A new book is out---Now I lay me down to die!!

Yeah Terris new book was released this week!!

I can't wait to read it. Just think.. I knew her before she was famous!! I remember way back to when Justin was 2 years old and I visited her in Maryland that was like 21 years ago!!! Gosh we are getting old!! Oh my we had such a good time. We went to a old jail they had for civil war prisoners. Gosh for the life of me I can't remember the name of that place, but it had a beautiful park and scenic area. I think even then she communicated with ghosts--or spirits. I remember her telling me that she had shivers and felt like she could feel the tears of the people that were left there. We didn't spend all of our time seeking ghosts and spirits we went to the Boardwalk and to the Purple Moose! Even got sang to-Well not sure if they were singing to us but a bunch of guys were singing on the patio--"You lost that loving feeling" and it was fun to think we were the ones they were singing to as we were swinging back some fuzzy navels! :-) One thing is for sure any time you spend with Terri its never boring! I can only imagine that her fun imagination and knack for being a "wierdo magnet" it will come out in her books! Congrats my dear friend!!!

Finally done with purses for now!

I just finished a purse for me!! Now I am totally burned out!! Here it is-- I am very partial to blue and brown so this was perfect for me. I don't even know how many months ago I bought this material. I love the oriental purse I made too but now that we are getting into fall I think I will save that one for the spring. Now no more purses for awhile!!! After doing about 8 nonstop I am burned out!
  I am working on a fall throw. I just finished this little scarecrow for an embroidery patch around the center.

I sure wish I knew how to shut the flash off on my camera so my picture would show the colors!! Maybe I need to dig out my instructions! Only had the camera for about 5 years now and still not sure how to use it other than point and shoot! Anyway I am doint a 4 patch quilt with the center being this panel that Ed bought the other day of a gorgeous pumpkin patch and farm house. Around that I will am doing some squares of embroidery fall pictures. I haven't done much embroidery lately on my machine so I needed to get back into that. Well the longer I sit at the pc the lazier I am getting so I better move before I decide to call it quits and go to bed!!!

Scary Mary Purse :-)

 I just finished with this purse --- it was fun to make. Now I am making one with brown, tourquise, circle things... I think this pattern is fun since you can use a contrasting color. I think I am getting alittle burnt of making purses though. I have a fall quilt, a flower quilt, and a log cabin quilt in the making though so that will be next.

Oh my gosh look at this cabinet!!!  Wouldnt you just love to have that?!! its $300 on craigslist. Those type of cabinets go for the big bucks new. It has the lift in it as well although I don't know what kind of machine it was built for. Only if that damn money tree was still alive and well in my backyard!! I think I am finally getting some decent lighting in my work room though. Nothing like trying to sew with not enough lights! Its definetly not fun getting old. I thought that only happened to our mothers and sisters.. not us! Anyway when I sew I have about a dozen lights on downstairs so I get to walk around and shut them all off --and inevitably always forget one!! Hopefully we can hook them all to one switch,
   Next week I am going to work on some embroidery things on Joann and maybe some serging. I did go have someone thread that monster for me... and I pray it doesn't break or pull out! I need to take a good look at it of make a drawing of it! I think its the under threading that is the problem the color coded ones are pretty clean cut. I also worked on some double needle sewing this week but didn't end up using it on the purse handle. I thought it would just be 2 straight lines.. what I could tell it was decorative sewing and the back was not the same as the front. Not what I was looking for on the purse handles. I need to do alittle more studying of that though to see what the options are.
    What a week!! This was my busy week at work and wow was it stressful. Going home I felt like the wicked with of the west but I am planning on destressing this weekend with alittle family time and sewing.
  Until next time----

New Purse For Sale!

