Spring Fabric Basket

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I love candy.....especially chocolate. Hershey's kisses are one of my favorite.  They hold a big bang of chocolate in a little tiny package.

 

I don't normally have candy just laying around otherwise I just eat the whole thing but I have been trying to restrain myself more but I decided it would be nice to put out some candy over the Easter holiday.

 

I wanted a cute bowl to put the candy in and looking around, I really didn't have anything suitable so what did I do?  I made one.

 

Looking on Pinterest for inspiration, I found quite a few ideas and then I found this one and thought it couldn't hurt giving it a try.

 

Gathering my scrap fabric, a pair of pinking shears, I started by cutting a range of different patterned scraps into small squares using my pinking shears. 

 

 

Blowing up a balloon to a small size, I then mixed up my homemade modge podge and started applying a thick coat to the balloon and then over the squares once I had placed them in random order over the balloon.

 

 

It didn't take me long but it was sort of messy.  I did tape the balloon to the counter as it kept rolling away from me.

 

  

Once I felt I had enough squares, I hung the balloon to dry overnight.

 

            

 

The next morning, I popped the balloon and once again taking my pinking shears, I carefully trimmed all around the top of the bowl so it was uniform and the size I wanted.

 

 

 

The bowl isn't as sturdy as I would like it.  I think next time I will add more layers of fabric but I love the look of the  bowl and many more could be made to suit each holiday....just to have a few treats laying around for company or when I need a pick me up.....as long as I don't need too many pick me ups or I will need to pick my butt up off the couch and go for more walks to whittle away the pounds that I will be gaining! 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Looky What Was in My Mailbox!

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I am so excited!  Looky at what was in my mailbox this morning.  Everyday I visit one of my favorite bloggers, Cath, over at Bit's and Bobs  Cath lives in Australia and she is currently having a 12 point giveaway. 

Each time you comment on her blog, your name is entered into her giveaway.  She draws once a month, hence the name 12 point giveaway!

Well I won the February giveaway!!! I comment anyway as I have been following Cath for years now but what a surprise when I saw my name was posted as last months winner. 

It was such a pleasure to see the envelope in the mailbox especially since we still have quite a bit of snow on the ground.

The package included a beautiful eighth of fabric, 4 adorable wooden buttons....one being a cat!  Woo hoo and two homemade gift tags.

I LOVE them Cath!  Thank you so much.  It took awhile to cross the Atlantic but it was worth the wait. 

Why not pop on over to Cath's, say hi and admire her beautiful quilts that she works on.  She is a true artist with the needle and thread.  Your name just might be drawn next!  Again, thank you Cath and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

What to Do When the Snow Won't Stop

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Another winter storm moved in the other day which buried us again in more snow so the only thing I could think of to do that would lift my spirits was fabric ..... and lots of it.

Watching the snow swirl out the windows yesterday, I chose some greens .... that reminded me of green grass (I hope we see some this year!) and a couple of flowered prints.  Digging out my rotary cutting blade, I  got to work slicing.  Slicing for a rag lap quilt.  I figured that if I started a quilt this late in the year, spring would surely come and it would then end up in the UFO basket where it would sit until fall.  That's okay though this time, as it would mean that spring had arrived!

Since I didn't have any medium weight batting on hand and I didn't want to head out in the snow, I found an old flannel flat sheet that once belonged to a set.  The fitted sheet had long since retired to the rag bag so I decided it would be a perfect replacement.

I spent the afternoon measuring and cutting 6 inch cotton squares and 4 inch batting squares.  I chatted with hubby as I cut since he decided it was the perfect day to bake some homemade bread ..... go for it my dear!

Finishing up all the cutting after a couple of hours, I set to work with the sewing.  That didn't last long however, as after a dozen or so squares, I realized it was time to get dinner started. 

Well at least everything is cut and ready to go.  I even had time to plan the layout on a grid.  I am sure I will finish it before all this snow melts.  That will be a while, I think!
  

 

  

Have a wonderful day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Rice Bags

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Oooh, rice bags .... they are making waves on Pinterest right now.  I would assume it is due to the fact that the cold weather has either started to settle in around some parts or is on it's way.  

Nights have gotten chilly .... really chilly.  Rice bags are the perfect solution to this problem.  They are wonderful to heat up and place under the covers at the foot of the bed a few minutes before crawling in.

They are wonderful on the lap under the quilt that covers my legs while watching television in the evenings or when I am curled up with a good book or while I am knitting.

photo credit

Rice bags are also great pain relievers ... either warmed up or used as a freezer pack, rice bags take away aches and pains oh so very easily.  They mold nicely to the small of the back or around the neck and on the shoulders.  Best of all they make great Christmas gifts!  Easy to make and easy on the budget, rice bags are a gift that everyone will love!

Remember my huge fabric stash?  Well this is another way of slimming it down.  I have done quite a bit of searching for the easiest pattern so they would not become a chore to make and as usual, the good old internet came through once again!  Selina over at Sew We Quilt gave the fastest, easiest and had the clearest instructions.  Making six bags at a time was the perfect solution to sewing them up quickly.

Digging through the stash, I found some odd and end pieces of flannel.  I have a few people in mind to give as Christmas gifts and I was lucky enough to have flannel that suited each person's personality.  The flannel will be used as the 'outer', removable bag.  This way the 'outer' bag can be washed when needed.

Selina mentioned using only 100% cotton for the lining of the rice bags and I found it in an old, flat bed sheet!  

Perfect!  Cutting the fabric for the inner bags and the outer bags, I increased the size a bit .... I never can seem to keep to the exact patterns!  

My outer bag was cut at 24 x 8 inches and the inner bag was cut at 25 x 8 inches.  I thought that was strange the inner bag was bigger but then it dawned on me that once the rice was added, it would actually 'shrink' the bag.  Duh.  Sometimes I am slow on the uptake.

