Here I Am!

A couple of really nice gals recently emailed me to tell me that they missed reading my blog - how sweet! So I decided I better write a post to do a little catching up. Our move went just fine. We still have a lot of boxes to unpack, but we're getting there and it's starting to feel like home. Here's a picture of the new place taken this afternoon when it was dreary & wet. We hope to get a yard in this summer - hubby is a landscape architect so he has the plans all drawn up already.

Did you notice those two windows above the garage? That's the bonus room which is my studio. I've gotten my quilt fabrics organized and put on shelves - and found the perfect place to display my collection of vintage toy sewing machines. In fact, I think I can use a few more of them!

My very first project is sewing a lap quilt - here it is on my design wall below. My dad died unexpectedly in January and when I was talking to his wife a couple weeks ago she told me how hard the evenings are for her because it's so quiet with no one to talk to. I asked her to send me his cotton shirts and I'd make her a lap quilt out of them - she can wrap herself up in it when she's watching TV or feeling sad. It's been kind of therapeutic for me to handle the fabrics that he wore - funny that there were no stripes in his closet - only plaids, solids, and one Hawaiian print!

Here is the carnage leftover from disassembling the shirts on my family room floor.

I just finished reading a really good book - the author has a new one out so I'll get it from the library soon and read it too. I highly recommend this one.

I attended one of my monthly rug meetings a couple weeks ago and have a little show & tell to share. Myra had this darling apron - the flower pots are sewn from fabric and the flowers are painted on - what talent!

And she was working on this happy rug with the same bright colors.

Nancy had finished this cute rug since our last meeting - it all started with the star flower she had seen in a magazine and grew from there. I love that one of the borders is different.

A few months ago at my quilt group, we learned to make our own wool dryer balls using yarn - mine were pretty tame, but Jayna really took off and made a gazillion of them for Christmas gifts that she embellished with fun designs and colors. They look so nice nestled in her old wooden bowl.

Hopefully tomorrow I can catch up on reading some blogs - it's been weeks since I visited with my internet friends!

A Little Out of the Ordinary!

I've worked on a couple projects lately that are a little different from what I usually do. First of all was a couch update. DD#1 was given this old couch by a friend and the cushions were SO dated - the fabric was literally falling apart - crunchy and gross - I would guess 40+ years old.

So she ordered some new fabric that would give the couch a fresh look and I stitched up new covers for her. I was able to recycle the zippers from the old covers, and the foam cushions were still in good condition too so we were able to use them. Her throw pillows add a lot of color to the couch and her family has a comfy new place to sit!

THEN, my son asked me to help HIM with a project. He is passionate about his vehicles. He recently rebuilt the engine on a Ford Explorer that he bought for a song. Then he made a new bumper for it from scratch - the metal cutting and shaping - the welding - the winch installation - and the painting. He added a light bar above the winch and worried about it getting damaged from road debris.

So we used some vinyl fabric and made a cover for the light bar that fit like a glove when it was snapped together underneath. Whew! Quite a team effort!

Earlier this week I learned that I had won a giveaway on Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson's blog. My prize arrived in the mail today and I'm SO thrilled with it! A stack of 40 fat quarters  from their newest fabric line - can you imagine? That's 10 yards people! SO generous! I have no idea what I will make with it but I'm just going to pet it for awhile until I think of something! LOL

Have a great weekend!

Stash Enhancement

My stash of quilting fabrics has increased nicely over the last several days. I have heard good things about the fabrics that are sold at Connecting Threads, so when I saw a spectacular sale just before Christmas on some, I took the plunge and ordered half yard pieces of several. I paid $2.96/yd and they seem to be very good quality - I think I'll be ordering from them again. These are from their Country Essentials Collection.

My mom gifted me with these lovely fat quarters....

....and DD#2 gave me another bundle of FQs, a Gingher rotary cutter, and a nifty sewing organizer.

DD#1 gave me this darling sweater with sheep on it - fits me perfectly - both size-wise & style-wise! My family knows me well and always gives me the most thoughtful gifts geared toward my interests. Sweet!

And speaking of gifts, hubby & I made this book lamp for DD#1 who loves books and reading, as well as bright colors. I collected the books from thrift stores over the course of the summer, then hubby drilled holes in them and assembled the floor lamp. This picture is kinda blurry....

...but this close-up of the various books is better. The subject matter of the book didn't matter to me when I was shopping - they only needed to have bright bindings - so there are medical books, novels, textbooks & I think even a cookbook. It was a fun, fun project and the only handmade gift we gave this year.