Moneik Quilts

WIP Wednesday Week 6 2/8/12

2012-02-08T00:01:00.005-07:00

This week was very productive for me! I spent a lot of time preparing for quilt retreat, cutting 2.5" strips, cutting out confetti pieces, and pulling out projects I want to take. I started making lists and figuring out what needs to be done before I leave. It just doesn't really look like I did much in pictures.
However, that big game on Sunday caused Paul to do all the cooking and all I had to do was eat. Plus the excitement of watching the game was enjoyed by Mikaela, so I had about 7 hours of sewing time on Sunday.
I quilted this wall hanging with red metallic thread, echoing the seams of the zigzag. I also put the binding and hanging sleeve on, so I have some handwork for work breaks this week.

I pulled out this Patchabilities kit of moms and finished it up, so I have her UFO for the month done. I'm working on the handwork and only have the hanging sleeve left.

I was over the quilting part when I got to this one, so it only got quilting on the tops of the peaks of the zigzags of each color. It actually looks better I think. I got the hanging sleeve and binding on it as well.

Saturday night I was hit with inspiration and threw these leftover HST's up on the design wall. I let them sit in this pattern for a while and by Sunday night I decided I loved them. I started sewing and had them in 5 column's before going to bed for the night. I think it will make a cute baby quilt and use up the fabric mom had left from a baby quilt she made for Mikaela.

Tuesday night I finished up sewing it together and put the borders on it. It turned out pretty cute and I have enough fabric left for backing and binding. I'm so excited to finally have this one into a top and ready to quilt.

New Projects this Week:
Pink/Green zigzag quilt

Finished this week:
Two Valentine Wall Hangings with Zigzags
Patchabilities Valentine Wall Hanging
Pink/Green Top
Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides done - none.
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done, on the last set of blocks- none
Little's Confetti - 2 of 80 blocks made, cut out 40+ of the little pieces from scraps
Merry Go Round - Cut out and sewed about 30 stratas

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
Pink/Brown Friendship Quilts
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks
Pink/Green Jungle Animal Baby Quilt

No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Prayers Book
3 Mug Rugs - Binding
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks
This week's stats:
Completed projects -3
New projects -1
Currently in progress -5
Finished this year - 8 , 6 Samples

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

January Quilting Accomplishments

2012-02-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

January was a very productive month for me. I'm really impressed with how much I got done, in addition to being in school. I did about half samples and half stuff for me, so considering the samples are my second job I didn't really do all that much for me, but it's sewing and I'm counting it.
I made the Texas Two Step for a Groovy Girls Sample. It's a quick and easy pattern!

I made the Farmyard Friends quilt for a sample for my Happy Hour class I'm teaching.

The Owl Yellow Brick Road was a sample for Groovy Girls as well.

The Wrenly ribbon blanket was a gift for Emilee's baby shower for her daughter Rosaliee.

I made the Sweet Treats sample quilt for the shop.

I quilted up this cute girls quilt for my friend Cindy for a donation to an auction for a cancer patient.

I made Jen a Winding Ways Schelp bag to match her SBS binder. It was a bit belated as birthday gift for her. She loves it and I think was a bit surprised.

I made this baby quilt for my co-workers new baby. It's called Dippity Daisy.

I quilted up this growth chart for Mikaela.

I used my scraps from the leftovers of my Buggy Barn HST's to make a couple fun blocks.

I made three different friendship blocks I will embroider and quilt for friends as wall hangings.

I made 2 of these quick Valentine blocks and plan to make wall hangings or table toppers.

I made 4 Friendship quilts for my quilting buddies.

I made the Waffle Time Table runner for a Groovy Girls sample.

I am in the process of finishing the binding on the Wave Table Runner made as a sample for Groovy Girls.

So I sewed 102 hours in January, celebrated Mikaela's 1st Birthday, made 5 samples, made lots of blocks out of HST's, used my 1/4" foot (I know what a shock!), quilted a couple quilts, did my first donated quilting, and wrote 2 1500 word papers and 8 300 word discussion posts. Whewww it's been a busy month. Good thing there is that 31 on the month and 2 holiday days off! I also did all 5 weeks worth of WIP Wednesday posts. They may be duplication for some, but they really keep me on track with posting and making sure I take pictures and upload them. I finished all my goals except the quilting binding on the Jim Shore quilt. I sure hope to finish it soon. I also didn't get all the blocks of the Crown Royal quilt done, but I did work on the blocks, so I'm proud of that fact!
I've started two new quilt tops, Little Confetti and Merry Go Round, both using scraps... I know please gasp again, but I've been making a lot of samples and have lots of bits and pieces left, so I'm working on cleaning them up. I also have a stack to cut for 5" charms. If anyone wants my little leftover bits that don't fit 5" charms or 2 1/2" strips let me know and I'd be glad to send them your way. I've just got to reduce the clutter a bit. I'm also so close to making a Winding Ways quilt. To the point that I have pulled all my dark jewel colored batik fat quarters and I'm going to pick up some light colored batiks for the opposite and do a quilt with those colors. I was just going to do a two color one, but I figured that might be kind of boring and I've had about 20 fat quarters in dark purple/green/blue/marroon that I want to use up, so this is the key. I'd like to have them cut out to sew at retreat.
Retreat is coming together awesome!! I have 10 for sure and we may be able to have a few more, so still open to a couple more if anyone is interested. I'm super excited! I'm planning to make the Winding Ways, the Crown Royal top, the BOM top, a construction baby blanket, a Loralie quilt of my moms, sign language baby quilt, Mocha Meringue top, and who knows what else I will make, but lots of tops out of blocks I already have made with a few Winding Ways blocks for something different.

WIP Wednesday Week 5 2/1/12

2012-02-01T06:05:00.002-07:00

This was a productive week!!! First for a couple pictures from last week though. The Dippity Daisy Baby quilt for my co-worker Kristen and her daughter Emmaline. It's so cute and I love how fast I can piece it. It was about 2 hours for the top.

This is the growth chart I made for Mikaela. I'm still working on binding it, since school work is consuming my lunch times. It's amazing how much I've learned about the history of higher education. Though some of it makes me go...seriously??? why do we do the things we do in our country?

I made up two blocks in this pattern. I'd seen mini wall hangings with this block and fell in love. I can see a full quilt made from gasp.... scraps in my future. I love how quick and easy this block is to make. Since I only had enough for 2 blocks, I'm thinking a little table topper to use as a siggy quilt at the retreat.

Two more friendship blocks, each a bit different, but still similar.

The 3rd and final of 7 friendship blocks. I now have to do the embroidery on them, quilt and gift to a few more friends, but really no deadline for them now. I just love having the fabric used! I finished it when we had a sewing Sunday afternoon at Jenn's with a few friends. It was so fun getting together and sewing. I also got 12 more Crown royal blocks sewn. I just have to put the rows together on them, but it's looking like I'll have the blocks done in time for retreat! I love to make quilt tops at retreat and I can do that if I have blocks made.

Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations had this cute tutorial on her blog last week and I knew I had some valentine's fabric of mom's left, so I whipped up this Valentine's Wall Hanging the other night. I loved it so much, that I used the rest of the scraps to make one more, which I finished on Sunday. I allowed for backing and binding out of the same fabric, so now it's on to quilting in the next few days. I'm so excited to have these done. I just love them! They are about 16" square.

Here's a picture of the Friendship quilt I made for Jenn. Shonna, Gaila, and Emilee each got one as well. A few more unsuspecting friends will receive the other 3 when I get them done.

Saturday night I made this Waffle Time table runner by Atkinson designs up. It's a Groovy Girls sample for this week. I love it and it went together fairly quickly.

The other sample I made on Monday was the Wave Table Runner. It uses a scallop ruler and I used the scallop ruler similar to the prairie points rulers to make the extra scallop in there. I love how it turned out and while this isn't a good picture, you can see just how cute it is. I used the gradations fabric for the inserted scallop and boy is that a fun fabric to work with. I have to finish the binding before Fri. night. I used the Easy Cut Bias ruler to cut the binding. Good thing I could Google it because there were no directions on how to use it!

This week I pulled all my scraps out to make a quilt from the new Scrappy Quilts book. It's called Merry Go Round and I'm super excited to use the 45 degree strip cut ruler. I picked up background and should be able to get it cut out tomorrow night so I can sew my strips on Friday night.
I also found a bunch of small pieces of Super fabric, so I'm going to make the Little Confetti pattern. Again super cute and very fast and easy.

Finished this week:
Three friendship blocks
Two Valentine Blocks
Waffle Time Table Runner
Wave Table Runner

Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides done - none.
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done, on the last set of blocks - sewed on 12 more!
Little's Confetti - 2 of 80 blocks made
Merry Go Round - Fabric collected

Completed tops awaiting quilting:

Blush Quilt
Valentine Wall Hangings
Pink/Brown Friendship Quilts
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks
No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Prayers Book
3 Mug Rugs - Binding
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks

This week's stats:
Completed projects -10
New projects -1
Currently in progress -13
Finished this year - 5 , 6 Samples

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Sunday Sewing with Friends

2012-01-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, in a really good attempt at procrastination, I packed up my sewing stuff to go sew with my friends on Sunday. I had just woke up from a nap, so I needed to wake up a bit. I didn't really know what I wanted to sew, since I didn't want to work on samples, yet that was what I needed to get done. I settled on some random blocks. I had a Valentine block laid on my ironing board, so decided to sew it before supper. That worked well, I got it all done! It was so cute that I cut out the rest of my scraps and had enough to make one more as well as have backing and binding for 2 mini quilts. Yeah! The fabric will all be used up! I figured after supper I'd work on my paper for my class. Well, then hubby, MIL, and DD were down in my area after supper, so I cleaned up a bit and reorganized. We put Mikaela to bed at 9 and that was just too late to start writing a research paper right??? SO I cut out and pieced this Waffle Time table runner by Atkinson Designs. It came together so nicely! I worked on some scallops and finished about midnight or a little after! Boy I really procrastinated.

