My Bluebonnet Patch Jelly-roll Rug

Today I finally finished my Jelly roll rug!!! 

I cannot recall the last time I finished a big project (without looking back on this blog!!!)
Since I don’t drive or get about much these days, I was quite late to jump on the jelly roll rug band wagon…
I don’t remember if I stumbled on it on pinterest or FB the first time, but like just about everyone else, I fell in love with Roma Lambson's Jelly Roll Rug pattern (from RJ Designs). 

I finally ordered my supplies on line and was ready to give it a try. But nothing in my life is simple these days… And what started out as a jump on the jelly-roll rug bandwagon came to an abrupt halt. 
A family tragedy would relocate me out of town for 5 weeks. After my return, it would be weeks before I would have the motivation to do much of anything…

Roma Lambson's pattern is excellent! And it seems everyone on youtube & Pinterest was ready to cheer me on and offered up videos of their tips, screwups, and encouragements. So TY to all of the cheerleaders out there- 
My turn to pay it forward.

To make this rug, obviously you need a jelly roll. Since I haven't the patience to cut strips of my overstocked stash that I may need for "something someday"...
I purchased: Moda's Bluebonnet Patch 

You can also use your own left over batting and merge select strips... ummm, yeah- that wasn't happening.
Bosal Katahdin sells a precut 2 1/2" batting to make this more doable & I bought 2 rolls... 

I pretty much left the strip arrangement as is since Moda did a great job of making it flow. But- I wanted a navy border, so I did pull those fabrics to the beginning of my strips... 

The pattern said to make long fanfolds to tame the long strip… but then "THE CALL". 

I knew I was about to leave town, so I wrapped mine around a piece of cardboard and sadly it stayed like that for a hellish 2 months… 

Eventually... I started to stare at everyones postings again and reentered my sewing room and decided to give it another go...

"Roping" takes longer than any other part of this and I honestly wondered why on earth I was not just buying a rug at Target...

I followed all the pattern instructions... except for rationally clipping... I used every clip I owned on that first color strip to get started!!! My Purple Thang had no wheres to go!
But eventually I relaxed and clipped further and 
further apart.

& by the time you create that basketball sized ball of fabric rope it is such a sense of accomplishment- you can't wait to start making your rug.

My biggest problem was skipped stitches. 
I changed my needle 3 times. I could literally hear them getting dull!
I took apart and cleaned out threads & batting fluff from my machine. 
I switched between my straight, open, overlock, & walking feet. I played with different threads & adjusted my tensions... 
Each day I did a few more rows & starched & pressed the hell out of them for a week or "sew".

In the end, I concluded: for my 7 year old Babylock Elisimo- my walking foot was best joining the roping to complete the rug. 
And-
I wasn't going to sweat a slipped stitch here and there- it's a rug, not an heirloom quilt!

Actually- I look forward to making my next one!

and finally:

A Pineapple "Chanukah Bush"

This year it seems everyone is creating 

Pineapple Christmas Trees!

So, I decided to give it a try as well....

I started with a standard store-bought pineapple 

and put it upright in a pretty bowl

I wanted to decorate with small ornaments... 

but the pineapple leaves would not support them. 

So, I tied ribbons all about & trimmed after

I filled the base of the bowl with dreidels, 

added a bow atop...

and an old pair of sunglasses to make it cool!

I decided to display "her" surrounded by 

menorahs my kids made 20 years ago...

instant Chanukah color!

HAPPY CHANUKAH YA'LL!!!

...For the love of Silky & Honey

It has been 2 months since "THE WEDDING". 
We survived- celebrated- and the photographs await scrap booking.
When I nagged my son once again about the thank you cards- he actually told me "our pen ran out of ink". 
INK! 
An apartment of 5 residents shares only one pen & it is now out of ink... seriously?

Anyway... I concluded- I can not control everything, but there are things I can take on. 
Ready emotionally or not, it is long overdue. 
Years have passed, and now he is happily married. So it is time to reclaim his bedroom and turn it in to a guest room. 
He and his WIFE will visit eventually & bunk beds just won't cut it.

So I finally took a deep breathe and decided to stop procrastinating.
A room full of a lifetime of memories, laughter, tantrums & love. 
A room he so easily left behind- perhaps without so much of a second thought-
now bringing me to tears.. as I am full of thought.
A shrine you might say to my little guy.. minus the mess on the floor it always had when he lived 🏡 home!

So where does one begin to pack up the childhood of all those "had to have its"... 
Those things taken on by a younger child as MINE MINE MINE- and so easily discarded by an older son. 
Disney toys once actively involved in sibling play. They took him to Infinity & Beyond!
Leagues of Lego's & Action Figures- replaced by Gameboys & WW11... both Later further replaced by MACs & XBOX.
Hours and hours spent with Pokemon Cards & Comic Books- ALL later replaced by Internet reads & text messages. 
Every nook and cranny reveals a forgotten treasure... an abandoned "MINE MINE MINE"

Well- WTH do I do with all this collectible stuff NOW???

