Why I am not finishing anything...

I just seem to be flitting from project to project with little rhyme or reason.  I'll show you what I mean, lol.

Today was my 3rd sock knitting class, I actually TURNED THE FLIPPIN HEEL!!!! I have heard that term so many times, and now I not only know what it means, I can do it. See??

Now to do the darned gusset...Knitting socks was my first goal for retirement. So far so good.

I am participating in the Block Lotto (see sidebar) this year with the great hopes of finally winning once, lol. So, this is what I've been working on also, but until February 1st the blocks are a secret!!! So I can't show you all of my mess. But you can see a small pile of my scraps that I'm using for the blocks.

I bought fabric to make this quilt some time ago and work at piecing it in between other things. It is yellow and grey and Kona snow.

And last, I am in the process of piecing a back:

So I can get this quilt top on the frame.

It's from a jar swap, and I put them on shelves in a cupboard. Soon I hope it will be getting quilted.

So, at some point I should be finishing all these things at the same time, right??

Later,
WilmaNC

Mugrugs

Now don't you just love the mugrugs? They are so cute and fast and fun! I sometimes use old orphan blocks I have laying around. Just make a little quilted block, then trim it up and bind it. I have had non-quilters thank me for the little piece of art that I gave them.

I have a friend, Melanie,  who went back to school for her BSN, and graduated with a 4.0. We had a little get together for her at, of all places, the Fun Depot. We played lazer tag and rode the bumper cars and the go carts. Even took a turn in the batting cages. ( Man, I use to be such a good ball player....)

Anyway, I found a mug I wanted to give her, and I just had to make a mugrug to match. (The rug is a bit wrinkled as I had it all rolled up in the mug before I remembered to take a picture.)

She liked it. (The mug says: "A good friend knows how you take your coffee. A GREAT friend adds booze!!)

Today I'm hoping to get a quilt on the frame. I have been itching to run the old Juki and try some new freemo patterns.

Enjoy the weekend.

Wilma NC

My Pretties

Have I said how much I like retirement?? Oh, I have?? Just wanted to make sure you knew, lol.

Had a nice birthday yesterday. We celebrated on Friday cause Dave had to work the weekend, but my sister, Roma, came over and brought me a little cake and a nice book called Word Play Quilts. Then I had a good outside walk and worked on some table runners. So it was a good day, especially since the sun was shining.

I pieced the July table runner from Cotton Way (it's from an older pattern series), which came out very nice. On Friday I had finished piecing the June runner, so now both need quilting. Then all I have left is the one for August and I am done with all 12!!! I love changing things monthly.

Here's June:

And July:

A couple of weeks ago I helped do inventory for Marti's Patchwork Cottage (her site is under construction) in Black Mountain. She paid me in store credit, which is FINE by me!! I went during her big sale and this is the fabric I got:

I just love it all. I don't usually like hearts but this fabric:

reminded me of a heart attack!! What do you think? Morbid?? I just couldn't pass it up.

Today I think I might try to get a quilt on the frame. I have several to do, might as well get busy.

Hope you all have a great day. And I hope the sun shines wherever you are!!

WilmaNC

Sun!!!

I'm sick of winter and needed a little sunshine on my blog!! After all it is my birthday.....

wilmaNC

Useful Bargains

The snow finally let up yesterday and the sun came out and melted off the roads, though I don't know how cause it only got up to 29 degrees. But, it did allow us to go out for a bit. Most people did not clean their sidewalks, so Dave and I decided to walk at the mall just so we could walk normally and be without 6 layers of clothing. We start our walk from Sears ( I think Dave likes to start there because there is a bathroom , lol). We walked about 50 feet and saw the after Christmas sale on decorations, 90% off!!! We just had to look. I found these:

I had noticed them at Christmas but didn't think they looked like Christmas ornaments. They were $2.99 each, sale price: 29 cents!! They are made of felt with a really nice button. Thought they would make a nice embellishment for something. We also got a tree topper that was $14.99 for a whopping $1.49. I felt like a shopping diva.

At Christmas, Dave and I each got ourselves an iPod Touch, but we still wanted to get each other something to open on Christmas Day. So we made a $5.00 limit. (I might have mentioned this before.) He got me $5.00 worth of lottery tickets, and I got him this from Harbor Freight:

It's the long handled thing leaning on the wall. The little round end is a magnet that will pick up 25 pounds!! Well, I found a use for it quickly. I drop my needles and pins all the time, and they invariably go under the love seat. I take this little wand and sweep under there, and it picks them all up!! And I don't have to get on the floor. So it will stay right there. And it was on sale for $4.99!!

Don't you love bargains??

Later,
WilmaNC

I won!

I finally won a giveaway!! I won this:

from Paula's Sewing Challenges. I am so excited!!


WilmaNC

Paula's Sewing Challenge

Paula of Paula's Sewing Challenges  is hosting a bi-weekly sewing challenge with great prizes. Hop on over and check it out.

This week calls for your favorite quilt that you made. One of mine is my Lighthouse wallhanging. I love the NC lighthouses and found this pattern. It was small, so I just made it bigger .

Since you can enter 2 per week, my second entry is my Geese Quilt. I love this one too. It is huge.

This sounds fun. Thanks for hosting these challenges Paula.

