84 to 90 Patches, Collages, and Dinosaurs

Feb. 22 to the 28th. End of the month of Feb. I put my foot down....hahaha

After stitching that odd shape yesterday, I noticed it was a boot shape.

#87 is left hanging, thus the other fabric behind it to emphasize it.

Click to enlarge the pix.

i photo'ed these all sideways

I thought I would show all 5 collages for the girls, in one place.

Penny Berens asked if I had let the girls help with these. 

Alas I did not.  

Can you picture 5 girls, ages 11 to 3 [who is a master scissor operator]  ALL with scissors in hand AND a bucket of novelty fabrics? Keep in mind that young children ALWAYS cut from the middle. 

Fabric costs to much.  

But no fear, I will let them help with an I Spy quilt as soon as I feel like getting on it. I will cut, they can arrange the blocks. And tell me stories of why a rocket ship should be next to beavers.

I had a lot of fun putting these tog for my girls, and I am still working on them. I am adding beads and such.

This is what got me started on the beads.  The dino print is of skeletons. I was going to satin stitch the "thicker" bones....and then I got struck by a light bolt and got out some beads. Oh yeah...much better!  Though I did do the heads in stitch with pearl cotton.

This was a cloth that started with the olive-green print, that I had one small square of. I can't stop when it starts to come together. 

Below is a shot of the Giraffe Cam.  I am flipping through all sorts of cams while I stitch. I enjoy listening to birds calling [feeder cams], or sea lions grunting [sea side cams], or geese honking, those on the eagle cams.

Sewing~ Room, Sleeves and a Map

Moving into the Sewing ROOM...yes I need to say that in CAPS because I now have a whole ROOM for my sewing....machine, fabrics, cutting table, ironing boards AND design wall!!!!!

The shiny silver thing is the foam insulation I will use for the design wall, it is only jammed there, it will be moved.   I moved it, but the picture I took of it didn't make much sense, so that will have to wait for another day when IT is covered with fabric goodies.

As you can see by the date stamp, it has taken me a few days....but isn't that the same for most creative process's? 

It's even more updated...I moved the plants back to the bathroom.

 [sitting on sewing machine table]

My shirt remodel is coming along.  I added fabric bits to the sleeve hems because I didn't care for how unfinished they looked.  I needle-turned the bits to make them more...finished looking??  Got the idea from Nadia after seeing the shirt she is working on. Thank You Nadia!

under side of sleeve

tops side of sleeve

Not sure if I will keep that loop and button on the sleeves, but for now I like it.

close up

closer up

The prints are from a Jinny Beyer collection I believe. 

Now for the Map. 

I have seen some small embroidered versions of the USA map on Pinterest.  

Of course it struck my fancy. So I printed up an 8 x 11" version.

Then...I decided to machine stitch the whole thing, stitching on the lines just like paper piecing.  Yes it took me a whole lot longer to do than had I taped the stuff to a window and penciled in the lines. 

the stitching around the outside of the map was just to anchor the paper and fabric tog, I will remove those

I am pretty sure Delaware has been engulfed with stitches,sorry.  And I accidentally stitched Massachusetts in half, again, sorry.  BUT I will be careful when I stitch those states in.  

I don't think I will be doing embroidery in the larger states.  After looking at Sharon's blog, I came up with the idea to add fabric bits to the states, thank you Sharon!  It will make more sense after I add some...fabrics.  The reason I want to do this is to show where we have all been, those of my family that is, just us 5, so it's not mind boggling confusing!!

for size ref, the map is third fabric on left panel

This last picture gives you an idea of my thoughtful husband and how he has given me 'design' walls in other rooms also.  They are all made from the foam insulation sheets, and the far wall panel is simply held up with 4 upholstery pins, which are BIG pins, sturdy pins.  A twin sheet covers that panel and 2 pieces of muslin cover the forward panel, as you can tell by the visible selvage. 

Zipper Bags

You know those zipper bags that many sheets/pillowcases/comforters/etc  come in??  I keep them, of course, and re-use them for what ever I need them for.  I got some small ones recently and found they are perfect for keeping small WIPS together.

 Then I can grab it and know that everything I need is in there. I even have one, the one above, in fact, that has scissors/thimble/needles in it for a take-along project.

This is an out of order pic of my footstool, where you can see the different bowls hold the threads for different WIPS. The plastic one full of DMC is for that x-titch I may never get to, but the threads are ready in the box I always used. {I did A LOT of 

x-titching in days of yore}{the Don Quixote dish is empty because I recently finished a WIP, which would make it a WID...work is DONE!} {that dish came from Spain, via Steph, the CollegeGirl}

What got me thinking of showing this bag idea is because of another blog, of course.  

WeLoveFrenchKnots mentioned it the other day...

about how we keep our piles of stuff organized, or not, for different projects, because most of us have more than one going at a time.

