August BOMs

Hi Everyone...well, here are my block of the months for August. The Home is Where the Heart Is block is oh so cute !! Here is the finished block in addition to some close-ups.

Also, here is my August Basket for the Tisket-A-Tasket blocks too!

Love to all my family and friends.

Karene

Chef Junior & More

Hi Everyone, well Junior started culinary school today at the Art Institute of California down by South Coast Plaza in Santa Ana. There was a glitch in his schedule as the Head Chef signed him up for too many classes that were not covered by his financial aid so they had to cut six units. Unfortunately, the six units they had to cut was his cooking class. Apparently he cannot cook until he takes Sanitation and Safety...So, not to worry though, he will get to take that next quarter. A quarter is only 11 weeks long. So, he will be cooking up a storm next quarter. This quarter he is taking his Sanitation and Safety (which he needs in order to get a job in a kitchen), a portfolio class (required but no credits), and Cooking Concepts & Theories. These are three requirements he will get done in the 11-week quarter. I'm anxious to talk to him when he gets home tonight.

Anyway, here is what Junior has to wear next quarter when he's actually cooking in the kitchen. He has to be dressed exactly right or he will be sent home for the day. I think he looks pretty good !!! One picture is with his apron and then without it. He likes the one without the apron....ha,ha,ha.

Well, this had to be the fastest I ever got a block of the month done. I think this one turned out especially cute. I love the little girl and the dog.

More next time !

Love to all my family and friends, Karene

BOMs & More

Hi Everyone...well, June was a very busy month with Matt's graduation, my niece Nicole's graduation, quilt classes, etc. Joy and I started attending "fuzzy slipper" nights at Orange Quilt Bee, which are FREE sew nights twice a month. I have met some really great people there, in particular Ruthie (another widow) who has just been so wonderful and encouraged me to come. Anyway, between the fuzzy slippers and my classes, I have been able to get quite a bit of sewing done. This is such a great outlet for me and is my "therapy". I'm at my happiest when I'm there.

One of the classes I attended in June was an "Abbey Bag" class with my bestest buddy, Joy. This class was taught by our Teacher Extraordinaire, Ms. Janet, and I have to say it was really fun. We took the class with several "employees" of Orange Quilt Bee which made it extra special. It was a head-spinning, whirlwind class and thank goodness I had my pieces cut before I went to class because that really helped me get the bag done in just a couple of hours.



Here is a picture of me (courtesy of Joy) tying my pincushion portion of the bag, which then got hot glued to the flower portion that it sits on. The bag portion was sewn to the flower before it got hot glued. The pincushion is filled with "lizard litter", which actually is crushed walnut shells. I put in 1-1/2 to 2 cups, which made it very heavy and able to sit well on the edge of the table without falling off. It was fun and they all turned out so cute.























Here is a picture of four of the Abbey Bags that were made that day in class. Mine is the blue one. Don't know if you can see the material clearly or not but it has all kinds of sewing notions on it.....i.e., scissors, pincushions, thread, etc. It's really, really cute.




















I finally finished my Home Is Where the Heart Is block for June. This one was very time consuming with a lot of hand stitching. I think I'm slowly but surely getting better on my hand stitching.



















Here is the close up of the bride & groom as well as the church. Click on the picture to enlarge it and look at the flowers. These were tiny little french knots to make the flowers and then I had to back stitch the stems.





















The July Tisket-A-Tasket basket came out on July 5th and I just had to make this one patriotic. Not sure what the sheep has to do with the design of this block but it's cute anyway.




















This is the July Home Is Where the Heart Is block, minus the blanket stitching and the hand work, but I just loved how it turned out. The sand fabric (provided by Ms. Yvette) has tiny paw prints on it so I decided I had to "add" a dog in this scene even though the pattern didn't call for it. Can't wait to finish this one and see how it turns out. The little girl is sew cute now. Yvette and I are making ours into wall hangings because this quilt would be well over king size when it's done and I just don't want to have to try to quilt something that size or pay for professional quilting on that large of a quilt. I got a really cute hummingbird hanger to hang these on when they are done. I think they will look really, really cute once they are all put together.




















Now, I'm starting the quilt for Craig's charity event, which is supposed to be sometime in October and then I need to make another quiilt for Tricia's daughter, Kate, for her big girl bed that she is going to get in January for her 2nd birthday....busy, busy, busy... so stay tuned as there is more to come in July.

Love to all my family and friends !

Bits-n-Pieces

Hi Everyone....well it's been a very busy couple of weeks with Matt's first prom and then graduations galore, Snoopy, in addition to my sewing class and the blocks of the month. Here is a sampling of pictures so far from this month:


Matt & Ruby leaving for prom






















Matt & Grandma Dorie








Matt in his cap and gown. Unfortunately, he was too sick to walk in his graduation or attend the ceremony, but he dressed for the occasion for grandma anyway (to make grandma happy).





















And then there is the ever popular sewing corner......ha,ha,ha !!! Here is the June block for the Tisket-A-Tasket block of the month. This one is SEW PRETTY !!! I think it's my favorite so far.

Here are close-ups of the flowers and the bird

This coming Friday, Joy, Yvette, and I are meeting at Joy's to make the Home is Where the Heart Is block of the month for June. Stay tuned for that in a couple of weeks !!!

and then I am making these new placemats in sewing class because I'm sick of the ones I have had for years and years. Thanks to Joy for having just the right material I "borrowed" from her stash..thanks, bestest buddy !!! As you can see, the first one turned out really nice. Junior wants his name embroidered on it...ha,ha,ha !!!

With this pattern, you can also make a matching tablecloth and napkins. Hmmmmm, maybe.....the tablecloth. We'll have to see how much material I have after the placemats are done.

Love to all my family and friends

Memorial Day