Life's Curveballs and Some Crafting

The Personal Bits:

You know those times when life starts throwing you curveballs and just doesn't seem to let up quick enough for you to breathe? That's how its been for me the last few weeks. Seriously, I know life is full of challenges, but it would help the mind better if they didn't happen like back to back to back. I realize that worrying about things doesn't help matters. Actually, I don't call what I do "worrying", I like to refer to my constant thinking as planning for the what-if's. It actually puts my mind at ease when I can plan out what to do if something else pops up within my problems. Would you believe on top of everything I have going on at the moment that I got my first ticket in 10 years on Sunday?! Talk about stepping your foot in crap and not being able to get the crap off your shoe! I think it should be a sin for highway cops to give tickets out on Sunday morning. I would also like to add that he issued the fastest ticket ever. He went to his car and came back in like 3 minutes! Even my boyfriend, (who knows all about driving tickets too well) was shocked out how fast he wrote that thing.

On the upside of things, my worry issues are slowly working themselves out.

~ My honey should be starting a new job within 2 weeks at a brand new beer bar right near home. Much more convenient than his last job at a hotel on Miami Beach that was like 1 hour away from home. Yay!

~My financial woes are working themselves out slowly. Yay! Yay!

~My job finally hired a new person and I think she will be fabulous once she get's comfortable with the system.- Hallelujah!

~My son's behavior issues at school are slowly getting better. You see, my son is an energetic, fun loving kid with very little patience for learning anything new. He also likes being the center of attention so behaving in groups is challenging.

He started a new school this year which academically speaking was a great move. Now he just needs to learn how to act like a 3rd grader. I know it will "sink in" eventually. Every year I see improvement, its just not at the rate his school would like. Plus this school works like a private school, so their standards are much higher than he is used to.

~And finally, the countdown is on to this year's Disney Christmas vacation. Woohoo!! My little magical world outside of the chaotic world called real life. Thank God the financial woes are working out cause if not, this trip would not happen and I would be one depressed girly. I'm doing some extra planning for this trip to make it different from all the others.

 

The Crafty Bits

I've done a little bit of crafting in the middle of my mental anguish. I stitched some more on my Heaven and Earth Design: Mini Bookworm Fairy by Hannah Lynn.

 

Progress at August 14

Progress at August 23

 

Progress at September 16

Almost done with page 1. Only 20 something more to go!...and that's not an exaggeration either.

I also did a little bit of hand quilting on my quilt. At the rate I'm going, this quilt may be done by the year 2020, but I'm going to work hard to make sure it is done wayyyyy before then.

I am breaking a rule with the hand quilting I must admit. I'm NOT using a quilt hoop. I just grab the quilt and quilt with it in my lap. It makes hand quilting so much easier for me. I can't do the rocking stitch when the top is taut like needlework. I feel like I'm going to break the needle and I can't keep the stitches the same length. Plus, I've realized that I really dislike thimbles. They are a pain to use.

Thank you for visiting and reading my little rant on life. I actually feel better now that I have blogged out the things on my mind. Maybe now I'll pick up my poor neglected dish cloth I started knitting but haven't finished just yet.

Until next time, Have a great evening. :)

**Hugs**

Jen

Having fun with Red, White and Blue Today

Welcome Blog Hoppers!

I hope you are enjoying the wonderful Red, White and Blue inspiration on this blog hop. I am in the company of so many talented quilters. I am amazed by the lovely projects I have seen so far. A big thank you to Jane and Madame Samm for organizing this fun blog hop and for letting me participate once again.

I have a fun quilt block to share with you all today.

I found a wonderful little fat quarter bundle of 5 patriotic fabrics that I just had to use for my project. I found this pattern called "Rosebud" on the internet. It can be found right here. There are many other freebie quilt patterns on that site too. This pattern was so simple to put together. Anything with patches is fun to me. I am not a fan of piecing triangles, especially little ones. I like sewing strips and working with squares. Those I can handle just fine. Triangles and diamonds... lets just say I need an extra two doses of patience before working with those.

I machine quilted my little table quilt using gold metallic thread. I like how diagonal quilt lines contrast with block patterns. The middle block took some thinking. I didn't want to quilt over the flower design and take attention away from it so I opted to outline the flower twice to make it pop. I also did a little decorative stitch around the edge of the block for more interest.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my creation. For added fun today, I am offering a giveaway to you hoppers. I am offering a $10.00 gift certificate to The Fat Quarter Shop. For a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post telling me you are interested. You do not have to be a follower, but please make sure you leave me a way to contact you. I will draw a winner on Saturday, July 14.

