Easy No Zipper Pillow

I just wanted to do an easy pillow for a friend's birthday. I found the perfect fabric.

 

Oh yes, I'm a Trekkie! So, is my husband's best friend. His new fiancé is a fan too! I know they will love it. My hubby confides, "You know I am Kirk and he is Spock." I had a total laugh out loud moment. I was like, "Yes, I know!"

 

I had to keep enough fabric to make us a pillow. Hubby wants me to make his friend a second  one. We'll see. We've been so busy. Of course, we worked in the yard on Wednesday. We cut some trees!

 

Don't try this at home. Haha!

I was worried the whole time. Don't worry. Noone was harmed while taking these photos. I actually trimmed some once the limbs were on the ground. It cuts like butter!

 

 

We piled it up nicely for pick up. We went to the beach the next day while the kids were in school. Our garbage collectors here picked up the whole lot. Can you believe all that is from that one tree?

Back to the pillow.

 

Just a simple framed look to it.

 

I used some fusible midweight  interfacing on the back of the front panel.

 

I just cut the two side pieces a few inches wider than the actual front, and they overlap. It's nice to be able to take it off the pillow form and wash it easily.

 

 

 

I put up a canvas drop cloth as my design wall. I love it! I have to get up at the top and move one of my clips over. That's the reason for the bunching on the right edge. It's on hubby's to do list. ;)

 

We spent all day today in Foley, AL at the Old Time Pottery. Then, picked up a nice 2200 psi pressure washer, and honey did the back patio, shed, and siding on the back of the house. Nice work, he's the man! I was just there for moral support. Last year, the motor broke before we could pressure wash. It's nice and clean!

 

before=gross

 

After=total transformation


 

Have a great Labor Day weekend. We will be hanging out with the family grilling! Be safe!

Blog at ya later!

Linking up with

 

Amanda Jean's Finish it up Friday

 

 

 

Octagon Quilt Top

I just finished my Octagon quilt up as dinner was baking in the oven. I love it. I did have some kinks. I mean, when does something go off without a hitch? The template for the octagons came off of quilt pro 5. I printed them out. After cutting several out, I figured out that all the sides were not equal. I just decided to go with it. However, it did affect the size of the blocks and lining up of the diamonds. I am still okay with it.
This block was not the easiest, but it wasn't boring. It looks like little fish bowls. I am thinking now of how to quilt it...hmm. It's a thinker! Plus, should I add a border??? What do you think, and what should I use? I do have that floral. I don't have anymore fish print. So, that is out.

Fish Bowl Lap Quilt

I just wanted to stop in and say hi, and let everyone know what I was up to today. Hubby is off for the rest of the week and Monday is a holiday. So, I may not get that much time quilting. He got a pole saw to trim our big oaks and is itching to use it! So, I will be out there watching and praying that he doesn't get hurt. Men and their saws. Makes me think of this song. Hehehe!

 

Blake Shelton "Redneck"

 

Blog at ya later.

 

Linking up with

Mug Rug for my Swap

I was so excited when Karen invited me to the fall mug rug swap on Ipernity. You can see some of the beauties here. These ladies are so talented! I am going to be the lucky owner of a mug rug soon. I have no idea who my partner is and I don't know if mine knows who I am either. Anywoo, I just wanted to share my mug rug progress with ya'll.

I found this applique of owls here.

Owls are just so cute. Now, hubby wants me to make a owl wall hanging. So, I will be working on that eventually.

 

I think I am going to use the bright orange polka dot for the binding.
 

I am going to add some leaves to the top branch and quilt it up a little. I normally don't sew on the weekend, but I couldn't wait to cut these out and put them on the background. The branch on the right is free style. That's the only part that isn't in the template. Just to give you an idea on the size, the bigger owl is about 2 7/8  inches and the small one 1 7/8 inches. I'm about to go sew on them some more.

 

I'm finally taking  the rail fence  quilt is off the frame. I am going to name it Lemon Squeezy.  I am going to quilt the borders at my regular table.  Hopefully, I will be finished with it soon. My octagon quilt is almost ready for the blocks  to be sewn together, and I'll be able to pop that on the frame. Once the tension issues and thread breakage was over. It was awesome!!!   My face hurts from smiling too much. LOL!

