Friday, April 19, 2013

Happy Dance! This Top is Finally Finished.

I'm so happy to share this one with you since I needed advice from some of y'all to help me get this one together.  The double frames with the dark brown and the stripe made everything much better.

If there is a next time with this pattern, I'll pick my fabrics more carefully to use a high contrast light or dark for the frames.

Anyway, it's been a pretty day for sewing and cleaning house.  An audiobook kept me engaged and distracted me from the live news broadcasts. 

Since the afternoon allows, I think I'll return to the dragon on the quilting frame.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

Friday, April 12, 2013

Mad About Plaid

Car Quilt
To prepare for our guild's Show N Tell last night, I worked on the final part of hand sewing the binding yesterday afternoon.  I had a little extra unscheduled time since school's closed early with the threat of stormy weather.  I gave myself permission to leave work early as well and supervised as my teens did several loads of laundry to prepare for a retreat this weekend.

Then, we had to cancel the guild meeting (the mayor closed City Hall, which is our guild's meeting place), so I had the gift of even more unscheduled time.  I could get used to this!  Taxes are now ready to be mailed and I was able to vacuum the studio.

I love that thrill of crossing a finish line!  It's nice to know this little quilt is ready to be used.  It was made from 6 or 7 thrift store men's shirts.  There's a previous post here.
And also here (with a link to the pattern)

So my plan is for this one to ride in the car and be ready for action.  An impromptu picnic, a cool evening, whatever ....  

Although I don't consider myself to be a big fan of plaid, I really like this pattern and all the fabrics in it.   I think I might start being mad about plaid!

No tool shed photos today.  Hoping to paint some trim and have it ready to attach tomorrow.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Dragon's Wings

I'm slowly working on the Project Linus top to transform it into a young boy fighting a dragon.  The top was donated and I thought it would make a great canvas.

One of my teens sketched out the scene on paper and I transferred it to the fabric using chalk....  which promptly erased into a cloud of mess.  So the blue/purple fabrics are not conducive to using the blue erasable pen. 

I'll post what ends up working.  For now, I'm re-chalking as I go.

Since my husband likes to share our tool shed progress with friends at work, I'm including yesterday's photos.  I stayed home to get an estimate on replacing our fence and spent the entire day coating the shed with green paint.
Western face
Please 'cuse the mess.  We have some cleanup work to do.
 
Front face

South and East faces
Here's Mr. SeeingStars posing to take the credit for my labor.  He's about to start the second coat while I go inside and figure out what is causing a horrible odor in our fridge.   Isn't he adorable?  I love his pose here.

By the way, we've discovered an amazing weight loss tool....  When there's a horrible odor in the fridge, no one wants to snack.  They even weigh the pros and cons of just going hungry, rather than opening the door.  After throwing out all our frozen shrimp, I found the culprit to be a container of mushrooms which had gone over to the Dark Side of the Force.

Between working on the shed and trying to keep up with my younger teen (aka The 5'10" Long Legged Gazelle) as we train for a 5K run in May, I've had no problems sleeping lately.  My bedtime has moved up a few hours and I literally fall asleep.  A few nights ago, I tried to put my head down at the dinner table.  Reminded me of days past when our toddlers fell asleep in the middle of their dinner.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars