Did you give up on me?

So, did you give up on me ever posting again??

Hope not ;) 'cause I'm baaaaack!

First, you gotta see this - Lex on the phone to daddy in Iraq - isn't this adorable?!!



I've been busy busy busy! You would think that being off work I would be LESS busy, but no. I have no idea how I fit work into my schedule before, honestly. Or, I wonder if I just find ways to fill my time no matter what I do or how busy I am.

My mother has taken to calling me 'Molly Homemaker' If I don't show up on Tuesdays to do some sort of homemaking project at her house she makes my dad call me to see where I am and to make sure that I know they are home (they do travel a lot and are not home EVERY Tuesday). Anyway...

So a few of the projects that I've schlepped over to my mother's house (where I can get help as I need it)are:

Canning:



Peach jam & syrup, Cherry jelly & syrup, Chili sauce, and Tomato sauce. I still need to do the Jalapeno Jelly :0 (Many many days of canning!)

(NOTE: We created the Chili Sauce recipe, and a super incredible Tomato Soup recipe - I'll post them if you want - oh, don't be misled by the name 'Chili' - it's got no hot peppers in it at all, just spices and bell peppers)

Sewing:

Olivia Quilt,


Serendipity Quilt,


Civil War Quilt squares of the month,




and the last of my Summer Quilt. Oh, and I did manage some general mending in there too.

On the other days I've scrapped - Christmas stuff, so I can't show it, you'll just have to take my word on it. Okay, so I do have this altered bottle - got to love this recycling stuff, particularly when the economy has been the way it has lately!



I am still being very careful about my back. I can't sit for too long, or stand or walk for extended periods of time. I get exhausted easily too. But I am crossing my fingers, hoping that I can return to work at the end of November. I don't have a dr.'s clearance for that yet, but if I go asking, return to work papers in hand, I just might get the okay. Limits in place I'm sure, but at least an okay.

Anyway, lots to pack in in one blog, but I'll work at doing it better :)

Wax Paper Applique

As some of you know, I am taking a quilting class. It's a year long class, with meetings once a month. Each month we get a new set of fabrics and instructions. We do not get to see a finished quilt until the end, so it's going to be a surprise!

Anyway, I am having so much fun that I am going to post some of the tips here, for everyone :)

August was Wax Paper Applique.

Supplies:

Wax butcher/freezer paper (wax on one side, paper on the other)
Spray Starch
Empty Cereal box
Hot iron, mini craft irons are the best!
Small cheap paintbrush
Applique pattern
Small sharp craft scissors
Fabric for applique pieces and quilt block
Applique pins
Milliners straw needles (these things are the tiniest needles I've EVER seen!)
Needle threader! LOL
Thread
Thread conditioner


1- Take your pattern, trace it onto wax butcher paper. Cut out, but only roughly.

2- With your hot iron, lightly tack the wax paper pattern pieces onto the brown side of the cut open cereal box.

3- Now CAREFULLY, follow the traced pattern exactly, cut the pattern pieces out of the cereal box. Remove wax paper pieces(but save them) from the cardboard shapes.

4- With the hot iron, lightly tack the wax paper pattern pieces to your fabrics. Cut the fabric pattern pieces out, leaving a 1/4" border around the wax paper. Remove wax paper when done.

5- Now, spray starch into the starch lid. Let sit 10 minutes or so. Until the foam goes down and you have liquid. Using the paintbrush, paint starch on the edges of your fabric pattern pieces.

6- Place your fabric pattern pieces face down on the ironing board. Set the coordinating cardboard cereal box pattern pieces on top of the fabric pieces, printed side up. The brown side should be against the fabric's back. With the hot iron, fold the 1/4 seem allowance over the cardboard, the starch and the printed side of the cereal box will help hold the seam allowance down.

7- Turn over and iron the front of the fabric.

8- When cool, remove cardboard. Now you have perfectly shaped pattern pieces all ready to pin to your block. Perfect for easy easy stitching. Save your cardboard and wax paper pieces in a gallon-size ziplock, just hole punch it and put it in a 3 ring binder so it's easy to use again.

8- When stitching your applique to the quilt block, use a hidden stitch. ONLY use a length of thread that is as long as the measurement of your hand to your elbow. Less tangles, easier stitching.

9- Iron finished block.

Here is my finished applique quilt block...





Now think for a moment...

Can you just imagine using STAMPS to create patterns??!!?! Imagine the possibilities! The endless supply of images. The creative use of supplies you already have. Only have small stamps? No problem, Stamp and enlarge! You can have matching quilts and scrapbook layouts!


Keep watching, next month, I'll post a different applique method.

Quilting!

I've been QUILTING~!

I don't sew - well not unless it is for a Layout!

But here I am, taking classes, and I'm actually doing it! Here take a peak...

Here are my 'Square in a Squares'


This month the block is all applique - now this is what I can do, hand work, it's the machine stuff that gives me fits!

This class runs for a year and each month that I finish my blocks, I get the next set free! Isn't that cool! We are not shown the finished quilt and have no idea what the end product will be. But, then I think that is half the fun!

I will be posting quilting tips that I learn on the IL2C message board as I take the classes - watch for them under Needle Arts :)