Sunday, August 28, 2011

He's BACK!!! My Jim Thome is back with the Cleveland Indians!!!

Ok, so he's not really my Jim Thome.  But he is the reason I started watching baseball back in the 90's.  Let's face it being from northeastern Ohio we haven't had much luck with our professional sports teams!!  So when Jim started hitting home runs everyone got excited!!!  Plus he was really easy on the eyes at First Base!!!  I was pretty upset when he left us for Philladelphia!!!  But it did enable me to buy a Jim Thome jersey for $5.

My friend Wendy called on Friday to ask if I wanted to go to a game this weekend to welcome Jim back to Cleveland?  I said YES!!!  And my DH Jim even said he would join us.  HMMM Jim and Jim??  We decided to go to the Sunday game. 

It was Kid's day, so they had a kids lineup and the kids got to run out on the field.  That was cute and I'm sure the kids got a kick out it!


It was a little cloudy and it even rained on us a little bit.


Wendy got us great seats.
We knew driving in that Jim wasn't in the lineup, and that he wouldn't pinch hit unless the Royal's brought in a right handed pitcher.  The game was pretty boring, the Indian's weren't hitting and the score was Royals 2 - Indians 1 when it happend!!!  The Royals called for a relief pitcher and he was right handed!! 

So how long would I have to wait?  How long would the family that flashed a sign saying 'Evacuated Virginia and Irene to see Jim Thome!!' have to wait? 

Well it turned out not very long!!  There he was right below us!!  My Jim Thome!!!





We realized that this would be his only time at bat and we hoped he would get on base or hit a home run!!!  Our hopes were dashed when he struck out!!  But we still got see him bat and the crowd went wild!!!  Unfortunately the Indians lost the game.  But we still had fun!!!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Little Glam Bags make great gifts!!!

This past week I participated in the Travel Handmade series, sponsored by The Sewing Summit, of blog entries that focused on making totes, bags and accessories from tutorials and patterns.
Travel Handmade with The Sewing Summit

Last fall I kept busy by making a number of Little Glam Bags by Pink Sands Beach Design.  Being unemployed I had to make gifts for my girlfriends and nieces.


These bags are great for using up those fat quarters you have been collecting.  I bought the zippers on sale!!


I completed 10 of these bags quickly!!!


Garfield liked my bags also!


I used the concepts I learned using this pattern and made a larger bag for my sister.




Friday, August 19, 2011

Learning from my mistakes!!!

I'm in the process of binding a number of my scarlet and gray quilts.  I have been using a 2" wide double fold binding.  I added a binding on to the quilt below.


I didn't have quite enough so I cut two more 2" wide strips.  When I went to attach them I realized that the majority of the binding had been cut 2.25" wide?

I have made the decision that I need to remove the majority of the binding and trim it down to 2" then reattach it.  At least I figured this out before starting the handing sewing!!!  Why is this so important you might ask?  I just like the way that a 2" wide binding wraps around the quilt.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

2011 Pets on Quilt Show August 15th - August 19th

I want to thank Darlene for organizing this great virtual quilt show.    You can check out all the entries at Welcome to 2011 Pets on Quilts Show.  In the last year I have been very busy testing quilt patterns.  My boys Garfield and Nermal have been very helpful.






It has been a tough year for both of the boys.  First we had Garfield shaved!!


Nermal helps me blog and design quilts using EQ7!!




And he helps me sew???
Now Nermal is having some medical issues!!  He was recently bit in the tail area and has been to the vet twice.  We just hope this round of antibiotics takes care of the infection.


I hope you have enjoyed meeting my boys!!!



Friday, August 12, 2011

Check out my Lovely Laundry Bag and Vote!!!

I have submitted my Lovely Laundry Bag for this weeks Quilting Gallery's themed quilt contest.

The previous link will take you to the photos and enable you to vote!




















Please check out the wonderful quilts and vote for your favorite!!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Block "O" Pillow tutorial

This is my first tutorial so kind suggestions are appreciated!!

Twenty years or so ago I purchased floor pillows for Christmas gifts from AshCrafts.  They were different colors and had names monogramed on them.  I decided it was time to recover my pillow and make a Block O Pillow.


First I measured it 27" by 31.5" and then took those measurements to EQ7 to design the pillow.  I decided to use 5" squares that would finish at 4.5".  With a finished 4.5" border.



Fabric yardage:
3/4 yard of Gray
3/8 yard of Red
1 yard of batting
1 yard of muslin
1 yard of material for the pillow backing, I used fleece

Cutting Instructions:
Start by cutting 4 gray - 5" strips the width of fabric (WOF) these will be used for the borders.
From each strip cut 2 - 5" squares (a total of 8), the remaining strips will be used for the borders.

Then cut 2 red - 5" strips the width of fabric (WOF), cut 12 - 5" squares from the 2 strips.

Half Square Triangles(HST):
Take 2 Gray squares and 2 Red squares and cut them diagonally.


