Sunday, December 29, 2013

Another Christmas Quilt

Well this year my Dad and Stepmom got the Christmas quilt
 

That's my son looking a little like Jase Robertson and my grandson Silas cheesing it up.  He's such a cutie and anytime the camera comes out he thinks its time to get his picture taken.
 
Not much else has been coming out of my sewing room, I pushed myself to get this one finished in time for Christmas and yes I was actually finishing it up Christmas morning.  I just can't seem to get motivated to spend much time in my sewing room.  There is just so much going on around here it's just making it very hard.  If you are a praying person please say a prayer for me that things calm down and thanks so much for your prayers in advance!!
 
Well until next time,
 
Jodi


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Projects

I feel terrible that it's been so long since I've posted but things here are wild to say the least, I know it's no excuse but it's the best I have.
 
There is a little sewing going on but not a lot, I finally finished a quilt that I started several years ago.  It was my first attempt at creating a quilt.  It was one of the Joann's monthly quilt block sets.  I started it and since I really didn't know what I was doing I put it aside until after I had taken a beginners quilting class at my favorite quilt store A Touch of Thread Quilting Gallery here in Zanesville, Ohio.  I also have that top (quilting class blocks) finished but not quilted yet, oh well I'll get to it eventually.  But anyway here is the one I finally just finished
 

Couldn't really decide on how I wanted to quilt it so I decided to start in the center and worked my way out by doing a square that gets larger and larger.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
 
Once that was finished I needed a new laptop bag since I had to go out of town for work and needed something pretty to carry the laptop.
 

And last but not least my quilt guild had a retreat this past weekend that I got to participate in and we made a Christmas tree skirt.  It went together so easy I actually finished before I had to leave to come home.  It still needs quilted but for the most part it is finished


 

The one strip looks orangeish but it really is red.  As you can see you could use the back side as well which is nice.  It really wasn't that hard to put together but you really had to follow the directions.  So as you can see I have been getting some sewing done but we have been on the go a lot in September and October so it is affecting how much time I'm getting to spend in my sewing room.  Hopefully things are calming down.
 
Hope everyone is having better luck getting sewing done since Christmas is quickly approaching.  I really wanted to do a craft show this year but I can see that it isn't going to happen since I have next to nothing prepared to sell.  I'm hoping that my ideas for Christmas presents don't get lost in the process.
 
Well until next time,
Jodi

Friday, August 16, 2013

Baby Shower Gift

My friend Penny's daughter is pregnant and she is doing the baby's room in Elmo so I decided to make Elmo baby bath towels
 

I think they turned out pretty cute.
 
I've been working on getting a quilt quilted for our bed and have the quilting done now to get it trimmed and bound.  The quilting is definitely the hard part since I'm doing it on my regular sewing machine.
 
I have a couple more projects in mind, not that I don't have lots of things that I could be working on but a couple I want to try out.  I'll post pics as soon as I get them worked out.
 
Well until next time,
Jodi
 


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

So Much Time Has Passed

I know, so much time has passed since I last posted and I really haven't fallen off the end of the world just lots going on at the Stapleton household.  I can't remember if I told you or not but our daughter, son-in-law and grandson moved back in with us in January
Having them there is lots of fun but I'm not getting much done in the sewing room.  What I have gotten done have been either special orders or things that don't take too long to make.  I made curtains for my sister-in-laws dad and forgot to take pictures of them (probably the longest I've spent in my sewing room since Christmas, and everyone must have been gone for the day), I have curtains to do for my mom (embroider flip flops on them, will post pictures when they are finished), make curtains for my brothers camper (using a king size flat sheet for this).  I did get another purse made for vacation
I loved the yellow fabric and found the orange fabics to match, figured this was just perfect for a Florida vacation.  Before the Florida vacation the hubby and I went to Cleveland in April for a food show for his work and since we were there we just had to make a stop the the Cleveland Hard Rock Cafe
Had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed looking at all the memorabilia they had hanging on the walls, hubby must still have those pictures.  Then in May we went to Florida to visit family and celebrate my birthday.  We went to so many different places and so much fun.  We visited Tarpon Springs, Ocala, Edgewater, and Cocoa Beach where my son-in-law wanted to visit Ron Jon's Surf Shop
Please don't be blinded by the extremely white legs but I don't get to spend much time outside.  The little man enjoyed the water so much it was fun just watching him
Then the end of June I helped with vacation bible school at church and enjoyed watching all the little ones learn new songs and see the petting zoo.
 
Well now that I have completely bored you, LOL, I think I'm pretty much caught up with what has been going on.
 
Weather in Ohio has been just that, normal Ohio weather.  We've had lots of rain to the point of creeks and rivers being out of bounds and now we are part of this excessive heat wave and all I can say is thank you Lord that the air conditioning is working.  Hope everyone else is having a great summer and are staying cool.
 
