I've been busy!

I can't believe that it has been 2 and 1/2 months since my last post, but when I look back at my photos and my calendar I've had a very hectic 12 weeks!

Here are a few of the reasons why:

My daughter's pageant - 

Memorial Day Weekend - 

we installed my flag pole after almost a year in the garage.

My son's band banquet (senior year) - 

& high school graduation - 

the orchestra

with the Superintendent

with the grandparents

I think lil' sis is going to miss him in the fall when he goes to college...

Then we started our projects around the house:

a project that we had hoped to have done in 2 long weekends is now going on 8 weeks due to and unusually wet summer here.  This past week is the first one to go more than 4 days w/o rain - it was 6 days!

digging the post holes

this is how you adjust for the concrete when you have the hole offset.

mixing the concrete

tamping the concrete around the posts

finally getting to the framework!

putting in the support joists

FINALLY getting to the decking...

even the kitty was enjoying being outside.

Then I decided to go to school to get trained as a Nursing Assistant; 21 evening classes the entire month of July.  Tonight was graduation.  Whoo Hoo!  Now to pass the state written & skills exam...

 Oh, and how could I forget; my neice was married Memorial Day weekend, too.

My uncle married them...it was a beautiful day for them.

Now that my evening classes are done with I hope to get back on track with my posts, photos and helping both my children adjust to the next stage of their growing.  It's approximately 3 weeks until my son goes to college; while it's local he'll be living on campus & his lil' sis will be adjusting to an emptier than normal house & no rides to school in the car - back to riding the bus.

Enjoy what's left of summer & save those great moments & memories with photos & then get them printed & into albums.  Albums are still the best & favorite way to look at photos.

My 2nd T-shirt Quilt (#4)

When I posted last I had 2 seams I needed to rip out & re-stitch, plus then sew all 5 columns together; which was interrupted by an arthritis flare up & a 5-day vacation with the hubby & adult friends (no kids).  Of course I couldn't pass up that opportunity.  I had a great time away however I was glad to have today free to finish the stitching on my daughter's rag quilt.  I got it all assembled today.

Like I noted in the photo I somehow got the two outermost columns switched & didn't realize it until I looked at the photo.  There are only two squares that conflict...Lizzie will just need to learn to live with it that way. 

My hands are so sore from the 5+ hours of sewing & trimming of the outer edges.    I still need to clip all of the inner seams, I may put Lizzie to work on those since my hands are swollen from doing what I did today.

This is the reverse side of the quilt.  I think it turned out really well.  Lizzie came home & saw this side she was gonna take it to her bed until I told her there were still 16 rows of seams to still clip. I did a specialty stitch around the entire outside edge of the quilt.  I had considered putting on a binding, but my sore hands won out over a binding with interfacing, and more seams...

It's finished and it will be a little longer than a coverlet on her double bed.  It's 74" x 74".  Now to soak the fingers.  George massaged my hands for about 30 minutes tonight which helped, but need to get the swelling down in time for work tomorrow.

On to my next project. :0)

My 2nd T-shirt Quilt (#3)

I finally got a chance to work on my daughter's quilt this week.  All of the squares were cut, stabilizer put on 50 blocks, stitched together with batting, plus I had to stitch together the fronts from my daughter's cheer jacket from where the zipper had been & sealed shut the pockets.  Since it had a fleece lining, I did not add batting to this block (it had enough bulk) and then I stitched around the entire block to stabilize it.  I've posted some photos to show some of the steps in the process of making this rag quilt.  I hope you enjoy & also find these steps helpful.  This is my 1st rag quilt.

This shows a close up of the block from my daughter's cheer jacket.  Don't forget to use those specialty items in your quilts, too.

Possible layout of the blocks, I always take a photo so I can remember it later as I'm working with squaring up the blocks I don't need to remember what order they were.

These are the blocks for the 2nd side of the quilt.  Most of these t-shirts are from Girl Scouts, church camp, and a few vacations.

There are also a few t-shirts from Job's daughters as well.  Lizzie has quite a variety of t-shirts.  A lot of color variation with these.

Here I am using my 15 - 1/2 inch template to square up the blocks after having ironed on the stabilizer.

Cutting off the excess stabilizer and extra edges of knit material from the t-shirt.

removing the excess from the block.  I LOVE my template for doing this...I found it in the LTD Commodities catalog this winter, one of my best purchases.  It was part of a kit for making a wall hanging/quilt.  I found I really like the stabilizer that is included in the kit.  It's very thin and reminds me of linen.

I had two shirts that the design was larger than normal, I cut these blocks long enough to show the entire design.

Front side of the center quilt block

Back side of the center quilt block

This is the final layout of the columns.  All 5 columns sewn together & they are ready to be stitched together tomorrow.  I have 2 seams to rip out so I can adjust the lengths so the quilt is square.  I'm hoping to have this quilt finished on Sunday, but if not I also have time to get it finished in time before the end of the week.


