Just keep sewing....Just keep sewing......

At this time of year, we're all reminded of the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves. We are often asked to volunteer, donate, or give of our time and talents.

Every year, a friend of mine asks her friends and family to gather small size toiletries to be distributed to local homeless folks. She lives in an area with a very temperate climate which causes an influx of homeless people during the winter.

I try to send a few toiletries and zippered pouches each year, but it just wasn't in the budget this year. Shipping has gotten so expensive and with family oversees, I need to focus my postal service budget on them.

So, I looked at what I have......a LOT of fabric, and thanks to my mom for a fabulous gift last Christmas, I had more zippers than I'd ever use for my own projects in this lifetime. Add my talent (Ha! Ha!) for sewing and you get this.....

I offered to make "some" zippered pouches for my friend to fill with toiletries. She has many friends who travel and collect those lovely hotel shampoos and soaps, but they don't all sew. I thinks this makes a good balance.

Plus, I dug my serger out of the cupboard and put it to work for the first time in a long time! I followed the Charity Gift Bag tutorial from Heirloom Creations to create 40 zippered pouches. I used the serger tutorial for the nylon zippers and merged both the serger and sewing machine tutorials for the metal zippers.

My friend was thrilled to receive these. They'll be put to good use in Flagstaff. And I put a dent (although minor) in my fabric and zipper stash. A win all around!

Oh, my poor neglected blog!

Seriously, where have I been the last several months????

I have no excuses. I've been busy, but no more than usual.

Honestly, I just haven't felt like blogging.

So, to get back in the swing of things, and because my friend Jamie asked me to, here are photos of the Solar System quilt I made for my son. He picked out the Solar System panel in the middle. I added the sashing and star/planet fabrics. He also chose the wild sheet on the back from my stash. Nice to see he's not afraid of a little color!

Front

 Back

The quilt in action

(and the rough life of a 12 year old boy!)

What time is it?

Zucchini time!!  

Well, it doesn't look like that much in the photo, but in real life, the amount of zucchini I have is ridiculous! I gave away about 10 "grocery store" size zucchini and processed the rest. I thought I had a photo of the GIANT zucchini that we've been picking, but I can't find it now. We had about 15 zucchini that were the size of a body builders bicep! No kidding, these really were GIANT zucchini. 

The photo shows 2 afternoons worth of work. My poor food processor needs a break! I've diced about 30 cups and shredded another 30 cups. That doesn't include the 4 Zucchini Pies and 2 loaves of Zucchini Apple Bread I've made and frozen. 

A Friday Finish: Punctuation Pillow

Back in February, I was following along on the Moda Spell It With Fabric blog hop and loved Gina's post/pattern for punctuation. I really wanted to make a Punctuation Pillow and I knew exactly who to gift it to. A teacher friend of mine, with a fantastic sense of humor would be the perfect recipient.

That was back in February. I knew what I wanted to make, who it would be made for, and when I needed to finish the project.

Fast forward to May 27th. Three days before the end of the school year. Yep, that's when I actually started working on this pillow!

Luckily, by burning some midnight oil, I was able to finish it and gifted it to her today.

Front

Back

Back detail

"!@#%" and "Blah, Blah, Blah". Those things you think, but can't really say!

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

WiP Wednesday

Several months ago, I started collecting fabrics to make a quilt for my son. I had the idea of making a Stacked Squares Quilt using a bunch of fun, funky fabrics. Then, I asked for my son's input. He did not care for most of the fabrics I'd chosen. (Oh the joy of having a Tween!)

So, I dragged him along to a fabric shop!

And he chose a 36"x45" panel of the Solar System.

Oh boy.

I had no idea what to do with this panel. I tried drawing out several designs with borders around the panel, but nothing worked.

So again, I asked for his input.

This is what he's come up with so far:

The star fabric and the planet fabric will be repeated below the Solar System panel to look like quadrants. I'm still not sold on this design, but it is his quilt after all.

And here's a nice little stack of fabrics from my stash waiting to become something for a swap I'm participating in. Hopefully there will be more photos as this project progresses.

2014 Pantone Color of the Year Quilt Challenge - Just in time!

Like most quilters I know, I have a fairly long list of things I'd like to do.....Things I should do....Things I need to do. Sewing projects and otherwise.

The 2014 Pantone Color of the Year Quilt Challenge was not on any of my lists.

If you aren't familiar with Pantone, it's a company that has a standardized color matching system that is used in many industries. Each year they select a "Color of the Year".  For 2014, the Color of the Year is Radiant Orchid.

It's a nice color, but I don't sew much with purple. And I have very little of it in my stash. So, again, no plan to participate in this challenge.

Until I started chatting with my friend Jamie about what she was making for the Pantone Quilt Challenge. Her favorite color is purple, so I had no doubt she'd be participating. With a little nudge from Jamie, I decided to jump in.

Luckily, the challenge includes the category "Just the Top". Very fortunate for me since the deadline is tomorrow and I finished my quilt top about an hour ago! (Basting, quilting, and binding will happen sometime in the near future.)

Here is my entry.....

It measures approximately 37" x 37". I've tried to come up with a name for it, but haven't found quite the right one yet. It'll come to me, sooner or later.

I took my inspiration from the "Swirling Medallion Quilt" in Jacquie Gering's book Quilting Modern. After following her pattern, I thought that the light stripey fabric in the outside diamond just got lost, so I added another row of the wonky triangles. I'll be using that stripey fabric for bias binding and needed to give it a little punch, hence the Orchid border.


Linking up for the Challenge at On the Windy Side.

Sewing Difficulties

I don't think she understands that I have a deadline!

A Friday finish!

I finally finished something bigger than a quilt block!

I started this baby quilt back in Septenber. It measures approximately 38"x44".

I followed AmadaJean's method for making chevrons without piecing HSTs. I've used this method before and really like it. I much prefer strip pieceing to making HSTs!

The back is a Gap crib sheet that I thrifted quite a while ago. I love the giraffes on it!

Charity Blocks

Just a little sewing lately... Our Friendship Group is working on blocks for a charity quilt. The only requirements were for the blocks to be 12.5" unfinished, and made of black, white, and/or gray fabrics, with a Modern aesthetic.

My two favorite blocks are Log Cabin and Churn Dash, which are both very traditional. So, I chose to make mine more Modern by using fun, modern prints and solids.

Churn Dash

Pineapple block (a variation of the Log Cabin)

Ugh!

So......I was hoping to have a finished baby quilt to post about today.

I've been working on it, off and on, since September.

I finished the quilting on Monday.

Now all it needs is binding.

And there's the problem.

I can't find the binding fabric I bought back in September!

Ugggggghhhhhh!

Anyone want to come help me organize my fabric stash?

Catching Up........again!

Thought I'd share some photos of things I've sewn in the last few months. I'm sure I've finished a few other projects, but either can't remember what they were or can't find photos of them.

 

A zippered Open Wide Pouch for my sister-in-law's birthday.

This is the medium size.

 

Three of the Open Wide Pouches in the large size.

I filled these with socks and toiletries, to be distributed to homeless vets.

A placemat for messy dog!

A set of kitchen towels, embellished with a Comma Mini Charm Pack, for my Mother-in-Law.

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!