Tough Week

I have a couple of things I need to post that got missed . 

First the winner of my HO HO HO giveaway is Connie over at Freemotion by the River. I will be whipping up a set of Christmas Bowl Buddies for her, hopefully this weekend. 

                                      

That sounds a bit lame, time wise, but I have had a rather tough week and I don't know how the weekend will play out yet.

I generally live a very calm life. I work, I quilt and live with a great guy. But every now and then life tosses you an obstacle. On Tuesday evening I thought I was having really bad indigestion, by 3 in the morning I thought it might be a heart attack and went to the emergency room.  At 9 in the morning after many tests to rule out the heart attack theory they gave me breakfast and low and behold I doubled over in pain from what turned out to be a gall bladder issue. 

They had me in the hospital for 3 days. I'm home now but will be having my gall bladder removed on Monday.

They tell me that the surgery is out patient and that I'll be out of work for about a week.  The real issue is that for a month I won't be able to pick up anything that weighs over 10 pounds.  That means I need to set up for several quilting projects before I go because lots of what's in my sewing area is not always easily accessible and I don't want to find that I can't sew because of where things are located.

Next topic,

This month I participated in a Triple-Zip Pouch Swap.  This was a blind swap.  I received my wonderful pouch and several gifts from Laurel in Illinois.  

                                                Thank you so much, I love all of the goodies.

I sent my pouch and gifts out before "the episode"  and it should be with it's new owner by now. We were invited to include small gifts only if they fit inside the pouch.

                                                 
                                               my first gift was a coordinating tissue holder.

This is the inside of the largest pouch with pocket.

                                                           inside of the smallest pouch

                                            This is the tissue holder on the back of the pouch

                                                   These are all of the goodies I included

I'm always a little afraid of not meeting expectations when I participate in a swap.  I really hope she likes it.  I was really happy with the outcome.

                While I'm feeling tip top  I am  off to set up the sewing room for the next month or sew.

pets on quilts 2013 - Art Quilt Category

This is our first time participating in the Pets On Quilts event.  Last year I stood on the sidelines. This year we're in.

Tink is an English Bulldog who we rescued.  She is a year round shedder and full time drool-er. She has her own quilt and it is no longer fit to photograph.  She is my full time assistant.  She helps with all my quilt  photography and is always putting her self in the center of the action in the sewing room.

This year I participated in a blog hop   http://selinaquilts.blogspot.com/2013/07/stamp-on-it-blog-hop-my-turn.html    where we designed quilted pieces that would represent a stamp if we designed it. I knew right from the beginning that I would do a stamp for Animal Rescue.  A local artist, Andrew Cifelli, did a watercolor of Tink from the picture above and I made it the center of my stamp.

It is now hanging on the wall in the TV room.  I had made it with the intention of it being a Mouse Pad

but I was out voted.

I am linking up to Pets on Quilts 2013, it's not too late for you to link up over at
 LilyPad Quilting.  You have until Aug. 17 to get that pet on a quilt  or pet quilt and link up. Go direct to link HERE

Ho Ho Ho

 

HO HO HO

 

From the first Bowl Buddy that I made last month, I knew that I would be making them for Christmas gifts.  Once this hop was announced I knew I could really jump start the gift making process.

I made red ones and I made green ones.

I made a matching red trivet.

And a matching green trivet.

Nobody said that the bowl buddy could only hold a bowl  ; -}

Ok, so after making these bowl buddies I realized that, yes I had made them before so just because this time I was using Christmas fabric I really wasn't stretching myself.  So back to the quilt shop I went for more Christmas fabric. 

A couple of weeks ago I saw a tutorial for a zig zag quilt that was made without using HST. The tutorial is by Amanda Jean at http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/

 

This was a super simple way to make this quilt.  I put it together over the course of 3 evenings.

I had more trouble coming up with a niffty back than i did with the entire front.

The real stretch came when it was time to quilt it.  If you look at the top of this picture you can see where I started to straight line quilt in the ditch.  All of the switching direction was making me crazy.

It was time to make the leap and free motion quilt my first big quilt. In the past I have done minimal free motion work on small wall pieces and table toppers. I just haven't had what it takes to do the necessary practice it takes to do this type of thing on a large scale.

There was a lot of trial and error but I am tickled with the outcome.

