Cup Cozies Part Two

I am putting more info on the cup cozies out there by request. 

Here is a pic of one laid out flat so you can see it better.

I took a starbucks cardboard cup holder and used it for a template cutting the quilt sandwich it slightly bigger and longer than the cardboard.  It needs to be bigger so you can allow for loss during quilting and then longer for the velcro to fasten easily.  

I hand quilted mine and then did a hand binding using standard storebought double fold quilt binding.  I cheated the mitered borders by making the angle and then easing the binding smooth in the straightaway.   

Once they are bound I put a a piece of velcro on the inside and out.  Some of them I have been sewing decorative ribbon on them as well. 

I have been using flannel for the inside of the cozies for more grip and insulation.  A cup cozy and a nifty reuseable cup are an awesome gift for the coffee fiend in your life. 

Hope this helps....let me know if I need to post more info!

Jabba the Cat Says Visit My Etsy Page!!!!!

Jabba the Cat...otherwise known as the Circe Monster.  This is her favorite sitting position.  

My Etsy shop is open!!! 

Okay so there is only one item in there...so shoot me.  Go take a look I will post more stuff soon. 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/oddballcreations

Stay tuned I will be doing a giveaway soon.  Leave me comments to tell me what you would like to win...fabric? quilt book? earrings?  Hmmm... Inquiring minds would LOVE to know!

Happy Cheesefest...

To Celebrate the National Cheesefest (aka Valentine's Day as it is known outside my home)  my husband gave me a lovely gift Brie and Crackers.  Yes ladies I DID want the cheese(and did request no chocolate this year).  Giving cheese to each other is a tradition.  You see my wonderful husband and I met online and started chatting on February 14th...aka the day of LUV.   We both agreed that it was a silly holiday and deemed it the cheesefest.   We almost always give each other gifts that include cheese every Valentines day.   So silly it may be but to us it has become a tradition that will live on forever.  I have to run out to the store before he gets home and get him some Gouda. MMMM...cheese.

On another note I made him a rather large un-valentine this year.   I took one of our favorite books the Princess Bride and made it into a large valentine. 

You see I had found a little saying online that I loved.  It read:  "There are many great love stories...but ours is my favorite".  I took this saying and altered our favorite book.

The heart is cut out through the layers of the book with an exacto knife.  How I managed not to sever and artery is still a mystery to me.

The pictures are from our wedding day.  It's a crude valentine but I have left it with the book he is reading so that he will find it when he gets into bed tonight.  Hope he likes it. I can't tell you what a wonderful man I married and how lucky I am to have him in my life.  

I had the unfortunate luck to be really sick today.  Had to stay home from work and spent the morning trying to snooze away my fever and body aches.   I hope everyone else has a wonderful day and gets to celebrate with someone special.

Snow!!!

We had snow here last night.  For a few hours our neighborhood was blanketed in fluffy white snow.   My son and Ms. Lu the doggie had fun bouncing around in the dark playing fetch with snowballs.   Did I mention my dog is crazy about ice cubes?  Yes they are her favorite snack so a snowball was right up her alley.  

Alas the snow melted and my neighborhood is back to its dead grass and naked trees.  Leaves me waiting for the green of spring to arrive to make everything look cheery again.

My Other Obsession...

This is an "other" craft post. My latest "other" obsession is making earrings. Not just any earrings but Lego earrings. My sister and I saw them at a craft fair last year and she adored them so I made her a pair for Christmas. Now since I am committed to an art festival in March I am making them to sell there. I have made about 25 pairs so far.  Maybe someday I can get an etsy shop going too.

Wednesday WIP

John's "My Guy" Graduation Quilt that I swear no matter how many pics I take the greens wash to yellow.  Therefore I give you the "old" pic of the top before I started quilting.

Here is a woefully long list of my current WIP...
 WIP...or UFO...or Oh heck would you please get these dones????

1. Organize my stash
2. John's graduation quilt (I currently have 2 rows out of 5 quilted)
3. Savannah's graduation quilt (my son's girlfriend)
4. coffee cup cozies(for craft fair in March)
5. earrings(for craft fair in March)
6. ipod or i phone cases(for craft fair in March)
7. kindle and nook cases(for craft fair in March)
8. coin purses(for craft fair in March)
9. hand quilt baby quilt #1
10. hand quilt baby quilt #2
11. use up lots of tiny scraps that I have BOXES of
12. memory quilts for my mom and aunt (see # 10)
13. learn to make fabric post cards(see # 10)
14. Cross Stitched block to be made into quilt
15. several embroidery projects to be completed
16. unknown quilt for my brother in law for Christmas 2011
17. make a Christmas tree skirt for Christmas 2011
18. english paper pieced hexies...(this one may be a WIP for years since it will take a million of these babies to make a quilt)

February's Short Term Goals

1. 10 coffee cozies for craft fair(have 4 ready to sew velcro on to them)
2. 2 iphone cases for craft fair
3. 2 kindle cases for craft fair
4. Get at least 1/2 a row of John's quilt hand quilted(This would put me at the halfway point).
5. 30 pairs of earrings for craft fair.(I am up to 26 so getting close!)

Educational Goals for the Year:

1. Try at least one more advanced piecing technique
2. Learn to use my sewing machine more efficiently
3. Attempt Machine Quilting

Craft Room Upgrades

1. get an industrial strength sewing machine for making purses and totes
2. nice nifty shelves for my stash
3. get my sewing table cut out and put together

Monday Is Finally Over

Okay so it was a rainy Monday in my neck of the woods. Drizzly and damp and very cold but hey at least it is not snowing. That is for tomorrow night. For some reason we have had threats of winter weather here every week. That is not normal for the deep south. Was very busy this weekend so my idea to do a "way back weekend" post didn't get up and I got no crafting done this weekend. But the good news is that my son chose a great graphic design program and it was at the first school we looked at this weekend. He had done so much research (on his own I might add) that by the time we did the tour we knew it was the place for him. So here is a pic of one of my first quilting "experiments". I took fabric from my stash inherited from my Granny and tried some different quilt patterns by cutting squares and strips.

Friday...Finally!!!!

Ahh...deep sigh. It is finally Friday and it absolutely cannot come soon enough this week. My post yesterday was hampered by the fact that at lunch yesterday we started getting an un-forcasted mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. Now for most of you I know that is not a huge deal but for me I live in Birmingham, Alabama area and lets just say that not only do we not have salt and sand trucks enough to go around we also have a huge lack of icy weather driving skills going on with the general population. Everyone must have left work at the same time...aka the same time I did desperate to not get stuck at work! There were over 150 wrecks on the roads in the Birmingham metro area. Took me almost 3 hours to get home and I am only 24 miles from work. What a night! My wonderful husband met me at the door, relieved I was home safe and sound. I can honestly say that my face did not mirror his joy. I was as irritated as a cat that has just been given a bath. I was exhausted when I got home mentally and physically so my blog post never materialized.

I did however get 2 more coffee cozies finished while sitting in the parking lot called Birmingham streets. This make 4 total that I have ready to sew the Velcro closures onto this weekend. Hoping to make 10 total for the Fountain City Arts Festival in Prattville, AL in March.

Today is the day!!!

Okay...big deep breath for me. I have been sitting on this blog since early January thinking I would have time to make it look like I wanted before putting it out there for all the world to see...but no more. The time is now. I have determined that this year is about doing the things that scare me(or scar me but hey we won't talk about that!). This is where i will share (and probably occasionally whine) my creative journey with you. Tomorrow I will post a pic of my current obsession the coffee cup cozy. :)