My Birthday Present to Myself Finally Got Here

Am I the only one who buys themselves birthday and Christmas presents? How else will I get all those pretty things I see on Etsy and Ebay?   Don't judge.

The toy sewing machine was just too cute to pass up.  And then I NEEDED a pretty shelf to put it on.... 

 I love how I now have something sweet to look at when I sit at my machine.  It always makes me smile.  Now I just need to find something to hang from the hooks.....any suggestions?

I mean, really, who wouldn't love this cutie!

Diana

Harry Potter Fabric

I have a few new fabrics available at Spoonflower!  I haven't been keeping up with posting them but I will try to do better.

 The black Harry Potter fabric above is sold here.

The white background fabric is sold here.

Diana

Junkstore Find

 Isn't this little shelf pretty?   But it didn't start out this way.....

 5 dollars and ubber ugly.  But one can of gloss spray paint later.....

Now I have another space to display my cuties.

Diana

Quilting on a Home Machine Part 1

I don't have a long arm so any machine quilting I do is done on my little Elna.  I thought I would share a few tips I have learned over the years.  I am no professional but hopefully you will learn from my trials and errors! 

 First, preparation is everything.  Press and iron your pieced quilt top and backing.  Get it all as flat as possible!  I don't starch the fabric because I have found that it causes it to shrink a bit.  Then it starts to un-shrink when I handle it causing puckering issues.

 Next lay out you backing right side down.  I do this on the carpet.  Using T pins I stretch the backing til it is very taunt.  These pins can take the tension while lighter weight ones won't.  Now place your batting on top on the backing, smoothly it from the center out.  Next comes the top.  Smooth it out on top of the batting.   The backing needs to be tighter than the top!  If you don't get this right you will get tucks on the back of your quilt that will make you cry!

Notice that the back is much larger than the top.  I will trim it down later.  Now is not the time to worry about wasting fabric.  You can use the left overs for making blocks or hexies!

 Now that everything looks smooth and tidy I begin pinning.  

I use large flower straight pins and pinmores (how to make your own here) about every 2 to 4 inches.  I really don't want the layers to shift so the more pins the better.  These are easy to remove as you quilt so don't be stingy!  Now you can trim your edges.  I still leave a couple inches of batting and backing beyond the edge of the top just to give me a little wiggle room.  Next time I will show you some gadgets I use to make the quilting process easier.  

New Little Red Hens

It was a tough winter here in the Midwest.  Our little flock suffered several losses from old age and the freezing temp.  So sad!  We had prepared well with new insulation and water heating elements but a few of the old girls just weren't strong enough to last til spring.  We supply eggs to a number of families so I needed to add more girls to keep up production.  Here they are fresh from the feed store.  They were very cute (the pic is a few weeks old) but now have hit that awkward teenage stage.  All fluff and feathers sticking out every which way.  Not at all attractive.......  Other news.  I am trying to cure an "egg eater" to save her from being culled.  Right now she is in isolation to keep the others from learning her bad habit.  She is being real stubborn so far but I haven't given up on her yet......  The drama continues.

Diana

Secret Passageway.......

It is no secret that I love a good mystery.  As a young girl I obsessed over Nancy Drew and the game Clue.  As an adult I gobble up English cozy mystery books by the dozens!  I don't know why I love all things mysterious but I do.  And now I have my very own secret passageway in my library (really it's our TV room but that doesn't sound as good) that leads to a secret room!

This beautiful new bookcase holds a secret........ 

We took our ideas for a hidden door to a local shop.  The Amish furniture maker came up with a clever way to make the door work and we all loved how it turned out.  He wants to sell these to install yourself.....all over the country!  If you send me your email I will pass it on to him and he will contact you for the details.  These are beautifully made in a traditional Amish workshop on his farm!  Soooooo cool!  Look out Nancy Drew. there's a new mystery to solve!

Diana