Anything

[Sela]

Thanks for the links Izzy!  I'm glad for him (and for the Queen)!

Ok MS, here's another:



SYMPTOMS OF THE BIRD FLU...

The Center for Disease Control has released a list of symptoms of bird flu. If you experience any of the following, please seek medical treatment immediately:

1. High fever
2. Congestion
3. Nausea
4. Fatigue
5. Aching in the joints
6. An irresistible urge to crap on someone's windshield!!!

  Sela

[Sela]

One more ......

The Candle


Mrs. O'Donovan was walking down O'Connell Street in Dublin, and coming in the opposite direction was Father Rafferty.

"Hello," said the Father, "and how is Mrs. O'Donovan? Didn't I marry you two years ago?"

She replied, "That you did, Father."

The priest asked, "And are there any little ones yet?"

"No, not yet Father," said she.

"Well, now, I'm going to Rome next week, and I'll light a candle for you."

"Thank you, Father." And away she went.


A number of years later they met again. "Well, now, Mrs. O'Donovan," said the Father, "how are you?"

"Oh, very well," said she.

"And tell me," he said, "Have you any little ones yet?"

"Oh yes, Father. I've had three sets of twins, and four singles, ten in all."

"Now isn't that wonderful," he said "And how is your lovely husband?"

"Oh," she said, "he's gone to Rome to blow out that darn candle!"


  Sela

[mountainspring]

     Those were good.....

and soooooo neat that Mr. Potts will be singin for the Queen.

[isittoolate]

Not too much impresses me, but this is a "magical story unfolding in real life" We will be seeing and hearing more of PP.

[mountainspring]

Sela...  are you still quilting?

[Sela]

MS, Yessiree!  I have OQD (obsessive quilting disorder).  Got a few of 'em going.  Working on a huge quilted roman blind for my living room (it's 107 inches wide by about 85 long...a monster quilt!) and two smaller ones for H's workshop, plus a couple of hand stitched ones I vary back and forth on, when I go up to our cabin (can't say I get bored now can I?).  Also, started up punch embroidery.  It's so easy and lovely!  Doing some of those to add to the crazy quilted bean bag chair my D and I are building.  Should be really cool, once it's finished, which will be awhile yet.

How about you?  How did the one you worked on with your Mammaw turn out?  What did you do with it?  Have you started a new one?

Sela

[mountainspring]

A few of them!  It takes us forever to complete one!!!     The last one we finished right as Mammaw moved.  I sent it to one of her neices.  I packed the sqaures when she moved but I found one of the squares in a drawer by my bed and I'm thinking I'll get the pattern and start a new one.  It would be nice to keep the tradition going.  Punch embroidery?  Is that where you use a sewing machine to embrioder?  I think I saw one of those about a year ago in Hancocks.

[Sela]

Hiya MS,

Ya, it does take a long time to make a quilt but it's worth it in the end, imo.  Each one is unique too!

So the quilt you and Mammaw made is at one of her neice's place?  Was that the original plan?  Does the neice have it on a bed or hanging anywhere?

I'm glad you're working on a few of quilts!  Cool!    Maybe you will decide to make another with those squares?


The punch needle embroidery is very simple.  It's done by hand with a gadget that holds a hallow needle and feeds embroidery cotton (or thinner fancy threads or wider thin silk ribbons) through the fabric and leaves a loop with each punch (also called Bunka, I think?).  Punch after punch, loop after loop, a pattern is developed. It's got more depth than regular embroidery and is quicker.  Any pattern can be done but it eats thread pretty quick.  Otherwise, it's fairly inexpensive to get into.  Here's a link:

http://russianembroidery.com/fr_abtrpefr.htm 

Just one I found on the net but have not dealt there.  I bought my stuff for about 30 bucks at a sewing show.  Already had some embroidery cotton from doing cross stitch, years ago.  Then I found a whole wack of wonderful colours at the dollar store!  5 skeins for a buck!

  Sela

[mountainspring]

Hi Sela,

I didn’t make myself clear.  I was referencing your few of them!!!!  I think if I worked on more than one a time I would confuse myself!!!  I’m not working on any at present.  Yes, it was the plan.  She had made quilts for everyone, children, grandchildren, good friends etc.  But when she came here there were 2 people she hadn’t made one for yet, a nephew and a niece.  The first one we gave to her nephew and this last one we gave to her niece.  She offered the last one to me and I was so tempted to keep it. These were the only 2 we made together (besides a couple baby quilts), and I was sure it would be her last one.  But I already own 8 of her quilts.  Four large ones, one baby one for each of my children, and she even made me another baby quilt to keep in my closet for my future first grandchild (who probably won’t exist for at least 10 years!!).  We discussed that we had made it together and maybe I should keep it, but it didn’t feel right, felt selfish, so when it came back from the shop I quickly mailed it to her niece.

