My Carafe Needs a Bib!

It never fails that after the morning coffee I have coffee on the counter and sometimes, dripped down my clean cabinet doors beneath the coffee pot.  All carafes leak.  I can be so careful to pour my coffee but there is that drip that will linger on the edge of the pour spout that finally makes it way to my counter.  Then you get a husband in there who does not care that it drips and you have a coffee puddle.  

My carafe needed a bib! 

So I made one!

Now, I thought all my problems were solved and I was so proud of myself for solving one little problem.  I even made coffee and drank two extra cups in the afternoon just to make sure it would work.

This morning I came in and made the usual pot of coffee and my carafe was wearing it's brand new bib.  I asked my husband if he would like to serve himself a cup of coffee while I watched.  It worked!  He poured his cup without one drip!  

I'm so happy!

Then he asked if he could pour me a cup and with that devilish smirk  he gets he started pouring before he was over my cup!  

Ugh!!!

Well, it doesn't cure the devil in those men but it did stop the drip from coming off the edge of the pour spout.

I made my bib from a fat quarter and the pattern just fits from corner to corner on printer paper.  

Click on picture then right click to save image to print.

Here is my plan.  

• Place on fabric putting fold edge on fold.
• Cut two pieces for front and back.  
• Put right sides together and stitch around the entire pieces but leaven an opening big enough for turning.  
• Turn the fabric right side out going through the opening created.
• Press. Hand stitch or top stitch around the opening.  

Remember that coffee will stain so starting with a color that is already a coffee color made sense to me. 

I think I need another cup of coffee!

And the Winner Is.....

How fun!  Think Christmas has ended but the inspiration from all those great ideas will continue.
 I hope everyone found something that is perfect for you.

I have a Giveaway to complete.
 I used a random selection to pick my winner.
I do wish I could give everyone a stocking panel but since I can only do one I had to pick.  
And now I know who my winner will be.

The beautiful stocking panel by Jacquelynne Steves will be sent to 

Rosemary

Congratulations!

Her comment was:

Wow! That's your first quilt-love the "wonky" trees-reminds me of some of the real ones I've had! Your adaptation of the 12 monkeys into the 12 squirrels is great. We all learn from our mistakes no matter what our age. What kind of a machine did you get? Thanks for the opportunity to win some great Christmas stuff-that would really motivate me.
Rosemary

 So Rosemary please, email me privately telling me where to send your package . 
I used the email address provided and emailed you at the time of this post.   

Thank you all for your recent comments!
 I had so much fun doing the blog hop! 
I hope to do another soon.

Think Christmas Blog Hop & Giveaway

Think Christmas Blog Hop!
Its Time!  

Christmas in July!  

I am so excited to share what I have been doing with all of you.  

This is my first pieced quilt.  Last month I completed a Christmas cheater panel but that doesn't count .  

A special thank you to  Madame Samm for her inspiration and to Lesley, the Cuddle Quilter for hosting.  

Animal skins backing along with a huge fabric ribbon and bow.

So here it is....mistakes and all!
I could tell you how I worked and drew and threw things away, and spilled pins, ripped out stitches and wore out my old sewing machine and cried and pouted and procrastinated but I will not burden you with that.

When I told Linda, my sister that I was making all sorts of mistakes she said, "Oh, well.  You could just write a humorous blog."

I have been so involved in my Christmas blocks this month the family has started singing Christmas songs and thinking Christmas right along with me. And if they are not, I have gentle reminders to Think Christmas.  My friend, Ellen, just closed on her new house.
I went to see it, looked at the bare living room and immediately said, "The Christmas tree will look great...right there!"

Think Christmas!!!

My Think Christmas July adventure has been to learn a new skill: Paper Piecing!

And what fun it has been.
My daughter and I sat down in front of an online tutorial and tried to follow it piece by piece, read the instructions, questioned the instructions, tried the steps, threw up our hands, tried again, changed tutorials and finally...
Got it!
And realized it is sew easy!
You just have to understand the first two steps and the rest will fall into place.

At first it was going to be only one block, 

just a little peppermint I designed .... did it.

Then on an impulse drew up a Christmas tree
and it looked so easy, I ended up doing nine and made it into a Christmas quilt.

I'll get back to the peppermints later.

