Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of something I have been working on. Since it is a gift for someone I can't show the whole item until it lands safely in Melissa's mail box. I am not sure if she reads my blog so I can only give a sneak peek at what I made her. When her box arrives I will post a pic of all the goodies that I sent out to her.

I am still working on Jazmine's quilt and hope to have it finished this week. I am also working on a project  for Christmas as well. Hopefully I can post it here soon.

Happy Stitching,

Wendy

Matchbox Advent Tutorial

I was recently in a swap that involved matchboxes being altered. I had never done any of these and I had a great time completing my 25. Since I work with fabric/lace etc. that is what I covered my boxes with. Not as complicated as you might think. Below is a tutorial on my process of altering the boxes.
1. Pick out the fabric of your choice or you can use decorative paper. As I am not a paper scraper I chose to use fabric.
2. Tacky glue
3. Hot glue gun
4. Laces
5. Craft wire for the hanger
6. Beads if you like
7. Rosettes
8. Small tags to write the number of the box on
10. Sharpie, scissors and your usual crafty items

Measure your matchbox so around so you can cut out the correct length of fabric. In this case I cut a length of fabric 2 1/2"  and cut it down to fit the box. Apply tacky glue to the whole outside of the box and starting at the short side of the box lay your fabric on top of the glue. Be sure and smooth as you go so you have no wrinkles in the fabric. The outside of your box should look like this when finished with this step. Next you cut out an inside swatch of fabric and glue to the inside of the matchbox.

 All 25 matchboxes completed for stage one.

 Next using your hot glue gun and the lace and bobbles and bits that you have chosen you glue them on. As you can see I started at one end and just applied the hot glue going around the box. Then placed the lace on the hot glue section and pressed all the way around until it held. Be careful to keep the lace straight as it can and will shift as you rotate the box around.

 Here is the finished block all ready for the little ornament to be places inside.

 

You can go here to see more and check out the tutorials for those who use scrapping paper and such.     

When my swapped out boxes arrive here in Nov. I will post pics to let you see the variety that I received in the swap. 

Happy Stitching,

Wendy

New Crazy Quilt RR

These are my nekkid blocks for the Winter DYB RR over on CQI. I chose a winter theme instead of a holiday one.

 Happy Stitching,
Wendy

Started Jazmines 2nd Quilt

Well I have started Jazmine's second quilt that I am making for her. This one will be pin wheels. I have always loved this pattern and decided that I wanted to make her one. This one will be done in Care Bears as well. Also I decided to do a quick tutorial on the way I do my half square triangles and pin wheel blocks. I have always done them this way as it is easier for me and less confusing for beginners. When I first started quilting I tried all the techniques available at the time. (which was not many in the early 70's) I finally settled on this way and the rest is history. Maybe this will help any newbies out there that is looking for an easier way to make them.
Tutorial:
1. Cut out your squares in the size that you want to use. Mine are 6"

 2. Next put the two squares together with the right sides facing:

 3. Now comes the easy peasy part. You just sew around the square a quarter of an inch away from the edge all the way around the square. This is how it will look.

 4. Next you are ready to cut them apart. You put your ruler corner to corner diagonally and cut.

5. Now cut from the other edge in the same way.

6. Here is what your half square triangles will look like when you have cut them apart.

7. Just sew them together how you want them to spin and you now have a finished block. Easy peasy I am telling you. Below is my sample. I do need to re-press as I did not press the block correctly as I was in a hurry to finish this tutorial. I hope this helps you out.

Happy Stitching,

Wendy
 

This And That

First off in the world of sewing and quilting I am quilting the first of baby Jazmine's quilts. This one is really super simple and is working up fast and I should be finished with the quilting over the weekend. No pics yet, will do those when it is finished. Also I have cut out a pin wheel quilt for her and should have the flimsy finished by the weekend hopefully.........we will see. My sister is having her annual October family get-together so I may not get it finished. Will post pics of both of these on Monday. The fabrics is care bears as I have about 30 yds of the stuff and my dd loves it.

I received my "  Friends"   swap from my partner Melissa you should go check out her blog. She has some wonderful things there and she is a very talented quilter/artist. Below is what she sent out to me.

 This is a closer view of my mini quilt that she made. Melissa I love it very much. Notice the little crazy quilt she is holding. I so appreciate that she added the style of quilting that I so love. I love to sane quilt as well, but crazy quilting is my passion. This little quilt is destined to hang in my sewing room.

 Melissa also made me a nail care set which I needed. Some lovely rose lotion and bath petals as well. And of course fabric and beads with ribbon. My package for Melissa will go out this coming week and when she receives the parcel I will show pics here.


Next is a pic I made of the moon on last night. It was about midnight and it was just beautiful. Nice and full and it was so light out that you could see perfectly.

Notice in the second pic that in the upper right hand corner it looks like a second moon! I don't know how that happened. But it is neat looking. Next up is what I sent out to my Colour Swap partner. She is a scrapper and that is what she wanted. So I tried to load her up with lots of goodies for that. My package has not arrived as of yet so just photos of what I sent out to her.We were supposed to send out a little gift for each of the letters and one handmade item for our swap partner.

