Where Does the Time Go?

Okay, I have dragged my feet on this blogging thing.  Sewing?.. Yes, every day.   It is kind of hard to work in a fabric store and not have your mind constantly creating things.

The quilt status... Okay... I really didn't like the corners when I put the colors together... I will slip in a picture tomorrow.   I have to get some shuteye so I can go to church... then drive by the lake and the post office tomorrow...    I actually designed some fabric, so I have an order coming in to make some special quillows.   I will post them with the new fabric when I have them together.

Right now I have to finish this quilt... so I got some of the new batiks to do the back with and I think I am going to do the weaving for the back with some large borders.   Then I will quilt the top separately from the back so two layers of flat batting.  Quilt the top first with some free motion quilting.  Then put the back together and quilt it separately but leave the large borders free so I can quilt through with a nice design on the borders and small strip side borders and outline quilt the log cabin blocks on the corners...  So there is the plan.  Now you will see how far I stray from the original plan.  This one is taking so long because I want it to be special and I keep changing what my thoughts are on what it should look like.     I have a couple of months till vacation and I have to get that wardrobe together... I will be swimming and kayaking everyday so I will blog about what I am sewing for vacation also.  Bathing Suits-wraps-tie skirts- and coverups.  There isn't much room for fru fru with all my kayaking toys, kayak and motor in the car.   And then I will see you at the beach..............ummmm I can't wait... I am sitting here with a blanket on right now.

When I got backing for the quilt, I used groupons so I could get twice as much and cover the seat of a cushioned folding chair and an ottoman in the same fabric.  Things she can use or fold up and put away...  I am thinking the ottoman will be the same ribbon type but come from the center...

The legs, head and tail are beige acrylic felt, shank sew in button eyes and dark green faux fur shell.. welll I liked it!

Now this is the same grand daughter that I made this Time-Out Turtle for... whenever she wouldn't do what her mother told her when she was a toddler she had to go sit on Time-Out Turtle.

She is in college now, so I better not make that Ottoman too colorful or the chair upholstery.  Her mother has to remind me she is all grownup now.... She is still my little grand daughter in my mind

Yeah Yeah Yeah  I am still procrastinating!

Procrastinating-UFO

Okay, I can't help it... For everything I finish there are five things on the table that have been planned, cut or just laid out...  Sooo, You know I didn't finish the quilt yet... Planned it though, and got the new batik fabric by buying groupons so it would be half price.... but... I now started designing fabric and I end up forever in paint or whatever I am designing in and fall into the computer....

You know what I mean... I used to fall into Youtube and play music and sing along... then it was fall into clicking on the latest news.... and I many times fall into Zillow looking for the perfect waterfront cottage where I can push my kayak into the water from my own yard.  Yes, they are out there, rentals and sales, I only need a one bedroom, but it must be a cottage... and of course I either have to totally relocate or I have to be within an hour of my favorite store-G Street Fabrics...  I love gliding around the water and taking pictures..  that is of course my other website  www.Kittykayaking.com   so you can see my procrastination dilemma.

I decided to add a couple of cute pics

Here is a flower girl dress I made one of my daughters many years ago... she is in her thirties now

She loved this dress, or maybe it was I loved this dress and her in it.

 What is more fun than creating a fairy princess with your own daughter and a little witch with her broom only she was really an angel....  Just remember if you do something with feet to put the grip stop fabric on the bottom because the year before she was a penguin and I didn't and she fell down in the parade after she had won a ribbon.   My bad.

Later the princess became Red Riding Hood

Everyone needs a velvet hooded cape and a painted picnic basket for grandma's goodies

This was one of my other daughters school pictures dress with the ruffles around the neck and down the side of the front and I think she even had ruffles on the bottom.

Here is one where I was really young and I was going to a party so I made a tank with a see thru over shirt and the cuffs and yoke out of the same material as the tank and OMG a Velvety A-line skirt.  I thought I was cool.. not because of anything but because I made my own clothes.... No matter what was going on with me-there is nothing like a new outfit I just sewed up before I left the house.  Those last minute duds were always the most fun.  I really hate shopping.  I will do anything to keep from going through the store and never finding what I want or never in my size.

So now I am going to peruse my pictures to see if I can find my heron pictures to make some heron design fabrics.... I just did some yellow finches and I have done a few kayaking prints.   So, probably in a few blogs I will show you some of my creations with my own fabrics....

I love sewing!!!  and kayaking of course.  So you will see some of my new beachwear that I have made for my upcoming kayaking vacation.

Bag for a Bag - Encasement bag to be used with grocery store insulated bag or Not......

So, here is the grocery bag cover I made so my mom would have a bag to use at the store, or to put an insulated grocery bag in so it wouldn't be so ugly.

