Christmas in July (?)

 It's that time again when we start thinking about . . . .  CHRISTMAS!

It's been consistently over 110 degrees every day for the last 20 days here in Phoenix, so thinking about Christmas might be a bit of a stretch!  💦😰  I KNOW. . .  maybe if I turn the fan on full blast and sit in front of it, that will help. 

I know I have a reputation for putting things off until the last minute.  But sometimes it pays off!  

Last year my goal was to make 24 Grab Some Grub bags (lunch boxes) for my grandchildren for Christmas.  I started off so well!  I had 3 grandchildren in the country of Lebanon and their other Grandmother was going out for a visit in August.  (When she goes to Lebanon, she graciously puts out a notice for anyone who wants to send stuff to Lebanon, we send it to her and she takes an extra suitcase (or two) to bring the goodies).  

Sooooo, I put three of these bags together, wrapped them all up, and sent them with her.  WOW!!! 3 gifts were done in July AND already sent.  I was on a roll!

Then, I continued by cutting out all the pieces for the rest of the bags (now I was down to 21).  I even had some of the steps done and everything was labeled, stacked, and just waiting for me to sit and work some more.  

However. . . .

I was working between 30 and 40 hours a week (sometimes more) on my "real" job, got caught up in a couple of large cross stitching projects that kept drawing me in, and everyday life duties like housework, errands, and of course other projects that needed completing kept me from this one.  Also, my husband and I started watching some Korean shows on Netflix and Prime and we have to "read" those shows - which also keeps me from being productive.

THEN -

My sister said she was coming for Christmas and would be here for a month starting right after Thanksgiving.  

She brought her sewing machine.

She brought her cricut.

She had TONS of time that I didn't. . .

(hehehehehehehe!!!!)

She had a BLAST sewing those Grab some Grubs!  I did manage to help somewhat during the evenings and on the weekend.

A few organized piles  (Above)

The First one completed by my sister (Below)

It only took her 6 days and here's the result:

Aren't they GREAT??!!??

So, the little moral to this story is:  Sometimes it pays off to wait until the last minute!    (LOL)

I bet you're wondering what my plan is for this year!

Well, Diane is not coming out for Christmas this year but she IS coming out the end of September to take a sewing class with me.  YIPPEE!!!!!

She is currently saving and sending to me some quilted and other non-quilted scraps of soft and stable for a smaller project to be made for all this year.  

And guess what?!!  I already have three done and given out!

Stay tuned . . .

Sister Visit Part II

 Sew much has happened since my last post!  Thanksgiving came and went . . . .

We are hoping you all had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving! This year, Diane went to New York to spend the day with her adult children and grandchildren and for the first time ever, my hubby and I were alone with our youngest (who is an adult and still lives at home).  The day for me was wonderful as I was able to SEW, SEW, SEW!!!!!  YAY!

I finished up a small baby quilt for grandbaby #23 who arrived on November 5th.  Then I made her a Christmas stocking and embroidered her name on a stuffed Teddy Bear. I spent much time cleaning up my very messy sewing room and preparing for the Christmas Sewing Marathon I put myself in every year.  This year I am making 14 (yes, FOURTEEN) Fetch your Sketch (s). This is a ByAnnies pattern and I will post photos as I go along.

BUT. . . to continue with the story of our sister time in Vermont, here are pictures of a quilt that I was unable to finish prior to making my trip.  I brought some squares completed, had to complete the rest, and put it all together.  Then, wanting to waste no time, we put it on Little Miss Lovey (our Longarm) and quilted it.  This quilt is made from a fat quarter bundle of Sweater Weather fabric.

Isn't it gorgeous?  The pattern is called Brightly by Cluck Cluck Sew and I love this pattern because - who doesn't love an Irish Chain (?) but this Irish Chain has varying sizes of blocks in it.  It keeps the interest up.  All of the star points are from Moda Grunge and the color is called Pumpkin.  I can't get enough of the Moda Grunge line!  They have a beautiful black called Little Black Dress that is to die for!

Once this quilt was finished, we moved on to make some really fun stuff.

