Sometimes things seem petty

Posted on April 16, 2013 by

I started this post in the morning…watching the Boston Marathon, which two of my daughters have run.  My daughter-in-laws brother was running, I knew others who were running.  My son, daughter-in-law and grandson were in the bleachers at the finish line…they are ok, for which I am very grateful.  Others have lost their lives or are gravely injured, I pray for those hurt and their families!  I pray the God of comfort comforts them in their pain!

The rest of this post seems petty, but, this is what I have been up to lately.

I have been making t-shirt quilt, a custom order.  I have never made anything like this before and it has been quite a challenge!  After some fits and starts I finally, asked my self; WWJD (what would Jeanie do?)  Jeanie my friend and fellow quilter is very methodical about her quilting… she would graph it out!!!  So graph it out I did…almost 4 hours later I had this:

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Graph it out!

I must admit that the graph made it so much easier!!  The top is nearly done…here is what it looks like.

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one more row to add…then quilting!

At the same time I am beginning to get our house ready to sell…well sort of.  We have listed it on Craigs List and a sign on the street…  I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment.  We won’t be moving for a number of months, need to have three piles…keep and store, take with us, sell or give away!  Any advice, feeling a bit paralyzed at the moment.

Hope to get some sewing in too!

Cindy

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Dubai Food tour

Posted on March 29, 2013 by

Reblogged from trigrandmatry:

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Not only is Dubai THE place to shop, with malls and mega malls all over the city, but it really is a foodie dream destination.  Practically every nation is represented!  Just about every American fast food is present also from Dunkin Donuts, to Burger King, Applebee's  and the list goes on...and the great thing is you don't have to eat American fast food!!!!

Read more… 503 more words

I wrote this for the Trigrandmatry blog, enjoy
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Sewing Machine Dilemas

Posted on March 12, 2013 by

Moving to a foreign country is daunting all by itself! Where will we live? Do we rent or buy? Where will we grocery shop? Can we afford this? Do we take furniture? Where will I run? Where will I cycle? And what about my sewing?

I have three machines; my Husqvarna Viking Lily 550, which I like very much! I have had it for more than 10 years. It has way more stitches than I will ever use, it has been a great machine! My second sewing machine is a Janome Jem Gold, I bought it to take to quilt group and to classes. A very portable machine with great stitches and you can even make a good buttonhole! My serger is a Brother 1034D, very inexpensive, and works well.

My dilema…the current in Dubai is 240V not 110 like in the US. My Viking should be ok. the other two will not be. I really need my serger for finishing those seams in a garment. I would love to upgrade to a Baby Lock Imagine, but they don’t sell them in Dubai, and the ones here are not rated for the higher current…I am not sure what to do… If any of you have advice I would love to hear it!

We leave on Thursday for our first trip! Hope to post some pictures!

Cindy

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Winter Sewing

Posted on February 27, 2013 by

So much for more frequent posting.  Life does have a way of getting away from me. We have so much going on at the moment, that blogging about sewing has taken a backseat.  I actually have done some sewing…

Over the last few months I have been training for a half-marathon.  The Half at the Hamptons, was supposed to be last Sunday…it was cancelled because of the snow storm.  VERY disappointing after all that training.  But, the silver lining is we were already planning a trip out to Tacoma, Washington to visit our daughter and son-in-law, with a side trip to Vancouver, BC so Alissa could run the Vancouver half marathon.  The registration was still open, so I signed up…taking some time off this week to see if I can get some of the kinks out.  Hoping that the roads will clear from all the snow and I will hit the road again.

I have been sewing, but not taking the time to upload the pictures and blog…so here goes.  Warning…lots of pictures

Making pouches for my girls, still have some to make for.  Here are the most recent ones.

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Made some shower gifts for a friend who is a Wedding Photographer, her blog is Deborah Zoe Photography, she is an awesome photographer, if you are in need of a wedding or family photos, I highly recommend her.  She was the photographer for my daughter Alissa’s wedding.

I found the most awesome fabric with cameras from the Monaluna for Birch Fabrics collection, I purchased it from Fabricworm.

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A diaper/wipe pouch, paci clip and two burp cloths

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I also made a Wiksten Tova dress.  I purchased this fabric from JoAnn, for $3.00 a yard, 60 inches wide and wool/silk blend.  Yes it means dry cleaning…but at $3 a yard…worth it.

