Quick Weekend Hello

This weekend hasn't turned out like I thought it would.  It started out with tears last night, but it has been very nice today.  This was a beautiful day.

We went out on the lake about 5 PM in Jerry's birthday boat.  The weather was wonderful with perfect water and perfect wind.  John skied and then caught two fish.  I made ham sandwiches, chips, dip, cheese sticks and cookies.  Whatever you make in a boat always tastes sooooooooooooo good.

This is John and Abner.  I always name the fish alphabetically as we catch them.  The second fish was Benny, but he was too little to keep.  It was getting dark, so we threw Abner back into the lake with Benny.

Lauren, John's wife, isn't here.  She left this morning to go to my daughter's house in Edmond because my granddaughter (John's sister) refused to come down here, and the two of them wanted to go shopping or something.  I am confused and frustrated as to why my granddaughter doesn't want to come here, but have decided not to let it ruin my weekend.  She used to love to come here.  I am very thankful to have John here.  He is always so sweet to me and his Papa.

I was able to get two more Seasonal Silhouette blocks stitched down after Lauren left.  It takes me an hour or two to do just one.  I still have five more to do (total of 12).

Now, we are upstairs in the movie room watching the Thunder game.  We HAVE to win this one!  Jerry enjoys the games so much, I have learned how the game is played (sort of), and I actually enjoy watching them too.

I made a new video for the lady who asked me HOW I COVER THE WEIGHTS I hold pattern pieces down with.  If anyone is interested, here it is:

Being on the lake has made me extra tired.  Think I'll go to bed early tonight.  I LOVE the way the bed moves up and down gently like on the swells of the lake after I've been out in the boat.

The other team just went ahead of us.  Darn!  Jerry will be so upset.  He left to go put the boat in the barn at half time.  

Be back soon.  Hope all of you are having a lovely long weekend.

Hugs, Joy

Irena and Butterflies

Whew!

I have worked SO HARD today, and you wouldn't believe what at!

I've been making caterpillars.

I don't suppose that sounds too complicated, but it is.

You know WHY?

Because caterpillars are the UGLIEST things.  I don't know HOW they turn into such beautiful butterflies.

Check this one out:


And how about this guy?



This guy needs to go on a DIET!  Looks kinda like my chins!  The colors are really pretty though.



Look at this handsome devil!



And this one almost makes me GAG!  No wonder they can eat an entire leaf in a day.  Look at that roto rooter in his mouth!




Now, you will understand why MY caterpillars look kind of weird.  It is a whole lot better than what they REALLY look like!

I have three rows ready to put together.  All the butterflies and worms are still LOOSE.  Thought I should finish a few rows to be sure of color placement before I make them permanent.

If you haven't already seen it, here is a new VLOG for you.  I was trying to explain to Princess Di who Irena Bluhm is, and I decided to just do a video for her.  I talk about how to applique these butterflies also.

Here are some of Irena's gorgeous COLORED quilt tops.  They are WAY more amazing in person!  This is just a little wall hanging.  I would LOVE to do one!

I took several classes from her to learn her background fills as well as how to make colored quilts.

And here is Irena.  She is so cute.  Her personality is lovely.  I used to take classes over just to be with her.

Time to fix supper for Jerry.  I'm always so happy when he walks through the door after work at night.  Always have been.  I am usually standing there waiting for him.

Be back soon.  Hope you are feeling better, Jolene.

Hugs, Joy

New Jammies and Trash Top

Just finished supper and dishes.  Jerry decided to go out to the back yard and check our storm shelter 30 minutes ago.  He has not been back!  Hope there wasn't a monster that drug him down inside and tied him to the stairs!

So,

I STARTED to clean my kitchen and my bedroom really good this morning, BUT Terry texted and wanted me to go to Walmart with her.  I told her I was way too busy deep cleaning my bedroom and couldn't go.  BUT I texted her about an hour later to find out if she would get me a can of whipped cream at Walmart, and I found out she hadn't left yet.  OF COURSE, I didn't want her to think I couldn't go to Walmart with her and get my OWN whipped cream, so I told her I would go with her EVEN THOUGH I didn't need anything but that one can of whipped cream.

