Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday and I'm feeling rather accomplished.

I've been doing a bit of sewing for one of the local quilt shops for a few weeks. Last week, I took 40 half circle napkins and six fabric bowls to them. That was in addition to the original three fabric bowls I'd made the week prior.  These are the initial three. They're autumn, sewing room, and Christmas themed respectively.

 Next came the nested, matching set featuring snowmen. I was given enough fabric to make my own set as well, plus I got to keep all the leftovers and will have enough to make a matching runner for myself!

Then came three more singletons, although two of them are similar.

And then the napkins. I swear I was making napkins in my sleep.

So that's a chunk of recent projects. Here's a look at what Pixel was sleeping on in the last post. I made this for my mother-in-law for last year's Christmas. I used the 10 degree mini wedge ruler from Phillips Fiber Art. The pattern comes with the ruler. I started one for myself and it ended up put away somewhere. It will roll out eventually and I'll finish it. It's really a fun little project.

I was able to use up the leftover strip set pieces as well by designing a coordinating runner.

Pixel really liked the runner too. I was afraid my MIL wouldn't get them in the end! Well not really, since i"m bigger than Pixel. But I digress. The runner's corners and points are all rounded off to fit the style of the table topper better. I was very pleased with the results and so was my mother-in-law. I can't wait to see them in use this Thanksgiving.

I'm off to go have fun with FH and enjoy being alive. Take care!

A Year in Mourning

Or at least that's what it felt like.  I'll fill you in with the Cliff's Notes version.

While I was visiting with my grandmother for the last time I got the call that Marti, my friend I'd organized all the quilting miniatures for, had passed away. We wouldn't be able to make it home in time for her funeral because we were too far away. Plus she'd have wanted me to stay with my grandmother... so we stayed.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the time with my family, but it was bittersweet. Even in all the beauty that is our home. Gus enjoyed himself, despite being confused about sledding on dry stuff that didn't melt.

 Our time together was too short, but isn't it always? We headed home and I was numb. My doctor increased my medication doses and I voluntarily increased the visits to my therapist. Many small family dramas last fall made everything seem more intense and less deal-with-able.

 My grandmother passed in November, two days before FH and I were to celebrate his little brother's wedding. I was sewing around that time. Quilting to be more precise. I focused on projects and just tried to make it through the holidays.

I started to come out of my mental shell in March when another friend for guild, who was very close to Marti, passed away suddenly. For me it was like loosing Marti all over again. I hadn't really been able to mourn her before then.

I was starting to come to terms with things when I was rear ended by a hit and run driver. That wasn't very helpful to my mental health at the time. Fortunately I was only bruised and my car just needed new bumpers. Bumpers plural as he pushed my into the car sitting in front of me as we waiting on a red light to turn green.

Spring came and went without me really noticing. I knew there were things I wanted to do each day, but I couldn't make myself wake up enough to do them. Turns out I needed my medication dose lowered, which we did in July. It took a while for the effects of my meds to even out.

That's ok since I had all the time in the world to wait since in July I tore my lower trapezius muscle and right rotator cuff. That was the polar opposite of fun. I'm still fighting the physical pain from the incident as I type this. My doctor thinks there's a bone spur that broke loose and was hidden by tendons, etc during the initial xrays. Hopefully that will get dealt with sooner rather than later.

So that's where things stand at the moment. Oh and my father was diagnosed with Parkinson's too. Like he needed another autoimmune disease to peck away at him... *sigh*

But I finally have enough mental energy to start posting here again. It will likely be only once a week, like it was last year. I have been working on a few projects off and on for the last year. I'll be trying to fill you all in on those in addition to the current projects.

Here's a something I was working on last fall with a little help from Miss Pixel.

I'll tell you more about it next time. Until then!

The Blog is On Hold

I regret to say I must put my blogging on hold for a few weeks.  My grandmother is very ill and will not be with us much longer.  FH, Gus, and I are getting ready to make the drive back home to New Mexico so I can spend some time with her before she is gone.

I will be taking stitching projects to work on, but I won't be posting pictures until I'm home.

Until we meet again!

A Second Complete Snowlady!

I finished the caroling snowlady this week.

So far I have baking and caroling.  

Next up: ice skating!

Stitching and Minis

I'm still recovering from our trip south last weekend, but I've been busy with projects.  Here's a look at the American Goldfinch.

 All that's left is the background.  I've got less than three skeins of the background color left to work with.  It shouldn't be long now.

