Happy Easter Weekend!

Hi All,

Well, Easter is upon us and well our family is kind of all over the place right now.  Not that that is bad but I miss the traditional Easter weekends we used to have.  Life is ever changing and some things you must go with, it's up to you to decide...

With this crazy weather we are still having I thought I needed a little spring, so I dug deep to find my bunny wallhanging and I guess he is still hibernating because I could not find him.  So I  found one of my favorites and hung it up and I do feel a little spring in my heart every time I see it:

It looks a little off in the picture but it hangs straight on the wall.  I sewed this a while ago from a pattern out of a magazine.  I had done this other wall hanging and got carried away collecting greens for it, you have never done that I imagine, LOL.  So I pieced this trying to use up some of those greens.   The background is 1" finished squares and the flowers are fusible applique and blanket stitched.

DD and I are going to go to the flea market and to garage sales this weekend and if I find a treasure I will be sure to share it with you.  Maybe I can get DD to post some of her fantastic purse finds too.

Talk to you soon and be sure to do something you LOVE today.

Susan

Been Doing Some Thinking...

Hello out there in Blogland! (yes, it will be a real word someday)...

I have been reorganizing, my brain mostly, and thinking about what I want to do as I enter the next stage of my life.  Life is a constant series of new beginnings and I am at another one.

I LOVE to quilt, that is my main passion.  I have urges to create in other mediums but I always come back to this Love, and my quilting waits patiently while I cheat in other areas always knowing that I will return to her. ( Yes I am using the female tense and no I don't swing that way...)

I guess I should explain a little better.  For a while we have been busy with my daughter who has had some health problems.  Although she is 22 and it has been mostly moral support, it just drains you.  Anyone who has been through this knows what I mean.  During all this she has wanted to do something to generate income and feel useful.  So we started going to thrift shops and a few garage sales when she has been up to it.  She has a fashion sense that I will never have.  She knows prices and brands.  So she has been selling things she finds on Ebay to give herself pocket change.

So what does this have to do with me?  Well as I said my first love has been quilting.  I am also a huge fan of Bonnie Hunter.  I decided to create my own sewing product.  It is almost ready to be shown and I am VERY EXCITED about this.  I also have a new love, vintage stuff.  Hats, clothing, jewelry etc.  So from time to time I will be selling some of the best things I find on Ebay.

If you have noticed, I changed the name of this blog, I have a FaceBook page that is of the same name and my Ebay name is almost the same name (I goofed on the spelling and cannot change it for another 30 days, hey I am human too).

So this is wonderfully scary for me to put myself out here but I won't know unless I try so stay tuned for my wild ride...

And because I know that all posts should have pictures...

     This is my daughter, or part of her, modeling this fantastic pants that I came across.  I knew they were something special when I saw them and although they didn't fit me and are a tad big for her, I know someone out there will appreciate these wonderful pants from days gone by.

     I did some research on them and the designer is Jack Winter.  Here is a picture of the tag:

     Isn't it fabulous?  So since I don't know much about designers, I researched and the info I found just made these pants more special.  From the New York Times:

"Mr. Winter was the founder of Jack Winter, Inc., one of the first manufacturers of women's slacks and one that set trends in women's sportswear and knitwear. The company also operated 100 Clothesworks Stores, a nationwide chain of discount women's clothing.

He founded the company as a men's pants manufacturer in the late 1930's but in 1953 began to design and manufacture women's slacks. He retired in 1986."

Mr. Winter has passed away, but imagine what a pioneer!  I watched reruns of the Dick Van Dyke Show when I was little, I wonder, did he design any of the pants that Mary Tyler Moore wore?  I wonder if who ever wore these thought about things like that, that when they bought these they were part of a trend that would change the way women wore clothing.

So, I am going to be putting these up for sale on Ebay shortly, I just know there is a woman, a tiny woman, who would love to have these great vintage pants.  If you should happen to be interested in them just go to Ebay and search Jack Winter pants and I am sure you will find them.

Thanks for sticking with me in this very long post and I hope to post more frequently in the future!

Create Something Beautiful Today!

Susan

A Quilt in Honor of Dad...

Hello All!

     Well no more progress has been made on my terrier quilt but I did want to share with you my quilt that I completed with my dad's shirts.  My dad passed away several years ago and I miss him a lot still.

Every winter he wore these long sleeve flannel shirts and they all had to have a front pocket for his cigar and matches.

     So since the shirts were made of cotton flannel, 50/50 and 100% polyester some of the fabric stretched so I picked an easy design.  Large 4-patches were just the ticket.  I matched those with blue cotton flannel.  The back was totally pieced with his shirts.  My daughter, who had a special connection with my dad, has already claimed it as her own.  I have enough to make one more quilt and I know my dad would be happy...

     The lovely model posing is my son's dog, Ket.

Until next time, make sure you do something you enjoy!

Susan B

My Little Binding Experiment, Part 1....

Hello Everyone,
Here is Part 1 of my "Looking for My Perfect Binding Method."  The backstory is:  I decided a year ago that I could not hand bind anymore, it hurt my fingers and hands, and I just wasn't enjoying it.  If I am going to do hand work I would rather do some embroidery or just about anything else.  For those of you who enjoy snuggling up to your quilt and binding the heck out of it, good for you, and I do sincerely mean that, I just tried and tried and bound over 9 quilts before deciding there had to be a better way for me.  
My first machine binding was last year on a table runner with some fusible thread. It worked fine  however, the idea of sewing around my quilt three times, first for attaching the binding, second for zig-zag with the fusible thread, and third, for stitching the binding down was a drag.  There was also the ironing problem.  (Difficult little snot, aren't I?)  I have certain health problems which make standing in front of a hot iron very uncomfortable so I use my iron sparingly.  So the process worked fine, I just started searching for something that would work better for me.
I finished my spiral table runner recently and thought this would be the time to try something new.

  

   So here's the table runner all done. Isn't it cute?  I used a temporary basting spray to fuse the binding down.  It partially worked the way I wanted it to but overall was not as successful as I had hoped.  As I was sewing some of the binding began to lift due to handling so if I did a large quilt this would not work.  Also the spray was kind of messy on my fingers.  The plus side?  I did not have to use an iron and I did not have to sew around my table runner 3 times.  

     So I went back to JoAnn's and searched the isles for my next idea and will let you know how it goes.  For now I wish you all time to do what you love the most for life is short!