LUGGAGE TAG TUTORIAL

After much agony and with great trepidation, I am posting the directions for my luggage tags. Thsi pattern is totally my creation. I had the basic pattern but it didn't close, didn't fold and wasn't private. That said, this is my baby so go lightly on me if there are any confusing portions. Hopefully not. Plus, I would appreciate simple credit if you use this for a guild project or any other project. (Boy, I am confident!) Feel free to contact me with the positive and negative....I can take it! LOL! I have enjoyed many, many of patterns, tips and tutorials courtesy of blogland. This is my little thank you. Enjoy !


If you make a tag, drop me a note and a picture and I'll add a link to show it off for you!!!

Luggage Tag
These tags are great for more than just luggage. Attach to backpacks, sewing machine cases or sewing toolboxes. I have one on each item I take to retreat. We all have rolling toolboxes…mine is the only one with the “naked cowboy” luggage tag!!!!! My nephew attached his baseball tag to his backpack for school! DH has one football tag and one comic strip fabric tag. They are so much fun to make!

• Fabric at least 7.5”X 12.5”
• Matching fabric cut 12” X 2 ½” for strap
• Fusible interfacing the same size – I used DecorBond. You can use any type of heavier interfacing/craft interfacing. You want this to have a bit of body.
• Clear plastic/vinyl – I bought mine at Joann’s. It is on the long rolls with the plastic tablecloth and home dec fabric. It is the “blue writing on the backing paper” weight.
• Zipper foot
• Teflon (nonstick) foot for your machine. This is a lifesaver!!!


Make a Pattern

With the pattern material of your choice, (I used a mailing envelope. You can use a manila folder, a piece of cardstock….anything that is long enough to cut to the right shape. It isn’t necessary to be durable), measure a rectangle that is 12”X 3.5”. Cut it out. (For accuracy, I used a rotary cutter and ruler to cut out my pattern). Mark the center on one of the short ends. Then, working from the same end, measure and mark 1 ½” down on both sides. Create the angle of the luggage tag by drawing a line from the center dot to each of the marks along the side. (my picture is for demonstration only. The actual pattern is not the same color)

Cut on the line to create the angle of the pattern. (Again make sure this is accurate as it is you pattern. )

Cut the Fabric and Interfacing
Fold the fabric in half to measure 3.5”X 12.5”. (I was fussy cutting my fabric so my photos show a much bigger piece of fabric. I have the pattern lying along the fold. That is extra fabric at that the top) Lay the pattern on the fabric with one long edge along the fold.


Cut the fabric.
*I used a rotary blade and ruler to make nice clean cuts. Lay the ruler on top of the pattern and cut along the edge. Repeat on all sides. If you have trouble with the pattern slipping, put a piece of tape under it to hold it to the fabric.

* Because I was fussy cutting, I made a see thru template. The rest of the cutting photos will use the see through template.

*Don’t mind the blue tape on the edge…it is so you see the template. Also, the ruler is only being for cutting, not to measure.


When you open the fabric it will look odd!



Blunt the tip of the point by measuring in ¼” and cutting it off. (I noticed that I didn't blunt the tips in this picture...or the next.....BLUNT the tip even if I did do it out of order!)

Cut 2 separate pieces of interfacing. DO NOT cut on the fold. You need these to be separate so that the tag folds nicely. Cut the interfacing with a separate pattern down ¼” 4 sides. Cut down the 3 sides shown plus the shorter side (The picture does not show the ¼” cut off the shorter side). There is no need to cut the second long side (in this case, the picture is right!)

Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric. Use the picture to help with placement. As you can see, I wing it with trimming the interfacing. It isn’t perfect!


This odd shaped piece will be folded in half to be finished. Before we continue, you need to choose which half you will finish to the inside of the tag and which will be the outside. The outside of the tag is what people see while the inside will hold your label.

Adding the vinyl label holder
Cut your piece of vinyl/plastic to measure 4 ½” X 2 ½”


We will be working the portion of fabric that finishes to the inside for this step…... NOT the inside of the tag as in the interfacing side but the side of the fabric that will finish TO the inside. In this picture I have folded the tag to make sure that I will be adding the plastic label protector to the correct side. You are looking at the outside of the tag….The label will be inside…where the woman’s head is!

* It is nearly impossible to attach the plastic with out a “Teflon” or non-stick foot. Do yourself a favor and invest the couple of dollars it costs for this foot. You will NOT regret the purchase and as an added benefit your family will not be subject to your creative vocabulary while trying to use a regular foot on plastic!