Sunday morning I got up early and worked on the paper for a couple hours before going to my friend Jenn's to sew with a few other friends. We had an awesome time sewing and I finished another Friendship Block. I love how it turned out! It's the 3rd and I believe final one in this colorway, since I'm just about out of pink/brown HST's.

I also pieced this Valentine's table topper/ wall hanging. It's just like the one I made Sat. night. It's from some of my mom's fabric stash, so I'm really excited to get it all used up. I'm actually going to quilt it on my machine with a red metallic. I think it will look awesome. It's about 16" square.

While I was at Jenn's I took a picture of the quilt I made her for Christmas. This is the one I made 4 of for my friends Jenn, Shonna, Emilee, and Gaila.

I just love the embroidery on them and hope to do the other 3 as well before I quilt them.

I also worked on the Crown Royal quilt blocks for my brothers quilt. I'm hoping to have the blocks done, so I can assemble the quilt while at retreat. So far I just have 2 seems in 12 blocks left, which is totally doable in a months time!
Retreat is turning out to be awesome! I'm so excited that I have 10 already signed up with a few more possible. I'm really looking forward to it, since things have changed and I am no longer part of the group I wanted to retreat with.
Looks like it's going to be a good Monday! Mikaela and I are going fabric shopping tonight after work. I can't wait. I'm making gasp..... a scrappy quilt!

Friday Finishes!

2012-01-27T17:00:00.003-07:00

This week was really productive for me. I finished the hand sewn binding on this quilt at lunch and we had the baby shower last night for our co-worker Kristen and her daughter Emmaline.

This is really busy, but I just love these fabrics. It makes up so quickly. I had it cut out and pieced in less then 3 hours.

Isn't this the cutest baby cake. I just love the little bloomers and feet!

At the shower, showing the new mom the quilt. She love it, since she has nothing pink. She has a little boy.

Monday I stayed home with a sick little Mikaela, so while she slept I worked on this little wall hanging growth chart for her. I've had it for a while, but just hadn't done anything with it. I love how it turned out.

Last night after putting Mikaela to bed, I set to work to make a couple of these cute blocks. I just love how they turned out and I think I would like them more if they were even scrappier. Ohhh that's a big thing for me to say. I just don't do scrappy, but I do love this block. I had enough to make 2 like this. What should I do with them. I think they are to small for wall hangings, but does 2 look wrong for a tablerunner? They are 16" squares.

After finishing those I set to work to put together another friendship square. I made the one on the right last night and had the other one done. I'm kind of torn which I like better. I have enough fabric/HST's pulled to make one more. Then I'm to the end of my Pink/Brown Buggy Barn fabric. I just love trying these modern blocks and have been really inspired by the HST's. I cut out a Valentine HST table topper last night and hope to work on it this weekend.

I have another paper due for my graduate class this week, so if I get it mostly written, the main part for sure, I'm going to my friend Jenn's to sew on Sunday. Sewing with friends is really better motivation then a midnight deadline, so you know what I'll be doing Sat. night! Hope everyone had a good week. I'd love to know what you think of the HST blocks.

Winding Ways Schlep Bag ~ Quilt Retreat Info

2012-01-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

The Winding Ways schlep bag is completed and I can't believe it took me so long to do, seeings as I had it cut out and just had to sew it! It's been lingering since oh, maybe before Christmas some time. I have just a bit of the Jennifer Chiaverini Winding Ways fabric left for a special project, but I wanted to get this made before I made the other project. This literally took me less then 3 hours start to finish, not including cutting time. I didn't use a pattern, just went from memory, so the handles are minus batting, but they still seem to hold up well. I used scraps of 80/20 and I really like the puffiness, without the bulk of this batting.

The inside of the bag coordinates with the winding ways fabric on the outside.

Next up on the project list is a wavy table runner for our last Groovy Girls session. I just love this fabric and can't wait to get it made. I'll be adding a some scallops using the new ruler that is like the prairie points one. Wish me luck, it could get interesting. This is a group that has met for the last two years, so since the program is ending, we're doing our own thing. It will be a Club Sew format and include lots of tips and techniques around a project idea, starting in March.

I also quilted up a growth chart for Mikaela, but it went together so fast I forgot to take pictures of it. This week has been rather busy, since I taught the Happy Hour class last night. I had 7 great ladies in the class and we had a really good time.
I know my blogging has been sporadic at best, but there just seems to be a lot going on and just not enough time to be on the computer at home. I'm really trying to do WIP Wednesday posts every week so at least I have a chance to catch everyone up on all that is going on in my world. I'm also going to be cutting out the weekly dump of photos of Mikaela. I'll try to do a monthly post of her cutest pictures. She's moving a lot now, so it's hard to get pictures of her. Thanks to the 80 followers I have and thanks for following along with my crazy life! I hope you enjoy and find inspiration in my various projects, however random they may be. Thanks for all your comments. They inspire me to continue reading blogs and commenting as well. I always enjoy connecting with my readers. I read all my blogs in Google Reader, so if I'm not "following" you, doesn't mean I don't read your blog, it just means I have it in Google reader.

The BIG news right now in my life is a QUILT RETREAT!!! I'm planning a quilting/crafting retreat the first weekend in March at a beautiful hunting lodge near my hometown. I'm super excited and think it will be a great event. I was a little leary at first, hoping friends and readers would want to attend, but so far I have enough to meet the minimum and I'm super stoked! It's going to be an awesome weekend full of fun prizes and lots of different activities, in addition to Sewing On Your Own projects. If anyone is interested in joining a fun bunch of ladies for this awesome quilt retreat, let me know. It's super cheap - the cost is just for the rooms for 2 nights, so I'm hoping the reasonable cost will attract a few more people. I'd love to fill both cabins as well as the lodge rooms. I have an email with all the 411 if you're interested in learning more, let me know.

Okay, that's 2 posts in 1 week... watch out, this could become a habit!
Have an AWESOME day!

WIP Wednesday Week 4 1/25/12

2012-01-25T07:07:00.001-07:00

This week was a busy one! I spent a lot of time on homework and not a lot of time on sewing, but still found some time to get to the studio on the weekend. We celebrated Mikaela's 1st Birthday on Sat. night with family and friends. We tried for a nice family picture, but it just wasn't meant to be. This was just before she stuck her foot in the cake and almost lit her foot on file with the candle.

Friday night after everyone went to bed, I loaded this quilt on the frame for my friend Cindy. She is making it for an auction in less than 2 weeks time, so I offered to quilt it for her. It quilted up so nicely! I just love to quilt when they turn out so pretty.

The blocks were quick and easy for her and she's going to put chenille around the borders.

I did a loop de loop all over on it.

She even pieced the backing.

Last night I had all a bit of time to do my own sewing, so I set out to put together this bag. I turned out really cute and I think it will be just the perfect size. I used the winding ways fabric and I was motivated enough to pull out my batik stash that I want to use for a Winding Ways quilt.

Monday I put a growth chart on the frame and quilted it and got the binding on last night, but my computer was being funny, so I hope it works tonight to upload pictures on it. So all in all a productive week!

Finished this week:
Cindy's Quilt
Mikaela's Growth Chart - Pictures next week
Winding Ways Shlep Bag
Charmed Dilly Dally Baby Quilt- Pictures next week
Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Winding Ways Schlep Bag -DONE!
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides done - about a foot more done.
Pink/Brown Friendship Quilts - 1 top made, 2 more in progress - laid out
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks- laid out and ready for sewing - enough for 3 blocks
Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
Charmed Dilly Dally Baby Quilt
No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Prayers Book
3 Mug Rugs
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done, on the last set of blocks
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks

This week's stats:
Completed projects -8
New projects -1
Currently in progress -13
Finished this year - 5 , 4 Samples

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday Week 3 1/18/12

2012-01-18T10:18:00.001-07:00

January is flying by very quickly! I've had a lot to get done and I feel good about what I've accomplished so far. I've put in 55 hours so far this month, most of which was on quilts for samples for the store. This week I worked on the Sweet Treats sample. I finished up all the pink blocks on Wed. night of last week.

Thurs. night I got a slow start on the red blocks and finished them up on Sat. night.

Thanks to a football game on TV, hubby, MIL, and friend watched Mikaela and I got to sew. I finished putting the top together just as the game was over.

Never fear though... in an attempt to put off going to bed and waking up Sun. I spent half the night putting borders on. I stumbled to bed around 2AM, but it was finished!!

I actually finished it a bit earlier than that, but I wasn't tired, thanks to a nap, so I pulled out my pink/brown scraps and made another Friendship block. I hope to have enough left to do one or maybe even two more of these. They'll be a bit different than the first 4, but the friends they are going to are definitely worth the work! I want to have them ready to take to dad's the next time we go, which will probably be in Feb.

Sunday was spent writing about the colonial history of American higher education, real thrilling as you can tell. I put the paper off forever and did not know what to write about. I finally got it done though and turned it in early, about 3 hours before it was due!
Monday night was our live session, in which we have to listen on our computers while the instructor lectures. I moved my laptop to the sewing studio and cut out two quilts while I listened! I had her last quarter so the first hour of rules/regs. for the course was the same as last quarter.
I cut out this cute baby quilt from the scraps of Dilly Dally and with the 3 yards I bought on clearance on 1/2/12, I had enough for borders and backing. I'll even have enough for binding. I made this one about 41"x46", so a nice baby size. I have a co-worker who just had a baby girl and she wanted pink, so I think this will go to her if I can get it quilted before next weeks baby shower. It's really more pink than it reads in the picture. I loosely use a pattern I've used before with charms and half charms, but I just used 5" scraps and cut them up as I went and mixed and matched. I made it bigger then the other one as it was more like 36"x40". I sewed this top in about 3-4 hours last night.

