I finally got around to some sewing....

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a weekend sewing retreat at a friend's house.We were a small, but mighty group and we had a blast!

Best of all.....I actually started and finished a project.

Drum roll please................TA DA!

A pillow made using the Half Hexie ruler and some fabrics that I've been collecting for a while.

Front (approx 12"x16")

Back

(There's a hidden zipper behind that flap.)

The pillow with it's lovely new owner.

(Hi Mom!!!)

I purchased the pillow form (50% off at Joann's) and a half yard of fabric for the back. The rest of the fabric and the vintage zipper all came from my stash. I love it when I can make something pretty and practical from what I already have!

The things we do for love.....

Did you know that there is a magazine called "Modern Dog"?

Nope. Me neither. Until I saw a copy at the vet's office.

It's "the lifestyle magazine for dogs and their companions".

Really?

Yes, really.

Normally, I wouldn't have paid it much attention, but there was something on the cover about cool treats for your dog. I always feel bad when we're eating Skinny Cow Fudge Bars and Harry can't enjoy one. I've been thinking about buying some doggie ice cream, but it seems a little expensive.

Anyway, I checked out the article in the magazine and found a recipe for Blueberry Pupsicles.

I couldn't resist.

 The super simple recipe can be found here.

 The recipe calls for a silicon rectangular muffin mold, which I don't have.

So, we used an ice cube tray. 

(And yes, I put the sticks in so that we can hold a pupsicle for Harry while he licks it!)

 Of course we had some taste testing along the way.

 Harry definitely approves!

So, if you're a companion to a modern dog, check out the magazine and their website.

Finished - Dresser

I completed refinishing this dresser back in April, but didn't get around to taking the "after" photos until recently.

Here's the before:

Solid wood dresser found at the Goodwill for $45. Definitely within my budget, but the dark stain wasn't doing much for me. It was well made and could easily be spruced up.

Here's the after:

A fresh coat of paint (Valspar "Silver Leaf") and a set of vinyl stickers (special order from Lowes) and it's right at home in my sewing room! I really wanted glass knobs for the drawers, but I couldn't justify paying $48 plus tax for them. So, we opted to just repaint the existing knobs, which kept the total cost of refinishing at around $75.

Best of all, my sewing supplies are all tucked away in the drawers and easily accessible.
Hooray for good organization!

From The Garden

We planted our garden a few weeks later than usual this year and things seemed to be getting off to a very slow start. Luckily, we had a little heatwave and the seeds/plants loved it!

This was our first "big" harvest yesterday:

 Roma tomatoes, zucchini, white radishes, turnips. bell peppers, and jalapenos.

And this was today's harvest:

Yep, turnips. Seventeen of them! And there are still more out in the garden.

They'll be cleaned, cubed, blanched and frozen tomorrow.

Note to self.......

....when making jam, do not wear white!

(Especially your favorite white shirt.)

Winner!!

 

Thank you to everyone who entered my Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway. I really enjoyed reading what everyone likes to cook or bake. The overwhelming majority of you like to bake cookies, followed by bread and brownies.

I used the Random Number Generator to choose the winner, but for the life of me, can't figure out how to get the actual results to show up on this post!

 The winner is #63:
Deb@asimplelifequilts said...I'm not much of a baker but cookies are always welcome when I do get them made. Snickerdoodles are my favorite!~

Snickerdoodles just happen to be my favorite cookie too!

Congratulations, Deb!

Giveaway Day!

Oh my gosh! I can't believe I almost forgot to post this. As they say, better late than never.

Today is Giveaway Day, hosted by Sew, Mama, Sew! There are lots of wonderful items being given away. Head over to Sew, Mama,Sew and check out some of the fun things you could win.

Here's what I'm giving away:

A "Kitschy Corset" apron pattern from Brassy Apple and a yard of Art Gallery fabric.(Please note that this fabric has been prewashed.)

