Hello, Shalom, Hola!

It seems fairly obvious that I am no longer sure about blogging. I love the idea of it....but the actual execution....It is soooo time consuming to edit pics and all. I am going to hang in here a bit longer but bear with me...if you are still out there... I've been filling my time elsewhere. How do you find time to post, read, comment ect......I don't have kids and it's just DH and I so that isn't the problem. It's just so much time on the computer. I have that I accomplish much more without the blogging but I miss it......So how do you do it?

On the quilty front....

I made this sign for school. I teach a class we call L'dor V'dor. In hebrew that means from generation to generation. I teach Jewish customs, traditions and holidays.

I have been wanting to make this sign ever since I bought this book by Atkinsons Designs.

Number one. I hate my sign. The kids will probably like it but....icky, icky on my part. Number 2, I didn't want to sew so I used the old paint around the edges technique. ICK. Number 3, The idea was to make it reversible because I am also the librarian. I painstakingly fused and cut the letters for LDOR VDOR and LIBRARY. I fused, painted, bejeweled, and decorated both sides. YEAH it was done. AHEM....I strung the letters on the rod. L-d-o-r-V-d-o-r. I turned the rod around expecting to see L-i-b-r-a-r-y. Instead I saw y-r-a-r-b-i-L!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! To add insult to injury, I can't even find a place to hang the riffin' raffin' thing!!!!!!

Here is a close up of a couple letters.

Paper piecing fun

A few weeks ago I made this adorable paper pieced pin cushion. I needed a good excuse to break out the heat set tool and jewels and this was as good a reason as any! I forgot how much fun paper piecing can be.



I gave it to a friend so she too can be a princess!

Wedding prep 1

A few weeks ago we had a massive wedding prep day. Noone (read bride and groom to be) was safe from the weekend of crafting.

Chris and Aviva used large amounts of glue and made even larger mounds of hot glue strings in the process!



Aviva is making a lollipop topiary with white fabric. Up close it kinda looks like white and red roses. Not so much in this shot.



Chris was the winner this particular weekend. He created the most amazing Tootsie Roll topiary. Give a guy a job with very specific instructions and plan to receive amazing results.


He was meticulous in his application. However, boys will be boys and after a few hours of crafting fun he couldn't take it any longer and resumed his Mortal Combat game!



The picture of the finished product does not do it justice. You'll just need to hang around long enough to see actual pics from the wedding. Those tootsie rolls are packed tight! It is absolutely adorable. There are about 5 lbs of candy on this thing. He said if you get close it smells like a tootsie roll flower!

A few weeks earlier, I made this starlight candy topiary. It is holding 7 lbs of candy. I made a mistake and used permanent glue! LOL!!! The only way these puppies are coming off is if you unwrap them!

Here Chris is cutting papers to cover water bottles and Aviva is assembling candy bags.



See my sewing machine? I wasn't just the photographer, I was busy finishing the last bits of the kippot.

Just a cool shot. My phone has a panorama setting and I wanted to see how it worked. All that mess you see around is crafting stuff! It was a very busy and very productive weekend!

Presents for the bride

My design wall looks very empty...that's because everything I'm working on right now is 3 dimensional! I managed to finish everything on my list for last week...unfortunately we are now in a new week and the craziness re-starts!

I went very simple for Ms. Aviva's shower gift. First, I made her this bag. The entire wedding is candy themed. I made candy fabric kippot and used the same fabrics to make this bag.









This is the bag pattern.





I also made her pillowcases from this adorable fabric.

The best thing I included in her gift bag was a pair of booties!!! (they were $1 at joanns and I couldn't resist the joke) She wanted to kill me! I couldn't stop laughing!!! "MOM!!!!!!" (yes, I unashamedly would like grandchildren but no there are none on the way!)

UFO Challenge-a finish

I managed to finish 3 UFO's this month! There weren't the most difficult but a finish is a finish! Count me in!!

Started this tablerunner last year. Made it from a pack of charm squares and a Charmers pattern.



I finished two of the snowman tablerunners. I started these last year at retreat.







So sorry, the photos aren't the greatest.

Stash Report

Sooo, the question is, do I begin afresh or do I report from last week????? My idea is to begin afresh. That means.

Used this Week: 0
Used year to Date: 0
Added this Week: 0
Added Year to Date: 0
Net Used for 2011: 0

This is the best report I've ever given!!!! Now mind you I always go on retreat in January and we visit quilt shops on the way. Never a good thing when trying to NOT buy. So I allow myself ONE little pleasure and one week of zeros!



Last week I did however finish this




By using these..... that I have been working on and saving since here....

and I arranged the finished 1" squares to create this....

It was next to impossible to insert properly into the cup and it's all crookedy but it is done! It is one more thing off of my shoulders, sitting in the sewing room waiting to be finished.
Don't forget to visit Judy and see all the other stash busting reports.

APPLES!

I find this so funny. I have loved these apples since the first time I saw them. I never considered making them until last few years. I looked at them and saw too much potchkying around (it's fiddly work). All of a sudden I was hell-bent on an apple pattern. I finally had one but then that potchkying thing kept me from making them. Two years later.......

A big tower of apples. It took me too long to finish them for the 2009 gift. I put them away for another day. But I can finally say that I made them!

potholders

I was on a serger kick. I just felt like serging and quilting. I learned a few things.

1. My serger doesn't like batting

2. My serger DOESN'T like Insul-bright batting

3. My kicks don't last long. I tired before I finished! LOL! I did finish all I had started. I still have a few strip sets left to quilt but I'm in no hurry.

I used a pattern from Sewing with Nancy called Ready ,Set, Serge. I used it because of the unique method of turning. There is no hand work and no topstitching. I think next time I will modify it and only add one "hand pouch" on the back.

I used up some bits of batting, thread that the long arm doesn't like and a few random strips of fabric. All in all a good experiment a good quilting practice.

Some of my recent projects

My new table runner and the quilting on it.

The pillowcases made for CheerGirl during Auntie Camp.

the quilting

The finished quilt from Auntie Camp. I used this quilt to practice my machine quilting. I love quilting on the longarm but I love quilting on my DSM also. Here are the various patterns I worked on. I really had fun and I worked on lots of feathers.


LOVED working on these feathers!

More Chickens

I'm chickened out! I finished and hung the second valance yesterday and the wallhanging today. See what happens when I don't work, play on the computer or shop for fabric! The chickens cam from here and the fonts from here. I couldn't wait to do the chickens and now that I'm done, I'm done. I'm chickened out. .......well, I dooooo need placemats........perhaps egg fabric.....