New Valentine’s Day table runner

Valentine's Day table runner

Here’s a picture of the table runner that I’ve been working on this week.  The background “fabric” is lots of little strips of lots of different fabrics that I stitched together.  Then I stitched them to a strip of backing fabric to provide some stability, added batting and backing.  Then I started adding appliqued hearts in solid colors.  I may have too much going on!  This afternoon a carefully cut out a pink plaid binding on the bias, and stitched it to the runner.  I even folded it over and pinned it before I decided that I didn’t really like it.  So I laid it aside.  After dinner, I tried several different ideas, but decided on this black print.  Hopefully the sun will be shining in the morning so I can take more pictures of this runner and the mug rugs and the coasters and get them listed on Etsy.

I also started cutting and stitching some pink squares for a baby quilt.  I have some more flannel ordered, but it will take me a day or two just to get the squares put together.  I’m going to try a rag quilted version of one of my favorite layouts.  It takes a lot longer than just cutting out squares, so I hope it is worth the effort.

Crummy weather again today.  It would be seriously depressing if I didn’t have a nice warm place to work with lots of light.

I had an idea today to make “hugs” blankets for people who are hurting.  I need to put some more thought into it.  I’ve seen similar ideas for using clothing of family members to make quilts, but this would be more for people who are healing or hurting.  Any ideas, anyone?

Pic of the Day – 1/24/12

Reblogged from Check Your Premises:

I wants one.

This is adorable!

Rainy day in the country

Another damp, cloudy, rainy day in the country.  At least it wasn’t freezing cold.  Rained most of the afternoon, but not enough to add any water to the lake.  We don’t need any storms, but we do need rain.

I finished a set of mug rugs this morning, and a set of four coasters, but it was so cloudy that I didn’t take pictures.  My camera works much better when there is natural sunlight.

I overcame all my reluctance to do new things and went in to St. Clement to quilt this afternoon with other ladies from church.  I was a tad rusty, but I got the hang of it again.  I haven’t done any quilting by hand in a long time.  About the only thing I do by hand is stitching borders.

Tonight I stitched some more strips together to make a scrappy table runner.  I’m using strips and pieces of all the pink and red fabrics that were left over.  I saved everything that was at least 4″ by 2″ and some that were even smaller.  After I had the pieced stitched together, I stitched the rows onto a strip of fabric to make them easier to work with.  My project to sleep on tonight is going to be if I want to add some more decorative stitching when I add the batting and backing.  I’m thinking about free hand hearts and swirls. I may have to sketch it out on a piece of paper to get some idea about what I want to do.

I did think about another trick I have used in the past, but had forgotten about.  Occasionally when I have a pieced of fabric that was the right kind of design but is too dark or bright, I will layer a piece of light weight muslin on top of it to change the color.  Or I will turn it over and use the back of the fabric as the right side.  I have an idea for one more Valentine’s Day table runner that I want to try.  Then I will need to decide if I want to make anything for St. Patrick‘s Day.  I may make a couple of items with appliqued shamrocks.  I figured out a way to cut them out and stitch them that doesn’t take all day.

Hoping for some sunshine tomorrow!

Another Valentine’s Day table runner

I’m still working on table runners for Valentine’s Day, but I’m getting close to using all the fabric I have.  Today I finished up a runner using most of my appropriate red fabrics.

Country By Design table runner

Here you can see what I decided to do about a different way to finish the ends of the runner.  This is the first time I have tried to change the size or shape of the squares in one item.  The center square is slightly bigger than the other two.  I liked the outline stitching around the hearts so much that I made a set of mug rugs using the same technique.  I need to wash them before I take pictures.

It was warmer today, with lots of sunshine.  So much nicer than yesterday.  I did get out and walk to the mailbox.  Should have gone much farther!

Made tuna melts for dinner tonight.  Has to be one of Paul’s favorite dinners.  He loves the leftovers.  I had made brown rice at noon, so I reheated it, and fixed some fresh broccoli.  Yum!  Finished off the meal with a Honeycrisp apple.  Perfect!

I am finally sleeping better at night.  I used to be able to drink coffee all day and still go right to sleep, but it doesn’t work like that any more.  Now I only fix about half a pot of coffee which is gone by noon.  I drink a couple of glasses of tea during the afternoon, and maybe one with dinner, then it’s no more caffeine.  I would love a cup of hot tea right now, but it’s bedtime, so I won’t.

I have a set of coasters to finish tomorrow, then I’ll be finished with everything I have started.  I’m thinking about making another runner using the garden trellis design.  I really like the way the first one turned out.  Guess I can sleep on that tonight!

