Witchy Way Start

Our internet has been down since yesterday afternoon. Amazing what I can get done if I stay off the computer. One of the things I accomplished was to load the Witchy Way Halloween quilt and start the quilting.

I found out I don't like the clear Aurifil thread I bought. It's too shiny. I had planned to do the entire quilt using clear thread. Not happening.....

Instead I will be changing out threads. Orange and Black, Black and Orange. Maybe even some other colors thrown into the mix.

This quilt is going to take a while. I can tell. This morning I had to deal with poor thread tension on the back because it took me awhile to get the tension reset after running the Aurifil clear thread. I plan to do a lot of detail outline quilting. No particular quilting designs planned. I'm being creative!

That little border at the top with all the small Halloween motifs is bothering me though. Not sure what I will stitch there. If anything.  I'm not going to outline all those green shingles though!---that I know for sure. :o)

String Top

I have this string top almost finished. I've been auditioning borders, and settled on some blue paisley from my stash. Now I just have to get the borders measured and attached.

Right now it seems more fun to be outside gardening than in the sewing room.

Our grandson, Christopher, came this week and cleaned and re-stained the front deck. He does such good work. He fixed the surround a sound to play on the Roku and re-stretched the carpet. He blew the debris off the roof and gutter, and we also got to spend some good times together just talking and catching up with what is going on in his life----

I've been sprucing up a few of the summer annuals and putting things back in place.

The Mandevilla vine by the front door is growing nicely this summer.

Crimson Mandevilla

Blog Ads

I don't advertise on my blog as a general rule. So, there are no side bar ads here. Some bloggers have chosen to have ads you can click on on the sides of their blogs, and the latest blogger thing is the annoying pop up ads if you move your mouse near or over the ads----I have read you can make money from these ads. From twenty five to several hundred dollars a year.

However, I have found these blogger ads annoying for the most part, and I don't personally want to visually bombard my friends and family who visit here just so I can earn some cool cash, which I'm told is why these ads are appearing more and more on many of the blogs nowadays

Now if I was truly in need of extra cash, which I'm told is not a whole lot of revenue by the way, then I might be tempted to cover each side, top and bottom and anywhere else I could squeeze in a spot with advertising that would supposedly increase my annual income. With just a click from you, my dear friend.

Or maybe I'm just not convinced enough to think blog ads are going to pay for a cruise or buy me a new car! or even another spool of thread or yard of fabric!

However, since I have a loving family, wonderful friends, good food, a nice comfy home, clothes, lots and lots of fabric, thread---then you know I'm not having financial worries at this time, or things are not bad enough that I need to insert ads around the blog.

I know, here I am blogging (venting) about blog ads from the place that provides me a platform to speak on the internet....(from the hand that feeds you, as they say).

Many of my blogger friends, and the wonderful blogs I love to read have succumbed to the financial lure of the "ads". A sign of the times I guess. 


I hope you don't want to place ads on your blog, but if you want to read more about it, here are some links to ad info.

About Ad Sense on your Blog
About Blog Her Ads

Organizing Inspiration

June, one of the bloggers who participated in yesterdays thread organization blog hop really inspired me.

So, today I spent the afternoon going through my plastic drawers and inserting the cardboard dividers that June showed on her Stitched By Me blog entry.

In the process I  found I had way more thread.  But it's more organized now, and I love the divider idea!  (thank you June!)

Here are some pictures after this afternoons cardboard thread dividing.

One of the two Isacord machine embroidery thread drawers all neat and divided.

The Aurifil, Mettler and Masterpiece sewing threads.

Some miscellaneous  machine embroidery threads.
Floriani, Sulky and Madeira metallics.

Forgotten, but found: Yenmet metallics, Finishing Touch Skin tone thread sets,  some Sulky polyester and Solar thread set for machine embroidery.

Signature, 40 wt. Aurifil, YLI, some Bottom Line and more cotton threads for sewing, embellishing and machine embroidery.

I even organized the needle and bobbin drawer. (it was a mess!)

It felt so good to get this done that I even found time to sit and sew 12 more string quilt blocks this afternoon. The final two rows for the quilt.

Done!

More Thread

Since the thread post yesterday, I have gone through all my plastic roll around cart drawers and found a lot more thread. I'm sorting and organizing as we speak. Pictures later--

Thread

Karen at Sew Many Ways is hosting an interesting blog hop about thread, and how we store our thread. Since I'm such a thread fanatic  ---I thought I would join in the fun.  I didn't realize until I started taking the pictures how much thread I really have! --- I have more thread than fabric!---and I'm not saying it's a good/bad thing!

