Meet Lovely Emma

Aaahhhhhh..... don't you just love dolls?!  I mean of course- homemade dolls. They are the absolute best. I have such a soft spot for them in my heart. I love these precious creations. My mother use to collect dolls-but they were not handmade. They were all store bought. I have never really cared for those types. I have made a few soft handmade ones for myself and as gifts. I have purchased a few from craft shows. Here is my latest purchase. Meet Emma!

My beautiful Emma

She was made by the loving crafty hands of a customer/friend of mine. Rebecca Davison-March. I have her listed as "Rebecca Quilter" in my phone, because this is how we first became acquainted. She is a fellow Quilter, full time mom of three and works outside of the house full time. It amazes me how women are so strong and talented that we can raise children, work full time and still create beautiful things. A couple of months ago, Rebecca showed me a picture of a group of dolls that she had made her little girls. I was like: OMG- I love them! She sells them on eBay. They are all hand crafted, made with vintage items and unique cashmere hair.They all are a bit different and unique. I had made the request for dark hair and to have a vintage/Victorian look. Looking at dolls like this, takes me back in time to a simpler life. I think of Victorian times, along with the Civil War era, I am as fascinated with the Victorian era, as I am the Civil War era---there is just something about that time that just grabs my attention and I can't get enough.

she is in a antique doll cradle

I just received her yesterday. I have a good dear friend-Margaret Logan, who has been graciously acting as a go between for Rebecca and I. Margaret has not only brought us together, but is bridging the miles between us and helping us to connect. Thank you Margaret!!! Well, as I was saying- I just got her and I was so thrilled when I looked in the bag and saw her. I immediately placed her in this antique doll cradle that I found a couple of years ago. She looks at home sitting there-doesn't she? The cradle sits next to one of my vintage Treadle Singer sewing machines. I keep them both in my living room. They great together. Looking at her inspires me to get back to making my own cloth dolls. I think this will be good to do right after the new year. Thank you Rebecca for my Emma!

Keeping Busy- and Smiling

With this Holiday Season upon us-----I am so very aware of how busy everyone is and all of the "To do lists" that are out there. I love and dislike this season. Don't get me wrong---I love the reason for the season---I just hate all of the commercialism that seems to grow and grow each year. It is so funny, when I was a child----I was so unaware of this craziness, I just wanted for Jesus to have his birthday and for Santa to come. Ahhhhhh----the innocence of childhood. As an adult---I still want to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I no longer wait for Santa ( or do I?....... hahahaha). I do though want to enjoy every bit of it. I want to be with all of my children, sit back with my husband and talk about the wonderful things to come in the new year, I want to see my family members that I do not live close to, I want to cook and eat our traditional foods, I want to play music that is up lifting and joyful. I want to be in the moment. Then----if there is a chance for me to slip away and play with my machines and create something beautiful on a wonderful day of rejoicing---then it all adds up to a perfect day.  So, with these thoughts and desires of mine-----I force myself to stay focused. Look at my list-ha ha, and smile at each one listed. It is my personal list of what I realistically want and will do this Holiday Season. I will share a bit of it with you. Maybe it will inspire you on your list:
- wake up and smile at the beginning of each day
-think quickly of 10 things I am thankful for
-think of each of my children and send a loving thought to them
-envision us all together laughing and talking
-make at least 3 phone calls a day to different friends just to say hello
-make it a point to smile at strangers when I am out and about

As you can see, it has nothing to do with buying or meeting high expectations that always feel so self defeating. These are things that truly make me happy, smile, feel wonderful and create a better immediate world for me. Now----let it not be said that I will be thinking of my sewing studio and all of my machines with love..... of course I will, I want to make it a point to go into my room everyday and cut out some personal sewing time for just me. It doesn't have to be a big and extravagant sewing project---just something to allow me to go into my studio. Appreciate my room, machines, notions and fabrics. You know----fondling fabric never hurt anyone!!!! Ha!

