A Holiday Hello!

I figured my new front door, deserved a new wreath for a proper Holiday Hello!

This was soooo easy! I got my inspiration from this blog - Rust & Sunshine. I already had the tinsel garland. I picked it up at Target a week or two ago. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it. I love all the colors and the different lengths of the tinsel. I used a 14" square wire wreath form I found a Joanns, and the red sparkly dove was half price at Hobby Lobby. I have about $10 in the whole wreath but I think it looks like a million bucks on my olive green front door.

Tomorrow they are predicting Snowmaggedon here in southwest Ohio - 4 to 6 inches of white death. I hope they are wrong. I don't have to go out but I know too many people who do and I want them to be safe.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

It almost got the best of me

Here is a picture of the the TV stand that almost got the best of me -- excuse the glare on the TV.

I love the industrial look of this piece but I have never, ever, ever had as much trouble putting together a piece of DIY furniture as I had with this.... and I have put together a LOT of DIY stuff. I got it at Walmart- it is BHG furniture from Sauder. You can see it here. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't buy this but if you do here are a few hints. First it will take more than a screwdriver to put it together. I have a drill driver and it needed an assembler with muscles (aka my oldest son). Second, you are probably going to have to go to the hardware store and buy some more screws. Take one from the package with you. I ended up stripping the heads on some screws and the threads on other screws and I was just using a screwdriver and my wimpy 60 year old muscles. Third, pay very close attention to the instructions. They are not easy to follow. That wasn't just my opinion, it is also the opinion of my son who is way more adept at this than I am. I admit I am not a spatial thinker, but he is. He could have been an engineer but chose to go to law school instead, so he's no dummy. All in all, next time I would buy something from IKEA (you know I LOVE LOVE LOVE IKEA) or a piece from Closetmaid.

Here is my view of this sitting area from my sewing machine.

It is a cozy little area, to watch TV or sit and stitch. As you can see Big Dude finds it comfy too!

Happy stitching-
carol fun

A "little bite" of Christmas on Design Wall Monday

First off where did last week go? Heck, where did last month go? I can't believe it is already December. I had lots of plans for things I wanted to stitch up before Christmas but several of them are just going to be shelved till next year.

I did get this little bite put together - the pattern is Tickle from Miss Rosie's Little Bites series. You can see it here.

It finished about 23" square. The stars are a petite 6". I used the Kate Spain collection, In from the Cold. You can see it here. For the background I found a mottled white with silver metallic polka dots - you know how much I LOVE polka dots.

I thought the birds in this collection were sweet-

And this gingerbread guy is dapper with his tie -

And a cute kitty -

I want to do some simple quilting in a metallic silver thread to finish this off. I plan to display it in my living room under my creche. And speaking of decorating for Christmas, I got a start on things yesterday. I know last year I whined and moaned and complained about the pre-lit tree I had that wouldn't light. And I swore I wouldn't buy another one, but I don't listen well, even to myself. I ended up buying a new tree at Lowe's last week. The branches are quite realistic and it is really full of lights and for the moment I am quite smitten with it. It required no fluffing. Just put the 3 sections together and plug it in. Each branch is a separate metal rod and they are assembled so they just fall into place. I hope that it will last longer than the last one. I'll get the ornaments on later this week and take some pictures.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

A little attempt at something "arty" on Design Wall Monday

I didn't get as much time to sew this weekend as I wanted to, but then is there every really as much time as we want? I spent over 7 hours - no joke - assembling the TV table from hell for my studio, which drastically cut into my fun time. I'll show pictures of this table later in the week. I like how it looks but it gave me even further admiration for IKEA. This was NOT IKEA and if it had been the first piece of DIY furniture I'd ever put together it wouldn't have gotten put together. Oh...I got sidetracked there..

Here is what I did get sewn. My little attempt to make an "arty" table runner for a small shelving unit in my studio. This is only 12 X 21 - a slightly oversized placemat- LOL!

This is the piece in action. I moved my tower of pincushions over on this unit and I want to put something decorative on the wall above it- another sampler or a quilt or who knows what. More decorating options - I LOVE that!

I started this piece with 2 Disappearing 9 patch blocks with 5" squares. I used a selection of black and white prints showcasing stuff I love- sewing stuff and chickens - and a variety of polka dots. I didn't measure well and the blocks were too big so I randomly sliced off length and width - very "arty" - right?

I quilted this in semi-parallel lines with a shiny variegated Sulky thread and every once in a while I threw in a section of zig zag stitching - another attempt to be "arty". LOL I like how it turned out and it adds a nice touch of color to this unit and covers the ugly scratches I unintentionally inflicted on it.

