The Rag Quilt no. 1

 yup. I got the quilting buzz! (Like I need another reason for my sister to think I'm a grandma). Anywho, this little number is what I've been working on for a while now, and I am pretty happy with the result. It's for my little brother, which means that I now need to mak one for my little sister (unless we want WWIII). I'll probably keep it until I've got both and can gift them at the same time... (the little brother is still oblivious to the fact that the quilt his sister has been working on for a while actually belongs to him hehehe. devious)

If you want to make a rag quilt, I might do a tutorial when I do the little sister's. Or you could just google it.... I guess..

Why am I doing this

Currently watching 'Secrets in the Walls' on Lifetime. So far, it's a classic horror story (did I mention I can't handle these?). the family (mom, two girls) move into the perfect old house. Oh wait. It's haunted by some girl. And only the young sister can see her. As of yet, we've seen the mystery girl show up in mirrors behind the family members, appear in windows, oh yes. And standing over the older sister as she sleeps.
I can't do this.
Breath Libby, you can do this.
NO I CANT
... ignore my inner thoughts telling me to run away from the tv. I apparently sure am.



AAAAAAnnyyyyywwaaayyyssss. I will now ramble on about happy things while I wonder why we have a tv in the first place.

Quilt wise, I actually managed to keep my fingers throughout the entire fringe cutting process! Dad took me to a Laundromat to wash my little rag quilt. None of my friends seemed as excited as I was at this little adventure... anywho, the fringing looks fantastic! it's currently getting it's second wash, so I'll have to show you guys later...

Oh gosh, it's back on. Ok. Ok. what else is happy???

Hmm. Did I mention the Phineas and Ferb folders? I use them to hold loose-leaf paper. One of my favorite things to do is, when someone asks me for paper, I say "Let me introduce you to my friends" *pulls out folder* "Phineas and Ferb"

Oh merciful heavens. The music box is playing. Don't go in the basement. Oh why OH WHY am I watching this?!

Ummm.. did I mention I enjoy writing? Oh yes, I currently keep my cheap notebook and trusty blue pen with me everywhere. When I'm stuck at Godby? Write. When I'm in the car? Write. When I should be paying attention in class? Write. Currently, I really like writing fanfiction. (*cough* of the Phineas and Ferb vairety *cough* canyoubelieveiminhighschool?) So, my dear Fanfictioners, please don't fret. I know I haven't published in a while. But Oh boy, am I writing. I have got pages upon pages of just ideas, and I am trying to make myself type up the drafts of what I'm working on now.

Ok. I can do this. Bloggers, wish me luck.

last day of summer

The last day of summer is bacon ice cream with your cousins.

In all seriousness people, this stuff is amazing. 

*anywho,randomupdatetime: sorry. I'll say that now. I know I'm like the world's worst blogger ever. I'll accept the award now. I don't post much. But, please, be gentle with me. I try. School is starting tomorrow, I'm still cutting fringe for Mike's quilt, and I just got back from a family reunion (which will get it's own post soon, don't worry). So, here goes. I will try to post more, and you try not to shun me from blogworld. Deal? ...Please?

fringe.

Like I mentioned a few posts ago, I am working on a rag quilt. aka, fringe. Lots of fringe. I'm basically halfway done with cutting the fringe (ok, so maybe not even halfway... but don't make me admit that), and i think my fingers are going to get stuck. Scissors were not ment to be used excessively. When my fingers fall off, will someone donate them to science for me? I'm sure someone could use a right thumb and index finger...

I hope my brother likes this quilt.

blueberries

 It's late summer. School is looming closer, and don't even get me started on this heat. But, there is a serious upside. Blueberries.

Which means...

Blueberry pancakes!!

And of course, my not so famous blueberry pie!

and let me tell you. if there is one thing I like more than warm blueberry pie, it's cold blueberry pie. seriously, I don't know why people haven't caught on yet.

it's all in the cape

I find power quilting to be easier when one wears a quilt as a cape. Just call me the Super Stitcher! I think I need a theme song... anyone?

treasure hunting... again

I went treasure hunting again today.... these roses will be the death of me, I tell you

 daisys are cool too. so are birdsnests.

