I Will Catch You Up on What is Happening

I am back! We were up at the cabin working, working, working. Lots of stuff still needs to be done, and this is where Carl steps in. He has been having a friend here and there help him, and I was that "friend" for a couple of days. I didn't get to use any of the power saws (a good thing) but I did use the nail gun. Quite fun, actually. We also put in the dock, which was a challenge considering the water level being the highest since we have been there. It is a bit droopy at the end of the dock. When the water level goes down, or when we have some more help, we can get that up where it should be. We got several walls covered with pine car siding. Looks great, still very cabinny. Not sure if we will get it done before Memorial Day or not. You can see the updates on my Facebook page, Jerilynn Lijewski. The picture above is of a vest I did before I went to the cabin to do all that potentially fatal manual labor. I had seen a sweater at the Bibelot shop on Grand Ave in St. Paul. It was white with multi sized snaps sewn on here and there. Very cute, but, cha-ching! pricey. So, I decided to buy some black snaps, and sew them on a plain white linen vest. I used brighter colored threads. I could have sewn these on by machine, using the button sew-on feature, but it was a nice mindless activity in front of the tv from The Red Chair. Lots less money. Still pretty cute. Jerilynn

Yes I Am!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you. When I saw this image I knew that I had to make a glass tile necklace from it. The ladybug on the shamrock sealed the deal, but I also loved the "lucky". Yes, I am a lucky lady. I could bore you with a laundry list of all the things that I am grateful for, but I think I will just talk about the good things that happened today. I attended my monthly Bernina V6 software class this morning, and those ladies (teacher included) are hilarious! Talented and funny. Not only do I always learn something new, but I get in some good, big laughs. Lunch with the ladies at Culver's, then on to meet with the bath stuff sales guy to firm up some purchases for the cabin. Picked out some sleek, contemporary fixtures - things are falling into place. Then I stopped by a new bead shop within a new garden supply store - Vita Bena Jewelry in the Green Oasis Gardens building just off Melby on Hwy 53 in Lake Hallie, WI. The Owner/Teacher/Designer of the Jewelry store is an adorable 17 year old, Madeline Black! I had a great time chatting with her and, of course, buying a few beading things. (Thanks Kem for the heads up on this!) I came home and had a long chat with the folks, found out daughter Ellen is visiting this weekend, and found out sister Sandy is visiting for a while in April. Carl came home after finishing the studding of the basement walls, and we worked on the budget - good news is that we are still on target. The new shots of the cabin show the roof - a porch will come from the garage area over to the door. The other picture is showing the inside of the door and some of the stairs UP TO THE STUDIO! And now, sitting in The Red Chair and chatting with you. Yes, lucky. Very lucky. Jerilynn

The Flu Flew In

Yes, I caught the flu. So did son Peter, daughter-in-law Katie, and grandson Ben. Husband Carl is still healthy, but staying a good distance away. I feel I may just live today, and must be feeling lots better because I keep thinking of things that I want to do. First on my list is to clean and organize the sewing room. After this last week's rush to get things done, it is a battle zone. Yesterday was the last day and three bags had to get the final touches. And, yes, I was ill the whole day. Work a little, sleep a lot. Repeat. Somehow everything got done, and I survived to tell the story. The top picture is of circular embroidery on woolfelt, of course. People, march right now to your sewing machine store and buy a circular stitching attachment. Legally supper fun. The bottom picture was taken today by Carl at the cabin. I was still too under the weather to take a ride up there. He climbed a ladder to take a shot of the third story roof. For those of you who have been to our place, the little cottage way down below is Robert and Angie's. Whoa, we are high! Next week we are expecting another big snow storm, of course, so I think Joe the builder will move indoors and start on interior walls. Plumbing fixture will need to arrive so that walls can be built around them. Flooring is ordered. Other than the flu, things are good. Jerilynn

Where are the Sewing Ladies?