So this will be a crazy week. I need to go to the store for my Thanksgiving dinner shopping, but I'm not having Thanksgiving at my house till Friday to accommodate every one's schedule. I plan on going to Costco tomorrow since I want to avoid the crowds on Wednesday but they are calling for yuckky weather Tuesday. Too bad they won't want pizza for Thanksgiving dinner... I'd give lots of thanks for that!

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Off and on the needles this Friday

I found this pair of socks tucked into a bag earlier in the week. The first sock was done and the second sock was almost to the toe. A little knitting time later....ta dah! Another pair of scrappy socks!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE making socks like these. I collect little bits and bobs and balls of leftover sock yarn, group colors I like together, divide what I have in half -- I have one of those little diet scales to weigh the yarn--- and start knitting. Now I try very hard not to make them match in any way but this pair has two sections - one on the leg and another on the foot where I used the same yarn in the same place. Totally accidental, as I didn't have the first sock with me when I was knitting the second sock. This the third pair of these scrappy socks I've made and there will be lots more to come.

On the needles is another pair of BIG black socks for my oldest son. I won't bore you with a picture. And the socks I want to start is this pair - check it out here on Ravelry. It is a free pattern - don'tcha love free? I've never done mosaic knitting before but my friend, Cathy, is going to show me how. I can't wait.

Happy knitting -
carol fun

Quilty Fun on Thursday

Have you seen the Quilty Fun Sew Along? You can find out more here. Well I purchased Lori Holt new book, Quilty Fun and there are so many cute ideas packed inside. I was thrilled when I saw there was going to be a sew along as it gives me the chance to play with the blocks on a manageable weekly pace. These are the first 3 weeks.

I'm using my sizable stash of American Jane fabrics from Sandy Klop. I love the prints and the colors. So far I've worked in a couple of prints that have alphabets (you know I LOVE alphabets - I have over 50 samplers hanging in my house at the moment), and there are some tape measure prints, and there is even a print with little chicks! (It is the green piece in the middle of the first courthouse steps block). Now how could I resist that? LOL I have 3 yards of that dotty background fabric and I'm crossing my fingers that it will be enough.

I'm really trying to stay current with the sew along and so far it has been pretty easy to do. The courthouse steps block took longer to select and cut the fabrics than it did to sew together. And I am enjoying pawing through the plastic bin of American Jane goodies. A feast for the eyes.

So far this week I've been a bit more productive. I hemmed the sleeves on a new jacket my oldest son bought, so he won't freeze when the temperatures drop this weekend. I got the binding on the BIG batik quilt (you can see it here), and I washed it and he already scooped it up and took it home. I forgot to take pictures so I'll have to trek over to his house (not really he only lives 2 short blocks away) and get some shots when the sun decides to return. I trimmed my Christmas twister quilt and it is ready to be bound and I added some machine appliqued stars to this Christmas quilt (here's a picture) and it is ready to go to the long arm quilter. It feel good to get some things finished cause I really want to start several new projects. Somehow there are never enough hours in a day.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Krazy for Kaffe Kontinues on Design Wall Monday

I had the best of intentions of getting lots of sewing/knitting/quilting done last week, but the reality was very little happened, which explains why I haven't posted for a week. I did get a bit of sewing time here and there and finished another 8 blocks of my Kaffe Pineapple Blossom quilt.

This is all the blocks I'm making for this one. I'm going to assemble it just as it sits on the wall right now and then add a small inside border and then a wider border of this fabric which you can see here. Yeah more cheddar - yummy!

This Pineapple Blossom pattern from Bonnie Hunter is a lot of fun. Another quilt that I want to make again.

Last week was filled with a lot of hurry up and wait time which puts me out of sorts. It seemed like every time I had the motivation to do something productive, I had no time. I did have some interesting conversations with my sons which left me feeling OLD. They both commented on the commercials on TV about the upcoming anniversary of the assassination of Kennedy. It was the first time I can remember EXACTLY where I was and what I was doing when I heard tragic news. I was 10 years old, I was on the back playground of my elementary school, St. Therese School, Southgate, Kentucky. I remember Sister Caritas and Sister Lawrence crying. I had never seen a nun cry before. I remember being sent home from school early and we didn't come back for days. We went home and sat in front of the television and watched the events replay and unfold.

It was fifty years ago...fifty... where does the time go? It certainly drives home the fact that life can change in an instant and we really should make the most of the precious time we have.

Happy stitching-
carol fun