Peas In A Pod

Christmas Cheer and Pockets to Go

Remember when I said I needed some Christmas cheer?  Well, I did get some yesterday...from all of you.  Thank you for your kind comments to me!  Also, I got home and found this in the mail from my friend, Lynn-Alamosa Quilter.

She hand pieced it and hand quilted it.  I just love it, Lynn.  Thank you so much.  You always know how to brighten my day.  And she must have sent this even before my little plea for some Christmas cheer.  For some reason, Lynn and I always seem to know when the other needs a pick-me-up, intuitively.  :-)

This was in the package, too.  I absolutely loved it, and so did Sweet Pea.  She was having a melt down when we came home, and when I opened this, the meltdown immediately stopped and she ran off with it.  She actually hung it in her room.  I had to "borrow it" to put in on the tree for the photo.  Shhh.  She loves the velvet ribbon on it!

I don't know how you do it, Lynn.  You are so busy and yet so generous.  Big hugs to you.  Thank you!!!

I thought I'd show you another finish.  Caroll, don't go having a heart attack on me or anything...this being two finishes in one week.  Haha!  I literally whipped this up last night.  You all know that Sweet Pea is getting a sewing machine for Christmas from me and Papa Pea.  Well, I decided she needed a little sewing basket with some supplies to go with it.  I have had this pattern for a while, but I haven't had time to make it.  Lynn posted photos of a project she made from the same pattern if you want to see something totally different than this.  I had picked up this fabric when I was out carousing with Caroll at the quilt shops in Grand Rapids one day.  I thought it was so cute and was going to give it to Sweet Pea with her machine.  Instead I decided to make this little caddy for her instead.

It has a zipper pocket on each side.  I have to tell you, this was the easiest zipper EVER to put in, and the finished look is so nice!  I put one of the zipper pulls on it that I got a while back from Jennie and her Etsy shop Zipit.  Sweet Pea always likes those and will enjoy this, I think.  (SisLH, did I ever send you some of these for Bitsy?  If not, I need to!)

Here is the one I put on the other side.  They both coordinate well with the cat fabric, don't you think so?  I really love this fabric.  And I think I had ordered like 50 zipper pulls way back when I bought them.  It's nice to have a stash of them to choose from during late night crafting sessions!  I'd like to have a nice stash of Jennie's zippers, too.

I did have to go out fabric shopping the other day to buy a little fabric to coordinate with this.  I probably had something in my stash, but I was too lazy to go digging for it, and I knew I wouldn't have anything "novelty-like" to go with this.  Look at this cute fabric I found!  It has little cat snacks on it, with cat names on each snack.  Then, the little gray paw prints.  So cute!  I had found some fabric with little mice on it that would have coordinated quite nicely, but I thought the irony of that might be lost on Sweet Pea.  Haha.  I also decided I wanted all of the trim to be in a third coordinating color, so I picked up the orange fabric, too.  (The pattern calls for the trim on the sides to be the same as the inside pocket fabric and the trim on the top to be the same as the fabric on the outside.)

Even the insides of the zipper pockets are lined nicely.  It's a really polished, finished look to this project.  I'm loving it.

Here are the things I got to put in it for her:  Some pins, a little wrist pin cushion, a box of bobbins, and a couple pairs of her own scissors.  I have these same scissors and love them.  She totally respects my fabric scissors and doesn't use them on paper.  I thought she might like to have her own. I was happy to find these pink breast cancer scissors.  She'll like the pink.

I think I started this project last night at about 7:30 or 8:00 p.m.  I mean, I hadn't cut anything at all and just started it last night.  I was finished by midnight.  So, it went together relatively quickly and was really fun to make. I would like to make more of them.  In fact, I e-mailed my sister today (Aunt Pea) to see if my niece might like one for storing makeup, hair stuff, etc. in.  I was thinking of making her one for Christmas, if I have the time.  I'm going to try to do that.  If you need a quick Christmas present for someone, this might do the trick.

The pattern is called Pockets to Go, and it is from Atkinson Designs (click the link to go get it).  I really, really liked this pattern.  It's very clever in terms of the construction technique.  The zipper goes in nicely, and the way you slide in the Peltex (a really stiff interfacing) is pretty cool.  Because the raw edges are covered with the binding, there is no turning or anything you need to do.  Sewing the binding around the corners is a little tricky.  You have to not be afraid to squish the box around the needle a bit.  But it wasn't too bad.  I just had trouble a couple of times keeping my seam allowance as deep as it needed to be when I rounded the corners.  But that's more my issue than the pattern's.  I would highly recommend this pattern for anyone.  I would say an intermediate sewist could easily make this.  A confident beginner can probably even handle it well.  It will make nice gifts for people!

