A Little Evening Crafting

While my house does need more cleaning and decluttering (I know, unbelievable, isn't it?!), I decided to tackle some other activities. 
Tonight I:

I "filed"  some Halloween fabric...okay, folded it!!

And: 

Made a pretty button bracelet. I got the idea from Sew Many Ways.

It felt good to do a little crafting!  My bracelet has a few less buttons, than the one in the tutorial, but I still like it. It makes me smile! 


Enjoy your day...and don't forget to do a little crafting or sewing or quilting or what ever makes you smile!


Deb

Happy President's Day!

Here in the USA, today is a federal holiday celebrating "President's Day"--a combined holiday which used to be "Washington's Birthday" and "Lincoln's Birthday." In those days, we got TWO Monday's off in short little February. Oh well, I guess that's what they call progress. Since this would be my last "three day holiday" (ie: weekend plus Monday) until April,  I started out with so many  great plans.

Laundry. Lots of laundry. Want to catch  up.

Decluttering.  Want to recycle/toss many items.

Exercise.  Get that community center membership I have been putting off.  Maybe if Clark Gable was at the gym, I would quit procrastinating!!

Sew. Lots of sewing.  I want to sew together my son's disappearing 9 patch blocks.  

What happened?

On the positive side...I did go through my quilt magazine stash.  I went through several stacks and tossed out about 30 magazines (those are ones I had torn out 1 or 2 "keeper" patterns) and have another 25 (more or less) to pass along to others. Don't fear...I probably kept about 50 magazines. But, the stash is getting smaller!! 


I attempted to work on my hexie blocks.  But,  even with my hand brace,  I am still having thumb pain. Grr...So,  I got lost at Pinterest.  If you are interested in looking at some of my boards, I am listed as Cluttered Quilter. I pinned some great vintage quilt designs...some modern designs.  And many, many recipes. 


I hope everyone has a great week...I know I plan to! 


Deb


PS: Okay, here are a couple snickers to get you through the week...

Snowed In

View of my back yard sitting area...a little snowy!

Yep, the meteorologists got it right this time!  We have a beautiful (if you didn't lose power) snow storm!  Thick flakes which stuck to all the trees and bushes.  I have taken advantage of being housebound and puttered around doing this, that and another.  

Thimble decided the best thing to do on a snowy day is find a quilt and take a nap!

I did a couple of loads of laundry. 

I made dinner in the crock pot...a new recipe called "Beer Braised Beef."  The basic recipe was tasty, but unfortunately, the cut of meat I happened to choose turned out fatty and chewy.  If I make it again, I will be more careful about that!! 


And then, I spent time bonding with my sweet Berniece...my sewing machine!  I worked on my string blocks, just like I promised!! 

I sewed three rows of five blocks and separated them with a reproduction print.

Not the greatest photo, but I chose a black repro fabric for the border.  And the best part? This project has come entirely from my stash! Tomorrow?  Baste it and quilt it!!  But, now I am left with the next dilemma. Do I machine or hand quilt it?!!  I think the string blocks would be very difficult to hand quilt, so I am leaning towards machine quilting of some type. 


I had fun sewing in my new little cleaned area.  I had the TV available, so while sewing I watched: 

And then: 

Both perfect movies to sew along with!! 

I also have  case of "startitis" developing.  

I feel in love with the colors in this quilt from  Blue Square Quilting

AND this quilt:

"Roll of Nickels" quilt from Double Nickel Quilts

Roll of Nickels is actually a Disappearing Nine Patch block...so I am thinking of combining these two ideas and making a Roll of Nickels quilt from red/pink fabric and using a gray back ground. And guess what,  I have more than enough stash make one!! 


Well, I am now going to enjoy Elvis in :

And forget about the snow outside!!

Taa-taa for now!
Deb 

Bring On Winter!!

Ahh, pieceful time on the winter prairie

I live in Nebraska, USA.  Normally,  by February  I would be lamenting "I'm so tired of snow, ice, and cold weather."  Not this year. This year we have had record high temperatures. In January.  50-60 degree days back to back. Unheard of.  But,  finally, we have a major storm headed our way.  Oh boy!!  A reason to stay in and quilt!!


First...planned meals for the next three days...not forgetting Sunday is "Super Bowl Sunday." 

Grocery list made.  

Pre storm, Pre Super Bowl Shopping! 

Next, grocery shopping. Usually not a problem, but as any one who lives where it snows,  the day BEFORE a snow storm is hectic!!  The pioneer mentality sets in. People put on their Laura Ingalls Wilder sun bonnet and think it's  "The Long Winter" and  there is going to be a food shortage.  

Great book! Read it!!

So, with those tasks out of the way,  I am free to play the rest of the weekend!!  Remember these string blocks I made last fall?  They have percolated in my brain long enough and I am going to put them together this weekend...and if all goes well,  quilt them!! There are only 16 four inch blocks, so it will be a mini or doll size quilt. 

Oh, and in my decluttering process, I created a little space to put my sewing machine and SEW!  My sewing room in the basement has been going backwards in the decluttering process, but the more stuff I get rid of, the more space I will have in my sewing room.  

On that topic,  Pat Sloan is doing a series of postings in February over at Quilting Gallery  on  "de-stashing" and decluttering ones sewing room.   Since I always find these kind of postings motivating, I thought I would share the link!   


Enjoy your weekend!!  I'll keep you posted on my progress! 

Deb