Place the plastic 1 ½” down from the short side, and centered between the fold and edge of tag. (You don’t want to catch the plastic in the seams later on.) See the picture below? IT IS WRONG! YOU MUST HAVE THE TAG OPEN AND FLAT WHEN YOU ATTACH THE PLASTIC PROTECTOR!

I use a piece of blue painters tape to hold the plastic in place while sewing. Using a short, small zig zag, sew three sides…the short side closest to the edge and both long sides. (if you would like you can hand or machine embroider your information and lay it under the plastic before stitching. If you do this, you can stitch down all 4 sides of the plastic and enclose the information.) Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and the end. Sew very close to the edge of the plastic. See the picture below? IT IS WRONG! YOU MUST HAVE THE TAG OPEN AND FLAT WHEN YOU ATTACH THE PLASTIC PROTECTOR!
Can you tell I had to rip apart my example!?!?!

Make the strap
Press the strap fabric in half lengthwise. Open it up and using the center press mark as your guide, fold in both sides to meet the center. Press and then fold in half along the original press line.

Switch to your zipper foot. First sew the strap along the open edged. Then sew the other side. It just looks better.

Attach the Strap

Fold the luggage tag, right sides together, along the fold where the two pieces of interfacing meet. Pin the strap on the inside, along the blunt tip with the edge of the strap at the edge of the tip.

Match the sides and pin. Using a ¼” seam, sew around all the sides making sure to leave an opening to turn the tag. When sewing the blunt tip end, be sure to pivot and keep the tip squared off. Also, I always go back and forth when crossing the strap to reinforce the stitching. (That is, I go across the short area where the strap is, backstitch back across and then go forward again and continue on with my seaming)

Trim the corners and turn the tag right side out. I use a chop stick to poke out the corners.

*You see where I have the opening for turning? I find it works best there and it is where I always place it.

Tuck in the unfinished edges where you turned the tag. Press. DO NOT PRESS OVER THE VINYL/PLASTIC!

Using the zipper foot and working close to the edge, top stitch all sides.

Making the closure
Along the short end, mark a line 1” down and approximately ½” in on each side. Following your machines’ directions, make a button hole (YES! A buttonhole!) along this line. My machine has a buttonhole foot along with the settings for an automatic buttonhole or a manual buttonhole. I needed to use the manual setting. (Don’t be scared off here because of the buttonhole. You just need to have a finished opening to close the tag. It doesn't need to be perfect or beautiful! I always have trouble with my buttonhole but end up with a reasonably good looking opening. )

Use your seam ripper and open the very large buttonhole! At this point take a few minutes to trim the edges of the buttonhole. I always use a marker to color the edges where the interfacing shows.

Write your information on a piece of paper and insert it in the plastic ………and ….


………………..Insert the strap into the buttonhole ………………………..





…..VIOLA’! You have a luggage tag ready for vacation!

What I didn't post on Saturday

........................................................................... Left foot...................























................... Right foot.......













"Nuff said! Luckily I seem to be healing quickly, it's not broken and seemly not as sprained as I'd thought. Inconvenient yes! Embarrassing Yes! But healing nonetheless. I couldn't let DH be the only one getting pity this week now could I?

Stashbusting aka "de-UFOing"

I am so thrilled and getting in JUST under the wire. I met my weekly goal! WHOO HOOO! I bound both quilts that needed binding. I finally, finally finished Mrs. S's anniversary quilt. Because I just finished it a few minutes ago, there are no pictures. You;ll just need to check back. I do however have photos of a lap quilt that has been a UFO for ....oh.....2, maybe 3 years.

Sometime, at least 3-4 years ago, a few friends and I went to Laredo to these fabric stores that sold seconds for about $1/yd and scraps, or should I say chunks, by the pound. They had a bin at least 10 feet long mounded with chunks of fabric. Needless to say we bought oodles and oodles of fabric. We fell in love with this Mary Engelbreight fabric. We all bought a bit but I bought a ton! The next time I went back, I bought even more. I finally finished up the last of it...well, not quite true, I threw away the leftover scraps because I couldn't' stand to look at it anymore. I made 4 Yellow Brick Road lap quilts (Atkinson Designs) both front and back from the fabric. (Oh and binding on all but one) YBR lap quilts are very big. The yardage on the package is 8 yards per quilt including backing and binding. So let's figure 8 yards X 4 quilts.....that was 32 yards of the same fabric that I had and used! No wonder I threw away the scraps!!! I WAS SICK OF LOOKING AT IT! (not only that, it wasn't the highest quality to begin with)

I'm showing two of the ME quilts I have left. The one has been finished for 2 years waiting for the other to be completed. (More on that one later in the week)




This is the one that has been in the closet for 2 years....The front and .......






