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Post by choney2 on Feb 27, 2023 10:53:52 GMT
Good morning and Happy Monday!
All crafters are welcome here as we discuss crafting, life and our weight loss journey. Crafting includes actual hands on crafting, such as crochetting, knitting, sewing, quilting, needlepoint, painting, jewelry making, etc.....plus reading craft catalogs, craft blogs, watching craft you tubes or other crafting videos, chatting here about crafting,chatting with another person about crafting, reading craft emails, thinking about crafting, organizing crafting supplies, going into craft stores or the craft aisle in a store , attending craft fairs,or any other activity that inspires or directs your mind toward a crafting activity- even visiting us here to join in our posts!! There are plenty of days in which the closest we get to crafting is a visit here, so even if you have no time to craft, we would love to hear from you. We welcome newcomers to our friendly discussion! So glad you are here!! Please feel free to stop in and say hello!!
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Post by choney2 on Feb 27, 2023 11:07:47 GMT
“just another Manic Monday”….. ( cute and silly song…)
CJ -glad you got some quilting done. The stitch length and consistency is a real problem and takes a lot of work to get right. Jane said that the mid arm machine she just bought (used) seems to eliminate that problem but for you and me? Well, not so sure either of us wants to spend $5000 on a nice machine that eliminates that problem. I think that is a great idea to have that quilt done on a long arm professionally. If you have issues getting to a store for that, Missouri did an excellent job on my grandsons quilt and I highly recommend them. Glad you are going to avoid the snow…
Ruth, glad you are pretty sure you are able to screen shot that pattern! I am happy to snail mail a copy to you, can get it in the mail tomorrow. I was curious to see if that pattern would interest you. Glad you checked in last night and saw the pattern.
The quilt shop I have been visiting does 3 yard precuts for the fabric cafe quilts. (Jane just bought one the other day). I cannot say I would have picked out those 3 fabrics on my own, but I knew they would match my bedroom. Then once I got the fabrics home and kept looking at them, (and did some redecorating ) I realized that perhaps the living room was the perfect room.
Pretty much done with the cold- thank you Lord, but now Ds has it.
Off to make the donuts.
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Post by cj59 on Feb 27, 2023 19:12:06 GMT
Hello Everyone - Hope you are all doing well today Ginny - Hope the donut making went well and you enjoyed listening to some "Bangles" tunes I hope if you get snow it isn't too bad and you and DS will be alright. You're right, I'm not spending that much money on a sewing machine. My little $200 machine works just fine for me. Ruth - I bet those little socks are so cute. I'm attaching a picture of the baby blanket I want you to finish for me. I figure you could get it done in day or two. Just kidding, but I sure would like to get this one done someday. I went out this morning to run errands and get some groceries. It's working out pretty well just getting groceries every two weeks, so I hope I can keep that up. Sure were lots of people on the road though. I've lost a lot of my tolerance for driving now that I stay home so much. When I got home I was able to finish putting the quilt top together. This was a really quick design. I just used the look of the 3 Yard Quilt pattern "City Lights" but made up my own measurements. I don't have enough fabric for a border but I have some of the dark green fabric that I'll use as binding. I probably could quilt this one myself, so who knows maybe I will someday. I wish the colors of the fabrics showed up better, they are a lot prettier in person. The floral and orange/peach fabric I've had since 2009 and I'm happy they finally made it into a quilt top. Next up is figuring out some fabrics for the Pat Sloan Block a Day for March. The block is the same as the one in my quilt with the green and orange squares. It goes together really quickly so I'd like to participate in this if I can. Take care and have a good day!
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Post by choney2 on Feb 28, 2023 0:24:35 GMT
CJ- you are so right, Ruth could finish that baby afghan in a day. It’s very pretty, the work on it that you have done- and perhaps someday you will finish it. Funny how colors just do not necessarily seem to come through well using post images, or in my case it’s also the lighting in the room where I am taking pictures. The floral and orange- peach fabric are so pretty, nice and cheery for spring. I like that quilt top, it came out very well- the combination of fabrics and the pattern you selected is very very nice. Glad you got some errands done. And got to the grocery store. I wonder if you chose not to shop on Monday or Friday if that would help. Anyway, glad you are done with grocery stores for 2 weeks and I am glad that is working out for you.