Incidentally--and this is why I have to be careful about sewing at night, when I'm tired--I meant to make Sweet Pea the small cube, not the long skinny one.  The small cube needs 1/2 yard of two different fabrics (which is what I had of the cats and cat treat fabric).  I also had 1/2 yard of the orange, because I had decided to make my trim orange.  Well, when I started cutting, I realized I was cutting out the larger box, not the smaller box (even though this is clearly labeled in the pattern).  Shoot!  Well, it was too late to turn back, so I decided to make her the bigger box.  But the bigger box calls for 5/8 yard of each of two fabrics.  Eeek!  I was afraid I wouldn't have enough fabric.  But I was able to get all the box pieces out of 1/2 yard of each with just a bit to spare.  I could not get the trim pieces out of either.  I was too short.  But that didn't matter, because I was using a different fabric anyway for the trim.  I'm just mentioning this to let you know that you can make the larger one out of 1/2-yard cuts of fabric, as long as you go with a different colored trim.

The only thing I wish pattern designers would do would be to tell you which way to align a directional print when cutting pieces.  I was a little scared when I was cutting that I would get the cats going the wrong direction, because even though the parts are labeled in the pattern, I'm never sure how exactly they are going to go together.  It wasn't so bad with the rectangle one, because it was sort of obvious which way the pieces woudl be oriented.  But the square one would be harder to tell.

But all in all, I love this pattern.  I think Sweet Pea will be pretty excited about this.  I am looking forward to making more of these.  I'll show them to you when I get them done.  (Notice, I said WHEN, not IF.  LOL!)

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Until next time,

Mama Pea

Organizing my fusibles, interfacing, and stabilizers

I did a little organizing in the sewing room this weekend.  I have this shelf where I had put all my stabilizers, fusible webs, and interfacing.  I used to keep it in a drawer, but the drawer got too full to be functional.  Plus, some of the rolls were too big for a drawer.  So, I temporarily put it on a shelf, knowing then that the solution was no good.  Stuff kept falling off the shelf every time I tried to grab something to use, and I could never find what I needed.

I know a lot of people sew a sleeve-like thing to hang on their walls to store tubes of stabilizer in.  (Like this, or they sew something with sleeves.)  But that woudn't work for me.  First of all, I don't have the wall space to spare.  Second, it just wouldn't hold enough and would take up too much room if I made it big enough to hold all my stash.  Third, some of my stuff isn't in rolls.

So, here is the solution I came up with:

I bought a little black garbage can to put the stuff in that came on square bolts.  The garbage can is a rectangle.  They fit nicely in there.

I put the labeled end on top, so I would know what was what.  I had some other stuff that had to be folded, so that's in there, too.  But this holds things nicely.  (BTW, that $11.99 bolt was on sale at Hancock's going-out-of-business sale way back when, so I got it for like 70% off.  Score!  I bought the whole bolt.  It's almost used up!)

I got aother round garbage can for all the stuff that could be or came rolled up.  Here it is all neatly organized.

I tied ribbon around each to secure them shut, and if there were instructions with it, I tied that around it, too.  I color coordinated the ribbons.  All the pink ribbons are tied around interfacing.  The yellow ribbons are tied around stabilizers.  The green ribbons are tied around fusible webs.  I tied a tag to the label and wrote what it was on the label.  I think this will really help me use up what I have.  Often, I couldn't find what I needed or didn't want to cause an avalanche to get what I needed, so I would just go get some more.  This will be much better for me.

This should make it so much easier to find what I need when I need it.  I found these fit nicely on the floor under my cutting table.  Great!  Unused space anyway.  And now, I have a shelf that is 3/4 empty, so I can get some other stuff cleaned up.  Can't wait.  Hope this helps some of you organize a little bit!

You would think with all the organizing I do, my house would be neat, clean, tidy, and organized.  NOT!  Sigh.

And as a parting shot, this was a pretty cute sight this morning.  When I walked downstairs, I looked on the front step.  There was Belle laying on the front step, with the two cats cuddled up next to her.  Of course, when I went to snap the photo, both cats came over to see what I was doing.  (Pay no mind to the fact that my porch and stoop need to be swept and the rug needs to be shaken!)

By the way, we ended up having TWO litters of kittens.  One litter is now gone (the one that was PJ's, the cat on the right).  You haven't even seen the other litter (Rosa's, the one on the left).  They are pretty cute.  They were born while we were gone, so they're about 5 weeks old.  I'll snap a photo for you and show you sometime.  We will be looking for homes for four more kittens soon, if you need one!  :-)  For not being a cat  person, myself, these two cats sure are nice, and I like cuddling with them when I'm outside.  (And boy, do they want inside!)

Well, gotta run.  More tomorrow!  Hope you're all having a good day!

Until next time,

Mama Pea

P.S.  Weighed in yesterday...down 23.8 pounds altogether.  Yippee!  I updated my ticker but haven't updated anything else on the Health page.  Internet problems again last night.

