Note to self..

Hi self
I smiled on 8-17-08. He wrote back on 8-20-08.
One year in a couple of weeks. ;-)

My daily workspace.

What i have been doing for the last month.

Pin cushions

Hi,

I was looking on Flicker for some ideas for pincushions. I found these cute ones using felt and thread. I read through the tutorial and came up with these two. They are not perfect but they do the job. SHHHH.. i think i will make them for christmas presents.

Dottie.

My 2nd finished quilt for July..

Here is my completed quilt. I don't have anyone to hold it up for me so I

put it on the couch again. It's only the top but i have also prepared the back and the

so as soon as I can afford to buy the batting I will layer the quilt.

I have heard that the designer has released this to other quilt shops for 5 dollar quilts.

I think i have my next quilt picked out for Aug.

Check out others who have finshed there goals in the Charming Girls Club

http://cottoncharmquilts.typepad.com/charmingchatter/2009/07/the-july-finishes-post.html

A productive 3 days..

Hello!
In the last few days I have been a busy girl. I have completed 3 projects. ( 3 ufo's)

First - I completed my "Home is where the heart is quilt" to the flimsy stage. I consider it done. I didn't add the very final border as it was getting too big. I don't need another 100 by 100 inch quilt. So I repurposed the border fabric into the backing fabric. I cut it in half and used it but it wasn't quite wide enough, so I cut off about 6 inches and used it as a connection between the two sides with other left over fabric. I haven't taken a photo yet but i will soon. Oh - another thing that happened was that since i wasn't using the large blue fabric i increased my last border to 4 1/2 inches wide. I only had 1 yard of fabric and just had enough. When i put it on the quilt i was short a few inches on the sides so i did an estimated cut to extend it off the top and bottom pieces. I judged correctly. Also when i put the border on the top and bottom... again i just had enough. I know i should have been more precise and done more measuring but i was just wanting to get it done. As I always say.. the quilting gods were watching out for me. So my second UFO is done for July for the Charming girls club.. Yahoo. I am still debating which quilt to do for August. So keep reading... as I will post the answer soon.

2ND. A couple of years ago a went to the close out fabric store in the "hood". I found some black and white toile that i fell in love with. I think that it's a duck broadcloth. I thought it would be the perfect picnic cloth. I bought two yards i think and it was a bigger size over 44 inches. I folded it together with the right sides together and sewed a 5/8 seam on the two sides. I then turned it inside out and sewed a quarter inch seam along the bottom and the two sides. I then folded in the top ends and sewed a quarter inch line and then another line a quarter inch from that. I did sew three cross seams horizontally. It's simple and a good practice piece to get some sewing miles on. I love it.

3rd. This is another UFO that has been sitting in my closet for two years. I got the idea when i went to the beach with friends. My friends mom had made a wind breaker using purple denim and a couple of old broom handles. I went to Fabric Depot here in Portland and found some striped denim on the clearance rack. The stripes were wonderful to use as i used them as guides from the amount i turned over on the ends and to sew the holes for the dowels. I included a photo of one offered by Kath Kidston but mine is closer to the ground and not quite so tall and is longer in length but you get the idea. What i also did was did a label so i would remember when i did it. I took some decorator fabric and cut it out in a flower shape and then embroidered the name "The Wind Breaker" (how original I know.. lol) my name and the date as the Summer of 09. I then sewed it on with a zig zag stitch all around the sides on the wrong side of the fabric and then a bit of free hand lines to tack it in the middle. It even looks good on the outside as it is in the shape of a flower. I can't wait to try it out at the beach. I think i will use the dowels i used for the family tree last year. I will need to take them over to my brothers so i can cut them off of the cement blocks.

So I had a wonderful 3 days and feel like i got something accomplished. Well it's off for a few days at the coast. Enjoy your weekend!
Dottie

Monday....

Well i got allot done yesterday but then released how i thought i should do my log cabins was wrong. Right in theory but did not work out when i put them around the quilt. I then looked at the photo and then hit my head and went... That's how is is suppose to go. So i had to separate 32 blocks..... On Monday i got them separated and I sewed them the right way. Looks good.. Tomorrow I will sew them on to the quilt. Almost done.

Dottie

Sunday sewing..

Hi,

Just don't you love quiet Sundays you can sew? Well today is one of those days. Over the past week I have done some major cleaning in anticipation of an inspection. Wouldn't you know it, they didn't come. Also have been doing reading and applying for jobs. We won't even get into the headaches that have occurred with my unemployment and my Cobra. But the problems are getting resolved.