We got inside Walmart and went our separate ways.  I wandered over to the nail salon to see about getting a pedicure as mine is now two weeks old -- or more.  I looked inside, and ONLY MEN were doing pedicures.  Not getting them -- giving them!  Vietnamese men whom I'm sure couldn't speak a word of English.  For some reason, I decided I didn't want them doing my toes, so I decided to go get my whipped cream.  SOMEHOW, I ended up with a basket full to the top with groceries.  HOW does that happen!?

While I was getting groceries, I remembered my grandson, Jake, is going to have a birthday in a few days.  I wanted to get him a card.  While I was wandering over to the birthday card department, I happened to notice the CUTEST pajama shirt, and it jumped into my cart!

Look, I took a picture for you:

The letters are only blurry in the photo.  I discovered my camera has a 3-second or 10-second picture delay.  YAY!  I had no idea.  

And I told you I would show you my second attempt at the notched-neck SFD blouse I made by mistake.  Here is version #2 that I made sleeveless:

AND,

because one of you told me to get the first one OUT of the trash and make it sleeveless, here it is, resurrected from the dead:

You can tell the sleeve hole is much bigger than on the other shirt, but it seems to work.  I don't think it looks good on granny arms.  I may put it in the Goodwill bag instead of the trash though.

I have eaten WAAAAAAY TOO MUCH today.  Taco Bell with Terry, and then I cooked dinner tonight for Jerry.  I always eat with him when I cook instead of having the shake.  AND, while I was at Walmart, some shortcakes and strawberries and whipped cream jumped into my cart.  Terry came over to quilt, so I HAD to make some shortcakes for us.  THEN, Jerry loves dessert, so I made some again for us.  

I am going upstairs to FORCE myself to jump 100 times on my trampoline!

That should teach me a lesson, for sure!!!  

Be back soon.

Hugs, Joy

Hello on Saturday Evening

I've been busy making that blouse with the strange notched neckline today.  You know, the one I made ACCIDENTALLY and then it ended up in the trash.  This one is on purpose, and I still like it.  It is sleeveless also.  It isn't done, so can't show it to you yet.

So what have YOU been doing?

Deb called me the other day, and she told me about these really great Youtube videos by Gail Yellen.  The videos are called "Serger Tip Clips" and there are a bunch of them.  She has that top-of-the-line Baby Lock Ovation serger/cover stitch machine.  She actually covers everything we learned in the $250 class we went to several weeks ago.  I had them playing most of today while I was sewing.

Here is one on gathering fabric.  She is SO cute.

Terry is with her daughter and newborn grandbaby boy.  She is going to be gone all of June to work with her husband at their other home.  She is gone so much these days, I feel like she moved away!

Diana has company from OOT.  She is going to come next week though and work on my hair some more.  I want it a bit darker.  I told her she should probably stay home with her company, so not sure if she will get away or not.  It is her husband's parents visiting for two weeks.

I'll be back to show you my new blouse when I get it done.  I need some yellow jeans to wear with it.  I have searched the web for YELLOW STRETCH DENIM.  It seems to be a very rare commodity.

OH!  For you knitters out there, I found the prettiest lady that has an awesome HOW TO video for learning how to knit.  I think I am actually going to grab some needles and yarn and attempt to follow her.  My daughter tried to teach me, but I was horrible at learning.  She is so good at it.  If it wasn't for me being allergic to anything made from wool, I would join her Loops Club.

Check it out if you don't know about it.  HOPEFULLY, this is a link.  It opened for me when I highlighted it.  It gave me a choice to go there.  If you get there, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see a big video box to click on.  Again:  For Knitters and Yarn Lovers

http://loopsknitting.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f97d5ff1f8ea5c331757403a9&id=08cbef1ded&e=345dbd5ba9

The website is called www.loopslove.com.  Knitters will love it.  Her store is in Tulsa and it looks so nice.  Wonder if my daughter has been to it.

