Sew and Gather

I have been sewing the last few nights after work but I haven't been making pretty quilt blocks or finishing one of my many ufo's. The sewing I've been doing is the kind I don't like to do.....mending and 'need to' sewing. My youngest bought a couple of tops that were too long but they were 'such a good deal', she bought them and asked me to hem them up. That was two months ago! Hey, we had holiday happenings!! She should've known better. lol

The sewing I did last night was for the office I work at. There are small windows above the doors in the building and at around 3:30-4:00, the sun shines right through the window, into a mirror and in my boss's eyes. Now, we could've just moved the mirror but it gives the boss a straight shot to the door coming into the office and if I'm not here, she can at least see if the boogy man is coming in to get her. hehe So, I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond for some other office things and could not find anything for the size window we have, 16" x 35". I thought maybe I could buy a valance to stick up there but they had few to choose from. They did have a clearance rack though and I found a tab-top panel, about 54" x 81". I bought two tension rods and the panel for $4.99 and made a little curtain. Not much in the "looks" department but it does the trick. The boss is happy and now everybody is happy. (I'm the only other one that works here so that didn't take much!) LOL

And with all the snow storms I've seen on the news the last few nights, I thought I would share this picture too. Looking out the office door. I don't usually have the door open because it's very noisy. We have a bus depot right outside the door and a little farther is the Amtrak train station. Between buses and trains, it's not exactly 'phone friendly'. And if you look really hard, you can see Newport Beach! LOL.....okay, that's a lie but it is that direction and if you drove about 45 minutes, then you'd see it. Such a comedian today. hehehehe

My sister Isabel and I are take a class at Road to California next week. It's a Bonnie Hunter class of Quiltville.com called Jared Takes a Wife. Isabel and I have both been quilting for a while and we both "collect" fabric. She is using some Robyn Pandolph from her stash that she was going to use on another project. I am going to use this Moda fabric called Cinnamon Stars. It was out, gee I don't know, maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I was going to make a quilt from Jodi Barrows but couldn't get that ol' square in a square technique so I'm a Jodi Barrows drop out. So the fabric went in a bag for 'another day' and well, 'another day' is next week and I'm going to use it for this class.

I'll use the reds for the bigger star points and maybe these golds and yellows for the smaller star points of the block. I'm still playing with the design in EQ7.

It looks pretty good together. I also found some fq's from Fig Tree that I've had sitting for-ever!!

I just have to figure out if I want to pull in the green or maybe use a chocolate brown. I've got to decide soon because I have to pre-cut my fabrics for the class. Good thing my 'mending' is done!! :o)

A few more finishes

Last night, I made a small set of curtain panels out of that same mushroom fabric I used for the make-up bag for my daughter, Kelley. She has a bathroom that faces a walkway and said she was concerned for her privacy when the window is open. These little panels should do the trick. I whipped them up pretty quick using the serger to attach the red strips and sewing a little casing with my regular machine.

Then, I had this UFO sitting in a basket in my sewing room. I looked on my blog to see if I posted about it before and I had. Last year!!! Here. Honestly, how do these projects sit so long without finishing themselves before I get back to them? How??? lol

It's a caddy/mat for your machine to give you storage pockets when you have limited space.....or if you just want something cute to look at while you're sewing! Part of it sits under the machine, but it's also a tote so you can haul your project, mat and some supplies in it. Pretty clever, huh?

The pattern is called "Sewing Machine Mat and Caddy" by Sheila Cautillo and it was put out by a local quilt shop, Flying Geese Fabric, Inc. They designed it using the Sandcastle fabric on the outside and the pretty fabric on the inside but I flipped it around. Why let the pretty lining hide under your sewing machine? This fabric has been in my stash for a while. I loved the butter yellow with the red and black designs but didn't know what to do with it. I thought this was a good project for the bigger design.

The little trash tote is attached with Velcro and the pincushion is just stuffed with poly fiber fill and stitched onto the bag. There is also a pocket for a ruler or other supplies behind the other pockets. My Sandcastle got stained a few years ago when we had a flood but I used it for this project anyway. The stained parts are inside the bag and on this pocket.

Okay, what else can I work on??? Let me at it. I'm on a roll! lol

C'mon Over!

I finally finished the curtains in my spare room. It's seems kind of goofy to have half of the room all modern shelving from Ikea and the other half old stuff with a country look but it's just a spare room right? No sense in going to Pottery Barn and spending a small fortune on furnishings. Like I can afford PB! Good thing they give the catalog away for free or I couldn't afford that either!!!
So here's the front window.

I kinda sorta hate mini blinds but my rooms face the street and I have to have some privacy for those late nights sewing and playing with stamps. They're cheap and they work. What can I say?
I found some buttons in my sewing box to make fabric covered buttons. So I put some of the check fabric on them for a decorative touch. Look at me trying to be Martha Stewart!! lol

And this is the room all done. :o) It's so small I can't get far enough away to get a picture.

I still haven't found a place for all the stuff that I took out of this room and that I don't want back in this room. I think I'll be making a donation to my local charity this week (because all the leftover stuff is in the game room and that room is practically sacred!!) hehe

So, c'mon over!!! :o)

Father's Day Fun

Stephanie and Kelley came over to cook their daddy a Father's Day breakfast. I love breakfast and was so happy to participate (in the eating). They made bacon and waffles and cut up fresh strawberries and bananas. It was delish! Here are the cooks with their daddy.

You better believe the youngest daughter, Ashley got grief for not being there for the cooking process but managed to get there for the eating process. lol She tried confessing that she played five softball games on Saturday but the older sisters weren't too sympathetic. I recruited her for the clean up and she couldn't even argue about it. :o)

Let me back up a few days to Tuesday. I went and picked up my mom for a little visit before taking her to my older sister's house on Saturday. Friday, we made a trip to Michaels. My mom loves to make jewelry and it keeps her very busy and ingrossed. That evening when we got back, my hubby was playing golf and mom was in "her room" (the guest room) making jewelry so I got a few minutes in the sewing room to play too. I finally finished the valances for "her room". :o) This is the small window over the bed. I might paint that rod, I'm not sure yet. It's just plain wood and I suppose it makes sense to have it be black or cream colored. The picture of the big window didn't come out. Too much glare from the sunshine outside.

I still need to use the little check that I bought for the side panels. Hopefully, I'll get that done in the next night or two and I can share that finished project!!