New BagI

I just wanted to show you the neatest little bag I have ever found.    I saw a tutorial titled "SOCK SACK" BAG.  Of course, curious me just had to check this out further and here it is.

There is a new pattern out where you can knit 2 socks at a time but you need 2 separate balls of wool.  This cute bag has 2 compartments, one for each ball of wool along with a centre zipper pocket to carry your knitting accessories.

 There are also two strap, one on each side, to guide your wool.  It is not  very big and my 2 fat balls of wool fill it full.  Here is what I am working on right now, a faux fair isle doll sweater.  I like the doll size clothes as it doesn't take much time to rip out my many mistakes!  This sweater will fit an American Girl 18" doll.  I found a beautiful 18" porcelain doll at a church rummage sale so she is my model.  When she has an outfit to wear, I will post a pic of her.   I tried the bag to keep my 5 balls of wool I had going at one point untangled.  I think it helped quite a bit but they still got twisted.  I am doing the yolk now and it has raglan sleeves and a turtle neck finish.  It buttons in the back so it is easy for a child to put on the doll.   This one project covers quite a few techniques for me to learn.  It is really fun. I forgot to mention you can purchase the pattern on Crafty, made by Ramona Rose.  She did an excellent job on the pattern instructions.

Last year I started stitching some granny square blocks.  My mother-in-law crocheted my daughter a blanket in this pattern.  I thought it would be nice to have a matching quilt.  I got about 9 blocks made and ran out of small print fabrics.  Over time, when I came across an appropriate fabric, I made a few more blocks.  This week I have a total of 20 finished.  This is all I am doing at this point.  This is one of my kit projects for the new year while I am recovering from my 2nd hip surgery.  Here are my 20 blocks..

Hope you enjoy my new projects.  Have a great week everyone.

New Project

I have a new project that I am literally falling in love with.  This fall I joined a knitting group and we meet the first and third Wednesday each month.  This is such a fun group of ladies and it is more a social than a structured meeting, but there is always someone there to help you with a problem in your knitting.

This winter I broke my leg so I knitted a sweater that isn't quite done.  I enjoyed this so much.  I remembered forgetting to plan an item to donate to the Salvation Army Christmas gift baskets.  In past years I have either purchased or made a doll and a wardrobe.  Now this year I decided to plan well ahead so I would have everything ready for Christmas.  Last summer I purchased a set of doll bunk beds for $5.00 and handmade of oak.  This spring I started looking for a nice baby doll to go with it.  I ended up with 4 nice dolls, one has ink on the face and it will live with me.  I have been having a lot of fun knitting clothes for the dolls.  I am also working on the little quilts for the bunk beds.  Oh yes, I also purchased a small 3 drawer storage unit on wheels to store all the bedding a clothes.  What fun!

Here is a little peek at the doll that will go with the bunk beds and the quilt tops for each bed.

I think this doll is soo cute.  She is about 12" and I knitted the romper and hat for her.  She needs some booties to match.  She has weighted beads inside her so she can sit up nicely and on the edge of items.

I plan on attending  a Christmas Craft Show in November so I will be back to my quilting soon.  I like a bit of a summer break and these little items are just perfect to work on.  I will post more pictures of the new kids at my house as I get clothes made for them.

Red and Pink are my Colors

Hi everyone.  Hope you are getting through the winter months and having fun working on projects.  We have just completed a week of a-40 to -45C windchills!  I can tell you I have gotten a few projects done just by staying indoors.  The flue landed hard here even closing one wing of our hospital but I think the cold windchills have taken care of those bugs.

Here is my second finish for 2013, a snowball quilt.  I was super excited to find some flower quilting designs while visiting Marcia's Quilting Blog.  She has a longarm quilting business and does beautiful work.  I have always struggled with flowers, just can't keep them round.  Now seeing how Marcia does hers inspired me to try again  and I think they are okay, at least, the best I have done so far.

The photos could be better, however, this was during the snowy freezing weather dull days.  I made this quilt entirely out of scraps.....maybe about 600 2-1/2" squares.  It looks real pretty all finished up and will be going to a cancer patient.

Since it is February and I have time to play a little, I am working on Connie's twister heart project and you can see her tutorial here http://www.conniekresin.com/2013/02/twisting-heart-valentine-tutorial.html
Here I am so far....