In between all of my sewing today I also found time to run to the hardware store & pick up the paint & supplies for my next make-over project for my living room.  Stay tuned here for the progress on it, now back to the quilting project. 

Happy May Day

I hope you are enjoying the 1st of May wherever you are today.  I worked this morning, however I am spending my afternoon catching up on my UFO's.  I hope to finish cutting out the squares for my daughter's t-shirt quilt, then get all of her patches sewn onto he new BSA shirt, then I want to convert both her GSA vests into pillows, and applique her vest onto her t-shirt quilt.  That's just the top of my list of UFO's.

This weekend also is the celebration for National Scrapbook Day.  I plan to get some scrapping done on Saturday & Sunday once I'm finished at work.  I need to finish my son's Scout albums.  I got a lot accomplished for his Eagle ceremony back in November, but I really want to get his albums finished with his HS graduation coming up.  I need to move onto a few vacation albums and my daughter's Scout albums.  All UFO's that I need to finish.  The guilt is sneaking in on me lately with not making the time to finish these projects.

I've lost many of my scrappin' buddies due to death, other health issues, and my going back to work part-time, but I am determined to keep up with it on my own.  Maybe once I get these UFO's done I can clean out my excess supplies, HA! that just means to make room for more, right?

Don't forget to check out the Pixels 2 Pages website as they will have a Celebration Crop and challenge happening all weekend; lots of goodies for everyone!

That "DUH!" moment

I spent Wednesday evening figuring out which Senior Portraits I needed for my son's graduation announcements & which poses I wanted enlarged for gift giving items for the grandparents.  I needed 40 wallets for his announcements so I ordered 50 to have a few extras.  Well, I was tired and not paying attention as I should have been before I hit that submit button on my order...(can you see where this is going?) and I didn't realize that there were 4 wallets to each 5x7 sheet.  I did but being tired it didn't register.  Needless to say when I picked up the order on Thursday afternoon I was surprised at the size of my envelope; I have 160 extra wallets, UGH!  I told my son to have at it & enjoy handing them out to his classmates.  I plan on adding an address label to the back for him with his college address & his contact numbers.  A good way for all his info to be in one place.

This was the pose he decided to include in his announcements.

Class of 2015

This one shows what his interests are besides just being a nice pose with him dressed up.  He gets to also show his love of music, too.  Now to get the announcements into the mail!  Graduation day will be here too soon.

Handmade Pillow Cases

Last evening I made a set of pillow cases for my niece and her fiance.  I needed a gift for her bridal shower this afternoon.  I had seen a video a few weeks back on making pillow cases with french seams or burrito style.  I went to YouTube and did a search.  These two links two links were the ones I liked the best at demonstrating the layout, pinning, stitching, and the entire process.

https://youtu.be/C7yrDQ7G9so?list=PLcxe-XfzZ-sT7xgcwdTckk83sBP7KyG-Y

https://youtu.be/5ZgMiHREZLQ?list=PLcxe-XfzZ-sT7xgcwdTckk83sBP7KyG-Y

Both of these videos had a lot of useful information.  I chose fabric that matched the design from my niece's wedding invitations.  Her theme is mustaches and smooches.  A very adorable theme.  I had ordered the material I wanted over a week ago when I was unable to find exactly what I wanted locally.  However, the last piece was NOT here on Friday to make my gift, Boo Hoo!  I spent Friday evening searching several fabric stores for a suitable solution.  I was able to find a solution, not my 1st choice, but it will work.

Above is the layout process and pinning for the pillowcases.  All fabric is laid right side up.  WOW this was so difficult for me to remember.  I did have to rip out one seam because I goofed and had the cuff laid the wrong way.  Double check before stitching!

Thie above photo shows the burritto all pinned together ready to stitch.

Below is a photo of my new walking foot for my machine.  I had also picked up a 1/4 inch foot too for my machine.

I have to say that this was one of the best $45 I've ever spent.  I can't believe that I have struggled for years with trying to get my fabrics to not "walk" as I'm stitching even when having it pinned.  Ah, it was wonderful to see such beautiful seams!  I am anticipating the use of my 1/4 inch foot on my next quilting project, I can hardly wait.

For my niece I decided to make her pillow cases opposites.  Smooches for her fiance Adam, and Mustaches for Krista, with the coordinating fabric for the cuff of the cases, and a dark taupe for the band.  I'm very happy with the end results.  Especially since it's the 1st time I've EVER done french seams.  My son was ragging on me that I've lead a sheltered life with sewing since he'd done french seams in Home-EC.  Gotta love it when the boy has done something that Mom hasn't, especially in an area we normally don't associate as manly things to do.

I can't wait to see my nieces response to the pillowcases.  I'll have to let you know later as this will be posting while I'm at the shower.  Below is a photo of her opening my gift.

