I wanted to show you what I did with my sad looking couch over the week end. This couch is probably about 13 or 14 years old and it's the only cushioned seating in my house. Therefore, it gets used and used and used........ It was (is) a good quality couch and just needed some TLC.

It had lost some of it's oomph and the cushions were showing signs of being squashed and were unable to rebound. I read somewhere that you could add quilt batting to stuff in the low spots but I thought that would take a whole lot of trouble, a whole lot of batting, and that it would possibly be pretty lumpy.

I went to Joanne's and sorted through all of the foam and batting products and came upon 2" NU-Foam. It's compressed polyester and as I squished the different foams and battings, it seemed the most firm and substantial. OH, and it was much less costly than some of the other foams. My original plan was to add an entire layer of the NU-Foam to the whole top of the cushions and then decided to just add a strip of Nu-Foam to the front of the cushions where most of the wear was showing. I cut a 5" high strip by the length of the cushion fronts.

It was a little bit of a struggle to get the foam strips shoved down to the front of the cushions and then smooth it out evenly. I'll bet the whole process was about 15 minutes for both cushions.





Here's the after shot. It's pretty dramatic for a little expense and a little elbow grease. I don't know how long it will last, but it will be easy enough to do the whole procedure over when it droops again.

Meanwhile, my couch has a new lease on life and I can hold off on buying a new one. I like that!

They are all finished! Eighteen blocks, including the two blocks that I contributed to the swap. This is the last batch of the Pink/Green/White swap blocks.



"Churn Dash"--Thanks Diane
"Box Kite"--Thanks Georgia



"Rail Fence"--Thanks Karie
"Pinwheel"--Thanks Diane

I really enjoyed this swap because we all sewed our own blocks from the pieces that were cut out by the swappers. Not having to cut out the block pieces was a huge time saver and it was fun to see what pattern the swappers picked out and their fabric choices. I was also able to control my own seam allowances and make sure that all of the blocks came out to a perfect 12 1/2". Not surprisingly, 1/4" on my machine may be different on your machine. Even a few threads multiplied by several seams can make the overall block a different size. Sewing my own will make setting the blocks a breeze, as they are all uniform in size.

I'm still mulling over what I'm going to make with all of these blocks. I have 18 completed blocks, which includes the 2 blocks that I contributed to the swap. Right now, I'm thinking of making a large lap quilt using 16 blocks, 4 x4. This will leave two left over blocks that could be used for the sides of a tote or I could make an additional block to make a table runner. I've been playing with my graph paper to decide what to do. Hmmmmm.......decisions.........

Are you getting tired of seeing my Pink/Green/White swap blocks? I hope not, because I've got four more to show you today! ;)




"Shoo Fly"--Thanks Debbie (nontraditional)
"Shoo Fly"--Thanks Karen (traditional)




"Twisting Star"--Thanks Rebecca
"Mini Bow Tie"--Thanks Jane

Four more Pink/Green/White no sew swap blocks;



"Four Patch Fox and Goose"--Thanks Sharon
"Tulip Lady Fingers"--Thanks Wanda



"1930's Square"--Thanks Robin
"Sunlight and Shadows"--Thanks Lea

February BOM. This went together quickly and easily. Since February is short, I wanted to get this block finished before the end of the month slipped up on me.

(Thanks for picking up my block kit, Kathy....and for the cookies...Yum!)



I've been nipping away at the Pink/Green/White quilt block swap kits. Here are a few that are completed.

"Louisiana"--Thanks Andrea

"Prairie Queen"--Thanks Kathleen

"Oh Susannah"--Thanks Kathleen

"Tennessee"--Thanks Lynne

These have been fun to pick up and sew when I've had a little "block" of time. I have more finished and will post those soon. So far, they have gone together pretty well and I'm pleased with the results. I'm still not sure how I'll use the blocks (full quilt, runners, lap quilt, etc.) but I like having lots of blocks to give me lots of options.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Mail Call!

I received my "no sew" block exchange today! Since I did two exchanges, I received 16 pink, green, and white block kits. I've already made the two blocks that I sent in for the swap so I'll have 18 total blocks to work with when I get them all sewn. The fabrics that the exchangers chose are all great....there isn't one fabric that I don't like.



