Xmas Wall Hanging, "Its Mine! Its Mine!" is finished.

I finally finished my Christmas Mouse wall hanging.  I named it, "Its Mine! Its Mine!" since the little bugger has grabbed onto a Christmas tree ornament and made off with it.
Its 13" Wide by 15" Long and finished just in time to hang on my door before Christmas.

Here he is above, my little Christmas critter.

Here's a little closer view.  Doesn't he look pleased with himself.
The rest of the day will be taken up with making candy and resting in between batches.  Maybe even some prepping of microwave bowl cozies will be managed today.

Its snowing out.  They tell us only about an inch accumulation in total.  We shall see.

Have a good day.

Visitors and Sewing Today

I had two visitors today.  One of them requested a batch of my peanut butter fudge which I made for her last nite.    She picked it up this morning.
The other my best friend who came over with my Christmas gifts today and I gave her hers.  We like to get together for our Game Days (cards, dominoes, checkers, cribbage, etc) and good food for lunch, sometimes homemade, sometimes great take out from our favorite places.
We are exact opposites.......She's short and I'm tall, she is an Energizer Bunny and I'm not, I am creative with sewing, crocheting, knitting and she's not.  She loves to cook and clean and I cook and clean because I HAVE to in order to live, I love Britcoms and reading, and she doesn't.....but we both adore our families, our friends, and animals, wild and domestic.
Today we were both busy with the coming events in our particular lives and didn't chat for long.  I will see more of her after the Holidays.

I also got back to Christmas Mouse today and have the satin-stitching completed.

I'm thinking a bright red border for this wall hanging.  The eyes are not yet added.  There is the quilting and the backing and labeling before I'm finished but that will be tomorrow, I'm sure.  I need to get him hung on my door so I really need to make time tomorrow to finish him.

I also made inroads on little gifts for the residents here.  I made 2 more microwave bowl cozies and there are many more to go but I have a few more days to finish those.

These are the two made today.  I made myself one exactly like the one on the left because my favorite color is turquoise and this has a pretty turquoise print.  Another resident here also loves turquoise, so you know she will get the one on the left.

My back is aching.  It doesn't take much, just a couple hours at my sewing machine and I'm pretty well racked up for the day.  Maybe I can get more sewing in a little later.

Have a good day.

Microwave Bowl Cozy Tutorial

Do you have one?  I made myself one a couple years ago and can't find it since I moved here.  I thought I needed one.  I was tired of burning my fingers taking a hot bowl out of the microwave.

Place your bowl of soup, chili or whatever leftovers in the microwave on the bowl cozy.  Its made all in cotton so won't catch fire.

Removing the hot bowl isn't a problem.  Its not too hot to handle with a cozy.

Materials:
2 Cotton fabric pieces cut 10 inches square
2 Cotton Batting pieces cut 9 3/4" square (or the heat-proof batting that is microwave safe)
Cotton coordinating thread

Be sure its all Cotton.  Polyester will flame out in the microwave.  Be safe, use Cotton only.

Lay a batting piece on the wrong side of each fabric square.  Center it as much as possible.

Pin the batting to the fabric.
Draw lines from corner to corner to form an "X" in the middle.

Sew a straight stitch from corner to corner.  You can use a decorative stitch if you like.  Just sew from one fabric point to the other fabric point.

Do this in both directions.

IF ANYONE READ MY TUTORIAL BEFORE DEC. 17, 2017 MORNING, I WANT YOU TO KNOW I CHANGED THE PHOTOS AND METHOD.  I WANT TO REFLECT WHAT I FIND IS AN EASIER AND QUICKER METHOD AS SHOWN BELOW.......

Now you need to make your darts....... 

Fold your piece in half evenly like shown above, to mark your darts.

Place a pencil mark 1 inch down from the fold on your right.  Another pencil mark 2 inches in along the top of the fold as shown above. 

Draw a line from fold mark to edge mark.

Sew your seam line along the drawn line.

Cut away the excess fabric and batting close inside the "V" to complete your dart.  

Your dart will look like this when trimmed.

Repeat with the other 3 darts.

The Batting side should look like this when darts are done.

The Fabric side will look like this above when darts are sewn.  It will have a hollow for the shape of the bowls for which its made.

Repeat the actions above for the other piece of fabric and batting.  You need a pair to make your cozy. When both parts are finished, you are ready to put it together......

Holding both pieces, right sides together, pin them evenly across corner to corner.  Be sure to push the dart seams in opposite directions so you don't get a large bump in the middle.  

Sew a 3/8" seam from the fabric edge all around all 4 sides, leaving about a 3" to 4" opening for turning.

Trim the excess at your 4 points if you like.  Some say it makes a smoother finished point.  

Turn your cozy right-side out.  Smooth it out.  It will have a hollow shape for the bowl.   Use a point turner or sharp object to get the corners pushed out neatly.

At the opening, tuck the fabric inside evenly and smooth it out.  Pin into place.

Top stitch all around all 4 sides, being sure your turning area is neatly tucked inside and pinned in place.

I like to use my Walking Foot for this whole project.  The foot is the perfect width for sewing a 3/8" seam.  It rides smoothly over the thick fabric.  You can use a decorative stitch with a Walking Foot, if desired.

Here is the finished article shown above.  

Note:  You can use two coordinating fabrics if you like.  Both being the same fabric is not mandatory.  

To make a larger cozy for wider bowls and plates:

2 Fabric pieces 14 inches square

2 Batting pieces 13 3/4" square

Dart distance will remain the same at 1 inch from center line, BUT

mark the length of darts at 2 1/2" from the outer edge.

I hope you enjoy this pattern.  They are very useful and easy gifts to make.

Have a good day.

