Sewing blues are over...

This is me right now....Granted... even though I'm feeling like an idiot. Still smiling.

I wasn't about two hours ago though, when I sat down to do surgery on my sewing machine.. opened the bottom panel and THIS is what i saw!!



Holy cow!! Do you SEE ALL OF THAT?!?!?
I had just cleaned my sewing machine at the beginning of the summer. June-ish. So haven't really thought about it much since then. Didn't need to... right? ha. yah. right.
And I keep my bobbin casing clean - every time I change my bobbin. Didn't think there was much of a need to do more, more often! (see how clean and nice the bobbin casing is? lol)
Then I'm thinkin... ok.. this is all just surface fuzz. Bound to happen when you sew as much as I do. I started digging it out. And digging more out. And even more. Holy cripes.. the bottom casing was FULL. Completely and totally FULL. No wonder my poor baby wasnt working well anymore! I'm not such a good sewing machine mama :(

After getting all out that i could... tweezers, brush, a bent pin as tools... i used canned air to blow it clean and even more chunks came out.
I opened up the top and got that all cleaned too... and it was looking much the same as the bottom. :(
Then, figured while i was in there, I ought to oil her up a little. Looked it up in the manual (after spending half an hour looking for it) and do you know what it said???
"Your sewing machine needs to be cleaned and oiled after every 8-10 hours of use"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh my gosh. erm.... yah.... never knew that.....
LOL
WHOOPS
and I probably sew 2-4 hours a day? so what... you need to clean and oil it every other day? nooo wayy!
But, I WILL be doing it much more often - every other week or so - now! Holy shamoly. That was definitely new news to me! hahaha!! Sooo glad i didnt totally ruin it! It just needed a little TLC!

Looks as good as new - and amazingly enough - actually runs like brand new now too!!
DUH!

When was the last time you cleaned and oiled yours?? :D
Am i the only ding-a-ling that didn't realize this???
xo
Bren :)

Sadness

I think i broke my sewing machine

Stepping out of my box...

So... all you prim hookers... turn your heads QUICK!! LOL I've been stepping out of my box - and LOVING IT !

Cheryl, if you're reading this - can you believe all the BLUE/AQUA i'm using??!?!? LOL (note to everyone else... i do NOT DO blue!)

But for some reason, making these fresh quilts call for a totally different palette, and I'm all over embracing hot pinks, lime greens, aquas, bright yellows, and my favorite... polka dots! :)

This is my DQS7 (doll quilt swap 7) quilt that i am sending to my partner. Hoping she likes it! (i made a second one for Kelley.. think she'll disown me??)

My partner was a veryyyy hard one to figure out! Weeks of stalking her blog... and reading and rereading what she likes and doesnt like... i was in such a state of confusion, it wasnt even funny! But.. i did narrow down that she's partial to blues, and greens..likes funky and wild, and has a couple kitties. So i went from there. Crossing my fingers this makes her smile... and not frown! :D

Had tons of fun making it!

xo

Bren

Works in progress.... currently on my machine.... calli's quilt

Finished hand sewing the binding and got this one washed! Really happy with how it turned out!

And i pieced the back with a piece of left over red floral moda backing I had sitting around. Doesn't really "go" with the front of the quilt... but since it will be living on my couch, and it "goes" with the couch and pillows great, i figured WHY NOT?!? :D

Been busy working on sorting thru the garage. Dirty work! But it's gotta get done. That is... when no one is home, hovering over me! :D

Have a blessed weekend!

xo Bren

Rockin busy weekend!

Ok, remember my last post?? LOL
Well "someone" (who shall remain nameless) was wondering around the house, absolutely irritated that they had nothing to do. LOL Someone else said "you need to find a project! or a hobby! There's plenty to be done around the house!! Fence needs to be built, gutters cleaned and fixed, back yard garden area needs to be whacked down, lawn needs a good clean edging...
pick one!
(i know.. that person sounds mean, huh? but dude... they've all been left unattended to and need some attention!!)
Soooooooo... guess who got fed up, and adopted a project? and went to home depot ? And came home with LUMBER!!! (surprised the socks right off of me! lol as that NEVER happens!!)
And guess who had a plan?? And started clearing out the garage? And then poutily said I needed to help? LOLOL
Guess what WE BUILT?!?!?!? (i am soooooooooooooooo excited i cant stand it!!!!) I know... boring little life is obvious when something like this excites you! hahaha! But check it out!

