Stuck-good

Look at what came in the mail. This stunning quilt from my Aunt Tony.  And she wants me to quilt it.  ME.

I assure you these pictures do not do this quilt justice.  It simply takes my breath.  Away every time I look at it I see the hours of work spent on it.  I look at the color choices, the design, the layout all of it and I am in awe.  She wants me to quilt this.

Ah...P-A-N-I-C.

When I think about quilting this self doubt creeps in.  "I cannot do this."  "I have no idea what to quilt on this."  "What if I ruin it?"  Okay. .. deep breath.

Typically when I see a quilt that has this many seams this close together I think meander.  A meander pattern allows me to systematically avoid said seams and avoid breaking a needle.  Meandering is not what this quilt deserves.  Okay, now what?

Usually when I see a quilt with lots of angles, I quilt the opposite.  Okay. Circles.  No, not circles.  Something flowing perhaps, but not circles.

When I look at a quilt sometimes the quilt will lead me in a certain direction.  What do I see when I look at this?  A Star.  A sun radiating out it's light.  Fire.  Flames.  No, no and no. hmm.

Why am I stuck on this quilt?  What is it that is causing all of this?

I think of the 100's of quilts that I have quilted in the last 5 years and I cannot understand what it is about this particular quilt that has me shaking in my boots.  Fear and Doubt about my ability as a quilter are not uncommon to me.  I am sure they are not uncommon to many quilters. Currently I am paralyzed with fear.  All I have done for the last few weeks is fret over how what I am going to do about this quilt.  Why?

I am not sure.

Perhaps the answer is just to start small.  Baby steps.  yes. First things first.  Load the quilt. (good start right) This is a step that is easy.  Time consuming, yes, but easy.  The simple rhythm of loading the quilt on the quilt frame is comforting, peaceful even.  Maybe once I get this beauty loaded on my machine the rest will come just as naturally. Fingers crossed.

Knit-a-little

I have been playing with yarn these days.  I took a break from knitting for almost a year.  Then as long car trips for holidays took more of role in my crafting, I needed a more portable form of crafting.  Not that I didn't try to convince my husband that it was absolutely necessary that my sewing machine needed to travel with us. Heehee. :)

 I shared with you 2 projects already, the knit and felted stocking and the Sven Sweater.  Since the weather has gotten chillier I thought a hat would be a great thing to knit up, but then. I ran across the Calorimetry pattern on Knitty and well the rest as they say is history.  I knit up, not one but two of these great little headband/hats and are they ever cute!  The first I knit up in Cascade 220 heather gray.  It was a little plain.

When I started the second I needed a brighter cheerier yarn.  I started the second with Lion Brand Amazing in the Aurora color way.  I have to say this is my favorite.  I love the bright colors.  I even knit up a little rosette for the side using this tutorial, from Nicky Epstein.  Let me tell you, it makes the project!  Even my 12 year-old daughter wants to wear it.  Now that's a complement!

The pattern calls for a button to join the ends. The ends could just as easily be joined permanently with yarn.

 I had these cute buttons sitting in my button jar just begging to be used.  What a perfect finish.

{Post } Christmas round-up

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Well, it has been a long time since I blogged.  Wow!  I wanted to share a few of the handmade Christmas presents I whipped up.  Most of them at the last minute!  Why do I always commit myself to these projects with one week to go?  All I know is that I did not start packing for our trip to Ohio until 6pm the night before.  And that was when my DH stepped into my quilting space and exclaimed, "Okay, now you have to stop!"  Gee, some people.

First thing I want to show off is this adorable little apron and chefs hat I made for my 2 y.o. nephew.  His parents love to cook and I am told he is quite the chef in his little kitchen.

 I took this from 2 separate patterns and added my own little spin.  The chefs hat was from www.stardustshoes.blogspot.com.  The hat is adjustable which is good for growing little ones.
I liked the apron that was also designed by stardustshoes and was paired with the chefs because it was reversible and oh, to cute.  There was just one thing that kept me from making it...it needed to be tied by a grown-up.  Well if you have ever been with a two year old you will know that cooperation is not their strong suit. Using the pattern from www.sewliberated.com which is slightly smaller, and the pattern from startdustshoes I came up with this cute mix.
The apron has a pocket for carrying treasures, an elastic strap for pulling over his head and a Velcro tab at the waist for the all important, "I do it my self." 2 year old.

This little cutie also got a wonderfully warm and cuddly fair isle sweater from his favorite Aunt.  I knit up this sweater from Cottage Creations pattern The Big Sven Sveater. Although the picture is a bit fuzzy, I think you can tell it fits well! I am sure his hat and leg warmers are also hand knit, he is lucky that way.. Now I just need a picture of him wearing his hat and apron.  (Hint. Hint.)

front

back

Here are the three Hexi-stockings all hung in a row.  Don't they look pretty?

