Dream Big!

I nailed up four of my Christmas gifts on a wall in the studio.  Carl got me the decorative big wooden needle and red button (from Etsy) and the huge, but functional Gingher scissors.  I will use them as a weapon if my sewing area is ever under attack!  Fitting right into the bigger-than-life theme is the big silver clothespin that Ellen got me.  I have a thing for clothespins - I use them for snack clips and napkin and towel identification.  I have a few craft project ideas pinned on my Pinterest boards, too, that use clothespins.  So, this big silver clip is just perfect!  I am going to use it to clip up notes to myself, or a fun idea now and then.  I don't have a design wall anymore, but I have this design clip!  I hope you got some fun gifts this season.  I sure did...I don't mean to just showcase the gifts from Carl and Ellen, I just didn't nail the other stuff to the wall!  Although some beautiful Beaver Dam Lake cloud pictures taken by granddaughter Courtney and some framed family photos will be appropriately nailed up in the hallway quite soon.  Jerilynn

This is a shot of the new quilt I made for my mom for Christmas. Simple, again. I used layer cake 10" squares of Hometown from Sweetwater. I used a slightly different quilting technique than I usually do, however. I usually use unwashed fabrics and an unwashed cotton batt. Quilt, then wash and dry for a crinkly look. I took a fabulous class, however, at Craftsy.com, from Weeks Ringle. She is half of the husband/wife team at Fun Quilts, now called Modern Quilt Studio. I absolutely loved the class. So much valuable information, and she is the kind of teacher that you want to invite to your home for coffee and become your new best friend. Their quilts are so beautiful and precise - the quilting is perfect, and the resulting quilts are made to be used and loved on a daily basis. Just my style. She said they always prewash (pre shrink) fabric, but not the cotton batt. After quilting, they wash and dry the quilts. What happens, is that the batt shrinks inside the quilted areas, but not the fabric, and the result is lots of great crinkly texture and a very soft hand to the quilt. So, with this latest mom quilt, I did that technique. I quilted the quilt with a circle pattern, and even though my quilting is pretty close together, the quilt feels pretty soft. Now the problem is, though, that all of my fabrics and scraps are not washed. So, it is going to be a bit of a challenge to make a scrap quilt using bits of this and that on the fly. I suppose I could make a month-long project out of washing fabric, but yikes. I will figure this out, because this new-to-me way of quilting is really cool. Jerilynn

Snow and Snowman Bars!

Yay!  It snowed again last night!  The trees have just enough white stuff on them to make it look magical.  We missed the big storm that hit the Madison area - last report from daughter-in-law Sarah is that they had 12+ inches and are still getting heavy snowfall.  Winds will pick up around noon and expected amount is 18".  Other than the fact that three of our kids and their kids are traveling north to the cabin tomorrow, the Winter Storm Draco is cool!  I am hoping that the roads that are going to be closed will magically be cleared and open in time for some Christmas celebration.  I haven't posted many pictures of the things I have been working on, of course, to keep things a surprise.  I can show you, however, the darling snowman-wrapped Hershey Bars!  I saw the link on Pinterest, and you can find the free download here.  My sister, fresh in from Arizona (just in time for the snow!!) , Carl, and I whipped these together last night.  So fun and easy.  We printed the image on shiny photo paper, made the hats from Woolfelt, the scarves from plaid flannel, and tied on a little jingle bell for sparkle.  Their destination is the nursing home where  my mom is.  She will have fun handing them out to people, and maybe eating a bar or two herself.  I would like to make a few more for the family stockings, but we will see.  My dad has had a couple of heart procedures this past week or so, and my production schedule was put on the back burner.  He is doing okay, and I am back in the Studio, looking at The List and hitting the must-do things first.  Nothing like a clean fresh coat of whiteness, though, to lift my spirits.  Love this place and love this time of year.  Nature at its most beautiful, quiet and restful.  Thankful that we all are snug and warm, though separated by closed highways!  Jerilynn  P.S.  The title sounds like there is a place in town where the snowman can get a hot toddy.  Could be fatal.