I also cut out a bag, but need to find some batting scraps so I can make it. I reorganized my thread last night and put a lot away that had been floating around. It's really accumulated! I looked and have as many as 4 regular spools and one cone of at least 4 different Masterpiece threads, several in unopened or brand new spools! I have at least 2 of every Aurifil thread I use for piecing and several unopened quilting colored threads. I have a hard time keeping my Aurifil bobbins separate, so I'm really hoping for the pink Janome bobbins in the case for my birthday, that way I can use those only for Aurifil thread. A girl can only hope that hubby listens to my hints! Otherwise I'll get them as a little gift to myself. I'd been looking at the pink ones since they came into the store just before Christmas and I was telling Paul about them, but I just couldn't justify spending the money when I have a lot of bobbins. Then I realized they were the answer to my constant issue with keeping the Aurifil bobbins separate. I have about 15-20 spools of Aurifil thread and keeping them on pink bobbins would make it easy to distinguish between the "GOOD" thread and the other piecing threads I use. Right now they are in a small pink ribbon case and the spools are in a bigger pink ribbon case.
We don't even want to count the King Tut or Bottomline threads as I think I have pretty close to all of them! The serger thread is mostly put away, since I so rarely use it and the cones are huge. Let's say I LOVE thread and what it can do for a quilt. Anyone else love thread as much as I do? I'm thinking I need to take pictures of my thread containers, just so I know what I have.

Finished this week:
Sweet Treats- Sample
Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Winding Ways Schlep Bag - Cut Out
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides done - No Progress
Pink/Brown Friendship Quilts - 1 top made, 2 more in progress
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks- laid out and ready for sewing
Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
Charmed Dilly Dally Baby Quilt
No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Prayers Book
3 Mug Rugs
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done, on the last set of blocks
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks

This week's stats:
Completed projects -8
New projects -1
Currently in progress -13
Finished this year - 5 , 4 Samples

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday Week 2 1/11/12

2012-01-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

This week was a busy one! I had lots to finish and I even forgot to take pictures of some finishes. I guess I was so excited to finish them.
I made the Texas Two Step top for Groovy Girls club.

I finished the Happy Hour Snapshots quilt for a class sample for a class I'll be teaching at the end of this month/beginning of Feb. This is also Mikaela's 1st Birthday present.

A close up of the quilting. I just love the Farmyard Friends fabric from Studio e.

A Yellow Brick Road top for Groovy Girls as well. I love this pattern and have made a lot of quilts from it.

I made this taggy blanket for Emilee's daughter Rosalie. We had a shower for Emilee at Groovy Girls, so I finished it this week.

She loves Wrenly, so I know she'll love the blanket.

I also finished the 4 friendship quilts I made for my quilty friends. I guess I forgot to take a picture of the finished quilts though. I was down the wire finishing them! This is what the pieced part looked like.

This is a picture Shonna took of hers hanging up. I'll have to get a close up, but I just love how it looks there. I can't remember the saying I embroidered on them for sure, but it was something like Good Friends are like quilts, they get old, but never loose their warmth.

This week I cut out this sample for the store. I think it's going to go together quicker than I expected. I'm excited, since I LOVE Valentine's Day!

Finished this week:
Texas Two Step Top - Groovy Girls Sample
YBR - Groovy Girls Sample
Farm Friends Baby Happy Hour Quilt
Ribbon Blanket
4 Friendship Quilts
Binding on Beach Balls Quilt
Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Winding Ways Schlep Bag - On Hold
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides done - No Progress
Valentine's Quilt - Cut Out
Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Prayers Book
3 Mug Rugs
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done on the last set of blocks
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks

This week's stats:
Completed projects -7
New projects - 1
Currently in progress - 9
Finished this year - 5 , 3 Sample

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Sewing in the New Year!

2012-01-06T18:05:00.002-07:00

I seriously have been sewing in the New Year. I had a lot to get done and really pushed myself to get it all accomplished by tonight. Luckily I've almost made my deadline. I had two samples that had to be done for Groovy Girls tonight.
Texas Two step is a pattern by Atkinson Designs. It went together relatively easy and sewed up pretty fast, though when you're timing yourself it really puts into perspective how long I spend sewing. Sometimes I just do NOT want to know how long a top takes.

I have had the fabric for this Happy Hour Snapshots quilt for a couple months, even cut out, but just not had the time to sew it up. I got it sewn last week and then Wed. night I quilted it up. I just love how it turned out and while I had no one in mind for it, it's big, so now it's Mikaela's birthday present, though it will be at the shop for a few weeks first. We're having Preview Party for classes Sat. so it needed to be done by then.

I used a pastel King Tut and pink Bottomline to quilt it, as the pink on the left is the backing. The fabric line is Farmyard Friends by Studio e. Has anyone heard of that fabric company? They must be fairly new, but I LOVE almost everything I see from them. Although with this fabric I wish the animals weren't so directional. Quilt fabric needs to be more versatile. I like it when the print isn't so directional.

A close up of the quilting.

I also made this yellow brick road by Atkinson Designs. I love the owl fabric and the fabrics do match better then in the picture. The green isn't nearly as stark as it looks.

We're having a baby shower tonight for a gal at Groovy Girls, so I made this Wrenly ribbon blanket for her little girl. I know mommy loves Wrenly, so I'm sure this will be well received.

The back is Wrenly too.

So I've had a good week and lots of sewing hours already. I'm hoping to get the binding put on the Happy Hour quilt as it's one I'm teaching this quarter. I'll be at the Preview Party Sat. morning. We'll be showing off all our samples and answering questions about our classes. I'm hoping lots of people will be interested in Happy Hour, Lazy Angle, Professional Tote, and Diaper Clutch classes.

Sewing Room Makeover

2012-01-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

I just love holidays when they fall on weekends... I get an extra day off an hubby usually has to work and doesn't miss a day of pay for the holiday. Plus I get tons done! Last week I was on a role, seriously I got so much done and I was ready when Paul came home. He hung up my quilt rack I got in August! I bought it at a garage sale for $2! I couldn't believe I could get such a steal. I hung it in my sewing studio.

I also got him to hang up my curtain rods which I've had for at least that long, only I could only find one of the curtains. I'm hoping if I look further I'll find it. I'm really worried that it got put in the bags of mom's fabric to go to the Wall Quilt guild, since it was in her fabric stash. I didn't know it was curtains until I went to use it for something else. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Monday was the big clearance sale at Fabric City/The Sewing Center. I went and did some damage! I got what was left on each of these bolts, which was about 3 yards. Two Pink batiks for the batik quilt I intend to make this year.

A super soft minkee, probably for a blanket for Mikaela.

Two snowflake batiks to go with the rest of my huge stash of this line. Seriously I don't know why I love it and the only thing I've made is Jen's gift, but I LOVE this line. I have good intentions of doing something more with it.

A big piece of Dilly Dally for a backing for a baby quilt. Or it might turn into a diaper bag. We'll see what my friends baby is. If it's a girl, I'm going with this fabric line. I still have lots of it left, even after 3 quilts made out of it!

This was my pure guilty quilty pleasure. It's a sign and it was 50% off. I didn't want to pay full price, even with my discount, but at that price I splurged on it. I just LOVE it!

I also picked up this kit and I'll be making the sample next week. I think it's cute and I love Valentine's Day, so I'll get it made up for the store really soon.

I spent the rest of Monday re-organizing my sewing room/sewing all day and evening. I was in pure heaven! I can't wait to work on some fun stuff for me, but the samples pay for my addiction, so I enjoy them as well.

Mikaela is 50 Weeks Old

2012-01-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 50 Weeks Old on 1/4/12. We spent part of our day off rearranging the bedroom and playing with blocks. Mommy made lots of yellow and blue ones for SDSU. I've gotta start her young so she can be a jackrabbit!

We did pink and green, red/white, and orange white too. She loves the blocks as it has Little People with it and she loves them.

She got to open her present from Grandpa Hugh on Sun. at dads. Her first pair of cowboy boots. She's still getting used to them, but they are super cute and will keep her feet warm if it ever gets cold here. We're in the 50's today and it was 75 here yesterday!

She tried them out, but they didn't stay on long. We spend about 10 min. each day practicing wearing them and keeping balance.

She'll be one in a few more weeks and we can't wait! I'm more excited than anyone else though.

WIP Wednesday Week 1

2012-01-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

The first week of the year has been busy!! I've had a lot to get done and a lot going on, so I've tried to stay on task. Monday I hit the Fabric City/Sewing Center Clearance Sale hard... I bought 14 yards of fabric! Since I get a discount normally, I don't usually need sales, but these were a lot more than my discount, so I finished 6 bolts off! I got a few snowflake batiks to go with what I have, a couple pink/maroon batiks, pink/green minkee, and a piece of Dilly Dally for backing. It sure felt good to buy fabric because it was cheap. I also bought a sign that says Quilt for my studio. It's not something I needed but on sale I thought it fitting to decorate the studio. I've cleaned and re-organized and hopefully made some improvement in my work space, so I'm looking forward to showing it off soon.
This Friday is Groovy Girls, so I have two samples to get done. I just had to piece the tops and they were relatively simple, but they do take time. I did the Texas Two Step earlier in the week and haven't uploaded a picture, but it's a finish for this week. My first of the year!
Then I worked on the blocks for a Yellow Brick Road. I got the blocks all done and after picking 8 of them apart because I matched them incorrectly, I now have all the blocks laid out and ready to sew tonight. It's kind of an owl print with fabrics to match. I'll get a non-cell phone picture for next week, but it's all I had with today.

I'm also working on some Wrenly ribbon blankets. I have a baby shower to go to this weekend, so I needed to get at least one done and I know mommy loves Wrenly, so I cut out the ribbons and hope to finish it up tonight.

I also pieced a Happy Hour quilt with the Farmyard Friends by Studio for a class sample. Preview party is Sat. morning, so all my samples needed to be done by then. I'm teaching 4 classes in the next quarter.
My graduate class starts this week as well. Good thing the paper isn't due until week 2 as we'll be celebrating Christmas with my family this weekend. Hubby got 2 of his 3 antler less deer this past weekend, so he'll be hunting this weekend as well. Good thing I have great aunt and grandma to babysit Mikaela. She'll be getting spoiled! It's also my work Christmas party, so I'm looking forward to a great meal and lots of fun with my co-workers at the shop.