See the tiny 2 1/4" template I used to cut the squares.  I have never done this tiny of twister blocks so I used my scissors to cut the blocks apart after I traced the template with a FriXion pens.  When I get it done, I am going to link to Connie's Freemotion on the River. Connie is also having a giveaway today if you live in the US.   Have a great day everyone.

Hello, I am Here!

I am back after a few setbacks.  I had to upgrade to Google Chrome which is fine other than so many things have moved/changed that it takes me longer to do things.  As I was going through this task, feeling annoyed, I remembered back when I was employed and our company introduced CHANGE.  Wow, what turmoil and unhappy employees and disgruntled employees we had.  What change was doing was making everyone more accountable for what they did.  It was not that hard, just took time to get used to, so as I was doing my updates, I thought why am I so upset over all of this?  I will and did get through it, and yes, I still have some issues to deal with but they will resolve themselves in time.  I am not going to let being a senior make me an unhappy blogger.

Back to business, do you ever make binding up ahead of time just to have available when you want some in a hurry?  I do, especially for scrappy quilts where  a scrappy binding is often the right choice.

Above you can see my assortment of blues that I sewed together and pressed ready for a quilt.  I usually sew 7 - 8  2 1/2" strips together.  This time I have some left over so they will get joined to some other set.  Below is my finished quilt with the binding attached.  It was a good fit for this quilt.  I regularly sew at night and how often have you finished a quilt and would just love to get that binding on but to start from fresh is just too much at 10 pm so this is when I go to my binding stash.  Try it, I am sure you will like it.

It's Starting to Feel Like Christmas Here

Hi Everyone, I have missed everyone so much.  Is Christmas coming together at your house?  I got out my treasured Santa I made many years ago. We put up the Christmas tree yesterday and our daughter came over with wrapped presents to put under it.   Her Golden Retriever, Hudson, was so cute, and I didn't take any pictures of him.  He loves all the fluffy Christmas stockings and handmade stuffed items.  He helped himself to a handmade reindeer ornament and claimed it as his.  Even growled if you got to close to his treasure.  He flipped a few hats around and bunted the the snowman door decoration to make the bells jingle.  He just seems to know when the tree and lights go up it means good times and lots of treats.

Here he is in his favorite spot in my sewing room catching a little nap or maybe his tummy just feels too full.  Do you like my quilt display rack?  I saw this on the Internet somewhere.  Rods were placed under the table top on 1 or 2 sides and you hang quilts or tops.  It also hides all the storage totes under the table.

Backtracking a bit, the Craft Show I went to in November was really great.  I sold quite a bit and one of my bigger quilts, actually, a sofa or bed topper done in blacks and taupes.  The day went by quickly but boy was I wiped by the time I got home.  It took a few days rest to get moving again.  Here is a snap of my booth at the end of the day.

I am feeling very much in the Christmas mood.  I started this little bed topper to keep toes warm.  I saw this in Connecting Threads and they used their rose manor prints but I didn't have time to order the kit.  Anyway, why do I need to buy new material for every project...just go check out those 6 or 700 2 1/2" squares we cut out of scraps.  The main part is together and I am working on the two borders consisting of holly and a nice bow.  I am happy with how it came together so well and a great practice session of sewing accurate 2 1/2" squares together!

The binding will be done in the blue striped print.  It's been quite some time since I have done any applique.

Well I am off to work some more on these holly leaves.   I am going to link this to Leah Days FMQuilting.  Have a great week.
 

Moving Slowly Along

My new hip is just amazing and there is no longer any pain.  This hip feels like it has belonged to me forever, not just one month.

I am registered for a Home Base Business and Craft Fair November 24 here in Swift Current.  At last count there are 83 booths so it should be a wonderful show.  It is quite some time since there was a local Christmas Show of this size and I think the public will be pleasantly pleased with the different booths.  Please join us if you are in our area.  Location is the Stockade, in the Exhibition Grounds from 10-5.  A one day show only.

I am up to my eyeballs in sewing.  I will give you a sneak peek in a few more days.  My stamina is still a little low but things are starting to come together.  Sorry I am so slow getting pictures up but will have some new surprises soon.

Thank you to those of you who have been checking in on me and I hope you are enjoying some more sewing time.  My thoughts have also been with each and every one of you affected by Storm Sandy.  I hope each day brings better times.

