Pride Comes Before a Fall

 Proverbs 16:18.  And, I've been pretty proud of myself lately.

What a way to wrap up a month!!!

 

 

First the yard man whacked down my wild flower garden....his excuse? 
"They looked like weeds to me..."    

ARRRRGggggg!  They had been there all summer and were just starting to bloom!!!

Then Phil, the groundhog, had a tasty snack last night!  

That's It, Phil!  You are no longer welcome in my yard!!!!  (Truth be told, I was already shooing him out of the yard with the broom as I read on the internet they can carry fleas and ticks....ick...)  I guess he showed me!

The coup de grâce...after working on this binding for two hours I discover the top edge didn't "catch" in the binding. 
And, looking at it now, I should have trimmed it better.....

See....I told you the panel should have said "She Who Sews....Will also RIP." 
(BTW, black thread on a black background is the pits!)

Little Miss Catalina

 

 

 

Well, when life gives you lemons.....Go eat sushi!

She Who Sews

 

 

 

The first time I saw this panel, I loved it.

She Who Sews fabric collection by J Wecker Frisch
for Riley Blake Designs

 

This panel has been taped up on my studio door since I moved here....
6 Months already!!

It's time to get her done!

I'm on a roll with panels.  This will be my second finish this month!
How about that!!

 

The Needler's Studio in California is truly missed right about now! 
There were so many nice, big surfaces!

The biggest surface I have in my new house for preparing the sandwich is the kitchen floor.... and it IS CARPETED! 
(That's right...the former owner carpeted the kitchen and the bathrooms....one of these days it will be replaced.) 
For now, it is what it is and because of the carpet I cannot really get the backing stretched TIGHT like they say you're supposed to do.

 

I use a product called Pinmoor for pinning a quilt sandwich.  HERE
They are like little gum drops for the end of the pin.

And now, all pinned and marked and ready for the quilting.  

Working with fabric in any capacity is enough to stir up the creative juices.

Birthday Request

My daughter, the-knitter-turned-cross-stitcher, recently had a birthday....and, she's getting up there, if you know what I mean

(unlike me, wink wink...).

She requested a Thread Catcher for all her little thread ends.  This type of sewing isn't my favorite, but being the good mom that I am I shall accommodate her.

These are not mine.....from Pinterest.

 

 

 

The pattern and tutorial:  HERE

 

 

 

The instructions are printable, but there are no paragraphs so everything runs together.  Makes them a bit hard to read.

Circling each step number helped.  A highlighter would have worked well, also.
I used a mason jar ring for the top and a plastic cutting mat from the Dollar Tree for the bottom.

I had everything on hand....no running around to get supplies.

 I'll admit, it did turn out cute.  It is a lot of hand stitching but I think I'll make one for myself, as well.
(I created a lot of thread snips just making the thing...)

 So, here you go, Ana...."Who Loves Ya Baby, You're beautiful...."**

Ana's cross-stitched birthday gift to me a couple of years ago.

 

* Dollar Tree cutting mats.  HERE

** Telly Savalas in Kojak  HERE (Yes, I'm that old...)

Decorating The Music Studio

My music studio is just a little cut out in the corner of the living room.  On my very first visit to Hancocks as a Paducan I bought a music-themed fabric panel to adorn said corner.  It's been hanging on the wall with push pins since February. 
It is finally quilted, bound and hanging properly.  It looks so much nicer!

Last night, while listening to my fellow ukulele players take turns playing songs about change*, I finished the binding.

 

It's a fun way to bind!  My new goal is to have something to bind every week....well, maybe not EVERY week.

Impulse buy:  The music panel backing required a trip to Hancocks.  While there I impulsively picked up a doo-dad that I thought might be helpful, ToolTron Attachable Thumb/Finger Magnifier.

My review of this product..... Save your money.  

The lens just cannot be positioned in any way to see the stitching you are doing...
the little thumb ring is not big enough and pinches your thumb.  And, the lens had a big scratch on it, right from the package.  Thankfully Hancocks gave me a store credit (nearly $7.00) so I guess I'm happy.....

 

One finish down and another wall-panel-finish to go.

 

 

 

 

*Ukulele Jam every Friday night via Zoom.  There is always a theme and we take turns entertaining each other.  My songs last night were "I'm in the Jail House Now" 
(If I went to Jail, that would most certainly be a change, in my life eh?) and Love Letters in the Sand....an old song about love and loss...most of us have experienced that life change.

Let Freedom Ring

 

Friday night ukulele jam*.  The theme was songs about freedom.  

My choice was "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone.)" HERE

The ultimate freedom song.

It was a nice, relaxing (but hot**) weekend.

 

 

Now, as Bugs Bunny used to say...
"On with the Show...."
(the show of summer...)

*Fun, Zoom group.  People are from all over, from Alaska...all over the lower 48...and from Europe as well.
**Way hotter than is comfortable in any way.....Ain't no dry heat, either.

Making Friends and Having Fun

 Friends and Fun are not all there is to life....but I'm enjoying both right now!

In March I mentioned a pincushion swap (HERE) hosted by The Sewing Loft.  The swap has happened and not only did
I receive some fun surprises in the mail, but I made two new friends....they do live in other states....but, no matter.

From Gina - Springfield, IL

Gina sent me an email and told me she was recently on a road trip and passed right through Paducah...of course, stopping at Hancocks of Paducah.  (She spent three hours there!)  It wasn't until she mailed my box that she realized I lived in Paducah
(2 miles from Hancocks.)  Darn....

From Sandy - Liberty, IA

LOOK at that bucket of clips!  Wowy, Zowy!

 

What I sent to them.

The pincushion was made from a dessert glass.  I weighted it with pennies in the bottom.

The bird is iron and surprisingly heavy for such a little thing. (Hobby Lobby $2.50)  I thought it would be good on the ironing board to keep fabric from slipping off the board.  

And, who doesn't LOVE a needle book!  I love making needle books.  They're fast and I always feel good when they are completed.

I mail my boxes tomorrow. I hope they enjoy their gifts.  Receiving their gifts sure put a smile on my face!

And, now a long, holiday weekend is upon us. I hope to spend a fair amount of time in the studio as the outside temps are expected to be in the upper 90's.  That means gardening in the cooler mornings and sewing in the afternoons and perhaps an adult beverage and ukulele in the evenings.

Sounds like a perfect weekend to me.

What A Difference A Day Makes

 ...24 Little Hours (Nice Ukulele rendition HERE)

BEFORE

AFTER

I took my own advice and moved furniture around...swapping the east and the south walls. 
The sewing station is now on the south wall.

 

 

Last night I made myself sit down and sew for a while....
finishing up the Quilting Auntie's memorial wall-quilt top.

 

 

It's better.

My back is no longer to the door (now, no one can sneak up on me) and I took the opportunity to clean and move supplies around. (And, believe it or not...even though it has only been six months in this new house...some things were purged.) I thought back to how things were arranged in the Needlers studio in CA. 

The lighting still needs attention.  But, I just may have broken through the log jam.

The moral of the story, never underestimate the value of working with what you have
and a good cleaning.