To enter, please leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing to cook/bake is. Sorry, but I can only ship to U.S. addresses. This giveaway will be open until Friday, May 10th at 5:00 pm PST.  I'll choose a random winner and notify the winner by email no later than May 12th. Please make sure that I can reach you by email.

Thanks for visiting. And Good Luck!

A quick fix

We bought our dining room set before our son was born. I can remember people commenting about the light color of the chair upholstery and the fact that we were expecting a child. We were told more than once that the two did not mix.

Of course, we found that to be very true. The cushions didn't hide much of anything in the way of spills or stains.

A few years ago, I found a great deal on a set of IKEA slipcovers and thought I could use them for the dining room chairs. I cut them up and stapled away.

But again, the fabric was light. It started out as a nice beige and over time, became a not so pretty grayish color.

I've been thinking about recovering these chairs again for quite a while. And the occasion of my mother-in-law coming to visit was just the push I needed to get the job done.

Our dining room chairs have been transformed......

from ewwww.....

to ooooohhh!

Before and After

Amazing what you can do with a screwdriver, a staple gun, and some pretty fabric. I love how they came out and can't believe I waited so long to do something that was so easy.

Zipping along

I thought I'd share a few zippered pouches that I've made and received in the last few months.

Way back in February, I wanted to make a quick little project and found the kit for this zippered pouch in a drawer. It was a little gift from the Strawberry Patches during the Heart of the Valley Shop Hop last May.

I liked that first pouch so much, I decided to make a slightly larger one to carry all my essentials when traveling to QuiltCon. The gray fabric on top matched the tote I carried around at the show.

This lovely pouch is the one I received in our guild swap. One of our newer members, Sharon made it. Isn't it great?!?

And this is the pouch I made for our swap.It's the medium sized Open Wide Pouch from Noodlehead. My friend Jane got this one. Everyone brought their finished pouches in plain paper bags and we chose without knowing what kind of pouch was in the bag or who made it. I was thrilled when Jane chose my plain brown bag because I made this pouch with her in mind!

A Not So Welcome Visitor

Oh the joys of living in a rural area! My husband found this guy lounging on our front porch a few nights ago.

Don't worry, it's only a gopher snake. He actually wasn't as big as he looks in the photo. Probably less than two feet long and no bigger around than my thumb. And it was cold, so he wasn't moving very fast.

I scooped him into a container and we took him for a little ride to a nearby orchard. I hope he lives a long, happy life there!

Critter Count:
1 pheasant
1 rabbit
1 skunk
3 snakes
2 adult possums
1 young possum
3 baby possums

Our Garden: The Beginning

The start of a great garden....

A trailer full of compost....

And a new tiller.

Now we're off to buy some tomato plants!

Madrona Road Challenge Quilt - Finished!

I actually finished this quilt a couple weeks ago and finally had the time (and decent weather) to take photos.

The print fabrics are all from the Madrona Road line, designed by Violet Craft for Michael Miller.

The challenge from The Modern Quilt guild was to use this fabric, along with any solids, to make something quilty.

I wanted to give a modern look to a traditional block, so I went with my favorite, the Log Cabin.

 My original quilt design was to put four of these Log Cabin blocks into a square and use sashing to look like a window. So, I tried that and did not like it at all.

I tried a couple other things with the blocks and ended up setting them on point, with corner triangles made from another of the Madrona Road fabrics. I sashed them with a lovely Bella Solid Blue and filled out the rest of the quilt with Kona Steel.

Front

Back

I used my leftover fabrics to piece the backing, which I really like. The quilt measures approximately 58"x65".

A new project

One of my goals for 2013 is to get my sewing room more organized.

 That means several different things, including being able to get to the item I need, when I need them.

Right now, my patterns, rulers, miscellaneous notions and a lot of other random sewing stuff are stored in a two drawer lateral filing cabinet. While this is great for the amount of space, it's not so good for organization. Everything is just kind of piled in there. And whatever I need, it's almost always at the bottom of the drawer.

