Tangled Threads

I have a new design on my other blog: Trunks Up!

2012-01-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

I have just finished the first version of a new design. I should have the pattern ready for testers this week.

I call it Trunks Up! Tradition says that elephants with their trunk up are good luck. I hope so. I loved fussy cutting the paisleys for the elephants. Thier ears are free to move, only attached on one edge. The tails move, too.

2011-12-26T20:30:00.001-08:00

McCall's Quick Quilts February/March 2012 - My Winter Quilt

2011-12-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

My seasonal mat patterns are being published by McCall's Quick Quilts starting wiht the Feb/March 2012 issue. I love the way it looks in the magazine.

You can see more here:

http://www.mccallsquilting.com/quickquilts/articles/Through_the_Seasons__Winter

http://www.mccallsquilting.com/quickquilts/issues/February_March_2012

Quilt for Doris

2011-12-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

This is the quilt I made for my sister, Doris. I didn't have a pattern, but had seen a picture on the web, so made up my own pattern. I used a light and a dark of complimentary fabrics. I made a positive (dark center) and a negative (light center) from each pair of fabrics. Some fabric selections, I had enough to make two pair of blocks. The quilting is simple stitch in the ditch and the centers of all the blocks have an orange peal pattern. I think it turned out really good, and she loved it.

A close up of some of the squares.

I'm still here

2011-12-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

I havn't posted for a while now because I am having computer problems. I am still working on patterns. I have the first version of the "Lucky Elephant" pattern put together. I also have an owl quilt I am working on. As soon as I get the computer thing worked out, and can post from my own computer, I will post pictures here and on suelynndesigns.blogspot.com.

I spent two weeks working on a quilt for my sister, Doris. She had to have some tests done on her heart. It was like an obsession for me. I couldn't work on anything else. I was up till midnight the night before her tests, finishing the binding. It was not a full size quilt, 50 x 80 inches. Just big enough to use for extra warmth. I know I was cold when I was in the hospital last year, until I had my family bring a quilt from home.

When we went to the hospital the day she was scheduled for tests, we walked into her room and I had the quilt in a pillowcase. I asked her how she was, and she said she was cold. I said, "I think this will help", and pulled the quilt out of the case. She was thrilled.

When I am back on my own computer I will share a picture. She is fine, the Doctor said her heart looked good (for her age) except for a small valve leak they already knew about.

Until next time.

Update

2011-11-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

I have been busy trying to get a design business going without much money or success. I am putting all the info on another blog
http://suelynndesigns.blogspot.com/. If you are interested go there to see my quilts and tests on new patterns.

Around here the weather was very good, for fall, until this week. We had one out of season snowstorm in October, that caught us unprepaired. We hadn't taken the cover off the metal frame that shaded the patio, and the weight collapsed the frame and rippen the cover. We weren't expecting the snow so early. Two days later, it was gone, but so was the patio cover.

I think it will be winter for the next few months, now.

I Can't Believe It's September!!!

2011-09-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Where did the summer go!.

I spent some time remaking a set of small quilted wallhangings and sent them off to a publisher. I will post pictures when I know more.

I got a virus and spent a little more than a week in bed, fever, chills, the whole thing. But I survived without going to the hospital this time.

I also created a new quilt, Winter Geese, and sent the pattern to Quiltwoman.com. I hope it is published soon. I'll let you know.

The garden is not doing well. We did get a fair crop of peas. The tomatoes are slow and the corn is.... well, lets just say, it would be a joke if we showed it to you. Short, short, short, no ears. I haven't checked the potato plants for little ones yet. The greenhouse is not much better. It sort of piddled off about mid July and we sort of neglected it after that.

I was working on a new pattern last week, when my sewing machine stopped working. Had to take it in, but because the place I go to for repairs is a big vendor at the fair, I won't know the damage until at least next week.
I tried mom's old machine, but it wouldn't work. I may have to get Nyda's machine out to the workroom if I get sewing withdrawal too bad.

I am getting some other things done since I can't sew. Like vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, mopping the kitchen floor. Cleaning my room. I culled a lot of books and magazines out of my shelves. I was able to sell some to the used books store. Not much money: $25. and $12 credit at Hastings. I told Nyda she could use the credit towards more video games. She is working customer service for Sony Playstation now and gets a playstation to use at home.
I put some craft stuff and the magazines on freecycle, and they were picked up fast. I still have too much stuff.

New tote bag

2011-07-10T11:02:00.001-07:00

I needed a new tote bag, the old one I have been using is just a simple canvas bag that I got in a craft store for a few dollars. I had some drapery fabric samples that would do. I pulled some muslin to go with it and made a new tote bag.

Here are pictures of the front and back. Two different samples, but the same colors.

Here it is with the old bag. Much better, I think. I added pockets on the inside and longer handles.