While we were on the road last weekend, I wanted a stitching project that was small and easy to work on in the car or while seated with others.  I dug out six small kits for ornaments and got started on one.  This snowlady is baking gingerbread cookies here.

The same snowlady is/will be caroling in this ornament.

Whilst not stitching, I had to start making some minis for my sick friend.  The same friend who is loosing her battle with cancer.  She's been working on a holiday store... not just Christmas, but all the holidays, and hasn't felt up to finish stocking the shelves.  So I decided to give her a hand.

There are lots of teddy bears, six wall hangings, two Halloween pull toys, and two Easter baskets.

I've got some other little things for her holiday shop in mind.  Once I get them figured out I'll be sharing them here.

That's it for this week.  See everyone next time!

No Post for September 1

FH and I just arrived home from a long weekend down south.  No post this week due to complete lack of pictures.  I'll see everyone next Sunday with at least two projects to show off.

Food for Thought

Tuesday evening I played with my favorite autumn side dish: apples 'n onions.  I decided to ignore the entire way I'd been taught to make them and instead work with the ingredients as I would with the skills I have now.

Here's the result:

Caramelized Apples 'n Onions:

1 large Videlia onion, French cut
3 medium to large apples, cored and French cut (I used Kikos)
6 Tbls. butter, divided into 1 Tbls. chunks
a good pinch of Kosher salt (to taste)
3 dashes of cinnamon (to taste)
2 dashes of cardamom (to taste)
3 c. apple juice (you will need enough liquid to cover the apples in your skillet)
1 Tbls. dark brown sugar

- Melt 2 Tbls. butter in a large skillet and saute onions until a few of them begin to brown.

- Add 2 Tbls. butter and the apples and cook until a few apples start to brown.

- Sprinkle cinnamon, cardamom, and salt over the apples and onions and pour enough apple juice over them to just cover the piece.  Raise burner heat to high and bring the juice to a boil.  Cover and simmer over low heat until apples are cooked through.

- Either use a slotted spoon and remove the apples and onions from the liquid or use a strainer to separate solids from liquid, returning the liquid to the pan.

- Reduce the liquid until only 1/3 volume remains, stirring in the dark brown sugar.  Remove from heat and stir in the last 2 Tbls. butter to finish the sauce.  Pour sauce over apples 'n onions.  Enjoy!

Sometimes it's worth revisiting old recipes and recreating them using new skills and knowledge.

On Wednesday and Friday I took the apples 'n onions a step further.

I started with store bought pizza crusts... I didn't have the time nor inclination to mess with making my own.  Then I made a béchamel sauce and threw in some mozzarella cheese to make it lovely and gooey, a bit of dried chili flake for a kick, and a bit of salt.

Once the sauce was in place I added some apple and onion slices, carefully removed from their caramel sauce.  Then I added some of the smoked pork butt roast from Sunday's dinner.  I topped it off with a 12-year aged white cheddar cheese.

Wednesday's results showed us the idea was good, but it needed more coverage from the toppings.  For Friday's pizza, FH suggested that I cut the pork finer to give better coverage and spread the flavor around more.  We didn't skimp on the cheddar cheese on Friday either.

That's all for this week.  My store-bought pastry treat on Friday didn't agree with me.  To be blunt, I've been recovering from a suspected case of food poisoning all weekend.  Luckily, FH didn't share my treat and was spared being ill.  I think next time I'll just make my own dessert too.

See you next week!

Goldfinch!

The goldfinch's body is finished!

All that's left are the brown sections on the cattail and the rest of the background! My new skein of brown came in this week, so I can make sure I keep the dye lot the same.

I modified the eye so it would stand out more from the black cap on his head and added more white to his tail and some where his legs meet his body. After years of staring at goldfinches I kept thinking something was "off." Then it dawned on me that at this angle, I should see the white feathers on the legs and under the tail. 

Also, I may have decided on how I'm going to finish this piece, but that will require a conversation with my other favorite enabler, Brad, aka the guy who lets me play in his woodshop.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

A Busy Week...

...means very little crafting got done.  Ah well.  Having lovely company for a few days was worth it!

I did manage to finish the green section on the American Goldfinch needlepoint.

As you can see, I also removed the incorrectly stitched section of the cattail.  I'll have some new pearl cotton for that section in a few days.  It won't take long to restitch.

That's all for this week.  I'm hoping I'll have more time this coming week to work on fun things.  Here's hoping!