Another cold day in the country

Ended up spending most of the day today running around, but that’s okay.  After almost 3 days away from my sewing machine, I was ready to hit the ground running tonight.  We got home from hubby’s doctor appointment in the city about 4:00.  It had been cloudy and cold when we left this morning, and it was cold and cloudy when we got home.  Thank goodness we had an assortment of leftovers so we went ahead and ate right away since we hadn’t stopped anywhere for lunch.

All of the Valentine’s Day runners I have made so far were more pink than red with other nontraditional colors, like purple, blue and black.  So tonight, I got out all of my red fabrics and put together a table runner with 4 inch squares.  I’ve been using mostly 5 inch squares lately, but I had several 4 inch squares already cut, and since it isn’t easy to add on an inch, I just cut more squares that were 4 inches.  I have one more row to stitch together then I will have to decide if I want to put something different on the ends, like a large squares with a heart, or a border of some type.  I will have to sleep on it tonight.

Sometime this week I will have to take time to make something for the next birthday party.  Hope my ball pattern comes soon.  I think I could figure something out, but it will be faster to see how someone else figured it out.  No need to reinvent the wheel!

I did some research over the weekend to see what exactly is selling on Etsy.  I think I’m on the right track, I just need to do a few things a little bit better.  I’m thinking about taking some of the items that aren’t selling on Etsy and listing them on eBay just to see what the market is out there.

Should be able to finish the runner I started tonight by this time tomorrow.  I also need to do some laundry, and write a couple of thank you notes.

So far, we are missing all the really bad weather.  It was a bit slick yesterday morning, but warmed up during the afternoon.  It was pretty nice when we got to the doctor’s office this afternoon, but cloudy and windy again by the time we came out.  We got our exercise today by walking from the parking lot to the office building.  We must have parked a half mile away from the door.

Bedtime again.  Wish I didn’t need 8 or 9 hours of sleep every night, but I just can’t seem to function without it.  I did nap a bit on the way home this afternoon.  Here’s to getting more accomplished tomorrow!

 

What’s new at Country by Design

Wow!  I didn’t realize it had been so long since I had posted anything here.  Last weekend was a total wash.  We started moving everything out of the dining room on Thursday and tearing up the old self-stick floor tile.  That project continued on Friday and extended into Saturday when we added the kitchen to the list of rooms that were totally messed up.  The whole house was messed up because the rooms that weren’t getting new floors were full of furniture from the rooms that were!  In addition to that, I was finishing up two birthday presents for a party on Sunday and entertaining a grandson so his dad could help with the new floor. By Saturday evening we had a new wood (laminate) floor in both rooms that looks like narrow red oak planks.  A big improvement over what we did have!  On Sunday, we started moving things back where they had been, and went to the birthday party in St. Louis.  I should have gotten pictures of the birthday girls with their presents, but didn’t, so here they are without their new owners.

Yellow infinity scarf

I had been thinking about making infinity scarves, but hadn’t tried it yet until last week.  I just barely had enough of this pretty, soft yellow fabric to make a short scarf, perfect for a skinny 13 year old!  She and her sister immediately figured out ways to wear it around their head as well as around their neck.  The fabric was so thin and filmy that I had to stitch the seam through tissue paper to keep it from gathering up. The 10-year-old wanted me to make her a new quilt, so I got out my homespuns and flannel for her.

Homespun quilt

I made the squares bigger than I usually do so the finished quilt wouldn’t be too heavy.  With two layers of flannel, it is warm and ready for snuggling.  Her first quilt is getting too small and is almost threadbare from so much loving. I have started something now that I am going to have to try to keep up, making gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  The next one is a three-year old boy, but he is getting a new bedroom soon with a sports theme, so I’m going to try to make a football pillow.  I know I can buy one for $10 at Wal-Mart, but I want to try to make one.  I found a vintage pattern on Etsy today with patterns for lots of balls, and other sports stuff, so I ordered it.  I also found some brushed suede fabric that I had used to make an Indian costume a long time ago. I have had my nose to the grindstone this week trying to make as many runners as I could using fabric with a Valentine’s Day theme from my stash.  I was also in the mood to try some new ideas since I had just spent a week on a rag quilt.  I think I came up with an interesting assortment.

Four patch and combination block table runner

I had made the four patch squares for this runner last year, so I added the combination blocks to bring it all together.

Table mat with combination and hourglass blocks

I actually started with a pattern for this, but I got lost somewhere along the way.  I have a lot of trouble figuring out how things are going to look after you finish stitching and cutting. The pattern called for 8 different fabrics, but I think 4 would have been enough.

