ROAD TRIP INSPIRATIONS

Took advantage of the spring like weather we experienced the last few days, caught up on shopping errands one day and took a road trip to a winter fair here in Montana yesterday.  While exploring the small town we went to I ran across a quaint little quilt shop and of course had to go in.  I have to admit I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to fabric.  Had to remind myself that I am not stockpiling anymore fabric as I overheard my husband and shop keeper having this conversation.  Shopkeeper "they say men who die with the most toys wins, but a woman who dies with the most fabric wins"  Husband's reply "we're winning!!!".   I hate to admit it but he is right, however,  I couldn't leave without something, so I bought a few yards of fabric to use making some "boy" things.  My husband and I are expecting our 16th grandchild, a boy, in a couple of months and we are excited about it, we haven't had a new boy for awhile.  I have come to the conclusion that even though I can buy for these kids, it's just not in my nature to not make them things as well.  With my new fabric as well utilizing what I had in my stash I spent the afternoon making a few things every mother needs for their newborn.

Receiving blankets, bibs and burp clothes, one can't have too many with a newborn.  In the past I have used Velcro closures on bibs, but today decided to add snaps.

I like putting snaps on things and have been doing so for many, many years.  I don't attach snaps the traditional way, but have had better success than most doing it my way.  My Grandfather made me a handy little tool to use for snaps 40 some years ago and I have used it on hundreds, maybe thousands of snaps over the years.  After putting snaps on all the flannel shirts I made for Christmas it became obvious that my little tool was finally wearing out, so I asked my husband to make me a new one.  I used the new one today for the first time and it worked just as well as the old.

I came across another good use for some fabric scraps as well,

a bib to match Dad's new shirt !!!

 

I have another day or two of sewing before these items go into the mail, as I expect the little one will arrive before I do and Mom and Dad will need these things when they bring him home.

 

I spent quite a bit of time in that quilt shop and while there a young lady came in to purchase a quilting magazine, because she had quilted the quilt on the cover.  I was excited to learn she did long-arm quilting, so I had the conversation with her about quilting a t-shirt quilt.  She does live 100 miles away, so I may have to look for someone closer, but I didn't leave without her number.

 

I have once again began a new project before finishing existing ones, but I am waiting for some more t-shirts for the quilt and am in no immediate hurry to finish the window treatment I need to finish, or those are the excuses I have given myself today.

WINDOW TREATMENTS

I have been working on the styling in my home office/guest room.  I have cleaned the clutter out of the room, brought in the furniture I want in the room and have started the window treatments.  I don't have a large budget for this room re-do, so I started by hitting up my fabric stash and began forming an idea of what I needed.  I gathered supplies

The windows in the room are quite large, so I made two panels and attached them to a 1x2 board using my staple gun

I needed some weight in the bottom of the panels so I recycled wrapping paper cardboard tubes

After I had the shades completed I took them to the window and hung them.  They are made so that they can be rolled up to let the sunshine in or let down for privacy.

Notice the plastic on the window, living in the north with a north facing window this is something that needs to be done in the winter especially when we get a northern wind.  Plastic will be coming off in a couple of months. 

There is one more window in this room that will get the exact window treatment, then I will be able to move on to more décor as I can't finish up the furniture until the weather warms up a bit.

TIME FOR THE SEWING MACHINE

Continued working today on the t-shirt quilt.  I cut and ironed on all the strip fabric.

 

                      Then I took it to the sewing machine and began sewing all my strips together. 

 

This is a close up view after the strips are sewn. 

 

 I still have a long ways to go with the sewing and once this side is completed I will piece the second side of this quilt together.  That will require cutting up more shirts and going thru this same process again.  Once both side are made it will be time to start the quilting process.  I've been thinking I may have to hire out the actual quilting process due to the size of this quilt.  I will make that determination once I get both sides completed.

A QUILTING WE GO....

I have been researching and pondering this T-shirt quilt for some time now and decided today would be the day to get started.  I started by cutting up t-shirts

I cut until I thought I had enough squares to start piecing one side of this quilt together

Then it was time to get out the backing that I had purchased and start the designing of the quilt

After I had laid out all my squares I started attaching them to the backing

The next step will be to cut all my strip fabric and attach it to the backing, once all of that is done then it will be time to take it to the sewing machine.

