Sorry - no 2010 mosaic!

I really wanted to make up one of those fancy-schmancy mosaics from Flickr to show you everything I did this year, but alas......I made too much stuff and I'd probably have to make up 4 of them.  That would  look a little "braggy" don't you think?  So, instead, I thought I'd just list my accomplishments here and highlight some of MY favorites.  I hope that will suffice.

4     baby quilts
3     lap quilts
32   doll quilts (or wall hangings of that size 15x15 or bigger)
26   mug rugs
32   mini quilts (or wall hangings 15x15 or smaller)
37   pincushions
10   placemats
5     tree skirts with 1 pillow to match
2     frogs (those were stuffed with plastic pellets for the little girls this summer)
4     potholders
3     embroidered wall hangings
7     fabric postcards
2     (dozen) ornaments
2     published patterns
2     zentangle t-shirts (and I haven't posted about those yet)

See what I mean?  Now for a few of my all time favorites:































E-gads, I guess I liked quite a few, huh?  Actually there are more, but I think I already showed you enough for today.  It's kinda nice when you like your own work, don't you think?  Actually, I like most of the stuff I do or I'd throw it in the garbage.  After all, if I don't like it, how can I expect anyone else to like it?

Thank you all so much for visiting my little blog.  I so enjoy what I do, and I so enjoy each and every one of your wonderful comments (although I sure wish that many of you didn't have the no-reply feature so I could answer you personally!!)  I try to get back to as many of you as I can.  Enjoy the last day of 2010 and many blessings to you and yours for the coming year!!!  

  

Where is my brain?

Well, thank God for my loyal readers because dummy me completely forgot that I neglected to show you "5 Golden Rings".  Not my best work, let me assure you!!!  Who knows what I was thinking when I drew this:

What would you call him?  Looney bird, do-do bird, traseritops?  (I actually made up that last one!  LOL)

Truth be told, I really wanted to do a monkey face, but then all my friends convinced me that since I started the theme with birds, I should try to stay on track to keep as many in the 12 Days as possible.  Needless to say, a normal bird wouldn't work so I had to make up one to suit my purpose.  So, without  further ado may I present.........ta-da.......(drum roll please)......"5 Golden Rings"!!



Did you count them?  They're all there, really.  Like I said, not my best work, and maybe that's why I forgot to show you in the first place.  Oh well!  I suppose I really should draw a few others for next year while this craziness is still in my head, huh?

What to do?

Every year I have been doing a Christmas stitchery wall hanging for my friends and family, but this year, I totally forget about it until it was too late.  After I had cleaned up this mess:



I ran across a bag filled with 21 pre-cut tops, battings, backs and bindings for this cute stitchery:



Three were completed.  The rest were all crumpled, but still together in one bag.  In years past, I used to embroider when my cleaning ladies came once a month, and also the day after so that I wouldn't mess up my house right away.  This year, since I can no longer afford cleaning ladies, I apparently have no time for embroidery either.  Bummer!  I might have to rectify that in 2011.  I used to enjoy it.  This pattern is by Cinderberry Stitches...(don't ask me the name, I haven't a clue since everything is finally packed away.)  Last year, I made this one:



Now the question is..........do I finish the ones from this year, or make new ones for 2011?  Ummmmm, I might have to think on that!  I already found a pattern I like.  Anybody want to pay for my cleaning ladies????   (You might want to think on that one, huh???  LOL)

Have a blessed Christmas, my friends, and thank you ever so much for visiting my blog and being a part of my life, crazy as it is.  I so appreciate each and every one of you!!

Pretty Ballerinas

Do you remember when we made these:

We made two, remember?  Well, these two little second cousins haven't the slightest idea what a ballerina is, but what little girl doesn't like some kind of frilly thing around their waists?  Needless to say, the sight of the two of them parading around in those tutus this past Sunday for our family Christmas was precious.  I wish they would have held still for a better picture though.  LOL  Good thing the older one was trying to put on her new "dress up high heels".

I maybe should have waited one more year to make those tutus though......the twirling left a bit to be desired.  (Especially with dress up high heels.) LOL

Two Turtle Doves

You knew I wouldn't let you down, didn't you?  How could I possibly forget about the 2 Turtle Doves?  After all, they were almost in the middle of the pack.  I must admit though that you will have to wait until next year for the additional 7 days of Christmas.  I'm sorry!  No way do I have time anymore this year to finish the set....BUT, you'll be happy to know that some of the remaining images are in my brain, and it's only a matter of time until I transfer them to paper.