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Sorry lousy picture…

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Because I used only one fabric, I added braid to give it a bit of interest

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I also lined the bodice front pieces with some cotton to give it some structure. A little peek of a surprise

I am also putting together a T-shirt quilt for a friend of a friend.  It is a lot harder than I thought, and hope it does not look like a train wreck when I am done.  She gave me many different fabrics to include, quite the challenge!!

This is not the final layout.

This is not the final layout.

We are also getting ready for a BIG trip, Dubai, UAE.  Scout out the place for our upcoming move at the end of the year.  Still not sure what I will be doing with Bumblebee & Sophie.  I will still keep sewing and making things, selling them is another question.  The decision is still a few months away.  I will most likely continue to blog about sewing and quilting in the UAE.  There is a quilt shop, Classic Quilts Dubai, and a textile souq (shopping district)  the picture is enticing!! There is a quilt guild, Dubai Quilter’s Guild.  So I think I will find others who love sewing!!!

I hope to keep up my other blog Trigrandmatry, you can check it out if you like.

Hope you have a great week…ours is a snowy one at the moment.

Cindy

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Open wide zipper pouch

Posted on January 17, 2013 by

I have been itching to make some items that so far have not been in my repertoire.  Zippers are not my favorite task.  I always seem to have issues with sewing them in clothes, so was expecting a fight with these.  But I am happy to report it was relatively painless.

I used the open wide zipper pouch tutorial from Noodlehead.   The instructions are very clear, great pictures, (I am very visual) and it went together quite easily.

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I ordered an assortment of zippers from Zipit Zipper Supply.  Zipit is a great little Etsy Shop, great selection and great prices!

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I plan on making more to give away.  I am also going to try the gathered clutch as well as the lil cutie pouch.

On a side note, my last post (view here) was about the lotion I made…I went to the Dermatologist yesterday for my yearly “spot check”.  She made the comment that I take very good care of my skin, it is very soft!  When I told her I made my own lotion she said I should market it…well I don’t think that will happen but, it confirmed that it was a good idea!

Sewing this afternoon waiting for the washing machine repair guy.  You know the “window”…Then I will tackle the mountain of laundry!

Have a great weekend!

Cindy

 

 

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Homemade lotion

Posted on January 11, 2013 by

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about all the Chemicals that we put on our bodies. Everything from, deodorant to lotion, make up…the list goes on.
Here are a couple of articles that I have read.

http://www.thepaleosecret.com/2012/08/03/think-twice-about-what-youre-putting-on-your-skin/

http://www.thepaleosecret.com/2012/08/06/brendas-non-toxic-personal-care-product-recommendations/

It is winter…and from my previous post you can see that something as simple as coconut oil can work wonders. Store bought chemical laden products don’t even begin to help.
I looked for a homemade lotion recipe and found one at Wellnessmama.

The recipe calls for almond or olive oil, coconut oil, Shea or coconut butter, beeswax and essential oil if you desire. I choose lavender. The instructions are very easy and it worked!

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Great project. Sewing project to come!
Have a great weekend!
Cindy

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Coconut Oil

Posted on January 7, 2013 by

Lately I have been using coconut oil to cook with.  There are many articles I have read on the health benefits of using coconut oil to saute and bake with.  Here is one example from the New York Times.

Organic Coconut Oil

 

One benefit that I have found is using it on my hands.  At this time of year my hands are usually SO dry that my thumbs get small cracks.  This is really painful.  Sometimes the cracks are so bad I have a hard time using my thumbs.  I have used everything under the sun from antibiotic cream on a bandaid, to lotion non stop, nothing helped.   I started to rub down my hands especially my thumbs with coconut oil before I went to bed.  I am happy to report that I have NO cracks on my thumbs!!!  When the temperature dipped to below zero last week, one thumb developed a small crack, I began rubbing the coconut oil in several times a day.  Relief!  I would imagine it would work well on cracked heels too!

Guinness Beef Stew is in the crock pot and Irish Soda Bread all baked!!  I will share the recipes later!!

Off to do some sewing!!  With hands that don’t hurt!!!!!!

Grace,

Cindy

 

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