There is more fun up ahead. Here is the schedule for today.

July 7th

Why Knot Kwilt?

A Passion for Appliqué

QuiltQuest

Crafty Imaginings by Jen

Sew Me Something Good

 Grandmama's Stories

If you get lost along the way, just click here to go to Jane's blog for the Master list. 

Take Care Friends!

Jen

IHSW and Other Project Finishes

So who is ready for Thanksgiving? I know I am. I love Thanksgiving and all of the yummy food that comes with it. And of course, the wonderful time spent with family. This year will actually be the first time I am traveling away for Thanksgiving. I have never had to deal with airports around the holidays so I am sure traveling this week will be mighty interesting.

Today was a very productive crafty Sunday. So productive in fact that I completely forgot I needed to go to the mall today to pick up some new clothes for some picture day at my office this week. Not sure why they are doing that, but professional (not business casual) attire is required. As luck would have it, I can't seem to find my black blazer jacket. Yippee for me! So a trip to the mall is in order....unfortunately. I hate the mall.

This weekend was International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, hosted by the lovely Joyce. Yesterday, my crafting mojo was just completely non-existent. I tried to do some stitching and the little bit I did, I ended up having to take out. That was it for Saturday. Today on the other hand, I did some stitching, hand quilting and some french beading.

Nora Corbett "J" Fairy - I did the beading at the top of her dress and finished her left arm. ( Click for clearer close up )

I also worked on my exchange piece for the Winter Wonderland Exchange over at the Stitched with Love Exchanges blog. This one is a secret so I can't show it yet.

I started the quilting on my quilt this week. Here is the quilt in case you missed my last post.

I decided to hand quilt this instead of machine quilting it. I have machine quilted my quilts in the past, but I wanted to do something extra special for this one. This is my first time hand quilting at all, and I'm teaching myself. I've pretty much got the motion down. Although would you believe I have tried four different thimbles and can't STAND the things. I'm not kidding....They get in the way! I just keep one nearby in case my needle gets stuck, but other than that, I don't wear them. The metal one falls off cause my finger sweats...the plastic one is too tight...the fingertip ones don't stay stuck on my finger...the leather one works okay unless the needle slips and goes through the slit to jab me underneath my fingernail! So...yes I have a love/hate relationship with thimbles. I use them when I absolutely have to, but I hate the things.

I've created my own quilting patterns for the patch blocks and the blue blocks. I'm using two different color threads; white for the patch blocks and blue for the blue blocks. Since you can't see the stitching on the top of the quilt in a picture, here is a picture of the back so you can see the pattern I made on the patch blocks. I would show you the blue block pattern, but the stitches don't show in the picture.

I'm really not going for the smallest stitches award or most consistent length award. I'm just going with the "Do I like it award?" The answer is Yes...Yes I do. :) I love feeling the texture (puffiness) I am creating with the stitching. That is really the effect I am going for. I don't want to take away from the pretty pattern of fabrics on the front. I find that hand quilting is truly rewarding. I love having the quilt in my lap. I feel all cozy in it while I work on it. I hope my step mom loves it too. I'm actually hoping her 4 cats don't mess it up.

My last project I finished today was my step mom's overdue birthday present. A little arrangement of French Beaded Roses I made.

I made two roses out of glass seed beads and wire. Each rose bloom has 25 petals (except the small one). I also made leaves as well. I used a pattern from the book French Beaded Flowers by Dalene Kelly. Originally, I had planned to make a bigger arrangement, but my fingertips just can not take the abuse anymore. Working with floral wire is tiring on the hands not to mention you stab yourself over a dozen times in the process. These flowers are actually quite top heavy too. I had to add stones at the bottom of the vase to give it some weight. I hope they are enough to keep it from toppling over.

That is all for me now. My fingers are achy so that is my cue to end my night of craftiness today.

To all my sweet followers and new comers (in the US), I wish you a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Day with your family and friends.

Happy Crafting,
Jen

Quilting Advice Please...

Happy Tuesday Friends!

