Showing posts with label quilts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quilts. Show all posts

Monday, July 10, 2017

Rabbit Holes

I've fallen down several rabbit holes lately. As I've said before I'm not good about keeping this blog up to date! So I've decided to blog in chunks.

Today is about current inspirations.

As I said, I'm falling down a particular rabbit hole of traveler's notebooks. I don't currently have one, I don't bullet journal, I just don't journal at all! (lack of blog posts are a sure sign!) But I carried around a planner in the late 80's/90's (I'm old) and they went everywhere with me. I became a techie and I jumped on the Palm Pilot band wagon and transferred my planner stuff to the digital realm.

Eventually Palm was bought up and phased out. I jumped onto the Blackberry, things transferred easily and all was good in the tech world until I worked on my master's. APPLE!!! Oh how I love Thee! It took a few years and I was able to splurge on a laptop and down that rabbit hole I went!

Don't get me wrong, I'm typing on a macbook right now. But I have probably a dozen notebooks in my living room/bookcases. Unused! Used! and I'm just a cheap paper junky. I still love notebooks and planners. But the majority are unused.

I tried to go digital with my lesson planner but just couldn't make it work. I found a great planner by Miss Math Dork and fell in love with paper planners again.   Two years ago I found Blue Sky Planners and that is what I use today. Really use. Nice, simple, very straightforward and I love them.
So how does that get me to traveler's notebooks. 

1) Well, I've also fallen down the fountain pen rabbit hole and use them with my scripture writing. But I wanted to use pens more and I find myself out and about with no paper. I'm trying to become slightly more organized, but not to the point of creating a bullet journal.

2) I need to meal plan. I realized I buy the same basic groceries every week, I don't use part of them and that is wasteful. I've also found myself not cooking at all. I think doing some basic meal planning will help me with diet and the economics of grocery shopping. Keeping those plans in a notebook will help me shop. Yes I can add them to my phone memo list but I think writing things out will help me stay focused.

3) I knit and love making lists of knitting info. I also have knitting friends who use TN's and every time they whip one out to jot stuff down, I get envious. :)
I love notebooks!

I love Goulet Pens and follow them on instagram and YouTube. I use them for my fountain pens obsession. They have fantastic customer education videos. Goulet carries pens and paper. I've watched several of their videos on TN's and thanks to YouTube data miners up popped lots of other TN videos. I've spent the morning watching those and surfing Etsy for the right notebook cover. 

From there Pinterest called my name and away it went. Thankfully, I put on the brakes and decided to add this quick post before I reached the bottom of this rabbit hole. I've figured out the size needed, found a supplier that offered a totally me color and now just waiting a few days to make sure I really need to do this!

ps it will may if I jot down some blog post ideas!



Saturday, January 18, 2014

Quilt Caddy

I decided I wanted to do something crafty today. As I was going through Bloglovin', one of the bloggers I follow posted a little machine quilt she had made out of orphan blocks. I've been wanting to make a caddy for machine for quite some time. So I Googled quilt caddies and looked on Pinterest. I found lots of tutorials and one suggested using two fat quarters and simply turning the end up for the pockets.

So I measured my machine to see if fat quarters would be wide enough. My machine is only 16" wide, so a fat quarter would be perfect.

After my quilt room reorganization, finding batting scraps was oh so easy! But naturally, none of the scraps fit. Some were the size needed for baby quilts, so I didn't want to cut into those and this one was just a wee bit short. It was also long, so I thought I'd pull a Bonnie Hunter and piece my batting. Then I remembered I'd be cutting the width to make the pocket and this piece was just right. I cut off the length and use it for the pocket batting. 

Next I decided I really wanted to quilt the entire caddy. I've not done any machine quilting for quite some time and I really haven't done any cross hatch quilting because it looks so boring. But I decided this was a great practice piece and I drew my lines 1" apart and away I went.

Really don't like how Blogger lays out photos!! So I'm trying a new editor.
After cross hatching, I decided the pocket needed to be
different, so I drew horizontal lines and quilted it. I knew I wanted to be finished today, so I machine sewed the binding front and back. I don't really like the look on the back. I won't be using this method on a quilt.


Final product  - Love It!

Friday, January 3, 2014

Journal Jan 3

In order to catch up and I'm doing three days in one.
January 1 - spent the day going shopping. I really don't like shopping for clothes. I'm a fat girl and shopping just really emphasizes that in my mind. Yes, I need to do something about it. More about that in later posts.

