Mail Sack

This bag is BIG and wonderful!  I think it will be great when going shopping or taking classes.  It goes over your head, so your hands are free.   The pattern is by Pink Chalk Studio.   I made it to try using some new techniques and feet on my Bernina!

As you can see, the big yellow flower has been outlined with cording. I used the Free Motion Couching #43 foot on my Bernina. Really fun to do!

                 The Sashiko was also interesting to do.  I used a topstitch needle with Cordonnet thread, which is heavy and thick that shows up very nicely.  And having the Cordonnet foot #11 also helped feed the thread evenly.   If you can't or won't do the very impressive regular hand sewn Sashiko, you must try this!  It's a nice look.



Happy Valentine's Day!



Sweethearts in 1962!

 Yes, 1962, that is not a typo.  How could it be that long ago--it seems like yesterday.  We didn't get married until three years later.  Time enough for him to get his military service and my graduating and business college done.

We've had a very happy and wonderful life and I've never regretted marrying this fellow.

As for a romantic (as I am) he is NOT!

We were married in March and the following Valentine's Day, he asked me what I wanted.  I told him I didn't want anything and he didn't get me ANYTHING!!  Can you imagine?  What was he thinking!!   He took a lot of ribbing about that.  He still doesn't always get me things all the time.  He says he likes to surprise me and doesn't want me to expect things.  Ha!  Got to love that man.

He never complains about anything I do, let's me do what I want and supports my quilting habit, so after all these years I have realized that "things" are really not what a true love buys you, it's how every day is spent loving each other.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, but most of all, I hope you all have that kind of day EVERYDAY!  If you have a special Valentine, let me hear about him.

More SNOW!

Okay, enough is enough.  Oklahomans are not used to getting this much snow so often.  This has been the third storm in less than a month.  How do people get used to this up North?  I guess that is why I love Oklahoma.  You know the old saying of ours,  "If you don't like the weather, just wait a day or so and it will change."  Our forecast includes temps in the 50's this weekend.  I'll be ready for that.

So here is the same shot as the last time from my back door.

As you can see we got more snow, about 10-12 inches.  The snow is lighter and a little easier to clean up.  There was no ice ahead of time which helps getting around now, not that I am going anywhere for a while. 

My husband is home today so getting into the sewing room may not be possible.  He wants to watch a movie this afternoon.  It's "Date Night" which my daughter, Stacey, says his hilarious.  Guess we'll stay in, away from the exceptionally cold weather outside, relax, and get the popcorn ready!

Line Art--a new project!

When I saw this pattern in "Quilts and More", Winter 2010, I knew I had to make it.  It uses 2 1/2" strips--perfect for a jelly roll.  Since I had one yelling  "USE ME, USE ME", I took the challenge.  I like the idea of using one color of fabrics for the pattern too.  Might try that later.

I've almost gotten all the strips sewn together, but I had to stop to go to a quilting store sale (40% off bolts if you took it all).  A great time to buy backings and also I found some small yardage of batiks.  Well, I also found a couple of other pieces too.....hey, I saved 40%, remember?!!!

Now it's ready to get ready for the Super Bowl party at my house.

My husband and I are not big football fans, but I love a reason to eat party snacks so my daughter and her family are coming over for the evening.  Should be fun!  This is a big game and I don't care who wins, but I am in a quilting "pool" where I signed five squares in hopes of winning 100 fat quarters.  The problem is they haven't filled the squares yet (the store is still open) so I don't know what scores I need to send  my "mojo" to.  You know I believe it doesn't hurt to think real hard on those scores.  LOL

So tomorrow I will finish the top of my Line Art quilt top.  Oklahoma is suppose to have ANOTHER snowstorm on Wednesday so that will definitely be a good day for sewing if I can't get it done before then.

Fun and Done Runner DONE!

Since Oklahoma is having a blizzard today, it's great for sewing!

