Greenhouse Frog

I don't know how well you can see the little frog in the jar, but that is what hopped into our house. We captured it last night. It is a greenhouse frog. I called the Department of Agriculture's Pest Hotline and that is what they told me it was. It is not poisonous, but it is an alien species and a pest. It makes a chirpping noise like a bird. Our neighbors have birds who make lots of noise, so I was unaware that we had these in our neighborhood. The man who took my call told me not to be nice because it looks so cute. He said I would regret it later when it multiplied and kept me up at night.

I spoke to some people I work with to find out who to call and some of them told me that they have lots of these around their neighborhood.

Oh, the man who took my call told me to kill it. He said to put the jar in the freezer, then throw the jar away.

One hopped into the house about five days ago, but I chased it out by spraying a vinegar and water solution at it. It left the way it came in, I think. I didn't actually see it come in, but it squeezed out through a space under our screen door. I told my neighbor about it and he told me that I would have to catch it. Well, we caught this one...I wonder how many more we have around our house. I hope not too many and I hope they don't venture in any more. If they do, at least I know what to do with them.

Japanese Buzzsaw Quilt

During the summer, I took a class at Bernina to learn how to make a Buzzsaw Quilt. Since it is made with oriental or asian print fabrics it is called a Japanese Buzzsaw Quilt. This is a photo of my instructors finished quilt.

I chose a green background fabric and use light colored printed fabrics. My instructions were to cut 9 inch squares and 2 x 8 inch strips.

We were to sew a printed square and a background square, then cut them in half to make two new squares which were half print and half background fabric.
Next, we cut the new squares into 2 inch strips, we laid them out so that we could see the print. This enabled us to mix the prints or if we wanted to leave them the same.

We assembled our strips to create a new square. We then used four of the squares to make a block.









This is a picture of a finished Buzzsaw quilt I saw at a quilt show. I didn't finish my quilt yet. I will post pictures of it in progress.

A Graduation Gift

My daughter made this pillowcase as a graduation gift for a friend. This was the first time she sewed a pillowcase. She did a really good job.Of course, I guided her by washing the fabric, showing her how to zigzag the edges before washing so that it wouldn't fray too much, I also cut the fabric and taught her how to finish the seams. I don't know if her friend liked it, but it came out really nice.

Tote Bag

This is a market bag that I made using a pattern from Joanne's. As you can see it came out huge. The pattern didn't call for a lining, but I wanted to line it because I thought it would be stronger and sturdier, since I would be using it for grocery shopping.

I was disappointed in the pattern because I had to make some adjustments. The sides didn't match. I had to add a few inches to get it to fit, so it is patched on the side. I also didn't anticipate that the handles would be so short. I would have liked it to be a little bit longer, maybe just an inch or two. Oh well, maybe I'll try another pattern.

Quilt Fabrics

These are fabrics I bought last summer to make another snowball/nine patch quilt. I haven't started it yet because I am not quite satisfied with the colors...something's not quite right.

The second picture is for a Japanese Buzzsaw quilt. I am taking a class to learn how to make it. So far it has cost me about $100 to take the class and buy the fabric.

Paw Print Shorts

These are a pair of shorts I made for my younger daughter. I was practicing to make her another pair for running, but she said it is too baggy. We need to find another pattern. She wears these at home.

I had this fabric in my stash. I bought it some time ago. It took me 2 days. I cut the fabric one day, then sewed it the next.

Small Red Duffle

This bag is for my oldest daughter. She loves red and happy faces. It is a MaCalls pattern that some of my students made. I wanted to make the pattern because their bags came out so cute. This was the first duffle bag I ever made. I had a difficult time understanding how to make the straps, but now I know how to make them and can better help my students when they need help with this part of the pattern.

I do have to make another one in blue for my younger daughter, hopefully that one won't take me as long.