Bits and Pieces

Here are a few bits and pieces of my life. I have not gotten much sewing done as we are coming into our busy season at work and I have been picking up quite a bit of overtime. Seeing that I am working from  home, I do not mind doing the overtime.

My latest project. A brown, teal, and lime green baby quilt. Using several fabric with circles on it. I have enough fabric to make another one almost like it.

Flowers I picked up at the grocery store because I needed fall looking flowers to brighten up my work space.

My Halloween wall hanging.

Changed the flowers in my front door basket.

One of a pair of happy pumpkins my friend, Roberta made for me.

And it is getting cooler outside so it is time to put out my log cabin quilt to cuddle on the couch with.

In stitches,

Judy

Fall in Ohio

Last Saturday my Mom and I enjoyed the morning at the local Farmer's Market. I bought the last of the season Roma tomatoes, my mom got some flowers for a friend and some bread. I was able to get a few shots of the local flavor.

 In stitches,

Judy

Visitors

Last Friday I heard visitors in my attic. Mice!! I am the proud owner of some traps to get 'em! They are also in the basement. Yippee!! They have been baited but I am not ready to see what I have caught. After breakfast there will be plenty of time! I have been sewing! I have finished the baby I designed. Not my colorway. Lime green, teal, and brown fabric with circles on it. And I added a striped binding. It looks good. I will have post the picture later. The computter is in the basement with the traps!! In stitches, Judy

My job

Since April, I have been working from home and I adore it. My work station is set up in my living room and I can look out the front door at the world passing by. Normally I will see lots of birds, a few squirrels, butterflies, and two weeks ago a deer ran through my yard. Nothing surprises me now. Lately there has been over time offered. I have decided that I do not mind doing over time right after my shift is done. I also like doing it before my shift. I do not like doing it 9pm to midnight and trying to get up the next morning to work. I also do not like working 2 hours before my shift, waiting 30 minutes and starting my regular shift and tacking 2 more hours on to the end of my shift. I did that today and missed the pick up of my recycling. Now I have to haul the bin back to the side porch and wait until next week to return it to the curb. I am saving money on lunches and gas and wear and tear on my car. I still have contact with my friends either on the phone or when we get together to craft on Friday nights. If you get the opportunity to work from home take it in a heartbeat. It is awesome!!

Still no sewing done this week. I have to start the baby quilt soon. Lime green, teal, chocolate brown and dots. Pictures to follow. Maybe pictures of the fabric. My camera is upstairs with my office and I am downstairs on my personal computer.

In stitches,
Judy

Another Weekend in the Bag

This weekend was spent with my bestest friend in the world. We had a garage sale at the house this weekend and some visiting time. We did not make much money but we had a good visit. I used my new crock pot and make a lovely roast using diet pepsi as the liquid for my roast. It was yummy!! I was also able to decorate the living room for Halloween. I changed the flowers in my door basket for Fall and put up my Halloween quilt above the antique bookcase in the living room. I also have two new wooden pumpkins to put out that my friend, Roberta made for me. Later this week I will post pictures.

Not any sewing done this weekend. I am getting ready to make a brown, teal, and lime green baby quilt. One of my own designs. Tuesday I am meeting a co worker at JoAnn Fabrics to pick out fabrics for a t-shirt quilt for her daughter. This will be my second t-shirt quilt. People are starting to order their Christmas gifts earlier this year. Last year it was a quilt made from show ribbons. Each quilt is a challenge that helps me grow in so many ways. I truly believe that there is nothing I cannot do. I just need to try.

Time to finish the laundry and get ready for bed. Back to work tomorrow and maybe some over time. And if no over time, then I will be going to my small quilt group. I have a hand piecing project that I am making for my living room. Something in earthtones for the fall.

In stitches,
Judy

This and That

It has been a long time since my last post. I have been doing a little bit of sewing, a little bit of family time and a lot of working. And a lot of overtime. I am working from home now so it is not a problem doing overtime as I am already home. 

 
I made a signature wall hanging for my sister. She and her hubby moved to Georgia from Ohio. And in this day and age all my siblings lived in the same area and she is the first one of my siblings to move away from where we grew up at. My kids are in New York City and my sister's daughter is in Columbus, Ohio. We miss her and her hubby immensely. They are enjoying their new home and exploring their new surroundings.