Counting My Blessings

Nineteen stockings hung.  Not on the mantle at the condo, but on organized hooks at the cabin.  The first Christmas here, and it feels just right.  I am so very thankful for this warm and cozy home, and for these nineteen stockings which represent nineteen children and grandchildren.  I am so grateful that the presents we have purchased to put under the tree and in these nineteen stocking will have nineteen children and grandchildren to open them.  Sadness beyond belief that there are families that will have unopened gifts this year.....Jerilynn

No Buttons Were Hurt for this Project

I was doing pretty good until I started reading all the emails.  Hurry!  Last Three Days!  Final Free Shipping!  40% off Ends Today!  Coupon Good Only Until Midnight Tonight!  The caps and the exclamation points add to my sense of "Oh, my gosh.  I better get into fast gear!  Time is running out!  I have so much to do!"  So, I do what I always do, make lists.  I thought that I had a pretty good handle on gifts for our 19+ family, but in black and white, not so pretty.  The easy people have too many things, the hard people (read males) have too little.  Somehow it always works out just fine.  I will make some cookies, serve adult beverages, and bake cheesy potatoes en masse.  Cleaning needs to be done, sewing projects finished (or, in some cases, started!)  So....what did I do so far today?  Spied some green buttons and decided they would make a cute tree to plop on the studio bathroom window ledge.  But, I didn't want to glue these buttons - some are old and deserve to have an ever longer life.  Ah.  Wire.  Bend, twist, thread, twist some more.  Find tie, bell.  Done.  Now, I really must get serious.  Time Is Running Out!!! Jerilynn

Snowflake Names

Last Christmas I made my mom one of the Snowflake Name Coasters.  She loved it and asked if I would make one for each of the aides that help her at the nursing home for the 2012 Christmas.  Sure!  It would be an inexpensive, yet personal little gift.  I didn't realize at the time that there is a crew of over 50 that take care of the 29 residents.  That doesn't even include the laundry staff, the kitchen crew, the housekeeping crew or the facilities guys.  I would say that explains the wonderful care she gets.  I am very thankful for these  angels in our lives.  So, I have started the coaster production.  I use the Bernina V6 software to digitize each name, mirror it, wreath it, and sew it out on Woolfelt using Superior Metallic thread in silver.  Forget all the stories you hear about embroidering with metallic thread - this stuff performs without a hitch!  I have 15 done, and the Christmas party is the 14th.  I think I am on track.  I ordered square silver envelopes to put each coaster in, and my mom wants to have me include a little  note in each.  She is pretty excited about this idea.  So, when I tried to find a Christmasy wreath to hang on her room door, I was coming up empty.  The decoration couldn't be too big.  Then, BAM, a great idea hit!  I would embroider a BIG snowflake with her name, Marge, and fasten it to some greenery.  She would have fun telling people to try to find her name, and that would then tie in to their little gift.  Do you see the name Lori in the coaster?  Do you see Marge in the snowflake?  This idea would make really cute snowflake decorations for a tree, don't you think?  I also bought some spray glitter to spray on all of them for extra cheer.  Martha would be proud.  Jerilynn

Swirly Snow Guys

I ordered the snowman table runner pattern from Sweetwater on their Etsy site here.  The bottom photo is from their shop and shows the kit that you can buy.  I decided to use some of my own fabric, and if I would have just zoomed in a bit, you could see that it is a tone-on-tone swirl.  I made only four men because the place I wanted to put it was just that size.  They are also all the same size - I took the photo at a goofy angle!  The other little detail that you can't see is that I sprayed the runner lightly with glue and used some Martha Stewart fine glitter to frosty them up!  With all my other snowmen decorations, it looks quite cute, indeed!  I love how the bottom photo is styled.  I think I should aspire to be a better blog-picture-taker.  Jerilynn

