New Year's Eve... eve

Last night I made two more Dear Jane blocks.

<---This little block is 5 inches square. It has 28 pieces in it! I used another fabric from the stash my Aunt Jean left me. It's called A-1 "Pinwheel Gone Awry." I paper pieced each row, then stitched the rows together by hand. I found it was easier to match the seam lines that way.

This block also has Aunt Jean's fabric in it. I think it is as sweet as can be! Love the little hearts, though I'm not a fan of blue anymore. Funny how our tastes change, isn't it? This is B-2 "Sweet Tater Pie." I used half square triangles to make two 5 inch pieced squares. One of the squares is the foundation, the circle was cut from the other square and appliqued on to make the center portion.

I have to work today from 8-3, but after that, more stitching to bring in the new year.

Happy QUILTY New Years, Everyone!

A Great Day Sewing

Today I woke up determined to get some good sewing time in. I worked on one block for my Dear Jane quilt, called "Dad's Plaids." No, there is no plaid fabric in this block.

I also completed two of the right side triangles. RS2 - "Cherokee Lee" has 22 little pieces in it! That's a lot for a triangle only 5 inches wide and 8 inches tall! I included a piece of Japanese Taupe fabric in this triangle.

RS4 - "Dutch Apron" only has 15 pieces. It went together very quickly compared to Cherokee Lee! I inherited a bag with some fabric from the 1930's and 40's from my Aunt Jean when she passed away. The pink print in this block I took from a piece of clothing that was in the bag. By "piece of clothing" I mean it wasn't the whole article of clothing... just the bodice of a dress or top part of a top. It seemed like the perfect fabric for a triangle called "Dutch Apron."

The two triangle blocks made today use a form of quilting called "paper piecing." If you look closely, you might see a peek of paper around the edge of one of these blocks. If you have never done this type of piecing before, there is a good tutorial at the Quilter's Cache.

I LOVE Saturdays! This is the last one in December... glad I could use it wisely!

Dear Jane - B-1 Bachelor Buttons

Santa was kind to me in 2007. I received the Dear Jane book by Brenda Manges Papadakis, as well as the CD of patterns that goes with it. Not being a patient person, I hopped right in and completed what is probably the easiest block for me: B-1, Bachelor Buttons.

I am making my quilt in "scrappy" fabrics, using mostly what I have on hand. I'm going to try not to purchase fabric for this quilt and use up what I have, but if you're a quilter, you know how that goes. The original quilt was made by Jane A. Stickle in 1863 during the Civil War. My quilt will use the same layout design, but with different fabrics and "my touch." Each block is 4.5 inches finished, so these are little bitty things! If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will see the quilt grown here.

I will hang on to this quilt for years (hopefully) once it is completed, but the quilt is being made for my Grand daughter, Samantha Mosey. I will also be keeping a journal during this time to give to Samantha with the quilt - someday.

So, here you have block B-1, Bachelor Buttons. May the rest be as easy!

Christmas 2007

My family celebrated Christmas yesterday (Sunday) because our boys and their gals needed to juggle between families. It was a nice, relaxing day... but the events leading up to it were not!!! My mother-in-law fell and broke her pelvis in 3 places on Friday night. She thought she was just bruised, and went to bed, but Saturday morning she couldn't walk and was in extreme pain. We took her to the hospital where they X-rayed her. She will need to be in the hospital for 5-7 days at least, or until they can get her up and moving enough to get herself to the bathroom. She's NOT very happy! So my father-in-law is fending for himself - something he is NOT good at. He came over yesterday as well to celebrate with us. He LOVED the afghan I knitted for him! We had a buffet-style meal, lots of snacks and finger foods so people could help themselves. The photo (left) is son Sean and my grandson Jacob (who will be 4 in May).

Jacob had SO much fun - and was so well behaved! We had lots of presents for our granddaughter-to-be, Samantha, who arrives on Feb. 15th (which is also my mother-in-law's birthday). First baby girl in several generations in our family.

We met Loren's girlfriend Margaret for the first time yesterday and quickly saw why she's so special to him. What a lovely girl!!! This is not a good photo, but I wanted to include it.

I gave my daughter-in-law Kim a cute painted sweatshirt... keeping the sweatshirt unbuttoned lets her wear it - over the baby bump! It has the Eiffel Tower on it and on the left, a girl painting the tower on an easel.

Dean and I will open presents to each other Christmas morning, then go visit his mom in the hospital.

Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!

... and four more

I've been busy and completed four more blocks!

Somebody reach out and give me a pat on the back. I'll turn around and make it easier for you...

Playing Catch-up Today

This time last year, I signed up to participate in a "Block of the Month" challenge on the Quilting Arts Forum. Each month, QAF features a new block, and if you participate in it all year, you have 12 blocks completed in matching colors. Well, sometimes life gets in the way, as it did this year. Each month I printed out the patterns, but they became a collection of papers - with very few blocks completed. You can see by the photo below that I was ambitious the first month, making the four corner blocks all the same.


Today, I decided I wanted to skip shopping/wrapping/cleaning/decorating and all that other Christmas preparation. (Well, I DID clean the oven... using the auto clean feature!) I did three blocks today, so the photo below shows my TOTAL number of blocks completed. Pretty sad, isn't it? Mind you, the two applique blocks are NOT a part of the challenge, but I determined last January that I wanted a mixture of pieced and applique blocks, thus the two you see here.

