A Giveaway!

Friends at Mama Quilt Shop is giving away a copy of Turning Twenty Slapplique!  And...enough fabric to make a sample block. I've seen the book and it's a great!

Visit Bits and Pieces and leave a comment for a chance to win!

Good Luck and thanks for visiting. Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

Nurse shoulder tote/supply bag.

Good Morning! What a beautiful day it is here in north central Georgia. Not a cloud in this great big blue sky. The temps are in the 60s with a light breeze. What a day! Okay...now that we've had the weather report this is what I've been working on. 

As many of you know I'm a nurse, and a nurse needs to carry around supplies such as alcohol wipes, syringes, tape, pens, etc. I generally carry these items in my pockets and have to fumble through my pockets to find the items I need...not to mention my body feels loaded down with stuff. 

I was at my LQS recently and they had this oh so cute nurse fabric panels...of course I had to have some but at the time didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I was studying the fabric while sitting at my sewing machine and a light bulb went off...a pouch to carry all my nurse items in! This is what I came up with and it was a hit when I brought it to work.

This is one side of the pouch. It's as big as what the panel is.

This is the other side. I did some deco stitching around 

   picture which made it look like a separate panel from the background panel fabric. Then I added a long black webbing shoulder strap that could be worn around my neck and arm and hung to about my waist.

I attached both sides with a one inch strip of black fabric.

Oh..of course I lined it too.

Findings after testing it at work:

1. It needs some small inside pockets to hold my alcohol wipes and smaller items. I found I was fumbling through the bag to get my small items which of course went to the bottom under the tape.
2. It can be slightly wider. My black side strip needs to be about another inch wider.
3. Strap needs to be adjustable. I just need to find out where to get the plastic adjustable thingie to run the webbing though.

It was a hit at work. I had lots of compliments on it. Then I realized..wait a minute..it doesn't just have to be a nurse on it...I can embroider anything on fabric cut to width and make my own panels! More to come on that idea!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is as beautiful as mine is. Happy Living! Happy Quilting!

DeAnna S.

Some Recent Embroidery Projects

I made these cute bookmarks for our nursing techs as a "Thank You". I love the lace look of these bookmarks and love embroidering anything lace.

I also did this one for one of our male nursing techs who just got back from the beach. The In-the-Hoop projects are the best. I love watching them come to life in front of my eyes.

Here is a block that I'm working on. I'm calling the quilt "Gate to My Garden". The block consists of 4 embroidered squares that are then sewn together to make a block. One good thing about this block is that as it's embroidering it's also quilting. All I have to do is sew all the blocks together, back it, then just stitch in the ditch between blocks...uh...sounds easy.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Living! Happy Embroidering!

DeAnna

Look what Santa has brought me in October!

Santa came early to my house this year...he wanted to beat the crowd, traffic, and hustle and bustle. My items were delivered to my LQS. This is four of the seven boxes that were delivered.  Can you guess what they contain? 

And the fun begins....

My DH...who loves me so much...began unpacking the boxes for me...after coming home late from an out of town business trip. But alas, this was as far as he got. Bright and early the next morning we began again with the unpacking and putting together. Have you guessed what it is yet??!! Surely you know by now.

Here is another hint...it's about 12 feet long....

and has legs...

and takes up a lot of space in my studio...

My DH is such a great guy...he worked hard on putting it together. If I had to do it, it would probably still be in boxes.

TA DA!! 

It's my Crown Jewel Longarm by Baby Lock. 

 I'm so intimidated by it. 

And now the empty boxes on the staircase landing to deal with...Oh so many empty boxes.

And now...the fun begins...practice, practice, practice. I did these leaves using the Crown Jewel's laser light and following a motif.  It is fatter then the original motif.

I also did these feathers using the same method...it's fatter too! Practice, practice, practice!!

I decided to try some freehand work...it's hearts but I guess it can also be leaves...and it's fatter than what I wanted!! Practice, practice, practice.

I'm quilting on some old sheets that I had...I couldn't bring myself to practice on good fabric...or even good cheap fabric. Maybe I will make a quilt out of my practice bed sheets.

I will keep you all posted with my progress. Thanks for stopping by. Happy Living! Happy Quilting!...

...and remember...practice, practice, practice.