Category Archives: And They Sinned

Another stitching update

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Terri | 3 comments

I’ve updated my SALE page once again. I’m trying to add things to it daily, and of course take those things off that are sold. I’m also now able to ship USPS First Class without having to go to the P.O. first. Thank you everyone for helping me make room for more 😉

I didn’t get a much stitching time this past week as I would have liked. I had several things take me out of the house, which means 2 hours lost each day in driving time alone. Here are comparison shots of And They Sinned after this week:

Rather disappointing progress. I was hoping to get all of the alphabet done. 🙁

The weather is heating up nicely here and I’m hoping this week will find me back in the pool, which means less stitching and sewing time, but I love our pool!

I’m waiting to hear from a couple of stores on some frames I ordered for a couple of last year’s finishes. Wednesday I’m taking a field trip with Annette to check out another place in Phoenix (as well as look at some quilt stores).

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Posted in And They Sinned, Framing

Finally a photo update

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Terri | Comments Off

I have been busy getting my SALE page set up over the past few days, so kept putting off posting updated photos of my miniature quilt, and stitching. So here we are!

Jo Morton Little Women “Abbygayle’s Scraps”

I also managed to finish the stitching on Scarlett House‘s A Sampler Grows. The cushion and fob still need to be sewn up and that will probably happen some time this week.

Since I finished that I immediately started in on Milady’s Needle‘s Garden Delight, and made it this far.

Every other week, when I’m not sewing, I’ve been stitching on And They Sinned and here’s where I started when I picked it up yesterday.

In the mornings I am supposed to be working in my craft room and sewing. This is the quilt I was supposed to be making, and some of the fabric I chose. However, it didn’t happen. I don’t know what I’ve been doing wrong but I have not been able to get my HSTs to cooperate with the full squares. It’s due tomorrow, but I’ll be taking in bits and pieces instead for the instructor to help me. And of course I’ll be receiving instructions for a new quilt which means I’ll have 1 month to make 2 since I’m determined to keep up!

My mother’s Nantucket Rose is finally ready for her. I stitched this back in 1999 while living in Okinawa, Japan, and she brought it out this past January for framing. I wish she had not gotten glass because it blocks the green suede mat that mimics the trees (and makes it impossible to get a reflection free photo 😉 ).

And last but not least, Black Betty is ready to come home! I shared a hint in an earlier post, but I finally got my hands on a Featherweight. She came all the way from Canada, and, according to my sewing machine doctor, was in near perfect health.

She was purchased in an estate sale by a man and I feel like I stole her from him since, including shipping, she was just over $200. LOL Whoever the woman was that owned her previously obviously loved her. The gold decorative paint has been rubbed away in the front plus the orange card you see is actually the original “service” card from when she was made back in 1948. The only bad thing is because she came from Canada her instruction book is in French 😉 I cannot wait to sew with her.

Oops, one more thing! Recently, Kathy Tracy, of Country Lane Quilts, hosted a fabric giveaway on her blog. It was sponsored by Andover Fabrics and was for the new Jo Morton Blue Variety. I won a charm pack!!! 😀 I love this fabric (the blues you see above are from that line) and already have in mind a quilt I want to use the charm packs in. Thank you again, Kathy, for hosting the giveaway. Thank you Andover Fabrics for the fabrics. I do believe the Jo Morton fabrics are my all-time favorites and already have in my possession the new Madison Manor line!

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Posted in Abbygale's Scraps, And They Sinned, JMLW2013, Studio, Summer Soiree

What I did on my spring break

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Terri | 6 comments

and thank goodness it’s over 😉 I hate it when my routine gets messed with. I can’t believe it’s been a week since I sat here writing my last post. The past week has flown by.

