Small projects

Hi there friends! I suppose it's a bit of a surprise to see me back here again.  What's going on with you? 

I've been working on small things waiting for my fancy zipper order to arrive. Fun.  One of the things I've been guilty of over the years is using potholders long past their expiration date.  My current potholders are burned and plain old worn out.  I'm guilty of making cute potholders then never using them because they're too cute to use.  HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT?  I'm trying to kick the 'saving it for a special occasion' mentality but it's hard.  So I found some fabric in my vast collection and made some new potholders.  

This first round one is my PamKittyPotHolder, it's a free pattern you can find along my side bar there.  It's pretty easy and I whipped up two of them in no time. The only thing I do different from the pattern is I put the pockets on at a slight angle so I don't obsess about the rick rack being just so.  I mean who needs that?  

This rectangular one is a free pattern from Amy Sinabaldi's blog Nana and Co,  called the Pretty Little Potholder, and indeed her's are very pretty. This is the second time I've made it, my pocket is one a little crooked and it's KILLING ME and I keep trying to tell myself it's just a potholder... we'll see how it works out.  I went back to the old post where I had made one. I had one that turned out great and one that was well, a failed experiment.  But in looking back for the post, I searched on "potholder" and looks like I turn to potholders when I need something to sew more than I thought. 

 EXCITING NEWS!  My friend Abi  has written another book!  You may remember her from her book Modern Prairie Sewing.  I blogged about it when it came out in 2014. She sent me a copy and I can't wait to dive in.  Now I can sew something besides potholders, although I peeked and there's a nice potholder pattern in there! 

I'm looking forward to reading about the kinds of things she's making for her home.  I'm so positively thrilled for her.  I was so lucky to meet her and her sisters at quilt market in May of 2012. OMG so long ago.  Time just flies by doesn't it?  Anyway soon I'll be in her book tour so watch for that! 

Ok, that's it for me today. Hope you are all well.  

2021

Happy New Year friends!  2021 started out with some warm sunshine this morning, I went out to check on my sweet peas and couldn't help but grab a coffee photo like the old days.  I'm filled with hope for this year but don't want to discount all the losses this past year.  My heart breaks for the people who have lost loved ones, seen their dreams vanish, lost everything.  It's a bittersweet sunfilled morning.  

 I wanted to  start out the day like I want the year to go. I tried to find the actual quote but no luck... or I didn't stick with it long enough.  Yikes already giving up on something.  Anyway I had a good nights sleep, I've been outside to enjoy some fresh air, I've hit the treadmill.  Nothing I don't normally do, it's symbolic really I guess.  No resolutions or word for the year just one foot in front of the other.  

Years ago my late neighbor Alice-Jane brought me some black eyed peas on the first day of the year.  I had never heard they bring good luck for the coming year.  Since then I've made myself her black eyed pea salad every new years eve and have it first thing in the morning.  This years tasted particularly good, so I hope it's a sign!  

Hope you're well friends.  I'm wishing us all a healthy happy 2021. xop

Hello, Kitty.

Hi there friends!  Now that all the hubub is over I can show you my favorite Christmas project.  I had been promising Frankie I'd make her an iPad case and I FINALLY DID IT.  Cue the confetti!  After I finished it I wondered why I had waited so long.  Actually I didn't really wonder, it was that foam interfacing..that's why.  I ended up using  Soft and Stable by Annie.  The pattern, which is the Busy Day Tablet Case by Melissa at PolkaDotChair, has great instructions and illustrations and it's really easy.   It calls for fusible foam, but Soft and Stable isn't fusible, so I used my Fast Fuse and it worked perfectly.  My Sanrio fabric came from Sunny Day Supply, but its' sold out.  You can still find it on etsy I think.  

Anyway, I was worried about foam and that binding but it really was a non-issue. FYI those edges all line up, in spite of what the photo is telling you.  The binding went on so easily.  I had this binding left over and it was 2 1/4" and I was worried it wouldn't go around the foam but it worked easily.  Thank goodness as I'm out of (or can't find) that fabric.  This is a great starting point for sewing with foam. 

