Category Archives: Blogging 101

Autumn colors

Fall is making an appearance and while I do miss the warm, sunny days at the beach,  you really can’t beat those amazing fall colors.

mums   Burgundy and gold  mums     mums-flag

The happy, bright Montauk Daisies  look so cheerful even on a cloudy day

montauk-daisies

And I love pulling into my driveway and being greeted by this mixture of autumnal beauty

front-porch

And sometimes as the day wanes,  we are treated to a purple and pink sunset

sunset

So being inspired by all these colors, I think tomorrow I will bring out some decor to reflect what’s happening outside.

_PatchworkPumpkin       20150927_161409 (1)      Reversible Fall Placemats     Halloween tablerunner (Copy)

Enjoy this colorful season.

Bye for now.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

The Cutting Edge

I was rearranging and re-organizing my sewing room recently and started gathering up my scissors to decide which ones would hang on my pegboard, which ones would sit by my sewing machines, etc.   Now I know someone who has this thing for scissors.  I won’t mention any names but you know who you are.     Image result for clip art

As I put them onto my cutting table I realized that I had a whole LOT more scissors and rotary cutters than I realized.   I said to myself “Holy Cow, I’m getting like Sharon!” (ooops, I mentioned a name)   Here are some of my many cutting utensils:

dsc03175

I looked at them and realized I really do use them for different things.  There are my fabric cutting scissors (don’t EVEN think about using them for anything else), my batting cutting scissors — and I have the same two categories for my rotary cutters.  I have a special rotary cutter to use with my circle cutting template too.  There are my little snip scissors that I keep hanging by my Pfaff and the ones I keep by my Featherweight.  Then there are the ones I use for my crochet or knit projects and the little teeny ones for applique.  There is the pair of scissors that I use for snipping around curves or into corners and that I will use for snipping the edges in the rag quilt if I ever get around to actually making it.  Of course, there are the pink scissors with the flowers on them (small and large – they came in a set) .  No real reason to have them except that they are pretty and I like them.  I have my mother-in-law’s pinking shears, my Aunt Anna’s pinking shears and I now have my grandmother’s pinking shears.  Truth be told, I never use them.  They hurt my hands to use.   I also have a couple pair of scissors that I honestly don’t remember where they came from but they are part of the family now.

Now, I am not so sure that I have as many pair of scissors as my bestest friend does but after looking at all the scissors and reflecting back on my thought of  “Holy Cow, I’m getting like Sharon!”  I realized that’s not a bad thing at all.  She is the best friend anyone could ever have and if I am like her even in this one little way, well that is a very good thing.

Happy sewing everyone.  And BFF, keep those scissors sharp so when I come to visit, we can cut things up and then sew them back together.

Bye for now all.

Ginny

 

 

 

A hint of Fall

fall leav    Just a few weekends ago we were in the midst of a major heat wave.  The a/c was going night and day along with numerous fans and my energy level was practically non-existent by the end of the day.   And now, this week we have had some nice cool mornings and evenings.  The windows are open and we can enjoy the sounds of the crickets.   I sleep much better and wake up ready to accomplish things.  I am not quite ready to bid adieu to summer but it’s nice to get a taste of what will be here in the not too distant future.   I have been thinking about what I look forward to in the coming season: Soups,  beautiful fall colors,  mums blooming along with my Montauk Daisies.  Football and the new fall season of shows on tv to keep us entertained when the fall gives way to frigid winter nights.   I was thinking back to how much I used to look forward to getting the Fall Preview issue of the TV Guide.  TV Guide Fall Preview    I would look at each days schedule and pick out what new shows I wanted to check out and, hopefully, they wouldn’t be opposite a returning favorite show.  No dvr’s back then.   And there were really only a handful of channel’s to choose from and yet there always seemed to be something to watch.   Other than the fall premiers, two shows that said “Fall is here” to me were the Jerry Lewis MD Telethon on Labor Day weekend when I would try and stay awake as long as I could to “watch the stars come out” and the Miss America Pageant which was usually the weekend after Labor Day I think.

Of course, fall brings to mind some nice, cozy quilts to snuggle under when there is a chill. I have a stack of fabric waiting to become quilts but I did finally finish my lattice quilt top:

latttice top

This will not have any batting, just a backing and that will be seersucker because I wanted to experiment.  So what’s in my craft basket tonight? The seersucker backing and the jellyroll that I will be using for the binding.    backing and jelly roll for binding   I can’t wait to get to the binding.   I know a lot of quilters don’t like that step but I enjoy it.  I will be cutting the jellyroll into about 7″ pieces and joining them to make my binding strip.   I will get to cutting those pieces and maybe even do a bit of stitching together tomorrow morning before work.