Here are the details of the quilt:

Squirrels Christmas is 52" x62",
includes my version of a popular children's story
"Twelve little squirrels scampering up the Christmas trees,
One fell off and hurt his knee
Mama called Santa, and said he,
"No more squirrels scampering up the Christmas trees."
"Merry Christmas To All Creatures Great and Small" circles the border.
Twelve squirrels are hanging around but you will have to seek them out.You will find them on the nine blocks with Christmas trees.  Each block is different.
They are quiet little creatures going about their business in the trees, under the trees, skating the slopes or just chattering from below.
And the Christmas trees are decorated in red ribbon bows stitched to the branches. 

 The Squirrel's Christmas Quilt Pattern can be found either on my Etsy site or my Craftsy site as an Instant Download.

Giveaway Details!

Don't Miss out on My Giveaway!
I have an adorable stocking panel Joy.Love.Peace.Noel by Jacquelynne Steves for Henry Glass & Co.

 I bought a panel  for myself to make up
 and a second panel to share in a Giveaway.

Don't Miss Out!
To qualify for the stocking panel make sure you are one of my followers and leave a comment on this post.
The winner will be randomly selected at the end of our blog hop on August 6th.
Check back!

Joy.Love.Peace.Noel by Jacquelynne Steves for Henry Glass & Co

Here are the bloggers participating in 
Think Christmas 
July 30, 2012

Cotton Addiction

Vroomans Quilts

Kris Loves Fabric 

Moosestash Quilting

Paws for Stitching

Threading My Needles 

Just Let Me Quilt

Living4quilting

Doodling in my Mind  (You are here)

Quilt Doodle Designs

Hope you are having fun!
I am!
Merry July Christmas!

Think Christmas Sneak Peek

 

Yikes!  I am down to hours now!

And me with more more to do!

 Well, I loaded my bobbins and tied my bows!

I guess, it is time to go!

 

Fun Fabric Art

Is it just me or are your summers stressful sometimes?
All that fun can be just down right tiring!

The finished product: After adding alcohol, drying and then outlining in black with Sharpie.

The last few days six of my eleven grandchildren are together in my house and although it is fun it is not the normal chaos I am used to having. The kids are either hanging out on the couch or playing video games or eating or outside hurting themselves on their bikes,  or eating or swimming or oh, there is always...eating!

So when I asked my daughter-in-law if she had a bottle of alcohol she thought I had taken to drinking!

Uh...no!

The beginning: Adding color with sharpies on fabric

I just wanted rubbing alcohol for an art project.

 When it gets stressful at my house I turn to art projects. That is if I am not going to be grumpy....I recognize that not everyone is like that.  Some of them live in my house and wonder why in the world I keep starting projects.  But it makes me a happy woman to be creative and the grandchildren really love doing some of the projects.  

I keep Sharpies in all colors.  I buy pens even if I think I might be low.    I have all sizes, all colors and often two of the  colors.  I have been working on a quilt lately which means I have fabric nearby in various colors.

1. I cut up cotton muslin in easy to handle sizes(mine or about 8" x 10"), pressed out the wrinkles then taped it to recycled paper to absorb the seepage of the ink from the Sharpies.  
2. Then I showed the kids how to draw with fine tip markers, leaving enough white space for the ink to spread when the alcohol is added. 
3. Once we finished drawing, we taped the fabric over a disposable plate or a glass baking dish or whatever you can find to suspend the fabric so it is not flat on a surface.  Using an eye dropper drip alcohol on the fabric and let the ink spread.
4. Let dry completely.
5. After dry, detail with a black ultra fine Sharpie.

Tip: Be careful not to put complementary colors next to each other unless you want drab colors. Complementary colors are red and green; blue and orange; and yellow and purple.  You may want to experiment a little with color and see which colors work best.  Yellow spreads well and is a great blender color for greens, and oranges.  

WARNING: Have enough fabric, the kids will love it so much they will want to do more than one. 

Twas the Week Before Blog Hop

Twas the week before blog hop and all through my house,
the machines are humming, and even the spouse!
The blocks are arranged and the sashings to spare,
and with stitches still needing to make the repairs.

And I in my nightgown and Papa in bed,
Could not settle down for evening...instead
Up in the night to finish my quilt.
I hastened my pace and quickened my guilt.
"I can't finish in time! I started too late."
I haven't the skills and can't meet the date!"

But yet, the day continues to draw near,
and all that should happen is all coming clear.
With great anticipation, and many good cheers,
the piecers are working and soon will be here!

















