Swiffer Reusable Dustcloth Tutorial via Little Dear Tracks

I am still feeling a bit under the weather, so forgive me for not posting about what I have been sewing and the progress on my sewing room makeover. I have been too sick to do any more work on setting up my room, however, my sewing table is almost done and organized. It is clean enough to do some sewing, and I was feeling well enough yesterday to make up a few sample blocks for a tutorial I am working on. I might sneak a few pictures of that and post them later in the week. :D

In the meantime I came across a handy tutorial I thought I would share. I have been following Aimee Ray for quite a while now and own her books. Her blog is called Little Dear Tracks and she shares photos of all of her adorable embroidered creations there. To call her prolific would be an understatement.

As I was checking out some of her cute Blythe doll creations this morning, I noticed a link to her tutorials/patterns. At the bottom, I noticed one for the Swiffer dusters. I thought this was great because I used to love using a Swiffer, but once I started greening up my cleaning I really didn't want all that waste. I like the idea of making some reusable cloths instead. She offered up her pattern and asked simply for a link back to her site.

I am happy to oblige and hope that you will consider following Aimee's blog and do check out her books. They are a must for your stitching library!

Tracy

A few cool things I found on Pinterest

As I was doodling around on Pinterest (for the third time today) I came across a few cool things I thought I would share.

Another way to make half square triangles and a cute pinwheel block via Why Not Sew? While there, check out her adorable Little Lamb Bag which is how I got there to begin with... You see my favorite bloggers I stalk  Monica from Happy Zombie and Lori Holt from Bee in my Bonnet are hosting a tutorial/giveaway this weekend. It all started because of the Lamb Bag and a tutorial from Pink Penguin... well just go and check it out for yourself. It's cute! My "princess pickles" needs a few of these I think!

Older and Wiser has a great craft room makeover that is not to be missed! Talk about creating something from nothing! And I really mean nothing, a few dollars spent and making do with what you already have on hand! Check it out!

Next check out this fantastic quilt over at Film in the Fridge. So modern and fresh!

And finally don't miss this fabric giveaway via Emily Taylor Design! Just lovely right?

Happy weekend my friends!

Too sick to sew

I am feeling a bit under the weather this week. I think I am fighting the Bronchitis my daughter had a few weeks ago. I really hate when I am not feeling well enough to work on a project. Do you know that feeling? The one where you really want to work on the quilt, but you are afraid you will cut the fabric wrong? Yeah, that's how I have been feeling...

Luckily, I had this to read...

And then this came in the mail...

Keepsake Quilting

So I had a bit to keep me occupied. The sewing room has been stalled. I sewed two blocks for my Shaded Nine Patch quilt - which, on the bright side, is two more than I had last week. I also have been eyeing a new block of the month that perhaps can come home if I finish all my other works in progress.

If you have pictures to share or a blog post of what you have been working on, why not leave me a link in the comments. I'd love to see. Happy Friday!

Valentine's Day Breakfast

I thought I would share a bit of our Valentine's Day table.

The Menu 

Wholegrain or blueberry waffles

Canadian Maple Syrup

Fresh Strawberries and Blackberries

Whipped Cream

Nature's Path Love Crunch Granola*

Strawberry yogurt

Orange Juice

Tea or coffee

*I was really excited to find the Love Crunch at Costco so I decided to incorporate it into our celebration as well. If you don't know the story behind love crunch, go read this. I wasn't able to attend Rimjhim and Arjan's wedding in India, but luckily I was gifted an amazing box of the original wedding favor ( I still have the box displayed). I was one of the many who begged them over and over to sell Love Crunch in stores. It is the most decadent granola ever. So buy it if you see it!

The festivities began around 6am. Even the oldest boy woke up early and indulged his Mama in some celebrating. He even ate breakfast...Gasp!

We all found goodies on or around our plates. (This was my plate)

My sweetheart surprised me with a lovely pair of antique silver earrings from Bali that he found in New Orleans. The little heart also came from NOLA and is Fannie May chocolates and has a sweet mask pin just in time for Mardi Gras. The bag of hearts is Sees chocolate hearts. Yum!