......the back. We also bought these panels. I used them in the backings








Here is a closeup of the back panel



















This is the one I just finished. I was finally out of fabric so I used the bits and pieces for the backing. I also used up all the panels I had left. I had to use Kona Cotton for the binding! I was thrilled! You have no idea how sick I am of these quilts. They have been over my head for years now and not only are all of the quilts finished, all of the fabric is gone!
A BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!


























I did forget to log a few purchases here and there but my totals to date, although in the positive instead of the negative make me happy. Not only have I used up fabric, I've completed 7 UFO's with 3 of them being lap to queen personal quilts and 2 lap sized charity quilts. I have bought 99 yards of fabric and used 65 for a gain of 34yards. I'm not sad, mad or worried. I'm thrilled!!!!! 7 UFO's out the door. I bought 1 fat quarter this week but used a gift certificate to do so. No biggie!

A week is just a week....& yet.....

This has been a long week. One of our Mah Jongg ladies mom died. She was 98, lived independent, played bridge, volunteered and generally was active. She went downhill in about 1 1/2 weeks. So sad. But on the positive side....My friend is in her 60's. Imagine having lived your entire life with your mom by your side. How fortunate! What an incredible gift she had for nearly her entire life.
I was supposed to have some tests done on Friday but have postponed them. DH came home from the doctor and said that he had to have a test next week. On the scale of "uhhoh, this may be a biggy," DH's test trumps mine so I've postponed for a bit. {{{sigh, sigh}}} If only our bodies could get older without aging! Now there's logic for ya'.
...and on a totally unrelated note......what is it about DH that causes him to completely ignore my daily reminders to buy his mom a Mother's Day card...and mail it. So, last night with the dramatic palm crashing against his forehead he proclaims, "Darn! I forgot to get a card!"Well DUH! As at Passover, Mah Nishtana! Why is today any different?! Or in this case, why is this years Mothers Day any different? (I shoulda just cut out the middle man and done it myself last week!! ) So this morning, THIS MORNING he says to ME,
"uhhhh, you are going to order my mom flowers today right." HMPH! Is she my mom? I think not! Love her? Yes. Respect her, ect. ect..? Yes. But not my mom! There are a few things I draw the line at. One is ,although she is my MIL and I love her and all, she is DH's mom and this is the one time of the year he needs to do the legwork. The other is I do not send my dad's wife a moms day card ....she is not my mom either! So, in addition to whatever else is going on today, I now have the job to remember to order flowers, it's become my responsibility. ....uhmm... again! If he'd have just asked me earlier in the week it would have already been done. But no, he had to pretend that he was going to actually do this this year......sigh and LOL! Like I really and truly expected anything different!.........it's a good thing I'm feeling sorry for him being worried about his test next week or I'd have a few things to say!

State of our Backsides.....

Man! I really have to come clean here...The state of my backside is dismal! I've been exercising...Oh yeah I've been exercising. My family is having a 120 mile challenge. It runs from April 1 - June 21. My sister, sister-in-law and I are neck & neck. I've gone 49 miles since beginning. On that front, I'm very pleased. On the weight gain, keep my mouth shut, don't eat the junk.....well.....I've been lying and have to come clean. I changed my challenge ticker to reflect the weight I've gained. It has been a struggle since December in the food department. A terrible struggle.



If I'm not careful, I'll end up looking like tweedle dee and tweedle dum here! Send strong thoughts in my direction please....my "skinny pants" depend on it! (what I really want to know is how they found a bikini to fit!!!)

Stashbusting

I finished:
6 grocery bags at 1 yd each
3 sets of coasters at 1.25 yds
two coil baskets at 1/2 yd! (I only have one pictured)

I bought nothing. I am not only pleased but amazed.

Next week.......... be prepared, I will have my two quilts bound and finally be able to claim the yardage!!

What are you?

Ms. CalicoCat wanted to know what realization we've come to lately. Funny because I've been formulating this thought all week. I've decided that there are two types of quilters....those that are crafters who quilt and those whos craft is quilting. The difference? I am a crafter that quilts. From time to time I get bored with making "big blankets." I have tons of quilt books and patterns and enjoy dreaming about the bazzilions of king sized quilts I'm going to make, but the reality is, that "ain't" ever gonna happen. I don't do too bad in the making quilts department but honestly I will never create all that I'd like. It takes so long (I'll never understand how some of you pop out these tops so quickly!!! Like OZ, things happen so quickly around here!) and I am a slowpoke! Like I said, I get bored, bogged down and then shut down. That is when you'll see the crafter in me reappear. Like now. I'm having a blast making napkins, fabric coiled bowls, coasters...crafts, fabric crafts, but crafts nonetheless. Even table runners seem "too big" for me right now. I am also in the "geterdone" mood and mode. Soon, I'll feel the need to make another quilt but right now I am perfectly content to craft.