 

Blog at ya later. ;)

On the Frame

    I finally got the stitch regulator in the mail. Yay, I was ecstatic! So, I put the quilt on the frame with assistance from Sharon (mil).  We put down the stabilizer stitch, and it was really tight and tension was an issue. So, we made a few adjustments.  This is what happened...

 The thread was skipping, breaking and just plain getting annoying. I tried the tension the speed. I took out the bobbin. I checked the thread. I changed the needle and part of the issue is the darning foot that was received from Janome wasn't hopping. It was dragging across the fabric. Once I gave up, I checked google. There tips weren't really effective. Mil brought over her midarm Juki foot, and it worked. So, now it's about speed control. If I am not one with the machine, it will break. So, I set to it.

 

I am making progress. Yippee

 

I am behind on the FW QAL. I woke up with a migraine today, and my shoulder is hurting from pushing the machine. So, it will be here tomorrow.  I am going to my first guild meeting tomorrow. I am super excited about it. I can mark that off my summer to do list. I finally figured out how to make it so that I am not a no reply blogger. I got the tutorial from Fluster Buster.

                                                                I am linking up with..

                                                              

My Life in a Nutshell

   This is a lengthy post about my life and the going's on in my head. I thought I would give fair warning. :) If interested, feel free to take a peak. I threw in a few photos for you too.

 

Random pic of  Tinkerbell and I chilling on Chains of Love made by my motherinlaw Sharon Campbell.

 

 

  In my mind, I think I am just the average  mommy, wife, and friend. I am a little bit of a home body.  The other hats I wear are chef, chauffer, and maid.  I quilt and sew. I love shopping for fabric. I could spend have spent hours looking at fabric. I like to wing it in life, but I do better with a plan. I  help out the hubby with  mowing our grass. I am lucky that my hubby works hard and supports us. He also is very handy and has a small wood work shop. This is so helpful.  I don't mind getting my hands dirty. We diy renovate. He says," a couple that renovates together. Stays together." I love that saying. It definitely is a team builder experience.

 Jared's Room Renovation

       Summer here is the main part of life in Pensacola, FL. We have beautiful white beaches. The rest of the year is pretty boring. All winter and spring I  look forward to sticking my toes in the sand.  I get excited about going to the movies or going out to dinner. Weekends are spent hanging out with family or friends. I love playing rock band on the Wii. I kill it on the drums. My husband is expert on guitar and his best friend Jeremy is too.  My friend Nina is guitar and vocals. We all take a vocal turn. Wow, that was really revealing myself there. Hahaha! Just a geek at heart! I'll just take it over the edge, my sister and I do the Just Dance. The kids love dancing along too. It's a blast. Moving on from the nerdy side,  I have a huge soft spot for chocolate. We usually have family movie night on Sunday's. I look forward to that. I love my family and children. We are very tight knit.

     Sometimes, my friends will call up checking to see what's going on over here. They know if all is too quiet, I must be into something. I'm a Gemini. So, something is always brewing. Hehehe. My curiosity is always in high swing. Curiosity killed the Gemini. It's so true!  Lately, I've been blog hopping. My secret, I like to check out blogs that my favorite bloggers follow. Bloglovin' (which I just signed up for recently) actually lists the number of blogs that I follow. The one really cool feature on Bloglovin' is the friend's recent activity. It lets you see who they like and started follow.

      I blog to share, make friends, and have fun. I love seeing all the beautiful creations and mishaps. I love to get a good laugh. It's medicine for my soul. However, my sense of humor is whack.  I laugh at things that happen in real life. Like, messing something up. Not reading something right and just totally bombing it! Yes, I laugh if someone falls. Not a bad fall though. Like recently my daughter Kenzie tripped on the front step and hit her head on the corner of the screen door. My heart jumped in my throat, and I literally imploded. She was the brave one. She got three stitches and not one tear. 

     From reading a lot of blogs I follow, I noticed a trend. Bloggers like lists. I love lists too. It soothes me. My list is a must when I am losing my mind overwhelmed. There's a summer list here on my blog. I need a check mark for it. :) If I was more of a techie I would be able to check it off. Maybe, I could put a line through it. Ha! That's what I'll do. Who needs all these buttons? Yeah, I know... I do. I've really become attached to some of these blogs. Literally, everyday when I open my blogger dashboard to check in (you would think) on my blog. I am really getting my coffee(blog) goodness for the day.  I hope I am not the only one....Just an average person. ;) I like to think that anyway; So, don't laugh.