Without further ado may I present 2 Turtle Doves:

And, naturally, I always show them to you in process.  Again, I used the crayon and trapunto method of quilting since the four others were done with the same method.  (Besides, it goes faster...LOL)
 

Don't tell anybody, but I had to do a search on turtles because I was clueless on how to draw them....duh!  I guess birds are much easier for me...........

And the finished quilt.  (Not very big at only 11 by 11 inches.....but cute, I think, none the less!)



You need to see how in love these two are:



That poor boy dove doesn't know what "hit " him!  LOL  Until next year....I hope you enjoyed the Peacock in the Pear Tree, Two Turtle Doves, 3 French Hens, 4 Calling Birds (my personal favorite so far) and 5 Golden Rings.  Just wait until you see what I have planned for 6 Geese A'Layin"!!

Commission Quilt

A few weeks ago, Jan wrote me a Flickr mail and asked if I ever sell my quilts.  She wanted something for her wall personalized and wondered if I had time to make her something.  I pondered upon it for awhile (being so close to the holidays and still needing to do a few things for myself) and finally wrote back to her wondering what exactly was in her mind.  Surprisingly enough, she wanted me to just use my imagination, however I wanted, to make her a doll sized wall hanging with (naturally) birds.  BUT, there was no rush.  

Well, no one knows this (except all of you now), but I like to go into a new year with no obligations hanging over my head.  I want everything I promised all done and a clean slate for whatever my imagination brings in the new year, so I knew I better think fast.........!!!!  I thought something about 14 by 18 might fit the bill, (one of my all time favorite size quilts to make), but what to do to make it special for her.  Then, she mentioned that her wall was red and Lord knows what that did to inspire me, but all of a sudden, an image just came out of the blue.  I scribbled it on my grocery list and when I realized it would be cute enough, I went to town on the big drawing (forgot to take a picture of that....sorry) and started transferring it to fabric.   (E-gads, I lost a picture here and I haven't the vaguest idea how to get it back in this spot..........grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!  Man this computer stuff really pisses me off sometimes!!!  I'm sorry.  Every since my blog was fancied up, I'm a bit confused with stuff.....(not that I wasn't confused before, mind you!)  Oh well..............

Once I had all the images fused, I had to decide if I should sew it all on with black, or the appropriate color for the fabric.  As you can see, I used black.  I thought it would stand out better.

When I was done, I asked Jan if she wanted a picture and she said, yes, otherwise you wouldn't be seeing this today.  I don't think she even has gotten this in the mail yet.





That poor little middle bird....almost falling off that flower!!  LOL  Good thing he didn't drop his kite!

So, if any of you need a special something for your own wall....let's talk.  You can e-mail me at :  turznik@execpc.com  (I won't start it until next year though.......)

More Mandalas

Do you remember when we made this?  I noted that a few of you tried it and perhaps I didn't make myself clear....but I did not use the #12 pearle cotton thread on that quilt, but instead when I do something this intricate I use #30 weight thread.  It is a bit thicker than regular sewing cotton, but no where near as thick as the pearle cotton.  Besides, when I used the pearle cotton, I had to hide all my ends (quite a pain in the neck if you ask me), whereas with the #30, if you're careful and go up and down lots when starting and stopping, you can cut off your ends.

Well, anyway, I made two more to show you.





And:





Note how different they look with the different colors and quilting.  I thought #3 was pretty cool, until I got out #1 and #2 and realized that they were much brighter.  Where was I on #3 Mandala day anyway?  Usually I only grab the bright crayons.......ummmmmm????

I think I'm done with these now..........at least for awhile.  My next move will be to design my own coloring quilt of shapes.....what do you think of that??????  (I'm thinking it'll probably be an after Christmas project though....eikes.....too much to do before then.)

It's a New Day

Actually it's not really a new day....yesterday was!  Did you notice?  E-gads, you HAD to notice!!  I have a whole new looking blog and isn't it just so awesome?  All I really wanted was a new header, but yikes, I got a whole lot more!  And it's all due to my new friend, Madame Samm.  Isn't she just the best?  Lord knows how she found me (because you all know that I'm not so hot on this goofy computer and couldn't find my head in a hole) but thank heavens she did!!  Actually, I'm going to be a guest blogger here next week and she runs that blog.  What a talent!  You MUST take a peek!  Hurry up, go do it now!!  You'll love it!  (Now, if I don't screw it up, things might be okay.  You know how my pictures get screwed up here once and awhile.......horrors if I do the same thing there!!!)  Say a little prayer for me, okay?