Cool Kats Quilt

2011-07-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

I just finished this lap quilt. I received a remnant in a grab bag that had these 6 cool cats prints. I used some colorful remnants to add size to the cheater blocks and then a stripe for the border. Back is yellow. I had fun quilting around each cat and choosing a different quilting pattern for each block. I hope you like it.

An old Fower Garden Quilt UFO

2011-06-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

I put these hexagons together in the 70's. I sewed them togeter by hand using a blanket stitch. I've had the gold for the edge for a long time. Yesterday I decided to work on it. If I get the borders basted on, I can work on it in the evenings.
It's made of heavy cottons and corderoy fabrics.

I also got the backing for my "Dear Jane" quilt. I plan on layering it tonight or tomorrow so I can start quilting it. That one will be by hand! I've spent too much time putting all those little squares together.

Greenhouse and Garden

2011-06-24T13:16:00.001-07:00

We finally got the garden planted. We also harvested two cucumbers from the greenhouse.

This is melons in the front, and corn in the back. Nyda started corn in the greenhouse. When she planted it, she also put some seeds in a couple of small rows. We'll see which one is better.

The tomatoes and peppers were also started in the greenhouse. The tomatoes look terrible. The last two days the rain and almost hail have tried to kill them. There were some that said there was a small tornado south of us on Wednesday.

It's almost July and the peas are just getting started. There are onions and potatoes in the other side.

Nyda uses a vibrating tooth brush to polinate the tomatoes.

Here are the first cucumbers. There are cucumbers in the raised bed with the tomatoes, and in some hanging pots.

Just yesterday Nyda started to plant the pots and planters on the patio and around the front. We couldn't afford to plant so many flowers if she didn't start them from seed in the GH.

We also got the pond pump running in both the big pond and the one outside my studio.

Look at the gold fish!

These Alum were in full bloom just outside the door last week.

We had flowers all spring, despite the weeds! Dafodills, tulips. Then lilacs and the flowering trees. Now the poppies and iris. I just didn't get pictures. The BEES have been swarming around the flowers. It's been a slow spring for them, too.

Owl quilt finished

2011-06-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

I have had 12 owl quilt blocks in my UFO pile since the 1980's. The pattern is from an old Quilters Newsletter Magazine, I don't know which one. I did a close button hole stitch around the pieces that looks like a satin stitch, by hand. I would pull one out and work on it from time to time, until I got them all embroidered.
Earlier this month, I pulled out a colorful leaf print on black and made up each block in a quilt as you go manner. It took a few days to quilt and then sew the blocks together. Each block is a different design. I was trying out some of Leah Day's designs and few of my own. The borders were quilted seperately and attached just like the blocks.

Here are closeups of two of the blocks.

Here is the quilt. It is 44 x 66 inches.

Here are closeups of the back of two blocks.

Her is a picture of the back joining between two blocks.

I finished a boys quilt.

2011-06-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

I finished this quilt in May. Last fall, I was going through my fabrics and found a bunch of fabrics that would work for a boy or a girl. I put them together to make a toddlers quilt. Lined in flannel in a monkey print. I had it ready to quilt when I got sick and spent time in the hospital. This spring I was feeling well enough to get back to my studio.

Summer?

2011-06-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

We have had the worst weather this spring. We don't get tornados or hurricanes here in South East Idaho, but it has been a long winter. Spring has been cold. Since April we have had snow, rain, snow, rain, sunshine(one day), and on and on. About 1 good day to 10 days of yuck.

Last week it froze, rained, rained, and talk about wind! Three to four days of 35 - 40 mph winds with gusts up to 50-60 mph. We put the top on our patio cover and then took it down again. I was afraid if we didn't we would find it in Wyoming!

We finally got enough good weather to plant tomato and cabbages out side.

My sister's hobby greenhouse is doing good. This spring she added a long low raised bed for salad plants. She was using large pots for greenhouse tomatoes. She built a raised bed in the center for the tomatoes instead. Lots and lots of 5 gallon bucket loads of rocks(for dranage) and even more of bedding soil.

All the tomatoes have blossoms.

This is the long bed with radishes, lettuces and onions.

These are the fuchsias she bought as tiny seedlings a couple of months ago. They will go on the patio soon.

The last three years we got almost as many tomatoes from the greenhouse as from the outside garden. Last year it froze the tomatoes on June 17! We will see what happens this year.

Finishsed UFO

2011-04-30T18:44:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I worked on a UFO from my stack of quilt tops. It's a wallhanging I made out of some leftover flying geese blocks and some other scraps. Some quilters call the little pieces "crumbs". I had the backing and the batting alread to go and had sketched a lady blowing the "wind" in the sky. Then it got buried in the pile. I found it and decided I should finish it.

I have been following Leah Day's blog: http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/
for about a year. Lots of interesting designs on Leah's blog. Very inspiring. I went back to the beginning and practiced some of the designs on squares for potholders.

