sewfunquiltsandmore

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T13:55:00.004-06:00

I am spending the New Year weekend/Holiday working on UFOs. So far I have completed quite a few quilt tops,

quilted a full size Christmas quilt,

and made 2 totebags.

I am also working on a few tabletoppers and wallhangings.

Christmas at the Taylor house

2010-12-07T16:02:00.006-06:00

The house is decorated and we are ready for Santa!! I have Christmas everywhere.

Salt and Pepper shakers have taken over the China hutch......Snowmen have replaced teacups.......and garland with lights have replaced all the decor that is usually on the cabinet tops.
I have been busy quilting. Finishing UFOs and working on new projects as well. I finished 2 quilts Saturday and put binding on 3 quilts Sunday. I have made pillows and pillows and pillows. I still have more that I haven't taken pics of......

I have 5 more quilts that I am trying to get completed this year. All Christmas Quilts!! All but 1 is a UFO......I figure any work done on them is better than leaving them on the shelf for another year.

Beading

2010-07-30T12:51:00.004-05:00

I finally gave in and started beading. I took a class many years ago and thought the most important thing learned from it was that beading was not for me.....LOL. I started beading about a month ago and I am really enjoying it. Here are pictures of some of my projects.

Season To Season Winter Crazy Quilt

2010-02-09T15:56:00.002-06:00

the other swap we are doing on the CQ for Newbies group is a Winter Season to Season block. Here is a picture of my block before I send it off to be played with by another CQ Newbie. I really love the polar bear and the fur. The glitz of sequins makes me thing of the snow and ice glinting in the sun on the tips of tree branches.

Crazy Quilt Projects

2010-02-09T15:40:00.004-06:00

Color Study - Red (Flame Red Group)

On one of my yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CQForNewbies/ we are doing a crazy quilt color study and the color for this round is red. I was really

amazed at the number of red beads, ribbons, laces, etc that I already have. I can't wait to get this round robin started.

Christmas in Pennsylvania

2010-02-02T09:37:00.007-06:00

While on the trip to PA - - 20 hour drive - - I worked on some yarn projects. On the trip up I finished a crocheted scarf using Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/cctq-oneskeinscarf.html?noImages=

A cowl knitted with Red Heart Light and Lofty. And worked on a few other things.

While visiting with family, I started a crocheted market bag using Bernat cotton, Christmas Twist. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80803AD.html?noImages=

Months Since the last post

2010-02-02T09:07:00.003-06:00

It has been months and months.....we even started a new year!....since my last post. How about a quick update.

I was Chair for our local Quilt Show which was in October. A full week of setup, judging, vendors, guild members, shopping, event planning, and much more......I was so glad when it was over. Very exhausting. Wonderful experience. Now I can check that off my bucket list. whew!

Most of the remaining part of October I just collapsed and did very little.

November was fairly uneventful.

December was a frenzy of Holiday shopping, partying, and getting ready to travel. We went to Pennsylvania for Christmas with Hubby's family. So, before we left, we had a Christmas Brunch with my family.

Summer Garden

2009-08-18T16:20:00.001-05:00

I have taken a hiatus from the blog to enjoy the garden. There is lots of work to be done to keep the gardens up, but the enjoyment is well worth the effort.

Totebags

2009-03-28T17:59:00.004-05:00

One of the classes I am teaching this summer at the local community college will be these wonderful totebags. They are wonderful for beach or vacation bags, project totes for quilting/knitting/crochet or other crafts, and they make great grocery/market bags.

1 yard of fabric for lining and outside, 1 yard for contrast, and 1 craft size batting package makes 2 totes. These are about 20x18 inches. I also made the straps very long for easy carrying.

Drink Koozies

2009-03-28T17:57:00.003-05:00

I found a wonderful supplier for koozies and have been making tons of them.

Yarn

2009-03-12T09:11:00.003-05:00

I have taken up crochet!! I am having so much fun with yarn !!

I learned to crochet in the Girl Scouts when I was about in the 5th grade. However, I never learned go read patterns. Recently I signed up for a class at BPCC, the local community college, to refresh my knowledge and learn to read patterns. I am having a blast. I made a potholder in the 1st class. Basic stitches to get everyone used to crochet. Then I moved on to a shawl. It went so fast. I made it in less than 3 weeks using a V stitch and homespun yarn from Lion Brand. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-prayerShawl.html?noImages= Now I am working on 2 different projects......one is a scarf of fuzzy purple varigated using treble stitch http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Projects/Accessories/SB148-001+Fringed+Scarf.htm and the other is a shawl with triple treble granny squares connected as you go. I will post pictures soon.

2009-01-26T22:59:00.000-06:00

My Next Project

2009-01-26T22:49:00.003-06:00

2009 is the year of the UFO. I have sooooo many half finished projects that I promised myself I would work mostly on UFOs. The next project I am undertaking is a combination of 4 projects that have been sitting in the UFO pile. 1st - I have some blocks from a BOM program from the LQS that are several years old. 2nd - I have a number of 6" paper pieced butterflies from a swap done about 5 years ago. 3rd - I have some garden blocks sewn into rows from a Row-by-Row swap done about 3 year ago. 4th - I have some garden blocks that were from a swap this past year. All of these projects have white backgrounds and bright colors. SO - - I will take the PP butterflies and make another row to be used with the row-by-row swap, which also includes some of the blocks from the old lqs bom, and make a really cute quilt by adding bright sashing between the rows and then borders. I am using the garden blocks from this past summer to make a king size pillow sham. I will still have a few orphan blocks, but they are going to be donated to a friend and out of my UFO pile. Wooo Hooo.....That is 4 projects off my list. Here is a preview.

