Raggedy Perfection!

This lap blanket is so homespun soft and wonderful! 

It was cut with the Accuquilt die for an 8 1'2" rag block.

I used a fat quarter bundle of homespun plaid fabrics.

I used 1 1/2 yards of the same type of fabric for the backing blocks.

It turned out so well, I will be making another and another!  

This one is 34" x 48".

You can see the wonderful fringe that results from the four layers of fabric.

The embroidery worked out great for the quilting motif for each block, too!

I will tell you-
there is a LOT of lint after washing and drying this blanket!
I have heard of people adding lint to their wool batts for texture-
now I understand how that could work! lol

SeaShell!

 Since I bought the new software,

 I have been enjoying doing embroidery again!

 This design is 6" square and it took 7 hours to get it finished stitching!

I had to fuss with thread shredding-

after tweaking with a new needle and tension settings, 

I finally brought about a good stitching rhythm!  

I went through two full bobbins which shows how thread heavy this design is.

Maybe it would be better on a pillow or canvas bag

 but I wanted it for a birthday t-shirt for my grand daughter! 

 I lined the design with tricot interfacing so the inside would be soft to wear. 

 So this plain white t-shirt was sprayed with dye to make it beach-ish,

 then I did the embroidery.  Not bad for a day's work!

Color and Lushness

 I embroidered this little onesie for my newest  great-niece!  It was a tight squeeze to get it into the hoop and under the needle but it finally worked out! 

It was nice to be able to deliver it in person-

                              I will share a picture of her in it in a few days!                          

 Here is a great view of my parent's home from the point of view of this Heliopsis.

 This clump of them are 7' tall!  Just beautiful!

 This year the chipmunks didn't destroy the clematis!

 And all the rain has produced a bumper crop of hydrangea!

There is such a variation of blues within the bush....

I'm going to be sketching this scene and doing some watercolor soon!

(Just between the garage and thee house is a building-it's my sister's house so that will be a neat view to include!)

My sister-in-law brought me this little music box with an upright spinning wheel (also called a castle wheel) with a distaff holding the linen!

It is going up on my treasures shelf when I get home!

Dawning

 My wild quilt is completed-even washed and dried!  It is 44" x 60".

 I so enjoyed stitching it with a sunburst on every block and squiggles on the borders!  

 For a treat with my share of the tax money, I splurged and bought a new program for embroidery.  My old system no longer worked with the updated computers so I haven't been able to tweak, customize or combine designs.

Now, the embroidery is open for me again and I want to explore embroidery for quilting blocks!

 As a complement to the software, I bought some new embroidery thread!  Lots of shades so the embroidery will have the depth it need for success!

 I organized them in rainbow order, of course!

(I was able to buy both of these products on EBAY, at a price I could afford,

 from the luxury of home-priceless!)

 This isn't a pic of buds but rather the flower head is made up of these tubes and the hummingbirds love them!

 And for the first time, our prayer lily has produced a flower!

Dawn....chasing the boys from dawn to dusk;  from morning cuddles to bedtime snuggles.  It's an art.

Log Cabin Stockings!

The blessing of three new grandchildren this year (well, one is just days weeks away) is the responsibility of making Christmas stockings to hang by the fireplace with the rest of the family!

I begin with an embroidered pentagon and then just randomly add strips around it log cabin style.

When I fill the top area, I move to the foot always using a solid for the toe and heel. 

Once I cover the tricot pattern underneath, I trim all the edges and then I use all those fancy stitches on my machine to add the look of hand embroidery!

The next stage would be to embroider the name on the lining, sew it together and turn the cuff down so the name shows.  

ENTER A BIG GLITCH!

When we got the new computer because a nasty virus/worm ate our old one, the new system (Windows 10) no longer can support the OLD program which my embroidery software is.

New software is very expensive.  Out of my budget expensive.  I have two choices, or maybe three but I will wait for that;  I am now looking for an old laptop that will run my old software.

I have all the old code and the dongle to match if only I can get an old one running!

Time is of the essence and I will keep you posted as to the conclusion to this dilemma!

Completion Satisfaction

 Over the last week, I have been embroidering these denim squares for a counting book.  When I saw this pattern in a magazine, I knew I had to make it and I had a stash of old denim legs saved for a someday project and this is it!   I sewed the appropriate pages together leaving the edges raw for fringing like a pair of jeans.

 I sewed the appropriate pages together leaving the edges raw for fringing like a pair of jeans.

I placed grommets in each of the pages and then temporarily tied it with ribbon but I will be purchasing some binder rings to finish the book.

Here are a few pages up close-isn't it going to be a great gift?

 Every page is beach related and very well designed with both embroidery and applique in the hoop.

 The embroidery designs are free in this month's issue of Creative Machine Embroidery magazine.

 Now, I only have two more to embroider since I have all three babies coming the end of this month!!!    ( Some pages are only 20 mins to embroider-others, an hour!  It is so worth it!)

 I also finished up some dishcloths as my stash was depleted.

And the ripple socks finally are off the needles!  The ripple I finally decided that gave me the affect I wanted is an easy repeat of K2tbl, k3, yo, k2, yo, k3, k2tog-repeat around over 60 sts and then work one round even in knit.  The self-striping yarn makes it look a lot fancier than it is!  Nice way to break up a pair of 'plain' socks!  Give it a try!

Eclectic Creativity

 New soap ; this batch is olive oil and lavender flower heads-it smells heavenly!

 I made a legal pad cover for my son for work.  If you need any work in the Seattle area, give him a call!

It adds to his professional image and keeps his daughter from doing any damage to his notes at the same time!

A young dog lover has a birthday so I made her a pillow case.

Saturday's Creativity

 Sewing garments again has been enjoyable.......I haven't done too much lately and this is a good challenge.
A friend wanted a blouse to match one she already owns-I copied the shirt and got it to work.  Nothing like a TA-Da moment!

I have been spinning away for the Tour de Fleece and have turned the pile of these punis,

 into singles and now I am plying it into yarn.  (I have emptied two baskets so far and the bag of cotton looks just as full as when I began!)

I did a bit of 'patch' work!  It is nice to take an idea to actuality !  Marsel wanted some embroidered patches to put on the soccer bags she will be making........I'd say her idea worked!