When I found this UFO, I decided to practice on it.

This is a closeup of the "Wind". Click on the picture to see it larger.

A bit of detail of the trees and ground.

Work room mess

2011-04-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

I have been working on some four season wall hangings lately. My workroom is a mess. I have had the company of our two dogs off and on. Dizzy the doberman and Lily the Lhasa. I keep two small dishes so they can get water and a snack when they come out to visit me. It is finally warm enough that I don't feel guilty running the heat enough to be warm as I work.

Someday I am going to redo the chair cover. It's held on with safety pins now. And the seat cover keeps coming off.

A look at quilt tops I had in storage

2011-04-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

I spent some time yesterday taking pictures of the quilt tops I have made in the last few years. I don't have any of them quilted. I wanted a record of what I have so I can put them in by "brag book". I decided to post them here also.

This is the oldest. I made it during the 70's, but never got it quilted. The fabric is cotton/poly, which is what we mostly had then. I'm thinking of selling it as a "vintage" top.

Several years ago I bought 3 pieces of fabric that were related. I put them together in this quilt along with a light sage green:

Its one of those things that you look at after a while and you wonder "What was I thinking?" I don' really like it now. I think I will use it as a practice piece for machine quilting.

I used the leftovers for this quilt:

For several years I bought "space" themed fabrics when I found them with the idea of a space window quilt. This is what I came up with. It's perfect for a young astronaut:

This is a wall quilt to go with it:

Here is another quilt I made with the leftovers from the space windows quilt. Another good quilt for a future astronaut.

This was a fun quilt. I had several remnants: a native american inspired watercolor pattern, a tie-dye type with four main colors, red, blue, green, and yellow, A piece of orange and a piece of grey. They all went well together laying on the table. The pattern is called jewel box. I fussy cut the centers of the blocks. After cutting the tie-dye fabric into squares, I sorted it into stacks by predominant color: red, green, yellow and blue. I used up all of the fabrics. I didnt have more than a hadfull of scraps left.

This is my fractal quilt. I used an illustration on the cover of Scientific American as my guide. It was finished during the winter of 2005. It just kept growing. after finishing the center, it needed a border, Then another. It turned out about 100 by 110 inches. I can't get a good picture because it is WAY larger than my design curtain. I wrote to SA about permission to publish my pattern, but they say I have to contact the Mendelbrot estate. We will see. I want to redraft the pattern smaller or just use the center area for another quilt at some time.

Last summer I put together this tree quilt. I am thinking about putting a solid green border on it to make it larger. I still have some of the green fabrics, I could applique a vine around the outside using those scraps. Maybe.

Most of these have been stash buster quilts. I have been trying to come up with quilts where I only had to buy one piece of fabric to complete the quilt. The only quilt I bought the fabric for spacifically was the fractal quilt.

Spring? That was yesterday.

2011-04-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started out with sunshine and ended with snow. We thought it was spring.

We have a large pond with goldfish in it. We keep water in it year round. In the winter we turn off the pump and put an aerator in it for the winter. The goldfish just sink to the bottom of the 3 foot end and hybernate all winter.

The water in Sand Creek and the irrigation ditches in this area is shut off during the winter. The wild ducks come back to Sand Creek every spring before the water is released. A pair of ducks come and swim in our pond every year. They were there yesterday. A sure sign of spring. And the Daffodills are comming up.

Today I woke up to a couple of inches of wet snow. The snow/rain is going to be around for a few days.

It's been a long, hard, cold winter. I would love to see the sunshine for more than a few hours. Another day, I guess.

I have returned.

2011-04-05T17:23:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted for so long. Shortly after the last post, I ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks. After coming home, I was not up to much for a long time. I couldn't do cross stitch or other hand embroidery. I just couldn't concentrate on anything for a while.

Just before Christmas, I decided to work on my "Dear Jane" quilt. It was so cold, that I didn't want to run the heater in my work room more than to keep it just above freezing. My work room in a finished room at the back of the detached garage. So I started hauling my sewing machine, and the quilt, etc. to my bedroom. I found an old iron and my portable ironing board. Then I hunted up the quilt supplies.

Two years ago in January, I started a Block of the Month for this quilt. Every month I received a packet of fabric and instructions for 8 squares and 2 triangles. I had started making the blocks, but quit after the first 4 months. The packets kept coming. I decided to keep getting it when I was out of work, since I already had half of the packets.

I started doing one or two blocks most days. Some days I didn't feel like working on anything. Slowly the blocks built up: 169 blocks unfinished size of 5 inches. 52 trianges for the border.

Today I finally got it all put together. I have NO IDEA when it will be quilted.

My design wall is a sheet put up as a curtain over our food storage shelves. I was unable to get a full picture that showed the whole quilt, but, here is my quilt.