My friend CCCat is a one who's craft is quilting. She makes quilts and only quilts. She makes big, gorgeous, well planned and thought out, impeccably quilted and finished, quilts. As much as I don't get not making crafts, she doesn't really get making these "little projects." She is also one of you "popper outers" that think about a top and poof! it's finished. It amazes me. I'm still cutting fabric and she has a finished top. Another one of my friends told me that making three dimensional items gives her (I paraphrase here) the heebeejeebees. She also is one who's craft is quilting.

I notice in blogland that there are equal numbers of each. Many of us do embroidery. Many knit, crochet, paint, dye fabric...But many of us are out there just making quilts. Interesting, just plum interesting. It doesn't save the world or lower gas prices, it just is an interesting little observation I've been watching.

So what are you? Are you a crafter that quilts or one who's craft is quilting???

Goals for May

I HIT THE WRONG BUTTON AND I PUBLISHED TOO SOON!!!!

I didn't do too badly on my April goals. I nearly choked from laughter when I reread the ""feed and fertilize." Uhmmm, I meant my yard!
QUILTING
1. Bind 3 charity quilts
2. Bind ME quilt
3. Veronica bag for DD's
4. make grocery bags from old ugly fabrics
5. make apron for a dear friend
6. make napkins for Passover

HOME
7. get my flower beds weeded and mulched
8. feed and fertilize
9. ready house for Passover
10. DO MY TAXES!

So... without further ado.....like anyone in blogland really cares about this...

Goals for May

Quilting
1. bind ME quilt
2. bind anniversary quilt
3. Veronica bags
4. one more UFO to flimsy stage

Home
1. flower beds....again!
2. choose paint color for bedroom
3. keep up with housework YUK!
4. keep up with mail

School
1. End of year books
2. Kinder gifts
3. Camp Curriculum - who is the dingbat that agreed to do camp this year!

Personal
1. exercise 4X/week
2. lose this weight I seem to be gaining
3. get back on track!!!!
4. manage time more effieciently....not so much goofing off. More time on the above!

I posted this mostly for me. Sometimes I need to make myself accountable....to myself. Thanks for indulging me in this drivel!

What Fun!

I am weird. My girls tell me this all the time. I know I am weird. I have self imposed limits on things, can't do this before that , ect. I have wanted to make the fabric coil bowls for a while now. I needed to finish the bags I started-check, finish the coasters-check, quilt the anniversary quilt and ME quilts,- check and check. Now the last two aren't finished but I felt like if I didn't get to do something new, I'd bust so.....



TAADAAA!




It looks a bit wonky in this picture but it's not really.





I was so jealous of Jen at Cre8tiveQuilter for making her bowls. I am so glad I set aside a few of my weird rules to do this. It is fun! I can see how it would be addictive! I finised one small one and am already on another. The one in these pictures didn't use clothesline per se. I had a bunch of thick cording that has been sitting around here. Worked great. I like it much better than the very thin poly/cotton clothesline I am using now. Once I finish this I will go check out some clotheslines at the grocery and WalMart. I had this and couldn't wait to start another bowl.

Although I would have loved to buy the books, I just used this tutorial and am going to try to change things up a bit. So worth a try....so addictive!

The Answer & Finished Projects

The answer to my help question is ....I can't directly post my tutorial as it is way too large of a file. I can't email it because my server says it's too big. So, I am going to post it directly to blogger in two installments. I'll get there, I'll get there....





I made 6 one yard grocery bags! That's 6 yards out the door! The pattern is a free one from Lazy Girl Designs. My girls, believe it or not, agreed to use these bags despite the ugly fabric! They said they would take as many bags as I want to make no matter WHAT fabric it is! WOW! I'm about to use up bunches of ugly, old calicos that I'll never use anywhere else.

On the minus side, if I know my girls, these bags will get lost in the trunk, under things and generally destroyed! Some things don't change no matter how old they get!