Another thing I thought might be a challenge was the zipper pocket.  My end there isn't great, my zipper is slightly too small but it seems like no big deal.  I wouldn't bother showing you a close up if it wasn't for that strawberry pull next to that strawberry!  Now that I have put a zipper like this in, I'll know how to adjust the size of the cut out for a better fit.  And,I don't think it takes away from the rest of the case at all.  And if it does, don't tell me.  

I love the pocket lining, cute little strawberries from Minki Kim's Moments line for Riley Blake. These little details are what makes sewing fun for me.  

The lining is also from the Moments line, it's such cute fabric and I have it in the blue as well, I was a hard choice which to use.  But there are always other projects to make right?  Did you see that Minki has a cute free pattern on you tube?  Adorable little fabric box, and the assembly is to clever and easy.  I will try one of those soon.  

The final touch was the cute button snap also from Sunny Day Supply.  They are also sold out but I'll be honest they're pretty tight snaps so I'm on the fence about them.  They're cute though, and nice for a tablet because there's no chance of scratching the table screen with them.  

Anyway it was a blast to make and I was wishing that I had another one to work on.  But I recently bought a cute bag pattern from Little Mint Designs. Waiting on my zipper order to get started on those.  I am enjoying smaller projects right now, are you working on something?

Hope you are all well and have enjoyed the holiday season.  I'm looking forward to the new year and hope it brings good health and happiness to all of us.  xop

Stomping around

 Hi there friends!  Today is the first day of the Stomping Ground sew along Pat Sloan is hosting.  The pattern is by Wendy Sheppard and you can find it on etsy here. 

It's a darling  pattern, and the etsy listing shows several different color variations for it.  I thought it was super cute.  Pat asked me to sew along and I said I'd make an elephant or two to get the word out.  Not that Pat needs me to get the word out, but she knew I needed some encouragement to get back to my sewing machine.  But then I had what I though was an clever idea.  Why not make some Circus Animal elephant blocks.  I crack myself up sometimes.  

Do you have these pink and white sprinkled cookies where you are?  Mother's is a local brand here in the bay area.  (and those Mother's English Tea Cookies are wonderful.)   Admittedly I hadn't had a circus animal cookie in years and OMG THEY'RE SWEET.  

I had grand dreams of making a stop action IG post like so many people do, with cookies marching across the screen to the tune of baby elephant walk, but like a lot of ideas like that,  well they turn into something more like this. It's winter here and the lighting looks like I am posting from a dark castle where I am being held hostage by an evil Quilt Queen.  Or possibly a witch.  Who knows.  Does it even matter? The blocks are cute and happy, take my word for it! 

I hope you had a nice holiday and have a couple of days to relax.  Hope you are well friends. xop

Happy Holidays

 Hi there friends.  Just want to pop on and wish you the very best for this holiday season.  It's been a rough year for all of us but hopefully better days are upon us.  I'm grateful for your friendship especially this year, but for all the years we've met here.  My life is richer for it. xop

Home Sweet Home Sewing

 Hi friends! It's my day on Helen's Home Sweet Home Sewing book tour!!!  I'm so happy that Helen asked me to participate along with a group of really delightful makers.  So many inspiring  versions of projects from Helen's book.  I love her style, and her lovely photos on instagram are so charming, she's a happy follow. 

For my project, I chose the cherry zip pouch.  It's super cute and of course how I can I resist anything cherry?  I wanted to use my cute Atsuko Matsuyama cross stitch fabric  that I ordered from Sunny Day Supply.  (I maybe heard a rumor there could be more on order???) and I paired it with some  Amy Smart Sugarhouse Park cherries and Pat Sloan's Morrison Park for the leaves.  I topped it off with a cherry zipper pull from The Cherry Chick's etsy shop DecorativeSewingPins. 

