Settee For Me

We have this little bay area in the masterbedroom. It's a waste of space. Can't do anything with it. I had a glider rocker in there, but it stuck out too far. I bought this little settee at an estate sale in Brentwood. It has a down cushion. I seriously hope that it does not become our cat's favorite place.

I fell in LOVE with these legs!

This is seeing it from the bedside.

View from the door entering the room. As you can see....it's not near as big as you think.

From the bathroom door. It fits in the space perfectly. I am SO glad I bought it.

As you can see...I have only mini-blinds. I have lived in my beautiful house for 4 years and can not decide what I want on those windows. They face west & get a LOT of light. And now that the room is painted yellow & not pea-green like it used to be...It is really lit up with light. Exactly like I wanted, but really rotten for naps. Yah, I like naps. One of the more important parts of my weekends!

This little settee will get a grand re-do sometime next year. I don't think you are getting the full effect of the burgundy upholstery with gold seals....It didn't even match the living room in the house that I bought it from. I am certain it's a reproductions as it SAYS it is on the tag!! From Fogle Furniture. Iplan on re-upholstering it & then also making a WHITE slipcover.

Similar to this: http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/2012/09/french-linen-slipcovers_14.html 

Not sure if I'll use for real French Linen as THAT is probably out of my price range....I like stuff to look good, but I don't want to be without my right arm either.

Yah, I know, it's not quilting. Oh well.

Sam

To Keep Me Honest

#2 ! In Progress.

I have BEEN busy.....

Honestly. I have. Just not too much actual quilting. I DID sew nearly 200 dinky spool blocks. But I did not sew any of them together.

I will post pictures of those soon.

No promises.

If you EVER think I am sitting still & doing nothing, then you'd be wrong! I keep myself bsuy with all sorts of things. You can look HERE too.......

Sam

Star Struck Class

On saturday 09/22 I helped give a class on bonnie Hunter's Star Struck - Most of the women that attended already knew how to make one or had made a quilt with these instructions. We still had fun!

this first phot shows us all setting up - Our Guild is fortunate to be able to use the basement of a church for our guild functions. It's a nice large basement area & the tables are always set up.

I had a brain fart & thought it was a wise idea to have a sort of story board with all the steps & the fabrics done up for each step. This worked out really great .

I chose to do my (3rd !) Star Stuck in 2 colors. Just Blue & Cream. Though there are 25 different BLUE & 25 different CREAM - this is one star short of being the width that I want it to be for a quessn size quilt (not including borders of course!)

Here are some of my guild buddies!

More of my guild buddies - hamming it up

I dont' remember what this shot was....

One of the guild ladies in this group was making her Star Struck in Black & Red. It was VERY striking. I told everyone that I was going to post these pictures on my blog but that I WOULD NOT use anyone's names - so don't take what I am typing as rudeness! The lady that has her back to us in this photo? I especially LOVED her SS as she was using primarily Thimbleberries! All scrappy too! My favorite! 

That concludes my Saturday sewing! We had a ball & I enjoyed myself a LOT.

Sam

Update & Non-Quilting Project

Well, a week ago last Thursday, I caught a nasty stomach virus. Ended up in the E/R hooked up to an IV for dehydration & tests because orginally I didn't think it was a VIRUS. I'm better now & I will spare you the ugly details. I was however well enough to attend my quilt guild meeting on Monday. It was a blast. I always LOVE going to those meetings. I got to sit & sew with my little group of women. I even brought a guest with me.

I work with a woman , she's in Houston, that is a quilter too! And I have been doing a little bit of longarm quilting for her in the last 2 years. I think 2 years. She was attending a class near Nashville & decided to spend some time with me & my family. Mary-Alice thanks for visiting!!! I hope she comes back for another visit.

Thursday I got my embroidery machine fixed. It's been broken since June. I had a tech out in August but after he timed it & fixed it, another part broke off. Took another month to get the part & then another 2 weeks to get a different tech out to install the "part".

This is what I made! Aren't they cute?

They are a little zippered pouch & they are completely done on the embroidery machine. I had a little issue with my thread shredding on the green owl, but I was making really late last night & failed to even THINK about changing the needle...so I guess I need to make a 2nd one of green. Darn.

See Y'All Later1
Sam

Bindings...........

I totally HATE putting the binding on quilts. Seriously. It took me a month to get the binding sewn on my Rail Fence with Stars quilt. Worse is that I have moved it from spot to spot all over our family room trying to give myself the prime oppurtunity of binding it. Well............since this was a 3 day weekend, I did it. I also washed it & dried it. Goodness, it looks half it's size now! Not really. But it sure shrunk up. I need to put a label on it. I'm bad at that too. I stopped biting my fingernails (AGAIN) and I am really grateful for the Roxanne thimble. My fingers still hurt doing it though. AND>>> I don't know how to fix it, but When I make a space between my sentences in this blog, like between paragraphs, it don't happen....so ...I know I ramble - but I'm not THAT bad!

