Incirlik Friendship Block Swap

While in Turkey I had the best community of friends. I miss them all so much and am glad the one of them pushed (well she didn’t have to push hard) to get this project started. Here’s the basics.

Four out of the five of us took a trip to Old Adana to visit the five story fabric store. In the bottom corner of this store there was a small selection of what seem to be 100 % cotton fabric. We originally thought we would decide on a few fabrics that went well together and then each of us would make some quilt squares from them to send to the others. The problem was the our selection was pretty limited and we couldn’t decide on anything that we all liked. We were even struggling finding more than a couple the we liked at all. So in the end we chose one print. It was a floral that had a variety of colors in it and called it good. The plan shifted slightly but we all agreed.

Each of us would take this print back to the states ( except Rachel who will remain in Turkey one more year) and choose fabrics that go with the print in colors of our own choosing.  This will change the feel of the quilt drastically since we may end up with a wide variety of colors and prints but they should compliment each other if we stick to the colors within the Old Adana print.  Each of us have agreed to make 12 quilt squares, sending 3 to each of the other 4 ladies. I have chosen to make 4 extra for a total of 16 so that I can increase the size of my quilt and have some blocks that I made as well in the quilt.

I am so excited to start receiving blocks from some of my friends. Now that it has been a couple of months since I’ve seen these ladies, I realize that this project means so much to me and I cant wait to have a bit of each of them to snuggle up with in a quilt.

So here are my first 11 blocks.

On a side note, we received notice that our stuff is in Texas being held up in customs. We don’t have an exact date but are thinking we will get our stuff by mid September. At least it isn’t lost at sea.

Finding a place to sit

Each move affects me in a different way. This one had me pacing. Literally. I would wonder the empty house all day. Room to room, upstairs, down, again and again and again. Sure I stopped to make a meal or look at the computer or something like that but most of day I would just pace. It actually took me a week or so to realize it was happening. I mentioned this to a friend and  she laughingly told me that I was pacing because I didn’t have any furniture to sit in. Made perfect sence and I accepted that as the problem but then I realized it was more than that.

I had lost my routine and our situation here was different and so a whole new routine would have to be made. So I paced and paced some more but this time I was trying to think about what I should be doing. What would I do when I woke up? What time will I wake up? When the kids leave for school what would Bron and I do? How am I going to connect with the kids if they are gone for most of it? Pace, pace, pace.

I am still pacing… but not as much. Yesterday Bron and I left the house. It was a leaky air mattress that made this trip out a necessity. While out I decided to head over to a new found fabric store and see if I can get started on the quilt I mentioned last time. Bron brought the markers so I had all the time I wanted to wander the little shop and  think about something other than my routine. I think it is just what I needed. When finished , we walked around the cute little downtown area of Ocean Springs. Just what I needed. I came home and sewed.

Oh, it felt so good to do something familiar. Maybe that is what I need. More things familiar.

I think furniture and stuff will help. But my little outing has provided me somethings to keep my hands busy. My machine is here and I do have a few folding chairs and a shaky folding table. I think I will sit at the table and do some sewing today. After I clean up the breakfast on it.

First of 16 blocks for my quilting project with some friends from Turkey. (I’ll post more on this later.)

Hello from Mississippi

We made it.

We have only been here a month but already Turkey seems like a distant past. It’s so strange how that happens.  I am missing my small community of friends however and hope things will pick up in that department soon.

We’re all settled in (as much as you can without furniture) and enjoying our new surroundings. When we can get out that is. The weather here is HOT HOT HOT. Ever heard the term Biloxi Hot?(or is it Biloxi Heat?) No? Well it is true. I’m so glad I was prepared for the heat by living in Turkey for two years, I don’t think I would survive if I was coming in straight from Seattle.

So, life is good. We attended a fun Pioneer Picnic the first weekend we were  here. The people here are very kind and I have felt very welcomed. The kids are headed back to school tomorrow and so the adventures of public school are about to start again. Feeling a bit unsure about that but am trusting my decision.

On a crafty note. My machine is here and I’m  just about to the point of pulling it out. I’ve got a fun community quilt to get started on and just need to find a good fabric store. I’ve got a couple of good leads and will hopefully get started on that quilt soon.

