Have a happy period ... MY ASS!!!

Wendi Aarons = my new hero. http://tinyurl.com/25zteo
YOU GO GIRL!!! The "F-16 in my pants" killed me, as did the "Are you fucking kidding me?" ... oh what the hell - the whole thing killed me. I LOL'd ... then I LOL'd some more!! Then came the responses ... "It isn't that far removed from wishing someone a Happy Bowel Movement on the side of the Prep H tube" (HA!!!) ... "Not to mention that when (not if) the wings come loose, you can get yourself a mini Brazilian without wanting one" ... I LOL again and again! Wendi, my hat is OFF to you!!!

I posted earlier about the peanut butter cookies I baked today, but the post disappeared into cyberspace. The cookies are doing the same thing - but they're disappearing into my kids' stomachs, LOL.

Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan Scones

YUM. 'nuff said :)

OH - not quite enough - here's the link, lol.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=223687

More stash used = 5 more bibs :)

I had to redo a section of the bright string baby quilt - I used the wrong presser foot to assemble the section. I always use the width of my foot as my seam width, so there was a difference in between the first and second set --- too much to "fudge". I had to rip apart the seam attaching the two rows together, then redo each of the seams putting the blocks together. Oh yes, it was fun. NOT! I use a 1.2 stitch length for most of my sewing, so froggy stitching is a bitch!! But it's fixed, and now I just have to assemble the last section .. using the right foot this time ;)

I picked up a metre of brown flannel at Fabricland yesterday and used it to finish up some scraps my girlfriend Chris had given me (circus animal flannel) - I got 5 bibs done, with a few tiny scraps left over. Not enough for another bib, so I'll save the scraps for crumb blocks.

I also got light purple flannel so I can use up the rest of the purple scraps I have. I think I have enough purple for 3 or 4 bibs. After that will be the cat flannel. I'm getting quite a collection for C4C!!

6 more bibs ...

I used up a couple more pieces of stash flannel, and got 2 more rows put together for the baby quilt. The 40% off sale is next week at Fabricland, so I'll be able to pick up a nice piece of bright (yellow, green, pink, blue? :D) fabric for the quilt backing. I think I'm going to birth this one, and round off the edges - it should be pretty when it's done :) (all these items are for C4C)

And speaking of the weather (ok, we weren't, so I took poetic license - sue me :D) - WHEN THE HELL IS IT GOING TO WARM UP?!??!??! Come on SPRING!!!

6 bibs done :)

Yes, I know one of the purple bibs has a booboo - I noticed it as soon as I finished it ;) OH - wait - it was PLANNED that way! Yes, it was! This way the baby can see the pictures right sides up :D Two girly, 2 Batman and 2 neutral purple bibs - ready for C4C :)

I'll be doing more of the patchwork ones - the remnants I had weren't big enough so I pieced them - I like the way they turn out! I have some other purples cut in strips already, and some cats ... these bibs are great stashbusters - I've already used up several flannel scraps :)

I'm the HOOKER???!?! I can't be Scarlett???!!!

ROTFL this isn't the result I was expecting! HA!!!!

Which Character from 'Gone With The Wind' are you?

You are Belle Watling. You are Atlanta's Bad Woman. The Madam of your own brothel, you make good money tending to the needs of the city gentlemen. Yet your occupation proves your personality otherwise. You can be quite gentle and motherly when the situation calls.
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Baby quilts 'n bibs :)

I recently joined a Yahoo group created for Canadian crafters who want to make items for Canadian charities - thats me! The group is called Caring 4 Canadians ... it's at http://tinyurl.com/2njqj2 ... and what a nice bunch of ladies I've been chatting with!! I love the "world wide" part of the internet and treasure the friends I've made from all over, but sometimes it's nice to talk to people locally, who have the same crappy weather as me, or who shop at the same stores, or who don't have the same stores I don't have ;) They even have a BBQ planned for July in Toronto, and I'm going to move heaven and earth so I can go to it! LOVE IT!!

Most of them are yarn arteeests - they knit and crochet the most delightful items. I of course will be sewing, and I've already started a couple of projects. The first is a bright string baby quilt ... and I'm also going to make baby bibs with a lot of my scrap flannel. I'm 2/3 done the quilt top, and completed 2 bibs today. I'm not sure which of their projects my items will go to, but I'll decide when I get everything done.

I did get a bunch of sewing done today --- 7 blocks for the baby quilt, 1 more paper pieced house block for Wee Houses, 2 bibs, and 5 needle cases almost completed - I just need to buy the felt for the inside, and add the snap (tutorial available at http://tinyurl.com/3y9gk2

If it would warm up a bit so I could get out walking again, life would be GRAND!!

Sandra :)

Snow, snow ... and MORE snow :p

Pictures taken from my front door -- the kids are going to have to shovel AGAIN!!

