Ahhhh, no work space

SO..... I have been crafting in the "cave" that is our basement for the past year or so. It is a huge space that is so unfinished that there is literally 1 outlet that I have using for everything. This was great for my sewing table, lamp, iron/ironing board, storage space galore including having a full-size ping pong table as my gigantic work table.

I have wanted a restroom, Many more outlets, better lighting and, well, some walls for awhile now. And so it begins! We are going to do this in small stages, but the first stage - framing begins THIS week! I have to go clean up my workspace now so he can get started. (and when I say clean, I mean clear out). I will have to pack it up for the next week or so until all the framing, dust, and such settles.

Before pics - these are pics from when we first moved in so while the base looks the same, I have at least arranged the furniture and such by now.

What will be the bathroom area


This section (the foreground) will be my sewing area and the section in the back - with the storage racks will be walled off storage for all our crap.


Standing in what will be sewing, looking at the living/bar area.


While it will drive me nut a to have it all packed away, can't wait for this to get underway!

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

WIP week 2 update

WIP week 2

To finish piecing
love u photo panel check!
Ruffle pillow (worked on, but got frustrated and quit again)
T shirt quilt (cannot seem to get myself motivated for this one)
numbers bib (close to fruition-and added another part to the project - matching burp cloth- which I DID complete)
Because of the addition above, I also complete 2 additional burp clothes


To quilt
Gemstones
Hunky dory

Requested projects
Abc book (started - 2 actually)
Coaster set (getting there - finished the holder and 3 coasters. I have the other 5 to the point where quilting is all that is left)
Wine jacket (finished 3 actually)

New projects just added
Bottled Rainbow w/ Rachel from Stitched in Color ticker tape quilt along starts in March


counts:
Completed that was NOT on my WIP list before: 4
Completed that was on my WIP list: 2
new: 1







-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

WIWW B/W week 1

What I Wore Wednesday

This edition is called WIWW B/W as I thought I would try something new. I am going to post my pics that I took over the past week - and am looking for votes on your favorite and your least favorite (Best and Worst). If it's terrible (the Worst) then hopefully I will try a different combination or just get rid of the darn item altogether.

Without further procrastination, this past week's pics....

Friday: sweater from TJ Maxx, Peach shirt Target, Pants The Limited
Saturday: (sorry you can't see much - camera and I were fighting again) entire outfit Marshall's
Sunday: sweater Calvin Klein, stripe shirt Ann Taylor Loft, Jeans Eddie Bauer
Tuesday: pants Ann Taylor, shirt JcPenny, blazerish thing Target & pictured with me is my cutie Titan (he was feeling needy and a little sick so was sticking close to my side that day).
New Coat & Petal Push: this is clearly not a Day of the week (yes, I am aware) but I wore it over most of the outfits all week and it is just SOOOO cute I couldn't not post the pic. Jacket from TJ Maxx, and Petal Pusher from The Pleated Poppy

Leave a comment if your up for it to vote for your favorite and least fav.

Have a great WIWW!! Linking up Lindsey at Pleated Poppy with for this post.

-Sew Sane Jane

 

Love it when things work as I plan!

Yea for Love U panels! Border is from Deb Strain's new Moda line Fresh Cut Flowers. Quilted around the tree trunk, inner-border, and tree leaves.




I used the letters that were the original border for the ABC book that I made from A Moda Bake Shop recipe. So I had this middle panel leftover and didn't know what to do with it for a bit. Finally got inspiration over the weekend.

Couldn't find much selection of Love U yardage, but this fabric from Fresh Cut Flowers (also from Deb Strain for Moda) matched Perfectly!



Made these 3 rectangles on the back for hanging.



I think it turned out cute, but then inspiration hit. I wanted to make this a photo frame. Practiced adding vinal rectangles to the border (thankfully on scarps as it did NOT work out for me!!!). Instead, I found small curtain clips and sewed 8 of them on instead. Now you could hang pics or anything from it! So excited! Didn't finish the ring clips until this evening so I will have to share pics when I get better light.
Edit: finally got a pic OD the completed project with clips



-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Work in progress week 1

So I have been reading a few blogs where Amazing Quilters that I admire always complain when they have 3+ Works In Progress going at once. I always slightly snicker to myself since I usually have like 20 projects in the works.

Then the light shown - these are people who I am amazed by and think are great artists with lots of bees, followers, etc. I have lots of WIPs and none of the others - maybe I should try focusing my work! So, I am going to try to use my WIP to update (keep me accountable) on trying to cross some WIPs off my list before I start too many more!

Week 1:
WIP's (11)
completed projects (1)
started projects (1)

Total: eek, still 11


I will post pics of my finished bubble pillow tomorrow - when I am not supposed to be grading to hand back exams tomorrow and blogging instead - oops - back to work!

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Finally finished my Circle Square pillow!

Finally got my "circle square" Pillow finished (added the binding and the actual pillow to make the pics look nicer.

I really enjoyed making this pillow. I strip pieced some cute scraps, cut my desired circle (using a dinner plate as a template) then it to the same black fabric as the headboard using a zig zag stitch.

