Feeling like a WINNER! :)

whooo hooo! I just received an email from Jo's Country Junction saying that I was the winner for her Ecolux Lighting blog giveaway!! 

 It's a LED strip that attaches to the throat arm of the sewing machine. Yeaaaa!!! Now I'll be able to see much better! Thanks so much Jo for drawing my name!!! :) I can't wait until my mail lady delivers it!

Love from Indiana!

Cups & Saucers - Ta-Da!!

Matching up the stripes was easier once I started paying attention to fabric placement. If you click the photo to make it larger just don't look too close at that bottom left strip....that was before I was paying attention. lol

Not too long ago I shared my other Farmers Wife blocks here on my blog when I had them all up on the design wall.  The Farmers Wife blocks all finish at 6" and that's small enough for me. Randy is sharing cutting directions over on her blog for 3 blocks every other Wednesday and sometimes throws in bonus blocks. If it weren't for her instruction and the fun of seeing along with other bloggers, I don't know if I'd tackle such a challenge. 

I'm a little behind, well actually I'm way behind.... and the fact that I've not been to the sewing machine in a couple weeks, doesn't help either!  Well, today I bit the bullet and made 2 of the paper pieced blocks while waiting on laundry in the basement. It wasn't until my 2nd block that I learned to leave the outside pieces *much larger* and then instead of trimming up to the 1/4 seam on the paper - and coming up SHORT ----instead use my 6.5" ruler and square up to perfect size. :/ duah. lol

Paper piecing really wears out my brain!! -lol-  I spend so much time thinking, and making sure I'm doing it right, only to end up doing it all wrong! I'm using men's shirts so there is no right or wrong side of the fabric thankfully so at least that was *one* mistake I didn't make! All the other mistakes that one can make, I made them.... some twice probably. haha

In case you missed the link, here's Randy's blog addy - http://barristersblock.blogspot.com/ there is a tab at the top that says SOWalong to take you to links to all the past blocks posted. Bonnie Hunter is also participating and shares her blocks on her blog from time to time. 

The Quiltville Queen is actually my inspiration b/c I mailed her a huge box of shirt parts for her 50th Birthday this past January and that is what she's using to make her Farmer's Wife blocks!!!  However she is naming her project The Account's Wife b/c her husband is an account. lol :)

Well I better get back to making more blocks - it won't be long before Randy posts another 3 blocks on Wednesday!  Also the block Nora and I were working on is nearly complete, but I'm waiting until she feels better and can help me again on the block she picked out to make ;) 
     
Love from Indiana!

Poor Nora got burned :(

Nora wanted to be my helper in the sewing room today. She flipped through my "Farmers Wife" book and chose a block, even picked out fabrics.... She paired up pieces for me to see and did all the cutting apart of the chain piecing. She's always begged to use the iron to press and today I thought I'd let her spread out pieces on the ironing mat and just "set the seams" by pressing iron down & up over seams just sewn - well on her 3rd "down & up" she grabbed the tip with her left hand!!!  OUCH!  :( poor girl. She didn't cry and ran to get ice immediately. I hope she's not "burned" from wanting to learn about quilting!

It blistered up and top layer of skin peeled off pretty soon after the incident. It's on her thumb on her left hand about 1.5" long. Hope we can bandage it so that she can still write at school. She's a lefty.

Found out later tonight, that b/c we put *ICE* on it right away - we damaged the skin tissue and that is why the blister peeled off right away :( didn't know until googleing how to care for a burn that you are only suppose to put *cold water* on the burn. Now we have to keep it bandaged so that it doesn't get infected. I hope that she's not hurting at school today.... also hope that she doesn't get the bandage dressing wet when washing her hands.....

 

Love from Indiana!