Tuesday, February 26, 2013

It’s All About Me


First of all, welcome to all my guests.   Thank you for stopping by.   In trying to be a good hostess,  I am sharing my most favorite cookie recipe (courtesy of creationsbykara.com )   Is it rude to ask you to bake them yourself?  I am going to try that the next time I invite people to my house. 

62b1ed939b6e073cab5e2f364fd42a05[1]

http://www.creationsbykara.com/2010/12/maraschino-cherry-bars.html

Now, enough nice stuff – this is all about me.  I have hinted that I was working on my Blog Hop Challenge – It’s all about me.  Here are my efforts unveiled!
all about me challenge (7)

This is a great little pattern by Amy Bradley, and as always, she has incorporated her amazing sense of humor to this pattern.  I like the way the block turned out – it’s a bit scary, but I think she actually looks like me. 

I was trying to decide how best to show off this lovely lady –  and decided the best thing is for her to accompany me to the fabric store.  This way I know she will get out a lot.  So I found this shopping tote pattern in my book – One Yard Wonders.   This is a a good go-to book when you want to whip up something out of your stash.  This tote pattern is for a collapsible bag that you can keep in your purse, ready for any unplanned  fabric grocery shopping..   The photo in the book showed a baguette, I immediately thought “yardage”.    I think I can actually fit a bolt in here
.  
The handles look a little funky in the picture because I wanted to showcase the block, but they do function nicely.  

Have a great week – and thanks for stopping by. 

Eunice

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people”. Victor Borge

Monday, February 25, 2013

I’ve been remiss…


The nerve of some people.  Just because they send you a check, they automatically think you should come to the office and do your job.  I mean, really.  

So what that means is - yes I have been working very hard lately so have been a bit remiss in my blogging duties.  I babysit  manage a large team of childish professional people who can’t seem to do their jobs without whining.  Wait – do I detect a note of whimpering, she asks?  Ok, Ok, I’ll move on.   I just wanted you to know that I have not be lying on the beach sipping Mai Tai’s.  (Which is a scary thought in itself.)

I have been sewing – basically trying to cram 9,000 hours of projects into 12 hours of available weekend time.  I think I will be finished in about 2192.   I am formally announcing that my great, great grandchildren will receive fabric as their inheritance.

So, exactly what have I been working on? 

First, I bought some fabulous Dear Stella fabric for this month’s Jane Sassaman Challenge.  

Dear Stella Fabric

The monthly challenge is to use a recipe from Jane’s book to combine prints into an amazing quilt. 

Our challenge this month was to follow the Ocean Waves Pattern.  This was a challenge for me (my 3rd quilt top) because of all the points that had to be aligned. I opted for using a lot of solids, because at some point, I will actually QUILT something, and thought this will be a good place to start. 
Plus, I really like the peek-a-boo effect of the prints in the corners. 

 Sassaman Challenge 2a
 
Jane will be posting all the entries later today – check them all out on her site HERE 

And check out her scrumptious fabrics – nothing says spring like Jane's amazing prints.


Secondly,  I am also participating in the All About Me Blog hop being hosted by those wonderful ladies over at Sewwequilt.  As always they are doing a magnificent job of cheering us on.  If you'd like to see all the enties in one swell foop (Ha!)  check out the pinterest site:  

http://pinterest.com/mdmsamm/it-s-all-about-me-blog-hop/


Which brings me to my inaugural posting for (drum roll, please) AHA MOMENT OF THE WEEK WEEK Week (that’s an echo)

Lesson #1  When something doesn’t look right, stitching over it 27 times, does NOT improve it.  What it does give you is a 2” thick lumpy mess of stitches that were obviously repeated 27 times.  Honey, you ain’t foolin’ no one.  This one was too far gone  even for Jack, my trusty ripper.  It is now hanging on my – “When you only have 12 hours to sew, don’t spend 9 of them restitching the same thing”  wall.  I did not accomplish much that day.

Restititching

Have you had an aha moment recently? Share – c’mon no need to be shy.  Smile
Have a great week!

Eunice



“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people”. Victor Borge

Sunday, February 3, 2013

What’s O’Reilly doing in the Murphy Bed?


I have exciting news – THE MURPHY BED is installed!!!!!  For those of you who don’t know exactly what a Murphy Bed is, here is a quick tutorial.  (I’m not sure if it’s the same guy who made all the laws, but his bed is kind of neat.)



Why a Murphy bed, you ask?  Well, basically I had a choice - guest room or sewing room.  Hmmmm……guests = 2 weeks a year, maybe.  Sewing = 2 1/2 weeks a year   Winner (ding, ding, ding) = Sewing.  Because, after all, it IS all about me. 

Was a compromise possible?  In the spirit of good hostessing  I reviewed:

Sleeper Sofa
Futon
Air Bed, Day Bed, Dog Bed (x-large of course)


Pretty much anything that would allow me to use all of that queen-size space space in the middle of the room.  Waaaay to big to be just a cat lounger.
2012-12-24 09.59.36
Space Hog
And as tempting as it was to use comfort, or lack thereof, as a way to control use of the guest room,  I really wanted my Mom to sleep in a real bed.   So,  I begged, pleaded and cajoled, and Kenman the Magnificent built me a Murphy Bed.   So here it is:


2012-12-25 12.38.22
Closed (Makes a great design wall)
2012-12-25 12.56.37
Open
When guests arrive, I merely put my folding table away, and the room becomes a queen size bedded bedroom again.  

The room is actually quite large - this is one corner, so my sewing machines all have good hidey nooks as well. 

Pay no attention to the Rose Colored Carpet – it’s those funny glasses you have on.  And Kenman the Mag, is at the hardwood floor store as we speak…
I'll keep you posted on the progress.  
 
Happy Sewing!
 
Eunice
 
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people”. Victor Borge