OK if you have followed along this far you have earned a chance to win a set of Bowl Buddies. I'll send them anywhere.  Just include the words Bowl Buddie in the comment and if I pull your name on the 

                                                             11th they'll be  yours.

Now I would like to take the time to thank both  Mdm Sam &  Carol for cheering us on and setting up this continuing adventure.        

Please be sure to visit all of today's participants as well as all of the players for the entire event. You'll be so inspired. It will be so worth the time.    Enjoy, HO HO HO

                                            August 6

Why-Knot-Kwilt

Debby Kratovil

Apple Avenue Quilts

Domestic Deficit Disorder

Jane’s Fabrics and Quilts

Marjorie’s Busy Corner

Cate’s Linens

Brenda’s Blog

Charlottes Creations

Selina Quilts (you are here)

Made By Me In Red

Blooming where I am Planted

A Hot Week

I started the week knowing I had a baby quilt that I needed to get finished. Baby was due any day.  I volunteered to make this quilt 6 months ago.  I actually started it and made all of the blocks weeks ago. Every night this week I sat down to do something productive with it and got lost doing some other  small project.  I'm blaming the heat for the total lack of focus.

I did a little of this, these are 2 inch unfinished 9 patches, more about them in a future post.

  

And a little of that, self stripping knit wash clothes that I started while on vacation earlier this month.

 Well baby came on Monday, I found out on Thursday.  That was the motivation I apparently needed.  Thursday night I put the front  together. Since the blocks were already done  it took less than 2 hours to finish.

Friday night I put the back together.

 This too was a speedy job. Saturday between errands and eating ( a very important part of our Saturday) I sandwiched and quilted it with a wiggly grid.  Got up this morning and did the binding.

Called  that pretty close didn't I.  That's all I had left of the red thread when i finished attaching the binding.

While the quilt was in the wash I was feeling giddy that it was finished and made a cutie pie stuffed bear to go with it.

There is a back story to this quilt.  When I volunteered to make it my niece, friend of the mom, didn't care what I did so long as it wasn't baby ish. Her husband asked if I could do something reflecting the new dad's love of the New York Rangers Hockey Team, he didn't care how much or how little.  Sounded like a plan to me. First problem was that we couldn't find any yardage for the team anywhere. My niece and her husband did find a pair of mens PJ bottoms with Ranger logos in a knit fabric.  Not ideal but heck, it worked.

As you can see from all of the pictures I pretty much treated the front and back as separate quilts. His and hers.

Really happy with how it all turned out.  I still have a little of the Rangers fabric left and a little of the green left, I'm thinking maybe a bib or two before I turn it over to the new owner.

My Modern Quilt and More Bowl Buddies

In between my last several projects I attempted my first “Modern” quilt.   Several months ago I first saw this quilt that I wanted to make. I had a big problem starting the quilt because I never wrote down where I saw it.  I knew it was in a new book.  Name? I knew it was done by someone I kinda sorta follow, who?

 

 

 

I did ask around but I couldn’t describe it well enough to get a hit. It was just a fuzzy memory. About 3 weeks ago I tripped over a title that sounded familiar and lo and behold it was it.  The quilt is “SCATTERED” by Allison Harris at Cluck Cluck Sew, and is found in the book Modern Quilts From The Blogging Universe.    So sad, I can’t remember how you are supposed to type the title of a book,  sorry all you English majors out there.

 

Anyway, here is my Scattered. I used a charm pack and threw out the band on the pack so I cannot give credit for it.

 

 

I used the left over charms on the back to give me that little extra I needed on the width.

 

I sent the quilt to Sarah at Sweet Potato Quilts to quilt it for me.  She did her usual stellar job.  She sent it directly to the address I was using for my Florida vacation and I was able to do the binding while on the trip.

 

 

Please excuse the pictures.  My original intent was to bring it home and take pictures with my camera.  At the last minute, 6:00AM Wednesday, I decided I wanted to leave the quilt in Florida, so I took pictures with my cell phone.  I’m not quite as steady at that hour of the morning as the cell phone would like me to be.  I also missed taking a close up of the loopy quilting that went so well with the triangles.

 

 

 

All in all I am thrilled with the results and the ease of construction.  I see several more of this pattern emerging from my sewing room.