WE DID IT!! We made a huge 12 foot by 3 foot deep, by 8 or 10 foot high, shelf area in the garage!!! oh my gosh!! We ROCKED it! Can you tell i am just deliriously proud of us??? :D Mostly of HIM though! Watching all those muscles in action... oh my... fanning myself!!

It was a GREAT day... really felt accomplished!

Now... granted... I have aquired yet another job. LOL It is my job to sort through the whole garage, and weed and seed, and make a pile for garage sale, pitch other stuff, and store the rest in a very organized way. Gonna be a ton of work!!!! BUT i am sooo up to the challenge!! Am very excited to get our garage in order! How cool is this????!!!! :D

In other news... i have been sneaking away in the wee hours of the night to sew. And this is the other top i have been working on... for my wee littlest daughter... for Christmas. Don't know how I'll be able to wait until Christmas to give it to her??

Sugar and spice and everything nice! It is now sandwhiched and basted... and awaiting quilting. Used a really cute girly sheet for the back side... and going to give her the fitted sheet and pillowcase with the quilt... it will all match when its on the bed! How cute will that be??!!

And.. last pics of the day...

Finished the quilt that i quilted last week.. got the binding all hand sewn on, and just washed it this weekend. Looooookkkk at that wrinkly crinkly yummyness!! Donchya just love it?? Yah.. i think this is my favorite part of the quilting. LOL When it comes out of the dryer! Silly?

All done!! :D

Someone's arms were getting tired holding it up for ya'll to see! LOL

With that i am going to say adeu.

Cio.

Sionara

Bubbye

:D

Hope you had a great weekend too!

xo

Bren

Good day

Hiya!

Long time no see, huh?

Well my kidlets are finally all in school, and i think all the papers have been signed, and extra supplies bought, and this week is back to school night at all three schools. I believe we will be able to BREATH a little after they are all done! LOL

My hubby runs his own business, and business has been pretty slooowwww lately. For the last several months. So my honey is home a LOT.

Consequently I am getting a whole lot of NOTHING done!

(Don't get me wrong - i absolutely LOVE having time with him!!!) But why is that? Why is it that when your hubby is home, you struggle to get anything accomplished?

Is it because when they see you doing laundry, they think oh.. no big deal that can be put off for a while - and come search you out and say "hey! let's go do this!"

Or is it because when you go to vacuum and they are sitting and enjoying some time off, they then feel guilty for sitting... and consequently shoot you the evil eye for working - so you avoid doing that when they're home? (you know.. to save their feelings, and not put them in "that place"?)

Or.. is it because every time you go to a different room of the house to do something (even clean toilets ) they follow you like a little lost puppy, until you give them your full attention? And eventually just give up trying to get your chores done?

My wonderful husband is sooo supportive and forgiving when it comes to my crafts.. my art life. He puts up with the wool piles. He doesnt make me feel guilty for disappearing down to my sewing room... as long as i dont stay down there too long. LOL (ie over an hour) He doesnt complain too loudly when he finds a needle stuck in the couch, or thread or snippets on the floor in front of the couch. He's AWESOME!!! And he realizes that this is a PART of who i am. And if i remove that part, (ie creativity) i am not nearly as happy go lucky, or as open to new ideas (his), or just an all around good sense of well being. I am sooo thankful that my husband really "gets" me, and loves me anyway!! Definitely a God match! :D

And we love to spend quality time together. After almost ten years, we've not run out of things to talk about, and are eager to tell each other about new things we learned about that day.

Soooooo.... why then? Why does it just screw you all up when you're together ALL the time?? My poor laundry room looks like something out of a horror movie. My kitchen needs mopping, bathrooms need to be cleaned, and I haven't vacuumed since last week (eek!!) I also havn't sewn since posting that last picture! Granted, we've been busy with kid and school related stuff. Like i said... he's ALWAYS READY to leave and go somewhere!! lol

So yesterday... he had some work, and left the house at around 9! Do you know... i did NOT run for that laundry room or the vacuum???? Nooooo. I literally RAN for my sewing room!! LOLOL Knowing he would be home in 3 or 4 hours, I saw a window of opportunity - and mannn... did i take it!! LOL!!

