Lakeshore Stitches

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Hopping Away Winter Doldrums

If your mood is as cold and dark as your landscape, your creative abilities are probably in a seasonal slump also. Madame Samm has a great remedy for us...two upcoming blog hops.

First:

Brooke Nolan is a wonderful illustrator and designer of stitchery. She has created four vintage designs to choose from and stitch onto one side of a lovely Tammy Bag. The Tammy Bag pattern is a Madame Samm design.

For the back of the Tammy Bag, Cori Blunt has designed four patterns for pinnies to hold all your small stitching notions. Cori is an excellent appliqué artist who will also show you how to make box pleats and embroidery.

Join the fun! Click on the Tammy 4 all Seasons on my sidebar or contact Mary for more information. She is our Cheerleader for this Hop.

To join us in this blog hop, Mary will need the following from you:

email SUBJECT LINE....

I can support YOU....

YOUR NAME

YOUR BLOG

YOUR LINK to your BLOG

If you choose not to join this blog, consider supporting our independent designers by purchasing some of their patterns from their individual websites. Just click on their highlighted links above.

And another chance to chase away the Winter Blues:

We all have had friends or family touched by cancer and have wanted to offer support in some way to help ease their journey. All cancers are devastating, but as women, I think we feel a closer bond to those battling breast cancer. This blog hop is a chance to let all those in your circle know that you are supporting the fight against cancer.

You can get all the information on this blog hop by clicking on the "We Support You" button on my side bar.

Or, to join us contact Pat at scrapatches@gmail.com

Pat will require the following from you...

email SUBJECT LINE....

I can support YOU....

YOUR NAME

YOUR BLOG

YOUR LINK to your BLOG

If I don't talk to you again this month, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a bright New Year.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Twas the Night

This blog hop has given me tons of new ideas for gift-giving and I expect to see many more great ideas this week. Though, I must say this has been a difficult assignment for me...my mind doesn't work for quick gifts AND I always wait until December 15 to start, so those become Valentine gifts.

Thank you Madame Samm and Marlene for pushing me to get started SEW early. Now with all the great ideas I have seen this past week, I am really on a roll. Let's see, if I make one gift per week...at least two dozen handmade gifts to give. Love it!

Look what I received from Selina. It came packaged in this cheerful sack with these very clever gift cards made by copying and printing on her computer. She said the yellow ones were computer malfunction, but I think they are great. Needless to say, I have used up all my computer ink copying and printing many different fabrics. Never too old to learn another skill.

I have to admit that I did not know what these were. Thankfully Selina included a nice card of explanation. But, my husband used one last night to keep his soup warm and declared it a winner. The gift, not the soup. So, thank you so much, Selina, for the microwave bowl warmers and trivet.

They will be used often.

Now on to my own quick and some not-so-quick gifts.

A Kindle cover made from upholstery fabric.

A wool penny rug hanging.

This next is actually for a November birthday. A hobo bag purse with attached keyring wristlet and an included zippered "whatever" bag.

Set of four homespun fabric placemats and napkins. The napkins are loosely tied with fabric strips printed with Christmas greetings. I love homespun fabrics.

Ummm, remember this fabric? This was supposed to be a cell phone carrier, but I was interrupted in mid cutting and didn't recheck measurements when I resumed. So, the birthday girl doesn't get a coordinated cell phone carrier for her hobo bag, but someone gets a sewer's helper to wear while working.

I have a disabled relative that loves all the casinos we have here in Oklahoma. He should enjoy this card case for some of his casino cards. It is made of a fake leather material.

And for chairside sewing while watching television....an Armchair Sewing Caddy. My first try at machine quilting. This pattern is from Maureen Greeson. I tried to link with her website, but it must be an old pattern..the link didn't work.

This is a tiny Treasure Box ...3.25" x 3.5"...probably will hold a special piece of jewelry. This pattern came from Quilting Arts Magazine, but I made this one 25% larger than the original pattern. The first picture is with the box opened flat. The second is fully closed. I love boxes and bags, so had fun with this.

This folk art mantle scarf is from a 2006 issue of Love of Quilting. It was intended as a gift for someone, but may stay in my home, since it looks like the mice in the barn celebrated their own early Christmas in my Christmas ornaments and decorations.

And, last...lots of yo yo decorations. These will become tree decorations, or package decorations, or with a little more embellishment, lapel pins. This was my evening de-stress activity and I was enjoying it until I learned there is something called a Clover Quick Yo Yo Maker.

Be sure to visit the rest of today's bloggers and cheer them on.

Monday, Nov. 17

Bea Quilter

Selina Quilts

Lakeshore Stitches (this is where you are)

Lixie Makes It

Cucki Stitching Cove

Sew. Darn. Quilt.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Lucky Me!

I delayed writing this post to show you all the luck I have had this past month.

Remember the See You In September Blog Hop?

Thank you Deonn S. for providing these great patterns (and even the center panel and embroidery thread for one) for your Giveaway. I won!

Hope to start the tree skirt today.

How about the Rush Hour Blog Hop?

I won another Giveaway! A coffee cup sleeve and two seasonally appropriate fat quarters. Additionally, I saved the stamp from the package, since it came from Norway.

Thank you Anita S. for your Giveaway.

But, wait....another Rush Hour gift.

In my comment to Linda J, I mentioned that I was going to try to find this pattern that she used on the Rush Hour Blog Hop. She graciously offered the pattern to me....her actual words were..."I am done with it, like really done with it". Is she trying to tell me something?

Thanks for the gift, Linda. I love challenges.

Yesterday, my husband dropped me off at a quilt show and said he was going to a hardware store. As I made my way around to all the vendors, I came upon a gentleman selling Singer Featherweights...and his customer was my husband.

A 1946 Singer Featherweight 221-1...and it isn't even Christmas, yet.
How much luck can a girl have in one month?

And to end my day, another great gift.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Book Review: The Grave Robber, by Mark Batterson

Go next door to Lakeshore's Library for my review of The Grave Robber, How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible...by Mark Batterson. Then, read the book for a faith kick start.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

My Rush Hour Has Arrived!

No one I know epitomizes Rush Hour better than my twenty-one year-old granddaughter. She is a college student who also works 32 hours per week as a cocktail waitress at a large casino resort. She works from 6 PM to 2 AM, then RUSHES to 8 AM classes, then back to work at 6 PM. Since both school and work are about 40 minutes from home (and each in a different town), she spends a lot of time in her car. And, it looks like she actually lives in her car. It greatly resembles a large blue trash can strewn with remnants of fast food meals, multiple uniform and clothing changes, college books and papers, ....and a Rubik Cube?? I thought about posting a photo of the interior of her car, but decided it was too depressing.

I purchased only one yard of Rush Hour fabric and combined it with the aptly named "aspirin dot" print...always need aspirin for those Rush Hour headaches. The remainder of the black, white and grey fabrics were left from The Ghastlies Hop. And, of course, my Quilts of Valor stash always yields red fabric.

First a divided organizer box:

A bag to rush off to the gym with...."aspirin" print on the back side:

A coffee cup cozy for a strong espresso...lined with Insulbrite to help hold in the heat:

And, finally a ruffled wristlet keychain.

All packed and ready to go:

BUT, as I was carrying this out to her little blue car, I noticed my own little car....

Sorry, Kat, this car organizer kit belongs in my car.

Thank you Carol at Just Let Me Quilt and Madame Sam at Sew We Quilt for making this blog hop possible. Lots of fun.

Please visit the rest of our Rush Hour participants and tell them what you think about their projects.

Thursday, September 25

Friday, September 26

The Quilting Queen Online

Quilting Quietly