Christmas Pillows

It begins yet again.  Turkey remains that are too old too eat are barely in the trash before the Christmas Make-a-Thon kicks in high gear.  Each year I try to start earlier on projects and try to simplify the planning for the Season, but somehow I always have more things I want to make than I have days.  This is our first real Christmas at the cabin.  Last year we decorated here a little, but our holiday get-together with the kids was at the condo.  Decorating the condo was a two or three hour job.  We had already put out our Christmas stuff there so many years that it was automatic.  Now that we live at the cabin year-round, I found it took much longer to figure out what to do.  We gave away/sold lots of our decorations, but did keep what we loved and what we felt would look good here.  Needless to say, we still had more fa-la-la than we could possibly use!  I still am keeping t two boxes of stuff that I just can't part with, but don't have a good spot for.  Three boxes of leftover stuff will be up for grabs for the kids and grandkids.  I didn't have any holiday pillows, though, in the unpacked boxes.  Where are they?  Did they get sold?  Snatched up by children?  Maybe I didn't have any before?  Hmm.  A mystery.  A dash to Shopko solved the problem.  I bought a few plain pillows with piping.  Tore out their guts.  Stitched on some simple applique with gold thread, re-stuffed (less firmly - I don't like rock-hard pillow), and sewed the opening closed.  I made a third pillow that has NOEL embroidered in gold thread, but it looks totally out of place with these other two pillows and even a bit too fancy for the whole setting.  I don't want to pick out all those teeny  tiny stitches, but I may just applique a rectangle over the letters.  No one will ever know what is underneath.  Don't tell anyone.  Jerilynn

Bonus Bubbles

Here is another Bubble Necklace idea. Not mine, though - Ellen's again. She thought putting some small beads between the bubbles, in the color of the wire, would be pretty. I think she was right! I am currently waiting for a bubble order to arrive, then I will be in Bubble Business! The tricky part is to wire the bubbles without them popping....Jerilynn P. S. Happy Thanksgiving! I will try to be a better blogger and posting person, without, of course, giving away any Christmas surprises. I just found out that my children and grandchildren actually read my blog!

Lawrence Welk Bubble Necklace

Not too many people remember Lawrence Welk.  He had this great bubble machine that would pump bubbles in the air as his orchestra would play catchy tunes, lots of which, were polkas.  I loved, of course, The Lennon Sisters.  I would watch the show with my grandparents who lived right next door to us in rural Indiana.  My daughter, Ellen, said she saw a client that had a clear bubble necklace on with a lime green cord.  This necklace is my interpretation of what she described.  I had red cord, of course, and ordered some bubbles.  Many compliments have been received when I wear this!  After showing Carl my newest creation, he said "It is uneven".  I replied, "Yes.  The beads are hand blown and aren't all exactly the same size".  He said, "No.  You have more small bubbles on one side than the other."  Oh.  Ah-one, ah-two, ah-three.  Jerilynn 

Oregon Coast Beaded Necklace

When we were on the Oregon Coast, I happened upon a bead and yarn store.  Well, I didn't just "happen upon it"....I Googled the nearest bead/yarn shop and discovered it was very close to where we were staying.  Kismet.  They had these funky black and white swirl strip big beads that managed to make the long journey back to the Midwest.  I used some Loupiac (loupiac.etsy.com) spacer beads that I had, and some mystery round black beads and fashioned a necklace.  Perky, don't you think?  My next beading project will be an attempt to make those leather/bead wrap bracelets that I am seeing everywhere, especially in the Sundance Jewelry catalog.  I will let you know if I discover that the huge price that they charge for those is actually quite a bargain.  Jerilynn