Today will be sewing. I will be working on putting on the borders, borders , borders for this quilt.

See this entry for a little background.

Off to sew...

Dottie.

I have been tagged..

Hi,

I have been tagged bythe Charming Girls quilt Club .... so here it goes.

5 Things
1. My Favorite Fabric:

Right now I have a fascination with Kaffee Fasset fabric. I keep buying fat quarters and someday I will find a fantastic pattern to show them all off.
2. The pattern I'm most looking forward to sewing is:

I don’t have one at the moment but the ones I want to explore are Miss. Rosie’s Quilt Co. I just love them on the Sister Choice Quilts blog.
3. The food that is my weakness:

Pizza. I heart it.
4. If I knew I couldn't fail, I'd:

I would not got back to work but go to a fantastic school back east and get my doctorate. In what I don’t know but I would love to and then get a job at a college teaching
5. The Best "Life" Advice I know is :

Things will work out. God will provide. It might not always be in the way you are wanting or asking but it will be the best for you.

Well those are my answers today but ask me tommorow and you might get a few different answers...

Dottie.

A lovely day..

Hello..
Well it's the start of another heat wave here in Portland. 90's for the next couple days.. So other than going out to eat with friends I will be staying inside.

Today I went to the lunch with a former coworker. It was odd walking into where I use to work.. Interesting on the responses I got. But that is another story and life continues on.


Reading some good books and one of them has some big words. So I read a chapter at a time and take a break.. but i love it so far. I didn't know a biography could be so philosophical. lol

Enjoy the quiet days of Summer.... I might go enjoy a movie in the Park or even a concert in the Park...

Dottie.

Took a break from sewing today.....

UFO # 2... Home is where the Heart is..

Hi,

This was a 5 dollar quilt from the store Quilting Delights in 06/07. I was going to school at the time so i didn't have time to put it all together. I have to put on two small borders, a border of log cabin blocks and the large flower border. It should be wonderful.

Once i get caught up on my UFO's I will then tackle my flimsey's. I think i might buy a huge batting roll and do one right after another.

I will keep you update on my progress..

Dottie.

UFO # 1 completed..

Well i was motivated tonight. I put the two borders on Ken's gift (still thinking about a name change) and it has moved off of the UFO list and is now on the Floppie List.. Or is it the flimsy list? Well that is something else i will have to contemplate.. Well a full day of watching the memorial. I thought it was very elegant and i was glad i had the chance to watch it. Tomorrow more sewing and i will drink water..

edited on 7-8 Here is a really bad photo.. but you can see the whole thing..

Now which one should i start next?

Dottie..

UFO #1 - Ken's gift...

Okay.. i am a little bit slow. I promised you this yesterday but I finally was able to take a photo. About 4 or 5 years ago i did a 5 dollar quilt through Quilting Delights. Along with the main quilt i was making i used my assorted batiks to make another quilt. I have completed my main quilt into a floppy but this one just has borders that need to be added. I have included them in the photo. It was quite a year that year. I was doing a 5 dollar quilt through two shops and doing a second "practice" quilt for both adventures. A friend had joined me in the second quilt as it was called something with polka dots.. and i have to do something with Dot's. My friend gave me her completed squares as it was not her style so i have 3 tops sewed up to floppies. I will show them in another post.
I call this one "Ken's gift".. but that might change if it talks to me. My boyfriend at the time gave me a gift certificate to a quilt shop called The Quilter When I went to use it the shop had moved. We found it one day on our adventures in another part of Vancouver and I went in and bought a bunch of quarter or half yards of batiks. We eventually broke up but i would go by that quilt shop every once in a while. Then one time i went by and it was gone. Last month i joined the Clark County Quilters and I was invited to a tea. Lo and behold it was at The Quilter and this time it was just over the river. I was excited.
So sorry to get off track. I am doing this quilt as part of The Charming girls quilt club. Motivation to get some of my UFO's done.
Off to quilt..

A reason to sew...

Good Day Everyone.. I am going to join this club for the summer. Click on the logo to read about it. I will post my photo on the 6th as it is already dark here in P-Town.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Set off the fireworks as we celebrate the country's Independence. I am in Eugene this weekend playing cribbage with my aunt and uncle. Winning too. Enjoy!

PS.. i told my uncle what i wrote and he had to correct me. We are playing pinochle. lol... I love his laugh when he is teasing me. Even though i was calling it the wrong name i am still winning..