But for tonight, I’m going to get my cup of tea and read for a bit while listening to the cricket serenade.  Have a good night all.  See you soon.

Ginny

 

 

 

Hot August Days

 

We are in the middle of a heat wave for sure so what does one do to keep themselves busy while being inside all day.   This is what was in my craft basket today:

DSC03156

I have put the last row on my lattice quilt and now on to adding the borders.  My first border will be  1 1/2″ white strips, then I will put a 3″ border of the tangerine and finally, a 4″ border of the green.  I was trying to decide what to do as far as batting.  I want this to be a “summer” quilt so I don’t really want warmth.  Just a light cover on a cool summer night— which would NOT be tonight for sure.  🙂   After  a bit of research,  I finally came to the  decision that  I would not be using any batting.   I’m just going to put the top and the backing together,  “quilt” it with some straight line diagonal stitching following the lines of the lattice strips.   I will use the Ambrosia Jelly Role for the binding.    And what will I be using for the backing?  I am going to experiment and use Seersucker.  Seersucker just screams summer to me.  Not sure how it will work but since it’s not a gift  I’m going to try it.

There are a number of  quilts on my list that need to be done before Christmas so I will be quite busy over the next few months.  I also have lots of other projects to work on so the workroom will be buzzing starting in a few weeks.  The first thing on my To Do list was to decide what patterns I wanted to use for each of the quilts.  The decisions have been made, most of the material has been gotten and now on to the cutting.  But, not until I finish my lattice quilt!  That has been in my “craft basket” for quite some time and was in the category of UFO (Unfinished Object).  But no longer.  It will be finished!

Keep cool everyone.   See you soon.

Ginny

 

 

August already!

I’ve been keeping busy but not a ton of time in my sewing room.  That seems to happen in the summertime.  I did have time to add a “new” bookshelf to my sewing room.  It is now home to my solid color fabric, some fat quarters and my quilting magazines.

Jpeg

Jpeg

I actually have made a few small things and got back to work on my lattice quilt.  Four more rows to go on that and it will be time to add the borders.  It was actually supposed to be my “summer quilt” for this year but that didn’t happen.  It will make it onto the bed next spring for sure though.

And what else is in my craft basket you might ask?  Well I’ve been collecting the license plates for the row x row experience this summer.  DSC03154

Here are three of them and a pattern for showing them off.   No, I didn’t get to actually go to visit Missouri Star Quilt Company but I was able to order their license plate.  I’ve got a few more to collect this year.    I am sure that these license plates will not be made into the wallhanging until winter is in full swing.   You see I have my usual “got to make by the holidays” list and I also have a different list this year too.  My “want to make before my grandbaby arrives” list!  That event will also take place in December so those sewing machines will be humming away.

For now, I’ll continue to enjoy the summertime and spend lots of time outdoors and organize my ideas and lists.  I think that maybe I need to get into some hand appliqueing so that I can be working on projects while enjoying the beach, the backyard or the front porch.   Of course the occasional rainstorm is welcome too…. especially if the aftermath is something as beautiful as this:

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Now I am going to settle down with the my M*QC catalog which came in the mail today.

Happy August.

See you soon.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

Blizzard of 2016

6″-12″ is what we were supposed to get.  Ok, we’re ready.

Ice metl

Boots & Shovels Ice melt, boots and shovels all ready.

 

 

 

 

Checked outside before heading to bed late Friday night.  The storm begins    The snow had begun.  Very pretty.

Next morning’s view of the driveway:Morning on Day 2

Now they say more like 12″-18″.   Well, it kept on coming and this is what it looked like this morning at the front door  Front Door DriftFront Porch Drift #2

We wound up getting over 28″ and the drifts were amazing.  We had shoveled the front porch and driveway mid-afternoon on Saturday so I cannot even imagine how high the drift would have been if we hadn’t.

Other than the one time shoveling expedition, we had a nice day indoors yesterday.  We didn’t lose power so that was great.  I was able to spend some time in the sewing room, watched a movie and made some delicious Roasted Tomato Soup Roasted Tomato Soup

The backyard sure does look like a winter wonderland today

DSC03088

DSC03087

We’ve got the cars and driveway dug out thanks in large part to three of our neighbor’s sons.  He always make sure that they go around and help those of us who don’t have young able-bodied shovelers living at home and who are not as young as we used to be.

Cars Dug Out

Now let’s just hope the plow doesn’t block us in too badly when it comes around.

Too tired now to do much sewing or cutting.  I would probably mess something up if I tried so I will just watch the football game and either work on a knitted dishcloth or maybe some handwork (hexis).  Maybe a little bit of both.  I also have Madam Secretary and Downtown Abbey on the schedule tonight but since they are opposite each other, I am dvr’ing both of them and then I can choose which to watch tonight and which to watch either later tonight or tomorrow.