Summersville Swoon

SOOO excited!  The top photo shows the Moda Summersville line of fabric by the very talented Lucie Summers (blu-shed.blogspot.com).  It is probably one of my favorite collections to come out in a long time, and I haven't cut into it yet.  I just take it out and look at it quite often.  I have gone to Lucie's Etsy shop, summersville.etsy.com and saw that she had a mug in white with black printing.  I loved it, of course, and wanted to order it, but also wanted it in colors!  Through some Etsy conversations, I learned from Lucie that she, indeed, had colored mugs on order, made in a very special bone china in stoke-on-trent.  Who else but the English would take the trouble to produce such special tea or coffee mugs?  The bottom shot is taken from Lucie's blog, I hope she doesn't mind!  I decided that I needed to order one of each color, even though the shipping to the US isn't exactly a bargain. They will take a couple of weeks to arrive here in Northern Wisconsin, but that gives me time to plan what delightful projects I am going to make out of the fabric to go along with the mugs.  Some will be gifts, but it is going to be quite hard for me to decide which ones to give away.  Sophie's Choice.  Of course, the Red ones will probably end up living with me, but, look at that wonderful, delicate Blue!  And the Black!  So modern and clean!  Oh, dear.   Wouldn't these designs look amazing in machine embroidery?  Lucie, do you have extra time to get on that project right away?  Jerilynn

Bird Bag Spotting in Cumberland

Strange birds in the tree outside our cabin.  They look quite friendly, though, don't they?  These, of course, are more Izzy Bags, made out of my current favorite fabric, KAS Oslo screenprint.  I have used a red one now for over a month and never fail to get a "where did you get that bag?" comment.  Now I will be able to answer:  "I made it, and you can buy one on my Etsy shop at jerisew.etsy.com".  The holiday season is fast approaching, so I am trying to get some things in my store to sell.  No, they won't cover our gift-giving-budget, but, if all else fails, and the bags go unsold, I have three gifts already made.  Perfect.  Jerilynn

Warning! Sales Pitch

Yep, I finally started listing some things on Etsy.  The finished Sewing Themed Coasters, a cd of the designs to make your own, the finished Autumn Themed Coasters, and a cd of the designs to make your own are in my shop.  I plan to add more things as the days go on.  I bet you are pretty excited about all of this!  Jerilynn

Rock and Roll is Here to Stay!

The bottom shot is from Pinterest and I will do some digging and find out the source.  I love Pinterest, but sometimes I feel like I am dealing with the Ogre Shrek - lots of layers!  I thought it was so cute and it could be a fun project for me to try to duplicate for Ben.  So I copied a free clipart photo of a guitar, red, of course, onto some Transfer Artist Paper.  The transfer got a little light when it went over the sleeve seam, but I think that was user error:  I was just so excited to see how it was going to look!  I think it turned out pretty cute.  The hardest thing was trying to find a white shirt for a toddler.  Once they are out of Onesies, a plain tee is rare.  Don't "they" know that part of the appeal of James Dean was the white shirt with the blue jeans?  Most everyone now would say, "Who is James Dean?"  Jerilynn

What is Your Passion?

I can't really remember a time when I wasn't fascinated by sewing, knitting, crafting.  Some of my earliest memories are of seeing a sewing basket by a chair in a babysitter's house and seeing the colorful bobbins at my Aunt Jean's house.  I was hooked.  What was that stuff?  How does it all work?  I started hand sewing in first or second grade, and got my first sewing machine in fourth grade.  I was so fortunate to be born in a family that, while of modest means, truly valued, and encouraged, creativity.  My third child, a son, was born into a family of no guns or hunters.  I swear he came out of the womb going "bang-bang" with his little fingers.  He soon fashioned guns and swords out of Legos or duct-taped cardboard.  He is 27 now and still loves guns and shooting.  His son, Benjamin, is turning three this weekend, and has a love of cars.  And trucks.  And construction equipment.  Even when he was very little, he loved watching cars go by on our back deck with Grandpa Carl.  He has a bunch of toys, but the things that go "zoom" have his heart.  I saw the road fabric panel in the Keepsake Quilting catalog, and knew that it would be a good project to make for his birthday.  I am sure he will have fun following the roads and tracks with his little fleet.  I thought he might need a reusable tote as wrapping, and made him a big, personalized one out of fabric left over from the quilt his mom made him last summer.  His party is Saturday, and his mother and I will be attempting to make a racetrack sheet cake with individual cake cars.  I am sure some wine will be involved.  I will share the results, good, bad or ugly, with you next week.  Have you given in to your passion?  What makes your heart go pitty-pat??  Jerilynn