 

When I made quilts years ago we simply cut out our fabric blocks and strips and sewed them together.  In my research for this quilt I came across a woman who had designed a plan making quilting much easier.  Because t-shirts are so flimsy it is necessary to back them with some interfacing and the backing she sells is iron on with a grid pattern  making the placement of all the squares much easier.

 

Once this top is completed I will be working on another before the actual quilting process takes place. 

 

 

 
 
 

REFRESH AND RENEW !!!!

I went to JoAnn's yesterday to pick up a couple of items I needed to work on the quilt I am making and with all the new spring fabric out it took a lot of self-control not to leave with more than I did.  With only a few days into the new year, I told myself I couldn't start breaking my resolutions yet.  I was so proud of myself that I decided to treat myself with some new linens for my kitchen.

A new rug and some new towels and it feels like I have a new kitchen.  I needed to clean the kitchen before I could put my new items out and in doing so I looked at my knife holder and thought it too needed some refreshing.  I have had this for many, many years and  I use it, so getting rid of it wasn't an option, I was just ready for something new, so I set out to make my old one new again.

Into my room it went

I sanded, painted, waxed and added a label with decoupage

 

Now back in my kitchen, I have a renewed place to store my knives.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

"2014"  Hard to believe how fast these years seem to be passing, but I am excited for this year and plan on working really hard to keep my resolutions.  Holiday decorations have been taken down and stowed away for another year, clutter has been cleared out, now it's time for me to start on my winter projects.  One of my resolutions this year is to give up on making so many gifts I give throughout the year as I am running out of ideas and don't want to keep repeating myself, so unless I am asked for something particular my gift recipients will not be seeing so many sewing/crafty projects from me, rather I will be donating many of the clothes and crafts I make to those in need.  There are a few things and people I will need to continue our traditions with and of course those already promised.  It's with this in mind that I have started one of my winter projects. 

When I was much, much younger I was taught to make quilts.  We didn't buy blankets, we made them from Grandpa's old shirts, outgrown dresses and fabric scraps.  I have not made a quilt in years and have never made a T-shirt quilt, but the one I am undertaking is very personal for me as it will represent years of accomplishments for a very special young lady.

Whenever I start a new project I like to do my research and with luck I ran across a woman here in Montana that sells supplies and instructions for T-shirt quilts.  I have had these supplies for awhile now, but after counting and inspecting all the t-shirts I need to incorporate into this quilt,  I ordered and made the additional supplies I will need to complete the project.

Now the nerve wracking work begins as I will be cutting up her prized shirts and after all the measuring I will need to do my quilt blocks in two different sizes, but since there are enough shirts to make quilt "tops" for both sides of this blanket, I feel confident that I can incorporate all the t-shirt designs.

 

I will keep posting the steps of this quilt as I go along for all of you to follow.

 

Here's to hoping you all have a prosperous and happy 2014 !!!!!!

GRANNYWEAR ORIGINALS

I often go to sleep at night imagining something I want to make, lately it has been girls clothes, mostly dresses.  Sometimes my items require several patterns and a lot of imagination, regardless of the work, if the outcome is what I had imagined I am pleased.  This is a little outfit I have been working on for the last couple of days.

 

I lined the bodice of the dress with the same fabric I made the shrug out of and attached the bead "necklace" directly to the garment.

 

This is the back view of the shrug.  My first time making a shrug and although I probably didn't pick the best fabric to work with on my first attempt, I am very pleased with the outcome.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.......

and all through the yard the creatures came for a meal

this years antelope got hung with care

and so on and so on.  I'm not much of a poet but the gifts of all been wrapped, mailed and hopefully  made their final destinations, holiday parties have been attended, two food banks, Toys for Tots and St Vincent DePaul have all received their donations,  the last pie is in the oven, decorations have been placed and Christmas dinner preparations all made.