I just finished this purse last night.. well actually this morning at 3 am. I seem to be getting insomnia alot lately and its relaxing to sew. I loved this fabric I know the picture does not do it justice but its a beautiful oriental pattern with cherry blossums and iris's. I don't have any orders for this purse so I will sell it. The purse , wallet, and cosmetic bag for a mere $25. I think that is a huge bargain considering the price of material. I went to the quilt show in Des Moines on Friday and dropped way too many  green backs!
      I am anxious to try using some chenelle on a few things. Probably just use it as a border and fluff it out. I purchases a couple Nancy Z patterns and more fabric. Actually they had a jelly roll of 3 yards on contrasting material for $20 which I thought was a great deal and then I purchased some single yards of oriental fabric. I just love the cheery fun look to it.
    I have several more projects to get done so I shouldn't of done this one without a buyer but oh well. I have a coworker that just loves going to the casino so I found some perfect material for her with slots and cards on it. That one will be fun too. I made this purse a week or so ago

The person that ordered it didn't care for it as its was alittle smaller than she thought it would be. I agreed to make her another one for free. I want everyone to be happy with their purchases from me. She picked this material and the contrasting bib in front and unfortunately I don't have anymore of that material but I think she will like the new design I chose for her.
  My machine--Joann went back in the shop this week. The repairman tsked tsked me and told me I am not appreciating my machine!! I said well of course I do I love her and she works so hard for me!! Apparently I am pushing and pulling the material through and it is damaging the tension and I have a nice size needle hole in my plate.. dang! I remember breaking the needle but didn't know it hit. Well Joann is special. She does wonderful embroidery work. Its the user that makes the mistakes but she does just as shes told! Too bad my kids weren't that cooperative!! Anyway I decided to give Joann a break. I would really hate to ruin her. I found another machine on Craigs List. It is a Euro Pro 3120. Hmm this one I will call Ethyl! Shes not as quiet as Joann and not as elegant but she gets the job done. The stitches are good and tight and so far no breaking of the needle. I have cut down on my fleece interfacing so I am not sewing such thick materials. That seems to help alot and she doesn't even get touchy about the zippers which is good. The best part is I talked the person down $75 so I got quite a bargain.
    Well back to my projects... it was a toss up this morning--clean house or sew... as you can see sewing won.. although I will wash clothes while sewing that counts doesn't it?!

New Purse finally done!

Well I have decided I really hate deadlines! I have made three purses nonstop and am tired !! Well actually the two skull purses were fun to make. This last one not so much! I used a different pattern on this one and its alittle too square for my liking. The lady that ordered it chose the colors and the pattern. I may make another one but will adjest the pattern to a more rectangle size and I would chose alittle busier patterns for the quilt middle. Here is the purse. I do really like the billfold. There is a zipper on the top and the pattern didn't include the flap it just had a smaller tap. I though the larger flap looked better to accent the flowered material. The back is all flowered with a zipper.
   I am now working on a Chinese material purse. I love the material its so pretty and colorful. I am accenting it with red on the inside. After that one I will be working on a haunted house purse for my ghost hunter friend :-) That one will be fun to make as well.
   Maybe one of these days I will get back to my quilting.... but in the mean time the purses are keeping me busy. My long term goal is to make a few just to sell but I tend to get rid of them as fast as I make them so my stash is low! Maybe I need to cut down on the late morning sleeping when I am not working!!! :-)

Jinxed!!

Here I was patting my sewing machine actually I named her Joann since its a Janome.. and told her how great she was.. when suddenly KABOOM broke! Thats what I get for personalizing an object.. and giving her a compliment.. Now maybe I will kick her in the foot pedal! I was just in the midst of making another skull purse and loving it.. listening to Lisa Scottelines--My 3rd husband will be a Dog and just laughing by head off when darned old Joann quit on me! OHHHH NOOOO.. Just when I told the person that was expecting this purse that I am speedy!! I had even went to Joanns my favorite fabric store to get the lining for the billfold. I decided I wasn't going to let Joann get me down so I got out my husbands antique Singer--I call her Silvia and used her to finish up the purse. Of course my husband was happy as could be since he thinks "they just don't make machines like Silvia anymore". Well actually they don't. Silvia would never have had trouble with the zipper that Joann did and took a dive off the deep end of the bobbin. The problem with Silvia is that she cannot do zigzag only a straight stitch. I was able to finish the purse but not the billfold.
  So this morning I rushed Joann into the sewing repair shop and the man said "what did you do to her now"?!! Guess he remembered me :-P I was told that I needed to respect my machine more and quit using the wrong needles and the correct bobbins! I told him I learned my lesson and realized I cannot use just any needle on Joann that she is special!! I assured him that wasn't the problem. I told him this time I may of accidently hit a metal zipper piece while sewing... I got the hairy eyeball for that remark. He also mentioned that I may be using too thick of material while sewing.... ya think?! On the purses I like to use fleece lining to help them be more stable.. when you have sometime 2 pieces of lining.. and four pieces of material..--such as the side panels and throw in a zipper or two you get a pretty thick area to sew. Poor Joann.. so abused!
I assured him I probably needed a new bobbin case and I was good to go... He checked it out.. basically told me I was screwed and gave me a ticket on my way out the door. I think maybe the metal through off the timing.. dang. He did say his turn around was generally 4 days unless he has to order parts. I have my fingers crossed. Maybe I need to stick to plastic zippers or better yet when shortening them do it the correct way and hand tie them off !!
   Anyway not all is lost. I went to Walmart on the way home and a cashier fell in love with my purse and asked me to make her one... Woohooo I love those kind of sales!!! Now to just get Joann back and promise no more sewing machine abuse!!!