I've been a busy little beaver :)

After having so many problems with my Babylock (and the new-to-me Vintage Brother machine I got from craigslist), I discovered that my neighbour's inexpensive (and barely used) Kenmore runs extremely well. It still amazes me that I can sit and sew for hours with no nests, no needles breaking, no screwed up stitches - it's HEAVENLY!!! I finished this crumb top today - the blocks were all assembled on the Kenmore, so I've renamed the project ... this is now my Kenmore-ic Fusion of Crumbs quilt top :D It's folded up - this is 1/8 of the top. The finished quilt will be 54 X 72. The melted wax looking fabric is called Fusion - hence the name ... ;)

Here's a needlecase I recently finished (almost finished, I mean, as it needs a snap sewn on, and I don't have any). Here's a link to the tutorial ... http://tinyurl.com/2l5hzc ... isn't hers sweet? And it only takes a few minutes to make - I have fabric lined up to make another 4 or 5 of them - I just need to get felt (and snaps!) - cute cute cute!

I told you I've been busy!! Here are the 4 blocks I have done so far for my Wee Houses project - I'm making it for a friend - it will have 9 of the house blocks (they're 5" square) and sections of pineapple type blocks for the borders. The project will be about 25" square, and is from a book called Paper Piecing Picnic. It'll be very cute! The blocks are paper pieced, which is why my seams are so accurate and my points are PERFECT :p

I think I can get the felt and the snaps at the $ store - my fabric store will probably charge 3X as much as a different store, lol. Sorry Fabricland, but you KNOW it's true!!!

Sandra :)

2 miles and 2 pillowcases - coincidence? ;)

I walked 2 miles today - the weather was perfect (0C, and with the windchill, -4C) so I hustled my butt out there to see if I could do my 2 mile walk, and I did :) I was tired and sweaty at the end, but I did it, YAY!

And here's the set of pillowcases I made last night :)

Now I'm off to the studio - all my guys are sitting here watching football - I think it's something called ... The Grey CupSuperbowl 42, so I'm getting the hell out of Dodge so I don't have to watch this, LOL.

One more mile, and a cage quilt :)

I got in my one mile "easy walk" this morning - it was harder to do today than it was yesterday, so my legs didn't lift quite as high, and my arms kind of hung by my sides, LOL. But I did it, and I'm very happy --- 2 miles down, 98 miles to go by May 1, LOL! *Sandra pats herself on the back for a job well done* :)


Yesterday I finished up another cage quilt using recycled linen and fabric/thread scraps that I save up in a pillowcase. I put a bunch of fabric scraps in an old pillowcase, sewed the case closed, did a bit of "cross-hatch" stitching on it so the fabric wouldn't all migrate to one corner, then made a cover for it with some orange polyester (HA!) from my late MIL's house. It measures 17" X 19", and I know it'll soften and warm a cage for one of our homeless 4 legged friends :) I'm sure the animal won't mind the orange!

Pillowcases and Treks :)

That Kenmore I stoleborrowed from my neighbour is a little TROOPER!! Today it *again* ran like a charm - I am LIKING this!! And it surely puts me in a happier mood than my beastly Babylock, lol. Today I whipped up a pair of pillowcases - simple sewing to be sure, but no problems during the construction makes Sandra a happy camper :)

And - my sister-in-law (Heather) and I each put in our first MILE today (me via an exercise video, she via a treadmill) - our goal is to walk 100 miles by May 1, and today was the first day of the "trek". One mile down, 99 to go, LOL.

What a GREAT day!!

Red Floral Crumb quilt completed :)

Bad sewing machine day yesterday and the day before - Babylock not working properly again, and now the "new" (vintage) Kenmore won't even make a proper stitch. I don't know what I did in a previous life, but obviously it was pretty bad! I have 3 sewing machines here that don't work - it's very depressing, and makes me cry with frustration. My husband/kids think it's bizarre that I would cry over sewing machines, but I suspect my quilty/sewy friends understand where I'm coming from ;)

I borrowed my neighbours little sewing machine last night (another Kenmore) and happily, it worked GREAT. She never uses it - I'm not giving it back until they pry it from my cold, dead fingers!! ;) I forgot how nice it was to sew and sew and sew with no thread breakage, no needle breakage, no nesting, no seam screw uppage - I'm not used to smooth sailing with my machines. I finished up crumb quilt #2 -- 54 X 72" Red Floral Crumbs. This is another donation quilt :)

Off to the studio to decide what to work on today ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK!!!

Happy birthday, Shorty ... love you :) (maybe he'll let me post a picture later - I'll ask, lol).