Today, I plan to work on a quilt on my longarm. I am doing custom quilting on it for one of my customers. I have looked forward to starting this quilt top for many months. We had issues with batting and backing. So happy we conquered it and I have started it. I am planning my stitching as I go and I am even thinking of using some designs from my robotics on this. That is exciting, because it will be the first real quilt that I will using the robotics on. Way cool-- way exciting. I will post pictures as I move along on it.

Later I have my Christmas Party for my Guild. It is going to be so much fun and I can't wait to see all of  the ladies. We are exchanging Christmas potholders. Doesn't that sound neat?!

I came across this picture and had to post it here. I made these  Christmas stockings as a gift a couple of years ago. They are of my own design. I just loved making them. They were fun to do from the beginning to the end. I have to admit---I do love making stockings. Maybe that is something I will do in a couple of days. Every time I think of these stockings I have to smile.  So---I encourage everyone to make something today that keeps you busy in a good way and that also makes you smile.

Country road take me home....

Well--we did it. My family and I flew to California for Thanksgiving, and we made it back safe. We wanted to go and see our daughter and my son who are there. It has been over a year and a half since I have seen Doug, and it has been since this August that I haven't seen my daughter. Hate it, hate that I don't get to see my kids often. Hate that I have to fly out and take a vacation to see them. But.... feel very blessed that I am able to do this. We flew into California on Tuesday and stayed at a hotel in Burbank. Burbank was a great place to stay. Very interesting there. The weather was very nice-perfect for us. Not to hot and not to cool. Total flip flop weather for me. We were able to walk around and take in the sites. We ate at a few local places. One of the restaurants we ate breakfast in was all decked out in the 50's- so cool. There was a small juke box at every table. You could play 3 songs for 25 cents. My kids thought that was the neatest thing---of course we played song after song. One of the things we decided to do was actually on my Husbands birthday---it was the day after Thanksgiving. We went on a tour at Warner Bros Studio in Hollywood. That was so way cool! We saw props from shows like Superman, Batman, Big Bang Theory, Friends,Harry Potter, Gilmore Girls. Pretty little liars, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne movies and more. We love this kind of stuff! It was neat to go into the studios were they film current live shows. It is amazing to see how little the areas are that they film in--not really how it looks on TV. The men in our group went crazy over all of the Batman mobiles and motorcycles---yep, they were all there and all running! My daughter was thrilled with the Gilmore Girls homes and scenes--and yes----Friends. Me---loved the Friends scenes and props--but I really loved the stuff for Harry Potter.

Marissa and I sitting on the couch from "Friends" TV show

We were just goofing off here and staging a laugh scene

Marissa behind the counter at the "Central Perks" scene for Friends TV show.

Thanksgiving day was spent at a friends home in Calabasas. Cheryl--great host, beautiful home, wonderful dinner. Her mother and brother joined us. It was a very nice day. How many people will open up their doors on a holiday and invite a group of people in-some that they are meeting for the first time and host a holiday meal??? Not many that is for sure--but this lovely lady did. Thank You Cheryl!! If you haven't guessed yet---that is who I made the blue and grey fabric coil basket for. She liked it and it matched her living room.

Getting ready to film me on a broom from Harry Potter movie

It is pretty neat to walk around an area that is not your home and see how they prepare for the Holiday season. So weird though to see Christmas lights, trees and wreaths out and about right next to palm trees. Had to take this picture of this Christmas tree. It was huge and you could walk right through it to get to the other shops. At night, this tree was all lite up and pretty.

had to show this- a Christmas tree in California that you can walk through. That is Joe Man standing there.

The days went by quickly. Before we knew it, we were flying back home. We flew out of Canada, so coming back was the same. It felt so long of a flight and then the 2 hour drive home felt endless. Back to the cold, back to our fur babies. Our home was waiting safe and sound for us---all thanks to my friend Colleen. She took care of our home and fur babies. She is a true gem. Thank you Colleen!! It was really good to see the kids and spend time with them. In a blink of an eye our trip was over and time to say goodbye again. I really hate saying goodbye. Hello is so much better. It is always nice to be back home though, no place like home. I missed my fur babies and of course...... being the quilter that I am...... I missed all of my machines and fabric. I do have a story that I will share with everyone later about fabric and California. For now,,I am sitting here in my home enjoying a nice cup of coffee and thinking about our next visit with our kids.