     I know I say this a lot. I just like to keep it simple, but fun. Hope you enjoyed my rambling today.

Easy Coasters

I was looking for a cute little house warming gift for my sister-in-law.  I thought about casserole carrier, and I promptly threw out that idea. I knew that she loved the main fabric with  the coffee theme. It's one of my favorites. A small part of me didn't want to use it, but I let it go. Woosahed it out.

    So, I searched out coaster ideas and came across the cutest coasters. I got the tutorial from Jeni's blog here. I would love to get these for a gift. So, that's how they came to be.
      Disclaimer: I used her cuts, but the placement of the pieces is different. It's not because I didn't like the way she did it, but  I was awake super early and I didn't check the placement of my pieces. Things like this happen to me all the time. They are still cute. Terrie will never know. Shh...

Here's a tip section. I added some light/medium weight interfacing on the second set. It made them more sturdy. It only took me an hour to cut everything and sew it. Now, don't laugh at the slowness. I am sure that some people can almost get a quilt top done in 1 hour. Anyway, it was quick.

                                    

 

They were simple. I think this could be done in an hour or less really. The thing is I can never time how long it takes because I have to stop and let the dog out, fix breakfast, get hubby out the door. It's never dull, but I never get to run through a project without interruption. When the kids go back to school maybe that will happen. I can dream, right???

 

 

To me, the back is just as cute. Love, love this fabric. I know some people are loving birds, elephants, deer, or whatever. This is the one for me. I've had it awhile and my feelings haven't changed. That's true love!

 

 

 

Now, I am going to have to make some for my house. They will match the placemats too. Hey, I'm a fan of matchy matchy sometimes.

 

I hope she loves them. Thanks for stopping by and blog at ya later.

 

 This is the second set, and I actually put the pieces where they were supposed to go. I guess I am awake now. ;)

 

 

Linking up with

 

Finish it up Friday!

 

 

 

My lil Fabric Stash

I saw a bunch of beautiful fabric stashes and spaces over Sarah Quilts. So, I am linking up to share my slice of heaven. Although, secretly, I am sooo wishing some of those fabrics spaces would come live here! One day, I will get there.

 

 

Here it is..I folded it and straightened just for this post.

 I keep my clothing fabrics on the bottoms. There's more denim under the bed in a container in our room. Shhh..it's hiding out there for a day when I am thinking about denim. I haven't thought about denim in a while. I may have to go in and put the fabrics for clothes somewhere else soon. I am looking forward to that. That means shopping and sales!

This is my cutting station. I keep one bin for tools. The drawer holds some templates and cording and things. One bin has scraps that are just teeny weeny bits. One is for strips. There's one more bin nearby.

 

The purple bin on the dresser is for 2" squares. I cut them as I go when I am just plugging along at my turtle speed. I house my take-a-long container that is ready for outings under the table. The white box is for patterns. The cutting table is normally set up by the window. The light is nice there. It is nice that I can watch the kids play too.

 I have the frame set up waiting on the arms for the Janome I just got. I can't wait. Side note-the free motion foot and plate to cover the feed dogs are here. Right after this post,  I am going to make some coasters for  my sister-in-laws house warming this Saturday. So, I am going to free motion something on there. I have no idea what yet.

Back to my room. I have two drawers in the table that have glue gun, tape, buttons, etc...
I house my WIP on the air hockey table in the back and under I am using for batting storage and the frame when it is not in use.

As I was taking the photos, I realize I need to make some pretty quilted things for this room. I will be working on that in the near future. After I play on my Janome a bit. Happy sewing and thanks for checking out my space.
 

Farmer's Wife QAL Block 4 and 5

Link  up with me. :)

I have been sewing on my Octagon Fish Quilt and had to take a few minutes to get a couple of the
Farmer's Wife blocks together.  This one is super easy. So, I just took a couple photos.

