Where I've Been

I've been planning this project for over a year. The thing is I wanted to collect up a few different stencil sets to make the letters for each of the signs.  They weren't easy to find and they weren't all cheap. Some came from home parties, some from the local craft stores and some I ordered online. It was fun to search for them but time consuming. So it took me a while. 

Last summer I worked on the boards. They are mostly pallet boards. I cut the points on one of the ends of each of the boards. I made sure I left the more interesting ends uncut. I also tried to keep the nail holes, cracks in the boards, and the imperfections in the wood. I want all those interesting features.

I looked up the mileage for each of the signs I made. I started by making a list of places we've traveled to. I was surprised to see how many places I had listed. We've been very lucky to travel so much. It was such a fun project figuring it all out. The thing I didn't do very well is plan the direction of the arrows. I just slapped the stencils on and painted without any concern for where they would go. What an afterthought that was - ha! 

Once I started planning how I would mount the signs I realized I should have planned things better. First I had to decide where the center pole would be positioned in the yard. Then I had to make sure that each sign was pointing in the right direction. So all the cities east of Oak Creek point east and all the places north point north, etc.  After I worked things out there were signs on all four sides of the pole. So now, depending on where I place it in the yard, I will get to see different cities. How fun!

Quilts for Kids and Barn Blocks

I finished this dog themed quilt using a panel then build all the blocks around it. It was fun to add different elements and watch it grow - haha! It was and experiment in color and design. I think I will send it to Quilts for Kids.

There's a little shop called Country Sisters, City Sisters nearby that makes wooden barn blocks. You book a session with them to paint it in whatever colors you want. I had a lot of fun making one. Although I don't like the colors of pink I chose, I think I should have made it a darker pink. I might have to go back and fix it before I add the finishing coats to seal it. I do know that I definitely want to make more of these.

I used my new Cricuit Maker 3 to make some elements for this story board I completed for the American Legion Auxiliary. It was fun to finally get to try the machine. Now I am really hooked.

Winter Storm and my new Cricuit Maker 3

We had quite a winter storm last week. Luckily it didn't happen until we returned from the Vintage Shop Hop. It's a good time to enjoy the warmth of home. I get the most sewing done in the winter. It's not my favorite time to be outside so it works out for me. My backyard sure is beautiful.

My husband surprised me with a Cricuit Maker 3 for my birthday. I am amazed at his generosity, this was quite a nice surprise. He got a bundle of craft supplies along with the machine so I can have lots of fun. I can't wait to see what I can do with it.

                                                 

                                                 

I took home a kit from the quilt shop that needed to be made into a sample. It's from Riley Blake, one of my favorite fabric manufacturers so I knew I would enjoy putting this together. 

                                         

My girl Peyton sure likes hanging with me. When I have my morning coffee she is right there with me. Even when I longarm she is hanging out on one of her hammocks. 

                                         

                                         

This week I started a new project at Quilts for Kids. This is as far as I got before it was time to head home. It definitely needs borders in order to make it bigger.

Vintage Shop Hop Birthday Trip

Twice a year (spring and fall) there's this thing called the Vintage Shop Hop. It's a weekend long event where flea markets, antique and resale shops, and small boutiques host a sale/open house all over Wisconsin and northern Illinois. 

Jeff and I always plan to hit the spring shop hop. It usually falls on my birthday weekend so we go out to dinner at a supper club in whatever area we end up in at the end of the day.

This year I bought another scale. I thought it would be cool to put a bowl-shaped planter in the arms of the scale and set it in one of the flower gardens. 

I saw this typewriter in one of the antique shops. It is pretty broken up and cost more than one I picked up for my granddaughter. I would say I got a better deal. But this sure would be fun to add to a flower garden.

I picked up a few little things that will be used around the yard and in projects this summer. The little bins will be used in craft fair displays.

Our favorite places are the barn sales. We like to pick up junk and repurpose it. This year we ended up around Lake Winnebago and there's a shop in New Holstein that I love. It has nothing to do with the shop hop but I couldn't resist since we were in the area. I loaded up on some artsy things there. It's called Hidden Hollow Garden Art. 

                                 

These are going to be so cute around the yard this summer!

                                                     

My Kitty Peyton

My granddaughter is part of her school's art docent program. Once a month she gets to take a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum and learn about art. I am lucky enough to be a chaperone and I love it. It's an amazing opportunity to get to experience the art with a guide who is an expert. We all learn so much. These are all of the 4th graders who get to participate in the program from her school. 

While we were there we had some fun taking photos among the art. She is such a pleasure to be around. 

I was lucky enough to score some scrap batting from the quilt shop this week. We have so many samples made and there's always a little batting leftover from each project. If the batting scraps are big enough we use them for table runners. If they're too narrow for table runners I take them to my church sewing group. We sew the scraps together to make batting pieces big enough for our charity quilts. It looks like I have a lot of sewing ahead of me!

                                

My kitty loves to help me quilt. When I'm sewing she sits on the sewing table and when I'm planning quilt tops, she's right there to make sure she sees what's happening. When she rests in the sewing room, it's usually on a quilt loaded on the longarmer.

                      

                                         

I love hanging with her. She is absolutely delightful. She's just 9 months old and so much fun. Her energy level is through the roof. One of the funniest thing she does is she chases the ball on the television screen. Whether it's a Bucks game or in this case, the Super Bowl, she loves to go after them. Footballs, basketballs, and even baseballs are fair game for her - haha!