I had some extra time before the shower today so I stitched some coordinating fabric on to two tea towels for her as well.  Below is a photo of them.

I got the gift wrapped & I'm ready to head out the door for an afternoon of fun.    TTFN

My 2nd T-shirt Quilt (#2)

When cleaning up today while getting ready for Easter Dinner tomorrow; I took a break from cleaning to discuss the quilt with my daughter & to get her input about making this one a rag quilt style.  She has SO many t-shirts that I can put them on both sides of the quilt.  I have 10 more to cut for the backing & then I can plan the layout for the 2nd side of the quilt.  My daughter & I laid out the top-side of the quilt which I'll call side #1.  Below is a photo of the first go round.  As I found with my son's quilt, there will be a few revisions with the layout before I'm going to be satisfied with the colors & flow of the quilt-top.

I was attempting to keep her band/school shirts to one side of the quilt and her cheer leading shirts on the other side.  However there is too much yellow to the one side and too much white on the other.  I am going to have to mix it up more.  I'm also still debating over the "D.A.R.E." shirt being in the center.  Thinking that maybe it should be her green cheer jacket instead.

This angle shows the lopsidedness of the colors.  I'd like it more balanced than what it is now.  I also have 10 more shirts to cut which I may do before I start cooking dinner tomorrow.

I'll also need to rearrange my furniture so that I have more floor space for working with full/queen sized quilt layouts.  This just isn't working. LOL!

My good camera is in Florida with my husband & son on a Band trip to Disney.  I had to resort to my cell phone camera which just makes my skin crawl, but I wanted to remember the layout of the shirts.  My phone did fairly well.

I am anticipating getting into this project to get it done for my daughter.  We did make a trip to Hobby Lobby tonight & purchased the batting.  I now have everything here to keep moving on this project in between working & everything else on my plate.  Hang on for the ride.

My 2nd T-shirt Quilt

Today I started on my 2nd t-shirt quilt.  This one is for my daughter Lizzie.  I am thinking of making it a rag quilt since she has SOooo many t-shirts; this way I can sandwich the batting with a t-shirt square on each side and double the number of shirts used.  I already have 40 squares cut and another shopping bag full of shirts!

This is my two piles of shirts already cut.  I also had a jacket for Lizzie from cheerleading that I've decided to cut apart and remove the zippers so I can add it to the quilt.  I'll need to do some sewing before that square is ready.  I'll post a photo of it once I'm finished stitching the pockets closed & making the seam where the zipper was located.

Lizzie's quilt will have shirts from school, band, cheerleading, Girl Scouts and Job's Daughter's.  She also has a very good variety of colors.  I'm anxious to lay out the squares for this one.

I took a break this evening to go out to dinner with my Husband, tomorrow is our 19th Wedding Anniversary.  We had a terrific meal and enjoyed our time alone without the kids.  Amazing how 2 hours alone will recharge your batteries.

T-shirt Quilt Day #4

I  had a lot of stitching today.  I finished all 5 of the columns on Saturday & pressed every seam.  I stitched the first two columns together.

Sunday afternoon was a day of more stitching.  I even had a helper...she has earned the title of "Escape Artist" since she has figured out how to jimmy the door to the room where we pen her when we don't want her to interfere.  :0)  The little stinker!

Right after my son took this picture he took her back to the room & got her to play with some of her toys.  She loves to be around people.  I was working in the dining room, kitchen & living rooms so I had enough space for everything & I STILL was cramped at times.

The hardest part was folding & rolling the quilt to stitch the sashing for the entire length & with the interfacing it didn't want to fold and bend nicely for me.  I also had to rip out two blocks and restitch them into place to get the sashing to line up, it was off by 1/2 an inch!  Way too much to let it be.  The shirts must have been longer than the others.  It was well worth the extra time to fix it then, You can't even notice it now.

I finished the quilt top Sunday evening about 11:00 pm.  Just in time to go to bed.  This morning the kids helped me take this photo of the quilt top.  I have 8 foot ceilings, just enough room to "stretch" out the quilt top.  Now I'll be shipping it off to campus quilt for the quilting process.  I'll post a FINAL picture of the completely finished quilt once I get it back.

Panstoria Content Sale

New kits, New "old" kits, and a 30% sale
It's a big day in the Panstoria.com store! In addition to 63 beautiful new kits from our designers, we have 135 kits purchased from Creative Memories last fall that have not previously been available in the Panstoria store.
To celebrate, all kits in the store will be marked down 30% from today through midnight (Eastern Time) Sunday, March 8. NOTE: No coupon is required. The prices in the store have been marked down already.
The kits from Creative Memories were previously available only on CD (from Creative Memories) or as Showcase giveaways. They are available for purchase from Panstoria for the first time. You can view and purchase these kits from this page: www.panstoria.com/store/category-page/category/content_from_cds

HAPPY SHOPPING!!

www.panstoria.com/store/category-page/category/digital_content


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