I been doing a bit of sewing. I put 2 of my 2012 BOM blocks together in the last week & I helped DD#2 make a t-shirt dress. but that's about the extent of it. I don't know why, but not a whole lot of motivation.

Talk to y'all later. I hear my pillow calling me!

Sam

I Finished My Chair

This is what I have been busy with this past week!:

Here

Sam

Squeaking By

The pitfalls of sewing with scraps.... I didn't have enough to make & finish the binding. I came up one piece shot. 3"X36"...so I fished some other black out of my stash & sewed it on to the one side of the strip I found in my trashcan. Still didn't have enough, dug some more in my trash & found 2 pieces 2 inches wide, sewed THOSE 2 together & then I had enough.

The seams where I added on will be hidden in the binding. Might wear more quickly, but if I am honest with myself..........None of my quilts are used enough to fray the bindings off!

I hope you can see it, you might have to click on the pictures to enlarge them

good night!

sam

Jumping In

So...with that neat little jobbie from my last post (which I did not use YET) waiting in the wings,I have started THIS project. I thought I was doing well not to slip with the stapler remover or the super slim wood chisel. The wood chisel is courtesy of Prince Charming. He siad HERE TRY THIS..I took it & said YOU REALIZE IT WILL BE WORTHLESS WHEN I GIVE IT BACK, RIGHT? He said yes, so I proceeded. I think the chisel worked better than the stapler remover. I would have got everything removed but while I was brushing crumbs/junk (from previous owner) I sliced my pinky finger open on a spring end. Bled & bled & bled. Not deep enough to need stitches, but it bled a LOT. We are working outside tomorrow, so no upholstery on Sunday. Darn, coz I think I'm on a roll. Sam

I NEEEEEeeeedddd another Hobby ...like I need....

a Nose ring...........funny story..one time I was in a fabric shop buying fabric (really?) and the girl says "How much do you need?" - I say "Well I NEED more fabric like I NEED a nose ring!" Guess what peeps??? She had a nose ring! OMGoodness, toes taste SO good. (not really they don't) Onto my post tonight. Guess what I bought for ME today? Bet you can't guess....... I bought THIS:

It is a pneumatic stapler. It's teh dinkiest thing I have ever seen. And it's really light too. Guess why I bought it? I Am Going To Try UPHOLSTERY!! And Slipcovers too! It's a slow go so don't expect too much. Sam

Dr. Seuss Lorax Quilt

This was a quilt kit from my local quilt shop (Granny-B's in Dickson) Made for Eian!

Sam

Rails & Stars

After I finished my last quilt (On Eagles Wings - Paper Pieced!) I still had a boatload of strips. The LAST time I gave away scraps those 2 ladies made SEVEN quilts!! This time I didn't get that over zealous & cut that many, but still more than I needed....So I started sewing the strips together with no real idea of where I going with it. I decided I was not going to BUY any fabric & had to lean towards whatever design/pattern I could come up with by what I had in my stash. The yellow stars are leftover fabric from a quilt I finished last year (or the year before), the black in the borders was barely enough for the border (not sure if I have enough for the binding, but I'm gonna give it a shot!!!) and the green was in my stash - it wasn't LEFT OVER from anything....but I have had it for a while. Not sure HOW LONG, but it's older than 4 years, I am positive! Un-Quilted it is currently 91" X 105" - it's photographed on a queen size bed, in these pictures. So I am confident it will still be fairly large after I quilt it. Don't even ask me WHEN that will be...no clue. Prince Charming likes it!

Sam

4th Of July Decorations

Well folks, it is HOT HOT HOT in middle TN right now. This is all we did on Sunday. It was too hot to work outside onthe shed, too hot to run my long arm machine in the basement & almost too hot to sew upstairs in our family room. We need a new A/C unit for upstairs! I could not turn on my lights or keep my iron on, it was THAT hot. My flags don't stand out as much as I'd like them too, but they look really sweet! Happy Birthday USA ! Sam

Finished! On Eagles Wings Quilt

Here are WAY more photos than you'd like to see, I am sure! I dind't name the pattern, it is a Courthouse Steps/Flying Geese/Pineapple variation. I purchased the pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts, I think (this is off the top of my head here...) it's designed by Edyta Sitar. I can & could certainly have her name WRONG. Coz I am super bad with names. The original pattern shows it like a couch potato quilt size. Maybe twin? The only twin size beds that we have are the daybed in the family room & it doesn't get used much. So I just kept making blocks until I got to a good queen size quilt measurement. As of yet? I have not measured it. Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 93/98 X 100/110.....something like that. Un-Quilted, I mean. Next up is EVERLASTING WREATH - same company, same designer. If IT gets done in 14 months, it will be a miracle. Sam

Quilt Block Badge Reels / Scissor Leash

I was going to do 2 different types of blocks, but my frustration with my embroidery machine had me give up after these 16! I think they turned out cute & if it were not so late, I'd tackle the other 16. I can't wait to pass these out tomorrow. I hope they are as well recived as I thinkthey will be. If so/ Well, this summer when it's MY turn for door prizes, this is what I'm a bringing!! Good Night All! Sam

