Tuesday, August 30, 2011

One Flower Wednesday

I may not have time to post this tomorrow, have some things to do, so this post is a little early. (unless you live down under.) :)




I decided to make a go of One Flower Wednesday.  Have never made a hexie in my life.  But they are so cute.  I thought maybe I'd just try one.  Just to see if they're as addicting as everyone says.  And if not, it's okay.  I don't have to keep making them.  I can drop out.  I mean, it's not like dropping out of high school.  And if I do like them, I should be able to handle making just one per week.  Seems like a doable thing.  And if not, I don't think there's any punishment or consequences if I got behind.. so what's not to love?  My kind of commitment. ;)


So I managed to make one. Hmm. I'm not addicted yet, but I did surprise myself.  I never thought I'd have the patience for it but it really WAS kind of fun. :) I may not be quite there yet, but I can see and understand why people get addicted.


I had been thinking about trying it out, and got a hexie ruler/template, but it turns out, looking around online, I found a printable download of hexie sheets.  Easy! This is the fabric I'm using:




Here is the fabric and the printable paper pieces:




My very first ever hexie! In the shape of a hexagon.  For real.  I kept it from turning into a circle or any other wonky shape. (inner gasp)




Even though, when I was done, the papers were completely crinkly! 




Ready to be sewn together..




All that hand sewing.  Plus some finger sticks...





And she's done! I know that's a lot of fanfare for just one little hexie, but it is something completely new to me.. and I like it.  Who knew? And if it weren't for blogland, and my new bloggy friends, I may have never ever tried one.  So thanks friends for being inspiring.  Your creativity is amazing!


xo,
Kelli


P.S. I'm kind of looking forward to hexie #2 next week. :)

Thrifty Fun for Tuesday Treasures

I have a new blog friend named Melody who lives in a house on the side of a hill, and does a fun thing called:


Tuesday Treasures 


She encouraged me to join in.. so here is my inaugural Tuesday Treasures post. I thought I'd post about some recent "junking" finds.  My MIL likes to go thrift shopping and some of the stores give a good discount for "seniors" on a certain day of every week.  Ironically, the discount days at her fave shops are .. you guessed it. TUESDAYS. :)  So recently we were visiting, along with my SIL's family from Phoenix and my MIL, SIL and I went junking together.  It was so much fun, and I've never found so many cute things for soo cheap! 50% cheaper with my MIL's discount! Santa Rosa has some really good thrift stores!  Here are some of the things I found.. (there was more but I will just show you a few)


Little mason jar-like S&P shakers.. They have come in soo handy!

This really great glass measuring tumbler which has all kinds of obscure measurements on it. And a little cannister for salt. :)



Clear glass jars for the bathroom in different shapes and sizes.  My mom has one like the medium sized one that I remember from when I was a little girl.. so it's very nostalgic.


And.. this wooden key hanger.. I might spray paint it.. hmm.. and a little sunflower hook.


The key kind of goes with a couple of other keys I've collected.. I guess I have a small thing for keys. :)


I posted this pic before, but it is such a treasure find .. my MIL found it another time when she was thrifting and picked it up for me. An entire bolt of quilting cotton for about $5!


One woman's trash is another woman's treasure!!  But what I most treasure, and what is priceless, is the time I got to spend with my MIL, and my SIL doing something fun like this.  We had such a great time.  And all of my little finds will always remind me of them, and the wonderful day we spent together!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Spent the weekend...

doing everything..
except..
sew...
And loved every minute of it. :) One thing I did do, which is so much fun, is go blog surfing.  I still feel like a blog newbie, and it's so much fun to look at everyone's blogs, and photos.  All of you are so talented!  I wish I had as much talent as some of you have in your pinky. :)  


Still haven't cut into this:
but still DYING to!  Our spare room/office/(sewing room?) is in the middle of getting painted. I painted one wall yesterday.  My husband is out of town for work, so he will be surprised! ;) Spent this evening doing a "paint chip art" project, with all of the paint chips that my son has collected EVERY time we go to LOWE'S to look at paint colors. Can't show a photo now, though, b/c he has hijacked my phone which has the pic in it, and is running around taking pics with it.


