"My Favorite Things" Mini Quilt

Making miniature quilts is one of my many hobbies.  I tend to go in cycles with my hobbies.  Cross stitching was one of my first obsessions many years ago.  I'm thinking of getting back into that.  I just gave my DIL a cross stitch lesson.  Lately I've been very much into knitting.  I like knitting because it's so portable and I can travel easily with it.  But between the cross stitching and the knitting was a large obsession with quilting.  I especially liked making miniature quilts.  I find it to be more of an art than utilitarian.  I 've continued to quilt, even through my knitting phase.  There's just something about the feel of good fabrics and making the seems and stitches and points as perfect as I can get them.

Here is one of my first miniature quilts.  I tend to really enjoy small, precise work and so challenged myself at making miniature applique squares.  Here is my little sampler that I call, "My Favorite Things".

Since I can't stand to part with this, it hangs on the wall with several of my other mini quilts in my little studio.

This quilt is a total of 17" square.  Each of the nine little squares is 3-3/4".

 All the applique is done by hand by the "turn under" method.  Then I padded or stuffed many of the appliques to give it some puff and dimension.

These little berries were a little time consuming in order to keep them as round as I could.  They're very tiny.
I embroidered the veins on the leaves and the eye of the bird.

Beads and pearls were sewn onto the center of the flowers.

The center of these flowers I made with silk ribbon french knots.

I put little heart charms on the collars of the cat and the dog.

A few little button embellishments.

I hand quilted this, which I love to do, but it is very time consuming.  It's not too bad on these little quilts, though.  This whole process is so relaxing for me and I love to see all these little bits and pieces of fabrics, beads, buttons and floss come together into a "picture".

I do make little 4" quilts that I frame and sell in my Etsy shop, but I won't part with these larger minis.

I'm linking today to Cindy's Show and Tell Friday

And Alison's Fridays Unfolded

Art, Crafts and "Stuff"

I decided at the last minute last week to enter a local craft show.  I was the last entry of forty vendors to reserve a table last Wednesday afternoon and the show was held on Saturday.  I don't do craft shows normally, but this one was being held at our Lakeview Lodge, which is right around the corner from my home.  Literally.  I can walk there.  Which, of course, I didn't do on Saturday because I had all my stuff to lug.  I have little "stuff" though and I don't have an over abundance of "stuff", so getting it there was no problem.  My problem was gathering it all together and tagging everything on Friday night.  That's when you realize you have more "stuff" than you thought you did.

So here it is, my "stuff" all ready for hubby to carry to the car and drive me over and unload for me.  I could have managed myself but I think he must have had a moment of feeling obligated, since I was complaining loudly (on purpose for him to over hear) to my mother on the phone that parking might be a problem.
Mom also knits and she was sharing the table with me to sell her beautiful shawls.

Here we are setting up our table and there's Mom wearing one of her shawls.  It was actually a very fun day with a very good turnout, but we only sold a few things.  At shows like this people are looking more for crafty Christmas decorations and/or less expensive items.  Our "stuff" isn't cheap because we use expensive yarns and my little quilts are very time consuming.  We knew that going in, but that's OK.  The Lodge also served lunch and we visited with a lot of people and we made enough to cover our cost for the day.
I came home with a renewed interest in catching up and updating my on line Etsy shop.  I had been ignoring it lately since I just haven't had the time to pay attention to it or make or list anything new.  Now with my new phase of slowing down and trying to do more of what I want to do, I am having fun with Etsy again.( I have a link to this on my sidebar.) I just don't make things quickly.  Some people list new things every day and I just can't do that.  Here's a new mini "fairy" quilt I listed yesterday.  I was told by some of the wonderful Quiltsy ladies on Etsy that they have heard this term used for the very mini quilts and suggested I try using that tag on my listings.

This quilt is about 3-1/4" square and the whole thing is in a 5x7 frame.  I love making them, even if they aren't making me rich!
I also finished knitting the purple baby set that I was making for a friend's daughter's baby shower that was also on Saturday.  I got that delivered to her on Friday afternoon.

