Got Luck?

I'm very proud of myself for having this month's ornament stitched and finished early. 

This is a freebie by Plum Street Samplers.  Here's the link to the chart: http://plumstreetsamplers.typepad.com/plum_street_samplers/2011/03/got-luck.html

I stitched this for my friend Sue who is nuts about St. Patrick's day.  She is the only person I know who decorates for the occasion.  The green pins were made by dipping regular white pins into green fingernail polish.

To see more ornaments: http://stitchinglotus.ca/2013/02/ornament-sal-february-check-in/

The Polka Dotted Dresses

In 1971, when I was 9 years old, my mother bought yards white cotton cloth with red polka dots on it.  It must have been a great sale because she bought enough to make my sisters and I all matching dresses for Easter.  My parents didn't take a lot of pictures, but my mom did take a couple of all the girls in their dresses.  My brother is in this one.  I'm not sure what he is holding on top of his head.
My 2 youngest brothers weren't born yet.

Left to Right:  Julie (4), Martha (6), Angie (2), Laura (9), Karen (6 months) and Matt (5) 

 We wore a lot of hand-me-downs from our cousins and neighbors. At the time, we thought it was fun to have new matching dresses.  Years later, though, my sister Karen complained that she had to wear red polka dotted hand-me-down dresses for years and years. 

Linking up:  http://myplvl.blogspot.com/2016/10/tuesday-archives-131-free-choice-give.html

One Block Wonder Bound, Stash Report

Big surprise here:  I've used fabric this week!


                                                          Used This Week: 6 yards

Used Year to Date: 18.75yards

Added this week: 0  yards

Added year to date: 24 yards

Net Added: 5.25  yards

 

Still have a 5.25 yard gain to my fabric stash this year, but I'm headed in the right direction.

Someday I hope to be an expert at binding by machine.  But I'll never get there unless I practice, so most of the quilts I make for myself will be bound by machine.   I am not completely pleased with the way the binding on my one block wonder looks, but  it is mostly ok.

 I thought about what I would say to a friend if this were her quilt.  I certainly wouldn't tell her to rip out the binding and do it again.  So, I've decided to be as nice to myself as I would to a friend, and realize that perfect machine binding isn't something I can do yet.  But I'll get better.

 

I really like the quilting pattern the longarmer chose. It shows up better on the back of the quilt (pink pin wale corduroy) than the front.

 

To see more stash reports: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/02/24/stash-report-week-8-2013/

In Bloom

 

I'm going to call this my first daffodil of 2013.  It is not completely open but close enough for me.  Those cute little plants you see at the base of the daffodil are WEEDS.  They have taken over my flower beds.  I'm not gardener enough to work outside until it is about 65 degrees, and I know they will be even worse by then.

 

Last year my daffodils bloomed the end of January.

18 Down, 12 to Go

I've completed 18 of the 30 blocks in the Project of Doom Quilt.  Here's a link to the free paper piecing pattern: http://www.fandominstitches.com/2011/05/harry-potter.html

So far, this is what mine looks like:

 

I'm making such slow progress on this, it seems silly to document it every week, but if I stop taking pictures, I may stop making blocks.

To see more design walls: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/02/18/design-wall-monday-9/

Stash Report, More of the Same

I went to a Valentine sale at my LQS and bought 12 fat quarters ($1.50 each).  I got a few for my Doom quilt, and I also got several neutrals to use in my scrap quilts. My one block wonder should be home from the longarmer this week, so if I can get it bound, I'll have something used to report next week.

                                                             Used this week: 0 yards

Used Year to Date: 12.75yards

Added this week: 3  yards

Added year to date: 24 yards

Net Added: 11.25 yards

 

To see more stash reports:

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/02/17/stash-report-week-7-2013/

 

 

I have completed the first 5 steps of Bonnie Hunter's  Lazy Sunday mystery.

 

 

96, 3 1/2 inch half square triangles

 

148, 2 1/2 inch half square triangles

 

                                                                 
                                                     And the rest of the clues.

I finished 3 Project of Doom blocks too.

 

 

I'm still trying to decide if the book under the owl is going to get a title.  It probably will, but there are a lot of fabric layers to go through because of the feathers, so maybe not.

 

 

 

 

Doom Progress and Why I Don't Sew on a Treadle

I'm half way through my Project of Doom quilt!  I'm cheating a bit in the order I do the blocks.  The embroidery is holding me up a bit, so I've been doing the blocks with fewer books and more paper piecing in them.

I've also completed another step (148 HSTs) in Lazy Sunday.  I have 96 HSTs to go.

 

To see more design walls: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/02/11/design-wall-monday-6/

 

I was interested to see Bonnie Hunter's post yesterday where she explained why she sews on vintage machines.  I have a treadle machine.  We paid to have the cabinet refinished, and I love it as a beautiful piece of furniture. 

 

 

 

  This belonged to my husband’s great aunt. It sat unused on her back porch for many years. Then it spent about 15 years in his grandfather’s garage. The machine is junk, missing pieces and rusty. But we had the cabinet refinished, and it is beautiful now. I didn’t take before pics, but one of the drawers had a mouse nest in it, so you know it was bad!

 

We did not chose to have the machine inside the case refurbished because I knew I never wanted to sew on a treadle machine again.  I learned to sew on my grandmother's treadle machine when I was about 8.  When my grandmother died, before my parents were even married, my aunt got her 'good'  electric machine, and my mom got the treadle.