Kathleen, my great swap hostess, also enclosed a little bonus, the tissue holder that you see in the bottom left corner. She did a great job on this with both her color choices and construction. The holder has boxed corners and a double trimmed edge, which really adds to it's character. Thanks Kathleen!

I've had a rough month of illness and these blocks will be a nice project to pick up whenever I get a little time. Some of these blocks will go together in about 15 minutes, others a bit longer, but since I can just pick up one at a time, there's no completion pressure. I can't wait to see how they all look when they are put together! Thanks to all of the swappers!

Several inches of snow arrived last night and I'm spending the day inside, enjoying the view.

I've been wandering around on the quilting sites that are frequently advertised in the quilt magazines and came upon;

http://www.redroosterfabrics.com/

They have a nice assortment of free pattern downloads and although I have way too many patterns as it is, it's still fun to add more to your possible future projects folder. When you go to the site, just click on patterns and you will find both current and retired patterns. Obviously, they are designed around their fabric lines, but you can use your own stash. I found several patterns that I thought were a little bit different and copied them for my files.

And another place you should check out is;

www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases

I've mentioned this before, but there is a huge need for charity quilts and pillowcases too. I love the pillowcases because I can make them quickly and since they require much less fabric, cheaper. The site has four pillowcase patterns for you to download.

Back to browsing.......

Oooh, I'm back. Here's another great site;

http://www.windhamfabrics.com/

They have some great free patterns too. Don't miss the Page 2 tab at the top of the first page of patterns.

Isn't this just the most wonderful fabric!! It's from The Alice in Wonderland collection manufactured by Quilting Treasures. I'm such a fan of Alice in Wonderland and the whole fabric collection has my mind spinning with ideas.

If you've been following my blog, you know what this stripe fabric is destined to become.......a 60 degree table runner! As soon as I saw the fabric, I just had to get some for a runner or two.




This will be the backside of the runner. It will look almost as nice on this side as the striped side. The illustrations are so special.




Both fabrics, side by side, for scale......

Here's the selvage edge. I cut off all of my selvages and keep them for some unknown project in the future. Isn't this the best selvage?! The fabric is copyrighted from The British Library Board. This is their way of saying that it's for personal USE only. When I saw this selvage, I fell in love with the fabric that much more!

I laugh every time!

January's BOM is finished! Although I have many more projects to work on, I enjoy actually completing something, no matter how small. I'm one of those people that tackles the simple things before attacking the more complicated projects. "They" say you should do the hardest things first, but I need a sense of completion that inspires me to move on to the harder projects.

Next on the list of harder things is to get my Quilts For Kids quilt basted, quilted, bound, and shipped off. Hopefully, it will be finished by next week since I've moved it to the top of my list.

Lots of baggies filled with pieces of cut fabric, destined to become 12" blocks! I worked on making the blocks that I'll be keeping, then I sorted the rest of the pieces into individual baggies to be sent to Kathleen, the hostess. I wanted to make sure that the blocks would turn out OK and that I had all of the pieces cut correctly.



Here's "Noon and Light." I will say that this block was a little bit tedious and I hope that it won't discourage any beginning quilters. Take your time and press as you go!



Here's "Album." This one was fast and simple and should be easy enough for any beginners.

I'll get these into the mail soon. I'm way ahead of schedule, so I may not get to the Post Office for a few days. Unless my swap partners get their pieces cut early, I won't expect to get their baggies of pieces until the middle of February. I'm in no hurry.......there are tons of other projects waiting to be started, finished, or in the middle of construction!

I joined the Pink/Green/White No Sew Swap and cut out all of the pieces today and yesterday. Phew! There are 513 pieces in these stacks! I joined two P/G/W swaps so that I would end up with 18 blocks to sew and work with, instead of just 9 blocks. I thought this might give me some better design and usage possibilities. I'll make and post the two blocks that I'll be keeping, hopefully tomorrow. This will give my swap partners a block to refer to in addition to the actual block instructions. I'll sort all of these pieces into separate block baggies to be mailed to Kathleen for distribution. I'm ahead of schedule, so I don't need to knock myself out to get this swap out on time. A nice change of pace for me!




And this is a nice assortment of sewing and quilting goodies that I received for Christmas. Some of you will recognize these gifts and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Sewing Sisters are the best!

