Sunday, September 29, 2013

Craft Book and A Finish

I was the lucky winner of my very FIRST real paper craft book (other than my massive amount of cookbooks and one digital craft book).  A Signed copy of "In the Studio" by Angela Walters.
It is filled with amazing advice and she even talks about stitching in the ditch which is good, because I didn't have a free motion quilting foot until a few weeks ago.  I got my foot and tried out a little quilting on a pillow cover that I made following Melissa at Happy Quilting's Star Surround QAL
I did miss a spot in my quilting and as you can see my binding could use a little more "work", lucky for me I have many more projects I need to work on.
Traveling along the seam (yellow HST) in order to quilt only on the white, is discussed in the book.

Although this project is not in the book, she does have 10 modern quilt projects you can work on, I only have interest in making 3 of them, but it is her knowledge in quilting that is so invaluable.

Here is my quilting foot being put on my machine for the first time, I tried to follow her chapter on "Quilting Creates Depth and Dimension", lol, like I said I need to work on it a little bit.  Angela's chapter on "Focus on the Piecing" is about Stitching in the ditch and she gives some awesome tips, I was unable to follow the tips for this project since you need to do it while you are piecing the top, but I am doing it for my next project.


I also love this chapter "Quilting Adds Movement"


I am going to try it on this block that I made, that will be a tree on the right, I want to make swirls to look like the wind and make it look like it is blowing that 1 leaf around and then going behind the tree.


This book is filled with so much great advice and I love it.  Thank you Angela Walter's and AGF fabrics for gifting me with this beautiful book.

Linking to Craft Buds Craft Book Month

and A Lovely Year of Finishes for my Star Surround Pillow

and




September Finishes
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Let's Twist to the 60's with Batiks Blog Hop!

Another wonderful and fun hop started today.  Gotta love those 60's and Batiks.

September 25
September 26
September 27
September 30
October 1
October 2
October 3
October 4
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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Crazy About Wool Blog Hop!

Hello, It's my day for a lovely and warm WOOL blog hop.
My name is Mara, I am an American living in Greece, with my Greek husband and our 2 children.

When Denise first mentioned the hop I could only think about Wool Felt, but then I realized how much Wool stuff is out there.  I wish I could say that I crochet, but I am all thumbs when it comes to that.  And then I saw Deonn's amazing and totally cute wool felted ball pin cushion's during the Pin It blog Hop, and Vera at Negligent Style yesterday uses them to make jewelry, I need some of those balls, how fun.  Some really great inspiration and only one day has gone by, I also want to make a tooth fairy pillow the way Daryl did over at Patchouli Moon, my son has a loose tooth on top.  So make sure you check out all of the bloggers for today.
Tuesday, September 24
Val Spiers Sews

Quilted Crow Girls Design


My first idea was to make a pin cushion because I had this cute tin and wanted to use it.
My MIL made this lovely wool blanket for our first born, my son.
I have been on a huge pouch kick lately and had to make a few wool felt designs on pouches.
I got the flower inspiration from Maureen Cracknell, which by the way is from who I got my felt from, I still like her pillow version better, I need some more felt colors :).


Although she doesn't know it, I just mailed this off yesterday as a Thank you too the person that is after me in this blog hop.
The butterfly pouch is for my daughter.
It matches her butterfly dress.
A little detail on the back an embroidered butterfly with 2 crystal beads.
I ran out of time or I should say I didn't get a darn thing done all last week because I now have 2 baby kitties (update: they ate real food today and the boy peed without his mom licking him ie.my wet finger rubbing his butt, yuk)
But I wanted to show you what I am working on next, a travel bag for my son.
That's going to be a felt robot up top in his fav. color, yellow.
Thank you Denise over at Pieced Brain for putting on a fun hop.

Pieced Brain announcement
Here is the full schedule.
Monday, September 23

Tuesday, September 24
Wednesday, September 25
Maria do Carmo (Pieced Brain will be hosting!)
Thursday, September 26
Friday, September 27

Hallbrook Designs
Fryeber
Linking too-
September Finishes
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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Sew

SO haven't been doing any of that, sewing, why you ask, because I got 2 new babies.