DGS#1 stayed home sick today, he was not feeling well. So I had him and his younger brother and sister, DD#2 came over to visit and brought DGS#3. So it was a very busy day, but fun.. I am glad to be home however, and the snow is starting to fall. A locally based weather man is predicting that all schools will be closed tomorrow, but none have declared to close yet. So I will have to get up early tomorrow am and see if Dd need me to watch anyone.
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Post by gramma15 on Feb 28, 2023 3:03:27 GMT
CJ, bring the blanket and yarn right over and I'll finish it tonight for you. The yarn you're using, or did use I should say, is very nice. The blocks you posted above are very pretty. They probably aren't my favorites of all you've posted but they still are pretty and nicely made. I, too, went out today and did errands and a little shopping. I'm glad you got out and back home safely Ginny, I hope you don't get too much snow and it sure would be nice if they decided about school closure today for tomorrow morning so you wouldn't have to get up so early. And I'm glad that your ds has tomorrow off so that he doesn't have to drive in it. I'll be praying for his safety just in case. I hope the little one that is sick is well soon and that none of his siblings nor cousin get whatever he has. I did get the second bootie done for the pair. Of course I now have 3 booties so hopefully some time I can make one that turns out to match that extra one in size. I didn't get to the bonnet. I'm going to do it and a pair of scratch mitts to complete the set. I don't have enough of the same yarn to make a blanket that really matches. Then I think I'm going to start a gingham blanket. I never did get the last one I started more than about one or two rows before another project called my name.
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Post by choney2 on Feb 28, 2023 12:45:57 GMT
Good morning! Ruth, glad to learn that you got the second bootie done. The scratch mitts- are they to keep a little one from inadvertently scratching themselves? Think you have been plenty busy making booties! Yes, it must be a challenge to make a second bootie that is very close to the first one in size. Will the bonnet be the same yarn as the booties and mitts? So cute and sweet to make a matching ensemble. Have fun making the gingham afghan! Sounds pretty but also a fair amount of work with the color changes.
Think we got about 7 inches of snow. Schools did close, but I still had to get up this am and pretend that I was heading to DD’s to babysit. My town closed schools…but I had to go online to find out that DD’s district did close. Just a little bit frustrating- a call or text would have been appreciated.
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Post by cj59 on Feb 28, 2023 22:11:11 GMT
Hello Hope you are doing well today and having nice weather. We had a sunny day in the 60s here, nice weather for the last day of February. Ruth - I'm glad you were able get your errands done safely. I hope you can make another bootie that matches the 3rd one. I'd love to see your gingham blanket, I hope you make it. I'll bring my baby blanket to you in about 4-5 days, since I tell everyone that I never plan to fly again - so it would be driving for me I'll have to post some pictures of a few other projects I need you to work on for me Ginny - I'm sorry you had to get up early when you didn't need to. I hope you are able to stay in today and that you don't have any problems from the snow. Have you started on your 3 yard quilt yet? It's interesting you mentioned about deciding on schools closing for bad weather. When my father was a Transportation Supervisor for the County Board of Education one of his jobs was to get up and on the road around 4:00 A.M. whenever it was snowing or icy to determine if the roads were safe for the buses to drive on. Fortunately around here the bad weather didn't happen that often, but I remember him getting up and going out early to check the roads. I started working on the next Pat Sloan block for the Holiday Hoopla quilt along. It's a pretty 4 heart block and pretty easy to make. I hope to finish it up by tomorrow. I also cut up fabrics for two versions of the March Block A Day quilt along that starts tomorrow and I'm pretty happy with how they look. My plan is to use one set of the fabrics to make the full quilt, which is 48.5x48.5 inches. The other set I'm going to use for a table runner, so I'll just do one row (there are 3 rows in this quilt) of the blocks for that. Then I might pick some more fabrics and make another table runner in the second part of the quilt along and another set for the third part of the quilt along. I'd get a quilt top and 3 table runners pieced by the end of the month Take care
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Post by gramma15 on Feb 28, 2023 23:31:59 GMT
Ginny,sorry you got so much snow. I hope you were able to get your driveway cleared. I'm sorry you ended up getting up early and still didn't know that the schools in your dd's district were closed. A text would have taken only a minute to send to you. So what do you have planned for your unexpected day off. Ok, CJ, we'll be looking for you in a few days. The plans you have for March sound very good.And I can't wait to see the four heart blocks. It sounds like your father had a hazardous job having to get up so early to drive on terrible roads in order to let the schools know whether or not to close school for the day. I did work on the bonnet last evening and now just have to crochet on the rows of ruffle then sew (or slip stitch) the sides together and pull the back closed. Today I did a little cooking, cleaned the kitchen and played in my yarn a little.Now it's crochet time.