Another Fabric Coil Bowl

I have another Fabric Coil Bowl to show. It is a gift for someone else, I highly doubt they will see this blog or my face book page-so I think it is very safe for me to show you all. I have to say---I really do love this bowl. I made it into an oval shape. I used yellow/gold, blue and grey colored fabrics on it. I was told by an inside source that this recipient has those colors in her home. I have not made an oval shape bowl in like forever--so it was sort of a treat for me to do this. I know that I have mentioned this the other day, but I have to say it again. Making these bowls are not tedious in anyway for me. It is very calming and relaxing. Once I decide on the colors and the shape that I want, I just sit and sew zig zags in circles. What is not to love about that. I play my favorite music, drink my coffee, get lost in my little world in my mind---and then like magic the bowl is done!!!!! Easy peasy! I have altered the pattern in the past. I have made lids for them, I have added accessories, I have made hot mats and mug rugs out of them. They are so useful.

Here it is! TA DA! It sorta reminds me of denim but, I did not use jean material. 

The inside is nice and bright- this way , you can see to the bottom no matter what you use it for or the lighting in the room

Well, this will be the last post for a couple of days. I am going to focus on the family and the Thanksgiving Day Holiday.As you all are probably feeling--there is much to do and the days go by fast. Of course, my mind will be going a mile a minute thinking of all my WIP, and other projects I can not wait to do and share. I hope everyone has a safe and loving Holiday. Enjoy your families!

Just a side view. I love the design on it. I don't like to make the same design over and over.

Fabric Coil Bowls

I just had to show a couple of pictures of one of my latest fabric coil bowls. I love these bowls. They are easy to make, fun to make and very versatile. These bowls allow you to exercise your creative flow. You can choose what ever color, design, or shape you desire. I have made them custom to sell, and I have made them as gifts for people. There are a few around my home being used in various ways. One of my favorite ones, is a little scrappy bowl that sits right next to my sewing machine. I love it! It is so cute and so tiny. I use it to hold little items such as: seam ripper, stiletto, bobbins, etc.... I have brought this little bowl with me to sew dates and retreats. It is a helper tool for me. The other fabric bowls around my home are used as decorations, to hold rolls for dinner, to hold extra decorations for holidays, bathroom supplies, makeup...... As you can see, I use these bowls for many things. This particular bowl is a gift for my son and daughter in law. They own a spa in California. It is a gift for them. Their spa is purple, silver and white. So- I made this bowl to order. I am not sure where or how they will use it. I have not seen their spa yet----. When I gift them the bowl, I hope to get a good feel of their color scheme and decor then. I may be making a wall quilt or two for them (hint-hint).

This is one of the latest bowls I have recently made. The colors are a deep purple, whit and grey.

I have a tab here on my site that has some of the various bowls that I have made. I really do enjoy making them. My guild had me teach a class last year. All of the ladies did so well- all of their bowls were different colors and unique. Also, just recently, at my retreat there were a small group of women that wanted me to show them how to make them. The supplies that I use are few and simple. I use all cotton clothes line, fabric glue,basting glue, wonder clip, denim needle, large pins, fabric of choice, a sewing machine that does a zig zag stitch, thread of choice and away I go. I pre cut my fabric into 3/4 inch wide strips. I think that width works the best. I use" ROXANNE" baste it glue, and" Aleene's  Fabric Fusion". With all of the trials and errors- I have settled with these products. It can take a good couple of hours to make a bowl. Some people have told me that they find it tedious. I do not. To me, it is relaxing....it is mindless sewing. I can just sit and sew, listen to the sound of my machine, be lost in my thoughts. Before you know it- you have a beautiful bowl at your disposal.

I love the way this bowl came together

The inside: nice and round and deep enough to use for many things.

Debbie has big ones..........!

