"Canstruction" was at the local mall today, and my friend Jerry and I went to see the displays. The structures were made by local high school students and the components were all canned goods.

I'm not sure what this one was supposed to be, but I liked it. Kind of an exploding clam, a broken egg......whatever.





This one was pretty obvious. They had actually put some sort of light in the top of the lighthouse.

And this one was my favorite. Simple, but well done.

All of these cans of food will be donated to the local food banks. My pictures don't show much in the way of scale, but this can was probably 10' tall. Many of the structures contained over 12,000 cans of food, so this was a very worthy effort.

This is the carousel at the mall. Just thought I'd throw this picture in too. It's a really spectacular carousel, with every kind of animal from a rabbit to a dragon. Plus, it's a double decker!

Another pinwheel block. Again, not much contrast between the three fabrics but I'm still happy to be using fabric from my stock.

Now I'm heading outside to mow the yard. I needed to wait for the dew to dry up a bit before mowing and decided to put this block together while I was waiting. Thankfully, my yard is tiny and I'll be able to get my work done pretty quickly. Have a great day!

One of my recently added sidebars is for an organization called Kiva. It is a program that loans to small businesses, usually in impoverished areas. I've been a member for a couple of years and have been able to help three women entrepreneurs build their businesses.

When I first joined Kiva, there were hundreds of people asking for loans. As this very successful program has continued, they actually have to look to find entrepreneurs that need the additional help. At times, there are no loans needed, which is a wonderful problem to have.

Once you pick the person that you would like to help fund, you choose the amount that you would like to donate. I picked $25, the most that I could afford, and once the money is repaid to you, you can turn around and loan that same money again. I've loaned to three people and they have very diligently paid their loans back. I just keep my $25 in motion and it continues to help others at no further cost to me beyond the original donation.

Just wanted to throw this out to you in case you hadn't heard of Kiva. I highly recommend this organization and, selfishly, it gives me a nice feeling knowing that I've helped a person in need become successful.

Now go and check out Kiva for yourself! Find the entrepreneur that speaks to your heart and help them reach their goal!

(Just wanted to add that in the time that it took me to write this post, the woman that I funded, received her full funding. I was the second to donate and within 15 minutes, her entire loan was funded. That's how widespread this program has gone and how quickly people step up to help others! Now see if there is someone else that could use a little help from you!)

It's been awhile since I've completed a Psalms block, but I had some free time today and jumped in. I've done this block before, for my own personal quilt with different fabrics, but this block will go into a charity quilt that several of us are working on. The charity quilt will be made with all hand dyed fabrics for continuity.

This is Psalm 16:7; I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.


Spring brings thoughts of gardening and this is my little indoor succulent "garden". I really enjoy these types of plants. The succulent on the left is blooming and the next picture shows the tiny flowers.

Aren't they pretty and delicate? God's creativity is amazing!

Yesterday was a three-way birthday celebration! Life, is seems, always gets in the way of our time together, and my quilting friends had missed three birthdays. Getting us all together at one time can be a challenge. We decided to have all three birthdays at once and celebrate their special, although belated, birthdays. I baked the cake, which was a simple carrot cake.

Now you don't see my name on the cake, do you? Well, Lois, one of the birthday ladies got all of us, even the non-birthday ladies, special gifts too. She got me ALL of this fabric and the fabric in the next photo, plus the quilt book below.

More beautiful fabric!

This is the quilt book that Lois got for me. It has several great patterns in it.

This is the pattern that I will be making. Lois has provided all of the fabric needed to make this quilt top. I love basket quilts and she couldn't have picked out a more pleasing pattern or fabrics.

I feel so blessed and grateful for this wonderful gift....and for no reason except that Lois is an exceptional friend, full of love and generosity! Thank you, Lois, for this special gift and for your priceless gift of friendship!

Block of the Month time..... I did finish my March block in time. I made it the night before it was due. I've never waited that long to complete these blocks, as you have to have the previous block completed before you can pick up your next month's block without a charge. (It's complicated, but trust me, it's worth having your block completed.) This one is a 12" block.

And while I was on a roll, I went ahead and finished the block that I picked up, the April block. It was a super simple block and didn't take much time. I'll certainly be ready for my May block now. ;) This little block is 6".

