Be careful !!!!!!

Well this is not the way to start the day - personal hygiene is overrated - I slipped today getting out of the shower and you know where this is going - I broke my left wrist - insert lots and lots of four letter words.



Okay trying to look at the bright side, it is my left wrist and I'm right handed. They did leave my fingers pretty open since I explained that I knit and stitch to keep from harming other people. Somehow I don't think a broken wrist is going to put me in a great mood for the next 6 weeks, so hopefully when the swelling goes down and the pain subsides I will be able to indulge in my hobbies.

Typing with one hand is very slooooooooowwww. If you have left a comment please know how much I appreciate them, but I won't be following up for a little while. The lidocaine is wearing off and the vicodin hasn't kicked in yet, so I am going to find a pillow and prop up my hand for now.

Take care and be very very careful when you get a shower - cleanliness can be hazardous to your health.

carol fun

A great BIG sampler for Sunday

Doing the happy dance here.... I got my Beatrix Potter Quaker sampler back from the framer and I LOVE it!!!



As you can tell this is a BIG sampler - 23" wide, 22" high- and it was stitched on a 32count linen. It is an R & R reproduction linen and the color is called Roasted Crown blend. Such a lovely golden color. (Sorry -these pics don't do this justice- it is so pretty in real life)





I used DMC floss for this piece since I couldn't determine how much floss I was going to need since I used different colors for different motifs. I figured if I ran out of a color I would have a better chance of getting a match if I used DMC. I can't take credit for this color combination of linen and floss. I loved the sampler when I first saw in on Needleprint. I bought it and downloaded it on Jan 1, 2010 and when I saw this rendition I knew that was how I wanted mine to look.

I showed it to my son and he immediately looked for his and his brother's initials and found them. I'm glad he's catching on- he's a smart one- LOL!





I had this framed at my local Joann's. They have a dynamite framer, Beverly, who does a wonderful job with needlework. So if you live in the Cincinnati area, check her out at the Mason-Montgomery road location. I can highly recommend her. And with the 65% off coupon a week ago, this only cost me $70. I think that is a very reasonable price for this piece. I picked out the frame and I love the color and that is doesn't overpower the stitching. Beverly said it was the prettiest piece she'd ever frame -- wow! my head is expanding as I type - must come back to earth- LOL!

Now off to do more stitching-
carol fun

What I have to show for this week...

Remember back on Monday when I said I had a busy week ahead of me, well, it certainly was. But I did get in a little crafty time. Having the pieces cut out for the Halloween Swoon blocks let me get another one sewn together.



I love the center fabric on this one. It is cute animals dressed up in Halloween costumes - funny stuff - well at least I think so.



And because this busy week had lots and lots of sitting around waiting for other people time in it I was able to finish another pair of socks. These are my wicked Carol Green no-purl Monkey socks.





The yarn in a Lorna's Laces called Carol Green so it was meant for me to have it. My friend Cathy gifted me this yarn for helping her strip the wallpaper off a one of her bathrooms. (One of the skills I've picked up in life- stripping wallpaper- I don't remember ever thinking that this is something I would want to know how to do, but it has come in handy.) And I like the no-purl version of the Monkey sock pattern by Cookie A. I've knitted this so many times that it is seared into my brain. Some day when I can't remember what I had for lunch I'll still remember this pattern - wait, what did I have for lunch? Oh yeah, tacos- whoa that was a close one - LOL!

So today is a glorious Saturday and I don't have to go anywhere and I'm not cooking dinner. Dontcha just love car-side to go? I'm thinking either Carrabas or O'Charley's tonight. Now I'm off to do a little sewing. Only 4 more Halloween Swoon blocks to go.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

A Halloweenie design wall for Monday

I had a little bit of sewing time this weekend and I got another block done for my Halloweenie version of a smaller sized Swoon block.




This one is going to be the center of the quilt. The spiky pieces with the purply bat fabric has a sparkly sheen and I got some other fabrics with sparkles at Joanns the other day. Here is my layout -



I went ahead and decided on which fussy cut centers would go with the outer ring of fabrics and what will be my spiky accents. I cut all the fabrics out in hopes of getting a couple of minutes here and there to put a block together. When I start a quilt I usually just jump in and when I get about halfway done I like to put it on the design wall and make sure I like the arrangement of fabrics and color. I think this is going to be good. I tried to balance out the blocks with the darker outer ring with the ones that are lighter. I had a preponderance of darker Halloweenie fabrics.

