Shirley Anne’s Heart

Posted By drsao on May 21, 2008

Ever since I saw a featured quilt artist (can’t remember who) on Alex Anderson’s program “SIMPLY QUILTS” I have been wanting to try the technique of REVERSE APPLIQUE. 

Last year, I even bought a book on how to do it (where else, at the Quilter’s Corner.)

May 22, 2008 is my 20th wedding anniversary so I decided to make Max something this year…..and that something is a Raggedy Reverse Applique Heart Heat Buddy.  Here is the front of it.  I think he will like it since his favorite color is blue.  It seems like a good size  -12 1/2″ square (because that is the size of my OMNIGRID ruler….LOL)

Here is the back of the Heat Buddy…..

 

I decided to let the edges rough up and ravel naturally.

The front of the Heat Buddy has a top layer of the blue cotton fabric….under that a layer of blue t-shirt cotton material and then finally a layer of the red striped fabric.

I stitched a heart shape through all three layers of fabric and then cut away the heart through the top two layers (the light blue and the blue t-shirt material) so that only the red shows as a heart shape!

Then I added another layer of cotton quilt batting QUILTED to another layer of the light blue fabric.

The bottom of the Heat Buddy has one layer of blue t-shirt cotton material under the outside layer of the blue cotton material.  (That makes six layers total .)

Then I just stitched about 3/4 inches inside the outside edges with a decorative blanket stitch…..and…..

Now here is the GOOD PART. 

INSIDE it is filled with uncooked white rice dusted with LOTS of ground cinnamon.  It smells so good.  After I sewed up the STUFFING HOLE, I put the HEAT BUDDY into the microwave for two minutes and then put it on my shoulders…..oh my, did it ever feel AND smell wonderful.

I am not sure if it is washable or not….I would guess it is – the fabric is cotton and you can wash rice (the cinnamon might wash out and turn everything brown?)  Or…..I guess it can be used until it needs to be replaced!

I HOPE HE LIKES IT – OR – MAYBE I HOPE HE DOESN’T LIKE IT (then I am sure I could FORCE myself to use it whether I need to or not!)  It was fun to make!  Goodness, even if I never used it, I would love to just smell it. 

Maybe I will make myself a rice/cinnamon pin cushion

(I wonder if cinnamon would corrode pins?)

Category: Heat Buddy | 2 Comments »
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Posted By drsao on May 20, 2008

Monday, May 19, my grandangel in California, CHASE,  turned 17 and he did a great job on his S.A.T.s  He is still a bit young to vote, but he has made his political choice with gusto.

Monday was a big day of celebration!

Also on Monday, I was  the substitute teacher for grandangel, Sarah’s second grade class.  Does Sarah look happy with her little Webkinz mouse on her head?

Usually, at the end of the year the children are EXTREMELY excited and not prone to listening – so grandangel, Leanna, made me a puppet and we named her MS. TOODLES.

I went to school armed with two bags of candy (rewards for only the very best behavior) and I placed Ms. Toodles on the blackboard with a magnetic clamp.  She watched the children so that she could decide who would get candy at the end of the day.  I then taught the children how to be LOUD in SIGN LANGUAGE and how to say WOW, WAY TO GO, and I taught them how to say “close your mouth, please” in French.  They loved it!  I also taught them the BRAIN DANCE – to get the wiggles out and to relax them at various points during the day.

You may not have heard of it (since I made it up!) So if you are a teacher or a sub (or a regular “normal” person LOL) – you may want to try this little brain break

(exercise and relaxation – and laughter – deliver oxygen to the brain!)

B   breathe in to the count of four and then out to the count of four

R   raise up on your toes to the count of four twice

A   raise your arms up to the count of four and then down to the count of four

I   imitate a smile (facial smile excercises) to the count of four – twice

N   nod the head IN SLOW MO….very gently – front – left – back – right – repeat

We had an absolutely WONDERFUL AND UNUSUALLY PEACEFUL DAY!  Ms. Toodles was proud to present candy to every single child in the class.  Who would have thought that such model behavior could result from a bag lady with candy! 

I had such a GOOD DAY with those second graders (although I must say that it was a humbling experience when we talked about PAST vs PRESENT times and the kids didn’t know what a record player or a typewriter was!  When I asked them how they thought a person could correct a mistake on a typewriter – one child said, ‘It must have a DELETE button!”  These are children of the computer age for sure!)

And Tuesday, May 20, my grandangel Cooper graduated from preschool…..and Grandma Shirley cried because all of the little children were so cute!  They walked in, sang several songs and then were presented with their graduation certificates while the teacher announced what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Cooper’s aspiration is to be a STAR WARS JEDI!

 

Quilting…..a day without quilting is like a day without chocolate!

