MyCraftTime

Valentines part 2

2009-01-24T12:08:00.002-06:00

Here are my friends holding up their valentines and more decoration pictures. Here is my son serenading us and his girl with Valentine love! He even cut a few hearts before bolting out with his dad to do manly things, truly, they went to the pistol range to get out of the "hen party".

Handmade Valentine Party

2009-01-24T12:00:00.004-06:00

I had a fun party for friends to make Valentine's. I provided supplies and a lunch. We had doilies and card stock, glue and piles of stickers and heart images cut from wrapping paper and old catalogs and gardening magazines.

Nativity sets

2008-12-29T10:52:00.004-06:00

I went to my local thrift store and found some fun nativity sets for a great price. THis first one is the playmobil set, I was going to buy this one for Natalie but then saw that it has way too many little bits and pieces, so it is mine now. Then I got one of those sets that someone has sewn and hand-stuffed. The round porcelain one had no lights so I inserted a strand of battery operated led lights. They stayed lit for days. Mom painted the chunky wood ones for me years ago as well as the set of three elegant painted figures. On the top we see a fun children's turned wood glossy painted set from China, which no grand baby of mine will gnaw on due to the lead paint scares. The last top left one came in that felt box with a creche on it! Inside were little polymer clay figurines, which was a super price because one sheep was missing! At least everyone else was there. So for the last 25 years I have had 2 nativities and now I have 8, 9 counting the box! So now I have a collection of nativities, or something new to collect and display.

Quilty Christmas stuff

2008-12-21T22:44:00.001-06:00

Here is my new Christmas king sized bed quilt. These blocks are really big and this worked up quickly. I won lots of different quilt fabrics at a Four County Quilt Guild event in MD years ago and finally found a great design to use them all together. Reds and whites, greens and golds all together. I finished the quilt top in Canada when I lived there and had it quilted in Texas this year, on my bed this year for the holidays--Yeah!! It is much prettier in person. Lisa did a really creative custom quilt design in the blocks that accents the floral feel. Plus, there are stars in the borders, hard to see until you are very close. Mom made me this runner for my table for Christmas this year. I had some big quilt plans of my own for my grand babes this year but I have been sick for over a week now and I guess they may get them in January...

Necklace making with Judy

2008-12-20T13:13:00.000-06:00

We made many more pieces than this, and even took pictures for the blog, but the photos have disappeared! These are all we have--

Florist Flowers

2008-12-18T07:07:00.000-06:00

I do not know, what are these flowers ? And what are these alien yellow things? Look some handcrafted brooms..

Swiss Hot chocolate

2008-12-17T06:55:00.000-06:00

The Swiss make a hot chocolate that is very dark and bitter sweet. Here is a outside cafe at the Stork Hotel with fur robes to cover your lap and wonderful swans swimming by and a river view. Richard drank three or four chocolates a day and usually mine too. The whipped cream is so high in butterfat that it sits on top of your hot chocolate like a pile of mashed potatoes. See it on the little saucer behind the croissants? This is just a mean post, you can almost taste it...

Nascar not Crafting

2008-12-16T06:41:00.003-06:00

Last month Judy and I went to the O'Reilly cup with Richard and Zack, our first ever Nascar event for the 4 of us. We were totally surprised at how many fans there were, and how loud it was. Duh! We had to buy earplugs. We won these tickets at a charity silent auction. Never say that I am not the hostess with the mostest when you come to visit me. Judy and I drove to Houston for the big quilt show also. I was not enamored of this sport though and wished for some embroidery or a book---Now if this blog only had "loud-o-vision" You could hear the swoosh of the lapping cars. Notice way past the score pole the miles of parked campers, the second farther rows back? That's where we parked. Luckily, there was a trolley to get nearer before the race. and a nice lady drove us back in her golf cart afterwards, stars in her crown in heaven, kind stranger!

My husband and son said they could understand the lure, they found the whooshing of the laps to be strangely mesmerizing.

Wooden boat models

2008-12-15T06:36:00.001-06:00

Look at these great models at the Wooden boat museum in Clayton, New York. If these are children's toys they were lovingly kept. A man here in our neighborhood is building a big wooden boat in his garage. I keep meaning to get over there to ask him if I can see it, I just catch tantalizing glimpses driving by when the door is open, another friend said that the neighborhood man builds boats for Disney, But until I talk to him myself that's just a rumor!

Painted bear garland

2008-12-14T22:30:00.004-06:00

Mom painted all these different themed bears over several years, This year I hung them on my stair bannister. There are LOTS of these cute guys.

More Christmas stuff

2008-12-14T22:27:00.002-06:00

Mama's great Christmas winter village quilt with pearl snow. and a snow man with button legs and a my favorite rudolph the reindeer trophy head--

More Santas from my collection

2008-12-14T22:24:00.004-06:00

Some more great painted santas; tall ones, short ones, fat ones and even skinny ones-- and many in a santa forest!

Hand Painted Santa collection 1

2008-12-14T09:24:00.005-06:00

My Mama Painted a Santa for our family every year since I was married up until 2005, I continued to paint some myself. It makes me happy to put them up every year. These are not in chronological order.

