Sew and Tell

Well, I just got back from LAST grocery store shopping for at least three weeks!  Actually quite happy about that… HATE grocery shopping!!  Don’t you?

Anyhoo, got a spice cake in the oven, and spiced apples in the crockpot.  I made two big pots of soup last week, which are frozen for later. 

I also made four tins of baked ziti, two tins of chicken pie, and two tins of chicken enchiladas last week, and all are also in the freezer, so my husband will just have to thaw, bake and add a salad, while I’m laid up with the new knee!

House is clean, laundry done, and all is ready for my total left knee replacement surgery on Monday!  But before I am incommunicado, I want to share some more things I’ve made lately!!

First off, before I had my right knee replaced on July 6th, I knew that putting my ten ton laptop on my lap/knees after the surgery was NOT going to happen,

I bought a cool Zagg keyboard for my ipad, which pretty much turned it into a tiny laptop!!  But I needed a case or cover for it, as the old one does not work with the new attached keyboard!

I had a stack of Mary Engelbreit squares leftover from a previous quit, so I used them to make a simple cover with a velcro tab.

It has worked really well as I recuperated from the surgery… very light weight and easy to use on a little padded lapboard I bought on Amazon!!

Our guild summer challenge was to do something “out of your box”…

so I DID!  Paper piecing is very out of my box!

I did make many mistakes…but learned as I went!

While the process does ensure accuracy, and wonderful points…

it’s still not my cup of tea! 

But I have LOTS of respect for those who do it!!

I also needed some modern looking placemats and table runner to put out in September with my “Back to School” decor.

I had some cool apple fabrics in my stash, so I added a few coordinating blenders…

and made big nine patch blocks which I cut into quarters and voila!!

The disappearing nine patch technique!!

I used the same brown word print for the center squares in all the nine patch blocks.  Really love how these turned out!!

And finally, going by how long it took me to get up the stairs to the second floor in my home after last knee surgery, and how long it took me to be able to sit in a regular chair and bend my knee at a 90 degree angle comfortably…

it was almost four weeks before I got into my sewing room to sit and sew!!

So, I have put together a big maple leaf lap quilt top

which is all sandwiched and ready to be quilted… HAND QUILTED !!  By ME!!! In the much easier Big Stitch style with pearl cotton thread!

So, I am ready for my knee surgery on Monday!!  YAY!

So, keep your fingers crossed for me, OK?  I probably won’t be fit to post for a few weeks!!

Yogi says hello and hopes you all are loving the cooler autumn temps!!  

I’m Still Alive!!

OK,OK… it’s been a while since I posted… been enjoying having my son Anthony home from VA Tech.  He’ll be going back to school in the next few days. :-(

 

We’ve been playing a new family word game at night after dinner.  Have you played it?

It’s fun and much faster than Scrabble.  So, I guess you could say I am SAVORing my time with my son!  :-)

Three of us in my office at work received iPads for Christmas.  I made myself a bag for mine immediately but my friends did not have a case for theirs… Sooooo, I made them each a new iPad sleeve!

I selected green fabrics of different values and texture and cut them into strips of various widths.  I sewed them together to make two sides and a flap to close it.

I layered the two pieces with some batting and quilted them with an allover meander.  I cut off the ends of both pieces and rounded the edges, and sewed them right sides together then turned and top-stitched it.

I added Velcro to the bag body and flap and I cut two pieces of Minkee for the lining.

Sew up the bag and lining side seams and make sure you leave an opening in one side of the lining to turn it through.

Sew up that opening in the lining, push the lining down inside the bag and topstitch around the top edge of the sleeve.

VOILA! TAAAA DAAAA!! All done!!  What are you all sewin’ on out there??  Something fun??