Projects New & Revisited, Hail Storms, Books

The week has come & gone so once again it’s time to grab your favorite beverage and take a load off for a few minutes.  With the hot, sticky, muggy weather settling in already, it’s hard to find motivation for doing anything.  But I pushed myself as much as I could after a marathon of moving, sorting, moving again and restacking the contents of a barn into 2 –ish storage units.  Oh Vey!!!  The muscle aches and knocking the back out of whack yet again. Good thing I go see the doc. next week . 

But I digressed,  I try very hard to do something that related to quilting or needle work in some form daily.  The last 2 weeks at Quilt Group Wednesdays, we have tried to work outside of our comfort zone.  And for me that was making a bag.  I have not ever considered making one as I’m not much on carrying bags or purses.  Guess I’m just not “girly”  enough and work on the philosophy that if I only carry my wallet in my back pocket; I don’t end up carrying everyone else’s crap too.  I didn’t much care for diaper bags either when my children was small and had a need for them.  I kept it simple…. baby…check…. extra diaper…check….. bottle…check…okay ready to go…check.  LOL.  So when the chosen project was a bag… I cringed a tad. 

We used Valori Wells “Fold & Go” Tote from the May/June ‘09 issue of McCall’s Quilting magazine. The pattern is on page 82-84.  Well since I was sorting fabrics and had quick access to my bolt fabrics, I picked out of my stash.  So with out much more ado… The “Fold & Go” tote.  As you can it didn’t come out toooooo terribly bad. And I even got it done on time for “show& tell”. Yeah Me!!

                                      

                                        

 So what else did I work on?  Let’s see, I have been “hired” to make a Tee-Shirt quilt for a local librarians’  daughter for her graduation present.  The quilt will be a lap size and the price is low, but it will be good experience for me.  I am kind of using the “job” as a way to build my skills up for future “jobs” that might come along.   I also got hired to make a kitten themed  panel & 9-patch lap quilt. I got the pillowcase done and sent it on it’s way only after I was sure to take a picture of it.  Want to see? 

         

The fabric is called “Purr-fect Garden  by Jane Maday Licensed to Wilmington Prints for any of you that are interested.  I know lots of quilters love or have cats as they seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly.  LOL.  The pictures don’t do it justice.  These little fur-babies will have you saying “aaaaawwwww”.

Then I moved onto making some doll dresses for the little dolls the girls & I are putting together for “Santa” to give out at the beginning of Dec. Now I rarely … okay next to never… sew clothing items much less doll dresses.  Uummm yeah!!!  The 1st one was suppose to simple… not gathers or pleats in the sleeves.  When I showed it to the other half … a muumuu comparison was made.  Sooo so not the look I was going for after fighting with it for 2 days.  The simple Amish/Prairie dress for the flat muslin dolls took me under 2 hours from tracing to hand stitching a ribbon on the waist.  Not Bad!  I could make these all day long.  Then I started on another one that needed to be altered so it’s in the WIP’s pile.  But here they are…

        

 Meanwhile, I found a very old UFO project that has been floating around for close to other side of 10 years.  I was trying to teach myself how to do printed-cross-stitch.  Of course not having anyone to show me how to actually do it; I was left to devises. And so mistakes made with color placement, “X’s”  were not made properly & the back is one hot mess to say the least.  But I have told myself that I WILL finish this without the names and place it in a frame as a reminder that it’s never to late to finish something, that’s it the journey the piece as traveled to get there that is important.  This not-so-little UFO measures out 11”x 14” when it is completed once the framing step is done.  Last night as I was talking to a friend in Chat, it was dated 2000 and I must have picked it up just with in a year or two beyond that.  I did discover that the piece was discontinued.  I might have gotten it to work on while carrying my boy child and he will be 11 in August.  So yuppers – it’s time for this to get finished!  Don’t you agree?  Well of course I have pictures to show you! 

It’s been in this hoop since the day I put it on.  I forgot to take the “re-start”  pictures but these might have been with in a couple of nights of dragging it out again.  So far as last night, I got the roses done, although there are a couple green spaces that need to be finished; but at least it’s not in a box buried again.  It’s kind of ironic that we have started watching the first season of “Games of Thrones” in the evenings and I’m doing stitchery as we watch it. I have seen a scene or two of the Ladies practicing the needle skills and here I’m doing the same thing.

The weather went from winter to summer in quick hurry around but I’ve got to admit I was happy be in New York where yet again the weather has been less than favorable for them.  They in some areas had up to 3’ … yes that feet of fresh snow on Memorial Weekend (read it here). But we did have some wicked storms come through Barryton.  The other day, Thursday I believe; we had large pea size hail off one of them.  I once again grabbed the digital and proceeded to sit on the front porch swing.  I got some interesting textual photos of the different cloud levels.