 I get quite a few requests for knitted items, but they also take a while.  I was asked at the show if I used a knitting machine.  NO!  Mom and I both knit by hand the old fashioned way.  I don't take too many orders at a time because I then get overwhelmed and feel pressured.  Not how I want to feel when doing what I love to do!
My wonderful hubby is working out of the house today, thank goodness!  Yes, he's wonderful, but I just have to say that he gets on my nerves when he's working at home.  He questions me all day about what I'm doing and I really feel guilty if I'm spending too much time working on my "stuff".  Only because I help him with paperwork and computer work and he constantly reminds me where the most money comes from.  I know, but------. So now I can relax for a while and do what I want!

My Cozy Little Sewing Room

Today is Monday, which means it's time to show off your cottage.  This is hosted by Cielo at The house in the roses.  Follow this link to see all the beautiful rooms and cottages:

Show off Your Cottage Monday

This is the door to my cozy little sewing room.  This picture I found in an antique store just reminded me of how I feel in my room.  Like a little girl playing with her toys!

This is where you will find me almost every night, sitting in my favorite chair with knitting or sewing in my hands.  I had this chair and ottoman made a few years ago.  I had been wanting this chair with these fabrics I picked out for a long time.  I also ordered extra fabric and was able to make some throw pillows to match.  The pillow on the left is one I made doing a faux chenille sewing technique made of flannel.  And if you can notice the crocheted doily on the back of the chair, that was made many years ago by my great grandfather.

My dogs hang out on the couch as long as I'm in that room.  The couch is quite old.  It was my grandmother's and my boys used to take naps on it at her house when they were little boys.  It's in excellent condition and has so many memories for me and I also like the small size of it.  I had a white slipcover on it but I just got tired of messing with it.  The quilt on the back was the very first full size quilt that I ever made about ten years ago, and a few more throw pillows that I made for the dogs to cozy up with.  The little end table was found at Cracker Barrel by my mother about five years ago.  I should have taken a close up picture of it because it has the prettiest roses and ribbons decorating it. 

My little TV sits on top of a repurposed old sewing machine bottom made into a stand.  The top was brown but I painted it white, as I did with every piece of furniture and trim in the room.  The scarf under the TV is a gift from Germany given to me by my mother when she was living there for a while.  The table under the mirror was a credenza in my old dining room and it was also a light oak wood.  My husband put the legs on for me to make it the right height for me to stand at and cut fabric and iron.  Again, I painted with a white wash, then stenciled lace on the drawers and glued on cloth covered buttons and hearts.  This little room is so jam packed that it's hard to even point out every little thing in there.  I made most of the wall hangings, the collection of pin cushions on the TV stand, and the framed mini quilt on top of the TV.  All the baskets on the floor are filled with either yarn or fabric.  The closet is also filled, but I won't even go there!  I try to keep it as organized as I can, but this is all stuff I need.  And I love just sitting there amongst it all.  Uh Oh! does this sound like a hoarding issue?

 

The sewing machine is from 1970 and was my grandmother's.  It also started out brown, sort of Early American style and came with a Singer sewing machine.  I used this old machine of hers until just a few years ago when I finally got a new Janome.  Here's the original owner's manual that came with the cabinet and machine and this is exactly what it looked like.

And you guessed it!  I painted it white with pink and green trim.  Then I sanded spots to give it a more shabby look.  The cover on the chair came from Sure-Fit slipcovers.

I just didn't know when to stop and stenciled the roses on top of the cabinet. 

I made the curtain, but they did not originally start out at curtains.  It was a quilt top that I had never made into a quilt and I needed curtains, so I cut the quilt in half, sewed a backing to them, made a rod pocket and they worked out perfect.  But then after I hung them I thought they didn't quite look frilly enough, so I hung lace behind them that hangs down beneath.  