Back In Gear

It has been a bit more than a week of recovery and I thank all of you that check in for new updates.  You are such an important part of my quilting ventures.  It is quite an amazing process of getting an artificial hip...3 weeks today....I have absolutely no pain of any kind and just have weakness in that leg.  I am already getting around in the house nicely with a cane.  I am faithful to my exercises as they say they help reduce the pain and strengthen the leg.

I haven't done very much sewing as I couldn't sit for very long and it takes time to get all those drugs out of your system.  I had the hardest time last week to make a pinwheel...just couldn't get the thought process right.  That is all cleared away now.  I do not do much  in seasonal themes but I did do a couple "Hint of Christmas" pot holders.  They still need a bit of quilting to finish them off.  I love the little sign "work for freezer space"! 

I am booked in for a Home Base Business Trade and Craft Show on November 24th.  I paid my fees but wasn't totally convinced I could be ready for this but I am doing really well so I am getting excited.  We have moved to a larger venue and it is only a 1 day event so I am anticipating a larger turnout.
I am putting together a child's quilt from a panel I had.  I am calling it tossed alphabet.  Here I am laying it out for a preview and I am pleased how well everything is fitting together.  I thought I would add squares of the pinwheel fabric set on point across the top and bottom of the banner.  I think I should expand that green outside border to maybe 3".  That striped will be the binding done on the bias.  Any thoughts you might have as to this layout are certainly welcomed.

The original panel was finished with a blue border...do any of you think I should go that route?
Please feel free to leave suggestions and comments that will help me improve on my project...I love to hear from you.

I am linking this post to Freemotion Quilting by the River.
 

Christmas in August

Just catching up on what everyone is up to.  I finally have a small item finished to show you.  This table runner is done with Christmas scraps so I am calling it "Christmas in August".  I am liking how it turned out and I have been wanting to try some circular quilting and this seemed like a good project.  I did rows spaced 1/2" apart and staggered the circles across the runner.  I didn't get a real good picture to show the design and the quilting but here goes.  The design is the small twister ruler.

The circles weren't that hard to do as I thought I might end up oval not circular but it all went pretty good.  I would like to try a bigger item, like a baby quilt.  I have no idea how far experienced quilters space their circular lines so if anyone out there can provide some insight, I would love to hear from you.

These photos are again taken in my flower garden.  I spent several hours last week cleaning out some of the expired flowers and moving some pots around.  It's good to be back online after our modem gave up on us leaving us for several days with no TV and no Internet!  Hope you are having a wonderful week.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, I sure had a productive one while we snuggled indoors for 3 days of rain.  Today there was enough sunshine to get out doors and take a few pics.  Here is my retro picnic table cover to match my umbrella.  I am very pleased with it considering all I had was a newspaper for a template.  Here is the link click to go to the tutorial for this really cute table center piece that I used to make my bigger version.

Everyone used to make jokes about my umbrella, well now it is right in fashion so I thought a table cover would be nice.

Rainy Day Finishes

It is 12 noon Saturday here in Saskatchewan, the fireplace is lit and we have already had 1 3/4" of rain this morning so I figure this is a good day to get some projects finished up.

Up first on the list is a little lap charity quilt I made last year.  I have been experimenting with new quilting designs and have one I am feeling quite good about using  and this little quilt seemed the right project to debut it.  Sorry for my picture quality today, I have no where in the house to take good pictures.

Here is a close up of the quilt design.  A couple little wiggles but it is coming together well.

Next I put the binding on my retro spoon and fork wall hanging that was a project over at Stash Manicure.

So now I am on my third project....my retro picnic table cover.  I am just doing some final adjustments so it will lay flat in a circle and then some backing.  I will post it finished on the table when the sun is back shining and a link where you can make a cute circle table mat.

It is rather fun to have a day like this once in a while and no point pouting about the rain.  I 'll be back when the sunshine comes out.....they say Tuesday!!!

I have been away far too long, sorry!  To start things off,  I have my Lorex quilt together and basted so it is now ready for quilting.  I love how it turned out.  It is a good size too, 70x86".  I have my quilt design picked out  an up/down lines and shapes for bark.  I can hardly wait to get started.  Here's a picture of where I am at.

I have my March doll quilt to finish up and get in the mail.  It is something new and I love working on it.  I have such an interesting partner, Fay Baldwin who lives in the US and I have the nicest friend and neighbor, Fay Baldwin.  How cool is that....to have 2 great friends with the same name!