For whatever reason I felt the need this past week to start my New Year's resolutions, so I took a box to each room in my house and challenged myself to fill them.  My husband cringes when I do these sorts of things, but I find stuff  breeds in my home and periodically I have to purge, I want to make room for all that the new year will bring. 

Attempting this endeavor, the excitement expectant guests bring, and my love of power tools, when I got to my back bedroom, I decided to start another project (more words my husband doesn't care for me to use).  Back bedrooms tend to become storage units in your home and this is not what I want, I need a den, home office and guest room all rolled into one, so my work began this past week.

The closet had some built in shelves and I wanted to put my bookcases in that closet, so I tore the old out,  cut  the bookcases down, lined the closet with three of them and have begun filling them with my large assortment of books,  now these bookcases are no longer taking up space in the room itself and the closet is no longer available for me to store unnecessary items.

 

Remember some of that auction furniture I acquired a few months ago, well they are perfect pieces for my "home office".  I will be transforming these pieces once the weather allows me outdoors to sand and paint.  It'll be exciting to see the transformation I have planned for these items as well as the finished room.

Now that I am ready for all that the holidays will bring and have my purge completed, I am excited to start on my winter projects.  I have a t-shirt quilt to make for a granddaughter's high school graduation in the spring.  This granddaughter is quite the baseball player and her mother has saved all of her t-shirts from the sport through the years, they are now in my sewing room waiting to be made into a beautiful quilt that she can take with her wherever her journey may lead.  My other winter project is one I have been wanting to do for years, make some shadowboxes.  My husband has lead a very interesting life, a saddle bronc rider and 22 years in Hollywood as a stunt man and although I was not a part of his life during that time, I reap the benefits each month and have also inherited all the memorabilia.  I have spent a lot of time gathering it all  and now have the space and time to put it altogether to tell his stories. 

At this point in our lives I think it is important to put our stories and items together for the children and grandchildren so they don't get lost in the future.  Along, with all of this I get to make some new baby items for another grandson we are expecting in March.  With any luck spring will come early and some travel plans can be made.

"Being retired is not about resting, but about having the time to do all the fun things one never had time to before"

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT !!!!

 

GOT TO LOVE SCRAPS !!!

Finishing all my Christmas projects always leaves me with scraps of fabric that, as I have shared, I have a difficult time parting with.  The last couple of days I have been thinking about the different ways I could use the scraps I have left from the many flannel shirts I made this year.  Well today I put my thoughts to work and made a few dresses for a granddaughter.

 

This is one of the dresses I completed today.  I am sharing this one because I did something different with it.  Recently I have been noticing a lot of designers have the zipper showing on the item, so this dress seemed like the perfect item to try it.

 

 

I like the way it came out.  Not only was I able to put a scrap of fabric to good use, but also was able to put a "designer" touch to the item.

AAHHHH!!! THE SWEET SOUND OF MELTING SNOW !

After our last cold snap and snow storm it is with great relief when I hear the water running off my roof, that's the snow melting.  When I first moved here I was told the wind blows a lot, after living in the desert I don't think we get a lot of wind, but I have learned that wind after a snow storm is my best friend.  The wind melts the snow, so 35-40 degrees and a windy day and I get to watch that wind eat right through my foot of snow.  Hopefully it will all be gone before the next storm hits next week.

Our storm gave me plenty of time to be able to get all my Christmas packages ready for the mail and yesterday I took them to the post office so I know they will get to their destination before Santa is due to arrive.

 

I was able to get back into my sewing/craft room today as I picked up my sewing machines yesterday and I want to thank Scott from Silver Thimble for doing such an excellent job on all the adjustments and repairs.  I spent the day sewing making another sweatshirt and a nightgown.  Willie gets lonely when I spend the day in my room, so since I have cleaned and re-organized that room, I was able to bring him in a bed. 

 

He kept me company all afternoon. (His favorite place for me to be is in the kitchen)

MEMORIES........