 I was a bit worried, it's been a while since I installed a zipper in ANYTHING but it went in like a breeze.  Kristyne also made this little zip bag, making hers slightly larger to to accommodate her fancy cherry zipper from Sunny Day Supply.  I have one of those hoarded but was a little apprehensive, but now that I see how easy it is, well I'll be actually using it.  SHOCKING! 

 It was a lot of fun to make. Helen's book has great instructions and illustrations to help you through it all.  There are so many great projects, I had to give the patchwork bag a try as well.  I have a nice little collection of that pretty cording and was anxious to use it.  SO CUTE.  And even though I cheated and used my patchwork panel fabric, I think it turned out sweet.  Another great project in Helen's book.  

This new book by Helen is a great addition to my collection of Helen's books.  Thank you to Helen and Tuva Publishing for sending it to me.  I had so much fun making these two projects, and look forward to working on that cute Little Houses quilt on the cover.  So charming, and you all know how much I love machine applique.  If you want to see more of the projects you can follow the #homesweethomesewing hashtag on Instagram, lots of pretty makes there!  

Hope you are well friends! xop

Finishing

Hi there friends!  How are you?  I know some of your are having delicious fall weather (I'm talking about you Sigi.@LittleQuiltSong) , but here in PamKittyVille it's still warm.  We do have leaves falling off our fruitless mulberry, but those will continue to fall well into next year.  Our windows are still open at night and soon it will be 70s and 80s everyday well into November I'm sure.  Not a complaint, that's for sure.  Cool weather is so nice after a long hot summer.

A year or probably more ago I finished this small quilt top.  I am not even sure I posted this on Instagram, or here on the blog... but it was on a pile of small projects.  I fell in love with the quilt on the cover of Sheri's October Make it Mini quilt and pulled together some fabrics to make it.  

I broke from the pattern by adding some of my hoarded Lakehouse Sunrise Studios scallops on the border.  My corner execution is pretty bad, and I think that turned me off of finishing it, kind of disappointed in myself that I didn't pursue a more accurate finish.  I layered it and basted with the Quilter's Select Free Fuse that I've talked about before, I love that stuff.  It was still nice and basted when I picked it up again the other day.  (not sponsored I just love it)  I had set it aside at least a year ago.  One of a few small projects that was easy to pick up and finish when I had the urge to sew but didn't know what to make. 

Anyway I'll be ready when Valentine's Day comes around because I think it's a cute finish.  Sheri's patterns are nice to sew with and I enjoyed making it.  I'm not sure my dotty version is even close to as cute as her original, but its done and ready to go.  I would definitely make it again. 

Valentine's Day has some of the cutest decorations around, and I'm always happy to see the candies and cards and all the hearts pop up in stores after what seems like an endless Christmas decoration season.  I'm already seeing Christmas on IG and it's killing me. Valentine's Day is the OG palate cleanser of holidays in my (grouchy old lady) mind.  Plus who doesn't love pink and red and all those cute Valentines?  

So many of you are making things I want to tell you how much I enjoy seeing all your  projects on Instagram.  I don't always feel like sewing lately so your quilts and other projects are great to see and be inspired by.  There are other wonderful things I see, fall leaves, kids, gardens, it's all great.  I hope you're all well, staying safe and healthy!!! xop

Winner Winner

Was 'Winner Winner Chicken Dinner' a saying that you about forever?  I have to confess I had never heard it before blogging but it cracks me up each time I hear it.  (and also makes me want some kind of delicious old fashioned Sunday night chicken dinner.)  I looked it up and it originates, according to the internets, (so we know it's true!!!) from the Las Vegas Strip.  Weird! 

Anyway WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER FRIENDS!  Any excuse to use a picture of my kitchen chicken here.   I felt so clever when I thought about taking this picture.  That's what passes for entertainment these days here in PamKittyVille.

I had so many nice comments on my Morrison Park blog post, it was fun to see how many of you regularly watch Pat.  She's a positive force out in the world, I admire her attitude during her broken wrist  recovery.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to must that kind of positive outlook. 