Have had fun playing with blog buttons and badges and sprucing up my blog.  That's always fun! So many cute things out there.  It's a whole new colorful world for me. :)  Oh, does anyone know how long it takes for the LinkWithin feature to actually post things from your blog, instead of random advertisements at the bottom of each post?  If it doesn't kick in soon, I think I'll remove it.. midget tossing isn't really something I want to promote.  ??? That was really one of the things at the bottom of a previous post. It might be at this one too. If so, forgive me.  ?


Have been thinking about doing One Flower Wednesday.. got this today at JoAnn's..


along with..


They didn't have a couple of the books I was interested in.. but I found this one that caught my eye, b/c I have a few novelty fabrics that I've collected for my son.


Speaking of.. time to get off of here and put him to bed.  If you were in the path of Irene, and you are reading this safely, then my prayers were answered. :)


Have a great week!


Friday, August 26, 2011

Goodwill Club 1949

Okay, I promised, in my my very first or second blog post, to post about this project.


This:




..came to me, via my aunt, who had somehow inherited it, and didn't know what to do with it.  It was in pretty bad shape, and she knew I liked to quilt, so she gave it to me.


It's a friendship/autograph quilt with names and in some cases a verse or sentiment.  We don't know who it was made for, but suspect it might have been made for my great-grandparents as a parting gift as they left Missouri to come to California.  Out of the area they lived in, in Missouri, their names are the only ones not on it. And since it was in their possession, it seems logical that it was made for them.




The middle block says Goodwill Club, Dormis, MO., And then a date in 1949.






I was torn between leaving the top like it was, edges frayed out, seams (some of them sewn by hand) coming apart in many places, a few holes in the top, the seams at the center of the circles coming apart, and having it just sitting in the closet folded up..


or doing what I could to salvage it, add a little spin to it, and quilt it out.. finishing it and quilting it in honor of the many women of the Goodwill Club of Dormis, MO.


I decided on the second option.  These women were country women.  My dad remembers being very small and going to school in the one room schoolhouse in Dormis (now called Dora) in the 40's.  Which was also the church. Which also had an outhouse.  In the 40's.  I am sure that all of the women who signed this quilt lived a country life and had chickens as a part of that way of life.


I realize that the spin I put on this quilt might have taken the quilt in a little bit of a country direction, but I felt that sewing these rooster panels, and border to the quilt would be a kind of tribute to them.. (Don't step on it!!!) And also help reinforce seams that were apart or coming apart.




On the panel, there was the perfect number of roosters so that no two are the same,



..and there was one that had eggs in a basket. That one went right in the center of the Goodwill Club block, as I am sure that any of the women on the quilt would have shared anything they had with each other.  And I felt that by sewing a border to the edges, and appliqueing the roosters to the center of the circles would help stabilize the seams and fraying edges that had begun unraveling.  I love how it turned out, but part of me is torn about changing it from its original state.  Either way though, finishing it is my tribute to them.  Strong farm women who loved their friends like family.




This quilt top was carried from here to there, stained, falling apart, and somehow wound up with me.  I am hand quilting it out and finishing it in honor of those ladies..  it's about half done, and in my quilting frame at the moment.  Life's been a little too hectic to be sitting at the frame for the last several months, but I'm hoping to get back to it soon.





This is the backing..




And I am drawing and quilting flowers into the half circles that border the edges.




And quilting around each rooster.



It was gorgeous the way it was, but in such bad shape and falling apart, literally.  I hope that the changes I made will give it a longer life, and it will be able to be passed down for a long time to come, and I hope that the ladies who made it wouldn't mind the changes I made when it made its way to me. . . 
Wednesday, August 24, 2011

My favorite fabric line at the moment...

So much my favorite that I am having trouble cutting into it.  The sweet fat quarter bundles just look so yummy the way they are..  It's not a new fabric line, but it's still my favorite!


Rainy days and Mondays by Riley Blake.


I need to get some confidence and cut into it without being afraid that I won't do it justice.  I just love the umbrellas!