I've been searching for a better storage solution for months. I had a tall chest with many drawers in mind. For whatever reason, the Goodwill I normally go to has been putting outrageous prices on their furniture lately. Prices such as $130 for a smallish entertainment unit made of pressboard and laminate, with broken drawers and missing knobs. Really outrageous.

So, imagine my surprise when I found this.....

A tall dresser with 7 drawer. Made of real wood. Made locally about 10 years ago. Priced at....$45!

Yes it needs some work. There are a couple of generous dings around the edges.

And the dark stain has to go.

But for that price, I'm willing to put in a little elbow grease and buy some paint!

I can't wait to get this baby prettied up and ready for use.

Seriously???

Oooooops!

I don't know how I managed to do this. I didn't even notice it until I was quilting the next row and got to this point. I heard no protest from my machine or the walking foot when they ran over this poor safety pin.

Now the question.....do I rip out the quilting to remove the pin? Or do I try to cut off the clasp to free it?

Hmmmm.....

QuiltCon Linky Party.....Five things about me

The Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a Linky Party for those attending QuiltCon later this month. I really wanted to go, but hadn't planned on it....until my Mom gave me an early birthday present by helping with the travel expenses. Yay Mom!

The MQG asked us to post a picture of ourselves. Here it is:

This is me, last January, with my dog Harry. I look pretty much the same now. And if you're going to QuiltCon, you'll probably see me wearing that same pink shirt!

The MQG also asked that we list 5 things people might not know about you, so here you go:

1. I'm currently the President of the Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild. (I'm traveling to QuiltCon with the other 4 ladies on our board. Look out Austin!!)
2. I'll buy almost anything if it comes in PINK! (Okay, if you know me, that shouldn't surprise you.)
3. I made my first quilt in the mid 90's. I followed Eleanor Burns' Quilt In A Day book. It took me a lot more than a day.
4. I met my husband at a Country Western bar. He loves to tell people that I picked him up in a bar.
5. My dream job would be to run my own fabric-coffee-book shop.

Design Wall Wednesday

I've finished 9 blocks for my Scrappy Trip Along quilt.

I'm hoping to make 21 more blocks, for a total of 30. And I think I'll add a solid gray border to tie it all together.

Just keep cutting.....Just keep cutting....

For the past three evenings, I've been cutting strips.

Lots and lots of strips.

180 strips to be exact. 

Now they're ready to be sewn into a quilt top.

I'm participating in the Scrappy Trip Along.

Online.

With more than 700 other quilters!

First finish of 2013 - Patti's Patchwork

Well, I had hoped to have this quilt finished before Christmas, but you know how things go around the holidays. Too much stuff to do in too little time.

Another of my aunt's wanted me to make her a quilt and of course I obliged. This one is for my mom's younger sister. Her favorite colors are slate blue and chocolate brown. I found a Fat Quarter bundle with  a nice mix of blues and browns, then chose several other fabrics to go with them.

I based this quilt on the pattern "Happy-Go-Lucky" from Camille Roskelley's book "Simplify". The original pattern includes corner pieces in a neutral fabric on every other square in the middle. I tried this on one block and just didn't like the look. The additional fabric was too distracting.

Since this is for my Aunt Patti, I named this quilt "Patti's Patchwork. It finished at approximately 65" x 75". I wanted it to be extra warm, so I found a beautiful flannel print for the backing. The paisley goes pretty well with the blues and browns on the front.

The quilt arrived at it's new home today and my aunt loves it! It's so rewarding to be able to actually make something that will bring warmth and comfort to a loved one.

My first start for 2013

Our guild is participating in the Modern Quilt Guild's current fabric challenge. We each received a Fat Eighth bundle of fabrics from the Madrona Road line by Violet Craft for Michael Miller. The challenge is to make something, preferably quilted, using only fabrics from this line and any solids we wish to add.

My plan is to make a throw size quilt using a traditional block with these fun fabrics. I've always liked the Log Cabin block and who doesn't like starting off a new year with something simple? I'll also be using several different solids to make the overall look more modern. I hope it comes out the way I picture it.

(And that block isn't really as wonky as it looks. It's just hanging funny.)