Saturday Sewing with Friends

Yesterday was my once a month get together with my friends for sewing and chatting. The weather here is absolutely beautiful! and it should be since we were freezing our bee-hinds off last week! ( 19deg one day and 79 the next week, no wonder I'm sniffling ) anyway, tirane has this marvelous re-do to her house where our big sewing table/her huge kitchen table looks out wide french doors into the yard. She had them open and the warm breeze was coming in, the birds were a-twittering, the kitty Murphy was having little kitty dreams, I was with my friends sewing and all was well with the world. It was Marvelous!

So, you might ask, what were you working on Beth? Let me tell you --

The day before ( or maybe it was Thursday, can't remember, I'm old, have that disease CRS { can't remember stuff}) I was at work and noticed that my coffee mug was on a folded paper towel ( and to make it worse, I had used it as a note pad ) and I thought

"Self! You are in need of a MUG RUG! "

I had been eyeballing these on different blogs and remembered seeing patterns on FatCatDesigns ( don't you just love her stuff! ), and I had also seen a mug rug on another blog that I like. But I couldn't just make one without help, so I kinda told / asked tirane if she wanted to make one too! "Of course", she said and rose to the challenge. You can see her's here on her blog.

I waited until leaving Saturday morning to find scraps for mine, duh, hows that for planning - talk a friend into making something with you and then show up with no fabric :) ( they aren't but 6x9 so I only needed scraps ) and while driving to our meeting I remembered seeing the one that Ryan Walsh has a tutorial for on his blog, I'M JUST A GUY WHO QUILTS ( do you follow him? he has some really cool ideas ) and i figured that my scraps would be just right for that. I didn't follow him exactly but used the idea, and I loved the straight line quilting that I did ( got that from him! ). I'm just so proud of myself!! LOL tee-hee-hee

So go see tirane's mug rug ( and she is giving her's away - leave her a comment ) and here is
mine including my new insulated mug with purple band wasn't I clever to get them to match??? I love the fabrics I used, but wish I had left the green/white for the border only. OH well,, I can always make more !!

and the back of the rug - with my new purple insulated mug. I can just flip it over and have a different rug each day!

Nope, no contest here, mine is a keeper, but really, go check out tirane's blog and leave her a comment. She's giving away hers ( bless her heart ) and maybe you can replace your folded up paper towel with notes all over it for a real nice desk accessory - a Mug Rug!.

Sunday Morning Fun

Doesn't have a darn thing to do with quilting - but I just wanted to share how I got my groove back this morning. I'm not sure what he is saying, but the eye candy is wonderful!

It's the guy who does the Old Spice commercials Watch and enjoy! ( sorry, he stays dressed )

Grandaughters are Wonderful

Have you had the pleasure of teaching your granddaughter or daughter how to sew?

This is my 8-1/2 year old granddaughter with my Featherweight. A couple of weeks ago I got the pleasure of staying with her and her 4 year old sister for the weekend while their parents went out of town. The 8 year old was all ready for my stay with plans all made out. She received her first sewing machine for Christmas and she wanted ME to help her learn how to sew!! It's one of the battery operated child ones with the needle encased in a plastic cover so no one gets their fingers sewn together. OUCH!

Well, first off, no batteries for the machine - yep, could have run out and bought some but I had my Featherweight with me (( silly Grandma, did you REALLY think you were going to have time to sew! )) so I thought to self "Self, she is a very responsible young lady, lets show her how to stitich strips on my little Featherweight!"

She did most excellently! She kept her fingers away from the needle ( after I warned her about what could happen ), she kept the speed just finewith the foot pedal, and she kept the edges lined up like she had been doing this for years -

I was doing the happy dance! The best part, is SHE LIKED IT!! Maybe now I have someone that might like to learn how to sew! ( Do you see the visions of us sewing and creating together dancing in my head? )

Now how about that Bear kit, Granma! ( talk about a fast moving attention span! 4 longs strips of fabric and she's ready to move on). Ok, she gets the kit and of course opens EVERYTHING, including the sequin pack that goes all over the table - but I'm a wonderful Granma, remember, so I don't say one little word <> )
with concentration like this, it's going to be a great bear! but, alas, the attention span goes ZIP ( or maybe she just doesn't like hand sewing! ) and so the kit is put away, with sequins in a snack bag, so that she and Mom can work on it.

So where is the 4 year old?? There is a picnic going on, in the middle of the floor, with dolls and animals and colors and OH GOLLY, I don't know what that child has brought in. (But I'm a wonderful Granma and don't say a peep :)

Mom quilts a little too. She has a sewing machine and decided that for Christmas she was going to make rag quilts for about a bizillion people. ( yep, told her to come shop my stash before she went and bought anything - helped me by clearing out some stuff and helped her, too! )

Mom made them a rag quilt each for Christmas and I tried to take their pictures with the quilts

but one didn't want to pose and the

other, well, no camera shy here.

I'm not giving up on the sewing lessons! It was just too much fun. Maybe for her birthday, she needs a REAL sewing machine! ( and how about a kit already cut out just ready to sew) and an afternoon of her and I and sewing machines.