Another Purse

Here is my new purse that I just got done. I love the new billfold. The purse not so much but since I get bored with them very quickly it won't be used for long anyway. I used some extra stiff fusible web stabilizer and its a bit too stiff. I didn't realize it kind of shrinks the material so thats why the back is alittle taller than the front but the picture is alittle decieving. I put a stabilizer on the bottom as well so its more laying foreward. The front is actually only maybe an inch shorter than the back. I also am now doing a bit of embroidery with my machine and I made this picture. Its suppose to be a butterfly on a cone flower. It looks better in person. I  also did a vase of daisys but it wasn't until I was done with it that I realized the material had a yellow discoloration on it.

I am taking an embroidery class online with Quilting University starting next week. I am looking forward to that.

Here is the billfold I made.The first couple of ones I made the card holders too small. This one is better and even the clear plastic for the DL!! So excited I am happy that I am learning more and more.. Great for my latest stress reliever :-)

My new Purse

My new purse!! I do really love it and makes me smile when I look at the rose. The was a hanky that I picked up at an auction. Heres a close up.

I think for the next one I make I am going to embroidery something for the pocket. I have decided to quilt my own material since I pretty much have bought all the limited quilted material that is at my local Joanns. I have a Julies material shop of my own but most of it is cotton material.

 I did make the billfold and coin purse of this material. I really like having matching billfolds with my purses and since I am making it why not?! I do need to readjust my measurements though. The last one was an inch too short for the cards. dummy me!
   Last week I wasted a couple of yards of material being real stupid. Everything I touched I screwed up. I was working on something for a friend and finally decided to give it a break or Id never get it done. I finally finished it last night other than the shoulder straps and the billfold. Since this is my "easy week" at work and only work 1 day until next weekend I should get it done this week. I go through alot of zippers so I found a great deal on ebay. 50 zippers--7 inch for $6 including shipping!! Woohoo what a deal. So I have been waiting all week to recieve my package of zippers and finally got on my ebay page to ask the seller when it was mailed when I just happened to realize these zippers are coming from Hong Kong!! Damn I guess I was so taken with the price and didn't even check where they were going to be mailed from. I guess I will be waiting awhile.
   I found a wonderful website http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ You can take online classes and it gives you great help for any sewing or quilting issues. I plan to take the embroidery class for my machine. I have a nice machine but very little knowledge on the embroidery part.

I can't wait to start the classes and I will see how the first one goes and then if I like it I will take more. Apparently you don't have to be available during the class times. The make it available for several weeks and you can print it out and also do the class assignments and then upload the pictures. I was hoping they would have a serger class but I don't think they do. Maybe I can find one of those later. It would be nice to know how to use my serger.

Well time to go finish Terris purse.. I must say when I bought the material I did get some questions and looks!!!  I assured them it was for a friend that believes in things that are bloody and creepy :-) Pictures in the next post :-)

Halloween Purse

I made this purse for one of the ladies I assist with in a group home that I work. She is totally infatuated with my cat shadow which is pure black so I made her a "shadow purse". This has a billfold and coin purse to match it ,but she grabbed those up before I got the purse done!  This isn't quilted material since its just meant for a fun seasonal purse.

