October Secret Pal Swap

I decided for the October swap to make something for my pal. I know I would love to receive a handmade gift in my package. In the end this project did get a label simply for the added personalization.





After finishing this one up I decided I really like the backing fabric. I think I will use it on the front of my next one.

WaaaaaHoooo

After 2 months of working I finished the quilt for my friend's baby son.I have named it " Oh, the places you will go" , because it has bears in cars and firetrucks on it. Here is a picture of it.

Birthday

Today is my birthday and I decided to just work on what I want to. This morning I worked on my secret pal swap gift for October. I am making a vertical wall hanging for my pal. I got the top done just need to square and layer it. I suspect i will be done with it by Friday. Now, do I label it or not???

Princess Quilt !

After months of working on this the princess quilt is finally done. Next, I will work on binding the car quilt. Then wash them both and gift them. I can't wait to give them to the kids :)

Quilting is Done!

No, not for good! I finished the quilting part of the princess and car quilts. Now onto binding. I won't post pictures until they are complete and delivered because the mom might see them here. But I am so excited to be able to deliver them soon.

Finally!!!!

I am SO excited! I finally got the labels to embroider properly. Here is a picture of the Ballerina Princess Quilt Label. Now I need to quilt that top.



here is the label for the baby car quilt ....




I went to the hand surgeon this morning and he is sending me for nerve testing. It sounds like I will need surgery on my right arm again for cubbital tunnel syndrome. I will know more after the tests. I am planning on trying to get these 2 quilts done before surgery. I have to layer and start on the princess quilt this weekend. The labels are done and the quilting on the baby one. So, after the quilting on the princess quilt it is just binding which I wil do by machine.

UGH

It looks like I may have to limit my sewing for quite awhile. I was desperately trying to finish these 2 quilts but I keep dropping stuff and getting frustrated so I don't think it will happen. After my carpal tunnel surgery last year, the doctor said he thought my other nerve ( in my elbow) was affected too. I did all the conservative treatment he suggested. Almost a year later the pain is worse, I am dropping stuff and my arm just feels weak. I am going to see him again tomorrow and see if he thinks I can get away without treatment ( maybe it will heal on it's own?). I am pretty sure he will send me for tests then surgery. That is what we talked about last year. In the mean time I just wish I had someone to help me finish these quilts. There is not much at all left to one (binding). Maybe I can convince Josh to help me.

Oh, the label I made yesterday I had to trash. The momma spelled the babies name different then what I embroidered Grrrrrr. Tried embroidering it again today but kept dropping everything and just hurt so after 3 times I shut the machine off and walked away!!!!I has never taken me 3 plus months to do 2 baby quilts. I am so frustrated!!!!

Trial and Error

I was so excited yesterday when I figured out how to create a design in the Artista software that came with my Bernina. This morning when I tried to embroider said design I was less then thrilled. This is what it came out looking like. Now granted i used poor thread choices on the writing but I was more bummed about the creases next to the design.



After three tries each adjusting something I was able to embroider this label. I discovered that when I got the few creases on this one it was when I was cutting the excess thread and stabilizer. Is there a trick to this?


My first try after the above disaster I changed needles, my second try I used diffrent thread and finally this last try I used a lighter stabilizer. I think it will look ok once it is sewn onto the quilt. Afterall, the quilt is not laying smooth due to quilting.So the small crease that is there will blend.




I think this is probably like quilting and the more I do it the better I will get at it.

Princess top

After working for the last month I finally got the second top complete. Now, I need to layer the baby car quilt and this one. This is my least favorite part as I have to ask my husband for help. Trying to layer with one hand gets tricky rather quickly. Thank God he doesn't mind helping. Here are a couple of pictures of the princess top.






My goal is to quilt my tote first so I get used to the motion and then do this one and the baby one. Now, what do I put on the labels?????

new project

I decided to take a break from the two baby quilts today. I whipped up a business card holder for my purse. I made up some cards to leave the teachers after I sub. Each card has my email, phone number, sub Id so they can request me again if they like me.I have been wanting to do this for awhile so it is a big relief to get it done. Here are the card holders...



Now to make my tote .....hopefully I can get it done this weekend....

I spent the last week working on this linus top. A friend of mine from Aol quilt chat sent me the kit. She heads linus in her area. I had loads of fun doing this and even learned a couple of new things. This will be shipped back to MI and quilted before it is sent off to a needy child.





my next project is a princess quilt. When that is finished I will quilt and bind it along with the baby top. I am hoping once those are finished I can get some fall and winter decorations made up for the house.