I finished my table runner.  The colors remind of a winter day--with little icicles in the fabric.  Really I think they're suppose to be tree branches, but today they're icy tree branches.

Nita and Linda have finished theirs too.  I need to get some pics of theirs.  We had a great time when we sewed together.  The great thing about this pattern is that the quilting is done as you go--FUN and DONE!

Back to the weather situation.  This may end up being a record breaking snowfall.  What is really making it bad is that the wind is blowing so ferociously.  Everyone knew this was coming.  Our Governor declared a state of emergency yesterday.  Most all Oklahoma schools are closed and many small businesses are shut down too.  Everyone is encouraged to stay home and off the roads.

This is our backyard.  You can see the drifts are probably four feet high in some places.  The rain gauge and bird bath are almost covered up with snow.  Brrrrr......

The department of transportation cannot keep up with the cleaning of the roads, as the wind comes right behind them and blows it back.  People cannot get on or off the exits as they are being blocked.  Thank goodness the snow is just about over, but they say the winds will continue and the temperatures are suppose to be brutal for the next few days.

I'll be staying in.  And the best thing, I am ready to start a new project.  Which one??

Look what I got in the mail today!!

Today I received a package from Canada!  I was a winner on quiltmomsjourney.blogspot.com website.  WooHoo!!   Anna has a terrific blog.  I love to check it out often.  She is very diversified in her talents and you all should go visit her.

Here is what I got--beautiful fabric, a very cute blouse pattern and a new quilting book.

Can we have too many quilt books?  I think not.  Even if we don't make something out of them, don't you love to read them.  Being a former librarian, I seldom buy fiction because once I read them, I'm done.  BUT, with non-fiction and I especially mean quilting books, I don't have a problem purchasing them.  I'll peruse them today while I'm working on another project and maybe a month (or a year?) I'll go back and re-read and MAYBE even make the quilt then.  Sometimes I don't, but I loved reading them.  Thank you, Anna!

Fun and Done Blocks

Tuesday two of my good friends are coming to spend the day sewing at my house.  Although we have several projects we're all working on, we decided we needed some "social" time and since two of us have had the template for Fun and Done several months, we decided to make that our project.

I am using the Easy Diamonds pattern and have already got my strips and batting cut.  

Nita and Linda are making patterns using a square of fabric on top instead of strips.  One is machine quilting and the other is using her embroidery machine for the quilting.  I'm hoping we can get the small table runners (only need 12 blocks that way) done Tuesday, so I'll post the results Wednesday.  Should be fun!!  AND DONE!!

Snowy day in Oklahoma!

Last night Oklahoma had snow.  Northern Oklahoma, where we live, only received 2-3 inches, but it "drizzled" first so there was ice under the snow which made things worse.  School was closed and there were lots of accidents in Oklahoma City.

There was a little wind last night too, so there were drifts to deal with too.  Not a severe storm but a storm none the less.

My granddaughters went sledding right after breakfast this morning and loved it.  I talked with my daughter in Texas and she said her kids were sad they couldn't be here to do the same!  Last year they were here when we had a severe storm on Christmas Eve and loved it.  They don't see snow often, especially enough to go sledding.  I love snow, unless I, or my family, have to drive somewhere.  It is so beautiful but sometimes causes a lot of havoc.

The past week has been very trying for our family.  One of my brothers in law had a massive heart attack last Thursday and we all have been at the hospital in OKC a lot.  It is amazing, but he is doing fine and after having a defibulator/pacemaker put in, he'll probably be released this weekend.  God does answer prayers.

So today, I plan to go to my sewing room and do some machine applique on my Hop To It project!  It is fusible applieque and all the blocks are done I just have to applique them down.  I have four out of the twelve blocks done.  This is not the fun part.  But I have made a goal of doing at least one a day.  I have other projects that I'm working on too, so I switch around a lot! 

So while the cold snow is outside, I'll be in my nice, warm sewing room!