Why, just follow those stairs up to your left! Watch your step, though. Jerilynn

Aaah, a Hot Bath!

I worked on a few things that I can't really talk about yet, so I thought I would show you a picture of the bathtub that is going to be in the studio bathroom. Yep, a real soaker! In a few years I am going to need a forklift to get me in and out of the tub, but for a few years I am going to enjoy some seriously wonderful baths. I am not quite sure what kind of vanity/sink I want to put in that room. The tub is obviously pretty modern. The toilet is similar in shape, modern, too. The walls and ceilings are pine carsiding. Floor is a darker wood look - it's called luxury vinyl planks. So, not a lot of color, which is not a good thing in my book. I bought an antique sewing machine table from my neighbor, Betty, which I am thinking of using. It has a couple of drawers that could be used for a few toiletries, and a white vessel sink could be put on the top. I could leave it wood, or, gasp! , I could paint it. Or, I could have Carl build a vanity, paint that a fun color, and put a black counter top on it with a white sink. Or, I could put in a utility sink that would be useful for messy things. I think I have about a month and a half to figure this out. Any suggestions? Jerilynn

Sewing Studio with Air Conditioning!!!

When I asked for a big open sewing studio with air conditioning, I guess I should have also asked for walls and a ceiling. We went up yesterday to check the cabin progress and I bravely (okay, not too bravely) climbed the ladder to the third floor studio to take a look. I think the stairs will come soon - I hope! I was very surprised at how big it was and how big the windows will be! I think there will be lots of creating to do in that space. It is hard to believe that in a few short months I could actually be cutting fabric there, sewing, embroidering, knitting....I may never leave that area. There is a bathroom in the corner, I could bring a cooler...I have enough quilts to make a little spot to sleep. I think I am all set. I think I will have to have an open house...BYOSM. (bring your own sewing machine). Jerilynn

NOEL Coasters

I thought it would be a good idea to design a set of coasters that said NOEL. People can tell what drink is their drink by what letter coaster they used. If they are lucky enough to have a name that matches one of the letters, well, that is good, too! I used the Bernina V6 software. I first designed the little holly leaf and a swirly stem. By copying, pasting, turning, mirroring, I managed to make a holly border. I then made a tiny circle, and duplicated them here and there for berries. I put a good-looking letter in the middle, outlined the satin stitch, and framed the whole thing with a blanket stitch. Once again, the picture is taken indoors, at night. I am sure they would look lots better in the sunlight. But, I think they look great in person. You will have to believe me. I think I may post these for sale on my Etsy site. I will try to get a better picture first. On the cabin addition: the basement walls are done, and the garage walls are poured. It really looks great!! Our petition to get a variance went through. What that means is that the sewing studio can be on top the existing structure, which is two feet too close to the neighbor. But, the neighbor doesn't mind, and putting the studio on the existing walls makes it much more structurally sound. We picked out what windows we want, both for the new addition, and to replace the old windows that are a bit drafty. They can be tilted down to wash from the inside - I love that feature! This will be an exciting season! Speaking of Season: when the kids were little we always joked that we were going to send a Christmas card out without Ellen's picture. We would then title the card, No El. Jerilynn

A Little Bit of Sand, A Little Bit of Dirt

Yay! The digging for the cabin addition started today. As you can see from the picture, there is snow on the ground, but we have been assured that it doesn't matter. Now it is starting to seem more real. The gas got turned back on in the cabin, so now we even have some heat! No water, though, until the new basement is dug and the walls put up. Pretty exciting stuff. Usually this time of the year we are visiting the sugar sand beach of Gulf Shores, Alabama (second tube-o-sand from the left). This year with the building going on, and the health of my folks, we decided to forgo the beach and stick around. I found the test tubes at CB2 in Chicago. They have a little hole in the back to fit over a nail. I have collected bit of sand from some of our favorite beaches and thought this was a good way to display it. I made a shower curtain for this bathroom out of an outdoor fabric that has banyan leaves on it. I will show you the curtain and towels I made to match tomorrow. I hope you can sleep tonight. Jerilynn

Cozy!

