Get Carded

If you have followed my blog for a period of time, you know one of my favorite bag pattern person is Erin Erickson, Dog Under My Desk.  She has a relativity new pattern out called, Get Carded.  I was looking for a new small type wallet, and thought I would give this new pattern a try.  I have a new favorite mini wallet!

This side of the outside of the wallet has a vinyl pocket that will be holding my driver's license.

The other side of the outside has a zippered pleated pocket for a few coins, or other small things one might want to carry.

Then, when opened, it has two areas of card pockets, and one deep pocket for cash.  It has a re-enforced velcro closure.

If I make one again, I will have to work on corners more crisp.  But overall, I am happy with this new mini wallet.  

If interested, you can get this pattern here.  Her patterns are so easy to follow and she makes zipper installment a breeze!

Warmest...

P.S.  The fabric is Barefoot Roses by Tanya Whelan for Legacy Fabrics and the lining is a Moda Bella Solid.

Early Garden Progress for 2014

I know this blog does not spend too much posts about my garden, but this is the progress so far for 2014 season.

This first picture is the garden boxes (with the chicken house in the background) full of produce.

This is how well my peas are doing.  These peas are from seed I saved from last year by letting some pods dry naturally on the vine.  We will be harvesting and shelling peas by end of next week.  They have been in the ground since the first weekend of February.

This is my lettuce bed, with several varieties of lettuce from Romaine to red and green leaf.  The greens that are blooming yellow flowers is mustard greens, and the three heads on the end are actually brussels sprouts.  

The rest of the garden boxes have good growing plants, but nothing else is close to harvesting yet, so more on them later.

Now for the blooming flowers this early spring.

This is the only Peony I was able to capture, as the others bloomed while I was out of town the month of May.

And this is the wagon full of all kinds of blooming annuals.  I have this sitting in the corner of the grass area of the yard, just outside of the chicken yard.  It is part of what I see when I look out my picture window of my sewing room.  

The Pacific Northwest is one of the best places I have lived to grow things so easily.  They have a saying here that goes something like this, "You really can't kill anything here, no matter how hard you try."  Smile.

Warmest...

Quilt Block Sampler Update

So, i posted about this new BOM a couple of days ago, called Quilt Block sampler. You can read about it here.  I dug right in and cut out the first five blocks and groaned.  Each block has so many pieces, and measures 7.5 " square.  I then made the first block, and it was Déjà vu all over again, this is just like the Farmer's Wife blocks.  Swell, just what I want to do over the summer.  Right now, I am having an internal debate on whether or not I want to continue this BOM, or put it back on the back burner.  At least until this winter....sigh.

Warmest...

Sewing Machine Needles

Is it just me or is anyone else having trouble with their sewing machine needles breaking?  Apparently I have been having a lot of trouble lately:

I saw this collection idea on a Pinterest post when I first joined.  I thought it was a good idea, and now I realize that it has kept track of just how many needles I am breaking!

When I used to sew on this machine below, I rarely needed to change a needle, much less one that broke on me.   I have had this machine for 26 years, and it still works like a charm.  I do all of my quilting on this machine.

And, now that I have upgraded to this machine, I have been breaking needles left and right.  I have only had this machine for about seven years.

I want to add to this discussion, that I have used all kind of brands and sizes of needles, Schmetz (including Microtex), Superior Thread TopStitch, Organ (because I can get them in bulk, but they break the most), Singer, Inspira, and some that I can't even remember.  

So, my dilemma becomes, is it the machine, that needles are not made as well as they used to be made, or I haven't found the right brand?  I don't think my sewing practices have changed, other than on old blue I sewed on all kinds of fabric from denim, knits, polyester, and cottons.  And on my new machine all I have been sewing on is quilting fabrics.  That leaves more questions than answers.  Sigh.

Warmest...

UFO #4 Top Completed

Here is the completed top for the 4th quarter BOM that I have posted about the last few days.  Thimbleberries never disappoints me.  In the design, the fabric coordination, and how well the whole pattern goes together.   I especially like the triangles in the second border.  I haven't ever done this on an inside border and I really like the look.

This is a closeup of the complete appliquéd snowmen.  They are so stinking cute!!!

Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries uses lots of different types of tree patterns in her designs, and this one is no exception of her unique design.  

And finally, a close up of that inner pieced border I talked about earlier in this post.

As soon as I have completed the quilting on the table topper, I will be machine quilting this wall hanging and the UFO #3 fall wall hanging.  I will be nice to have completed projects on my 2014 list, and not just tops done.

Warmest... 

Yellow Instead of Blue

Yep, I ended up choosing yellow for the binding of this table topper.  The blue made it look to dark for the "summer" feel I was wanting in the one.  So, what do you think?  I did the quilting in a blue thread, though.

Chalk up another completed finish for 2014!

Warmest...

Strawberries and a TableTopper

I was busy all day today.  The Pacific Northwest is the berry capital of the US, and June brings the first berries ripe and ready to pick.  Yes, strawberries are coming on strong around here, and there are several "U-Pick" farms every where.  I went to one about 5 miles from my house and spent three hours picking 26 (half I picked for a neighbor) pounds of strawberries this morning.  Then I came home and put about 1/4 of them in the dehydrator, and the rest in the freezer.  Below shows the dried strawberries, as it only took about 8 hours to dry.  I have never dried strawberries before, so I only did a small batch.  But, these turned out so good tasting, and pretty that I might have to go back to the farm and pick some more early next week.

After I got all of the strawberries in the freezer and in the dehydrator, I sat down to get some sewing done.  Last fall, I made a hexagon table topper that I posted about here, and thought I would make another one for a change for my round dining room table.  This is such an easy pattern, and I had left over 1 1/2" strips from a honey bun I used in one of my Farmer's Wife  quilts I did last year.  

During the course of making the Farmer's Wife quilt out of Moda's Breath of Avaigon, I ended up getting a yard of a border print, which is a SKU in fabric line.  I really didn't need it to complete the blocks, but I knew I would have left over fabric from the blocks and figured I would be able to make something with this border bring and the scraps.

So, I fussy cut the border print for both the center of the front of the table mat and for the backing.  This way, it can be used on either side.  

This is the back of the table mat, showing a full view of the border print.

This is the front of the table matt, showing the border print in the center, and strips from the leftover HoneyBun roll sewn all around.

I have it layered and ready for quilting, which I plan on doing tomorrow afternoon.  And, I will have to pick out a binding from some of the other scraps I have in my leftover bin.  I am leaning towards a dark blue.

Warmest...