Oh, Where Have You Been Mary Girl, Mary Girl....

Wow! I just looked at my last post here! Yikes!!!

I am so sorry...it was last November.

When I posted in August, I mentioned my MIL came to live with us. She was very ill.

I didn't explain the illness, but now I feel like I can finally talk about it a bit.

In April of 2016, she suddenly became very ill with sepsis. I mean seriously ill!!! I have never seen someone so sick, so fast. We had just seen her a few days before! She lived just 5 minutes away...my husband took her to the grocery every week....I took her to all of her doctors appointments...she had just been with us to celebrate my daughter's birthday!

We were with her all the time!

I was not familiar with sepsis. But now I feel like I need to warn everyone. If you think you have an infection....GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!

Once the infection gets into your bloodstream, it takes over so quickly. You become ill soooo quickly!

She was never the same after the infection. Her baseline (dementia)changed, she could not walk on her own (she was a high fall risk),  other conditions changed (blood pressure, blood sugar control. Everything changed.

Because I was the one person home with her...the bulk of the care fell on my shoulders during the day. That was difficult...tiring. But the nights were horrific! She had sundowners. She never slept.

All night long we would hear her getting out of bed to get her walker....she paced the hall. Out of bed, down the hall, to the bathroom, turn around, back to her room, out of bed, down the hall, to the bathroom, turn around....it went on and on all night long.

Sadly, at the end of September, she died. It was heartbreaking. We spent the bulk of 2016 caring for her and then cleaning her house to sell. That was a huge job as well! 

It is a struggle to carry on with life as usual when you are caring for someone so ill...your normal routine is completely disrupted. But I tried to keep sewing and I had the shop to run. Thank goodness for my sister, the other half of Sunny Day!!! 

To "pretty-up" this sad post...I would like to share one of my favorite finishes of 2016. It's the quilt made from the January Block which can be found on Lady Harvatine's site.

mary xx

                 

Scrappy Ornaments!!!

Here is a fun, easy project as you prepare for the Holidays!  And if you don't mind a few sticky fingers, even fun for the kids! 

You will need clear, plastic ornaments.  They come is a variety of sizes, but mine are 3" ornaments.  You will be able to find these at your local craft supply store and are usually sold in a carton of 6.

You will also need a jar of Mod Podge and a small paint brush.

Finally, gather your scraps of fabrics and cut them into very small pieces.  The pieces do not need to be the same size, in fact, it is better to have a variety of sizes.  But the scraps do need to be small....generally an inch or less.

   

I usually start at the top of the ornament and lay a piece of fabric on the ornament, hold it with one hand and simply paint the piece of fabric with Mod Podge.  You don't need much, just enough to stick the fabric to the ornament.  Then continue with another scrap and slightly over lap the last piece of fabric and paint with Mod Podge.  I like to go all around the top first so that I can hold onto the hanger as I work my way around the bulb. 

You will notice it looks cloudy as you are painting, but it will dry clear.  Once you have finished a bulb, you can place it upside down in the carton or string a ribbon through and hang to dry.  Once dry you may add more layers of Mod Podge if you would prefer.  I only did one coat.

So there you have it!  A fun ornament for your Christmas tree, as a gift {for teacher, maybe}, or gather several in a ribbon and use to decorate a package.

Have fun!

Mary

The Long and Winding Road....

Hello, its been a long time since I have been here. Whew! 

Our house and life has been turned upside down! My MIL became very ill in April and is now living with us. This has changed our lives and routines!

But I try to squeeze in sewing where I can. I think its the only thing keeping me sane!

I have had the pleasure to make a couple of baby quilts...one for a great niece....

A triangle quilt made with mostly Sarah Jane's line Sommer.

And I had a very good friend who had a baby girl!!!

I will try to keep up better here. I had a dickens of a time trying to log in...a bit of a panicky minute!! Yikes!!!

Sometimes it is difficult to do all things and to do them at 100% or even 50%.... this upheaval started slowly about a year and a half ago. Then in April, it was a flood of worry, change and, to be quite honest, aggravation.  I am fortunate to have friends here at home and on the 'interwebs' who understand and have been truly very supportive. Even if it is only to listen to me complain. 

thank you, friends :) 

See you soon...

mary xx       

Tiny Swan Hexagon!

Last year I had a tiny swap with Susi from Tiny

Toffee Designs. This was literally a tiny swap!!!

We swapped hexagons and other fun, little, things. Well, I put together the usual old hexies for Susi, but Susi pieced the most intricate hexies for me!!!

So when I had a request from Susi to take part in the blog hop for her new Dream Big hexie patterns....I didn't hesitate to say, YES!!!

The pattern includes a star, swan, elephant, pencil, heart, mountains, and flying geese!!!

I was given the swan, which was perfect! I know a swan loving little girl who would be thrilled with a pouch! This little girl is a ballet student, so the pouch is ideal for her hair bands, chapstick, etc.

Susi's pattern is so good!!! I increased the size of the hexie on my printer to 150% so it would fit nicely on a little pouch. 

I added vintage sequins, beads and crescent shape to give it a little sparkle. Of course, every swan needs a crown!

  

This fancy hexie pouch closes with a lace zipper and has a silky tassle pull. Perfect for a little ballerina! 

You can find these fabulous patterns here

and Susi's blog here . Thanks for letting me play along Susi!

Hope you have a Happy Hexie Weekend!!!!

mary

Pincushion Remake!

Years ago, I posted a tutorial here for my Big Dresden Pincushion!

I have recently revamped this pincushion to make a new and improved Sunny Day Dresden Pincushion!!!