Finished this week:
Texas Two Step Top - Groovy Girls Sample

Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Winding Ways Schlep Bag - On Hold
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Wall Hanging - 2 - Working on Binding - 1/2 of 1 left and 4 hanging sleeves... I think I can I think I can....
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides done - No Progress
Farm Friends Baby Quilt - Top Done - Ready to Quilt!

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt

No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Prayers Book
3 Mug Rugs
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done on the last set of blocks
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks

This week's stats:
Completed projects -1
New projects - 0
Currently in progress - 13
Finished this year - 0 , 1 Sample

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Linda's T-shirt Quilt

2011-12-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

This fall I've been busy working on a commissioned quilt for a cousin's wife. It's t-shirts from all her travels and time in school. She gave me a brown/tan/black pillow as inspiration. I just loved the fabric from the Java line and used the remainder of the bolt. The quilt is King size, so it was big and heavy.

I planned it for the most part on EQ6, but it's not real user friendly with using different sized blocks randomly, so I just did measurements overall to get to the size I wanted and then did a lot of hand calculating. With the size of the t-shirts and the 52 I had to work with, I had to use no sashing between the blocks, just rows, which actually worked out pretty good.

I was pleased with how it turned out.

I made this custom label for it as well. I used a red backing as there are red dots in the sashing and I didn't want to piece the backing, so I used an extra wide back.

The biggest problem I had was skipped stitches and bad tension for a row before I figured out all my problems. I used a Hobbs 80/20 batting which really helped when I was rolling it as it wasn't so big under the harp of the machine. I'll definitely do that again.

Mikaela is 49 Weeks Old!

2011-12-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 49 Weeks Old on December 28th. We spent the Fri. before Christmas checking out Storybook Island and all the lights on the children's displays. It was cold, but we were bundled up. It was fun doing this as a family.

I always enjoy the nativity.

Christmas eve we opened a couple presents.

Mikaela was ready for the pictures to be over.

She did good opening presents though.

She loves the laughing doll.

Christmas morning Santa brought her a rocking horse that makes noises.

She wore her new PJ's and played with her doll.

She's really starting to like stuffed animals/dolls.

She's riding her new toy Grandma got her.

She was Santa's helper after lunch and handed out presents.

She's already graduated from the rockers to wheels. She loves to push it around.

Grandpa Joe and Eva came over for lunch.

A four generation picture with a squirrel of a little girl.

Merry Christmas!

Mikaela is 48 Weeks Old!

2011-12-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 48 weeks old on the 21st of December. She's growing into such a little girl. She's walking by herself now and standing up without holding things.

Daddy was playing with her and she loved it!

She got to stay with Grandma while mommy and daddy went to daddy's work party. She loves spending time with Grandma.

Taking off!

Our family

Her new Christmas outfit. She's got long bangs now and they need to be cut. She loves her Little People dog.

The little things like Baby Orajel make her smile.

A Few Christmas Gifts!

2011-12-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Luckily I had just enough time last week to throw these together. They were quilted and I just put the binding on and hand sewed it down last week at work. This one went to my secret santa at work, Becky.

This one was given to our daycare grandma Shirley. She's our daycare ladies mom, but helps out during most days with the kids, so I wanted to do something for her.

I've been swamped with a lot of homework, including a 15 page paper that had to be turned in last night, so I got very little done, other than that! I did finish the t-shirt quilt and hope to get pictures tonight before I post about it. It will be heading to Avon on Friday. I even did a cool label for it.
I've finished the quilting on my quilty friends gifts, but need to do binding and I'll have to wait and show them after they open them, since at least 3 out of 4 read my blog. I'll keep them in suspense!
I'm not doing many other gifts, just a few PJ bottoms, so I can get back to sewing fun stuff soon... well when I talk fun, it's samples for my classes, but hey they are fun quilts, so I'm game!

Mikaela is 47 Weeks Old!

2011-12-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Mikaela is cuter than ever in her Christmas dress, so I took a few pictures, trying to get one to use on our Christmas card, because I was determined to send out Christmas pictures/letters.

We tried to get a family picture as well, which took some work, since it was too cold to do it outside.

Mikaela and Grandma

Mikaela playing the other morning.

She wasn't so sure about going to see Santa either, but she looked cute. Her picture with Santa was a crying/screaming one!

Thanks to Emilee and Rosalie, she has a super cute Christmas dress.

She even sits up in the chair Grandpa Jim made for Grandma Elaine's doll, which is now mine. Mi

Mikaela is 46 Weeks Old

2011-12-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 46 Weeks Old on December 7th. We had breakfast with our friend Rich and grandma.

Mikaela wasn't so sure about seeing Rich, since it's been a while and she's in the scared of people stage.

She wanted to get to the camera from Daddy's lap.

She loves to bounce in her Jenny Jump Up.

She doesn't like being on the other side of the gate from mommy.

WIP Wednesday 12.7.11

2011-12-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

This week went by super quick! Friday night was our Groovy Girls night. I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped, because I was picking out backings for several quilting projects. I picked out a backing for this t-shirt quilt and when I finally got a chance to sew, I added the sashing to the rows. I made the borders and they are ready to put on. It's king size, so really huge compared to most of the ones I have made.

I also picked up two quilts from Heather to quilt for Christmas presents for her kids. I felt like quilting Sat. night, so I put the first one on the frame and quilted it. I was just going to do half, but realized it was still early and Mikaela was asleep, so I finished it. This is Heather's first quilt and it's for her daughter.

Mikaela was sick Sun. and Mon. nights, so I stayed home from work Mon. & Tues. I loaded the second one on Monday while she was sleeping and quilted part of it Mon. night after class. Tues. I finished up the quilting on it. I'm happy with how the quilting turned out on both, but the blue one seemed to be more of a challenge. The blue fabric just didn't play well. Heather's mom made this one for Heather's son for Christmas.

I just love the poem her mom put on each of them.

Tonight I loaded up a couple wall hangings for Christmas gifts and started quilting, but my thread combo is not working, so I need to make a change. I just can't get the tension right for brown bobbin and cream top thread on a cream top. It was too late to decide what to do, so I ripped it out. I'll do it later this week. I plan to get borders on Linda's t-shirt quilt and get it quilted this weekend. I've gotta put in a good day of studying/writing papers on Sun. but not much else is planned. The end of the term is in 2 weeks!
Started New this Week:
NOTHING! well at least for me. I did start and finish quilting both of Heather's quilts.
I did pick up 2 samples that need to be made in the new year.
Finished this week:
Quilted 2 Quilts for Heather
Quilted 3 Poinsetta Tablerunners

Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Pink/Brown Schlep Bag - Started cutting out
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Wall Hanging - 2 - Finished 4 of the 4 Blocks - Embroidery done, need to get backing and quilt - On frame and ready to quilt
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides done
Linda's T-shirt Quilt - all the rows are sewn and the sashing is done. Borders are cut and ready to be put on, backing and batting are bought. Quilting it this weekend!
Farm Friends Baby Quilt - Cut out

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
5 Poinsetta Tablerunners
No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
3 Mug Rugs
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks - No progress
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done on the last set of blocks - No progress
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks - still sitting
This week's stats:
Completed projects -2
New projects -0
Currently in progress - 13
Finished this year - 124 projects + 12 Receiving Blankets & 20 Burp Clothes

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday 11.30.11

2011-11-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy week! With the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to get a lot of sewing time and found I didn't finish anything, but I did work on a lot of different projects.
I won this 6" charm pack of Wrenly from Quilt Taffy and it arrived this week. I'm so excited to use it for a project for a special friend.

I also won a prize in the Fall Bloggers Quilt Festival and the fat quarter pack arrived this week from Canton Village Quilt Works.

I'm loving all the colorful dots.

We had a quick family picture on Thanksgiving Day. Mikaela was full of smiles.

On to the sewing I got done. I was able to make this back on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It turned out bit, but oh so sturdy because I used decor bond. It's my new school bag as it matches my binder with all my research in it. Three weeks of class left and a 15 page paper hanging over my head, so I hope to get to sew a bit, but will be doing a lot of writing.

The inside of the bag was a bit lighter.

Thanksgiving Day plans changed when hubby decided he wanted to go Black Friday shopping, so we stayed home in the evening instead of going to my dad's. I got several hours to sew, so I sewed all the rows together for the t-shirt quilt. I have the sashing strips cut and they are ready to be sewn together. I'm hoping to get the top done this weekend and then work on the quilting next weekend. It has to be done before Christmas.

The quilt is King size, so the rows look huge on our bed.

I also worked on this English Paper pieced cup liner. It didn't turn out how I expected, but I think it looks okay. The next one I'll make with just random colors and not try to do flowers.

At dad's this weekend I did the embroidery on gifts for my friends for Christmas. Since they all read the blog I won't share those until after they are gifted. I also made a fleece blanket for my MIL and a friend. I think the embroidery turned out pretty good on it. I still have to trim it up and wash it, but for now I'm proud of what I got accomplished with the embroidery machine.

I was gifted at work with flowers by one of our campuses and they just make me smile. I really enjoy the work I do and it's nice to be appreciated. Do you know how hard it is to write normal instead of "academic" in nature? I keep wanting to go back and take out passive voice and contractions, even though it's totally normal to write like this. Oh the joys of writing papers for my masters class!

Tonight I wanted to work on a tablerunner for our daycare gals mom. Her mom helps with the kids for the middle part of the day, so I feel like I should make her something quilty, since the daycare gal is getting a quilt. I took mom's scraps and made up 5 tablerunners. There are two just like the last one. I still have enough fabric to use for backing and to make binding. I may make a few more of these as well. I'm thinking of a few friends I need gifts for as well. I did 5, including cutting the scraps in 1 hour tonight!