I just finished up 2 9-4 blocks for a friend ... now I know why I like paper piecing or cutting blocks to size so much - piecing and getting accurate seams and block sizes is a BITCH!!! I hate 1/4" seams - they're too fiddly for me - I prefer larger 3/8" seams. I also prefer making blocks larger than required, then trimming them down to size. I didn't do that with these blocks, so they're not exactly square. Pat will have to trim them down when she gets them. However, they're done and they're not hideous, plus they're for a good cause - I'm sure I'll be able to post pics later when the project is finished :) Hope you like them, Spicy Patty Pat!! And I know the recipient will love the project :D

Fabricland shopping trip :)

I only went for TWO 1/4 metre pieces of red fabric for some 9-4 blocks I'm making for a friend. Hubby decided to leave me at the fabric store while he went to do some banking and get the car washed. It's his fault I bought 8 1/2 metres instead of 1/2 metre, lol. Everything was on sale, of course - the fabric cost me $33. That makes ... $33 + $36 so far in January on fabric ... $69. My goal this year is to spend no more than $500 on fabric --- that translates to $40/month. OOPS, over budget already ;)

Did a bit of sewing today - got 6 more Christmas coasters made, which used up the Christmas fabric I bought 2 weeks ago. Got 5 more crumb blocks finished - that makes 23, I think - I need 24 for each crumb quilt. I also got all the new fabric preshrunk/washed/dried so it can go down into the studio.

Tomorrow is a big day - our oldest son turns 19. Legal drinking age in Ontario! How the hell did he get to be 19 - I'm pretty damn sure that it was only 2 or 3 weeks ago that we brought him home from the hospital!!! I bet the farm he'll come home with his first case of beer, LOL. (OK, his first case of LEGAL beer). His special dinner will be - as per his request - chicken cacciatore, garlic bread and tiramisu. And beer, HAHAHA!

It's Kenmore - iffic :)

With all the problems I've been having with my Babylock I decided I needed a back-up machine. I advertised on craigslist and heard back from a few people, and ended up buying the above machine. In the pics it's just sitting in my kitchen which is where I had it set up for a test drive when Richard delivered it this morning. It works fine, and I'll have the boys take it down to my studio. It's a very basic machine with straight stitch and zigzag (and a few stretch stitches) - it says Kenmore 10 on the front, and the label on it says it's a model 12621. It came with a cabinet but I'm not sure I'll keep the cabinet - I have to see how things will get set up in the studio, then I'll decide :)

It cost me $60 (+ $15 for delivery - very reasonable) - I think it's going to work very well, and I'm very happy! Thanks Richard, and thanks craigslist!

Sandra :)

An hour later: I'm definitely not using it in the cabinet - I can't sit at it properly (thats one of the reasons my Babylock is also out of it's cabinet and on a tabletop - so I can sit centred where I want to be) - but the machine is SLOOOOOOW. The foot pedal should control the speed but it only seems to have one speed - SNAIL!! Must investigate - maybe the foot pedal needs to be cleaned ... or replaced? AARRGHHH!! It sews like a trooper tho - a SLOW trooper, LOL.

Today's production line :D

This is what I've been working on today --- back row left is a crumb quilt that I'll be birthing with the fleece in front of it - thats's going to be my next UFO finish. Beside it is the purple crumb flimsy I finished up this morning (the alternating blocks are a deep purple, even tho they look blue in that photo). In front is another gift bag I made today - actually, it's an "envelope", and it's sized to fit a DVD. It velcro's closed. Beside that is another set of coasters I made for Christmas.

And because I'm just so damned efficient, I have a big batch of chicken cacciatore simmering away on the stove for supper - just waiting for hubby to get home before we eat :)

Just .... awwwwwwwww :)

My kitty Zoomer :)

Coasting along ....

Quicky post because I'm on my way upstairs to make the bed (before anyone gets home, HAHA) and to get supper started, but of course I needed to sit at the computer for a few minutes before getting to work ;)

There are the 8 coasters I made today (the white/green ones), along with the 4 crazy coasters I made a few weeks ago - Christmas gifts done in January - who on earth knew THAT would be possible??!! NOT ME!!!

Sandra :D

Still waiting for the axe to fall ...

I haven't been sewing much because I'm so tired of the problems, but I sat down today to work on some stuff and other than the thread breaking once and two needles breaking (at a tough spot in a block), I had no problems. It makes no sense that I had so many problems for so many months, and in a heartbeat, the problems seem to go away, with no discernible reason??!!! I'm beyond puzzled!! HAPPY as hell, but puzzled!! I'm waiting for something to go wrong big-time, but until then, I'm LOVING being able to stitch almost problem free!! Still going to buy myself a backup machine, tho. It's too hard being without a machine when mine isn't working, or when it's in the shop. GOTTA SEW!! ;)

Today I made two Christmas gift bags (with an old Christmas tablecloth that has seen better days), a little coaster for my sewing table (because I always have a Diet Dr. Pepper on the go), and sewed together 3 rows of blocks on my purple crumbs quilt (6 rows now done, 2 more to go). A good day, to be sure, and it's only mid-afternoon! I'm going to get some housework done, and then I might try to get the last 2 rows assembled on the crumb top - the blocks are already made, I just have to put them together :)




OH! Found the most amazing tutorial yesterday --- the sweetest needlecase made by Khris, a blogger from Australia -- http://sewprimkhris.blogspot.com/2008/01/needlecase-tutorial.html - isn't that the sweetest thing!!! I'm going to make one (or two ... or three!) - thanks for sharing Khris!!! If you have some time poke around her blog - it's great reading :)

Off to vaccuum - doncha WISH you were me! LOL!!!