I need some advice from you master quilters out there today. :)

This is my current quilt in progress. This quilt top has been a WIP for about 4 years. It has been an off and on project only because I don't have a lot of space for quilting. I live in a little apartment. I only have a small dining room table to work on. So you can imagine that working on big quilt tops is challenging and can be somewhat frustrating too. I just don't have adequate space to sew them on. What I wouldn't give for my own craft room I tell ya! Here is my quilt top all pieced together:

This quilt is a special project in the making. I will tell you the story behind this. My parents and I went to Pennsylvania about five years ago for a family reunion. My stepmother really wanted a handmade quilt from an Amish store. Little did she know how MUCH handmade quilts from an Amish store cost. She saw some for $500 - $600 dollars and was floored. We literally drove around to different stores for about 2 - 3 hours the day we were leaving back home. Needless to say, she didn't buy one. I could tell she was disappointed. So I set out to make her one myself. I thought this patchwork design was perfect and I really liked the colors. Thankfully, I found the fabric and pattern as a kit from a seller on E-Bay. I'm so indecisive when it comes to picking colors out for a quilt. That part of the process is stressful for me.

Now I ask you quilting ladies, besides quilting in the ditch, do you have any other suggestions for how I should quilt this? I'm hoping to finish this for Christmas morning for my step mom.

Thank you for your suggestions. :)
Jen

Quilts, Stitching, Cards...Oh My!

I have some project updates to share with you all today and it is a little bit of everything and some more.

First, let me introduce you to my quilt. This is the quilt I was talking about in one of my previous posts. The one that has a deadline to finish date of 12/25/11.

I do not take credit for the color choices. I purchased a kit with the pattern from an Ebay seller; however the hours of piecing I take credit for! As you can see, a few rows need to be added before the top is officially done. The pattern is called "Tic Tac Moe". There is a story behind why I chose this pattern and color choices but I will save that for another post.

Next! Here is a "Hello" Card I made this last week. It will be included with my Exchange piece that I will be shipping off this Thursday. Papers and Embellishments all came in a kit I bought from Cupcards to Go. The little "Hello" is a Dazzle sticker from Paper Wishes.

Next! I did some stitching this weekend. I worked on a few projects. First is my "J" Fairy. I finished her left wing and did the back stitching.

I also worked on my "Tree of Stitches" by Abi Gurden from The Stitch Specialists Yahoo Group. I stitched the trunk in Crescent Colors - "Hickory Sticks".

I also worked on my Halloween Exchange piece for the Stitched with Love Exchanges group. It is a secret. :) Can't show it!

Next! I will participating in a blog hop next month starting on October 24. (Button on my sidebar) It is called The Ghastlies Blog Hop hosted by Madame Samm over at Sew I Quilt Now. What are "The Ghastlies" you ask? Well...it is a line of fabric. A really unique line of fabric. I call it fabric with a bit of "personality" (or maybe lack of). Personally, I think they are cool. They make me think of the Haunted Mansion ride in Disney World.

For this blog hop, we are being challenged to make sewing projects out of this fabric. Quilts are not excluded but the point is to see what other sewing projects can be made using this material. Can't say what I'm making...that is a surprise. Hmmmm, I've been saying that a lot lately. I have many secret projects don't I?? I will tell you all a little more about the blog hop when it gets closer to starting.

For you cat lovers!

Finally, I was bad this weekend. I stopped at Joann Fabrics for one particular thing and look what I walked out with: 

I just love the bats. What am I going to do with all this??? Not a clue right now. I have that disease called impulse buying. Have you heard about it? Is there a cure? Never fails, I go to Joann's or Michaels, I buy. I go to my LNS or knit store, I buy and we won't even go there about a bookstore.

With these two fabrics, I am going to make a bag. The top will be the outside and the orange will be the lining fabric. Next month, I am going to the Mickey Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. I heard they give out tons of candy. I don't think my son's little bag will be enough so I am preparing a bigger storage medium. :)

Okay! That is it, at least till next week. I am so excited right now. Friday can not come fast enough. My boys and I are going on a cruise this Friday to Monday to the Bahamas. It will be our first cruise. We are sailing on the Norwegian Sky and we have a balcony room. Can you say heaven? I will definitely report to you all my trip experience with a few beach pics. Here's hoping that the weather behaves. All projects are staying home in case you are wondering. I think I will be too busy staring at the sea while enjoying good food and a few drinks.

Happy Crafting and Stitching my Friends,

Jen