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Post by choney2 on Feb 28, 2023 23:34:05 GMT
CJ- as always, it sounds like you had a very productive day of quilting. That is awesome that you were able to get set up for the 4 heart block. It sure does sound like you are on target to get that completed tomorrow. It’s impressive that you have good fabrics to use for two different color ways of the March block quilt along and it’s a really nice plan that you have to make a quilt and 3 table runners. That ought to keep you busy through the month of March. How neat that your Dad was transportation supervisor for the county BOE. It is a very stressful job and honestly no one is ever happy with the decision to close schools or keep them open. 4 transportation directors ago - the director was a dear friend of mine. He used to drive across the county to arrive in my town at 2 am- and then drive all the bad roads in the district around 4 am. (The other earlier time was so he could evaluate the condition of the buses and if they would start). It’s not an easy job, although sometimes it looks easy.
So I did shovel some snow- not an awful lot, but the rear door and the deck are clear now. Got the car cleared off too. Did a load of laundry….and I stared at my fabric and the pattern for awhile. My pattern is part of a book from Fabric cafe which probably has 7 other patterns. Went back and forth if I would change patterns…finally decided to stick with the pattern I originally selected. My fabric is pressed and I started cutting pieces. they suggest putting each series of cuts in zip lock bags and marking the bags. As this pattern is a little bit more complicated than the other one I made, my pieces are marked and in bags. It’s nice to be organized. I have a little bit of fabric to cut yet, so I will get to that after I wish you a good evening.
Ruth, hope you had a good day and got lots of crocheting time in. Perhaps if CJ decides to drive out to see you we could find a nice central location and drive together. Ha ha ha.
Take care Ginny
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Post by choney2 on Feb 28, 2023 23:39:11 GMT
Great minds think alike Ruth and we were posting at the same time. Sounds like the bonnet is coming along well and is almost done! What will you be working on this evening? Hope that you will expect me too with CJ! Hope that you have a nice evening.
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Post by gramma15 on Mar 1, 2023 6:08:22 GMT
Wouldn't that be great if we all could actually get together. CJ and you could bring some of your quilts and I could bring crochet items and we could see each other's projects in person. I did finish the bonnet. It's so tiny! It's amazing how small babies' heads are. the rest of the evening I spent looking at patterns in my bookmarks in the baby folders to see if there are any I want to do now. I was actually looking for a specific pattern but didn't find it. It must be in my bookmarks on one of my other laptops, Probably the one that's in Indiana.I don't need it though but it came to mind and I wanted to look for it. Yes the mitts are to keep babies from scratching their little faces as they wave their little arms around. I made some for one of my grandaughter for her baby and she immediately put them on him. Having said that I don't think I'm going to make them right now. I want to work on that gingham blanket. I hope you are both sleeping peacefully. It's 11pm here and I'm going to go up and get the yarn to start the gingham. As you know, I'm a nightowl
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Post by choney2 on Mar 1, 2023 10:48:15 GMT
Good morning! Ruth, so glad you finished the bonnet for the little one. Oh my yes, newborn heads are so tiny. I look at pictures of my grandkids on my phone and it’s incredible in a year or two how much they grow and change. That must be so frustrating to have patterns in two locations and not being able to access the Indiana patterns easily now. I do not think you have mentioned the color scheme for the gingham blanket- bet that it will be so pretty. Hope you slept great Ruth!
