Category: Ruler Work

Making up for lost time and the Zebra incident

Three blog posts in one month.  Wow.   I am honestly shocked at myself.  Trying to keep positive and attempt to do the things I love.  I have been told by my Significant other that I need to make an effort to go over to my happy place.  He tells me it makes a difference in me (or my level of grouchiness).  I am making efforts to try and do that.  Sometimes it is hard.

It seems like every day there is a new surprise.  For the last few days I have been having sleeping issues.  I wake up around 4 or so and off in the distance I can see light peeking over the horizon and I can not get back to sleep.  It gets lighter and lighter outside and I lie awake trying to shield myself from daylight.  Then I am tired later and want to do nothing.  Kev’s Suggestion:  “Cover the Window”.  Me,  “This might be only temporary.   I am, not sure I should do that”.  Kev,” OK, continue not sleeping.  Your choice”.  I hate when he makes sense.

The Whimsical Quilt – So, I finished this quilt recently.  It has cute whimsical animals.  I did not want to cut up some of these fabrics and lose the costumed animals.  It came out OK. 

It has fleece on the back.  I love fleece and minky on the back of baby/toddler quilts.  It makes them so soft.  I have no plans for this quilt, it was just something to do.  Mind you I have loads of projects half done or sort of started, but still pick up new things.  At least I finished this one!  Hurray for me.

What else am I working on – Of course, I have started new things.  I am working on a happy Baby quilt.  Nanette sent me the pattern and she is also working on one.  Hers will be perfect of course.  Everything she does is perfect.  Pictures to come later.  I am also making a Yellowstone Quilt.  For those of you that watch the Yellowstone series, it is the one that Beth is wrapped up in sitting on the front porch.  Simple nine-patch set on point.  Pictures to come later.

The Zebra Incident – I live on a state route.  Driving down the road one day, I travel a lot,  in the pasture with some horses, I see a zebra.  Like a real Zebra.  I do a Double take and laugh to myself.   I call my daughter at school and tell her about the zebra.  She has that tone.  That, you have lost your mind tone.  So, later, when I get home, I tell Kev about the Zebra on Route 245.  He rolls his eyes at me and gives me that “You are insane” look.  He says to me,” There is not a Zebra on 245.”  I argue, of course, but eventually, let it go and start to wonder if I have lost my mind.

A couple of days ago, I’m driving down the road with my daughter in the car and there he is.  I stop the car, backed up, while my daughter is yelling at me and made her photograph the said zebra, that no one believes exists.  I then proceeded to text everyone.  I win.  There is a zebra on 245 and I have not lost my mind. 

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Experimentation…sort of

So, I bought this QCR Mini curve ruler from Sew Kind of Wonderful” a long time ago. They, of course, had a really cute dog pattern that I liked. That is how you get Lori to buy an expensive ruler. Put it with a dog pattern. Works every time.

So, this was my experimental piece to determine how crappy I could sew curves. I’m gonna go with medium crappiness.

.

First, cutting. I hate cutting. You cut out your squares and then use the ruler to line them up and cut the curves. It said to use a 45mm rotary cutter. I found this very difficult. I was actually cutting the template and shaving pieces of plastic off. So I sat for a while with a nail file filing off where I “nicked” the template. Mostly because then it would hang up in the same place. Once my friend Lynn told me to slow down when I cut them things went a little better. Did I tell you I hate cutting?

So, once I had them all cut I began sewing. You leave ears and then square them up. So overall once they were squared up and trimmed they did not look bad. But, I need to try something else before I decide if this ruler is a success. I used some valentines fabric so I could give this to my next-door neighbor. She needed something Valentines for her table. It’s not the worst thing I have ever made, but certainly far from my favorite.

Yep. this is how my dog sleeps. Crazy girl. Right in the middle, paws in the air. Loudly snoring.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

And Just like that…it’s nearly Christmas

Good thing I finished those placemats.

They came out OK. It does make my dining room look festive. My Santa chair covers also help. The stuffed dogs? Well, Raising Cains chickens sells them every year. I recently got 2 new ones (Charlie Brown and Snoopy). Proceeds go to help dogs. My daughter thought they needed to be in the photo. They are always yellow labs in a costume. Super-Cute.