The Days of Whine and Noses and Coasters for Hot Tea

Sometime last year I mentioned to someone that because I am getting old, I don't get so many colds.  I really shouldn't have said that...I think I have had more colds the last 12 months than I have had the last 12 years.  I am not sure where I picked up this recent doozy...the Oregon Coast?  Deadwood?  County Market in Cumberland, WI?  Hard to say, but this strain knocked me for a loop, and I very generously allowed Carl to share in its fun.  As usual, I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to get done, but mostly just felt like doing computer work, sleeping, reading, and watching tv.  What a life!  While I was in the Comfy Chair (as opposed to The Red Chair), I worked on the digitizing of the shaped Woolfelt coasters.  You may have seen these before, sharp-eyed readers.  All but the pumpkin were designed before, but the sew-out was clunky.  Fine for me, but I plan to package these designs and sell them so others can have some Woolfelt fun.  Since these were going to be going to houses all across America, I wanted the stitch-outs to be smooth and as jump-stitch free as possible.  It is amazing how long it takes even to take these simple designs and make them dollar worthy.  I can see why commercially digitized designs are so pricey!  Hours!  Anyway, they got stitched out today and I declare them good.  Now I need to convert them to popular formats for various machines, burn them to CDs, make an instruction sheet, photograph the coasters in good light (good luck with that one...it's been quite cloudy and rainy), make a cover sheet, and post them for sale on Etsy.  I will give the buyers a choice of a cd or a download.  I may even offer sets for sale.  I am not sure when all this will magically happen.  I am giving a talk to the Eau Claire Sewing Guild tomorrow night.  It will be a trunk show of things I have made along with instruction on some of the construction.  I hope along with the information I do not pass on any major germs.  I think I am getting better, though.  I am thinking Wine rather than Whine.  That is a good thing.  Jerilynn

Pretty Birdie Purselet!

This is one of the ideas I had on The Car Trip. I cut out two birds from the KAS Oslo fabric, some lining the same size, sewed in a zipper, and....a cute bird purselet! It is small enough to stash in a bigger bag, but big enough to hold some good things. The zipper is a cool black zipper that I harvested from a thrift sale Columbia jacket. Seriously. Those Columbia jackets have a ton of zippers! To get a bird on each side, however, I had to fussy cut, and now I have two holes in a pretty good sized chunk of fabric. Tres cute, but maybe not practical to mass produce. Jerilynn

Too Good to Use

We got home from our loooong car ride only to jump back in the car to play with our youngest granddaughter for a few days in Madison, WI.  What a cutie!  We came back Thursday and I slept for 14 hours!  The very next night I slept for 12.  I think I was a bit tired.  Yesterday, though, I woke up with a sore throat, which is maybe why my energy level is on empty.  I hope I didn't pass anything on to anyone, but this time of year, colds are everywhere!  I have so many ideas to try out and my house really needs a good going-over, but the aforementioned energy level says "not today".  I decided to pull out some special beads that I had ordered a while back.  The first beads are from Loupiac's shop on etsy.   I have ordered several of her bead sets over the years and have always loved her craftsmanship and her color sense.  The stripe set called out to me to be an autumn bracelet.  Stringing beads on stretchy cord is about what I can handle today.  As I was going through the bead box, I also found the Rainbow Hanna's from Z-Beads.  Beautiful, no?  I had saved these sets until a time that I could come up with some very creative idea, using only a few of the beads in each creation.  They are pretty pricey sets, and I thought I should "save" them for something very special.  I would occasionally take them out of their boxes and marvel at the colors and perfection.  Especially after my daughter treated me to a glass bead making class for Mother's Day, I realized the utter difficulty of making even ONE pretty bead, let alone a whole set!  Today I realized that I was missing out by not using/wearing these beads.  What was I waiting for?  Beads can always be re-used into another item at any time!  How many other fantastic things do I have that are "too good" to use?  Time is going fast.  The leaves are making their final windy dance. Don't wait for the right day, the best idea.   I feel just good enough to make a nice baked pork chop dinner with twice baked potatoes.  Wearing a new bracelet, of course.  Jerilynn

