Newest Bag

 Still making bags.  Plains_and_Prairie has put out a new pattern (get it on Etsy) for a crossbody bag.  Just had to make one.  I barely had enough of the last little quilt I cut up, to make one more bag.

It's a fun little bag with two outside pockets.

I've since changed out the black canvas strap for leather, and yes, I realize I put the one of the zippers going the wrong direction.  Guess that means I'll need to make another one, ha!

Seriously, I do want to make at least two more.  Have them as gifts in mind. I've gifted five of the bags I previously made. They seem to make great gifts.  They are definitely one of a kind bags. I do love making things.

By the way, I wanted to post my latest one block wonder quilt.  It is the the fall issue of McCall's Quilting.

It's been four years since I had a quit published so I am excited about it.  I love the quilt and now have it hanging in my quilting/craft room.

It is made using the One Block Wonder process on six of these panels.

We had the little ones here for ten days and boy was it wild and fun.  Not without a few arguments though but such is life.  I pray they remember their times here with Mamaw and Papaw.  After reading JD Vance's book Hillbilly Elegy, I have a new understanding of the value of grandparents in a child's life. Jim and I also watched the movie on Netflix.  A lot of language, beware, but it was the way his Mamaw talked, and others in his life. Still his mamaw was a decidedly good influence in a turbulent world he grew up in.

Excited for fall around here.  We are still having trouble with our upstairs split unit, still waiting on an estimate for some deck work, and I'm still waiting on another business to complete something I've paid for.  I've been very disheartened lately with some business people.  It seems they don't return calls timely, blow off your concerns, and just aren't people of integrity like in the past. Makes me sad.

But I have so much to be thankful for, and these two are some of those blessings.....

Bags, ties, and a skirt!

 The bag obsession has been strong.  I think I've made nine now - five of the large size, and four smaller ones.  A few pics.....

Most were from the one lap size quilt, but the last one I cut up a small table topper I had made from leftover blocks from my White Night's quilt a few years ago. I think I still have enough of it to make at least two more small ones.  But I'm taking a break for a while.  I broke over 10 needles on these 9 bags! They are very hard to sew. I do love the leather work on them. I found leather strips at a leather shop in Knoxville, and that is also where I got the clasps and rivets.  I think real leather on these bags takes them up a notch.  Next up is the ties I made for my grandson.  I made the granddaughter and her mother a bag, so I had to make him and his dad something.

My son used to love wild bowties, and the peacock fabric was perfect for a matching father and son bowtie. I also found a cute dark fat quarter with some pops of color that I made another one out of. I even did one more, not shown, in a little camping themed fabric. Man Sewing had a great video on how to make these. You can make one in about an hour!

I've enjoyed picking zinnias this summer.  I planted seeds in three big pots out near our back deck. So pretty!

We've had some scorcher days lately.  Can't believe inside the screened porch was so hot!

And the back deck! Wowser's The Trex like material on our deck gets so hot, so maybe it was a few degrees hotter than the real temp.  I don't know but this was HOT!

And my latest obsession was making a tiered skirt. I haven't tried to sew clothes since I was about 19 and made a dress, it did not turn out well.  My mom sewed all her clothes, and all the clothes we wore all through our childhood. She was an excellent seamstress - made my prom dress, my brother's tux, my wedding dress, skirts, pants, all kinds of things. She would find a dress or a picture of something she liked, and make her own pattern.  I've never wanted to sew clothes, but this skirt might have changed my mind.  Sydney Graham has a youtube tutorial on how to make this skirt without a pattern, just using your measurements and some simple calculations.

I made lots of mistakes, but learned a lot too.  I plan to make at least one more, and then I'll want to make one for fall/winter. This fabric is a woven by Robert Kaufman and was purchased from Hancock's of Paducah. It is a nice weight and has the feel of linen.  Next I wanted to make a pair of linen look pants.  I found some linen/rayon blend on sale at Joann Fabrics. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, but Sydney Graham had a pattern for her Lane pants, and she had a video tutorial. I purchased it and then I needed to figure out how to adjust the rise (I did not want a high waist) and the length (the pattern was for a 5' 7" height, I'm 5' 4"). I also wanted to narrow the legs, as her pattern was way wider than I wanted.  I printed off the pattern last night, taped it all together, then this afternoon after church I went to work on it.  I did finish the pants about 6 pm this evening, but the waist is still too big. So I will have to take off a bit of the waist band, and pull out the elastic and shorten it. Hopefully I'll get that done tomorrow.  Maybe I'll get a final picture on here later. I did manage to get a picture after I had adjusted the pattern and was beginning to lay it out to cut.

My Latest Obsession

 My latest obsession is making these cute quilted bags!  I bought the pattern from Plains and Prairie. She has a video that shows you how to make these bags, step by step.  I've made these two, but as you can see in the pictures below.  I have plans to make at least three more. I used a throw size quilt I made just a few years ago.  We have so many small quilts I decided I would repurpose it for the bible bags. They were originally designed to hold your bible and church booklets, but I'm using mine as a purse.