I Got a Free Wine Carryall

I had to buy a few last minute gifts of wine today.  I brought along my own tote plus 3 towels to wrap the bottles in so they would not break so I mentioned to the cashier I would like her to wrap the bottles in the towels.  Imagine my surprise when the cashier offered me a 6-bottle carryall, for FREE, with my purchase so the wine would stay safe in their travels home.

Its made from a good quality dense fabric that will last years and I can shop for my soda bottles with this in future.  I love it.  Thank you dear grocery chain, Hannaford's.

When giving wine I like to have a wine gift bag and the store had them for 99 cents each which is cheaper than the Dollar Tree or Dollar Stores around here which charge a dollar.  I like them.  So I think I did good with my shopping today.  Thank you Hannaford's once again.

My list is all checked off and complete.  Now I can just think about making sweets; peanut butter balls a.k.a. Buckeyes, fudge, fudgy wreaths, Italian wine cookies, and maybe some walnut clusters.  I, alas, am not a pie nor a cake maker so I resort to the candy making for my good things for the Holidays.

Merry Christmas my friends.  Happy New Year.  Hugs, S

"Christmas Mouse" Wall Hanging is started.

I began the steps to making my Christmas Mouse wall hanging today.   I have so been looking forward to getting him done.

For this one I will be adding a border to give it a bit more pizzazz.    There's still the satin-stitching to do around all the objects and the eyes I will add at the very end.    I am undecided on what fabric to use as my border but I think I can make that decision this time without too much trouble.

Its snowing out today.  They say to expect an inch but there's more of it on the ground than that already.

I was going to grocery shop Wednesday as usual but they moved our catered Christmas Party originally scheduled Tuesday,  to Wednesday due to the snow today  That meant no party for me.  I wouldn't be back in time.  But I went to Coffee Morning today and when they talked about the party I mentioned I would have to miss it and why.
A few minutes ago one of the residents here, Bob, came to tell me he would take me and another gal who I go with on Wednesdays, but on Thursday.  He did not want us to miss the party and the choir singing Christmas Carols afterwards.  I think that was very nice of him.  This is the 2nd time he has volunteered to take us two gals without cars to shop.  We use the local Parks and Rec bus once a week instead and have to go when they are scheduled.

So everything is in train.  Things are scheduled to happen and party this month and I plan to enjoy myself.

Have a Nice Day.

"Santa" and "Frosty's Winter Frolic" Wall Hangings Finished Today.

I worked at it, and got two of them finished today.
Santa is ready to hang on my door tonite.

This guy is small, but suits his purpose.  Santa measures 11.5 Inches Wide by 12 inches Long finished.  His eyes, though they look a bit off-color, are fine.  Its the lighting when I took the photo.

Frosty's Winter Frolic I made in bright background so he would show up clearly.   White snow flakes for winter, on a red background, fits my idea of bright.  He measures 13.5 inches Wide by 11.5 inches Long.

A quilter friend of mine suggested I add ornaments for Christmas Time to make him a bit different and only for the Holidays.  I agreed.  Thank you dear friend.

I bought these Christmas balls, shown above, which I can add during December only, and remove for after Christmas.  Frosty's Winter Frolic is now a Two-Fer.  I love it when I can get more use from a seasonal item.

My next project, dear to my heart, is a Christmas Mouse hanging onto a tree ornament.  I have all the fabric chosen and the background.  I just need time to start it.

I have a Christmas Party to go to tomorrow afternoon.  A catered affair by the apartment's owners and managers.  We have a Yankee Gift Swap, too, so I have a gift ready for that but not yet wrapped.   Our resident Christmas Party doesn't take place until Dec. 21st so there is time to get another gift for the Yankee Gift Swap with that one.  Its a Pot Luck so I'm bringing homemade candy and fudge.  There's also a 50/50 which is a money gift, the amount depending on how many buy how many tickets for the drawing.

We (the residents in our senior building) have a special gift box for our local volunteer Firemen and Women who are always there when they are needed, from a smoke alarm going off, to a resident falling ill.  In minutes they are here to help us.  They include EMTs and an ambulance so we are well taken care of in this small town.  This year 'the box' consists of 3 large shopping  bags which are nearly full already.  I like to add something sweet, something sugarless, and something salt-free as well, and a non-food item, so my items are all packed and ready to go to the Fire Barn along with all the rest of the gifts on Dec. 15th.

I hear snow is arriving again tonite.  We had 3-4" of the white stuff  this week and no power outages, which is always a good thing.  We can expect snow all thru the winter here in Southwestern Maine, so its something we all prepare ourselves for ahead of time.

Have a Good Day.  Hugs, S

I Have 2 Wall Hangings Pinned and Ready to Quilt

I did a bit of sewing today and got two winter wall hangings stitched and pinned so they are ready for the next step.....quilting.  Decisions, decisions, how shall I quilt them.  That will happen on another day.

This one is Frosty's Winter Frolic which I can use for Xmas and winter, too, because I bought some small ornaments I will pin to the tree so it will look more like Christmas for those few weeks, but remove the ornaments for after Christmas passes.  This was an idea floated to me by one of my quilter buddies.  Thank you very much.  Its a great idea.

Santa's Face naturally, can only be hung during the Christmas season so I'd better get this one finished first so I can exchange Pengilly on my front door for Santa.

I hear they are having snow in the south, like Texas and Florida and the Carolinas.  This snow is unexpected during this early in the season for them.
For ourselves, here in Maine, our 2nd snow will be arriving tomorrow they predict.  Its early for us as well, but we are more used to it, having driven on snowy and icy roads every winter.  We also have enough plows and sand trucks to alleviate dangerous driving.

Have a good day.