Minor Progress

Not much to report for this week.  It was fairly hectic with meetings and social events, so I wasn't home much.  No real time for either minis or stitching.  But I did get the black cap on the goldfinch done and finished up another skein of the background color.  I've also started in on finishing the cattail leaf.  

I decided I am going to remove the woven stitch on the cattail and redo it so the white doesn't show through.  However this means I can't redo it until I get another skein of the correct color and size of pearl cotton.  I'll either have to order it on line or drive to the next closest city to get it.  Paying twice the cost of the single skein for shipping is still cheaper than the gas to drive, but it doesn't sit well with me.  Besides, this way I can browse my favorite needlework shops.

I did figure out a color for the interior walls of the Peach and have one coat in place.  I have overnight company coming this week, so I need to get the second coat in place, paint the trim, and move the shop back to the dresser.  If I have time after cleaning the house, I'll get the windows and door worked on.

That's all for now.  I hope everyone has fun this coming week!

Projects and Classes

This past week really few by!  I spent Monday to Wednesday in classes taught by Susan of Foxview Needlepoint.

Monday saw myself and ten friends learning new needlepoint stitches for this American goldfinch.  Each canvas was hand-drawn by Susan.  It might take a while, but the stitches are not overly complex and the subject is something I enjoy.  This is how much I managed to complete during the class period:

Tuesday morning, ten of us (a different mix of ladies) learned the technique of rug hooking.  Most of the students chose a sheep design, two others worked pumpkins.  I brought my own kit that I found at one of the local quilt shops, a Christmas stocking ornament.  I managed to finish the hooking Tuesday afternoon at the guild meeting.

Wednesday there was a lecture on choosing colors for our needlework designs.  Nothing to really photograph for this class.  But I did get more of the Goldfinch done.  I also thought to get a picture of my canvas with the sample picture.

Somehow through all this I managed to get a second coat of paint on the Peach's exterior.  I also got the trim sections and bay window primed with gesso, and got one coat of paint on the bay window's top.

Currently Goldfinch looks like this.

I decided to change the eye section, so the two white stitches that were there are now gone.  I also decided I don't care for the more open weave on the cattail, so that's all coming out and I'll stitch it again with a tighter weave once I get a replacement skein of the correct pearl cotton.  But I did finish up 1 out of 7 total skeins for the background color!

Bolts and Quarters

Happy Sunday, folks!  I'm still not feeling as great as I felt prior to Joe's untimely death.  Truthfully it's been a rough couple of weeks.  But I'm hanging as tough as I can.

I wanted mindless projects this week.  Things I could do whilst listening to the television.  So I made 24 more bolts for the quilt shop.  By the by, I've decided to call the shop "The Patchwork Peach."  Anyways, some of these fabrics came from another "scrap bin" that I'd totally forgotten about... to the tune of I discovered it in the workroom closet.  The other fabrics were given to me by two ladies in Guild.

 

I've started figuring out what types of fabric I'm still looking for.  It's mainly tiny holiday prints, specifically Easter, St. Patrick's Day, and Thanksgiving.  I've got a few for Valentine's Day and several for Halloween, Independence Day, and Christmas.  It would really be cool to find some for Hanukkah!  I'm also looking for prints that would be found in the "kids" section.  A few more micro ginghams and small homespun prints would also be nice.  Half the fun of making these bolts is the hunt for the fabrics!

I thought it would be fun to show all 262 miniature bolts in one photo.  Making bolts is only partially mindless, since I like to name my fabrics.

The really mindless project was folding  and gluing min fat quarters.  I doubled the amount in this bin.  I've still got a few thousand to go before I can really get started making my bundles.  But I did make it through the last part of "Waking the Dead," series 5, and all three series of "Wallander" while I worked.

I have to go back to concentrating tomorrow.  I'm taking a needlework class from 9-4pm Monday.  Then rug hooking workshop on Tuesday and attending a seminar on using colors in needlework on Wednesday!  By Thursday I'll be ready for mindlessness again.  

See you next week!

Working on the Quilt Shop

Happy Sunday, everyone!

I've gotten most of the interior primed and ready for painting.  Not sure what color I'll choose, but it will probably be something neutral.

I also spent a bit of time cleaning in the workroom.  No, I don't have photos.  It's just too cluttered yo see any improvement.  However I did find some minis that I plan on using in the quilt shop.  These are all gifts from friends and family over the years.

Here's a closer view of the bunny doll and turkey decoration.  I might figure out how to make more of these.  Might.  It depends on my mood.

Also I took a picture of some furniture Aunt Pat me for the shop.

