Tap, Tap, Tap...

Sorry - didn't mean to startle you - but I wanted to see if anyone was still out there?  Helllllooooo....?

It's been busy here at the Stone House... although the grandkids and my daughter have been in Minnesota visiting the in-laws since last Friday - I've managed to stay occupied with one thing or another.  Big thing was getting my class list made up for the Spring... my samples aren't done yet - but my class list has been handed in.  LOL  Need to focus on those samples.

Right now I'm suppose to be finishing up some house cleaning (oh and some groceries would be nice) - because they all come back this evening!  But I've been distracted with rewriting a handout for a 4 Patch Stacked Posie mini-retreat I'll be teaching at the end of the month.

And I'm here typing a "Hey How Ya Doing?" to Y'all...

I finished a sock this morning... picked up all the Christmas decorations (so my daughter will help me pack them all up)... did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and spent an hour on the Wii...

I better go finish... clutter and little kids don't mix well.  I will be back here eventually I promise. 

First priority is family - they'll be staying until the end of February.  We will also make a quick trip up to MA to visit family and friends there.  We've got a list of museums and other such places to go visit around here.  I signed up for a knitting class - fingerless gloves!  Oh and I'm suppose to be sewing... because my classes will need samples.  Oh and I'll be going back to work at the end of the month.  It's been great having this time off over the holidays to spend with my daughter and grandkids... but I have missed working at the shop!

So until we meet again... keep warm!

Is It Too Late?

Is it Too Late to Wish y'all a Merry Christmas?  I hope not! 

I had planned to come in and post a "Granny's gone Hugging and Kissing" post... but we've been just too busy over the past couple weeks.

I don't have any pictures because in all the cleaning and rearranging and decorating activities going on - the cable for the camera has been misplaced...

You'll just have to take my word for it that the kids are cute and are having a grand time... so are Granny and Pops!

I've only drug out my computer and turned it on because I'm waiting for water to boil and sauerkraut to heat up so that it can be canned.  There's a bunch here so maybe I'll get a chance to catch up with some reading emails and blogs while I'm at it.  After a quick look there are 141 emails and 155 blog posts to read through - so maybe not.

I'll be back after the New Year begins!

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year!

Design Wall Monday - 12-7

Nothing is on the Design Wall this week as my hands will be filled with...

A vacuum, duster, mop and cleaning rags... my daughter and grand kids arrive on Friday!

The next couple weeks will be filled with hugs, cuddles, Christmas decorating, cooking baking and other general childish fooling around I think... we may even get in some sewing but I'm not holding my breath.

And that whole working at a quilt shop thing I do... well - my boss says she really doesn't expect to see me while my family is in.  How cool is that!  I'll probably still get in one day a week or so if we don't have anything else planned - but it's nice to know that family comes first in her book!

Check out what's on others design walls at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Stash Busting Report Week 49...

In about two hours - if you don't mess around much with the quilting - you can have one of these...

On Friday I made another Wallet & Grommet Bag from Maple Island Quilts.  This time I used some of the new Moda Primrose Inn... sorry that the picture isn't better - I didn't have my camera and used my phone.  With the first two bags that I made I didn't have any fusible fleece (batting) that they called for for the handle - so I just used the same cotton batting I had used in the bag.  With this bag I used the fusible fleece in both the bag and the handle and I LOVE IT!  It gives the bag a bit more umph than my others have.  Now I will admit that I probably could have gotten a bit more umph if I had more machine quilting in it - but I didn't want to distract from the fabric so I did a minimal amount of quilting. 

Here are the three I've made - I'm actually using the one on the right - the other two are hanging in the shop as samples.

I liked making the last one so much that on Saturday when I went down to the shop to say hi to all the Thimbleberries Ladies - I made another one with other fabrics.  These bags are addictive... and they are fun... and they are fast... and you could probably go crazy with embellishments too if you wanted.  On the one pictured above I use the handle fabric and put a tiny accent fold between the 2 fabrics in the bag.  Then I stitched it up in some places and down in others when I added the machine quilting.

I may have to go shopping for some fringe or ribbon or lace or or or... never-mind - not this week.

All this to say... I'm reporting 4 yards in and out for the two bags I made this week.

I'm Ready...

I am ready for a little tiny diapered covered hiney to sit in this chair.

