When I Buy Thread...

I BUY THREAD...  Haha.  Can you see those two mondo sized cones of thread?  For comparison, on the left is a normal size spool, and in the middle is a normal sized cone.  And if that doesn't give you a good idea of how big they are, just compare them to the sewing machine they are sitting next to.

These cones are for the bags I'm making.  They are supposed to be a strong nylon thread, so let's hope they work out.

When I get my sewing room rearranged, I'm thinking that I will have one machine set up exclusively for making bags.

Sewing Table Finished

Ta-da!  My new sewing table is complete.  Finally got the nerve to cut the hole in the table, which was the biggest thing for me to do - can't un-cut it once it's done!  The opening for Clarice isn't perfect, but it is good enough for me.  There's a little bit of space behind the machine, about a half inch opening, that I'm not please about.  I may get a piece of wood and cut it to size to fit snugly in that space.  I don't want any of my piece work falling down there and getting lost.  Although it might not be a big deal.  Will have to just sew on it and see if things fall back there or not.

The actual construction of the sewing table was not that difficult.  If you remember, I purchased the table at a thrift store a couple years ago.  My intent was to put a 301 in it and at the time I bought the table, I still hadn't bought Clarice.

There are supports and a shelf underneath to hold up the machine.  I found the directions online - just Google d.i.y. sewing table and you should find them.  One good thing, I didn't have to take the actual table top off and install adjustable bolts.  The size of the supports, plus the table top, was the correct depth for the machine to sit flush, so I just attached the shelf directly to the supports!  Works for me!  If I decide to use this for a different machine I can always change it up.  Not a big deal.

Now I really need to clean my sewing room and rearrange it.  There isn't any room for this in there right now!

Rib Fest At Home

Over the weekend we wanted bar-b-que ribs.  Since I neither have the time nor inclination to sit in front of a charcoal grill for the entire day, which is the proper way to do ribs, I put them in the oven for a few hours on very low.  They had been rubbed down with my secret rib rub and when they came out of the oven just needed to be finished off on the grill.  Here they are before they went onto the grill.

And here's what was left of them after we had dinner!

I was surprised we even had that many left.  Ben ate a dozen and Ev wasn't too far behind.  Hanna and I ate our fair share, too.  We also had cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, and garlic bread.  Not sure why we even bothered making sides, because the guys just ate ribs.  It was good to see them eat. Made me happy.

And this pile of bones made Ben's dogs happy.

We had our cook out on Sunday.  Nick was at Woodhaven, so he didn't come over, but Ev and I went to his house Monday afternoon and played bags for a couple hours.  It was a great weekend!

Wall Hanging Progress

The background is sewn together and the letters are fused on.  Now I need to stitch around the letters to secure them a bit more.

Green Or Pink?

This is one of the ideas for the wall hanging for the restaurant.  I like the green and blue combination, however, the gals at the restaurant alternate between pink and blue tee shirts with the logo on them, so I'm thinking this one would be better:

So the pink and blue is probably what I will go with.  I was thinking of doing 2" squares, but this is going to be easier, plus it looks 'cleaner', and I like that.

No idea yet how I will quilt it.  May just be stitch in the ditch.

Working Backwards

I have a new project in the works.  One of the local restaurants in town changed hands, and changed names as well.  The new owner has been very kind to me.  I would like to return the favor, so I decided to make a simple wall hanging with the name of the restaurant on it.

I don't usually work with fusible, but considering the fact that this will not be washed much, I think fusible will be okay.  The letters are going to be in black, so I ironed the fusible to the material and have traced the letter stencils on it backwards.  Next the letters need to be cut out.

I'm not sure what to iron them to, though!  Trying to design the small wall hanging in my head, but just not coming up with very good ideas.  I'm sure something will pop.

Growing Season

My two cherry tomato plants in that container are growing like crazy!  I'm really pleased with how well they are doing.  They have tiny tomatoes on them already, too!  Can't wait until it's full of them!

We have to keep the plants up on the deck, away from Addy.  I think she would probably make quick work of them, and tear them right out of the pots!  She does like to dig, but not as bad as some of the dogs we have had.  Mostly Addy likes to dig by the bushes for a cool place to lay down.

Busy, Busy

This is what has been keeping me busy!  These are stacks of 4 bags, so there are 32 bags here.  We had a slight issue with some of them coming apart at the sides, so I replaced them with bags I sewed a bit differently and with stronger thread.  Hopefully this corrects the problem!

