Reducing the UFO Piles. . . . Crochet, Tatting & FF Blocks

It is time to reduce the UFO pile that has grown in leaps and bounds! Past time actually... lol.  OMGosh, the holidays are almost upon us and I have yet to begin making those projects. LOL. So, here is what I've been working on finishing up lately:
Saw a picture of a clutch purse on the LionBrandYarn website that was the inspiration for DD's crocheted clutch purse:

PROCESS: Began with Cone of cotton yarn; crocheted a rectangle of sorts & blocked it; wove sides together & made a lining; crocheted a button and completed finishing work. Ta dah... done!

The two pockets inside were made to fit and accomodate her cell phone and the small personal size of Kleenex tissues. I had also made a loop inside to clip her keys to, but she decided she didn't want that so I removed it.

Three Frosty Flake blocks completed & the forth and fifth ones printed, cut out, and ready for sewing. Because I think it's good to try different methods, I used EPPing on the Green one, but have returned to Inklingo as it is so much faster and precise. I am using a small drop of Roxanne's Glue Baste It on the outside s.a. edges to facillitate the applique process--I love this stuff!

As you can see in these photos,  the beads I used are too BIG and the blocks look a bit gaudy! Just because the package says "Seed Beads" don't believe it! lol.  If this continues to bother me I can always take a hammer to every other bead, and embroider a French Knot in its place! LOL.  Also, made a couple of bad embroidery mistakes on the green one, so perhaps I'll just do that one over. . . yeah, sure, in my  next life time. lol
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The other two recent finishes are a potholder that is so bad that I won't even share the picture with you. . . and some Tatting. 
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This year I've taught myself how to Needle Tat and more recently Shuttle Tat. I like them both but am able to do finer lace work using the shuttle. Here is a little bookmark that I finished yesterday:

The end of the Bookmark pattern says, " ... then cut and tie". Well, I understand the 'cut' the thread from the ball part, but tie what to what, and then what does one do with the ends? Hmmmm, hopefully someone out in Blogland is a Tatter and can advise me... that would be wonderful! Meanwhile, I think some severe blocking would benefit this little item greatly!
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That is all for now. . . I hope everyone is having a wonderful day full of working on the crafts we all love.

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

Frosty Flakes 1 & 2. . .

I am participating in the FF BOM -- see button on sidebar -- and so far am working on blocks 1 and 2. I am using the Inklingo 1/2" Hex Collection from here to print the little hexies and make my blocks.

This first pic shows the hexies sewn together, appliqued to their b/g square, and the first part of the embroidery completed:

How I decided to make my blocks:

I printed 1/2" hexies on the wrong side of fabric using Inklingo and then sewed seven of them together into a hexie 'flower.'

Next I printed off the top part of page 305 in the Inklingo Collection that has an outline of 7-connected-hexies to be used as a quilting pattern and printed it onto FP; ironed this design to another small piece of FP [to make it double strength]; then cut on the outside lines... voila! A perfect template of a completed hexie in the size I wanted! See it inside the red hexie above?  It was then easy to press up the six outside s.a. against the firm FP template. I removed template and folded the rest of the edges over on their respective drawn seam lines. Ready to applique to b/g block. Although this step wasn't absolutely necessary, I liked having the applique pieces all ready to sew down as I usually carry little projects like this in a small kit in my purse for wait times such as the doctor's office, etc.. If the pieces are fully prepared, there are no surprises. LOL

The pic at right, shows a screen snap shot of the page I was describing above.

Below is the design ready to press to second FP piece and cut out:

The pic below shows the block right before appliqueing.

This process worked well for me. Perhaps it would for you as well.

Tomorrow I hope to get to the store and pickup some white embroidery floss. . . with the tons of floss that I have on hand, I was surprised to find NO white! Oh well, more shopping -- lol -- Michael's is having a sale anyway. *g*

Thanks for stopping by. . . hope everyone has days filled with beautiful stitching. . .

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

Back To The STARS & small progress on FF Blocks. . .