After two weeks of playing nurse for a sick friend, I was finally able to get back to my sewing machine and complete my paper pieced wall hanging and catch up on a few things.

This is the hanging before sewing the blocks and borders together. I like to lay things out, see how they look, arrange the directions of the blocks, etc., before sewing. This saves a lot of seam ripping, which is not my favorite thing to do.

When you have a wonky quilting line or just something that you want to cover up, yo-yo's do the trick. This quilt was absolutely square until I started to machine quilt it. Somewhere along the way, it became distorted on a couple of seam lines. Being rushed on time, I didn't have the opportunity to take things apart and fix the distortion. Anyway, the yo-yo's help to cover up the rough spots and even add another dimension and focus.

This is the final wall hanging. It's 25" x 25". It isn't my finest work, but I'm still feeling a great sense of completion. I've been working on this hanging off and on for months, and just seeing it to completion gives me satisfaction. Every project that you work on will teach you some sort of lesson or tip that will be valuable on your next project. We are always our worst critic and need to enjoy the ride with less stress and expectations on ourselves. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and this quilt screams "amateur"! Nonetheless, I'm fairly pleased with the end result, plus.....I'm glad it's done! Whew!

This isn't the best picture for detail, but in the large purple borders, my quilting pattern is a picket fence. It turned out pretty cute. The majority of the rest of the quilting was simply stitch in the ditch. With blocks so tiny (3"), quilting in the ditch seemed to be a good choice as most other patterns would just get lost. The purple borders were my only large areas to highlight quilting, and I took advantage of those open spaces.

Purple may not be the designated color for St. Patrick's Day, but it certainly is the color of Spring. Even in Indiana in the middle of March, the blossoms find their way to the surface of the earth, seeking the warmth of the sun. Mmmmmmm............

I just registered at Art Fire today. It's a somewhat new venue for selling homemade arts and crafts. Right now, they are offering a promotional special for $7 per month. Unlike eBay and Etsy, there are no additional fees, you sell as much or as little as you want with only a $7 per month fee. This special is only being offered until the first 5000 artisans register, then it will go to $20 per month. The $7 will not increase for these first artists unless they leave Art Fire and come back at a later time.

All this sounds good but it will take awhile for Art Fire to gain the recognition of eBay and Etsy. You're taking a chance, of course, not knowing if it will ever gain a large audience. The risk is small though, as you may remove yourself from Art Fire whenever you want. If you aren't making any sales, just drop out.

Now, all this being said, I joined with another option.....the FREE one. Being financially challenged, I really can't commit to $7 a month. They have a free version that only allows you to sell 10 items at a time and there are fewer whistles and bells than the $7 version.

I don't know if I'll ever even try and sell anything, but the option is mine. Certainly, I had nothing to loose and I wanted to make sure that I could get the Art Fire name of my choice, "GracieOliverArts"!

Oh, I forgot to add that if you would decide to join Art Fire, would you please use "GracieOliverArts" as your referral source. If 10 people use me for their referral, it allows me to have a free account for life! Thanks in advance!

If you have never made your own piping and rely on the fabric stores for your piping, I hope this will change your mind. Even the best fabric stores have limited colors of piping and only one, small diameter of piping. If you make your own, you can match the fabric of any project that you are working on and make your piping any diameter.

This shows the two sizes of cording that I considered, not knowing which one would work the best. I decided that I needed to use the largest diameter in order to frame my wall hanging with a little more definition.
After you choose your cording, you will need to cut your fabric into strips and then sew your strips together to make a piece long enough to trim your project. If you have lots of curves, you will need to cut your strips on the bias. If your edge is mostly straight, you may be able to get away with cutting on the straight edge. I cut my strips 2 1/2" wide, although this measurement can be adjusted to the thickness of your cording. It obviously needs to wrap around the cord and have enough extra to sew around the cord and then trim off.

This shows the covered cord which has been trimmed to 1/4", the width of my seam allowances on my wall hanging. I used a 1/4" guide that is used for marking seam allowances on quilt pieces for hand quilting. With piping this thick, a regular rotary cutter ruler would have to smash the piping and it would be awkward, wobbly, and probably not very accurate. This little guide, designed to be used as a guide for a marking pencil, snugs right up to the cording and works great with a rotary cutter.