Mister was home on spring break. We were supposed to get the powder room redone, but it never happened. The weather here has been glorious. So much so that our pool has been in the 70s and he’s been in it when he hasn’t been working in the yard getting rid of almost everything. The winter freeze this year really did a number on our beautiful yard. We had to completely replace several plants and this past week has seen them in the ground and a couple of them even starting to bloom. He also started getting his vegetable and herb garden going and has plans for expansion. I need to get my camera outside and show you my beautiful snap dragons! I can’t believe they bloomed all winter and are popping out all over again.

I, on the other hand, do not like to get dirt under my nails so I spent my time during his spring break piecing, layering, and quilting my little Abbygayle’s Scraps. She still needs her binding whip stitched to the back but here she is in all her very bright glory. Please don’t look too close, or judge too harshly, and remember I’m new at this. Thank you.

She finished out right under 18 inches square. I learned so much while creating her and accomplished a lot of firsts. This is the first time I’ve chosen the fabric completely on my own. The first time I made a quilt in a non-classroom setting. The first time I did it completely on my own with no one to ask questions of. It was daunting to actually cut that first piece of fabric but I just followed the directions one sentence at a time and took it from there. I did lose some of my points when putting the strips together, but I didn’t mind. What I did get disappointed in was how much that affected the quilting part, but like I said, it was a learning experience and I know that the more I do it the better I’ll get at it. I’m hoping to spend today and tomorrow finishing the binding since my next class is Wednesday and I want to be ready for the next project.

I do have 3 other small quilts cut and ready to piece 😀 It’s addicting, I tell ya!

Since the weather has warmed up (and we actually have used our AC!), I only spent the mornings upstairs. As soon as it was too warm to go without AC I headed downstairs to work on A Sampler Grows. This is how far I got this week

I managed to finish the stitching for the fob and got quite a bit done on the cushion. The green floral you see is what the backing will be for the cushion. I do have one “complaint” and that’s the little square flower. The background is stitched in over 1 (as is the flower) and you can see it completely makes the yellow flower disappear. I need to decide what to do about that. I thought about picking it out but even under a strong magnifier it was daunting so I’m going to leave it and maybe stitch over the yellow in red. There are 2 other flowers that need backgrounds filled in and I’m going to have to decide what to do about them. It’ll have to wait though since it’s time to switch back over to And They Sinned today!

Yesterday was Sampler Sunday at Attic. I love going to this since there are usually a couple of designers there sharing what they’re working on for their next release. I’m so excited about Tanya’s new project because it has a skinny (greyhound) dog in it! Woohoo! If you subscribe to Attic Needlework’s newsletter I believe there will be a preview of it in the next issue. And Gloria brought in the models for her Market releases. I had picked up 3 design packets on Market day at Attic but she brought in another design that has the sweetest hornbook design, plus one that uses limited edition embossed boxes (which I grabbed 2 of). It was discussed yesterday (and I checked this morning) that if the boxes run out of stock (since they’re no longer being manufactured) you can use Altoids tins. You’ll just have to omit the border in the design. If you go to page 13 of the current Attic newsletter you can see all of her designs.

Oh look! You can see the back of my little quilt in this one 😉 The other design (in the bottom) is Cherished Stitches limited release Rites of Springs. Every single thing you see on that pillow is included in the little kit. It is unbelievably priced and you only have to add the stuffing. I was drooling over the finishing fabric last night. I see this moving up on my to-do list. There is an upclose photo of it on page 5 of the aforementioned newsletter.

The other news, which was released this past week, is that Attic will be moving into a larger location next month. I already know where they’re moving and what it currently looks like inside, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Mister goes back to class today. I’m very much looking forward to getting back into my routine so I’ll end it here wishing you all to have a great week.

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Posted in Abbygale's Scraps, And They Sinned, JMLW2013, Quilting, Stash, Stitching, The Scarlett House

Stitchin’ ‘n’ Switchin’

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Terri | 6 comments

How’s that for a title!

I’m still sewing away on Abbygayle’s Scraps. I got totally aggravated last week and put it away for several days. I couldn’t get my squares to the right size (too small) and I couldn’t figure out why my seam allowance kept getting off. I figured it out (index cards carry a magic formula) and have been a happy quilter yesterday and today. Here’s a tiny peek at some beautiful (to me) scraps.