So, hello from Mississippi. I hope to get back to this space soon.

Magnus at musée du Louvre

I think he loved it every bit as much as I did.

Tried to distort with iphoto

The results were surprisingly beautiful.

Original is here.

Sticks

Decreased the saturation and now I love this photo.

On a Fig Leaf

Veins

Hatched?

Yard Pics

You’ll never guess where I’m at.

Or maybe it won’t be hard at all.

Look at this pic. I’m still giddy about being here. Fresh baguettes in the morning, live music on the metro, art galleries, beautiful historic buildings, I just can’t get enough of it all.

Who knew that living in Turkey would open the door to travel so wide. First Istanbul and Egypt, now this. I guess you’ve got to get it while you can; living back in the states will severely limit my travel options.

Some photos from our recent beach trip.

Family pic in front of Med with Castle in the back. I took this one with self timer. Wish I had noticed the table and chairs before.

Anamur Castle – Love the moat

This photo took forever to get right, and even needed to be touched up afterwards to get the right colors. Love it now. Almost like I remember it.

Tried to focus on the tracks of his merman tail. Oh the burdens of being on land when you have no legs.

Our car and most of our house hold goods are on their way to Mississippi. The movers are coming again this week to pick up pretty much everything else. We’ll be living on what ever we can carry in our suitcase for another month after that.

Pool, here we come.

I love this guy.

Birthday Give Away Wrap-Up

So, my birthday has come and gone. Its been a week actually. While  I loved the increase in blogging time, sewing, and photo shoots, I’ve actually enjoyed my time away. I stop in today to wrap up the birthday give away.

This year there were a few snags on my birthday. There were a few repeats from last year forthe give away this year and in order to avoid sending someone the same gift two years in a row, I set up a blog  (feel free to go check it out) so people could choose their own gifts. Good idea right? Well maybe in theory.

The first problem was that when I set up the blog it didn’t test the comments. As it turned out my comments were set up so that I had to moderate a comment before it would show up. Well, I mass emailed everyone (almost) and then took off for an hour or so only to return to an inbox full of comments that needed to be moderated. The problem was that multiple people commented on the same gift without knowing it. As I hung my head in shame I sent out an e-mail telling them what a fool I was and how sorry I was and asked them to choose a different gift.

Problem number two was that I didn’t realize the amount of organization that needed to happen if I wanted to give a specific present to a specific person and send that to a specific address, multiplied by 30 (31).  Magnus and I organized gifts, recipients, and their addresses as best we could. To my knowledge everyone got the correct gift shipped to them but don’t hold it against me if I made a mistake. 

One last problem was that as I was choosing names I accidently chose 31 instead of 30, the number of gifts I made. I shipped out the bulk of the gifts on Monday and then finally figured out why I was missing a gift; I had 4 names and only three gifts. I recounted my the names from the list I made of people I chose, people I emailed, and people listed on the announcement post, yep I had chosen an extra name. I waited until all the gifts were chosen and then e-mail the last person, explained what happened and then offered a choice between a zipper pouch and a covered notebook. They graciously told me to surprise them and so I went with  a notebook cover. I really never tire of making them.

So here is the final gift of the year.

The final 4 gifts were shipped out today. So winners, start watching your mail boxes, presents are on the way.

Thanks again for a great month. While the actual give away part was a little crazy this year, the making part was wonderful. My brain is already spinning with ideas for next year.

Birthday Give Away Winners

 

Thank you so much ladies.

Do you see this wonderful stack of presents. This is why I love having a birthday give away. Many of those presents were made this month because I had a reason to take the time and make them. I can only use so many notebook covers but I love to make them so much. I loved the process of making a throw pillow cover but really only needed two. Since I had a reason, I joyously made two more for you. The same goes for a zipper pouch and a couple of pin cushions. Oh, and the quilt; that top had been completed for months. I fell out of love with it and was ready to find it a new home. Because I had a reason to quilt it up, I took the time to try a new technic for me that is time consuming and laborious. I fell in love again with that wonderful line of fabric as I sat sewing for long early morning or late night sessions, inspiring me to make a few items for myself that I really didn’t need but have added joy my life.

