Tea time!

My grand girls (6 and 11) are into tea parties--for real. Fancy dresses, hats, gloves, cloth napkins, the works. So I have been making tea cozies. :-) The 11 year old's favorite tea right now waivers between peach and blueberry, the 6 year old's in apple cinnamon. I still am stuck on my favorite being Earl Grey, but I have not found many teas I do not like. 

And did you know (from the emails I am receiving) that chickens are an in thing? So making more of these chicken placemats-they will be different prints:

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Unfortunately that means cutting--ugh. Cutting is my least favorite thing, followed closely by basting a quilt for quilting.  

And then there will be pinning--this is  a pile of tea cozies ready for their next step:

And then there will be a bigger pile than this of scraps that need to be cut

I am very glad to have taken a Scrap Therapy class long ago--and expanded it a bit to reflect my sewing mannerisms...probably will need to buy some more scrap buckets--but those scraps are the only scrap I have,...the rest is cut and in bins. Getting behind is NOT a good idea...it becomes quite a project to wrestle if you let it pile up. Yes,  speaking from experience here.  Grand girls who like to sew are good users of 5" squares. The 11 year old will graduate to smaller squares, and is working on curves :=) 

What's under your needle?

A little bit of this and a little bit of that..

It's hot!!!

Indoor only for this lady...

This means more sewing with the grand. Pillow case covers, key fob chap stick holders, a purse is next for the 11 year old and another pillowcase for the now 6 year old.


While being too hot to iron I have been working oi cutting felt  for two projects,

The beginning of a tea mat for mu daughter and the grand girls for their tea parties:

 Just because it tickled my fancy

And yeah--this clock hasn't worked ...in forever ...who wants to track time in the sewing room? Well, actually I do, but I set a timer on my phone :-)

The pony was a gift from my daughter may years ago...Do you keep trinkets in your sewing space for inspiration?

And the granddaughters requested extra sleeping masks...so....

What's under your needle?

Some hand sewing lessons for the Grands...

Making chap stick key fob holders...closing the turning hole...

5 year old

11 year old

















almost the last of the blah blah blah fabric---4 more mug rugs..

and I guess after 6+ years I need to order some more wonder clips...

Do you have a wool pressing pad ye? if not --yes they ARE worth it!

This quilt for my Grandson is finally done-yes-hand quilted

And remember when I told you that I use the low tech solution to remind me to change the needle plate when done with the single hole? I did--but forgot to change my quarter inch foot..crunch!! A $30 error (cost to replace the broken foot) :-(

Whats under your needle?

The reveal of the gift...

So my daughter has her Birthday present now...another set of chicken place mats, they match a set previously given; and a set of chicken pot holders to go with....

It was also determined that the chicken pot holders are a perfect size for  a small hair/head decoration-anchorable by two bobby pins :-)

Another useful foot a stitch-in-the-ditch foot:

When you don't want to risk you machine to the lightening/power outage you clip binding on. 

Whats under your needle?

Helpful tools

You really don't need a lot of tools. That being said...there are tools that will make your life easier..some of my favorites (besides the gypsy cutter) {remember to put links for products and tags}

Single hole needle plate-many machines do not come with these-I think they are worth the expense. It is wise to use something to remind you that it's in place--I prefer low tech here.:

BTW- did  you know that breaking a needle can actually damage your machine? Make sure you find all the pieces.

You should change your needle after approximately 8 hours of sewing time-needles are cheaper than repair bills. The right needle for what you are sewing is important too. Universal is ok for most, but you get better results if you match the needle to the project.

 I use My Pad for needles to keep mine straight. The Flower topped pin reminds me what I have in the machine.

The other item that is extremely helpful  is a quarter inch foot (or two--like seam rippers--they sometimes are not where you think they should be when you need them)

I also added some light...newer machines come with harp lighting.... I added  to my 1471 also.

Then there are so,e other old school tool I like-porcupine quill stilettos and bamboo seem creasers--this one was my Grammy's.The  creaser for small things (like block pieces) is wonderful when it is hot and you really don't want to turn the iron on.

This quilt has lots of triangles-not my favorite--but this Nifty Notions ruler (discontinued-but there are like rulers out  there) is one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to get a whole set before they were discontinued.

And you may ask why  the wonder clips? A cat named Lilo (every bit as much trouble as her namesake.) A pile of pieces to this cat is like a pile of autumn leaves to a kid...

You find things like this on the sewing needle tub when you also game...

All these triangles can make for some fat seems at the point, I have a "Seams Perfect" mallet, but I also use this espresso tamper....can't tell you what brand as I have worn off the brand 😏

Whats under your needle?

Progress is satisfying

Sometimes, small progress is good. Baby steps in the right direction. So this came out of the hoop and got trimmed--ready to bind--but it has been TOO HOT to make binding!



This is what went in the hoop-it will have a wine bag to go with it -

This is what will go in the hoop next:

This is just a handwork side project..cause I thought it was pretty- it will be a wall hanging after it gets borders and binding (the binding is already made for this one--because, well--pre-made!)

The last wool-work finished- a table runner with Turkeys on both ends..

The next wool- work I will start on

The 11 year old granddaughters project to finish ( a key fob--well-four of them)

5 year old has a pillowcase half done (it inside out presently)


In the works....had been in the WIP pile for a long time as the pattern got misplaced....

Some fabric post cards I will put in the store when I figure out how to fix pictures on the website--did you know if sized and made correctly-fabric post cards are legal to mail? 

What's been under your needle??

And we are almost halfway through 2020...

So many challenges..

One of my good ones is helping my granddaughters (6 &11) to make their first quilts!!!

yes she is running the gas...

so intent

I have been working on a Birthday present for my daughter I will share after it is gifted (next week.)

I have also been finishing projects in the WIP pile:

Wool works

A fun set of place mats and mug rugs  for my daughter

I have a long standing quilt in my hoop that is about to come out and trying to decide which of the numerous (8 I think) tops I will start quilting on next....

And the ties...

 And the grand girls finished projects...

And what's under your needle??