                             

                    

Now none of these photos has been altered in anyway.  The colors are as true as they happened and the lighting was flashing and popping throughout the storm but my digital was unable to capture any of it. We ended up with a temporary drop in temps but as soon as the storm left they began to climb again.  I love sitting on the swing when the storms roll in as the display of fire & water elements fascinates me to no end.  I’ll let you in on a little secret…when I was in my early twenties, I use to love walking during rainstorms.  I would get soaking wet, some funny looks, but I  kick my heels up, dance a bit in bare-footed and the bigger … the storm the giddier I would get.  I was always told “that I didn’t have the God-given sense to come out of the rain like normal people.” But I was one to challenge the rules of “normal” back then and on occasions, I still do.  So don’t be surprised if you ever visit that I go running out of the house when a good storm comes about.  LOL.  I may not dance and carry on like I use to but being outside during one is like finding my “happy” place.  Ooohh -- there is suppose to be a good thunderstorm this afternoon, guess where I’ll found during that time. ;) 

Let’s see, what else is happening around here.  Oh I added to my little band of sewing machines recently.  Sunday, a friend that I attend quilting group on Wednesday’s stopped by while I was out and she drops off a new goodie for me to learn & play with.

           

Yes folks a little Serger!!  This little one is a Bernette 1 Needle 3 Threads MO-203 Model.
This is my first serger and Bernina machine.  I haven’t explored the box more as I was heading back out the time but plan to start reading that binder in the near future as I would like to know what this honey can do. So a big “Welcome” to Bernice as she joins the family.  I hope Bernice and I can come to be friends in the years to come.

Witches, Pixies and Demons… Oh My!!

Well I’m happy to report that I did finish a book amongst all the chaos in the past week.  I found a new-to-me author at the library that had peaked my interest.  I recently acquired a copy of Kim Harrison’s " Dead Witch Walking"
                                                                  

This is the first book of the Rachel Morgan Series.  It had received high regards in it’s reviews and so up my alley for reading material of late. Bonus … she is a Michigan Native!! Yeah … I actually know where Dexter is due to the fact about half of my Father’s family still resides or has ties to the Chelsea area. It’s nice to know that I can support a local author as I devour her books. According to Barnes & Nobles in their overview…

      “The underground population of witches, vampires, werewolves—creatures of dreams and nightmares—has lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But after a genetically engineered virus wipes out a large part of humanity, many of the "Inderlanders" reveal themselves, changing everything.

Rachel Morgan, witch and bounty hunter with the Inderland Runner Services, is one of the best at apprehending supernatural lawbreakers throughout Cincinnati, but when it comes to following the rules, she falls desperately short. Determined to buck the system, she quits and takes off on the run with an I.S. contract on her head and is reluctantly forced to team up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner . . . and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful businessman/crime lord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death . . . not to mention her own roommate.”

I personally found the book to be entertaining, moved at a nice pace, an easy read for me that I read it every time I took a meal, had a few minutes of down time and as my bedtime reading material. It’s all that I hoped for and more without feeling like I’ve read the storyline before. If a book can hold my attention, it’s what I consider a “Good Read”  and would highly recommend to others who like to read about things that make you wonder about your neighbors, your bosses or your friends with a paranormal and/or supernatural twist.  I feel like I could connect with Rachel with her red hair, feisty attitude and no-nonsense personality.  It’s almost like we are kindred spirits, she and I. 
I’m current in the middle of the 2nd book of the series “The Good, the Bad and the Undead” with book 3 waiting for me on the bed stand. Now I will say that no one asked me to review this book, it was just one that caught my eye at the library so the opinion above is strictly mine and without any influences of any kind from the author or the publishing house.

On Tuesday, I had pre-packed my sewing machine and other needed items for quilt group on Wednesday morning.  I’m not quite the morning person that others are so it’s better for me to do this the night before when my wits are much sharper.  This was the site a find the next morning as I was trying to leave.  I think Honey is trying to tell me to stay home … What do you think?
                                

Thank you for stopping by this week and I hope that you enjoyed catching up with me.  I’m off to do  some sewing as I have no plans of sticking my head out the door with this heat and humidity until possibly tomorrow when the weather man deems there will be a break in the weather.  The only way to pry me outside is if the predicted thunderstorm really happens.  Feel to leave comments. I do read them all and enjoying hearing what you have to say.

Toodles,
Tricia