Slow Sunday Stitching--New Start and Easter Decor

 Slow Sunday Stitching--see more projects on Kathy's Quilts blog. 

I made a very lazy decision on my next cross stitch project--it was already in the tote I use for portable projects! This is another $6.00 DMC kit I bought at my local fabric store. 

The kits have this nice large graph.  I like to color mine with pencils. The embroidery thread comes already on the card and the kit includes a hoop, needle and of course Aida cloth.  All you need are scissors!. I marked the center of mine with contrasting thread to help keep me lined up.  Starting in the center is best for me, though I have seen lots of folks start with a border design if included in the chart.  

I never noticed until I took the pictures that this was called Winter Bouquet.  It looks more Spring to me!

Some Spring/Easter decor got arranged on the sideboard.  I made that Easter card many decades ago and got it back after my MIL passed away.  She saved it all that time! The bunny and bow are cut from fabric. 

Another card made by a family friend, and my favorite glass eggs and bunny.

More bunnies in the vase with an egg tree :)

Some more favorites on top of the lawyer's bookcase--I bought the mini quilt years ago at a guild sale.  Glad the nearly 100 degree temps are gone and our usual low clouds and fog have returned.  Happy Spring!

Vintage Fabric and Treasures

I have been meaning to get binding made for a quilt top that's been hanging around unfinished for some time.  I bought this vintage gingham piece I believe at the last local Guild show before the pandemic.  

I could tell it was vintage because it is actual woven gingham, is a full 45" wide, and has no selvage markings. Revisiting directions for cutting bias binding wasn't too tedious.  

The green gingham center was pieced by me from a kit I bought at Sewtopia Boston; that is not yardage!  I found the charming border at JoAnn's fabrics.  I think this will make a cute picnic quilt. 

Speaking of vintage, a quick trip through the local Goodwill Thrift Store today turned up some unusual finds. 

This vintage, rare dark red Bauer ringed bowl was on a cart and not yet shelved when I spotted it. 99cents!!!

It is not in perfect condition, it has a crack and the glazing is patchy there on the bottom, but it will be gorgeous as a display piece. I checked eBay for similar bowls and found one priced at $75.00!

A vintage souvenir also caught my eye on the Goodwill shelves.

An unopened souvenir from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was another "for pennies" purchase.  My parents and a cousin and I actually attended some Olympic rowing competitions locally at Lake Casitas in Ojai, in 1984.  I also have a poster from the 1984 Olympics.  

This hanger contraption came home with me.  I think it was 49 cents.  I'm wondering if it might work for hanging an embroidery piece, or I can choose from artwork I have. I had a great shopping day :)

Slow Sunday Stitching--Cat/Chat Progress

 Slow Sunday Stitching--see more great needle and thread projects on Kathy's Quilts blog. 

I'm getting stitches into the Cat/Chat DMC kit here and there.  I like to prop up in bed and stitch at night--it is certainly warmer upstairs and I have a Ott light I can see well with. 

One thing I really liked about this kit was the embroidery details stitched on top of the cross-stitch, once completed.  I'm looking forward to that part. 

We got the grandsons together the other day after Grant picked up Hunter from school, and I was watching Dane while our DIL was working.  His mama had bought a huge bin of wooden train tracks and all the trains for $20 at a garage sale.  Hunter had a grand time making a big track.  Dane mostly pulled pieces out of the build, but I watched him and put them back. 

He was riding the foam roller earlier :)

Christmas decorating has begun.  We are getting our tree today after I get my COVID booster at the pharmacy. Lots and lots of boxes were opened and rummaged through yesterday.  

I saved room for the tree :)  

This year's Mischievious Kitten is pretty cute.  Santa gets one less cookie!

Slow Sunday Stitching--mid June

 Joining in with some Slow Sunday Stitching on Kathy's Quilts blog.  

I remain entranced with the Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers project, Garden of Life.  I stitched a bit during the week but generally the weekend is when I can enjoy it more. 

Newest stitches are in the arcing stem and flowers at the top of the frame.  I've had to turn both the frame and the stitching chart upside down in order to reach the area.  Since it not a face or other recognizable form, it hasn't seemed weird :)   There is not much green in our garden just now, with our severe drought, but I do have a bloom indoors.

This Mother's Day orchid seems to like this spot in the entryway just fine. I love the intense purple of the flower. I like the name Cerise for this shade. 

Purple isn't a color I decorate with much, though it is in my top 5 colors to wear.  This purple bordered mini quilt I made from leftovers of another quilt some years ago.  It is attached to the hanger with  vintage clothespins of my mother-in-law's.  