Now I have the piping sewn to the the wall hanging. Use your zipper foot for this type of sewing so that you can stitch close to the piping. It's hard to see, but the cream thread is the first seam where I just sewed the cording into the fabric strips. After sewing the cording into the strips, I moved my needle over a smidgen to sew the piping to my wall hanging. The dark brown seam is the final attaching seam. The cream seam is no longer visible on the right side and it's nice and snug along the piping.

And finally, the right side of the wall hanging, showing the finished piping edge. It makes a nice, bold, clean, neat edge and I like the way that it turned out. Even though I cut my fabric on the straight edge, I was able to wrap it around my rounded corners without any trouble. Be sure to check your corners, your piping, and your fabric flexibility before you decide whether to cut your fabric strips on the bias or straight edge. You don't want to find out later that your piping will not flex enough at the corners.

Have fun customizing your projects, from quilts to pillows, and anything in between!

It's been a long time since I've posted.....sorry about that. My energy levels are so sporadic and I only have so many hours in any given week (or weeks) that allow me to craft. I do try and make the best of those precious hours!

This is the center block of my wall hanging. I'm only showing the back side so that you can see all of the pieces in one block. This is a 7" block and I believe there are 52 pieces. With paper piecing, this is simply not a problem. Accuracy is easy if you just take your time, follow the numbers on the paper, and sew a straight seam. Take your time and be patient.....take your time and be patient.........take your time and be patient...........

This is a pile of the completed blocks. Surrounding the center 7" block will be a row of 3" blocks, along with various borders. I sewed all of the blocks and borders together last night and now need to make my piping for the edge. I decided not to use regular binding, but finish it off with piping. Piping gives it a neat, finished edge that is especially nice for wall hangings. Of course, all this is subject to change pending how things turn out!

And then comes the dreaded quilting! I'm not very good at quilting by machine and this wall hanging would be extremely difficult to hand quilt, due to all of the seam allowances and bulk. One step (stitch) at a time, I guess, machine or hand.

To be continued.........

And the Oscar goes to...............
(drum roll....)

****** WALL-E!!******

Congratulations for winning Best Animated Feature Film!

Way to go!

More pinwheel blocks....... This block really shows the lack of contrast in my fabrics.
This one too.....not much contrast....... Both of these blocks look a little better in person, but the contrast is not that defined. Even after saying that, I'm still glad that I was able to use fabric from my stash!

Here's the first of those simple pinwheel blocks. I'm making these blocks out of fabric that I already had on hand in order to use my fabric stash wisely. Otherwise, I would have chosen fabrics with a little more contrast. Light, medium and dark will work well with these blocks, or even totally different colors of fabrics. In this case, I really have two dark fabrics and one light fabric and not enough overall contrast for my taste. Still, I think the finished top will be pretty and a nice way to utilize my stash.

Sorry that I've been a bit AWOL lately......too many things taking priority over my creative side. This is the February BOM. It's small this month, 6", finished. I don't think I'll include it in the final quilt, pending the rest of the blocks, because it has so few pieces. It just seems out of place. I have had a chance to work on more paper pieced blocks and have finished 20 of them. Now I'm ready to start on the center block, which will be huge compared to the others....it will be 7", finished.

On Saturday, I started a really simple quilt that uses only variations of pinwheel patterns. It takes less than one yard each of three fabrics (for twelve blocks) and is pretty mindless to construct. Only one block has been cut out and I'll try and get it sewn together ASAP. Besides, I need something to post while I'm working on the paper piecing so that you know I'm still alive!

It's been awhile since I've done paper foundation piecing. To get myself back in the mode, I made a sample block. This block is a 3 1/2" block (3" when finished). If you want precision piecing, especially with very tiny pieces, foundation piecing is the way to go. You can also use fabric (muslin, usually) for your foundation with your sewing lines drawn on the fabric.