When my son was 8, we visited Japan. His bear "Honey" and a small bit of soft flannel cloth known as "Silky" were left behind. I cannot remember a day from the time he started crawling he was not dragging them along. 
The world could have come to an end that day. 
NOTHING ELSE MATTERED. 
He was inconsolable... and it was MY FAULT they had been left behind when we switched cities. (Everything is ALWAYS the mothers fault after all).
Amazingly, Honey & Silky were rescued by hotel staff and shipped to us first class. I shudder to think of the cost of their travels- they HAD TO BE RESCUED & language barriers allowed us the option not to ask.

And now... 16 years later... I found them buried in a corner... beneath a papermache top hat. Poor Honey... 

I am packing up so much that I doubt will ever be looked at again. I know the cast of "The Big Bang Theory" would kill for those comics and Pokemon cards. The fully built Lego models... the action figures and All Things Star Wars.

Of course I will cherish & safely pack away Honey and Silky forever, but what of all the rest. After the "must saves".
I honestly don't know WTH one does with it. The collectibles, the books, the hoarded saves. 
ARGHHHHHHH!

So... for now at least... time for a break (& to stall a bit more).

Heaven help the next person 

who unsuspectingly opens his closet!

 an update:

...BE OUR GUEST!!!!

It took 4 coats of bright yellow paint to cover 

the blue walls & repair patches

 It is amazing how much you can order on line... 

and get delivered to the door shipped free!

 After all the furnishings were assembled... 

the big decisions of which quilts to hang dominated...

 I've spent endless hours snuggled on this loveseat 

reading with our kids... 

now it is ready for overnight guests

BE 

OUR 

GUEST

A game of TETRIS- balanced by family emotions

Ever wonder if it possible to spend every moment of the day planning a wedding- while also achieving IDGAWF status??? YEAH... it is!
Every month- 
Every week- 
Every day of the wedding count down- 
brings with it- a new set of tasks that must be completed. 
Among the worst most recently:

The seating Chart... it's like being forced to play 
a game 
of 
TETRIS 
balanced 
by family 
emotions.

names on post-its for table settings

By the time the seating chart was completed... and then adjusted 3 more times for late RSVPs- I knew I better find a craft or risk  slitting my wrists with a post-it!

I wanted to make my future daughter-in-law one of those fancy $30 hangers for her wedding gown. 
I printed out a "template" from pinterest, used the wire supplies I already had, some wooden spoons to help shape curves, & painters tape for a straight line.
My only investment was $2.49 for the wire.

Pinterest has many examples of wedding hangers & how-to's

I used 12 gauge wire and bent it with needle nose pliers in to letter shapes... trying to keep within the boundaries of the painters tape to keep things lined up.

We drilled a hole on both sides of the hanger to attach the wire.

I tried our name a few different times... this was the best...

so it will have to do...

I know it doesn't look as snazzy as a $30 ETSY one... but it's made with love... 
Hopefully they will like it...

Couples Wedding Shower 

April 2017

And now... a bit of a rant...

The unofficial stages of Planning my son's wedding... 

The first stage of the wedding drama is "denial". Of course all the planning will be stress free... & everyone- everyone will work together to create the perfect drama free celebration. 

The next stage is "frustration" & eventually "ANGER". I am happy their wedding date is growing nearer... but the shit is really starting to hit the fan. What happened to the A-team? 
And why do our dearest friends and family members find it so hard to return a self-addressed- stamped RSVP envelope.

The third stage is "bargaining". The budget is long since forgotten & I have abandoned all hope of assist from the A team...
The goal now is to find a deal... any deal- any where- of any kind to help remember what a sense of acceptable budget & positive feedback & accomplishment is.

Stage 4 of wedding planning is "depression"... It's the reality that wedding planning is NOTHING like the weddings on pinterest or planning his Bar Mitzvah... & for whatever the hell the reason- things are as they are... No matter what I do... I can't make all things work together.

The last stage is "acceptance". Acceptance, I have given them and this wedding ALL I HAVE TO GIVE... and while it may not be my idea of perfect... hopefully, it will be theirs.
Please oh please- let it be his...

**********

a few Pics a week later of previous projects:

Our flower girl looks out at Boston

May 7, 2017

Boston, Mass.

Welcome bags created, stuffed & delivered

Bridal gown hanging on hanger awaiting dressing

The ribbon wands I made were distributed at the door by the triplets 

& waved at the newlyweds during their recession

Mazel Tov!

"Your Song"