It's finished... but not quite....

I was doing a baby gift for a friend.  It had horses I embroidered.  It was really cute.  I liked it.  I was sewing, ragging it as I went.  I completed it.  I was going to give it to her.  I noticed a corner coming undone.  I fixed it... until she washed it.  Unfortunately as I was sewing it, I think my sewing machine malfunctioned.  Since tomorrow is a federal holiday, my machine is going into the shop and I am borrowing my mom's, so that when my friend returns home, I can retrieve said quilt and re-do it.  I'm not sure I ever want to do another project for sale again.  Yes- she paid me for it, and now I feel really, really bad.  She is the easy come, easy go, type of gal, and since I'm fixing it, I don't think she has a problem with it.  I'm just sad/disappointed/frustrated that said stitches didn't hold up.  My machine made a funny noise, and I should have stopped, but I was on a deadline and wanted it done.  I looked at the stitches- I was cutting to them- as I was sewing them.  They looked like they were locking, but obviously something was wrong.  We'll see what happens when my machine goes to the shop.

Which puts a damper on my plans for tomorrow.  My mom and I got some really pretty quilted fabric in Germany this fall and I was planning on making my Mom's vest tomorrow.  I have her machine, but I have now officially lost all my sewing mojo for the day.  We shall see.  It doesn't help that the Nebraska women's basketball team and the Packers both lost, but oh well.  At least I can root for Prince next weekend against the 49ers.  On the plus side, I did get a lot of my living room cleaned up so I can vacuum tomorrow.  There are also only 34 days until pitchers and catchers start reporting... ah baseball, please come soon.

After this run on ramble, I need to get back to organizing my fabrics, so more later.  I will also figure out how to make my computer and blog happy to post pictures again.

G

It's been a while...

Well, it's a good thing my dad only wants cookies for Christmas, because that's certainly what he got.  My mom's Christmas is still a WIP, but it has been put on the back burner for a friend's baby gift.  I'm making an embroidered horse quilt for her to give one of her friends.  I will be finished with it on Thursday, and can then return to the cross-stitch for my mom.  One thing that has slowed me down a little is the starting of school.  However, it has caused me to be a little more deliberate about my schedule.

I did finally finish the book for my niece, and next time I am either doing double pages or single pages with rings holding it in.  Single page binding is for the birds.  However, it is finished and they did receive it.  I also think they like it, my brother called it great.

I was going to post some pictures, but the computer is not cooperating with the blog, so more will have to come later.  I just wanted to get this up.

G

Christmas Stitching

The Little Mermaid is still in time out, so I've been working on a picture for my mother.  It's the 3rd of 3 that I'm doing.  She got the 1st one when I was still in college- about 7 years ago.  I found 2 more that kind of round out the set, and she got one of those last year for Christmas.  (Which all came about when she asked if there were more to go with the first one.)

The girl with the blue bonnets came first, then the goat herder, and now I'm working on the flower girl.  Had I realized it 8 year ago, I would have just bought the book, but the book colors didn't match her decor the way the kit did.  They actually stitch really fast, even though it is counted cross stitch.
I'll add my own photos when I get the 3rd finished and a group photo of them.
I am also working on Brave Knight, which is my first stamped cross stitch pattern.  I'm really kind of enjoying it.  I wasn't sure how I would like the stamped part, but so far it seems to be okay.  I will probably put a fresh backing on it and re-bind it when I complete it, but we'll see what day it is when I actually complete it.

 I have almost completed on star and the k on knight.  I started working on it Saturday, so I feel my progress isn't too bad.  I also caught a cold on Friday, which has limited my productivity.  Good thing there are basketball games to listen to during the evenings.

I have also started a new baby quilt, but I am still in the thinking/designing stage, so I don't know when I will have pictures of that.  The original idea was to embroider some of the larger fabric motifs on a batik in 4 patch blocks, but I'm not sure I want to do that now, since I am also cross-stitching Brave Knight for the little guy.  I also don't know that I want to hand embroider 56 four inch blocks.

I'm going to a quilt shop with a friend that is about 45 minutes away tomorrow, so I think I'll look for a  piece of fabric for the back of the Brave Knight, even though I just started it.  I'm also hoping that I can convince my mother to bind it for me.  I want to put satin binding on it because I know babies like it, but it is one of the worst things I have ever attempted to sew.

Bye for now.
G

Progress!

I finished the rag quilt for my coworker.  He loved it.  He made the comment that they had gone to a baby shower for a friend who received a quilt and his wife was sad they hadn't gotten one, so he was pretty excited about it and thought she would be, as well.  SCORE!  I love it when people appreciate my quilts.

The little mermaid is in time out, and I'm not sure when I'll pick her back up.  I have 2 more phrases to embroider on a book for my niece before I assemble it, but those should go rather quickly.  There's always football to watch tomorrow to suck up time while I hand stitch.