I got the idea for this pillow after seeing a blog post for making a quilt that looked like this. I toyed around with the idea of making a "hugs and kisses" (x's and o's) quilt using the o's in this form, and I wanted to practice to see how difficult/easy it would be before I went out and got new fabric for the quilt. About 2 years ago I started quilting by making a full-size bed quilt. I bought WAY too much fabric and have been making things out of its scraps ever since (most projects out of these scraps became scraps themselves). I LOVE this pillow though and it currently resides on top of that quilt in our spare bedroom.

I also cut a few small circles and thought I might add one to the back of this sham, but perhaps make a pillow of "bubbles" in the same idea as this one. Makes me smile just thinking about a bubble pillow.

Hope you get inspired to make PILLOWS - as apparently I am going to be on a pillow kick for a bit (I have about 7 new ideas added to my "to make" list)

I decided to submit to the Blogger's Pillow Party - go check out the other submissions!

-Sew Sane Jane

Ready for Spring - and a coaster party too!

So I have been hibernating in our basement (so my hubby says, except he says hibernating in our sweat shop because he thinks he's funny)working with Moda's Sunkissed layer cake. This fabric makes me think of spring / summer so maybe I keep hiding and sewing becuase it makes me forget that I still have 5' of snow piled in our front yard from the snow plow! I am READY FOR SPRING!!!!!!!!

Until we get there, I'll just have to keep sewing spring instead!

yellow and pink colors make me think spring, but coasters also make me think spring (no, I have no idea why - they just do). So...

and a few other views:

These made me think of spring too!

So, while I am thinking nice things about mother nature at the moment - I also am realizing that I now have too many coasters!!!
More cuties for sale on my Etsy site

Heads up for these fantastic links

I was just at a blog that I frequent called, Jaybird Quilts and she is having a great give-away sponsored by Pink Chalk Fabrics.  Head over to her site to check it out.


then, I headed on over to Canoe Ridge Creations for her Sew Modern Monday post (a MUST read!) and thought I would share her link with you.  She has very cute stuff on her blog, but also others' link with her Sew Modern Monday posts to show off their Modern cuties!


So head to each to check them out!

Last minute gift freak-out

So my hubby and I were invited to a friend's engagement party. We got the invite a week or week and a half ago. I was surprised, but excited about the invitation. I did not think much more of it until two nights ago. I was speaking with a mutual friend about the party and she asked, "what did you get them?"

"What?" I said, "you don't do gifts to an engagement party, do you?" Apparently the previous engagement parties I have been invited to have either said, "No Gifts Please," or I just haven't taken one (maybe that is why we don't go to many of them!)

So, I was thinking, what could I get them on short notice. I went to my gift closet stash and found a fancy wine bottle corkscrew (one of those Houdini - fancy things) that I had gotten when it was on super-sale at a department store. "good" I thought - but this won't do by itself.

I didn't really have anything else that coordinated with that theme - so I thought I would look for a wine bottle "koozie." Stores only cary bags to carry the wine in - worked out better that way, I would rather make than buy anyway. However, I was thinking more of an apparatus that would help keep the wine insulated And act like a coaster for the bottle. Looked at a couple of fabric stores and online for a pattern and they just didn't have one to match the picture that was in my head.

So, I decided to make my own! Had a bit of ADORABLE yardage in my small stash and a coordinating almost solid. This...







is what I came up with. I like the button/elastic combo as it means it will fit different size bottles (for instance, I had one standard size bottle and a slightly squatter size that I was using as a reference for sizing.) will still fit in the same sleeve.







Turned out pretty cute huh?!? I thought so too and am excited to give my friend her gift (it is a fairly girly pattern, but having a koozie for a bottle of wine is a pretty girly thing anyway - I doubt he would be using it even if I made it more masculine).








I made two so it you want one, I have one for sale at my Etsy store,MillieSews

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Making progress on change

So I had posted previously my desire to change my Hunky Dory version of Jamie Miller's Awesome Lap Quilt. I love the pattern, but I did a poor job of picking fabrics from my jelly roll for different "jobs" in the pattern. When it got done, I thought it looked like one large hodge podge of cute Hunky Dory fabric. (you can see my attempt here. I'm sure I will attempt the Awesome lap quilt again, but in the mean time, I needed to salvage the cute fabric.
I had posted my work on a great blog, Naptime Quilter. First off, let me apologize, the WIP she had discussed that day had NOTHING to do with ME needing help! Sorry - I had a brain freeze/focus on myself and not her request. If it is not too late - perhaps my update will work for last week's request?!? (I think the cream would represent the negative space that she was referring to?)

Anyway, I did get a few comments/suggestions from that post, and I did find some cute ideas in searching patterns. I ended up doing a little combining of ideas to get....

 
I actually am liking how it turned out. I added sashing between some of the items - thanks for the idea - but let some items group together.
This took LOTS of stitch removal - I think my vision got just a bit worse over the past couple of days.

NOW, my issue is the back. Because I used most of the backing material for the sashing on the front, I am trying to figure out what to do instead. Help needed please!



So I have this so far. And think I am happy with it. cute coordinating material with a 4" border to replicate the sashing on the front. This is Not big enough! I still have a bit to go on width and about 14" on the length!


Cannot decide if I should just use the cream border and add the necessary width and length with the same fabric as the middle (leaned some of the fabric on once side to create this idea


OR
if I should get some teal, green, or multi-color fabric, add a 2.5" or so inch border next, then finish off with this teal/green fabric.
Suggestions? Does one sound better than the other?

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)