Think Christmas Blog Hop!

Paper beads for the kids to make!

 Paper Beads for the Kids to Make

Paper beads (Length  3/4") Completed by a 4 and 6 year old. 

On a recent shopping trip I found a display of colorful necklaces handmade by Uganda women.  They were so beautiful I bought my fair share and gave out some to my granddaughters, keeping a necklace for myself.  

I have never seen a craft I did not want to try so keeping to my nature I had to go home and start cutting strips to try to make the beads myself.   Of course, my grandchildren, keeping to their nature, wanted to do it, too.

To my surprise I found they were occupied for a long period of time , working intently on getting the beads made.  The carried through making more beads the following day.  We made a visit to our local Walmart and purchased stretchy cord for stringing the beads into bracelets which pleased the children again.  

Child's handmade paper bead bracelet. 

All in all this project is a winner in my eyes.  No expensive components to purchase, in fact, we recycled our paper.  The beads are very simple to assembly and even the little ones could do it. 

 Here is how I did it:

• Cut long narrow strips as wide as you want the bead to be, tapering to the end. (We made them about 3/4" at the widest and a quarter inch at the narrowest.)  
• Any kind of paper will work.  Get colored paper from magazines or whatever.  Printer paper weight or newspaper weight works best.  We used blue construction paper and it is was on the heavy side making the end pop up where we glued it. 
• Wet the strip so it rolls easily, no need to soak, just get it a little wet to make it conform easily and start wrapping around a round toothpick starting with the widest end and tapering to the narrow end. 
•  Use a little school glue on the inside of the strip as the end gets closer so it will stay in place.  We brushed it on with a paint brush then coated the entire bead but not the toothpick. 
•  Let dry overnight. 
• Use clear fingernail polish, or a clear varnish to coat the bead for a glossy appearance. 
• Create a pattern of beads as long as is needed.
• String into a bracelet with a elastic cord.  (.5 or .7) (We found a products called Stretch Magic  another called Beadalon Elasticity.  I'm sure there are other brands.)
• Knot the cord and add a dot of Super Glue to keep the knot secure. 

The beads and bracelets shown in this blog were completed by a 4 and 6 year old.   They loved them!  

Think Christmas Blog Hop Update

I am scheduled for July 30th Think Christmas blog hop and have been working frantically getting my blocks done.  As always, I started with an idea, which evolved to another idea, which evolved to another idea so I am anxious to see myself where this idea ends!

In the meantime, I am having fun working on my paper piecing crafts!
So don't go stagnant this summer, keep working your crafting skills!  You'll be glad you did!

Get your I Can on!

I am pulling out all sorts of fabric scraps in Christmas colors and diving into drawing of all kinds of Christmas  ideas to put together in preparation of a blog hop I have agreed to do.  See the link on my sidebar. 

The big reveal will be July 30th!

I love that I committed myself to show something I have never done before.  (That statement has just a touch of sarcasm  but only a touch because it is thrilling to learn a new thing.) 

My friend, Becky reminded me that the first time I met her she was showing me how to weave baskets and I told her on that day, "I have always believed I can do anything.  I just need the instructions."

That may sound like a touch of arrogance but the truth is it is just the sort of upbringing that enabled me with a confidence to try new things.   Now, that does not include trying things like sushi....I just can't go there!  I am not a great admiring of things fishy.  And trying new things does not mean you master it all or that you enjoy it all but just that you are willing to give it a good try.  

So here I go....trying a new thing.

Paper Piecing is the new direction I am heading!  

So I have drawn out my plans and am trying to figure out how it all works together...

Stay tuned!  

July 30th is my day to show it all off.  

I have a month.  

I also, want to put in a plug for all of you people out there up for a good Sketchbook Challenge.  

I recieved my copy of the book.

Sketchbook Challenge  (Amazon link)
by Sue Bleiweiss 

Sue's blog

and have been pouring over it.  

It is top notch!  

I recommend it and I am not getting any sort of royalties 

and have no connections to anyone in the book other than being a follower on some of their blogs.  

I am just recommending it because it is a good book and to my surprise it has connected my painting interests  with my new found fabric arts into some of the sketchbook projects.

So today, get your "I CAN" on and try something new!

I promise it will make your day better!

Summer Heat Up

Even in the shade today the temperatures are rising and it is just plain hot!  

