Shoe Bags & Stencil

Our bazaar isn't until November but with the way the weather has been I thought why not get an early start. Then if by any chance we actually do get summer and a nice Fall I won't be stuck indoors trying to get everything done. Actually we're hoping to go away for a couple of weeks in the Fall too so that's another good reason to do things early.

One of the things people have been asking for at the bazaar is shoe bags. I didn't realize people still used them - at least out here where we don't wear winter boots. But apparently they do for putting shoes in when they travel. I usually just use a plastic bag. I had this fabric that I got at the Thrift Shop for a song. I thought it was so ugly it wouldn't look good as anything aside from a nice flannel quilt back on a charity quilt. Wonders of wonders it looks kinda cute as shoe bags. So I've made 10 in two different sizes and have enough fabric to make 10 more if they need them. I also used French Seams cause I don't have a serger. If you don't know what french seams are it's very simple. They work great for pillow cases too.

It's hard to see so I put a dotted red box around part of it. You first of all sew the edges of your fabric wrong sides together. Then you flip it so it's right sides together like we're used to and sew down the seam again, making sure it's a bit wider than your first 1/4" seam. It gives it a nice finished look.

The other thing I have I got in the mail today was a stencil for hand quilting the centers of the Double Wedding Ring quilt. I think I'm nuts. I'm not even good at hand quilting. But this is just so pretty.

It looks like an awful lot of work. Angela offered to lend me one that is 4 hearts which would be a lot less work. I just can't decide. Maybe I could do the rose without the leaves. And then it has that cute rose bud to put in the smaller between spaces. I think I'll put a sandwich together with scraps and give it a try before I decide.

I have hand quilted two quilts but then at the time I didn't know that I didn't know how to do it so it turned out fine. Now that I know I don't know how to do it, it will probably take me another year. Ignorance is Bliss *LOL*

I finished my Rotten to the Core book and I've picked up a book that Nancy once recommended called "Keeping the House". I'm only on chapter 3 but so far so good. At the beginning of each chapter is a piece of advice.. or a rule as it were... about keeping house in the 1940's 1950's. The first one is from Making Marriage work, Ladies Home Journal, June 1950:

"The bride who wants to do her full job will plan from the start to create the kind of home her husband wants, and to do it with no more assistance than he willingly offers."

That would explain why my mom raised all of us 3 girls while my dad sat and said "Look what they're doing now" when my sisters would scribble on the wall with crayons. I never did anything like that of course cause I was an angel *LOL*

Overall reading about the current woman, a literal 1950 bride, has me in stitches a lot. This woman had 19 aprons! They threw her an apron party before she married. She had one apron to match each of her dresses. She put a fresh flower on the dinner table that matched how she was dressed. My goodness! Wonder how DH feels about dandelions. I'm usually in jeans and a T-Shirt (and no apron) *LOL*

UPDATE

Okay, I've done my practise piece and I think I can do the hand quilting thing. It looks a bit pulled in the back but maybe it's supposed to? I definately need to get a new thimble that fits my finger. Even though my stitches are large I think they're consistent. Be honest. What do you think?

Front

Back

Gifts of Grace Block 4

Here it is, block 4 of Gifts of Grace. I'm really starting to like these. They look great in real life. I've decided now to wait to put the beads on. Guess I was just impatient at first to try it. This block is definately for me.


There is currently a sale down at the LQS that is unbelievable. We can take in fabric from our stash that we've decided we don't want to use, as long as it's good quality and good designer, and they'll give us a $5.00 credit per meter. We can also exchange for brand new fabric. Most of their fabric sells for $14.95 a meter so that's less than 1/2 price. Then they are also selling the traded in fabric at $5 a meter if anyone would rather have that. I'm sure I have a few meters down there I could use as a trade in. I want to do the free quilt that the Rabbit Factory has on it's site. I've been downloading all the blocks just waiting until I had the time to start it. I've realized it matches the Rabbit Factory wall hanging I have on our wall so I want to get some background fabrics that are close to it and it will tie it all together.

See, Patience is worth it *LOL*

I am in soooo much pain. Because it is so damp here in the winter, plus we live near the coal port so everything gets covered in black dust that builds up over the year, we need to powerwash the front of the house, the deck and the patio every year. A few days ago I did the front steps, railing and a bit of sidewalk. Today I did the front of the garage and the driveway. My back is killing me! I wanted to get it done before I put up hanging baskets or other flowers so I didn't have to move them. Now I can go out to the Nursery tomorrow.

Progress!

I can't believe I'm actually closer to the end of my double wedding ring quilt than to the beginning for a change! I was able to sew on the corners yesterday and I'm ready to sew the blocks together. The quilt is actually one block wider but it wouldn't fit on our bed. I meant it to be a queen size but I want it to have a decent drop on the sides.

I like to take pictures of things while in progress because it's so much easier to see in a photo than with the bare eye the things that you want to do. This quilt ends up with a half arc on the sides. I don't like that, it looks so unfinished. So I'm contemplating doing a scrappy binding with fabrics used in the arcs so there won't be such an abrupt halt part way through a ring.

This has taken me over a year and by the time it's totally finished will probably have taken 18 months. It's a LOT of work and even though it's not perfect I won't be making another one to try to improve. The quilt is 42 12" squares. There are 168 arcs total which means I cut and sewed together 1008 little triangles and then sewed them onto the Smart Quilt interfacing and turned them before appliqueing them on. I'll be so glad to get it finished so I can move on to some smaller projects for awhile that will give me a more immediate gratification.

