Christmas 2019 Is In the Book!

Greetings Blog Friends,

After almost 8 months into 2020, I set aside two days last week to work on completing scrapbook pages from Christmas 2019.  Do you realize that in four very short months, we will be celebrating the Holidays once again!?!

These pages have been finished and waiting for photographs since December of last year.  Papers used are from the Close to My Heart Holly Jolly and Cedar and Pine collections.  Here are some of my favorites:

This set of pages is old and has been waiting a long time to see the light of day...since 2014.  I used a 9 x 9 page protector and insert to highlight the great hand made gift tags from my sister-in-law, Bev.  I felt they deserved to be saved and preserved.  I love them!

So, I went through all the photos from our Christmas gatherings and there is not one picture of me!  LOL I was there, tho...the gift tags prove it! 

I'm back to sewing and am hard at work making masks for my grandchildren -- they need them for when school starts in just a couple of weeks.  I'm also working on some quilt finishes, including that special one for my grandson (postponed one week).  The "Dog Days" are pulling at me again, but I'm trying to resist!  More on that next week.

Until next time...

 

Dining in Style

 Dining in Style -- Doggie and Kitty Style, That is!

Greetings Blog Friends!

This week I'm sharing a fun little project to jazz up meal time for our furry friends.  We all know that our pet friends can be messy eaters at times, so how about a placemat to help with that?  

These are a pair of placemats I made for a Christmas gift for a friend of mine.  Both of these feature the patchwork pattern printed on fusible fleece.  Both designs are offered by June Tailor, Inc.  Fabrics are from my stash, some purchased in the past especially for these projects, some leftovers from other projects.  A fat quarter was used as the backing.  Basically, you just line up your fabric to the printed lines on the fleece and sew!  It is a quilt-as-you-go project and by the time you are done adding your fabrics, just add binding and done!

Here's the doggie dogbone placemat.  The center WOOF paw and bones print was used on the back and for the binding.  I accented the seam lines with zig-zag topstitching.

Here's a fishy placemat for the kitty.  I found this several years ago at Antoinette's Quilt Shop in Stevens Point, WI, along with some fat quarters of cat prints.  They have been waiting in the stash for at least three years.  I added some fabrics of my own.  A fish bones print is on the back and the binding is a tone-on-tone white print.  

Both mats required a bias binding, which really behaves exceptionally well around curves.  Size for both is 10" x 18" at the widest points.  These were easy projects to complete.  And, you know how I love to use up the leftovers...I even had enough to make my friend a pillowcase! One Christmas gift completed!

A special quilt finish for a special young man is up for next week's post.  Till then...

Beating the Dog Days

Greetings Blog Friends,

Well, I've tried to follow the suggestions for taming those dog days of summer blahs.  Here is how I did:

Day One.  I started getting enough sleep at night.  No more late nights staring at the same TV shows I've seen many times before.  I assembled an easy scrapbooking kit of just 4 pages, but I like them, very "summery" indeed.  I also sewed my blocks for this week's jolly bar quilt-along and neutralized the ironing basket, consisting mostly of pillowcases.  

Day Two.  I cleaned out one of my fabric cupboards (the one I use all the time).  I needed to..each time I opened the door, something fell out of the lower shelf.  This closet is organized well for the most part, just the lower shelf was a jumble of loose fabrics, patterns and kits shoved in.  Sooner or later, it had to give...and it did...all over the floor.  So, I sorted and planned some quick finish projects to work on.  The sorted fabrics were sent off to the laundry.  Mission accomplished.

Day Three.  Today was a scrapping day.  I all but finished a very large project involving 16 pages to cut and assemble.  These pages are made from Close to My Heart Happiest Place collection, page designs by Susan Williams (Justcrazyblessed.blogspot.com) Add to that, some laundry (all those fabrics!), and some household chores.

