why i am leaving blogger.

I am moving this blog and these pictures are the reason why. I tried 5 times to rotate them. I uploaded them in the upright position but for some strange reason they refused. And my daughter has a nice blog on wordpress so that"s where I'll be. sewnsusan@wordpress.com.
These are my paper piecing blocks. I have never done it before. It was fun and I used a few cute scraps. I have been in quarantine for a few days because I'm radioactive. Having some thyroid problems.


Three days in the house, not in the public, not touching anything, not handling food, and not being within 6 feet of anyone. Didn't want to sew on any of my current projects because I didn't want to leave any radioactive particles hanging around. So this is all I have to show for the last few days. This and a few dirty dishes that I won't show you. They have to be washed separately. I'll be glad when this is over.

Now what do I do with this block? Any ideas? Potholder? mug rug? make more?

A Quilt Finished!

Pinwheels!

I finally finished the pinwheel quilt for my friends who were married at the end of May. I will be able to give it to them when they are in Alabama again in August. I would like to get a pillow and a tote bag made to put them in, but we'll wait on that just now cause I am a long ways from my sewing machine.



My favorite part of the quilting process. Free motion quilting. I had a bobbin problem and didn't realize it until I was done. The tension just didn't look right.




I cleaned the machine, changed the needle, re threaded top and bobbin, cleaned the bobbin case again, checked the top tension, changed out the top thread and finally checked the tension on the bobbin case. Whoa! It was very loose. I have never touched it before- always have been a little afraid too.





Tightened it up. Turned that tiny screw a whole rotation. Ready to go again.





I love the binding. I hand sewed it on sitting in my mother's summer house. I didn't use any pins so no ugly sticks with a pin while handling the quilt. My secret is Elmer's school glue. Check out this video ( turn your sound down first) for the how to's.


I got very comfortable free motion quilting...so I put their names on the sashing and a little heart.

No label. Just put the little tag on the binding using the salvage.

It's a Hoot by MoMo for Moda fabric. I love it!

The whole thing!

The end!

(the girl behind the quilt. shhhh!)

What a mess!

This is my garage! It's full of furniture in different stages of painting. No parking my car in there for a while. Notice the fan. There is another fan not in the picture. Right now, the fan is my best friend. It is the only thing keeping me sane in the garage. Because it is so darn HOT!


There is a microwave stand, two chest of drawers, one dresser, a chair, 2 mirrors and lots of drawers crammed in there being painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

This is where I have been spending most of my evenings lately. Lovely isn't it. Check out the bug spray. There are some unwelcome visitors hanging around. But the painting is coming along nicely despite the conditions. Most of the furniture pictured came from my mother in laws house. It all had to be cleaned first with soap and water and then washed with a vinegar and water solution to "desmoke" it. The smell was quite overpowering at first but the vinegar and water has cleared up that problem.

I think we used 1/3 cup vinegar to 4 cups water. And a spray bottle worked well for those hard to reach areas. This worked so well that I would purchase furniture in that condition if I really liked it...which I would never have considered before. Cigarette smoke really bothers my sinuses and gives me headaches. So if you run across some great furniture that needs a good scrubbing, give the vinegar solution a try. Worked for us!

I hope to have some After pictures soon!

Annie Sloan Paint Project

This is the best paint in the world. For furniture. I have been reading about it and was just dying to try it out. One of my favorite blogs, Mustard Seed Creations has been talking about this paint for a while. She paints the most beautiful pieces. Miss Mustard Seed has worked very hard to show us her beautiful furniture and has taken the time to show how she makes it. I am so grateful to her because I never could have done this table without her.


So my sister in law gave me this table to give to my girls for their apartment at college. This is a nice table...but not really their style so we decided to paint it but no Annie Sloan chalk paint to be found anywhere near us! Browsing the site one day I saw that a place in Robertsdale was about to open and would be stocking it. I went to Cottage Attitudes before they had even opened for business and checked out the paint and their cute shop. They are the sweetest ladies! I loaded up on Paris Grey, Old White and we also got the to die for Provence.

The detail.

Applying the paint is soooo easy. No prep work. Yes...no prep..no sanding...no stripping...just paint the chalk paint right over the stained, varnished or painted piece. Clean up is incredibly easy too. Just wash out the brush with water.

Painted and slightly distressed. One coat of paint and then a little sanding with fine sandpaper around the edges. Places that might get worn over time with use.



After the paint is dry and distressed I painted on the wax to seal and to give it a nice satin finish. Also available at Cottage Attitudes. Annie Sloan makes the wax in a dark or clear stain.

After you rub it with a soft cloth and buff away for a while you end up with a beautiful finish. And if you don't like it you can start all over and repaint (which is what happened. I put clear stain then the dark stain and we didn't like that effect so I painted Paris Grey all over again, redistressed, and clear wax only). Sorry about this pic, I tried and tried to rotate this picture and blogger wouldn't let me for some reason.

This is going to look good in the girls apartment (if it gets there!)

I wish I could take a picture worthy of the redo. But I am very happy with the looks of it and the actual "doing " of it too. The garage is full of furniture to paint and I may haul some more out there! More pictures to come of other pieces. I just wish it wasn't 98 degrees and 95% humidity out there. But it doesn't seem to bother the paint. I painted it twice and you can hardly tell I used some by looking in the can. Which is good cause it was a little expensive ($34.95) a can but soooo worth it!

I am a Happy Camper!

