Spiderweb and Scraps

I decided to pull out the spiderweb quilt yesterday - I made 14 of these half blocks. I laid these two out so you can see how they will be sewn in pairs. The quilt calls for 50 half blocks and I now have made 41 - only 9 more to go! Yay!

And here's a fresh look at the scrappy quilt; it's really growing! Every day I try to cut a few more pieces for this so I won't ever run out of pieces. My goal is simple to make a chunk for this daily - a chunk consist of several fabric pieces that I hand piece together. Then I hand stitch it to the mother ship. Some chunks may only have 4 pieces - some may have 12. It's growing faster than I expected so that is good!

I know some of you wonder...why the heck don't I just sew this by machine???!!!! Well, I could easily do that. But I do love hand piecing, and I love to do this while I watch TV.  I think if I were doing this by machine it would be as big by now. My new lap desk is awesome for this!!!!

I was a big winner last night at my neighborhood women's club meeting. I won a HUGE Valentine basket!

       

Here's what was inside:

There is candy, cookies, wine and wine glasses, mug and towel, valentine cards, headache pillow, cute pad and pen set, and a mani/pedi certificate. WOW!

I won a door prize at quilt guild recently and now this. I think I need to cross the Georgia line (only 20 minutes away) and buy a lottery ticket! What do you think?

Enjoy your day!

Bring Me Flowers

Ah yes, another Bring Me Flowers block finished. Yesterday I made the templates for the next two blocks and have the fabric ready to go for the next one. By hook or by crook, I'll finish this quilt top this year!

I also made another 'chunk' for my scrappy quilt - I'll share it tomorrow.

I'm in the mood to machine sew today --- hmmm, wonder what quilt I'll pull out of a box? We'll see... I have a quilt basted and ready to quilt, then there's the spiderweb quilt and the Christmas Animals. I'll figure it out....

Happy Monday!

Sewing and Sewing and Sewing

Okay, there's also been a bit of reading thrown in with the sewing. I'm not sure why I've never read this book before - as you can see my new lap desk works well for reading, too.

Thanks to a dear reader, I've learned I like my 'thumb' cutter better on my index finger. It's much easier for me this way.

I been machine sewing on things I can't share here...of course....

But I've also done a good bit of hand piecing and will have something to show for that tomorrow.

We went out for dinner with friends at a new restaurant just out of town Friday night. This was the coconut cake Hubby and I shared for dessert - it was well worth the splurge! We took a few bites before I remember to snap the photo. This was the best meal we've eaten out in a long time. Yes, this restaurant will definitely make it - for my Auburn/Opelika friends who read my blog - it's The Waverly Local - SO GOOD!

That's it for today - hopefully I'll have some actual sewing to share tomorrow!

My New Lap Desk!

You all know by now that I really like hand piecing and hand appliqué. I enjoy doing handwork in my recliner with my feet up and a dachshund in my lap.

I've been working like this for years with a  pile of tools (thread, scissors, etc.) on the table to my right, but I was constantly knocking things on the floor and seemed to spend lots of time on my hands and knees looking for my thimble or spool of thread.

In my head, I've been designing the perfect lap desk. I thought I'd need to build exactly what I wanted. When I told Hubby, he suggested looking online to see what I could find - smart guy!

I found the perfect lap desk at Target - find it HERE - and it was only $15.00. I got one a couple of days ago and have now 'tricked it out' to make the perfect sewing station for my recliner.

I started by hooking together two elastic ponytail holders and hooking around two command hooks...

...to hold my pincushion in place. Perfect!

I used a Command strip to hold this small plastic container (empty pin box) in place to hold my thimble and thumb thread cutter.

Another Command strip hold down a retractable scissor fob - I'll never drop my scissors again!

I've even hooked a spool of thread in place with a Command strip.

There at the top I've added two strong clips to hold pieces of blocks I'm working on - yes, more Command strips.

So the right side has all my tools and the main left side is a fantastic working surface which tilts.  Other than the $15 lap desk, the only thing I had to buy was the clips - from the office supply store.

And one of the best parts is that Mickey fits underneath! Haha!

I really didn't sew yesterday. Hubby and I usually take one day a week to forgo our hobbies (golf for him) and do something together. It doesn't have to be anything special.  We ran a bunch of errands and went out for lunch. I spent the rest of my time working on my lap desk.

Today I WILL sew! (And Hubby will play golf!) Haha!

Enjoy your day!

Another Glitter Block - and Sources for the Thumb Thread Cutter

Another Glitter block completed. Yes, more 'not so pretty' fabrics. This is such a good use for these fabrics!

About the thread cutter...

THREE of my wonderful readers came through with sources!

Michelle found these available at the United Notions site: HERE.

And A Nudge and Beth found it HERE on Etsy.

Thanks, ladies!

Thumb Thread Cutter

I have had this thumb thread cutter (try to say that 3 times!) for years. I ordered it back in the day when I was publishing my Hexie Love magazine; I had planned to do an article and review on it there, but of course best laid plans....

I can't for the life of me remember from where I ordered it. There are ring cutter available via Amazon, but this thumb cutter is more like what Yoka Saito uses. I did find a similar one made by Clover HERE.  If you find one available let me know where and I will share here.

Here I am in action, hand piecing with the cutter on my thumb. So far it's a bit awkward for me, but I'm planning on reviewing Yoko's video and figure out exactly how she does it. I must have skinny fingers, because my ring cutter slips some. I tried squeezing it to make it smaller but it didn't really work. The jury is still out on this...

I did finish this Bring Me Flowers block over the weekend. Remember I'm hand piecing these. This is number 14 out of 25.

We went to a fun Mardi Gras luncheon Saturday. Bloody Marys, Mimosas, appetizers, salads, Jambalaya, and garlic bread, finishing up with King Cake and Moon Pies. We had a blast and were well fed. Other than doing a grocery pick up at Walmart, I have been inside all weekend while the rain has been falling.

Today will be nicer weather and I do have an errand to run. Enjoy your day!

Fun Guild Meeting

Yesterday I went in TJ Maxx - didn't need anything, I was just walking around. And look what I saw: a sewing machine! It's adorable, but after doing some research I learned that it's meant for crafting - sewing through paper and fabric. Might be fun, but no thanks.

Last night's guild meeting was fun. I'm showing a couple of my favorites from show and tell-

I loved the prairie points on the outside edge of this one - the maker said she never do that again - haha! Lots of work, I'm sure.

I was lucky to win one of three door prizes - some fun stuff here!

I'm planning to do a bit of sewing on my Christmas Animals quilts. I hope it grows today!