Sneak Peak at UFO Project #3

Here is a sneak peak at the next UFO project I am going to be working on the next few days. This is the third quarter project from Thimbleberries Club 2003.

A little hint, it's all about fall...

Did the pumpkins give it away?

Warmest...

New Addition to the Sewing Room

While out and about the other day, I stopped in the Goodwill store and came accross this too cute new sign. I have a a special area in my sewing room dedicated to wool crafts. And, i am always on the lookout for "wooly" kind of knick-knacks.  I saw this wooly sheep hanging off a Welcome sign, and knew it would fit in oerfectly in my wool area.

The only thing I didn't like was that it had '80's country look blue ribbon tied around it's neck and used to hang off the welcome sign.  So, I pulled out my wool strips and found a muted tan/off white piece to hang off the sign and around it's neck.  Aahh, so much better, and more updated.

Here it is hanging under my "Wool,Wool, and More Wool" sign.

Here is the close up.  Isn't it just too cute?

Warmest....

New Sewing Chair

I don't know about you, but I have been sewing on a leftover office chair for over 15 years.  I have recovered it twice, added more seat padding twice, and even tried to put foam on the base spokes for some comfort when resting my feet on them.  

I have been toying with the idea of purchasing a new chair, because the one I have is become so broken down, and had started causing some serious back pain while sewing.  I looked at the Koala brand chairs, but they run in price around $300 (Yikes).  But, I tried to justify the expense because of the back pain, and would probably not have to buy one again for the rest of my sewing years.

Well, hubby and I went into our local office supply store (not a big box one), to get him some stamps made for his business, and I went on a walk about the store while he was giving the clerk the specifics about his stamps.

Low and behold I came upon this beauty.  First off, it is rare to find a chair that doesn't have arms,  I find that the arms get in the way with table I sit at, and catches the fabric in ways that really frustrate me.

On top of that, this chair sits higher than all other office chairs because it is a drafting chair, designed to adjust to the high slanted tables that architects sit at to do their drawings.    Which is just perfect for me, because I am a tall long legged woman (been called an Amazon more that once in my life) and it fits my body and sewing set up to a tee.

And the cost was not bad either, as it was on sale from $389 down to $195, and as an added bonus, my dear sweet hubby bought it for me!!  I am one appreciative woman!! 

I did some sewing last night and I can't believe the difference!  The height is just right, as I don't have to lean over as much and the back pain was so much lessor than before.  And the ring at the bottom is just right for placing my feet, a nice resting place.  I am hoping to spend long hours for the rest of my sewing life in a very comfortable chair.

Warmest...

More UFO BOM Progress

I have to remind myself when I write posts that seem mundane, that I really started this blog as a way to chronicle all my sewing and crafting endeavors.  With that said, I have once again made some more progress on the two UFO BOM's I am working on these past few months.  I am more than three quarters of the way through each BOM and I'm getting excited to get the blocks done, so I can get them all sewn together.

This is the finished four 12" blocks of "A Civil War Tribute" BOM, month 8.

And this is block 9 of the "Land of Lincoln Sampler", called Corn and Beans.  So fare this is my favorite block in this sampler.

Thank you for following along, even with the mundane!

Warmest...

FQS Designer Mystery BOM Block 9

That time of the month has rolled around again, because when I returned home from my Quilt Run 101, the next block for the Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery BOM came in the mail and was waiting for me to get it opened and completed. I get so excited receiving each block, because one I don't know what it is going to be and to see how so darn cute it is time and time again.

This is block 9, which as you can see is another house. Cute, cute, cute...

To recap, so far there are three basket blocks, three star type fill-in blocks, and now three house blocks. Now it has me wondering what the last three blocks will be, and how it will all come together for the final top of the quilt.

So much fun!!

Warmest...

New Favorite Book

When I first started quilting, I bought almost every quilt book that came out on the market I had in mind of creating a huge quilt library, that I could go to at anytime and find a specific pattern. Well, all that did was begin to take up a lot of space, cost was getting to be a factor, and it wasn't as easy to go back and find that "pattern" I wanted at a later date as I once thought it would be.  So I slowed down my book buying about eight years ago, and in the last couple of years I only get me one or two a year.  Most of the time, If I really want a book, I wait until it is a couple of years old, and buy it second hand on Ebay.

But.  While I was on the quilt run this year, I spotted this book and looked through it, and liked it, but put it back and went around the store looking at other things.  While checking out, I thought I should take another look at the book, as I hadn't seen it anywhere else along the trip.

Looking at it again, I realized it had 40 patterns in the book. Most books don't have more than 7 - 10. And each pattern is so different from the others, and again, many of the books today have a pattern, and then different approaches for that one pattern and counting it as a separate pattern.

I also looked at getting this book, because I have so many scraps left from every BOM I have ever done, and want some various patterns to begin to use them up.  The Title caught my eye, as it says projects for 5" scraps.

This this the cover of the book.  Even the cover project is a good mix of scraps, but balanced nicely with a light to give the quilt some class.  Most scrappy quilts can look a little trashy to me.

Here is what one of the patterns look like when you open the book, with easy to read instructions and material lists.

If you expand this picture, it shows what the pattern would look like in different sizes.
This is done for every pattern in the book.

All in all, I really like this book.  I already have a couple of patterns in mind to use soon.  After looking through the whole book, I found I liked more than 90% of the patterns.

Warmest...

Yuwa

I have been absent for the past three days, as I went on the annual "Quilt Run 101" here in the Pacific Northwest.  You can read about how it works here, where I have written about it before.

Today, I am sharing my most favorite find.  This piece is by Yuwa, which is a Japanese manufacture of much sought after, buttery soft cotton available on the market.  This piece is called, Inspirations, and is a hodge podge of yummy rose prints, and all kinds of vintage sewing pictures.  My favorite part is the "R" monogram in a yellow square.  The shop did not have any of the other pieces that go with this, so I paired it up with a panel print of rose inspired hankies.  I'm thinking of making me a new I pad cover using this fabric.  Tomorrow I be back with a fantastic book I found on the trip.

Warmest...