And all I had to do to repay her for all her glorious work was make her a quilt.  (A little quilt.)  BUT, I can't show you 'cause she hasn't gotten it yet.  You know that Canadian postal service!  So stay tuned, 'cause it's a dilly and she's gunna love it!!!  Thank you Samm!!!  I love my new blog!!

The $7 Ballerina

You are going to LOVE this!!! And there's hardly any sewing involved either.

When I realized that I'd have two little girls here for our Christmas celebration, I immediately thought of this project, and this is what you'll get:

Cute, huh? And boy oh boy do kids love them! Okay, go grab a pen and pencil and this is what you do. First, get two rolls of tulle from Michael's, or Joanne's ($2.99 ea. from Joannes without a coupon) and some 3/4 inch elastic. One package of elastic should give you enough for two tutus.

Cut the elastic 1 inch shorter than your child's waist measurement. (I had no kids around, so I cut mine at 17 inches.) Overlap the ends about 1/2 inch and sew together with the zig zag on your machine or by hand. Next cut your tulle the length you want the skirt times two plus one inch. I just used a tablet of 9x12 tracing paper and using the shorter side, twirled the tulle around until there was no more on the roll.

Then I cut it on ONE side. My pieces measured about 18 inches long.

After that, you put the elastic up your leg, past your knee, sit down and place one tulle piece through the elastic and holding it halfway, tie a knot. Continue in this manner until you have used all the cut tulle from both rolls.

And when you're done, you should have a lovely tutu that some child will adore!! That's all there is to it! All for only about $7. (Unless you have a coupon, which would make it less.) I made two...aren't they cute together??

Something New

Last year, my local quilt shop had the neatest Christmas tree in the shop that I had seen in a long time. I wasn't sure I'd like it in my home, although if I had a more modern abode, I might think twice. For months I couldn't get it out of my head, so when I approached my local quilt shop owner telling her that I had an idea for a tree skirt for 2011, she headed me right over to a bunch of fabrics I could tell she was wild about. Unfortunately, no way would they be appropriate for the pattern in my head..................but I guess my brain had other ideas. They were perfect for the 2009 tree that had been in the shop! (No wonder the shop owner liked them, huh?? Duh!!) She gave me a bunch of 1/4 yards and told me to have fun!

Two weeks later, when I brought her the finished product, she loved it, but informed me that she could never have something in the shop that she didn't have a pattern for, so could I please publish one. What?? What about my original idea?? Well, let's just say I won't have to think too hard in 2011 because my 2012 idea is already formed......so instead, may I present the 2011 official release of "Julie's Funky Tree Skirt":

And here is how it looks with a cool tree:

So, come one and come all 'cause I have lots of patterns and just for you, my faithful blog readers, I am selling them for only $10 each until the end of the year as a special promotion and I will pay the postage. So, contact me at: turznik@execpc.com if you want one!

4 Calling Birds

To continue the 12 days of Christmas (not in any specific order, mind you), I am going to present the 4 Calling Birds. (I actually should have made 2 Turtle Doves, I know....but I am having a heck of a time drawing turtles....sorry! I'll keep working on it....promise!!)

If you've been visiting my flickr stream you might have noticed that his mini started off like this:

That was quickly scribbled on a 6x9 sheet of my spiral notebook that I use for grocery lists....(now you know what's more important! LOL) I could hardly make something out of that though, so after being posted on my refrigerator for a few days, I transferred the idea onto something workable:

At this point I really considered doing applique, but after a while decided that the whole 12 days should be the same and since I did "peacock" and "three hens" in crayon, I should continue with that medium. Besides, that goes lots faster for me now. With applique, it seems I have to audition tons of fabrics to get them just right. With crayons, it's just a matter of testing colors on a separate piece of fabric.

As I've explained before, I transferred the image to fabric (cut a bit bigger than my pattern), backed it with freezer paper for stability and colored away:

If you try this process yourself, please don't get discouraged at the image right after you're done coloring. It really doesn't look like much at this stage, but it does get better after it continues, so be patient.

Here, you can see it after quilting, where I was doing the eyes. Nothing like a good poke in the eye, I say! LOL Note that the normal colonial knots were not on yet. (Yes, folks.....no french knots for this girl, although I might refer to them as french knots on occasion. Colonial knots are soooo much easier!!! And they never unknot!)

So here is the finished quilt. It ended up at 15 x 10 inches. I'm thinking a whole quilt made from these images would really be cute. Now, if I would only have time to finish the other 9 days!!

Just wait until you see "5 Golden Rings".......it will be a real hoot! I'm cracking myself up thinking of all these, believe me! I hope you chuckle as much as I do........until next time.....thanks for visiting!!!!