"Works in Progress" Wednesday!

My sister visited one weekend, with the full intent of sewing together. She brought a handbag pattern with her (Miranda Day Bag #123 by Lazy Girl Designs) and she talked me into making a handbag, too! We went to our favorite quilt shop in town (Piece By Piece) and bought FABRIC. We fell in love with it because if featured chickens! We can't help it if we love chickens. They kinda endear themselves to you...while producing beautiful eggs!

Produced by our 3 hens over three weeks! They're working girls!

I still have to complete mine by putting on the finishing touches, you know, handles, etc. So here's my "work in progress" for today, the "Chick Bag."

Autumn Leaves & "Holiday Twirl"

A glorious autumn today! I spent 1.5 hrs. yesterday mowing up the leaves with our small tractor in cloudy weather. I enjoy being outdoors, & the maple leaves pile up as I type & sew--a task for tomorrow.

I sewed a couple more rows of "Holiday Twirl" together this morning, which leaves 2 more strips to go. Then I'll be joining those wider bands together for the table topper. Here's where I'm at:

What projects are you working on? I'd love to see them!

Next rows are joined!

Sewing the "Holiday Twirl" rows of angled seams--Yikes!

I got all the individual 60 degree triangles sewn together. With trepidation I move on to sewing the 3 rows, and hopefully hitting the matching seams! Wish me luck. 

Whew! One row joined--not bad, eh? Time to take a break before I do the other two rows ;-)

Quilt Show Entries

 I thought niece Aubrey's quilt was so beautiful, I entered it into a local outdoor quilt show. Wouldn't you love this on your bed or wall?!

My sister Diana does extraordinary work as well, and I entered her quilt into the same show.

First Foray into Longarm Machine Quilting

 My sister (sewcraftychick.blogspot.com), niece and I decided to take the "plunge" and try our hands at longarm quilting our finished quilts. We made it "family day" at a quilt shop that rented time on their machines to learn how to do it. I pieced this sweet simple 4-patch quilt & used it for my first attempt--it went pretty well! Not perfect, but satisfying. Now my daughter uses it to keep warm :)

L to R: Julie, Aubrey, Diana

Here we are having a "family quilting retreat" in my upstairs room. We had a wonderful time and this was the weekend my niece, Aubrey, became hooked to quilting at age 16! Now she seems to get more done than my sister and I, ha! ha! Notice the hard-working dog that my sister brought along. If only he'd learn how to hand-stitch the binding instead of napping ;-)

L to R: Aubrey & quilt, me & my quilt, Diana & quilt

I hope you can pass along your love of stitching, too!

"Holiday Twirl" Table Runner in process

I have all the ingredients cut to finish the top of this table runner ("Christmas or Holiday Twirl"), and started sewing the rows yesterday. Wonderful to be making progress!

Christmas Twirl or Holiday Twirl?

I've been envious of those tabletop ironing boards that I see people using in their videos & books, so I finally bought a sheet of wood to make mine :)

NEW PROJECT!
I made strips from which to cut 60 degree triangles...

I cut the triangles...

...and then I put the triangles together!

This is the beginning of a new table runner based on one made by Liz Porter (Fons & Porter, 2001) called "Peppermint Twist."

It's always fun to finally commit to a project & begin to cut & sew.

Autumn Leaves & Pumpkin Table Runner

Here's the tablerunner I'm trying to finish. I've combined machine embroidery, patchwork, free motion stippling by my home machine (my first time!), and now I'm working on hand-stitching the binding to the back. Once this is done, I hope to include it on my Etsy site that I'll be opening soon!!

Why "Running Hen?"

Why “running hen?” Why do hens run? 

They run when they don’t want to miss out on something.

Living with my hens, I know what they’re after: FOOD! I know why they run to me: FOOD! I know why they fly across the yard to catch up with one of the other hens: FOOD! It’s quite simple really. I'd like to think they love me, but I'm on to them ;-)

Let me introduce you to my beautiful “girls” (affectionately known as “Chick-Girls”). 

This is "Skitters." Her name reflects her personality. If you try to get near her, she "skitters" away. Not an easy hen to catch! She has beautiful feathers. Truly she's a grand lady.

This is "Apricot." She was named by our daughter due to her coloring. She is the sweetheart of the little flock. She's a gentle friend to everybody. If you're lonely, outcast or picked on (by Skitters!!), she'll come alongside you. She'll act as the bridge and go-between for the two other hens who sometimes have trouble getting along. A docile little lady!

This is "Dickens." Can you guess how she achieved that name? She's the youngest of the flock and takes after her "mom", Skitters. Good luck trying to catch her!! Sometimes we find her over the fence in the neighbor's yard wondering how to get back. 

This is "Rosie the Riveter", riveting for her beauty. She was the queen of the flock, until she died :(  It's sad to lose great hens, and she was a great one!

What do hens have to do with creativity?

Glad you asked! They create eggs almost every day. They also create joy, interest, calm, and help to fertilize and clean up the bugs in the garden. Each has their own unique personality, and each knows its place in the pecking order. They're part of what inspires me!

I create with fabric, needles, thread, yarn, machine, buttons, trim, embroidery, and more. Be like the girls I've introduced you to and "don't miss out on something!"