LONG MAY SHE WAVE. . . Saying thanks on Day of Rememberance

Post title says it: Long may She wave! Thank you for all who have served, are serving, and will serve to protect us and keep us free.

Quilty projects and pics to follow tomorrow [I hope]. Until then. . .

Quilty Hugs,

SURPRISE FROM A SPECIAL FRIEND - Kitty Jewelry!

HUGE surprise last Tuesday: my sweet friend Jill presented me with a Pendant she had made for me. She d/l a few of kitty pics from my blog, fussed with them in her photo-software, and created the jewlery pieces. I am stunned by her generosity. So happy!

After the pendant, she also made a few other pieces... even a couple of magnets! Two of these now live happily inside my portable 'sewing kit'. So cute. The other 3 will become fobs for my quilting tools... need to get a couple of lobster claw findings to put them all together. Thank you so much, Jill!

This is a quick post -- sorry I have been MIA for the past week. Been busy moving and rearranging furniture. It is a much bigger job than I thought it would be and is taking a lot longer, too. Isn't that the way these things go?? lol
Until next time, please have a lovely day stitching. . .

Quilty Hugs,


Linking to Connie's Quilting By The River Tuesday Linky Party

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone. My #1DD Kay and her sweet hubs Randy sent me some gorgeous flowers for Mother's Day. I thought I would share them:

Until next time. . . I'm off to the sewing room to sew some more strings together. Pics will follow.

Quilty Hugs,

BUTTONS ON & HAT TO MATCH... fun with knitting

Finally got the buttons on. Attached them using the sweater yarn, but split the 4-ply yarn and used 2-plies to sew on buttons. Turned out ok:

What to do with a leftover ball of yarn? Make a Tam O'Shanter, or beret. Just for fun I repeated the lace-like insert I used next to the button band on the sweater and repeated it 7 times on the little hat:

I blocked the Tam on the biggest plate I had in the cupboard:

Here is a closeup of the buttons I found. And a better pic of the small lace-like insert next to the button band:

All in all I am happy with the project. I prefer to work with natural yarns for garments and hats as they block better, but love the acrylics for crocheted afghans.

Thank you for popping in for a visit. Until next time. . . it is back to sewing/quilting for me. What are you up to?

Quilty Hugs,

MORE MONKEY BUSINESS - A 911 Monkey Bag

I coined the term "911 Bag" as the moniker for the small purse-like bags I make. They hold daily essentials safely and discreetly in one's desk drawer or glove compartment. They have been a hit at DD's office, so I have been making more. These things just take on a life of their own sometimes, eh? lol.

The most recent "Click It" bag is for a gal that loves all things 'monkey' so naturally I call this one "Monkey Business". It is made completely different from the others I have shared here before. I did not have a FQ of monkey fabric, so created something workable by combining strips. Added a bit of batting, some applique and quilting and voila! we had the makings of a monkey bag. The closure mechanism is still a metal contractor's measuring tape, but that's where the similarity ends. BTW, while we are talking about the tape, I took a few photos to share with you how I prep the ends. I have been free-hand-cutting the ends! Sheesh! Why didn't i use a pencil line as a guide? Beats me, but I do now. And notice that the curve of the tape is up, facing me; way easier to cut from this angle.

Next, I smooth the edges with an old emery board - this is really important as you don't want to cut yourself, or later the fabric! Taping is two stages: First a small piece of tape just over the edge and then trim the dog ears:

Now place a longer piece of the blue Painter's tape on the front of tape, bring to back being careful to center it. Fold the edges in so the tape conforms to the rounded shape of the cut edge, then lay the rest of the tape down. This extra step really protects the edge and the bag will have longer wear.

Notice a little bit of tension is kept on the long end of the tape while shaping... this really helps to get it smooth.

Below is a pic of the front of the little Monkey bag. I should mention here that although Angel said to me, "I love monkeys", the idea of adding a fussy-cut monkey heart was inspired by a recent visit to Terry's blog and her darling mug rug.

Back:

And another of the front showing what happened b/c I placed the appliques too high -- I forgot all about the ties - the things that are used to open the bag with! Oh well, this bag was made with good intention, loads of love, but no perfection! haha. Can anyone else relate?

No pics of Missy this time, but she says, "hello" to everyone! Until next time, I hope you have fun stiching up something.

Quilty Hugs,