Started New this Week:
Poinsetta tabletoppers

Finished this week:
Winding Ways Schlep Bag
Chez Moi Cup Liner
Embroidered 4 blocks, a label, and 2 fleece blankets

Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Pink/Brown Schlep Bag - Started cutting out
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Wall Hanging - 2 - Finished 4 of the 4 Blocks - Embroidery done, need to get backing and quilt
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks - No progress
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done on the last set of blocks - No progress
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks - still sitting
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - 1 1/2 sides of binding hand sewn down.
Linda's T-shirt Quilt - all the rows are sewn and the sashing is cut and ready to put on.
Paul's Wolf - 2nd eye, nose and face done - No progress this week.
Farm Friends Baby Quilt - Cut out

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
4 Embroiderd Pink Brown blocks
5 Poinsetta Tablerunners

No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
3 Mug Rugs

This week's stats:
Completed projects -2
New projects -5
Currently in progress - 13
Finished this year - 122 projects + 12 Receiving Blankets & 20 Burp Clothes

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Mikaela is 45 Weeks Old!

2011-11-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 45 Weeks old on November 30th. We spent the weekend hunting with daddy, so Mikaela played in the pickup.

She'd just had a nap, so was full of energy.

And lots of smiles!

She looked out the window to see daddy.

We tried to get a few outdoor pictures with my new lens, but it was cool.

She loves her little SDSU sweatshirt

She loves playing with the toys at grandpa's too.

She still tries to swing, but is getting a little bit too big for it.

Mikaela is 44 Weeks Old

2011-11-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 44 Weeks Old on November 23rd. She's moving and shaking a whole lot now. She's constantly full of energy and is able to move around by walking on her own. She loves yogurt melts and stars. She even has her own snack cup.

She loves to try petting Missy, but Missy's not so sure about her.

She still loves to bounce in the Jenny Jump Up.

She's all full of smiles!

This is a family photo taken on Thanksgiving.

WIP Wednesday

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

This was a very productive week! Thanks to our first snowfall of the season, we had a stay at home snow day on Sat. With Daddy and Grandma here to watch Mikaela I got a ton of sewing done. I feel like it was a dream to get so much done. Wednesday night I taught a Grab N Go Diaper Clutch class Wed. night. I had a very full class and almost everyone got done with the bag. I had mine in steps to show, so I came home and finished it that night. It's a gift for our friends new baby.

I also finished the changing mat that goes with it.

Thurs. night I started cutting out t-shirts for a king size commission quilt I'm doing. It needs to be done before Christmas, so I needed to get a lot accomplished on it.

Friday night I packed for a sewing night with friends on Sat. night. I cut out a Snapshots quilt from the Happy Hour book and a new schlep bag. We ended up cancelling our sewing night because of the snow.
Sat. it snowed 7" or so and we stayed home. I finished all the cutting and ironing of 51 t-shirts and prepped them to go in the t-shirt quilt.

Here's the fabric I bought to go with them.

The pillow is the inspiration and I think the red dots in it will go nicely since there are several red t-shirts.

I've also been working on an English paper pieced covering for a Starbucks cup using the leftover Chez Moi fabric, but I think I'll end up doing something different with the rest of the little squares. I've lost interest after doing about 3 flowers, so I'll finish the project I'm working on and then make these into something else.

Sat. night I felt like sewing after spending the entire day working on the t-shirts, so I sewed up this Schlep Bag. I was inspired by Heather's bag that she made in class. I made mine a bit different, but with the same fat quarters. It's super big and so strong.

The inside is a variety of different fat quarters from the same line of fabric.

I loved the schlep bag I made so much, that I decided I needed one for work to match my key fob and lanyard that Jen made for me. I cut it out and interfaced it tonight. I got the first 4 arms made tonight.

This is the inside. I still have enough Winding Ways fabric to make something else. I love this fabric and have stretched it out and made so many things with it.

This is my new cell phone case. Jen designed it for me and I just love it. Some day I'll actually make the quilt or something similar, but for now I just love looking at it. I had it made at Zazzle.com.

Started New this Week:
Winding Ways Schlep Bag - Cut out and partially sewn.
Farm Friends Snapshot Quilt - Cut out
Pink/Brown Schlep Bag
Finished this week:
Grab N Go Diaper Clutch
Schlep Bag
Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Wall Hanging - 2 - Finished 4 of the 4 Blocks - Waiting to embroider at dad's this weekend.
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks - No progress
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done on the last set of blocks - No progress
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks - still sitting
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - working on hand sewing.
Linda's T-shirt Quilt - all 51 t-shirts cut/interfaced/squared up for King size quilt, ready to sew into rows.
Paul's Wolf - 2nd eye, nose and face done - No progress this week.
Farm Friends Baby Quilt - Cut out
Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Mom's Pink Ribbon Quilt
3 Mug Rugs
This week's stats:
Completed projects -2
New projects -3
Currently in progress - 13
Finished this year - 120 projects + 12 Receiving Blankets & 20 Burp Clothes

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Mikaela is 43 Weeks Old!

2011-11-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 43 Weeks Old on November 16th. She's been busy in my sewing room "helping" me with fabric selection. I was sewing and turned around to find she had opened my stash closet and started pulling out fabric. Daddy grabbed the camera and took a picture. She was happy as a lark.

She was even sorting them for me.

Grab n Go Diaper Clutch

2011-11-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight was awesome! I had one of my best teaching nights and the class for the most part went really well. There are always those to get far ahead and go back or skip around, which doesn't always work, but for the most part all the ladies finished their Grab n Go Diaper Clutches. Some will be used for that, while others were made as simple clutches/purses. Diane made this bright one.

Olenka made this bears one. It was such a cute baby boy blue.

Jessica made this super cute owl. It was similar to the one I made for Molly, but had different lining. She used a decorative stitch on her front.

Iva used this floral print, intended for a girl. I'm impressed with how well the flap lines up, because I'm thinking she didn't plan it that way.

Olenka and Heather after class with their clutches. Heather's is for her daughter, so she added some applique patches.

Heather took my Schlep class last week and I love how her bag turned out. I need to rework the pattern a bit, so I picked these up to make another one. I just love her fabric choices. She said it's too big for her scouting bag, but great for quilting.

She made a smaller one for a special girl. These are from her stash. She just started quilting/sewing in the last few weeks! She does an awesome job. Her mom and her both took the class last week and tonight.

I came home and finished up my partially done sample. I had this one made in steps to show the process. It's a race cars fat quarter we picked up on our honeymoon paired with some other miscellaneous fabric. It's for a friends new baby.

The lining and the changing pad don't quite go together, but I think they'll work okay.

I'm so glad I finished this one up. It only took me a half hour to finish tonight when I got home. It's probably a 2 hour or less project, including cutting. It takes 3 fat quarters, fusible fleece, a bit of interfacing, a snap, d ri ngand swivel clasp. Such a cheap and easy gift, but will get lots of use.
I've had a busy night and it's time to catch some sleep.

WIP Wednesday

2011-11-16T00:58:00.002-07:00

This has felt like a productive week, even if I haven't spent much time sewing. During my personal time at work I was able to finish the hand sewing on the binding on this 5 Yard quilt for our daycare lady for Christmas. I just have to add a label and it will be ready to gift.

I finished up the notebook cover for my MIL's co-worker. I had the embroidery machine at my house for the week, so I added her name.

I quilted the BQ2 quilt with the Jim Shore angels and have started the hand sewn binding. I'll add the label and have it ready to donate in Dec.

I finished up the Tiny Taylor fabric book for Mikaela.

I embroidered it on the machine as well.

At Groovy Girls I made these HST blocks and have one more of 4 to finish. I'm planning to make some table toppers/wall hangings for friends. Does anyone have a favorite saying they would embroider on the center relating to friends/quilts? I plan to embroider with the machine the same thing on all four and give them to friends for Christmas.

When I was home last weekend my little Bro Ed wanted his sweatshirt embroidered, so I put his name and company on it.

This week I made the last block for my friendship swap. I got behind and this is an Oct. block. So happy to finally be finished with it.

I also finished the 36 HST blocks for Jen V. I had a hard time with picking fabric, so finally had friends pick it. I hope they are okay.

Tonight I worked on the final 24" HST block. Now to get them embroidered.

Finished this week:
Linda S. Friendship Block
Jen V. Friendship Block
Cressa's Cowgirl Quilt - DONE!
Numbers Sewing Book - DONE!
Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Wall Hanging - 2 - Finished 4 of the 4 Blocks - Need to figure out what to embroider on them.
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks - No progress
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done on the last set of blocks - No progress
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks - still sitting
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on - working on hand sewing.
Linda's T-shirt Quilt - started cutting and interfacing 47 t-shirts for King size quilt
Paul's Wolf - 2nd eye, nose and face done - No progress this week.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Mom's Pink Ribbon Quilt
3 Mug Rugs
This week's stats:
Completed projects -4
New projects -0
Currently in progress - 13
Finished this year - 118 projects + 12 Receiving Blankets & 20 Burp Clothes

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Mikaela is 42 Weeks Old!

2011-11-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

Mikaela turned 42 Weeks Old on November 7th. We spent the weekend at my dad's so Paul could go hunting. Mikaela had a PJ's day. We went out to check out her Uncle Jim's buck. Mikaela and grandpa hung out most of the weekend.

Uncle Ed was home for part of the weekend, so she got to hang with him as well.

Grandpa got her an Aflac duck and she was so excited to play with it.

She got a new sweater from Emilee, so she was showing it off with her pretty blue eyes.

Emilee's daughter Rosalee is a month older than Mikaela, but was 4 months early, so she's super tiny, so she gave Mikaela her winter clothes. Mikaela was full of smiles, showing off her front teeth.

November Groovy Girls

2011-11-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

Friday night we had our monthly Groovy Girls meeting. My friends Gaila, Shonna, Sherri, and Emilee were there. We were missing Jen though.

There was lots of show and tell.

This baby quilt is so super cute!

This was from a beginners quilting class.

Emilee had made her daughter a new blanket with minkee on the back.

I worked on these pink and brown blocks. I was going to make a wall hanging, but now I'm kind of thinking I might make 4 table toppers and embroider on the centers and give them to friends for Christmas if I get them done.

They are 24" square, so pretty big, but I really like this block.