The placemats came out ok. After I made a couple, I was unhappy with my thread choice. It was a pretty red/green twist. It just looks dark to me. Fortunately, my lines are pretty straight so it does not look that bad. I wish I had used thread that matched the background fabric. Next time.

So, I sent my Plaid Challenge Quilt to my brother-in-law. He had a rough year, so I thought it might make him happy and he does have to live with my sister. LOL. They sent me this picture last night of it over thier love seat.

I do love it when I see one of my quilts in use or displayed.

Everyone at my house is not feeling well. Not horrible illness, just enough to annoy you. Makes it difficult to get things done for the holidays. We have been avoiding everyone because it certainly could be the “Rona”. My daughter and I lost smell and taste. I am about 10 days in so on the back side. It just felt like a crappy head cold.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

OMG, it’s December?

Where does time go? While sometimes it seems to be crawling, and then it is December.

I finished something (s)

So, I made this quilt for my Aunt. She is the only relative I have left and I think she will be turning 95. It is scraps, but to me, it felt like all my past projects going into something for her. It went together quickly and looks not too bad. I quilted with my heart ruler and meandering swirls. I hope to get it to her soon. It seems unlikely before Christmas, but hopefully soon after. She lives in Michigan, so only about a 3-hour drive for me.

I put pink and white flowered minky on the back so it would be soft. While I like the softness of minky for some quilts, I don’t find it easy to work with and it is messy. I have done it on my domestic machine and it was super hard to move around. My shoulders hurt for days. So, this one I pout on the long arm. It came out OK, I just had to be super careful with stretching. It is also very difficult to see if your tension is correct with Minky on the back. Now that it is complete, I think the tension could have been better, but it will have to do. I try to keep a notebook of all the things I learn along the way as well as how many bobbins are used and stitched. It helps me plan for the next quilt a little better.

So, I also finished all my Santa Chairs. I have a full set now. Makes me happy every time I look over at them.

Thank you to my daughter who always begrudgingly holds up my quilts for photos.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

What the Heck am I doing?

Good question. I sometimes wonder what I am doing. I quilted, on my domestic, my scrabble dog wall hanging. I needed something to do that would take me a bit of uninterupted time. Sometimes when I have a lot on my mind (or just anxiety in general), I want to work on something that requires my undivided attention. This has been basted and staring at me for quite a few weeks. I figured it would take me 1-1.5 hours after I got set up to complete the quilting. I was not far off the mark.

I did find, that since I don’t really quilt much on my domestic machine, except straight line, that I now suck at free motion quilting on it. It is possible that it is because iut requires strenght (shoulders, I think) that I don’t have and may never have. I used my dog boine ruler. Not sure why they are called rulers, they don’t actually measure anything. I did take a photo of one of the better-looking areas (LOL).

Anxiety, who me?

Haha. Crazy anxiety. That’s me. I am a worrier by nature., I think I got that from my mother. She was a worrier. So anxiety is just an added bonus.

What causes me to be insane? Well, last week on Wednesday, I woke up unable to walk. Awesome. The absolute most severe pain I have ever felt, everytime I put my right leg down. Words can not describe this pain. Thinking my post (artificail knee) had finally come loose after 25 years, I had my daughter drive me to the ER. Nope, knee not loose. Not much we can help you with, go to your ortho. Six weeks wait. Try someone local. Eww, not what I usually want to do, living outside the city. The local doctors in the rural world have always scared me. But, they agreed to see me that day. I was pleasantly surprised. Young Doc, who told me that my pain was likely coming from my hip (even though it did not hurt). Told me the answer was to shoot up the aggravated knee with medication and then come back on Friday and have the same thing done to my hip. It worked! However, now, I can add hip arthritits and all the goodies that come with that to my crappy resume. I also now keep crutches by the door of the bedroom in case it happens again. This is one of the many reasons I am half crazy. What lovely thing will I wake up with tomorrow? If this is getting old, I have a strong understanding of why people fight it.

Fun Coming!