Piles of......stacks of........Christmas coasters! Most of these have been given away so I'm finally going to post some pictures. I showed you how to make these in an earlier post. I found that I can make about 8 of them in 1 hour...... cutting to sewing to ironing. I gave them out in sets of four, so that's a pretty quick, small gift. I did find that they "ate" up quite a bit of fabric because of all of the layers, and are not particularly cheap to make. This is the time to buy the Christmas fabric that's on sale now and use it for next year's gifts.




One set of eight;




Another set of eight;

And here is the December BOM, just completed this afternoon. I had to put this on the very bottom of the list of to do's. I'm hoping to pick up January's block tomorrow, provided we don't get all of the snow that they are predicting.

I just joined a "no sew" block exchange that will be fairly quick and easy to complete. After all of the holiday crafting, I was hesitant to jump back into obligations, especially since I still have unfulfilled ones waiting on completion. In this exchange, you will only be cutting out the block pieces, not sewing the blocks. Click on the swap picture below for complete details. Kathleen, the hostess, has opened the sign ups until January 1o.

NOTE! The swap is now closed. There was a lot of interest and Kathleen wants to keep it manageable. I think she plans to host another one in the near future so keep checking back.

Here are a couple of the 60 degree table runners that I love to make. The first one was made with a very small stripe and the overall effect is not as dramatic as the wider striped fabrics. I seem to always have my eyes focused on finding nice striped fabrics when I'm at the fabric stores, always looking for fabric that will make an unusual runner.




This one shows what I mean about the dramatic effect. Both are very pleasing. You just have to imagine how your finished runner will turn out, pending the different stripe variations. You really can't go wrong and the way the stripes line up so perfectly makes all of the runners look like they take a lot of precision and hard work. You can't just randomly cut your fabric, but once the fabric is cut correctly, they sew together without a hitch.




After my check writing comment yesterday, I'm feeling quite superior today after seeing this cartoon in this morning's newspaper! Nooooo....wait....what am I saying?.....that I'm only smarter than a dog?! Oh well, I'll take whatever I can get! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR......2010 HAS ARRIVED!

I hope you had a safe New Year's Eve and are now ready to start a fresh, new year. Just as I thought, I was asleep at midnight until the neighborhood celebration began. It was loud and rowdy for about 20 minutes, then back to silence and more sleep. I've already written some checks this morning and have had to remind myself to change the year. I'll get the hang of it by the time the next year rolls around!

I took my Christmas decorations down yesterday. I'm always a little sad to see the tree and lights put away for another year. Apparently, Oliver felt the same way and had to protect the decorations from being exiled into the attic. Or.....maybe.....and most likely.....the tree skirt just made a soft napping spot.




This is a full sized quilt that I made a couple of years ago and have had it folded up and tucked away since completing it. Sorry about the not-so-great picture. It seems like most things that I make are either given away or stored away and I've decided that I need to use these things. What good are they if I never put them to use? It felt good to put this quilt on my bed and another quilt on my guest bed. Although pretty, they are utilitarian and deserve to be enjoyed, wrinkled, and anointed with cat hair!




And from Dr. Charles Stanley's In Touch, here are a few words of wisdom to start the year:

"Every new year--and, in reality, every new day--is an opportunity to start over and do things in a manner pleasing to God".

Mail call! I found this wonderful assortment of "vintage" charm squares in the mailbox yesterday. I had entered a random give-a-way on one of the blogs that I follow, Exuberant Color (the blog link is on my sidebar with other blogs that I follow), and won. I don't know what I'll do with them yet, but it was fun to sort through the charms to see if I recognized any of the fabrics. Thanks for your generosity, Wanda!

I will likely be asleep as the new year arrives. For those of you out and about tonight, be smart and stay safe.

Merry Christmas! I know Christmas has now officially passed, but I wanted to wish you all a belated, beloved Christmas. I hope that we can always keep the spirit of Christmas with us, even in the middle of July! I've been taking a little blog break and I'm planning on catching up a bit in the next few days. The little "gingerbread" house below is made of foam core and was fun, quick, and easy to make.

My Christmas was extra special this year, as my Sister-in-Law, Patti, was able to spend the holiday with me. I haven't had any family members celebrate Christmas with me in more than a decade, so this visit was the best gift of all. (I should note that I'm not having any family feuds, I just don't have many family members anymore.) Note my HUGE Christmas tree. Size doesn't matter, right!?