I will post those photos next!

Happy Sewing!

Cathy (and Diane).

Sister Visit

 This year has just flown by! It seems like I write posts in my head all the time and when I finally get to put it down on paper, I realize 5 whole months have passed!!!

On October 20th, I flew to Vermont to spend some time with Diane planning out CaDi Corners projects and dreams.

I missed the peak foliage but got to see this:

This was across the street from Diane's house.  Don't you just love the orange?!!!

On our first day together we were able to talk about the projects we wanted to work on while I was there.  We had QUITE THE LIST!    I know, I know, I suffer from delusions of grandeur!  But then again, if I don't have a big list, there will be less to check off  ✔  (and I love seeing things checked off my list).

I didn't think we were serious about getting these projects done until we did this:

sip sip ahhhh!

Have you ever been guilty of running down rabbit holes when working on STUFF?  Surely not!  😉

I bet you would like to know what we did!  But first, a little history . . . .

Our Grandmother Bushey bought a Singer sewing machine in 1950.   That was the year our parents got married and a year later, our eldest sister was born.  Memere Bushey used to sew clothes and blankets and worked that machine a lot.  The Singer was made in 1950 and came in an oak cabinet that had a knee press to make it go.  That machine ended up at our sister Debbie's home for many years but  Debbie passed away in 2017 and a couple of months ago Diane retrieved the machine from our brother-in-law.  This was our first rabbit hole.  We took the machine out of the cabinet (it was so heavy that it took both of us to lift it out), and prepared the cabinet for giving it a farmhouse look.

I know it is not pictured here, but Diane LOVES power tools!  She got to use the electric sander and I was stuck getting steel wool splinters in my fingers using that pitiful piece of steel wool pictured!  

It took two weeks of working on it in little snatches of time but Diane did an amazing job!

An added extra special feature is that our grandmother's name is scratched on the inside of the cabinet!

More to come later on our fun sister time adventures!

Sew long,

Cathy

Hello Again!

 Well. . .

It's been a while since I last wrote.  Since then, we learned the hubby needed a quadruple bypass, went through the surgery, recovery, and is now starting back to work.  The sister ALSO went through surgery of her own, getting a brand new hip!  Needless to say, we've been a bit busy.

BUT. . . 

I wanted to share what I've been up to with my Lori Holt Flea Market Scraps I had from the Flea Market Flower Sew Along I did earlier this year.

This will be a quilt.  It is called Sew By Row and is a Lori Holt pattern.  We have this pattern in the CaDi Corners shop if you are interested.  My method for making this quilt is I spend a Sunday afternoon piling up my scraps and then I cut out one row of patterns at a time.  Once I get them all sewn together, then I do the next row.  This works well for me.

She also has a Cross Stitch Pattern to match!

Happy Sewing!

Cathy

ANNOUNCEMENT, ANNOUNCEMENT, ANNOUNCEMENT . . .

 If you were ever involved with scouts, your mind is singing the rest of this 

A terrible death to die, A terrible death to die, A terrible death, a terrible death, A terrible death to die.

Isn't it funny how our minds go back to things we learned long ago?!! I remember singing this as a Brownie Scout (more years ago than I can count!).

We here at CaDi Corners have been tempting you with little teases about an exciting announcement to come and the time is NOW!!

Many of you may recognize this pineapple block.  While it is hard to see the difference in the photo, the top block is a 12 1/2" square and the bottom is a 6 1/2" square.

We are launching a project called "Love Thy Neighbor" where we will join forces as quilting friends to create two quilts to donate to those in need.  Because today is Valentine's Day, we thought we would extend the love theme out for several weeks!

Here's how it will work:

CaDi Corners has put together little kits that contain the fabric, directions, and the foundation paper to make either 1 - 12" block or 2 - 6" blocks.  These sweet blocks are sewn on paper so they will all be exactly the same!  Pretty cool, huh?

All you need to do is stop by CaDi Corners and pick up your kit (FREE), complete the block(s) and return it to us.  We will gather the completed blocks, sew them together into a quilt,  and deliver them.  We are hoping to do two - one for a boy and one for a girl.  These blocks are fun and easy to complete - we think you will enjoy showing love to others!