I found one square on the one we started before she left the other day and thought maybe I would get the rest of the pattern and iron on the transfers and do one myself.  She has the rest of the original squares at assisted living for whenever she gets back there.  She hadn’t worked on them that much before her surgery though and I doubt she will pick them back up.  Her quilting days are over I think.  But…… the tradition can carry on.  She’s taught me to make them and it would be neat to make them for my girls and put them in a hope chest for when their grown.

Thanks for the link.  I’ll check it out.  Maybe it will help me finish squares quicker.

I found this link on you tube…. nothing to do with quilting but the little girl is so cute singing her little cuppycake song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Z6pWhM6TA

[mountainspring]

Sela... I just checked out that link.   I bet this would be good for Mammaw too.  She had so much trouble threading her needle.  Once the gadget is threaded, does the thread just keep feeding into it?   In other words, when embroidering the length of the thread can only be so long, otherwise the risk of knotting during sewing is very high.  Does this feed a whole color at a time, so you don't have to keep rethreading?  It looks like it does.

[mountainspring]

Hi All....  need to smile?  Just found these funny TV news bloopers!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrpaCOb_BGk&NR=1

[Sela]

Hi MS,

I don't know.  If your Mammaw had trouble threading her needle, this might not be the best for her.  It is a bit tricky to thread the punch.  Unless, someone else did the threading, then it might be ok.

I suppose, one could have a substantially long thread....say on a reel of some type....so threading wouldn't be necessary too often (however.....it would mean that the piece would be worked in mostly the same colour for awhile).  The thread does just keep feeding into it so if one colour isn't a problem, it might work out ok.

Thanks for explaining about the quilt/neice situation.  I think it would be wonderful for you to carry on the tradition!  Especially since your Mammaw's quilting days are likely over.  I bet she would appreciate that you continue to use what she taught you and pass it on (imagine teaching your grandchild....."this is what my grandmother taught me").  Too cool!     It's lovely to imagine the wonderful time you must have spent with her doing it.

It must have been hard but it was the right thing to do, I think, to give that quilt to the neice.  Imagine had you not done so and she were the only one who didn't get one of Mammaw's quilts?   It must have been hard to part with it but you are a kind soul for doing so MS.

Oh and thanks for the links though I'm sorry youtube just doesn't work well on this ancient pc of mine.  It's so choppy I can't understand the words.  It's weird because I can watch just about anything on Media player.  I really need to upgrade.

Sela

[Hopalong]

hi Sela,
Would that widget work to add some simple color to a woven cotton blanket? The weave's not terribly tight. I have access to 50 of them very cheap and thought if there was a simple way to add a decorative touch at the top, I could sell them somewhere?

love and thanks
Hops

[Sela]

Hi Hops,

It might work.  I think you would need to practice first, on similar fabric.  As far as I know, it is suggested to use fairly tightly woven fabric, such as linen, however....if you were to use a fat thread....such as yarn or wool or ribbons, maybe?....it might just do the trick.  (I have used denim, which they advise against, and a rather loosely woven cotton and it worked out).  There are different sized needles for different thicknesses of threads/ribbons/yarn etc and you would need the one they call: 6 strand (which you can use to put six strands of embroidery floss thru at once and which will also allow thicker thread like wool or thinner-type ribbon).  It would sure look nice, I bet!

How about applique?  Have you heard of it? It's often incorporated into quilts and could easily be used to jazz up the blankets.  Let's see if I can find a link:

this one's a good description:

http://www.fiber-images.com/Free_Things/What%20Is/applique.htm

Do you have a sewing machine?  You could use zig zag to place ribbons or other fibres ontop of the blankets?  I've done it with cording, beads, lace, etc (to a wall hanging).  Look up embellishing on the net and I bet you'll find something to help you out.  You don't need a sewing machine and could do it by hand, it just takes longer.

Sela

[Ami]

Thanks MS for the funny news bloopers. The news bloopers are the best type of bloopers(IMO)
                                                                                                                 Love   Ami