!  It's really snowing now!  We could have a White Christmas after all.  Are you ready for Christmas?  Or for winter?

Wednesday WOW- December 15

This is part of the Thimbleberries BOM quilt.  I picked up the last kit today.  This 2-1/2 inch squares will be part of a border - all 196 of them!!

White Christmas?

Well, it's not looking good for this part of the world.  This morning, we had snow - for about *this* long!  But then, we still have a couple of weeks to go.  It's not that I'm wishing for snow, really.  Not like some parts of the country have!  But - Christmas doesn't seem the same without snow.

So, I've been trying to get into the Christmas spirit.  Really!  Listening to the music and writing Christmas cards and all that.  Hunh. 

I think I'll take some time to play with Christmas graphics.  The ones in this post, by the way, are from Lisa at TenTwoStudios.  Specifically, the Holiday Countdown page, but she has lots more fun print/mixed-media items.  I'm off to explore!

Are you feeling the Christmas spirit yet?

A Tutorial

I love reading craft tutorials on blogs.  There is so much talent out there in Blogland, and I really enjoy seeing how these fun things are done.  I'm always learning something new!

Lately I've had the urge to post a tutorial of my own.  What to share with you all was a big question.  It should be colorful, I think, and somewhat entertaining.  Not too long, but detailed enough to get the idea across.

The MOST important thing, though, is that the topic should be something the writer is good at.  Hmmmm.  Well, let's try this one:

HOW TO MAKE A CRAPPY QUILT

Oops!  Isn't that supposed to say "Scrappy Quilt"??  Well . . .  .

Here are my steps.  See what you think the title should be:

1. Pick up a pile of miscellaneous pieces from a garage sale. Age and source unknown. Fiber content? Unknown – does it matter? 
2. Pick a new block pattern that you have never tried before. We should always try new things, right?
3. Even though the pieces are hand cut, don’t bother to verify size or square up corners. It will be close enough.
4. Cut your background pieces using a rotary cutter and be very precise!
5. Don’t bother to plan your layout now. Just start making blocks. You can figure out what the finished product will look like later.
6. Decide on two contrasting backgrounds, but only after you’ve made more than half of the blocks using the first color. You can always add more blocks and make a larger quilt. Don’t worry about having duplicate colors in the same background. It’s a scrappy quilt!
7. When seams or points don’t match up, go ahead and stretch the shorter piece. You can press out the wobbles later.
8. If you forget to trim off all the little "ears" at the seam edges, don't sweat it.  They won't show on the front side anyway.
9. When adding new fabric, use the dimensions you figured when making backgrounds. The cardboard template isn’t accurate anyway.
10. After all the blocks are finished, decide whether you want  them to be all the same size OR have nice perfect points. It’s too late to have both!
11. Use a photo of the blocks and a cut and paste method to  plan the final placement. Laying them out on the floor is too much trouble and you should be able to see the duplicates from photos.
12. It’s too late to worry about what direction to press the seams, so just flip the ones that are too bulky. So what if there are a couple twisted seams on the back? (or a couple dozen!?)
13. Decide to put multiple borders on the (crooked) quilt. Maybe the borders will distract from the wonky sides.  Don't get carried away with measuring each border either.  Eyeballing it is good enough.
14. Quilt that sucker to within an inch of its life! You can blame it all on beginner’s quilting skills!

 

 

Much to my surprise, the end result doesn't look too bad . . . from a distance!  Definitely not something to enter into a show, but very usable.

 

Wednesday WOW - December 8

I have a couple of projects going now that call for hand stitching and embroidery.  I love the light that comes in the little window during winter afternoons!

And Another Door

This one came from Johoanna in Australia.

It's a fairly simple door with some lovely machine stitching.  That flowered fabric for the door suits me perfectly.  In fact, I may have some of that fabric in my stash!

I open the door and this little cutie is asking to go out and play!  Isn't that sweet?  Thanks so much, Johoanna.  This is a great addition to my book!

This swap is nearing the end.  I have two more pages to create and send out (a couple are still in transit) and then I will create a cover and assemble all the pages.  Hmmm.  I'd better start thinking about a door design.  It's going to be tough to do justice to the pages I'm receiving.

Wednesday WOW - December 1

December?????  What happened to the rest of the year?  Sheesh!

Well, at least I have something to show for the year.  Binding is going on and then some decorations for a Christmas wall hanging.  Oh, and the light?  Real sunshine!