Awesome deal

I was never into food themed fabric. But, I saw this fabric and loved it so I bought 1/2 of a yard. Then I decided it would be perfect for a apron. I went back to Joanne's and got two more yards. By the time I used my coupon and VIP discount I paid $0.88 for 2 yards. The day before I had paid $2.29 for 1/2 yd. Go figure! Check it out I can't wait to make my apron.

Iron

I have been ironing alot of yardage lately and a pile of scraps is staring at me day in and day out. So, I began the hunt for a new iron. Right before my wedding I went to a quilt show and saw the Oliso 1600 in action. It ironed seams like you could not believe. However, it was too pricy for me so I put it in the back of my head for maybe one day. Today we went to Joannes to get rotary blades and my dh noticed the oliso iron they had was on sale for 20% off. He asked me if I would like it but I said no. After coming home and discussing it we went back and picked up the oliso 1050. It was on sale for $79.00 and I got an additional $9 off. It is normally $119.00. I was nervous to bring it home and try it because I did not want to be disappointed. I got it home and guess what it is amazing. One pass ironing I already ironed 3 of my most wrinkeled 1/4 yd scraps. I cant wait to get it all ironed and cut !

Baby Top

I have been working in my sewing room for a little over two weeks.Today I finished the top that has been on my machine. This is for a soon to be baby boy of my friend, It was a nice easy project to get back in the swing of things. I can't finish it just yet. I want to embroider a label for this one and my machine is not hooked up to a computer right now. so, this top will remain a top for the time being. I will move on to work on a linus top while i wait for the embroidery unit to be working again. Here are two pictures of the top. One is a close up of the fabric, the other the whole top.

back to Normal

We are back from our honeymoon. Well, we got back 2 weeks ago but I have been crazy trying to get the house back to normal. We left our dog and cat here with a neighbor checking on them 3 times a day. They can really make a mess both of them being black.

The wedding was absolutely a fairy tale. We could not have had a better day. here are just two pictures from the wedding:




We took a cruise to the Eastern Caribean for our honeymoon. Neither of us had every been on a cruise before and we are now hooked! It was absolutely amazing.Here is a picture from our balcony on the ship.



We spent 11 days on the east coast prior to the wedding. It was great to see so many family members and friends. We had dinner with one old friend that we had not seen in 10 years. It is always such fun to catch up. We are hoping to keep in touch and expand our relationships with so many of our friends back East.

So, now that life is finally settling down I am working in my sewing room again. I have a baby quilt in the works and another one I need to make for a toddler. Also, on my to do list is table runners and place mats for the fall. If anyone has a cool pattern let me know please.I pulled a bunch of fabric from my stash for this.

Last day as a single woman

I woke up this morning kind of numb and very nervous. I cannot believe the wedding is tomorrow ! We had the rehearsal dinner last night. Thank god everyone behaved and it was a real nice time. I truly am so grateful that my family put their issues with eachother aside and celebrated with us. It could not have gone smoother. I will be posting pictures on facebook tonight of the rehearsal.

Today should be a pretty relaxing day. Next time I post I will be a married woman !

Tonight

It is hard to believe that tonight we leave for our wedding. Two years of planning all comes down to this. This weekend we will be busy with seating charts, place cards, favors and programs. Thank God my inlaws are going to help us. Everything is going so fast now!
We are hoping to catch up with some old friends while in NY. Most of them will be at the wedding. However, I still hope to see a couple that won't be there. It is always so hectic to go up to NY and try to reconnect with everyone. This time around it is even crazier. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. I will try my best to keep the blog updated with pictures etc.

~Wish us Luck ~

Plans

Wedding plans are going full force ahead. It is hard to believe we leave for Philly Friday. Thank God we have awesome neighbors and friends that are house sitting for us. Everything that we needed to receive prior to out trip has gotten to us :) So, we are left with packing and shipping a box with favors and programs that still need to be put together. I'm getting really excited now. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well. I will try to keep this updated until we go on our honeymoon. Then there is no access to the internet for a few days. I honestly can't wait !

First Quilt show

I was truly amazed at the quilts displayed at the Sharonville Creative Festival. One Artist imparticular caught my attention(Irena bluhm). She does whole cloth quilts and then colors them in with colored pencils. The coloring is set with textile medium and the quilt becomes washable. I was so excited by her quilts that I bought her book to try this merthod when I get back from the honeymoon. Here are some of her quilts:

update

After a rocky start to the week things are coming along nicely.