I have enough HST's left to make one more pattern, then I think I'm done with these, though I did find another pattern I might try. I've really enjoyed sewing with all these HST's and it's definately not one of my favorite quilting things, but this has been fun. I got 3 done on Friday night and just need to finish up the last one now.

UFO SEW DOWN 2011 Comes to a Close!

2011-11-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

October just seemed to fly by and I really felt like I didn't get anything done. I was starting to feel funky and crabby and I knew I had to clean up my sewing room and start over. Sat. I pulled out the backing I had started making a couple weeks before and finished it up for the BQ2 quilt. I got food poisoning 2 weeks ago, just after starting and had just thrown it in a pile. I got the backing finished and had the batting out, so I loaded it on the frame. Shonna was having a 31 Gifts party, so I went to that Sat. night. Do you know how hard it is to buy bags when you have a gazillion? When I got home I put the thread on the machine and started quilting. Mikaela was sleeping and I got it quilted in just about 3 hours before she woke up. I figured with the extra hour, I should use it at night.

I'm not a green person, but this one looks good. My mom had started this and I hope to donate it to the Terra Sancta project.

I did an all over meander with lime green Isacord on top and dark purple Bottomline in the bobbin.

I cut the binding on the bias so the stripes would go around the quilt.

This is the backing. The blue goes down the back. My mom didn't have many yardage pieces but I was able to make these work.

Sunday after I got my homework done I worked on the Wolf for a while. I got the eyes, nose, and part of the face done. I already have the ears done, so it's slowly but surely going together.
Sunday and Monday nights I worked on this notebook holder for my MIL's co-worker. I embroidered her name on it since I have the embroidery machine at home this weekend.

I used up scraps from mom's stash for this project and I think it turned out pretty good. She wanted blues.

I did slight corners instead of one big round front.

Last night after I got home from class I made this fabric book for Mikaela. It turned out so cute and is all sewing related, but each page counts. I bought this back in April on the shop hop. I made one just like it for Molly, but wanted one for Mikaela. This will be her church book.

I embroidered on the back of it so she'd know when I made it for her. I have two others I'd like to get done by Christmas, but I'm doing a bunch of commission work this year, so we'll see. She'll never know if she gets them for her birthday instead!

I also received Trish's block for the friendship swap, so I have all my blocks and can figure out if I need to make more now. I think it turned out cool.

Last night I taught my Schlep bag class, but while I was at the store I pulled these 8 fat quarters to make a baby quilt. I'm going back to my favorite Happy Hour quilt. I've made several of this 9" block pattern and just love it. Anyone want to take a guess at my favorite pattern from the Happy Hour book by Atkinson designs? I'll draw a name from all those who are right and send a little gift.

The UFO challenge has come to an end and even though it was just Jacque and I, I feel like we were both productive. I finished 3 UFO's and worked on 2 others that I really wanted to work on, so I feel like I did better than if I hadn't had the challenge. Jacque finished at least 2, so when I know a final number I'll be sending her a little something for each of those. Thanks for joining me Jacque!

WIP Wednesday

2011-11-09T06:42:00.002-07:00

I missed last weeks WIP Wednesday. I was just too busy with school work and didn't get anything prepared. This is my "down" week, so I only had the online session to listen to. The homework isn't do until next weekend! I'm working on my masters in Proprietary Higher Education and the class I'm working on this term is really interesting, but boy does it take away from my quilting time.
Last week I made this pillowcase up for my little bro's birthday. He's a diesel mechanic by trade, so my mom had bought fabric to make both of my bro's pillowcases. Jim got his in April for his birthday, so Ed will get his tomorrow. My "little" brother turns 26.

Here's more of the pillowcase. I use the serger, so the pillowcases go together really fast.

I also had a new nephew, Owen Charles, born the 24th, so I got busy and made him a couple receiving blankets with the serger. This one is Case IH tractors in cotton with a black flannel back, since that's his dad and grandpa's favorite.

I also made this "Cars" flannel one with flannel backing. I figure since he's going to be so small this winter, he needed flannel blankets. I'll make him a quilt later when he's a bit bigger and I have more time.

I also have been working on this UFO of my mom's. It's Jim Shore Angels in the BQ2 pattern. This is the top I got done last month and this weekend (when I was putting off homework) I quilted it up. I just have the binding to hand sew down and then it will be ready to go! I hope to donate it to the new Terra Sancta project.

I also added my newest Jennifer Chiaverini pin to my collection. It's the one from the Wedding quilt.

I put these on my hand sewing bag since I hardly wear pins. The quilt keychain is 2" square and my freind Darlene gave it to me. It's hand pieced.

I also finished a new notebook cover for my MIL's co-worker Stephanie and worked on more Crown Royal Blocks. I also started a t-shirt quilt for a cousin. It's going to be a BIG quilt!

Ongoing projects: (and progress this week on them)
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Wall Hanging - 2 - Finished 3 of the 4 Blocks
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks - Tore off all the paper and pressed
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - 2/3 of the way done on the last set of blocks
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks - still sitting
Cressa's Cowgirl Quilt - Hand Sewing Binding - 3/4 of the way done! Just have to finish two half sides.
Jim Shore Quilt - Quilted and binding machine sewn on, waiting for hand sewing.
Linda's T-shirt Quilt - started cutting and interfacing 47 t-shirts for King size quilt

Paul's Wolf - 2nd eye, nose and face done - Woohoo! I am so not good at applique
Numbers Sewing Book - 2 of 3 pages done

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt

No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Mom's Pink Ribbon Quilt
Linda S. Friendship Block
Jen V. Friendship Block
3 Mug Rugs

This week's stats:
Completed projects -4
New projects -1
Currently in progress - 17
Finished this year - 114 projects + 12 Receiving Blankets & 20 Burp Clothes

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Bloggers Quilt Festival

2011-11-04T13:21:00.001-06:00

This quilt is very special to me because it's a combined work with my mom who is no longer with us. Though the quilt is very simple, it holds a place in my heart as one of my mom's last UFO's.
Last August, my parents and I traveled to Sioux Falls, SD for a wedding of a cousin. We took Friday off, so we had plenty of time to travel and mom and I decided we wanted to go to the quilt shop in Dell Rapids. One of her former students owns it and we really enjoy all their selection. My dad was in a crabby mood after having stopped at a few quilt shops already, so he stayed in the car.
My mom and I spotted this International Harvester/ Farmall fabric and couldn't resist it. We knew my dad would love it. My dad is a Case IH guy through and through. My mom decided she would make a quilt for my dad for Christmas. With her brain tumor she had a lot of trouble calculating yardage, so I figured out the measurements and how we'd make it. I wanted it to be really simple, since she couldn't sew anything difficult like she once had. We cut it out the 2nd weekend of Nov. during opening hunting weekend. My dad even asked what we were doing, but he soon forgot.
Mom got really sick again in Dec. and the quilt was soon forgotten. My mom passed away in February and I was bound and determined to finish this quilt for my dad, since it was so important to my mom. She'd never made him a quilt and this was for him.
I spent a few weeks putting it together and quilting it. I used a red King Tut - she had 3 spools bought for it and I maybe used a 1/4 of one spool. I used a Thermore batting because my dad is usually hot, so I wanted him to be able to use it.

I did a big loopy meander, so it wasn't quilted heavily.

I even made a label with a little girl out in the field.

The backing was some I found in my mom's pre-quilting days. It was vintage 1998 and there were several yards, so I'm thinking she was going to make PJ pants for my brothers.

I even picked up some of the spring Case fabric and made pillowcases to go with it.

I finished the quilt and gave it to my dad for his birthday the end of May. He really likes it and uses it on his bed, even though it's a throw size. This quilt meant a lot to me as I was making it and I know my dad treasures mom's thoughtfulness. She's still with us in all of the quilts and fabric she had.

Check Out all the Blogger Quilt Festival posts at Amy's Creative Side!

Mikaela is 41 Weeks

2011-11-02T14:04:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 41 Weeks Old on November 2nd.
For Halloween she was a puppy. We went trick or treating at my friend Karen's house, her great grandpa Joe's, and my aunt Jane's.
Great Grandpa Joe held her. She got two new outfits there.

Great Grandpa Joe, his wife Eva and Mikaela

Mikaela played with Cocoa Bean's toys at Aunt Jane's.

She didn't care that they weren't her toys.

But Cocoa Bean wasn't so sure about her. She was a bit jealous. Notice CB's new collar from Jen's amazing Etsy store!

Mikaela is 40 Weeks Old

2011-10-30T19:50:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 40 Weeks Old on October 26th. We spent the weekend at my dad's and she was busy playing outside with dad's kitties/cats. I swear there are more every time we go there. I started calling him the Old Cat Man. I counted 18!

We went to the park on Sat and even though it was cold, Mikaela got to swing.

She looks like she's ready to punch me.

She went down the slide.

She hung out with her daddy! We were waiting for the cattle the family was driving north. Check out her little pink/camo boots I picked up in MN at Fleet & Farm.

We also went to the Milesville Halloween Party. Mikaela was a puppy.

She picked a duck from the duck pond, did the cake walk, and bowled.

She threw the ball through the hole.

We had a fun weekend at my dad's doing things we normally don't do.

Mikaela is 9 Months Old

2011-10-19T19:41:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 9 Months old on October 19th! I can't believe how big my little girl has grown. She's all full of smiles and enjoying everything around her.

She doesn't like to pose for mommy.

But she loves to play with her feet!

I just love when she smiles. She looks so good in the shirt Colleen got for her. Her daddy's Chief's even won a few games!

She's such a little cutie!

Mikaela is 39 Weeks Old!

2011-10-19T19:16:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 39 Weeks Old on October 19th.

She's got just two teeth still, but it sure feels like the next ones are getting closer to coming in.

I just love those two front teeth. She loves the little Nuk brush that rubs her gums. It really seems to sooth her.

I picked up this onesie for a couple dollars and since her daddy's a carpenter, it just fits.