 

My mom sewed exclusively on a treadle machine until I was 10 years old in 1972.  My mom's first electric machine was a Bernina 830, and that was the first electric machine I learned to sew on.  It was amazing to me.  It could zig-zag, sew backwards, make button holes, specialty stitches, all things the treadle couldn't do.  It was easy to buy bobbins for the Bernina.  My mom only had a few bobbins for the treadle, and she was unable to find others that fit her machine.  The Bernina had lots of feet.  It was fun to sew on.  And it worked great, no matter what the humidity in the house.  The treadle had a leather belt which expanded and contracted, depending on how much water was in the air.

 

The Bernina was  also much quieter than the thumpity, thump of the treadle and could sew faster too.  Both machines had what quilters call a 'pretty stitch'.  It had honestly never occurred to me that any sewing machine didn't have a pretty stitch until my MIL mentioned that treadle machines had a pretty stitch. 

 

Best of all, it had a knee lifter for the presser foot.  My mom taught me to use the knee lifter when I was about 10, and I've used it all the time since then.  I feel a little naked when I sew on a machine without the knee lifter.  Even when it isn't attached to my machine, my knee automatically tries to use it.

 

I now sew on a Bernina 1260.  It is about 17 years old.  I get it cleaned about once a year, and while it is in the shop, I use my son's 40 year old Bernina 830.  I guess you could consider that a vintage machine, but it is a far cry from a treadle. 

 

Bonnie said all she needs is a good straight stitch for quilting.  I  need a knee lifter and a needle up/down button to be happy when I'm piecing.

 

I never knew my grandmother, but I know she stopped sewing on a treadle machine when she got her electric one.  My mother stopped sewing on her treadle when she got her Bernina.  So I guess I am connected to my grandma and mom in a weird way by eschewing the treadle for a modern machine. 

 

I have a house full of antique furniture, and I appreciate that there are people who love old sewing machines.  I'm just not one of them. 

Stash Report, Still Adding Fabric

My policy has been to publish a stash report only for the weeks that I add or use fabric.  Last year, I was not adding fabric every week.  This year I seem to be.  I bought 5 fat quarters this week to use in my Project of Doom Quilt.  I've used a lot of scraps and stash for this project, but I'm missing many of the colors and types of fabric I need. This week I bought brown, tan and gold fat quarters.

Used this week: 0 yards

Used Year to Date: 12.75yards

Added this week: 1.25  yards

Added year to date: 21 yards

Net Added: 8.25 yards

 

I finished a few more blocks:

 

The Standard Book of Spells, grades I-VI

 

The Monster Book of Monsters

 

Dreadful Denizens of the Deep, Wand, Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests

 

Intermediate Transfiguration, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Asiatic Anti-Venoms, Year With the Yeti

 

Here is the link for the Project of Doom Quilt: 

  http://www.fandominstitches.com/2011/05/harry-potter.html

 

To see more stash reports:

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/02/10/stash-report-week-6-2013/

 

 

Valentine Exchange

I participated in a Valentine exchange with my stitching group this month.  My package arrived yesterday, and I love what I recieved from Patti!

Here's a close up of the pincushion.  It says, "Love is in the Air".

Even the back is festive!  The pincushion is weighted with something (poly pellets, maybe).

And since my partner has already recieved her package, I can show you the pinkeep I stitched.

 

I used pink corduroy on the back and dipped white pins in nailpolish to make them pink and red. 

 

 

 

 

More Doom Blocks

I've been working on my Doom blocks this week.  Again, I'm finding that the embroidery is the limiting factor in this quilt.  I hand stitched 7 titles yesterday. It took me all afternoon, and that is only enough books for two blocks.  I hate to work on a deadline, but this quilt needs to be finished by May.  Right now I have 10 blocks complete.

 

The cauldron and the hat were fun to do.  They had big pieces.  The snitch on the books was a little harder, and I had some trouble with the snitch's wings.  I got it done, finally, but it isn't perfect.

 

To see more design walls: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/02/04/design-wall-february-4-2013/

Stash Report, Lazy Sunday

For someone who has a goal of using more fabric than she buys this year, I seem to be buying a lot of fabric.

 I purchased several fat quarters and remnants for my Project of Doom quilt.  I am not a big fan of the Stonehenge line of fabric, but it is perfect to use in small bits to make spooky potion bottles in this quilt. I bought some fabric that has shiny gold in it to use for some of the more important books on the shelves. I also bought several different blacks for the hat and cauldron.  I found what I think  is the perfect batik for the cauldron contents in my stash.  It is an UGLY orange and green batik with splotches on it.  I'm not sure where it came from.  I hope I didn't buy fabric this ugly!

 

The Project of Doom Quilt was designed by Jennifer Ofenstein.  http://www.fandominstitches.com/2011/05/harry-potter.html#POD

Used this week: 0 yards

Used Year to Date: 12.75yards

Added this week: 3.5  yards

Added year to date:19.75 yards

Net Added: 7 yards

 

 

To atone for all this fabric buying, I started Bonnie Hunter's new scrap mystery project. It is called Lazy Sunday and the first steps are in the new Quiltmaker magazine.  I am hoping to find an online support group for this quilt.  I've done the three easiest steps so far.  I have to make a boatload of half square triangles next.

 

 

To see more stash reports: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/02/03/stash-report-week-5-2013/