My neighbor picked it up a couple weeks ago at the weekly auction she attends.  Actually she intended to bid on it but someone else bid and won the box that it was in.  Afterwards she went over and asked the guy if he wanted the baby seat... he said no he wanted the other stuff in the box and that she could have the seat.  So it was free and she didn't have to get rid of all the other stuff!

All I needed to do was clean it... it wasn't as bad as it could have been - it appears to have been sitting gathering dust for awhile.  I was ready to throw out the straps and make new ones - but since just a couple screws were holding them in place on the bottom I took them off and put them in the wash - they look like new now.

I think we are down to 10 nighty nights... I can't wait for my grandkids to get here!

Design Wall Monday - 11-30

Empty... not that I don't have anything to do - I finished the Atkinson Designs Fire Escape and haven't put back up any of the two other projects I had removed - they are still considered "in the works" though.

But I thought it would be a good time to show you what my design wall is made of.

My wall is made up of 3 panels of 1 1/2 inch insulation board I picked up at Home Depot.  The panels are 2 feet wide and were 8 foot long - I cut them down to 6 foot.  They are marked as 'basement wall insulation system'... they have this notch in them that runs the length to fit over the wall studs.  When I butt them together I use a large binder clip to hold them at the top and (sometimes) bottom.

Two of them I covered with some white felt I had and the third panel I used a piece of leftover cotton batting.  Not sure which I think works best... they both seem to hold on to everything I put up.  You could also use the back side of a vinyl table cloth.

On two of these panels I used a staple gun to hold the felt in place and on the third I used double sided carpet tape. 

I think the double sided carpet tape works the best - the staples fall out and you have to use a bazillion of them to hold.  Which is why I switched to the tape - I ran out of staples.  Put the tape on the back side of the board and wrap your batting or felt around and secure.  Personally I like the cloth tape the best - but the paper tape will work as well - just make sure it's "double sided carpet tape".

One of these days I'll redo the ones with staples... someday when I don't have anything else to do... or all the staples have fallen out.  LOL

I like these units because they are portable, lightweight, very rigid/durable, and with each being 2 ft wide I can move them around easily.  I'd actually like to get 2 more in the future... you know - some day when I don't have anything else to do!

Hop over to Judy's blog and check out what is happening on other design walls around the world...

Herb's Still Here...

Last year when I needed Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - I had to go to the grocery store.  This year I went out to the garden! 

I was surprised that my parsley was still growing - lots of new growth and no sign that it didn't like the cooler weather so far.  It is also the one thing that I haven't dried any of - so that should be on my list of things to get to tomorrow.

Stash Report... what week is this?

I know Judy L has her report listed as 49... but I'm thinking it's only 48 yet... but anyway... I guess it really doesn't matter does it as we are getting down to the wire here.

This week I can actually cross some yardage off the list - YEAH!

See these - 6 yards total out of the bins into 6 new pillowcases.  2 are for me - 2 are for my daughter in MA and 2 are for when my grandkids get here from Hawaii in just TWO Weeks!  Yahooo!  I know I have some other fabrics (christmas) I had gotten for pillowcases somewhere around here... hmmm??  would be nice to find them while I've got the serger out.  Or was that fabric I just thought about buying but didn't???  Oh geez now that's gonna drive me crazy wondering about whether I got them or not.

One of these early early mornings I should update my spread sheet... I should...

I finished up the Atkinson Designs Fire Escape pattern - if you are looking for something to make up in a hurry... this is it!  Nice for batiks - would be especially cute for novelty prints for a kids quilt.  Any fabric you don't want to cut into small pieces so that you can still see the design - this would be great!

So nothing in this week and 6 yards out!

To You and Yours...

Is it a snake... or a sock?

Whilst gone the other weekend to VA I brought along some knitting and finished a sock... yep 'a' sock - not a pair just yet.  It's kinda cool - it is a Spiral Sock - a free pattern from Patons Yarns I picked up last winter while hanging out in TX.  It's kinda neat as you don't have to do a heal - it looks a bit like a snake don't ya think. I did manage to start the second sock so that the yarn pattern will match - something I didn't know to do with the other sock pair I made last winter - not that it really matters - they still keep my feet toasty.  I'd take a picture of the sock on my foot - but I'll have to shave my legs first as I'm already into my winter 'bear leg' season... not to be confused with the summer 'bare leg' season.