Winter Wonderland!

This blog was supposed to be up yesterday, because the snow fell on Wednesday. But Thursday was too busy, so here it is on Friday. Oh well! I took these pictures Early Thursday morning. I took them through our family room window. I left the flash off, so I wouldn't get a reflection in the window, but I guess the pink spot is the infrared sensor. Oh Well, It's still a pretty picture and if I would have taken a couple hours, I guess I could have figured out how to fix it. But I don't have a couple hours, so here it is w/the pink spot!

It was a crazy day on Wednesday. It took DH an hour to get the girls to High School, and DS made it to College and home despite the fact that they closed the Highway just as he was heading home. He made it through the back routes and we're glad everyone made it to and from their destinations safely on Wednesday. I stayed home and quilted and then used the snowblower on the driveway while the 2.5 year old took a nap. I managed a path to the garage and then DH took over the rest of the driveway and the dreaded digging out the mailbox after the plows go by!

I finally got the "family gift" quilt off the machine!! YEA! Here it is being trimmed so I can bind it and get it sent off. Unlike most of you quilters out there. I sew my binding on both ways by machine. I figure if it's machine pieced and machine quilted, I might as well sew the binding on both ways by machine. In my thinking it will withstand use better. I like to use Superior bottom line thread that matches and you almost can't even see it. A machine quilter that has MANY years of experience taught me her techinique and I think it works fabulous. Maybe I'll post some pics as I do it, so I can show you how I do mine. I also ran across the pics I took of loading this quilt on the machine. Maybe I'll post that tomorrow. Happy Quilting!!!

The Jacket is Done!

Yea! The jacket is done and I've actually worn it twice and I actually really like it. At first it seemed a bit big and stiff, but I washed and dried it and it softened up a bit.

So this is how I made it. I cut the ribbing off the bottom, cuffs and neckline. I cut up the sides and took out the stitching in the sleeve seam. Then I folded the front in half and cut up the middle. I spread it out on the cutting table and made sure it would lie flat. It didn't have raglan type sleeves like most sweatshirts and I think I would have preferred raglan sleeves. It would have laid flatter. But Oh Well, it's what I had. So I measured it from end of sleeve to end of sleeve and from bottom front edge to bottom back edge. I think it was 68" x 90". Making the lining a bit bigger. I used 3 1/3 yards folded in half the long ways and seamed it. Loaded it on the machine. Laid the sweatshirt on it and used safety pins to hold it down and rolled it up to make sure it fit before I started stitching.

I used Pam Clarke's 1" line stencil on a 45º angle and marked the cross-hatching lines. I didn't use a ruler (too lazy) I just did wavy lines and went back and forth in matching grey thread. It was REALLY boring. But then I got to do the fun part and I added the vines and berries free hand in variegated threads. Yep, Superior Thread. I maybe should have ironed on some totally stable to keep it from puckering up. It only did a little bit and then I tried to be more careful. It's comfy and warm and even looks a bit stylish.