As I stated before the week we were getting ready to leave on Christmas Vacation I decided to "whip-up" 5 insulated casserole carriers. (Yes I said 5) Oh yea and I decided to try glass etching the sides to all of the casserole dishes as well.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of them all together.  I managed to snag a few of this last carrier before it was shipped off.  I used the pattern that can be found here at twolittlehooligans  It is simple pattern with great instructions and rather quick too!  I mean if your not trying to make 5 in one week.

While I was out at the fabric store picking up a little extra Christmas fabric I stumbled upon an adorable polar fleece.  I decided right then and there that I was also going to sew up some polar fleece goodies for my little nieces.  Don't worry this was the week before the 5 casserole carrier decision.  Plenty of time left..

I stitched up this little snow bunting for my niece who will be arriving one chilly February day. This is a Butterick pattern # 5091  . I think I have used this pattern at least 8 or nine times.  It's quick and easy and I love it! She will be warm and snugly when she comes home in this cute little bunting.  

Lastly, I sewed this little polar fleece dress for my 18 month old niece.  Here I used McCall's Pattern #9532 sewn for size 1. Matching polar fleece cousins.  Too CUTE! Emma and I picked up a long sleeve shirt and some lavender tights at Gymboree for an Adorable little outfit.

Here she is at our Christmas gathering.  Isn't she precious.

My New Year's resolution is to have all of my Christmas presents for this year made before December.  With a little planning and a lot of patience I should be able to accomplish that.  I'll let you know how that goes. LOL.

Simply Homemade.

I for one love homemade gifts.  Perhaps because I know of the time, thought and love that goes into each gift.  I love making the gifts almost as much as giving them.  This year with the little, um 'bug' I caught I got a little behind in my gift giving preparation.  The Saint Nicholas Day gifts went out about a week late, but HEY they're out.  I have a feeling that some of the Christmas gifts will be a little late this year too.

One of the things my kid LOVE to do during the holiday is Countdown to Christmas.  We have had a Lego Advent Calendar for the last 3 years.  There is usually so much fighting over who's day it is to open the door that we have to make a schedule.  This year I picked up the Lego-Friends Calendar.  (You know the one for GIRLS!) There is not as much interest in this calendar as there was in the Star Wars calendar.  Go figure. Well, let's just say there is only one of my Children who is eager to open up the calendar each day.  And she Loves the fact that the boys don't want to participate.  More for Her!

Thinking about the Calendar led me to another project in the Modern Holiday book by Amanda Murphy.  The Christmas Countdown.  This calendar boasts 25 adorable little packages to decorate.  One for each day.  (yeah, yeah I realize that Advent is technically 24 days but work with me here.) In Amanda's Pattern she uses a layer cake to make the Christmas presents.  A fabulous idea I might add if you happen to have one laying around.  Sadly, I did not.  No worries.  I cut out 25 bright and cheery 5 inch squares and began sewing.  I was disappointed to find out after I had made it about half way through the pattern that there ended up being so much fabric waste!  I ended up trimming about 1-1.5 inch off of each package.  If I would have known ahead of time I surly would have started with something smaller than 5 in squares.

Don't you just love that Embroidery?  Thanks M.

Other than that picky little problem I really enjoyed sewing this up.  So much sew (couldn't resist.) That I went ahead and hand quilted the quilt (gasp!)  It was a great project for our car trip to Tennessee but trying to find the time to sit and finish it almost killed me!

The finishing touch was the cute little "yo-yo" bow for the package.  I couldn't bring myself to make 25 yo-yos so I cheated. (shh. don't tell Santa.)  I found a package of glittery pom-poms and used those as my package toppers. I did have to break down and make one gold yo-yo for the last package.  Don't worry.  I survived.  I shipped off the quilt along with a box of candy numbered for the days of Advent.  What's Christmas without chocolate?

Chocolate and a Christmas Countdown...  A delightful combination.

Just keep sewing. Just keep sewing.

Lots of Quilting going on over here now that my Machine is BACK.
So the story on the  is this...I had a service repair man come out to correct the timing and tune her up.  She is almost 5 you know.  While he was here he mentioned  that the needle position, when stopped varied.  It is supposed to stop in either the full up or down position.  Mine. Well it sort of ....didn't.  It like to randomly stop anywhere between up and down.  He took the machine apart and couldn't find anything visibly wrong, so he suggested I contact Handiquilter and ask for help in the diagnosis.  I talked with the technician out at Handiquilter headquarters. Dave informed me that it was probably the wire that had been crimped between the housing during assembly.  I ordered a new wire.  When it arrived a week later, we installed it and nothing.  It didn't make a difference.  I talked with Dave, my dear husband talked with Dave and we decided to ship the lady out to Utah and have Dave work on her.  We boxed her up and off she went.   That was almost 2 months ago now.  WoW.