Anyhoo, I cut six outer bags and six inner bags and sewed them up.  So easy! and fast!  

Filling the inner bags was of course messy since I am a born klutz and more rice ended up on the counter top and floor than in the actual inner bag but I wasn't complaining! In under one hour, I had six bags made for three very special people on my Christmas list and I know they will be appreciated.  

How wonderful is that?  Making something homemade for the ones you love and in your heart you know that they will be used and used gladly.

Doing some more searching, I found a cute Rice Bag saying that will be printed on hardback paper and added to the bags.

 The Rice Bag                                                                    

This little pillow filled with rice                                                                                             

Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes on high,                                                                                  

And kiss those aches and pains goodbye

Apply it to the troubled spot,

The heat will ease the pain a lot.

Or warm those little toes so cold,

You’ll find this nice to have and hold.

Or freeze it for a little while,

And fix that boo boo up in style.

Instead of a compress made of ice,

Use this pillow filled with rice.

    

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Time to Mod Podge

Pin It I found these at a yard sale last week and snatched them up for 10 cents a piece not knowing what I was going to do with them.  They were such a great price that I just couldn't resist.

Then Saturday, I found these at another yard sale.  Since the set was only $1.50, they would be perfect for our main washroom.  A candle will be lovely sitting on the little tray attached tray.  Planning on making some changes to our decor once I am back home, I knew that I could change the little wooden trays up a bit to match.

I am not sure how Bob is going to feel about having such a girly girl washroom...especially the main washroom but he usually doesn't complain too much as long as he doesn't have to do any of the work.

Stripping off the plastic and paper liner that was on the tray proved to be very difficult as you can see in the top right hand corner.  I had to use a scraper and some warm water to get the sticky goo under the paper off the tray but they finally came clean.

I then cut my pink rose fabric the correct size to fit nicely into the trays.  Giving the bottom of the tray a coat of mod podge, then laying the piece of fabric down and applying more mod podge to the top of the fabric, I assumed I was done and just had to wait for it to dry.  Well that it wasn't going to be that easy.

Unfortunately once the mod podge dried, you could see through the flowery fabric and the dark green paint with white paint splattered underneath....NOT what I wanted but I wanted to use this fabric!

So I once again cut three pieces of the same fabric and applied those on top of the already applied fabric in the trays.  Once dried, the fabric underneath was faintly visible through the top fabric but I didn't mind the look.

These trays will be perfect to hold my nail polish, makeup and brushes once the washroom is finished.

Well now I am hoping to find a few more items for the washroom at yard sales before I head back home.  Hee, hee.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

The Jelly Roll Race Quilt

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Well I did it. I have been wanting to try the great Jelly Roll Race Quilt Challenge for a while.  I have searched many websites and the idea was more or less the same on all of them.


Open a jelly roll and start sewing.  

Sorry for this blurry picture.  I almost had forgotten to take a picture of the jelly roll and had started to untie it.  Then I had to take it quickly as I was determined to finish the quilt top by dinner time and it was already pushing 3pm.


This is a bright jelly roll.  Not really my style of fabric but it was cheap.....on clearance at Walmart for $4.00.  Perfect for trying this challenge without spending a lot of money in case I didn't like how it turned out.


Taking the jelly roll apart, I stacked the different fabrics in piles and arranged them in the order I found most appealing.

Now for those of you who have not heard of the 1600 Jelly Roll Quilt, you start sewing the jelly roll strips end to end in the order you placed them.  Once done, you will have a very long strip of fabric approximately 1600 inches long....a BIG pile like this!

Next cut 20 inches off of the beginning of the long strip of fabric.  It makes no difference which end.  This is an important step as it will stagger your seams.

Now find the two ends of the strip and put right sides together.  Start at one end and sew the whole length...when you get to the end, cut the loop.  You will now have a very long strip that is 2 jellyroll strips wide.  This step took me approximately 45 minutes!

A little side note....you can press the seams open but it isn't really necessary as they won't be in the way.

Now, find the two ends of the long strip again and put right sides together and begin sewing again.  Don't forget when you get to the end loop, cut it.  You will now have a strip that is a 4 jellyroll strips wide.  

Again, find the two ends of this long strip and put the right sides together and sew away!  Once you cut the loop at the end, you will have an 8 jellyroll strips wide strip.  

Next, join the two ends of the long strip, put right sides together, sew and cut the loop at the end.  Your strip will be 16 jellyroll strips wide.  

One more time people!  Find the two ends of the long strip, put right sides together, sew all the way down, cut the loop.  You will end up with a 32 jellyroll strips wide quilt top!

It worked!  I ended up with a quilt top approximately 50" x 64".  I am going to use this as the 'center' of my quilt.  I still wish to add a border but need to find the perfect matching fabric for that...or maybe I will go with a bright solid.  I haven't decided yet.

This challenge was fun and I will definitely make another one.  Dinner was about 30 minutes later than usual so not too bad.  It took a little over 2 and a half hours.  The task that took the most time was refilling the bobbin!  Next time I will make sure I have four filled bobbins ready to pop in and out.  

Sir Humphrey seems to like it too!  

There was a contest held a while back...sorry I don't have the link to share....it was just something I ran across while researching about the 1600 Jelly Roll Quilts and the quilt that was made the quickest was by a lady who finished hers in 35 minutes!  Now that machine must have been a humming!

There is another variation here if you would prefer to make a rag jelly roll quilt.  I like the looks of that one as well so will give it a try this winter with some cozy wintery fabric.  

Have you tried the Jelly Roll Quilt Challenge yet?  Such a fun and fast way to make a quilt for that special someone.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!