Feeling the Crunch

   Hello, Friends and Visitors!

   Today, I would like to share with you the [sorry] state of my house before I run out and pick up the kids from school after I've returned from picking the kids up from school.
   Be forewarned: this is the unedited version.  I am trying to have a sense of humor about this, and feign being undaunted in the face of the chaos I have created during my sewing/quilting process.
  For the last week, I have been working on:
   -10 mug rugs
   - 3 tissue cozies/small phone cases
   - 2 fabric covered mini-journals
   - 2 fabric covered notepads
(all this commissioned by a friend, and does NOT include the teacher gifts I've worked on as well).
   Oh yeah, and a couple dozen origami cranes that I am going to make chains and/or mobiles out of.

Are you ready?

Here's my sewing table, along one wall/hallway of our dining room:

 To the left of the sewing table is my ironing board

artwork in background by my 4 yr old son
some kind of figure

   To the right of my sewing table, a set of drawers from Ikea and my wonderful full spectrum lamp.  Notice that I haven't even bothered to close the drawer?

Oh yes, and I cannot forget to include my stereo (if you can see it behind the stacks of CDs and boxes of holiday cards)

Here's the top of our dining room table (also known as my desk, even though I have my own desk in a different room)

and this essential item...

Can you see the slit in my thumb?
My hands get so dry that they split and it HURTS all the time,
so I either use this liquid bandage or
a band-aid with neosporin,
but if I use the latter, I can't text on my phone
without making a hundred errors.

Oh, and here's my origami crane-making stuff

   

Oh, and let's not forget the guest bedroom, where I store my fabric and keep my cutting board

Like there's really room left to do any cutting on this mat?

Luckily, I can close the sliding closet doors to hide this
(that is, of course, once I close the drawer)

   So doesn't this make you feel better that you have not let your home get to this state??  Yet here I am posting about it rather than cleaning it up before my husband gets home with my daughter from her after-school activity.  I still have forty five minutes.  We'll see what I can get done.
  And I really don't even have any finished products to show b/c I gave some away without photographing them, and most of the mug rugs are awaiting binding or topstitching.
   Thank goodness for the Hubster-- he just texted and asked if I wanted him to bring home take-out.  YES, PLEASE!!!
   Here's the sole finished item, for a teacher, that I can share with you:

   Okay, so there you have it.  I'll have to share again with you after the holidays.   [Thankfully, my mother doesn't read this blog or she would be completely mortified.  Her house is pristine.  But then again, she is not an "artiste."]

   How are you all holding up as the holiday approaches?  Are you all done?  Are you still chugging away?

   I still have more things to make, but I'm enjoying all the sewing and think I will be able to finish what I need to.  Hopefully I won't lose my sanity at the state of the house before then!

    Hope you''re all having a good week!!

WIP Wednesday

   As promised,  I am posting today about some of the items I've been working on (mostly gifts for teachers that were "commissioned" by my sister and another friend).
   A couple of mug rugs:

front

back

attempt to show close up/detail of machine zig-zag binding that I used

   I used this tutorial from Stitched in Color to do the zig zag binding.  On this  particular mug rug, I used brown so it blended in, but in the next Sherbet Pips and Little Apple mug rugs, I was planning on using bright red thread to make it more decorative.
   What do you think of this idea?  Do you like the zig-zag stitching or not?  Should I continue to use it for my mug rug bindings?  (Please help this very
indecisive quilter!!)

front

back (binding is pinned on right now)

front
I love Little Apples!!

back

   Another mug rug with proposed binding fabric (Kaffe Fassett's Aboriginal Dots in Terra Cotta):

And more indecisiveness:  

   Which of the fabrics shown below should I use for the binding on this one?  Or none of them?  Please feel free to offer additional suggestions.

front

back

And then some fabric covered notepads and mini-moleskine journals:

front
(still has to be topstitched)

back

inside view of one of the ones below

    So there you have some of my WIPs.  I really enjoy working on these smaller projects (which is a good thing, because I have many more to do!)
   Hope you all are having a good holiday season and finding time to quilt!
   Thanks, in advance, for anyone who offers feedback/suggestions.

Mod Conn Quilters [Part 2 of 2]

   Hello again!
I have switched to the Hubby's desktop computer, and the photos and technical issues seem to be resolved now.  I like when the solution is that easy!
   Yesterday, I left off at Heather.  [Here's a link to yesterday's post, Part 1]  Heather shared a beautiful quilt, and also purchased this "find" at the local Salvation Army thrift store for all of $2!!

   The members present estimated that it probably dates from the 1940s.  If you look closely, you can see that it was a collaborative effort and that the contributors signed their names to their churn dash blocks.  The condition is somewhat tattered and worn along the edges, but Heather plans to hang this on display in her home.  