Fun is needed. Going on a mini-retreat in Amish country in Ohio, with my quilting partner in crime Lynn and maybe one other person (hopefully Sharon comes because she seems like she would be fun). We are staying at a historic hotel. Not only is it a retreat center, but they have ghost hunts. LOL. It is has Victorian Era Decor and past presidents have stayed there (Grover Cleveland). Hotel Millersburg is in the heart of Ohio Amish Country (AKA lots of quilt shops). Photos to come….

So, I am collecting up my projects that I will work on and looking forward to the great escape.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

A little bit of work….

So, I managed to get the quilt for my Aunt on the long arm. I am about 2/3rds finished. I have to do a bit and walk away and come back to it. Too much standing kills me. I am getting there. Before, I just could not do it. Now I can do some. I’ll take it. I am using my heart ruler and curly q’s. Initially when I started, It would not sew. Screwed around for an hour did some research and figured out I put my new needle in backwards. Duh.

Quilt Police – So, I saw this photo on Facebook and had a good laugh. I am super critical of myself, always. The quilt police would have a hay day with binding like that. Given the true purpose of this quilt, that should never matter. It was made to keep someone warm and I am sure it did a fabulous job at it.

I follow a lot of groups on Facebook and Instagram, mostly for the pictures of quilts. I am sometimes shocked and appalled at things people say to fellow quilters. “Never ever by fabric at JoAnne’s or Wal-Mart. It is horrible quality”. There are quilters out there that can not afford to buy $12-$15 per yard fabric. Our ancestors, including my grandmother, used old coats, clothes, and feed sacks. Quilts were very often made out of repurposed items.

I was once told that the Kona that JoAnn’s was not the same Kona sold at quilt shops. Honestly, not true. I have bought some at both. Each raveled equally as bad. They felt the same. I do not believe the thread count was different. So, yep I used my 60% off Coupon to buy a large piece of Kona at JoAnn’s over the weekend.

I have also purchased Michael Miller fabrics at Wal-Mart. You just have to look.

Someone is wearing a quilt – I did not watch the met gala, but did see photos of this person wearing a quilt. Thought it was amusing. Turns out that this quilt was actually made by someone’s mother. The photo on the right is of it on a bed at their home. It wound up at a thrift shop and was purchased by a designer to make this…..whatever it is called.

The designer did end up contacting the lady who’s mother made the quilt once it came to light. She just wanted everyone to know that her mother made the quilt that this gentleman wore (rapper I think…can’t remember his name).

So, you never know where a quilt that you make might end up! Who would have thought the red carpet……

Senior Moment – Literally. No, not me (although I have plenty). My daughter is a senior this year., Hard to believe. We had Senior Photo’s taken recently. I cried the night before so I would not do it during the photo shoot. Our Photographer took 350 Photos. Crazy. Pretty sure I had one pose when I was a Senior and that was it. I do like the one with the waterfall, but I have not seen them all yet. That looks like my girl the most.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Monumental….and another

So, I guess I am going to to have to be happy right now with making smaller pieces. It is not the worst thing in the world. I do have another larger quilt that is for a Guild competition that I am going to have to figure out how to get quilted. We will have to see. May wait a while longer. Hoping things improve for me.

So, I am keeping this table runner for myself. I have had these fabrics for while and thought they were cute and summery. So, while this piece might look simple, I was trying to learn new things. These are not all straight seams. There is a “Y” type seam in here. Have never done them on quilts (plenty on cloths) but the instructions made it super simple to do.

Also did some straight line quilting. Funny, did it and then watched a video on how to do it. Not necessarily in the right order. I still like the look, even though it is not perfect. I now know a couple of tricks when I attempt this again.

It did take a considerable amount of time for all those lines though.

Still, I think it was worth it.

My Personal Struggle – Not much has changed since my last post (it was really only a few days ago). However, I am trying to work hard at returning to my former self, fully aware that it may never happen. So, I thought maybe I would keep track of my progress here. It is going to sound a bit funny. Prior to my surgery, I was walking 2 miles a day. I was trying to work on weight loss but mostly preparing for a trip I promised my daughter (Europe). She graduates in 2022, and has always told me how she wants to go. I always talk about my mother and her family (Mom was from Germany), so, it seemed like the opportune time to take her. Then I had my surgery and it looks like this trip could be very difficult. So, I will continue to push myself, not only for me, but her.

