Flowers and A New Sewing Machine

Now, what could be better than flowers and a new sewing machine. I don't know. My husband showed up this afternoon with a bouquet of flowers for me. There wasn't any special occasion or anything. He just wanted to say he loves me. That's so sweat. After 13 years of marriage, it's nice to have those little reminders.

And then I bought a new sewing machine. It's just a basic machine. But I can do free motion quilting with it. I'm very excited about that. I bought the foot to do it. So now I have to practice, before I actually do it on one of my big quilts. My old machine did it's job. It didn't always work. I couldn't touch the tension or the thread would get all bunched up. I'm going to keep it though. My daughter can use it to practice. Well, I hope everyone has a great day!

Happy Stitching!

Ariane

My finished Top!!! Yeah!!!

I just added the last border. That's it for the top. Yeah!!

Finished Pieced Border

I finally finished the pieced border for my son's quilt. It was very difficult for me. I had to rip it apart 4 times because it didn't fit the quilt. I had to make an adjustment block for the top and bottom because the border was short one inch. The two long sides had the same amount of blocks but were different lenghts. It took me forever and really tried my patience. I'm just a beginner and probably should not have taken on such a difficult border. But I did it. It's not perfect. It still looks really good. I'm proud of myself for not quiting all together. I still have to put a small border on the outer edge of the pieced border, but then I can put the quilt together. Yeah!!! My son keeps asking me when it will be done. Well, he can't say I haven't been working hard at it. I don't think it helps that I haven't slept well the last four nights. Well, I'm just happy that I got this done. We had a snow day today. The kids got to stay home from school. We are having a big snow storm. It was a good thing it was my regular day off, otherwise I would have had to take the day off work. Well, I hope everyone had a good day.

Happy Stitching!

Ariane

Pieced Border in progress

Hi everyone, I showed you a picture earlier today of the first border I put on my son's quilt. I have been working on a pieces border to add to it. I have done a bit of it and thought I should show you. I'm really excited to get it done now that I've seen how it will look. This is my first time putting more detail into a border. I really like it. I still have a ways to go, but it's a start.

Ariane

A border, a block and some new fabric

Hi everyone, I finally added a border to my son's Jacob's Ladder quilt. It's the first of many. I am in the process of making a pieced border for it. The border really brings the colours of the quilt out. I really like it.I also made a "turnstile" 12 inch block. I'm going to be making a scrap quilt using this block. So, I just wanted to try one. This is going to be part of a block swap I'm organizing with my sisters and my mom. We are going to be making 30 blocks each and swaping 6 to each of us. Then we will all end up with 30 blocks for a quilt top made by the 5 of us. It's really quite exciting. I just getting their packages ready so that we can get started on it. FUN!!! :o) I also went shopping the other day and bought more fabric. I just couldn't help it. Plus, all this material was on sale. I just couldn't leave it at the store. I didn't go too crazy. But I needed my stash to grow a little. So here's what I bought. The fat quarters were only $2.00 each and the metre cuts were only $3.00 and $4.00 each. I just couln't pass it up.
It made my day anyways. I have to go to work now. I wish everyone a great day.
Happy Stitching!
Ariane

We The People Scrap Mini - Swap

I joined my first swap. I'm very excited. I just joined the mini scrap swap at the Itching 2 B Stitching blog. I just love fabric. We will be swaping 15 small pieces of fabric the size of your hand with your fingers spread a bit. It's a good one to start with. It will be fun to see what kind of fabric I receive. If you want to find out more, check out the link or just click the picture above.

I just entered a giveaway at the In Stitches Blog. She is celebrating her 50 th posting. If you want to check it out, just follow the link above.

Happy Stitching!!

Ariane

Atlantic Jewel Block

I did a little bit of hand stitching today. I worked on one of the 6 inch blocks I'm making with scraps of fabric. I made the "Atlantic Jewel" block from the Jinny Beyer web site. It turned out quite nice. It's a difficult block. I think it almost looks like a sun. It's not done perfectly. But I still really like it. I used very bright fabric for this one. Here it is. I still have to square it up. I think it would make a good medallion on a quilt if it was much bigger. I hope everyone is well. It's late, I should go to bed now.

My fingers hurt!

I have been trying to get the quilt that I'm hand quilting for my daughter done. I hate using a thimble. I have tried many different kinds of thimbles, but have not found one I like. I like to feel the needle. And I think I've been feeling it a bit too much. Now that my fingers have been pricked about a thousand times, I must put a band-aid on. Well, my quilting is going well. I have three quarters of the quilt done. I'm getting close to the end. I can't wait until it's done. It's looking good. I just really like this quilt. I really like scrappy quilts made with warm colours. I don't know why, I'm just drawn to them. I went to one of the quilt shops in town today and bought some fat quarters that were on sale for $2.00 each. I just couldn't resist. So, I bought a bunch. It always feels great when I buy fabric, especially on sale. Well, I have to go. Happy Stitching!!

