Denim Do-it-All Bins @Craftzine.com blog

Denim Do-it-All Bins @Craftzine.com blog

Here's something I'd like to try to dress up my sewing room and get rid of all those plastic containers ... how about you ?

My Precious G'ma time ~

I got to spend a couple weekends with my Precious Granddaughter and she is SO into SEWing ... I bought her a mini Janome 2 Christmas' ago, and now that's all she wants to do when she comes over ... So y'all know what a giver I am ... I gave in and we sewed together ... 


This was her attempt at her first pattern reading on her own.  We used the "almost free" tissue holder pattern we got from Ami Simms BLOG and it's a pattern from Linda Halpin.  They both have some great tips and patterns and lots of GREAT reading!


So Precious has been digging thru G'mas scrap tubs and she's got a GREAT eye for color!  Maybe she can teach me something about that, because that's where I struggle the most in my creativity.  I think my mind bounces too much with too many ideas :)  

After choosing many different color combinations, Precious started sewing... and because she had not sewn for awhile, her confidence was way down... so my first answer to her is always for prayer, because I want her to learn to lean on The Lord for all her needs and cares.  We pray alot together ... and we've always taught her to pray out loud, and she does so quite freely ... ah, LOVE that girl!  So we prayed for her to not be anxious or fearful and then she takes a deep breath and dives in! :)  She sews and sews and sews... and has made these holders for her mom, both GrGrandmas, her teacher, her old teacher, friends, and one to tuck into her back pack too!



She also wanted to make a magnet for her mom to put on the dishwasher so they could see if the dishes were clean or dirty ! :)


This Precious child SURE knows how to tug at her G'mas heart strings ... and I am SO VERY priviledged to be able to spend time with her and (hopefully) inspire her to do something she loves.  She IS my heart!

I've been BUSY AGAIN !

I'm on a roll!  I went so long last year without really applying any sewing to my life, except for a little bit here and a little bit there ... I REALLY want to get serious this year !  I have some MUF projects I want to do ... but for right now, I have a brain focused on purses!  I took 8 of them to a boutique last week, got an order for 1 in California, and so I now need to get serious !

I went to Melissa's yesterday and cleaned for a bit ... and started talking about a pattern I picked up.  Her mind is so creative sometimes (I think youth might have something to do with that)... anyway, she gave me some awesome ideas, and now my head is spinning with ideas and thoughts!  So here I am ... up at 4am ... figured if my brain is gonna lay there and think of purses and magnetic snaps and purse feet and such ... I might as well get up. :)

So here's some of the pretties I delivered last week to the boutique.  Hoping they will do well and I have more to make so I can really get them "out there".... any ideas ?  Here's hoping YOU have a blessed day, productive in anything you want it to be, and may The Good Lord bless you with warm weather, good friends and loving family!

Off to a GOOD START this year !

I'm on a roll !!!  I'm looking to go to the Circle of Friends retreat in North Carolina ... it's put on by friends on the HGTV quilting message board, and it's a bunch of fun quilters getting together to meet up and share in person what we've been doing for years in cyber space.  I'm SO excited!  And motivated!


So ... honey told me to put together some bags and my hairdresser wants to put them in her shop... so here's a couple I whipped up this week... have a few more cut out, and will post them when I get them done.


The inside of this 6-pocket tote is the same as the outside pockets ... and I made the little button fastener ... gotta love glue guns !

I really like this jeans one ... it's made out of girls jeans, so it has a cute ruffled elastic top (I remember those days LONG ago when I could wear these) :)   Didn't think it was big enough ??? so added some quilted bottom on to it ... Learned a good lesson on that one, cause I didn't want to line it and distract from the inside of the jeans ... but didn't line the quilted part before I sewed it on ... Think I'll be keeping this one :))


I'm just excited that I am actually completing projects and am focused on sewing!  Look what dumping all the drama people were dumping on me :)  It's a GREAT NEW YEAR !  

GENEROSITY ... I love it !

A while back, I posted a blog about a giveaway over at SHEA CHIC.  We had to write a story about someone deserving of a giveaway of some nice products ... So I wrote about my friend Susan, and the struggles she's gone through since her foot injury last April.  She did not take her injury seriously, and subsequently, lost her left leg.  She's endured many hardships and trials, but has almost always gone through with a wonderful positive Christian-like attitude.  I say almost, because when they told her she wasn't going home after she thought she should, she gave them what for ... but it also made her determined to fight harder to get home!


Susan's story is amazing ... after losing her fiance to a heart attack, about a year later, she lost her leg ... then gangrene settled in her neck, and she had to have neck surgery... then she had to go thru rehab, but was such a fighter, she purposed it in her heart to get the heck out of there!  She was in the hospital from April till June, then she went to a nursing home for the rehab, and THANKFULLY now lives in a senior housing facility that is wheelchair accessible for all her needs.


Susan has such an awesome outlook, she named her short leg "PEG"... which just cracks me up!  She's learned to adjust to her situation and gets around in her little kitchen, baking cookies for the kids at church for Wed nite suppers !!!