 

Since she's an athletic girl who was born in Denver, her name is Peyton Meowning. 

 

Peyton helps me iron table toppers.

 

Peyton takes a break in her hammock.

Peyton wishes she was outside.

On a fun note, my boss has a hot dog steamer and I borrowed it to use while watching my granddaughters. I couldn't wait to try it out and surprisingly the hot dogs tasted so much better cooked this way. I don't know if it was the steaming process itself or just the fun of thinking that it made a difference. 

 

A Busy Summer Week

I love the television show The Office. It is my constant companion while I sew. Since I can find it on a cable station almost any time of the day it's easy to have it on even if it's just background noise. So I wanted to make a project bag using The Office themed fabrics. I got it started this week.

At this month's basement quilters group I finished up the baby blankets and burp cloths I started at the beginning of summer. I am so happy to have all these done before my next craft fair. I completed 18 blankets and 38 burp cloths. I think I won't have to make more for a little while - haha!

Our beloved Milwaukee Bucks are world champions and we've been dying to go downtown and take a photo next to the Fiserv Forum. We chose to do so this week because there's an art fair in the Deer District. What better time could there be? 
 

I sold a quilt on Etsy so I decided I would spend some of my earnings at the art fair. Sort of a pay it forward kind of thing. At least that's how I justified my purchase. I bought this cute little business card holder from a welder who repurposed old metals into new things. The "hairs" on this little guy were made from political yard signs. I'm so glad those are something else now. Tee-hee.

On another note, I picked these vegetables from my garden this week.

It's hard to tell but the entire bottom of the bucket is full of carrots. My garden is doing pretty well this month. It's hard work, but I love it.

Flying Leap Quilt a.k.a. The Lock Down Quilt

I've been working on this quilt on and off for over a year now. The pattern is called Flying Leap. I purchased the pattern at Blue Bar Quilt when I went on a shop hop bus trip with a church group back in October 2019. I instantly started making the blocks. OK...a block. I got one done and I set it aside. 

Why is it so hard to pick up a project after setting it down? I think part of the answer is that this one is made from scraps and scraps are messy. I generally don't like messy.

I've picked up this project multiple times but never could seem to finish it. Then winter came and after almost a year of living through a pandemic I decided it's time to finish it. I certainly have plenty of time. Especially since my husband tested positive and I had to quarantine for 14 days. What a perfect time to finish a project. So I am officially renaming this quilt from Flying Leap to Lock Down. Ha! 

During the 14-day quarantine I got all the blocks done. Once quarantine ended, we got a brutal snowstorm so I felt like I was back in lockdown. The quilt shop where I work closed and I had another long stretch of nowhere to go. I sewed all the blocks together and finished the quilt top. 

I spent a week completing the quilting. I did all ruler work and free motion quilting. The ruler work took a lot of time as I wanted each section of the quilt to look different from its neighbor. It was a lot of fun. It was only my second attempt at ruler work and I found myself buying a book with quilting designs in it to help me figure out what to do. It is a great book-I'm sure I will use it often.

I used Grunge on the back and as the binding so as to not take anything away from the colorful blocks or the quilting. I think the back looks awesome.

Today I stitched on the binding and am so very happy to call this quilt finished. 

Rock Painting

My granddaughter Chloe painted some rocks. She says she is going to sell them at my next craft fair for $6 each. Not sure where or how she came up with that number but it was definitely cute when she said it. One is called Bun with Cream and the other is Tiny Turtle. Her mother works in a bakery so I think that's where she was inspired to make what looks to me like a cinnamon roll.

Chloe inspired me to work on rock painting too. I ordered some books from the local library for help and proceeded to clean and spray paint a base on the rocks I gathered from around my yard.  I used the oldest spray paint I had laying around. The paint I found was so old I had it when I lived in my last house which was over 30 years ago. When I look at the stuff that's in it, I'm pretty sure they are chemicals that are now banned so I made sure to wear a respirator mask while spraying it. The Styrofoam board I used to set the rocks on has melted! 

I'm not sure what I'm going to paint but I will definitely take photos when I'm done.

My cat decided to have a standoff with the cranes that visit us. There are two of them and they come pick the grubs out of the grass - and tear up the yard which drives Jeff crazy.  I'm certain that by the end of summer there will be 3 of them. I love when they bring their babies around. Jeff grabbed the cat and put him in the house before he got into any trouble tangling with the crane.

Art and a Bag

I had no idea when I took this photo that it would be my granddaughters' last week of school - most likely for the entire school year. I took the photo last Wednesday. This week is supposed to be the week before spring break starts.  Instead school is planning for virtual learning for the rest of the year. The pandemic stopped everything normal. I am so proud of Avery especially since her sister is considered the artist of the family.

I volunteer at the grade school regularly. I expected to be back this week to make the popcorn for popcorn day. It's really hard to get a grip on all that's going on. I feel stressed all the time. And worried. Avery is a type 1 diabetic. She is especially vulnerable at this time.

My sewing finish for the week is Chloe's backpack. I made it using a hand-painted fabric panel and some matching modern fabric. I didn't use a pattern, just some common sense measurements. I took her laptop and measured it. The fabric panel was a little small so I bordered it. The bag is cushioned with lots of layers of fleece to protect her electronics. There's a zippered pocket inside and two large pockets on the back for the rest of her things.