Ten States in 2.5 Weeks

Ten states.  5250 miles. A monumental gas charge card bill.   Wisconsin to the Oregon Coast and back.  We followed mostly the Oregon Trail and I had fun reading the roadside signs:  Dead Horse Creek, Crazy Women Creek, Dead Man's Pass.  You just wonder if there was another wife at some point on that long trip that just lost it after listening to non-stop 60's music.  I had knitting with me, some magazines, and an iPad that would get service once in a while.  Sure not very many people or towns in some of those Western states.  Or cell towers.  I only cried once when, after biting into a piece of salt water taffy, half of one of my molars broke off.  At that point we were on our way back from the coast, somewhere in Montana or Wyoming - I think it was very near the site of Little Bighorn.  I was longing for my own bed and not living out of a suitcase.  I was actually getting blase about all the gorgeous scenery.  I wanted to go home and see the autumn trees from the studio window and start the nesting for the winter to come.  We made it home safely, of course, and I was lucky enough just to catch the tail end of the good color.  From  my window I can see all the wonderful last hurrah shades of the trees.  As you can see from the picture, I managed to hit a few fabric shops here and there.  The magazines had all sorts of good ideas in them and I can't wait to dig in and do some sewing.  All of our clothes have been washed and put away, the internet is steady.  My sheets are super soft, and the bed is Goldilocks-just-right.  There's no place like home.  Jerilynn

Canon Beach Scarf

So, you might wonder what this picture is all about. Twofold. it is a scarf that I made while on our visit to the Oregon Coast. The real star, however, is the rock formation in the back...Haystack Rock. The tufted puffins nest there in the summer before they head out to sea for the winter, Yep, they live far out in the Pacific all winter, drinking the salt water and sleeping peacefully in the swells. Cool birds, no? I have been to Canon Beach before and have a strong connection to the rock and the neighboring rocks, The Needles. So wonderful to visit again. The scarf? There is a wonderful bead/knitting shop there that made this random yarn ball to make this scarf. They tie various yarns together, use size 32 needles, and it makes this great scarf. Fast! This gave me the idea to use up all sorts of yarn to make "garbage" scarves. Can't wait to get home to start a few. We had a great time, and are now heading East. I will treasure my visit with my college friend, Marva, and my opportunity to visit places visited with friends that are no longer with us. Fun and sentimental. Perfect trip. Jerilynn


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Second Table Blanket Pattern

Hello! I suppose you've noticed I have been quiet as of late. We have been on a cross-country car trip from Northern WI (home) to the Oregon Coast, where I am now. Cumberland to Deadwood, SD; to Bozeman, MT; to Boise, ID; to Reno, NV; to Portland, OR; to Seaside and Canon Beach, OR. We are at the beach for a couple of days, then slowly work our way back home. I have been thinking of all sorts of new ideas to try once back in the studio. My college friend Marva is with us and we are having a ball catching up! She follows this blog and mentioned that I have been slacking on posts lately, shaming me into action. Soooo, here is a picture of the second new pattern I did for Indygo Junction. If you are "into" Swiss Army Blankets, then you might think this pattern is interesting. If you think the blankets are dull, well, you will not find this new pattern too tasty. I wanted to keep you informed, and make sure you knew that I was still among the living. Jerilynn

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New Pattern!

Here is one of my latest patterns just released by Indygo Junction. It is one of two blanket-themed quilting patterns for the table. I was in a blanket mood when I came up with the idea. I love Hudson bay blankets but the real ones are just a bit out of my budget. Actually, I could probably find a good deal on one, but I have been knitting afghans and making quilts and throws. Just how much coziness can one cabin stand? I still would like to garter-stitch a cream and blue and green and yellow and red afghan. It would be great out of the Dishie cotton yarn that I have been using for the lap-sized afghans. They take me about 6 weeks to make, so don't expect a picture of that real soon. Jerilynn