Table runner with log cabin blocks

I have always been disappointed in my log cabin blocks because they were always so out of square.  I tried a different technique for stitching the strips and got much better results.  And I do like using black as a contrast for the red and pink squares.  I machine quilted this runner by stitching in squares inside each block.

Table runner with combination blocks

I made a set of these combination blocks so I could explore their possibilities.  Since they are made by stitching a triangle square to a solid square, you end up with right-handed and left-handed blocks.  I’m sure there are other ways to arrange them, but trying to figure it out was more than I wanted to tackle right now.  Maybe later!

All About Hearts table runner

I love appliqued hearts, so I decided to make a whole runner of them.  I should have taken time to hand quilt around the hearts, but I would have had to ask a lot more for it.  It’s impressive just the way it is anyway. I took the day off from quilting today.  Needed to recharge my batteries!  I have a set of coasters that I need to finish, but I will probably start on something new tomorrow.  I like to have two projects going a the same time, so if I get stuck doing one, I can go work on the other one for a while.  I need to take inventory tomorrow and see if I still have enough fabric to make more Valentine’s Day runners or quilts.  I would like to make a rag quilted runner using triangle squares. If you would like to see more pictures of the runners, go to www.countrybydesign.etsy.com.  When I just sold on eBay, I sold several runners and place mats for Valentine’s Day, but I haven’t had much interest this year.  I don’t think I will make anything for St. Patrick’s Day, unless I already have the fabric.  I really do want to reduce the amount of fabric in my stash, then restock. Time to go to bed.  Glad that tomorrow is supposed to be warmer!

Bright Hopes Quilt Block without Set-in Seams

Reblogged from Learn How to Quilt:

If you’ve ever looked at the Bright Hopes quilt block, it looks like it is sewn together like a log cabin quilt block – starting in the center and then adding “logs” to each side. When you look more closely, you’ll notice that the center is a square surrounded by rectangles that are all the same size. Surprisingly, there is a way to sew this block together without sewing any set-in seams: http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/2071-partialseams-in-quiltblocks.php

I do want to try this to make a table runner.

Garden Trellis table runner for Etsy

Garden Trellis table runner

I listed this table runner on Etsy tonight.  It is bigger and a lot more complicated than the runners I usually make.  It took a lot of time to make each square, but it was worth it!  I love the way it turned out.  Each block starts out as two squares that are stitched together, then cut apart.  Then the corners are cut off and restitched to another square.  Then each square is recut to square it up.  You end up with diagonal stripes without all the waste of stitching strips together.  It looks really nice on my big walnut table!

I’m working on a homespun and flannel quilt for my granddaughter.  I want to give it to her on Sunday, so I’m going to have to get with it.  I also made an infinity scarf today.  It was easier than I thought it would be.  Now I know what I’m going to do with a few pieces of light weight fabric I have that aren’t heavy enough for quilting.  I also have a piece of silk that my cousin sent me from overseas that I would like to use.  It would make a beautiful scarf.

I went out and picked up pine cones today since there is snow in the forecast for tonight.  Now I have another bag full of them.  Anyone have any good ideas on what to do with them?  I used a lot of them for Christmas decorating.  Seems like they should be good for something.

I also pieced a table mat yesterday with a lot of fancy cut squares.  Waiting to get some more batting so I can finish it.

Bring on the weather!  It’s winter, after all!!

 

Etsy sales

I seem to be getting more accomplished now that I’m not running around so much.  Strange how that works!

Table runner with denim and bright pastels

I finished this table runner for one of my repeat customers who now owns several Country By Design table runners and sets of place mats.  I love customers who come back more than once!

I also sold a bird’s nest this week.  I need to go out and look for more.  It was really windy for several days.  Little wrens build nests in our pine trees and line them with hair from our dogs and our cattle.  They are so cute!

I’ve also made a few more purses and bags since Christmas.  I’m really proud of the way this one turned out.

Patchwork quilted purse

I had a picture and some basic directions for a bag similar to this one, but I changed almost everything!  I made it bigger, put a ruffle at the top instead of pleats, added a zipper to the top, and a pocket with zipper to the lining.  See all the pictures at www.countrybydesign.etsy.com.

I got out and pieced a set of strip pieced blocks in pastel colors last night.  I’m thinking about stitching the batting to just the backing instead of through all three layers.  I don’t want any extra stitching to distract from the seams in the blocks.  Since it is a table runner, it doesn’t need to be that strong.

We had a little bit of sunshine here this morning, but nothing but clouds now.  Good day for sewing and watching football!  Think I’ll go make some popcorn.

Creative crocheting

If you would like to try your hand at making creative crocheted soft sculptures, take a look at the this blog.  http://hookandscumble.blogspot.com/  There is also a link on the page to a web site.  And here I thought I had discovered something new!