Ariane

A few more 6 inch blocks

I showed you two small blocks the other day. Well, I made a few more when I was a work. These new blocks were easier to make. So they didn't take me long to stitch them. The first one is called "Andromeda". I like it. It was a bit difficult, but it turned out okay. I like the colours I used.

The second one was called "Art Square". This was a very simple pattern for me. I didn't use the best choice of fabrics. I think next time, I need to have more contrast. I think it still makes a nice block though. It's just a little more neutral.

The third one was also very simple, but I really like this pattern. It's called "A Snowflake". I really like the simplicity of the pattern. It just looks good in my mind, and it was fast to make. I like that. I don't know how it got the name of "A Snowflake", because it looks nothing like a snowflake. It would make a nice lattice pattern on a quilt. You could really make the pattern stand out, or have really soft colours.

I'm off work for a couple of days now. So I'll be able to work on some of the other projects that I have on the go. I would like to get at least one more project done by the end of the month. I'm really hoping to get one of my quilts done. I need to go buy more supplies, batting, etc. All I have left for fabric and batting is small pieces, hence the reason I've been making 6 inch blocks. I don't have a big stash of fabric. I pretty much buy fabric as I go, or as I have money. Which is why I like scrap quilts. I just look at what I have and make something. Well, I hope everyone has a great day. I'll be trying to get some work done on one of my projects.

Happy Stitching!! :o)

Ariane

Two new blocks

I have been working the last couple of days and I needed a small project to bring to work for my breaks. So, I decided to make small 6 inch blocks with patterns that I got off the Jinny Beyer website. I had all these small pieces of fabric left over from my scrap quilts. So, I thought the small blocks would be great to use these pieces up. Besides the fact that I have never made these blocks before. I would be learning how to make new blocks. I hand pieced these two blocks. The first one was more difficult. It is called the "1904 star". I really like it. But it took me a while. The second one is called "Album". This block is my favorite out of the two. I think I would like to make a full size quilt out of this pattern. I think I'm going to make a sampler quilt at some point when I have enough blocks to make a top. I'm in no rush. I've got so many projects on the go. I just needed something small to work on. I love to do hand stitching. It always relaxes me. Well, I hope everyone is well. It's late here, I'm going to bed now. Goodnight!

Ariane

Crochet Rag Rug

I was cleaning out the kids dressers yesterday. I sorted through their clothes. Put all the good clothing in boxes to donate. There were many T-shirts that were well worn, and would have probably ended up in the garbage. So, I decided to make a rag rug out of the t-shirts. I just started to make it. I cut the t-shirts into thin half inch strips and knot them together. I've got a few pictures to show how I knotted the strips together. Once the strips are cut, (they don't have to be perfect width) you cut a little slit at the end of the strips. Like in the picture below.

You then pass the strip you are adding through the hole in the first strip. See picture below.
Then you pass the other end of the strip you are adding through the hole of that same strip. See below.
Then you pull to tighten the knot. I'm not that great at explaining things, so I hope the pictures help you. I then crochet the rug. You can make it round, rectangular or oval like I'm doing. The T-shirt material is stretchy, so it makes it relatively easy to work with. It is difficult sometimes in the area when you hit a knot. But its not that difficult. This is a good project to recycle old t-shirts. You can use old sheets as well. I did that once, and I died the sheets the colours I wanted. It looked really nice. I made that one round. Unlike a braided rug, this rug will stay together much better. I'm not planning to make this one very big. I'm excited to show you how it turns out when I'm done.
Have a great day!!
Ariane

I have my first finish for 2009!

I finished the market bag that I've been working on. I have been working on it since the last week of December. I'm so excited to have it done. I can now add it to my list of finished items for my One Project a Month Challenge. I will also email May Britt to let her know. Next month I will try to finish one of my quilts. Hey! I might even finish one before the end of this month. It is only Jan. 12. Here are a few pictures. I did the embroidery a bit different for the front and back of the bag. I thought it would be nice and make it more interesting. As I mentionned in an earlier post I got the embroidery pattern from Cinderberry Stitches. It was meant for a smaller bag. But I tried to make it work for the bag size I wanted. I even put pockets in it. That's a first for me, so I'm happy about it. It was pretty simple. I would like to try to use a zipper one of these days. I've never done that before. That's the great thing about doing sewing, quilting or crafting, there is so much to learn. I love it.