Anyway you're not here for my Pamdemic Ramblings so I'll get to it.  The winner of the Morrison Park giveaway is Lana Stewart who said " I love all things Pam Kitty Morning including your Morrison Park table topper! Beautiful."

Lana, email me your address at rocketqltr@yahoo.com and your gift from Pat and Benartex will make it's way to you.  

Thanks everyone who stopped by and entered for a chance to win! 

It's that time of year.

 Hi friends! Thanks for all the comments on the Morrison Park post.  If you haven't entered, go back one post and leave a comment. I'll be picking a winner later in the week. 

Here in PamKittyVille it's been hot hot hot, only cooling down a smidge today.  It sure makes it hard to get into the whole fall sweater weather thing everyone has going.  I am not sure we'll be in  sweater weather until next month!   

Saw that fellow the other day.  Headed over to my favorite picture taking spot. Because I had Bret to help me, I was able to get a better full quilt shot.  I am pretty sure it's been just over a year since I started this quilt .  It was done for some time, but I put off having it quilted.  The quilt is by Margo at the Pattern Basket and it's called Boo!  So super cute.  I used the pastel solids because Frankie loves the pastel Halloween style.  The background and backing is the Riley Black black dot on white and the eyes and binding are their smallest black gingham on white.  I think it turned out cute and Frankie is quite happy about it.  

My fence options...at least the quilt obscures the dry grassy background.   We won't see green fields for quite a while, and only then if it's a wet winter.  (crossing my fingers for a rainy season)

The quilt was quilted by Darla from Wildflower Quilting.  She does a great job and I was lucky to get onto her schedule in time to get this back for October.  She's local to me so I dropped it off and picked it up social distance style!!  

It was very fun to sew, Margot's pattern was easy to follow and I admire all her clever design work.  The piecing isn't hard if you follow the instructions carefully.  I like that  her designs are full of cute details.  

Hope you are well friends! I'll be back later in the week to pick and announce the winner of Pat's prize.  I hope you take a moment to go check out the post and leave a comment!  xop 

Pat Sloan's Morrison Park Tour

Good morning friends! Today is my day on the Morrison Park fabric tour.  I was so exited when Pat asked me to sew along with her and a talented group of  friends online. 

!

You may remember when I posted this photo on Instagram, way back in June.  Morrison Park is such a nice collection of prints, and the colors are so vibrant. 

I took that pretty pile and turned it into this.  You may have noticed that the blue and green combos are very popular, have you seen Andy's pretty quilt?  I love it! Laura also had a wonderful quilt featuring all the prints and used a solid for a background, be sure and hop over and check out her post. 

I wanted to make something to using my Quiltmaker 100 Ties and Necklaces block from Volume 15 stitch up this 4 block quilt that's the perfect size for my dining room table.  We're here in the hot hot days of Indian summer so the blues and greens are so nice and cool.  (shh don't tell anyone I have leftovers to add to my stash!) 

Pat , Benartex and Aurifil have supplied some gifts for us, so if the winner is in the US there's a lovely layer cake and a Fat Quarterly magazine along with those cute Tropical Breeze charms.  

If the winner is outside the US there's a Perfect Little Box of Neutrals threads from Aurifil.  We all know how wonderful that thread is. 

So leave a comment friends and I'll pick a winner on October 10th!  

There's plenty of places to leave an entry, here's a list of all the participants.  You probably already are familiar with them, but maybe you'll find an inspiring new friend! 

Pat Sloan's Morrison Park Tour

September 28 - Cheryl Bricky Meadow Mist Designs

September 29 - Laura Pilan Slice of Pi Quilts

September 30 - Andy Knowlton A Bright Corner

October 1 - Amy Ellis Amy's Creative Side

October 2 - Yvonne Fuchs Quilting Jetgirl

October 3 - Pam Vieira-McGinnis Pam Kitty Morning

October 4 - Jen Shaffer Patterns by Jen

October 5 - Heather Valentine The Sewing Loft

October 6 - Annie Unrein By Annie

October 7 - Melissa Corry Happy Quilting Melissa

October 8 - Karen Pratt Cream Craft Goods

October 9 - Jane Davidson Quilt Jane

October 10 - Wendy Sheppard Ivory Springs

October 11 - Pat Sloan

Ok, that's all for me today friends. Leave a comment, and tell me if you follow Pat and any of these wonderful makers.  