 I had so many, I had to mask-tape-post-it the dishes for each project. Since my scissors and thimble are sitting in this one, it is the WIP at the moment.  {Steph, those are the totally awesome scissors you got for me in Italy!!! and yes I spelt  x-titch wrong on porpoise}

Little Bird, Big Bird

I have been watching 2 different nests.  One belongs to a pair of Bald Eagles and their 3 chicks.  And the other is a Hummingbird nest with 2 chicks about to fledge, but there will probably be another new batch in a flash.  I have been trying to show the girls how amazing these different birds are. Vicki Welsh has nest boxes all around her house and always give pictorial updates on the nesting birds. The link will take you to the first posting of  the 2011 bird season, so refresh her blog to see if she has added some more current pix.

Red and White All Over

This would be an amazing show to see, that's for sure!

found here, via here

Sunrise and Stitches

I copied this from the Komo4 weather blog.... 

Mt. Rainier leaves a shadow at sunrise

You don't really think I get up at sunrise do you???

Look at the color of the water.....amazing!!!!
Land down under of course and from a blog which I will have to surf for...FOUND IT!  Piece O' Cake Becky Goldsmith while she was in Sydney.

my husband sent me this

Here is how the plastic tub looks with my current hand work....

Red, Pink and Chocolate

I don't normally keep my handwork together like this, but all these bits seemed to need corralling.

All spread out

All tidy for now....and ready to sew the next circle.  I am not sewing circles to all the sq's for this quilt, they will get added randomly...or so the plan in my head has them figured for now.

all back in the plastic thing

a sewer can stitch anything back together!

my glasses

When the screw fell out of my glasses, Stephanie and her handy tool kit wasn't around, and since I couldn't see w/o my glasses ON, I did the one thing I could do with limited vision.....I sewed the damn thing to keep the lens in.  And no those aren't water spots on my lens, those are screwed-up-glare-crap-spots!!

I Like This Quilt

I found it while surfing...amazing what you can find while paddling around in the water.....the blogger took this photo at a quilt show in the Philadelphia area.

Smart Appliqué Trick

First, I just read this trick for appliqueing in tight spots.  It's such a simple, smart idea! No wonder I didn't think of it.....LOL

Second...Susan I am going to make a housewarming quilt for a daughter who doesn't know about it yet. The one who is building her own house and going to have another baby.  I won't say who in case she reads this....

Third....Phyllis I am going to appliqué the circles down as circles, not as yo-yos....but I have used yo-yos as a way to make cherry blossoms!

Does Your Back Look the Same as Your Front?

I was just over at Kristin Sheilds' blog and it got me thinking......

I have always done needlework, in fact I was born with a silver thimble on my finger.
But it wasn't until 10th grade home ick that I heard The. Statement. 

"Your Work Should Look the Same on the Back as it Does on the Front."

Time stopped.  

Those words went in my ears, past my mouth, that dropped to my chest, and rumbled around inside the rest of my body, until I could safely blow it out my ass.

Whence Time started up again, I closed my mouth, and did what I always do....

make a mess of my backside!!!!

Kindly Correction to a Commenter

Quilting Fitzy said   "I'm a rock stealer too, and you'd think we'd have enough with our desert landscaping, lol. Nope, never enough!"


Dear dear Fitzy....we don't steal rocks, we find new places to place them, just as our dear Mother Nature does {as in rushing rivers, waves on the beach, etc.}.  We just place them in unnatural settings, like on top of the tv....where that 'nosy' rock is watching my every move!  You are just another rock replacer like so many of us.  And some of us do other things to rocks, like crochet them jackets or paint on them... [scroll down on the second link, Geninne has some great photos to peruse]


Edit to add...or get a pile of rocks given to you like Dorothy did.  Finestkind!
Fitzy....a rock tumbler....sweet!!!

Removal Company & Clearing Up a Few Things

Dorothy thinks the dragon in this picture looks like an elephant fetus....such imagination... ...hahahaha, funny Dorothy!

And this doctored-doctored picture is for Susan who couldn't find the rackus-frackus cat. Did you see the dog, Susan?

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subject change subject change subject change subject change

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So here is the end of the shop addition...being ended....being ripped off....being torn down.

The roof leaked, there were holes in the floor. But it sure was stubborn about coming down. And there were "big-assed" spiders lurking in the woodwork, too. Dan said he even squelpted {squeal-yelpped} when he saw them.

Ben is standing under the YES. So why all the removal?

To rebuild of course!

So....Vicki Welsh isn't the only one with birds nests....bird nests.....birds nest-isss....anyway, this a Junko nest I just noticed yesterday in the newspaper box across the street. There is someone at home there too.

So as one child learns the home buying/building process, another learns about being foreclosed on. Learn new things every day, so I say.

