HS TShirt Quilt Finished

I finally have a workable formula for the Tshirt Quilts.  Everyone who has brought piles of tshirts to me are non-sewers.  I've decided the Target Brand Threshold flat sheet combined with JoAnn Fabrics fleece is the perfect combination.  Both stores are within 5 minutes of my house so customers can easily buy the supplies & bring them to me.  I am stitching a meandering line because sometimes I have to avoid the very plastic decals on some of the shirts.  And, the meander is fun and quick to stitch.

One more quilt off the Customer To Do List.  It's a wonderful quilt for a boy with its dark grey backing.  I'm sure he will be pleased.  Now it's up to his Mom to keep it secret until his birthday this fall.  Good Luck with that!  :-)

Goodwill Finds

I picked up the printed fabric photos that will be sewn on my next Memorial Quilt today.  It's for a teenager whose mother died when he was a little boy.  Her brother has asked me to sew it with her remaining tshirts and family photos.  I've been waiting for the photos to be printed.  He's asked me to have it ready for Mother's Day in, gulp, 2 weeks.  I can do but it makes me a bit nervous.  I'll have to clear my mind of other activities for a few days while I concentrate on the layout & cutting.

There's a pretty good Goodwill near where we met and I had to stop by.  You know, Senior Day, draws me like a dog to a bone.

This sweater is a bit big for me but it's so cool, I may keep it anyway.

Someone must have donated their cross collection.  I came home with 3 artisan made ones.  I've wanted a Milagro Cross for a very long time so now I have one.  :-)

All three crosses will have a respected spot on the walls in my home!  

Great Day today! 

Religious Elements Around Camp Allen

On the Wall in the Reception area, hangs a very large quilt sewn from predominantly needlepoint squares.  They have been contributed by Episcopalian churches and schools.

Camp Allen

Aside from the head cold that developed from the migraine headache, the Retreat was fabulous!  I was able to learn some new ideas and really get to know some of my fellow Stephen Ministers more. 
Camp Allen is an Episcopalian Retreat Center about an hour north of my house available to all denominations for events.  It's located on 1100 acres of wooded land with some very nice amenities.  The overall decorating theme was rustic and very tastefully executed.  Following are some photos of the property and the convention center.   Tomorrow I'll share some of the smaller decorations & the Chapel.

Whole Lotta Paperwork Goin' On

Many of my Poshmark listings were making me cringe so I decided to start redoing them.  It's been a very long 2 days and I am not finished.  Who says you never use that math you learn in school?

Yesterday I woke up with a migraine.  About an hour later I was in the bathroom throwing up.  That's generally how I know it's a migraine and not just a headache.  I'm not sure what brought it on but I feel a bit better today except for the scratchy throat.  :-)

Tomorrow I am headed to a 3 day retreat for my Stephen Ministry training.  We've been told it will be sunup to sundown working on lessons.  I've learned a lot from the role playing exercises we do in weekly meetings.  I am almost over the "are you kidding me?  You did that?" reaction and into the "how did that make you feel when you made that decision?" reaction.  I've been warned my facial expressions may need to be curbed too.  Really, you think? :-)

One of the items we are to bring to the Retreat is a symbol of our ministry.  My friend brought me this coaster last weekend.  It's perfect in all ways!  After 35 years of friendship I'd say she knows me well!

And my weedy backyard produced some beautiful lilies this week.  I'd call that a Christmas Miracle for sure.  I'm also very encouraged to see a whole new crown of fronds on several of my sago palms.  I've worried for a nanosecond they may not have survived the winter freeze.

Catch You on the Way Back! 

On Loss & Stability

Yesterday's sermon, called Those Who Mourn, is part of a series of Living the Beatitudes we are currently studying.  In the sermon Dr. Robbins, our lead minister, talked about the pain of loss, the burden of grief.  Many of us have experienced much grief in our lives and we've worked through it in a multitude of ways.  We were reminded of the comfort offered through Christ.  The sermon linked  well with the last few lessons I've been studying for the Stephen Ministry. 

After church one of Gene and my favorite activities is to drive to the Egg & I restaurant on Memorial Drive and eat brunch.  We know the staff and we enjoy dining outside when the weather is pleasant.  Per our usual we drove there yesterday.  The restaurant was closed and empty.  I was confused and sad.  A feeling of grief rolled into my heart.  It was the end of our pleasurable eating & the end of seeing the people we enjoyed there.  In an unstable world it's nice to have some reliable stability.  That is now gone and without a word of warning.