Ranger Cookies

Hi friends!  The other day I posted on Instagram about the Ranger Cookies I made for Frankie.  They're one of her long time favorites.  Lots of people thought they sounded like Cowboy cookies too, same kind of thing. They both have some bit time Texas lore about them, cookies made for Texas Rangers or for Texan Cowboys.   Similar cookies really.  

My recipe was shared by Gloria Smith years ago when we worked together at Going to Pieces quilt shop.  They just seem a little better than your standard  oatmeal to me. Chewy with a bit of crunch from the corn flakes, just yummy.   So yummy I made a half a recipe for myself today because I gave all mine to Frankie to share with her friend.  Here's the recipe.  It's perfect for cutting in half if you don't want to have too many laying around to overeat, like me!  I made smaller cookies and ended up with 28 cookies. (but also maybe ate a couple of cookies worth of dough so who knows) In the past I have added chocolate chips or pecans, but today it seemed like some toffee chips would be delish. 

If you want to print this, download the pdf recipe card here!  If you print on cardstock you can cut it out, it should be a 4" x 6"  recipe card... crossing my fingers, it's been a while since I fired up photoshop for that kind of thing. 

In other exciting news I have a copy of Helen's new book Home Sweet Home Sewing from Tuva.  Helen invited me to sew along with a group of really wonderful people and I'm so honored.   

Helen's projects are always delightful  and her photography is amazing.  I love to see all the beauty of her garden.  Especially when things are so crispy hot here! 

Ok, that's it for me today!  Keep cool friends and make coffee. xop

Finally

Morning friends! How are you?  Are you doing ok?  I think about you and this space where we meet, but I just don't seem to manage to make it here.  But I do think about you and all the years we did meet regularly.  I miss it.   So I hope you are well.

I was surprised opening blogger to find a whole new interface!  Holy cow, it caught me by surprise, but I managed to figure it out.  I'm glad about it, because sometimes I feel like my figuring out days are behind me!  I haven't been sewing much and I see the last time I blogged it was about these cute little 'x' blocks from Heidi's blog. I managed to stitch them together finally and then layered and basted them over the weekend.  I love using Free Fuse, I know I've talked about it before.  I like it as an alternative to an adhesive spray.   

Anyway I even turned into a pillow and I think it turned out so cute.  It's the perfect size.. I think it's a 12" x 16" pillow form and it tucks in nice and tight which is how I like it.  

I have been spending a lot of time out back lately and I've befriended a little garden cat that comes to our backyard.  I  named him Orange Julius before I realized he's a she, so we just call her OJ.  We pretend to have tamed her, but I think she belongs to a neighbor.  Frankie took this cute picture of her.  

She comes in the morning to hang out with me when I water all my plants in pots and then comes back in the evening for a few pets before it's time to head home.  She's a fun addition to the garden, and I never know when I'll see her outback waiting for me to come out and pet her.

Not much else going on here friends.  Mostly we stay home, only heading out for groceries or necessities.  We're in a heat wave right now, so we stay inside, temps are in the 100s.. and I'm not a fan at all.  I enjoy seeing all your sewing projects on Instagram, and really love seeing all the pretty garden pictures from places with summer rain.  I hope you're doing well.  Time to go get another cup of coffee!!  xop

Cross that off my list!

How are you doing friends?  I know at this point I'm talking to myself, here in print, and in real life!  We are doing fine here in PamKittyVille, the weather is nice and we're getting a few items ticked off the list.  Restrictions are lifting bit by bit, nurseries are now open, so we took a little trip to Alden Lane Nursery They're just open a few days a week with limited hours and limited people. The first week it looked mobbed, long lines to get in, but by the second week it  calmed down so we went in and grabbed some flowers and supplies.  Nice that it's outdoors and very few people. I appreciate all the care that our local shops are taking to insure their employees and customers are safe. I see a lot of people on IG out and about, how are things in your area? Are you out and about? 