Purses

Here are a couple of the purses I just completed. This one is a quilted one and small. I generally put a layer in across the middle to give it more room but this person requested it to be small.

It has a pocket there in front and a zippered one inside as well as a cell phone pocket and pocket for spare pens and a couple other skall pockets.

Here is the cosmetic bag and billfold that matches it. Another give away!

Cat and Dog Quilt

This is my dog/cat quilt. That seemed to be the never ending quilt. This one was alot of fun to make. The three dogs are screen prints of our three and they look amazingly just like them. Chico has a bit more hair now but that looked like him for this forst two years. Alot of the material on this quilt is made from t-shirts or other clothing garments.  I trolled Goodwills to find different clothes that had cats and dogs on it for the quilt. I wanted something totally unique instead of store bought material. I think I got it. Most of the blocks are 4 square. The problem is I got alittle carried away and made it too big! Once I had it made though it was impossible to cut down or I would be cutting some of the larger blocks up.

We did try to use it but with the batting in the middle we decided it was best as a winter quilt. Its alot heavier than it looks!! Well its something to look forward to this winter.

Creativity at the Fair

OMG where did all those people come from? Small people, big people, wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, wagons. Made for hard to get around at the Iowa State Fair. We were there 4 hours and it was time to go back home! Thank God we rode the shuttle so we didn't have to pay for parking and only a $2 round trip bus ride. A shower and a nap--now sitting down to eating pizza and life is good again!
 I did see some wonderful quilts. I even found a place where they had a sew in where they were making quilts for charity. They were strip piecing some quilts which was nice for people to come in and sew alittle while and when the quilt gets completed they give them to children in hospitals. Ed and I found the place that I like to drool over the machines and the people were quite pleasant this year. One of the guys there told me he would help me if I needed my machine worked on and would help me to thread my serger for $50 an hour. It would be alot cheaper for me to go to Ames where I bought it for a lesson if I get the time. There was a couple machines there for $4G that was the long arm for quilting. They were really nice, but I am not ready to shell out that much for another machine. I can across the Blue Ribbon quilts and this was my favorite.

I doubt that I could make one like that, but this was inspirational. One lady had hand quilted a king size quilt that was just so detailed and perfect. I wonder how long it took her to quilt it. It took me a year to get my dog and cat king size quilt completed so I can just imagine how long it took a person to hand quilt. I will finally get to use my dog and cat quilt this winter. I finished it this spring then using it one night we realized it is definetly going to be a winter quilt! I am looking forward to it this year. Now I am going back to making my blocks. One of these days I will put them in a quilt but right now I am enjoying trying different blocks.

Rain rain go away

Dang what a summer! Here we all were so ready for the snow to go away and have some summer fun and its been nothing but rain. The state fair is here and we plan to go in the morning. I know I will have a stomach ache and he sorry but I have a list of must haves while I am there! For one thing you cannot go to the fair without eating a corn dog!! That will be first on my list!
  I am hoping to go by the quilting booth. That is what got me started on quilting. I always went by ohing and awwing over all the quilting and the embroidery designs from the machines. I always told my hubby-Ed that I wanted one of those but told him it was ridiculous to purchase such a machine unless I was at a point where I could sew alot and then sell my creations to help pay for the cost of the machine. Apparently I didn't make that clear enough cause he bought me a Janome embroidery machine for Christmas one year. He also bought me a serger that I still don't know how to use! I can never get the darn thing threaded right. I think I have three books on how to thread it but still can't seem to get it right. I think I may have to pay someone to give me a private lesson. One thing Ed didn't think about was lessons where he bought the machines. He bought the machines in Ames which is about an hour from where I live and made it hard to get lessons with my work schedule. I think I made it up there a couple of times but that was on the sewing machine.. I sure could use a refresher! I have made a few quilts and the more I do the better I get I think. I have finally gotten fairly good at making purses. At least going by all the free ones I give away I think people are pretty happy with them. One of these days I will have to start charging for them!
   Recently I am working on making different blocks. Still not doing so great with the triangles but I am determined to get them straight. I am sure there is a trick to it...
    Well guess I better get to bed.. The fair is going to be calling me as soon as I get off of work in the morning.