Today was THE day. . . I finally managed to get some 2 inch hexies printed for my Star project. I am leaning toward making them into a set of four placemats. The pattern is for a table topper, but what I really need are some placemats.  There is still enough time to mull that decision over while the center focal area is being put together.  Here's what I layed out today, just to get an idea of what it might look like BEFORE I begin sewing:

It was nice to create both the two inch hexies and a whole page of one inch diamonds by running the fabric through the printer, which prints the exact shapes with sewing and cutting lines. Easy peasy! Love it. . . thank you Linda Franz and Inklingo!

Did you notice the button on the right hand side bar for the Frosty Flakes BOM? Well, I printed out some 1/2 inch hexies today for the first two blocks.  I need to locate some very small beads which will be attached by the embroidery stitches. These are some pretty designs. We've only just begun making these cute blocks, so please click on the button, get the patterns--FREE--and join in the fun!  This is as far as I got today:

The little red hexies are for FF block #1 and the blue is FF#2. Oh dear, now I must go shopping to find some beads! lol.  Maybe I could use Sea Shells instead of beads. . . what do YOU think?  I live on the beach, so that could be fun and different.  Hmmmmm. . .  A little off topic, but speaking of the beach, our Santa rides a surfboard! How fun is that?!

In keeping with the Process Pledge [button on sidebar] I will continue to post pics showing my progress and, hopefully, eventually some finishes! Yippee.

That's all for now. . . thank you for stopping by.

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

MUG-RUGS... small, quick project... fun, too.

Just for fun, cut six squares of fabric about 5 inches [4.5 works, too].  Charm squares are perfect -- no cutting! Cut one 5" square of cotton batting, for 'filling'.  Fold 4 of the fabric sqs in half and press. I like to use at least two contrasting fabrics.

"Weave" them together to make a 5inch [or 4.5] square that fits on top of one of the other 2 unfolded squares.

Layer: INSIDE fabric facedown on table; 5" Sq of thin cotton batting; then OUTSIDE fabric, RightSide UP.  Now carefully lay your 'woven' bits on top. A couple of pins to hold your stack might be helpful.

SEW: all around edges with 1/4" seam... doesn't need to be perfect. To make turning easier, I place a thread spool at the corners and draw a nice curve which will give you nice rounded corners instead of points that have to be pushed out. 

Of course, if you want a totally square look, just stitch corner to corner.  OPTION: After stacking, you can always lay another shape on top... such as Heart, Circle, or Shape of your choice drawn on FP and stitch around that.

After sewing is complete, TRIM any bits, especially the corners. Then I like to ZIGZAG the edges for neatness as I toss mine into the laundry and wash with the towels - so I like mine a bit durable! lol. 

Reach fingers into center and TURN right side out... smoothe the edges and rounded corners; PRESS, if you like, and voila! you have a MugRug ready to use.

Makes a nice little gifty to tuck inside a card.  Can also be used to "identify" wine glasses or drinks at a party, 'cause you could give everyone a different color/fabric. The stem slips into the center and stays on the glass, AND, it will still protect your furniture because of the cotton wadding inside.

This is my first attempt at writing a "process post"-- I took the Pledge recently.. please see the button on my sidebar. [see also: Rossie's, Pat's, and; Rosa's blogs for more info].  Hope you have fun with this. If you find a mistake, please let me know so I can fix it. Thank you so much.

Have fun...and I hope you have a great day!

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

PS: You could also embroider the recipent's name in one of the corners... etc.. You are only limited by your imagination. Very versitile project. Fun to do with kids & seniors. I am sorry I can't give credit for the original pattern as this idea has been floating around for decades and no one I know remembers! My apologies to the original creator.
ERRATA: Thank you, Tich, for finding a little error: When LAYERING, put first fabric RS down, then batting sq, then outside fabric RIGHT SIDE UP. The text inside the post has been fixed.  Thanks again for your help, Tich... aren't friends wonderful?! You betcha.

Eat Less, Move More. . . That's my plan

The truth is I need to lose 50 pounds! Sheesh... but, hey, doc says so.  Hard to argue with reality! lol.