Gotta go.  Gonna practice knitting.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Hugs, Joy

Things are Always Changing

Has it really been OVER A WEEK since I've posted here?!

I have been busy making videos and sewing and quilting and cooking and cleaning and washing and drying, and I thought maybe I should check my Blog to see if it is still here.  It is.

It appears I may be getting even busier.  Issues at our business.  Employee leaving to move to another town.  We have had an ad in the paper for weeks, but NOBODY has applied for the job.  It has always been like that down here.  People just do not want to work.  If they DO want to, they already are.  When that happens, I become the "new employee".  The work HAS to be done, or the money quits coming in. Businesses are like that.

So unless you would like to learn how to bill Medicare and Medicaid for wheelchairs and pull-ups, I doubt I'll be making videos for awhile.

I do have a few new videos I made after my last blog post.  I think these automatically go to most of you, but if you haven't seen them, here they are:

This one is about a mistake that turned into a good thing, but then it turned into a bad thing.

Here is a picture of the blouse after I got the facing on it.  I really liked it.  There was a huge problem created by that tuck, however, and it ruined the blouse.  Notice in the picture that the shoulder seam is already where it needs to be before the sleeve has been sewn on.  Not good!  I found a cure for the problem and I believe it is in one of these videos.

 I think I talk about the Jalie jeans in the following video.  They are also in the trash with the blouse.  Notice how much of a sway back tuck I had to take in the back waist:

I took the tuck, and that solved the problem of the waistband.  ONLY PROBLEM then was the pants would NOT stay up.  They kept falling down.  UGH!  I hate that.

In the next video, I talk about notions storage, pattern weights and show you the CUTEST mugs and boxes I got from Deb.

In the next video, I evidently look up at the ceiling and wonder what on earth I'm doing!  Not really.  This one is all about quilting and some fantastic new videos I found on Doodling.

This next video introduces to my new quilt.  Can't remember what else is in it.  

And HERE is the first row of my new quilt.

KEEP IN MIND that the butterflies are not done.  They have to be stitched around and details put into each one.  Every butterly has those feeler things that come off their heads.  Maybe they are ears.  I am loving this quilt so far because of the Spring colors, so bright and cheery.

And I have to go now.  Have to get ready to go to work tomorrow.  That takes a whole different "me" if you know what I mean.

Be back SOMEday -- hopefully, soon.

Hugs, Joy

Stormy Evening

Hello everyone!

We had a dark rain-filled storm earlier and even a tornado warning.  That time of year, I suppose. Terry and I prayed it away, and it was over.  I'm not kidding.  We really did!  Terry has a beautiful garden full of baby veggies, and we can't have them blown away or tattered by hail.

I made a video a few days ago.  Takes a long time to upload them here, as you know.  Pretty boring really with me eating chocolate cake, but I eventually try on the two new jackets for you.

I had a lovely Mother's Day.  Jerry took me to Sherman to Texas Roadhouse for a great steak lunch. THEN, he not only took me to JoAnn's to look for some stretch denim to make my Jalie jeans, he helped me pick out fabric to make blouses to match and then buttons to match.  So nice!

Later yesterday evening I actually watched a Thunder/Spurs basketball game WITH HIM.  Not only that, I really enjoyed it and was hollering right along with him.  For once, we played really good while I was watching.  It is exciting to win, isn't it?

Today, I cut out the jeans, and I got them pieced together enough to try them on.  YIKES!  They seem quite tight to me, but Terry says they are fine.  I'll be sure to show you when I get them done, and you can tell me what you think.  They are turquoise.

Tomorrow is my second hair appointment with Princess Di.  (I call her that because she is always calling me her Queen.)   She is going to COLOR my hair, which is evidently, different than DYING it.  One of you told me "dying" is for eggs.  LOL.  I'm so excited to see what she will do.  Of course, I will show you.  

I did make myself a mug rug.  I used that pretty batik I made my sweatshirt jacket with.  I think it is so pretty.  I want to just keep making mug rugs!  So fast and fun and useful.

I just quilted straight lines through this one.  

That's it folks.  Gotta do some studying.  

Be back soon.