In the mean time back in April I posted an IG picture of a cute x-stitch block I made from a tutorial from Heidi over on her Fabric Mutt blog.  You should definitely check it out, you can find it here.  I really like that shape of it, and the size, it's a 2 inch finished block.  I made quite a few testing it, and the one thing that I didn't like about how my blocks turned out, was the way the corners looked.  Not all of my corners  landed in the center of the "x" and it really bugged me.  I tossed all my crappy blocks and moved on...but then Kristen posted her blocks on Instagram and hers all looked so good, so I was back on track to make some more. Do you follow Kristen and Heidi?  

Anyway I decided to order a 2 1/2" ruler.  Of course I didn't have one.  I could have made a plastic template or even a paper template but this just seemed way easier. And safer for me to trim my blocks with to be honest. And right away today I have the results I wanted.  Those points are right in the center of those pink "x"s and I'm thrilled with it.  Now I actually might make that adorable pillow.  

That's a long story about ordering a ruler.  Sorry.  That's how things are in a pandemic. Sometimes I'm excited about a little block and just have to share it. What are you excited about these days! 

Hope you're well !!!  I'll see you on Instagram!

Hidden in Plain Sight: A PamKittyMorning Story

Hi there friends, how are you?  Hangin in there?  We're still sheltering in place here in PamKittyVille, how about where you are?  I hope you're finding what you need at the store and some how getting through it all. We are doing ok, saw Frankie across her garage the other day, dropping stuff off and picking up stuff.  

When I first started this post LAST WEEK, I was about to begin searching for something in my house.  What a clever title.  I typed it in and I was feeling smug, thinking I would find it right off. I knew I had it,and double checked my blog posts to find a picture to make sure, and I was  convinced I knew right where it was. But like all smug prideful thoughts, I COULD NOT FIND IT.  I'm not going to go into the measures I went thru to find it either, as it took a while week for me to just give up (for now).  (temporarily)DEFEATED. 

But also I did manage to get some stuff done.  I made myself sit down and put these blocks together.  I really love the quilt, and while the contrast between lights and darks isn't great, I love how it turned out, even the big contrast red blocks.  I need to find a big chunk of batting around here and get it quilted.  I think I will do it myself, in a simple grid pattern.  The design lends itself to that that. No need to mark it.  

Another thing I did for fun last week was stitch up this cute teapot.  It's from Ayumi Mills Pink Penguin blog, you can find it here.  Here blog post shows how to make it with freezer paper piecing, and I tried kind of a hybrid version of that and paper piecing.  I should have taken the time to just use the freezer paper method as it would have been much easier.  I'm not getting any smarter with age I'm afraid.  I really love it though, it's quite a jaunty little block.  I was inspired by The Sunny Day Supply little tea cup cozy, you can see that on instagram here. Everything Ayumi and the SunnyDay girls make is so charming and inspiring.  I could look at their photos all day. Pretty photos really make me happy.  

While browsing around on Instagram's explore feature, I a saw the cutest cross stitch by NeedleWork Press.  You can find it on Facebook, it's a free pattern. Probably like a lot of you, I cross stitched A LOT before I got into quilting.  I loved it.  

Dug through all my old cross stitch supplies and found all the floss and and a piece of aida and started stitching today.  UGH.  MY EYES.  They just don't see like they used to.  That's how far I got before I just had to say uncle.  Even with my glasses it was a challenge and that's 14 count aida! Still it's such a charming little project, not to big, and I hope you take a peek at it over on their Facebook page or on Instagram. 

That's what I've been up to.  What about you? Hope you have some sunny weather to perk up the days.  I'm enjoying the backyard before it gets scorched by the sun.  We put the umbrellas out and cushion on the swing and it's delightful.  I'm headed out there to work on some binding.  Hope you're well.  xop