Circus Bear Pincushion

I haven't been in the mood to sew the last couple of weeks...there, I said it!  

I don't know why but the Blahs hit me hard this month.  I am dipping my toes back in with a cute feltie pattern I found here from RicRac. 

 I added a blanket because I couldn't bear to stick pins in the bear!!

I still need to find a cute button for his tail.

We interrupt Spring Cleaning for a New Toy

So how many of you can relate to the following...

Me: I need another sewing machine, I want one to run when the power is out...maybe a Crank Singer?  Hmmm...3/4 size... it won't take up much space...I have visions of a 99 model, I think...

Husband: How many machines do you have now?

So I don't think I have so many when I compare notes with friends but yes, I have 5 counting a Serger and a smallish portable Kenmore that I take to classes. 

And the machines I have seen for sale so far come with higher price tags then I've wanted to spend so I have just been biding my time...

Then, the husband visits a moving sale at a neighbors last night and brings home this with a victorious smile...

And so I crooned to my new 1956 Kenmore...no, sweetie...we will not let the bad man try to turn you into a cranky...

I have a "project car" that is a 1949 Mercury...it is far from driveable...but I hope someday to have the time and $ to finish it.  This sewing machine's styling reminds me of my lead sled.

Anyone know anything about these...no manual but it seems to run quiet, I will have to ask the owners about it's provenance tomorrow at church...

What is Your Superpower Stitching Hop - My Day!

Today is my day to show and tell for the What is Your Superpower Stitching Hop...
 
Thanks again to the wonderful Mdm Samm for her inspiration and guidance through all these fun hops this year and thanks to the lovely Pauline for organizing, cheering and making this one a complete success :)


I thought about this one for about 5 seconds before coming up with my entry for this hop...

What is Your Superpower?

Hmmmm.... 

My Superpower is Coloring Outside the Lines!!

Yes, this is where I admit that I have a bit of a lot of trouble following a pattern...I often feel the need to change it up and make it mine...sometimes this results in a wonderful finish...sometimes I end up in a bit of a pickle because I over complicate the project or confuse myself ...but it always results in a finish I can call my own, for the good or bad!


So-
 this was my starting point...

I hand embroidered the words in Perle DMC floss and then got out some lovely 12 weight wool Aurifil thread in complimentary colors to the Kaffe Fassett border print I used...

 Ah...yes...could have stopped here...this looks nice...

 Ahhhh...this is more like it...


So here is my finished flimsy top 12" x 17" with the lines backstitched and hand embroidered in...all scribbly-like...

 

framed

 I decided to frame it to hang alongside my other minis in my sewing room...sorry, not the best pictures...between the wind and snow it has been a poor week for photos but you get the idea.

I have made all of these minis for past Sew We Quilt blog hops other than the "Sew" one with the arrows which was made by Emily aka Emedoodle ,who I was lucky enough to have as a swap partner this year...thanks again for an awesome mini Emily...it looks great with the others :)

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll take the time to visit these great bloggers I share the day with today...

WEDNESDAY APRIL 16

krislovesfabric<-you are here!

My Addiction to Quilting
Needle and Hook
Sew Incredibly Crazy
Lixie Makes It
Seams To Be Sew

Poppy block

 So, I finally have made it back to the GTSB quilt and the next block up was the "Poppie block" (Poppy?)...I chose to do this using freezer paper piecing and needle turn applique and was happy to end up with a correctly sized 6 1/2" in block!  Yay! 

 Here are the blocks I have made so far along with some future fabric choices together on my design space.

And, here are some daffodil pictures I took this weekend from my flower beds to prove it is starting to look more like Spring around here...

 I am NOT going to mention the snow outside today as I am trying to ignore it...

Finally, No More Snow!!

Frosty is no more...

This is what was left of our mighty tall snowman from this years crazy amount of snow...funny how it all settled this way after the melt.  The arms will be stored for next year...but probably not the carrot!!

After a bit of vacation, I am doing a bit of sewing but it is for projects I can't show quite yet...but soon!

Hope you all are getting more done than I am  :)

A Fun Club and Learning a New Skill

So I joined this club to learn more about making softies...since I had so much fun with elephants last year...
 

Wendi at Shiny Happy World just started it this year so this was the first shipment that I received for February...

A kit to make a bunny rabbit...

I learned how to make sculpted toes...and work with a cuddle fleece material that really does feel like the stuff they use to make the stuffed things you buy at the store...very soft!!

Cutie-big feet...

 Cute rabbit face...pattern suggested whiskers but I liked him better without them...rebel, yes I am...I also placed the ears slightly different than the pattern just to give him a different look.

 Bunny bottom...

Squishy Bunny tail...

True confessions, though...the material sheds terrible as you work with it...and I was a bit stressed about that and had to vacuum me, the bunny and my workspace a couple of times through the process...
The finished "guy" doesn't shed though...Wendi has since suggested putting the cut pieces in the dryer to help with the shedding but I haven't tried that and the thought makes me a bit nervous...hmmmm....funny it bothers me, as my workspace is far from neat and tidy!!
Also- this material stretches a bit more than the fleece I've worked with from JoAnn's so I was glad this wasn't a fussy pattern with small pieces.  
All, in all...it went together quick and easy and I am happy to have learned a few new tricks :)  Thanks Wendi!

I was able to gift this bunny earlier this week to a special young niece, Nicole and she has named her "Zinnia"...yay!

Click this link at the top of this post if you want to join the club...you have until the end of this month to get in on the next shipment in April...

Happy National Quilting Day

Did you celebrate today?  I had an opportunity to go to a local quilt show with my friends Linda, Elsie and Zonya...had a great time and picked up a few things from the vendors...

One was this pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts and the templates to make cutting it a snap...so, of course I had to sew one up and try it out...

 I still need to press it a bit and applique the circle down but, you get the idea...

My apologies to those that think Mr. Charming is creepy...I know not everyone is a fan of Tula Pink's Prince Charming froggie...but I am, lol!!

I found a wooden stiletto aka chopstick or skewer to be very helpful in pressing the 3d star tips on this block. 

There are great tips for sewing dresden blocks on Bunny Hill Designs site here.

PS-I also picked up this bee fat quarter and would love yardage but alas...no selvedge...anyone know what this is?