Making Christmas Gifts

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We enjoyed spending time with family and friends. The weather was beautiful and warm which made the day even better. I only had to work a little bit and enjoyed having some days off at home. I cleaned out my sewing room, caught up on my blocks for my hoopsisters group and shopped.... alot!
I am now working on some small Christmas gifts and am trying my hand and embossing on towels. Once I got the different stabilizers surrounding my towel and loaded my design, it was pretty easy. This was my practice towel I got all the embroidery done in about a half hour. Happy Sewing! Carole

At My AGE... I Need Glasses

I have not had much time to sew this week due to problems at the office. I could not sleep Thursday night much and was able give the above T-shirt some ART. I put the design together a month or so ago after our last cruise. I saw something done in rhinestones with this saying. The "glasses" in this design are done by Bunnycup out of Australia in her Happy Hour collection. I knew they would come in handy at some point. Christina (my sewing partner in sewing and shopping) came over yesterday and we got a good start working on our Hoopsisters project. Some of the points were extremely difficult, but we figured it out and will try to catch up with the rest of the class by December 4th. Hockey tonight. Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Saga.... Just for fun!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Here is the block by block play. Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Blocks 9-10

Winter Friends is completed and has been a VERY fun picture quilt to do. Anita Goodesigns does a fabulous job at creating these patterns and I can hardly wait to do another. But I must catch up with my Hoopsisters block of the month club first. I need to catch up before the next class on December 4th. This will keep me busy for awhile. I hope you have enjoyed this project! Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Block 8

Block 8 is done and I did not find any new errors, thank goodness! I'm already thinking of a few new colors for the next set of blocks. I am going to catch up on another project in between, but will definitely be doing at least one more of these in my "spare" time. Jerry's mom did just great for surgery #1 yesterday and next Friday I will take her for the 2nd one. I'm going to slip in and get a few labels done before the next block goes on the machine. Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Block 7---OOOPS!

I really feel like I'm on the home stretch and as I finished block 7 and placed it on my design wall to add to the other blocks, I noticed an error in the stripe on the first snowman's coat. I did not catch it in block 6 because block 6 does not touch together with block 2. In block 2 the directions call for an orange color for the coat stripe which I did, but in blocks 6 and 7 that same stripe calls for a tan color. So when I put them together, the bottom rows matched fine, but not with the first row. Not wanting to have to re-do anything, I went to my scrapbook supplies and found an orange sharpie and just colored the tan stripe to match the orange. It did a pretty good job and I don't think anyone will notice it too much. So those of my friends that do this design, beware!! I am on track to finish this weekend if all goes well today with Jerry's mom! Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Block 6

It is always fun to start a new row of blocks. In this case the final row, so it feels like the home stretch. This row will place the "bottoms" of the snowmen and some animals at their feet. They are standing in snow and I am using white flannel fabric for this. I may attempt to finish up this weekend, but I have to see how things go tomorrow. Jerry's mom, Joyce is having the first of 4-6 surgeries beginning on Friday. They are all outpatient, but not sure how much time all this can take. Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Block 5

Block 5 is done and I am officially half way to completion. I may get this done sooner than I thought and if I can figure out a way while all the threads are sorted, I may have to do a second one for a gift. I do have a few other projects that need my attention, so I won't decide until I finish. So, here is the first row. Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Block 4

Block 4 was a fun one to do. This snowman is complete with a hat and birds nest on his head. So much great detail. I am anxious to complete the row with block 5. I usually hate to stop in the middle of a block, fearful of finding my way back to the exact spot I was when I left it, but I have learned on my new Viking Diamond that with the touch of one little icon, the machine goes right to where I left off. Now that I can trust it, I will be able to get a few stitches in before I leave for the office. Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Block 3

Block 3 is done and again the detail that Anita Goodesigns adds to their patterns is remarkable. I tried to stay a step ahead of myself by stabilizing the different fabrics for the hat, dog and scarf. I know I'm going to have to do two of these now that I know how nice they sew out. I love the size of this one. I am using one of my larger hoops 260X200. Wish I could stay home from work today to do a few extra blocks...... but I better be off before the sun comes up. Happy Sewing! Carole

Winter Friends Block 2

Winter Friends block 2 is done and it took forever. Just under 50,000 stitches along with the applique, it took me almost 4 hours to complete. The detail is amazing and I really enjoyed watching it come together. I will have to make a quick thread run as one of the colors is using way more than I anticipated. I should be able to get through the 3rd block with what I have, but after that it is doubtful. It just goes to show you that even when you really plan out the blocks that you can come up short. Just my luck! Happy Sewing!! Carole

Winter Friends Block 1

Block 1 of Winter Friends is done. Finding just the right background fabric was difficult. I bought two different fabrics thinking they were the "right" one and then my friend Christina and I were looking for some fabric, for yet another project when we stumbled upon the absolute perfect fabric, complete with a little sparkle. Funny how that happens. I was so ready to get busy, but had to take several hours to stabilize everything. I'm using my 260x200 hoop to make the blocks the largest size. This tile scene is split in to 10 blocks. I'm shooting to complete in 2 weeks. Wish me luck! Happy Sewing!!! Carole

My Latest Project-WINTER FRIENDS

I am addicted to the tile scenes that Anita Goodesign has been creating and when this months design came out, I could not resist trying to put everything together to get it done. I've always been very fond of snowpeople designs!! I said I would not be doing any more Christmas themes, so I am calling this more of the "Winter" edition. I will be able to display it through January. I still have some fabrics to gather, but my threads have been sorted and converted. I will post my progress with each block so you can see how these wonderful "picture quilts" develop. Happy Sewing! Carole

Santa's Visit Picture Quilt ALL DONE!

When I left for my vacation 2 weeks ago, Santa's Visit was just in need of being put together. Once I got back from our trip, I had to play catch up at the office, catch up with the grandkids and then came down with the Swine Flu. This really cut in to my sewing time to say the least. I am recovered and got some energy over the weekend to complete my latest picture quilt. I still need to do a label, but that will be easy. I got a call today from 35th Ave and the November Anita Goodesigns are in. If you have not seen the newest picture quilt available, it is worth a peek, especially if you like snowmen. It may have to be another one to do before Christmas as it is VERY Cute. Happy Sewing! Carole