Everything on the little white shelf is stuff I've made.  More pincushions and miniature pillows.  I also made that mini little quilt hanging under the clock.  It's a quilt of a sewing machine.  Oh, and notice the lamp shade on the right.  I made that, too.

These are some miniature quilts that I have made.  I  have thought about selling them, but I would have to ask so much for them that I doubt anyone would buy.  Besides that, they take me so long to make that I hate the though of parting with them.  I'll have to show more on these in a different post.

My mother and I also do counted cross stitching and she made this for me.  Isn't it just perfect?

I made this wreath many years ago, incorporating things I like into it.  It's maybe a little cheesy, but I love how I feel when I look at it.

So that's my cozy little sewing room.  It's not very big, and there's a lot crammed in there, but when I'm in there I just feel like I'm wrapped up in one big comfy quilt.  I hope you enjoyed seeing it as much as I enjoy being in it!

A Mother's Weekend

For me, this past weekend was all about mothers.  Mother's to be, young mothers, old mothers, and grandmothers.  It was all covered.  The baby shower I gave my DIL Melissa was on Saturday and it went very well.  It was a very pink and chocolate day.  The only way it could have been more perfect is if the weather had cooperated.  It was freezing cold and rainy, so we could not use the deck at all.  No big deal, I guess.
I had finished the baby quilt on Thursday night.

I would have liked to hand quilt it, but I just didn't have the time.  Since it is a baby quilt I machine quilted myself.  Anything larger and I send out to be machine quilted.

I had finished knitting the hat and booties about a week or so ago.  I know I showed them already, but here they are again.

Melissa arrived here early Saturday morning and put together our door prize basket.  We had a diaper fund raffle for it.  For every dollar you put into the diaper fund you received a ticket to go into the drawing.  We then drew a number toward the end of the shower and my Aunt Nancy won the basket.

Mom and I spent a whole day making teddy bear lollipops to be given as favors.  I found the teddy bear mold and the makings at a party store.  Mom and I experimented a little, and by the final batch we were mixing it up with different color bows and feet and noses.  They were fun and easy to do.  I arranged them all in a candy dish filled with pink beads so all the sticks would stand up straight.  Each one was tied with a "It's a Girl" curling ribbon.

My DIL Diana gave me a pink hydrangea plant for Mother's Day the day she left for Spokane on Wednesday.  She knew it would match the colors for the shower and it was perfect for on my coffee table.

I had this teddy bear that I had made from an old rabbit fur jacket that I wore years ago.  I sat him next to the hydrangea. 

My mother was great in running errands for me.  Friday night she picked up the two flower arrangements so I could have the tables all set before Saturday morning.  The caterer arrived with the food by 11:30 Saturday morning.  Chicken and egg salad croissant sandwiches, spring salad and a vegetable tray with dip.  As is usual, you worry that there won't be enough food, and as is usual, we had more than enough.   Mom picked up the balloons and the cupcakes by 11:00 Saturday morning.  The tables looked great.

The punch is just Hawaiin punch with Sprite.  I also dipped all the strawberries in chocolate. 

 

I had blush and riesling wine in the decanters set up on the wine cabinet.  About a month ago I discovered a new wine at a local winery called "chocolate covered cherries"!  And that's exactly what it tastes like.  It's like a desert wine or a port.  Mmm! so good.  I set those bottles out with shot glasses.

The gifts Melissa received were all adorable and mostly pink of course.  Melissa looked beautiful in a long pink dress and pink and white vest.  I also wore a pink and white dress with a brown sweater.  No pictures of me, though.  I was too busy to stand still.

We had 25 guests and the day was a success and a lot of fun.  That should be the one, only and last baby shower I will ever have so I'm glad I got the chance to do it.  I have to say, though, that I was extremely exhausted by the time it was over and I still did not feel good.  But it was all worth it!

Baby Shower Ideas?