I used to be in a nickel exchange group on yahoo. I have badillions of 5" squares. I really don't like florals. So, I grabbed a bunch of florals and made sets of coasters. I used an old ironing board pad in place of batting. At 6 -5" squares per coaster I used up 72 squares! That is right around 1.25 yards! Plus the ironing board pad that I've had for years!!!

There is more but I can't post it all in one post! I have to have something to say tomorrow!!!!

HELP~

HOW DO I LINK A WORD DOCUMENT ON MY COMPUTER TO THIS BLOG??????? I CAN SAVE IT AS A WEB PAGE BUT THEN GET LOST! HELP~

Done but not finished

We finished the quilt on the longarm! It looks pretty. It is swirly and curvy but you don't get to see it now until I bind it. Rules ya know. I thought I'd show a photo of Ms. CCCat doing her portion. She was stitching down the edge in this photo. It seems she did this 12 different times as I counted 12 passes of the panto. I'd have taken pictures of her threading the needle but I'd have run out of space on my camera!!! She is the fastest needle threader on the Gulf Coast!! LOL!!! Going to her house to quilt is like a visit to the petting zoo. She has a menagerie of cats and dogs...all beautifully groomed and delightful (You may know how I feel about cats but hers are just fluffy and pretty and quite honestly, I like them. Shhhh....you'll ruin my reputation) . I visited with a cow, caught a glimpse of a woodpecker, a red tailed hawk, a badillion cardinals, a blue bunting and a painted bunting. I listened to THE LOUDEST frogs. There were any number of mating bugs, yes you've read correctly,bugs mating everywhere! I chatted with the "red dog" (I can never remember the type....) I even became quite friendly with the loud but somewhat skittish Siberian Husky when it began to thunder. She joined me in the longarm room...where she was not supposed to be I might add. A fun few days for sure! One of us needs to get busy sewing so that we can do this again!

Da' code in by does is not any better....in fact, it is worse. I don't feel bad...just can't breathe....a minor detail!

Find the napkin

Thought you might enjoy a photo of my napkins. It's amazing when you figure out how to use a piece of equipment....and it works! I've had my serger for AT LEAST 3 years. Just figured out how to do a rolled hem and am thrilled....making napkins out of everything! I made napkins from my leftover matzo fabric. My girlfriend asked "Why do you have a piece of matzo on each plate?" In the background you can catch a glimpse of the other napkins I made. I'll try to photograph those later. .....Maybe....I have a code in by does and by head feels tuffy!

Quilting????

The beginning! We were so excited. This is Mrs. S's anniversary quilt....a few months late but being quilted. We have the perfect panto, the perfect thread....we are off!!!




We are half way throught the quilt. Still optomistic. A bit disgruntled but not too bad. This little 92X92" quilt was supposed to take us two long days of quilting to finish........Thread tension, loops on the backside, thread breakage.....day two is over and we are half way........



Day three.....I worked (at my real job) in the morning and in the afternoon we had 2 passes of the panto left and disaster......the laser light was out of line and suddenly we were busy ripping.....not too much ripping but enough that the proclomation of "the next thing to go wrong and I quit" was heard loud and clear!


WE WERE NEARLY THERE!!! MORE LOOPS....MORE POKE THROUGHS ON THE BACK! AND A FINAL THREAD BREAK! As you can see, the leader is showing......we cut our loses and quit for the day......
To be honest, Ms. CCCat had the hardest job. I quilted, she counted loops and poke throughs. She crawled around on the floor under the frame and did alot of grunt work. She cut threads and threaded the needle and threaded the needle and threaded the needle. (did I mention I CUT the quilt when I was trimming a thread!!!) This was supposed to be easy and she was supposed to be refinishing furniture in the next room.....Not to be, not to be. We never did figure out why we had so many loops ect. Thread the same as before, tension..same as before. Added a bobbin genie...better but not great. Manual on, manual off. Cruise control on, cruise control off. Stitich regulator on, stitch regulator off. Tension up, tension down....Last week everything was fine. This week WOW! .HOW DO YOU GIRLS DO THIS FOR A LIVING!!!???? And alone. We work well as a team. I can't imagine doing all of this alone. Don't get the wrong impression. Like fishing, a bad day of quilting is better than a great day at work but it can get frustrating. BUt like a bad habit.....I can't wait to do it again. This time though, CCCat quilts and I do the grunt work. I'd better learn to thread the needle, change the tension.........thread the needle, change the tension......

