September Goal List

September Goal List:

1 - Bethlehem - Block 9

2 - Little Quilties - DONE

3 - Quilt Doodle BOM - Blocks 5, 6, 7, 8 (on-going)

 

I only manage to get the prep work done on the next two blocks.

4 - One Christmas/Birthday gift (new)

5 - One item for myself (new)

6 - Rag rug (new) - DONE

7 -  UFO

8 - Snowmen block (new) - Block _?_

9 - Tilda quilt (new)

Row 4 

Odds and ends:

Quilter's Garden Swap

One to share

and one for me.

Don't forget to check out these links:

http://desertskyquilts.wordpress.com/press-on

http://sewitsfinished.blogspot.com/

http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/p/bom-2014.html

http://www.littlemissshabby.com/quilty-stitches/

Update . . . already :)

Yesterday, I posted the "finished" block for the Gardener's Quilt Swap.  It looks like this:

Nothing really wrong with it. It's cute - even I can say that.

I sent photos to a couple of friends who have been encouraging me along with this block. Shall we say I was a little concerned about my abilities?  Yeah, we'll say that.  I got alot more encouragement, some really good feedback and basically, a breather.

Then Friday happened. And as a result, we now have this :)

The added details:

The label - there have been some really cute "words" put on the labels. I decided to sign and date mine.

The thread across the top of the machine just feel right. It just kind of ended up in the air, so I took it down the front of the machine. That little detail adds so much.

And my polka dot "knob" was cute, but the flower button just finishes it off beautifully.  

AND . . .

(photo from Disney)

I just love it :)

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Thanks so much for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative weekend.

"I'm so excited . . .

and just can't hide it. . . "

Do you recall the song with these lyrics? It's from the Pointer Sisters, but I couldn't figure out how to download and share it with you. Anyway, what's got me excited is this.

I finally have my first sewing machine block for the Quilter's Garden Mystery Swap. This is the very first swap I've ever done and quite honestly, once I got the pattern and started cutting the pieces and reading the instructions, I got REALLY scared. I don't have a lot of experience with piecing. I can tell you I've already learned a lot just from this one block.

I used my favorite method of applique - the blanket stitch. I have to tell you, I did lots of unpicking and restitching but I'm pretty pleased with how this actually turned out. And 5 days to spare :)

"I'm   so   excited,   and   I   just   can't   hide   it   . . . "

Off to post my photos with Deanna.

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Thank you for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Lazy Sunday

Or not. It was supposed to be. But first there was "church" :) . . .  and what a good morning it was ! ! !

 

** Photos found on internet


We had the privelidge of hosting the Uganda Children's Choir. The children ranged in age from six years old !!!! to about 12. I can't imagine traveling that far when you are that young ! It was such a joy and blessing to start my day with their performances.  Then I had the privelidge of spending the rest of my morning with my third and fourth graders. Another blessing and joy. I can't tell you how much I love these kids. It doesn't matter how long and difficult my week may have been, when Sunday rolls around and I get to see these smiling faces, all my stress melts away and I'm good again.

* * * * *

My "lazy" Sunday afternoon was spent catching up on emails. There were so many phenominal projects and so much productivity. If you haven't ever done a Friday Night Sew In (visit Wendy for the details), you should consider it. Visit Wendy to see who participated and you are linked up to all of the bloggers and check out what everyone has been up to.

Once I did that, I started making dinner and cleaning up as I went.  It's nice to have a houseful because whatever I make is getting eaten. I'm having to cook almost daily, but I really don't mind. Today's dinner was chicken/broccoli, rice casserole. There was only one small serving left over.  Saturday, I made 2 - 9x13 pans of lasagna. I put the second one in the freezer for another meal in a few weeks or month, but the first one was finished.  Not sure what's on the menu for Monday, yet :)

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Not much sewing this weekend beyone Friday night. It's raining this evening and unseasonable cool. Not sure if the yard will be dry enough to work outside, so I'll be able to get some sewing done. I have a quilt block to finish before the end of the week.

And of course, there are the new projects coming in. Here's a couple of my absolute favorites:

Wendy is providing us with a series of six Christmas designs, one every Thursday. 

This is block 3 in the series and you can get it here. They are quick and easy and just the perfect size to take with you and stitch at an appointment or an in-between a bigger project to make you feel like you are getting somethiing done :)

If you've been following along, can you believe Jenny has provided us 16 blocks already in the Lord's Prayer ? ? ! ! This is going to be a gorgeous piece when it's done. I haven't actually begun mine yet because I have  soo too many things already in the works.  But soon :)  If you haven't, here's your link up. Jenny is generously sharing this stitchery at no cost in honor of God's many blessings to us. I hope and prayer this project blesses you as it has already done for so many of us.

