Hexagons

Hexagons, originally uploaded by Patsyquilts.

Another wonderful day in front of the television! I wasn't watching very much, I was too interested in playing with fabric!

CROCHET RAG RUG

CROCHET RAG RUG, originally uploaded by Patsyquilts.

Just working on using up my scraps. Most of these pieces were cut ff the edge of my fabric before I cut out my patches for my "BATTING BUDDY" free motion quilt - a practice in free motion quilting.

Via Flickr:
In progress, for the bedroom. To go along with quilt that I will practice free motion quilting.

PJ and Shaq

PJ and Shaq, originally uploaded by Patsyquilts.

March Madness! This is the last day of March and here in Indiana- WE LOVE BASKETBALL!

Projects of Wrecked Janome Saved by Singer 201-2

 There were several things that I wanted to learn on my sewing machine before I returned to work from sick leave:

• put in a zipper
• learn to use my walking foot
• practice all of the decorative stitches
• buttonholes
• making ruffles by using ruffler attachment

If I had listened to her- my sewing machine would be OK!

 A bunch of strips from my Simplicity Rotor Cutting Machine

Ruffles made on the SINGER 201-2

Part of my mission was accomplished, until I wrecked my Janome by putting a low shank ruffler/pleater attachment. Apparently, only a Janome brand ruffler will work because of the Janome design. There isn't enough room  for the needle to move freely while the ruffler is engaged. So I had a bunch of error messages on the machine's screen. Off to the shop- back in 12 days.  :(
 Why is it that you want to sew the most when your machine is in the shop? LOL !!! I guess it's one of Murphey's Laws.

My SINGER 201-2

After I got back from the sewing machine repair, I uncovered my Singer 201-2 and set her to work. Inside of my little green box of attachments, was a Singer ruffle maker! She runs like a dream for such an old gal- 70 years old almost!
I love her dearly, but then again, I NEVER MET A SEWING MACHINE I DIDN'T LOVE!

Be Happy and Quilt!
    Love, 
             PJ

WEEKEND STITCHIN'

There was a bunch of gift making going on this weekend...

A present for my sister, Sandy

                                                                               My sister had a birthday on Sunday. Sandy loves gardening, that's why I chose birds and herb markers that look like little stones. I also stitched up an apron, memo pad and garden journal. All packed up in a beautiful gift box that she can use to put treasures in.

A set of Crossword puzzle books in a Patchwork cover,
also a pack of tissue in their own jacket

Front view of book cover and tissue holder

                                                                            
My step mother's birthday was on the last day of February/ first day of March. She was" a leap year baby". I remember celebrating her 9th birthday with her, next year, she will be 21. Finally an adult! It took forever for her to grow up! She's quite a lady, so I knew that she would get a kick out of Maxine!

Back view of craft bag

Maxine Craft Bag

                                                                        
Then I decide to make some Maxine gifts for ME!
I will be taking some classes at the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, KY again this year. I needed something new!








More Maxine to come, I have a nice panel that has lots of cute cartoons on it. Until next time...

Be Happy and Quilt!
            Love,
                     PJ

HELLO, MISS KITTY!

Miss Kitty pillow

Here is a pillow that I made  this weekend. I used an old stencil of a cat, painted it with acrylic paint and an additive to turn it into a fabric paint. Strips were added to the sides, then quilted.

It was so much fun to dig out old stencils and use them again! 

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

To  come to PJ's house!

Little Rooster, a gift 

Tuesday night is my Husband's night out to shoot clay targets at the Conservation Club.  It is also my night to go downstairs into my sewing room and create some fun. I made up four place mats to put on the breakfast room table to cheer it up. I'm using some of my scrap fabric left over from the quilt blocks that I've been working on since I've been on sick leave. 

Just knowing that soon, I will have to go back to work - puts a little fire under my seat to hurry up and make a few things with this precious time I have left. It's been only a week since I've been able to go down into the basement to the sewing room .

This color is my favorite!

I thought chickens would look cute at breakfast time, we can look out of the huge picture window and watch our real chickens scurry about and pecking for food this coming spring.

Four place mats to go around the table.

This design was so simple. A cute tea cozy in a smaller version would look cute, maybe some egg or chick coasters, too?

                        I better get crackin'!!

Be happy and Quilt!

 Love, 

         PJ

                                                    

                                                                                    

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY PROJECT

MY KIND OF SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!
Start the day with a cup of Strawberry yogurt and tons of fresh fruit.

I'm not a sports fan like most people are this time of year, so if you say Super Bowl, I tend to change the subject! I like to go to the craft room or read if the games are on. Speaking of reading- I just ordered a few books and since I've gone through them, all that's left is the box. 

