Bag progress, goose encounter, and the big show

I got the pieces all layered up for the two end pieces for the keyboard bag. I need to make this bag a bit heavier, so I am adding a layer of batting.

I have my sketch with the measurements I need to cut for the pieces. I cut all the pieces bigger and will trim them down to size once the pieces are quilted.

I had ordered 2" webbing to make some carrier straps for the keyboard bag on Tuesday. The webbing showed up last night! That was fast! I got a 10 yard hank so I will have leftovers for the next project.

I go for a walk along our road nearly every day and lately all the trash I have been seeing has been bugging me. Yesterday I decided to pick up trash on my walk. There are several ponds along the road so therefore we have a lot of Canada Goose. Well, between Wednesday and Thursday a momma goose made a nest and laid two eggs right beside the road where the most trash was located. At first I didn't see the nest.

As I was picking empty beer and water bottles, momma came over from the other side of the road and she was not happy I was so close to her nest. I mean she came really close to me! I yelled at her and stomped by feet, but she wasn't budging. I finally got the trash and moved on with her following me for a few feet. As I walked up and down the road I could see pairs patrolling where they must have nests. I ended up with 3 - 4 pounds of trash that I won't have to look at anymore.

I will be taking a half day's vacation as we are leaving for the show to set up early this afternoon. The venue is just a short drive away. My other plans for the weekend are to get the keyboard bag done and get back to working on the Harley quilt. Have a great weekend!

Flannel backing sewn, sampler progress

All I got done was cutting the flannel to length and sewing the two pieces together. Better than nothing in my book!

I finally got the little green X's done around the border. The letters stitch up quick. Here is where I was yesterday and where I am now with a closeup of the border.

A quick turnaround

I got the stool covers sewn together and they are hanging on the garage door if my brother wants to pick them up today. One more job off the list!

I gather up some the materials I needed for the keyboard cover - the car cover fabric, some flannel, and a piece of batting. I like to use plaid flannel, so I don't have to mark the lines for quilting. I just follow the plaid and it makes for quick work.

I had to order some 2" wide webbing for the straps/handles. I will need to use some Velcro too and I have plenty of that on hand.

More projects for the band, sampler progress

When I got home from work I went over to the neighbor's house. He had carpel tunnel surgery on Friday. He texted me and asked if I would wash his dishes, so I did. He is feeling better than the last time I was over there on Saturday. We talked a bit then I headed across the cul-de-sac to get some work done at my place. My brother had called me yesterday and he wants to recover this stool.

He sent me the measurements, so I got the pieces cut out. Michael wants to use the stool at the big show on Friday so I am going to make two covers. One cover will be out of fire-resistant fabric and my brother will staple it over the old cover. The other cover will be out of black duck cloth and have elastic, so it is removable. They can use the removable cover on Friday to make it look better for the show, then use the removable cover later to keep the new permanent cover clean when the stool gets piled into the trailer with all the other gear as we travel from show to show this summer.

My brother called me twice yesterday. The first time was to thank me for the wireless pouches. He said they work great and that he sent me pictures for the stool cover. Later on, he called again to tell me he was sending pictures for a cover they need for part of a keyboard. He wants to protect the wood so it doesn't get beat up in the trailer. The Harley quilt will just have to wait.

I haven't showed the sampler in a few days and I have made some progress! Here is where I was last time I posted and where I am now.

Done, done and done!

I got the three wireless transformer pouches made for my brother.

I finished Michael's pants. Here is a picture of the flames in the process of being trimmed and the finished pants. I had to take another trip to the store to get more rhinestones. For the entire suit I glued on around 466 rhinestones. He is wearing the suit Friday night for a show he is putting on and I will get a picture of him in the suit and post it next Monday.

and the third DONE was the drape/mask another brother needed.

I made a pizza on Sunday.

The daffodils next to the house recovered nicely from the snow and cold. They are giving me a pretty show. I took this shot from my sewing studio to the outside.

I got some laundry done and got the kitchen cleaned up. My goal this week is to get back to the Harley quilt.

One crazy evening; TGIF!

First thing I needed to do when I got home was to gather up the boy baby quilts I had on hand. A lady at work asked for one that she could give as a present to a cousin for their first baby. Packed those up and loaded them in the car.

I started making a label for the quilt and the phone rang. My brother wanted to know if I was busy. Really? I'm always busy! LOL!! He needed a pouch for Michael's wireless guitar transformer and started to explain what he needed. I said I know what you need. I just made 40 for a rock star! He said he would like a prototype for Friday because the band, his son Michael, was having rehearsals and would like to try it out. Meanwhile, Michael showed up to try on his pants. He loved the jacket!

He tried on the pants and they fit really good. I only have to take in the waist a little bit. Whew! Most of my alterations were a wild ass guess so I was glad I guess pretty good! So then he said he would wait while I made one of the transmitter pouches. I had pulled the black duck cloth and the hook and loop tape and got to cutting and sewing.

As I was putting the thing together, he told me one issue that was different than the major rock star's has. Michael only has one channel to run the wireless off of and not multiple channels like the major rock star. Michael has to turn off the wireless whenever he switches guitars during a performance so he needed to be able to have easy access to the switch. I thought about it for a minute and got a scrap piece of ultrasuede to make the tab instead of using duck cloth. I could then cut a hole in the ultrasuede tab for the switch access. Now I am just waiting to hear from my brother if there are any changes needed before I make three more.

It was now 6:30 and Michael left with his jacket and the wireless pouch. About 45 minutes later his mom called. She said in a stern voice "I have two words for you." Ok, now I am scared. She said that jacket is "F**king awesome!" Whew! I turned and looked at my sewing table; it looked like a bomb had gone off! LOL!!