*Note the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine! Can't go without some sewing fun!

I am so blessed to have four Valentine's to spoil every year. This year it spilled over to include a few others. I just feel like we are here to spread love right? So...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! 

This is a quilt I made many years ago. The jam I made last week with my "Farmgirls". I took this picture on a nice sunny morning. The jam was glistening in the sun and I thought the color would look pretty with my little quilt. 

Valentine Inspiration

Valentine's Day is the day I dote on my kiddos. It used to be that if it fell on a weekend, I would make waffles and we would smother them in fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I would set the table with the good china and we would drink orange juice out of our wine glasses. Everyone would have some chocolates and a small gift on their plates. 

Then a few years ago, the kids suddenly decided I had to do this no matter what day of the week  Valentine's Day fell. It is just one day a year, so I indulge them. Though, if it is on a weekday, it is frozen waffles instead of fresh. They don't mind. 

Last year I gave my oldest a special Valentine I made myself.

...'Cause that's the way I roll!

He posted a picture of it on Facebook and the funniest conversation thread ensued. A few friends were jealous. When asked where he got it he responded "My mom. Who else would embroider intestines for me for Valentine's Day?"

So true.

*If you would like to make this Valentine, click here for instructions. 

Sewing Room Makeover Update

It has been a hectic few weeks for me with a sick little one on top of my already busy schedule. Just when I was thinking that I wasn't making much progress on my quilting studio, I looked around and realized that if I just did a few small things, the room would actually look pretty nice.

Anything would look better than this, right?

Times like these remind me of this tv show that was on in the early 90's. I have no recollection of the show or who was in it, but I remember this one episode. It was about a young couple in NY, I think they had a baby and it was all about how your life goes crazy when you have kids and you don't always have time to clean and make everything lovely. So the husband gets a neighbor to watch the baby for an hour or two so he can surprise the wife with dinner. When she comes home, he is cooking and he grabs her hand and takes her to the sofa. He points to a six foot radius and says slowly "Look, I cleaned right here!"

Every once in a while my hubby and I use that expression when we just need a little acknowledgement for the work we were able to get done in the midst of chaos. So, even though the room is not done yet... I still have to finish organizing the fabric and my supplies... I still have to clean and organize my table top... I need to figure out the best way to organize my Sizzix die cut machine and all my Sizzix and Accuquilt dies...I need to sort through the magazines...I need to get a few more boxes out of here... Well, you get the idea.

So without any further ado...

Look, I cleaned right here!

Just a bit more work and I will have a nice space to finish my quilts and sewing projects. I am just glad you can't see the rest of the house...

The Half-Square Triangle Conundrum

A very interesting discussion about half-square triangles(HST's) popped up in the comment section of my last post.  This is interesting to me because of this quilt I am making.

The block is a shaded nine patch. I have tried at least five different methods for making HST's and I tell you I hate them all. Perhaps I would like them more if they weren't 2 inch squares... perhaps if I could make them all the same color... I don't know.

Then Karen commented on my Giveaway with this bombshell:

"i just found this method http://www.moonlightquilters.org/tipHSTfav.htm and found it works very nicely. Used it for the block I made for last quarter lock swap with the 3x6 sampler group on flickr. I hated HST's but after making five blocks with this method, I finally mastered them!
Karen"

Well, isn't that interesting! My only concern with this method might be that you have to be careful with all that bias, but I can see how zippy that might be to make up a bunch rather quickly.

Then today, I head on over to Craftsy to check out the (free) quilting block of the month and guess what February is??? You guessed it! Half Square triangle month - two different methods! Talk about 24 hour phenomenon! ( I refer to that freaky phenomenon when you hear a random topic that you don't normally hear about mentioned more than once in a 24 hour period.)

Go check out Craftsy and sign up for the free class! I love how the videos are high quality and how easy the user interface is... oh sorry. Did I geek out there? Well, anyway, go check it out and then come back and let me know what you think!

Toodles!