Using a 1/4" seam sew one Gray triangle to one Red triangle right sides together.  You will need a total of 4 HST's.  With these triangles be cut on a diagonal you have to be careful not to pull them out of shape as you are sewing.


When sewing a project I chain piece as much as possible.  This saves time and thread.


After the 4 HST's are done I start sewing the 5" Squares together.

Squares:
Sew 2 Red squares together right sides together.  Do this twice for the top and bottom of the "O".


Then I sew the remaining Red squares to the Gray squares right sides together.


You will have 6 sets of Red and Gray.

Clip the pieces apart carefully.

Trim the HST's down to 4.5" using a ruler with a 45 degree diagonal.  Place the diagonal line on the sewn seam and carefully trim all 4 edges.


Finished after trimming.

Press the seams of the HST's to the red fabric.

Attach one of the HST's to the Red square set matching the red fabrics.


You will do this twice for the top and bottom of the "O"


Then attach the final HST's to these two 3 piece sets matching the red fabrics.

Now sew 2 of the Red and Gray square sets together matching the gray fabrics.


You will have 3 of these 4 piece sets when you are done.

You should now have 5 sets of fabric.


Placement of these sets is very important.

Set 1 will be sewn to Set 2, Set 3 will be sewn to Set 4 and then Set 5 will be sewn to Set 4.


I didn't have you press the seams on the sets, so that you can alternate the direction of the seams to help ensure the seams interlock.

I place a pin at the left corner, ensuring edges match, then move my way right adding pins as necessary to make sure seams and edges match.

As I feed the Set 1 and Set 2 through the sewing machine I remove pins just before my needle reaches them.


 I use my stiletto to ensure that the seam on the bottom continues to lay flat.

Follow the same process for sewing together Set 3 and Set 4.

Then attach Set 5 to Set 4.


Then attach Set 2 to Set 3

You will now have a completed Block "0"


Press the seams so that they lay flat.

Borders:
Measure the vertical center of the Block "O" this measurement should be close to 23" strips.
Take 2 of the 5" Strips and use the vericial center measurement to determine the correct length.  Attach both of the borders.  Pinning the right side of border to the Block "O" where necessary to ensure the fabrics match.  Press seams to border fabric.


After the side borders are added, measure the horizontal center of the Block "O" this measurement should be close to 27.5" strips.  Attach both of the borders. Pinning the right side of border to the Block "O" where necessary to ensure the fabrics match. Press seams to border fabric.




Quilting:
Layer the Block "O" the using the batting of your choice and a piece of muslin.

I like using squares because I can quilt using straight lines.




After you finish quilting trim the batting and muslin even with the Block "O".

Finishing:
Take a final measurement to determine the size of the pieces needed for the pillow back.

I measure the length of the pillow, divide that in half and add 4" so that the pillow is not exposed.  If the backing material needs a finished edge, just fold under 1/4" twice and topstitch.  Place the first piece of backing material right sides together with the Block "O" panel and sew the 3 sides.  Lay the second piece of backing material right sides together with the Block "O" panel and overlapping the other piece of backing material and sew the 3 sides.  If the backing material needs a finished edge, just fold under 1/4" twice and topstitch.



Saturday, August 6, 2011

My Charm Bracelet Quilt

I have wanted to become a Moda Chef for the last year or so.  Moda looks for designs using their precut fabrics suggest as charm packs (5" pieces), jellyrolls (2.5" strips) and layer cakes (10" pieces).  So I have decided to submit this quilt design.  My design is using Sandy Gervais' Giddy.

My Charm Bracelet Quilt
This quilt is 47" x 56"

Wish me luck on getting my design accepted!!!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Scarlet and Gray Allover Quilt

I just entered a quilt at Quilting Gallery's Weekly Themed Quilt contest. Voting starts Friday August 5th and runs through Sunday August 7th. Please vote for the quilt below.


I just finished the binding and hanging sleeve on this quilt.  Now it's ready for the Scarlet and Gray Trunk show at JEllen's House of Fabric in October.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Nermal - Bug Stings and Blogging

We had a scare with Nermal on Friday afternoon.  He was crying and didn't want to be touched, and his tail was hanging straight down.  As my DH said 'Nermal isn't struting!'.  Called the vet and took him in on Saturday morning.  He was feeling better by the vet appointment.  The vet checked him out and determined he had been stung on the back.  He still has a bit of a lump.  But he is feeling so much better he decided to help me blog today!



July 2011 has been a really Hot one! Thank goodness for air conditioning!

I have been busy finishing my Scarlet and Gray quilts for the trunk show in October at JEllen's House of Fabric in Mayfield, Ohio.  By finishing I mean adding hanging sleeves and hand sewing on the bindings. 


I finished this one last week.  Now I'm working on this one.


I will take a better picture when it is completed.

I have 4 more that need done by the end of the month.

Then 2 more are coming from the quilter to be done by the 1st of October.

I better get busy!!