Guest Room ready to greet visitors

2009-01-26T22:42:00.005-06:00

We did it. Sunday we put together the guest room. Only 6 months after we moved, we have the last room put together. Granted there is a bit of tweaking that needs to be done.......I want to make a new quilt for the bed w/ pillow sham to match. I need to hang the quilt rack on the wall. Minor details that can be taken care of as time and energy permit. VBG The most important part is that I now have a place for guests.

Dominos

2009-01-17T22:21:00.002-06:00

Have you ever noticed that when you move one thing you end up moving another??? This morning I moved the new embroidery machine out of the office and into the sewing room. In order to do that I had to move the large office table out of the way, then I moved a smaller table into the spot it vacated. The Viking sewing machine was moved to be tucked into storage since I rarely use it. The serger was placed where the Viking had been and the old embroidery machine, which will be my primary use sewing machine now, was put in the sergers place. Whew!

OK, Now - in the office - I had cleared a wall for the new embroidery machine and the wall seemed sad being empty. I moved a bookcase from the spare room into the office. I have been wanting a new desk since we moved in June.....mine had a leg broke and lost the keyboard drawer in the move.......I found a corner desk at Walmart that I thought would be perfect. So, off to Walmart we go......got the desk and few other items. We got home about 3pm and I started assembling the desk while DH worked in the garage rearranged some storage cabinets. I finally go the desk together and everything set up at about 9pm. No sewing for me today, but I am happy with my accomplishments.

Mardi Gras

2009-01-15T14:51:00.001-06:00

Last weekend as I finished clearing out all the Christmas decorations I noticed certain spaces felt empty. So I bought a few Mardi Gras items and a few 75% off Christmas decorations to make a couple arrangements for the house.

Visit My Sewing Studio

2009-01-15T14:45:00.003-06:00

I cleaned the 1st few weeks of the new year. All the "extra decorations" seemed to collect everywhere upstairs during the holidays. Office, Longarm area, and sewing rooms are all clean and ready for new projects.

New Toy

2009-01-15T14:42:00.001-06:00

Oh Boy, Oh Boy!! It is finally here. I 1st saw this when I was shopping around for a longarm quilting machine.......Hubby said I couldn't have both, so I got the longarm. Well, Now I have both!!

Lazy Pets

2009-01-15T14:33:00.005-06:00

The Girls, Holly and Tinkerbell, have been really lazy with the weather being cooler. They don't want to go outside to play.

Just lazing around and playing with Button.

Snowman Vest

2009-01-13T14:03:00.004-06:00

I used some snowman quilt blocks from a swap last year to make a really cute vest. That is one more UFO off the list.

Addition to the Family

2009-01-13T13:55:00.002-06:00

Button, as in "cute as a button," joined our family in November. He is getting along with everyone and turning into a lazy lap cat.

Big Move last June

2009-01-13T13:30:00.006-06:00

Well, I did a terrible job of keeping this updated. Let's try again. Maybe 2009 will be my year of proper blogging. 1st an update - In June of last year we moved. I have a huge kitchen and a beautifully landscaped yard.

Some of my Toys

2008-03-12T19:34:00.003-05:00

I love sewing and sewing machines. I have just recently learned how to clean and maintain my treadles and handcrank sewing machines, thanks to some help from a new friend. I am in heaven. I want to consider using them for an entire project. I have so far only played with them until they are working right before putting them away. Here are pictures of some of my lovely ladies.....

Productivity - Finally

2008-03-11T22:21:00.012-05:00

I think I have gotten over my funk. I seem to be cranking out the projects. I have made tablerunners......still need to quilt them.

I have pieced some charm packs for a throw.......need to add the border.

Made Lotto Blocks for a yahoo group swap and for my guild's monthly meeting........4 blocks total.

Made strawberry pincushion and a few others using some scraps and made some scissor fobs.

UFOs

2008-01-31T06:40:00.000-06:00

I wanted to clean and organize after the 1st of the year. While cleaning the sewing room I started putting all the UFOs in one spot using ArtBin project totes I found at Joann's. I also started listing all my UFOs. I only listed anything that was cut or I had started sewing before the end of 2007.....OMG!! I stopped counting at 49. I know there are more, but I am not listing anymore until I get some done. LOL. So far I have completed 4 and have 1 more ready for binding. The red and purple...yes, that is purple, not blue... was a mystery from years ago. The Black with Brites is churn dash blocks I won at the guild meetings' Block Lotto. The muslin sampler is to show customer's full stitches, which I started last Spring after a class at LEQ in Melissa, TX. The pink quilt is made using my niece's t-shirts, which I used to teach a class last summer.

2007-11-24T17:04:00.000-06:00

These snowmen are for a swap on my favorite yahoo group. SillyGalsQuilt. There should be enough blocks after the swap for a very interesting sampler. I will add lots of colorful 4-patches and flying geese to make all the pieces fit together. There is never a lack of snowflake fabrics these days.

Holiday Deadlines

2007-11-13T21:11:00.000-06:00

The Holidays are coming soon. I have 3 quilts for customers to complete in the next few weeks. Swap deadlines are also looming.......2 deadlines November 22nd.

I am making a tablerunner for a Secret Santa Swap. It is turning out really cute. I will definitely make more using this pattern. This is where I found the pattern..... http://www.quiltbus.com/tabletopper.htm

Snowmen blocks are due to be mailed before Thanksgiving. They are mostly fused and ready to start stitching. They are a great way to use scraps.