I got one of my quilts quilted! I put Pastor Jerry on my mp3 player, and went to town sewing. Got it done and stitched on the binding. Started to figure out the backing for the green and white quilt, and got slammed with a headache that wasnt easing up :( I stared at that fabric for over an hour, trying to figure out dimensions - something normally done in 5 minutes. LOL

I finally gave up after an hour, as it just wasnt flowing. Did some laundry, and then took the quilt and needle and thread and sat down to hand sew. What a BLESSING that was!! Some quiet hand sewing time.... aaahhhhh. Just what the doctor ordered!!

My headache eased up, my honey came home, as did the kids, and dinner got made, homework got done... and i actually got SOMETHING accomplished!! It was a GOOD day! :D

xo

Bren

Things I'm Learning

Things I'm Learning...

• I'm learning that you CAN become obsessed with Flikr.
• That it's too hot to hook, when all the wool fuzz just clings to your skin when you're clammy
• If doing windmills or matchy matchy seamed points -open the seams. The bulk factor is insane!
• I like Half Square Triangles (HSTs) for all the things you can do with them.
• I do NOT like HSTs for sewing them all back together IN ORDER and staying sane.
• Leave the little corner tails ON the HSTs until AFTER matching seams and piecing. Realllly helps to have them there! Lesson learned after clipping them all before sewing. LOL
• As long as your seam allowance is the same through out, nothing will change. Like dying, if you are using the same measuring tools the ratio stays the same. Mess with that just once, and you will see consequences in the end.
• I LIKE starch :)
• I need more room on my sewing table.
• Pinning is a GOOD thing
• DON'T whatever you do, no matter how HOT you are, turn on the overhead fan, when you have a bunch of little blocks laid out all perfect.
• DON'T leave your layout on the floor overnight, when you have two mischevious cats that like to play in the MUD, and then come back in to clean themselves on TOP of something.
• DON'T assume that said pieces of fabrics are not play toys for bored cats at night.
• ALWAYS have backup blocks made, in case you didn't follow the above "donts".
• And last but not least..... I AM A TOTAL SEWING SLOB LOLWhen fixated on a project and totally in focus, i dont care where all the little pieces fall. lol my floor looks like a chopping wharehouse burped in my room! they are everywhere all over my floor. lololol a couple swipes of my feet to gather them all up and toss them in the trash, and all is good. but in the middle of it.... oh myyy!!! :D

Trying to decide whether i should put a long white border on either side? If i dont, i will lose my points of the squares and windmills to the binding? What do you think?
Thrilled to have this top "done". Laid it out upstairs in the family room. (first mistake) as i dont have much floor space in my craft room. I got my exercise going up and then back down to my craft room (12 stairs) piecing each 4 square block, and then back up cuz i got confused, and then back down, and then back up to get another batch. lol enter in not liking HSTs again. :)

Well, my kids start school on Wednesday!! I have been crazily chasing the sales, trying to outfit each child with new school clothes, and school supplies. I have shopped more in the last week, than i have all year. (no, i don't LIKE shopping!)
Got the house clean, helped my girlfriend paint her dining room, calli started dance class, got a good start on my doll quilt for the swap, cleaned the house again, and have been falling into bed around 1 or 1:30 each night. Totally exhausted with no time to squeeze in anything else.
Let me just say... i LOVE the summer!! I love the freedom of being able to go do things on a whim, as there is no schedule... i love saying YES to my kids wanting to go and do. And i love the sunshine!!
But i am desperately looking forward to being back on a schedule!!! I will feel soo much more orderly, so much more in control of getting things accomplished, and its easier to schedule things in when you know that these 3 days of the week are already spoken for... so i have that day and that day open. Ya know? Looking forward to having 4 or 5 hours without the kids each day, that i can actually focus on some things that need to get done.
And... mixed emotions on this one... happy/excited/dreading getting my exercise routine back on track. Gonna be one SORE mama for a week or three!!

And... looking forward to cooler weather so my wool can be on my lap again!!!! :D
Hope you have a very blessed week! I probably wont be posting again, until next week, as each of my kids start school on a different day this week, and those are "momentous" days. I started a tradition when my oldest son started school... i bake fresh chocolate chip cookies on the first day... and they are fresh out of the oven when they arrive home. LOL This is going to be a KILLER for me this year... three seperate days of fresh choc chip cookies (my all time fave!!!) while dieting and not allowing myself to cheat!!! oh Lord... give me strength!!!!!
I dont think i'm strong enough to say no to that smell or taste three days in a row!!!! Shoot me now!!!!!
xo Bren