Oh, by the way.  The LINDA that won my blog contest was Linda Douglas from Montana.  She'll be receiving her gift as soon as I can get to the post office to get it mailed.  I'll bet she has snow ALL the time!  Congrats, Linda!

Blog Winner is another LINDA!

This morning I did the random number picker thing and the winner is...... Linda.  That's all I know. She doesn't have a blog, so I have sent her a email for her full name and address in order for her to receive my gift.  And this is it:

A little Snap Purse I made and 10 beautiful citrus colored cuts of fabric from MODA.  I really hated to part with those, as they are really vibrant colors.  They will make a quilt block POP for sure!!

Congratulations, Linda!  And thank you ALL for visiting my blog.  I always check out the blogs of people that visit mine and I enjoyed all your blogs as well.

A funny word!

Did you ever think about the word UP?  I received this from a friend and just had to share.  It cracked me up!

Read up about a two Letter Word....if you are UP to it....

The word is Up..... 

Read until the end.....you'll laugh....

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other

two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.'  It is listed in the 

dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the

list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we 

wake UP? 

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?  Why do we speak UP, and

why are the

officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write

UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the

silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the

house and  fix UP the old car.   We power UP appliances and when we

go to the beach we need a cover UP.

At other times this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP

trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. 

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.  Don't forget

the need for make UP.  And this UP is confusing: 

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at 

night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! 

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in

the dictionary.. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of

the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions 

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP

is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP,

you may wind UP with a hundred or more. 

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes

out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the 

earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on &

on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now  ........my time is UP !

Oh....one more thing:  What is the first thing you do in the morning &

the last thing you do at night? 

                              U  

                                 P !

  

Did that one crack you UP?

Don't screw UP.  Laugh about this with your friends.

Now I'll shut UP!

Mug Rugs, Mug Mats, whatever you want to call them!

Mug rugs seem to be everywhere especially the last few months.  I had seen the small square ones similar to coasters but I really like the new bigger versions.

I needed some small gifts for Christmas and here is my version:



Embroidered Mug Mats

The dimensions are around 6" x 9", perfect for your favorite cup/mug and room for your snacks too.  I found the coffee cup fabric at my local quilt store.  Thought it was perfect.   I used my 730 for the embroidered name and I did minimal quilting--just straight stitching.
I tried machine stitching the binding on one of them and just didn't like the look, so I hand stitched the binding on the back of the rest.  It took a little more time but I think it looks better on the back.  Wish I had made myself one!

There may be a mug mat swap coming up at Quilting Gallery if you want to join it.

Giveaway!

Yes, I'm going to have a giveaway in honor of 10,000 hits on this blog!!

When I started this blog, it was mainly for me to document my quilting journey along with a little bragging on my grandkids!  I just can't help that--aren't grandchildren the best?!

So after the holidays, I was quite surprised to see that my hits had surpassed the 10,000 mark in a little over a year.  I know lots of other blogs are bigger and do a lot better than that, but I'm talking about my blog.   It's amazing that people visit my little site.  Isn't the internet wonderful?   We all can learn so much from other people.  Sometimes it just fuels me to try something new.  Other times I just love viewing other people's projects.

Best of all, I love the tutorials I find on blogs.  I think quilters are so kind to take the time to help other quilters in this way.  My hope is to do more of these on my own blog.  I sometimes think that everyone knows what I do, but I am realizing that there are new quilters all the time and maybe those people can learn a little from me.  

So....back to the important thing--the "giveaway".   The prize will be a surprise and all you have to do is leave a comment about what you would like a tutorial on or maybe what tutorial has helped you most or loved the best.  I would love you to share some of these if you want to leave a website address also.  Let's all learn something from everyone!!

If you want to post this giveaway on your website, feel free to do so!  Oh, and the giveaway date????  Two weeks from today is my son in law's birthday, so it will be easy to remember--January 18th at midnight, CST.   So on the 19th, I'll do that random number thing and post the winner!

Thanks for visiting the QUILT COOKIES!

Linda