Here are some close-ups:

With a little more work over the weekend, I should HOPEFULLY get them all finished and save face. I'll post again when all the blocks are completed. Crossing my fingers as I type,

Alzheimers Art Quilt Apparel

You've probably heard about the Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative to raise money for research by making and selling miniature quilts... now there is a website where you can buy apparel with the logo to further publicize the program. CLICK HERE to take you to the page and see all the goodies you can buy!

On a Roll... one for me, too

I've been making totes for days... can't quit without making me one, too! I'd show you the rest of them, but they are gifts, and I don't want the recipients to see them online before they get them!

This one is all mine!

Visit Etsy for Furniture!

My husband now has some of his furniture online at Etsy.com.

Please check it out... you never know what you might find!

His Etsy shop is HERE

His workshop website is HERE

Year of the Tote, Part 2

So, what do you do if you have TWO people who are hard to buy for? You make two totes!

Voila!

Year of the Tote

What do you get someone who doesn't need anything? And is difficult to buy for?

Solution for '07: you make them a tote bag. And, if you have the fabrics in your stash, it doesn't cost you one darn cent.

My Mother-in-Law is an avid reader, but she doesn't like to buy books anymore since she reads one or two per day. She visits the library every few days, so here is a tote bag for her to carry her stash in! It should go with her off-white coat, don't you think? The big pocket on the front will hold her library card, kleenex, keys, etc.

Enough blogging... I think I need to go make one for myself!

It's Called Christmas - Video

Someone sent me this video to watch, and while the words are a little hard to read, the song itself is worth listening to.

Thanksgiving Family Photos

We spent Thanksgiving at The Cook's house on the lake in Waterford. What a wonderful day!

Top picture, left to right:

Karen, Gary, Loren, Kim and Sean.

Middle picture:

Kim's brother Kevin, grandson Jacob, Kevin's wife Aliya.

Third photo: Jacob's first playtime in the snow this year!

1956 was a GREAT year!

Two amazing things happened in our family in 1956. They happened on the same day! I was adopted, and my parents signed the papers on their home and new business. This photo was included in a big bag of goodies my father gave me in early summer, shortly after my mom passed away. The photo is of their business/home. Dad had worked for a few local florists, but wanted his own place and to be his own boss. This is the Caron Lee Flower Shop. My name is Caron Lee.

As they were preparing to leave their house to go sign the papers on the building, they got a call telling them that a baby was available for adoption, and to come now. So they did, and here I am. It seemed only fitting that the store and baby get the same name!

Over the years, we both changed. I grew. The store changed in appearance and focus. Even the road changed! Here is the dirt road I remember. After Dad retired, the store changed hands several times. It is no longer a flower shop. This is what the building looks like now, no longer owned by our family.

The CARON Collection

Check out

The CARON Collection is a manufacturer of specialty threads for needlepoint, cross stitch, crochet, embroidery, knitting, hardangar, crazy quilting, lacemaking, crafts, needlework, and a publisher of designer patterns for those who love needlework, needlepoint and any of the needlearts.arts

PLEASE NOTE: Just because they share my name doesn't mean I am affiliated with them! But they have some very cool stuff!

Free Pattern Giveaway

Camille over at Thimble Blossoms is giving away patterns. You have to see the cute designs in the most cheery, beautiful colors! Head on over there quick!

Plain, Not Fancy Sometimes Works Great!

I know some quilters have beautiful studios. They show photos of them, boast about how they created their new space, what cupboards they bought, etc. In another life, I had a spare bedroom upstairs in our colonial house that was dedicated to sewing. It had a deck with drawers and held my Bernina Nova. There was a closet for fabric (but not very large), had two sunny windows and another desk for the computer. I was thrilled I had a room to sew in... one where I could shut the door and keep the outside world - out.

In our "new" house (we've been here 9 years now, why do we keep calling it our NEW house) I don't have a sewing space. We decided when Loren moved out that we would downsize. Yeah, that's the right thing to do, right? Who needs all that space?
We do.

After 9 years of grumbling, we are talking about finishing our basement. But money is tight. Oh heck, let's be honest. There is NO money. I live in Michigan! So, knowing that the basement won't be finished for some time to come, Dean and I decided that we needed to create a space in the basement for my sewing anyway. It's kinda like the Bat Cave. So why am I so excited?

Because IT WORKS. It's plain, kinda cold, not a lot of light, but it works. We're going to paint the walls, add a rug, and hubby has a plan to hang a tarp to keep in the heat around my sewing space.

Martha Stewart would probably yell at me. I don't care. It's a place for me to create. It allows me to leave my projects out and not have to pick them up and hide them away at mealtimes. (I had to set up my machine on the kitchen table to sew... yuck!)

So the next time you see a beautiful photo of someone's fancy quilting room, think of me. Cement block walls can be lovely when they afford you the opportunity to create!

New Website Launched!

I started a new website yesterday... the bones are in place, now I need to work with it to make it what I want it to be. Please take a peek at http://www.freewebs.com/cmosey/ . I will be setting it up to open at CaronMosey.com soon, but I need to get it more polished first.