And here are Oliver and Gracie hogging the only spot of sun in the house. Lucky for them that it shines right on their cat bed, which is on top of my bed. Even on a bitterly cold day, between the sun and sharing body heat, they stay quite snug.

I forgot to tell you that Oliver and Gracie were very happy with their Christmas present.....a newly remodeled bathroom! (AKA....a new cat box and new vinyl runner underneath their box.) I kid you not.....they waited in line for it to be operational, then took their respective turns. ;)

More later........

My Christmas Exchange quilt arrived last week and I'm just now getting the pictures posted. Kathy L. was my mystery swap partner and she sent a beautiful wall hanging, along with some great goodies.

Here's a shot of the stocking that she made which contained all of the gifts she sent. The chocolate is already gone, I'm ashamed to say. ;) The black fabric next to the stocking is a beautiful Christmas fat quarter.




Kathy made this wonderful ornament too. Lots of crazy patch hand stitching and embellishments.




And last, but far from least, is the wall hanging that Kathy made. It's absolutely gorgeous! This picture does not capture the beauty of this hanging and all of the handwork involved! She has combined hand stitching, hand quilting, and machine quilting, to make a wonderful combination of textures. It measures about 22" x 26 1/2" and makes quite a statement. I have it hanging on the back of my front door so that I can admire it daily. Thanks for all of your hard work, Kathy! Your quilt will be cherished for years to come!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

November BOM is finished. It was nice to have a simple, easy block. So far this series has had all 12" blocks. I'm hoping that they will continue to be the same size to make setting them easier at the end of the year.

Merry Christmas!! I've finished my Christmas Exchange project and it will be heading to my swap partner this afternoon! And only one day to spare....that's cutting it a bit close and it was making me nervous!

This wall hanging measures approximately 17" x 19". Our finished hanging was to be a maximum of 20" x 20" and a minimum of 16" x 16".
This is my own design, but I used paper foundations for the trees and stars from EQ5 and Carol Doak. I just re-sized them to fit my design.




OK, it's quilted with my same, signature "swirl" pattern. I think this looks nice and fits the pattern design, indicating the wind and snow fall direction. I used a sparkly thread for the quilting on the top (plain white in the bobbin for the backside). You really can't see the sparkle very well unless the sun is shining on the hanging.

Here's the backside. I've used the same hanging technique that I've shown you before. I took 2-5" squares, folded them on the diagonal and placed them in the upper corners. Then a dowel rod was cut to fit the width of the hanging and slips under the corner triangles. When my partner receives this hanging, all she will have to do is find an available nail and it's ready to hang!

I'm off to the post office to get this en route! This was a fun project to make and I'm looking forward to receiving the hanging that my partner made for me. It should be here soon and I'll post pictures when it arrives!

Sidetracked again! Here's a cute, quick, easy to sew gift idea. Fabric coasters. I don't know who to credit with this idea as I learned to make these at church and the pattern just seems to be passed around. Anyway...

You start with 6-5" squares of fabric. These are ideal to make with charm squares and you could certainly make your coasters larger or smaller using 4" squares or 6" squares, etc. I may try 10" layer cake squares to make a great matching trivet. Two of the squares will be the bottom and the other four will be the top part of the coaster. Fold these top four squares in half and press. You could use all of the same fabrics, some of the same fabrics, or none of the same fabrics for a scrappy look....your choice.




The bottom two squares will be placed wrong sides together. Yes, wrong sides together.




On top of the two bottom squares, you will place your four folded squares in a pinwheel, layered arrangement. Hard to explain, but kind of a basket weave. It will make sense when you have the fabric in front of you and you are matching it to this picture.

Pin all of the stacked layers together and sew around the edge. After sewing all the way around the squares, trim off the corners and excess seam allowances. This will reduce the bulk when you turn your coasters to the right side.

Turn the coasters right side out. Use a pointer to push out the corners. Slip the pointer into each of the sections to push the corners out.

Here's the finished coaster, which has been ironed after turning. I think these would be fun to make in a round shape too by just sewing in a circle instead of around the edges. I like this project because there is no hand sewing at all. Once you turn the coasters, the raw edges are hidden inside. The coasters are 6 fabrics thick, so they have a fair amount of insulation. I had thought about putting some sort of waterproofing layer sandwiched between the bottom two squares, but thought that it would add too much bulk. I may still try this on my next set.

Betcha can't make just one!