The blocks will be ready for pick up by this Friday, February 19th.  We understand that life gets crazy so we are running this project for a month.  All completed blocks need to be returned to CaDi Corners by March 20th (Saturday).  Once the quilts are complete, we will take photos and make sure you get to see the finished product.

We couldn't do this without YOU!  Thank you for joining us in our "Love Thy Neighbor" project.

Sew. . . Just you TRY to Pick a Favorite

 Monday marked the beginning of the Lori Holt Flea Market Flowers Sew Along!  Have you started?  Are you doing it? If not, why not consider joining in on the fun!  #fleamarketflowersewalong

When Diane and I were putting the kits together for our CaDi Corners customers, we had a difficult time deciding which print we liked the best.  So, that resulted in our tag line!  Here is what our kits looked like:

It's not super easy to see the fabrics, but isn't the bag darling?  We made the bags to hold all of the fabric for the kit.  The fabrics to the side and behind it are what is actually in the kit.

If you would like to see the fabrics, click here

We have a couple of kits left if you are interested in joining in on the fun!

It's hard to believe that January is almost over!  After a year like 2020, I bet many of you made some great resolutions.  One of mine is to finish up projects that are in various stages of completion.  Another is to start using up all the massive amounts of fabric I have - scraps and larger. I was able to help sister Diane get started on sorting, cutting, and using up her scraps too!

We went from this:

to this:

This week I promised a friend that I would do some on-line training to be able to help him get a new business venture started.  So, what do you do when you have to sit and listen all day?

You run your little featherweight sewing machine and come up with this:

All I have left is to put the borders on it and quilt. (My first scrap quilt - and I haven't even put a dent in my supply!)

I hope your first month of 2021 has been a productive one!

Sew Long . . . .

 

 

Love is in the Air . . .

 If you complete that with  . . . everywhere I look around...

Then you are definitely a kindred spirit! Check out this link for a trip down memory lane.   John Paul Young, 1978!

 https://youtu.be/RoIvi1j6Bp8

 

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

I don’t know about you, but I long to go back to the ’70s when life seemed a bit more carefree and honest!   But, I digress!

Valentine’s day is just a month away.  For some men, this day brings out great anxiety as they ponder what to get or do for their girlfriend or wife.  For some women, this day brings out their cynical side – “will he forget again?”   (haha, just kidding).

Having been blessed with just over 40 years of marriage so far, I am waaaay past that.  I am so very content to have a quiet evening at home with the hubby – no fanfare, no expectations, no anxiety! Maybe watch a sappy Hallmark movie about Love, and call it a great day.

 

Do you remember Valentine’s day when you were in school?  Remember taping a paper bag to the side of your desk or the back of your chair and just hoping it would be filled with Valentine cards from your classmates?  Well, I remember coloring the bag and making it all pretty during art class and being so proud to display it on the side of my desk.  The teacher would give us just the right amount of scotch tape to keep it securely in place.  Then, PRAYING that I would receive a few Valentines from my classmates. 

 Things sure have changed over the years!  Kids actually get CANDY attached to their Valentine cards! And those kids who are raised by health nuts will give you a protein bar!  😬

Last year I came across a FREE pattern by Husqvarna Viking for these cute little Valentine mail bags to hang on the back of a chair:

https://www.husqvarnaviking.com/en-IN/Be-Inspired/Blog/February-2016/Love-Letter-Valentine-Chairbacker-Free-Sewing-Proj

If you click on the link, you will find the free pattern.  Here is my version made out of Lori Holt’s Flea Market fabric line for Riley Blake:

I made some for my Granddaughters last year:

I didn’t get them finished in time so they will receive them this year.  You can put one of these together in about an hour.  I tried to use up scrap fabric last year and they are just too cute!  Just think of all the goodies that could fit into one!

 

I like the Flea Market fabric so much, I decided to make a little pincushion for my sewing room:

CaDi Corners would like to wish you lots of love!

 

Until next time . . .