February 12,2014

FOR TODAY  February 12,2014

Outside my window..it is foggy but I see the sun trying to peek through!

I am thinking... about all of the lessons I taught on February 12th over the years. It's Abraham Lincoln's birthday!

I am thankful... I had a job I loved.

In the kitchen... everything is picked up but the floor patiently waits for me to mop it!

I am wearing...a purple nightgown.

I am creating... a Redwork sampler to be  placed with completed projects for next Christmas.

I am going.. to take a long walk while the weather is still cool  this morning.

I am wondering... what we should do for this week's special outing.

I am reading... Between Trust and Luck  by Emilie Richards

I am hoping.... everyone is safe during the storm heading up the East coast.

I am looking forward to... making an apple pie for Michael's Valentine's day gift!

I am learning to ...  try  different  places in my quest for the best Hot and Sour soup in the area! I love Hot and Sour soup!!

Around the house...I am organizing a few drawers each day.

A favorite quote for today..."It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves". Sir Edmund Hillary




If you are interested in reading  posts by other people using the Simple Woman's Day book please enjoy this link. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

My Guys

Can you tell I have been able to get a lot done lately? That is because a couple weeks ago Jon took pity on me. We live in a very small apartment. We are musicians and our instruments often take over our living space. Add my sewing machine and accoutrements to that and there is quickly no place for us!

One evening as I was expressing how I had the ambition to finish a project but not enough time because each time I want to sew I have to get everything out and set it all up running an extension cord from one room to the next Jon got up and started moving things around. The next thing I know our keyboard has a new home along the wall in the kitchen and I have a permanent sewing station in the living room!

Notice how nice and brightly lit the station is? That's because my Dad loves me! He knows that I love gift cards to JoAnn Fabric! The one he got me for Christmas bought me this wonderful OttLite which really brightens my cutting mat! He also does his research and purchases gifts on his own too. Top quality Gingher gifts.

Bottom line? My guys are pretty great!

Respectfully,

Harmony

Zentangles

At the State Quilt show one of the workshops Pieceful attended was on Zentangles. She really enjoyed it and shared some of the techniques that she learned with me. Along with the iron caddy pattern Mum also got my a Zentangle a Day book, a journal and some micron pens so that I can learn new patterns and practice.

Zentangles

For those of you who might not know me, I have NO drawing ability. I squeaked through art class in grade school. I never doodled in class. I didn't know how. I can draw lines. I can color. I can Zentangle.

Each day the book shows you how to create a few new tangles and then you get to try applying them on your own! For example, here a few new tangles.

 This is how I chose to apply them along with some others that I'd used previously.

I'll be posting more as it get better! When I do I will use my good camera to get better pictures!

Respectfully,

Harmony

Iron Caddies

Often for Christmas Mum gets me a new pattern of some kind. Often it comes with a not so subtle request to have that pattern made for her! She has made out well by doing this acquiring a variety of tote bags and snap bags for example. This year was no different I received a pattern for an iron caddy. I also received a not so subtle request for one of her own! Works for me!

Iron Caddy

I didn't stop at two though! Originally I bought enough material to make us matching caddies in a print that is a part of the same line of fabric that her apron was made of. Well, I then had to go on the hunt for more of the iron resistant material since the pattern only provided enough to make one. No such luck finding any up here where I live! We took a (3+ hour) drive down state and I was able to stop into the nearest JoAnne Fabric to me! Of course I didn't actually measure the piece in the pattern before leaving home. I thought it was approximately a half yard, but couldn't be certain because it had been awhile since I had even looked. I bought a yard to be safe since we don't travel south very often. The yard was enough to make two! Yay!

I dug through my stash and found I had enough material on hand, including some funky buttons to make the third caddy without having to shop. And I love this material so I decided that my Mum and a special friend will get matching iron caddies and I will use the third one from my stash!

 Still wondering just what this thing is? It is a nifty little carrier for your iron that doubles as an ironing surface! It is great for taking to classes or retreats because of its portability and the heat resistant material.

 Respectfully,

Harmony

Life's a Beach

Hello there! This is Harmony posting today. I promise I have been busy lately and I finally have a moment to blog about it to bring you all up to speed. I will share with you today about some of my latest completed projects but I will have a separate blog for each project so that it doesn't get too long!

Life's a Beach

This is a project that I began last summer when I went to the State Quilt show and took a class with Cynthia England. By sewing small pieces of fabric together a landscape is created. The picture outline is printed on freezer paper that you cut out and iron directly on to fabric and stitch with right sides together. This is different than paper piecing. Below is a the first section that I completed.

Once you have a few small sections completed, you sew those together and it begins to form your landscape. There are HUNDREDS of small pieces of material here!

 Finally done! Square it up and add borders.

The final product is going to be shipped to Florida for my Mum! Merry belated Christmas!

Respectfully,

Harmony