Work in Progress Week #41

So, I am going to cheer for myself for a moment. I have two celebrations. Yes that is right two this week. The first one is that I have a finish project to share today. The second celebration is that it is the end of NABLOPOMO. What is that you say. It is national blog posting month. If you were a follower at the beginning of November, you know that I joined in. 

The good news is that it is the last day of the month. Which means for you, no more of my posts each day. Phew... I was having trouble coming up with things to post about every day. I really have a new sese of respect for those of you who do that all the time. During this month only missed 2 days after I started a little bit late. I think that is pretty good, for the blog slacker I can be. Anyhow, now we will return to our regular schedule program of me only being creative sometimes :)

Lets get back to the more important celebration. I finished something. I finished my first mug rug. And the first mug rug that I have on my list for this Christmas.

This one is for one of my husbands co-workers. His co-worker is a guy. I had the hardest time coming up with something for a guy. I used the lazy angle ruler a couple of  kona brights charm squares and some kona for the neutral (which I could tell you the color, but this was before I started labeling).

The backing is some print, I just can't tell you which. The binding is from Curio by basic gray - asparagus needle lace to be exact. I am actually pretty proud of the machine binding. Best yet. The quilting kinda echos the piecing. Shh don't notice the mess ups. 

Very fun very simple and my first mug rug.

My only other work in progress this week is my Kaleidoscopic quilt. I actually got a lot done with it. I just need the halves to become wholes.

Here is the rest that I just haven't even touched.

1. embroidery 101 completed blocks, 2. Kit for Central Park Quilt, 3. Kona Challenge Quilts Sacramento Modern Quilt Guild, 4. www.flickr.com/photos/jenniffier/5833298543/in/photostream, 5. hexagons for christmas table runner, 6. Love Road Quilt 1

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

There are more, I am sure, but I don't have time to track them down or I don't have pictures of them.

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MyMemories Video

After hosting thanksgiving this year, I decided to make a digital scrapbook of the day. I thought it would be a good use of my memories software. After I was done, I wanted to share it with my family and friends who joined us on Thanksgiving. Part of the software that I think is really cool is the ability to share your digital scrapbook as a video.

I thought you all might like to see how fun and easy it is. Basically you build the book, add any sounds or narration you want to and click the button to make a movie. Just watch this video to see. You can skip past the sappy narration part, even though, I am pretty proud of it :).

How cool is that in. In a minute or so I had a quick wrap up of the fun we had. I got lots of phone call thanks you and everyone seemed to appreciate it. What a nice way to say thank you. Of course I had to do it digitally.  That is just so me.

If your interested in the software, you could check out their website, and use my code to get $10 off the software and a $10 coupon in the mymemories store. The code for the discount is STMMMS63393. With the $10 off the digital scrapbook software is $29.97


 


If you already have the software I have some freebies for you.

Freebie # 1 

Freebie #2 

These particular freebies are only available for a few more days. So grab them up.... I will be posting more freebies for this software coming up. So check back for them often :)

Just a little help goes a long way

So I feel really lame doing this, but here it goes... I would really appreciated it if you would consider donating to my classroom. Groupon is having a really great deal for donors choose: http://www.groupon.com/austin/ch/grouponicus/deals/gx-gt-donorschooseorg

This is the best deal I have see yet to donors choose. I currently have two projects up on donors choose to try to get more technology in my classroom.

Donors choose is a really neat website where donors pick the schools/teacher/projects that they want to help fund. If you get the groupon now for 10 dollars it will actually be a 50 dollar donation to a classroom, because this groupon is being sponsored by chase.

Now I would love, if you decided that this is too good of a deal to pass up, for your to gift the groupon to me at jennifer.kramer@twinriversusd.org or on my donors choose website http://www.donorschoose.org/jennifer.kramer

Helping me out would make a huge difference in my students learning. However, I know you might know a teacher out there or you might want to help a local school and that would be great too. Helping out any teacher on the site would make a difference in our nations schools.

Please just think about it.  I am sure all teacher would like a bit of help getting supplies/technology for their classrooms. Especially me.

Thanks,

All breaks must come to an end

I have been on Fall break for the last week, and I am very sad to see it coming to an end. I did get lots done, but I would have like to have gotten much more done. Most of what I finished was cleaning projects. Then re-cleaning projects after the feast.

On the crafting front, not much was accomplished. I did turn this box of kaleidoscopic kites

into kaleidoscopic halves and two kaleidoscope wholes.

Is it just me, or does anyone else out there have a serious problem with Quilting Along with Quilt Alongs?This project was from





A quilt along that finished back in August. I was so sure that I was going to be able finish the quilt along on time. I was even on vacation at the time. Yet somehow, I just didn't get past the first couple steps. It is almost like I need a support group... the quilt along procrastinators. Now the question is would we actually encourage other to finish or just enable each others procrastination? I have a feeling that it would be the latter.

Well, at least now I am assembling the blocks. I am having a bit of trouble getting the halves to go together to create wholes. Or at least I am with one block, so I go mad and left the pile to be dealt with later.

