Rush Hour - the final days:
Monday, September 29
Coeur d'Alene (moved from the 26th)
Tuesday, September 30
Monday, September 29, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Parting Thoughts
We have seen the glory of God's work....
We have crossed over....
We have looked down from above....
And we're heading home....
With God's blessing over our shoulder.
Amen.
We have crossed over....
We have looked down from above....
And we're heading home....
With God's blessing over our shoulder.
Amen.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Rush Hour! Aka: The Caught In Construction/My Car Broke Down/Waiting In The Carpool Line Project
I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to join this hop! Thank you so much to Studio E for letting me play with your fabrics.....they were rich in color and a great quality as well. Red, black and gray - what's not to love about that? There were several of the fabrics I had the hardest time cutting into because I knew I'd be wishing for more when I used them all up, and I confess there was one I kept just smidgen of for "later". I literally used every scrap of the rest of the bundle! I did add a small bit of gingham because it was perfect with these fabrics.
And thank you to Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for hostessing us and to Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt - without these people we wouldn't have all this inspiration.
The name of this fabric line, Rush Hour, made me think of all the times I've sat in traffic, waiting for one more car length to move. And unfortunately the few times when I've had car trouble and been stuck by the side of the road waiting for the tow truck. And way too often for my sanity waiting in the carpool line or in some parking lot waiting for children or grandchildren to finish whatever activity they were involved in. Wouldn't it be nice if I had a bag of goodies/necessities in my car all the time for "just such a time as this." (Esther 4:14) And so my Rush Hour Bag was born. I cut 2 1/2" strips from all the fat quarters to form what reminds me of the lanes on the highway. :) I used black webbing for the straps and made them long enough that they will hang around the head rest in my car so the bag won't go tumbling into the floor when I have to stop suddenly and long enough that the bag will rest on the seat and not give undue strain to the straps.
The lining is white because it's soooo much easier to find things and I boxed the bottom a bit and added a piece of foam board on the bottom to stabilize it a little. Then I decided I should have a few zipper bags to organize things a little. I wanted to take my stitching, some handiwipes, a snack, a water bottle, a notepad and pen, some sunglasses, even a few of my favorite tea bags because I could always stop and get a cup of hot water if I'm traveling. You'd be surprised how much fits into this bag!
It's my "everything but the kitchen sink" bag.
Wipes, granola bars, ear buds, sunglasses....it holds it all.
And the cup fabric - how perfect was that for my favorite tea bags?
This time I stacked several buttons that were alike - they are really gray and not blue like they are showing in this picture.
Thinking cap on....what else would I need if I were stranded on the road? Once upon a time I had a Toyota that kept breaking down. Toyota you said? One of the most reliable cars in the world? Yep. Four times it quit on me going to work an hours drive away. And then I would have to wait an hour or two for the tow truck. Only me. Many times I wished I could get out of the car and sit under a shade tree but I had nothing to sit on. Or it would be cold and I didn't have anything to cover up with. So...a quilt it needed to be. I cut the rest of the fat quarters into the same 2 1/2" strips, with some gingham added, and made a strip quilt to go into my bag.
I cut all the strips, threw them into a sack and pulled them out blind. I sewed them end to end until I had one long strip and then put the two ends of the strip together and sewed those together, over and over until it became this size.
The quilting is straight line...a quarter inch on either side of the seams and the binding is the gingham because I had NOTHING left of the fabric. :) And ya'll are lucky to get these pictures because I had to maneuver around this guy to get them!
And the complete project....bag and quilt together! It's ready for me to pick up as I head out the door - packed and ready for any emergency.
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I am so in love with this bag and quilt! And the fabric....just wonderful. Thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure and visit the rest of the blogs on this hop; you're sure to be inspired!
Wednesday, September 24
Thursday, September 25
Friday, September 26
Monday, September 29
Tuesday, September 30
Monday, September 22, 2014
It's Rush Hour!
Tuesday, September 23
Wednesday, September 24
Thursday, September 25
Friday, September 26
Monday, September 29
Tuesday, September 30
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Up and Down We Go
Arkansas where I live is such a beautiful state....I love living here and I love living on the lake. But every once in a while we get a "hankering" to venture out a little further and see more of this wonderful country. A favorite camping place is Estes Park, Colorado. So we go up the mountains and down into the valleys pulling our fifth wheel camper. Sometimes I can stitch in the truck but sometimes the highways are just too bumpy and rough. The first day of this trip the bumpy roads in Oklahoma ate one of our camper tires. We've had that happen before but never before has it done this kind of damage.
We had some wonderful guys from Wildhorse Towing in Sallisaw change the tire and the next morning we bought a new one. The spare is on and the new one is now the spare, at least until we have another flat or get home to the camper repair shop. That's going to cost a pretty penny to get fixed! :(
But the second and third days were smooth sailing and we finally got to see this:
And now I must go and explore....the elk are probably waiting on me to get there before they start bugling. :) I'll be back in a day or two to show you some cute zippered bags I've been making.