Hugs, Joy

Pointless Jacket and Another Mug Rug Idea

Hello everyone!

I'm back in Kingston.  After sitting all day for three days at that Serger class, my legs are rebelling at climbing stairs all day.  Never had that happen before.  I've decided sitting all day HAS to be a bad thing.  I might even invest in one of those Varidesk things that allows you to stand up while using your computer.

I want to show you another cute way to use a mug rug.  Terry's little granddaughter, McKinley, asked Terry to make her two teachers each a quilt.  Terry suggested a mug rug instead.  McKinley chose the design:  an apple with a "T" in it.  I think it is a PERFECT gift for a teacher.

OF COURSE, I asked Terry for a picture:

And guess what else Terry is doing?

She made a garden!  She sent me a picture of the first two hatchlings from her garden.  How AWESOME that you put a tiny seed in the ground, and FOOD comes out of it!!!  Terry and I were both so excited.

Here is a newborn baby broccoli.

And here is a newborn tomato.

While Terry was at her granddaughter's graduation, I was putting the final touches on these two jackets.  I'll show you the blue one on me later.  Right now, it is being modeled by Lucy.

Notice the long points are gone.  I have joined the back to the front also.  I wish it had pockets!

I washed and ironed the 40 Batik Fat Eighths I bought the other day.  They ran A LOT.  I had thrown in two Color Catcher sheets in with the load, so nothing ran except onto those.  They were saturated though.  Batiks are bad about that.

There are 50 solid Fat Quarters in the dryer that I have to iron tomorrow.  Believe it or not, I actually LIKE doing that.  I KNOW!  I have no idea why.   The Color Catchers in that load came out totally white even with 40 colors being washed.  Love that!

I'm going to start a new project tomorrow.  Not sure what.  I did download a Jalie pattern PDF of the Eleanore Pull-On Jeans today.  Jeans with an elastic waist, pretend fly, pockets and stretch fabric. Tons of rave reviews on them.  The downloaded pattern is QUITE "interesting" and quite the challenge to put together.  27 sizes!!!!  Sure hope I picked the right one.  I chose Size "V".  That is a "V" like "Victory", not like five.

Better get.  It is bedtime.

Hugs, Joy

More Mug Rugs, Videos and Butterflies

Good evening on a pretty Wednesday.  It has been a lovely day here in Edmond, OK, and I have lots to tell you.

Actually, I ALREADY told you in these two videos, so take a look at them if you care to.

The following video shows you my Quilt Shop sale haul.

And THIS will be my final mug rug while here in Edmond.  I have already packed the car, and I am heading home in the morning.  

Following is a picture of the FINISHED mug rug I made for my Mom after I quilted it pretty densely. 

NOTE:  For this kind of quilt fill, you really need to do it BEFORE you put the backing on it because the quilting causes shrinkage.  This was very straight on all edges before I quilted it.

This was pretty hard to do on my regular sewing machine.  Very tiny stitch areas and my one far away eye and one close up eye didn't want to focus very well.  Still turned out pretty nice.  Hope Mom likes it.  

Here is my personal rug mug finished.  I really like it.  I stitched in the ditch all around the design and called this one "done".

And I wanted to show you some CLOSE UP butterflies that attracted my attention because of the BEADS:

The quilt itself was folded in half and hanging on a wire from the ceiling.  I had to take two pics to capture it.  Don't care for the borders at all, but I like the rest.

That is it for fast internet.  Back to Kingston tomorrow.

Hugs, Joy

Mug Rug Tutorial Video

I only have a few minutes.  The weather here in Edmond is SOOOO NICE today, I have to go out and play.  I have to get something for Terry that she really needs, but she doesn't know it.  Then I might go to Hancock's or maybe JoAnn's.  Wish my friends were still here!

So,
HOW does one make a mug rug?

Here is a video tutorial I did this morning if you happen to care:

And here is a picture of the mug rugs I made for Princess Di and Deb.

You will have to see the video I made in the last post to see the one I made for Paula.  She LOVED it, by the way.

And I'm heading out to investigate some fabric stores!

Hugs, Joy