Giveaway!

Yippee! My first giveaway!

I just started a subscription to McCall's Quilting and somehow I ended up with two copies of their March/April issue! So I thought, since this is a new blog for me and I am trying to create my own personal  gang of enablers gain a following, that I would give a copy away!

My mistake is your free issue! There are a ton of great patterns in the issue, including an adorable tote bag, dimensional applique, several nine-patch variations, etc! If you are chosen as the winner, I will mail this issue to you and throw in some extra goodies as I clean out my stash!

Update: I will be adding items over this weekend. So far, I have added(Pictures tomorrow):

1. Better Homes and Gardens Our Best Quilt
2. Sewing with Nancy, Nancy's 25 favorite Sewing Techniques DVD

So...

For each of the following activities, leave me a separate comment telling me what you did and you will get one entry for each - or a total of five entries!

1. Leave a comment letting me know what you like to make - it could be anything!
2. Follow my blog via RSS  feed or email.
3. Follow my Facebook page.
4. Tweet about the contest and leave me the link to the tweet.
5. Follow me on Pinterest.

 For each one of these activities you get one entry. I will use random.org to choose a winner on Friday February 10th!

And the winner is... Drumroll please! 


Comment number 6!

JonnaFeb 7, 2012 07:56 AM

Just 'liked' your facebook page.

Congratulations Jonna! I will be contacting you via email to get your address! Thank you to all who entered! ~ Tracy

Apparently, I know how to make a dog sweater

Once Cyndey finished her little pillow and we had a photo shoot with the pup and her quilt block, she was bored.

"I want to make something else" she whined. So I said, "Go ahead."

She looked around and said "Can you make my dog a Sweater?" I replied "No, I don't know how to make your dog a sweater." And she quips "Yes you do! You made Tessie a sweater!"

I did???... Oh yeah, I did.

I took a sweater, felted it, cut off a sleeve and cut two slits in it for her legs. "You are right Snicker Doodle! I do now how to make a dog sweater!"

So...

Each one, Teach one - To Sew!

Now that I can actually see the top of my sewing table... well, you know how kids are... my daughter came home from school and announced she wanted to sew. She said, "Look, my sewing machine is right there! I can set it up myself!"

Next thing I knew, the sewing machine was set up, right next to mine. Since, I am getting SO organized I even knew where a pack of charm squares was and I handed them to her. I set her up at the table and gave her a few pointers on laying out the squares and playing with them until you get them just the way you like them.

Then I showed her in what order to sew them. I taught her finger pressing and how to alternate the direction of the seams so they will nestle together just right when you sew the rows together.

Look at her face! 

Uh oh! I think I may have created a monster! She'll be stealing Daddy's credit card to hit the fabric store any day now! ; )

After the block, she whipped up a little pillow from a felted wool sweater scrap she had been eyeing. Doesn't the little pup look comfy?

I can't tell you how good it felt to say yes for once. To take thirty minutes out of my day and spend some time with her. Maybe this was a good day after all. :D

The Grand Daddy Of My UFO's!

This is the unfinished quilt that has been in the works the longest. I have been working on this quilt...or more honestly... I have not been working on this quilt for 10 years. < hangs head in shame> This quilt has lived in three states.

You can see the magazine in the lower left corner? My honey and I saw that quilt and fell in love. It is a shaded nine-patch. I looked at it and thought "It's only squares and half-square triangles! No problem!"

Only squares and half-square triangles?!? Yeah, thousands of 2 1/2 inch squares. I used to think dumb thoughts like that in my naivete. I actually thought at one point that I would sew it all by hand. Yeah, I know... Well, honestly the majority of the blocks that are done were done by hand.

I need to finish this one by machine, but I still have to figure out a clever way to finish it by machine and still get a scrappy look. Somewhere in this room is a book that has a ingenious way to make one giant half-square triangle and then cut it up so you get a mixture of squares and half-square triangles. When I find it, this quilt will get moving!

'Cause my honey is threatening to take away my quilter card if he isn't sleeping under this one soon. 8/