There will be 36 of these lovelies. You can see a couple more stacks of 6 under my sewing table in the upper right corner.

As to the “switchin'” portion, I’ve finally put And They Sinned aside. Here’s where I’m leaving it:

I’m going to attempt to switch every Monday between And They Sinned and a Summer Soiree project. I really want to get some of the beautiful pieces from this past summer’s Soiree finished before the new one gets here! 🙂

This is The Scarlett House’s A Sampler Grows. It’s a sweet pincushion and fob.

I received notification that my new toy has shipped!

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Posted in Abbygale's Scraps, And They Sinned, JMLW2013, Quilting, The Scarlett House

Monday already?

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Terri | 1 comment

Monday’s Musings – Do you have a bucket list? What’s the 5th item on it?

Mister and I were talking last night about how fast last week flew by. I think it’s because he’s back in school and we’re both keeping busy. Time needs to slow down a bit though because I have a lot I want to do 😉

I thought I made a “Goals for January” post but I can’t find it. Hmmm. One of the things I wanted to accomplish this month was ticked off my list this weekend. I signed up for a monthly mini quilt “class.” How sad is it that I didn’t find the Temecula Quilt Co., until after I moved away from Oceanside! It would have been less than an hour drive for me to go to that shop. I found a post early last year of someone who was stitching their monthly minis and made a note to sign up for this year. I love that it’s an automatic but that you’re not locked in for any length of time. If it becomes too much, I can just contact them and they’ll cancel my “subscription.”

I’m also on a Yahoo group with a miniature quilt designer who gave out some great advice this past week on how to keep on track to make our mini quilts.

Week 1 – Plan your quilt, pick out your fabrics and cut the pieces.
Week 2 – Sew the cut pieces into blocks.
Week 3 – Put the blocks together and add the borders.
Week 4 – Finish the quilting and add binding.

Looks fairly doable to me. I just need to figure out how to fit in 2 mini quilts 😉

I’m still being a bad “rotator.” I just can’t put And They Sinned down. I’m into it about 29 hours now over 10 days.

I’m starting my packing today for my Vegas trip. Yay!

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Posted in And They Sinned, Quilting

2012 Year End Review

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Terri | 3 comments

My 2012 Goals were:

■Get back to blogging more frequently. I think I did blog more frequently, but still feel guilty that I didn’t blog more than I did.

■Get back to rotating my stitching and tracking my time. I started out really strong on my rotation then lost my watch 🙁 I did continue to track my time, but more in the number of days it took me to stitch something than the actual length of time.

■Stick to my WIPocalypse goals and keep my page updated. Not 100% success.

■Post to the Theme-a-licious challenge as often as my rotation works into it. I was doing rather well in this, too, until I hit a “snag” then just couldn’t get myself back in it.

■Post my monthly TUSAL. I don’t think I ever did this. It was laziness on my part because I certainly kept up with it at home!

■Participate in at least 6 3 Fair and Square exchanges. (changed 1/8/12) 1 finished 2/12 I had every intention in participating in the 3 exchanges. Once I finished the first one I never saw notification of any others. I’ve since figured out what I did wrong so I can see when the new exchanges come up.

■Finish out all 6 3 received Fair and Square exchanges. My received item is sitting on my finishing table waiting on me to finish it. I’ve already decided what I want to do, I’m just having trouble finding a suitable finishing item for it.

■Stitch a Santa ornament for my Santa display. I stitched 3 Prairie Schooler Santas for my display…but they never got ornamentified 🙁

■Take at least 1 stitching related class. Oh, joy, oh, yes! I attended the Attic’s Summer Soiree and had a blast! The projects we received in class are at the very top of my finish list for 2013.

■Finish logging my charts into my spreadsheet. I am 90% finished with this!!!!

■Start organizing my freebies. Didn’t get to them or the magazines since I didn’t finish with the charts.

