In light of the recent events in Chile ....

HOORAY for the safe return of the MINERS !!!!
So very happy for them and their families !!!
Best wishes to them for a speedy recovery, both physically and mentally.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!
Live the life you've imagined"
~ Henry David Thoreau

Ha Ha ! Look What I've Been Busy Learning to Do !!!

Full view of the "pillowcase that came out right the first time"

It's a PILLOWCASE !!  Yay ... it turned out right the FIRST TIME !!  Belive you me, that IS something to cheer about !

Close up of the border fabric and the pattern on the fabric of the pillowcase.

I looked and looked for an easy pattern to follow ... common sense says this should be an easy project anyway. Thankfully, I found http://www.quiltmaker.com/articles/Pillowcases and this $10 fabric (2 - 1 yard pieces for $10 bucks! .. 100% cotton, and it's NOT sandpaper!) at Wal Mart. Actually this is my second pillowcase, truth be told ... valuable lesson learned and believe it or not, significant help from hubby! Really, he was an un-tired, objective eye to veiw the project. 

All of the instructions I found and read said pillowcase projects could be accomplished in about an hour ... hmmm, that first pillowcase took me, well, let's just say that was the longest hour I've ever seen !!  This second one took about half as long, but I can see where it would take about an hour ... I'm getting there :)

Getting this pillowcase done, seeing the finished product ... that's what I love about quilting (well sewing in this case). Really any crafting project. It's such an overwhelming feeling of great satisfaction to see your work finished and looking like it is supposed to ... at least to me that's the feeling.  Like I said above, this is something to cheer about.  Even something this simple.

I have a couple of quilts that are in progress, one or two painting projects that I have all of the "stuff" for that I want to work on so bad I can't stand it, and so so so many beading projects I want to do ... there just are not enough hours in the day.

Life gets in the way of doing what needs done and what you want to do sometimes, and sometimes doing what you want to do gets in the way of life and doing what needs done.

I hope I have inspired at least one person to try this pillowcase project. If I can do it, you can do it. Period. One big piece of fabric that is 27" x 42" and a smaller piece that is 11" x 42" .... really they don't have to be different colors ... look at your own store bought cases ... use the same colors to start out, to practice on or with. Now, this information is the way I did mine .. the instructions show there are THREE pieces of fabric .. another thinner piece still ... I dropped that just to cut down on confusion on my part, I had enough going on :) .. I think it turned out okay without it. 

I learned about the zigzag stitch.  I thought I knew about the zigzag stitch. Hmph!  Handy little thing that dude is, lemme tellya. Stronger than it looks too.  Look inside your store bought case again ... I think those are "serged" really, much stronger than zigzaged (that is HARD to type!) .. but same principal. Helps keep those edges from fraying and helps protect them from wear, inserting and pulling out the pillow. When you get to the point you need to do your case, after you have attached your 11" decorative piece to the case, ZIGZAG the entire piece now ... all the way around. I didn't read the instructions that way and that's why my first case didn't do right I think. I folded before I 'zag'd. I was tired :( 

Anyway ... If you do that, then press ~ NOT IRON ~ press, then fold RIGHT sides together, sew with 1/2" seam on 2 sides  ~~  BE SURE YOU DON'T SEW YOUR CASE CLOSED :)) ~~ you will have a beautiful new pillowcase and that great profound sense of pride and accomplishment ... after you turn it inside out of course :)

GOOD LUCK and  HAVE FUN!  It really is easy ... Just Like Everyone Said. Give it a Try. Make an Easy Gift for Someone Special ... Great for the Upcoming Holidays!  .... You can check our website for fabric ideas ... we've got Marcus Brothers by the yard and we have fat quarters by Hoffman of California ~ they are BATIK ... http://www.dominionartsncrafts.com/category_browse.em?category_id=400271

Humble, Powerful ... TRUE.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

                                                    ~Winston Churchill

Let's Talk BEADING, shall we ?

Similar to the the Owl in the old Tootsie Pop commercials, ever wonder HOW MANY BEADS it takes to get to the finished product ?

Here is a very short "cheat sheet" of BEAD SIZES per inch of wire (or whatever stringing material you prefer)  that hopefully may help you some. 

** REMEMBER ... Lengths are APPROXIMATE and DO NOT include your CLASP, as there is a limitless number of combinations you may use there. **

Beads are in MM (millimeters). 
Stringing material is in IN (inches). 
(SEED BEADS NOT INCLUDED)

5 mm      16"       24"       28"     32"
# beads   82       102      143     164

8 mm      16"       24"       28"     32"
# beads   51        76         89      102

10mm      16"      24"       28"     32"
# beads    41       61        71       81

We have beautiful round Fire Polished Beads in 10mm :
http://www.dominionartsncrafts.com/product_details.em?product_id=1453152

12mm     16"      24"       28"     32"
# beads   34       51        59       68

16mm      16"      24"      28"     32"
# beads    25       38        44      51

This info will help get you started if you are just learning beading and as you go along you will get better at figuring out what you need to do your project. 

Visit our website and our beads and go crazy ! Have Fun ... you can't go wrong.  There is no wrong way to do beading.  You do what pleases YOU. If you intend to make jewelry to sell, your unique creation will be that much more appealing.  Same thing if you give it as a gift.  So you see, you can't do it wrong!

My Good Deed

I wanted to share this with you because I am proud of myself for this contribution. I've gotten mixed reviews from folks about how the kids get the hairpieces (paying vs not paying or how much, etc) .... I checked the website and there is a fee (for some), which stands to reason, but the organization works with all the families and well, see for yourself if you are interested ... http://www.locksoflove.org/faq.html . It makes sense. Nobody can do anything for completely free ...

Anyway ... I wanted to share this in hopes of inspiring some others to do the same.  It's painless and sure does make your heart feel good, knowing you are helping someone less fortunate.  YOUR hair will grow back. I got mine cut on August 13th (ha, it was a FRIDAY too!) and see how well it has turned out :) . It's already a couple inches longer and I'm very satisfied with how it looks. My hairdresser took more than the required 10" off (she got about 12"!) but you'd never know it now. (That's NOT me in the picture by the way!) 

It's a simple thing you can do that takes just a few minutes and can be proud of forever.

Postcard Received from Locks of Love for Hair Donation in August 2010

HOW ABOUT THIS .....

"Take time every day to do something SILLY."

~~ Philipa Walker

The Hardest Part of Quilting ~ Choosing Colors

Over time, this WILL become less taxing and more enjoyable. Mother Nature does it every day! Clothing designers do it all the time, and we trust them because we buy their stuff without thinking twice about it ... look at what you have on now ... be it PJs or jeans or a dressy outfit leftover from work ... or something you created yourself. Whatever it is, it's the same thing when QUILTING ... really it doesn't matter. Sure you want it to look nice, but it's YOUR CREATION, so no matter what you choose, it's GOING TO LOOK NICE because YOU PUT IT TOGETHER. I personally prefer NAVY BLUE and WHITE. EASY EASY EASY !!! Any other color and white you can't go wrong with either ... Red/white, Green/white, Orange/white, duh, Black/White! ... See ... do those a few times then branch out a little, like I was told "get out of your comfort zone" ..

So, TRUST Nature, TRUST your Fabric Shop Ladies, TRUST your COLORWHEEL, and most of ALL ..... TRUST YOUR OWN INSTINCT !!