Yup, still working overtime. And NO QUILTING HAPPENED AT ALL THIS WEEK! I am rather bummed about it, but too tired to do anything. So plan I can, and plan I did.
In last weeks post, I was tatting a candle mat from a free pattern on youtube. And I started over because I forgot a few tatting rings. Well, I did the same thing on the second one. So my candle mat is way smaller than intended.
On the purple edge, I forgot two rings, which would affect the next round. So a 4 inch candle mat it is. It is like nothing else I have ever tatted. I like it.
And because this is a nice way to relax in the evenings, I am going to continue to tat. I am going to call it the overtime doily. This is a simple 4 ring, one shuttle, one thread design. Did I look this up to find the pattern? No, I just winged it.
P=Picot
j=Join
All stitches are double stitches using size 20 thread cebelia by DMC.
Ring a – 3 P 5 P 5 P 3
Ring b is the same as above but you will join the first pico.
3 J 5 P 5 P 3
Ring c is the same as ring b
Ring d is the same as ring b except the last picot is a join
3 J 5 P 5 J 3
And then when you make multiples, you will join at the corner picot which is between the 5 double stitches
Tie ends and cut.
This is a great way to empty partial shuttles of left over thread. I will throw a few pops of color here and there as I go. How big will it get? Dunno yet, I guess it will go as much as my energy will allow before I call it quits.
Well, I am off to bathe the children and get ready for bed so I can have a Saturday at work. Thanks for stopping in a reading my blog!
Well, quilting is just not in the mix of things. Work, work, work, has me drained, drained, drained. I do have both days of the weekend off and will be using that time to tidy things up a bit. I have not vacuumed in a week! And when you have humans at home 24/7, those varmints really can live it up!
Mother goose (me) with her goslings, a whole stampeed of them!
In the evenings, I am in the mood to just relax. No sewing happened since last weekend.
So, to keep my hands busy I have picked up the tatting shuttles again. Nothing beats a 12 hour day with a nite cap of tatting. Very relaxing, effortlessly. Quilting is like that too, but my set up at the sewing machine is to stand and sew. And I am too tired to do anymore of that.
I started working this free pattern from youtube.
Due to my picos being too small mine will have 9 points. I am now on my second attempt because I forgot some rings. I really want this to turn out. It will be my largest work yet.
I did give a gob of masks to my son. Where he lives no one is wearing masks, as so demonstrated when we dined IN at the Dairy Queen. Of about 30 people that either worked there or were customers 3 wore masks. I hope he can either sell them and keep the money or wear them as intended.
Well, I got my Connecting Threads catalogue in the mail. I am off to prop up my feet and feast my eyes on some new fabric lines and ideas.
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading my blog!
Not much news! No news this day and age, is good news. However, it makes for a meager blog post.
I am still making masks. Have sold some, and will be a billboard for more sales. People love to accessorize!
I have sold these masks:
The red El Camino was snatched up by a coworker for her hubster.
This is the same piece of cloth as the red El Camino above, but a different cut of the novelty within. This is going to my son, SOLD!
Here is the flip side of the mask going to my son.
The guy I sold the Packers mask to was so elated, he took a selfie and sent it to his friends. (I think he is in his late 50s, I hope he felt young doing that LOL.)
I made a bio hazard mask for myself. Here is a scrap of the fabric. It is currently in the wash, ready to wear tomorrow. Yeah I have to work this weekend again.
I am debating keeping this one for myself. I love it! A screwdriver is a useful tool, and by golly some days I use one all day. This one will probably drum up some orders.
And now, onto the quilty side of things, I got a few more blocks sewn.
This 6 inch block has 56 pieces! It took a long time to pick fabrics. I figured out that if I repeated the grid fabric on the lighter side and on the other side of the darker side, it would work. I am pleased at the gradient!
The simplicity of this block withe the calico blue, feels very patriotic and I think this is my favorite block so far. Pleased with fabric selection on this one too!
Well this is a meager post. One of these days I am going to go full steam ahead and quilt up a storm. But, timing is everything. I am not going to get frustrated or upset. I am probably too tired to do that anyway. My energy levels will return I suspect in about a week. I find if you work enough overtime, your body clock then gets used to doing things for a longer period of time, building your stamina. I assume next weeks post will out do the last several posts.
Enjoy your weekend folks! Take care….be safe, and thanks for reading my blog!
I made a few masks in the past weeks. More and more people are requesting masks. Some are willing to pass me a $20 and not even blink an eye. I will take what they offer. My list of mask making grows.
The plan for the coming week is to make a few of these when I can. I have requests for Chevy, ElCamino, Green Bay Packers, V8 engine, Flight Deck controls, Screwdriver tools, Sine Wave, and Remove Before Flight. A lot of this fabric is being purchased from Spoonflower and has not even arrived yet. They love the personalization of the mask. I guess by accessorizing themselves they are willing to dole out the money as if it were a piece of specialized clothing.
I sold three masks this week and made $50. I gave away three more, which others saw and now want to buy. So my billboard campaign of those wearing them (free) are advertising and are free models to show them and refer them for sales. I help a friend, and they help me. How it should be.
I am washing fabric now. Tomorrow I have a day off, yay! So I will be working to make masks.
I have no elastic, and after checking inventory online of chain stores who carry elastic in the area, are all sold out for what I want. So, improvise it is! Spandex style fabric and stretchy tshirt fabric has been sacrificed, digging deep in the fabric buckets. Glad to get this used. I even had someone say, I did not have to put elastic in, they would provide it. Great, works for me!
I maanged to get more 365 quilt block challenge blocks made. I really struggled with the first one. So it was made twice. And it is still odd and imperfect. As imperfect as it is, I can call it done!
And my readers know, I have been working overtime. I will have 26 hours logged on this check. I hate working overtime because it wears me out. I hate even more the extra cash earned puts me in a different income bracket and dang ole uncle sam takes waaaaay too much!
At the same time, I consider myself fortunate because of the unemployment numbers. Right now, 10% of the people cannot afford to eat! They speak of electric bills and the coming month many people will get disconnected. Evictions will be high. When you get poor like that, crime rises and I worry for the good of the whole world in the coming months. Please readers be loving to others, regardless if they are in need. Kill’em with kindness! It will never be forgotten.
I have been there, I know how bad it is and can be. I have had a year when there was meager Christmas toys purchased for my eldest son. I bought used toys. I felt terrible, but I know I did not have money to go buy in the stores. I have had my electricity turned off. I have deemed I will never return to that horrible time in my life. The odds were all stacked against me, this crab had a hard time getting out of the bucket. My crabby peers kept pulling me back into the bucket. Glad I am out, and know how to survive when there is no food in the house. Coupons, lists, grocercies, no extras. Not even a penny laying in a jar in the house. Ramen soup and lots of eating from a can…..sandwiches too! Life has turned out better, and I am a better person to have gone through it!
I challenge all of you to make the world a better place. One step, one day at a time. Have a different mindset, think of others. Kill them with kindness! Kindness has become almost extinct. Make it flourish again, it does not have to be with money. It can happen with a kind gesture. If you see someone struggling, help them. It may be as easy as opening the door for them, or just asking if they need help. Who knows a friendship may result!
Be safe readers! And thank you for reading my blog!
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