My plan is to: Eat Less and move more. Also to increase Veggies and Fruits, eat more Whole Grains, limit sugar and reduce caffeine. Sounds reasonable. . .ya?!  We'll see. So far over the past 12 days I've lost 4 lbs, but I expect the rate to slow down to 1 or 2 lbs per week, which is a reasonable goal. Golly. . . Pacing, Moderation, Reasonable... haven't been my fave words, but I'm trying! lol. 

Right now I walk around the house for 5 minutes, 3 times each day. I'm doing stretching and a few "chair exercises"... arm movements, etc..  I can walk outside when I am accompanied, as I still have some dizzy problems from the stroke in March and recent surgeries. In preparation for that, I'm looking for a BIG hat to shade my face from the sun while outside.

Please wish me luck and success.  The other part of my plan is to post here and update the 'ticker' in the header of my blog. . . I'm hoping this will keep me "accountable."  If you happen to be on a similar journey, please feel free to post a comment here or email me and we can support each other. 

My real inspiration came from my dear friend, Elaine, who is amazing and dedicated to improving her health and well being! Another friend, Rosa, is also on this road. I got the 'ticker' above by clicking on Rosa's. So, if you want one for your blog, just click on mine. ; -)

Thanks for listening. . . talk to you soon with some quilty stuff!
Hugs,
Cyn; -)
PS: My "weight tracker" has been changed and moved to the side bar.

Friendship is Golden!

Hello. . .

Thank you everyone for the beautiful emails and well wishes you've sent me. I'm still healing, but things are going along well.

This beeee-oooo-ti-ful Orchid was sent to me by five lovely friends. Isn't it wonderful?!  I just LOVE orchids!

The picture below is a closeup of the fabulous Lapis Blue Ceramic Pot that this gorgeous Orchid was delivered in.  It has been at my house for several weeks and it is still in BLOOM! Wonderful. I will treasure this plant for all the years that it decides to live with me!  Orchids thrive on neglect, so that's good news, and my kind of plant! lol. Thank you again dear dear friends... you know who you are. ; -)

Here's a closeup of one of the flowers... orchids facinate me with their shapes and color shading.

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This post is just a quickie... but I'd like to mention that I'm taking pics of some easy small projects I'm working on and will share them with you soon. Also have designed a new project I'm calling "MicroMitts".  I'll post the pattern here just as soon as I work out a few more kinks! lol 

As it's been a month, almost to the day that I've posted, I just want to say "Hi!" and "thank you" to everyone. . .I sure have missed Blog-Land.

Many Hugs,

Cyn; -)

HELLO WORLD. . . A Quickie-Post ;-)

This is just a real quickie-post so you don't think I've fallen off the edge of the planet! lol.

I had surgery, but am on the mend.

I will have some nifty pics to u/load, hopefully next week.

Meanwhile... go sew something and hug someone you love!

"Talk" to ya soon. . .

Hugs,

Cyn;-)

DECISIONS, Decisions. . . HELP... Which background ??

A few more stars are sewn  up and I need to choose a background. Can't seem to decide, so thought I'd put a picture on my blog and see what others think. 

Which is better, the GREEN, or the BLACK ? 

 

The black [it might even be very dark blue!]seems to help the colors in the stars 'pop', but it can't run through the printer using INKLINGO [to print the shapes] because the back of the fabric is too dark... I'd have to use FP templates, or EPPing.  The green might not be the best choice, but it WILL go through the printer and simplify the final cutting & piecing!

Sheesh... I can't decide. What do YOU think?

Thanks for stopping by and having a look. I appreciate your comments and opinions.
Hugs,
Cyn; -)

QUILTER'S RUN - First Weekend. . .

The Southern California Quilter's Run began this weekend. My DD Laura drove me to the Temecula, Riverside, & Fallbrook areas to visit their shops last Thursday. [pic on right shows the block from The Temecula Quilt Company - pics below show various ways to use it].

The one above is 'cheater' fabric and the version on the left is pieced.  Below, the block is shown made into a 'pocket' and applied to a large tote. . . isn't that neat? I love it! Cheryl, the TQC owner is a wonderful and creative designer.