We ended up at IHOP, not my favorite but a good substitute.  Then we spent the afternoon sourcing clothes for my Poshmark store.  This week I'll be typing my fingers to the bone listing new items.

My friend, Barbara, knit my shawl.  It's a favorite of mine.

This easily represents a week's worth of work. 

Gene is trying to enlarge the men's department.  Some nice shirts and swim trunks! 

My Friend's Great Grandson's Birthday Quilt

When your friend drives from Oklahoma so you can help her finish her great grandson's quilt for his 1st birthday!  :-)

We had a lot of fun together!  I've known Toni and her husband Kerry since 1982. 

Kappa Kappa Gamma Tshirt Quilt

One of my neighbors decided her first sewing project would be a large tshirt quilt for her sister.  She told me she didn't want to start with a pillow.  Nah, just jump right in on a quilt!  So when she got overwhelmed and fraught with frustration, her husband contacted me for help.  Luckily, she wasn't too far off the tshirt path & I was able to use a nice sharp seam ripper and make it all right again.  :-)

Working on tshirt quilts usually makes me feel nostalgic.  Here's a picture published the 1st week of school at the University of Oklahoma, 1973.  It was quite a sight to see a crate outside the dorms.  Most people showed up with a few cardboard boxes.

The Posh Life

Monday is markdown day at my favorite thrift store.  I don't always make it to the racks but yesterday I did.  I scored some very nice pieces; even did a little shopping for a select customer.  Such excitement! :-)  My shop goal is to have an eclectic assortment of clothes someone could buy to build a fun wardrobe.  I try to find pieces that have interesting detailed styling.

I am running my jacket promotion right now in my poshmark store.  I bought 4 jackets and listed them as soon as I got home.  Within 5 minutes one of them sold!  Then, 5 minutes later one of my repeat customers bought a blouse.  Flipping clothes is just fun in so many ways!

This is a cool jacket sewn from a wool blazer with a sweater bottom.  When I checked the manufacturer's website most of their jackets are in the $1000+ range.  I have this one listed at $65.

A nice bundle of scarves.  I love scarves! 

Some handsome ties for my men's department; even some vintage ties included.

I always buy pretty well stitched afghans when I find them.  These will go into my etsy store.

And now I have to refocus and get busy on another tshirt quilt.  Guests arriving tomorrow.  So happy they know I live in a working studio & still love me any way!  :-)

Behind the Scenes

Today's planned garage sale got rained out so I'll be hosting it tomorrow.  I woke up in the middle of the night and while trying to get back to sleep, I remembered 2 adjustable lights I own.  Today they were pressed into service for photographing clothes.  I think they will make a huge difference in the quality of the Poshmark photos.

Gene and I took a quick run around some of the surrounding neighborhoods to check for bargains.  We chatted with a lovely couple & walked away with a big stack of Harley Davidson and concert tshirts.  Both should be good sellers!  You just never know who you will meet.  I love Houston.

Machine Embroidery Pieces

I have a pretty big collection of machine embroidery pieces that need a new home.  They were stitched when I had other ideas that I am not pursuing now.  Toward that end, I have started listing them in my etsy shop.  The prices are very reasonable given the amount of work they were to stitch. Here's a sample of some of them.

A bundle (more in the shop) of some miscellaneous designs.  Sometimes the thread color is wrong for the project or the size isn't right.  Whatever.  They are still very usable designs.  I'm just over the enthusiasm for them for my projects.  

6" butterflies are good for the middle of quilt blocks.  One of my favorite quilts has them placed like this idea.  These are leftovers. They would be good for a spring table runner too.

These were leftover from a Crazy Quilt I stitched for the Hoffman Challenge back in the days when I was working on those challenges.  

I stitched these birds for a former house.  The Peacock embroidery is on white silk and then stitched on a lightweight chambray.  The Bird of Paradise is stitched on white linen. They are about 7 x 10 inches.  Each took well over an hour to stitch. 

These 3 were sewing machine samples.  Very bright yellow cotton.  The 2 mandalas would be good on the back of a jean jacket.

This is machine cross stitch - size 18 ct.  I thought I was going to stitch all 4 seasons but Spring did me in!  :-)  I took the design from somewhere and used an embroidery program to digitize the file.  I think this took a few hours to stitch out. 

My etsy store is The Good Stuff Company.   Get 'em while they last!  :-)