Zipper added

These are not the best pictures to show you the added zipper, but maybe it will give you an idea of what I did. The technique I used is one I found in the Lazy Girl Designs pattern "The City Bag". I hope I'm not stepping on any one's copyright toes by posting this, but I just had to share.

First, you measure the top of your open bag, end to end. The zipper should be at least two inches longer. Cut two strips of fabric 4" by length of zipper plus 2". Fold the strips to resemble double fold bias tape. Fold in half, wrong sides together, press. Open casing and lay wrong side up. Fold in edges to meet the fold line, press. Fold in half and press again.

Slip fabric edge of zipper into the casing. Leave at least 1/8" of zipper fabric showing. Use your zipper foot if you need to, or move your needle. The casing should be longer than the zipper at both ends. Stitch through all layers. Do this for both sides of the zipper with one casing piece on each side of the zipper. Press casing smooth. Trim the ends to about 1" longer than where the zipper teeth end. On the back side of the zipper, fold the casing fabric ends to a point keeping the raw edges of the casing away from the zipper teeth. Fold the casing again to form a square edge. Tack the folds in place. The casing should now be the same length as the zipper teeth. This might be the trickiest part, so I may take a few pictures to show how it's done.

Now you have a zipper enclosed in it's casing. This is what you top stitch to the opening of your bag. With the zipper tab UP, find the center of the zipper casing and the center of the top edge of your bag. Match and pin being sure to overlap the casing and bag by about 1/2". Sew the casing in place. Now, the pattern has you do it with the bag pieces still not sewn, but when you have a bag with side seams already sewn, it gets a little harder, but not impossible. Once you have the casing sewn on both sides, you will tack the ends down. I hope you can see in the picture where that is. Oh, when you begin to sew the casing down, leave about an inch on each side because that's what will be tacked down on each side of the bag.

I'm sorry if I got a bit long-winded because it really is an easy technique. I'm much better at showing you in person rather than writing it down. Any questions?

I'm off to work.

Trying to get back to normal

Normal. What exactly does that mean? Our normal for the last ten years has not been normal for anyone but us. With Dad gone, the feel of each day is so different. I catch myself beginning to plan around "who is going to stay with Dad?" I know I'm not the only one that's doing that. Jim, Judy, the boys and April all have these thoughts, too, I'm sure. It will take time..

In the meantime, I actually worked in my sewing room today. I picked Kerrington up at their house and brought her home for the day. The following pictures show what I worked on. I still want to add a zipper to the top of the bag. I plan on using the technique I use on another bag pattern. I pray it works.


Judy is spending the night with us tonight since she has no power at her house. Kind of nice to have her in the same room while working on our farms. LOL

It's late and time to get to bed to get ready for another three busy days at work. Oh, hop on over to April and Rob's blog for more pictures.

Until we meet again..

Today we will lay my dad to rest. It has been six days since we took him to the hospital but it feels like a month. I remember feeling this way when Mom died, too. Every day is spent preparing for the services. Every day we see more of the people whose lives Dad touched whether for a moment or for years. I know it will not sink in until all of this hubub is over. It has been hard for me to grieve for Dad because I am so very thankful that he is no longer in pain. He really had begun to hate the fact that he needed our help 24/7 and that he was not able to do much on his own. It is a sad day when a strong, independent person loses his dignity.

The brightest spot in our ordeal these days has been our sweet little Kerrington. We have worn her out every day, going from one pair of arms to another. Everyone wants to hold her and love on her. She has been a healing bundle of joy. Thank you, Kerri Berry! And, thank you Rob and April for being so patient with us and sharing her so freely.

Rest in peace, Daddy. We love you!

A heavy heart

Dad, Grampo, Big Grampo, Tio, Compa, Friend. Only a few of the words to describe a man loved by so many people. Dad went to his reward last night after suffering through a final bout of congestive heart failure. I just wanted to post this picture of him in his chair. He had finally resigned himself to using the thing because it did help to get him outside and down the street where he could stop and visit with neighbors. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends. We love you, Dad, and you were NEVER a burden!

Farm Town

Facebook has an interesting game called "Farm Town" Well, it's not so much a game as a time-waster! lol I've built up my farm thus far as you can see in the picture. You earn coins by harvesting and working on other farms then spend the coins at market. It's fun but sure can eat up precious time that would best be used quilting or on other productive activities.

Is this not the cutest little watermelon you've ever seen? My 10 year old granddaughter, Brittany, took this picture with her cell phone. She went crazy taking pics of Kerrington. Brit is going home tomorrow after spending three weeks with us. She is sure growing up!

Dad is still having trouble walking. His feet are swollen and very painful. Hopefully, the pain meds he took tonight will help some. It's just so frustrating to see him in so much pain and not be able to do much about it.

It's been a long day at the shop and then at Dad's this afternoon. We went to Juanito's for dinner (Joe stayed with Dad). It's almost bedtime so I will say goodnight.