■Organize my magazine designs.

The first half of 2012 found Mister and I holding our breath and living a wait and see life. His retirement on February 1 scared us both a little. It was such a huge change for us going first from two incomes, down to his, then down to 75% of his. I was so thankful that I remembered how frugal I had to be when we first married. Of course back then there was no internet to peruse to find hints and secrets of how everyone else was doing it 😉 It took awhile for his disability pay to kick in, but once that happened we both felt the relief those funds could bring.

I traveled in January to Las Vegas and had a blast with Melissa, Annette and Annette’s mother, Pat. There was a lot of stitching, and laughing, and a good bit of gambling that occurred and I actually came home richer than I arrived.

I enjoyed as many open stitching nights as I could at Attic Needlework. There were several Bag Ladies stitchins, and I loved, loved, loved the Sampler Sundays I attended. I feel so blessed to be living near Attic, getting to know so many designers that live nearby, and stitching with some wonderful women.

I found a really nice quilt shop and started the first of 3 quilt classes in January. I still haven’t finished the two quilts (one needs binding, one needs quilting and binding) but I did manage to finish what I think is a beautiful quilted bag that I tote all over the place with my stitching.

I read more books than I can remember and feel bad that I didn’t keep track of just how much I read.

And stitching! Lordy, did I stitch this year! I have been having so much fun with it! I had 11 stitching pieces on my WIPacolypse list. I finished 3. I also started 7 more, and finished 5 of those. Not bad 😉

Petite Mexican Sampler – The Samplar Workes – finished
Peacock Tapestry – Teresa Wentzler – (started 9/99) stitched on for 10 hours
Harmony – Serendipity Designs – started 11/23/97 — this had about 10 stitches in it. I took it with me to Vegas and unstitched it, then gridded the bottom of the fabric. Fortunately, I measured before I started stitching again and discovered there would have only been a one inch margin all the way around my fabric. I have put it aside, and taken it off my WIP/UFO list for now since there’s nothing but a gridded piece of fabric.
Haiku – Dimples Designs – started January 2004 – finished
Fairy Moon – Mirabilia – started October 27, 2004 – this saw a lot of stitching. I am almost finished with the stitching and will keep her in my 2013 rotation until she’s finished.
QS Letting Go – HAED – November 19, 2005
Red Desert Scissor Pocket – The Cat’s Whiskers – started October 11, 2006 – needs finishing out
Quaker Needlework Treasures – With My Needle – originally started October 2006; picked back up January 11, 2010
Le Marquoir de Justine – started January 4, 2007
Hannah Beeby – finished 4/15/12
Houses of Hawk Run Hollow – Carriage House Samplings – started January 18, 2010
New Start – Rose Quaker Sampler – Wiehenburg – (Started 4/25/12 stitchalong on Wednesdays)
New Start — Hannah Gilpin 1800 – Needleprint
Mary Wigham – Needleprint – New Start 4/26/12 – finished 9/1/12 I fell so in love with this piece I couldn’t put it down!
Americana – Carriage House Samplings – New Start finished 6/9/12
America – Little House Needleworks – New Start finished 6/17/12
Betsy – Sheepish Designs – New Start finished 6/25/12
America – Blackbird Designs – New Start finished 7/8/12

I also conquered my fear of finishing ornaments!

I got a new car! I got to travel to California and see Son and Melissa. Son and Girlfriend came here for Christmas. My parents came here for New Year (haven’t visited me in over 12 years).

All in all I feel I had a really good year. Mister and I stayed healthy. Harley Quinn had a rough year-end, but it looks like she’s completely healed and we’re very thankful to be starting 2013 with her and Jasper healthy.

Mister starts back to school on Monday. I’m looking forward to the routine it helps keep me in and the uninterrupted stitching time it gives me.

Last but not least, I managed to finally start And They Sinned yesterday. I have a 25% off everything coupon for Jo-Ann so I’ll be buying DMC for Berlin Woolwork Sampler and starting on that on the 15th.