Plus, I am not feeling all the great. I was hoping my kidney stone problem would "pass" over the break, but it hasn't quite yet.  I missed out going to a fun event at a friends house tonight because I am not feeling well. I hope I am well enough to make it through work tomorrow. Although, I would love another day off, my sick days just seem to be dwindling away.

18 Years Old and My First Quilt

Awwh the first quilt. It is always nice to look at where we started. After all documenting my craftiness was why I started this blog after all. Plus Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville is hosting a linky about first quilts. So I thought I would join in.

This is my first quilt in all its bright colored glory. The fabrics really do tell the time. 

And yes, you did read that right.  I was 18 when this little (lol) hobby of mine started. Just like most everyone out there, I too have a story about how I became a quilter. This quilt was made over 12 years ago.  If you want to read the whole story, visit my about me page to see the journey I to finding my crafty side. 

Now back to the quilt. This quilt was made as a baby quilt for one of my good friends from high school. She is a day younger than me and we have always joke that I am like her older sister and she is like my younger, as she is the oldest and I am the youngest in our own families. 

When she told me she was going to keep the baby (when I say 18, we were just shortly past 18, both still living at home and both trying to figure out our futures), and I knew that it was going to be hard, and when she made that choice, she choose her future. So, I decided I wanted to do something special for her and her little one to come. 

It just happened that there was a new quilt shop in town, that I had frequented with my mom and a really close family friend a few. They even sold sewing machines there too. Now I could have used my mom's, but instead I saved up what little money/tips I was making at a local restaurant and bought my first sewing machine.

Then my mom, our family friend, and I decided to take a quilting class at that LQS. My mom was making a quilt for my soon to be niece and I made a baby quilt for my friend. After the 3 classes, with my moms help to actually quilt and bind it, I had made my first quilt.

I don't remember all the details. I do know that the pattern is Jewel Box. I bought the book, way back when, but now it is a free pattern by Jinny Beyer.  I should have written more information down. I actually didn't take the picture until years after I gave it to my friend and her baby. Although the quilt was on the wall when I came by, she assured me, it still got used.

I haven't really talked to my friend, who helped me become a quilter for a long time. However, knowing her is part of the reason I choose to quilt and I am very grateful that I was able to make something like this for her. Even with all of its flaws and the difficulty I had making/learning this quilt, I am so glad that I took that first step and started quilting. As you can see back then I didn't always follow the directions or the norms of the time. I got so many weird looks for choosing that yellow as my neutral :) 

To read more about my path of quilting, just check out my about me page, you can also learn more about me there too. Or to see more quilts, check out my completed quilts page. 

To see other first quilts or link your own - go to quiltville

Thanksgiving recap

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.

Ours was filled with:

 Food,

 Family,

And fun.

I did miss those who couldn't be here with us, but it was still a great day filled with joy.


My husband did a lot of work to prep a wonderful Turkey to go with the amazing dinner

He got up early and prepped the bird.

He was very intense about his first turkey and it turned out just wonderful!

It was nice to have my husband's family up and we also had his sister's boyfriend's family join us.It made me really happy that her boyfriend got to spend time with his family also on this holiday. I know how hard it can be to have to split your time with different families.

The best part had to be getting to have another holiday with gramps. Gramps is my husband's grandfather, but since both my grandfathers passed away before I entered this world, I really charish the fact that gramps has always treated me like his granddaughter and I love him just like my own gramps.

I wish my parents could have joined us, but my mom hasn't been feeling well and I although I would have loved to have her with us. I preferred that she stayed home and took care of herself.

Happy Post Thanksgiving! I hope you too had a very lovely day. Other than kidney stone pain at the end, this Thanksgiving and I got along pretty well.

Happy Turkey Day

I hope everyone has a lovely day! 

                                                                    

Work in Progress Week #40

Another week an no quilting/sewing finishes. This is all I have accomplished when it comes to quilting/sewing. Sigh.

I did however, clean my whole house for company tomorrow. If you saw yesterdays post, you saw the kind of detail I am talking about when I say I cleaned the whole house.

Yes, that did include the oven. It also included, almost all the cabinets, drawers and closets. Right now I am in the process of doing all the bedding, including all the duvet covers and pillow covers. BTW I am often lazy and don't put on the nice duvet covers and fancy pillows. They just hide in the guest room until I need them.

The only room I have left my sewing room... awwh the sewing room.

I would show more pictures, but no one needs to see that. I have been collecting all my random crafting crap and just throwing it in there.

All the while knowing that the whole room needed to be cleaned any ways because Gus (the fabric eating german shepherd dog) got in there one day when I was in work. Here just a small picture of the aftermath of his destruction.

 

Lets just say I found a Neptune charm pack wrapper with out fabric in it and I thought I was going to have a major melt down. However, lucky for the dog, and  for me, the fabric got caught under something heavy and he only got the wrapper out.

At least I still have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday left of my break. Maybe, just maybe, I will get some crafting time in. Plus in a hour or so I will even have a cleaning sewing room to work in. So that should help!

PS. Happy Early Turkey Day!


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