If you read this, please pray for Susan this Thursday and beyond ... she has to endure yet another surgery, as the screws they put in her neck to "hold her head on" (oh gross!), are working their way out, and causing great pain to the back of her neck.  This time, she says, they will be going thru THE FRONT and put a plate in there to anchor the screws... I don't know how she does it ... well, actually, it's only by God's grace that she can endure such pain and trials ... and yet she still comes out smiling that sweet gentle smile.  She's quite a gal, that Susan ! 


And the generosity of cyber friends over at SheaChic really restores our hope in this crazy hectic world!  What a very generous gift provided to pamper my friend just a tad ... it includes some WONDERFUL Shea Butter lotion (love it!), a wonderfully scented candle, and some California soap... nice to the skin!   THANKS APRIL ... YOU ROCK !

I became a MUF gal !

I decided to become a MUF gal, after I saw Kelly's post on my Crazy friend's blog ... And this is MY year for DOING what I want, WHEN I want to do it !!!  I'm tired of always feeling like I'm under pressure operating on someone else's time schedules.  This is the year I CLAIM MY TIME BACK ! 


I quit the PTO at Precious' former school ... the pressure and constant "putting out fires" all because someone else refused to plan, got to me.  I like my ducks in a row, and my sewing room cleaned (but we all know THAT doesn't happen very much!) ... and so I had to adopt the slogan I used when I worked back at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach ... "lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part"!   And I gotta tell ya, IT FEELS GOOD to be out from that pressure !

Also last year, I quit our church and all the drama that entangled us there.  No volunteering, no leading classes ... it's all good!  We are much more relaxed now, and I think sometimes in life, instead of life running you, you have to realize and take time to do life YOUR way!

And that's what MUF is for me !  MUF's  is "Masterpieces Under Fermentation"!  I'm gonna capture this year as MINE and work on WHAT projects I want to, and try new things, and NOT feel the pressure of "having" to finish it all up now... and Lord knows I have PLENTY of MUFs in my closet to bring out and work on.   And this year will be the year I actually learn to machine quilt!  I need to stop being a scaredy cat and get a handle on it ... I can do it ... I CAN do it!


AND I'm going to the HGTV Circle of Friends (COF) retreat!  I missed out last year, and I was REALLY bummed that I didn't get to meet my Crazy friend up there ... but I'm not missing out this year!  And I have already booked my airline ticket for 1/2 of what I originally saw it for... just got such a good deal, how could I possibly refuse?  I really think this is a blessing from my Lord!


I did get to work on a couple projects for the Secret Sister swap over at HGTV quilting message board ... but I can't post pics, cause then she'd know who I am ... I LOVE SURPRISES !  


Have a GREAT day!  I'm off to clean Melissa's house (earning bucks for COF), and I get to work for only about an hour at Precious' school, helping her teacher out in the copy room... NO DRAMA THERE !  Y'all be blessed today!

New Year ~ New Goals !

Well here it is 2011 ... WoW !!!  With my old lifestyle, I SERIOUSLY did not expect to live this long ... but I THANK GOD for His mercies,  His grace and His sustaining my life.  And with His help, this will be a GREAT year, and one that I get some things under control !  First all, mine and hubby's health and weight.  I've been slipping on taking care of Steve's dietary needs for awhile, and gotten back into my old ways... enough!  Today, I clean out all the cupboards of junk, throw away a major amount of junk food, and start getting back on track.  I don't want the Dr to put him on cholesterol pills, so I need to get my focus back right.  Secondly, I want to drop some weight for a special plane ride I'll be taking at the end of April !  More on that later :)


Reading through some blogs this morning, I found myself captivated by all that people do throughout a year ... and it got me to thinking... WHAT ON EARTH HAVE I COMPLETED THIS YEAR ?  It's been a crazy mixed-up, not-real-productive year ... so let's see if I can post some pics on something I might have done ...

• I held my annual PIN CUSHION SWAP ... which is SEW much fun !  People are so absolutely creative in their thinking and designing!  What a fun swap to have !
• I made some pot holders and towels for a CRAZY friend ...  and for my secret sister at church, and a couple other friends as gifts ... they're fast and easy... and a fun gift to receive!
• I put together 2 wall hangings from blocks I did in a swap a while back
• I'm STILL in the process of sewing Susan's quilt of love for the church ladies... altho the top is now complete so will try to "sandwich" it today :)
• I made a cute little wall hanging for my hubby's office, but by the look on his face it wasn't what he wanted, so I kept it for my Americana decor sewing room :)
• I made some pillowcases this year ... THEY'RE FUN !  I made a few for my friend Susan, cause her's is an on-going battle... so I made a spring, summer, fall ... guess I haven't gotten around to winter yet, but that can come AFTER her quilt!  I also made some for my friend Betty, who is an angel of care giving ... she looks after so many and does so much volunteer work!
• I also made some for mom, for dad, for daughter Melissa, SIL Jack, and for PRECIOUS of course.  I even got around to making a pair for Stevie :)  I need to FIX the fact that I haven't made any for ME !!!  That's a 2011 goal :)

AND so looking over the LACK of fun I had last year ... this IS the year that I do more sewing!  I've just been wasting alot of my time on doing time-sucking things ... so in the mornings, after checking email and facebook (I can't give it up entirely!), I will be shutting DOWN the computer for the day and not turning it on til the evening time.  Between housework, decluttering, and sewing, I won't have time to be wasted... and I'm sure my life will show more productivity through projects and such !  I'm excited to get this going...