I Want to Go to this Sewing School!

via littlelizardking.blogspot.com

A little bit ago, one of my blogging buddies (Little Lizard King) posted something pretty cool.  One of her friends (Karen) has taken her living and dining rooms and turned them into a sewing school for children!  You can check out Little Lizard King's post about it here.  You really should.  The photo above is from her blog post, and you can see lots of other photos of this amazing studio space.

Little Lizard King told me that Karen is the breadwinner for her household.  She teaches two 1-hour sewing classes per day, Monday through Thursday.  She takes 8 children per class period.  The children come once a week and pay $60 per month for the lessons.  They bring their own fabrics, but Karen provides a workbook (for which the children pay a fee) that contains the patterns.  She also does half-day workshops for children over the summer and breaks.  And she's completely booked up all the time...  Apparently demand for the classes is high!

Pretty cool, huh?!  I love that she's getting kids into sewing and is earning a decent living doing so!

If you want to know more about her business, check out Karen's website, Just Sew You Know Sewing School (what a cute name!).  I had a lot of fun perusing her website and checking out some of the projects the kids had done.

I think it would be really fun to teach a kids sewing camp in the summer.  (Maybe next year.  This year my summer is already full!)  It would be a nice break from college teaching.  But I'm not sure I can give up that much space in my house for it.  This has given me some food for thought, however.

How about you?  Give you any ideas for some fun stuff?  If nothing else, the photos on Little Lizard King's blog could give you some great ideas for decorating a studio space!

I wish I could take a field trip to Georgia right now.....

Until next time,

Mama Pea

 

Better Lighting, Great Texture/Snow, Cute Goats

How's that for a pot pourri of stuff to talk about today?  Better lighting, great texture/snow, and cute goats.  Haha!

Okay, first for the lighting.  I think I've complained enough to you about the poor lighting in my "studio" many times before.  I get really frustrated sometimes with it....especially if I'm trying to do something at night.  But even in the day, there are areas of my sewing room that are so dark, it just makes it really hard to see.

As you know, I sew in this unfinished part of the basement right now.  We'll finish it one of these days, but first, we have to finish remodeling the more "visible" parts of the house.  Papa pea was nice enough to put up this white beadboard on a couple of these walls and to build me some temporary shelves.  But, what I'm trying to show you here is the ceiling.  See that bare bulb?  My lighting is two bare bulbs and that window (which actually lets in a lot of nice light!).  My sewing machine is not snown in this photo, but it's right in front of the shelves you see on the right side of the window.  My ironing board is in front of the shelves on the left side of the windo.  Both are in the dark.  The light I have by my sewing machine is basically the light the machine throws!  In the daytime, it's not too bad, because that window give extra light.  But at night, it's horrible.

One day I made a passing frustrated remark about how I was so tired of living in the dark.  I went to run an errand, and when I came home, I found Papa Pea in my sewing room installing these track lights for me!  He had gone out, bought them, and started installing them.  Look at all the glorious light over my sewing machine now!  (Pay no attention to the mess that is my sewing room otherwise.)

Plus, these over my ironing board and cutting table!  I now have 12--count 'em 12--light bulbs instead of one!  Plus there is one more right over where I'm standing to take this photo.  It shines on my plastic fabric drawers.  It is so awesome.  Everytime I go in there, I breathe a sigh of relief now.  Thanks, Papa Pea!

Now, I just need some covered storage so I can get all this clutter out of my visual field.  One day, this room will get finished.  Although not pretty, it's very functional right now.  That whole shelving unit by my dryer is filled with batting scraps and fleece.  I need to figure out a better way to store it.  It's the one thing that really bugs me to look at in my sewing room.  (Dad, don't look at these photos.  I know the clutter would make you nuts.)

Okay....snow....

My SIL sent me some great photos of the snow at her house from that last great snowstorm.  Check out these three.  What great texture!

I think those are really neat.  There could be some cool quilt inspiration there.

This next one, I just thought was funny:

The snow plow came by and buried the mailbox.  (Post script:  THIS WAS BEFORE THE PLOWS CAME!  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!)  My SIL's husband asked her to go find the maibox so he didn't knock it over whe he plowed out the driveway with his tractor.  Look how this was buried!

Finally, the goats.  I just have to show you this, because they're so cute!  My SIL just had a slew of baby goats born recently.

Here's her grandson holding one.  This goat's name is Twinkie.  (Her grandkids get to name them, I think.)

And this one is Jack.  This poor guy has had quite a life so far.

• Jack's mom rejected him.   So, my SIL was bottle feeding him every two hours!  Even through the night.  I think he's down to every 6 hours now.
• Then he hurt his hind leg.
• Then he got diarrhea, then pneumonia. 