I finished a project I started some time ago...don't even know when! I used a Happy Camper Charm pack and some Moda Bella Solid and made some pinwheels. I love half square triangles and their versatility.

I made a table runner and some potholders.

My favorite part of this project was the prairie points. They are so cute and fun to make! I really want to make this adorable baby quilt using prairie points.




I originally planned to donate these to an event called Becoming an Outdoor Woman that I attended one spring and planned on going again but didn't make it. Don't know what I will do with them now ....maybe I should go this year. Learn some dutch oven cooking or photography!

So that was my Friday... hope you did something fun with yours!!

I am hooked.....

This is what I have been doing after dinner, after the dishes and I hurry to get them done so I can sit with my daughter and watch and episode or two of our favorite show. or Ex-show. It was a sad day in our household when they ended this show. Katie came home for a week for her summer break and wanted to watch the entire series! Impossible to do in a week! So we got through the first season which might be our favorite. So now I am continuing the series with my other daughter, Emily and we are loving it!





And so that you don't think I am a complete couch potato, this is what I do while I am watching.



This is the only thing I know how to knit.....dishcloths. My mom taught me years ago and I love to use them. Now Emily wants some for her apartment next year at school. So...it's mutually beneficial to sit and knit and laugh at Gilmore Girls. If you have never watched...you should check it out sometime. Lorelei, the beautiful, fun, sassy mom not only runs an inn but she sews! And there is a quilt hanging on the stairway in their house. My kind of mom. (in some ways..have to put in a disclaimer there cause I wouldn't want to do some things her way). So grab a girl and watch.

An evening with alligators.

A bunch of good friends and a few of their husbands went here last evening.

We boarded this cute pontoon boat....

and went to look for these!


And we found some! He's a little hard to see but he's there and he had lots of friends.
It was fun.
Check out 5 rivers on the Delta. There are all kinds of fun things to do on the water.

it's about time

I didn't know so much time had elapsed since I last posted. I have been busy ...moving people has taken up some weekends. Moving girls home from college. Moving mother in law to her new digs. And moving stuff in our house to accommodate college girls things. Too much moving.

A little sewing progress .... Below is Block 8 or 4 wheeler. This one had lots of trimming and too many seams! One more block and I will be done with the official quilt a long. I am slightly behind but I will finish.





I have done some practice free motion quilting on this little pinwheel table runner. I used the Happy Camper charm pack I had stashed and I made prairie points. They are so cute and easy to make. I love the free motion quilting ... although I feel like I am getting better at it but have some work to do. I have heard that a glass of wine helps relax you before getting started. At this time of year in the deep south I prefer a glass of beer! I know, not very girly. But more refreshing!





and last but not least...I have almost finished the pinwheel quilt I am making for a special couple for their wedding gift.



Philip and Amber were married on May 28 but since I wasn't able to go to the wedding and I won't be seeing them until August that gave me some more time. Here is a peak of the front and back -it's all ready to quilt (hence all the practice.) Philip and Amber are moving to Boston where he will attend seminary (and where they will need a warm quilt since they are both southern kids!)

The front..

the back.


I think I want to use the leftover fabric to make a pillow and a bag to gift it in. I used two charm pack of "It's a Hoot, " and the blue geometric is Alexander Henry that I found at JoAnn's.
Time to get busy!

The girls are coming home!

Tomorrow these two college girls are coming home. One for the summer!! and the other just for a week....summer classes at Auburn will start soon. Katie ( on the left) will be a senior in the fall. Wow! How is that possible ...the time has flown by. Why does time go so much faster the older you get. Remember being a kid and how long it took for school to be over and then summer seemed endless? Those days are long gone for me...I need an endless summer with my girls. I will just have to enjoy the time I do get with them. Every minute. Starting tomorrow!!!

Block 6 & 7

Stacked! Love it. Reminds me of books. Of which I have plenty.

Tail Spin. Fun block to do.

A beach weekend.

It was a beautiful weekend at the beach and the Easter bunny knew where to find us because we have spent some other Easter's there. I think both girls came home because of a certain furry creature. There were some chocolate bunnies and eggs around ....and someone forgot to take theirs back to college. I am hiding hers from myself!



This beach is at Gulf Shores, Alabama. The prettiest beaches I have ever been to. And I have seen both coasts, north, south and in between. Canadian beaches...yes, Prince Edward Island has a lovely beach. I have seen the beach in France, granted it was a cold and windy day that time, but Gulf Shores still has the prettiest sand and water. NO OIL ON THE BEACH. yes you heard me. There is no oil on the beach. For a nice family vacation..you should check it out. Great Seafood around and beautiful beaches. What more can you ask for?

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone!

Two more blocks!

This block is called Fourth Inning. Very easy ...so why did I mess it up. The bottom left block is a little crooked..might not show in the picture cause there was a little breeze rustling. I think I will remake when we are done. I don't want to run out of fabric. I might change it up a little if I do a redo..maybe two whites to replace two greens.

Diamond Mine. Half Square Triangles.

Done on these till next Monday when P2 will post the next two blocks. We are half way through this quilt along. It's been fun and I will do another because everyone is so supportive. I don't have too many friends that sew or they are too busy and so this is a great way to share with people with the same interests. The online quilting community is great. I did recently join a quilting group locally but they are very traditional. I will be taking this to the show and tell when it's done.

We are going to the beach for Easter. Sunrise Service on the beach! I am looking forward to some sun and seeing my girls. And I want some chocolate! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.