Blessed Memorial Weekend Y’all ~ and a thumble finger cot step by step tutorial!

As this weeks start… it is a solemn long weekend here in the USA… It is a time to remember those that have lost their lives to let us have freedom in America.  So sad it has had to be this way but it is nice to have a national holiday to slow down and remember all that has been lost to give us a democracy.

As I have been pondering this… I have been quilting and also been very busy with other things around the house… so I didn’t think I got that much quilting done to share today… but I HAVE!!!!
I am linking my handquilting progress to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday … come see what others are stitching up too and just follow This LiNK!!!

 I finished 5 set in triangle areas with heart motifs like above.  And below you can see more than 1.

 And I got the butterfly corner motif done too!!!

Now I am ready to roll the quilt a bit…

 And I rolled it… LOVING THE TEXTURE this quilting gives the solid burgandy fabric 😀

 Here it is all rolled now!  I just needed it rolled just a bit to do some stitching in the ditch in each block…

Any suggestions on how to quilt the blocks?  I am still batting around several ideas… lol!  I am just sooo in love with the quilt and the quilting thus far… so happy to have these stencils from my bestie too!!!

I have lost about 17 pounds recently… I have been very focused on this topic to help me and my knees which have debilitating arthritis presently.. but until I lose another 20 pounds or so no one will replace them… so I am staying fervently on the trail of weight loss!

 I am happy to see photos of my self with all this weight gone from me … and excited to see what 20 more pounds will bring 🙂

that close up above was cropped from this photo below.. on the swing in my happy place in our back yard overlooking our pond!

 Here is the pond and the grist mill/water wheel…

 And here is a great big fish swimming in our pond… this fish watches over the baby fish that swim in this area 😀  Can you see the fish??

We have rainbow trout, bass, and crappie… now sure what breed this one is but it likes to swim near the top and swim slowly too! 🙂

Also this week I got a much awaited for plaque for my sewing room with this years theme on it… Hand painted by an Etsy artisan in California…

 Here it is on my main wall you see as you enter the sewing room….

 and here is a closeup of my fave area of the wall…

Do you collect corks?  I love my ampersand cork collection spot!  Lots of crafts in the future will come from these I do believe… and I have FUN collecting them too:D lol!

My honey was VERY busy this week… aside from overworking and getting sciatic pains he drilled the inner divots out of my walking foot making it an open walking foot now!!!

 And he installed our new dishwasher … the appliances were mainly old in the house when we moved in so they all got replaced with stainless but the dishwasher which was new but white… so now the dishwasher matches the rest of the appliances 🙂  And we LOVE it!

 Last week I offered a tutorial on how to make a thumble finger cot … here is the tutorial I made up in Florida but it is exactly as I do it today… in fact I still have my original roll of electrical tape.. it may cost about $5 at a home improvement store but it is well worth it I think!

The only supply you need is white electrical tape.. I do prefer this Scotch brand and some sharp scissors… I use my thread cutting scissors and it doesn’t dull them.

The first photo shows the finger cot on my thumb and the brand of tape I use.  Then cut one piece of tape about 3-4″ long and another piece of tape a couple inches longer.

Cut the shorter piece in half lengthwise and wrap the other piece over itself until it makes a thick 3/8″ or more narrow roll (this is the 3rd photo)

 Now take that rolled up tape and place it on the sticky side of one of the skinny pieces of tape.

Put this on your thumb where you believe you push the needle most often… put the second piece below that but overlapping it … then custom fit it to your thumb to the pieces overlap…

You can take it off when you are done with a sewing session and put it back on the same way just keeping it all one piece now…  Works like a charm 🙂

Happy stitching and don’t forget in this world to …

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What happened to August Y’all?? Happy Labor Day Weekend! Hello September!!!

Wow!  I have been so busy… I didn’t blog a bit in August!!!

So I wish you a Happy Labor Day weekend for those in the USA and Canada and a WELCOME to you ALL!!!!

August went by so quickly… but we were also sooo busy!