I did, however, find a suggested pattern on the Riley Blake site tonight..  which made me want to cut into it right NOW.  






I will leave you with a couple of crafty photos.. some little girl bibs, backed with minky.  In my favorite pullover style. :)







Happy Thursday!

Buster and Coffee with a Canine


Click below to view:


Buster at Coffee with a Canine


Today is Buster's day to be featured at the Coffee with a Canine blog. :)  If you're a dog lover, head over there and take a look.  On the left sidebar, you can scroll through the past entries and click on just about any breed of dog you could think of.  Fun to check them out.  I love all kinds of dogs, but this one has my heart at the moment..





Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Weekend in Santa Rosa

My inlaws live in Santa Rosa, and each time we go there, it seems, we find something new or fun that we hadn't known about before. This weekend, we spent three beautiful and relaxing days with them, and my son got some quality grandparent time. :)


Here is the overview:


My husband was not filled with the Holy Ghost on Sunday, but he was filled with the Holy Roast.  What a cute coffee shop and a great name.  It was all "homey" inside with leather couches and chairs.   *Joking aside.. we did attend a small church and hear a great message on "Honoring one another" on Sunday, which was so uplifting and encouraging! :)


We found yet another bike shop that my husband loves! This town is full of them.. a very bike friendly town.  My husband is into road biking so he likes to look at all that kind of technical stuff. I love to look at the beach cruisers.  I picked up this brochure. Great colors.  Love them!  I have an orange cruiser but I wouldn't mind having a pink or minty green one. :)


Then we happened upon this cupcakery.. SIFT.  They were featured on an episode of Food Network's Cupcake Wars show and WON!  I love to watch that show, so we got a few to take back to my inlaws for a tasting.
How pretty are they? I think the KeyLime was my favorite.. the pink one was Cotton Candy.  It was really good too.  They were all delicious.  And the box was adorable.


My husband and son helped my FIL put up a bird feeder in their front yard.. and Austin and Buster enjoyed the gardening..





We played a fun game of TOPPLE with my MIL..


We stopped at the LQS, called the Quilted Vine..  I picked up a new pattern, my son picked out fabric for a pillow case, and I picked up a ric-rac fat quarter. :)


And my sweet MIL gave me this..an almost entire bolt, it looks like, of quilting cotton that she picked up at Goodwill for about $5!  She is so thoughtful.


We really had a great weekend.. rolling hillsides of grapes, redwood trees, the marine layer rolling in at night and then burning off during the day giving way to sun and mild temperatures.. it was so nice!  Then we drove home to the valley, and my son and I rushed off to our previously scheduled dental appts. Bam! Back to reality. :/  But we sure had a great time while it lasted! :)
Thursday, August 18, 2011

Pets On Quilts--2011

SewCalGal is having a Pets on Quilts show!! :)  I hadn't planned on entering, b/c well, have you seen our dog?  But with a little encouragement from a new blog friend, I decided to go ahead and give it a try.


Getting a 150 pound Newfoundland, who still very much acts like a puppy, to sit still on a quilt is quite a chore..  But I did manage to get a couple of photos to post.  


The quilt he is with is one I made for my son to throw on the floor and play on with his hot wheels or whatever.  It was my first experiment with machine quilting and is made up of a few big pieces of transportation themed fabric, with some scraps of railroad track fabric across the bottom. I call it, "Going Places". 


It is kind of our "picnic" quilt, one that I don't mind getting dirty.  Which explains why it had to be the one for Buster.  Buster is one hairy, shedding, slobbering machine!  But oh so sweet.  I am in LOVE with him.  Not just love, "lurrrv". So here are a couple of photos of Buster "going places".



Buster.. LOOK AT MOMMY!!!


Buster, SIT still!!!






Aww, the above two are my favorites.  Anyone for a Newfie kiss?




Are you sure? ha! (The quilt went straight to the washer after taking pics with it.)  :)


I'm looking forward to heading over to Pets on Quilts tomorrow after the entry window closes, and looking at everyone's photos!


What a great idea! Thanks SewCalGal!



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