As a very young child, my siblings and I lived with my grandparents and some of my earliest memories are when my Grandma W. would take us to W.T. Grants where my Grandma E. worked.  It was always so fun to go running into the store and we would always know right where to find Grandma E., the sewing/fabric department.  I do believe those times are what nurtured my love of fabric and making things.  Several years ago I was fortunate enough to have Grandma E. give me many things out of her sewing room, apparently my love of hoarding came from her as well.  Some of the things I brought home were some old patterns.  I don't know if  Grandma E. ever made any of these items as not all the patterns were intact, but as you will see they are probably from the 50's or early 60's.  As I have been cleaning out some of "hoarding stash" I came across these and knew I wanted to do something special with them.  I picked out a few, painted a couple of canvases and set about to make some art work to hang in my sewing area.

After I painted the canvas, cut out the pieces of patterns and laid them out, I decoupaged them on the canvas.

 

After several layers of decoupage and proper drying time they were ready to hang

 

Now each time I look at my new "art work" it will bring back those wonderful childhood memories.

SNOWED IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our weather here has been horribly cold for the last week or so.  Highs only reaching about 10-15 below.  With such cold weather, being outside isn't even an option for me.  I have begun feeling a little housebound the last few days and with my sewing machines needing major tune-ups and my Christmas projects completed I was beginning to feel the need for power, power tools, that is.  I have plenty of "garage" projects that I am itching to complete but in this snowy cold weather paint doesn't dry well and sanding indoors makes quite a mess, so I had to find something else to do. 

The other evening my husband asked what I would like for Christmas and it hit me, I really wanted some better organization in my sewing/craft room, so I set about to do just that.  Got my jigsaw out and cut down some bookcases (I love power tools) so that they would fit in the closet without dismantling the closet.  That was the start of my "major" clean up and reorganization.

 

Although everything is still in the room, the reorganizing and utilizing all the closet space, there is so much more room and I am anxious to do some more sewing.  I only hope my machines can be serviced quickly.

I WAS CRAFTY WHEN CRAFTY WASN'T COOL....

This sign says it all !!!!

 

I made this sign just for me and it holds a special place in my sewing/craft room.

COLD, COLD, COLD

Our temperatures have been stuck in these minus, very very cold numbers for awhile now and believe it or not but it is due to warm up in the next couple days so it can snow some more and I will be excited to see the thermometer back to ZERO. 

When temperatures are this low the best place for me is indoors and I am fortunate that I am able to do just that.  Since 99% of my holiday gifts have to go in the mail, I have been able to get them finished, now onto wrapping and packaging. 

I was unable to finish all my sewing projects as both of my sewing machines now need a major tune-up, so as soon as it warms up I will be taking them to the repair shop, but for now, there will be some packages mailed after the holiday.  When I was working I never seemed to enjoy the "gift giving" experience and my packages were always late getting mailed, so it is with joy that I now have plenty of time.

With the holiday packages on their way to their destination next week, I will be able to get back to my "garage stash".  I think I will take on some of those auction pieces I purchased a few months ago.  Want to use them in my office/guest room and am excited to get started on them.

GOT SNOW ?????

I suppose winter is upon us here in the north and I've learned when they name a storm it is probably going to make an impact.  Well this storm has and is making an impact on us.  I took these pictures this morning and it has continued snowing throughout the day.

Our weather is forecasted to stay quite cold for the next week or so, dipping into the minus zero degrees for our highs.  When the temperatures are this low, I have learned to stay indoors, I prepared for the storm and have put holiday travel plans on hold giving me plenty of time to continue working on Christmas gifts and preparations.  I was rather ambitious this year with my shirt making, but I am now down to one so they will all be off to their intended recipient in plenty of time for Christmas morning. 

BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE CHRISTMAS ????

Again, I don't do a lot of holiday decorating these days, but celebrating the holidays is important to me and each year I try to do some different things as well as continue those long held traditions.  One of those traditions in my house is "peanut butter balls".  I have been making them since my children were very young and I believe they continue that tradition in their households as well.  With my new coffee table this year I wanted something new to start the decorating.  I went searching for what that new piece would be and I came up with a thrift store purchased bowl, a yard sale candlestick, a can of red spray paint and some E6000 glue.

And now that the CANDY is made, beginning to feel a little like Christmas is coming !!!!

 

This table needs a few more decorations to complete it, so I will be working on that.