I'm Still Here

Been busy sewing bags!  Will post more soon.

Arthur On Saturday!

Tomorrow morning is our trip to Arthur.  I have a list of items I would like to get, some from the bulk food store and some from the dry goods and fabric stores.  What I'm really looking forward to is spending time with my friends.

Tonight, if I remember... haha...  I would like to make a sample 'square in a square' block to take with to Arthur and show Mary.  We are considering doing that block for our swap next year in Paducah and it would be good to have a visual idea of what we would be making.  It's a pretty simple block and I know she knows how to make it, I just want to have it in front of us before we commit to making it for next year.  We have plenty of time, at least.

A Little Bit At A Time

The customer came to pick up the two sets of bags for the corn toss game today.  That was a few more bucks in my pocket, which I can certainly use, so I'm pretty grateful for that.  This order represents complete profit on my end (excluding my labor).  I have sold enough sets to cover the cost of materials I have purchased.  There are still enough materials to make quite a few more sets of bags, with the exception of the dried corn, but I don't really have a place to store a lot of 50 pound bags of corn!  They are readily available at the farm store, so I don't really worry about not being able to get corn when needed.

The place online that I purchase the canvas has usually shipped my order within a day of placing it, so I'm fairly confident that I can get it in a reasonable amount of time, should I run short.  Right now, I have 9 colors in stock, and enough to make sets of bags in each color more than once.

Moooo-ve It!

During my lunch break today I took a ride out to my daughter's.  These cows are just the other side of the fence next to her driveway.  I think I could just have sat outside all afternoon and watched them graze.

We took a little ride down to the lake, where they have a camping lot.  It was so peaceful there, too.

The sewing that I did last night was to make 2 more sets of corn toss game bags.  I got an order yesterday for two sets, to be done by Friday.  So last night I got right to it and sewed the bags together.  They were all ready to be filled and sewn shut.  That's what I intend to get finished tonight.

We are going to Arthur this weekend, so the money from the sale of the bags will come in handy!

More Rows Added

In addition to making the Simply Woven block, last night I also sewed a couple of rows to Bloomington Square.  That quilt is so big!  I have seven of the 18 rows sewn together.

Now, instead of flowers or hearts, I think I may just put a diamond at the intersection of the blocks.  I'd like to just make up a bunch of diamond shapes then applique them on with the Gemma.  That's my plan right now.  We all know that could change.  haha.

I used the new bobbin winder to wind 6 bobbins for the Kenmore.  While they wind tightly enough, they are not winding evenly.  I'm going to have to play with it a bit more to see if I can figure out how to fine tune things.  For the price I paid for the bobbin winder, my feeling is that it should do a better job.  Right now, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt by saying I need to become more familiar with it.  I will keep you all posted!

And I'm on the fence about ordering the Accu Quilt cutter in the next few days.  It's on sale for the price I am willing to pay, I just don't know right now if I should go ahead and get it.  I can put it on credit, but I don't really want to.  I know that I will be buying the machine, and am pretty sure it will come on sale for this price again soon, so I may just wait until I have the cash.

I Like This

I like this block a lot.  While blog surfing, I came across this pattern.   It is offered from Moda Bake Shop and is called Simply Woven.  Here's a link to the post about it:

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2012/10/simply-woven-quilt.html

The pattern calls for two jelly rolls to be cut up for the woven 'strips'.  It says that there doesn't have to be any order of the colors, which, in the picture they provide, looks nice, however, I'm thinking that if I keep the blocks all the same, the woven effect will be more stunning.

I'm also thinking of doing the blocks in Christmas fabrics.  The block itself is a bit labor intensive, because of all the cutting and pressing, however, the effect is worth it.

If It Rains All Day We'll Quack Like A Duck

Check out these two cute rubber ducks.  One has an orange bill and the other has a blue bill.  I bought them in Paducah to help support Merryman House Crisis Shelter.  They have a rubber duck derby every year during the Quilt Show that I like to participate in, also.  It's a good cause.

Anyway, it has been raining for days here, and when I looked at these cute little duckies I thought of that cute rhyme from years ago.