Still hot

This is not my favorite time of year. Thank God the A/C is still running properly and the weather channel promises a drop in temps in the next few days. Maybe I can wear my makeup without it streaming down my face.

August 5 is my granddaughter's birthday. Brittany will be 10 years old! The picture below is a neck bone pillow I made for her last night. I used a pattern from her old pillow to make the three sides. I was going to show you a picture of her old, nasty pillow, but decided against it. It was just too "loved" to be pretty. Suffice it to say that the seam allowance tells the story of what color it used to be! She carried that thing around like a well-loved blankie. I did use the innards of her old pillow and had to add more stuffing to make it really plump. My biggest challenge was figuring out how to attach the handles but I got it done.


Jim and I were able to take a few days and run up to Ruidoso this past weekend. We had a nice, restful time. But, it was even too hot in the mountains! I got to see my Aunt Dolores and Uncle Tony and three of their boys, Joe, Robert and Gilbert and they're respective spouses and on of the grandkids. All in all, it was a very nice trip. We got back Monday afternoon.

Dad is having issues with his feet these days. They are hurting and seem a bit swollen. He has a lot of pain when putting weight on them so he can barely get from the bed to the potty then to his chair. Once in his chair, though, he goes everywhere. He's really enjoying being able to go outside and cruise. As for his feet pain..we think it may have something to do with a new medication, but then again, it may just be the cancer. If this continues, we'll have to get him in to see someone for more relief.

It's time to get ready for work. I need to find a gift bag for Brit's goodies. She's having a little party tonight at a friend's house. I need to leave early today in order to stop at the supply house for some hair color. Have a great Thursday!

Is it hot enough for you?

Oh my goodness, 102 and 103 temps! Thank God for air conditioning. I don't even wear makeup on the days I watch Kerrington. I can't see sweatin' it off when she doesn't care if her grama is naked-faced. I may not even make-up my face today when I go to work. No, wait. I will. When I don't, people think I'm sick. Maybe 'cause I'm so fair skinned and I look like I'm about to pass out. LOL

In spite of the heat, I made another blanket last night. These are so easy to make and Kerrington loves being swaddled to sleep. These blankies are not as hot as a flannel blanket would be, I think.
Notice I mitered the corners correctly? I don't know what I did with the previous blanket that caused me to have to re-design the corners, but I like the mitered corners much better. I have a feeling I will be making more of these for gifts.

I also worked on the tablerunner last night. I can't seem to make one of these without making mistakes. When I start one of these, I need to just keep at it until I'm done. Especially when using directional fabric. I stopped to get on the computer for a while and to make the blanket. When I got back to the runner, I'd lost track of where I was. Oh well.. I got it straightened out and hopefully will finish it tonight.

I STILL need to embroider three plush blankets for a client. I just get so lazy about setting up my embroidery machine.

It's shower time and I want to get to work a little earlier. Don't laugh.

"Design Opportunity"

Also known as a mistake! But, as you can see in the picture, it turned out quite nice. The corners of this receiving blanket were going to be mitered until I made a mistake, on all four corners, and I had to cut them to finish them in this manner.
I made another blanket with this pattern and it was fine. I don't know what I did. I'll have to try another one. The back of this blanket is part of a sheet that Judy gave me to use for this purpose. It's a very soft fabric and worked very well. One queen-size sheet will make four nice size blankets. The front fabric came from a stash that Leota brought me a while back. I WILL get the corners right! lol

I'm at Rob and April's right now and have just put Kerrington down for her morning nap. This child knows exactly what to do once she is swaddled. The trick is to swaddle her tightly because she will pull her arms out if given half a chance. But, if she's wrapped right, she falls right to sleep. No crying at all! Same way with her afternoon nap. She's such a good girl!

Ready for stitching

I decided all the July BOMs needed to be appliqued since the first one I did turned out so cute. I didn't feel like choosing different fabrics for each one, so they all look the same. Lazy, huh? The little bit of embroidery that is needed for the stems and lettering will finish them nicely and I'll use a blanket stitch with black thread around the applique pieces.

I've spent most of the evening on Facebook. Waste of precious time, believe me! But, it's addicting. I'm building my farm and playing Farkle. lol I did clean off the dining room table to get ready to quilt the tablerunner I cut the other day and I've started another bag. Oh, I did cut and apply all the applique pieces on the BOMs.
I spent the night last night at Dad's. He did well. He didn't even beep for me. I know he got up several times to the potty, but he didn't have to call me. I just kept one eye open, ya know? Now that I think about it, it's time to get to bed. Maybe I'll sleep all night since I'm pretty tired. It's Kerrington time tomorrow! Seems like ages since I've seen her. It's actually been since Thursday.
Goodnight!

July BOM

A quick note to show you the July Block of the Month. I finished it this morning, just in time to hang at the shop today. Judy and I attended another Entertaining at Home party tonight so I just got home. I have a bad headache so I am going to call it a day. I have to work tomorrow and half a day Saturday, so I'm off to bed.