Hope everyone dealing with this storm is safe and warm tonight.

Have a great week.  See you soon.

Ginny

 

 

 

Snow is coming?

Ok, so they say we could get a good amount of snow.   The usual routine is to make sure we have everything we will need for a day going nowhere (except outside to shovel and clear off the car — and maybe throw a snowball at my hubby.)  penquin throwing snowball

Bread — check;  milk — check;  tea — check; wood for the fireplace — check; wine -check

So, it looks like we are set for everything we will need, right?   Oh contrar!   I will need to make sure I’ve got enough to keep me busy for the weekend in my sewing room because we know that I don’t have enough fabric and projects to keep me busy!

So, this evening after work, I headed to Michaels to get some yarn.  I have been waiting and waiting for it to go on sale either at Michael’s or A.C. Moore and this was the week.Cotton yarn

I see some knitted dishcloths in my future.

Yesterday I got a delivery from the M*QC  so I have some nice new fabric to play with and dream about the pretty things I can make with it.  And, while going through my fabric stash and organizing last week, I realized that I was in need of some flannel and was going to head out to get that on Saturday but that was probably not going to happen with the snow arriving.   I headed out to get that after dinner.fabric

 

Got gas on the way home and now I’m all set.   Let the snow begin.  snowflakes

Have fun everyone heading to those grocery stores to stock up on your bread and milk. I’ve got my supplies in.

See you soon.

Ginny

Hello Winter, you really are here

Snow 2       Snow

Wasn’t sure we would be seeing any snow this season.  But we had some nice soft snowflakes falling.   I enjoyed  the peaceful precipitation while watching football and working on taming my scraps.        Cutting tumblers

I was cutting tumblers for Bonnie Hunters’ Leader/Ender challenge. (check it out at quiltville.blogspot.com )  And whatever wasn’t big enough for my tumblers, that got cut into 2 1/2″ or 3 1/2″ strips or 2 1/2″ inch squares.  I have tons of scraps that aren’t in any usable shape at this point and it takes up so much more room storing them that way.  Here is the beginning of my  organized stacks Organizing scraps

I got a lot more cut and organized and will get all the different shapes settled into their own neat bins. One of my goals is to use a lot of these scraps for a Scrappy Irish Chain quilt from Bonnie’s book, “Adventures with Leaders and Enders”.

Day off tomorrow!  🙂   I will give my sewing machines a good cleaning and then we will see what I feel like working on.  I have lots of choices.

Have a good evening.  Bye for now.

Ginny

 

 

Un-decorating Day

Well, today was the day to take the Christmas decorations down.  The kitchen sounded hollow somehow and the rest of the house seemed so bare.   I miss my tree .  The space where it spent the last month shining brightly    Christmas Tree    was so empty        Empty space.

So it was time to rearrange things a bit and fill that void with something else that would make me smile and so this is what I moved there Filled space    I set up my guitar and music stand there and it’s time to get back to practicing.  I did learn to play Jingle Bells before the holidays but not well enough for me to play it for anyone but myself and the cat.  Oh, and does it surprise anyone who knows me that the first song I can play all the way through was a Christmas tune?  Probably not.

Time to get the Valentine’s Day decorations out and then, quickly right after that, there will be the St. Patrick’s Day green making an appearance. However, if you take a look around, you will see that Christmas hasn’t really gone completely away.  🙂    I left a few reminders around Countdown

These cute little guys are actually keeping track of how many months to go until Christmas, not days right now.   And if you look closely, you will see a few holiday friends still hanging around in this little cabinet   Snowmen & Santa

After un-decorating, a whole lot of vacuuming, rearranging and having some delish onion soup for dinner, I did get to spend some time in my sewing room organizing my fabric and working on a couple small projects. Tomorrow is going to be a rainy chilly day, so I will be spending a lot of time with my sewing machines.  I have a few projects on my to do list and I have been looking through quilt books and magazines and finding more things that are going to be going on my “I want to make that” list.

Have a good week everyone.  See you soon.

Ginny

The New Year has begun

And winter has arrived for a short visit.  Boy did we get spoiled with that warm weather in December.  As cold goes, I suppose it really wasn’t all that awful but it sure was a shock to the body for the last couple days. But, fear not, warmer temps are making a comeback and we will be in the 40’s again tomorrow.  However, I really want some snow!  We can’t have snow if it’s in the 40’s.

I have been getting my sewing room back into some semblance of order over the last few days and will be getting back to work in there soon.  I have a list of things that need to get done.  The list isn’t as long as it was a couple months ago but I do see it growing again.  Of course, my sewing machines need some TLC too before they get back into the swing of things.

Stay cozy and warm everyone.  See you soon.

Ginny