Once Again...There ARE great Business owners

A while back I wrote here how much I loved the log cabin (scroll down to see) ruler by Marti Michell. Well, the post was read by Marti's Husband and I wrote about how nice I thought they were. In December Marti Michell offered a free corner trimming template though the Quiltmaker magazine. I sent away and promptly forgot about it. When I got it I was ho hum because having forgotten that I'd sent away for it, I went out and bought the Fons & Porter corner trimmer set. In all fairness, I hadn't used it. When I received the MM corner trimmer I couldn't imagine why I would need it in addition to the one I bought! Was I ever wrong! I read the directions and discovered that this little thing could help me to trim my binding before joining! Plus, the very best thing of all, the thing I was singing and dancing about is that it helped me to figure out and correctly cut angles to join the two ends of the binding strips to make your binding contimuous as you are attaching it to your quilt! No fold overs, no tuck this inside of that, no straight line seams....just beautiful angled seams! YES!

So why the heading "There are great business owners" ......I lost the directions to this little beauty. I wrote the company and they said sure they'd send me a new set.....I received them yesterday. Along with another corner trimmer! How nice was that!!!!! I don't know if this little template is for sale or not but every single one of us should write to MM and tell her to market it. It is great!

Workin' on things

This is turning out to be a most productive week. I finished the matzo aprons, made napkins and am nearly finished with 6 grocery bags. However, last night I worked on NOTHING! No exercise, no sewing, only TV and me. I had a "thing" removed from the inside of my lip and it was swollen and numb for hours. Plus it kinda hurt. The doctor told me to keep Vaseline on it and naturally some migrates to the outside of my lips. I wear that all day lipstick that doesn't wear off . So add the Vaseline on top and my lips look all shiny and pretty .......but swollen like a collagen injection that went bad!! I have nice plump lips, ON ONE SIDE!! It's a lovely look! I thought when I woke up today the swelling would be down but NO! Just a misshapen mouth. Oh and may I add .....drinking hot coffee with half a mouth is an interesting experiment in keeping my shirt clean. NO, no, ...NO photos of the lovely new look. You'll just need to use your imagination.

Glass Etching

Thanks to Karlie, I have a new fun thing to do! Glass etching. I have to say my first attempt was pitiful. It looked like a 6th grader did it! The etched area was....childlike! I used the diecut machine to cut letters but didn't realize until I got home that the letters were cut backwards and would not transfer correctly. So, had to use hearts. Next, I didn't coat it well enough. Next I tried to fix it by brushing some more etching material on....that just made it splotchy! Then the hearts themselves looked.....hokey! All and all not a good effort. I gave it to Mrs. S instead. Because I bought a two set package of pans, I tried again. Ms. A keeps Kosher....her style, not perfect but pretty good. One thing is that she doesn't mix milk and meat products. She also wants to begin to keep separate dishes. I had this pan so viola' instant marking! Not near as awful as my first project but I think I need to do a few more to get the thickness down pat. Thanks Karlie!

Charity Quilts

AWWW CRUD! I HIT PUBLISH BY MISTAKE AND THE WRONG PICTURE WILL SHOW UP NOW ON BLOGLINES ECT.! PHOOOEY!

These are pictures of the charity quilts we've done. I use the word we quite loosely as Ms CCCat basically did all of the work. We worked together to begin the strip sets....she finished them and then quilted. I (dutdududaaaa) did the binding! Poorly I may add! No you haven't gone crazy. The quilts are so similar that even I can't seem to keep them straight!

When I left CCCat's house and began the trek down her driveway, I stopped my car in disbelief! Cows! Cows I tell you! In her front yard!!!

(now in all fainess her front yard ended with a small grove of trees and this was just the front of their property but still!!!) Not only cows but calf. See that little black lump in the middle. It's a wee little calf. TOO cute! (while you are at it, look at the sky in these pictures. The day was gorgeous and the sky proves it!)

Soooo...as long as I had my camera out....I took pictures of the nasty road construction that is filling the air, and my furniture, with lovely dust! The big trucks and wind kick it up and it swirls down the road with dead aim at my house! Luckily, they are doing this on one side of our house (about .2 of a mile away) and the same thing on the other side of the house (about 2 miles away). Dust, not love, is in the air!

This is a picture of what I see as I turn off of my road each day. The end of our street is the staging area for all the various pipes, trucks, big machines and general dust churners! Enough! I have loads more to say....finished things actually...but will wait! Too much fun this blogging! Too much fun!

A finish....of sorts

I have been wanting to make these for a while....there is no time like the present....especially since the holiday is Sat. I have one done and given to a dear friend. The other two I made to give to my girls but then realized...they don't cook! The boys cook but I don't exactly see them wearing these....I may just be wild and crazy and keep them for myself. One for school, one for home! Like my silly pose??!! A far cry from Saturday night wouldn'tcha say!!!!