We had some wonderful guys from Wildhorse Towing in Sallisaw change the tire and the next morning we bought a new one. The spare is on and the new one is now the spare, at least until we have another flat or get home to the camper repair shop. That's going to cost a pretty penny to get fixed! :(
But the second and third days were smooth sailing and we finally got to see this:
And now I must go and explore....the elk are probably waiting on me to get there before they start bugling. :) I'll be back in a day or two to show you some cute zippered bags I've been making.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
And The Winner Is....
Amy from Sew Incredibly Crazy...you are the winner of my giveaway! See You In September is over but don't worry...Rush Hour is coming. :)
Monday, September 15, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Twas The Night ....
What? Christmas? Already? Ya'll I went to the big Sam's store here a couple of weeks ago...in August... and they had Christmas trees up already! Since I'm one of those people who likes to have things done way ahead of time I've already started planning some gifts. My favorites are the ones I can make in a few hours or a night. You know things like small purses, appliqued tea towels, pajama bottoms, special cards, scissors fobs, decorated cookie jars, wine jackets....you get the picture? You can make as many of these as you want to show but the most fun part of this hop is that we are going to share one gift with another blogger on the hop. Once I put the list together the first person on the list will send a present to the second person on the list, the second person on the list will send a gift to the third person on the list, and so on. And remember it has to be something you've made in just a few hours or a night.
Madame Samm wrote this cute poem to give us a little inspiration...
T'was the night...
T'was the night before posting we're told it's a gift
a holiday present that has to conjure a lift...
It has to be made within hours, something so sweet
a pleasure to masses that has meaning so deep..
So if you can think of a gift or a tut to stitch
and you know it will take only hours to enrich..
then join us this season with hearts content
You know your time will be so well spent......
mdm samm
If you want to join us on this hop, and you know you want to, just send me an e-mail (mbushretired@gmail.com) with Twas The Night in the subject line. For this one I will need:
1. Your name
2. Your blog name
3. Your blog address
4. Your mailing address
I need your mailing address to share with the person who will be sending you a gift. It will not go to the whole group. And I will try to group people together by country to avoid excessive postage costs. However, if you do not mind mailing internationally please tell me that in the e-mail.
Your gift/project should be something small, something made in a few hours or a night, and something suitable for a gift. It might be Christmasy or it might be something designed particularly for a quilter (like a pincushion, needle holder, etc.) In addition to those directions here are a few small rules we will need for you to follow.
Guidelines
Anyone and everyone can participate in our HOPS.
If ever you wanted to have cheerleaders in your life
to cheer on your creativity….
well you do not need to look any further…
1. CREATE something that SHOUTS
T'was the night
2. BE a cheerleader for all those who participate, there is nothing
as heartfelt as your lovely comments.
3. Please turn off your word verification the day of your
post…you really do not want to miss any comments..
YOU have no idea how that one comment can be a life changer….
4. Be sure to add your post at midnight EST. WE have visitors
all around the world who like to get up like we do in North America
to your lovely creations…
5. Please ADD everyone including YOUR blog on your post
that day, so we can find everyone as easily as we found you..
6. MOST IMPORTANT, commit, if you don't, you have
taken the spot of someone else who I will be hearing about,
trust me there…
7. Add the button to your blog so everyone will note your
T'was the night
Are you ready? Wonderful! Send me an e-mail!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
It's September Already!
It's hard to believe that summer is over and fall is here and it's time to show our three projects for this blog hop! When I signed up for this one I thought how far away that date was and that it would be forever until my projects would be due. A friend recently told me that life is like a toilet paper roll....the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. I think summer is like that!
But for once in my life I didn't procrastinate - yea for me! First up is my gingham project and it's one I've already use and fallen in love with.
This zippered bag is quite large and is perfect for holding lots of stuff....lots. I used Riley Blake's black gingham for the outside and red polka dot laminate for the lining. I'm not a fan of sewing on laminate but it's the perfect thing for this. I don't want any accidental spills to get on what I'm carrying in this.
When I travel I like to take my mini IPad, a box of note cards and a pen, an extra pair of reading glasses, and of course the cords for the IPad, my phone and my computer....and it all fits in this bag easily! I could have gotten more in here....a granola bar for a late night snack, my prayer journal and maybe even my travel Bible, though I have a copy on my IPad.
I added a bit of lace to the top just because it's pretty. :) This is recycled lace, taken from a pillowcase found in an antique store. The pillowcase itself had holes in it but the lace was in perfect shape.