Above right is our new door hanger for this month!  I have one for Christmas time too that is a holiday wreath of seashells 😀

Quilting was one area that had ups and downs…

My piecing on the wall hanging came to an abrupt stop and it has been put in time out… I even reached out to the pattern writer for assistance … but she couldn’t help me 😦

So this is where I am stuck… with uneven joins… before recutting and resewing I just put it up… I have other projects to focus on anyway! lol

First I took this out of hiding…

And added a flange to it… it will end up like a 3d pillow/cushion and eventually will be gifted to my friend Brandy who got the quilt these leftover bits came from 🙂

And I can’t forget about this quilt….

Here I am working on row #3 of the center rows … 15 total so a ways still to go! lol

Row #3 is almost done… this is all hand quilting and all my designs 🙂

But most recently my honey showed me his sleeping snuggle pillow!  It is getting holey.. not holy!!! lol

 If you look closely you can see that the fabric is breaking down even though my stitching is all still in place…

So what is a good quilter wife to do???

Like I did above… find a pattern… blow it up to the right size… print it off in 1/4 size pieces.. tape that back together to make a 16″ pattern all together… make a light table on a glass top table … trace it onto NEW fabric that is nice and thick… then layer it up and start stitching! lol

As of last night when I went to bed I was about 1/3 complete with the stitching on this pillow top… I am using YLI 40/3 in a blue grey color to stitch with on this fun batik fabric… it was a backing fabric and if you look close you will see my wholecloth pillow actually has a seam down the middle! lol

Here is a close up of my pencil marked pattern that I have stitched from the front…

 and easier to see on the back side…

I wanted to use cotton/wool blend on this to show the stitching better but my honey requested cotton only!  so that is what he is getting 🙂

I will soak it in Palmolive and warm water to remove the pencil marks I made when I am done … then wash it properly and dry it well once it is a pillow 🙂  I will be making an envelope backing on it and that is all prepared … maybe I will finish the pillow top today?  Maybe tomorrow! lol  But I am enjoying the slow stitching… this will be the 3rd pillow in 6 1/2 years he has had!!!

Linking all this quilty progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching linky HERE !!!

We have also been doing decorating throughout the house…. from a puzzle framed and put in the guest bathroom…

To some pictures and artwork framed …

All in a focus to Relax….

We also have been buying things for a little and rehabbing them and selling them for more… like this sewing machine we found at a local thrift store last month…

 Then we put it on eBay like this with a starting bid of $49.99 to pass on the good fortune of what we found… well it went for more that we thought!!!!

Wowee!!! Did it ever!!!  

So we did some more redecorating…

 In the laundry room we found this cool hanger to coordinate with new shelves my honey fashioned for me 🙂

 In the kitchen we added a clock and bulletin board for pics and notes and keeping us on time 🙂

 Here is some fabric I found at a different local thrift store… someone had turned in their stash and I was lucky enough to buy some including this cool 1980’s fabric that will be a baby wholecloth or 2 for a future grand baby 🙂

 We gave our bedroom a life with this new headboard / footboard/ and pillow shams….

 Then we found these cool 2 cube shelves to use as bedside tables with our new bed…

But first my honey is prepping them for use with our CPAP machines… first his is getting fit and when I get mine later this month he will get mine all ready too!  He added the shelf his hand is on with rollers like a drawer to roll out the machine to fill with water chamber and do anything else… the back side is open for the plug to come out of 🙂

Another fun find for us this past month was some holiday solar pets…  we had the flamingo already! 

  The little lizard sitting in front was a gift from one of my nieces years ago and stays with us 🙂

Then there was a little upgrade for the business side of things too…

So my honey got a new iPad… the older one was giving him troubles!  And this one isn’t all it was supposed to be but it is better!  I think 🙂

So we have been working really hard the last month and a half to lose weight and make true lifestyle changes… so we did!  We met our first goal of losing 22 pounds each… and enjoyed a meal fit for royalty at one of our favorite seafood restaurants!

We had lobster tail… salad bar… and shrimp n chips too!   Totally yummy but I don’t mind how we eat these days either so back in the saddle we go!!!

As we continue to pray for all those left homeless and feeling helpless from Harvey’s wrath… we hope you all have a blessed weekend and can Make Today Great somehow and some way!!!

This month my grandmother I call Nanny will turn 99 years young y’all!  Here she is just last month too!!!!

I am so happy to still have her and her sage advice still in my life today!  

Let’s make time to show appreciation and caring to each other today and EVERY day please…  

So until next time…