Jiggity Jig

Home again, home again,

Jiggity jig!

Its nice to be back on Cape Breton,

but it is still brown, windy, and cold here.
This morning's forecast is 34 degrees
and snow flurries!

Prior to leaving,

I managed to complete pretty much everything on my list

before my Texas Kenmore broke.

This last finish was the most important finish.

These blocks were constructed in 2004
by my SIL's mother, Veronica,
who passed away three years ago
after a short illness.

I found these blocks tucked away in one of her notebooks.
A Hancock Fabric's BOM,
I surmise it was never finished because of
deteriorating eye sight,
poor quality fabrics,
and complicated blocks.

I added 3" borders to each block because there were only 9,
not one of them being the same size,
and practiced a little FMQ

I joined the blocks with a QAYG method,
and the finished size is 54"square.

This quilt will be gifted to
Veronica's only granddaughter
on her 10th birthday in August.

On a sad note,
my grandkitty of 17 years,
Miss Molly,

will be laid to rest today.
I'm so glad I was able to spend one more winter
loving on her and tending to her aging needs.

She surely loved her mom!
Rest well,
sweet Molly.

RIP Kenmore

I have been working on a 1964 Kenmore, a cadillac machine.

But Tuesday,  the little wire that helps govern the tension

broke right off while I was sewing.

I think my machine is cooked.  All because of a little wire.

Guess we'll see after a little research!

I wasn't quite finished with all my little projects

and I leave one week from today.
I'm not totally without.
There is an old portable White .
It's not the best, but I cleaned and oiled it and it's ready to sew.

I did manage to finish this cross body bag.

I visited The Scrappy Quilter,

my favorite little quilt shop, in Schertz, TX

during a shop hop weekend,

and received a free fat quarter even though I wasn't shop hopping!

I chose Michael Miller's Urban Garden

and it made a sweet little bag.

Yes, as expected, Crafty Daughter claimed it!

I decided my bags needed little zipper pulls,

so during our last little shopping spree at Hobby Lobby,

I loaded up on some charms.

I make a lot of bags for a lot of people

of all different shapes and sizes.

I decided it was time to learn how to make adjustable straps

to eliminate the guess work!

I found a great tutorial at Sewplicity.

Easy  peasy!

~

(Click picture to enlarge.)

This is Mistletoe.

I never even wondered where mistletoe came from
until I moved to TX in the early 90's
to be near my dad and his family
and it was growing every where.
Who knew it is a parasitic plant that grows on trees?

Have a great day!

Keep it simple,
and make it fun!

XO,
karen

A Little 'To Go' Project

I won't get caught in the airport

or on the plane,

with nothing to do!

Armed with an audio story

and this wall hanging to embroider,

I should be all set!

Finished size will be 20"x20",

not too big to pull out onto my lap.

The bright and cheery fabrics in my

This 'n That Charm Pack

by Nancy Halvorsen for Benatex

will help to keep my spirits up when the traveling starts

to become a drag.

I still have to trace the letters onto the linen.

I won't applique the dresden plate until 

the embroidery work is finished.

I had about about a dozen 2.5" squares left over,

so I jumped at the chance to try out Karen Ackva's tutorial

over at easy patchwork

for making this little "sew pixel play" pincushion.

I just used up the colors that were available

right there at my fingertips.

I prepared a grid on some lightweight iron-on interfacing

before bedtime last night,

and went right to work 

once I finished piecing the little top. 

In no time at all I had this little 3" pincushion

and it was easy peasy and lots of fun.

And I know me!

I know I won't be able to make just one,

that's how fun and easy they are!

Each little square is finished at a half inch.

Between you, me, and the lamp post,

I wouldn't sew that small the regular way!

I may, instead, make some new coasters 

to leave behind for Crafty Daughter 

using this technique.

I really don't need any more pin cushions right now.

(YES! I said that!)

~

Giant Swallowtail, (Papilio cresphontes Cramer)
Click on pic to enlarge.

This unique looking butterfly landed on the deck

the other week and just sat there,

needing a good rest.

I carefully moved it into the fenced in garden area

to keep it safe from the dogs

and later that day, it was gone.

~

So, I was thinking.  Wouldn't it be funny if, when you called someone on their cell phone, you heard what they hear?  My SIL's phone quacks.  Crafty Daughter doesn't turn her ringer on at all, so all you would hear would be dead space (how disconcerting that would be!)  If someone called you on your cell phone, what would they hear?

Have a great week end!

Keep it simple,

and make it fun!

XO,

karen

Color Me Happy

Pinterest.

At first, I avoided it.

Then, I did what everyone does

and pinned every thing I saw and liked.

Now, I use it as a valuable resource.

One of the very first images I ever pinned
was this bright, bold, and beautiful quilt

by MamaCJT.

I knew that some day I'd want to make it.
Well, some day arrived, and I discovered she released the pattern
five years ago!  Oh, no!  It's been a long time!
But, I contacted Carol and thankfully she still had a copy
and she sent it to me right away.

Here's my version.

The colors aren't true.
It's red, orange, yellow, puke green, green, lt. blue, blue, purple.
It's made from all Kona, but I didn't keep track of color names.
I purchased my Kona from my local Joann's
and there weren't many color options available,
so I went with what they had.
Okay.
Actually, I tried to match the colors with the picture she posted.
I'm getting ready to leave.
There's no time for imagination at this stage.

It measures 54x61",
which didn't sound big,
until I finished the flimsie yesterday.
I thought it would make a great baby quilt for a boy
and thought I'd just layer it up and quilt it off real quick.
As you can see, it completely covers Crafty Daughter,
who was kind enough to hold it up for me.
I think it's going home to Cape Breton
so I can quilt it on my Janome.
I'll make another, smaller, baby boy quilt!

Speaking of Pinterest,
my favorite "go to" board is Crafty Daughter's
Recipe Success.

It's a community board she set up
sharing only recipes that were tried
and passed muster.
It's no secret that I don't like to cook.
This board has been a life saver for me.
I don't have to think.
I just have to be hungry!

~

This little friend was visiting yesterday afternoon.
I couldn't resist running in to get my camera.
I'm a lot better at taking pictures of lizards
than I am quilts!

Have a great day!
Keep it simple, make it fun!

XO,
Karen

Linking up with
Linky Tuesday

Checking It Off My List

I'm a lister.

And as my time to return to Cape Breton draws closer and closer,

my list of things to do gets longer and longer.

One of the things I like to do

is to be able to check things off my lists.

I've even been known to add something I've done

that isn't on the list,

just so I can check it off!

Check!

This wonky churn dash flimsy is finished and ready to pack!

It's a stormy day, so a picture on the wall will have to suffice.

Can't wait to get it on my Janome 

and try my hand at all that negative space.

It measures 54x60.

Not too daunting!

If I'd had a nice big design wall,

I might have played a little with the block placement.

But it is what it is 

and I'm happy with it.

It was very helpful to have finally broken down

 and made a few of these

mini design boards.  

~

On one of my most recent walks,

I came across this pretty little skipper.

Just another of Mother Nature's little gifts!

Thanks for popping in!

Keep it simple

and

make it fun!

XO,

karen