Today I hope to cover several of the local shops. This year every QS is providing a FREE quilt block pattern to all the runners, along with a 'charm'.  Here's one idea on how to use the collected charms -- a necklace:

Most of the shops I've already visited are also offering a small packet [for sale] with all the necessary fabrics to make their shop's block. Here are a few pictures of what I've seen so far. . .

This Shoe block is from the Quilter's Cottage in Fallbrook and the second pic [below] is how their staff has put it into a quilt using several of these blocks... cute!

  The next pic is of the Quilter's Coop block made into a pocket and placed on a purse. I love the little "flip flop"... fun!

Well, that's about it for now. Hope you enjoyed the "little quilt show" of blocks and project ideas.

Have a wonderful Sunday. . . I'm off to go visit the local shops and see what they are doing.

Hugs,

Cyn;-)

FIRST Tomatoe of the Summer. . .

Hurrah! We have harvested the first tomato of the summer from our potted tomato plant.  This poor little 'mato won't win any beauty contests, but it was very tasty! lol

The Southern California Quilt Shop Run has started and will be going on all weekend, so after my morning class I will be off again to go check out what the local quilt shops are offering.

More later. . . have a wonderful day.
Hugs,
Cyn; -)

Quilt, Knit, Garden... oh my!

Hi! Today I'd like to share some photos to "catch up" on project pics and bring my blog current:

First a wonderful little quilt made by my friend Steffini. She does impeccable work... some of those "pieces" are less than 1/8" -- wow! Thank you again, Steffini.

Remember the Shawl I was working on some months ago? Well it knitted up really fast on size 10 needles in Unspun Icelandic Wool that I buy from here. Since then the poor thing has been languishing while I figure out how I'm going to block it. It measures 74 inches across, unblocked! Blocking will definitely help the lace designs pop out and be more visable. Now if I can figure out a space big enough to pin it out. lol

Two of the three orchid plants in the house are in bloom... I just love orchids; they are my kind of plant as they thrive on neglect!

DD and I are trying our hand at growing a tomato plant in a pot in the front yard. This location gets lots of sun and is away from her dog who sometimes likes to "decorate" the yard plants. Yuck! lol.

It is fairly loaded with green fruit now and has a RED one kinda buried in the center of the plant. If you look closely, you can barely see the red peeking through the greenery. Let's hope the rest of them redden up... yummo!

We planted a lemon tree last year and it has really taken off. Even tho' it remains somewhat scrawney, it sets quite a bit of fruit. We're hoping to get enough lemons at one time to make a Lemon Meringe Pie... my fave!

That's it for tonight... hope everyone had a wonderful day. Thank you for stopping by and hope you will visit again soon.
Hugs,
Cyn; -)

WOWZER ... Blog Has A New Face...

When I signed in today a little message popped up. Looked like it might have some new design opportunities for my blog... and it did! After just a few clicks, I now have a totally NEW LOOK! Now that was fun and totally frustration free! lol

I had tried this before a few times but got 'lost' in the HTML or whatever language it was using. LOL. This makeover just took a few mouse clicks! I love it when something is changed to be easy and simple!

Today I'm printing up more Inklingo diamond shapes for some buddettes I'm trading with. I'll post another picture of these cute little diamond stars after I make more progress.

Hope you like the "face lift" my blog received today. I really like the blue sky and soft white clouds that are in the new border--reminds me of driving down the road which is something I really like to do.

Thank you for stopping by & have a nice day everyone...

Hugs,

Cyn; -)

Hello World... I've been away sooooo long

Some friends and I are hand piecing little stars made from six one-inch diamonds. We are using Inklingo to minimize the prep work -- NO templates... prints right on the fabric! ;-) ! We have been printing and mailing strips of diamonds to each other to increase the fabric variety in our projects.

So far I have 14 little stars sewn up:

This is the pile

of mostly 'brown'

fabrics that I printed

and mailed first:


And below is a pic of the back of a sewn star... I just love the way the s.a. swirls and flattens out so nicely. See the 'printed' lines & cross-hairs on the back of each piece? That's Inklingo. It's not necessary to print this dark, but with these ol' eyes, I'm making it as easy as possible & it shows up better in a photo! lol

OK... I've been real bad and haven't kept up with my blog. Health issues got in the way, but I'm starting to get back on track.

