String Piecing Class

This was my Sunday Sewday project this week. I'll be teaching this class in Adel, probably in early April. Let me know if you are interested.  

Class fee is $35 which includes the kit for the quilt center (no border or binding).

I'll also be teaching this class a little later on up in the Sac City area.

 

Catching up - - -

My January Temperature Block, based on the average high temp in central Iowa in January. 

And Flo shares this valentine sample runner in blues. Lovely!

 

Sunday Sewday!

Today, I finished up all my projects for the grandkids annual school gala and fundraiser.

---- a T-shirt quilt and accessories.

                                            Two tote bags - - - 

This bag has a bottle holder that can be used outside the bag or flipped to the inside.

I like to leave part of the neck band exposed, just for fun.

A couple wet bags.

The small one could hold an ice pack if using for a lunch bag.

And here are three burp clothes made from pre-folded diapers.

Show and Share time

 Lonnie has made 2 more quilt tops from her Jelly Roll quilt book! Just 2 more to go and she will have made every pattern in the book.  I love them all!

This one is mostly Kansas Troubles fabric. Lonnie says she still has KT fabric coming out her ears to which I suggested she visit with her Dr about.

This one is much more vibrant in person. Really beautiful.

My Valentine Date

 

Jackson was my date for Tootsie.  He's wearing a sling as he recovers from a snowboarding incident.

This popped up in my FB memories today from 10 years ago. One of us has gotten older and the other one has gotten taller!

Happy Valentines Day!

 

Isn't this sweet? I spied this one on the website Annie's Crafts where you can order patterns.

Texas Snow Day!

This is how you go to bed in Texas when you hear there is going to be snow overnight!

Sweet Valentine Runner

Friend Flo had been making Valentine table runners. Isn't this sweet?  I love the background fabric.

 

Sunday Sewday!

It feels SO good to be back in my sewing room - - - or in my new sewing room. 

I am making a t-shirt quilt for the Grandkids school fundraiser and it's always fun to make additional auction items from the leftover shirts.

These burp cloths will accompany a tote/diaper t-shirt bag.  Pre-folded diapers make such a nice soft base for the babies tender face to rest upon (or burp upon). 

My sewing rocker

Several years ago, I bought a little rocker with no seat. Formerly there had been a caned seat that someone had removed. 

This is not my chair but mine is very similar.

This antique rocking chair identifies as a ladies sewing rocker and is also known as a nursing rocker.  Common in the late 1800s and early1900s these chairs had two main characteristics:

• Built lower to the ground to fit a women’s stature
• Contained no armrests. 

This allowed the space for a woman to rock and nurse babies, or to sew, knit, etc…

But I digress - - At the time of purchase, my plan was to put it outside with a potted plant in the seat. By the time I got it home however, I decided it was too nice to put outside.  

SO it became a shop prop for many years with quilts hanging over it.  When needed, we put a 15" square ruler over the seat hole.

Now that I'm retired, I decided to look into a seat for this little chair. A link from Pinterest led me to step by step instructions for making a replacement seat from tooled faux leather (fiber board).

It comes unfinished in a 14" square. I stained it, made a template and trimmed it and then I applied a coat of  polyurethane.  

Again, these first few pictures are from Pinterest as I did not think to take pictures as I was working on this project.

This step was not easy but, as the instruction say, take it slow.

The last step is to use an awl to punch nail holes in the seat and then apply it to the chair with upholstery tacks. I completed this task with just one Band Aid and one bruise when I missed the tack with my rubber mallet.

This last picture is actually my finished project. Just as in quilting, I took my time, doing it one step at a time, and it worked out great - well, great if I am the judge.

Winter in Chicago

Phyl (left) shares her favorite view with visiting cousin from Texas. That's a radiator below them which adds to the ambience of the spot.

 

Temperature Quilt Blocks

I've been posting the temps and corresponding colors for the past couple months but had gotten behind on the actual stitching.  So, on this snowy January day in Iowa, I got caught up.

I plan to continue to make blocks for each month this year and then determine if it's time for a quilt or for another year of blocks. That's kinda how you define retirement, right?