Stashbusting

I finally have something to add to the minus column. I finished the little cowboy quilt. I bound 2 of 4 quilts BUT only one of them will count towards my totals. The others are charity quilts we have finished. Hopefully I will have more pictures in the finished column by mid week. My total "out the door" fabric is 30 yards. I'm not telling what my purchases are.....let's just say I fail miserably at BUSTING stash and am in the plus column in net usage! I think I'll need to sew 42 hours/day to get caught up!!! I don't think I qualify for the stashbusting report any longer.....I'm definately not the poster child!!!

Me & the little black dress

OK OK! Me and the LARGE black dress! Our school fundraiser was last night. I wore this dress....totally something I'd never, ever worn before....so much skin! So much airflow across the neck and arms... Why do we feel that if we are not pencil thin that we do not deserve to show our arms...neck,ect.... Are we any less beautiful/worthy than our thinner sisters? NO NO I SAY! (ok, I'm talking to myself as much as talking to you!) I felt like a million bucks. So what that I've gained a little weight. So what that profile wasn't quite what I'd wish for. I busted out of my boring, humdrum, mammalook, box so far that the box may not be fixable!!!!!! YEAH!!! I've been wanting to get rid of that boring box for years! Wish I hadn't waited until the downhill side of my 40's to figure it out!!!!!

On the down side of last night....we had a dismal night of raising money. The little quilt in the previous post took in $50. It makes me sad and yet glad at the same time. The girl that won it can just barely afford a few extras in her life and since noone outbid her, she won. I am so glad. I had already decided that if anyone had outbid her I would have outbid them and given it to her.

Ok, I may have felt like a million bucks last night and hurt foot or not, exercise must be on the agenda for today. I wish that all these little obstacles would quit popping up in my exercise regime. I'm off...look for a stashbusting report later.......

Another off the list!

We finished this cowboy quilt just in the nick of time!!! This little quilt consists of blocks leftover from the main quilt I made (as of yet just a top!). These 9 blocks are leftovers and I had put them together for a little wallhanging. Our charity group meets at the JCC where I work and we decided to border the wallhanging and donate it to the JCC for their annual fundraiser. I'm

as nervous as a mama about people liking it and wanting to actually spend money to take it home. All I see on it is the thread nests on the back where we had a bit of trouble with quilting, the fact that I hadn't squared anything up (it was just leftovers for me!) and so the borders are not perfectly flat and the fact that there are two darks next to one another. I know I'm being critical but I can't help it. If I were keeping it for myself I wouldn't be near this critical. I've also decided that if it doesn't receive the bid I want it to get, I'll buy it back myself. We'll see tonight if I bring the quilt back home that I considered

1.leftovers

2. had put in the corner of my "to do" list

3. have not only bought the fabric, backing and batting but will have spent money to buy it back!!!

Thanks

Thanks all. I wasn't sure how the moderated comments would work but if you just bear with me for a while, I'll need to do just that. I am going to moderate for a bit and hopefully this PIMA will go away. Wonder what good it does this person other than getting their jollies???????

HELP Me Please

How do I block this person??? I've already reported the site as SPAM but get comments. DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK IN MY COMMENTS SECTION!!! Can anyone help me???

Sneak Peek

I won't show an unfinished quilt but I will show an unfinished back! Here are the results of our quilting yesterday. If you look close you can see the cowboy hats and boots.You'll probably need to click on the picture to enlarge it. It is a fun and relatively quick panto called....OH PHOO! I lost the name just as I went to write it....I'l l get back on that. We made this quilt to donate to my school auction. You WILL see a picture before Friday as I have to have it finished by tomorrow!!! TTFN

The State of our Backsides

AHHH! Did ya think I'd forgotten or given up on this??? Nah! I've just taken some time off to not exercise regularly, put on weight and feel crappy!! LOL!!! IT IS okay though because I've managed to nip it before it got out of control. Here is a big incentive for me. Mrs. S. looks great!!!! She now weighs 3 lbs. less than me and that is unacceptable! We are both determined to lose 20 lbs ( in my case re-lose some of that!) by the time we go to Las Vegas. I know we will do it because ....well, because she doesn't want me to weigh less then her and I don't want her to weigh less than me! (mixed up those pesky then and than's so that I will only annoy you with ONE mistake!!!!)