Mysterious crafting

2008-12-13T06:33:00.000-06:00

What is she doing with construction paper stars and a big ole' bottle of Frank's hot sauce? hmmm? In Maryland a while ago---

Lighthouse Scare

2008-12-12T06:07:00.000-06:00

I decided to go up this lighthouse in Florida, Look How brave I am at the top (not really) and how scared I look going back down,I was terrified up and down. But look how pretty the lens and view is!

Baby Bernina Nova

2008-12-11T06:31:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of my first Bernina residing now at Rachel's house

Bernina Factory

2008-12-11T05:58:00.000-06:00

So in Zurich I found this Bernina place and I was sure it was the factory. I went in to look around and try to get a deal on the latest Bernina that does everything for $7800 dollars that I saw here at the Houston quilt show. I looked around, found someone who spoke English and they told me they wouldn't even have delivery of the machines in Switzerland until April! My Aunt Sue has been sewing on her Bernina since 1960, I got a Bernina Nova as a wedding gift in 1980 that is still in our family, going strong and is still worth on Ebay what we paid for it. Wow are the new ones expensive though. I had told myself I deserved it, I sew all the time and is my husband still using a computer from 1987, the last time I replaced mine? But $ 7800 just seemed too dear, maybe they will go down in price...

Onion Crafting?

2008-12-10T05:51:00.000-06:00

Here are these Swiss ladies in native dress hamming it up for the tourists in the town square. Notice the fancy braided onion swags and wreaths. I also love their black lace hats. Here I am eating some enormous roasted chestnuts. I love them.

quilted jacket

2008-12-09T05:34:00.000-06:00

I did a lot of traveling in November and almost no crafting, but I am back in the saddle before Christmas. Here are a few pictures from my journeying. Here I am wearing a quilted coat my mom made for me years ago. It has a flannel interlining. I washed it and it shrunk two sizes and I am just now back in this size again and can wear it. Look at how many tiny pieces of aqua fabrics! Oh yeah, I am in Switzerland in these photos.

Texas funny sign

2008-12-08T05:29:00.000-06:00

Only in Texas can you get such service, Beauty Parlor and Chainsaw repair! Now I just need Sewing machines and Sushi, or Quilt Store and pedicure!

Quilting by Myself

2008-12-07T05:16:00.006-06:00

Well, I am proud that I pinned this whole twin sized quilt to tie on the frame by myself ,all until putting the clamps on the corners! I set it up in my living room next to our grand piano. I think I could get a queen sized one up in there with the couch pushed against the windows this way. It was lonely without mom and my sisters! This is one of our "talk ABout" quilts featuring novelty fabrics. My friend Donna chose all the fabrics for this one last Spring and then has been overcome by life events and could never come help make it. So It has been hanging around on my cutting table, so I whipped it up. It just happens to be Christmas time and I can't decide to wait for that to give it to her or just give it early. I love her and wanted to show my support. Sometimes it can be awkward for our family to slather people with creative gifts we've made, if the one receiving the handmade thing feels too overwhelmed. Those who we love get used to it. Once you've bought the supplies it is hard to just make one of something. I have now made about 25 of those fabric wallets. I want everyone to get one for Christmas. Years ago, I went through a dried flower wreath phase and I must have made 20 that fall.

Wonder wallet Fantastico

2008-10-18T17:11:00.005-05:00

My sisters, mother and I gathered to sew on this fun project this week. WE cut out and made lots of these little wallets. The pattern is available from Lazygirldesigns.com or perhaps your local quilt store. These worked up super fast and we made lots of different color variations. One fat quarter piece of fabric 18x22" makes two. We mixed them all up and dove headfirst into our scrap fabrics. Our favorites were the last ones with the candies! This was so fun, It is very small and hods just your ID a few folded bills, a credit card and that's about it! Perfect for kids school ID's or bus passes or even for your gym bag when all you need is ID and a few dollars for the water machine---

Crack that Whip!

2008-10-16T21:04:00.001-05:00

My friend Pam told me that she knew how to crack a whip, she tried to teach Zack. Surprise! It works your whole core! He came back all sweaty with this whip she had "loaned" him. It is so gorgeous and looks handmade and has interesting little leather shapes sewn to it.

Quilted bag in the Round

2008-10-15T20:59:00.001-05:00

This bag was a gift, my friend did not make it herself. No Names, no tags. Nevertheless, what an interesting idea! This is a quilted circle faced with pockets and the little loop tabs all around the outside edges. It is gathered up by fabric covered cord which is also one big circle. Then you pull it up and tie two big knots on each side to keep the gathers in place. It also has some velcro in the center.

My Kaleidoscopes

2008-10-14T20:54:00.000-05:00

Kaleidoscope collecting is a fun hobby of mine, I decided to make some of my own. I worked with a plastic company to form the tubes and I got a class together. We made the front surface mirroro assemblies and made our own object chambers with bits of dichroic glass ,glass and plastic beads and even broken glass bangles from India floating around in mineral oil. I only did this for a short season and then moved on---