This weekend was awesome. I spent all day, Saturday with my mom. We did the Farmer's Market Saturday morning, we did some shopping at Walmart. I am the owner of a new George Foreman grill and my mom is the owner of a new red coffee maker. Then to JCPenney's where I used my gift card and I got a new red crock pot and I still have about $10 left on the gift card.

 
 
We packed a picnic and meet my sister, Becky at church for Mass and then to Keehner Park for a picnic before the Southwestern Ohio Symphonic Band played a lovely concert under a moonlite sky. It was chilly out but the music was awesome!!

 
Today Mom, Becky, Patty, Vincent, Neil and I went to the Vinkolet Winery for their Summer Fair. Crafts, food and wine. We got rained once briefly but all in all it was a good day.

I have not gotten much sewing done. I am making a wall hanging to go over my bed using half square triangles of white and 30's prints. I figure I will need a total of 270 half square triangle units or 135 pairs. Should not take that long to do. I also did some work on my hand piecing project. It is muted colors and will go well in my living room for the fall. I really need to get working on this. The fall is coming!!

This awesome flag was hanging on the side of a church in downtown Hamilton this weekend! It was awesome.

In stitches,

Judy

Family time

Yesterday was family day at my mom's. My sister and her husband are moving to Georgia from Ohio. They are leaving the end of the month. Most of the family was there to wish them well. Only my kids in New York and two of my nephews did not make it. It was a wonderful gathering of family and food. I gathered signed pieces of unbleached muslin for a signature quilt. I will be using some of my 30's prints in the ultimate design. I have started cutting the fabric for the blocks. I will post pictures once I am done. And after it is safely in my sister's possession.

In stitches,
Judy

What you see at a yard sale

The weather cleared and we had marvelous weather for the sale. the police patrolled the street because there is no parking across the street. We had kids, dogs and a guy who rode thru our sale on his bicycle.

In stitches,
Judy

Garage sales and rain

Jennifer and I have been working towards the goal of the city wide yard sale. It is today. The weather is not co-operating. There is no high heat or humidity but it is overcast and the weatherman is calling for rain. Such a dilemma! We are going to hang tight and hope the weather clears up!

I made money aprons for Jennifer and I to wear at the sale using some bright blue bottomweight fabric and leftover binding. Not very attractive but functional!

I did do some machine quilting yesterday and finished the car quilt panel. Later on today I will attach the binding.

In stitches,
Judy

That wall hanging

 

I have finished that wall hanging. That Patriotic wall hanging and I have decided to do it again. I have enough of the print to use as the background and enough red to make the stars and I will make only 4 blocks instead of 9 and I have until Memorial Day 2012 to finish it. I will add a border to it so it will fit in the hanger it was intended for. I pictured it in my mind and was so disappointed that it did not live up to my vision.

I am still toying with a design for Autumn. Orange is calling my name. I need to see what orange fabrics are living in my stash. I know that I have a piece of homespun in the orange family that I have been saving for that special project. That might be the project. I am thinking applique. And maybe blanket stitch. I am also thinking that all of that might too ambitious. We shall see.

In stitches,
Judy

Happy

I have been busily hand stitching the binding on my Log Cabin quilt. It is going to look awesome in my living! I cannot wait to snuggle under it on these cold winter days in Ohio. Yesterday it did not get to 90 degrees. Yeah!

The design to replace Patriotic wall hanging is still rattling around in my head. Perhaps this weekend I will be able to capture it on paper!

I am thinking about throwing some stuff in front yard next Saturday for the city wide yard sale. I really need to get to pricing what already has been sorted.

In stitches,
Judy

It's Done!!

I put my mind to it and finished the Patriotic Wall Hanging. Still don't like it and I did something wrong because it is bigger than the intended space. So it looks a bit funky in this shot. I am already designing a pumpkin wall hanging in my head to put up after Labor Day.

I was able to go to the guild meeting last night. We had a trunk show by Julie Lambert . She is a guild member who does amazing machine quilting on her Bernina home sewing machine. The quilts were gorgeous and she is such a delight to listen to. And I learned a thing or two that I want to try in the future.

