Progress

My mother is a knitter. If you read her latest post, she talks about knitting rows and rows without the project seeming to get any longer. http://lorrieknitsandsews.blogspot.com/ That's the way I feel the quilting has been on my bag. Then...all of a sudden, it's finished. I quilted the fabric in a cross hatch, using a quilting arm on the smaller pieces. I marked the larger pieces. I have a tendency to wander on bigger pieces. Once you start to wander, each row follows the last. It looks like I've been drinking. So, I marked the lines 1.5" apart.

I lined the pockets with matching fabric and added velcro closures so I don't loose things as I ride down the road. That would be very sad! I also added a band of Timtex. Timtex is a very heavy weight interfacing that added considerable body to the top of my pockets, right where the velcro is.

One pocket went on tonight, the other will wait until tomorrow. There are also side pockets that will get similar treatment. This is the pocket. I wasn't even trying to match the fabric on here and I find it difficult to find the pocket top. Lucky me! I'm sure that won't happen again.

Here are the little boys trying to help me out.

Happy Valentines Day!

Ok, So Valentine's isn't until tomorrow. Honey and I celebrated last weekend in Chicago. It seems like Valentines week here. Not such a bad thing.

Honey was in Chicago on Tuesday. BooBoo and I left Erie on Thursday. I stayed with my best friend Thursday night. We do this every year. I get to her house about 10pm and we stay up until 2 or 3 talking. I headed off west when she went in to work on Friday. Honey was working the motorcycle show, finishing the setup at the Stephens Convention Center. I wish I could say we filled our weekend with very exciting plans. No so. It was just a nice weekend away. We did take a little trip south of Chicago to look at a trailer for his truck. Not the peak of excitement though.

BooBoo got to play with all his friends. He is madly in love with Riley, a white shepherd. He got to see Roy and Pat, and the Yamaha boys. Eggs for breakfast, a hamburger for lunch. (He won't eat dog food when we are on the road). He thought it was a great trip. Now, don't go thinking the other boys missed out. Charlie and Petey were at Camp Diane's. Spoiled rotten would be a good description. Bailey got to go to Aunt Bonnie's. Spoiled rotten again. Bailey's sister lives with Aunt Bonnie as well as 2 Springer Spaniels, Gunner and Gabby.

I took several photos of the custom paint jobs on the motorcycles. I love the color combinations they use. I've also been looking at some of the lines of the pieces parts, like this fender from one of the Victory Ness bikes. The flow of the exhaust pipe has a nice curve to it. The different shapes of the handle bars. I'm working on a design using the exhaust pipe curve. I'll work on the handle bars later. Who knew motorcycles could inspire quilts.

Is it Christmas already?

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is almost here. The calendar keeps surprising me. I was in Houston again last weekend to visit with Phyllis. Honey was in Houston for the motorcycle show so it seemed like a good time for a few days off. We had a lake effect blizzard in Erie as I was leaving. They got about 8" while I was gone. I think I left just in time. It was raining when I came home. Most of the snow had turned to slush.

The show in Houston seemed small this year. BMW was not there. Yamaha brought the big trucks in for their display, but did not put up their usual booth. Honey is working with Victory this year. To give you a little back ground, once upon a time I had a t-shirt business. I had a booth at these shows to sell the shirts. I have quite a few friends that still work the "Winter Tour". I'll have to wait until they come to Cleveland to see them though. They were not in Houston. I did get a chance to check out all the new bikes though. Yamaha has a 950 cruiser that looks interesting. I like the Victory Vegas in the red. Kawasaki has a new concourse also that looks pretty cool. There are times I wish my bike had saddle bags to carry things around. I have a bag I can strap to the rear seat that works pretty well. Here are our bikes on the Blue Ridge Parkway 2 years ago. We're thinking about taking a trip down towards Chattanooga and back through Nashville this summer. Let me know if there are any must see quilting places along the way!

I've been working on Christmas recently so I can't show you too much yet. I did get a few purse frames while at Market. I've been trying to design something to go along with them. Not anything too fancy, although some of the frames are pretty dressy. I'd like them to be used. If I make them too fancy they will sit is a drawer.