I have a couple ideas for my next quilt.  One of them is a pattern that needs a consistent background.  Looking at that picture above, I'm wondering if that second bolt of material would look good if I used scrappy Christmas fabrics for the rest of it.  Just thinking aloud...

A Tisket, A Tasket

I have sewing in a basket!  haha.  All of the rows for Bloomington Square are in that cute basket, waiting to be sewn into a top.

My sewing room really needs a thorough cleaning and organizing.  I just haven't gotten around to it.  I'd really like to rearrange the tables, but the room is so small, it will have to be done in stages.  Take the tables down and move to another room, then decide how I want them and bring them back in.  Of course, that means clearing off the tables first.  Sigh.

Going to Arthur to shop this weekend.  I'd like to find some material that matches the farm scene panel that I bought in Paducah.  That will be for a quilt for my uncle out in California.

Green Thumb

I am having some good luck (so far) this year with my tomato plants.  I have just two cherry tomato plants planted in a huge pot on my patio.  There are at least 5 tomatoes on it.  It must like all this rain!

Thinking I might get a pepper plant or two.

Wonky Top Is Done

Here's the Wonky Star top now that I have added two more rows and a white border.  I think this will be big enough now.

Going to let the top rest for a bit before I quilt it.  Bloomington Square is calling my name!  Ha ha.  I have 5 rows sewn together and there are a total of 18 rows.  Still thinking of doing the applique' on it while it's on Gemma.  Thinking I might make 4 flower petals and use an intersection of 4 blocks as the center point, then cover the center with a circle for the center of the flower.  Maybe make the petals different shapes.  Not sure yet what I might do.  Have to get all the background squares put into a top first anyway.

Hop To It

This little frog was hanging around when I took a walk today.  He wasn't in a hurry to move, so I'm guessing he never met my daughter, who, since she was able to walk, has had a fascination with frogs!

No sewing last night.  I cooked up a storm, though.  Grilled Italian Sausages and pork chops, then made a pot of chili.  So tonight I have no excuse not to sew!

Cloudy Weather

It's been rainy and overcast for a few days now.  These were the clouds last night when I was driving home.  They looked like icing on a cake!

I sewed for a bit this morning before work.  I finished sewing a sashing strip to all the squares and now I'm sewing the sashing/block pieces together to make two rows of 8.  Then they will be added to the quilt and I will have to see if I have enough of the blue material to border it or not.  If not, I'll just find something else, I guess.  I also have those 3" wonky star blocks to put in the border.  It will be a nice quilt when it is all done.

Bonding Time

This morning I spent ten minutes bonding with my sewing machine.  Like after all these years we aren't close....  hahahaha

Finished up replacing the small wonky star blocks on two sides with gold cornerstones.  I had picked them out last night and started replacing them but ran out of steam.

Also sewed sashing to a few of the new big wonky star blocks.

Keeping In Touch

I recently had a long conversation with my uncle in California.  We really didn't talk about anything specific, just bits and pieces of stuff, but it was nice to catch up with what's going on in his life.

He was telling me that some predator got his baby chicks and turkey poults.  When I asked about King Tut, his llama, he said that Tut will eat out of his hand, but still won't let him pet him.

When I was at Hancock's of Paducah I purchased some fabric that is covered with llama's!  I bought it with the intention of making my uncle a quilt.  I have a panel with a farm scene on it, too.  I really need to get busy on that.

Peaceful And Pretty, And Happy Mother's Day A Little Late!

Johanna and Ben have acquired a lake lot for camping!  It is really peaceful and pretty here.  They have a dock and are building a new deck.

Happy Mother's Day, a day late, to all my blogger friends.  Hope you had a nice day and were able to do whatever you wanted.  The kids took me out on Saturday night for dinner.  It was very nice and we had a good time.  Sunday we all met again for breakfast.  I am so blessed to have a wonderful family.

It's A Bird House, Not A Cat Feeder!

These pictures really need no words.  And yes, the cat did get the bird that was inside the box.  Sigh.

More Wonky Stars

I made quite a bit of progress on my wonky star blocks this weekend.  The dreaded pressing is what slowed me down.  I just don't care to press, but it's all part and parcel of the gig.  I was able to finish 15 of the 16 additional blocks needed to add two more rows to the Paducah 2016 top.