Front view with zipper pocket

Back view

Front view of second bag

                                                            Back view of second bag

                                        I even made some inside pockets on the second bag.

I won't say they are easy to make, definitely a challenge, but something that can be made in a day.  I've had fun and hope to make a few more for some gifts/church auction donation.

That quilt with it's small (1") squares was a perfect one to make bags out of.

I really like this quilt pattern, I might just make this one again. I still have a ton of scraps to use in it.

Northern Lights

 I wanted to show what the Northern Lights looked like from our home, yes, our home in Tennessee! I've always wanted to see the Aurora Borealis but never thought I would.  But thanks to the solar storm that reached earth a few weeks ago, we were able to see the beautiful night sky of colors. This was the evening of May 10, 2024.  I could just barely see the colors with the naked eye. My iPhone captured the colors more vividly.

I wanted to add this one.  Not mine, but one someone took at Cade's Cove, a popular park near Townsend, TN.

Some of my local friends captured gorgeous photos!

Let's throw in this pic of my hair journey.  Two and a half years growing from a short pixie cut.

And a few of our special pup.  She loves to hold your hand while driving.

My two favorites......

And let's finish off this post with a quilt! I had a windowpane quilt in this same spot I made about 15 years ago. It had faded a lot so I decided to make up another.

 May 10, 2024

Jim and I made a quick overnight stay at Paducah, for their annual quilt show.  We saw lots of beautiful quilts, and had some great food, and some good shopping at Hancock fabrics.

The local Boy Scouts always have their strawberry short cakes with ice cream out with the food vendors at Paducah.  It was yummy!

On our way!

A close up of this prize winning quilt.  Amazing.

I've made one of these and I have the book by Colleen Wise, who showed this beauty.  I have made one like this before and love it.

A quilt like a rug!

Bible quilt.

I admired this quilter's work at least at one past quilt show. 

As I posted before I've been "refreshing" our bedroom.  We've had a time with mattresses and bed frames, but we FINALLY have it figured out.  Initially I bought memory foam mattress like we have on the other beds in the house and love, but....sleeping on it every night was a little different and not as firm as we are used to.  We bought the black metal bed, which I was really happy with.....until we sold the memory foam mattress and got a more firm 12" mattress from the local highschoool band fund raiser.  This mattress needs to be rotated every two weeks at first, and then every few months afterwards. Well, my husband is disabled and can't lift hardly anything. The two of us could not lift the mattress up over the footboard to rotate the bed. And the footboard was close to the mattress making it hard to make up in the mornings for both of us. So luckily I was able to sell the bed for almost what I paid for it, and then purchased a high (14") king, black metal frame, and a nicer, taller, black metal headboard.  Oh my, rotating the mattress is easy and I can do it by myself.  I love the frame, because like the other metal bed, it is 14" off the ground for some storage if needed, or even a place Puzzle, our golden retriever, can hide out in.  The headboard is perfect, the bed is so easy to make up, and I am finally happy with our bedroom!

So here's some pictures of where we started and where we are now.  You know, as we get older, we really have to make some adjustments to our living, for ease in our older age. This bed is light so I can switch out my rugs, but sturdy and stable, no squeaking! First up the bed I built a few years ago, SO HEAVY!

First replacement bed and mattress.  Like the bed height, and the look, but too hard to make up and rotate mattress.

Ok, this is the bed!  I'm in love with it. Perfect height (no box springs or foundation), easy to rotate without the footboard and easy to make up.

And my new little bench I made.  I friend who works at a local sawmill gave me the small live edge cedar board.  All I did was sand it down, apply a clear coat finish and screwed on some black metal amazon hair pin legs.  The bedroom is finished, and I couldn't be happier.

Next up is some painting I've done recently. I found a youtube by Studio Wildlife and watched it over and over trying to copy his work.  He tells how he makes the colors, the strokes, and the really cool bokeh background.  I love his use of light!

I took a photo I made from his youtube, printed it out and put a pencil grid on it.  After I finished the background I put the grid on my painting.  Brilliant idea, it is easier to copy what's in a square than try to do the whole thing first.

Another one. I loved doing this so much and plan to try to make some more.

Puzzle the dog got some goggles...She had a boating accident with Jim a few weeks ago and ended up losing an eye.  She fishes with Jim all the time and loves to go with him.  She moved to his back right about the time, he threw the rod back to make a cast, and the hook caught her in the eye.  The doctors were unable to save it. Jim was crushed over it and even slept in the floor the first two nights with her, to comfort her.  She has done great, is back on the boat. He is more careful, and she is in goggles.  Not all the time, but mostly when he runs the boat fast, and she doesn't mind them too much.

There's not been any quilting going on lately.  Our other project we finished this week, was a new epoxy type floor in our car garage and screened in porch.  This was a bucket list project I've been wanting to do for several years and planned on doing before I finally retire.  I'm not retired yet but decided to get it done.

I am very happy with the results.  Check out these before and afters.

Now, if we can keep these outdoor spaces this clean.