Monday night I got a call that my grandmother fell and broke her hip. She had surgery on Tuesday and is doing ok. We are waiting to see if she needs a transfusion today her hemoglobin is low.The doctors say it wil be a long haul but she should do ok.Josh and I will go visit her the saturday before the wedding. She won't be able to be at the wedding. I am pretty sad about that, but as they say the show must go on.

Tuesday I got a ups delivery from a dear friend. My friend Karen sent me the best tote bag. I thought I wanted one that said bride but would only be able to use that once. Well karen bought me one with my new Initials NJH so weird after 32 years to have a new name. Anyway I love love love the bag. Here is a picture of it:




We bought favor kits last night and program kits all for a total of $200.00 not bad at all. I had a coupon for Michaels and so it came out for favors and programs $2.00 per guest. Can't beat that !


I am getting really excited for our trip we leave 1 week from today !

My next blog will prob be sewing related as I am planning to go to a sewing / quilting expo today up in Ohio. I'll let you all know how that goes and hopefully get some good pictures.

Sewing blog or wedding blog hmmm...

Ok so I decided to change this blog for the next month to cover everything going on for the wedding. It will serve as a place for me to keep my friends updated, as well as, somewhere I can vent. We leave for Philadelphia to stay with Josh's parents in ten days. It is hard to believe all the planning is about to be over and our day will be here. This past weekend we booked our limo, got all the final paperworked fed exed and Josh's parents booked the rehearsal dinner. That was a big chunk of what was left to do. Then yesterday, we bought our ringbearer his little tuxedo. Check it out :




My next big thing to do is get my dress back from the seamstress. She will be bringing it back this week and I pray everything is ok. After 3 days of calling I finally found someplace in NY that will steam my dress. Alot of places won't touch a wedding dress if they did not alter it. Who knew???????

We are left with deciding on what to do about programs, printing a few pictures and stuff out and buying a few last minute items like my bridal purse. Not so much to do but most is a little time consuming.

We have 25 people who have not yet responded to inites so we are in the process of contacting them as we have to give the hall a FINAL number on June 30th. I am hoping we get the responses soon so I can start on seating charts. Speaking of seating charts. We ordered place cards with our pictures on them and they are still not here :( Also our cake topper is somewhere in transit or production. These are the little things that are stressing me out. I was never a last minute person but all of a sudden everything is last minute because I am waiting on other people. That is enough to driveme crazy !!!

Thanks for listening to me vent :)

update

Wow! with all the wedding planning I have severely neglected my blog. I have not done any sewing/quilting since the last week in May. That last week I whipped up a quick bag as a thank you for my matron of honor. She did an amazing job on my bridal shower. Here is a picture of that bag.


I still have 1 more bag to make this week as a gift. Then I intend to work on a bridal crazy tote. We leave for New jersey on July second. Hard to believe 2 weeks from tomorrow. Anyhow, I plan to keep everyone updated on the wedding activities on here and facebook. I will link my blog to facebook ( if I can figure that one out). This way everyone can join in the hysterical chaos that is sure to happen leading up to the wedding.

More later...

more totes

Here are two more totes I made. The pink one is for my mom i stuffed it with pajamas. The second one is for me to use. I will probably make myself another one soon.

Mothers Day Gift

I had no idea what to get for Mother's day for anyone. I will be back up in Ny May 20 and hand deliver these gifts. This one is for my step mother Jo. I am making two more one for my mom and one for my MiL. The one for mom I will stuff with bath stuff and the one for mil with quilt stuff :)

Tote !

I finally got around to making my first tote. It took me 2 days but I think next time it will only take a few hours. I can't wait to go shopping for fabric to make different patterns! My big one will be a BRIDE tote to use the days we are on our wedding trip.

Quilted cosmetic bag

For years I have been intimidated by making purses and bags. However what intimidated me even more was zippers. Yesterday I conquered both fears. Here is a quilted cosmetic bag I made. Today I will start on a charm pack party tote I can't wait :)

UFO finished and used in sewing room

I had one top unfinished. This weekend I decided to finish it as a lap quilt for my sewing room. It is by far not my favorite but it will do until I can make myself a new one.

Grandma's comfort

I gave been real busy in my sewing room. I decided to make my grandmother a comfort quilt since she is in a lot of pain and going thru deciding if she will seek treatment for her condition or just live whatever life she has left. Anyhow , I wish I could be with her but I can't so I made her this quilt to surround her in love. Hopefully it helps just a little bit.