I am so thankful for your lovely words of support this month. While I didn’t explore a ton creatively with my camera, I learned a lot just taking photos of my gifts. All month it was off automatic and I am feeling much more comfortable with my camera and my editing software. OK, OK, I will get on with the winners, but thank you so much for making this a wonderful month. I have improved my sewing and photography skills and learned a ton. Thank You.

The Quilt -

When I finished quilting I counted up all my quilting lines and I had 189. This number surprised me; I was expecting it to be less than the projected 176 lines. So the winner of extra 10 entries is Jane with her guess of 192; the closest one.  When figuring out winners I first added Julie’s extra 20 entries into the mix then I added Jane’s.  Next I, headed over to the Random Number Generator and come up with a winner…..

Jane!

Winning the quilt with one of her extra entries.  Congratulation!

The winners of my general birthday give away are…..

Katie H, Melanie, Megan Presley, Kristin, Sara, Elizabeth, Anna, elsa, Rachel, Julianna, Ashley, Andrea_R, Jessica, Natalie Shirley, Melissa R, Sylvie, Brandi, Jen, Mom, Julie T, Kris, Nova, Honor, Jordee, RaeLyn, Jessica, Shannon, Camara, Julie, Annie and Donna.

If you see your name here and have not received an e-mail notification yet, please e-mail and I will let you know how to select your gift.

Thank you all for such a wonderful birthday month.

Zipper Pouch Tutorial

I have closed all April comments but please enjoy this tutorial while I figure out winners.

Here is a little tutorial on how to make a fully lined zipper pouch without any hand sewing. 

Mine is about 7 inches square.

For the pieced front I used this same technic with out so much top stitching. Since the pieced top is lined with interfacing I fused interfacing to the back as well, but not the lining.

My measurement will be in red.

You’ll need: Zipper, fabric, pins, sewing machine.

Cut your zipper 1 inch larger than the actual zipper. I used a 7 inch zipper and trimmed mine to 8 inches.

Decide on size of  pouch. Remember it must be as wide as your zipper is long. You’ll need four rectangles the same size. Two for the outside and two for the lining. Cut your fabric as wide as your cut zipper and as long as you’d like. Mine was cut 8 x 8 inches.

Place your zipper in front of you like this photo. The left side is the left and the right side is the right. What you see is the top and if you were to flip it over it would be the back.

Pick up your top front and one of your lining pieces. With right sides together line them up along the left side of the zipper with the zipper in between them. The outside fabric will be against the top of the zipper and the lining will be against the back. Take your time and pin all three layers together. (sorry this pic is blurry)

Sew all three layers together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Flip your fabric back so that the wrong sides are facing and zipper is exposed. Press.

Top stitch 1/8 inch from fabric seam through all three layers.

Repeat with other side on the other side of the zipper. Your top will look like this.

Your back will look like this.

Open your zipper. Let me repeat, OPEN YOUR ZIPPER. Fold  one side of your lining over to the other lining with right sides facing and one side of outside fabric over to other so that right sides are facing matching up top stitching. Pin in place. The bulk of the zipper will be on the lining side. I placed double pins where I will leave an opening.

Sew around with a 1/4 inch seam allowance leaving an opening in the lining large enough to turn. Cut your corners.

Turn right side out leaving lining exposed. Press bottom of lining and then top stitch the opening closed about 1/8 inch from edge.

Push lining into pouch all the way to the corners. Press.

Then your done!

 If you use this tutorial and blog or post pictures, please link back to this post. Also let me know how it worked out for you.

Here’s another one I made the very same way.

Final Birthday Gift

Here is a cute little pouch made with Hope Valley fabric. This will be my final birthday gift of the year. I have about 30 presents to wrap and prepare for shipping. Thank you for all your birthday wishes and lovely comments this month. I have had a great month but am a little sad it is over. Well almost over anyway, tomorrow will be so much fun. I am so excited to do the drawings tomorrow. I can’t wait.

Again I will close all comments on April posts when I wake up on the 30th. That will be about 8:30 pm PST on the 29th.