This is the center before the borders.

This is the left half...

And the right half.

And here is the best I could do to get most of it in one picture.

I will try to post more often.

I finished the title quilt

2010-11-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hi! I finally finished the quilt pictured in the title. It is two blocks, a butterfly and a flower. I started this quilt more that 10 years ago. I cut out all the patches for the blocks and sewed a few of each, then packed it away. I found the pieces about 5 years ago and put them together with red. I found a butterfly print for the back. After quilting about half of it, it went back into storage for a few years. I took it out last summer and finally finished it this September. This quilt reminds me of my mother. She taught me how to sew when I was 8 years old, and how to quilt when I was 14. She died before I started this quilt, but it was quilted with the feathers she liked.

Thats my dog Lily on the bed. She hates the camera.

I decided this quilt is for my bed. When the weather started changing, I put it on my bed. I had forgotten how warm a quilt is. At least for now, I don't need the other blankets I usually have on my bed in the winter.

Take a look at other quilter's quilts by following this link.

Fall is here, Winter is threatening.

2010-10-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

When I posted about the garden, I forgot about the grapes. We have one grapevine that grows up a 10 foot section of fence along the path to the back yard. Last year we thought we would get a harvest, but the birds got it first!. This year when they started turning purple, we covered the vine with bird netting. When we picked the grapes, we got a large tote about full. Looks like 1 1/2 or 2 bushels.

We spent two days making juice Mom's way. Fill a large pan with cleaned grapes, add water until just below the top of the grapes. Bring slowly to a boil and boil for about 3-5 minutes. Let cool for about a hour then put through the food mill to get most of the juice out. Then put through a straining cloth, in our case a large white dish cloth, which turned PURPLE after 5 batches of grapes.

We put 12 quartes in jars and froze it. It will be a little taste of summer when the snow is flying. It dilutes 1 to 1 with water, add a little sugar. Yum.

We also had about 22 cups of juice to make jelly with. 12 half pints and 10 full pints. Yum.

I don't know the name of the grape, it's not good to eat raw, but the best juice and jelly.

Looks nice.

I spent a day cleaning and reorganizing the food storage. We may not have a year's supply, like the church asks, but, we have enough to get by for a long time, if needed. I only found a few items that were outdated and needed to be tossed. The got lost behind newer items. We can see what we have now. We still plan on some more canned tomatoes, and a case each of corn and beans. We use a lot of them. Most of our food storage is rotated as we use it. And it is food that we use on a regular basis.

When we were growing up, we put up a lot of fruit and tomatoes, and Mom would buy extra when she could and add to the food storage and the freezer. When things got tight, we used to joke about Mom's macaroni tree in the basement! But we usually had enough to get by. My Dad was a carpenter, and sometimes work was scarce in the winter. As a kid, I don't remember worrying about not having enough to eat. So I continue the tradition. Its a keeper.

I have a shelf of freeze dried foods. I plan on adding to it from time to time. That food keeps good up to 10 years. We do need to get a grain mill for flour and a couple more containers of wheat.

I'm not a fanatic about having a food supply, but I do like to feel that we can survive in pinch. If we needed to help out a family member, we would be able to. When the Boy Scouts came by for donations, we had food to donate in the shelves. If we get snowed in in the winter, we don't have to rush to the store before the roads close. We have gas heat even if the power goes out. We could rig a few tarps so we could cook on the barbeque, on the porch, if needed. A couple of oil lamps, plenety of quilts and blankets. We have done a little planning for "just in case". We also have a freezer to store frozen meat and veggies, too.

I used to have an old sheet thumbtacked to the shelves for my design wall. I took that down and I have a new curtain rod and and new sheet to put up. It will be nicer than the old sheet and make getting to the shelves easier.

September and October

2010-10-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

As sorry as our garden was, we did get 20 cups of frozen green peppers and 5 quarts of frozen tomatoes. It's freezing now, at night. So we turned on the heat in the greenhouse. We hope to keep getting tomatoes from the greenhouse until about thanksgiving.

While I couldn't drive or sew, I did some other crafting. A few years ago, I made some "Fairy Houses" out of the wooden bird houses you can get at the craft store. I glued on rocks and flowers and stuff to make them whimsical.

This is the first one. I cut pictures of fairies out of magazines and glued them behind the large glass pebbles you can buy. I wanted it to look like someone was home and looking out the window. I used cinnamon sticks to make a door.

On this one I used a bamboo placemat for the roof. I took each banboo and split it lengthwise and cut it to size. After the rocks for the walls, I used moss and flowers to add interest.

These houses were made about 3 years ago. I sold the round one.