Bad, Bad Blogger

Ugh! I have to admit that I am a terrible blogger. For those that use my blog as a stepping off point as to what I'm keeping busy with....FORGIVE ME !!! ? (Especially DD#1) WOW! It's been since April since I have blogged? Seems so. Have I been busy? Yep. My real job has been EXTREMELY busy. I was on a weeks vacation the first full week of May & it took 2 of us TWO weeks to catch up when I got back. But that's no fun to write about. What did I do on vacation? Well! I spent 4 days at a quilt retreat. It was so fun & I brought all kinds of projects to work on. I got ONE done. ONE I started the weekend before I went to *camp*. I'll post pictures of it later. It was SO FUN to spend that many consecutive days just sewing. I spend some time not sewing too. QB1 was not in a position to a attend this time, so I roomed with Toni. Another member of our guild. We had a really good time! Fast forward to today. It's rained this weekend so there is no work ont he shed...well THAT & the fact we had to special order the shingles to roof the lean-to's. (the SHED is another reason I have not done much sewing! Working weekends on IT consumes a LOT of time, then I am too tired to sew.) BUT ! Since it's rained this weekend, I have FINALLY been able to sew together all my pineapple blocks for my On Eagles Wings Quilt. OMGosh, it's beautiful. I intend on sewing borders on it today & then posting pictures. It TOTALLY lives up to MY expectations! Also, today, I hope to embroider some badge reels to take to guild (ppssstt.....I am taking a PERSONAL day on Monday the 11th just so I can go to guild all day!!! Whoo-Hoo!) I bought an embroidery design pack with little mini quilt blocks & I thought I might embroider some up & attach to buttons (large 1.5"covered type buttons, like a badge) & then glue them to badge reels. I LOVE LOVE LOVE having my small sharp scissors on a retractible reel! So I amgoing to make a few up & give to a few of my QB's tomorrow. Then, if those are a hit, when it's MY turn to bring door prizes, I'll do some more for the door prizes. Maybe a BUNCH more so that everyone that is there can have one. But thats pretty ambitious...so I'll just PLAN on a 1/2 dozen Stay tuned for some pictures today! I can't wait to share! Sam

Niece #7's Quilt & a Basket

Nearly a year ago, my nephew in So Cal was diagnosed with a childhood desease & in an effort to send a hug long distance, I quilted up a quilt that I had made previously. Well, my nephew has a sister & I really felt badly that I didn't send one for her too. So.......I asked said niece what her favorite colors were & she said Pink & Green. As in Barbie Hot Pink & Neon Green.

To say that those colors are slightly out of my box, would be an understatement. A serious understatement. I made the body of the quilt LAST YEAR y'all. LAST YEAR. All I lacked was the outer border to complete the design & then the green final border. yah, I'm a slacker. I totally hate deadlines. So i don't make them.

I quilted it this morning. Amazing how quick a twin size quilt can be quilted! Loading, quilting & cutting off the extra was like 3 hours start to finish. You probably can't see the thread, but I used th darkest pink thread I had to quilt this quilt.

I used a pantograph called Wave Over Wave by Urban Elementz. Nice interlocking design.





And this basket is a LARGE one. Way easier to embroider than those mini ones!



Well - This quilt has been lurking for a year. It had to be done & I needed to get it QUILTED & sent.

Now I have 3 more quilts waiting to get done. MAP & Deb! You're up next y'all!!

Work, my real job, has increased some & my time in the evenings has been pretty tied up. So my personal commitments have suffered. I am not gonna complain about my job. I like what I do. A lot. So we'll leave it at that. In 2 weeks I'll be off work for a wekk for a quilting retreat. YAY ME!! I will have both , maybe all 3, quilts completed & shipped to thier owners BEFORE then!

See you all later, or next week, or maybe even next month!!

Sam

Irish Stars #1

Finshed Irish Stars (#1) this week. Hung it off the deck railing for pictures. it was slightly windy today, but the colors look much more accurate in real light than spread onthe floor or on one of the beds. That....and the fact that it's 18:45 PM.





As you can see, I opted NOT to make the piano key border. I love this red. I have been saving it for a while. I think I bought it at the Quilting Bee in Camden (TN). She doesn't sell many Civil War prints, she said they don't sell well....Darn it! & I LOVE them...


Oh! In case you think it's hung wrong...I didn't have any place I could hang it & get a full shot, so it's sideways........3 across & 4 DOWN.

Sam

More Shelves & The Last of Them

Prince Charming finished & put up the 4 shelves in the dining room. These look awesome in there. Again, we hung them with a ledger board. Wow, does THAT making hanging them easy peasy! We spent as much time measuring & centering as we did on anything...





This is the view of the dining room from the kitchen. When the dining room was RED it looked like a cave from this point. But now I really LOVE it.


I have decided that instead of making a cornice that will be upholstered, we are going to build one from wood & paint the same high gloss white as the wainscoting & the shelves. I think it will tie together lots better. Thankfully, Prince Charming has agreed too since he'll do the majority of the "work". Hee Hee!

Sam