Pinteresting

Hello, my name is Cindy and I am a Pinterestaholic.

Yes, I have found Pinterest.

I spend hours looking at what everyone else has pinned. I look at the websites and the blogs and I repin lots of things. Quilty pins, crafty pins, knitty pins, recipe pins.

I spend lots of time looking and pinning, but not much time actually making anything.

Before Pinterest I looked at websites and blogs and saved and printed out things I thought I might want to make. I have a 3 inch binder full of knitty things I want to make. I have a 3 inch binder full of quilty things I want to make. I have  2 inch binder of other crafty things I want to make.

I got to thinking about that and decided I need to start MAKING things.

 

 I posted this yesterday. It is a pattern designed to hold a Mason jar. I think it works well for a jar candle too. Probably shouldn't burn the candle with the handle up though. I can think of all kinds of gifty things to put in these little baskets. Not just for Christmas either.
Pattern can be found here at The Wooden Bear.

 Next was this case/stand for electronics. I made one for my iPod touch. It's padded and stiffened with cardboard so it supports the iPod well. I like to read during my lunch break. This will be great since I won't have to lean it up against my drink bottle now.
Pattern can be found here at Made by Marzipan.

Last is this card. I was gifted some cards with cut-outs so that something could be inserted. I used a 4 inch paper pieced tree pattern. Fits nicely. I think I might embellish the next one.
This pattern can be found here at Forest Quilting.

DWM

On my design wall this week....

Another Blazing Star
This is the one I am making for my mom.
So now I have 2 blocks finished.
3 more to go.

I found this cute pattern at The Wooden Bear.

Click here and scroll down a little. Click the link to open the pattern. It is a PDF file.

The pattern shows a quart mason jar.
I used a pint jar for the picture.
I cut a circle of batting and fabric for the lid of the jar so it coordinates nicely.

A jar candle looks nice too.



I used Christmas fabrics for this one, but I think you could use any fabric and put just about any gift item that would fit in this little basket.

Design Wall Monday

On my design wall this week....

Blue & yellow Blooming Star block

more of the Blooming Stars for my mom.
The blue and yellow star.













I am working on the Mystery 4 Military
Mystery 28 clues as leader/enders.

This clue is half-square triangles.










Many years ago  a lady asked me to finish a quilt started by someone else.

She had the flowers - I think a lot of them were already joined together, more hexagons and some yellow fabric.

She wanted me to use the yellow fabric to make a wide border so the quilt would be big enough for a baby quilt and quilt it.

She gave me the remaining flowers, hexagons and yellow fabric. There are 31 finished flowers, and a half one. I have not counted the single hexagons. There is enough of the yellow to make a small border and binding, I think, depending on how big the finished quilt is.

Every so often I pull it out and look at it. I really don't want to sew together anymore of the hexagons. These hexagons are small! See the quarter? They are small!

I really think I want to put together the finished flowers, put a border on, and hand quilt it.

That leaves me with a lot of hexagons.

So I made some of these.

I did not turn the edges under. I just sewed close to the edge. I finished the inside with a piece of fabric that is sewn on close to the outside edge of the card.

I think they turned out kind of cute. I might make some more!

On my needles

On my needles right now...

I picked up this project that has been put away for a while.

 

From Knit 'n Style December 2010 Issue 170

Pretty in Pink

 Designed by Vanessa Ewing

Yarn is Patons Grace Lavender

I like the longer length and the loose, swingy style. Someday I might get to wear it! 

Done and Delivered!

I finished these Wednesday evening and delivered them to the secretary at church on Thursday morning. Yay! She was excited to see they were finished and I was excited to get them delivered.

I had just replenished my stash of towels and trim, not knowing I would be making towels for siblings. The trim is the same - one with blue ribbon, one with pink ribbon. I tried to make them match as closely as I could since they are for siblings. Sometimes I change the font for the names, depending on how long the name is.
I wish these towels did not have the fringe on the ends. Sometimes I cut it off, turn it up and cover all four edges with trim. I just did not have the time for that this time.

Frustration Flinging

Fair warning....
if you don't want to read my complaints you can skip this post :)

And, I know there are many people who have it much worse than I do. I realize I am blessed to have what I do have. My family is basically healthy, I don't really want for anything, I know it could be a lot worse. Just want to get that out there.

But.... It has been a day and is just barely past 11:00 am.

Actually, it started a few days ago.

Frustration #1
I had been asked about 6-7 years ago to make baptism towels for the church I used to attend. I just asked that I be given a few weeks notice. I cross-stitch a cross, the baby's name and the birth date and baptism date on the towels.

Anyway, I had heard that there were 2 baptisms coming up in August. So I called the church secretary to see what she knew. There are 2, not twins but siblings. The baptism date is August 12th. Uh.. that isn't much notice, especially for TWO! But how can I say no? I know, I CAN say no, and my husband thinks I should have said no, but I just didn't feel right about that. I want to finish them and get them to the church Thursday am when the secretary is there. Otherwise it is harder to get them delivered.

Frustration #2
Today I registered my son for school. His senior year. Wow, the time has gone by quickly. Most people I know are sad their kids are in their final year of school. Some are even in tears. Not  me! I am so thankful that after this year I won't have to deal with IEP meetings and IEPs  that aren't followed, broken down wheelchair lifts, and people that 'just don't get it' when it comes to disabilities.

Frustration #3
While talking to the incoming secretary for my building she mentioned that there are NO office supplies for her. Apparently the out-going secretary didn't feel she needed to order any. AARRRGGG.