I am so excited about my progress with my Grandmother’s Flower Garden….I am LOVING it and find it very relaxing to do the handwork.  My friend, Sheddy, taught me a new and improved way to paper piece (not sewing through the paper but making a little stitch at each line intersection through the fabric only – but still folded around the paper template.)  I love learning new things and I am getting faster and faster….

Here is a close up of a completed flower….I love these 30’s fabrics!

 

And this is what I have sewn together!  (This is addictive!!!)

You are probably supposed to sew these together in a more systematic way

– but for now, it works!

AND….I just finished the Quilter’s Corner Block of the Month blocks from civil war reproduction fabrics…I was SO PLEASED (and amazed) that my points came out relatively well!

 

I love these blocks so much – I have made two for April and two for May!

I also sewed the binding on two quilts and pieced a quilt back today….WHOO HOO!

And that is NOT ALL!  Today my daughter and I got  pedicures compliments of my husband for Mother’s Day.  Christi may just FAINT when she sees her feet published in a mother-daughter pose!  But, oh well, silliness is good for the soul!

On the way to get our pedicures we HAD to stop for Starbucks and at Barnes and Noble I got another James Patterson book.  HONEYMOON.

I have only read the first 71 pages – it is wonderful so far – and guess who is NOT going to sleep tonight!  There are not enough locks on the doors for me to sleep tonight!

I can tell that this is going to be a good week –

look what fun I’ve had in only the first two days!

Category: Book Recommendation, Life Comments, Quilter's Corners BOM, SAO's Grandangels | 1 Comment »
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Posted By drsao on May 18, 2008

Hawaiian OHANA Log Cabin Quilt

Made by sao for brother, Dan,

and sister-in-law, Glenda

May, 2008

 

OHANA means family

and the pattern for the quilt is LOG CABIN

 in the BARN RAISING configuration.

  I named it the

 Hawaiian OHANA Log Cabin

 

I will deliver it to Kansas City, Missouri in July!  J

 

Susan (quilt designer, owner  of the Quilter’s Corner and my friend) selected the fabrics after Dan sent me a detailed description of colors and fabrics that they would like for their quilt.

 

 

Ok – so this is a start…

 

 

It is growing……

 

Borders are on ….only thing left is the quilting and binding….:)

 

Category: Hawaiian OHANA Cabin | 2 Comments »
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Posted By drsao on May 18, 2008

  I got this e-mail from the folks at my FAVORITE QUILT STORE, and my second home (once while I was away in CA on a vacation, my four-year old grandangel, COOPER, told his mom that I had gone to my quilt store – now that was a LONG shopping spree!)

See the e-mail from the QUILTER’S CORNER in MIDLOTHIAN, VA

 
We are pleased and honored to announce that
Quilter’s Corner has been selected by

Better Homes and Gardens®
American Patchwork and Quilting®

as a Top Ten Quilt Shop

to be featured in the Fall 2008 issue
of Quilt Sampler magazine!
 
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR
SUPPORT AND FRIENDSHIP!
 
Stay tuned for exciting events as we await
the arrival of the magazine in September.
Reserve your copy today!

 

The Quilter’s Corner is going to be even MORE FAMOUS after September….Congratulations to Susan (and Mr. Susan)  and the other nice folks at Quilter’s Corner!  Congratulations to my friend, Sheddy, too.  She and her husband (Martha Washington’s son) gave birth to the Quilter’s Corner – figuratively speaking.  :):)

 

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Posted By drsao on May 18, 2008

What a title for this blog entry…..but I guess I have a lot to share. 

I have been having LOTS OF FUN….Saturday, May 17, has been a very good day.

DEAR JANE QUILT

We had our first DEAR JANE  QUILT SUPPORT GROUP (uhm…I think we are calling it a CLUB) meeting at Quilter’s Corner May 15.  It is going to be lots of fun.  I am motivated and in love with all of these tiny blocks.  It was fun to see what other people had done…….my friend Sheddy had made some VERY IMPRESSIVE BLOCKS (a TOTAL OF twenty!!) including a block with a star with points so small that I cannot even imagine how she did that! 

Here is what I have done so far…. and BTW I also got motivated to put my PRACTICE blocks (RED AND WHITE) into plastic sleeves!  Now I just need to find a very cute CIVIL WAR type of notebook to put the plastic sheets into!

So left to right….A-6 Uncle Homer, I-1 Ralph and Nelda’s Wedding and 1-2 Kaye’s Courtyard

(I love the names of these blocks!)

And here are the REAL ONES…

A-6 Uncle Homer

1-1 Ralph and Nelda’s Wedding

and I-2 Kaye’s Courtyard

The CLUB members are PREDICTING that I will stop making practice blocks after awhile…..HM…..stay tuned and we shall see…..:)  I think that I will end up with TWO Dear Jane Quilts – the REAL one and my PRACTICE red and white one!