We have had a week of incredible weather +19C....woo hoo! Spring is here!  I was out walking every day making myself somewhat stiff and I could have a morning coffee on the south side of my house in the sunshine.  You have to go through long winters like we have to appreciate sunshine but don't forget the sunscreen.  Well that is all I have for today so enjoy spring and sunshine wherever your live.

Hi all you wonderful readers, thanks for stopping by when I haven't even been around.  That pain in the butt has been really bad but I am getting a shot tomorrow.

October is Women's Cancer Awareness month and I hope all you ladies are getting your paps and breast screenings on a regular basis.  Our community is full of fundraising activities and I am helping with a coffee hour on Friday.  We hope to gather a few people to help with chemo hats, mastectomy pillows, quilts and anything else they might want to make.  Three of my quilts went to pallitive care this week, it is a sad feeling in my heart but I hope the quilts bring them some comfort for the time they have left.

We got the new Singer 404 cleaned up and the cabinet refinished.  The 404 sews so smoothly and the "tank" Fabric has a new home in the cabinet.  Here are a couple pictures.

The cabinet has no drawers so I was lost with what to do with all my junk I need to have around me.  My solution was this quilting caddy that turned out really great and was very easy to make.  If you want to make one , here is where you can find the directions http:// www.babylock.com/ftp projects. The link doesn't work so you'll have to type it in.  It is in a pdf file.

I love the window screening I used as you can see where your things are.  I altered the size a bit from the directions to fit over a large coffee tin.  The center can collection the garbage and thread.

Good Day everyone, looks like the weather is settling down everywhere, we hope.  I promised some news today so here it is, I Have Opened My Etsy Shop, yes, it is open.  Go to Etsy.com and search SamanthasHouse. I haven't figured out how to do a link from here to there. This technical stuff is really hard for me so it takes me time to do things that may only take you a few minutes. 


I have decided that today I should have a giveaway, good idea?  Yes, mostly I want to thank my followers and all of you who come an view my blog or leave a comment.  Having you here just means so much when you start a blog.  So my thank you to you is this

I made one of my boxy pouches and I hope you like the color I chose.  I am sure that anyone can find a good use for this little pouch.  You can use it to carry your small take along projects in or maybe just some cosmetics.  I have included 3 FQs so you can make your own small item and I have wrapped them in a sample of my new ribbon I will use at my Etsy Shop:  SamanthasHouse

To enter you need to be a follower of my blog and tell me what items I have for sale in my shop.  Just 1 entery per person.  I will draw the lucky winner on Sunday, June 5, 2011.  So hurry over to my shop and see what's there and then come back and leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back Sunday to announce the lucky winner.

This has been quite an eventful week with the Blogger crash.  Seems things are being restored but I thought I would just wait until things were working better.

It was a wonderful weekend here and I spent most of Saturday repotting my tomatoes and bedding plants into larger containers so they will hold out another week or so.  It was quite warm, windy but I loved every momment.

A month or so ago, I was chatting with a couple of my quilting ladies that live in a senior complex.  I told them I had a quilt I made over a year ago that was still waiting to be quilted.  I keep putting it off because once I start on it I want to finish it.  They offered to come and help me, so nice of them.  I got a better idea!  Would you be able to get permission to set up a frame in your complex and I would bring my stands, boards and the quilt and you ladies could quilt it and I will give you the quilt to do as you wish.  They were so excited and had approval in no time flat.  We set a day and armed with the equipment and my husband, off we went.  We were met by several residents so interested in how we were going to set this all up.  Many were there offering help with whatever we needed.  It wasn't long and the quilt was on and ready to stitch.  Really, there are only 2 ladies there that are able to do any amount of quilting and, in fact, did most of in 10 days would you believe.  I took it back home and finished it off with the binding.  Here is a pictures of their lovely work that they are selling tickets on. The proceeds will be donated to a worthy cause.

I really like this quilt and I am so happy I decided to donate it to this group.  It has been a real social event there.  It was reported there was lots of coffee, cookies and many stopped by to check on the progress.  It brought back many memmories of quilting bees and good conversations.  I certainly would consider doing this again if they are interested. 

One night I came across some drapery samples I had gathered.  Christina from "A Few Scraps" was encouraging us to try reverse quilting using a piece of preprinted fabric.  My samples were too nice to hide so I did some practicing on thread shading.  Once  I had done enough, I thought I would finish it off into a generous tote. 

