Warning! Self Promotion!

New pattern is out!  This is one of the patterns that I have been working on for Indygo Junction that was introduced at the Spring Market in Kansas City.  I was told that it had good response - "techy" patterns are popular now and this fits into that category.  The blue tote is stitched with decorative stitches on my sewing machine on Cherrywood hand-dyed cotton.  The protective padding is Soft and Stable from byannie.com.  Fantastic stuff - you can iron it, sew it, embroider on it, wash it - it retains it shape, yet is soft and flexible.  Perfect for this project.  The natural colored tote is made out of osnaburg fabric - I like to call it a poor man's linen.  I used my Bernina circular embroidery attachment to make willy-nilly circles and partial circles. The other two printed totes are from fun print fabrics.  All totes have an inside zippered pocket to hold accessories and a strap that can be removed so that the tote become a protective sleeve for your tablet.  Run, run, run to your nearest store and see if they carry this pattern, or be on the lookout in catalogs.  Shameless self-promotion.  Jerilynn

Hidden Wells and Odd Picture Placement

Here is another shot of the result of picture-hanging a few weekends ago.  This is the little niche off the main part of the "green" bedroom.  We used to have a bunk bed in there until yours truly changed the sheets a few times.  Not a pretty picture.  We took the bunks apart and they are now happy little twin beds in the "blue" bedroom.  Anyhow, after looking at this photo, I am thinking the picture above the bed should be centered above the bed rather than centered on the wall.  What is your opinion?  I will pick a random person that comments to win a free night's stay in that very bed.  Wow.  What a prize!  Jerilynn  P.S.  Quilt on the wall is an old Hidden Wells quilt done in yellows, creams, and beiges.  I may make one of those quilts again.  Not sure if the pattern is still available, but it is a fun one.  Once you get the strip sets done and cut, there are a few ways to put the blocks together to give you different looks.  UPDATE:  I just Googled Hidden Wells and I read that the pattern is out of print. There are several sites, however, that have instructions.  Some use strips that are cut all one width.  The original pattern has you cut strips of different widths, which I think makes the quilt much more interesting.  I will try to find my pattern and see who the original designer was.  

Addy Likes Her Cardi and Grandma's New Kitchen!

As you can see from the photo of my newest granddaughter, Addison Ryan, she like the new cardi I made for her.  I went to Madison for 8 days to help with her care while my son was on an extended business trip.  Besides helping with the nighttime feedings so that momma could get a few longer stretches of sleep, I got to play with her during the day and get a few hours of knitting in here and there.  This is called Baby Cardigan by Plymouth Yarn Design Studio.  I made it out of two skeins of KnitCol Trends, a washable wool, using  3 and 6 needles.  Went together quite quickly.  The other sweater I made her is quite a bit bigger, so I was pleased to see that this one could get used right away.  And it did!  The new family was at the cabin this weekend for the holidays and it was a bit chilly.  Luckily I had just washed and dried the sweater and had it at the ready.  Yay!  I got home the middle of last week to the almost-finished new kitchen!  We had two days to get the appliances in, the cupboards filled, before the family started to arrive.  The new kitchen and appliances worked out great, although the microwave is a bit advanced for me without some further study.  Seems like it is a regular convection oven, a speed-cook oven, a microwave, and a toaster/warmer.  Hmmm.  Not just for heating soup anymore!  You can see a part of it above.  I need to take some better shots.  I also  need to introduce myself to my studio again!  Once I catch up on my sleep, we will again be good friends.  Jerilynn

Fish Stories

I thought I would show you a couple of pictures from the "hanging" weekend.  The first shot shows a few of the huge fish that we have caught.  I hope to add more to the ledge this summer.  You can see from the bottom picture that the area that is between the second and main level has become the fish wall.  The little frames I found at Menards for .99.  You can't beat that price!  I should buy a bunch of them so that we can just easily keep adding to the collection.  I haven't gotten my fishing license yet for this year, but when I get home from this week of helping with new little Addison Ryan, I will bite the bullet once more and tell a complete stranger what I weigh, so that my license will be official.  Well, pretty close to what I weigh, anyway.  I do have brown hair.  Well, it used to be.  Hmm.  Is this how the fish stories get their start?  Jerilynn

Hanging with the Kids

What a fun weekend I had!  Ellen came up to the cabin, oops, our house, to help me sort through the pictures/art that moved from the condo and hlep figure out if there was a good place for each item in their new home.  It was fun to get a younger, fresher perspective on where to put stuff, and what stuff to combine in a group.  If you have ever seen her house, you know that she knows of what she speaks.  Fun and quirky.  Colorful and sweet.  She had to go back today, so I went it alone on the picture wall.  I wanted to do something a bit different than my Pottery-Barn-shelve- with-pictures that I had at the condo.  I saw this idea on the internet and thought that it was something I would like to try to duplicate.  A coupled of the frames may need "tweaked" a bit.  But I think I am going to leave it as is for a while.  This is just the beginning of the long hall that leads to the new bedrooms and bath and stairway to "heaven".  Lots of walls to fill up with black frames.  I guess it was a fitting Mother's Day project to tackle: having fun looking through pictures of all the kids and grandkids and giving the photos a new place to hang.  Jerilynn