Pieced Notebook Cover with Instructions

Here is a little tutorial that shows how I make a “quilted” cover for a covered notebook.

Sorry the photos are bad. I was sewing at night and only had the florescent lights of my kitchen to work with.

1. 2. 

3. 4. 

5. 6. 

7. 8. 

9. 10. 

11.

Note – To figure out dimensions needed for construction of notebook cover see my tutorial.

Do not iron until cover is completed.

1. Cut out interfacing 1/2 inch larger than needed for cover. Place scrap square about center on one half of interfacing and top stitch  in place. (Center square)

2. Place fabric of next color square on top of center square, right sides facing, lining up one side of fabric with one side of center square. Sew in place along edge with 1/4 inch seam allowance.

3. Finger press open and top stitch 1/8 inch from edge

4. Top stitch at 3/8 inch intervals.

5. Repeat 2-4 for remaining 3 sides of 2nd square.

6-10. Repeat 2-5 as many squares as your interfacing will hold than move to stripes until interfacing in completely covered.

11. Trim cover to size needed to make notebook.

Here are some finished ones. The one from the tutorial is mine but the other two are for you.

I hope you like them.

Hope Valley Notebooks

These are larger than ones I usually make. They are the 6×9.5 inch variety. I figured someone may enjoy this size.

These three are for you. I hope you like them.

***

This month has sure flown by; only a few days till the 30th.

I will close comments on all April posts when I wake up on the 30th, about 8:30 pm PST on the 29th. This will give me time to figure out winners and send out e-mails on my birthday. Oh, and by the way, I have figured out a way to let everyone choose their own gifts this year. It does take away a little of the surprise, but I’m not much for surprises anyway.

Game On and some rambling

Thisbe and Magnus had their first ever baseball games this weekend.

 

If you haven’t noticed, photography has taken a back seat this month. I realized about a week and a half into the month that what I love about photography was the finished print in my hand. It was the whole process of it; taking the picture, developing the negatives, exposing the photo paper to light, watching the magic as it soaks in the baths, drying, and mounting. With digital photography a lot of the magic is gone; it’s just files of forgotten photos on my computer. I’ve tried scrapbooking, but that really isn’t my thing. I’m thinking about trying a photo book; maybe that will inspire me. How do you stay inspired to take pictures?

To be honest I don’t mind having photography in the back seat, I have been loving all the unexpected sewing time this month.  I will revisit photography , if not sooner, at least when we get back to the states. There, at least,  I can have my photos printed easily.

Out of the shop

I’ve closed out my shop and added this covered notebook to my give away.

Does it look familiar?

Pin Cushions

I finally made a replacement for my last pin cushion. While I was at it I went ahead and cut out fabric for two more.

 

I used the pattern in this book. I had forgotten how simple and satisfying these are to make. In my opinion everyone needs a little cute place for their pins.

The top one is mine and the bottom two are for you.

Hope you like them.

Two for me and two for you

I was beginning to have quilt envy for the winner of the give away quilt. Last year during my birthday give away I fell in love with the Denyse Schmidt fabric but started to get a little sick of it by Christmas. As I was quilting I began to remember why I loved it so much and fell in love all over again and was getting a little sad that the bulk of my stash was heading out the door at the end of the month. So, I fixed that by making myself a couple of throw pillow covers to add some color to my couch.

 When I finished, my scrap bag of these fabrics was still overflowing so I decided to make a couple for you as well.

 

While the bulk of that fabric is still leaving at the end of the month I will have my two pillow to remember how much fun I had this month with my giveaway and some of that beautiful fabric for myself.

Hope you love them.

The Coolest Tree

On Friday we took a bike ride to a new location on base. There, we ate lunch under the coolest tree. The large leaves(?) almost touched the ground yet it was all cleared out underneath.

So cool.

I don’t know what it is but I love tree bark. I think it is so interesting. If I ever had the time I’d document all the trees I came across by photographing their bark. Each has its own pattern and characteristics. I guess I’m a little strange.

Library Tote – The next birthday gift

I can’t say enough about this tote. I have one for myself and I just love it. I use it mostly for the library books but it also gets emptied on Sundays and I use it as a church bag. To make this bag I used my tutorial. It is upgraded with wider handles and a bit more room than the ones I made for my give-away last year.

