More Instant Gratification.......

Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, Something you do, Something you are, And something you give away.

— Robert Fulghum

So before I became a "quilter"........I used to sew up a storm......back in those days I would whip up a project in just a few days because (like most of us) I've always had to squeeze my sewing time in between raising kids, going to work, cooking dinner.....you know the drill.............

I've missed those "instant gratification" days and so this week I made some "in the hoop" Christmas ornaments and a mantel scarf and I even squeezed in a quickie thread catcher and replaced a zipper in my Dad's thermal vest!

Here, first, is the mantel scarf.....made from machine embroidery patterns called "Blue Nativity".....I used a piece of gold velour I had had in my stash for years.............

 I added the extra Star and Lettering to the top of each of the panels....................(guess who spelled "Myrrh" wrong?)

 After adding the gold trim to the edges, I notice they are a little curled but they really don't look as curly "in real life" as they do in the photo.....I may just leave it like that..........

 Here are the "in the hoop" ornaments...........front and back...............I used felt on the round ones and fabric on the other two...............I have been experimenting with different fabrics using my machine embroidery........

 

and last, but not least..............with all the ME I've been doing, my floor is constantly full of thread cuttings so I quickly fashioned a thread catcher to place right by the machine......

It will also serve as a "pre-catcher" for all the stuff that seems to fall from my hand into the trash can below.....you know, the spool guard.....the needle threader......embroidery spools......can't tell you how many times I've had to go fishing in the trash can to find something I dropped.....lol......

and I guess that is all I have to show you today..........I'm off to work again tonight so I'll talk to you again later...............
Ta-ta for now.................



 

A quick finish...................

A good friend is a connection to life, a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. — Lois Wyse I have had this piece of fabric in my stash since before I even knew it was called a stash.......it was a pretty Christmas border print that I knew would make a beautiful tablecloth but none of my tables were ever the right size for it since it was just about 45 x 48 inches......... But I realized last week that it was the perfect size for my Mom's kitchen table!  She uses a tablecloth everyday and this will be great for the holidays. The fabric is a Christmas motif by "The Kesslers for Concord Fabrics, Inc" and depicts a lace tablecloth and lots of beautiful desserts in lovely serving dishes.... and pretty china coffee cups.....looks like an afternoon ladies tea party, complete with wrapped gifts, flowers, and christmas cards......I would love to be invited to this party, wouldn't you? I found some red fabric with gold stars for the back, which was not quite as wide as the Kessler print so I added some gold fabric to the ends and then just followed the diagonals when I quilted it in the center and followed the scallops for quilting the edges.........(you can't really see the quilting here because of the busy print......) This was really one of those really quick projects.........not much to do but sew three or four seams and.......ta-da.............which is how much of my sewing history had been before I got the "quilting bug".......but it really is kind of fun to do one of these "instant gratification" projects........... Tonight, since I work the graveyard shift.....while all of you are enjoying an extra hour sleep.......(sad violin music, please).....I will be awake and working an extra hour!  LOL.....this happens on my shift twice during the year......in the spring they make it up to us by letting us work an hour less......so I guess it all works out in the end............so off I go to get ready.......ta-ta for now.............