DH helped me to create this spreadsheet complete with formulas that add and subtract and do everything but exercise for me. My goal is to 1. exercise for a total of 300 minutes/week 2. burn 2000 calories/week 3. walk or exercise the equivalent of 10 miles/week (more on this in a minute). These are last weeks totals. I don't remember where I got the time and calories totals. I do believe it was some maniacal, muscle pumping site because it is killing me! I don't think that I have attained my goal even once in the past 4 weeks! Well, I was in Ohio for nearly two of those weeks but still! I'm not discouraged because anything is better than nothing.

My sisters' gym has a 120 mile challenge going. I told her that I thought it sounded like fun and I wanted to do it. Well we have a family blog and the idea snowballed. We have a family-120 mile challenge going. We are getting really competitive about it!! LOL!! Not only do actual miles count, but we gave equivalencies to exercise classes. Even my 10 yo. niece has joined in the fun. There are 7 family members trying to get in shape before summer. (I realize my total under the miles column doesn't add correctly. It's a continuation of the previous entry.) Because I'm being challenged on so many levels, you can count on, or dread, weekly "backside reports" at least until the end of June. Right now I'm ready to collapse because I walked "around the block." My block is 4 miles long! I haven't done this walk in quite a while and it was a push. My legs, back and toes, yes, toes, are very tired and groaning.

Soo00, jump on the bandwagon to get healthy! Join us in our effort to get off our duffs and move! Drop me a line about your progress! I need all the encouragement, support and commiseration I can get!

Stashbusting efforts

I didn't use a ton of fabric, but ...... I didn't buy any either! WhooHOO! Since the time I last checked in on the stashbusting report, I've bought one little fat quarter. However.....I did buy 3 pantographs, thread, thread, thread and a few patterns. No fabric but buying nonetheless.

THis tote bag is a combination of patterns. The actual cut out bag is from a Butterick "for dummies" pattern. However, I added a lining and pockets. I used DecorBond and fusible fleece on both the lining and outer cover. Yes, I wanted a very sturdy bag. This thing stands up all on it's own! I use whatever I have on hand for the bottom. I seem to have an abundance of foam core so that is what you see there. I also used that fusible Velcro. I can't wait to find out how it holds up.

Ms. A is a deaf interpretter and is the envy of all she works with when she shows up with her purse. I figure the purse and the tote bag together will put her over the top! I think I'm done with this fabric for a while....In order to have variety in the fingerspelling, I had to take apart and reassemble the little squares. I got tired of it and started sewing 1/4" betweem rows. It's annoying that there are two letters side by side but sewing all those squares together was too much work for a silly tote bag!! I was thrilled when I figured out that my King Tut thread matched perfectly!

a Quick gift

I've wanted to make this silly little coasters for the longest time. I've had a similar pattern for at least 2 years. I needed a quick gift yesterday and in less than an hour made these. I think they came out cute. They are definately on my "to do" list. (well, after I finish my lousy stinkin' gottado list)

Goals for April

Although I am a bit slow to the gate, I still have many goals that are not merely "wannabes" this month. Most of my goals are "haveto's" Sometimes the haveto's are waaayyy harder to achieve then that wannados. Here we go. Maybe if I see this in print it will spur me on....

QUILTING

1. Bind 3 charity quilts
2. Bind ME quilt
3. Veronica bag for DD's
4. make grocery bags from old ugly fabrics
5. make apron for a dear friend
6. make napkins for Passover

HOME

7. get my flower beds weeded and mulched
8. feed and fertilize
9. ready house for Passover

Last but certainly not least...the most important....the one I dread because it involves my checkbook...

10. DO MY TAXES! I've not even started!

Gosh I am tired just looking at the list. However, because they are havetos, I'm signing off and getting started.....but not with the taxes!

A PICTURE!

Remember the post I wrote about my dads wallhanging? It's the one that commemorates all the times we went out for ice cream. Well, as long as I was in Ohio visiting, I decided to get a picture of this little wall hanging. He keeps it in a spot of honor....in the basement! Seriously, he has it where he can enjoy it. I just think it's funny that it's in the basement.

Another antecdote.....In this post, I briefly told how I took my niece to lunch and the resturaunt happened to be a bar. Well, we teased and teased each other about what her teacher would say when she went back to school and was told Aunt M came to town and Cheergirl went to a bar. Well....we went to dinner while I was in Ohio......where you ask?????? In a bar. We had a great dinner complete with Diet Coke and Iced Tea BUT we ate in a bar! What does Cheergirl say? "Wow! {giggle, giggle, giggle} I can't wait to tell my teacher that Aunt M is here again and we are in a bar!" I'm sure the teacher will be hoping that I WON"T visit during the summer!