That's it for now. . . thank you for visiting . . . have a great day.

Life is good!

Hugs to all,

Cyn; -)

A quote from inside my fortune cookie of last week:

"Education will never be as expensive as ignorance." Makes sense to me. ;-)

Happy Mail . . . a surprise from STEFFINI!

This absolutely amazing hankie was handmade by SteffiniD and sent to me for my recent birthday. It is embroidered with a cake, candles [the 'flames' are bullion knots!], and balloons -- this little gal loves balloons! lol. A birthday wish is stitched in the corner, along with the date. Note the tatted edging! WOWZER, I never saw anything like this before... it's perfect! The back of the hankie looks almost identical to the front--Steffini's work is that precise! Thank you, Steffini!

Steffini also sent this lovely how-to book about needle-tatting, a few tatting needles, and some thread! I've been playing with this book... it's great! I've completed a couple of tiny practice items, and will post pics soon. This is gonna take a lot of practice... I can tell! lol

In addition to all her other talents, Steffini can also cook, bake, can, etc..... So, she whipped up a big batch of Cran-Apple Butter and sent me some! YUMMO!!! Amazingly enough, I had just baked a loaf of sourdough bread early Friday morning and had creme cheese on hand, too... guess what this lucky little gal had for her breakfast??? Wow, jar is pretty too!

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Steffini's gifts [except the apple butter!] were all tucked inside pockets sewn on a lovely wall hanging she made. Now that's what I call a clever presentation! Picture to follow...I want it hanging on the wall before I take the picture. It's gorgeous!

Thank you for everything, Steffini. I am blown away by your generosity and will always treasure your gifts, but most of all, I treasure your loving friendship!

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Today -- Sunday -- was a lovely day here in my little corner of the world. The sun was shinning, it was neither too hot nor to cool, a faint breeze was blowing off the ocean, the birds were singing. It was lovely indeed. Days like these are special. I truly hope your day was as wonderful!

More soon,

Hugs,

Cyn;-)

YIPPEE-SKIPPEE: Network up and running. . .

Hello World!

Let's see, it's been since August that I've posted! WOWZER! I have experienced more than a few putter problems at my end of the keyboard and I was ill for a few months which really slowed me down...lol...so, it has taken this long to get things going again. Persistance, that's the key! LOL

I will be u/l pics real soon and bringing the blog up to date... but meanwhile, just wanted to say, "Hey!" to everyone and to send special thanks to all of those who left comments and emailed me privately with their well-wishes. Thank you so much!

More to follow, soon!

Hugs,

Cyn;-)

Knit, InterNet-woes, & Missy hanging out. . .

Hello Friends. . . The center of the shawl is complete and now I'm "binding off" by knitting-off the 576 stitches into a lace edging:

This Icelandic Unspun yarn is so very warm that I knit while keeping the whole thing in a plastic bag on my lap! lol. It helps a little bit and it does keep my kitty off of it. . . Missy loves to 'knead' her paws in this soft stuff.
Look closely to see the bamboo needle sticking out of the shawl near the upper right corner [in the pic below]; that's the center! OMGoodness, but this is going to be one large shawl! LOL. I was planning on blocking it on my queen size bed, but as you can see, that plan will have to be revised!

Here's Missy hanging out in her fave chair by the front window. She sure knows how to stretch out and REEEE-LAAAAX! lol. She's a lot of fun to watch.
Internet update: Still no U-Verse Line! *big dissapointing sigh!* . . . Not sure how long it will take. Originally it was only supposed to be a couple of weeks! Oh my. Not being able to get OnLine everyday with my friends has given me a horrible case of "Internet-Putter-Withdrawal"! LOL

I remember something my dear Mother used to tell me. . . that if one looks hard enough, there is good in everything. So, while not being on the putter has been awful, it has provided me with a ton of knitting time. LOL. The knitted shawl is almost done. Only about 200 more stitches to 'knit off' to complete the lace edging.

Well, that's it for now. Thank you for stopping by & leave a comment if you like. . . I enjoy reading them.

Hugs,
Cyn;-)