February OPAM tally

February was a good month for me .... project wise ..... as in completed projects.  Can we say 'yeah'?!

First off was my ottoman (which I posted about here):

Then, a knitting frenzy resulted in 4 dishcloths and 4 hand towels that were Xmas gifts to Debra and no-blog Mary (my We 3 Quilters buds) when they were recently here for a 4-day visit.

This glider rocking chair finally got .....

... cushions made just in time for the visit of Debra and Mary (more on that later).

I am so glad to have joined the 2013 OPAM challenge .... it will motivate me to accomplish more and get projects done!

Have a great day!

A different kind of sewing

Lately, I've been busy doing some re-upholstery pieces and there are a few more things to be fixed.

First up, this storage box was picked up at a thrift store for $10.  We've seen it there for over a month and if things linger there too long, it gets trashed.  I saw the needlework and just knew that it was coming home with me.  Whoever did the work, would not have been pleased to see it in the garbage.  Now that it has been washed and dried, I'll keep the needlework for something else. 

 

After a good cleanup, the upholstery was started and after half a day of work, it was done.  It will provide extra storage and we always need extra storage, don't we!  One thing I've done was to coat the corners of the box with Vicks Rub (learned about this on Pinterest) to keep the girls from using it as a scratching post.  So far, they have stayed away from it.  The cost for this project was $10 (for the box) plus $5 for the fabric.  The scrap batting came from my stash and we reused all the hardware. We could not have made this from scratch for $15.  This was a great find.

 

 

Next up is this chair.  The foam has been bought and the fabric is coming from my stash.

 

My friends Debra and Mary (of my We 3 Quilters group) are coming in less than 2 weeks for a visit and I need to have my studio cozy and comfortable for them.  Debra gave me this chair before we moved and it has been sitting unfinished since then.  Shame on me! 

 

I do have borders on my school house top, but want to surprise them before posting about it.  So, stayed tuned for that in a few weeks.

 

Have a great day!

Log cabin and review

Back in December, I was approached about doing a review for a Fons and Porter ebook along with a number of other quilters in blogland.  It has been interesting to read their reviews.  Now, the time has come to do my review.

For my review, I have chosen to take one pattern and work on it and see what it turns out like.

This is the pattern that I have been wanting to make since I saw it:

This is it .... just the one page.  No other instructins.  No yardage .... not even for the borders. The instructions for the setting triangles and corners are vague.  This pattern would be considered challenging (but it is not rated at all).  Regardless, I love a challenge and this pattern ticks off all of those boxes for me.

To help me with the cutting, I made a chart to guide me for cutting two strips from the same fabric.  The chart in the pattern (you have to click onto the photo above to see what I mean) just did not work for me, but it was a good starting off point.

Once the strips were cut out, they were laid on a board in the order of how they are to be sewn. 

Since the pattern did not indicate which direction the seams are to be pressed, I opted to press my seams open.  BTW, it turns out that the seams could be pressed any way and it won't interfere with the adjoining blocks. 

 Two blocks got made very quickly.

What the heck, how about another two blocks.

Yes, I'm loving these blocks and this pattern.  Also, there are no cutting errors with this pattern and that is nice to see.

What do I think about this ebook? 

• There are seven quilts.  Four are rated (with complete instructions), three are not rated (vague instructions).    
• There is a quilt for every person at the easy, intermediate and challenging level.
• There are great tips. 

Thank you to the Fons and Porter team for asking me to review their ebook.  The experience was interesting, it was a thrill being asked and I can tick this item off my bucket list.

Go here and check it out for yourself and make your very own log cabin quilt.

Have a great day!