All that said I feel very proud of myself and I'm really happy with the quilt. I never dreamt 8 years ago when I started quilting that I'd ever be able to make something like this. Too bad I have to give it away to my daughter. But a wedding quilt is something I hope she'll appreciate and care for.

Our weather has been  horrible. I did manage to cut the lawn yesterday between little showers but the weeds are taking over in the yard and growing faster every day because of the rain *ARGH* So if we get a nice day I'll have to spend a lot of time while it lasts pulling weeds out there so it at least looks somewhat decent. I've decided that landscaping paper and bark mulch are my new best friends :0)

I decided to give up on the book club book. Actually I've decided to quit the book club. Some things aren't for everyone. I love to read but I'm not cerebral enough to read those hoity toity books. I like the one I'm reading now "Rotten to the Core" about a girl who inherits an apple orchard and finds a dead guy in her spring house. Now that's my kind of literature *LOL*.

Catalicious Quilt Stitch In Block 4

Here's Block 4 of the Catalicious series. This one was a lot faster to stitch up than the last one cause it's simpler but a really cute block. Love the way the cat is looking at the bird. Rilo has never seen a bird up close cause she's an indoor cat but I think she'd squirm a bit more if she did get that close to one. Bronwyn's Brutus seems a lot more laid back.

I've been busy lately so haven't been on here at all. We're planning for the Fall bazaar now so we won't have to do it all at once come September so I have a few small projects lined up for that. Also the weather has been so nice that it's really a shame to be indoors.

I'm also wading my way through the book "The Gargoyle". When I was at the church making sandwiches this morning to send to the downtown east side I asked a couple of other ladies what they thought of the book. One said she hated it. "Who recommended it anyway?" Uh... the minister. It's a very odd book for a minister to be recommending but I'm really trying to read it. I haven't found anyone who really likes it but what if we had a book club meeting and no one showed up cause they didn't like the book? Especially when it's the minister that recommended it? So I'm pressing on. I got to page 118, looked some stuff up on the internet to see if it was really historical fiction and it is so I've now read another 50 pages. But it's 500 pages long! On the outside it looks like a book about a porn star who is badly burned in a car accident and a schizophrenic. But the schizophrenic claims she is 700 years old and lived in a monastery when she was a child. The monastery exists (existed) and the people she talks about existed. I've never heard of either so that makes it interesting cause I like to learn new things. It also talks a lot about what is involved in a burn unit which is also interesting because the Fire Fighter's Burn Fund is one of our charities we support so I'm glad to know more about what is involved there.

Okay, off to download this month's Gifts of Grace block so I can get started on that tonight.  

BOOK GIVEAWAY

I love books and Molly is giving away a great sounding book on her Molly's A Bookworm site. Go to her site for all the information and her book review.

You have until May 31 to get your name in.

Happy Mother's Day

Mothers: Every Year is Their Year

author unknown (adapted by various persons)

This blessing is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

This blessing is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they may never see. And the mothers who took those babies -- forever to be their own children.

This blessing is for all the mothers who attended ball games, recitals, rehearsals, etc., etc. and who said "I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and meant it.

This blessing is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children or can't feed their children.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Firmness? A soft lap?

 Or is mothering what is in her heart?

Is it the ache she feels when she watches her child disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2a.m., to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

Yes it is so.

So this blessing is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This blessing is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store with frustration and despair.

This blessing is for the mothers who show up at work with milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This blessing is for all mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to speak up with pride.

This blessing is for mothers who put pinwheels, teddy bears, or flowers on their children's graves.

This blessing is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who haven't the words to reach them, and yet have never put them from their heart.

This blessing is for new mothers stumbling through diaer changes and sleep depriviation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. And women who became mom's by the choice of children who were lost, or by virtue of accident or being in the right place at the right time. And for grandmothers, great grandmothers, wise elders and matriarchs.

And this blessing is for all of us who will move beyond sentiment into actions which support mothers and mothering persons in all their life-giving and life-nurturing roles.

Gifts of Grace Block 3

When I first saw this I thought it would be my least favorite but now that it's done I believe it is my favorite so far. Maybe it's the colours. I didn't do the beads this time. I think I'll wait til the end. I have other hand stitching projects I'm working on so limited time.

The bazzar on Saturday was great. We did a booming buisiness with the coffee and muffins and with hot dogs. I think it will become a staple of our bazaars. We could have used more help. I was exhausted by the time I got home and actually missed Church on Sunday morning. I get so tired it's really annoying. They also had a hit the minister in the face with a wet sponge event and raised $62 *LOL*

I usually go to the bazaars but don't get so personally involved. It surprised and gladened me to see so many members just come and hang out for the day and drink coffee and visit. At $1 for a bottemless cup of coffee it was the best deal in town. It was fun having friends around all day.

I've had these odd things growing in my deck planters all winter. I thought they looked like Snap Dragons but that's not possible is it? Survive over the winter? Well, guess what?

They ARE snapdragons. The only thing I can think of is it has been a mild enough winter aside from the cold winds, but these were behind the barbeque out of the wind and next to the wall where the fireplace is so maybe it was sheltered and warm enough of them to survive. I've had a few seed themselves before but they usually don't appear until the weather warms up more the end of May.

Have a great day everyone.