May for Me!

Starting today, I will be sporadically sharing posts about the May for Me Celebration and how I find 5 minutes a day or more to take time to create and make you smile.  

I will be sharing here and on Instagram and on facebook and on Twitter and on Pinterest! Join in the fun of sharing about creating 5 minutes or more a day for a whole month!

Creating with fabric (simple sewing and quilting), creating with paper, making healthy food choices and displaying it on your plate, creating with plants, and more....

Several years ago, I teamed up with a few bloggers and hosted a May for Me Celebration on my blog, but after hosting it for a couple years, I decided to discontinue hosting as it was a lot of work for me and I wasn't enjoying it.

This is the logo I used for it.

I was sharing how to take time for yourself and not feel guilty about enjoying the moments or smelling the roses, or just taking time to play each day - just for 5 minutes or longer. 

I will be doing it again, but on a smaller scale and I might share every day and I might share several posts a day and I may skip a day or too! #mayforme2017

I would like to invite you to join in on the fun, please hashtag your posts on social media with this:  #mayforme2017

It is so important to me, to take time to create a little each day....makes me smile.

I love to smile each day and to feel good, so join in the fun and take time to create and share a post about what you are doing.

Let's start off the May for Me Celebration with a FREE PDF Downloadable Pattern for you!  If you are regular follower you may already have this pattern. It's not just for Valentine's Day!

I scaled it down on my printer and made a mini quilt for a loved one and included it with a sympathy card. I selected some hand dyed velvet pieces to add in with a few embroidery stitches to top it off.

Enjoy your day --- the first day in May!

Marcia

#mayforme2017

Hodgepodge Patchwork Tuesday - Got the Winter Blues?

Here is fun and simple way to get rid of them, using 3 blue fabrics.
You start with three coordinating fat quarters.

Medium, dark, and light.

Cut the dark fabric fat quarter into 1 1/2 inch strips X 22".

Cut the medium and the light fabric fat quarter into 3 inch strips X 22".

Stitch them together alternating the dark strips in between the medium and light fabrics.

Iron/Press the strip set with the seams going away from the skinny strip and towards the larger strips.

Next cross cut the strips at 2 inches wide.

The cross cut strips will look like this.

Next stitch the skinny strips (dark blue) in between each of the cross cut strips.  Start with a light square at the top and then a medium, so that it creates an offset pattern. I even staggered a few of the strips by cutting off a little at the top, before I started sewing, so it was even more offset.

Don't worry if the top or bottom edges don't line up perfectly.  Rotary trim is after it is pressed.

Doesn't that create a cool pattern? It is like a basket weave. Of course, it really is cool to me, because it is BLUE!

I will quilt it and then rotary cut it into mug rugs - 7" X 10", but it could be quilted and made into a table runner.

I'll share the finished mug rugs sometime in the future. It may not happen before Christmas, I wanted to share the idea with you today!

Did that get rid of the Winter Blues?
Sewing something fun and easy always does it for me!
Remember to take time to play!

Enjoy!
Marcia

Do you have any of these?

Did you have one that you kept in your pocket when you were a little girl?

Did you have a whole shoe box full of them? 

I had a shoe box full and so did my daughter.  My Mom and my Grandmas gave them to us.  Sometimes I would sit for hours just touching the embroidery and feeling the smooth silky fabrics. Several years ago, I dreamt of making a quilt with all of them.

This summer when my daughter got married.  She asked if we could use them for the wedding.  We washed them and pressed them and neatly folded each one. We put them into an old picnic basket of my Grandma's.  We handed them out before the wedding ceremony, as a remembrance of the day and if some wanted to shed a tear of happiness for the bride and groom.

Before I put the remaining little hankies away, (back into the box for a Hankie Quilt that I will make some day), I decided I needed to make something out of them.

My first thought was to use the same fabrics from the wedding table runners, but they didn't seem to match any of the hankies.

Yellow fabrics would be pretty with this hankie.

I decided to make a little mug rug. First I needed to reinforce the back of the hankie to make it stronger.  I ironed on a lightweight interfacing like you put on the back of the T-shirts when making a T-shirt quilt.

Then I trimmed it.

All four sides.

Chose the yellow strips.

Then I started sewing on the strips and building around the hankie first.

I wanted the hankie to be in the corner of the mug rug, so I added the strips to form a rectangle.

It is ready to quilt.

Note that I quilted --- meandered right through the embroidery stitching on the hankie.

I stitched my name and the year as part of the quilting - of course!

I used a yellow daisy print on the back of the mug rug.

Trimmed it.

Bind it --- All machine Embroidery Stitched Binding.

Ready for a cup of coffee?