Day Four.  Today was another scrapping day.  I finished the big projects and assembled pages for two kits that I had in the queue.  These pages are from Close to My Heart Stitched Together collection, page designer is Kristy Schoon.  I'm reducing the paper stash little by little.  I also wrote a letter to a friend and cleaned up the scrapping mess.  I'm going to switch gears to sewing and work on some of those quick projects.

Day Five.  Today  is a sewing day!  Two pillowcases and a tea towel to hang in my kitchen.  The fabric for the pillowcases is from the Wisconsin Quilt Shop Hop from 2014.  I originally had thought about a Wisconsin quilt, but have decided on another fabric line for that.  I love the postcard and postmark prints.  Now we can always dream of home wherever we and are our pillows are!

I also made myself a facemask from the postmark print.

Day Six.  Another sewing day!   I started working on a couple of Christmas gifts for a friend of mine.  She has a cat and a dog.  Well, anyone who has a pet knows they can be messy eaters (just like children!).  What better and useful gift that a placemat for each...a fish shape for the cat and a bone for the dog.  More on these next post.  How fun!

Day Seven.  Cleaning Day!  Yes, time to clean up the detritus of everyday life.  I usually work for 4-5 hours, but then am rewarded with a nice clean house, for a short time, at least!  

After a week of doing something every day, I can say that I'm feeling less like a lazy dog and more like myself again.  Onward!

Till next time...

The "Dog Days of Summer" ...

Greetings blog friends...

The dog days of summer have definitely set in!  What exactly does that mean, you ask?  Well, according to Wikipedia:

"The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck."  

I don't know about fever, mad dogs and bad luck, but the heat, humidity, thunderstorms and lethargy have set in.  Perhaps it is because I was so incredibly busy and productive in June, perhaps it is because we have been cooped up at home for 4+ months, perhaps it is because we can't go anywhere...I don't know, but they are here.  After making the masks, I have no ambition for anything.

I have sewing projects begging me for attention, but I just don't feel it.  I have letters reminding me everyday that I need to sit down and answer them.  I have paper kits waiting to be made into pages.  But, all I do is daydream and while away the hours doing not much of anything.  

This is very unlike me...I'm usually quite motivated to get things done.  I've got to break out of this funk!  So, I did some research online, took some notes and here's what I came up with:

Beating the Dog Days in 6 Easy Steps:

1.  Do something...anything!  Write a letter, go for a walk around the block, organize a closet.  Any simple task you can do start to finish will boost your mood!

2.  No excuses!  Once you decide on a task or activity, don't talk yourself out of it!  Break up the big jobs into small steps and take them all one at a time!

3.  Take care of you!  Get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated and do some form of exercise every day (at least 25 minutes).

4.  Beware of the downward spiral.  We are creatures of habit.  Even one day of lying on the couch all day can become a habit.  Change things up and do something different every day.

5.  Get off social media.  Most of it is depressing, especially the news.  

6.  Rock your playlist.  Crank up the tunes, sing along, and get up and move to the music!  And, if you groove to the tunes for at least a half hour, you've got #2 covered.  Bonus!

So, I'm going to give it a try, and I'll keep a list and let you know how I did next time.  

Till then....and don't let yourself go to the dogs....days, that is!  LOL

Mask Production Once Again!

Greetings Blog Friends,

I've been busy this past week and have gone back into "Mask Production" mode.  I'm sure you've seen the news that more and more stores now require masks.  Right now I'm concentrating on my three daughters, their husbands (and one sig other).  Several of them are under work or county sanctioned mask orders.  I am waiting to see what the schools will do, then will made enough masks for each grandchild to have one for each school day, plus 1 or 2 extras (you know how kids are at losing things!!  LOL)   

Here are some of the masks so far:

Hmmm...Brewers, Badgers, Packers.  Can you tell what state we live in???

As much as we want it to, Coronavirus is not going away on its own.  I can see us wearing facemasks through the end of the year, maybe into ealy 2021, or until a vaccine is widely available.  I wish that my state of Wisconsin would be more proactive on this issue...we need a mask directive before school starts, or we will find ourselves on lockdown once again.  And no one wants that!!

Till next time...