Spring Purse

I just finished my first purse. I learned a few things and the next will be more stable but here it is. I love the colors :)

Quilt Shop Sale !

I took a ride today to pick up my March BOM and they store was having a 20 % off sale. I picked up these 4 fabrics to make a disappearing 4 patch quilt. Check out this link. I hope it is ok to link to her blog.

href="http://sewwonderful.blogspot.com/2010/02/disappearing-4-patch-or-4-to-9-patch.html"




My friend Brooke and I have also been talking about making spring/ summer purses. I picked up this pattern to make our purses.



I got awesome prices too. one pattern and 5.5 yards of quilt fabric for $50.00. I'll take that anyday. FYI the fabric for the disappearing four patch quilt is for a thank you quilt for my mom. I will give it to her at the rehersal dinner for our wedding to thank her for all her support all these years.

extension table

I have been sewing on and off but my big news this weekend was.... Josh and my friend Matt built me an extension table for my Bernia.







I also did some unexpected fabric shopping at Walmart. My Walmart had some fabric .75 to 1.50 a yard. I picked up 7 yards....

and then there were eight...

I got 4 more blocks finished today ....



Let's hope for a baker's dozen tomorrow :)

It's a start

Work has been tiring me out so I thought maybe I should not sew (what was I thinking?).Sewing is my therapy and relaxation.I cannot imagine not having that litte bit of solice. I decided to get started today on the Disappearing 9 patch quilt for my grandmother. I will need 24 blocks total. My goal is to ship it to her by April 20th for her birthday April 26th. If I sew 4 blocks a day I will have all my nines sewn by Monday then I can cut and resew amd be finished with the blocks next week. Here are my first 4 nine's ....

February Block of the Month

I managed to get some sewing in yesterday morning and this morning. I finished my February BOM. I don't normally like Civil war prints but this one is starting to grow on me. I think it is because I like the star pattern.



I am trying to decide what my next project should be. I am going to be making a disappearing nine patch quilt for grandma in pink , purple and black. Also, I want to make my mom a scrappy red, brown , pink quilt using moda " fliratation" charm pack. I have no more energy today so I think I'll wait until tomorrow to start anything new.

More kids quilts

Life has been hectic lately. I started a new job last week. I miss my sewing time. I am going to try to get an hour or 2 in a day even though I am working but I am absolutely exhausted since I started. Hopefully I get used to working real soon and it is not an issue anymore. Sat/ Sun morning was spent working on my Quilts for kids Downy top. Yesterday, I got it in the mail and on it's way to Pennsylvania. This quilt was harder then any I have done before simply because I was tired and trying to get it complete. I noticed in the picture my border is a bit wavy. I am sure it will be enjoyed by some little boy regardless of the wavy border. It is hard to see in the picture but the main fabric is black with bright colored go carts on it!

baby quilt

I finally finished my pinwheel quilt. I delivered it to my hairstylist today and she seemed to like it. In fact, she said she was going to talk to me about commissioning a baby quilt from me and that made me feel real good :)I beat her to it though. The thing I found odd about this quilt was that I had a horrible time finding dragon fly fabric. it is funny how fabric that is in this year will disappear for next year. Taking that into consideration I just bought 6 yards of a fabric I liked because I may not see it again !

Another one

I just finished the last linus kit I had. I am hoping to drop it off at linus today. I started on my quilts for kids quilt. i should have all the blocks made by tonight.It will be nice to get those sent off too.This is my third linus quilt of the yer so far :)

Do UFO's grow when you are not looking???

I have been hearing so much about UFOs since new year's . Alot of people are working on finishing theirs. I have been thinking I don't have any ufo's. Boy was I wrong !! I found 6 this morning in various stages of the quilting process. 3 are tops ready to be quilted. 2 need sleeves and 1 needs to be finished into a top. That does not include the 3 quilts for kids I commited to and the baby quilt I am working on.Nor the 3 projects I have that I would like to get done before the holidays next year. I really hope my hand starts getting better. Right now I am thinking if I limit myself to 30-60 min a day I should be ok since i am resting my hand most of the day. Thankfully sewing does not really bother it to much most of the time since I don't keep my elbow bent for long periods while sewing. We will see how it goes but I would like to get these ufo's done before they grow again!!!!

January BOM

I just finished my January BOM. This is the first block of the month club I have ever done. Not my typical style but it is fun to do something out of my comfort zone. Saturday I bring it back to the quilt shop and get my February block :) I can't wait to see what it will be!