Almost forgot, on the way home we stopped in Savannah, GA and had lunch with my son-in-laws friend Scott.  Since it was going to be a very short stop he gave us the dime tour and had us drive down River Street and bounced us all over.  We did stop and eat at Huey's on the River, they had very delicious food and we are thinking of planning a trip back to Savannah and have Scott give us a better tour.
 
Well until next time,
Jodi
 


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sonoma Swing Bag


My version of the Sonoma Swing Bag from Annie's Attic, not a bad copy but I still have issues with zippers and finishing the sides.
 
I need to make the pocket on the front bigger and find something to reinforce the handle so it isn't as stretchy, but other than that it's pretty nice.  Another try might be in the future.  I really like how it turned out so I'm sure I'll use this pattern again.
 
Until next time,
 
Jodi


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Breast Cancer Purse

Recently I attended our local OSU Extension Office Sewing Smorgashbord and this year the challenge was a breast cancer related purse.  In the past I have made other tote bags with breast cancer fabric and so I decided to enter.  Remember my last purse I made, see here, well I decided to use the same pattern for the breast cancer purse, hoping to win a prize, I wanted a ribbon shaped button and couldn't find it so I went on the search at Hobby Lobby and found a glass ribbon necklace dangle to use as the button and really like the look of it on the purse.  Again I'm not a very good photographer but the picture is viewable,
 
 
well I didn't win but I'm happy with how it turned out.  My friend Penny is very involved with her local American Legion Post and they always do special things in October for breast cancer so I'll probably donate it to her for their activities.  It was fun to make and I enjoyed entering even if I didn't win.
 
Well I hope everyone is enjoying the weather even if it is still very chilly here in Ohio!!
 
Until next time,
Jodi


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

MIA

I know I've been MIA lately, almost a month now, but since it's tax season I've been busy working on bookkeeping and trying to get things ready for the accountant.  Not to mention listening to my hubby regarding getting things ready for our taxes.  Not a real fun time of the year.  Hopefully that will all change soon and I can get back to sewing and other fun stuff. 
 
I've also been helping my DD with her new business of selling Origami Owl jewelry.  They are considered Living Lockets, check out her website at stephaniejolly.origamiowl.com they really are very pretty and look much nicer in person.
 
  You can change out the charms to match your mood or special moments in your life.  My wonderful children got me one for Christmas with birthstone charms, hearts that say mom and grandma, and little blue feet prints.
 
Until next time!!
Jodi


Monday, February 18, 2013

My Version of the Fold N Go Organizer W/Notepad

You know how I love to recreate things I've seen online, well I've done it again!!  I was doing a training the other day and one of the ladies had the 31 Fold N Go Organizer and I liked most of how it looked but decided to improve on it my way.  My dimensions are pretty close to theirs 9" X 18", I have 1 pocket with clear vinyl, 1 pocket that you can put a calculator or pens in, and 2 pockets you can slide papers in.  Well here's the pictures, please remember I'm not a photographer, here's the outside
 
 
Here's the inside

 
I like the way it turned out but I can't put a larger notepad in it so if I make another one I'm going to make the tablet area bigger, which will probably make it longer to keep the pockets close to the same size.  I put an elastic band on to help keep it closed and also be able to hold extra items.  I used Timtex to give it shape and I love how that turned out!!  My only gripe is that the Timtex I purchased had been folded and my organizer has an extra fold in it.  I'm planning to order more Timtex to get a whole bolt so it isn't folded.
 
Well until next time,
 
Jodi


Monday, February 11, 2013

Another New Purse

I decided it was time for a new purse again, I know so quickly after the last one! But I couldn't help myself, I came across this purse
 
 
on Connecting Threads website and really liked the looks of it and since I've made so many purses, I decided to give it a try without the pattern.  Since I didn't have exact directions to follow I missed a few things, like fusible fleece on the bottom, now I have a saggy bottom, no problem I fixed it with cardboard, and I also forgot to make the loop to put over the botton, will probably add that later, but here is my finished product along with the wallet I made to go with it
 
 
I'm very pleased with how it turned out and since we are so close to Valentine's Day the red is great.  My colors don't show up the greatest but then again I'm definitely not the photographer in the family and I don't always remember (almost never) to ask for his help in this area.  Normally I'm lucky if I remember to take the picture before I give something away.  Maybe tonight I'll ask him to take a better picture of the purse and wallet and I'll upload them, if I remember!!
 
Well hopefully everyone else had a productive weekend!
 
Until next time,
Jodi
 
 


Monday, January 14, 2013

New Bag for the New Year

Well I decided it was time for a new purse, I made this one 
 

back in March of 2012 (can't believe I actually carried it that long!!) and really like how it turned out (my version of the 31 Gifts Demi bag) but wanted a new color.  I had picked up some fabric back in the summer and just never got around to making it.  So here is my new one
 
I really like Red and the black flower outlines are much nicer, my camera didn't do a very good job of capturing it.  But then again I'm not the photographer in the family!
 
Hope everyone is having a great start to the new year, ours has been crazy busy so I'm searching for sewing time any where I can!!
 
Well until next time,
 
Jodi