Now over at the HGTV Quilting & Needlework Message Board, my CRAZY  friend and I are again hosting the HGTV 2011 BOM, and this year the theme again is STARS ... but it's in the BARN DOOR !  I LOVE putting together this BOM and seeing the wonderful minds that start to stir as they post their pictures!  It amazes me how beautiful people can see things in their mind's eye, and then put it to use with fabric.  The process of picking out fabrics and auditioning is my hardest part of sewing ... but maybe with practice !

So I completed my January block for the BOM ... I decided to do the stars in Civil War Reproductions, and the barn and outside not ... but I may be rethinking that before February!  I really like the middle, but not sure of the outside ... may be too bright!  I also discovered I need MORE practice on sewing... not being productive is not good for the skills, so I'm determined to fix that this year !

I started reading my GREAT gift from my Crazy friend, Magic Stars by Nancy Johnson-Srebro.  She teaches how to make stars without Y-seams and diamonds.  And I do have to admit... it was EASY !  A little wasteful on fabric, I thought, but THAT will lend itself  to another bit of fun, making fabric postcards... but that another blog day!

And in my spirit of more sewing, I decided I will be going thru the book and doing each and every star with her directions... That will give me more sewing AND more practice!  So here's my first one!  I used the same Civil War Repro's I did for my BOM, and I think I will turn this into a table topper for MY table!  After all ... a new year, new goals, MORE SEWING FOR ME !!!


My prayer this year is to stay focused on my Lord ... to work on my relationship with Him to bring me closer to Him and to find where HE wants us to worship Him and to serve Him in a manner that would bring Him honor and glory... for He is so worthy!  Have a blessed day y'all !

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

I just wanted to pop in and say HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I'm so excited that the old year has past and a new one gives me a sense of renewal, refreshment and rejuvenation!  I'm ready to make this a year for me, so far as my being able to spend time sewing ... it's my third love.  And I want to make sure my first two loves (Jesus and family), are put in their proper priority as well ... I'll be posting pictures later, but need to get ready for church.  I tried to post something yesterday, but that lil Precious was here for 3 days... well, and I just can't seem to do much except her!  


Oh yeah, we did sew!  I needed to spend a day in the sewing room with my favorite lil girl ... that's her with her mini Janome!  She loves to sew, and since she moved 15 miles away, we just don't seem to get to do it like we want ... but the new year will be a different focus.  She and I decided that we need to sew together at least twice a month... it'll help build her confidence and give me some special G'ma time!


She wanted to make a little magnet for her dishwasher at home so they can tell if her dishes are clean or dirty!  She designed and sewed the whole thing, from start to finish.  It was WAY FUN !  


HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'all ... Hoping this year will be a blessing to all!

Past Christmas ... what happened ?

Here it is past Christmas, and I didn't even post any pictures of our fun !  Bad G'ma... BAD G'MA !




 Here's my Precious with an ornament she got in preschool, with her as a baby ... she's STILL just as cute as ever :)  o my heart!

 We had Precious over to help decorate our tree and set up Nativity sets ... 


And our tree is beautiful !

 and she talked Poppy into making Christmas cookies while they were at it !  They had SUCH a great time!  

 


These are pillow case sets I made for Precious and family ... Melissa & Jack LOVE black ... and Precious got a black sheet set for Christmas, so had to throw in some Girl Scout cookies !!!


I let Precious open my quilty gift from my VBQFF, who is a wild and crazy quilter!  You know her!  She's the one they CALL CRAZY!  Go on over and check out her fun ... she's encouraging and an over-achiever who loves to push me ... Maybe 2011 will be the year I actually get moving! {{hugs}}



 So this pretty thing is my Precious gift from The Lord ... and next to my free gift of Salvation, she's been the best.  She is the delight of my life, and fulfills the need I had to be a Grandma... Did I ever tell you that The Lord had me pray for her a full year before Melissa was expecting?  He's a GOOD GOD who has given me the desires of my heart ... Just like His Word said He would!  Psalm 37:4

Christmas Project for Precious !!!

Here's a project I designed for my Precious Granddaughter ... Since she moved to the city and has neighbors to play with, I wanted to make her something she could take and have some fun ... So I designed a  lap quilt in her favorite color, PURPLE, and I had a lot of fun doing this, dreaming of her taking her special made gift with her to play with friends!  


This is it ...
all closed up 
and ready to carry !

 
You can then untie it and take it apart... the bag is full of playing pieces !


I'm usually (must I confess?) afraid of quilting on items ... but this I did, and the back of it is quilted in a checkerboard pattern!

And here's the results ... a fun cloth and quilted checkerboard ! The checkers pieces are fun buttons!

She'll be getting it tomorrow on Christmas Day, so I'm delighted to give her a gift with my love.  She IS my heart, and my special gift from The Lord ... that's why I call her PRECIOUS !