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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

My LATEST Creations and New Video of Sewing Room

It is a cloudy, almost rainy Wednesday here in Southern OK.  We have had the promise of rain for many days, but it has poured everywhere but here.  It poured down on Jerry on his way home from our store last night, but when he got home, not a drop of rain was falling or had fallen.  Well, maybe a few drops.  Not enough to even wet the bottom of the top bowl of the 4-layer bird bath, however.

Jerry and I had to go into town this morning for him to see the skin doctor again, and while he was there, I went to buy REPLACEMENT plants for the ones Jackie has torn asunder.  One poor little plant has been torn up by the roots THREE times.  I have replanted it THREE times.  It is still surviving somehow.  The other plants weren't as lucky.  She tore them apart so much, I would have had to pick up all the shredded leaves and roots and take them to a plastic surgeon to put back together!

SO!  I got the bright idea to buy her some HUGE chew toys that she couldn't possibly chew up for a long time.  I got the biggest one out of my car when I got home from the store this morning, and I gave it to her.  She was VERY HAPPY to receive it.  I watched her gnaw on it for several minutes in the back yard before coming into the house to put away the things I bought AFTER I bought the plants.

I headed upstairs to play in my sewing room and check my emails.  I wasn't up here very long because it was almost lunchtime.  I headed back downstairs for lunch, and I decided to go into the back yard to watch Jackie chew on her new toy.

GUESS WHAT I FOUND?!

I found NOTHING, that's what!  NO chew toy anywhere.  I started to walk around the yard to find it, but then remembered I had on my brand new white tennis shoes, so came back up onto the sidewalk.  Then I noticed that there was dirt and rocks in several places along the garden hedge on the sidewalk.  GREAT!  She had been digging AGAIN!  I walked around the corner to get the broom.  I swept pile #1 -- then pile #2 -- then pile #3.  Low and behold!  Guess what was UNDER the hedge in the newly dug hole in pile #3.  Yep.  The new chew toy.  It was still whole and in one piece.  WHY ON EARTH would she bury it???  How is she supposed to chew on it when it is UNDERGROUND!?

I don't get it.  I decided to leave the new plants on the other side of the fence for now.  I'll have to be in a better frame of mind before I plant them, not to mention plant them so they can't be DUG UP by a large black furry baby.

And I made a new Sewing Room video FINALLY.  Some people complained about the one I had on You Tube saying I was way too chatty.  Can you imagine!?  Here's the new video if you are interested in seeing where I "live" most of the time.


And that is Jackie's quilt you see in that video.  It is all done except for the binding on the back.  Remember the bow tie quilt I found in Granny's attic?  I think these fabrics are from the 40's and 50's or maybe earlier.  I wish I knew more about it.  Jerry says it is too nice to let Jacke chew up.  It will have to be her INSIDE ONLY blankie.

ANDDDDDDDDDDDD,
there were 5 or 6 quilts in that closet.  I gave a few of them to Jerry's cousin, Mary Ann.  Wish I could find my photo of all of them.  Anyway, this one is next up.  The backing was with it, so it is ready to pin onto the longarm.  You can see the difference the quilting makes.

Do you remember I said I was making a "pajama" dress?  "Pajama" meaning it is another silly print, and the last outfits I made from prints were called pajamas by my sisters.

Well, I did make it.  I actually like it, but I probably won't wear it anywhere but home.  I held it up on a hanger and showed it to Jerry.  He looked at it and said, "Fish?"  I interpreted that to mean it doesn't look too good.  Here's a pic.



You will notice my GARDENER dog next to me.  Good thing she is so blasted CUTE!

This is from my Sure-fit Designs Dress Kit.  I put pockets in the side seams.

It wasn't suppose to have a bright red v-shaped insert at the neckline, but I cut the V too low.  I had to do SOMETHING to keep it from showing my entire chest, so I inserted the red piece of fabric.  I like it okay EXCEPT for the fact that it goes up hill about 1/16th of an inch toward my right shoulder.  It bugs me that it isn't perfectly straight.  I put a piece of black trim there to straighten it, and it DID, but I didn't like the black stripe on top of the red so I removed it.  I may try again to fix that this afternoon.

I am still making jewelry and loving it.  I am making birthday presents for my two sisters right now.  All three of us were born in August, although not the same year.  How crazy is that?  My sister, Janice, requested a lariat-style necklace.  I had never made one.

Here is the first one that came out of my head:


I decided it looked a bit flashy for a Preacher's wife, so I toned it down a bit.  It now looks like this:


It seems to be too long, but this isn't a good top to show it on.