Thank goodness the blog problems are fixed.  That was just so frustrating yesterday.
Back to the good stuff.
 I've finally had time now to work on baby things.  As I've mentioned, we have two new grandchildren arriving shortly.  Baby girl, Leanna Rene, will be welcomed into our lives around July 11.  Our other baby will be coming in September, but we don't know if we are waiting on a girl or boy yet.  We should know that in the next few weeks.
Leanna's birth date is coming up soon, so I'm going to be giving my DIL a shower on May 8 here at my house.  This will be her third child, but the first two were boys and it's been over four years since the second boy, Landen, was born.  She needs some new pink stuff this time.  And I love pink. 
I got started on the baby quilt that I showed the fabric for last week.  It's coming along better and faster than I expected.  I like to design my own patterns.  I draw it out on graph paper first and make sure I have all the dimensions and measurements correct.  Without a finished colored picture I don't always know what I'm going to get.  I get a picture in my head, but that doesn't always translate into what the finished quilt will look like.  So far so good on this one.

I fussy cut the little teddy bears out of the printed teddy bear fabric.  I'll also use this teddy bear fabric as the border around the quilt.

There will be 12 - 9" squares total.  I now have half the squares completed.  I should have it finished in time for the baby shower.

I want to stick with the color theme of pink and chocolate for the colors and food at the shower.  I'm working on ideas for this.  Strawberries and chocolate brownies.  Or strawberries dipped in chocolate.  Pink fluffy jello salad.   I have some pink dishes - might need more.  I have pink votive candle holders.  I'll have a cute pink and chocolate cake with teddy bears, or maybe individual cupcakes.  If you have any ideas for me I'd love to hear them.  I'm just starting to think and plan on this so I'm very open to ideas.

Things I Need To Do vs. Things I Want To Do.

I'm struggling right now between things I need to and have to do versus things I like to and want to do.  They are not usually one and the same.  Part of the frustration is coming from being so distracted by other life events over the past month that I've gotten behind in all my normal activities under both headings that I'm maybe trying to catch up in everything all at once. 
Under the heading of Things I Like To Do, this is what I've accomplished this week:

I took pictures of a really cute hat I finished knitting while riding in the car and sitting around at  hospitals.  It's knit from sheared mink that was woven into yarn. No minks were killed in making this hat!

No makeup on this day.                                                  

Also took picture of the red tweed fingerless gloves I knit, again while sitting in hospitals, to match the red tweed hat I made.

I've also been working on a set of three mini quilted pillows for  Spring to put in my Etsy shop.

I have two of them listed on Etsy and I hope to get the third one up today.  If you would like to see my shop, please go to:  http://charmingbynina.etsy.com/

That's another thing I've been working on this week:  Getting my Etsy shop organized and some expired listings re-listed and advertising again. 

Last night and this morning I worked on a fun project of exchanging our Florida time share for a time share resort in St. Thomas for the week of December 4-12 of this year.  The daughter of very good friends of ours is getting married there and we have been invited to the wedding.  We are looking forward to this fun event and vacation.  This is where we'll be going.

This will look and feel really good by December.

I also really enjoy working out on my deck and in my yard and gardens.  It's bothering me right now because the snow is gone and the sun is out quite a bit, but everything looks so bare and dirty.  I need to get out there and trim, cut, clean, etc.  This is all on my calendar for the month of April.

Now under the heading of "Things I Don't Mind " is cleaning the house, laundry, ironing, grocery shopping, and cooking.  I'm caught up on all of this except for the ironing.  The only thing I really iron are My Bob's dress shirts.  Every one of them is washed and hanging up, ready to iron.   I really have to get to this.

I Need To:  Get the taxes done, catch up on bookkeeping for My  Bob's financial planning business, set up a new web site for My Bob,  get mailers out for My Bob, well, you get the picture. 

Now that I put it all in writing I sound pretty selfish, don't I?  As Bob says to me, "which of these 'things to do' makes us the money so that you can knit, sew, Etsy, and go on vacations?"  I know, I know.  I'll get to it.

Oh - BTW, I really LOVE blogging about it all!