So today is flying by and tomorrow I have an appointment and Wednesday I'm booked all day with things, hopefully I will have some stitching time on Thursday. I'd love to have all these blocks done by the end of the weekend - a slightly optimistic goal- so we'll see how it turns out.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Reflecting on a sampler for Sunday

As I took pictures of this little sampler I reflected on, in what universe did I think that doing a sampler with this much over 1 thread was a good idea? Obviously my eyesight was better than it is now. ( I have an eye exam scheduled for this week to boost my bifocals.)




This sampler is by Chessie & Me and has the unassuming name of Chessie's House #4. The stitching area measures a puny 3 inches square but packs a lot in that space.



I love the little cabin with its satin stitched logs and the over sized cat. He looks a lot like the sweet cat we had back in 2002.

There wasn't nearly enough sewing time in this weekend and the week is already packed with appointments. Hopefully I can carve out some time to play - have a great week!

carol fun

Now this is way more fun than laundry!

I am in LOVE with this block! I love sewing it up in the original Swoon size with my Kaffe Fasset fabrics and I love sewing it up in my modified size in these Halloweenie fabrics! And I can see me making another quilt with this block using some of my many Moda precuts. LOVE IT!

In between loads of laundry I got 2 more blocks made.




I always like a fussy cut center to a sawtooth star so I used some jack-o-lantern fabric that has been in my stash for years and the toothy cat with the striped ears is a Nancy Wolff fabric that I've been hoarding for years. In fact I've been hoarding it so long that I forgot I even owned it! Thanks Stephie for knowing my stash better than I do. I whined in a email that I didn't have much Halloween fabric and she reminded me that I had this piece. It has other big head creatures on it - a witch, a devil, a ghost, a skeleton and other assorted ghoulies. They will be appearing in other blocks I'm sure.

And here is my border fabric -




I got this several years ago a Joanns. I have no idea who's design it is since there isn't a single thing on the selvedge. These are BIG motifs - the jack-o-lantern if 5 inches across and the bat measures 8 inches wing tip to wing tip. I wish I could hide out in my sewing space and make the other 6 blocks but this weekend is shaping up to have lots of out of the house things I need to take care of. Oh well, the fabric will still be waiting for me next week.

Hope you have a great weekend!
Happy stitching-
carol fun

I can't believe this is all I have to show for my day!

I've been sewing on and off today for 8 hours -(in retrospect lots more off than on). And this is all I have to show for it.....



... a Swoon block done in Halloween fabrics. Now this isn't a hard block by any means but I have been moving in super slo-mo all day. I did redraft the block so it finishes 16" versus 24" in the pattern. Why? Because I have an idea for a Halloween quilt to hang in my family room and there is limited wall space for it. It has to finish no more than about 75" and I have a very cool fabric I want to use for the border.

However after looking at the photos I'm rethinking the idea.



This is my 2nd stab at this block. For my 1st try I used a fabric with larger random polka dots and with even a few sections sewn together it absolutely vibrated. I think it could have induced vertigo with just a glance! I switched to the smaller dotty fabric but this is still a busy block. I like busy blocks I'm just not sure about this one yet. Maybe I've spent too much time up close and personal with it today.

The big part of my problem with speed of my sewing has to do with spending too much time today with Facebook. Now I normally just give it a cursory look every day or so but today I got stopped in my tracks. There was a picture of me when I was 13!!! OMG - this was a freshman class picture posted by another member of my tiny high school class. My entire class was less than 50 students and there were 2 girls for every one boy - I'm not kidding! Small Catholic co-ed high school - a real rarity in that era. Think nuns and lots of plaid uniforms and guys who had to wear a tie to class all the time. Currently there are plans for a 40th year reunion. Obviously it will be a small group since it wasn't very big to begin with and several people have departed this earthly realm - may they rest in peace. I walked down memory lane today and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Needs more thought -

Halfway to the weekend -- can't wait! Happy stitching-
carol fun