Nooooopen Sew

 It saddens me to say but, we have decided to postpone Open Sew at the Adel Library indefinitely.  Maybe somewhere down the road, we will all feel comfortable gathering to stitch and chat again.  

Big sigh!!!

Let the fun begin - - -

 

Happy New Year!

A New Year’s Wish for Quilters

May your points always meet

May your thread never break

May your borders behave

And may inspiration never desert you

Lonnies Show and Share

 

Lonnie stopped in to show her recent creations. This is another from a book using just  2 1/2" strips. 

Just three more to go and she will have made each of the 25 quilt patterns in the book. Can't stop now! All of these quilts, except some background, are coming from her stash.

Lonnie also stitched along with the Primitive Gatherings weekly block patterns for American Gathering. She used the more primitive red, white and blue fabrics, again drawing from her own stash.

Beautiful.

Merry Christmas!

 

The table is set - - -

I bought 4 yards of  54" woven Christmas fabric to cover my porch chair cushions. With the leftover fabric, I made 4 napkins and googled a fun way to fold them.   PS: Notice the old fat quarter table?

Since the fabric is woven (like homespun) the napkins are pretty on both front and back. I cut 16" squares, stitched around the outer edge and left a soft 1/4" fray on each side.

 

And when I say "covered" I mean I wrapped them in the fabric like wrapping a package and secured with safety pins. It just needs to look festive for a couple weeks.

Much better than the blue and white floral.

Friend Joanie made this apron for me so I am ready to start cooking.

When daughter Willow arrived, she put together a charcuterie board featuring this salami rose. She started with a narrow coffee cup and folded each round slice of salami over the cup top edge, overlapping pieces as she worked around. Then she inverted and removed the cup.

Who do you suppose made these guys put on the goofy glasses? Calvin's face says it all.

Fun Christmas Decor

I grabbed a pic of a couple of the holiday displays while in Texas.  McKinney (where my kids live) has a historic town square that is just full of fun shops. 

This first one was in the center of a store. It is a tree made from stacking broken down boxes. It reminded me of all the fabric boxes we broke down and hauled to recycle. Such a clever idea.

This next one is a reindeer on a sidewalk park bench. People enjoyed sitting beside him for photos.  On the opposite corner of the square there is a huge sleigh used for the same purpose.

Open Sew News

Please note these changes to Open Sew at the Adel Library. Mark your calendars and share with friends.

December - No Open Sew

2022 - Quarter I

January - Thursday and Friday, Jan 20-21

February - Thursday and Friday, Feb 17-18

March - Thursday and Friday, Mar 17-18

Drop by for an hour, for a day or leave your things overnight and stitch with us for 2 days!

Show and Tell for Quilt Circle of Friends and anyone else that wants to share is 10 am on any Friday of Open Sew. Let's have a reunion.

Holiday Letter Boarding

I enjoy switching out my letter board with seasonal messages. Pinterest is a great resource for ideas.

 

Abbie's next state fair entry - -

If you were at our October retreat, you may remember Abbie Allen working on this paper pieced beaut.  Here it is! Stunning.

 

It's Play Off time

Friday night, I got to watch the Lewisville Fighting Farmers dominate in round two of the Texas High School 6-A Playoffs where Gabe is a defensive coach.

Thursday morning was a pre-feast football practice. Practicing on Thanksgiving morning is considered an honor here as it means the team is still in the playoffs.

These girls (teenagers - they look younger every year, right?) are warming under a quilt I sent down. Gabe keeps it in his office for students to use when they have a down hour and need a nap. These girls are running a drone to film practice but the wind is brisk this morning.

Then I had a tour of their practice facility.

Gabe's office with a nod to Ted Lasso. This is his 20th year coaching. Some of his fellow coaches now were his students several years ago.

Mascot - The Fighting Farmers

Giving Thanks

 

Warm Holiday Wishes!

 

Shop Update

 Here's an update on the shop remodel:

We started working on it as soon as the shop closed on July 16. There was about a 6 week delay as we waited to get on the schedule with a flooring company to refinish the wood floors.

That is what's going on now and, with holidays in the middle, we should be able to finish up in December and January.  

Watch for a Day Camp in the newly remodeled area on String Quilting Stars, maybe February.