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Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

** The roses are mine :)

FNSI - the recap

My FNSI wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked. I've really got to fix my "mojo" button :(

 

I started this project earlier in the month and thought it was a good way to get some hand-quilting practice. It's not my favorite pastime or method. And yes, I'm going to be critical of myself, my stitches aren't even. But having said that, I'm still liking how the project is turning out. I used a polyester batting and it's not the easiest medium to stitch through. However, it's giving me enough cushion that my palm tree is actually turning out dimensional. It's a method I learned years ago from Mom called "trepunto" (not sure if I spelled it correctly). Unfortunately, you can't see it in the photos.

I am off to see how everyone else faired. Want to join me? You can find the list of participants here.

Thanks Wendy for being our hostess.

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Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative weekend.

Friday Night Sew in

In case your September has been as crazy as mine :) It's that time of the month again . . .

It's Friday Night. 

What's everyone working on?  I felt like I was doing really good at the beginning of the month and after a couple of successes - nothing !!

Had some personal stuff going on and Father-in-Law is visiting, but it's all good. We'll get there. We crafty types are only down for so long and then it's get out of the way or we'll sew you into whatever we're working on.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a productive, success Friday Night.

Prep Work

Since I met my goal of finishing the fourth row of the Tilda quilt, I decided to do some preparation work on the next project in line.  I actually have two.

 

First up, is the Gardener's Quilt Swap. The first blocks are of various sewing machines. I've cut out all the piecees for the first block and if will have priority this week. Since we are half way through the month, I really need to get busy. I stopped at the preparation and labeling because I was starting to feel overwhelmed by the idea of construction. So I thought it best to step back and take a very deep breath. My plan is to start it on Monday.

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Next up, I spent time preparing a couple of the Quilt Doodle Doodle Mystery blocks. I really need to get this one caught up because the last section will be published in October. As you can see from the header, I'm still back in April. So I really haven't devoted the time to this project that I should have. But my goal is to still get the top completed before the end of the year.

 

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So, Saturday, I was all excited about having Row 4 of Tilda on and finished.

But the more I looked at it the less I liked it. What was bothering me were the top two rows. I know, I'm probably being ridiculous, but it bugged me. On the right side, the two long, thin, red blocks (hearts, topiary) are both in shades of red, same basic size. It bugged me. It's out of balance :(

So . . . 

I took all the rows apart . . . 

and rearranged them until I got them the way I wanted them.

I also have Row 5 prepped :)

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Do you have favorite sewing and quilting tools?  I have had a clear, 12 inch ruler I love. Somehow, it ended up on the floor and got broken :(

I'm keeping the pieces because you never know when you need a short, straight edge to draw a line. But I've gone and replaced my ruler. I'm happy again :)

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Monday afternoon, Honey Do's dad and I went out and did some yard work. Mind you, I'm used to doing all these things by myself and as much as I appreciate the help, sometimes you just want to do stuff by yourself. I gave in and let him mow while I picked up odds and ends that need to be put away.

 

This bee was doing what bees do best, but I have to tell you he was moving v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y!! We've had another cold front come through and even though it's only the middle of September, it's chilly for us and what we've become accustomed to.

The Wooly Bear has a nice big orange middle. Honey Do says that's not a good thing for us. It's already feeling very autumnal and there's the sense in the air that we need to start preparing for winter. It's really hard to reign that feeling in. Part of me knows instinctively that there are still warm days ahead. I've lived long enough and with farm-minded people to be able to detect those things. So I don't know if my internal clock is just saying this is what I want because I love autumn and the changes of seasons or if there really needs to be time to start planning and preparing for winter.

And then I found this teeny precious rosebud !!!

It is the smallest bud I have ever seen. oh, my hands look old . . .

Must be from all the gardening, stitching, sewing and cooking :)

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Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Blog Hop with a Difference

I'm sure by now, everyone has run across a blog participating in the Blog Hop With A Difference.

It's like a relay, passing the baton from one creative blogger to another, but three creative bloggers. The plan is that it continues on to the next. 

The purpose of the blog hop is for each blogger to tell their readers a little about their life as a creative person and what makes them tick. I have the honor and privilege of having being chosen by a relatively new, but very dear friend Susan of Desertsky Quilting.

So here we go . . . .

I'm Edith, a.k.a. Edi of Edi's Crafting Life.

I'm going to follow the questions I've seen on some of the blogs who have participated.

1.  What am I working on right now?

Oh my, what am I not working on?  I have a goal list of 9 or 10 things at the moment that I try really hard to touch at least once a month. I've discovered over the course of the last 8 months that it's really too many especially when some of the them are very time consuming like counted crosstitch. I try to keep a variety of techniques:  something that gets done on the machine, embroidery, applique, crosstitch, etc. So I'm working on a hand-applique quilt from Tilda, machine pieced mystery quilt from Quilt Doodle Doodle, embroidery of the Christmas story called A Long Time Ago in Bethlehem.