And once again, I proved that cutting in the morning is not my forte'.  I had a little bit of time when I got up, before we started our errands for the day, so I decided to cut some of the blue pieces into sashing pieces.  Which I proceeded to do.  Except my brain was thinking cornerstones, not sashing and I cut tons of blue cornerstones!  Argh!

I THINK I have enough blue left to make the sashings, but I'm telling you, this is making me crazy.  Why I can't cut properly in the morning is beyond me.

A Friday Off

I played hooky from work today.  Just spent the day enjoying the company of my hubby until he had to leave for work.  I did get about an hour of sewing in.

Since I had the chance, I asked the hubster for his opinion on what to do with the Paducah 2016 top.  Gave him the list of options and he chose the addition of two rows of blocks.  I think that's the best choice, too.

So that's what I started working on today.  I'm assembly line sewing the pieces this time.  Seems to be moving right along.

Just had tacos for dinner.  Was quick and easy.

Not Quite Big Enough

This is my Paducah 2016 top so far.  I think I need to add two more rows to it, to make it square.  Then a good size border.  If you look closely you can see the change in the color of the cornerstones on the last round.  I ran out of the fabric and had to substitute the other color.

And I know those little wonky star cornerstones don't have the same background and kind of stick out, but I'm leaving them.  I like them and want to use them in this quilt.

Did you notice the dog?  Silly Addy was laying down and of course I didn't have the heart to disturb her.

Honey, You Don't Have To Cook Tonight

When the hubby says that to me, I'm a happy gal!  We had lunch together, and our son even joined us, and when we were leaving the ol' hubster says not to bother cooking.  He's going to eat leftover meat loaf.  Who am I to argue?  hahahaha

Did some sewing last night.  I added a couple more rows to the Paducah 2016 top.  Think I'm going to add at least two borders to it to make it a bit large.  Ev's always complaining there isn't enough over hang on the sides of the bed.  He just wants to stretch the limits of my longarm frame!

I also played with the bobbin winder a bit more.  It does not easily wind all of the bobbins I want it to, but last night, after some fiddling around, I decided it did a good job on the bobbins that I use most, so I'll keep it.

Horsing Around

Look at these two 'city boys' petting a horse!  hahahaha.  Right next door to Nick's new place is a pasture that a couple of horses graze in.  This horse's name is Snow, I'm sure for her white coloring.  She is very gentle.

Yesterday after work I was very busy.  Nick needed a new pump for the washing machine we gave him, so the two of us stopped at the applicance store and bought one, then I had to deliver my papers (love having that gig, let me tell you - that's my fun money!).  Also had to take Ev his thermos of coffed at work, since he forgot it.

When I finally got home, had to make dinner and do up a bunch of dishes.  By the time I was done, it was almost 8 p.m. and I was pooped!  hahaha.  I could have gone upstairs to sew, but I figured if I did, I would probably make mistakes.

I did have one big craving for Dairy Queen that wouldn't go away.  Finally, about 9 p.m., I just gave in and headed over to DQ.  Called Nick first to see if he and Olivia wanted anything - and of course they did, so I even delivered ice cream to them on my way home.  Their house is on the way, so it wasn't even out of my way to do it.

Nick got the washing machine running again, by replacing the pump.  I was pretty pleased that he was able to do that.

Here's me and my son.  He looks just like his daddy.

Really hoping tonight I have time to sew.  See my new Paducah shirt in the picture?  Now that makes me smile...

Mary and I are planning a trip to Arthur in a few weeks.  Looking forward to that.

29 Years Together

Today is my wedding anniversary!  My darling husband and I have been married 29 years today.  I feel very blessed to have him in my life.  We have been through good and bad times; weathered many storms together; and each has held the other up when their own legs wouldn't.  God sure knew what He was doing when he put us together.  Thank You.

Busy Weekend

So last weekend Nick moved into a house on the edge of town.  It's a cute little house, with woods behind it.  I hope he will have a lot of good memories made there.

Ev and I decided to get him and Olivia a used washer and dryer a friend of mine was selling very, very reasonably.  That took up a good chunk of the weekend, picking it up, going to the hardware store, hooking them up...  But it will be worth it not to have to do his laundry anymore!  hahaha

Didn't really sew much, other than those two sets of bags.  I finished them and took them right up to the tavern that ordered them, and got paid.

Today I put more of my little flyers out, advertising the bag sets and my phone number.  Hopefully it will bring in a little more business.  Every little bit helps!