The accuracy comes from sewing directly on the provided lines. If you can sew a straight seam, you can foundation piece. A few tips that will help you are;
Cut your pieces bigger than you think you will need them to be. You will trim off the excess, so being large is not a problem. If they are too small, you can't add fabric and will have to rip out the seam, re-cut the fabric, and re-sew the seam.

Sew, trim, iron......sew, trim, iron. Be neat and snip all threads.

When you are done with the block and you are squaring it up, don't necessarily use the printed lines on the paper. Sewing and ironing repeated seams on the paper may have distorted it a bit. Use your ruler and not the printed lines as your guide. Also, be sure to use the same ruler throughout your project for accurate trimming. There can be small, subtle differences in rulers that can make a difference in your final project.

This picture shows that I have cut outside of the lines and inside of the lines in a few spots. This was deliberate, and my final block is an accurate 3 1/2".

Don't remove the foundation paper until you have sewn all of your blocks together. This will keep your tiny blocks from distorting. Because you don't have to pay any attention to whether or not you have a bias edge on your fabric pieces when you are cutting them out, the fabric may be subject to stretching without the paper. Once everything is pieced together, gently remove your paper foundations. "Handle with care" until you have quilted and bound your treasure.

Foundation piecing is not quick, but it is very rewarding when you see how accurate your project turns out. Be patient and enjoy the process!

This fabric postcard arrived today. It was part of a swap that I joined in November but the sender had been ill and couldn't send it until now. I had just about forgotten about it and it was a nice surprise today. This one, like the last one, came from England and arrived in perfect shape.

I've got something different for you today. No sewing machines were needed!

Can you guess what these pieces and parts will become?......No? Well, keep scrolling down........




It's a mouse! Eeeek! I think he's a pretty cute mouse, at that! In addition to sewing and fabric crafting, I enjoy lampworking (flameworking, hot glass, molten glass, whatever you want to call it). I made the beads that were used as the body and head of the mouse. I have a jar of odds and ends beads that didn't make it into jewelry and this is a great way to put them to good use.

This mouse was not my own design. I bought a tutorial on how to make him from Maria at Whimzicalities, a fellow lampworker. Overall, it was pretty easy to make. I didn't have the right gauge of copper wires and will wait to make another one after I find the right gauges. I searched through my garage stash, stripped a few cables, and found some usable copper wire. Some of his parts are too thick, some are too thin. Nonetheless, he seems no worse for the wear.

Now, say "Cheese", little mouse!

CHEESE!

Here it is....a finished (almost) Thangles tablecloth! The finished size is 34" x 43". This would be a good size for a small (very small) lap quilt or wall hanging too. I say that it's almost finished because it will still need to be quilted and bound. I'll be using the largest border fabric for the backing and the purple fabric for the binding. It's at this stage that I loose my enthusiasm. I don't have the time and patience to hand quilt anymore, and I don't have a sewing machine that would do a particularly good job of quilting. I have many quilt tops, wall hangings, and lap quilts that remain at this stage of finishing. Since this is intended to be a tablecloth, I may omit the batting to make finishing it much easier. When you don't have the added bulk of batting, even a regular sewing machine will "quilt" the two layers together without shifting and puckering. There's no hurry to decide so I'm off to a new project!

(This quilt is actually rectangular. I put it on a curved surface and it now appears to be wavy. It isn't.)

Block Number 12 in the Thangles series. I've had the materials for this last block for awhile and had to put it aside to finish other projects. Now that all 12 blocks are completed, I'll set them into a runner or table cloth. I have enough fabric to make more Thangles blocks if I would decide to make it bigger. Hmmmm......we'll see. I'd really like to finish this quickly and get if off of my "to do" list.... Stopping right now may be the best choice.

After what appears to be my daily chore of snow shoveling, I was able to spend some quality time with my sewing machine. Although I actually enjoy shoveling, I must admit that I like sewing more. Yes, it's the Psalm block pattern that I got yesterday and it's all done! Fortunately, it was a simple, quick pattern and I was able to get it done without a hitch.

This block is a representation of Psalm 57:1;

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in You my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed.

This is a hand made Christmas card that Lisa sent me. Like all of us, she was rummaging around in her stash and found a Christmas card kit that she had forgotten about. You just never know what you'll find when you sort through things. So.....lucky me got to receive one of them!