I finally finished the label,

texted my sister, and went to bed. Geeze! What an evening! This weekend is all about getting Michael's pants finished and making that drape for my other brother. Have a great weekend!

Progress on the pants, adding to the jacket, and daffodils

I pressed the seams flat, lined up both halves, marked, then cut down the back of the pants. Some of this is just a big, fat guess.

I trimmed off a bit of the sides on the front pieces. I needed to reduce the waist by 3 - 3 1/2 inches so I needed to reduce the pants thru the hips and legs too. I got the pants sewn back together and tonight when Michael comes over to try on the pants we will see how good of a guess I made.

Something just wasn't looking right with the jacket. I took a cue from the jacket Harry Shum Jr. wore at the Oscars

and I added some trim at the collar. It helps to balance the heaviness of the cuffs and I think it looks so much better. I will be adding some rhinestones too. I brought my sewing machine to work to sew on the trim this morning. I had forgotten my magnifier glasses so I was bending down to get my nose 8" away from the needle so I could sew it on! I wouldn't want to have to sew like that all day long! The color of this suit sure looks different depending on how the light hits it. It will be interesting to see it when he performs.

The daffodils next to the house are doing good in handling the crazy temperature swings. The ones in the yard haven't bloomed yet.

Now the pants, pin box, sampler progress

The pants are torn apart so tonight I will recut them, zig zag the edges and start to sew them back together. They look blue in this picture, but they are a light green.

Yesterday one of the ladies saved me this tin. Someone had brought it last week for the St. Patrick's Day party. It was full of chocolate mint candies. I had the perfect use for it!

I cut a piece of foam core, added a couple layers of a thin batting, wrapped it in fabric and stuck my niece's girl scout pins in it. I had taken the pins off her sash before I appliqued it to her quilt. I decided to add my Girl Scout pin; it's the blue and gold round one on the right side. I did not glue the pins in place. I just pushed them down into the foam core. I sent a picture to my sister to show her and she said she had her pins and our Mom's Girl Scout pin. I told her if she wanted to she could move the pins around and add those if she wanted.

I continue to work on that sampler as I get a few minutes here and there. Here is where I was a couple days ago and where I am now.

Jacket progress

I got the lining extension sewed

Rolled the lining extension down about 3/4 of an inch and pressed it. This gives the lining some room to move around a bit so when you bend your arm the lining doesn't constrict movement.

I threw in a couple of stitches to attach the lining to the sleeve. This keeps the lining in place so it doesn't come out of the sleeve when the jacket is taken off.

I tucked under the raw edge of the lining extension, pinned it to the lining, and sew it together.

I finally got to see what the trim looked like. Since I had to add so much to cover the previous hem crease and make the sleeves long enough for my nephew, there is a lot of blank green space. I think I will scatter a few rhinestones in that area to make it look more cohesive.

I already have started tearing apart the pants, meaning open the waistband and seam at the back, take out the waistband to the side seams, and open up the side seams down to the hem for starters. The waist is 3+ inches too big. I need to recut the pants at the sides to take out some of the fullness in the legs. Once I get the pants to fit I will add the flame design at the pant hems to cover the hem crease.

What a weekend

It was a crazy busy weekend. I spent some time cleaning up before my friend showed up on Saturday. We warmed up by cutting out tote bags from the fabric that another friend and my sister had gifted me. After lunch we worked on my nephew's suit. I taped the design on the light box my brother had made me many years ago. Kris traced the design on to the lightweight Heat and Bond. I would have never gotten as far as I did on the jacket without my friend's help.

I prepped the fabric and then pressed on the first tracings. She traced the design four times. I needed a tracing for the white and then for the green fabric. This is going on the sleeves because 1. the sleeves are too short for my nephew, and 2. the design will cover up the hem crease.

I pressed the design on the sleeves and then topstitched each layer.

I forgot to take a picture of the sleeve after I glued on the rhinestones. You will see that after I finish up the lining. When I went to sew the lining I didn't realize that the lining was too short. Geeze! One more thing to fix!

I dug around in a bin of odds and ends and found a piece of silk duponi that would work. In this picture it looks bluer than it really is. This is a scrap I saved from when I worked at the shop that made clothes for people who showed Western horses which means I have had this for 20 years! It finally found a use!

I got the pieces I needed cut out, sewn, and pinned to the sleeves. I will have to do this all by hand. I am anxious to get this done so I can finally turn the jacket right side out and see what the design looks like. I will be putting the same design on the pant hems to cover up the hem creases.

My friend brought me these two knitted chickens. Aren't they the cutest things? The egg can be squeezed out of the bottom as well as the top. Her SIL made these.

I worked on the sampler a bit Sunday morning. I was still tired from Saturday and I find cross stitching very relaxing. Here is were I was on Friday and where I am now.

I thought you might want to see the back. I don't carry my thread from motif to motif and I try to keep the back neat.

My brother sent me some pictures and he needs me to make a drape for this sound board. It won't take too long, but since I am working on my nephew's suit, things as piling up! I kind of drew lines of what he needs. The drape will help block the view.

Finally, Friday was a sad day when I saw Lance Reddick died. He was only 60! He was an actor and in a lot of shows, but I know him from the role he played in the John Wick movies. He played a great character and he had a lot of on-screen charisma and a great presence. He was on tour helping promote John Wick Chapter 4 which comes out on the 24th. I don't know if there will be a JW Chapter 5, but if there is Lance's charater will be hard to replace.