I am ready to make another one... and another one and another one...

How about you? 

Dig out those old hankies and make a little mug rug!

They would make a great gift for Grandma or anyone.

Take time to play!  Enjoy the moments in your life...

Marcia

Thursday's Thoughts - Sharing My Thoughts About --- Stitching, Stitching, and Stitching...

 I like to piece simple quilts with free form artsy blocks, 

because I love to quilt them!

I love "Stitching"!  

I like combining the thread colors just to see how they will look.  I think that is why one of my favorite quilting styles is Two Color Ribbon Quilting.  I featured Double Bubble Quilting on Monday and used two thread colors to create the shadowing affect on the bubbles.  

It's fun to try new quilting styles.  

Really makes my job interesting. 

I compare "stitching" to coloring. 

Do you remember coloring? I do! 

I would sit and color for hours and hours, just filling in all the sections of the pictures in the coloring book.  I had a hard time staying in the lines and sometimes I would add things to the pictures and color that too! When I completed the picture, I would sign my name with the date.  

It was delightful!

 That is how I feel when I am stitching. 

It is truly delightful!  

The front of this table runner uses light colors. You can make a table runner reversible by using a darker color of fabric for the backside.

I used my Easy to Sew Quilt Pattern to create 

the Dragonfly Simplicity Table Runner.

  I think the coolest thing about this pattern is that every block looks different, yet at the same time, similar!  

When you make this quilt it looks different every time!

I made three table runners at the same time in just a couple hours.  I only quilted one so far.  They are perfect to make for gifts for friends and family!  

I just mailed this table runner off to my sister-in-law for her birthday.  

I also entered a photo of the Dragonfly Simplicity Table Runner in the Quilting Gallery Weekly Theme Quilt Show.  

If you would like to vote for my quilt or any of the other quilts click here 

this Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Thanks!

I love stitching! 

What is your favorite part about making a quilt?  

Enjoy your day!

Marcia

Linked up with:
 2805 Potpourri Friday - Linky Party
 At Picket Fence - Inspiration Friday - Linky Party
 The Thrifty Groove-Thrifty Things Friday - Linky Party
 Stuff and Nonsense - Fridays Unfolded - Linky Party
 Rocking Party - Every Friday - Linky Party
 Sew Many Ways-Sew Darn Crafty Sunday-Linky Party   Sew Chatty: Made with Love Monday-Linky Party
Sew Happy Geek's Manic Monday Linky Party
WOW Us Wednesday Linky Party at Savvy Southern Style

My Vacation Project -- A Quilt and Hot Pads Made from a Denim Shirt!

 

This is my entry in the Project Quilting Off Season Challenge - Catalog It! Your inspiration was to be from an ad.  


I was inspired by clothes ads.  Many times we thumb thru' catalogs and order clothes. Then they come in the mail and they don't fit us correctly.  They just hang in our closets. Since this has happened to just about everyone I know, I decided we could all relate!  


I was inspired to create a quilt from an unusable clothing item --- a denim shirt that didn't fit me!

#1  Cut the shirt ---- Up Cycle this Denim Shirt 
#2  The Process --- My Vacation Project Continues...
#3  The Binding --- A Fringie Raw Edge Binding
#4  Hot Pads --- Made from the Scraps
#5 Completed  Project --- This Post.
And Wordless Wednesday - Veggies on my Quilt

For my next "Up Cycling Quilt Project" I will be working with the blue patchwork shorts. I am planning to cut the shorts at an angle and create square blocks.  I will border with old denim shirts, not new fabric.  I plan to use all recycled fabric for this project.  


Would love to have you share your thoughts and ideas on recycling projects or Up cycling projects... creative recycling!

"Vacation Project #2" 

Have a great weekend!


Marcia

This Post linked with:
Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 
2805 Potpourri Party
The Thrifty Groove - Thrifty Things Friday
Sew Darn Crafty Linky Party - Sundays
Sew Chatty: Made with Love Monday Linky Party 
Savvy Southern Style: WOW Us Wednesdays Oct. 12, 2011
Sew Stinkin Cute Linky Party Oct. 13, 2011
My Repurposed Life Catch as Catch Can#48-Oct. 13, 2011
Rockin Party - You Rock #5 -Oct. 13, 2011
Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Whoop Whoop Friday - Oct. 14, 2011
Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff - Oct. 12, 2011
Homemaker in Heels Weekend Craft Soiree and Blog Hop - Oct. 14, 2011
Canoe Ridge Creations - Sew Modern Monday - Oct. 17, 2011
Sew Happy Geek - Manic Monday Linky Party- Oct. 17, 2011
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - Oct. 18, 2011