 Block 4 Basket Weave

 

I cut the template out. I cut four strips of each. Then, attached the 3 strips in a set. I attached the sets together top and bottom. The last seam was in the middle. Don't forget to pin the middle.

 

 

 This block is growing on me. So far, I have been using all my scraps.

 Block 5 Bat Wing

 

It's not my favorite, but that's ok. They can't all be my favorites.

 

 

I jut wanted to show how I cute my triangles out. I cut them from a strip.

 

It's pretty simple.  I always keep in mind that the  bias edge, bias grain is across the fabric,  love to shift.

 Here's all my pieces.

 

I like to lay them right out next to me on my table. When I was sewing in the kitchen,  I used to used a tv tray. They are perfect! I sewed the bottom together. You can see that the I am working on piecing the top section. I will sew the other side. They will be overlapping where the points meet.

 

I sewed the middle together. One on each side. Then, I am sewing the top on the middle. I pinned jut a bit. If by chance you are not lined up, it's ok. I take the short side and put it on top while I am sewing. This lets the feed dogs work on the bottom, and I can stretch the top a bit. It works. It just can't be way different in length.

 

 

It's all done for today.

 



 

I got to get the kids lunch ready, and then maybe do a bit of cleaning. I promised the kids we would go downtown to the fountain pad and let them play.

 

 

I am linking up with

 

 

Link up with me!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Making a Blog Header

      I wanted to give my thanks and pass on these awesome tutorials to update your blog
Alice @ Mums make Lists goes over tons of tips for bloggers like me that don't know what is going on with their blog. I have been wishing for a year and a half for a blog that looks special. It is ode to her blog. Plus a link that I found there.

      Before that it was boring and who wants boring?? Not me! I want a beautiful blog just like the  that I see all the time, and paying someone else isn't going to happen. I updated my header using this tutorial from Ashton @ Something Swanky. Pic Monkey is easy to use, and that's saying a lot coming from me. Hahaha. I can sew the heck out of something, but this blog gets me in a hissy! Yes, a full blown hissy fit, that's right!

     This is just a side note, I saw some SUPER delicious recipes over there at Something Swanky. I shouldn't pin them, but I am so going too.

     I guess I should throw in a photo of something.....

I am so proud of this...hehehe

 

 

 

It's yucky out today. While I was working on Pic Monkey, we were getting a street light installed. 

 



I also joined a mug rug swap 2013 on www.ipernity.com. This is my mosaic inspiration that I pulled from Flickr for my secret partner. They are all so cute.

 

I'm going to get back to my sewing now. I hope you enjoy the new look!  Blog at ya later.

Janome, I love you!

I have been dying for a mid arm. I mean, who wouldn't want one. I never thought we would be able to afford it, but we did. Someone who quilts actually didn't want to keep it. She has a Bernina and this is a Janome. Well, her loss is my gain!!

 

Look at that baby Brothers machine. It's so little and cute.

 

 I'm am in love! It's a Janome 16P BBX. I am in heaven. I pinched myself, and it's still here. It even came with a knee bar to lift the presser foot. The conversion kit to free motion quilting is in the mail.

Blog at ya later. :)



Octagon Quilt Block

Just popping in..

.

 

 

This is the mock up for the blocks and pieces. I have to cut the rest of the little wedges. I am finding that the points are going to be super difficult. The iron and starch are my bff's (best friends forever). I know most people don't put out their mistakes, but I don't mind showing you my frustrations and mistakes.  It's part of it. I'm committed to this quilt though. I think it's going to be a beautiful lap quilt.

 

Update later in the evening....

 

 

Block number 1 that I made earlier is in the top left. The bottom right is the last block of the evening. I figured out the kinks. Yeah! I didn't give up.

 

This is how we do...lol.

 

I am getting back to it.

 

This is Sunday's progess...

 

 

This is 7 down out of 24.

 

Family time this weekend. We went to Five Flags Speedway and saw our first race. It was awesome! Then, there was the demolition derby. It was fun watching all the cars get smashed and one caught on fire.

 

 

I was sewing, and then hubby wanted to go to Home Depot. We got some paint samples for the kitchen. This is what it will look like. I didn't paint out the trim or the door frame. I did paint a little on the left. Now, it's back to sewing.

 

Blog at ya later.