Monday Chop Suey

This post is chock-full of unrelated bits and bobs. Hence the title, chop suey.

I hope you all had a great weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day.

Here's my Mother's Day bling. Flowers from my wonderful hubby, son & his girlfriend. Notice the sweet little bear. Son's girlfriend hand sewed this little cutie just for me. She knows how much I appreciate handmade items. I have been truly blessed with a wonderful and caring family.


My diet is still going nowhere. I know that it is my fault as I am definately not making good choices. My weight is at a standstill at the moment. The only good thing is that I haven't gained any more weight this week. That's a blessing in itself! LOL

I'm sure that most of you have wondered about the winner's of my last giveaway and whether they have received their items by now. I have heard from 4 of the 5 winners. Emy, who lives in Italy and doesn't have a blog, is the only person that I am waiting to hear from. I have heard that the Italian customs are quite strict so I'm thinking that it will be a while longer until she receives her handbag. So, before way too much time passes, here is a list of the winner's and their blogs. I am certain that you will find each of their blogs very entertaining and full of beautiful eye candy. Don't forget to check their current projects as there are some really spectacular works going on with each of these fine ladies. I know you will not be disappointed!

Connie W. of Cootie Bug 2.

Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works.

Tudy of Tudy's Craft Cupboard.

SG of Flores 'as cores.

I will post Emy's reaction as soon as I hear from her.

I have been busy, hopping from one project to another. I'm currently working on a new bunch of 7/8" hexagons. Although they are very small, they are still quite easy to work with.


They make the cutest 2-5/8" flowers. I do have a project in mind for these, but like everything else that I am currently working on, it will take a bit of time to produce.


My nephew is graduating with his Masters Degree in Education and for his party he asked me to make his card box. He teaches Hawaiian language and his party will have a Hawaiian theme. I am creating faux lauhala by using brown wrapping paper. Here is an example of some wonderful lauhala products. I have no affiliation with this company but thought that this would give you a really good idea of how lovely real woven lauhala is.

I love cutting paper with my rotary cutter. When old blades aren't good for cutting fabric any longer, I use them for cutting paper. They are still sharp enough to slice through paper and makes the job so much faster and easier.


Here they are after being cut into 2" strips.


Each strip is folded twice until no raw edges are visible and they measure 5/8" in width. I then iron each strip to flatten and make weaving easier.


This is the weaving process. Lot's of work but very rewarding. I will show you the completed project by next week.


This is my first attempt at fabric applique. I tried my hand at attaching a flower onto another piece of fabric to see what it would look like. I have never done applique before so my stitches are a bit uneven. I really don't know the proper way to do this but for my first try, it think it turned out okay.


On a totally different subject...Have an extra fifty bucks to spend? How about these rubber slippers? My son recently returned from a trip to Maui and this is the souvenier that he brought back with him. An expensive one at that. But, they have something quite unique about them.


After spending a long hot day at the beach and developing a craving for an iced cold bottle of beer and then discovering that you don't have a way to open the bottle... well, you're in luck! How about using the bottle opener's built into the bottom of each of your slippers. Yup, that's right. These slippers are a beer drinking young man's dream. Of course, this left me shaking my head in amazement and at the same time, wondering what will they think of next?!?!


Sorry for being so long winded today. This is what happens when you don't post for a while.

Have a great day!

Aloha!

More Hexie Fun

I know that I need another pincushion like I need a hole in my head but I can't help myself. I can just see it now. I'll be forever known as the crazy old lady and her collection of pincushions. Yep, I'll be having them scratching their heads in amusement when I leave this world!

This is a hand-pieced pincushion made from 20 hexagons and 6 squares.


And it's reversible too!


My collection of hexagons continues to grow. I am beginning to wonder why I am so fascinated with these and why they're growing into such a huge obsession. Hopefully they'll be turned into something pretty real soon. In any case, they're lovely to look at just the way they are.


Have a good day!

Aloha!

Monday Blather

I've been jumping from one project to another. I simply have no direction at this point. Here are the beginnings of yet another another idea. I'm unsure where this one will take me but uncertainty seems to be a theme around here lately. It's nothing new for me to be surrounded by so many WIP's at a given moment but I will admit that it does get a bit overwhelming at times.


My diet is going nowhere but that's okay for right now. The main thing is that I'm not gaining any more weight. I seem to be in this really hungry mode and I'm craving sweets like nothing else. All I can say is thank goodness hexagons aren't edible or I'd be a whole lot heavier right now! I am trying to keep my hands occupied with sewing so that they aren't being used to direct food into my mouth. It isn't 100% effective but it's kind of working.