You can find the tutorial here!

If you use the tutorial to make your own pinnie...use the hashtag #sunnydaydresdenpinnie

have a great weekend!

mary

Happy Valentine's Day!

I do love Valentine's Day! My sweet middle daughter was born on Valentine's Day!

A special fond memory of Valentine's Day is my children passing out cute cards to all of their classmates. My kiddos are all grown, but I have an adorable preschool neighbor! So when I found out she needed a Valentine's card holder, I got out my needle and thread!

       I used Lecien Minny Muu and Radiant Girl charm packs

And a little yardage from the Minny Muu line, to make this Valentine Mail Pouch! 

She loved it!

  

Hope someone treats you extra special on the 14th!

Happy Valentine's Day!

xx mary  

Foundation Paper Piecing a Scottie Dog

I stumbled upon this Scottie Dog pattern on a website called Womenfolk.com a few years ago. I love this version of a Scottie because the proportions are nice and the fact that I can turn it on point is a fun extra!

When I posted a picture of this Scottie on Instagram the other day, I had several folks asking for a tutorial. So here you go!

The first thing to do is to print the Paper Pieced Scottie from the website. There is another set of templates for piecing with templates. For our purposes we will use the foundation paper pieced version. Foundation paper piecing is stitching right through the paper...so you will want to discard your sewing machine needle after you are finished or at least set it aside and reserve it only for stitching through paper.  

This is a 9 inch block...be sure to copy at 100%.

Now, let's gather the other supplies you will need.

   

You will need the pattern fabric scissors, paper scissors, rotary, ruler and a postcard or rewards card to use in folding.

It's also very useful to have some type of fabric glue. I will use Roxanne's Glue Baste-It.

Reduce the stitch length on your machine to about 1.5. This is necessary to perforate the paper so it is easy to tear away after the block is complete. Also the reduced stitch allows you to tear off the paper without pulling the stitches out.  

Of course, you also need fabric! Foundation paper piecing is a tad wasteful with fabric because you are over-sizing the fabric pieces and cutting back to size. As you become more proficient there is less waste. But for those of you that are using this method for the first time, I would give yourself a little more wiggle room and cut your pieces a bit larger as you go.

I cut my pieces for each section as I need them...not before sewing. 

The key point to remember when cutting your fabric for each section, is to cut it AT LEAST 1/4 INCH LARGER ON EACH SIDE THAN THE SECTION. You will be trimming back as you sew and you need that 1/4 inch for the seam allowance.  

This is an easy pattern to foundation paper piece, but in the future if you have a pattern with a sharp angle, you will need to cut your piece quite a bit larger to accommodate the angle. 

So let's begin...

Take the A section of your pattern and place a small dot of glue on the wrong side of the sub-section marked A 1.

  

A1 takes a background piece. Cut your piece at least a 1/4 inch larger on each side than the pattern. You don't need to cut it carefully, I would just try to remember to keep the straight of grain parallel with the straight edges.

The wrong side of your background fabric will be placed to the wrong side of the pattern. Notice my fabric is larger than sub-section A1. 

Flip the pattern, with the fabric glued to section A1, over and using your card, fold on the line between A1 and A2.

   

The card helps make sure you are folding on the line because you will not be able to see this line.

I am folding back on the line between A1 and A2. My fabric is completely covering section A1 and I still have at least 1/4 inch extra seam allowance on each side of section A1.

Place your ruler so that the edge of the folded paper is hitting the 1/4" mark on your ruler. You will cut along this line, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

   

Now take the fabric that will cover sub-section A2 (remember it needs to be larger than A2). Place that fabric with right sides facing on top of fabric A1. Be sure the right sides are facing!!! Also, be sure that the fabric is situated so it will completely cover A2 and leave 1/4 inch more on each side. If you can't see A2...hold the pieces up to a light or window and you will be able to see where this fabric needs to hit.

  Go to the sewing machine and stitch on the line between A1 and A2. 

Flip the pattern over and press these two pieces open. Then place your card on the line between A1, A2 and A3, again, fold. You will notice the extra fabric from A1 and A2 extending beyond that line. Place your ruler on the fold be A1, A2 and A3 and trim, leaving 1/4 inch seam allowance.

     

Once you have trimmed, cut a piece of fabric for A3 (larger than you need and to completely cover area A3). Unfold the paper pattern and stitch directly on the line between A1,A2 

and A3.

Press back the fabric, fold, again between A3 and A4, trim seam allowance. Cut fabric for A4, sew on the line between A3 and A4, press A4 back. And repeat for A5!!!

When you have finished an entire section, flip the pattern over and trim on the dotted line. This pattern has included the outer most seam allowance. If you come across a pattern that does not include the outer seam allowance you must leave a quarter inch on the outside of the pattern.

Continue in this manner for the B and C sections of the pattern.

  

When you get to the D section there is no sewing involved. But I place several dabs of glue to hold the fabric to this larger section.

Then trim around the template.

Now you are ready to sew all of the sections together. A to B, AB to C, and ABC to D.
You may want to place a little bit of glue along the seam allowance before you stitch the sections together to keep the fabric from shifting with the paper.

**As you work with this technique, it's important to remember to always leave a quarter inch seam allowance and that the fabrics should be placed right sides facing. With the reduced stitch length, it is difficult to take out stitches.**

After all sections are sewn together....give it a good press and carefully remove the paper.
It is a good idea to place your finger over the stitches in your seams as you remove the paper....just to be sure you don't rip out the stitches.

There you have it! A paper pieced Scottie!
xx mary