Tablet Tote with Circles

Latest Tablet Tote!  This one is on osnaburg fabric, again, but I embroidered it using some software from Oregon Patchworks that I talked about in this post. I especially like the big turquoise swirl with the dots at the end of the lines.  It has good texture.  After this was all done I decided it could have used more circles, but I didn't want to start all over!  I may investigate more of these circles for other projects.  The lining (didn't get a shot of it) is a Kaffe Fassett printe that looks perfect with all the colors.  I would think a black fabric would show off the colors nicely, too.  Jerilynn

A Blast from the Past

I haven't saved many of the dozens of embellished sweatshirts I made back in the 80's and 90's, but there were a few that made the cut for one reason or another.  The scarecrow shirt was not only saved, but it comes out once a year, usually when I start to see color in trees and catch the autumn spirit.  This applique pattern was from an old Piecemakers calendar, and I think it was so popular way back when that they put out a little pattern for it.  This was the first time I made a "ragged" applique, using "scribble" stitches to hold it in place.  The scarecrow's jeans were carefully cut from some old Levis, and the straw hat and crow  moon fabric was, of course, Debbie Mumm.  I can't begin to tell you how many of these sweatshirts I made, or how many were  made by the Women of the Woods, a bunch of sewers that weren't very old back then.  I am hoping if I keep this long enough, it will become back in style.  But, of course, I don't really care that much if I am just a bit un-stylish.  It brings back great memories.  And, it is about the only thing from over 20 years ago that still fits.  Jerilynn

Puffin Izzy Bag (#4)

Izzy Bag number four.  I decided that the big tote bag I  made two days ago needed a smaller bag to fit inside to use when I didn't feel like using a bigger bag.  This latest Izzy Bag used the same bird fabric, but this time I used a tiny gold/orange check as lining and accent fabric.  This took about 3 hours to make, even with the extra zipped pocket on the back.  I am also thinking I need a Big Bottom Bonnie Bag to keep the big tote organized.  Maybe a small zipped bag for inside Izzy to hold cash and credit cards.  Any day now I may become tired of this fabric, but not yet.  Why all the bags?  We are going on an adventure next week to the West.  Deadwood, SD, Bozeman, MT, Boise, ID (Cindy, Jonah, Grandma McDonough), Canon Beach, OR (college freind Marva).  Then back to the cabin in time to catch the peak colors (I hope!).  Years ago I visited Canon Beach with Marva and three quilting friends, two of whom are now, sadly,  Angel Quilters.  We had a riot!  Haystack Rock at Canon Beach is where the Puffins nest  before they head out to sea in the late fall.  We got to see some puffins and decided they were definitely stylin', colorful birds!  As I was making the new bird bags, I decided that maybe I could pretend that the birds were puffins.  I have already had one request to purchase the tote bag.  Luckily I have more fabric and can duplicate the tote, because these birds are traveling birds and may come home with a little dusting of sand and salt spray.  That may  make them more valuable, though, don't you think?  Jerilynn

Bird Print Tote and the Sound Track to My Life

The picture of the fabric panel is really a picture of the shower curtain that I talked about in the June 9, 2011 blog.  It is the KAS Oslo bird fabric from Joann Fabrics.  It comes in two other colors, and I think it may be my all-time favorite fabric.  I had a big chunk of it leftover from the shower curtain so I decided to make a nice big tote from it.  I made up the size/design as I went.  There is an outside hidden zipper pocket, an inside double zippered pocket, a gusset zipper closing, and leather handles.  Quite fancy.  The whole time I was making the bag, I listened to the songs on my iPod and realized that they would all be perfect as the sound track for a movie about my life.  Now, I am not saying that my life would make a very interesting film, but I really think that we pick music that speaks to us at various times.  As I listen to all the songs, on shuffle, I remember different periods of my life, friends, family, jobs, even travels.  Some tunes make me feel young again, some make me miss people that are no longer around, all are personal.  My favorite CDs tend to be soundtrack CDs by various artists.  They fit well with all the actions and moods and scenes of the movie.  So, when my life story movie comes out, the soundtrack is all ready to go.  Just shuffle through my iPod.  Jerilynn