Some Before & After Pictures

So - I don't think I told you that my sister is coming out to visit.

And of course that means - I gotta get things cleaned up for her. 

I'm going to turn my sewing room into a guest room.

And this Closet needs HELP!

Here's my "after" picture.

I've been busy spring cleaning the whole house.  It's actually been fun.  I made a HUGE list and I've been just working my way through it and now I'm down to 6 items.  YAY!

And I've even taken the time to sandwich and pin Angela's quilt.

The blue is the masking tape.

I've cleaned my machine out - first time since I bought Janey Mae (my new Skyline Janome machine).  

It has a one step plate converter - meaning NO SCREWS to remove the plate. 

I had forgotten about this - and you would have died laughing at the puzzled look on my face - wondering where are the screws?  How do I get this darn thing off to clean the bobbin area?

I had to go find my manual - which I couldn't find for the longest time in my nice clean sewing - er I mean guest room.

Imagine my surprise - it just a little lever.

Pop! And the cover plate is off.  Wow!!  Sew Cool.  Sew Easy.

I love it!

Wait!  That's not all.

I watched Lily the other day - she has just turned two.

Well....I let her play with my phone.

And with out me knowing anything about it, she posted a picture to my Facebook!!!

Somehow she changed it to black and white and wrote that gobblygook.

Life if fun isn't it?

Happy Sewing,

Linda

I've got some Updates for you - Quilts & The Bay

Well, would you like to know where I've been?

Okay then, let's get started.

First - I said I was going to finish piecing  Angela's quilt in January.  One Saturday I sat down and cut and sewn up the next border.

I was not happy sewing.  NOT happy at all and I threw a fit.  Well, my fits are very quiet.  I simply got up and decided I'm DONE.  No more quilting for me.  (EVER AGAIN)

Later that evening I came back and sewed the border strip. 

Hey, I'm not good at throwing fits, nor at staying away from my sewing.

I really didn't want to make more of this border so I finished up The Midnight Mystery Quilt.  

LOVE IT!

The design stays on the top of the bed and that big wide border hangs all the way around the edge.  I think it turned out to be king size. 

And listen to this - I showed the fabric scraps to Serena and she said.  "No, I do not like those!  I do not like polka-dots (What??  Aren't you suppose to be my kid?  I love polka-dots!  They are like rickrack - both fun to say and fun to be with.)

So I brought out the quilt to show her - after all it's not going to be her Christmas gift anymore.   And she squealed with delight "I love it".   

Hmmm.....what do you say to that?

Back to Angela's quilt.

Sunny of Quilting Dreams you need to sit down and prepare yourself...

  The following Saturday January 30th.  I finished it!!!!  

 

This quilt is a Queen and it also hangs nicely over the edge of my queen bed

and I LOVE the design.   

That simple border is so much better than the pieced border.  Now, I have the backing ironed and the batting.  I hope to sandwich and pin it soon. (Tonight?)

My goal is to finish quilting this before the end of the month.  BUT I do have to order thread for it.  

Now the other thing that kept me away from blogging is our anniversary.

I decided that we should go whale watching.

We drove to Morro Bay, CA and had dinner with this beautiful sunset.

The next morning we went out to sea with a whale watching tour. The sea was so calm and the weather so beautiful it was a perfect day. 

We only had to go 1/2 a mile and saw them.  We saw a total of 11 different whales. 

I didn't get a good picture of any that leaped into the air - but I do have this one.  I was more about enjoying the experience than taking photos - bad blogger I know.   

So here's to us and our Copper Anniversary. 

Happy Stitching - and no throwing fits!

Linda

FNSF Update - Midnight Mystery January Clue

I forgot to do the Friday Night with Friends!

(I'm so Sorry!)

I came home from work and I don't remember much else.  I was just too tired.

Well, I did work on my quilt over the weekend. 

I now have the Midnight Mystery Quilt Top completed.

(January's Clue)

 So I may not have stitched with everyone else - but I did stitch.

So - now it's on to how to finish this - no border, more borders ?

It measures 73 inches.  Which I suppose is big enough.

Taking into consideration my track record of adding borders to quilts (ie - Angela's quilt) I should probably stop here and call it good.

In the mean time - I'll go look for some fabric see if something catches my eye for a border and find some backing fabric. 

Happy Stitching,

Linda

First Post of 2016

Well, are you all bundled up with this wet weather?  

And if you are in the lower hemisphere, are you enjoying some nice sunshine?

I loved the sun when it was shinning and now that it's wet and cold I'm love it just as much.  And I love the early morning skies.

This picture was taken this morning on my way to work.

I have been working on the Midnight Mystery.

Cheryl has really made this fun.

All my blocks are sewn for the December clue.  Waiting (happily) for January's clue. 

And check out what I taught my daughter, how to play Barrel of Monkeys.

So that she can beat her boyfriend. (I know some tips on to get them all up and in a row.) 

Somehow this game was so much easier when I was a kid.

Hahaha

Happy New Year!

Linda

Linking up with Freshly Pieced

Sewing Goals for 2016

I have a couple quilts I would like to finish up this year.  (Actually all of them - but lets face it, that's not going to happen!  hahaha)

Goal #1

Angela's Quilt. 

This has been on my list for years. I mean YEARS.

It went from this.

To this during this last year. 

I just need one more border and then to quilt it.

Goal #2

Erik's Quilt

I need to cut this up and put it into a nice design 
This should be an easy lap quilt.

Goal #3

Midnight Mystery Quilt.

Once all the clues are up, I want to quilt it and give it to Daughter #3

Goal #4

Rosanna's Quilt.

I have no plans for this - YET. But I hope to design it, sew it and quilt it. (An unlikely goal - but I'm going to give it a good try!)

And you?  What are your goals?

Happy Sewing,
Linda

Clear Zip Up Pouch

                                                 

Check this out - 

I decided that I would make some emergency pouches for my girls.

The front of the pouch is clear.  How handy is that?

I found the pattern somewhere on the internet - probably through Pinterest.

I had so much fun making them.

The first one didn't come out that great. (not pictured) I took it apart and redid the fabrics and re-sized the binding. And sewed it up much straighter.

I put in just some little stuff  - like a nail file, hair tie, allergy medication, headache medication etc.

I'm pretty happy with the results. 

Now it's off to make Christmas cookies to give away.

I want to wish everyone a 

Linda

One Potholder - One for Dinner

I  really don't know what happened to all my potholders.  I guess I slowly threw each one away.  

I was down to NONE.  I've using my dishtowels. 

How sad is that?

So I came up with a great idea.  Tell me what you think.  I was thinking of asking each family that comes to my house for Christmas dinner to bring me a potholder.  Sort of like an Christmas Dinner admission fee.  Well, that doesn't sound quite right - you can't have a "fee" for something that has to do with Christmas.

So we, my husband, daughter and I were at a craft fair.  I was explaining my idea.  My husband ran straight over - bought me the above potholder and announced "I'm Eating Dinner!"

We laughed so hard.  I explained to lady selling the potholders my idea -and invited her too - for the price of a potholder!

Actually, this is the BEST potholder I've ever had.  I wished I had her number and could buy more or I knew how to make them.

Merry Christmas if I don't see you before,

Linda