Baby Kittens, that is, oh my goodness have you ever raised baby kittens, it is harder to take care of them than human babies.
Aren't they cute?

The boy has the white Mohawk
I heard the poor little guys last Saturday, crying, when the kids insisted on seeing what it was I relented and we went to investigate.  They were so pitiful with blocked up eyes and snotty noses.  I let the kids pet them for a little bit and then I was like okay let's go, and the craziest thing happened they started to follow us and one almost tumbled down a hill trying to follow us.  I figured the mother had probably left them since they were fairly unclean. 
Well we ended up taking them home, we had stayed for a little bit where we found them and although there were lots of cats around not a single one of them came up to us and hiss about us messing with their babies, this is what a normal feral mother will do.  We have lots of stray cats and dogs in Greece, when I first moved here it bothered me ALOT, not being able to do anything has calmed my ability to be bothered but it still does bother me.
I am happy to say that since I took this picture his eyes are getting better.

I give them 2 baths a day, they smell better than the kids

The husband still insist that they smell.
On Tuesday my son wanted to return them, I said okay (cause I knew he wouldn't be able to leave them)  So we went back to the place we had found them and there was a third little black and white baby, obviously a sibling, OMG!  It's eyes were the size of Almonds all swollen shut with pus, he must of heard his siblings because he came out running and fell down the stairs and made his nose bleed.  It broke my heart, unfortunately my husband was there and 2 other Greeks, the owners of the house that we found the cats in front of, (Greeks are very cold hearted towards animals), I wouldn't have been able to convince my husband to adopt a third one anyways, but it still breaks my heart that we had to leave it there.  This is obviously what would have happened to the other 2, so I am so glad I was able to save 2, the mother had definitely abandoned her babies.  My son decided it wasn't a good idea to leave them, so we brought them home again, they are eating more and just had some solid rice cereal today (I read this was okay to give them) they loved it, except they kept putting there feet in it.  I will take them to the vet again tomorrow, and I think it will be good news.

So not much sewing done this past week.
But I had a happy mail day on Friday!
My Triple Zip Swap Pouch made it, I got an Angel, and indeed she is an Angel she stuffed the pouch so much that I had a hard time getting everything out.
Big pile of fabric, some candy and lots of cool notions
I had asked for something Red, White and Blue to use for our trip to the USA and to store our passports.  I think she made an awesome pouch.  Thanks Kate.
The Front.

Even the back is pieced!
I also got a big package from my Mom, filled with fabric and have finally found a shop that labels the fabric, Thank you Pink Castle Fabrics, you will definitely be seeing me again as a customer.  My Mom also sent the Aurifil thread that I had ordered from a shop on Etsy that had really good prices.
 The robot fabric is from Anne Kelle, the rainbow dots is Riley Blake and the next 3 colors are AGF, my favorite fabric company, and the last piece is Brussels Washer in Silver.

Tula Pinks Variegated Aurifil Thread, really, really pretty, can't wait to play with these beauties!

Linking to Finding Fifth's Sunday Stash!

And don't forget the Wool Lover's Blog Hop starts tomorrow, I hope I wasn't supposed to crochet anything?

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Crazy About Wool Blog Hop Is Coming!



Monday, September 23

Tuesday, September 24
Wednesday, September 25
Maria do Carmo (Pieced Brain will be hosting!)
Thursday, September 26
Friday, September 27

Hallbrook Designs

 Fryeber
 
There are some really awesome bloggers for this hop, so I hope you come and check out what everyone is making.  Plus I just realized how many things are made with wool.  All I could think about was "wool felt", lol, there is so much more out there.
Pieced Brain announcement
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Sunday, September 15, 2013

Sweet Pouch Swap

My sweet pouch came in on Monday and I am just now sitting down to blog about it, I am so sorry.