This is another Psalm block. For about 24 hours, I am officially caught up on my Psalm blocks. Tomorrow afternoon or evening, I'll receive, via email, this weeks' block scripture and pattern. Until then, I'm just going to just enjoy this moment in time!

This is Psalm 46:1-3, 10;

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Another snow day......another block! This is the January block of the month, which I just picked up yesterday. It's nice to be able to take the time to get it finished right away instead of adding it to my "to do" list. Again, I exchanged their enclosed green fabric with my own green fabric to soften the contrast.

I got an unexpected "snow day" today and made another Psalm block. This is Psalm 27:4-5;

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

This block was quite difficult to piece because of the inset pieces. I should have redrafted the pattern but had already cut all of the pieces. I finally completed the block, but not without many ripped out seams. At least it's done!

I managed to get another Psalm block done yesterday, as well as beginning another. I'm now only two blocks behind on my Psalm quilt!

An all time favorite, Psalm 23:2-3;

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

I finished two Psalm blocks today. The pattern was the same for both of these blocks but these will go into two different quilts. The first block was done with hand dyed fabric and will go into the charity quilt that I'm making with five other quilting friends. Although we are all contributing blocks, there will be some continuity because we are all choosing our fabric from these hand dyed fabrics. I think the quilt will be beautiful when it's finished.
This is the same block pattern, made with fabrics that will go into my own personal Psalms quilt. I used the same basic colors in both blocks.

The Psalm inspiration for both of these blocks was Psalm 25:4-5;

"Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I pray that 2009 will be a great year for everyone. May it be full of God's blessings for you and yours!

My New Year's Eve was pleasantly quiet and uneventful. My neighbors, who have a tendency to be very inconsiderate of everyone other than themselves, left for the evening and are not yet home as I write this. This made for a pleasant, cozy evening. I went to bed well before midnight and was able to get a normal night of rest. What a great way to start my year!

This is the December block of the month that I finished yesterday. Not a day to spare. I've got several more Psalms blocks to complete before being back on schedule. I'm hoping to capture some sewing time over the week end and get these finished. Fortunately, my online Psalms group took a three week holiday break or I'd really be under water. I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but I do have a goal to keep on top of these smaller quilting projects. It's a doable goal.

Have a great 2009! I hope that all of your resolutions (or goals) are doable too! I'm heading over to a friends house for some cooked cabbage for lunch. How about you......some Hoppin' John maybe?!

Today is the big reveal! I haven't been able to show you the Christmas wall hangings that I've been working on since October so that I wouldn't spoil the surprise. Although I still have two Christmas exchanges in January, the people involved have either seen these already or don't have a computer. Either way, it's now safe for me to show these.

This is a shot of all 7 of the completed wall hangings. 6 are snowmen, 1 is of trees. The bottom snowman is smaller than the rest and is going to be mine! I ran out of background fabric and just decided to make a small one for myself.

Here's one of the snowman quilts. I decided to make the snowman in gradual stages. The first snowman only has eyes, the second snowman has eyes and a nose, etc. One of the reasons that I did this progressive snowman was for artistic expression. The other reason was laziness! Less embroidery work for me! Once I finished one of the quilts, I knew I could go back and embellish all of the snowmen if I didn't like the way it looked. Obviously, I liked them and left them as is.


Here's a closeup of a finished snowman, with all of his parts, including a scarf.


Here's the tree quilt. I only made one of these and really liked the way it turned out. It's a little more formal than the snowmen, but still displayable all through the winter. I didn't want to make any of the wall hangings so Christmas specific that you could only use them for a few weeks a year.


Here's the closeup of the tree quilt. I used all gold hearts except for the last tree segment that received a red heart.




This is Bev, receiving my wall hanging at one of the exchanges. I hope that she will get many years of enjoyment out of it and will think of me (fondly....I hope!) each time she displays it in her home.

Overall, I really enjoyed making these hangings. I did take on quite a huge project and should have started them much earlier than October. I've already started planning some gifts for next year in hopes of avoiding last minute panic attacks! I work well under a deadline, but enjoy the task much more if I'm not rushed. Live and learn!