Procrastinator Extraordinaire

If you can imagine... I just took down my Christmas Tree.  It's a fake tree. An impostor tree.  It's in the tree body bag in the basement now.  We've been having some really warm weather for NE Ohio so I have premature Spring Fever.  I'm cleaning up so as soon as that snow hits I have no excuse to keep me out of my sewing room.  I'm almost in there!

Every year I buy myself a new Ornament and my Mom gives me one.  Here they are.   I just love the little girl.  She's what I think the little Polish girl inside me looks like.  And, who can resist a deer in boots!

Back to Blogger

Hello again.   I am back to my blogger Blog.  I hope my old friends follow me and I hope to make some new friends.  2012 has gotten off to a rocky start.  One of my dogs passed away, my husband's business was robbed and I've been working so much I barely know what day it is..   but I'm hoping to turn it around and make it a good year.  One of my resolutions (along with the ever included : lose weight,  exercise and save some money) is to sew more and sharpen my skills.  I am a self taught quilter.  My minimal sewing roots have a strange beginning.  I won a refurbished Singer sewing machine at a night at the races raffle.  Everyone at the table laughed and laughed at the thought of me sewing.  That same year I bought my first pattern and made those same people ridiculously funny fleece hats for Christmas.  Then I discovered Simply Quilts on HGTV.  I was hooked.  My first quilt was a basic patchwork quilt big enough for two king sized beds.  I think that was 2004. Many quilts, many quilt books and many quilt blogs later.. I think that my skills can really still use a lot of tightening up.  I think that I missed some really important basic skills that I probably should have learned along the way and this year I am going to try to fill in those blanks.  To get the ball rolling I just joined my first online quilt class.  Can't wait to get started!

                                                                We'll miss you Tater.     

What keeps you from Crafting?

The summer is gone and fall is almost over and I have not done any sewing or painting nor have I glued anything.  I have many projects planned and supplies gathered.  I have started and abandoned.  What is wrong with me? I think about it and I plan for it but then.. nothin'.    I'm going to blame my mother.  My mother will not sit down and relax until everything is in order.  If there is a dish to be washed and surfaced to be dusted then it is a priority next to obtaining world peace.  For as far back as I can remember, I have not suffered from the gross and debilitating disease.  However recently I've felt like that hour I would have spent sewing would be more wisely spent doing laundry and getting ready for work the next day.  My house has never been messier so my reasoning my be flawed.  Today, I pledge to at least straighten up my sewing room (which is also where my husband keeps his clothes, all the unmatched socks live with all the other things I collect that don't have a home).  I have 3 dolls to make for Christmas, a Christmas quilt top to finish and then quilt, some Christmas pillows that i have promised to make and then a lap quilt for a housewarming present.    I must be crazy.  PS.  I do this every year to myself.  Sadistic.

This is Sweet Potato.  She is another reason I can't get anything done.  She thinks she is a cat and wants to lay on top of what ever I am doing.  I have another one that lays with her head on my foot while I've got the pedal to the metal.  Try a little free motion quilting with that sort of love going on! Wonder why I've got such an awful bedspread on this bed?  Because I didn't finish the one I've been planning for a year now..  I guess I found my new years resolution.

I skipped Monday..

Ever feel like you just lost a whole day without the fun of drinking or a head trauma?  It's Tuesday and I barely remember Monday.  I'll blame my allergies. It's Hot and Humid here in Northeast Ohio.  So humid in fact that the mold is off the charts.  It looks beautiful outside but it smells like a old wet sponge.  We need a cool breeze. I have a vacation day on Friday so naturally they are predicting rain starting Thursday through the following Monday.   You might think this is bad news but it isn't. It will give me a change to fold 100 loads of laundry and to make a papier mache boat.  I've been dying to try since Ann Wood posted a tutorial on her website.  She is amazing.  Check her out.   This weekend I went to a art fair and scored some adornments.   The artist didn't give me her card but I love the ring and the earrings. Sunday was filled with a marathon of yard work.  I can barely walk.  I need to get out of this chair and get some exercise.  Right after I make a root beer Float and watch New Moon.  I hope it isn't as bad as I anticipate.  I am predicting a Level Red Cheese Factor! 

Sew What If I Had To Glue The Corner of This Quilt?

My first week blogging and my first Sew and Tell!   I made these two quilts for my cousin who had twins. Ashley and Olivia. They are sweet.  The girls and the quilts. I started these quilts three weeks before their baby shower and could only finish one on time. I'm such a procrastinator. Lets get on to the confession.. I totally glued the corners of the binding down. I thought that I had it right this time but nope. As I folded the binding back over the raw edges after sewing it down- my corners are short. I trim it as close to the stitch line as I can and still it's wonky. BUT, nobody knows that I glued them except you and I. I love these quilts. Wish I would have made myself one. The majority of the fabric is from the April Cornell Poetry collection. The colors make me want lay in a sunny spot and read until i drift off. The patterns are from a book called Sweet and Simple Baby Quilts by Mary Hickey. Check out the difference in the colors. All the fabrics are the same except one was photographed on my porch and the other indoors. Crazy. Talk about a lesson in lighting.

Glued and finished this week for Ashley (she's almost 2 -don't judge me).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

For Olivia and delivered almost two years later..  OK go ahead and judge me
but keep in mind that I bought them great presents to make up for it!

Score!

I stopped in Crate and Barrel and look at what I scored.. FABRIC!!  They must have just had some overstock from custom items and I was there at the right time.  I was with my non-fabric people who did not understand why I danced around the table and had to unfold each stack.  I feel sorry for them.
I know I should have ironed these before the pictures but it is way to hot and humid.  Also,  I was way excited!

The colors aren't quite as vibrant in this evening light. I have 4 yards, 2yards and 6 yards and all for under $4.00 a yard!What a cheap way to back a quilt and not have it look cheap. How can you beat that? Plus, the quality of the fabric is outstanding and they are so wide. Doesn't the last one look like a Kaffe Fassett? I don't love the blue one but I know a couple little boys who could use a quilt or two.

This is a serious Red.  I think that I will make a quilt for myself with this one.  I only have three yards but again - these fabrics are wide.  I know it is hard to see the lighter Poppies but it is a cool design.

Hi

Hi.  I'm Lisa.  Welcome to my blog.  Take your shoes off and have a seat.  Let's pretend that we aren't complete strangers.  Like we might be two people that see each other at the bank every week and chat in line or work in the same building and ride the elevator together.   That way I don't have to write one of those strange getting to know me posts.  I will say that I can't wait to meet some new interesting people.  So I'm going to remain semi  anonymous so that I can embrace my new Internet comrades and not end up blogging for my mom. Plus, I won't feel bad if I talk a little smack about someone who can reach out and grab me.  In honor of my new friends and visitors here are a few pics of some of my summer visitors. 

I recognize that their wings are a beautiful miracle..

their flight is a ballet..

                   but they are still a creepy bug in the middle and they can be pretty big and meaty if you get close. 
Hi, my name is Lisa and I think butterflies are creepy.