We are currently using the mailbox method for walking. How many mailboxes can Lori get to? Today it was 6. Yesterday it was 5. So, I guess that is progress. Seems sad that we went from walking 2 miles per day to counting how many mailboxes I can get to. The walk back from Mailbox #6 was hard and painful, but I did it. To put distance in perspective (I do not live in a subdivision), My house sits on about an acre. Most others sit on about 1/2 acre. So, it is a bit further than 6 mailboxes in a subdivision, but not that far.

As for weight loss. I am down about 20 lbs since surgery. A lot of that comes from having to give up gluten and sugar due to the increased heart rate. When there is nothing good to eat, well then you lose weight. I noticed yesterday when I put on my jeans to go out in public that there was plenty of room in them. That is not a bad feeling. I stopped buying a lot of stuff, because no one in the house needs the junk.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Moving right along…

The Easter Table topper.

What do I like about this table topper – I like the shape. I always like interesting/different shapes. I love my decorated eggs and my colorful peeps.

What do I not like about this table topper – The thread I chose. I love variegated thread, not on this. When I look at the light teal and dark teal (flower looking pieces), they do not line up correctly. The pattern I used looked perfect, but I futzed with it for quite some time to get it to lay right and I still don’t like it. Since this piece is for my table I will have to tolerate the things I don’t like. I would have to make another and see if it came out better before I would give this to someone. Still sort of cute.

I don’t follow directions well – I am sure I am ot the only one. I was looking for something Easter and did not find a lot of patterns. I found this on the Bernina website. It had a lot of embroidery on it which I clearly had no intention of doing. I have two machines that do it and I never do. My 1st late husband and I had a commercial embroidery business, therefore I no longer want to do it and after having commercial machines, find doing it on a one needle sewing machine annoying. So, I basically used the pattern for the shape and the eggs and then went off and did my own thing.

Bambi – Christmas quilt – Off the design wall and being pin basted. I am using a blanket I got for Christmas on the back. It is super soft and very pretty. I think it will be best used on the back of this quilt. I may quilt this on my domestic since I currently have something on my longarm, that is begging to be done. I am finally doing things quilty.

News from the world of Lori – So Doctors have finally figured out what is wrong with me, hopefully. Apparently, my neck has severe arthritis to the point that I do not have spinal fluid surrounding my spinal cord in a decent sized area. So, on February 5th, I will get it fixed. There really is no option, I could wind up paralyzed if I choose not to do it. So, do it we will. Such is life. Yes, I am totally freaked out by it.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

OMG Finish!

We certainly live in some crazy times.  Fortunately, I am still employed.  Actually, I still go to the office a couple of days a week.  There are not many of us, so we are a good distance apart.  Honda is considered an essential business.  I don’t mind.

I also missed the deadline to post my finish because I really have no idea what the date is or day of the week.  Everything runs together.   Maybe next month.

You would think that being trapped at home would mean more quilting.  But nooooooo.  I find it hard to get motivated.  Every time the news channel comes on I become glued to the TV.  Not sure why there is no good news.

My poor daughter had to spend her “Sweet Sixteen” in quarantine.

About the One monthly Goal Quilt …I love babies so sometimes I just make baby quilts for no reason.  The colors are a bit odd, but they do sort of go together.  No plans for this one.  It will go to the done stack.20200330_140931

For the quilting, I used my heart ruler.  It really took no time at all.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Stay safe and away from every one

FB_IMG_1583450646086

One Monthly Goal…And we’re back

I have not done One Monthly Goal in a while.  Pretty sure it has been a year.  Sort of stopped doing a lot after my sister died.  I did not stop sewing or quilting, I just could not deal with deadlines.

I think it will help me get things done.  It always has in the past, so I am back.  My One Monthly Goal for March 2020 is to completely finish this baby quilt.  It is currently partially quilted and has been this way for several weeks.  I walk by it a lot and totally ignore it.  So, we will finish quilting and get it bound for my goal.20200303_122925

More Pillowcases

I will add 11 more to my donations, bringing my total to 34.  WooHoo.  I like having something I can put together in a few minutes.

Happy Sewing, Happy Quilting

FB_IMG_1583067538400