This pretty well sums up my quilting projects this week.  Check back often as I will have a surprise coming before the end of the month. 

Enjoy our first summer holiday weekend, happy gardening, happy quilting.

Hi everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I certainly did and was gifted so generously by my family.  Look here, even a card from my granddog, Hudson!  He came for a visit and is soo adorable, even if he is a big boy golden retriever.  He gives us so much love, just like pets are suppose to right!

And lookee what I won!  I am so excited and now I will have a legitimate excuse to go to Saskatoon.  Monika from My Sweet Prairie here celebrated her birthday in great style last week and had a number of giveaways.  Stop by and see her wonderful fiber art.  She does the most amazing fabric pictures from photos of the Prairies.  I know you will not be disappointed.

Another project that is finished and in the mail are the cushions I made for my cousin.  I love the hexagons and I am going to make one for myself now.  Easy fun stuff!

 I have had this community cold and flu for a week now.  Went to the doctor and got meds on Friday so I am feeling pretty good today.  Last night I just ran out of energy so I played around with these blocks that I had put together some time ago.  I had a substantial amount of green scraps so got the idea that I could piece them and make them into nine patch blocks.  Well, I did but they don't look that great so I added a white sashing to 2 sides and charcoal polkadots to 2 sides.  I just randomly laid them out on the floor.  This will be a quilt for the Cancer Society when finished.  I think it needs a bit of a border to tie it all together.  My thought was to make a quilt that could be given to a man.  I really struggle with designing masculine quilts.

I do have one other project that I am finishing up and I will show you when it is done.  I will pop  back later this week with another posting.  Until then have a fabulous week.

Hi everyone, hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend and now it is May woohoo!  Today I made a special trip to Canadian Tire to pick up 6 geranium plants on sale $1.49 reg. $2.99 and a few other annuals.  DH set up my little greenhouse outside so it needs something to nurture and everything is in such a hurry to grow.  The roses wintered very well and the leaves are budding out.

I am happy to report my quilt for Japan is in Calgary.  I managed to sneak a couple items with the quilt.  I sewed a second flower center to conceal a Loonie, Toonie and my city pin.

Another finished project for me are the cushions I made for my cousin.  I love her dearly and she is more of a sister and friend.  Her and I have antique furnishings and I am throwing in some modern fabrics and designs to brighten up my living room.  She said she was game for something new and bright so here is what she is getting!

Here is the first with appliqued hexagons and bubble quilting.  The bubble quilting took 5 hours but I love the results. I outline stitched around the hexagons in lime green.

If she doesn't like the hexagons, she can flip it over to this

Here is the second cushion that I did some embroidery on the top depicting a spring songbird on a cherry blossom branch.

I spent many hours this past week getting a virus out of my computer, thus no posting, didn't want to infect anyone else.  My system is clean thanks to the talents of member of the Computer Help on GardenWeb Forum and Lanzdown, a site that coaches you through disinfecting you computer.  They were all so great and I can hardly believe I did this by myself.  During this stressful time I puttered around and found a pattern to a boxed zipper pouch.  This is my trial and error version.  I see by my pictures that it is really important to get those ends to match. Oh well, they will be useful to put my scissors and thimble in when I go quilting.  I think they are very cute.  I make even give a tutorial a go, so check back.

I am going to be off next week doing a bit of gardening, but keep quilting and stop by, leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

I am so sorry I have been missing for so long.  Between awful weather, creating my quilt for Japan, new cushions for my cousin, income taxes, there just wasn't anything very exciting to write about.  Now I do have some pictures and new things to tell you about.

I see some new followers and thank you for picking my blog.  I also want to thank those that have left comments, it is pretty exciting when you first start blogging to get those comments as you all know.  I hope I can offer some interesting projects and reading.

I recently won a magazine, Quilting Art from a draw at http://mysweetprairie.blogspot.com/.  Monika does beautiful fiber art postcards from photos she takes of the prairies.  I love her work and she puts her whole self into each project.  Stop buy and take a look, you will be impressed.

I am  making a couple cushion covers for my cousin.  I planned to have these at her home by Easter but, of course, that didn't happen.  I can't show you a picture of them until she gets them.

I hope everyone has a great Easter holiday and I will check in with you later next week.