We are at the cabin doing a few things to get ready for the big digger to come on Wednesday. We are putting a door from the living room walkout level to the soon-to-be new basement level. The door is going in the corner where the stairway to the sleeping level creates a nice little storage area. That was (is) basically our only "closet" and when we unloaded it to allow for the new door, I was amazed at the stuff we have accumulated over the past 3.5 years. A good purge will happen as we put stuff back, that is for sure. After that unloading project was done, I started to look around and decided I needed to take a few pictures of the "before" and got a bit nostalgic. Even though we have only owned the cabin a short time, it has been a cozy and fun retreat for us and family and friends. The above picture is a shot of the "master bedroom". Not very big. The side wall is just to the left of the nightstand with the red lamp. I am standing just inside the door, so you can see that there isn't much room for dancing! The quilt was a made-up pattern based on a quilt I had seen somewhere and decided that I could just piece together odd sizes of rectangles and then put a long strip on a border in between. I saw an fun movie a few years back, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and loved the colors in the movie! The soundtrack is great. If you are in a mood for a quirky movie, seek this one out. Anyway, what does this have to do with the quilt? Well, the Team Zissou outfit is a pretty blue with a red hat. Love that combo. When I went to make a quilt for the cabin, I dug around until I found some fabrics that gave me that combo. You can't really tell too much from the photo, but the curtains (made lined with the method I talked about a few days ago) are light turquoise blue with dots (of course). I used some of that in the quilt. The red with the dots is leftover from the bathroom curtains at the cabin, and the stripe is from the curtains in the guest room. The pictures on the wall are framed months from the Linnea Anderson poster calendars. Do you have a hard time throwing out calendars, too? What a great source of cheap art! You also can't see that the ceiling is a bit sloped. The curtains hide a direct view to the lake. In the remodel we are keeping our bedroom where it is, but the guest room, even smaller will become part of the room, housing a small closet and a bath. Not fancy, but still Cozy! Jerilynn

Photoshop Elements Technique

This is our cabin "before". We are still waiting to start the digging for the basement and new foundation. We are trying to get a variance ruling...hopefully that will go through next week and hopefully the ground doesn't get covered with snow. The picture is a real picture of our cabin that I took into Photoshop Elements and used this tutorial http://www.photoshopcreativeelements.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2877

I have also done this with my daughter kayaking on the lake, and the result is quite fun. I printed this image out on heavy watercolor paper and framed it and have been asked if I drew the picture. This technique would make a good Christmas gift for someone, don't you think? Jerilynn

What is Going On Here????

Hey! You are saying to yourself...what gives? Didn't I just see leaf coasters on a Jerisew(s) post? Well, sharp-eyed readers, you sure did! Wynne has a birthday tomorrow (Wednesday) and she commented on the leaf coaster blog that she like those leaf ones quite a bit. Sooo, I am not only making her a birthday gift that I know she will like, but I am rewarding her for being so kind to a) read the blog, and b) post a comment! But, and here is where it gets interesting.....unless she comments on THIS blog, the coasters will be sent to another reader! But only readers named Wynne, and only those with a birthday tomorrow. I know, that narrows the field down, but there just might be someone else out there that fits this description. Also, you ask, why are there an odd number of coasters - sets usually are even numbered. Well, all of the colors insisted upon being included in the birthday give-away. You know how bossy colors can be! Other news: on the cabin project. Now we find out that the studio is not in code because it is going to be built on a current cabin whose position is not in code but has been grandfathered in. We can apply for a variance and that should take two weeks. My husband and I have decided, however, not to get too upset over any inevitable challenges that will happen with this project. We have decided to enjoy the process and deal creatively with problems as they appear. Sounds good in theory, right? Jerilynn

Sick of Circles Yet?