I have been overwhelmed with email pertaining to the pink afghan that I am making. I have no idea what the name of the pattern is because there aren't any written instructions. This is a stitch that a co-worker taught me over 30 years ago. I searched the internet and discovered that it is either called a daisy or star stitch. I found a link on YouTube with fabulous instructions. Hope this helps.

Have a wonderful day!

Aloha!

Hexie Fever

Because Spring is here, I have decided to work with the colors of the season. At the moment, I have no idea what awaits this pretty sherbet-colored pile of pastel hexies. The one thing that I do know is that I've got a terrible case of Hexie Fever. Someone better stop me before I turn my entire fabric stash into hexagons. Yes, I'm that addicted!


I am also working on a pink crocheted afghan for a soon-to-be-expected baby girl. The plan is to create an edging of some kind where this brown and pink ribbon can be woven into. We'll see how that goes as I seem to be making things up as I go along.


For anyone who is trying to email me at my Road Runner address, please note that I still do not have access to it. If you need to reach me right away, please contact me through my email posted in my profile page of my blog. We hope to have my Road Runner email up and running by next week.

Have a good day!

Aloha,

T.G.F.G.

Thank God For Geeks! Computer geeks, that is. Hubby and son, to be exact. They were able to bring my computer back from the point of no return. They even managed to save everything in the process too. Three cheers to my two computer geeks who come to the aid of their computer dummy wife & mother every time she runs into trouble. She knows that without them, her computer life would cease to exist. Thank you J & E. I could kiss your toes. Well, maybe not your toes, but you get what I'm trying to say, right? LOL

Soooo, I'm back and it feels great! I am in touch with the world once again. I felt a little lonely and isolated for a while. This just proves how much I've grown dependent on my computer and life just wouldn't be the same without it. But I'm back now and I am one happy camper.

I have had the opportunity to finish one of my hexagon projects, a really big bag to tote my projects around in. In honor of my newly found passion, I have named this bag The Spellbound Hexie Tote. I've added a sprinkling of folded button-topped yo-yo hexagons to mingle amongst the paper pieced hexagons for a bit of variety and visual interest. There are a total of 231 hexagons in this tote. This baby is big and roomy with four interior pockets to hold all the essentials. It is large enough to hold anything from quilting to crochet and I'm thrilled with it!

As you can see, there is a lot going on due to the hexagon piecing and to the number of fabrics that I've used so I wanted to keep the design very basic. I used black fabric everywhere possible in order not to fight the pretty watercolor mosaic look of the hexagons. There is a black gusset inset on both sides, something that I have never done before. The gusset has a rounded edge at the bottom and a gathered elastic edge on top. The handles taper from 1-inch where it meets the shoulder to 3-inches at the base. I wanted more support at the base because this bag will possibly be toting around some pretty weighty items and I wanted a strap that could support this.
So, one hexie project down, one more to go. Hmmm....maybe many more to go. We'll have to see.

A huge thank you to everyone who has sent me their thimble suggestions. I never knew that there were so many alternatives out there. Thanks a bunch!

Another big thank you to everyone who has supported me through the diet challenge and has sent me motivational thoughts and suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to write me. I just wish that I had a better progress report for you but the truth is that I don't. I'm right back where I started once again. I guess I'm just not as motivated as I need to be at this point. But.....I won't give up. Thank you everyone!

Have a wonderful day!

Aloha!

Computer Woes

I'm having some major computer problems. Will be back soon. I hope.
Aloha!

Monday Ramblings

I haven't had much time to work with my hexagons over the last week but I am still making some progress. Although my fingers have been taking a huge hit from the sewing needle, I'm still chugging along. They're very tender and just plain beat up from guiding it through the fabric. It's scary to think how much worse they could get.

I have employed every piece of finger armor that I own but haven't found the right one to do the job yet. Most of the thimbles hurt the sides of my fingers or simply just fall off. The leather thimble feels uncomfortable and cumbersome. There just has to be something better than the bandaids that I have resorted to using. Finger pain hasn't stopped me before and most likely will not stop me now as I am loving the process way too much.


On another note, my diet is going nowhere fast. At this point in my life, I am lacking the motivation needed to lose weight. It isn't unusual for me to go through periods like this but I usually recover rather quickly. In this case, I haven't. I don't know if public humiliation(posting to my blog)is doing me in or helping me at this point. My pants are becoming tight again so I know that I am moving in the wrong direction. *Sigh*

Take care!

Aloha!