The bag is made by making the bags over the grocery bag size

The bag shuts with velcro strips

Machine embroidery added separately with Satin embroidery stitch around the edge like an applique

Just a little something to show I care, although at 91 she didn't seem too impressed.... okay I was...

TODAY Quilting.....

Well, I did a little pair of curtains... ages ago for my grand daughter...whom I love sooooo much...
Now I am doing the quilt....  Today I am determined to get the front done... finished so I can try to do the back...

The layout is similar to the curtains-batiks of many colors in purples:

Batik Curtains

Now the trick is the right fabric selection for the Corner Squares

matching quilt layout:

Layout to sew and corners will be same colors but in log cabin 12 x 12 squares

Baby Shower Gift Bags and Special Little Thingamajigs

I loved making little things for my kids so much that before I had babys I made sets and took them to work.... and then when I had children and they got bigger I made Gift baskets for Church Bazaars and School Fundraisers.... by then I had started doing other things besides sewing so I combined machine sewing with handsewing and embroidery plus craft projects like fabric photo albums that played music and Stained glass night lights and Suncatchers.  I didn't take a lot of pictures but here are some baskets I did for a fundraiser and really they were more about fun for me than anything else..... well maybe I loved thinking of the babies that would be using these items or the moms that would be smiling as the used these items with their little ones.....  In my usual fevered obsession I spent many nights up into the night making these items....  THESE baskets were 15 years ago or more.....

This Frog gift basket had a little of everything besides the booties hanging on top and the bib peeping through with the Toad-ally yours card.... I made more than one frog basket!

Cloth books, bottle warmers stuffed frog to wear a bib-beanie frog with his own blanket.....note the bootie frogs have their tongue out catching flies hanging off the top

Another closeup

Yes, I would laugh as I finished each thing and then think of something else to make it more fun.  The heart on the photo album has a little crosstitch front on the front of it to push to make music. 

Sometimes I just get frog obsessed... as you can tell I am again! Although this year they are pink blankies and such with my new obsession with machine embroidery...

All into the Teddy Bears on this one.... Bear Cruelty gave it a basket with a Teddy Head and arms glued to the front and the legs were glued to the opposit end.  The interior of the baskets lined with cloth matching themes and padded to use for baby items in the nursery or toys when the when the babies get bigger....  

This one had it all... fleece blanket, large floor quilt, always a burp drool and tinkle set and photo album.. suncatcher...... they all had matching booties... I would buy the baskets on sale ... and if they had any broken or rough edges I covered them with quilt batting and matching them cloth to keep them safe and sturdy for fun use.  Glue gun skills applied there....

Push on the Teddy's heart and hear music... sometimes they had Lullaby in them.... sometimes Favorite Things... or It's a Child's World After All....  (Button Music Boxes purchased in BULK)

Piggy Basket being wrapped-everything pink

Sometimes you can't find the theme material so you have to improvise...

Dalmations are always fun!

Sometimes you have to do the fabric books in a different critter, (spotted dragon here) until you write your own books with fabric pages.... that can be fun, but you make sure nothing can be pulled off and eaten... zigzag around all attachments....

Dogs are fun.... but then there were......

Yes... I remember cow fun... because the Cow Jumped over the moon.... sooooo

COWS

Black and white booties and Stuffed Moon toys with embroidered eyes and smiles on them... on and on!!

I went wild with the milk theme.... the bib says GOT milk and the burper says OOPS had milk...LOL

Well those were the days....   I see a baby basket phase hitting me.... After I finish all those quillows that are lined up.... Let's see  I see 4 here on the table and the Queen size quilt that needs backing and ...  the monkey booties and bear booties and monkie quilty.... oooooooh...... I better stop looking at these old pictures and get back to the sewing machine..... I have to weave that tumbling block back NOW........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  there is work tomorrow....

Simple and fast Blankets and Quillows - Pillow Gifts

When I made things for the big girls, I made a velcro shut quilted minkie pillow case with machine embroidery for my grand daughter to carry in the car.

This is a faux fur on one side and leopard fleece on the other with just a cat in the corner embrodery.

A quick one piece quillow made by batik on one side and another batik on the other quilted in the same pattern as the pillow pocket is pieced.  The only extra sewing is piecing the pillow pocket before putting it on the quilted quillow base.

One side of the Twin Size quillow with the pocket sewn on pieced side inward

Opposite side of quillow laid out

Quillow folded into the pillow pocket

 Minky Stork Bag of Baby sets-quilted swirls minkie to double as a blanket

Shower Stork bag minky Quilty  in use

Quick and easy wild minky blanket-envelope fold and flip close opening... make little bag out of left overs with pull string for gift packaging