I like Thursdays Mar 28

Greetings!

Hope you are enjoying spring! It will be around 90 here tomorrow. Just sayin.
The bad thing is the pollen count is extremely high so I can't go out much.  Ugh.

Here is a short but fun list of my likes this week:

1. The Church Craft Fair in Glendale Az.    The wind was really bad so I couldn't get good photos.   I felt bad for the vendors.  But, I did get a new hand carved ruler holder:

It is redwood and I talked to the man who carved them-he didn't know what they were till a woman asked him to make one and they sell like hot cakes-they're so beautiful and will last forever.  Oh-$10.  We hadn't been to a craft fair in a long time so it was still fun for my daughter and I.

2.  Happy Birthday Pennant Banner for my daughter.   One night at 2:30 in the morning,  I couldn't sleep.   So, I lay in bed making notes of how to make this for her home since she has all the birthday parties  for the family at her home.

I changed notes as I went along in case I make another one for each holiday (which is her wish).

It took me a while to determine length and width of each pennant to contain those pretty Silhouette Happy Birthday letters I bought.  I used Kona Snow layer cakes from the stash and sewed 2 pennants RST for each letter.

LOL-this looks like I'm ready to do surgery. These are the tools I had to use to turn all the corners after sewing the pennants right sides together. It took me 3 days to just make the 14 pennants!

Here they are above with the letters arranged and ready to iron on the letters.

Appliqued with zigzag right down the middle because some of the pieces were so narrow, they would have puckered. I  used a variegated thread on top and white in the bobbin.
Now, how to attach the pennants to a binding , string, ribbon or tape? Years ago, a lady at work gave me about 25 packages of bias tape when she was moving out of her home!

I've only used maybe 2. Unfortunately, many are extra wide so I didn't want to use those.  But, I got lucky and there was one white narrow double fold bias tape.

I figured out I needed about 7 feet of tape, left a little for a hanging loop on one end and  just slid the pennants inside the fold and sewed it down- one at a time very carefully and in order (haha).  I made a loop for the other end as well.
And here it is:

I just realized I shouldn't  have used a white wall as background and should have faced the banner straight on for the photo instead of from the side!  Oh well, it's gifted and she is so happy with it.   Me too. She can use it for all those birthdays on an entrance spot. ( It should last a lot longer than paper banners).  And, it will be against a light green wall.  It was a lot harder to put together than I anticipated because of my thumbs not cooperating.  I packed the banner in a small decorative  "Happy Birthday Box " so she could pack it away for storing and find it easily.
This was a labor of love.

It was a busy week with Thomas here for Spring Break, so no other sewing got done- not much cooking or cleaning either, meaning I worked my butt off over the weekend playing catch up! Haha
Hope you enjoyed my first try at recording my adventures of the project.
Have a great day and join us at Lee Anna's:Not Afraid of Color for more "likes"!

Hope to hear from ya'll.
mary😊

Things I like Thursdays Mar 21

Greetings!

This will be a short and sweet post  as I am trying to squeeze this in before my grandson arrives for breakfast.  It's been a busy week and spring is definitely here!  He is on spring break and staying  here during the day so I'm wiped out at night and everything else is on hold.  But oh what fun he is!


Here is a list of my likes:


1. Spring is here!  It was 88 yesterday but it  will cool down to 83 today!  LOL  We were outside for an hour and got some sun. YAY!  Unfortunately,  it will be a hundred by Easter. Gag  So, you can see we need to take advantage of this  short period.  We like to say we don't get Spring here, but it's all relative.

2.  Lady Bugs and Charms quilt top is done.  This is one for the group in Canada and that group  will do the batting, backing to finish. The quilts will then be given to cancer patients in chemo, etc.:

I have a lot of "leftover" charms from projects ( I have a lot of charms period) and paired them with Bella Solid white charms for this project.  Then I added a very cute ladybug border from stash fabric.  I had a little over a yard and it was perfect for a 7 inch border on the sides and 3.5 inch border for top and bottom.  It's 50 x 70 as per the quilt group's request.  When I get another one done , I'll mail them to Canada for the Hands2help challenge.   I cannot believe how fun it was to make just the top! No worries on cutting batting and backing, not to mention the quilting!

3.my new TEXT IT book has arrived.  Someone mentioned it on the internet and I ordered it because I have difficulty making alphabet letters:

Aren't those pillows adorable? There are patterns inside and sample alphabet letters.

4.  Paper Mate mechanical pencils.  These have been my favorite for years.  They are light, always sharp and last a good while:

They are disposable so not every one would be interested in them.  Just sayin before somebody gives me grief.  I purchased them and the book above thru Amazon.

5. Drug allergic reaction article for your viewing pleasure.  Not really, it's a little scary: drugs with food allergins
I'm allergic to so many things but didn't realize how many food allergins are in drugs we are prescribed or even in the ones over the counter.  Hope this helps someone.