Happy Stitching!
Ariane

A bit of Cross-stitching

I thought I would show you the first two cross-stitched pictures I made. The first one was a kit my mom bought. She was going to make it for me when I had my first baby. She never got around to doing it, so she decided to just give me the kit. I have had it in each of my kids nurseries and now it hangs above my daughters bed. I really like the way it looks, even after 13 years.
The next one I did about 2 years later. Unlike the one above which was pre-printed on the fabric, the second one was counted cross-stiching. I got the pattern out of a cross-stitching magazine. The thing I love about cross-stitching is that if you buy all the supplies yourself rather than get a kit, it is very inexpensive. I really like country styles so the next one is very country. I really love it. I have had it hanging in my eat-in kitchen since I've made it.

Added a border

Hi! I hope everyone is well. Today has been a crazy busy day for me. It was my first day off and I had so much to do. I work shift work, and only get two weekends off in a six week rotation. They come back to back. So I work 4 weekends then get two weekends off in a row. Last weekend was my weekend off to spend time as a family. My husband and I only get the same weekend off once every six weeks. So last, weekend was our family weekend off to spend time together. This weekend it's just me and the kids. So, I got up early and cleaned my house with some help from the kids. We got that done before noon. I swear that's a record. The kids are getting better at helping out. Yes!!! Finally!!! Then I had a list of things that I had to do in town, so I enlisted me daughter to be my helper. The boys were not interested in coming. So I did all my running around and got back home around 2 pm. We put away the groceries, and such, then I made lunch. I wanted to make some cabbage rolls, so I put them together and threw them in the oven. I had promised the kids that we would go the YMCA. Yes, I made the New Years resolution to get back in shape. So we went and I worked out with my oldest son, while the other two kids played in the kids fitness area. Then we all went for a swim in the pool. It was quite nice. Then came home to get supper finished up. But after that workout and all the running around. I've run out of steam. Time to relax. Well, yesterday I worked on my daughters bright quilt. I had showed you the center panel in an earlier post. I have to make it bigger. My daughter has a double bed. I added a border to it. It still needs to get bigger. But I think I going in the right direction. She just loves how bright it is. I used one layer cake and a charm pack of MODA "Woodland Bloom" material. I also bought more fabric in the same collection to add to what I had. I have a lot of projects on the go. Eventually I'll get one done.

Ariane

A New Market Bag in Progress

I've been working on making myself a market bag. I wanted something big enough to put lots of things in it and I wanted to do some hand embroidery on it. I really liked how the first bag I made for my mom turned out, so I decided to use some of the basics from that bag. I found a pattern for the embroidery on Cinderberry Stitches. The pattern is by Natalie Lymer and is called "Blue wren's nest". The original pattern was for a small little bag. But I decided to just repeat it to make a band at the top of my bag. I think it turned out quite nice. I have completed the front panel of the bag. I'm still in the process of working on the back panel. I decided to use only one color for the embroidery. I wanted to use some of the fabrics that I had left over from other projects. Since blue is one of my favorite colors, I chose to make a blue bag. I can't wait to have it done. I've been working so hard at doing the hand quilting on my Tumbling block quilt, most of my free time has been spent on that project. Tonight I need a break from it. So, I decided to continue working on my Market bag. Here are a few pictures of my bag in progress. I hope you like them.

Ariane

A bright Log Cabin Panel

Today my sister and her family, as well as my brother and his girlfriend came over for a visit. We had lunch and spent the afternoon together. It was very nice to have them over, since they don't come very often. I was showing my sister some of the quilting projects I was working on. I took out some blocks that I had put together. I made them quite a while ago, but never sewed them together. After she left, I just couldn't put them away. I thought to myself....I should at least sew them together. Then I can figure out later what else to do with the quilt. It needs to be much bigger. So, I was thinking of maybe putting a few large borders on it. Maybe do some applique on one of the borders. It needs to eventually fit a double bed. So I will have to keep thinking about how to inlarge it. I really love the colors. It's very bright.

2009 Challenge

I found this wonderful challenge on May Britt's blog. You have to complete a UFO or a WISP every month for the year. You can find all the rules on her blog here. I have many projects on the go. I sometimes wonder how I will get them all done. I think this is a great incentive to get through them all, one project at a time. I will do my best. Thanks for this Challenge!

Ariane

Happy New Year!!!

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!!! I hope the year 2009 brings hope and happiness to all of you, and that you are all blessed with good health.

Ariane