I had collected 2 large and 4 small wooden houses. I had also collected a lot of silk flowers, small baskets, etc. So I got out my paints and started with the small houses. these are about 3 - 5 inches tall, taller with the foliage. I painted these and sprinkled clear glitter in the wet paint. I used metalic paint in silver, gold, and copper with the other paints. It doesnt show in the pictures but it made the paint sort of opalescent. I found I could cut a door using a utility knife. I painted the inside with glow in the dark paint. The floors were carpeted with soft moss, for the fairies to sleep on.

Green house with copper roof, front and back.

Blue house with gold/brown roof, front and back.

Blue house with silver roof.

Yellow house with copper roof.

This is one of the larger houses about 8 - 9 inches tall. up to 12 inches with foliage. On this one I glued rocks about 1/3 of the way up the wall and around the door. These rocks are about 1/4 inch. I flled in with a course sand, about the size of bird gravel. I used this to fill in between the rocks and up the rest of the walls. I had some small flower pots I wanted to use, but they wouldnt fit on the house base. So I glued on two 2 inch wood circles on the front corners, and to balance it out 1 inch circles on the other corners. This gave me room to put the pots on the front of the house. I used some plastic faceted beads on all the houses. I "scattered" them on the bases and under the plants so they just peep out.

Here is the other large house. There were columns on the front so I ran "rose" vines arount them and up onto the roof. I only put the rocks up partway on these walls.

August and September

2010-10-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

July and August were very stressful. After my auto accident, Nyda broke her toe. She stumbled over the vaccum. A few days later, a dear friend fell and broke her hip. We helped her by feeding her cat, etc. She was in the hospital for an operation and recovery for a few days, then went home using crutches and a walker. She is much better now.

Our brother Mike came over on a Saturday, which he does a lot. He was sleeping on the couch and it was hard to wake him up. He said he had gone to the Doctor because he was having trouble breathing. I asked him if it was the meds they gave him that were making him so sleepy, and he said yes. So I let him sleep. Until an ambulance pulled in to the yard. The clinic had sent it because they said he hadn't answered their call. He said he was ok, but they would not leave until we said we would make sure he went to the clinic.

He didn't seem to know what was happening, so Nyda drove him to the clinic. The doctor at the clinic said he needed to go to the hospital because he had double Pneumonia. He refused to go by ambulance so she drove him to the hospital. After he was checked in, and was changing to the hospital gown, the nurse saw his leg. It was red and swollen from the knee to the ankle. She got the doctor and he took one look and said he didn't have pneumonia, but celulitis. They got him on some major antibiotics. The doctor later told us that he was 6 - 8 hours from death. If he had gone to sleep at home he would not have woke up. Scary.

He was in the hospital for 4 days. We got a twin bead and set it up in the living room and he came home to our house. I had to learn how to change IV's. He was on IV's for a week at home, with a nurse coming in to change the bandages. He then went in for dressing changes and they didn't like his progress so he was on daily IV's at the wound center for another 2-3 weeks. He's on oral antibiotics now. He is getting better, but it will be a while before he gets all his strength back. His leg is still in a bandage and is still pretty red. It's been most of 2 months for him.

July and August

2010-08-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

I made up a pincushion pattern and submitted it to a quilt magazine. I haven't heard from them yet. A local woman, who has been published, said that is a good thing, as they tell you right away if they don't like a submission. They may still turn it down, but since they haven't told me no thanks, someone still likes it.

I saw a picture of an owl necklace on the web somewhere. It was sort of cute, but I dont wear jewelry. The owls were flat. One day, I got the inspiration to make round, stuffed owls that were simular. I made up a pattern, and after some false starts I came up with these owl pincushions. I took the first 3 pairs to my quilt guild meeting. I was asked to make and donate 12 pairs to a fundraiser in September. The guild is trying to setup a quilt museum. So I made up a lot of owls.

On July 28th I was on my way to a job interview, and worrying about what to say, etc. and got into an accident. It totaled my car, broke my ankle, various bumps, scrapes, sprains, and cuts. I hit my head and my forehead swelled up like a Klingon (without the bumps) and my eyes turned the most horrible shade of black. Over the next two weeks, the bruse sort of melted down my face. I had red eyes for a few days. I just have a little reminder in a few places now, but I still have a swollen area above my eyes, look like a neandertal. And I have to wear this stupid black boot thing for another 3 to six weeks. The doctor said the xray yesterday doesn't show a lot of healing.

It's my right ankle and I haven't been able to sew or drive for 3 weeks now. It's a good thing I got the owls done. In fact, they were in a box on the seat of my car, when I had the accident. I was going to deliver them after the interview. I still haven't gotten them delivered. There is a guild meeting tonight, and Nyda, my sister, will drive me over so I can deliver the owls. I need a job, but even if I got another interview, I can't get my dress slacks over the boot, and I can't drive. Sorry for the pity rant. I'm feeling like crap about this.