BEACH RETREAT QUILT

MY BEACH RETREAT QUILT IS FINISHED.  🙂  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to cross a UFO off my TO DO LIST!!!  I went to an all day SIT N STITCH Friday at the Quilter’s Corner and I finished putting the binding on my BEACH RETREAT QUILT (designed by Susan Emory and I think she has a few kits left for sale at the QC!)  Cuddles TINKERBELLE (our baby cat) promptly perched on the quilt – giving it her stamp of approval.  🙂

There is something about yellow and blue that is just absolutely comforting – dreamy!!  Cuddles TINKERBELLE does not want to give up her position on the new quilt! 

Cats are just DELIGHTFUL WONDERFUL furry people.  They are so affirming and giving.  I bet that I would get an UNCONDITIONAL DISPLAY of LOVE for a less than beautiful quilt (hopefully I will never get a chance to test that theory!)

BROWNIES

And now – my PROUDEST MOMENT on my list of today’s accomplishments is that I SEWED ALL OF THE PATCHES ON GRANDANGEL SARAH’S BROWNIE VEST……and just in the nick of time (she becomes a GIRL SCOUT ON May 27.)

I love Sarah, I love the Brownies and I used to be one!  HOWEVER, sewing those patches on is sheer torture and has to be included on my LIST OF NOT SO FAVORITE THINGS.  So count the number of patches on this vest and multiply each of the patches times about 8 or 9 and you will know how many HOLES are in my fingers! 

Now – if someone out there would like to win the favor, admiration and LOVE of mothers and grandmothers of BROWNIES, GIRL SCOUTS and BOY SCOUTS around the world……please invent a way to get these VERY THICK – HARD TO GET A NEEDLE THROUGH patches onto vests or sashes WITHOUT SEWING! 

COFFEE AND TEA

I really had fun tonight – I tea dyed some white fabric blocks – LIPTON regular tea – 3 bags!  I have been dying (:)) to do this for the longest time and as a reward for getting the BROWNIE PATCHES SEWN ON…..I took a tea dyeing break.

Here are my 8 blocks hanging up to dry on my ironing board.  I am very happy with them – I think they will go into my SPLIT NINE-PATCH ONLINE SWAP BLOCKS!

And since I was having TOO MUCH FUN I decided to dye some white blocks using COFFEE mixed with my daughter, Christi’s,  LIQUID INTERNATIONAL BRAND FRENCH VANILLA CREAMER (I drink my coffee black – so I had to use hers!)  The blocks turned out to be really CUTE – a nice soft creamy color.  This activity really made me smile – and the blocks smell nice too!  I mean they smell – REALLY – REALLY – good!  Maybe it was the combination of that MAJOR DICKINSON PEET’S COFFE combined with the FRENCH VANILLA…….I think someone should invent a potpourri from this combination!

SARAH’S FIRST CAT QUILT

Sarah – my 8 year old grandangel – told me that FOR SOME REASON – SHE DIDN’T KNOW WHY – she had an urge to make a quilt.  WHOO HOO….I was so excited!  I can’t even tell you HOW excited I was.  SHE WANTED TO MAKE A CAT QUILT for her Webkinz animals.  She said she wanted it to be very wide so that several of her WEBKINZ friends could snuggle under it together.

I gave her some 3 1/2″ square white blocks ironed onto freezer paper and Sarah climbed up on my bed and began to draw some of her favorite  cats on the  white blocks.  (Patsy – thank you SO MUCH for the DONATED GIFT of those white blocks that you gave me on Saturday!!!!!)

   

Then I pulled out my 50 EXTRA four patches of 2″ squares (thank you Bonnie Hunter) and let Sarah choose some for her quilt….she alternated Cat Blocks with four-patches and she pinned the blocks onto paper making sure that the darks and the lights were all lined up the way that she liked!

I let Sarah use my Brother DUETTA sewing machine (MY DREAM MACHINE) – she thought it was a little scarry trying to keep the quarter inch seam straight – but I put on the walking foot and she liked the way it WALKED along over the seams!  (You can tell she is tense – look at her pursed lips!)

 

I let Sarah press her seams using a pressing cloth (I didn’t want her to scorch her first quilt!)  She REALLY enjoyed the pinning, the sewing and the pressing!!

Sarah EVER SO CAREFULLY sewed all of the blocks together and then she chose  a 2 1/2″ border from some leftover binding that I had!  This is how far we got at bedtime.

I am going to have her sandwich the batting and the back and do the quilting on the machine (let’s just HOPE that I can remember what I learned in my MACHINE QUILTING CLASS!)  🙂

This was a VERY GOOD DAY………I love doing NEW THINGS (dyeing material) and MAKING MEMORIES (Sarah’s First Cat Quilt) and I also LOVE crossing things off my TO DO LIST – so I guess that means I enjoyed sewing on the BROWNIE PATCHES TOO?

Category: Beach Retreat Quilt, Dear Jane Quilt, My NOT so Favorite Things, SAO's Grandangels, Sarah's First Cat Quilt | 3 Comments »
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