Off to the doctor I go.....

Sniff.  I give up.  Really.

Two weeks with a sinus headache is just too much.  Hubby suggested I take some benadryl last night so I could sleep and help it ease up if it was allergies.  It helped (sleep is always a wonderful thing), but I woke up still hurting.

So, after school today, I am going to the doctor to see what help he offers.

Sigh.

Baby steps...baby steps

Well, in between out of town guests (love them!) and sick kids (allergies backed up sinuses and now kiddos have infections and ear infections, too), I managed to get a little bit of quilting in.

Thanks to a friend who gave me an older sewing machine that has an awesome straight stitch (but no zig-zag), I am back in business.  The star on the left is machine pieced this evening.  The one on the right is hand pieced.  I love them both.  Right now, I am thinking of keeping the hand pieced block and making a wall hanging out of it.  I love the hand pieced block, but I am afraid that the machine pieced one might stand up to various washings for a baby's use a little better.

But, I absolutely love having both blocks hanging up to view them.  I am using old, discarded, I mean vintage shirting fabrics for these.  It's soft and masculine.  It is the kind of thing that I would have hung up in my kiddo's rooms for years since it isn't  kiddie type fabrics

Now, I have to machine piece three more blocks and borders.  We are taking a break from school right now, so it's a good thing that I have suddenly been gifted with a machine.  God is SO good to me!

Port-a-bil-ity!

I am fortunate to own a copy of Jinny Beyer's book, Quiltmaking By Hand.  I had purchased it quite a while back when I was looking for ideas on hand quilting designs.  I never really anticipated needing to learn to sew by hand.  But, I digress...

When I looked at the information in the book on hand piecing (great photos, by the way), I realized that I would need to keep a few supplies together so that I could work anywhere.  Here are the contents of my new portable sewing kit that I made up.  It includes, a mini tape measure, sharp scissors, a rubber coated thimble, YLI Select hand quilting thread in white (needle stuck in top for photo), needle compact (that I will refill), needle threader, and about 8 straight pins.  Now, I just needed a way to keep it all together.

 This is what I came up with (after a little research and trial and error).  It is a Tupperware Sandwich Keeper. It has a strong closure (so I won't lose my stuff) and the lid is hinged (so I can't lose it either).  There is a rather large image of the Pokemon named Jigglypuff on the front.  I pulled this out of the back of my cabinet.  Hey, if I had something that worked, I surely wasn't going to spend money on it.  Yes, I know that I am weird.  But, no one will accidentally confuse their kit with mine, I am certain of that!

Here it is, all set up in working order.  There are two strong magnets hot glued to the lid.  One holds my needle that I am currently using so that it won't get lost in the contents.  The other holds my few straight pins.  Hubby kept the magnets out of an old cell phone case.  They are really strong to be so small.  Hubby scratched up the lid a bit so that my glue would make a good bond with the magnets.

It is the size of a, well, a sandwich actually to carry around.  I keep my current block in progress in a ziplock type (but cheaper) plastic bag to keep all of my pieces together.  I can throw it in my purse, or a tote bag.

It's pretty convenient.  Today, I sewed two seams while waiting for DS14 in the orthodontist's office.  He popped a bracket off and we needed to get it fixed.  I also stitched a bit while the kids were working during homeschool time.  I imagine that if I get a used to carrying this around, I will find lots of small amounts of time where I can do a bit.  Sounds like it could add up to some serious progress to me!

A Small Victory....

 Yep.  Here she is.  The official, first ever, hand pieced block by moi!  It wasn't pressed, just completed while we were homeschooling today.  I took it outside (we homeschool with a friend's son and we use their basement) and took this photo while the sun was shining.  I used thrifted, er, I mean vintage men's shirting fabrics. Let's just say that the new local Goodwill has been very good to me.  So has my hubby, my sons, and various family members who gave me their worn out shirts.  But, I have still had to purchase a couple on half price sale (a whopping $2.20)  to get the colors that I need for various and sundry projects.

 The center blue is a tiny blue and white check, the star points are navy with various blue stripes, and the back ground is a pale blue and yellow windowpane on white.  This is the first block in the baby quilt that I am beginning for a very dear friend.  I am so excited for her as I know that she will be an awesome mom!

Here is the truth of the situation.....the back of the block.  This is where all mistakes will show up.  If you look closely you will discover that I am NOT a very good seamstress by hand.  But, that part will be hidden and more importantly, this star has POINTS, yes, real points.

I have impressed myself to no end!  LOL!

Ragweed, ACK!!!

Apparently, from the stands of yellow flowers I see growing everywhere, ragweed is in full bloom around here.

Lucky me.

Judging from the fact that my entire brood (self included) is coughing, hacking, sinus headache-y, and tremendous mucous making machines, that we are officially allergic.

Yay.

A block to remember

Well, it will be when I get it sewed together!  I have cut out the first of the four Sawtooth Star blocks for the baby quilt in progress.   I have put together a little, portable sewing kit to take this project on the road.  Lately, I find that I may get more done if I can do a seam here or there while the kids are working on school work or while waiting for kiddos at the orthodontist, etc.

It's four blocks, so I don't see this as being an astronomical time hog.  Now, if I were doing a couple of hundred Drunkard's Path blocks or something, I can see hand piecing as really slowing things down, but just four blocks doesn't seem to be so daunting.

I will try to take a few pics tomorrow (when the light is better) of my little sewing kit and (with luck) my block.  Then I will have to cut out another one!  I am afraid that I will have to purchase another tan shirt or two in order to make this work.  I hate to buy more, but I want this to be really super-cute!

I have never really done many star blocks before and I always have a hard time lining up the star points.  I am hoping that hand piecing will allow me to make it look really nice.

A little bit of progress

Well, if my computer and blogger could agree how to proceed with a photo, this is where I would show you some vintage sheet charm squares (from my swap) that I hand pieced into pairs last night.

I have to admit that it went better than expected.  I am still trying to figure out which of my thimbles work best for this.  My good thimble (Roxanne) doesn't seem to work well for this, but it is a dream when I am hand quilting.

I pinned up a bunch more squares to practice on.  I will start joining them into 4 patches when I get them all done.  I figure that I can't do much of anything yet on a "real" project until a) payday comes  (I need straw needles and maybe some 1/4 inch tape) and b) I know if I can pull this off well enough to even bother with something that is for a gift.

So, I will keep on with it.  It isn't difficult so far and I enjoy having some hand work to do when I am just sitting.  At best, I will eventually have a vintage sheet quilt for summertime.  Love that idea.  At worst, I will have a wall hanging for spring and summer for view when you enter my front door.

If I can get photos to post later, I will.