Ha-  I just had to laugh at myself when I came up with this post title. Just a little bit of nutty humor to start the day. No this is not a trashy post---yes, it has to do with quilting. My friend, "Quilter Debbie" is the person on spot today. She is a marvelous quilter--she can look at a picture of a quilt and come up with a pattern with a snap of a finger. She is very talented and may I mention---has nutty humor also. Well- She recently made this quilt top at our retreat in October. It is of her own design. It is a gift---so no names mentioned on who it is for. She asked me to quilt it with an all over meander stitch. The interesting thing about her request is that she did not want to have any batting in it. I was like: Hhhmmmmm- OK, let's give it a try. I have never tried this before. She wants it to be as a cover  on the bed for the warm months. We picked out "light olive" thread from Glide. I loaded it up on my Long arm frame. I had to smile and stand back and look at it. This is the first huge quilt that I have put on my newly extended frame. I would not have been able to quilt this if it were not for my new extension. I am so thankful that I was blessed with this purchase. When I had it all loaded and ready to quilt---I just stood there looking at it and smiling. That is when this title came into my head: Debbie has big ones......., hahahaha- so true. To know Debbie is to know this statement. She makes huge quilts!!! They are beautiful, but they are huge. Truth be known, her and her quilts were taken into consideration when I was thinking of getting the extension. Well, I am glad I did buy it, because it was useful with this quilt.

Debbie being silly at a past Quilt retreat at Halloween time. Love it!

Her big beautiful quilt. See how it stretches from one end of the frame to the other!

This quilt took me a couple of hours to do from start to finish. It was fun and it went by quick.  I used 5 bobbins on it. I am pleased with the out come of it. It does make me think of making some light weight quilts for my family for the warmer months. Not only does Debbie have big ones--- she had get ideas! Thanks Quilter Debbie!

Just a close up of the stitching on the back. I am so amazed how nice it looks without any batting in between.

Quilter's Creative Touch-Quilt motion

Is it Friday yet??? This feels like such a crazy week. I feel like I have had a full 5 days worth already. I think it is a great indication that I need to slow down and relax- sort of enjoy the process. I woke up with a feeling of great relief and that a weight has been taken off of my shoulders. I had not realized how much I have been worrying about the robotics for the longarm. By nature---computers and electronic devices and me do not get along. I have shaped a few strong cords in my relations with them recently--but it is an adventure to say the least. Yesterday, I was thinking that I would work on some of my WIP -you know, that stack of stuff in your sewing room that gets taller by the day,,,,,, at least mine is. I have been wanting to attach the robotics since I brought it home last Friday.  It is from the Grace Company and they are out in Utah. I am very pro America and I wish that much more "things" were made from beginning to end here in the USA. With that being said----I have had a few hiccups along the way of putting together and attaching my much desired robotics. After a series of phone calls back and forth from the company and addendum's of the instructions sent to me via email---I decided to sit down, spread out all the parts and pieces and get to putting this on. My husband is traveling for business right now-but with me being a stubborn Sicilian, I thought to myself "Oh I can do this by myself", ha--- how silly is that! I sat there for hours trying to figure everything out. Oh how I wished the directions and diagrams were accurate and easy to see. Parts were missing and  there were unidentified screws and bolts.  I was rescued at dinner time by a dear friend (Colleen) to come have dinner at her home. What a blessing and a relief to get away from what was happening in my studio. I wanted to stay and visit much longer but I was blessed with another friend (Bonnie) who was sending her husband over to help me with the robotics. I can not thank my friends enough!!! I am truly blessed. Well- Rob came over and he quickly jumped to the task of helping. Between the two of us---we finished a couple of hours later. He even helped me load it back up on the frame and return the poles in place.What a guy!!!!!! I sent my husband a text and told him of my happy success and then went directly to bed........ sleep came fast.  When I woke this morning I was anxious to get into the studio and fire this baby up and see that it was working----- and it did!!! I want to play with it today and see what I can learn. I am sure I have some fabric and batting laying around that I can load up and try. With fingers crossed--wish me luck---- I am jumping in feet first!!!!!

The view of the new tablet mounted on the head of the machine. This is the opening window of it.

A slightly larger view. I was hoping to be able to show the tracks on the table top that will control the movement but it all blends in together.