Let's start with Long Arm thread:

  I keep most of my thread in drawers of some type. These threads are in a tall plastic roll around type unit near the long arm.  This is   

Lava by Superior. One of my favorites. 

In the drawer right below the Lava is the So-Fine

and then below that is the Perma Core and Omni

These are the collection of Fil-Tec Magna Glides which is just about the only bobbins I use on the long arm anymore.  They are all in the upper most drawer of the roll around cart.
Since the roll around cart is pretty much full with thread, bobbins, a drawer for needles, the towa thread tension gauge and some tools I use regularly, and having empty space under the frame was really bugging me, I decided to buy more storage units, and fill those with what else? ---more thread!

I found these nice white stackable cubbies at our local Michaels crafts store.  They hold the tall cones of thread nicely, and I like the clear plexiglass fronts.

 One cubbie has my new, still not opened, collection of Essential Pro threads.

This drawer has some Bottom Line thread and misc. supplies.

This is some Maxi Lock Swirls thread I continue to keep.  I'm not sure why,  except I keep thinking I'll use it on donation quilting with the long arm. It's a really a very pretty variegated thread. I just tend to forget I have it.

Here is another picture of one the cubbies from Michaels crafts. Nice storage

Moving on--that was just the "long arm thread" --sigh!

Now, we are going to look at the storage of sewing and machine embroidery thread.

I should part with these huge 5000 meter cones of rayon. But the colors are so lovely, and once in awhile I do use it. Not often mind you, but you just never know---I keep it near the embroidery machine in a drawer in another white cubbie.  On top of this unit I have my Maderia Thread Chest.  Sort of my top of the line storage unit.  I bought it many years ago, and while I'm not using a lot of rayon for machine embroidery now. I love this storage unit.
.

If my rayon threads have been side lined recently as I'm switching to polyester threads nowadays for machine embroidery, this Isacord thread polyester (below) has not.
It is also stored in a roll around plastic thread cart that sits at the left of the embroidery machine under the sewing table. It's easy to open and reach down for whatever color I'm needing for a project.

Isacord thread for machine embroidery

This next picture shows my Hemingworth polyester machine embroidery thread.  It is the only thread I keep out on a thread rack.  Hemingworth thread comes with a unique packaging system that is part of the thread. So, dust, or even oils from your skin never touch the thread. It stays inside the plastic thread cover all during use, and when one is done using it, there is a small flexible plug to cover the top of the thread container. Very neat idea!

Hemingworth thread.

Sewing Thread




I keep another roll around plastic cart near my sewing machine.  It contains my go to assortment of  sewing threads. Mostly Aurifil and Mettler cottons. No real organization here.

Aurifil and Mettler for sewing. I do love those round silicone bobbin holders shown in the drawer below.

This is one of those nice plastic packages of Aurifil thread. A sale find. This is about as organized as I get with the sewing thread.

I used to keep all my threads out on wooden thread racks. One time, years ago now---I painted my sewing room and while removing the threads from the racks I found a lot of the threads were so dusty and dirty. When I put the thread back I got rid of the thread racks and decided it was better for the threads to be stored away from the dust and lint that just naturally happens in a  sewing space.  I use roll around plastic drawers units and cubbies for thread storage now.

These are some pictures from the sewing room showing the machines. The plastic drawer thread carts fit under each end of the sewing tables.

Just Because---

Everyone has good-days & bad days. Keep going---one step, one day, one week at a time---

Angels Trumpet

Angels Trumpet is in a planter on the deck. 

Finished---Feedsack Roses

I simply lost interest in doing this quilt. It lingered on my design wall for almost a year while I completed other projects and donation quilts. I would even pin other projects over "feedback roses" blocks rather than remove them from the wall.

Except for hand stitching the binding onto the backing, it is finally finished.   

Now, I like it, of course! I'm  glad to have it finished!

"Feedsack Roses" Finished size 66" x 86" Pattern from Mar. 2010 The Quilter magazine
Pattern by Cate Tallman-Evans.

Pantograph quilted using the paper pattern, "Plumbago". Superior So-Fine white thread.

I also finished ( a good word!)

another Prayer Garden quilt block.

Each block is so different. Choosing the fabrics, the threads, and seeing how they stitch out is so much fun!