I have been working on hand embroidery. I saw a metal dragon wall ornement in a gardening catalog a while back that I liked. I put the picture in my files, and after the accident, I enlarged it up to about 18x24 inches and transferred it to a piece of black linen. I used gold colored pearl threads couched down with a gold colored sewing thread and outlined the whole thing. I haven't decided if its done or if I want to do a fill stitch or couch it all in the gold pearl. I only used it because I had a lot of it left over from a store I had about 10 years ago. The store lasted less than a year, but the inventory will outlast me. I have a big tote full of DMC floss and another full of linens. I always check there before buying any floss. Nyda kitted up a new cross stitch pattern the other day and only had to buy 3 skeins of floss.

While I'm pondering on the fate of the dragon, I got out my Nemisis, Teresa Wentzler's Peacock tapestry. I have been working on this for about 12 years now, off and on, mostly off. I think it is beautiful, but I can't seem to make any progress with it. I work from the bottom up and I am almost 2/3 finished.

I recently moved my room around so I have my sewing desk in front of the window. I think I like it better here. I also was able to get rid of one desk chair, and it leaves me a larger space to move in. I just have to turn around and I'm at the computer. I don't have to walk around the sewing desk to get to the computer.

I'm Back

2010-08-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

I hadn't realized it has been so long since I posted. This has been a weird summer.

We finally planted the garden June 9. the first time we had 3 days without rain. The tomatoes were 2 feet tall and so were the peppers. The looked so good. Lots of baby tomatoes and peppers.

Just 3 days later, we picked the first ripe tomatoes.

Then on June 17, there was a frost warning. We could cover the peppers, but what to do for the tomatoes. My sister uses long lenths of pvc pipe to stake them. We decided to slit the bottom on large plastic garbage bags and slip them down the pipes to cover the plants. The next morning the peppers were ok. The tomatoes looked a little frozen, but for the most part looked ok. Later in the day, I looked out at the garden and the tomato plants were black and drooping down to about 8 inches above the ground. Gone. We still had 4 greenhouse tomatoes in the greenhouse, but these outside plants never recovered to produce anything but small stunted tomatoes.

Who expects a killing frost on June 17?!!! The joys of gardening in Idaho.

We have been gettiing some wonderful tomatoes out of the greenhouse. And cucumbers.
We have just started gettiing summer squash. Peas are usually a thing of the past by now, but ours are not ready to pick yet.

I still do not have a job. I've been living off my savings but that won't last too much longer. I have been working on some sewing projects.

Red/Green Crazy Quilt Square

2010-05-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a crazy quilt square. It took me longer than I thought it would. I always seem to have 3 or 4 projects going at the same time. Even though it was a green/red color scheme, I didn't want to do it as a Christmas block. I did the spider with some black beads and a black sparkly floss, but it didnt show up well, so I ripped it out and did it over again with the purple and silver beads. All in all, I think it turned out OK.

Surprise on the patio

2010-05-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

We have 70 degree weather today, so we spent the morning cleaning up part of the yard. We decided to barbecue some hamburgers for lunch. After pulling the patio furniture pads out of the shed we opened the barbecue and SURPRISE:

Some birds had decided that they had found a perfect place to make a nest.

After we cleaned it out, we let it run for a few minutes and cleaned the grates before we cooked.

Greenhouse

2010-05-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

My sister, Nyda, has been starting her plants from seed for several years. Over the last 4-5 years she has invested over $3000 in her greenhouse. she covered it with greenhouse film the first year. We get so much wind here it tore the film apart in 2 years. Originally the greenhouse was 8 x 12 feet. Before we put the fiberglass on, we added another 4 feet, making it 12 x 12. It's still not big enough. Last year, Nyda added the propain heat. We had tomatoes until November, last year.

I took these pictures today. As you can see, the tomatoes need to transplanted outside, but it's been too cold and wet until this week. Hopefully, by the weekend we can move them out.

This A-frame stand was setup in the house, in March, with lights hanging above the seed starting trays, until it got warm enough to move them out to the greenhouse.

The hanging plants on the left are cucumbers, on the right are fuschias started from tiny plants about a month ago. The fuschias will hang on the patio this summer, the cucumbers stay in the greenhouse along with 4 large pots of greenhouse tomatoes.

Tomatoes and below them, peppers.

The outside of greenhouse, attached to garage. My studio is on the other side of that wall.

New quilt tops,quilt, flying geese

2010-05-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

I have been piecing flying geese blocks. As I was sorting through my stash, I found that I had a lot of small pieces, 1/4 yard or less, that were related by color, either violet, purple or green, and all mixes. I found speed piecing instructions on the web. I couldn't find the original site, but it is also here: http://www.quilterscache.com/H/Howtomakegeese.html
I used method B. I started putting them in a shoe box and when it was full I had enough for the two quilts shown.

The stripped quilt is double bed sized. I found the lilac print and the pink in my stash. I used white on white prints for the white.