Through various conversations with Dave, we learned that  he thought the problem was a bad transformer.  Dave had talked with "the men back" in the work room and they were going to make up a new transformer for her.  This just all happened right before the Houston Quilt Show.  Bad timing.  Unfortunately my machine got pushed out of the way and forgotten. :(

2 weeks later when I talked to Dave he was very apologetic and said he would have it shipped out the next day.  When I call Dave the next week after not hearing from him he was at a loss.  He said this was the most frustrating machine he has ever worked on.  He had replaced every single working part in the machine and get this..... It was STILL having the same problem! What? How is that possible?  If every piece in the machine is new, HOW can this happen?  Dave again, was very apologetic and shipped her back to me essentially rebuilt, free of charge, but still having the same problem.  Dave assured me she is all tuned up  and sewing great.  She just has the annoying habit of choosing her own needle position.  Bummer.

Well, as you can imagine I accumulated quite a nice stack of quilts while she was away.  I have now quilted 3 of them, and my verdict?  Still out.  She does sew nicely.  I haven't had any needle breaks, thread brakes, or stitch regulation problems since her return.  In fact there is only one problem.  The needle position.  Uh. Imagine.  The needle still is choosing it's own position at random.  This only seems to effect my initial startup.  When I start sewing.  I drop the needle and grab the bobbin thread and pull it up to the top of the quilt.  This way I can hold the bobbin and top thread taught as I lock the threads into position.  Unfortunately now the top thread is getting stuck and won't pull of the bobbin thread. Well, it does after 4 or 5 trys. Annoying.  Now what?

Do I call Dave back and say see if you can fix it?  This means paying another exorbitant shipping cost to send my 60lb. machine to Utah.  Do I deal with it and see if it improves?  Worsens?  Do I contact Handiquilter customer service and see if they can help?  (I am sure my warranty is long expired).  Or do I just keep sewing.  Just keep sewing.  just keep sewing...

A bad case of the BAH-HUM-BUG!

Those of you who know me, know that most of the time I am an up-beat, energetic person.  I thrive on creativity.  I am a boundless bundle of creative ideas.  A bevy of crafty projects happen here on a daily basis.  Now, I am no Martha Stewart, although if you ask some of my sisters they will disagree, but I hold my own.

I am not sure what happened but somehow I caught a Bug.  The Bah-Hum-Bug.  We took a wonderful vacation with friends up into the Smokey Mountains over Thanksgiving.  There was lots of food, fun, and most importantly crafting.  We sat by the fire many evenings while the kids entertained themselves.  We would talk and  knit or crochet or quilt all evening.  It was bliss.  However, I returned with a serious case of Blah.

I didn't feel like doing anything.  I didn't want to decorate for Christmas (something I normally love to do).  BAH! I didn't want shop for Christmas or get ready for Christmas in any way.  HUM! And most alarming, I didn't want to sew, or knit or anything. BUG!

She's Back!

It wasn't until my Long-arm returned last Tuesday that I started to surface out from under my Scrooge like demeanor.  I started quilting on Thursday and my mood started to lift.  I am feeling better now.  Although I am still not quite my chipper self.  A few more quilts might just be the medicine I need!  Here is a peak of the quilt I just finished up for a client.

A few swirls.  A couple of Loops. And Bye-gosh. Bye Golly, how could anyone say Bah-hum-bug.

Stocking Stuff--hers

I've kept up on my stocking creating.  And this time they are for some girls I know.  This stocking is a 'mate' (if you can call it that?) to the first.  1.5 inch hexagons in a variety of reds.  Like the previous stocking (here)  I added a stripe ruffle.  This time a dash of green separates the ruffle from the embroidered top.  I had to blur the name to protect the gift's secret.

I embroidered the top with the name and a cute little Christmas Tree. For the back I  kept it simple by using a Red print.

The second stocking I made was a Knitted and Felted little number.  I used a pattern I have fallen back upon numerous times from Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas. It's a great pattern.  If you have knit a sock before, it's super-duper simple. I used brown sheep worsted weight for the red and Cascade 220 for the green (also worsted).  I haven't knit in almost a year and I cannot tell you how Awesome it felt!  (no pun intended)  

Two more Christmas gifts checked off that list!