C- chip boards x2,chipboard alphabets x 2, cookie cutters
O- orchids
L- lace
O- organdy lace and fabric
U- udder cream for her hands
R- handmade rosette pin in her favorite colors, silk roses


As extras I sent six sets of stamps, more ribbon and some more chip boards. I know the package has arrived and hope that she likes what I sent out to her. I have not heard anything from her yet. Her dd was in a car accident and she had to go out of town. I hope all is well with her.


I also made this and something went wrong. I followed the directions I was given and it just will not work out. I am so frustrated with this. It was going to be a candle mat but now it is in the wasted time bin until I can salvage it which I hope is soon. I am looking for a solution but so far nothing I have tried has worked. Here is the pic of my project.

I had thought that maybe I had too many of the pie shapes so I removed one and it still did not lay like it should. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I hate to just have to scrap this project for good. I love this fabric and hate to waste it. I guess if I have to I could make pie shaped pin cushions from it. But only if all else fails. Ok this post has been long so I will say goodbye for now and post more tomorrow.

Added: Thanks for the advice on the blogger situation. I did as you said and closed everything out and all of my blogs that I follow came back  after several times of doing this.

Happy Stitching,

Wendy

A Rant

Usually I don't place rants of any kind on my blog. For me it is mostly wasted energy that is best spent sewing or quilting. But today I do have a rant and its against blogger. I signed in and all my blogs that I follow are gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!........Yes I said gone, where did they go? Can blogger tell me? Hello blogger where are my blogs that I faithfully follow? This really aggravates me to no end. I was ready to sit down with my cuppa make my quilty post and read all my blogs. But can I do that on today? The answer is no and I am really upset about it. I have tried several times to restore my follow list to no avail. Hopefully when I come back later it will have worked itself out. Hopefully..........so much for reading early in the day. Maybe tonight. Has this happened to anyone else and what can I do about it if anything. I would really hate to lose all those wonderful blogs that I follow.

Wendy

Quick Post

I have been out of town and now am back. So sorry for not posting but I did not have my computer with me and therefore could not post. I do have some crafty things to post but will do so tomorrow. I am tired and just want to rest tonight. So get ready for tomorrow as it will be a long post with pics. Have a great night.

Baby Jazmine update, my dd doctor said if we can keep baby Jazmine in the womb for ten more days he will not stop the labor process again. We are praying that she stays in the womb until November 21st which is the original schedule for her to be born. Her actual due date is Dec. 2. The dr. said that my lovely d would not make the Dec. date. So we are hoping for the Nov. date for the safety of baby Jazmine. That being said he is having a hard time regulating dd sugar. She is taking insulin shots twice daily and it is still extremely high. God is still in control and we are believing that her sugar will regulate with the medication. Please keep them in your prayers. Thank each of you who have been praying for mom and baby. We so appreciate it.

Happy Stitching,
Wendy

Swap Package Arrived at Destination

Ok my swap package to Gina has arrived today so I can now post a pic of what I sent her. Gina collects vintage tape measures so I was able to find two for her. One is a little dog and the other is gnome they are so cute and both are in working condition. I don't usually buy from etsy but that is where I found both of these. Gina loves to crochet so when I seen this book I knew I had to add that for her. I took a look see inside and it has some really great items to make. A pin cushion I made plus a vintage green bowl. The final item is the knitted shawl that I made.

Happy Stitching,
Wendy

Fall Intrigues Basket Swap

The basket I made up for Elaine arrived at her house on today so I can post a pic of what I sent her. The basket she sent me is below in another post, 2nd one down I believe. Here is what I sent out to Elaine. The pumpkin can be carved so I thought that might be fun if she likes halloween. I picked up a couple of them for myself.

I did not do a traditional basket but used a horn of plenty basket that can be hung on the wall or placed on a table with all the bounty of fall. I thought the set of chooks had such lovely fall colors in them. Hope Elaine likes what I chose for her. This was a quick and fun swap.

Happy Fall
Wendy

Yes Two Posts In One Day!

I tried to post this below but Blogger is wanting to be unaccommodating today. Anyhow I finally bit the bullet and ordered this book Color Shuffle that I have been wanting for ages. It came on Saturday and now I see this quilt in my future.

Sorry for the dark pic on bottom it could not be helped for whatever reason.lol. Camera would not cooperate with me today. I love this quilt and hope to get started on it soon.

Happy Stitching,
Wendy

Yesterday A Good Mail Day!

I had a really good mail day on yesterday when I finally made it to the post office. I usually check on Friday's but alas I was soooooooo busy that I had to go on Sat. This is what came in the mail. My "Fall Intrigues" basket swap from Elaine. Lots of wonderful goodies in the basket. Although on unpacking the basket I found that the cup she sent was broken. Everything else was fine and I love it. Thanks so much Elaine for all the goodies you sent.

Lot's of great stuff in there. Some lovely Moda fabric with a harvest theme with great colors. Candy corn which is a favorite fall candy for me. I always buy extra so I will have some after the season is over! Below is a sneak peek of what I sent to Elaine. Her package should arrive Monday or Tuesday and I will post a full pic of what I sent out to her then.

Candy bars came! Are they not yummy! I am already thinking about how I will use these.

Yummy colors take a look inside......

These are 2 1/2" x 5" and there are 40 cuts in each stack. There is also an instruction booklet with quilting ideas inside the box. The price is very reasonable also. 

Happy Stitching,
Wendy