Thread catcher

I have a pillowcase that I use for throw-away scraps and threads, (which, when full, I sew up the end and take to the town animal shelter to be used as pet beds) but half the time I miss, and with the overheard fan on, I would find thread all over that side of the room other than in the pillowcase.  So this is my solution to keeping thread coralled.    

I started with an online tutorial, and either I'm too dense or it wasn't very clear on the instructions (most likely the former), but I finally turned off the laptop and did my own thing.  The dark purple is fabric I got from my mom (who's been gone more than 2 1/2 years!)  The little pocket on the right side is for a stitch ripper and small scissors.

Just thought I would share that with you.  And, yes, Pokey, I am getting lots of things accomplished so far this summer, and having a ball while doing it, too!

Have a good weekend!

~ Jodi ~

Baby quilt top and back, a pillow, and THANK YOU:

               I need to have this baby quilt ready for July 8. The pillow is complete, and as you can see,

          I made an envelope pillowcase for ease in washing.  The back is a green polka-dot called "Dottie", Home Seasons by Waverly.  (I just left the room to check the selvage and it says, "Dry cleaning recommended."  Argh!)  Any thoughts on that?  I already painstakingly pieced the back using the same "Dottie" fabric.

                                   I guess I will just go ahead and wash it and hope for the best!

                                         I love the ice cream cones, balloons, and cupcakes!
And many thanks to Pokey, Linda, Carla, Pip, and Katherine for your helpful advice on my frayed table runner.  I will be putting it on a back burner for now, but when I get to it I will purchase some Steam-a-Seam and put an applique on it, as you all suggested.
                                                          Happy Friday and weekend, everyone!
                                                                         ~ Jodi ~

Gaaaaa! How best do I fix this?

                 I finished hand-sewing the binding, washed it, threw it in the dryer, and look!

I don't have anymore fabric, these were all scraps.  The pink/brown print frayed away from the dark brown velvet, or velour, whatever it is.  Now what?  This is the first time this has ever happened to me!

I would love some advice, please!  I should have taken a pic of the entire thing.  It's a table runner, for ME!  And I love it.  After I fix it I will show the whole thing, which I have posted about before.

And, Linda, thanks for the info on the lighting.  I will look into that.  It's very disappointing when I have some beautiful colored fabric and it looks blah, just like the above pictures, which I took outside just now at 7:45 a.m.  

Have a great day, everybody!

~ Jodi ~

triangle table runner

Someone gifted me with four lovely FQs from Joann's so I opted to make a table runner.

To go along with the FQs I used some fabrics from my stash like this Heather Ross (one of my favorite designers) with the white background.

I'm at a loss, as usual, as to what some of the other fabrics are. 

And, of course, the colors are washed out.  I have some vacation time coming up and I will devote some of it to figuring out the settings on my Nikon camera so I can take better pictures.

Now to come up with a fun backing fabric and get it finished!

~ Jodi ~

Gypsy Patchwork

Right away I have to tell you that the colors are not true in these pics. This red looks a bit orangey but it's not.  (I must spend some time on my son-in-law's web site, http://www.blueflashphotography.com/, to glean some photog knowledge.)

Oh, and the other important thing is that I DID NOT MAKE this quilt, it's from Country Curtains in Garden City.  I fell in love with it weeks ago and kept hemming and hawing about the fact that I could make one like this, but would I ever find the same fabrics?  Most likely not. 

So yesterday I treated myself and bought it and it is now living on my bed, and I'm so happy I did.  It was made in India, or so the label says, and it is hand-quilted.  And it did NOT cost a fortune, either;

otherwise, I would not own it. 

This fabric above shows the back of the quilt, that gorgeous red again, which repeats in some blocks on the front.  And from the two pics below I am trying to show the quilting, which goes in sort of big circles. 

Now I want to buy some fabric to match so I can make pillows and pillowcases.

I hope you enjoyed the pics of my purchase!

~ Jodi ~

Up on the wall

These are the blocks I made from the fabric I showed you last Tuesday with my elderly dog Abbie posing in the background.  The little strips you see are actually pink.  I'm going to sash all the blocks with more of the same pink.  It's for my husband's niece's baby (Olivia) due in August/shower in a couple of weeks. 

This is ONE of the things I will be working on this weekend while my husband is "running" up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.  Can you imagine?  I could barely hike up it 10 or 15 years ago!  But I'm free for the weekend to do exactly as I please!  

Happy weekend to you all - may you bless and be blessed.

~ Jodi ~ 

some patriotism

This arrived the other day:

I entered a very generous giveaway to win this kit at the "MyLazyDaisy" blog but didn't win, so I bought it instead!

I may have to delete/add some fabrics.  There's one that's just not working for me, but, then again, it's probably me.

Have a marvelous Friday!

~ Jodi ~

ANOTHER baby quilt in the works...

                                     And Abbie thought she should stop and pose for you, too.

Most of these are FQs from Joann Fabrics - some ice cream cones, balloons, and cupcakes.  I don't buy too much there but some of their fabrics are very nice quality.  The third fabric from the left?  I can't remember!  I'll show you my blocks a little later in the week.  

Repurposed mail sorter cabinet

This cabinet was in my husband's grandfather's basement for probably 70 plus years.  Great-gramp received it from a friend who worked for the U.S. Post Office.  It was used for mail, obviously.  We decided to repurpose it in my sewing room, of course.  It is missing a drawer which my husband says he'll refashion one for me.  We'll see.  I've put the rest of it to good use so far.  

Is anyone from N.Y. State?  Long Island City?

Or maybe from Trenton, or Albany? 

                                                  How about New Rochelle, or Lancaster?

                                                    Or possibly Garden City or Yonkers?

                                There are 36 different slots, but lest I bore you, I'll let it go at that.
                                               Till next time, may you bless and be blessed!
                                                                            ~ Jodi ~

Another baby quilt:

              A quilt for a boy, most likely, but not sure who yet.  It needs to be quilted and bound.
                                                                That's all for now, folks!
                                                                          ~ Jodi ~

Test block

Kind of blends right into the wood floor.  I'll share later with you what I'm up to.  Nothing too exciting but I just realized the time!  Spent too long playing this a.m., gotta get to work!

~ Jodi ~

Ironing board cover:

Isn't it cute?  I should have done this years ago.  When we remodeled the kitchen about 20 years ago, this cabinet stood empty for a while.  Then my hubs made the board and figured out how to make it swing down and all that engineering stuff that I don't have a clue about.  It was my task to make a cover for it.  Well, finally, only about 15 years later, do I get the job done!  Aye-yi-yi!  Using a towel under whatever had to be ironed got to be a real pain in the neck, let me tell you!  So I'm glad it's done, and I like the fab I used, although, once again, I can't remember what it is.  

    Well, have a wonderful weekend everyone.

And a big welcome to all my new followers since the giveaway!  Hopefully my new friend Victoria in Ohio has received her fabric by now.  But Pam in England is probably still waiting, but it's on its way.  I was one day late in getting to the post office. but it's been winging its way to you since last Saturday.

Take care, and may you bless and be blessed.

~ Jodi ~