ONCE A WEEK KEEP YOUR OWN BLOCK, SEPTEMBER #1

Time again for our Once A Week, Keep Your Own Block.  The first pattern for September (a day late) is Indian Star and can be found here at:  http://www.quilterscache.com/I/IndianStarBlock.html.  It is an 8 inch block and very pretty.  Enjoy!

MIS-COMPUTER ISSUES

What a start to my day off! I came into the front room, turned on my computer and it had a message saying disc error. Great. Can’t use my home computer! Go into my sewing room to use my laptop and it won’t let me connect to the internet! Go to my work computer to get online and it’s fine. I don’t like using my work computer for personal business as it has a lot of security with my work. Oh, and before that, yesterday my keyboard decided to die on me. I changed to another spare keyboard but the adapter plug was bad and I couldn’t get it to work. Went to an older keyboard that is still working and has the plug and now that is working fine. Needless to say, it has not been a good day, computerwise! My son-in-law is still figuring out why my laptop (brand new, less than 4 months) won’t let me online. Hubby cleaned the home computer and that solved the other problem. A downfall of having 4 cats that shed.

I will be posting the mystery quilt blocks and information later today. Thanks for listening.

Once A Week Keep Your Own Block, August Bonus Block

Bonus Block for August is called Leaves and Diamonds.  Very pretty fall block.  Here is the link:  http://www.quilterscache.com/L/Leaves&DiamondsBlock.html.

Once A Week Keep Your Own Block, August #4

Here is the link to our next block called Ladies’ Aide Block. This is an 8 inch block and is fairly easy. Have fun! Here is the link:http://www.quilterscache.com/L/LadiesAidBlockBlock.html.

ONCE A WEEK KEEP YOUR OWN BLOCK, AUGUST #3

Here is the link for our next block called Gentleman’s Fancy:  http://www.quilterscache.com/G/GentlemansFancyBlock.html.  I love the vibrant colors!  Have fun!

ONCE A WEEK KEEP YOUR OWN BLOCK, AUGUST #2

Once A Week Keep Your Own Block, August

Here is the second block for August. It’s called Ladies Aid Block and is 8 inches. Here is the link: http://www.quilterscache.com/L/LadiesAidBlockBlock.html. Have fun!

ONCE A WEEK KEEP YOUR OWN BLOCK, AUGUST #1

The first block for August is called Squares Upon Squares and can be found here at:http://www.quilterscache.com/S/SquaresUponSquaresBlock.html. It is a pretty 12 inch block! Enjoy!

OUR VALUABLE SPACE TO WORK, TO STORE, AND TO MOVE

How important is it to us that we have room to move around and work.  Do you like a large room with plenty of space for your machines, fabric and other accessories but have a small area? Or do you have a comfy, cozy sewing area that is just right for you with everything right by your side, easy to access?  

How do you organize your space?  Is it allotted out in small areas, like a closet for fabric and a desk for sewing or is it a dream room like we see advertised in magazines?

Is it a whirlwind of surprises hiding under buried treasure or is everything put away nice and neat?  Please share what your room looks like.  Is there anything you want to change or are you happy with it?  Share your ideas with us, sometimes we can all use a change.  

With the horrible heat here in the valley, it has been almost too hot to sew but I did get some organizing done in my closet and now have more floor space in my room just by moving things around a bit.  It’s pretty small to begin with and with a large, custom made table in the middle (hubby made it for me), I have to be creative with my space.  I now have less furniture in there now but still manage to have everything I need ready to go.  It’s a little cozy in there but I like it.  

I hate to admit this, but I share my room with 4 cats and their litter boxes that take up floor space and this has forced me to be careful where I put furniture.  I also have to make sure that I put everything away at night when I finish so I don’t have cat hair everywhere or tools going AWOL. With cats, I have given up on having furniture that will stay nice so I use plastic containers that they cannot scratch up and all my yardage or stuff that they can get their claws into is in my closet that is closed and off limits to any and all kitties. That has worked for the past 10 years.

As for furniture, I have my mother-in-law’s (she passed away many years ago) old Formica table that I use for sewing with my 2 main machines, embroidery and regular, on top.  I have my old office chair that I use, an ironing board that I use for sorting and paperwork as well as ironing.  I also have a cabinet attached to the wall as you come in that stores DVDs and current projects, misc. Then, by the ironing board is one of those small metal cabinets with 12 medium sized drawers that hides a multitude of sins, an old dresser that has my TV on top of it with a lot of stuff for swaps and extra cords, etc for the machines.  

Oh, I almost forgot, next to my sewing table is another dresser that sits in between the cabinet and the table with small drawers on top and the bottom one is deep and I keep other craft stuff in there.  The top drawer is where I keep my scissors, cutters, seam rippers and machine accessories. The second drawer down is for my small templates, rulers and misc.

Then comes my masterpiece!  Three years ago for my birthday, Doug asked what I wanted.  I told him I wanted a table for my room, cutting and storage combined.  I had been drooling over the designs that are available but not able to afford the price and not really happy with any of them as they weren’t just what I wanted.  Well, hubby being thrifty, said that he could make one for me.  I told him what I wanted, the size and everything else.  I wound up with a table big enough to fit the largest cutting mat on, with a bookcase in the front, shelves underneath for storage and an extra 2 shelves on top for more books and etc.

This sits right smack in the middle of my room!  This is made out of solid pine and has a light finish on it, and is massive. This ain’t going nowhere anytime soon, it is solid and heavy.  And I love it, as it’s just what I wanted!

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ONCE A WEEK KEEP YOUR OWN BLOCK, JULY #4

This is the final block for July and involves paper piecing.   This is a little harder but the results are worth it.  It is called Conventional and can be found here at:  http://www.quilterscache.com/C/ConventionalBlock.html.

Remember, the blocks are just to challenge us and see  if we can do the block.  No obligations, if you want to pass on it, that is fine also.  It is just to hone our skills as quilters!  

Once A Week Keep Your Own Block July #3

Once A Week Keep Your Own Block is called Clover Blossom and can be found at:  http://www.quilterscache.com/C/CloverBlossomBlock.html.   It is a 12 inch block and consists of different sized half square triangles.  Wouldn’t that be pretty as a cornerstone block?   Have fun!