Well peeps, gotta run.  Enjoy your week and don't forget to join us at Lee Anna's post:Not Afraid of Color

mary

Things I like Thursdays Mar 14

Greetings!

Welcome to the middle of March! Where did February go?   It's so exciting-we are warming up (EXCEPT FOR COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RAIN) and Spring -or at least our Spring- is almost here.  It will be short lived and then 100 degrees so we need to pounce on it when we can.  My daughter and I are planning to attend a craft/art fair Saturday so it should be nice out.  I even walked a mile yesterday in under 15 minutes.  It felt so good.
I hope and pray everyone made it through the terrible snow, wind and cold that gripped the middle of the country!


In the meantime, here's my "likes" for this week:

1. EPIC HST TECHNIQUE from Corey Yoder at LITTLE MISS SHABBY.  This used to be named "coriander quilts".  Anyway, she has a great tutorial (I just found) showing how to square HST's with any ruler. Very helpful.

2. Hands2help charities. Here is the link to the blog sponsoring  hands2help. Sarah of " Confessions of a fabric addict" holds this event  every year and this week is featuring stories of the various charities they donate to. I plan to send tops only to Victoria's Quilts Canada for cancer patients. I hope you'll sign up too.

3. Tweezerman tweezers.  I know what you're thinking- but trust me- I've tried several brands for my whiskers and they don't work.  I got the Flawless shaver for Christmas but even it doesn't work completely, so I found out about this brand from my daughters skin care specialist:

$9.96 thru Amazon. These work. And, they come with a cute holder. just sayin.


4.  File folder plastic mesh bags.  Thanks to Lee Anna, I found them on Amazon:

They arrived in 2 days! 20 for $13.99  8" x ll" approximately  and 5 very pretty colors.  I got them for my quilting projects but there are so many, I may even use them to store scraps.  They would store so much nicer than the plastic buckets I'm currently using for my scraps.   OJYUDD is the seller via Amazon. Can't wait to set them up.

Well peeps, I'm out of time.  Gotta get the chores done before meeting my grandson after school. Have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you!
mary😊

𝛑

HAPPY PI DAY

Things I like Thursdays Mar 7

Greetings!

Hope everyone is having a warmer week!  Our weather here has changed to much warmer.  I only hope it doesn't get too hot, too fast. It's supposed to be 85 today or tomorrow.  We just had snow on the outskirts of the valley 10 days ago.  Gheeze.

Here are just few of my likes this week:

1.  Mimishui Scenic Area photo

This is in Pingshan County China . Unbelievably beautiful with the trees in pink!  I don't remember where I saw this on the internet but saved it to my PC the other day cause it was so lovely.

2. CNN's "Good Stuff" emails on Saturday mornings. Here's the link https://www.cnn.com/email/subscription .
 I receive email every morning during the week from CNN Newsletter  (5 things) and the New York Times (summarized version).  It's hardly ever good news but I like to know what's going on.
  On Saturday mornings-it's all good news and fun via this CNN newsletter.

3. Victoria quilt.  I finally finished this quilt from Knotting Hill layer cakes and the Cake Mix Recipe booklet- recipe 2.  It's small=47 x 55. The blocks remind me of crowns, so I named it Victoria. I love using the recipe booklets for making blocks.

Yes, that's my brothers slippers on the rug. A realistic photo for sure.

The lavender binding set it off well.


4. Validating my sanity-late but not forgotten.  So, I never heard that the increased cost  of distributing sugar went way up in 2011!!!   This forced manufacturers to increase the price and decrease the shelf product from 5 pounds to 4 pounds in 2011!!!

 I was in a hurry the other day and grabbed sugar at the local Fry's store (Kroger for others).  It was half the price of the C and H brand which I usually buy.

It was laying on the counter at home while I reached for my Tupperware container and I saw "4 lb".  Wait, What?
Well, no wonder it was cheaper.  Then I started thinking "wasn't the sugar bag  always 5 pounds?"  I had to Google that.  I was so shocked that "bags' of sugar changed years ago. But, I'm not losing my mind. Thank God.

It's the little things, people.

Other than that, things are fine.  Enjoy your week and leave a comment -I lovet o hear from you!  Please join us for more " likes"  at Lee Anna's site Not Afraid of Color.
Have a fun day
mary😊

I Like Thursdays Feb 28

Greetings!

We are happier now that the weather is warming up to normal here in Az. I hope you made it safely through all these crazy blizzards and wet weather in the U.S.  Please join us at Lee Anna's site:Not Afraid of Color  for positive, fun "likes".  Here's my list for this week:

1.  Quiltfolk No. 9 

This issue gives a beautiful insight to the people and scenery of Utah.  I cannot say enough how much I enjoy these magazines/books.  Since there are not advertisements in these, I refer to them as  books.  The photos are just fantastic but it's the personal stories of the quilters that I really enjoy. The above  "tied" quilt is so inviting for a snuggly afternoon.

This is a quilt! It was put together by several quilters in the national park area of Utah.