What's that saying we had after Christmas? Give them toys and they just want to play with the box!!

Hey- that's what we'll do- Play With The Box!! So here's my version of making a fabric basket::

A box full of goodies!
The Beginning of the Fabric Basket.

Remove items from box, turn over, trace - allow 1/4 " seam allowance.
Cut fabric and batting. Sew sides together.

Glue bottom fabric liner onto box and tuck in edges.
Tacky glue or duct tape to secure.
Sew top liner the same way.

Place basket liner inside box and bring over the edge. If too loose, remove liner and increase seam allowance.

TWO BASKETS
On left, made in June 1984. Right made in February 2011.
A handle was created for older basket out of fabric sewn into a tube and stuffed with polyester fiberfill.

These boxes would be cute made out of Holiday Fabrics, imagine a Valentine Box, a St Patrick's Day Basket filled with chocolate filled gold coins, or an Easter Basket; hope my family doesn't read this!

Be Happy and Quilt!

Love, 

         PJ

Chloe and the rose

Chloe and the rose, originally uploaded by Patsyquilts.

My first rose of the year!!
The promise of Spring is in the air. Such a lovely sight to see!
BE HAPPY and QUILT!
Love, 
       PJ

JANE DOUGH makes ICE CREAM :-)

Here's JaneDough, my KitchenAid mixer
 making cherry vanilla/choc chunk ice cream.

Meet Jane Dough, she made her debut on PJQuilts-CraftyFarmgal.blogspot.com

OMG !! Jane is at it again! I got an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer around Christmas time.It was cleaned and placed in the deep freezer in the basement. Since I've had foot surgery, I couldn't go down there. So I had to beg for someone to bring it up for me!
We ( Jane and I) are cheating and using a mix to make the ice cream but with a little more jazz to it. Lower fat milk was used with maraschino cherries and chocolate chunks added to the semi set mixture. Maybe not as great as the full fat, flavored, store bought stuff- but when you've got cabin fever like me- IT'S WONDERFUL!!!

Repurposing an ice cream container!

What's old is new again. OR: What's empty is full again!! The plastic containers come in handy for letting your ice cream firm up in the freezer. I wonder if I could pass this off as store bought? 

   ***

PASTEL GRANNY SQUARES

My pastel colored GRANNY looks like a bowl of Rainbow Sherbet. Fun to make while watching the television with my Hubby. (:})  I am so ready for Spring Time, and these also remind me of Easter Eggs and Jelly Beans!! 

PJ's Hens in the snow

Spring is a long time comin". It really won"t be long before we are coloring those Easter Eggs. Here come Laverne and Thelma wading through the snow. They stay in a heated hen house, we average 8 eggs a day out of 9 hens and a rooster (he's just there for the neat crowing in the morning!).

                                                                                

Maggie is "arranging " my quilt blocks

I am still working on my quilt blocks out of the Let's make a Patchwork Quilt book. I stopped for awhile because I was getting Cabin Fever. Next blog, I'll have more pictures ***promise***

Soon I will be able to use my sewing machine - Whooo Hooo!! I have pieces cut out for items to put in my new Etsy Shop. More info later!! (and pictures, too!)

Remember! Spring is just around the corner :-)

A bud is forming on a rose bush
that I didn't get planted last fall

BE HAPPY and QUILT!

LOVE,

           PJ                                                                               

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a very

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Any time is Quilting Time!

Any time is Quilting Time!, originally uploaded by Patsyquilts.


I began the first of two foot surgeries on December 3,2010.  Arthritis in the joint of my two big toes! I just thought it was a bunion that could be relieved by special inserts in my shoes. Since I'm on my feet constantly at work, I thought I better get this fixed. (Also - here comes snowy weather and I am commuting 2 hours a day!). 

This is the perfect opportunity to get back to basics with patchwork and quilting.

 I used to be a 'stay at home mommy ' who started watching PBS LAP QUILTING with Georgia Bonesteel back in the 80's. Living on a military base gave me plenty of  friends to learn new hobbies with. A couple of us went to the community college to take a beginner patchwork and lap quilting class one evening a week. Back then, it was the very basic class that taught you about straight grain, selvages, bias, scissors, card board templates or plastic (like the material used for shrinky dinks. Or, if you were lucky like I was, to have access to the material x-rays were made on!)


Earth tone colors were popular back then, everyone had rust, brown, tan, orange and avocado green in their homes. I started out with 1 yard each of 6 fabrics, needles (betweens and sharps), cotton and quilting thread. My patterns were handouts from our teacher, Kathy. I'm sorry to say that I forgot her last name, such a shame to forget that about someone who led me to my favorite pastime! 


