MY THIRD WEAVING PROJECT...

 This is my third weaving project.  So far I have only found one mistake...and I MISSED IT...too far along to unweave now.   I'm still loving it, though, so I will keep on going!  I LOVE WEAVING!!!

MY SECOND WEAVING PROJECT...

With the start of 2021 I wanted to try something new on my loom.  I am determined to spend more time crafting.  Losing myself in creating things that are both useful and, hopefully, beautiful calms me and provides me with a sense of accomplishment. 

The smaller multicolored piece was intended to be a dish towel.  I knew it would shrink a bit with washing, but the 100% cotton shrunk way more than expected.  A dear friend suggested I use it in a bread basket.  It will be perfect for that use!  

I used the remainder of the warp thread (vertical string) on my loom to make a table topper.  Because I used solid white weft thread (horizontal string) the piece came out much lighter in color than the bread basket piece.  It is really amazing how using variations of weft (horizontal) thread can change the look of the woven project!

I can’t wait to start my next project!

Toodles...

OUR NEW NORMAL...

 

Happier Times

Twenty-twenty has been hard for all of us, but the end of the year has been particularly devastating for our family.  Right before Thanksgiving our dear daughter-in-love passed away.  It was completely unexpected and fast!  Unfortunately that is the nature of brain bleeds.  We were all devastated and in total disbelief.  Twenty-eight is too young to leave this earth!  Gabby and Justin had just celebrated their second wedding anniversary!  Our poor grandson still needs his mommy!  

Fortunately, our grandson is surrounded by many, many people who love him and will do everything in their power to help him along.  He is extremely close to Justin (his bonus daddy) who he has lived with for over half of his life.  As they have lived with us since April of 2017, my husband and I are part of his daily  routine.  Because of Covid I had been overseeing his virtual schooling in the AM and Gabby would take over in the PM when she got home from work.  I now oversee the entire day, so his routine is still fairly consistent.  We are all holding on, together.  

So 2021 is bringing a “new normal” to our lives.  Justin is learning to juggle being a single parent, and is crushing it!  My husband and I are here to provide support.  He is also surrounded by a wonderful group of friends who have been available to help him through the emotions of losing Gabby, as well as his new single parent status...and their kids have been our grandson’s best friends for years!  Justin and our grandson have gotten together with them a few times since Gabby’s passing (observing Covid restrictions of course) and it has been wonderful to see K just being a kid.  

While I never thought I could find something “good” in Gabby’s passing, the outpouring of love from those around us has been amazing.  In fact, to be shown such love, caring and support from so many in this time of country-wide tumult has been truly miraculous.  Justin and I wholeheartedly believe that Gabby’s purpose in life and death was to bring out the best in people.  We will all try to continue this purpose in her honor.  She was a wonderful mother, Justin’s devoted soulmate and our loving “daughter”-in-law.  We have been truly blessed to have her in our lives.

My First REAL Weaving Project...

 

This is my first actual weaving project.  I'm in love!  Can't wait to make my second project!!!!!!

I GOT A NEW TOY!!!.....

 

...and I can't wait to learn to use it!!!!

GOOD TO THE LAST SCRAP...

You have already seen how I used scraps to make the thin border on my It's A Girl quilt.  What did I do with the remaining pieces?

I LOVE THESE COLORS and I did not want to let them go to waste.  So, I sewed the individual pieces onto a square of fabric.  Then I sewed vertical and horizontal lines to try to "catch" as many of the raw edges as I could.  Next came a coating of Mod Podge for Fabric to keep all of the raw edges from fraying.

I desperately needed a new "med bag" to hold all of my pills, insulin, glucose tabs, epipen, etc.  This bag is absolutely PERFECT!  It is plenty big enough to hold everything and the pretty fabric makes dealing with all of my medical issues at least a little less painful.  All in all....A WIN!!!

 

IT'S A GIRL...

Recently I completed a quilt for a dear friend who became a grandma for the first time.  I fell in love with the colors of a line called Paradisio (I think).  I had purchased three charm packs many moons ago.  The charm packs were perfect for cutting tumblers, but when the center of the quilt was done it needed something "more".  When desperate, you think outside of the box!

Grabbing all of the tiny leftovers from cutting, I measured out scraps that were 1" wide.  I didn't worry about how long the scraps were.  Alternating my scraps with 1" pieces of white I made a thin, scrappy border.  Okay, it was LOVE at first sight!

I did very minimal quilting on the interior so it would be super soft for the baby to lie on, but I wanted denser quilting around the outside so it would lie flat.  But again, I wanted more!  So before I began a dense stipple I made a stencil of the above flower, marked my quilt with the stencil, and began quilting...flowers first and eventually the stipple.  

But the top and bottom of the quilted needed... You guessed it...MORE.  So I made another stencil and added feathers to my flowers on the top and bottom.  Ah...happy.  Time to stipple!   Then it was just a matter of brushing off the pink chalk used with the stencils.  WHAT?!?!  It. Would. NOT. Come. Off!!! Time to think outside of the box again!  After about two days of thinking I decided to outline the flowers/feathers with pink pencil.  After all, I DID want them to be visible!  I outlined them with pink pencil, added a thin layer of textile extender and heat set.  The color is supposed to last through any washings.

Doesn't the back look pretty with the dense quilting along the outer border and light quilting inside?

The label was the final touch!  I used colors that matched the front of the quilt.  

I couldn't be happier with how it came out.  In fact, it is among my favorite quilts!!!  I brushed up on a lot of my skills...piecing, stenciling, FMQ and machine embroidery.  Speaking of stenciling, my son and daughter-in-law bought me a Cricut Maker for my 60th birthday in August.  OMG, it makes wonderful stencils for marking quilting!!!  I've made two so far and see MANY more in my future, LOL.  I did also make a vinyl label for my Cricut Info binder.  Next I want to learn to cut out my fabric on the Cricut.  So much to learn, so much fun to be had!!!!