Frustration #4 and #5
This ties in with the towels.
My car needed the oil changed. My husband decided that since I was going to town to register the kid for school I could just drive on over to the town half an hour away to get the oil changed.
Why is this 2 frustrations? Because,1 - why is it my job to get the oil changed? I do ALL the stuff in the house - laundry, meals, dishes, cleaning. Why can't he take care of the 'guy' stuff? AARRGGG

And, 2 - I need to get those baptism towels finished! Getting the oil changed is taking time out of my day. AAARRRGGG
But,I decided that I needed to 'just do it' so I did. And, it didn't take that long. YAY!

But as I was sitting there waiting I decided I needed to go to school to check on the orders for myself and the secretary.

Frustration #6
I went to the building I work in to see if maybe she just didn't find her box and also to check on my order. Nothing there - for her OR me. There was a problem last year with my order not being sent in by my principal. It was never determined if he forgot (he tends to) or if I didn't do it properly. So this year I made sure I did it properly and that he got my order request. AARRRGGG.

Frustration #7
My son had a bladder issue last week (he has to self- cath, spina bifida, you know).
Saw the urologist on Friday. They collected urine for a culture because the doc was pretty sure my son was 'infected', as he kept saying, and with all the poking around they did they wanted to be sure he didn't get an infection from that. They were going to call in a prescription for an antibiotic but when I called the pharmacy to see if it was ready they hadn't received it. So... I called the the doc office. Somehow, the sample never made it to the lab and we would need to have that done at our local doc.
I called them yesterday as soon as I got off the phone with the uro office. The local office thought we needed to make an appointment. Don't think we really need to do that, just give me a collection cup and we will bring it back with a sample. No, pretty sure we need an appointment. OK.
Today, just as I was walking in the door from coming back from registration/oil change/no order at school the phone was ringing. It was the local doc office. The nurse wanted to remind me that their restroom is pretty small and she didn't think the wheelchair would fit in there. I said we could take the sample in the exam room and was an appointment really necessary? Nurse said 'Oh, no, you don't need an appointment. Just come get a collection cup and bring it back later. OK, great, I can do that. She immediately called back and asked if I could please do that before 11:00. The courier comes at 11:00. It was 10:00 at the time. Time enough to do that, but if they had just told me that yesterday I could have gotten the cup yesterday and dropped the sample off this morning when I was out anyway. AAARRRGGG.

Here is a picture of my front flower bed.

There are a few plants hanging in there and blooming, but things are pretty sad looking. We, like other parts of the country, are in great need of rain. The sky is cloudy, but there is only a small percentage for rain. And, the husband has hay cut so we really don't want it to rain until after he bales it.

I'm tired. I'm grumpy. I just want to go back to bed and start my day over.
I think I will go work on those towels instead.

Design Wall Monday

It's Monday again...

On my design wall is this...

Blooming Stars Bed Runner
designed by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth
TailorMade ... by Design

Ordered from Keepsake Quilting

My mom ordered this and had asked me if I would help her cut it out. Of course I will!

My son had a doctor appointment in St. Louis last week. We usually spend the night before and after his appointment with my parents since the driving time is half what it would be from my house, plus it is a chance to get to spend some time with them. We live about 3 1/2 hours apart. I brought my mat and cutter with me thinking that if her kit was delivered while I was there I could get the fabric cut for her so she could start piecing. Worked out perfectly. The kit arrived the day we got there. We looked at it and decided it would be best if it came home with me for cutting and piecing. As far as I know my mother has never made a quilt. We felt this was a little more challenging than she was ready for.

It went together pretty well. This block is purple but my camera makes it look more blue. I don't know how to adjust the color.

Scrap bins

 I like to keep my scraps organized

I kind of do it the way Bonnie Hunter does. You can check out her method here.
I cut my scraps as big as I can. I figure I can always cut them down if I need to. I have tubs for smaller than 2", 2", 2 1/2", 3", 3 1/2", 4", 4 1/2", 5", 5 1/2", 6" and 6 1/2". Larger than that gets folded and put in a shoe cubby by color. Yardage pieces get folded and stored in a cabinet.
If I can only cut a piece to 4 inches I don't square it up. I leave it 4" by however long it is. I don't want to spend my time cutting it down, and who knows when I might need a piece bigger than 4" square?
I got my bins from Aldi several years ago. I have seen them other places too. They are advertised as children's toy storage. My husband is actually the one who thought these would work for fabric storage. Smart man!
My bins are tucked in the corner behind my frame.
Did you notice the little rooster cabinet above the bins? My lovely SIL GAVE that to me. She was out browsing antique stores one day, saw that cabinet and thought of me! My kitchen is decorated with roosters and I think she intended that I would use it there. It is perfect for holding the supplies I use for quilting. And, it fits nicely right there.

I have also been trying to use Bonnie's method of using leaders and enders by sewing 2" square together and then into 4 patches. I was sewing a light and a dark together. I didn't really have a plan in mind. I think I need a plan! So...

I made a mystery quilt once following along as the clues were posted. I didn't care for the finished quilt so now I watch but wait until the final clue is posted before I decide if I will make the quilt.

I decided to start a mystery quilt.
Star Path designed my Nancy Miller.
It is a Yahoo group at  MysteryQuilts4Military.
I have clues A, B, D and half of C cut.
I really like this one so I am getting the clues ready.

So far I have gotten most of the fabric from my scrap bins. I am going to have to cut into FQ for some it it, but not much. I cut as much as I could from the scraps I had for the size pieces called for. I had to cut some of the bigger scraps down. But that's ok. I am glad I had them and I ended up with some smaller scraps from cutting the bigger ones down. They are smaller than I need for this project but they will get used on another.

Now I have a plan for leaders and enders.