It was a beautiful swap from Lindsay in Idaho and she was kind enough to send my ALL-TIME favorite candy - HOT TAMALES! (sad to say, half of them are gone already and I am being very stingy about eating them, they have to last till November, when I can get my next fix)

See it's already open, plus she sent a whole bag of chocolates
The Sweet Pouch contained a massive amount of mini chocolates, my kids love chocolate and they ate about 5 each before I could get this photo done on Monday right after the package arrived.  She also sent a bundle of fabrics.
So excited about these.
She also sent some Elmer's glue, because I asked for some so I can use it for putting on my binding's since I see that mentioned in blogs.  But I should have been a little more specific, because she didn't send the "washable, school" kind she sent the more industrial one, but that's awesome anyways, we don't get Elmer's here, in Greece, only UHU.

More pictures of her boxed pouch.

I had also tried to make a boxed pouch, but it failed miserably, so I sent this pleated one instead.
The English sub-titled video for this pleated bag can be found here.
And the pattern can be found here.

I did make some changes to mine, I used 2.5" pieces for the exterior pleats and 3" for the interior ones, so I could hide little houses inside.
this was a teaser photo
Lindsay's favorite color was yellow and she loves houses and the Road 15 fabric, Awesome I just happened to have all 3 of those things on hand.  Because you don't know how hard it is to find fabric in Greece.
I also made a handle for her bag and increased the height by using a 2.5" piece of yellow fabric at the bottom of the pouch also.
"Not all Who Wander Are Lost"
A sweet pouch needs sweet fabric inside.
Her one candy request was some Haribo gummys, then I put in some Greek chocolates and Greek lollies.
Plus a Greek cookbook and guide and my families favorite Greek Baklava recipe (here) a postcard of where I live and 2 lollies of the fabric kind, tutorial can be found here.
My daughter loved the fabric lollies so much I had to make one in her favorite color too.
PINK
A great swap and I am happy to say I have met another wonderful person on-line, in fact we have lined up another swap between ourselves but this time Pillows, SWEET!

Linking up to Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts (she hosted the swap)!

and linking to Such a Sew and Sew for the pouch I made and this other pouch that also sent out last week.
This one went to a fellow "Get Your Hex On" Bee member.

I have also made 2 more pouches and those will be shown for the Crazy About Wool Hop.

September Finishes
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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Crazy About Wool Hop is Coming!

I am busy working on my projects for the next upcoming hops, this one is first, hope to see you hoping by.

Pieced Brain announcement

Monday, September 23

Tuesday, September 24

Wednesday, September 25
Maria do Carmo (Pieced Brain will be hosting!)

Thursday, September 26
Friday, September 27

Hallbrook Designs
[Guest appearance]
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Sunday, September 8, 2013

September Goals

I almost forgot to write my September goals, oh my.
Okay first off, this last week I made some pouches, I have to make 1 more.  I now, I now enough of the pouch making, well I also get to make a tote this month, fun, fun, fun.
Plus I want to quilt my Star Surround block and make it into a pillow, I am going to be getting out my quilting foot to do this, so exciting.
or scary depending on how it turns out.

We went to Athens this last week and I thought it would be fun to have a picture of me doing EPP in front of the Acropolis.
This is as close to the Acropolis as we got, or I should say we were closer, but my husband lead us down the wrong road and we kept getting farther and farther away.  This picture was hurriedly taken while my daughter was screaming her head off and my son was leaning over the edge of the pee smelling wall that dropped down to the metro tracks.  Plus I had just carried my son on my back 5 blocks while pushing my daughter in the stroller, because both of them wanted "Mommy to do it".  Why do I have a husband again, oh yeah, he carries the money.

Back to goals, I have a few things going on for the Heroes addition of Le Challenge, button found on right.
Plus I am in 2 blog hops, Crazy about Wool (button on right) and
Let's twist to the 60's with Batiks (also button on right)

So got to get down and dirty and do those too.
Okay going to bed, 2:30 am here, I woke up feeling like I had forgotten to do something.

Linking up to a Lovely Year of Finishes
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