 

Another of the projects I've fit in is another set of Bowl Buddies.  Couldn't post these before vacation because my friend J always checks my blog just before we get together because she knows I will have made her something.

 

 

These are such fun to make. Just had to make her a set.

 

              I gave them to her last Thursday and she was surprised so I can now post the pictures.

 

 

 

 

Stamp on It Blog Hop - My Turn

From day one I knew what I wanted my stamp to reflect about me.  Well about me and Tink, after all I am Tink’s mom.  She is pretty much the center of our life whether we want her to be or not.  She is that type of gal, a very A personality.

I mentioned this hop to a local artist, Andrew Cifelli, and told him what I was planning.  A stamp with Miss Tink’s picture  in the center, a title and Postage stuff at the edge.  He offered to do an ink and watercolor of Miss Tink working from this picture.  

My biggest issue was what I wanted to do with my idea to best  showcase this stamp and Andrew’s work. Not a quilt or a wall hanging. 

I started with a tee shirt and found it very disappointing.

Since I waited until the last minute to take the pictures we are fighting the elements. It is very rainy and humid here today.  I walked outside to a better light than indoors and the camera fogged up.  We had to wait for everything to equalize.

Then a mug rug, 

better but still not what I want.

Then I remembered that a while back I saw a tutorial somewhere to make a Mouse Pad.  I googled it and came up with several ideas on how to do that.   This seemed to be a perfect venue for what I envisioned.

Wow I now know I need to go back and add the scallop to the mug rug.  I think that's the mug rugs problem. Without the scallop it's not a stamp.

For Mouse Pad I did as fusible applique.  Did a little free motion quilting and made sleeves for the back for a place to put something that would keep it from sliding.  I used the rubber stuff they sell to keep throw rugs from slipping.  I found it at Target for a lot less than the suggested shelf liner. This mouse pad is loosely based on the tutorial where I saw the original idea. Thanks Debbie from the Quilters Table.   http://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/2013/05/wordy-mouse-pad-tutorial.html

 

Some History:

Tink is a rescue.  Her full name is really Tinker bell.  Not a very bullie name but when she came to us her name was Pixie which was even less Bullie. Us being Disney types formalized it to Tinkerbell.   She came to us about 5 years ago.  She came with her share of issues and tons of love to give.  She loves people but not other animals.  She is a snuggle bunny. And in spite of her weight and short legs has been seen up on the kitchen table, the bed, the sofa’s, lawn furniture etc. etc.  She is afraid of the dark, motor cycles and the garbage truck.  She came to us as a very aggressive dog, trying to show she was in charge, MJ wasn’t so sure that we made a good decision and he was ready to call it quits two weeks in   I, on the other hand, had promised her a “forever home” .  .  I had so many bruises at the end of the first month, my dermatologist asked if I was in an abusive relationship.  Please understand, none of the bruises were from anger.  She had been locked on a porch for the better part of the first 2 years of her life.  She just had no idea that when 90 pounds of dog runs across the room and jumps into your lap to give you kisses it will be painful to the recipient. Same with her jumping on you as you walked in the front door to acknowledge that you came back to her.  We got a trainer.  More for us then for her and after about 6 months we were a very happy family with absolutely no regrets.

I hope you like my stamp in all of its incarnations.  It is who I am and what I am proud to be, mom to a wonderful rescued animal.

Now please take a few minutes of your time and visit the other folks that have designed stamps reflective of who they  are for this very insightful hop.

Thanks to Mdmm. Samm and Thearica for all of the background coordinating and the cheering us on that you do so well.  And special thanks to Andrew for the lovely drawing of sweetness. Here is a listing of the remaining presenters.

July 1

 Sew Many Yarns

Quilt Matters

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle

Patchouli Moon

The Slow Quilter

A Loose Thread

Janes Fabrics and Quilts

Selina Quilts (me)

Debby Kratovil Quilts

Dancing Thru Threads



July 2

Sew and Sow Farm 

fishkopp

Scraps of Life

Meadowbrook

Katie and Kwilts 

Em's Scrap Bag  

GrammieQ's

How ART you?

BumbleberryStitches

A Stitch in Time



July 3

More Stars in Comanche

Dachsies With Moxie

NotionNanny

 13 Woodhouse Road

Heikesquilt’

Traveling Quilter

Jackie’s Art Quilts

What About Rheema?

From This to That

Sew We Quilt