My sweet sister gave me a gift certificate that I spent and now I have a few new additions to my wardrobe.  I also had to purchase more yarn for a hat I was making. I finished the hat late this evening.
January 2 - continued to enjoy my winter break. It was supposed to snow and all day the winds howled, but very snow fell. I read a little and continued my marathon of West Wing watching.

Rearranged the living room, not really liking it, but don't have the desire to put it back. I'm adjusting and maybe that's why I don't like it. The kitties love being able to lay on the back of the couch and the fact that I have freshly washed quilts and throws for them to curl up on.

January 3 - continued to clean in the quilting room. Finished cutting the last blocks for the baby quilt. Now I just have to add borders - again. Hopefully, I'll like them this time. I also ironed the top of the second baby quilt that needs another border. I have a third baby quilt that needs to have the quilting finished. Three babies in my world and if I don't get busy they will be in elementary school before they get their quilts!!!!

Tonight I'm working the basketball gate. Need to be at school by 4:45. Will dress warm, it's very cold out and that means the wind coming through the open doors will be fierce!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Quilting day

I've been working on a little quilt for over a year. Obviously I haven't worked on it steadily.



I had to trim blocks and I'm the queen of procrastination when it comes to trimming. Once I plowed through the trimming the rest of the piecing was a piece of cake.







I have the borders on and just need to miter the corners. I have a two more quilts that need borders and hopefully, they will be finished this week and taken to the quilter!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Things I've Learned

Today, I decided to work on a quilt I started the winter after mom passed away. I learned several things. First, I shouldn't piece anything complicated when I'm depressed. The blocks aren't the best I've ever sewn, as you can see even when I put the rows together I made constant mistakes. At the time I didn't realized I was in the state I was in. I was trying to get back to normal and thought this class would help.



Second, I've done more unsewing than sewing today. I also shouldn't work with biased edges. As I recall working on this quilt in class, a few people commented about the bias. But I was in a zombie zone and didn't think I was having problems at the moment. But now that I'm working on the final part of the quilt, I realize that I had major issues with all of the biased edges. 

I would love to start over on this quilt but I have no more fabric. :) I will make this patten again but with a totally different piecing technique. I have several more rows to put together before I decide on borders. I think I originally decided to just border in the background print.



The last thing I learned was not to wait so long between piecing and putting the top together.  I have another quilt that is partially pieced and I've lost the directions putting it together. It was the first mystery quilt class I took and I have no idea where the directions went. I thought they were with the fabric but when pulled the project out t see how much work needed to be done, there were no instructions.



As you can see, I had a lot of help from the quilt inspectors, they were really taking their job seriously. ;)

Have a great day,
Tracy

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Staycation

I want to leave Tennessee for some place... don't know where, but I know I don't want to be here any more!!! I've got just a touch of cabin fever.  

Basically, I'm bored and have nothing to do. I spent the day doing some quilting. I just have to put those blocks into rows and hopefully I'll have a quilt top tomorrow. I've been working on this quilt since summer and my sister wants it now! LOL

Tomorrow, I plan on getting out of the house and having lunch with a friend. I also need to go and shop for some fabric to back this quilt. I won't let myself start another project until this one is finished. I have another tshirt quilt in rows and I really don't like making them. I have a third cut out, but I may break down and pay someone to make mine for me!!!! Something about the stretchy blocks just get to me. :)

Shouldn't complain, I have enjoyed having this break and I'm hoping for some snow so that I have a few more days off next month!!

Have a blessed day,
Tracy

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sunday Morning

Today, I am thankful for many things. I'm most thankful for my sewing abilities. Not that they are grand, but that I come from a long line of sewing women.

My great-great grandmother was a tailor. She provided for her family by sewing men's suits. She lived far away from Nashville, which is where her suits were sold. She would send them to stores via ferry in Granville. She also made all of the clothing her children wore, from the skin out.

I remember my great grandmother quilting and crocheting. I have baby shoes she made for either sis or me. I am also blessed to have several of her quilts. I cherish them. I am a bad blogger and didn't take any pictures before sunset.

My mom didn't quilt. She did crochet and made great clothes. I'm still wearing some flannel lounging pants she made me. I will be very sad when they wear out. I also have an afghan she made me. I inherited her sewing things. I went through some tonight looking for Velcro. Made me miss her so very much. I'm sure there are snaps and buttons in that box that are older than I am.

Let me say again, I am very proud to come from a long line of talented women. I deeply miss them tonight.

Rest in peace sweet ladies...