Eye Candy

Susan, over at Plays With Needles, is doing a CQ block for DMC embroidery threads...they called her!!!....and the process is really fascinating and worth looking at, even if CQ'ing [crazy quilting] is not your bag of tea....hoho

As for me...I need to re-learn how to do creative things with children around. I can do the boring house hold chores, but I really need to do hand work when they are here so I can ease some of my own tension. I think it will be good for them too, how else did my children learn to sew if not by watching me? So time for the grandchildren to see me at it too. Maybe Megan can help me with the block she altered....

Bright Quilt!

I didn't make this, though it's a color I enjoy working with! And it has an open house plan, or a dollhouse-like view. My guess is it's all hand done.

I found this picture on **Luana Rubin's flickr page from the Tokyo Quilt Festival in Feb. 2010. The quilt is made by Yoko Sekita. I don't know if you can enlarge the picture from here, but I know you can from the link. It's worth enlarging!!! And here are more pictures of this and other quilts at the show taken by another people. [I Googled the show and clicked on this blogs link and followed her links to her flickr page....]

**Luana is the owner of eQuilter. com one of the better quilt fabric websites. Prices may be a bit steep, but the descriptions, and photos, of the fabrics are wonderful!

Simply Amazing

You know those days when you come across something truly amazing? Well here is todays.

Reading Other Blogs

Dorothy asked if I read a blog called Spirit Cloth. Yes, as a matter of fact I do read that one, every day! I have gotten a lot of inspiration and confidence, actually, from Jude's work and attitude. And other blogs like hers.

I have always been a 'big stitch' quilter, so it's nice to see others doing it too. {by big stitch I mean taking a large running stitch for quilting} For years now, I have used perle cotton threads to add to the look of the quilt and am now using my supply of DMC threads, ie: plain old 6-strand cotton floss. Granted, dragging the embroidery floss through the layers of fabric and batt tend to wear it thin, but....

Deborah, the moonlight is part of the Crows piece. I need to take a complete picture of it, then it will make more sense.

I check in on Dorothy and Deborah's blogs every day too!

Color In Winter

I live in the Northwest. We have green all year long. Sometimes we need a little red tossed in.

We have no idea what this plant is called, but it loves this southern window next to my computer....I love the window too, but I don't turn red...bright pink maybe, but not red.

Jules mentioned needing a bit of color in these rather gray days. She lives in England, so we share temperature zones.

Thinking...

Many people I see are picking a 'word' for the year. I knew of one person who has done this for years, now she seems to be crowded with other participants! She picked the wonderful word, "believe" for her 2010 word. I have considered picking a word for a year, but it doesn't happen....mostly because I don't want to step on toes.....and because I have a word I try hard to live by every year, all the time, even in my most PMS-Menopause-y moments---well....after the menopause-y moments.

Positive. Positively. Positiveness.

You Can Do It.

Yes We Can.

Go For It.

Remember a while back when I showed you the Visual Thesaurus? Well here is another cool 'thing'....a Literature-Map. Enter the name of your favorite author and find other authors...well, I am just getting you all confused, especially myself, so go see what they have. BTW, I used the author Miss Read for my example.

Blue Moon

You know, blogger's can be as packed with info as Google is. For example, Susan says on this New Years Eve there is a full moon. Dec. has already had one full moon, so this second one is called the blue moon. She probably got this info from Google, by the way. I snagged the photo from her blog instead of looking for my own, thank you Susan!

For 52 years, New Years Eve has also been my birthday!

{I am mom's tax deduction, my brother is April 16th, sigh of relief after paying taxes}

So I think I need to post a bunch of hints on notes about having a blue moon cake,

don't you agree???

Wouldn't that picture make a great ornament? I just discovered this glitter, from another blog of course, and I think they have just the blue that would work for a Blue Moon Ornament....and maybe add a sprinkle of this one and maybe a dash of these beads for texture of course!

I am going to be singing the bits and pieces of every moon song I know, blue or otherwise!

Fabric....and a way to pick it....

Ok, so while reading yet another blog this afternoon, I followed her link toMorecloth.

Click on a color strip and it gives you a sample of fabrics sold by Etsy people. This section of screen shot will give you better idea of what I mean. {the link to etsy is one of the 'vender's' showing an unusual print....}why

why the trike picture? because i found out that Schwinn makes them. i found this picture at wal mart!

Blog Action Day

So this years Blog Action Day is all about Climate Change. Personally I probably don't do much to help other than use CFL light bulbs and recycle everything I can. The oxy machine for my mom puts out a lot of heat, so I move it around the take advantage it ! I drink a lot of water, and the 'dregs' of it get dumped into plants...dog water dish....pitcher for watering elsewhere. We don't water the lawn in back over the septic, it does just fine on it's own. I also air dry clothes when I can.

If solar panels were more affordable, we would get those in a minute! Our roof is a perfect place for them even though we are here in the NW.

I am hoping to get more LED lights, also.

When we need a new hot water heater I want to get the instant kind. { I don't think its a good idea to just junk the working one now.}