My second project is a wool piece - I'm not sure if I'd call it a table topper because it probably won't be used that way but that's the size of it. This pattern was a free one from Primitive Gatherings early this summer - designed to be the center of a large quilt but perfect for what I wanted.
The flowers and vines are wool and the background and borders are cotton. I did a blanket stitch with Valdani threads on the applique.
The binding on this is from fabric that was one of the first pieces I bought when I started quilting in 1995! Cleaning out your stash closet results in some great finds. :)
I did some machine quilting in the background - just some curved lines - and then hand quilted around the corner flowers. This piece was the perfect size and colors I needed for a particular place in my sunroom so it's now in it's home and brightening up that little corner.
A couple of years ago I started an embroidered quilt called Betsy's Closet - some of you may remember it. We even had a blog for those who were working on it, which I can't seem to find now. It's taken me a long time but I finally finished it this summer
This is a pretty good view of the borders I think....there are three including the sashing.
The embroidery pieces used mostly pastel colors and some are a little difficult to see in this light but the soft colors are really perfect for these paper doll clothes. I did a free motion echo around the embroidery, some straight line quilting in the first border, followed the print in the second border and free motion quilted each flower petal and leaf in the outer border.
This is a closeup of one of my favorite blocks...I would have loved this dress when I was a child!
And for a bonus project....yes I did...I used the rest of some gingham I had to make this adorable apron. I started with a white apron bought at Hobby Lobby, added the ruffles and the ghost face along with some rick rack. I loved the ease of using a premade apron!
It's a bit long in the torso for my model, who agreed to model when I promised not to show her face, but that could be fixed by shortening the neck strap. Wouldn't this be fun to wear when handing out goodies on Halloween? :)
I think I'll do a giveaway for one of my followers - hmmm, what would you like to win? How about this:
There's something for everyone I think...Reflections, a quilt pattern by Yellow Creek Quilt Designs, She Quilts-I Cook - a wallhanging pattern by Block Party Studios which includes the center panel, and a sweet package of 10 different Riley Blake ginghams.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE - only one comment! If you're commenting on this post and want to be included in the drawing, just add the words I follow ..... (by email, on Bloglovin', etc.). I get your comments in an e-mail so when you make two separate comments I get confused. Of course, it's easy to confuse me. :)
Thanks so much to Shari at Living With Purpose for the wonderful way she's kept us up to date on this hop and to Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt for her continued support of quilters in so many wonderful ways. Don't forget to go visit the rest of the blogs who are posting today. And just in case you missed the first couple of days' offerings I'll include those as well.
Wednesday, September 3
Thursday, September 4Jane's Quilting
Life in the Scrapatch
Sew Many Yarns
Gracie Oliver Arts
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
Friday, September 5Stitchin' By The Lake
Coeur d'Alene
Words & Stitches
TheSlowQuilter
Pig Tales and Quilts
All Thingz Sewn
Monday, September 8Quilting Quietly
Creatin' in the Sticks
Procrastination Queen
Lovelli Quilts
Cherry Blossoms
Tuesday, September 9Just Let Me Quilt
Marjorie's Busy Corner
The Quilting Queen Online Blog
Marla's Crafts
K and S Sweets and Stitching
Wednesday, September 10Secretly Stitching
Buzzing and Bumbling
Quilt n Queen
Quilted Delights
Grandmama's Stories
Thursday, September 11Susie's World
Needled Mom
Cate's Linens
How ART you?
I Like To QuiltBlog
Quiltscapes
Friday, September 12Sunshine-quilting
Sew Peace to Peace
MoosestashQuilting
More Stars in Comanche
Living With Purpose
Monday, September 15I Piece 2-Mary
Till We Quilt Again
Vroomans Quilts
Nini and the Sea
Seams To Be Sew
Life in the Scrapatch
Sew Many Yarns
Gracie Oliver Arts
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
Friday, September 5Stitchin' By The Lake
Coeur d'Alene
Words & Stitches
TheSlowQuilter
Pig Tales and Quilts
All Thingz Sewn
Monday, September 8Quilting Quietly
Creatin' in the Sticks
Procrastination Queen
Lovelli Quilts
Cherry Blossoms
Tuesday, September 9Just Let Me Quilt
Marjorie's Busy Corner
The Quilting Queen Online Blog
Marla's Crafts
K and S Sweets and Stitching
Wednesday, September 10Secretly Stitching
Buzzing and Bumbling
Quilt n Queen
Quilted Delights
Grandmama's Stories
Thursday, September 11Susie's World
Needled Mom
Cate's Linens
How ART you?
I Like To QuiltBlog
Quiltscapes
Friday, September 12Sunshine-quilting
Sew Peace to Peace
MoosestashQuilting
More Stars in Comanche
Living With Purpose
Monday, September 15I Piece 2-Mary
Till We Quilt Again
Vroomans Quilts
Nini and the Sea
Seams To Be Sew
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