Cardinal Neighbors

We discovered a family of Cardinals living in our Ligustrum tree just beside the house. It seems that at least one of the little babies is getting adventurous and hopped out of the nest. The other two babies have, stayed in the nest. They are so cute. Mommy and Daddy Cardinal have been busy gathering bugs to feed the babies. They even flew into our garage. I'm hoping they got that big roach I saw in there the other evening. I don't think the babies can fly yet. At least I haven't seen them trying, plus they don't have tails. Don't they need tail for rudders when flying? Anyway it's been fun watching this little family.

Clutter Keeper project....

Went to the Sweet Pickins Club meeting today and made this cute little Clutter Keeper. A fun little organizer which is perfect for the sewing table, desk or for storing make-up. These would make great little gifts. I made small Yo-Yo buttons for decorations on the front. I purchased a couple of different size Yo-Yo making templates which makes them quick and easy. This pattern called for one large Yo-Yo button, but I decided to add three small ones.

Calendar Quilt Wall Hangings....

This is my March, Bird House wall hanging. These are made using the Calendar Quilt patterns. Quick, easy and fun to do. The applique isn't too hard, but does require some time.This is called April Showers. I used variegated thread for this one.This is the May Flowers wall hanging, shown on my floral, wire wall hanger.

This is the June Watermelon quilted wall hanging. These little ants were a little tricky to cut out and applique. Still it was a fun project.

I've really enjoyed making these calendar quilts. They hang each month in a niche in our foyer so everyone who enters can enjoy them as well..

Tablet Case....

Today we had a class on using the Bernina Needle Punch Tool to do machine felting using decorative yarn and threads. We made this little case using the "The Reader" pattern by Susie Shore Designs. It's a cute travel case for storing most small e-Reader, i.e. Kindle, Nook, Sony and my Galaxy Tablet (pictured). It has a removable strap and a front pocket for storing stuff and a read-through vinyl pocket which doesn't interfere with the touch screen of the tablet or e-Reader. It doesn't require a lot of fabric. I used three fat quarters and had plenty of fabric left over. It was fun using the needle punch tool to create the butterfly. The gold metallic thread was a nice touch for a little extra bling. I used a glass bead and a purple hair band for the closure. The pattern can easily be adjusted to fit different sized e-readers or tablets.

Birthday quilts..

OK, I've finally finished and delivered the quilts, but managed to snap some photos before they went to their new homes. I had to hang them outside on the trellis in order to get the photosI was careful not to quilt too much over the horses so as not to distort their beauty. Haley just loved the quilt. Kierstin's dolphin quilt below was done using the lattice pattern around the center panel like Haley's quilt, then I had to make all the other squares the right size so it would all come together correctly. Gave me fits, but it finally worked out really well.

I stitched around the dolphins, turtles and some of the fish, then did a wavey pattern for a wattery look. I think it worked out really well for my first attempt at this type of quilting. Here's a little closer look. Kierstin was really pleased with the quilt and the colors. Me too. :)

The front of Kierstin's pillowcase is done with one of the quilt panels and the back side is done with the swirled fabric seen on the bottom and left.

The top of Haley's pillowcase is made with a panel from the quilt as is the cuff. Below is the back side of the pillowcase...

I've been working on two quilts for my granddaughters, Haley and Kierstin. Haley loves horses so of course hers is the horsey quilt and Kierstin loves dolphins, so hers has dolphins on it. I was able to piece together fabric to make pillow cases for them as well. The dolphin quilt backing is done in shades of blue with dolphins all over it, and the horsey quilt backing fabric looks like grass. I laid them out on Mom's bed to get pics and all I need to do now is finish quilting and binding them. I plan to shadow quilt around the horses and dolphins in the panels. Hope to finish them today, as today is their birthdays. Hope they like them. :)

Valentine Table Topper/Wall Hanging...

This Valentine wall hanging is a little large for my walls so I think I'll use it next year for a table topper. It's also large enough to be used as a lap quilt. I used my Bernina 830 sewing machine to do the machine and free motion quilting. The photos of the back side show the quilting detail. It's fun to use the built in quilting patterns, though the multi hooping takes more time than the free motion quilting. This pattern was from the Sweet Pickins Club. Can't wait to show it off at our Bernina Creative Club meeting next week. I always enjoy seeing everyone's creations which are great for inspiration.

Valentine Table Runner

Just finished this little Valentine table runner using the "Bread And Butter" pattern. I didn't use the outer boarder since I didn't like the look of the fabric I chose and really didn't need it that wide anyway. I did free motion quilting on it putting little hearts here and there. This was the first time I've attempted to quilt using anything other than a meandering quilting pattern. I put it on our buffet in the dining room.

Bag and Pin Cushion...

This pin cushion and trash bag was a fun little Sunday project which we made at the Bernina Sewing Center of Lake Mary a few days ago. The owner Melody was our instructor and gave us lots of helpful hints. She also provided us with crushed walnut shells to use in filling the pin cushion part. This was a project which I've been wanting to do for some time. It's really handy and fits anywhere you need a cushion and bag. I think I'll make some for Christmas gifts.

My new Bernina 380....

Today I purchased this Bernina 380 sewing machine for using at classes when I don't want to haul my big Bernina 830 with the embroidery module. This purchase was brought on by my broken elbow which keeps me from picking up my big machine. This little machine has 115 built in stitches with fast stitch selection for precise sewing and patchworking. A bright LCD display, needle treader, automatic buttonhole feature, quick reverse button, speed control, two spool holders, thread cutter, LED sewing light, extension table, hands free system, 8 sewing feet and many extras. This is a great little machine which sews like the big boys with lots of features to help sew projects with ease. The 20 year warranty on the Berninas is definitely a good reason to own one. Can't wait to get started sewing with it.

Valentine Wall Hanging & Pocket Canister......

This Valentine wall hanging was another fun and easy project. It's now hanging in my foyer. The hanger came from the Bernina store and I thought was a perfect match for this project. I plan to make a matching table runner if I can find the same or similar fabrics.

This little pocket canister was made to fit over a #10 can. It has lots of pockets, inside and out for storing sewing tools or many other items. It has a little drawstring on the bottom so the cover can be removed for washing. Several of us made it today at the Bernina Sewing Centre using the Lynn Knox pattern "Pocket Canister". Our instructor, Cheryl, had kits made for us so the sewing part went quick and easy. I just love using pre-cut kits which save a lot of fabric cutting time.

Another purse....

This is a purse I made this past Saturday. I added a hard bottom and several inside pockets. The leather handles were a nice touch with pink buttons added to match the flowers. I'm thinking of adding a center divider, perhaps with a zipper pocket. This was a fun project and closely matches one of my floral blouses with like colors.

More sewing projects....

Halloween table runner was made using a computer applique program. A fun and easy project.

This Holly table runner was another fun and easy project. The pattern was part of the Sweet Pickins club. The holly is appliqued.

I quilted the center sections using very small stippling. We had a class which was very helpful with different cutting instructions than what came with the pattern.

This table topper was done using the Snowman Collector's cd. I'm looking forward to doing a winter quilt using this program. I'm thinking of using blues next time.I enjoyed making this Fall pumpkin table runner with appliqued stems and my favorite, Batik fabrics.

This Pumpkin table topper has quilting using a pre-programmed quilt pattern in my Bernina machine.This is a Christmas wreath wall hanging. It was done using the Little Twister tool for cutting the squares. This was a fun and easy project.