 And Charlie decided to butt in again. ...but, with that nose, he probably didn't have a choice. *ba dum chsh*
(I couldn't help myself. sorry.)

flowers are pretty

Now, I will be the first to admit that we are definitely NOT a garden oriented family. In fact, our excuse for a garden is a little pathetic (harsh, but true). HOWEVER, just because the overall garden experience is a bit lame, that doesn't mean that there aren't little treasures to be found.

And today seemed like a great day for treasure hunting.

The heat fogged up my lense... but hey, lets call it artistic.

 

Not sure when this turned into a photo shoot for my adorable dogs....

the joy of discovery

Has someone ever given you a bunch of stuff (for any given subject/activity) and you know how everything works and what it's for EXCEPT for that one piece that makes no sense? Yes? No? Maybe it's just me. I got basically everything I sew with (hardware wise) from my mother, the ex-crafter. This includes a fancy Bernina sewing machine with included feet. Basically, i looked at all of the feet, and with help from the manual, was able to figure out generally what they were for.
Except this little thing.

I saw a normal presser foot with a giant, chunky, flamboyant attachment that was annoyingly placed right in the middle of the foot. And boy, was I confused. So, what did I do? [BEWARE, THIS NEXT PART MAY BE HORRIFYING FOR YOU TRUTH-SEEKERS AND PERSISTENT TYPES] I gave up. Yup, I packed the little foot away and tried to forget about it. (Which by the way, didn't work. See, this foot is just as persistent as you truth-seekers are. It wanted to be discovered.) But wait! Imagine my excitement when, while catching up on posts from Ashley's blog makeit-loveit.com, I came across this post! Oh wonderfullness! I finally know that my little mystery foot is for blind hems!

And thus, the little chunky, flamboyant presser foot was assigned with a purpose. It should be getting good use, for mom has decided that now I get to hem pants. I'm debating if this discovery was good or bad.

keep calm and watch project runway

Today was... today. I spent the day sewing those dreaded squares to more dreaded squares. Did I mention I managed to graze the edge of my finger with the machine needle? Yea. Good job Libby. It could have been worse though. The needle ended up close enough to the edge of my finger not to get 'stuck' (thank goodness), but far enough that It drew blood. So yea. Today was... today. But now?

Now...
It is July 28.
It is 9 o' clock.
I am happy.

Why? Because it's time for Project Runway season 9 of course! Corny as it may be, not to many years ago, Project Runway is what inspired me to begin sewing. I looked at those designers and i said "If they can do it, why can't I?" So I dug out mom's sewing machine, bought some fabric, and cut up an old t-shirt to figure out how it fit together. And that's where it began! Where I found something I really enjoy doing!
Anyways, enough of my backstories.
I'm just happy to hear Michael and Nina's professional critiques, Heidi's ‘Auf Wiedersehen’, and of course Tim's 'Make it Work!'

attack of the squares

Currently, I am working on a rag quilt for my brother.... which means squares. 

Lots of squares.

But that's not the worst best part yet..

I used all of my selected fabrics...

counted my squares...

and

didnt

have

enough.

 reaction?

But wait! When cutting out the squares, I kept the scraps! YES! So I attempted to straighten them out into somewhat nice strips and sewed it all together...

Then used it to cut out...

more.

squares.

See people?! This is why I like circles.

lemonade

So... I have a confession. I may or may not be addicted to lemonade... ok, I am. I 'restock' my fridge every so often with this stuff, and when I do, I cant get enough!

The recipe is actually very simple:
- one and a half cups lemon juice (pulp should be left in)
- eight cups water
- one and three-fourths cups sugar
Boil sugar and one cup of the water until sugar is completely dissolved. Let it cool till room temperature, then chill in the fridge. Mix with the remaining water and lemon juice. (recipe uploaded by 'Jo' on allrecipes.com)

I like to add a bit less sugar, as I like my lemonade tart. But that is up to you.
I also like to store that in mason jars... but that's probably just a me thing. (people tend to think you're crazy when you drink lemonade out of a mason jar at lunch... )

Squeeze seems to like it too.

hello blogworld

I hope we become good friends.