I take my time reading these books -twice- and are usually not done by the time the next edition arrives (quarterly).  These books are such a treat and great reading at bedtime.

2. Backing fabric bought at my LQS sale.

These were $7.80 per yard so I stocked up at 4 yards each. . Aren't they pretty? It's hard to guess on backings for the future but I think these will work.  I've made pieced or even patchwork backings but I find it easier and quicker to use a solid piece if I can. I certainly don't need more stash for quilt tops.

3.  Sew Your Stash 2019 at aquiltinglife.com. Lead by Sherri McConnell, this  provides tips and ideas on organizing the stash/sewing area and getting projects done.

4. becomingminimalist.com for more ideas on reorganizing and removing "stuff'. Joshua Becker wrote a great post on the "convenience fallacy contributes to clutter".  We leave things out in our homes thinking we need them available when in reality it would take seconds to remove the item from a nearby cabinet when we actually need it.  I tried this with my toaster: it's not even used everyday but I'm constantly moving it around on my tiny kitchen counter to use that space.  I love having it tucked away in the cupboard now.

Are you seeing a pattern here?  I'm obsessed with purging and less clutter.

5.  My newly organized dresser drawers. This is just one that I finally got done.

It feels good to have purged and reorganized the dresser. I filled a large trash bag with trash and moved many items to the Goodwill area of my garage.

I'm saving the clothes closet and fabric stash till last in my reorganization goals for our home.

6.  My new eye glasses -they're blue and a bigger frame instead of "light granny glasses".  Love them.

7. Homemade blueberry jam.

It's so easy to make jam on the stove.  Since I can't have skins or seeds I make jam and then run it through the strainer.

 I also spent an entire afternoon cutting up scraps to 2 1/2 inch  squares to better see what I have and can use in the future. They look cute in a little box.
As you can see I've been busy.

Hopefully, you enjoyed a glimpse into my "likes" and will join us at Lee Anna's site. Have a great week.
mary😊

SPRING MIGHT BE AROUND THE CORNER

Greetings!

Just a weather report:

It hailed here on Friday the 22nd!  The video does not work -still, I wanted to show you  the hail.

But, look at yesterday's forecast for the week:

We might even be 78 on Thursday!  We are very excited about this here. 

Things I like Thursdays Feb 20

Greetings!

The rain and wind and cold are still going on here in the desert.  Crazy weather.  Many times you can hear natives of my area complain we don't have four seasons and I agree but we certainly have had a long winter here. The highs have been in the 50's and will continue for another week.  I will cover my plants again tonite because we are having a soft freeze in the morning.  We are usually in the seventies already at this time of year.  I'm not complaining but it is so unusual.

Regardless, I do have some likes to share with you this week:

1. This book from Marie Kondo.

Her book, "You Tube" sharings, blogland, Netflix have been showing up everywhere so I had to see what everyone is talking about.  I do like an organized home.  However, it took me 30 pages of reading to even consider her process of organizing.  I can't accept assigning personal traits to inanimate objects as she suggests.  The inanimate objects do not bring me "joy" but rather fulfill a need.   I'm stubborn though, so I read the entire book and I'm pleased that I did. Just one of her suggestions is to store things vertically rather than horizontally so we can see at a glance what we have plus avoid having to move an item above or below our selection.  I'm surprised I hadn't thought of that more often.  I have been storing my fat quarters vertically in long baskets but not my larger pieces of fabrics, so I'm figuring out how to accomplish that for the larger pieces. I do like purging items in the home that are no longer used while also decluttering  and she has a system for accomplishing those jobs.  I agree with some of her ideas and some I do not- but that's my choice. I did reorganize and purged  all my recipes and books, so that feels good.  I have much more to do but I'm taking it slow so as not to overdo it.

2. My new U.S.  Map Panel.  It just called to me as a pillow at my LQS.

It comes with 2 maps on a panel.  I'm going to guess a 22 x 20 pillow.  It's from Basic Grey Metropolis for Moda.  Contrary to the photo, the surrounding  background of the map is cream  while the actual map is black and white.  I thought I'd make 2 pillows with black on the backing.   Someday.

3.  Being Single.  Once again, Arizona has the dubious distinction of being the worst  in a category in the United States.  First one was child education.  Now, we have the highest divorce rate in the country-67% !  I've been single for 20 years and I'm happy.  Guess I don't play well with others...heehee

4. Endurance Blades from Olfa.  I think Jocelyn of Canadianneedlenana was the one who sparked my curiosity so I bought some.

We'll see how long it lasts.


5. Things not changing ALL the time.  In one day I found out my LQS and Chiropractor were closing.  Are you kidding me? My quilt shop owner will go online but I need to plan on a new WIP- for- a- day location and  I will miss the ladies terribly.
I've been seeing my chiropractor for over 20 years and I was spoiled. Oh well, life goes on.

Other than that, things are fine.

Hope you enjoyed my craziness! Please join us at LeeAnna's post:Not Afraid of Color  for more likes.

Be healthy and happy!
mary