Very simple quilting and bound with leftover binding pieces--on mini quilts there is slow stitching of the binding :)

I haven't sewn a thing all week, but did go to two local quilt shops.  Older daughter Elaine gave me a gift certificate to Superbuzzy and I picked out the green gingham, purple dot yardage and the Folded Corner Clipper tool last weekend.  Tools are so expensive! I plan to make napkins with the gingham; the purple was "Just Because".  The other neutrals and pink print yardage came from the sale shelves at The Fabric Shoppe this weekend.  I ran into several guild members there coincidentally.  The purple fat quarter jumped up onto the counter, and I could not resist the piece of cross stitch fabric for 10 cents! 

Our state will be opening up in two days--looking forward to seeing more faces, though since I work in a medical office, will probably still be wearing a mask when with patients.  I'll still wear one when shopping or near other folks I don't know.  The virus has not gone away, there are mutations, and the vaccine is not 100% coverage, so that extra layer of protection can help.  

December Downers and Uppers

First the Downers!

Not too long after I posted on 12/7, my  Monday went to pieces.  The intermittent internet problems we had been having grew steadily worse, wifi dropped out every few seconds so nothing I typed would get saved.  I could not work doing telemedicine and had to call the cable company for troubleshooting.  Turns out our  combo router/modem was far outdated and failing, needing to be exchanged at their store.  

Then the power went out entirely for about an hour, a shutdown by the electric company due to high winds and fire danger.  I had to drive clear across town in the raging wind with palm fronds dropping on the freeway.  I made my exchange of equipment and got back on the freeway--but then my heart sank when I saw and smelled smoke as I neared home.  I learned by smartphone that it was 10 miles away in the next town.  

The wind caused a finch to be blown into our garage when I opened the door.  I had to leave it open to see if the bird would fly out--which it didn't for many hours.

Upon unpackaging the new modem and router, I followed instructions to plug everything in and called to activate it--but only got a recording saying it could not be activated due to outages in our area, so I had to take my laptop and actually go into the office to be able to work, for the first time since the pandemic shutdown in March!

The fire 10 miles away was caused by a falling tree branch hitting an electrical wire but did not spread too far, as firefighters were quickly after it. However, they closed the freeway a mile from our house and traffic heading east was backed up for quite a ways both on the freeway and surface streets.  Luckily my drive home was the opposite direction.  With an additional call to the cable company, and my husband's assistance, we were finally back in business.

And now the Uppers!

Oh,  the finch finally did leave the garage :)

This grandson came for a visit!  Papa got first dibs so I took photos. 

Dane was very interested in Papa's quilt on the sofa.  He was studying the patterns and checking my seam matching.  Mama Ashley monitored him well.  He's getting close to 4 months and is about to get a new cousin on the maternal side.   

Our other grandsons we visited at their house.  I had bought an advent calendar with chocolates and finally brought it to them.

Hunter (4) liked the tiny chocolates. 

He made the chocolates look bigger by using both hands to get them to his mouth.

Brother Cove (6) opened the door with the tiniest piece.  We enjoyed a lot of backyard time after they opened all the past days.  It was lovely to visit with our trio of brown-eyed grandsons.  

We made plans with to have a socially distant Christmas Eve BBQ in the backyard of their house this year--a definite upper!  I put out fewer Christmas decorations this year but changed up the ones in my sewing room--our former family room that has the fireplace. 

The wooden decor was a Secret Santa gift I received last year.  You can tell it's the sewing room by the ruler sticking up there, lol.

In the living room, Mini approves of Indoor Nature, and has been spending time lying on the quilted tree skirt.   She was there for hours one morning :)  

A little sparkle and plaid on the sideboard.  It has been very dry and windy so the only snow is the decorative type here in SoCal. 

Looking forward to the Covid vaccinations in the next few months and hopefully turning this shutdown in to a reopening in Spring.  What a year it has been!

Christmas and Finishes

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with the married kids and our youngest and her boyfriend, and of course our precious grandsons.  Daughter Erica and her boyfriend had bought the same bouquet of flowers individually at Trader Joes to give to me. I combined them for a pretty bunch.

I made a local restaurant's dish--a favorite Italian recipe they serve called Broccoli Rigoletti.  It involves lightly steaming broccoli and then frying it in olive oil and garlic until crispy.  The cooked rotini and broccoli go into a baking dish with cheese on top and heated until the cheese melts.  This is served with marinara sauce.  It came out well and I'll make it again for Grant and me in a smaller amount!  The kids brought deserts and we gathered around the tree for gift opening.  The girls all liked their Minky scarves :)

The hit of the evening was a Star Wars lightsaber toy that made different sounds and could record a message of your own. Grandson Cove was delighted--his mother less so!  Also popular with Cove was a book detailing of all the Pokemon cards.  He is very into trading cards and knows many of their names.  Auntie went up to her old bedroom and got out her binder of Pokemon cards to show him--he was much impressed.  Meanwhile, grandson Hunter was playing with his Paw Patrol toys and checking out his new scooter.  So wonderful to have them all here.