WilmaNC

Device Carrier Tutorial

I posted a picture of a little impromptu carrier I made for my iPod, and Gari asked me if I was going to do a tutorial. So, I am going to give it a go.

First cut 2 pieces of fabric and use some scrap batting to make a sandwich and quilt as desired. I just used straight lines.

Trim sandwich, and sew binding to top and bottom. I used single binding and turned to other side and top stitched.

Trim binding even with sides.

Lay device on sandwich and pull up edge to just cover top of device.

My iPod is sticking up a bit just to show you.

Turn to opposite side and sew up sides almost to top of pocket. (to sew on strap binding.) I forgot to do this and had to remove a bit of stitching to apply rest of binding.

Turn right side out.

Draw lines where you want your handle to be and cut the shape. The more gradual the curve, the easier it is to apply the binding.

Sew binding to curved sides of handle. This is where I had to snip some stitches...

Now go back and sew the open part at the top of the sides.

Turn right sides out. Almost finished.

Fold top down to just above opening and stitch securely. If you don't want the sewing line on the back, you could make your handle a little longer and secure with a button or snap.

And there you have it.

An Ipod (or iPhone) carrier to hook to your belt.

I hope this is clear. I think you can get the basics of what I am trying to say, but if there are any questions...

Later,
Wilma NC

iPod Touch Carrier

Dave and I both recently got iPod Touches for our birthdays. He is the non-computer user of the house, so I was surprised when he said he wanted one. But hey, anything to keep him amused while I'm sewing, lol. For the first day he had it, he was quiet as a mouse trying to learn how to navigate the web, but then he found Facetime, and now if he wants me in the house, he uses that to call me. (Facetime is really cool, I got to see my little great granddaughter in Minnesota brush her teeth yesterday!!)

On the second day he downloaded about a third of our music CDs onto his iPod, then was wondering how he would carry it when he goes fishing. He was afraid that if he put it in his pocket and bent over to get that 10 pound fish (yeah right!!) off of his hook, it would fall out. So what does the husband of a quilter do?? He asked me to make him something to carry on his belt. I did my best.

When I first started doing free motion quilting I practiced on a big sandwich doing meander. I couldn't make myself throw if away, as I knew that someday I would have a use for it.So I took it out and traced a pattern for a carrier with a loop for over a belt. It really works well. I planned to do another that is finished much more nicely, but he wanted the original one, and who am I to argue. This is what he got.

I wanted to make one that would be bound and have a snap or velcro closure, but he loved this one. ( He thinks I'm so smart now, lol.). But it will work. He said he will put the iPod in upside down so that the wires for his headphones come out the top and he will be set.

I only hope he doesn't look around on the web and find one that is finished perfectly and compare it to my practice carrier.

Later,
WilmaNC

Lions and Tigers and Bears!!!! Oh My!!

Had quite a start the other day. I decided to make some applesauce , and when Dave went to take the apple peelings to the compost bin, look what we found. Big old tracks across the driveway, and out compost bins are broken to smithereens. Think it was a bear?? He walked through our garden to get all the mud.

 Man!!! He tore up the compost sides and even broke some of the boards.

No more composting for us, lol. 

I've been sewing on some blocks for the Block Lotto. I hadn't joined in for quite some time, but figured since I'm retired I might as well. They are always fun.

Getting 3 more Solatubes put in today. Finally this place will not look like evening all the time. These things are the cat's meow. :^)

Now to remove a binding that I screwed up. I tried sewing it from the back and top stitching it down on the front, but I don't like the look, so I'm going to do it over.

I went to my first sock knitting class yesterday. I doing the socks made using 

4 double pointed needles. I got a good start, and after an hour and a half, and 

making only 6 rounds, I found that I had lost 3 stitches. I asked the teacher 

what to do. She looked at me and smiled while others were snickering, then 

she pulled it all out!!!! And then she proceeded to replace what I had 

done in about 7 minutes, all while she was talking to others, lol. The 

ladies there say she just loves to undo mistakes. The teacher is from 

England and is a real hoot. 

Only 5 more classes to go and I will be able to knit socks, I hope!!!

Later,

WilmaNC

My Anniversary is Today

Wedding Anniversary that is. I have been married to a wonderful man for 38 years now. We only knew each other for 18 days when we got married, it was obviously love at first sight. We are so lucky to have found each other for sure. Here is a picture of us a couple of weeks after we got married. (My daughter is from a previous marriage that only lasted a minute, so it doesn't count, lol. )

And here is a more recent picture.

Just a little bit different, lol.

Anyway, we hope to make it to our 50th  one day.

Happy Anniversary Dave. To celebrate we are going to go on a winter hike, then go to eat some ribs at the Fiddlin Pig . Yum.

Later,
WilmaNC

First Finish for 2011

I finished up this Patchabilities wall hanging yesterday just in time to change all of the stuff to the January motif in our TV room. I think I might keep track this year to see how many things I do in my first year of retirement. Ahhhh, I love that word.

I love that little hanger. I usually bought the ones with the wooden dowel, but I found these for about 2 bucks a piece, so I grabbed some. Then I took wire cutters and made a snip in the middle so I could slide the hangings on. Way cheaper, and I think it looks great.

Later,
WilmaNC

Happy New Year

     A Happy New Year to all of my friends here 

 in blogland.

   WilmaNC