Quilters math

I've been facebooking so much- my thoughts here are short and disjointed...

 Quilters Math: 6x7 does NOT equal 35 (or 36) - that's what I get for making it up as I go along and not writing down my plan.

Rearranging the studio - AGAIN. Jill is coming to visit -and the room has changed TWICE since she was here a year ago.

The garden is calling - yesterday was a full purge of the garage- we emptied EVERYTHING out and put some of it back in.  Today I cannot move...

Hubby just put fresh waffles on the table - so that is where I am headed.

Have a wonderful sunny Sunday!

 

I caved....

...nuff said

 

Spring Cleaning

It doesn't happen often - this urge to clean, purge, and organize. It is even less likely for Hubby and I to both have this urge at the same time. Today the planets are in alignment... so I will keep on going as long as we can. Emptied 6 plastic storage totes already - filled boxes for goodwill, craigslist and a couple of FB swap pages I am on. Just broke for lunch and a shower and am heading up to the studio... wonder if I will get distracted by the machine and/or the project on the design wall?? (probably ) What are YOU doing today?

Post Vacation Pondering

I just got back from a 10 day spring break - visiting family and recharging the batteries.   As usual - the recharge included lots of time to think, and lots of new ideas to try.  Just before we left, I was finishing up projects to take with us - including 5 4Patches4Hope quilts, so now I am kind of "in between projects" (not counting a few UFO's... ok - more than a few UFO's) - and trying to decide what to do next.

I will be moving some furniture around in my studio over the coming weeks, cleaning up, purging some things, removing a couple pieces of furniture - and making room for a quilting frame to move in.  It is going to be tight - but 90% of the time I am the only one up there, so I should not have a problem.  Hubby is buying me a flat screen TV and we are getting a ROKU streaming box, so that will take up less room than the monster TV and components I currently have.  I just need to have it all rearranged and set by the time Jill comes in May.

I played more with jewelery making while visiting my sisters at The Mercantile -  I even learned wire wrapping!!!  Now I want to get my beading stuff out again.  I also have a quilt to make for my nephew, and one for a new baby due in June (not mine...) ... plus I am hooked on hexagons right now and have lots of different ideas I want to try....

Not to mention it is warming up outside and the garden is beckoning...  I've been growing greens inside in front of my french doors -and we just harvested 8 cups for dinner - but I am ready to start the seeds that will eventually go outside (around end of May in these parts).


I think I am going to need another vacation...

Road Crafts

I'm getting ready to leave on a road trip - it will be about 18 hours in the car EACH WAY plus a few nights in hotels.   Hubby does most of the driving, and the Munchkin keeps himself pretty entertained with videos in the back seat (highway games only get us so far...) so to keep myself from sleeping most of the way, I bring small projects to work on.

We are in a smaller vehicle this time - in the minivan bringing a quilt to bind was not a problem - as I had plenty of room.  We are now in a RAV4 - so the working space is a little narrower (not to mention I don't have any quilts at the binding stage at the moment) - and the cargo space is a bit smaller - so this is what I have packed so far:

1.  my neverending knitting project (shawl/scarf) - I can only work on this in spurts before I have to put it down, but I think I will be able to make a big dent in it over the course of the trip.  Hoping to at least finish the first skein and get to the halfway point.

2.  some felt Christmas ornaments.  I started these 2 years ago for a Christmas in July - and that whole month got turned upside down, so they got put aside and have gone untouched until I dug them out this morning.  I think I will finish them up, gift some, and put the rest in the members boutique at our quilt show this summer.  All I am doing is stitching the two halves together with embroidery floss- running stitch - so these won't last me long as a project.  The embellishments will have to wait until after we get home -I think that would be challenging to juggle on my lap.

3.  sock monkeys - I have two to finish up that I need to do on the way, as they will be staying at our destination.  These may be done before we leave - but if not they should assemble quickly en route.

4.  hexies - I am jumping on the hexie bandwagon - I like the little ones, so have 100 3/4" templates and a bag full of 2" squares ready to go (Wonderland scraps, of course!!!)

5. any other ideas????  I do have some other wool/felt ornaments in a kit that I picked up but never started - they require some cutting and prep work ahead of departure - so not sure if I will have them ready for the trip.

The "wearing o' the green"

So Hubby and I are not much fun when it comes to St. Patrick's Day - sometimes we will have corned beef and cabbage at my in-laws, but other than that we don't make too much of a big deal over it.  Neither one of us is Irish - and just coming off the hooplah of "birth month" it is the last thing on our radar.

This year my "wearing o' the green" involved a bit of recycling one of the Munchkin's tee shirts (green), fabric color (green) and an earth theme (green).

I am more of an orange person anyway - and was excited to find this for my new iron:

 

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

"And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free, as turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.” ― 

 Dr. Seuss, Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

Thanks for lots of great stories and memories, Dr. Seuss!  I could fill my page with favorite quotes, but thought this one was most appropriate for me.

 

Three Sheets to the Room

A few years ago, I did a makeover of the Munchkin's bedroom.  As his 8th birthday approached, I realized it was time for another update - something to reflect the Munchkin of today.

We had already swapped out his sagging bookcase for a stacked cubby unit - which he has filled with books, LEGO models, and some other odds and ends.

And the table that sat in the middle of his room covered with LEGO and taking up ALL the avalable floor space was replaced with a Hubby-built LEGO desk, with storage shelves underneath for his sorting bins and more "odds and ends".


So -with all this LEGO going on, the robot bedding we had was just not doing it (for me - Munchkin didn't seem to mind).

So three flat sheets, a bit of cutting and a bit of applique later, and I had whipped up two new valences and a cover for the robot comforter.

Good to have the sewing machine back from being serviced -as I satin stitched all around the applique.

LEGO guy on the bed - his old comforter is inside the new cover.

LEGO cover and all his "buddies" hanging out.

New valances made from the cuff end of the striped sheets, with the remaining sheet used to make the reverse side of the comforter cover.

The other window (curtains tied up due to LEGO interference) his new cube storage stool, and the open space where the table used to be.

And now we are good... for a few more years perhaps?