I've been working on amandajeans 9-Patchquiltalong. I've got 42 blocks done so far! I know I have my own sewing room, but like I said, I'm enjoying sewing on my kitchen table. And even though I've got a big 'ol Singer sewing machine in the sewing room, I've been sewing on my new little Janome Sew Mini that I bought myself in March (bday gift to myself!) It's soooo awesome! I can lift it with one hand (6lbs) and I put it in my backpack and take it to school to work on projects with other teachers. It only has straight stitch and zigzag, but that's all you need to put a quilt top together, anyway! Hint, hint, Emily!!! I hope somebody (who we love and maybe got one of these through the mail for being such a sweetie) enjoys it as much as I do! It's also a great sewing machine to teach little one's with! Sewing in Oregon this summer!?! Oh, and I've been making juice pouch pencil cases for my students and I'll post a picture soon. In the meantime, here I am with my beloved Franklin. Don't I look like Lola!?!

9-Patches and Give Away Prize!

I joined amandajean's 9-Patch One-A-Day Quiltalong. The idea is to make a scrappy 9-Patch a day and by mid summer have enough blocks to make a good sized quilt. When I went to the Glendale Quilt Show last month I bought two $4.00 scrap bags and I'm using them for the quilt. Take a peek--I've made 15 blocks so I'm ahead--I'm having fun!

See the purse on top of the blocks? It's the giveaway prize I won on thepostitplace. It's from ohnoudidntdesigns etsy shop. The purse is sooo cute--cleverly and very nicely sewn reese's peanut butter cup wrappers that are sturdy, with a well designed layout and pockets to boot! I love it and appreciate the prize so much that I'm going to buy an uno card flap tote and a Habanero Doritos Eyeglass Case--Happy Mother's Day to me! AND, of course, Happy Mother's Day to you out there--specially Emily and Molly! (Stop by and see Molly's finished coin quilt--it's beautifully quilted and inspires me as to what mine can look like finished and Emily's crotched shoulder bag that's so cute and easy peasy!)

Two finished quilt tops!!!!

Finally--here are the two stacked coins quilt tops I finished! I used the stacked coins tutorial by crazymomquilts Amandajean. Her tutorial is awesome and I learned alot along the way. Foremost, I realized pinning the pieces together instead of just eyeballing them saved a lot of seam ripping! It's been 8 years since I've sewn/quilted so I'm having to relearn certain things but I'm really loving it. These two quilts are part of a trio of quilts I'm making for my three neices in Oregon. As you can see, I'm using the same material for them all but varying the pattern. I thought of making them individualized quilts -- blue for Delila Blu, sunny yellow for Lola Sunshine, and pink for Fiona Rose. But, those will be for a future date and with more heirloom quality so that they keep them forever--with love from Tia Nancy. Emily, there's no way around this--you won't be surprised since you read my blog! But, oh well, hopefully you'll love them anyway. Molly, thanks for the push to post. It's fun knowing somebody out there's interested!

On another note, even though I've got a sewing room, I've found that I prefer sewing at the kitchen table.
Seems it's where the action is, and it's so light and airy. Wherever I am, the cats and dog are there, too!
The two cats are cuddling on the first quilt my daughter made (I took her to a quilt class when she was 13.) The cats love it!

Cats and quilts

Just wondering...what's the deal with cats and quilts!?! Most quilt blogs I visit have pictures of their cats on their quilts, or just close up pics of the cats doing cute things. I'm not complaining, though. I have two cats and LOVE them! I have pictures of them laying on my sewing and sitting on my daughter's first quilt. I'm just wondering--do quilters love cats more than "normal" people do ;)

The ergonomics of sewing

I just came across this blog post about table and chair height for healthy sewing at CrazyShortcutQuilts. I've had a hard time with this because at first I was so excited I sewed for hours and was in pain--neck, upperback, and elbow pain (I'm pushin' 50 and have carpal tunnel and had shoulder surgery years ago.) I had to stop for a few days and now I just sew in spurts. I knew my sewing set up wasn't ergonomic since I learned all about that with my initial injuries. I'm going to try out her suggestions. Take a look for yourself.

Otherwise, the recycled "stuff" contest at school is going great! Kids have brought in their handmade goods--a dog sweater made out of long t-shirt sleeve, a really cool bracelet made out of canned drink pop tops, and a capri sun hat (the student taped together.) Awesome!

I have finished a couple of quilt tops. I know, I know--what's my problem? How come I haven't posted the picks? Okay, this weekend for sure! Happy May Day!