I also made a table runner for my cousin. A thank you for helping me out at Market. It's the first time I have worked with silk, certainly not the last though. I was thrilled with how it turned out. I embroidered snowflakes on white silk dipioni. I then made 4 patch blocks to make the center of the runner with pale blue and silver grey and placed the snowflake blocks around the outside. I had thought about beading it, but was afraid she wouldn't be able to put anything on top of it then. I used a lightweight knit interfacing on the back of the silk and stabilized it with an iron on stabilizer fort he embroidery. My designs were not very high stitch counts or very dense. I was concerned about it puckering with a more dense design. The pictures did not come out very well. Sorry. The silk just reflected back and you can't see the embroidery. I've had the same trouble photographing white. Maybe someday I'll get the hang of that.

The Almost Time

I'm almost ready. This is what I call the almost time. I am leaving on Thursday for San Francisco. My youngest sister is getting married on Saturday. I'm traveling with Jen and family. If you go by ages, she is sister 3. I have 4 all together. Jen and family and I make up 6 people, a whole row on the airplane. No we are not flying United! Here she is with the kids. Honey cannot come for this trip. He has had to go back to work.

I have my suitcase out, although not yet packed. My "probably" clothes are on the bed, waiting to see if they will make the final cut. My dress and shoes for the wedding festivities are ready to go. Everything is almost ready. Tomorrow I have to make the final decisions. Should I take the brown capri's or the black ones? or both? Do I take 3 pairs of shoes or 4? This weekend is going to be one of those trips where I will need at least 2 outfits for everyday, 1 dressy, 1 more casual. That means 6 changes of clothes, plus a few extra tops and an extra pair of pants in case I change my mind. (I'm sure you have NEVER experienced that.) You'll notice there are not nearkly enough clothes on the bed yet, Of course I always carry an extra pair of socks and an extra pair of underwear. Fortunately I have never needed them (I did come close on my Portland trip though). I think I'll put them in my carry on this time. Then for sure I won't need them.

I am pulling my travel project together. I'm trying to exorcise those mirror ghosts again. I'm trying out some dimensional flowers with a few mirrors thrown in. I was thinking about a carousel horse, but I don't have time to plan that out right. Instead I will go for a practice run on the flowers and maybe put them in a vase. I guess I'll have to get that worked out tonight. I have my books packed. I went to the library this afternoon and picked out a couple books. Edith Head's Hollywood and Couture An Illustrated History of the Great Paris Designers and Their Creations. Edith Head's Hollywood is the story of Edith Head's career in costume design. She dressed all the greats from Mae West in She Done Him Wrong to Robert Redford and Paul Newman in The Sting. How could I not be intrigued? This will certainly be first on my list. As for the second book, Couture, haven't you always wondered where today's fashions come from?

It's almost time and I am almost ready. I'd better get a little something for the kids on the plane. It's going to be a long ride for them.

PS. Too bad BooBoo can't go this time. He's ready.

Quilts or clothes?

How did you start sewing? Did you start with quilts? or with clothes? I started with clothes. Doll clothes to be more specific. By the time I was in high school, I was making most of my clothes. I went to two proms. My mother made my dress for my first prom and I made the dress for the second. Somewhere in that time frame, I decided I was not good enough to want to wear what I had made. I know now I had missed the mark on what the problem was. I did not have a skill problem, I had a patience problem. Good enough while I was making the garment was not good enough to wear. Funny how I can see that clearly now. So I am back to making clothes . Now I have a time issue more that a lack of patience. Here is my latest creation. I just received my first Burda WOF magazine. This is such a cute little top. It would be cute without the elastic at the waist as well. You may see that later. Honey asked me the other day if I ever use that dress form.

I've been working hard to get my quilts finished before I go to market. Floral Delight is finished at at Benartex. Chocolate Creams needs to be quilted. Here is a sneak peak of my current projects. The red flower is a poinsettia quilt. I have been trying to find time to make myself a holiday throw and never seem to get it togther around the holidays. I figured if I didn't get it done now, it would be another year. I am going to redo my sample in fall colors, more like sunflowers. I just found this poppy fabric last week. I have big plans for it as well. It's already committed to go to Millcreek Vac and Sew when I get it done, as a sample for my pattern.