I used the leftover blocks to make the smaller quilt. Its about 55 x 66 inches. I didnt put the outer border on at first, but it felt unfinished. Adding the darker boarder framed it and it looks better.

Help Identifying image.

2010-05-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

I copy images from all over the web to use for inspiration. I want to try to make a quilt out of this striped star image, but I can't remember where I got it. Does anyone know where it came from? I'd like to give credit if I make it into a quilt.

Sewing, Sewing

2010-05-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hi. I'm sorry for taking so long to post. I have been job hunting and have only had 2 interviews in 4 months. I'm a bit more depressed than usual. I have a friend that rented a spot in a flea market and offered to put some of my items for sale. I'ts been a bit slow. I also put some of my collectables up for sale. They are doing better than the crafts!

I made some small purses with my beaded appliques on them. My sister wanted a small purse/wallet to use for the summer. She only carries a debit card, cell phone, and a small amount of cash. In the winter it goes in her coat pocket, but for summer she wanted somthing with a long handle that could be removed.

I sew an outline of the motif in chain stitch on the fabric before I bead it. So I trimmed to about 1/4 inch from that outline, clipped the curves and folded the extra fabric to the back and basted it to the back of the beading.

Then I appliqued the motif to the front part of the purse, sewing through the chain stitch so the applique stitches dont show.

After that I sewed in a zipper, added a lining and a handle. I put two pockets inside. I think they turned out ok.

This is a bag I beaded on a dark blue velvet. It is lined with a sparkly blue satin.

These are a couple of purses I made from my stash of fabrics.

And here are some flower dolls.

My sewing machine tension went crazy, so I had to take it to the repair shop. I was in the middle of a new project. About 2 years ago I bought a reproduction treadle sewing machine, but I had never used it. So I opened it up and figured out how to make it work after a little trial and error. I have a lot of admiration for the women who sewed on these machines. After about 30 minutes, my legs were getting sore. I didn't finish my project, but now I know I have a resource if the power goes off and we need some sewing done. I got my machine back after 3 days. Joy! It's not the best machine, but it is way better than the treadle.

Happy sewing.

April Snow

2010-04-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have been busy and haven't posted for a while. This has been a very STRANGE April. We had 4-5 inches snow on April 1. Then another 9-10 the next day. We had a few days of sunshine, but mostly cold, windy, snowy days.
It snowed again last night, but most of it had melted by mid afternoon. What happened to global warming?

These are pictures from the April 2 storm.

This and that.

2010-03-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

This is a "doodle" I made from some leftovers from a quilt top.
It is a lone star quilt and I had these triange shaped pieces left over. I set them together in a shield shape. Don't know what I will do with it.

Here is a shelf I put up over my cork board.

And a closeup of the dragon. I made two of them several years ago, one for me and one for my sister. This one guards my buttons.

The other side with my beaded dolls.

It's March!!!

2010-03-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

It was warm enough that some of the ice on the walk to the porch melted. It has been so cold this winter. I'm getting tired of ICE!!

I have several items that I wanted to show you.

I finished a crazy quilt pin cushion. It is about 5 inches across.

I have also been beading some motifs. Some I will add a stiff interfacing to and add a pin back. Others will be used on crazy quilts or appliqued to tote bags. I might even sell some. Here are some pictures. Some are a little fuzzy. I have problems getting good pictures of beads.

The smaller butterfly is about 2 1/2 inches, the larger about 4 inches.

I've also done some paisley motifs. The larger ones are about 3 inches, the smaller about 2 inches.
The fabric is a rich chocolate brown, and some of the silver beads show white.

A large green paisly and a smaller purple one.

A purple and green large butterfly.

In February, I finished a machine quilted quilt. I was searching through some storage boxes and found 11 patchwork squares. I couldnt find the 12th one and I didnt have any of the fabric in my stash. These blocks were made about 15 years ago.
I set them together with a plain white block for the missing square. I used a basting spray to hold the 3 layers together. I used a walking foot for all the quilting, even the curved lines. I need to practice free motion quilting. I cant see using the walking foot for any smaller curves.

I think the big white triangle gives it a very interesting composition. This quilt is the size for a lap quilt or a crib quilt.

Here is a close up.

I have at least 7 or 8 other tops that need to be quilted. Now that I have one completed, I need to keep going.

Studio Redo

2010-02-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

In 1986 we built a stand alone garage with a finished room (11 x 22)at the back. It was used for a craft room for a while, then as a catch-all. I moved out and my sister used it for a makeshift greenhouse for several years. When I moved back in with my sister, it was a mess. In the summer of 2008 we revamped the room.

First we had to remove all of the stuff in the room.

My sewing machine is back there somewhere.

Stacks of fabric, unfinished projects. The Santa doll was done many years ago.

I had already moved 3 metal shelves and everything from one of the pink shelves.

More food storage, book shelves.

