MORE GREEN THINGS....

A small tabletopper:

I'm calling it: Kitties in the Garden:

AND The finished top of the Christmas Cactus wall quilt:

Along with: these little green hexies:

All nestled in my little hexie carry along container:

****Note to all who sent me so much info on their machine likes/dislikes/suggestions etc; I took myself to the LQS where I bought "Helga" and put my troubles before them.  They sat me down and had me go through all the steps I was doing--AND then showed me how I was actually foiling the computerized presets (sigh!!) .  When I originally  purchased the machine the store was going into new owners and I never got lessons. 
 After about 3/4 hour of being shown "how- to's" etc.  I left feeling a lot better.  I still can't use the auto needle threader-- (sighing!!)BUT, I can sew a 1/4" seam--a lot better.  I am still looking around and trying straight stitch machines and thinking of keeping "Helga" for any fancy work....Thank you all again...Julierose, La Blageuse

AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.....AND a Sweetie Pie

I received this counted cross stitch sampler in the mail a few days ago.  I happened upon "The Scarlet Letter" site, saw these fantastically lovely samplers and decided to give counted cross stitch a try...

Beautiful even-weave linen, floss and inside a huge chart.  This is a real challenge for me; I have done needlepoint, stamped cross and embroidery, and crewel for many years--but never counted cross stitch.  This will be a 
L O N G  T E R M  project.  So far I have about 3/4ths of the border done--and I am finding it very relaxing and calming work.

Yesterday, we went to visit this sweetie pie:

(Sorry for the blur--she is almost always in motion!!)

I brought her a new "Dolly" .....

Mommy put a new "piggy tail" in her hair and we all had a lovely lunch together--it was her first time trying hot dogs--(Ummm...no they're not too hot; and --oh--they're not doggies"  Funny.)

Here we are snacking on Cheddar rice crackers--those we really like!!

We are just so blessed to have little Fiona in our family...

Hugs to all after a wonderful getaway day yesterday....Julierose, La Blageuse

THANK YOU ALL! (MACHINE WOES EDITION)

A HUMUNGOUS thank you hug goes out to all my quilty friends in blogland who sent comments, emails and information and, in some cases, pictures even (!), about their sewing machines and what they like and don't like about them!  

This has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me. It just goes to show how attached we all are to our machines--most of us even name them--they provide the means to express ourselves, after all. 

Feeling at loose ends last night, I went down in my basement storage area and pulled out my 1996 Pfaff Variamatic 6091 thinking maybe there was hope for it.. but--.nope!!  It jams and clunks and the thread jumps off the discs just like it did 2 years ago.  This was WHY I got a new machine after all--but: hope springs eternal, doesn't it? (I had brought it back twice to be repaired and spent $160 on it with no results!) (hmmmmpfh!) 

So, tomorrow I will start my journey--literally and mentally--my search for  a machine that "fits" me and my needs.  

There are just so many options out there--it is very confusing--and so, I will take my time and not "jump" into anything....I will keep you in the loop...
In the meantime/in between time....I remain your "test-driver"

 Julierose, La Blageuse  :---)))

I WANT A NEW MACHINE! I NEED A NEW MACHINE!!

Hello, everyone--I bought a new machine 1 1/2 years ago--(I named her Helga--and she and I canNOT get along)!!

I had an older model Pfaff before which I wore down --they just couldn't fix the timing for me...and I went with another company--
H U G E    M I S T A K E!!!!

My present machine just isn't reliable sewing a straight line seam!!  I pin, stop and re-align, make sure the presser foot is down etc ad nauseum.  I've had my good friend, a wonderful seamstress, try it--and she agrees--not good.  

If you have any suggestions for a machine that is a good piecer and small- quilt straight line quilter, I would appreciate any and all suggestions...

H E L P!! I cannot wrestle with this anymore....

 Julierose, La Blageuse  P.S.  (I cannot afford thousands of $$$$). 
 (DUH!!) ;---))))

GREEN DAYS

I call this my "Christmas Cactus":  This is ONE block:  waaay too many pieces for me.  As you can well see, too many points will be cut off when I add borders.  (The original plan was to make a whole lap quilt--some 144 of those little flowers--hah!) That plan exploded!!! Now it is to be a Christmas Medallion wallhanging for my entryway.  

Here is the next phase--more green--borders......




AND: then:

I felt it was too dark--so added these little bands of white with green

AND: Now it languishes on my wall...like this:

I added the rest of those string blocks plus little scraps of red from those points (well, they WERE points to begin with anyway) and am rearranging, trimming, and measuring....and so it stands for now. (Not yet sewn together just pinned there--waiting...)

In the meantime (in between time...ain't we got fun???):  TA-DAH....
A new "Snakey was born with the rest of those green scraps; scissor cut as I really did my arm/shoulder in with rotary cutting...that will have to be addressed  in the future I think; I am resorting to tearing fabric for strips (and snipping the resultant strings--peeling them away--and perhaps going back to measuring, tracing lines with a pencil and then sewing--like the old pre-rotary days!!).

And next to it  a pink one I made for a month I missed for RSC13....

And that's where I stand for now....later, Julierose, La Blageuse

BLOGLOVIN' BLOG, TOO!

Well, I have jumped in, too--I can be followed at Bloglovin (see button on my sidebar)...BUT:  I remain really mad at Google Reader!! (hmmmpfh!!)  

Have a wonderful weekend...Julierose, La Blageuse 

O! What a Tangled (Green) Web We Weave

My tabletop of green scraps awaits a spark--an idea--what to make next???

Let's try some of these...green reminds me of my Christmas Cactus (which, by the way, badly needs re-potting)...maybe some paper pieced strips is a start....

Oh--how wonderful--an actual cactus print!  Hah! (Grinning away while I sew...) 

EUREAKA!  a little germ of an idea is forming :

I really like these--what if?  What if I cut them in half?  They could be the fronds of cacti...hmmmm













And so it goes...looking, choosing, waking up @ 3 am to go and look again in the moonlight filtering in on the wall....in the quiet of night.....

I am very glad that the RSC13 for April is GREEN!! 
Happy Spring...Julierose, La Blageuse