I ran across this picture the other day and thought I would share. It is from Christmas at my parents 2 years ago. Honey and the BooBoo Boy, reading a story. So cute!

April showers bring...

dogs in raincoats? I made the little boys raincoats. What a hoot! They don't understand the hoods yet. They look so happy!

Today is the first day in a while it hasn't rained. I'm not complaining, really, it could be snowing here still. The rain does make it easy to sit and sew. I can look out the window while sitting at my machine and I think, "What a nice day to be in and to not have to go anywhere". Well, I wish I didn't have to go anywhere anyway.

My latest pattern is coming along. I have made this design 3 times now. Each time I make it, it looks completely different. I have been trying to decide what size blocks to use for the pattern. I'm thinking I'll stick with a 10" block. The quilt goes together faster and there is room for some spectacular quilting if desired. This particular version is going to the YMCA in Corry for their auction in May.

I've been working hard through my projects. Maybe a little too hard. I had to take my sewing machine in for service. Seems it got tired and decided to just stop, mid seam. Poor thing. They took good care of her at the sewing machine hospital. She got about two weeks of rest and relaxation. Now I've got her back home and she is back to her old self. My iron seems to be a little jealous though. No sooner did I bring my machine home and the iron decided it was time for a break. She didn't even give me any warning, just refused to heat up this morning. So I'm looking for a new iron. I can't decide if I should get another one of the same or if I should try something different, like a cordless one, or maybe that Oliso that can sense when you touch it. In the meantime, I'll have to use my husbands old iron that has been hanging out in the basement. I guess it won't take me very long to decide.

Is it time?

As you all probably know, I have been working on the dog clothing line as well as my quilt patterns. I have a few things up for sale on Etsy and am working on adding more. I believe it is time to have a little separation in my blog discussions, so I am creating a blog for the boys and their clothing. Now, that does not mean they won't appear here, so don't despair. I won't deprive you of those cute little faces and some of their outrageous antics and outfits. I just need some separation. So if you want to read all about the boys and their latest walks and sleeping places, here is their new blog. http://www.booboosbag.blogspot.com/.


Now, for my latest quilting ideas, I've been thinking about doing a fabric portrait of the boys. I took a couple of their pictures and enlarged them to see how it would look. I need to go looking for fabric. That's always a hard thing to do! I have some black, I need the white and tan for Petey and Charlie. I might need more black as well. We'll have to see how what I have plays together. There needs to be a certain level of contrast on Boo to show his face correctly. These are the pictures I am considering using as guides. This is one of Charlie is one of my favorites. I think I will try to make each portrait about 8 x 10 and then put them together in one wall hanging. This will be a whole new challenge for me. I have not tried to recreate a photo before so we'll see how it goes.

It's Finished!

Hey all,

I have been so busy recently. I FINALLY finished Diane Next Door's lap quilt. She is just thrilled. She wanted that furry fleece on the back. It looks kind of like a poodle, in this case a white poodle.It's very warm, snuggly and very slippery. The pink and brown will go great in her living room. I have also finished the top to the second version to be used for a pattern shortly. I think I'll call it Candy Coated Chocolate. The colors are more my style, you know, lime green and turquoise with brown.

I have also cut out and started the next project. Another lap quilt, I know. It's such a nice size to work on. large enough to be fun, but not so large as to get boring. I'm still looking for a name for this one as well. The fabric is just stunning. Benartex, Flower Show II.

I set up my Etsy store as well. Both BooBoo and Petey are featured. I made two green plaid coats and a denim jacket that are up for sale with more to come. The link is http://www.booboosbag.etsy.com/. Check it out. They have the best handmade stuff for sale. My youngest sister recommended it. She's on top of all the trends and knows where to find all the coolest things.

I hope the weather is warm wherever you are!