This table runner is loosely based on the traditional Bulls Eye quilt pattern. I free-form cut circles in four diameters. I appliqued the smallest circles on the next bigger size, using black thread and a blanket stitch. I trimmed the back of the bottom circle carefully cutting inside the stitching (this reduces bulk). I appliqued this resulting double circle on the next bigger size, again using a blanket stitch and again trimming the back layer of fabric inside the stitching. This was sewn on the biggest and final circle...blanket stitch, trim...you get the drill. The resulting circular set was stitched to a black square...blanket stitch, trim.... The fun part comes when you get a bunch of these made. I kept my color palette to primary brights, but I used many different prints in each color. This gave a very scrappy look, which I was going for. Anyway, once you have the number of squares you want for your runner, cut each square in fourths. Because the circles are hand cut, and because when I sewed the circles on top of each other, I wasn't too concerned with exactness, they were all a bit "off". When I shuffled the colors around and sewed fourths together to make a whole block again, the circles were even more delightfully wonky. Sew those squares together, and you have a top ready to quilt. A hint that I would give would be to try to start and stop your blanket stitch in the same area for all circles. When you go to sew the final circles on to the black squares, line up the "starts and stops" somewhere that you are going to cut into anyway. No worries about securing those starts and stops of the blanket stitches because now that is all taken care of in the quarter inch seam allowance. Clear as mud, right? Don't know what I am going to show you tomorrow. Today we spent quite a while looking at bathroom fixtures for the new cabin addition. My head is spinning with possibilities! I think we have most everything decided upon. I am most excited about the bathtub that is going in the bathroom on the studio floor (oh, my gosh, did I just say "studio floor" like it was the most natural thing in the world???!!). I felt like Goldilocks when I tried out the fit of the tub...it was "just right!" Now, how can I sew enough stuff to pay for this?? See you tomorrow! Jerilynn

Cabin Frame of Mind

Helooo! We are still in Vegas for a couple more hours, but I am looking forward to being back in Northern Wisconsin. The people watching has been great - you sure see most everything here! We had a huge room at The Mirage - all of our family could have joined us! Our flight is very late, so tomorrow will be a lazy day, fer sure. Excited about the cabin addition, so I thought I would show you some of the coasters I designed - these happen to be cabin/fishing related. I love simple digitizing on the Bernina V6. I didn't bring the security device with me on this trip and I am looking forward, also, to making some new designs when I get home. I should try some Vegas ideas! You can see more of my coasters on my etsy shop, jerisew.etsy.com. My poor family has been overloaded with coasters of many designs and shapes but they are pretty good sports about it. We are going to walk around a bit before we pack up. I want to walk down to the Bellagio to see what the display is at the Conservatory. We might even get to see a water show if the timing is right! Happy Friday, Jerilynn

I Predict a New Studio in My Future!

Yeppers, today we learned our cabin expansion is a go! This means more bedrooms/bathrooms for all of our kids and grandkids and family and friends and also a big studio for me! (Oh, of course it can be a big bunking room for bedroom overflow, but I prefer to think that it is just for me!) Anyhoo, it will be a fun project for us and Carl is very much looking forward to getting busy. Once the addition is all buttoned-up, he will take over doing the rest. Once it is all done I will really need to be productive...ideas and patterns for sale!!!

So, here are the promised addresses for the things I mentioned in yesterday's post. The new quilt shop owned by the sisters in Nebraska: ilovesewingonline.com Love their darling name in print. Cath's address is onewildernessroad.com. She is the Pfaff lady and the EQ7 lady. Drop her a line. The new stuff I bought for handbags can be found on byannie.com and it is called Soft and Stable. I think that is all I needed to tell you. Let me know if I forgot something.

Today's photo is a handbag that is the same shape as the one from yesterday, but it is made using embroidered squares that I designed on the Bernina V6 software. I have done other color combinations and all are well-received.

Thanks for the visit. Jerilynn