Practice Safe Furniture Protection

I made two more sets of Woolfelt coasters to go with the guitar coasters.  Ben, the two year-old, loves trucks and cars and used to play with my Woolfelt coasters all the time when he was younger.  So, I thought he was old enough to learn about furniture protection and have coasters of his own.  For Katie?  Some nice flower coasters.  Both redwork designs were from Secrets of Embroidery.  That site has tons of fun designs and lots of rework designs, which I like because they are quick to sew out and don't weigh the Woolfelt down with too much dense stitching.   On the home front, the kitchen is now getting some insulation and some new wiring.  The appliances are on the road being shipped to us as I write, scheduled to be installed May 24.  Cutting the Memorial Day Weekend a bit close, aren't I?  Never a dull moment around here!  Jerilynn

What am I Making for Dinner?

Reservations! At least for a couple of weeks. The old kitchen cabinets, counter, and even the walls are gone! The wood was old and a bit smelly, so I am sure the new wood will be a good change. There was also no insulation, just the cement blocks. The addition of insulation will be a good change, too. The appliances are ordered, the cabinets are being made. It won't be a fancy kitchen, but it will smell good and be warm. And the food coming out of the kitchen will taste just as good as it always has. Jerilynn

Groovy Guitars Reboot + Woolfelt = Awesome

Robbi Joy Eklow has a fabulous fused applique pattern, Groovy Guitars Reboot.  My friend Sharon showed me one that she had made for her son, and I knew immediately that I had to buy the pattern and make the quilt for my son, too.  You can read about Robbi here and also find out about how to order a pattern of your own.  The same son that will get the guitar wall quilt was also hinting that he does not have any Woolfelt coasters from ME, the queen of Woolfelt coasters!  So, I had this great idea to digitize the outline of some of the guitars on the Groovy Guitars Reboot pattern.  I think they turned out really good - the stitch-out was quite smooth, actually.  I wanted to show you them tonight, but I first thought I better get the approval from the original artist. I shot off an email to Robbi, and she answered me...she loved them (!)  and gave me permission to show them on my blog!  Yay!  I just might have to make another set and send them off to her.  She might not have any Woolfelt coasters, either.  Jerilynn

Card Holder Pocket

I posted a tutorial for the inserted zipper with pocket, so I thought I would also show you how to make the Card Holder Pocket.

Cut four pieces of fabric, all 5" wide:  one 8", one 7", one 6" and one 5".

Press in half, wrong sides together, the 7” x 5”, the 6” x 5”, and the 5” x 5” pocket pieces so that they all still are 5” wide.  Place on top of the 8” x 5” pocket piece, matching lower raw edges. 

 Bring the top of the 8” x 5” pocket piece down to meet the bottom edges, completely enclosing all pockets.  

Sew with ¼” seam allowance down each side and across the bottom, leaving a 1 ½” opening in the bottom for turning.  Turn right side out.  Tuck in raw edges of bottom opening and press.

Card Holder Pocket now ready to sew on to bag.  Sew down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side.  

Pretty darn easy.    
Jerilynn

Today is the First Day of the Rest of My Life

If you went to college in the 70's, no doubt you had a poster on your dorm room wall that had that saying on it.  I remember thinking that the sentiment was so very deep.  Well, it maybe isn't that deep anymore, but it still is true!  Two days ago we finished removing all traces of us from the condo.  It is sold and the rumor is, the new owners are thrilled to be moving in.  In just under 30 days, we sold the condo, welcomed a new granddaughter, fought my pneumonia, had an 80th birthday party for my mom, distributed "stuff" to 6 children, had a quick thrift sale, moved 54 boxes and furniture, hauled 25 boxes to Goodwill, sent off three patterns to be published at Spring Market, and planned a new kitchen at the cabin to be finished by Memorial Day.  Someone asked why I had been a bit quiet on the blog side.  Well, I haven't been too creative and didn't want to whine too much about the craziness.  We have been working like mad to get this place organized.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have everything under one roof.  I don't exactly know where it is located under this roof, but if we have it still, it is here.  I simply do not know how Oprah can handle all her houses.  One move we made was The Red Chair and The Red Couch.  Both are now happily plopped in the studio.  You can just see a corner of the couch on the left.  Already I have used both to catch a breath.  Someone asked me if I was sad about leaving our condo.  I replied that even though I loved living there, what I loved about it came along to the cabin - Carl, my sewing stuff, and The Red Chair.  The many happy family memories we made there will  be joined with the ones here at the cabin.  Jerilynn