I may shorten the red beads at the bottom of the two cords.  Easy enough to do.
And here is version #3 made with chain.  I really like it.  It was the easiest to make too.  Go figure.
And another birthday.  My grandson, Jacob Troy, wears a cross necklace I got him for Christmas all the time.  I thought he might like a change once in awhile.  I saw this one without the cross in a photo of a young man who made it at Firemountaingems.com.  I thought it was masculine enough that I could make it as a gift for a young man and it not be tossed aside.  I had to special order the shiny metal-look beads.  It turned out very nice, I think.
And a fun little bracelet that I saw on You Tube late one night.  There is a beautiful young girl with hair to her waist -- until she cut it -- and she calls herself "Bionerd".  She does a little bit of everything.  This looks totally different than hers, but I used what I had.
You have surely collapsed from boredom if you are still here!

I will let you go.  I'm going to load that new bow tie quilt.

Hugs, Joy

13 comments:

  1. Woo Hoo! You've got me all set up. Now I've just got to get down there. Soon, I hope!

    You didn't say where you keep your patterns. You need to show the closet off the exercise area where you have lots of fabric, too.

    Jackie is saving her chew bones for a rainy day. You did say it didn't rain at your house. She is so perfect in so many ways, she has to have some little vice. Just don't plant things in her area.

    Hugs, Phylly

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    1. Tammy and Len just bought a 1 1/2 year old female Golden Retriever. Looks like Jackie will have a playmate soon. You better HURRY down here because your table already has quilt paraphernalia all over it. I'm making the second bow tie from Nida's house. It isn't nearly as well made as the first one, but.... Maybe it really WILL be Jackie's.
      Hugs, Joy

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  2. Adopt me, please! I promise I'll be good! LOL!

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  3. Hi there from very rainy UK. Couple of things, Jackie is burying things because she is saving them for when she is hungry. Try to teach her to dig in 'her' area. Next thing, some info please. I am thinking of investing in the Surefit Dress kit. Not sure it would be worth my while though because of the cost. Would I get my monies worth do you think. I dearly want to find patterns that fit ME. Thanks for reading, absolutely love your blog. My name is Jennifer

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    1. Hello Jennifer!
      So glad to have you here. YES! The Surefit Designs system is wonderful, and Glenda, the owner, is ALWAYS there to help you. She will even Skype you and look right at your issues. If you will go to her website -- which you probably already have -- there are over 100 videos to watch for free. I haven't regretted buying it for one second.
      Hugs, Joy

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  4. I realize you addressed the question to Joy, however, I found Surefit Designs because of Joy. I think I found Joy from Pattern Review. I have every Kit from Surefit except the Men's Pant Kit. I used to sew for my daughters (now 45 and 50). I also made all of my clothes and that means tailored jackets, etc. I was fortunate to have a mother who was a self-taught seamstress and then a men's tailor so I was fortunate. My mother moved nearer to me during the last 16 of her 98 years and helped me fit my 60+ body. That body has has continued to change and commercial patterns just don't fit. "Good News" - Surefit allows you in a very systematic way to adjust all body types and fitting problems. Follow Glenda's directions to the "T". You will love them. I would suggest the Dress Kit, Pants Kit, and the Shirt Kit first. Now Joy can give you her opinion. Joy, love your blog!!

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    1. Absolutely agree! I have everything but the children's kit. The accompanying booklets are very helpful too.
      Hugs, Joy

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  5. Hi Joy: loved, loved, loved -- and am so jealous -- of your sewing room. Thanks for the tour.

    I especially love the top Lucy is wearing. Is that made from your SFD Blueprint? Did you put the front on the bias? How did you do the binding on the front edge? I would love more details.

    Carol

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    1. Hi Carol,
      Actually, the knit cardigan on Lucy is made from Pamela's Patterns twin set. I had to change it a bit using my SFD blueprint, but Pamela's patterns are made for the "older" set with or without a bust dart and some round back correction already there. I had to do an FBA, sway back and narrow the shoulder correction. The binding is fold-over elastic I purchased from Silhouette Patterns. VERY NICE product. The first time I've used it.
      Hugs, Joy

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    2. Thanks Joy. I also purchased FOE from Silhouette Patterns but have not been brave enough to use it! lol! I may give it a try now!!

      btw Have been following and enjoying your posts from day one! Keep up the good work! You re an inspiration!

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  6. Hi Joy, I posted earlier about loving the SFD system. I do agree with you concerning Pamela's Patterns. I have used her knit pattern for knit tops. I definitely like her designs for the aging body and would recommend them in addition to the suggestions Glenda gives.

    Happy Sewing,

    Sarah

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  7. I like the first one best...can you make some of the beads dark purple instead of all red? I like this design!

    :), jl

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Hugs, Joy