Today’s Sew Fun leader, Lee Fleek, spent a fair amount of time on stenciling and stamping which I haven’t delved into as yet, so I don’t have much to report on that except, if that is something you are interested in, there are a number of new products on the market. Here a couple items she showed. This book she liked and below that is a really cute table setting she put on some fabric as well as a portfolio she made.
These snowflake hangings are from the CD “Snowflakes 2″put out by Purely Gates
They were designed to be used with or without mylar and can be used in so many ways.
From this CD which has all the designs to make this quilt,
she made this stunning quilt. She said it was the first quilt she completed and the instructions were so good, that it was easy to do. It is all programmed in the pattern.
Fiskers has produced some new shears for cutting very thick fabrics and another for cutting heavy items like metals.
And who can resist an owl? Aren’t they cute?
Other items not photographed included some charms, bodkins, Pleather scraps for purse handles etc. yo yo maker, rhinestone setter, and a few table runner patterns.
And that, my friends, is your infomercial for this month, which I hope you enjoyed.
I like to start my day with a list – even a mental one – and do the least desirable first. Today, that was emptying out the bee water. I didn’t suit up as these are such gentle bees and it was barely 60 degrees out, so there weren’t a lot of bees out. I removed the roof, flipped off the water unit, and quickly covered them again. Since I forgot to go back and get those water containers after the bees left them, that’s where I’ll start tomorrow.
That project done, I proceeded to the greenhouse where I lopped the banana trees back to about a foot high and used their foliage for composting them. I learned these are Musa Bajoo which are a Japanese hardy banana plant. They are strictly ornamental and can survive to 5 degrees below 0 F. So this winter I’ll think of a nice place where they will get lots of sun and plant half of them outside in the spring. I have really enjoyed the tropical atmosphere they give in the greenhouse. I might even put a start in a pot and have a house plant.
For that I rewarded myself with lunch, then finished putting the last of the pears on the dehydrator. They will do done tomorrow and I can bag them and clean all the stickiness off the trays. Then off to the sewing room. Well, I tried, but the turkeys don’t like sleeping on the ground and I covered their night enclosure so they can’t go over and be some coyote’s dinner, so they didn’t have a perch, but they do now, though a low one. (that window is screened in)
Then the alpacas needed their dishes moved out of the rain into a building. That was easy as I only needed to do a bit of cleaning out and put two pallets in there. I’ll know in the next couple days if that really works, or if they knock the side out of the building pushing the pallets through it.
Then, I was free to sew the baby receiving blankets.
Hint: before and after I leave an opening to turn, I like to sew from the edge of the fabric to the seam. This makes the seam line up much better after the item has been turned as the open area wants to turn in to match the seam.
And corners are another item that many of us have had trouble with. So this is how I get a nice sharp corner: First I sew the 90 degree corner, then fold it over on the seam line.
Next I fold the top seam down over this and hold it all with my thumb and index finger.
Now take the back fabric up over this seam being held with the thumb and finger.
It took a bit of practice the first time, but now I get a nice sharp corner. I turn all the corners this way, then pull the blanket right side out. Press and topstitch.
Here’s a photo of the blankets. Some were different on each side and some were the same on both sides.
I just couldn’t put it off any longer. The large tomatoes which were on this side had pretty much quit producing, so it was time to chop that forest out of there. I had let them go without pruning the last part of the summer and some of those vines were a good 12′ and more long, working themselves into the next tomatoes. So it was a big mess to remove. But gone, they are. Next week, I’ll finish cleaning out this box, add some slug bait, and cover it with cardboard for the winter.
There is plenty to do to get ready for the cold and wet season. This is the building where the animals spend the night. The alpacas use the shed on the left with open doors. The sheep go into the left side of the building behind the feeder, and the chickens go inside the door on the right side of the building. Their is also a human door between the sheep and the chicken building. The human door goes into a small room that holds feed etc., then into the chicken house where they spend the night. The sheep area wraps all the way around the chicken house and is enclosed in fencing with plastic on the outside, which helps keep them shielded from the weather.
Today, we finished putting brown tarp over the front/outdoor part of the chicken area, so that they (including turkeys, ducks, and geese who do not go inside the house) can all eat in a dry area and spend the night there as well.
I’d love to here about some of your winter weather projects. Just use the comments section.
I like that it starts at the neck as one piece and the sleeves are on hold until the body, which is done without side seams, is done.