WIP Wednesday

2011-10-19T07:23:00.004-06:00

This has been a busy week! I haven't gotten nearly as much sewing/quilting done as I would like since we spent the weekend at my dad's hunting. I was able to make the baby blanket for our friend Jory's new baby boy Bridger. I personalized the knit Mossy Oak camo material with his name and birth date. The embroidery is hunter orange, so it really stands out. I would have liked flannel instead of the knit, but all I could find was knit or twill, so I went with the knit. It's super soft! I really think it turned out well. I backed it in a green minkee. I wanted a brown, but they just weren't the right shades. I burped this one and top stitched with a green/brown variegated King Tut and light green Bottomline in the bobbin.

I've also started teaching quilting classes again, so Wed. night's I'm always teaching. Last night I prepared for the class and gathered all the supplies. When I got done I pulled out my Buggy Barn pink/brown leftover HST's and played with a new arrangement. I'm having a hard time doing them scrappy.

I think it's because the brown sticks out so much, but I'll play with them some more before I decide what I'm going to do with them. I really like this block layout though and it's much smaller than my other wall hangings. I'd appreciate any suggestions on how I could rearrange them to make it look better.

My UFO Sew Down is taking off! Jacque has already finished one of her UFO's and since I worked on one of mine last night I feel great.

I pulled out the one I want to finish the most this year. It's a wolf applique piece I've been working on for 3+ years now. I need to just buckle down and get it done. I think I'm more afraid of the quilting than actually getting all the layers put together. When I pulled it out last night I found my black gripper and my applique press sheet. I couldn't find them for the longest time!

This is the pattern and how it's kind of going to look. Mine will have more orange in it.

Ongoing projects Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Wall Hanging - 2
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks
Ed's Crown Royal Quilt
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks
Cressa's Cowgirl Quilt - Hand Sewing Binding

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt
Mom's Halloween Pumpkin
Jim Shore Quilt

No progress:
Pokey Little Puppy Book
Numbers Sewing Book
Linda's T-shirt Quilt
Paul's Wolf
Mom's Pink Ribbon Quilt
Linda S. Friendship Block
Jen V. Friendship Block
3 Mug Rugs

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 1
New projects -0
Currently in progress - 16
Finished this year - 112 projects + 10 Receiving Blankets & 20 Burp Clothes

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Mikaela is 38 Weeks Old

2011-10-16T19:37:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 38 Weeks Old on October 12th. We spent the weekend at my dad's and she spent some time in the swing. She has learned how to put her feet down and stop herself.

She's still in her PJ's as she sits in front of the pellet stove, staying nice and warm.

She loves to swing, but she's getting a bit too big for it now.

Jen made a NEW Sew Down Button

2011-10-13T13:19:00.001-06:00

Jen made a new button for the UFO Sew Down! It's so awesome to have friends with so much talent. I just am not good at making these things. Grab a button and join the 2011 UFO Sew Down!

MY SEW DOWN UFO's

2011-10-12T13:27:00.001-06:00

I have lots of UFO's but I'm picking just a few to focus on for the next month. I think a few will be manageable and I might even stretch myself if I can find the time.

Paul's Wolf - I really would like to finish this for him by Christmas, so my goal is to get all the applique done in the next month and be ready to quilt it the following month. I've put this one off for 3 years because it scares me to death! I'm not real good at applique, but I've just gotta do it!

Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - I have about half the blocks made, all the fabric bought, and all the Crown Royal squares cut out, I just have to buckle down and work on it. I've been making a few blocks a night when I have a chance and that seems to help. I don't get as bored with it. It's supposed to be his Christmas present, so we'll see. I'd like to finish the top during the Sew Down!

Those are my two Sew Down goals, but if I have some extra time I'll also work on these other UFO's:
Blush Quilt - Top is done - needs quilted
Mocha Meringue - Blocks are done, needs laid out, pieced, borders, quilting
Mom's Jim Shore Quilt - Top is done - needs quilted
Mom's Pink Ribbon Quilt - Blocks are done, needs pieced, borders, quilting

I have a few other quilts cut out, but they aren't this far along and these are the ones I'd like to finish by the end of the year. I have a few other projects, like a baby blanket, and fabric books that aren't UFO's that will get finished during this time as well.
I'm looking forward to a great UFO challenge and hope you'll join me in the 2011 UFO SEW DOWN!

2011 UFO Sew Down

2011-10-12T13:10:00.002-06:00

Quilting season is in full swing and it's time to get out those old UFO's out and start working on them. This year the UFO Sew Down will run from October 10-November 11th. The goal is to complete at least 1 UFO! Everyone who participates and completes at least one UFO, will get a small prize from me. You may just get a prize for every UFO, we'll see how many we can complete.
How to participate! Set a goal of any UFO's you'd like to finish by making a blog post or Facebook post about it. You can use your own definition of finish. It might be doing all the applique on blocks, finishing a top, making a bag, or quilting and binding a quilt. It's your choice. This isn't a high stress competition, just an opportunity to have encouragement from fellow bloggers on completing a UFO or two!
Email me a link to your post and I'll include your link on my sidebar with participants. You don't have to list every UFO, just a few you'll be working on. I'll update everyone with a post about the groups progress each week.
If you'd like to include the logo for the SEW DOWN, it's below. Let's get down and sew down for the next month!

A new button from Jen!

Catch Up projects

2011-10-10T19:54:00.000-06:00

I realized when I was working on my journal that I was missing a few pictures of projects I had completed over the past few months. This is the block I made for Cindy in Oct., her month in the Friendship Block Swap. I love the churn dash block and she does as well. I had to remake part of it, to make sure I got the wood grain going the right direction.

I also made this zipper pillow for Groovy Girls for Oct. I actually had it done in Aug. as it was for a presentation at the fair.

For Sept. Groovy Girls I made this Kindle Cover. I just love how it turned out. It's from scraps of the Maxine fabric I had laying around.

It's a simple cover to make and I love how the binding is put on so you don't have to double sew it.

I'm trying to keep up with all my projects, but it just seems like some get put to the side every once in a while.

Williams Family Reunion

2011-10-10T19:07:00.001-06:00

The Williams family (Mom's dad's family) had their annual family reunion picnic this Sat. in Mitchell. We had a great time and enjoyed the company of 2 great aunts and lots of cousins.
Mikaela got to see her great-great aunts for the second time, since we had visited them in May.
Daddy and Mikaela hung out and visited.

Mikaela was a tired little girl after lunch and needed a nap.

Grandpa Hugh and Mikaela hung out for a while in the afternoon. She even wore the hat Great Aunt Jane made for her (usually she throws it off). Her new little onesie says Grandpa's Girl. Cousin Molly was running the whole time. She's a very busy 3 year old!

Uncle Jim gave her lots of horsey rides.

Great-Great Aunt Mildred just had to hold her.

It was such an enjoyable day and we really had a good time. We even got to spend Sunday at Grandpa's house. I worked on lots of embroidery and hope to finish up a few projects in the next couple weeks. Daddy went hunting with my brother and dad. We'll be back there this weekend as it's open pheasant hunting weekend.

October Groovy Girls

2011-10-10T12:01:00.000-06:00

Friday night was our October Groovy Girls night. We showed pillows and different ways to make the pillows. It was so fun to see all the variations to the pattern.

We had a large group of ladies there for the evening.

Hannah was our helper and she showed how to do the tube turners to make the rosettes.

After it was over we stayed and sewed. We had a great time and really enjoyed visiting. I was able to get the borders on this UFO of mom's. It's going to the Terra Sancta retreat center.

I have to make a backing for it now and get it quilted.

Blush Top DONE!

2011-10-06T23:35:00.002-06:00

Paul's been working in Pierre all week, so after I got Mikaela to bed, I had some sewing time. I was able to put all the blocks together for my Blush quilt on Monday and Tuesday nights. On Wed. I decided it needed the border extended down into the quilt, so I tore the seams and added pieces to the top and bottom. I love how it turned out.

I bought the fabric for the borders on clearance when I was in Dell Rapids, so I only paid $12 for the entire top! The jelly roll was won in a drawing Cindy from Blue Bird Sewing had. It had words and was very directional, so I cut the borders lengthwise. I measured all the borders and the entire top was sewn with the 1/4" foot. For those of you who know me well. I almost always sew with the walking foot and I don't always measure my borders the "correct" way. I actually took the time to do so on this quilt.

Thurs. night Paul was home, so he watched Mikaela so I could measure and get the borders put on. It's now ready for quilting. I just have to put the backing together, but I haven't been home long enough to do that yet. I do have all the fabric, so it will go together quickly!

Mikaela is 37 Weeks Old!

2011-10-06T19:29:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 37 Weeks Old on October 5th! She's quite the little girl now. She's moving all around and getting into everything. She can't quite walk, but she's very close. She can walk if she's holding on to anything.
We've had beautiful weather, so we went outside for pictures .

I just love how her blue eyes sparkle.

She's so full of energy and doesn't like to sit still.

She's constantly moving and loves to crawl.

September Quilting Accomplishments

2011-10-05T12:43:00.001-06:00

September was a very productive month for me! I made several samples for the store and even realized I'm missing a few pictures. I made this name tag holder for Groovy Girls.

This pillow is for Oct. for GG's.

Another Pillow for GG's

A QAYG baby quilt with prairie points sample for the store.

A Diaper Clutch for my cousin Molly.

Patti's block for the Friendship Block Swap

Bound a Mug Rug for Kim at work as I passed on the Atta girl award to her.

Bound a wall hanging my mom had done in a mystery quilt night at our quilt retreat last year.

Quilted Jenn's Hunky Dory quilt

Made Jacque's block for the Friendship Block Swap

Made two Diaper clutchs out of the sandbox fabric.

Made the blocks for the Crown Royal quilt.

I got 66 hours in and I feel like I accomplished a lot. I've already set goals for October.
I plan to make a baby blanket for our friend Jory's little boy Bridger.
I'm working on putting my Blush quilt together and would like to get it finished.
I'm finishing up a quilt for our daycare lady out of the Wanna Be a Cowboy fabric.
I'd also like to work on mom's Jim Shore quilt and my Mocha Meringue quilts. We'll see how well I do, since these are all big quilts.