It's a very short post for now.  When I complete the book I'll have pictures of it and the finished quilt.  I did buy the fabric for my Liberty Baltimore Album quilt.  I have another baby quilt to get started on for a friend, and then I will be prepping the Liberty.  I'm contemplating purchasing the Christmas one while I'm at it, but I haven't decided.  I think I'm going to take Katie's (of Katie's Quilting Corner) idea of wrapping fabric around comic book cardboards.  I have before pictures of my space, but since it's not complete, I don't have any afters.  It's clean (sort of), but it has a long way to go before I am happy with it.  Right now I use it as storage for supplies and work in the "living room."  One perk of living alone is you don't have to worry about what others want to use the room for.

See you soon.
G

Yesterday I finished cutting out all the squares for my coworker's baby's quilt.  Today I started sewing them together.  Tomorrow I am going with a friend to a quilt shop about an hour away.  Friday is a federal holiday, so I don't have to work.  For some reason my boss at my part time job also gave me the day off, so I am planning to complete the rag quilt for my coworker.

I have made progress on my dad's Christmas present, which is a cross-stitched picture of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.  I would say I have it about 1/2 done.  The hard part with the similar grays is about complete, so then it's onto the mermaid herself, some water, (which is rippling lines and not a complete fill in) and the sun.  Pictures will come later.

I have several embroider projects perculating, but I need to finish the baby quilt and at least my dad's cross-stitch picture before I begin another one.  I am also contemplating between a cross-stitch picture for my mom, which is about a 1/4 done or a Christmas tree wall hanging that I put some of my grandmother's costume jewelry on.

We also have several pins that either my grandfather or great-grandfather won in track.  I am trying to formulate a plan in my head to display these as well.  They are getting closer, but I have several other things which need to be completed before I can start sketching those out.

I made pages of a book for my niece about 8 months ago- the handwork was done by her birthday in April, but I have to sew the pages together yet, so that will be a Christmas gift for her.  I will have to figure out how to attach rickrack, which will represent waves, but I am trying to determine the best way to assemble the book- do I use grommets and rings, or do I sew it together as a regular book is?  I'm not sure.  I have another book in the works for her, which will be an ABC book of Disney characters.  I have all the pieces I think I will need to applique them, but that book is still in the design stages.  I think on this one, I will put an index in the back so my brother and sister-in-law will know which movies the characters came from.  (My brother is not as up on his Disney as I am.)

I think that is all for now, and I will try to post pictures this weekend.  My dad is going to give me a portable storage device, so I'm hoping that will free up enough room on my computer to download all my pictures.


Gretchen

I'm Baaack

Sorry it's been a while.  I've been in Germany for the past few weeks.  Then it was trying to get caught back up.  Anyway... I started a new dresser scarf while on my journeys, along with a new baby quilt.  I have one baby quilt to get completed in the next week or so, but it will just be squares ragged together.  Then I have another quilt I'm making for a friend, which I hope to have complete and to her by the beginning of December.  I also have some napkins to embroider for my sister-in-law and a vest to make for myself, and possibly a skirt for my niece.  (She wears 18 months.  I don't think it will take that long to make.)  I also have a cross-stitch picture to make for my mother for Christmas.  I don't know if it will get done or not.  I hope it does.  I hope to be starting the quilt for my friend Wednesday, it will be significantly smaller than the one I made earlier.  I heard from the couple I made the baby quilt for, and they loved it.  I love making things for people who appreciate them.  It's a short post, but that's all I have for now... I'll post pictures as I complete projects.

It's Done!!!!

I finished the 1st baby quilt on Thursday of last week.  I had help from my dad taking pictures of it Saturday evening.  I really like how it turned out, but it is huge!  I obviously need help determining sizes of quilts.  I'm going to make another rag quilt for a coworker, but I'm hoping I can start it Saturday and finish it Wednesday, so I can wash it and give it to them before we leave next Friday.  I have determined my vacation project, I think.  I'm hoping to work on some Precious Moments Children of the World cross stitch.  I have been working on it since I was a senior in high school.  I think I have about 5 blocks done with about 8 to go.  Some are in various stages of completion.  I will try to post some pictures before I go, but no guarantees.  I have been doing the PM blocks on muslin with waste canvas.  I hope I have enough waste canvas.  I know it is still available, but I don't recall which count I was using.  I have also started "collecting" civil war reproduction prints for either a Dear Jane quilt or to use with the Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt.  I haven't decided which I will be using.  I kind of just like the idea of doing a bunch of little quilt squares. 

I know it's a small picture.  Maybe when I return from my trip I will work on resizing it. The blocks are approximately 8.5" x 8.5".  The final quilt ended up being around 42.5" x 52".  I really like how it turned out.  One thing I learned from this though, is that pins are my friend and I can make my sewing machine go slower when quilting large X's on squares of fabric.