Next morning daughter Erica came over to have breakfast with us and get her stocking.  I found these mantle clips at Target--our mantle has a curved edge and normal stocking holders that hang over would only be toppling forward, so I have never used them.

They came in different colors, I chose the red for added decoration--they worked great!  Christmas dinner was at my mom and dad's--I think we numbered about 20 or so.  It was pouring rain most of the evening--luckily after the BBQing was done by my oldest brother. We did not get to see the newest member of the family, three week old Elliott, my grand-nephew, but hope to meet him soon. My brothers and sister loved their chef's boas.  I have plans to make more as gifts.  

Our city was in the news recently due to a tornado touching down near our harbor Christmas morning--there were a few trees destroyed, kayaks and large paddleboard storage racks moved, and some other minor damage.  Then after the storm hit Chritsmas night and closed all the major routes into the Central Valley, traffic north was bumper to bumper for many hours as truck traffic and all those who were headed north were rerouted.  What a mess!  The snow is mostly gone in our local mountains but the highway patrol was escorting traffic through the high passes due to black ice.  

Having nowhere to go Thursday, I spent time with needle and thread, working on the  Oh My Stars blocks for Barb's swap (Fun with Barb blog).

I was driving myself crazy counting and recounting all the different parts and pieces needed for the required 40 blocks!  Finally I got it all detailed and sewed up a bunch more flying geese. 

There was a very thick seam on this set--I discovered it was doubled when I went to press!  An easy fix, fortunately.

All 40 are now finished and ready to mail off.   I'll be back to show my visit to the Getty Villa in Malibu with my sister, niece and her fiance. 

Weekend Doings

I spent more time on the Mt. Hood Abstractions Quilt by Violet Craft.  Once I got more of a rhythm with figuring out the coverage for the sections, folding the paper back and lining up everything just so, things moved along. 

I completed three small sections and sewed them together.  The new moon section will not get to join its companion until later.  Violet's pattern is very clear in what order in which to join sections.  I'm eager to complete the mountaintop so may jump ahead to that section before finishing the sky pieces.  So far, so good, but lots more opportunities to mess up!  If I keep at it, perhaps I won't dread it so much :)

Barb's Oh My Stars Swap for 2020 is due on January 11th.  I had not yet finalized my selection for the stars, wanting to find the muslin first, and then do all the figuring as to exactly how much yardage will be required to cut out all the pieces needed.  I scored a two yard remnant of muslin today for $4.98 at Kmart, of all places, that has a nice tight weave and hand without too many specks.  I'm in the Repro group, so pulled out all my larger pieces from stash and, with help from my hubby, chose the fabrics for two-color stars. 

The Judie Rothermel red print I have hoarded for a long time.  The mustard print is a more recent buy, I think I found it on the Central Coast Shop Hop this year; it will be the center square since it is directional.  I'm going to use my GO Cutter for the muslin 2.5" corner squares, and plan to make the flying geese star points the No Waste 4-at-a-time way, as Barb demonstrated in her tutorial for swappers.  The count is 40 stars and that doesn't seem too bad for a month's sewing time.  I aim to have all the pieces cut during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. 

Meanwhile, as the next door neighbor was putting up his Christmas lights, I decorated my house for Thanksgiving. Fall is my favorite season to decorate for, though I'll only get to enjoy it for a short time.  We will host a small group of 10-12 this year, which luckily will include two of our kids!  Three of my siblings and their families will not be here, and our married-with-children daughter is going to her in-laws but will stop by afterward, hopefully.  

My folks are bringing a ham, there will be Turkey and stuffing and all our usual favorite accompaniments.  I am going to make a couple of pumpkin pies this year, and my special cream cheese pie everyone loves.  Clearing out the sewing room will be the hardest chore to make room for guests, lol!  I may just shove it all into the garage instead of traipsing up and down the stairs endlessly--heck, I could fill up my car in the garage--though that seems pretty hoarder-like:)

Design Wall Monday--11/26/18, and Post Thanksgiving Post

It's Design Wall Monday and I have a new/old project.  See more design walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts. 

On my design floor is a Christmas quilt long-in-waiting.  Last year I made 4 patches from charm pack selections with a bunch of additions from stash and a couple of fat quarter purchases for variety.  There was a Christmas in July urge that went unfulfilled until now.  After restoring most of the sewing room post Thanksgiving, I laid out the quilt again and started sewing rows.  

This my Christmas version of Barefoot in the Park by Loft Creations.  All that's left are the corner triangles, which I've already cut.  Lucky find of this Lori Holt fabric for the setting squares that went with all the 4 patch colors. I haven't yet decided if I will add appliqued circles to some of the setting squares per the pattern.

 Also at Superbuzzy I found a suitable aqua print for the borders.  Love the Poinsettias.

I didn't buy very much of this fabric and blame quilt MATH!  Hopefully some kind of decent border will turn out. 

