Saturday, April 27, 2013

Draped in stars

13Apr25stars I need to make more of an effort to post. I won’t post without a picture, and I haven’t been getting much sewing in lately to take pictures of – the reason for that mostly being that it’s yardwork season. And the weeds are growing very nicely, thank you.

As well, we’re doing some pricey renovations on the house this year – furnace, windows, and renos to the deck, I had a fella lined up to put in some pavers, too, but it’s been weeks since I last heard from him. And we’re finally having the fireplace in the living room removed. I love fireplaces, but this one was built by someone who really didn’t know what they were doing and it’s been causing other issues for us.

Anyway, enough talk about the money pit. This morning I was planning this year’s vegetable garden. Six varieties of tomatoes, four varieties of bush beans, two types of peas and another two of carrots… I’m still experimenting to see which ones we like best. With a little more forethought than last year, maybe I’ll get them all planted before the end of May this year!

I haven’t been totally away from the sewing machine. That’ll never happen! As you can see by the photo above, Her Majesty Queen Ginger is showing you that 13Apr25bag I’ve added a bit more to my Galaxy Stars. This is as wide as I’m going to make it, so now I know how many rows I have left to go.

And I went searching for the strap that I sewed inside the clutch I just made. Turned it inside out again and unstitched the strap (that I had sewn down REALLY well so that it wouldn’t come loose!), turned it around and sewed it back on again. It really annoys me when things are done wrong. If they can be fixed without giving up my life, then I’ll do it. I like the way it went together, and I like the size of it. I like the strap, too! I definitely have plans to make more of these. Oh, and it you aren’t familiar with a layer cake, its measurement is 10 inches by 10 inches.

Until next time,

Friday, April 26, 2013

Sunday, April 14, 2013

A new clutch

13Apr14outside We played our third concert today and we finally gave ourselves a name – Windsong Ensemble. Not terribly original, but we don’t care. We’re the only musicians around who play recorder at more than just a basic learner’s level. We’re sounding pretty good. I just got my tenor back from the repair shop, having the two corks replaced, so now I can add tenor to my repertoire.

In my dreams. Tonight I finished up a Cake Clutch. It made for a really cute little clutch, but the zipper instructions were less than adequate, and sent me off in the  wrong direction – twice. Of course, I’ve made no secret about the hard time I have in following most instructions. I finally got the zipper right by following Kim Sherrod’s Zippy Charm Pouch instructions.

The rest of the Cake Clutch instructions makes a pretty 13Apr14insidenice clutch, though. It's a nice size, a nice weight. Unfortunately, the wrist strap is buried somewhere between the layers (as per the instructions – ignore the first reference to stitching down the wrist strap and proceed to the second reference near the end). It didn’t call for it, but I added a little pocket inside. I think that if I make another one, I’ll add a welt pocket inside, or perhaps a zipper pocket. And I 13Apr14tab added a little tab to attach a keyring to.

I mentioned i my last post that I was ripping out some stitching – I FMQ’d an all over pattern, but it didn’t go well at all on the yellow feature fabric. After I unstitched it, I opted fro two rows of stitches along the edges. I think that looks much better, and keeps it separate from the rest of the fabric. And the best thing of all – the zipper works!

Until next time,

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Into my cups

13Apr10wall I meant to post last night, but my email program was choking to death, so I spent from the time I got home from work until the time I went to bed cleaning it up and fixing it. Now it’s back to where it was before – barely adequate. Oh, I miss my Eudora. This morning I started sewing a new clutch, but after I finished the free motion quilting, I thought of a better way to do it (meaning, I hated the way it looked and will be picking it all out when I have a few minutes to spare). Believe me, it’ll look much nicer after I’ve redone it.

But I did finish these! Finally. Not only did I finish the binding, but I actually washed them! I’m always terrified that my sewing will fall apart in the washing machine. Didn’t happen. Good thing, because there are going to be coffee cups  sitting on the runner and it’s going to get dirty. This pattern is Cup, Cup, Cups! by Karla Alexander and it was a lot of fun to put together. And it used up lots of fiddly little scraps that were lying around. It was a good opportunity for me to experiment with colour and pattern combinations. Some of them worked and some of them didn’t. Just like the FMQ – some of it worked and some of it didn’t.

13Apr10runner I have a bad habit of trying to get away with using as little fabric as I can, and sometimes I come up short. There’s a bit of selvedge showing on the upper left side of the square wall hanging. Oh well. I can live with it

I highly recommend Karla’s pattern, but you can also find free cup and saucer patterns at Piece by Number and Kate Spain’s In From the Cold. I still have to add a couple of hanging tabs or a mini sleeve to the back of the wall hanging. Forgot that while I was putting it together.

Yesterday in the wee hours of the morning the Moon began another new cycle with a New Moon at 20 Aries. The sign of Aries is very appropriate to the new beginnings signalled by a New Moon because Aries is known as the pioneer of the Zodiac. The Ram. Always moving forward, meeting every challenge, throwing caution to the wind. Fearless. Also able to get by with just the bare basics when that’s all that’s available. Joining the Sun and Moon in Aries at the time of the New Moon were Mars and Venus. Fearless and passionate. “Love conquers all” would sum up that group of planets nicely. In the world of quilting, look for great productivity this month. Meetings with other quilters who are passionate about what they do. Lots of wedding quilts. Time to try out that primitive pattern you have tucked away with all of that prim fabric you bought on a whim last year. Be creative and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks of your work. See how many different shades of red you can use! Have fun.

Until next time,

Friday, April 5, 2013

Friday Furball - Stoned

13Apr5ginger One leaf too many and this is what Ginger looks like. First fresh catnip of the season. Visit Sarah Did It for Feline Friday.