This is some of what was in the room. We moved it all out to the garage. I tried to sort it as I removed it into categories such as crafts, fabrics, paints, food etc. It was amazing what was stuffed into that room.

I pulled up part of the carpet that was glued to the floor, then built a little shelf to hold the food storage shelves. I then painted the shelves a dark green. It was exterior paint that I found as I was moving stuff out.

As I said, the carpet was glued down. It had a foam backing, and when we pulled it up it left the foam. We tried to scrape it up by hand, no way. So I rented floor scraper. It took me about a hour to scrape a 2x2 foot area by hand. We pulled up the carpet and scraped all the foam up in an afternoon. I love power tools.

Thats my sister, Nyda, in the picture. I didn't get a picture of me in there.
I painted with an warm off white.
We then put in new flooring.

I painted the bookshelves in a lighter green than the food storage. I instaled the bookshelves on the east wall.

Tour of room. East wall. Door to patio and repainted book shelves. We got rid of the record player and most of the records. The rest of the records are behind the doors. I also have my fancy fabrics, laces and some embelishments in boxes behind the doors.

This is the pond to the left outside the east door.

South Wall. Sewing table and ironing board. This winter my feet were cold so I switched them around so my feet were next to the heat! I found these great powerstrips that are almost 3 feet long and attach to the wall. I put them up high enough to get to easy. No crawling under tables.

The rest of the south wall. Bookshelves and craft supplies.
West wall. Food storage wall. Cutting table in middle. Refrigerator and Freezer on North wall.

The rest of the North wall. Door to garage and fabric storage. I use the curtains on the fabric storage as a small design wall. When I need more space, I thumbtack a sheet to the food storage shelves.

2010-02-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

Nine embroidered blocks.

Hi.
I'm interested in crazy quilting. I have been collecting "stuff" for a while now. I also have all the fabric from the last 40 - 50 years of collecting.

In the late 1960's to the 1970's (I'm not sure just when) I made 9 blocks out of "silky" fabrics that Mom had collected. I didn't really know what to do with them, so they got packed away. I kept finding them and then storing them away again. About a year ago, I joined some Yahoo crazy quilting groups. I decided to embelish the blocks with embroidery in the manner of the crazy quilts. I am going to set them together soon and make a quilt. I was frustrated with how flimsy the blocks were. When I posted my concerns, it was suggested that I use a light weight fusable interfacing to strengthen the blocks. It worked very well.

This is the first block.

This is the next block I tried. Each quarter has different flowers but all in red.

Here is the third one. Each quarter has a different trellis pattern.

The next block. I didnt know what to do with the small triangles. I get clipart from Dover every week. I was browsing through the items I had saved and found some patterns that I kind of liked. I just used part of several patterns. I used a varigated pink floss for all the embroidery.

This block is simple, but I think the pattern is effective.

I'm not real happy with this block. The picture doesn't show the detail very well. The Chinese butterflies don't show up very well and the vines in the center cross are not showing up well either.

I like the way the grape vines worked out on this block. I used a different varigated color for each quarter. Lots of french knots!

It took me a while to decide what to do on this block. The red and green plaid was overwhelming. Then I decided to do a Scotish Thistle. There are two small ones and one large one in each quarter. Click on the picture to see the larger photo. Each of the thistle flowers has a base woven in two colors of green.

This is the last block. The center is a flower garden. I tried a lot of different flowers and techniques on this one. When I set the blocks together, I think this will be the center one.

A little about me.

2010-02-02T16:24:00.001-08:00

Hi! My name is Susan Ovard. I live in southeast Idaho, just north of Idaho Falls. My sister and I share a home out in the country. We have two ponds, a lot of trees, a good garden spot, and a homemade greenhouse. We also share with my Lhasa Lily, my sisters doberman Dizzy, and the cat Scamp.

I'm in my late 50's. Mom taught me how to sew when I was about 7 years old. I think it was in self defense. I was ill in the second grade and was home half days and later could not go out and play a lot. So Mom first taught me some simple embroidery stitches and basic hand sewing. My Barbie doll had a LARGE wardrobe(LOL). Later she taught me how to sew on the sewing machine.

Besides embroidery, sewing, and quilting, I do a lot of other crafts. I also do cross stitch, knitting, crochet, etc.

As time goes on, I will post pictures of my quilts and crafts.

Above is a picture of my last quilt as I was deciding where to put each block. If you look closely all the stars are of a "space" themed fabric. It is actually leftovers from another quilt. I used the space fabric for the windows of the Attic Windows quilt pattern. I'll Post a picture later.

My design wall is a sheet thumbtacked over the food storage I share my "Studio" with.
You can see the extra fridge to the right in the picture.

I'll post the story of the studio redo later.
By for now.

My first post.

2010-02-01T14:36:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to figure out how to setup a blog. I want to be able to show my needlework with friends and family.