I think the table on the left will look nice with some sort of table covering and some samples and/or fat quarter bundles on it.  The cabinet needs some work, but may end up with a runner draped over one of the doors.  They are both going to stay in the attic room.  The two smaller tables will be put where ever they'll fit on the lower floors.

That's pretty much all for this week.  I've been reading some neat books on needlework I found at the library, which is taking up lots of time.

See you all next weekend!

All of the Things!

I started out moving structures around the house in the attempt at making room for a new printer when we finally get one.  The building for the quilt shop was moved upstairs, which is nice since it's currently sitting where I want it to live.

  Artie "helped."

Then I finalized my sketches for the shelving I need to construct to hold the fabric bolts.  

 I also worked on bolts for my quilt shop and cut fat quarters... lots of fat quarters.  Here are the bolts: 

Then I started making birthday gifts for my mini friends in St. Louis:

- One friend has a HUGE dollhouse that has a wonderful sewing room.  I thought some mini fat quarter bundles would be a nice addition.

- Another friend has been painting miniature watercolor landscapes for a couple of years.  I thought she might like to start her own mini artist's studio.  The portfolio is made of card and covered with a piece of real-life wallpaper that had a neat texture.  The darker "leather" is a football texture scrapbook paper.  I modified the handle from the original by wrapping waxed linen with the scrap-booking paper.  The directions are in Dolls' House Details by Kath Dalmeny.  Same for the watercolor paper with proper deckle edges.

- A third friend had missed two years' worth of birthdays and Christmases, as she was on a mission trip.  She'd been working on a mini quilt shop, so I thought some more fabric and some fat quarter bundles would be a nice addition.  She got three bolts and three bundles, plus one each for each of her last three birthdays and two Christmases.

- I designed a special piece of stitching for Aunt Pat's birthday, but I'll talk more about it further down.  It didn't get finished until Saturday.

Tuesday I woke up late to the news that a friend of ours, Joe, had passed away suddenly on Saturday and his funeral was to be Wednesday night.  That sort of derailed my train of thought for a bit.  FH came home early Tuesday and we cried for a bit.  Joe was 31 years old and it's still unclear as to why he died.  The coroner hasn't released a final report.

After going out for comfort food Tuesday I wandered over to my favorite quilt shop and spied a brilliant blue fat eighth that reminded me of Joe.  he favorite color was blue and this fabric was in the specific shade of his favorite shirt.  It begged to become a bolt of fabric in my quilt shop, so I bought it... and 15 other fat eighths that were neat.  After we got home, I made these:

As I tried to sleep that night I decided we should wear some blue to the funeral, so on Wednesday I made these pins.  They are forget-me-not flower yo-yos, made from the same blue fabric as the miniature bolt.  FH  wore the singleton on his suit jacket and I wore the group of three as a brooch on my shrug.

Then I didn't do much for the rest of Wednesday into Thursday.  Friday we drove south to see friends and I slept for most of the day.

Saturday I finished the last of the stitching on this birthday gift for Aunt Pat.  Originally I was going to turn them into cushions (1.25" square), but there isn't much room in the scene for cushions.

However she needs wall art, so whilst she's in Tuscon, AZ for the N.A.M.E. convention, she's in the market for gilded frames of the correct size.  Aunt Pat gets to visit The Mini Time Machine Museum while she's there.  I'm jealous!  I told her to watch out for witches named Tessie whilst she was there.  I'm afraid if they met there would be more work for me to do for Pat and for Casey to do for Tessie!

Anyways, the design is modified from a piece of embroidery I found in 18th Century Embroidery Techniques by Gail Marsh.  During the 18th century it was popular to work designs completely in chain stitch, usually on muslin garments.  In 1759 (according to Ms. Marsh) the tambour method of embroidery was introduced in Europe.  The differences are mostly visible on the back of the work, but tambour allows for turning curves and corners better.

Aunt Pat's current roombox is set in 1755, so I used plain old chain stitch for the piece.  I chose the colors to coordinate with the doll, who is dressed in pale peach silk.  The foundation fabric is fine cotton lawn, basted onto muslin.  I will probably be the one to frame them once she gets her frames bought.  That will be on another trip south.

We got home late Sunday night.  Then I had to deal with all the unpacking, laundry sorting, oil changing, grocery buying, etc that gets done after a trip.  Happily our neighbor had invited us for dinner tonight, so there wasn't a need to do any cooking.

That's all for now.  I'm working on the quilt shop this week.  We'll see how far I get with any of that.