Slept fairly well last night, but I wish I slept a bit longer. And I did finish getting the fabric cut for the fabric cafe quilt.its all bagged and marked. I am looking forward to getting working on that.
CJ- I hope you slept well and figure you have plans to get busy working on the heart block.
BBL
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Post by cj59 on Mar 1, 2023 22:44:57 GMT
Hello - Hope you are all doing well today. It was a nice sunny day here, around 60 degrees. Looks like some rain is coming the rest of the week. Ruth - Those little mittens for babies are really useful. I hope you can start working on the gingham blanket soon. What colors have you chosen for it? Ginny - I'm glad you finished cutting the fabric for the 3 yard quilt, that always takes so long. Hope you can get to piecing soon. Unfortunately I did not sleep well last night. I'm not sure if the problems I was having were more physical or mental. I think I finally got to sleep around 4:00 I finished the heart block and really like how it came out. I'm attaching a picture of it and a picture of all 5 blocks for the Holiday Hoopla quilt along. I don't have them sewn together yet, since I might change the layout from how Pat Sloan has it. The upcoming blocks are going to use some oranges, yellows, aquas, red/white/blue, and maybe browns and golds. It's going to be a bold color quilt I also finished today's block for Sweet Childhood Memories and here's a picture of it and all the blocks so far. This quilt seems so blah to me, but people seem to really like the color combination when I post pictures on Facebook. Finally here are pictures of my blocks for Pat Sloan's Cheerful March Block a Day quilt along. We need 36 blocks for the full size quilt, so I went ahead and made them and a few extra. The purple star/space fabric is the one I'm making a whole quilt with (I still need to sew these together). The dark blue floral with the aqua and yellow chain is the one I'll probably just make a table runner out of. I'm thinking about sewing little triangles into the center of where the four dark blocks meet to help break that up. I'll test it out and see. Hope you get to do some crafting today too. Take care
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Post by gramma15 on Mar 2, 2023 4:14:38 GMT
Ginny, it's good to hear that you have all the fabric cut and in bags that are labeled. That will make it easier when you go back to put it together and I hope that's soon.
CJ, I'm sorry that you were unable to get to sleep. I do hope you can make up for that tonightl. I really like the heart block. The one you said is blah is kind of subdued but I do like the colors a lot. And what can I say about all the others except that they are very beautiful as usual and very striking
I saw another baby hat I liked so started on it and am still working on it from last night. It's a cable hat but the way the designer does it makes it a lot easier than most other cables. I also got the yarn out for the gingham blanket which I'm going to make with Mary Maxim acrylic yarn in two shade of teal and also white.
Weather was great here today. It was cold but no wind and that always makes me happy. Ddil says it was 77 in their part of Indiana today
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Post by choney2 on Mar 2, 2023 22:37:05 GMT
Ruth - good to hear that you have the yarn out and ready for the gingham baby afghan. Sounds so pretty and the teal/white color combination is so striking. How is that new cable baby hat pattern working out? Are the instructions easy to work with?
CJ- well there must have been something in the air last night, I struggled with falling asleep also. Hope that you sleep better this evening and can fall asleep easily! You have been busy at the machine. So glad that you are so pleased with the heart blocks, Of course go ahead and make changes to the Pat Sloan layout. Her layout is, most likely, based upon fabrics that she used for the blocks and your fabrics might look better in an alternative layout. It’s all personal taste…and you are making these quilts to please no one but yourself. I like the sweet childhood memories quilt and think the fabrics and the patterns are stunning. Yes, stunning. Fabric selection and pattern are absolutely subjective and what one person loves another does not. I can see a quilt like that in a room with pale walls, and very transparent draperies. A very restful and gentle look. Yes, I like quilts with color also!!! You do beautiful work.
Spent a lot of time getting my finances in order today. I had a virtual banking meeting today which was productive. I might try to get to my machine shortly, just to switch thread color and perhaps start the beginning of the fabric cafe quilt.
Like CJ- I had a rough time falling asleep last night. Hope that is not the case this evening.
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