Lap Quilt Finished!

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A while back, I showed you a pile of fabric during a winter storm we were having and I had decided to dive in and make a quilt.....seeing that being cooped up in the house was beginning to drive me mad. 

 

 

I did  have time to finish it and I LOVE it.  It is just the right weight.  A quilt's weight is very important to me.  It has to be just right to feel cozy.  Rag quilt instructions can be found all over Pinterest but I always followed my old standby from Jubilee Homespun.

 

 

One afternoon while the snow was falling and the wind was howling, I set my sewing machine up on the kitchen table in front of the bay window and sewed away while enjoying the view and pots of tea. 

 

 

This is the first rag quilt I decided to add binding to the edges rather than leaving them frayed.  I like the look of it....it seems more finished.

 

 

 

Although the weather is finally starting to turn pleasant, I will be enjoying the quilt in the fall when the weather turns cold once again. 

 

 

Happy sewing 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!

Thread Catcher and a Giveaway!

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You all are familiar with obsession with Pinterest.  I recently have decided to start working through some of the projects I have been pinning before I have enough to last me into my next life!  

 

Having an itch to sew something, I collected some pretty fabric the other day and began cutting.  I fell in love with this and thought it would be a cute and quick project that I could finish before having to start dinner. 

 

In the evenings, I crochet, knit, mend clothes, sew and now I have started to embroider and well ..... little tiny pieces of thread and yarn seem to end up everywhere!  I thought a thread catcher would be a great addition to my side table.  It would hopefully hold all those stray threads and yarn that usually stick to the couch, my sweater, my slacks, the cats ..... you get the idea.

 

 

 

This was a fun and fast pattern!  The part that took the longest was choosing which buttons I wanted to use.  It was so fast in fact, that I made one for you!! 

 

 

Yes, I made an extra thread catcher and would love to give one of my lovely readers a chance to win their very own along with a few other little goodies ..... your very own cross-stitch bookmark to make, a pair of scissors and some needles.

 

 

Just leave me a note in the comment section and I will draw a winner on Friday, March 1st. 

 

 

I love my little thread catcher.  Faithfully using it each evening while I work on my needlework, there are no longer any stray threads laying or 'sticking' around.  I hope the winner will enjoy theirs just as much!

 

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

 

Sweet 'Hearts'

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You know when you take down the Christmas decorations and the house is all cleaned up but it looks so empty?  Well I had to do something to fill up those spaces to make the transition over to 'sparse' less traumatic.  So I headed over to Pinterest to look for quick and easy Valentine decorations.  There are many wonderful ideas and the easiest I found were made with scrapbooking paper.  Well I don't have any scrapbooking paper and that is one craft I am trying to avoid getting sucked into.  I have enough UFO's laying around to last me into the next life so I don't need anymore!

Digging threw my scrap basket, I found little pieces that I thought would be perfect to use up.  Little bits here and little bits there, cuttings from old work shirts, skirts ..... never waste anything!  

                   

Now I could have been more intricate and when I do make more, I will use pieces of ribbon and lace but seeing that time is running short, I just wanted to fill up those sparse areas in the living room quickly.

                   

I didn't want to drag out the sewing machine and make it complicated.  I wanted them simple.  Hand stitched with embroidery thread was a satisfying way of making these little sweet things.   

A couple of hours later, my little hearts were done, ready to be displayed.  But where?

Come back on Friday to see where I will be displaying these little things!  Have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Autumn Curtains and Pillowcases for the Bedroom

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As mentioned here, it was time to get moving on those autumn curtains and pillowcases for the bedroom .... soon the snow will be flying and the quilt will need to be changed out to the winter one!  Yikes, time moves way to fast for me ... as do the seasons.

Last year when I picked up this autumn-themed quilt on sale for only $6.00, I had made a set of pillowcases for it to match and a little nightstand table runner (if you can call it that, it is so small) but the hubster and I use two pillows each so another set of pillowcases was needed as was the curtains.  These quilts are from a big box store and I have picked up one for autumn, one for summer, one for winter and one for summer so far ... I just need one for spring!   They do not come with pillowcases or pillow shams.

My fabric stash is getting out of control and I want to tame and lighten it a bit before buying more soooooo that means I have to find something to sew!  New curtains and pillowcases are a great start.  Since I have to make the same for all of my quilts, it should help reduce the stash a bit.  

Old curtains .....

Found some gingham ....  who doesn't love gingham?  New curtains!

Then I had enough of the gingham (if I added a large matching hem) for the pillowcases.

The autumn set is DONE!  

Now I better get started on the Christmas set ..... that will be here before I know it.

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!

Some Sewing for the Book Club

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A few week ago, I joined a Book Club with the local library and am loving it...everything about it...the book selections, the ambiance and especially the company.  There is a great mix of people that enjoy different genres and the love of literature.

Since these are such a wonderful group of people and our discussions become very detailed, I thought it would be nice to have a journal to take notes.  After making a template and liking how it turned out, I preceded to make one for each member in the club.

I used the lined notebooks which were available at Walmart for 94 cents each.  They are hard covered journals....I am sure you have seen them there before.  After school starts, they are reduced to 25 cents so I grabbed enough to fill the fabric covers I planned on making.  I also grabbed a 12 count package of pens for 94 cents to add with the journals.  

My large fabric stash helped and since there are a couple of males within the group, I had to make sure there was a fabric that was more 'manly'.  I used part of a wonderful piece of red corduroy that my good friend Deanne sent me a while back...recognize it Dean? 

First I measured and cut the fabric 11 1/2 inches by 25 inches.  The second piece was 11 1/2 inches by 15 inches.  

Centering the smaller piece against the larger piece facing right sides together I pinned it in place.  

Then I rolled over the two shorter edges and pressed for a clean hem.

I sewed up the shorter edges and ran the stitching along the long edge of the shorter piece to the longer piece....does that make sense?

Then I flipped it right side out.  Pressing the sides again, I then flipped over each side until it made a pocket and met with the shorter part of the fabric.  I pinned those in place.

Now I ran a stitch along each long side which secures the pockets.  

Deciding to add a pocket for a pen on the front, I measured a piece of fabric 3 inches by 8 inches.  Pressing the edges under, I sewed it to the front cover.  Perfect for jotting down those notes!

Using a variety of colors and fabrics, everyone in the group should be able to find one they like. A little bit of time and a little bit of money has allowed me to contribute something useful to a new group of friends and a new hobby.  

Do you think I have a good enough assortment?  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!