Our Thanksgiving was full and fun with a crowd of 21 for dinner, including our son's girlfriend who had knee surgery the day before, our precious offspring and grandsons, and numerous visitors after.  Two of my mom's brothers (she has 6 younger brothers!) came to help set up and it was fun to get extra time with Jim and David. 

There are many fall/Thanksgiving decorations in my home and I love setting them all up for the occasion.  

My mom gave me this beautiful Williams Sonoma dishtowel this year as part of my birthday gift, and I pinned it up in the half-bath, along with filling the towel shelf. 

In the living/dining room, more Autumn splendor:

The room looked lovely with family linens on the tables, my Grandmother's Franciscan Red Apple Dishes, and Grant's family silverware and crystal, but you'll have to picture that, I have no photos!  Everyone brings a specialty dish to enjoy and there is always a lot of talk and laughter.  This year there was also music, as Uncle Jim brought his guitar and we sang.  My favorite holiday, and there is always room for more at the table.  It is worth all of the work to spend this day together.  

While many folks have already been putting up Christmas lights and trees, my husband and I like to wait until December.  We usually get a fresh tree and don't want it to be tinder dry by December 25th.  There is a Christmas newsletter yet to write--and hopefully actually get out this year, and a whole lot of decorating.  I'm contemplating making a new tree skirt as our decor has changed.  It remains to be seen if time will allow for that sewing ambition!

CQA show, Surprise Purchase and Lucky Win

It's Spring in Southern California and the hills are green, lupine and mustard and poppies are blooming, the sky is blue with fluffy clouds.  I love it. 

How is it that blooming Oxalis is so much cuter in my decor than in the lawn?

We returned from our Big Bear vacation on a Friday, leaving the whole weekend still ahead of us.  I hadn't realized what a great plan this was!  No dread of waking up to having to work the next day.  I'll have to remember that on future vacations. 

The Camarillo Quilt Association holds a show every other year, at our local Fairgrounds--I purchased the charming 30's prints mini quilt above some years ago at their show.  Our guild was graced a booth for more Thomas Fire kits to be picked up and info on our project by members.  Several generous folks brought finished quilts to turn in, many more took kits.  My sister and I met at the door and she immediately bought chances for some gift basket drawings.  We were also given door prize tickets with our show entry fee and popped those into the draw container.  It was great to see so many of our members at the show (a number of whom are also CQA members).  We were visiting so much that I didn't take a single picture of a quilt, but enjoyed many of the traditional pieced and appliqued entries--many from Bonnie Hunter mysteries and patterns.  There were also some modern entries from our guild members.  I had a lot of fun in the boutique section, the CQA members are so organized, everything labeled and arranged so well, at discounted prices.  I hope they made lots of money.  

Except for the right bottom two FQ, these were all donated/castoff fabrics.  I also bought a small needlework frame.  I think the green  Thimbleberries yardage on the upper left will look great as a backing for a quilt I have in progress.  The ladybug print coordinates were all in different bins but I snatched them up as I found them, so cute. The two Kim Diehl FQ were purchased from a new vendor, Rag Doll, and we happily chatted about Kim Diehl love for a minute or two.  She also sells punchneedle kits and plans to set up an Instagram account for her business soon. 

During the show, Kathy was called up as a door prize winner--but handed me her winnings, a wool applique kit from Bits & Pieces.  Having another engagement for the afternoon, I left my sister at the show.  She called me later to tell me I had also won a door prize!  They allowed her to pick it up for me.  I was lucky to get it, as she coveted it. 

This is a Big-Mat Rotary Cutting Surface mat.  The surface is renewable and included a resurfacing tool.  It can also be rolled up for storage.   Curiously, I had recently purchased a small off-cut of this mat type while in Big Bear, as I had forgotten a cutting mat.  The mat information advises to only use sharp rotary cutter blades to avoid damaging the surface. 

Kathy's other surprise was that she bought a Longarm machine at the show!  It is an older model Pfaff Grand Quilter sold at a discounted price, 18" stitching opening and 10' long.  While I pictured her having to sleep under the thing to get it into her room, her landlord opted to put it in the Craft Room of her house, being nearly as excited as Kathy.  Yesterday we drove up to Santa Maria to get some lessons on the machine.  It has computerized quilting as well and does all the scaling for you.  I can see this being very useful.  It was a lot of information in a short time and I'm sure I didn't get most of it.  However, Kathy is undaunted and can't wait to have it in the house to play with.  Delivery is next week.  

Meanwhile, this past week I've been working on the House Block doll quilt. I had so much fun making these from my scrap and fat quarter bins and vow to make some for myself next.  The pattern was from the APQ Calendar from 2009.

The doll quilt's all finished now, but needs a label and to be mailed off this week before the May 1st deadline.  I'll share more next post.