Sneak Peek

I was out at The Sewing Loft in Union City yesterday. They are taking my watermelon quilt and patterns to a quilt show in Pittsburgh this weekend. Yeah! Jeanie also said she would like to take them April 9th when Mark Lipinski will be in town. In addition to having Mark speak (which is always a hoot) the shops will have booths. They will have several pattern designers with booths. Although I was not chosen to have a booth, my quilts will be at several of the shop booths. It's going to be a great day!

Diane Next Door's quilt is almost finished. Just a little more binding to go. I have also changed the colors and made a second one that I will use for a pattern. I'm still working out those directions. It's probably an intermediate pattern. I think the hardest part is making sure the color placement is correct.

I've been working on a new line of puppy clothing as well. I think it will be called BooBoo's Bag and will be for sale on Etsy.com. Here's a sneak peek. I have always had larger dogs, until Petey and Boo came along. I surprise myself at how much fun the clothing is for the "little boys". I'll let you know when I get it all up and going.

Here's my latest yarn project. It's been a slow go, but only because there has been so much else going on. It's going to be a long sleeve cardigan. As I told my Mom, there is a lot of air in this project.

I guess I had better get busy!

Ooh the Snow and Ice!

We had about a foot of snow early this week, then 60 degrees and now ice. It was beautiful on the trees, but not so much on the roads. I woke up this morning and could not see out of the front windows of the house. They were covered in a sheet of ice. I took some pictures of the trees though. So incredibly beautiful. It was a good day to stay inside if you could. I, of course had to go out. There was a good 3/8" sheet on my car. Strangely, the doors were not frozen shut. The ice shattered over the door shattered when I opened it.

I've been thinking about how to portray these branches in a quilt. The trees were glistening like they had had a shower of glitter this morning. This is probably another one of those potential quilt ideas that will haunt me until I get it figured out.




I thought it would also be a good day to show you some of my finished projects. I have finished my green sweater. It does look stunning on my dressmaker's dummy. Too bad I can't wear for at least a month. I guess I could turn the heat up in the house and pretend it's summer here.




Here is Boo in his sweater. Doesn't he look so dapper? Just stunning! I don't think he is quite as happy about wearing it just now though. What a look i am getting! I haven't started Petey's matching sweater yet. It's on my list. Petey doesn't look very anxious about not having yet. Gosh, I can't understand why not.


Diane Next Door's lap quilt is almost finished. I had to buy more brown today for her border. I'm going to make a second with the same design and write up a pattern for it. These colors are much more cheerful. Diane's, if you remember , were pink and brown. A great match for her living room, but not very exciting. I'm going to take both to my guild meeting on Monday if I can stay focused and get the second top finished.

Thinking of Spring

If you looked out my window right now, you would be quite certain it was winter and spring is a long way off. There is about 12" of snow on the ground. we got a couple more inches last night. I'm hoping this is almost the last of it. I have been working on quilting my snowflake wall hanging as a result. I'm sure I won't feel like quilting it when the snow is gone and the flowers are blooming. I'll put up the real picture when it's finished.

I have to quilt my Daisy quilt as well, but I am still waiting for the backing fabric to come in. I wasn't sure what I wanted to use for the back when I bought the rest of the material. Silly me, The dark green was gone, of course, when I went back to get it. Fortunately it is not a seasonal print and my local shop could get it back in.

I sent the boys out to play in the snow. Charlie has no problem of course, even when the snow is this deep. He could sit out there for days if I let him. He sits in the middle of the yard with the snow falling gently on top of him. You would think he was sitting on the beach by the ocean by the look on his face. Here's Charlie waiting for it to snow. The little boys are not quite so happy the snow is so deep. Boo likes to follow Charlie around, but has to leap from one of Charlie's paw prints to the next. He's only about a foot tall himself. I think he likes the challenge though. Poor Petey stays behind and watches them walk around the yard. Petey would rather be at the beach. He doesn't like snow or rain for that matter. He is happiest sleeping on the couch or in a chair.

All the pieces of my green sweater are finished. I still have to put them together. I sure wish it was warm enough to wear it.

I had better started on that, or it will be fall and the pieces will still be sitting on the table.