Wednesday

Row Houses Quilt - WIP

This is my row houses quilt. It is a work in progress. I started it during the summer and since I really took most of the summer off, I'm just getting back to it. It was an unusual quilt top to make for me. The rows of houses are done with applique which is not a technique that I enjoy. Or at least I thought I would not enjoy.

As it turns out, this was a lot of fun to make. Each row is stitched on using a variety of fancy stitches from my machine. I got to experiment with different stitches. Since my machine is very new to me, I haven't used any of them before!

Now I am going to experiment with the quilting process by using a stencil to free motion "wind" in the sky sections of the quilt. That is, as soon as I finish putting the back together. Now that I am getting back in gear when it comes to my sewing, I hope to be finishing this up within the next few weeks. Yay!

I must comment on the weather. It is the end of October and the grass is very green and all the flowers and shrubs are still greener than ever. What a wonderful fall it has been. We are constantly in the high 60's and it will be near 70 next week. The hammock gets tons of use. Amazing.

Friday

Client Baby Quilt Project

I free-motion quilted this baby quilt for a client today. The fabrics she used in this quilt are quite charming. It sure is a cheery quilt.

The quilt is made using the rail fence pattern with some patchwork worked into it and it is easy to put together. Usually it is made with strips but I suspect that there were pieces from previous projects thrown in to give it a nice scrappy look.

I had fun quilting this little gem.

Tuesday

A Fall Quilt - WIP

I'm finally getting some quality time in my sewing room. I've been enjoying our wonderfully warm fall weather and spend as much time doing outdoor projects as possible. But it's raining today so I'm not going to waste a minute doing anything but sewing.

The project on the table is a fall quilt and I can't wait to complete all the blocks. There are 4 different block patterns and I've finished 2 so far.

My little helper has always loved spending time with me in here. He has become very comfortable on this table. I think the vibration from the machine sometimes puts him to sleep. Or it's just that he is a cat and sleeps all the time anyway.

Saturday

My Finished Painted Light Fixture (and Ceiling Fan)

I finally finished spray-painting my ceiling fan. I actually painted the light fixture a while back. The polished nickel color turned out great on the fixture. There were so many little parts to paint that it took a long time because of all the painting-drying-turning-painting-drying...to get all the nooks and crannies covered.

All that was left were the fan blades. I painted those with a matte white earlier this week. Once that was completed, my husband installed it back in its place. He put the old light bulbs back in and I didn't like the look. So we went shopping for new bulbs. We bought some small bulbs that looked like flood light bulbs. And that made all the difference.

Thursday

Metal Thread Holder from Massdrop

I found this really awesome thread holder on massdrop.com. It was my first time using the website. It's a unique buying experience because you have to commit to purchase an item when it hits a certain low price. As more people commit to buying an item, the lower the price will go. So I pulled the trigger on this really cool thread holder.

Once the item hits the price you're willing to pay, they take the money from whatever purchase method you use. I used my Visa card to make the purchase. The thing is that even though massdrop takes the money, you still have to wait for the order to be placed. That doesn't happen immediately. It's a long process from committal-to payment-to delivery. I paid for the item in early September and it was just delivered yesterday. That's a long time.

Anyhow it was worth the wait. This is a hand-crafted thread holder made by a welder from heavy metals. It is so solid that I can guarantee it won't tip or move while in use. And it is so very pretty! It is definitely a great addition to my sewing room.

I am not sure I will use massdrop again any time soon but I am very happy with the results of this first purchase.

Sunday

Painting Project - Bookcase & DVD Rack

This bookcase was made by my husband a very long time ago. When our kids were young, he made each one of them a bookcase.

Our daughter, Jennifer still has hers, our son, BJ left his here with us and our other daughter, Bailee gave hers to her daughters. This is Bailee's bookcase. It was painted white and she wanted it updated. So I painted it a nice light purple and if you look closely, there are white flowers stenciled on it.

I painted my granddaughter's dvd rack the same color and stenciled that as well. They should compliment the girl's bedroom nicely.

Wednesday

Painting Project - Dresser

I painted my daughter's dresser this nice sage green color. It was leftover paint from another project. The dresser was originally white and loaded with scuffs from years of wear and tear. It's amazing how a little paint can turn something old into something new again.

Saturday

What's on the design board?

My design board is currently empty. Why? Well it just happens that things are moving so fast around here. Last month my daughter moved into a new apartment a block away from my home. I am so excited to have her and my granddaughters so so close to me. The thing is though, this move has sucked up all my time.

I work two days a week so that takes up some of my time but the rest of my time is spent helping everyone get settled in. So that means walking Chloe to the bus in the morning, picking up the girls from daycare some days and helping any way we can to make the new transition easier.

I also recently updated my kitchen and one of the things I didn't like was the ceiling fan. So I spray painted the light fixture and the fan blades. I prefer re-purposing things to buying new and I do love the light fixture so it was an easy decision to update the colors.

Since I set up the garage for painting, I thought I would paint an old nightstand that's been in the garage for a few years. I also painted my daughter's dresser and my granddaughter's bookcase and dvd stand. The weather has been unusually warm for late September so I wanted to take advantage of every single day of this nice weather while I still can do things outside.

I've spent so little time in my sewing room but I'm certainly using my time wisely and productively.