2.  How long does it take to create a project? 

I'm not a designer, at least not yet, of any original designs. Most often I let the project I'm working on "talk to me" about how creative we're going to be. Sometimes I following the instructions that come with the designs I'm working on. When Wendy of Sugarlane Quilts asked me to test her Gnome for Christmas pattern, I followed her instructions. I've done the same on the Quilt Doodle Doodle mystery quilt. Tilda and Bethlehem, not so much. I want to be able to use my Tilda, so I haven't gone over-board on embellishments or embroidery - just enough to make it cute. With Bethlehem, because I'm planning on it being a wall hanging, I've been able to let my imagination run and have used everything from beads and buttons to dimensional mediums like yarn and dimensional stitches like the turkey stitch. The more involved I get with the embellishments the longer a project takes. Bethlehem has 12 blocks and I've managed to do at least one per month to keep within my deadline of having them all stitched by the end of the year.

3.  What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

At the moment, I'm having a love affair with my sewing machine. I've enjoyed sitting at the machine and letting it do all the heavy labor. Other times, it's needle and thread by hand with a good audio book or movie. Sometimes, I just like to sit quietly with no background noise.

4.  How does my creative process work?

Since I don't design, I don't really have a creative process. I carve out whatever and as much time as I can to work on my projects. As I said, most of the time I let the projects talk to me. I take other people's designs and make them personal and add my own creative touches to make it mine. I always like the base (someone else's design) from which I'm working (or I wouldn't do it in the first place) and make it mine so that it doesn't just look like I just did a duplicate of theirs. They've already done theirs :) Now it's my turn. Or they wouldn't have shared it. Doesn't mean I didn't like theirs, but it's theirs and I want my own :) They are my springboard, my inspiration to stretch myself, to challenge myself, to be just a little different and pull that creativity out.

5.  How do I become inspired and stay inspired?  

Inspiration comes from a lot of different sources as long as we keep our eyes and minds open. I'm always amazed at the creativity in our world. My inspirational sources:  Pinterest, other  bloggers, books, patterns, pictures, people, friends.

I get lots of ideas and patterns from Pinterest. It is also a great source for finding new blogs. It can also be very overwhelming and very distracting, especially if you have a short attention span which I sometimes do.

My problem isn't staying inspired, it's trying to find time and energy to do all that inspires me.

6.  What is my signature style?

I wish I had a signature style. I like so many - shabby, Victorian, modern, traditional, feminine, humorous. I live with guys, so much of what's around me is masculine or at the very least, utilitarian. So things aren't super fussy. So I guess I'd have to say eclectic - someofeachie (some-of-eachie).



Now is when I should pass on the baton. I'm relatively young in BlogLand, so those bloggers I asked had already been asked or I couldn't get in touch with. So unfortunately, I don't have anyone. But you can see from my sidebar who I follow on a fairly regular basis. Please take some time and check out their blogs. If you are starving for inspiration, I can guarantee you that it's out there.

Before I end my blog, I have to say that the people I have "met" in BlogLand have not only been inspirational, but have been genuinely kind and considerate people. Some have become really good, trusted friends - as much as we can be on the internet, but would be people that I would love to have in my neighborhood, church and would love to spend time with on a regular basis over a cup of tea or coffee. They have become people I rely on for advice and counsel and a good laugh.  I want to thank them for all their support and encouragement as I navigate my way through BlogLand and the quilting world.

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Thank you for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative day.

Good Start

My Saturday is off to a good start.

Row 4 is finished . . .

  

I love my little trees :)

It's overcast and raining (off and on), but that's only helping the colors to pop. This is a bright, fun quilt. I love the incorporation of embroidery and applique. 

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Thanks for stopping by

Wishing you a creative weekend.

Where, oh where,

has my week gone ?? !! Thursday evening I was informed that it was Thursday !!!! Now it's Friday - I know . . . natural progression . . . BUT I'VE LOST ALL THE DAYS IN BETWEEN. I have no idea where the time has gone. Everything is literally a blurr.

So what have I been doing to occupy myself to that point?  It doesn't ever feel like much. Pops (father-in-law) arrived late Tuesday evening. That put bedtime off, and I think that's where things started to get blurry :)

I know I spent time in the yard. I've cleaned up some brush and restacked a pile of wood that had to be moved.

I fell in love with my garden again.

 

  

We had some good storms come through Wednesday evening.

 

So even this morning, Friday, there is still quite a bit of moisture and rain water standing. It's limited the yard work, but that's ok with me because it just gives me another excuse to play with fabric :) Which, of course, I have done. The storms have given us a respite as far as the heat and humidity are concerned. We are definitely feeling autumn like temperatures. Friday is only forecast in the upper 50s. It's my favorite time of year.

As for my playing with fabric :)

Row 4 of the Tilda quilt is almost done :)

The final block of the row is in progress. I'm hoping to have the row done this weekend. After row 5 I need to decide if I want to keep going or just stop and finish with borders. Just not sure yet. It is very exciting to be close to a monthly goal and to almost have the whole top done.

* * * * * 

So what are your weekend plans? I'm continuing to work on my Bible studies. The one on Moses is taking quite a bit of time, but even after the first few days I'm feeling blessed and peaceful about my decision to dive into such an intense study. Over the course of the year, we'll be studying 4 books of the Bible. Not a bad way to spend my time and long over-due.

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Thank you for stopping by,

Wishing you a creative weekend.