I hope you’ll love this gift too.

Tissue Pouches and Coasters

I love these tissue pouches. I have two that I always keep handy. I found myself glad to whip one out of purse just today and work my way through a few tissues. Ew, I know, but aren’t they cute, and oh so practical. I’ll be adding these and the following coaster sets to my give away.

Hope you like them.

More quilt photos and another gift

It has been quiet here for a few days. I have been struggling getting any decent pictures and battling a cold. I think I am on the winning side of it all now.

I just wasn’t happy with the photos taken of the quilt on monday. You can see the whole quilt, which is good, but no detail, which is bad. So here are few pictures of the quilt on the rocker.  I am much happier with these. If you haven’t already, make sure you comment on my last post to be in the drawing for the quilt.

Next up are these cute button magnets. These were made this summer but I had quite a few for my give away last year. They are made with super strong 3/4 inch magnets hot glued to the back of a 1 1/4 inch fabric covered button.

I hope you like them.

Birthday Give Away Quilt – Comment Here

The sun came out. Here it is!

I wish I was better at taking pictures. I am not happy with how these came out but I don’t want to take my children through that ordeal again. Apparently it is very heavy.

The measurements are approx. 62 x 72 inches, a bit smaller than it was supposed to be. Oh well.

So, if you would like this quilt for your very own comment on this post and you will be entered into the drawing for it.  Comments on all other post in April will go towards my general birthday give away.

Also, if you can guess the actual number of quilting lines it took to quilt this baby I will add 10 extra entries into this quilt give away for you. Remember the projected number of quilt lines was 176 if my lines are all straight and even. (which they are not) It is possible for more than one person to win the extra entries.

**Leave your guess with your comments in this post only.

Please, only comment once on this post. I’ll announce the number of quilt lines at the end of the month along with the winner.

Finished baby quilt

My friend and I finished up the baby quilt for a mutual friend. Here are some pics. I did the blocked front and the quilting. She did the cute back with an evil eye, the curved corners and the binding. I am so very in love with this and cant wait to meet the baby it belongs to.

I finished up the quilt for my give away this weekend. It is all washed and ready to be photographed. I’m just waiting for the storms to pass so I can search out a good locations to photograph it. Hopefully I can show you the finished product soon.

We have a winner and some pouches

… and the winner is… Julie ! She has won 20 extra entries into my quilt give away. It took her a few times to figure out width of my lines and then some math but I could tell she had figured out the quilt pattern. So the projected total of lines it would take if my lines are all strait and even is 176. 

Up next, I have some pouches to add to my give away.

If you would like any of these pouches for your own, leave a comment on any of my posts this month and you will be entered into my general birthday give away drawing.

I hope you like them.

Things are going much faster now.

I bet some of you might start to recognize the pattern now. It was very simple to put together and yet so colorful and fun. The quilting is adding to the quilt in a way the exceeds my expectations. I hope whoever wins this will love it as much as I do.

So, do I hear any more guesses?

How many lines would it take to quilt this blanket if I continue as I started here?  I’ve given a couple of clues in my posts and comments so have a look and I bet you can figure it out. The first one to guess how many quilting lines it would take gets 10 extra entries for the quilt give away. If they guess it before I finish quilting I will add 10 more to that. This is the estimated guess on how many lines it would take if my lines are all even and exact. (Which we all know will not be the case.) I will have a separate contest later for guesses on how many lines it actually took, giving more people the chance for extra entries in the give away. More on that later.

More Quilting

This is my favorite “block” from the panel. (Yes, that is a clue)

Last night I quilted for about an hour and a half. This is all I have completed with 2 days of work under my belt. Things might start moving faster though. I figured out a way to move this quilt through the machine in a more organized fashion. This saves time but even though I am using the side of my foot for guidance my lines aren’t always straight because I am giving up some control. Also, it uses a ton of arm power. My arms are feeling it this morning. It think it is worth it, if I save myself a few hours of quilting time. The non strait and  uneven quilt lines add to the charm of the quilt anyway.

**Note :: I updated my opening post for the month with some clarification on the rules of my give away.