   Heide was also present at the meeting, and she shared this creation:

   Heide created this as a memorial quilt for a friend's [teenage/college-age] son who tragically died in the last year.  The pattern is from the Across the Sea quilt-along (although she didn't formally/strictly follow the group's deadlines).  She used a variety of Denyse Schmidt fabrics for the crosses.

   [FYI:  Heide is the one who informed me that DS lives in CT and that she attended DS's studio Open House.]

   Group members who were not able to make the last meeting brought their 12 1/2" blue pieced blocks (and accompanying "apple green" "solid" print blocks:

Cheree's blue block
I think this block is really cool

assorted "apple green" non-pieced block contributions,
to coordinate with the blue blocks

Bottom:  Heather's blue pieced block

   Sunday's Mod Conn Quilter's meeting was held at Kellogg Environmental Center in Derby, CT.  

   Just down the path from the nature center is the Osborne Homestead, which is beautifully decorated especially for Christmas this time of year.

    Towards the end of our meeting, I was able to have a quick look as part of the last tour of the day.  No flash photography was permitted, but here are a few quick shots I took.

   Various town Garden Clubs are assigned different areas or rooms of the house, and each has a theme.  This year, the themes were based on classic holiday movies like How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, etc.  All of the rooms were amazing.  If you live in this area, I highly recommend checking it out.  

   Sue Q., our host for the meeting, works at Kellogg, and she contributed a wonderful throw quilt with three reindeer silhouettes [the photo I have is from our last meeting, and is not in the photo library on this computer-- I will have to edit it in later today].  Her quilt looked wonderful in the context of the holiday decorated bedroom, but it I was unable to get a photo of it during the tour.  She also made a lovely yo-yo garland for the house tour. (Again, sorry no photo).

   I, too, had a bunch of my home-made goodies to share, but I will save that for another post (I'm thinking a Work-In-Progress Wednesday post may be in order-- I'm waiting for the binding fabrics to arrive for a bunch of my mug rugs), but here's a teaser/sneak peak of my stuff:

There are mug rugs hanging on the right and two ziploc bags
 filled with fabric-covered notebooks and tissue cozies.

Stay tuned...

   Although I have been very quiet and not posting much, I have been sewing daily.  I've learned a lot through trial and error and I'm happy to say that my skills are improving.   But I could not do it all without my trusty Seam Ripper-- Hail to my Friend (with a capital "F"), the seam ripper!!

See ya soon!

Mod Conn Quilters meeting [Part 1 of 2]

   Today was our (every other) monthly meeting of the Modern Connecticut Quilters Group. 

   Upon arrival, we laid out our 12 1/2" red pieced color blocks assigned from the last meeting.

Sue Q's lovely Kimono block.
The background fabric is black with tiny red specks.

Cheree's pieced block

more block arrivals
from Sue G. and her daughter, Maddie, on top

All the collected red blocks together at the end of the meeting

   In all the hustle of all my frantic gift-making for the holidays, I completely forgot to make my block!  Oops.  But there's no rush-- I can bring it to the next meeting.  There were a lot of members who could not make today's meeting due to holiday commitments, so more will be forthcoming.

   Next, there was Show & Tell...

Sue G. made this wonderful bag:

  And this lined bag for bringing lunch to work:

 Maddie (Sue G.'s 10 year-old daughter) made this little tote for Trick-or-Treating on Halloween.

   Our meeting was held in a very large science/lab type classroom.  Maddie was so cute: while we grown-ups were all chattering away, she practiced her step dancing off to the side.

   Cheree shared a beautiful quilt she made for her husband for Christmas.

  The fabrics were amazing, and I'm afraid the details are not captured in the photos.  Cheree's husband has worked for many years with the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).   (In fact, years ago, I attended one of his workshops.)  The fabrics are all nature-related, with a variety of animals and textures like birch bark and pebbles.  I love the batik background fabric with trees to bring the theme all together.

Michele made a chenille type quilt (mostly out of flannel, I think)

 and this quilt, which she will donate to a local hospital

Heather showed us this finished quilt

    For some reason, I am experiencing either computer or Blogger issues, and am unable to post more photos right now, so I will save the rest of "Show & Tell" for a second post tomorrow.
   But before I part with you-- guess what I learned today??  Denyse Schmidt lives in CT!!  Her studio is in Bridgeport (not 25 minutes from my home).  How 'bout that??!  All of you "abroad" DS fans who covet her fabrics from Joann's-- I like her stuff, too, but never knew she lived so close!!  It was very exciting for me to learn this.
   Anyway, I apologize for the technical difficulties, and I think I will try to post from my husband's desktop tomorrow to see if I can get better results with the photos/colors and the rest of the things people shared at the meeting.
   Have a good day and Happy Quilting!