My SIL wasn't sure he was going to live.  But he seems to have perked up and it appears he's going to make it now!  She said it was worse than having a newborn baby around.  At least you get to feed newborn babies in the house and not out in the barn!

Here's a funny story.  My SIL said: 

We just found out he likes to dance - Yes, seriously! He polkas! hahahaha. Sunday, he started trying to prance like a goat but because his leg is still bad, he usually falls. Well, every night from 5-6 (if he's home) [her husband] listens to  'The Barn Show' -a polka radio station. Last night, we were both in the barn listening to it and Jack started prancing, jumping, and bouncing each time a polka came on. Sometimes, he still fell but it was just too funny.  I started dancing with him and he danced harder. We were laughing so hard at him! I wish I had a video.

I love it.  I can't wait to go visit her and see these goats.  I think Sweet Pea would really get a kick out of it, too.

Seeing these photos of Jack and hearing his story made me think of the quote I posted yesterday about making a difference in the world.  I think Jack has already made his mark on the world, too.  What do you think?

Well, that's enough rambling for today, I guess.  I better get to work.  I skipped my guild meeting last night.  I just couldn't handle one more thing to do by the end of the day yesterday!  Today will be a little slower (though not a lot).

Until next time,

Mama Pea

2010 Final Countdown-Task Three

Shelly over at Prairie Moon Quilts posted our third and final task for the 2010 Final Countdown yesterday, and I did work on it yesterday.  But I have been so busy today, I just haven't had a chance to make a post about it!

Here is her post, if you'd like to read it in detail:

http://prairiemoonquilts.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/2010-final-countdown-task-three

Our third task fit right in with what I had started on yesterday!  Yippee!  She challenged us to deal with our scrap (SCRAP, not crap!).

She uses Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User System, which I've also been trying to get started on for over a year.  Bonnie recommends that when you finish a project, you should cut up your leftover scraps immediately into useable strips, squares, and rectangles.  (Click on Bonnie's link above for specific information.)  I have started doing this with my scraps this December.  But I haven't been able to get started on my big box of scraps, because I couldn't get my drawers labeled.  Without a place to put my strips, I was having trouble being motivated to cut them up.  When I got my drawers labeled yesterday (and cleaned out), I really felt like I could move forward on this.  And then, Shelly's task for us was to deal with our scraps.  Perfect!

Shelly posted a pitiful little pile of scraps that she has to deal with.  (Click on her link for the third task at the top of this post to see her sorry little pile of scraps.)  Shelly, you've got nuthin' on me.  Check out my scrap "basket."

This is one of those big, giant tubs.  This is about 5 years worth of scraps.  It feels really overwhelming.  But, I did start on it last night.  I cut scraps for about 45 minutes, I think.  I am cutting them as wide as 3.5".  I start by cutting the widest one I can and then cut smaller and smaller as need be.  Then, I sort them into my drawers for 1", 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", or 3.5".  I am not cutting squares and "bricks" as Bonnie calls them.  That would just take me too long.  I am just cutting strips, and then I can "brick" them as I need them.  Works for me.

Here's what it looked like after 45 minutes of cutting.  Not much of a dent.  Hardly noticeable, but I did make some headway.  I didn't even get all done cutting the scraps from Sweet Pea's Eureka! quilt!  Sigh.  Really, I'm going to have to (a) cut up my scraps immediately after finishing a project so it doesn't feel so overwhelming again, and (b) have a strategy like--cut scraps for 15 minutes each time I sit down to sew--or something in order to really get this bin dealt with.

But I'm glad to make progress.  I really want to make a quilt with scraps, and I have to get my scraps in order to do it.  I was struck by a comment Bonnie made on her post...Consider that fabric costs about $10 per yard.  Think of how many yards of scraps are in this bin.  Those scraps are still worth $10 per yard!  They are just cut in smaller pieces.  When I think of how much money's worth of fabric is in this bin, it does motivate me to cut them up and use them for a quilt (or quiltS, hopefully).

By the way, Bonnie has a ton of free patterns on her website that are great for using up scraps. 

I have been having a great weekend.  I'll tell you all about it in another post.  I went shopping at a great sale today, met a blogger friend (Hi Caroll!), and Papa Pea had a surprise for me when I came home.  And yesterday, I finished all the blocks for Super Mario and laid them out.  Hope I get them sewn together in rows.  More on all that later!

Anyway, thanks to Shelly for hosting this little 2010 Final Countdown.  It was small enough to not feel overwhelming to me so that I could actually participate and get things done.  All of the things she had me do were things I needed to do anyway, so it really gave me the "boot in the patoot" (Shelly's words!) to get 'er done.  Thanks a million, Shelly!  I wish I was as clever as you are!  Kudos to you!

Until next time,

Mama Pea