I think our temps are getting up into the 100's now and yesterday it was 106 which is how hot it is expected to be today.

I went to Lowe's the other day and purchased misters to hang in the trees where we like to sit in the evening while the kids play outside.  It is supposed to make the temperature seem about 10 or 20 degrees lower.  But so far, no one has volunteered to hang them for me.  I may have to figure it out myself and just do it.  I can just see me hanging from the trees...and stuck!

It could be a new version to the "Help!  I've fallen and can't just up."
It could be, "Help!!  I've climbed up and can't get down!" 

Aside from the heat I have been working on little sundresses for the little girls.  (I say, it is for the little girls but actually, I have seen grown women wearing the same thing for blouses and with the width being at least 42 inches around if you fit it you can wear it. I have not gotten up the nerve to even try it.  I don't want to know if it doesn't fit me.  I can remember when I would have had room to wiggle in it.  Long ago!)

  I have designed the fabric panels for two different pillowcase dresses that are adjustable in size from 2 to 6X or thin women.

Usually a pillowcase dress is made using wide ribbon for straps but   my grand-daughters didn't like the big bows on the tops of their arms because the ribbon tickled them.

Instead I just made straps for them that are not adjustable. (Ran it through the casing and tack it in place once I established the proper width)

 Without the embellishment of the big bows on the top of the shoulders I felt the dresses needed something more.

For Reese who is six I added a silk flower pin.  I disassembled a silk flower from Walmart I had on hand and re-glued the flower pedals to the back of a rhinestone piece and then glued all of it to the back of a  pin back.  It can be removed during washings.

I pinned it to the base of the strap on the upper bodice. 

 Blakely is only two and a little petite girl.  I added a touch of daisy trim I found on her straps and made a ribbon bow glued to a  pin back

and pinned a bow on each side.  Her bows can be removed for laundering.

Look pretty!

Feel cool! 

Fabric Pillowcase Dress Panels are available.  The pattern is printed directly to the fabric so all you do is cut and sew.  Two styles available in my Spoonflower Shop.

Hearts all a Flutter (pinks and minty greens)
and
Blakely's Pillowcase Dress (Bright yellow, pink and a touch of green)

Hearts All A Flutter fabric collection is available by swatch, fat quarter or yards.

 

Peppermint Candy Christmas Quilt

Quilting Mamas are all around me!  

I could not escape it if I tried.  

Linda, my sister  is biggest into it and she is the one responsible for twisting my arm into doing fabric design on Spoonflower.

So when I finally caught the bug most of them said, 

"Finally!"

Oh, boy, did I feel dumb when I had questions on every step I took.   I was determined to complete it all myself including the free motion stippling.

I made it through the construction fairly simply because I was using a cheater panel I had created and had printed on fabric.  How hard is that?

But then I wanted to start the real quilting part....the sandwiching of the layers with stitches....
The Magic.....Free Motion!


I twisted and turned all the dials on my old machine that I possibly could trying to make the magic that you would know to be free motion stitching.
I twisted it to the left and found the knots of thread waiting for me under the quilt.
Then I twisted to the right and thread hovered on top
... and still no magic happened.
I twisted my fabric from the right to the left,
 from the left to the right.
Still no magic!
Well, it just couldn't be me because after all.....I CAN DRAW!!!!
How hard can this be?

 It MUST be my old machine!
 
SO...I tried my mother's machine.

Still no magic!

Linda sat down and in about five seconds....magic!

I went back home and practiced!

Well, it may not be magic yet....but I am learning the tricks! 
I have a renewed respect for you quilters out there.  It really is an art. 

And as a side note...I almost completed the quilt on my old machine but...not quite!  As I was putting on the binding around the edges, my old machine ground to a stop and then it would sew only in reverse.  So time for a new machine.  I'm shopping around.

 This quilt is all

Mine!

Mine!!

Mine!!!

All the fabric designs in this quilt are my personal designs available through my shop on Spoonflower .  

This quilt was made from Peppermint Candy Christmas Cheater Panel, Mints for All and Peppermint Candy Christmas.  Other coordinating fabrics are available.  

Find them here.

My friend Mary Ann from Rocknquilts has a Giveaway you may be interested in checking out. The winner will be announced on the Fourth of July (2012).

Check in here to see what she has available.

Thanks, Mary Ann for a great opportunity.