I had the best of both worlds last night. I got to go to the guild meeting and then I came home and logged into my work station and did two hours of overtime. 10pm to midnight. Not a great idea. Looked good on paper but my body screamed "time to go to bed, you fool!!". I may or may not do that again.

In stitches,
Judy

Unlike

I am currently machine quilting my patriotic wall hanging and have decided I unlike it. In previous years it would get moved to shelf or bag in my sewing room and be forgotten. The new me is finishing it and if I never hang it at least it is done!!

Tonight is guild meeting and if they do not offer overtime, I will go. Maybe I can hand stitch the binding on my Log Cabin quilt!

In stitches,
Judy

Quilting

 

I have been machine quilting. I found my top yesterday and got it layered and pin basted last night. It is about a quarter of the way machine quilted. I am hoping to have the machine quilting done tonight. I would like to get the binding sown down so I will have some hand work to do at my meeting on Monday evening. I still do not have the patriotic wall hanging done. I still have a bit of time to get to that before Labor Day.

It is hot yet again today. I am hanging out in the basement right now. It is much cooler down here. I have turned off the air conditioning for now. It will go back on later so I can sleep. But most days it is off the entire day.

Jennifer was here last night for craft night. I worked on my Log Cabin quilt and she did a few odd projects. I did add some binding to a quilt she was making for Lily. She will hand stitch the binding later today. We had dinner again last night. Hers was a potato with Vadalia Onions baked in the oven and mine was left over boiled potatoes, sauerkraut and turkey sausage. Yum!!

In stitches,
Judy

Lost then found

Yesterday I decided to layer my log cabin top. I found two pieces of fabric that seemed together would make a wonderful backing. I knew where my batting was but where was the top? I had boxed up fabric and such before my kids came earlier this month but it was not with that stuff. I know because I looked twice. Yesterday afternoon, it came to me. "Look with the batting"! I found it and now I am ready to layer and pin baste.

The kidney stone is still moving but the is not that bad. Each day is an adventure!

In stitches,
Judy

On the move

Moving on can be a good thing as can moving up be good but kidney stones on the move are very painful! I am suffering thru moving kidney stones. I am stubborn and won't take time off work for anything. In fact, I did 2 hours of overtime last night. Not in any pain right now, so I am hoping to do some hand piecing between calls today!

Tonight I hope to layer my log cabin quilt top so I can start machine quilting it. Maybe another UFO will bite the dust.

In stitches,
Judy

Concert time

Only in Hamilton would they have an outside concert under the awning of the parking garage. It was extremely hot and sticky outside but under the awning there was a wonderful breeze and wonderful music!! Hand pieced 2 of the 36 blocks for my new wall hanging. Jennifer went with me and she had an awesome time!

In stitches,
Judy

System issues

System issues usually a bad thing. Worked some overtime last night and system issues were a problem. But that also paved the way for more overtime before work. And put the yard work lower on the list.

Got most of my new hand piecing project marked. Going to an outdoor concert this evening and I will piece to music.

In stitches,
Judy

Weekend recap

Friday night Jennifer was here for craft night and dinner. Dinner was cooked cabbage with ham and boiled potatoes. Yum!! I did cutting for my new hand piecing project and fixed a quilt top for Jennifer. Jennifer had several little projects to finish.

Saturday, I was able to do 3.5 hours of overtime and get to the grocery before 10am. A gal who used to work with came over for catch up time and pants hemming. Then to dinner with my mom, my sister, and her boyfriend. Dinner was yummy!!

Sunday was going to be hardworking but the heat and humidity forced me inside to the basement for some organizational time. It was blessedly cool in the basement and I am making slow progress there. I have done a bit of hardworking this morning but it is time to work. I will continue cutting and prepping my hand work between calls!

In stitches,
Judy

summer stuff

My summer so far.

 My grand dog, Frankie.

  A pot of purple petunias

 The hole in the wall.

 
The quilt to cover it the hole in the wall.

My hand piecing project now fits my bed.

 

My gerber daisy
  

Baby quilt for Neil 

 Place mats for Becky

Simple kit for living room.

Piece of my Patriotic Wall Hanging.

In stitches,

Judy