After the class ended, I picked out my first book by Jessie MacDonald and Marian H. Shafer called Let's Make A Patchwork Quilt.

a cute little bookmark made by Amy in preschool, 1980
Placed in between the pages of LET'S MAKE A PATCHWORK QUILT

JACOB'S LADDER 1984
FROM LET'S MAKE A PATCHWORK QUILT

with ice boot off, foot propped up

I decided to dive into that old book again and hand stitch all of the quilt patterns , just like I did  in the 80's...

SHOOFLY QUILT BLOCK
Sunday, Dec.5

CHURN DASH
Monday, Dec.6

GREEK CROSS
Tuesday, Dec.7

JACOB'S LADDER
Wednesday, Dec.8

OHIO STAR
Thursday, Dec. 9

I have been averaging 1 quilt block a day. They are 15 inch squares, very basic, but a whole lot of fun when I'm propped up on the couch with my feet elevated. 

feeling "some" pain

I do most of my sewing at this time!

feeling "no" pain

I do my wonky sewing @ this time (on pain meds!)

The Sewing Machine (song)

I just came across this cute little video while cruising around on YouTube. I was searching for sewing tutorials and this baby popped up! I just love old funny movies and Betty Hutton always made me laugh. Remember Perils of Pauline?

  

vintage picture of a class in DRESSMAKING

1966

 I used to feel like a klutz on the machine when I first started to sew. In fact my Home Ec days were a nightmare!! The bobbin kept tangling up under my work, it made me sooo frustrated. When you have only one hour to set-up, sew, and clean up; I REALLY HATED that class. It was required to take Home Ec in the 7th grade, I gladly switched to Spanish the next year.....!!!

1975

Later on, after I got married and was expecting my daughter, I bought my first sewing machine. It was a Montgomery Ward, straight and zig-zag, basic sewing machine. I made a long sun dress from a SIMPLICITY Simple to Sew pattern . I still have the pattern but not the dress. Some of the scraps of material from it are in a doll size patchwork quilt.

1983

Upgraded to a Kenmore sewing machine! It had stretch stitch, lots of decorative stitches (16), too! I used it for a long, long time. There isn't anything wrong with it. Lot's of p-jays were made on it. At my house everyone looked forward to "PJ'S p-jays THE CAT'S PAJAMAS", my artsy daughter, Amy, even designed a cat wearing pajamas on a hang tag for me!

2005

Janome Memory Craft 4900QC, absolutely love it! Lots of decorative stitches (534) and features. The only problem I had was that the harp area was too small for my quilting.

2007

Janome Memory Craft 300E, my embroidery only machine. This helps me make my special Birthday and Christmas gifts. I made towel sets, personalized aprons for the ladies at church, t shirts, and handbags the first year that I got it.

2010

After listening to Jean from quiltedcupcake.blogspot.com , I decided to get a Singer 201-2. This machine was made in 1941 and it runs like a dream! My quilts fit inside the harp area with no problem at all. I love free motion quilting. Some days are great and others- not so great. If I have a great list of songs on my radio or ipod, it goes fast and puts me in a graceful swaying mood.  I like to use those latex finger cots that you can get at an office supply store. Gripping gloves are okay, but I don't like my hands all covered up, these just cover your finger tips. 

vintage picture of HAND SEWING CLASS
This seams like a nice class to take!

vintage picture of a Home Economics class
Our mothers probably were in a class like that! 

   

 Even though there was a rough start in the sewing department, I came through it all with a real love for machines, thread, fabric, and of coarse - the seam ripper!

                                                                                                    PJ

Cold Mornings

Maggie, originally uploaded by Patsyquilts.

It was cold this morning, so Maggie took her morning nap beside the heating vent under the sink!

I go in tomorrow morning and also next Friday to have foot surgery . There will be lots of time for hand quilting and patchwork, but no sewing machine time until my feet are back in working order.
When I first took up patchwork and quilting in 1980. it was totally by hand. I wanted to be just like the pioneer ladies. Cardboard templates, pencil, scissors, thread and fabric was all I needed to get started. Everything I had could be stored in a canvas tote bag.
Now it's all over the basement . My Quilting Room contains quite a few plastic totes, bookcase, huge metal cabinet, etc...
I wouldn't dream of using anything but a rotary cutter, acrylic rulers, and mats now. Such time savers. Quick quick zoom zoom -done!
 Starting tomorrow (for a short time only), it's back to basics and hand stitching!

DESDEN PLATE

Group of Dresden Plates for Wall Hanging

Here's a closeup of a dresden plate made from the EASY DRESDEN template by Darlene Zimmerman. Very fast,very easy!