Bits and Pieces

2011-10-04T13:29:00.000-06:00

Last night I sewed the binding on this little mug rug for my co-worker Val. I'd been meaning to get it ready for her birthday last month, but got busy and didn't get it done. She loves it!

I also laid out the Blush blocks to see how I could put them together. I'm trying to see if I have the colors evenly distributed.

I literally did this after Mikaela went to bed last night, so it was a bit dark. I'll look at it again tonight before I sew them together.

I think with a border, it will make a great throw quilt. I have plenty of fabric to make a large border and pieced backing, so I think I'm good to go to finish this one this month.

This past weekend I made a quilt for our daycare lady from start to finish! I cut it out late Fri. night, made the blocks Sat. and put it together Sat. night, and quilted it and bound it on Sun. I'm working on the hand work, but since I don't have to have it done until Dec. I'm good to go. It's going to be her Christmas present.

It's that time of year to think about participating in my UFO Sew Down event. This year I'll be picking one UFO to work on and finish. It runs from October 10-November 11th, so if you're interested, let me know. All you'll have to do is write a blog post or Facebook post about your UFO and your progress in getting it done. The one I'll be working on is 3+ years old, but I just haven't been faithful in working on it and that's going to change. Who wants to join me in getting rid of at least 1 UFO??

Mikaela is 36 Weeks Old

2011-10-03T22:19:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 36 Weeks Old on Sept. 28th.
She loves to move around in her crib. She can hang on and walk around things, like her crib, now.

She still has just the 2 front teeth, but she's usually smiling.

She crawls all over and won't sit still.

I just love how her eyes sparkle.

She'll be walking soon as she loves to pull herself up and walk around the coffee table. I've seen her balance a few times without holding on, so I know it's a matter of time!

5 Yard Wanna Be a Cowgirl Quilt

2011-10-03T19:44:00.000-06:00

Friday night I didn't feel like working on the Crown Royal blocks any more, so I decided to start something new. I have had my scraps of Wanna Be a Cowboy fabric all in a box and I had planned to use it to make a 5 yard quilt, so I pulled it out and started cutting. I knew it was going to have to be scrappy because I didn't have enough of any of the fabrics left.

I cut it out and started piecing Friday night, sewed the first set of blocks Sat. morning, sewed the framed blocks Sat. afternoon, and laid it out Sat. night. I got the top sewn together and put the borders on Sat. night.

Sunday I pieced the back together and loaded it on the frame. I got a few hours quilting time in, while Mikaela napped and was able to get it completely quilted. I put the binding on Sunday evening and started the hand sewn binding. I love how it turned out and I think it will make a great Christmas present for our daycare gal. She loves pink/brown and horses/boots/cowgirls stuff. She's always curled up on the couch when I get there, so I think this will make a great snuggle quilt for this winter.

I used a pink/brown variegated King Tut thread on top and a medium pink Bottomline.

The fabric in the borders is also on the back. I cut the binding on the bias so the stripes would look cool.

Crown Royal Quilt 2

2011-10-01T19:13:00.000-06:00

In September I got busy and worked on my little brothers Crown Royal quilt. I'd like to have it done before Christmas, so I started sewing the blocks together. I did pretty good sewing 6 blocks a night, for 3 nights, then I got bored! The first night I looked at the fabric I had to see how I liked it. I think it's going to turn out awesome!! Just 12 blocks left to sew and I can put it together. My goal is to have the top done by the end of Oct.

As you may remember I made my other brother one for Christmas 2 years ago. I love how they turn out, but the cutting/sewing/pressing suck because it's all bias edges and you can't use a hot iron or you melt the thread.

So it's coming along and I hope I can get it done in the next few months. It's one of those lingering UFO's I just can't get rid of!

Diaper Clutch

2011-09-30T19:55:00.001-06:00

Our friend Jory and his wife Jessica just had a little boy and I wanted to do a couple small gifts for them, so I made this Grab n Go Diaper Clutch for them. It turned out so stinkin' adorable! I ended up making a second one for a sample for the class I'm going to be teaching in November.

The class is filling up, so if you're interested get signed up! It's going to be a fun night, with lots of ideas for baby gifts in addition to this one. This is really easy and even a novice sewer would be able to make it with ease. I love it because it makes an inexpensive gift. It includes a changing pad as well.

Professional Tote Class

2011-09-29T19:08:00.000-06:00

The last couple Wed. nights I've taught a Professional Tote class. With 13 students in the class I was hopping all night long, which I love! It's so fun to see different bags come together.

The students were very busy working on their bags.

Emily got to the stand back and admire it section!

As did Dorothy.

All the bags looked great and each was unique in color and fabric choice.

I really enjoy teaching, especially when I have such great students and they make it fun to teach!

Friendship Blocks

2011-09-28T13:51:00.001-06:00

I received a couple more blocks in the mail and just had to show them off!
Colleen sent this beautiful block. She also sent the cutest shirt for Mikaela! I'll have to show it off soon, but it's been too hot to put it on her yet.

Jen Vogel sent this block, so now I'm only waiting on one more to arrive. I'm so excited to get them all together and lay them out. I'll probably end up making more to go with them, but so far I love them!

Mikaela is 35 Weeks Old!

2011-09-26T19:00:00.001-06:00

Mikaela is growing like a weed and learning new things each week. This week she got very comfortable standing up by pulling herself up on the coffee table. She loves to pull up, then sit back down and scoot over to the couch and pull back up again. She got new shoes... aren't they the cutest??

She still loves her teething ring. She's teething again, so everything is in her mouth. She LOVES to crawl over to the dog dish/water bowl. Needless to say Daddy needed to catch her quicker, since she got a bath in the bowl!

Her big blue eyes just shine.

Daddy watches her pull herself up on the coffee table.

Her Great Grandpa Joe and his wife Eva came out last weekend and she played with them.

Friendship Block Swap

2011-09-20T13:57:00.000-06:00

Last night I really needed motivation to sew, so I made the block for Jacque for the Friendship Block Swap. I used 14 different fabrics and didn't have to repeat any fabrics. I ended up using up my scraps and didn't have to cut into any of the fat quarters I had bought to make the block. I love how it turned out and can't wait to see what Jacque makes with her blocks.

Mikaela is 8 Months Old!

2011-09-20T13:56:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 8 months old yesterday! She's growing into such a cute little girl. Last night after her bath we took a few pictures, though she was pretty tired and ready for bed.
She was very into Dancing with the Stars!

She's always gnawing on her hand, I think we have more teeth coming in as she was fussy.

She's quiet and content, tired I think!

She's ready to move, as she's always on the move.

Headed for mom's camera...

Taking in all daddy has to say. She's very aware of her surroundings.

About the closest we could get to a smile! Isn't this just the cutest outfit? I just love it though it's a fleecy kind of material, so I couldn't tell if it was PJ's or an outfit. Last night it was PJ's but any insight is good!

Sunday Sewing

2011-09-20T13:49:00.000-06:00

Sunday we did errands and I scored a new pair of jeans and a t-shirt from Cabela's on clearance for $20. I was so excited. I just love awesome deals, since the jeans are normally $50 and the shirt $20. When we got home I was exhausted and ended up taking a nap. When I got up, Mikaela had some grandma/daddy time and I loaded Jenn's quilt on the frame. I'd been waiting for a weekend to do it since I knew it would take a while. It quilted up beautifully!

I used a cream King Tut and Cream Bottomline, since there were so many colors and they are such a different shade of colors. I wasn't finding a verigated King Tut to match. I love how the cream looks on it. It let's the fabrics shine.

The stippling went well and everything laid flat.

The flowered Hunky Dory was the backing as well. I just love the colors in it. She also pieced part of the back.

I was able to quilt the entire quilt in about 4 hours. I'm just so impressed with it and hope she likes it as well. It was 77x90 and she used a white warm and white batting.

Saturday Sewing

2011-09-20T13:41:00.000-06:00

Saturday we stayed home the entire day, well almost. I cleaned out the crawl space and got rid of 2 suitcases, 3 large totes, and 2 big bags of clothes. I figure I'll never be in that size I was before, so it's time to move the stuff on! I made room to put all of mom's batting and most of her UFO's that I'm not currently working on in the crawl space until I need them. My closet was a little too overwhelming and I needed to move it around. I worked from 9-4 and really made a lot of progress. Then I read my facebook.... Jodi had been to Hancock's and gotten a small OTT lite for $10. I was intrigued, I'm the notions girl... so I quick got ready and ran to town to get one. Jodi, you're such a bad influence! Paul kept Mikaela at home so I got to do a bit of shopping for Mikaela too. She needed pants as none of her outfits had pants. I also found her the FP pink pig piggy bank. It'll be her Christmas present. I was so excited since she loved playing with it at Jon and Nich's.
Paul fixed supper too, so I got to spend the evening sewing to my hearts content!
I made this block for Patti for our September Friendship block swap. This block turned out awesome. Everything just seemed to match so perfectly without me trying.

I put the binding on this mug rug for a co-worker who is going to get the ATTA girl award at work on Thurs.

And finally I trimmed up this quilt mom made last year at the Wall Quilt retreat. She had me quilt it, had the binding with it, but never put it on. I figured since it was Fall I should finish it. I might just put it in my office for awhile.

Sat. was so productive that I thought I 'd exhausted all the time I would get to sew... but I was wrong!

September Groovy Girls

2011-09-20T13:31:00.000-06:00

Friday night was our first Groovy Girls of the new year. We had lots of new faces as well as a lot of returning members.
Darlene and Michelle, the two in center front, are the girls I worked with at the shop before. It was so good to see them and catch up. Shonna in the white and Jenn hidden in the green were also there. They stayed to sew as did Pam and Sue. It was so good to catch up with everyone after the summer break. Sherry and Emily were able to be there as well. I always enjoy my evening out with the girls.

Tammy does the program and this month was on the Kindle cover. She's showing the one I made out of the Maxine fabric. I have a co-worker who will be getting it for Christmas.

She also showed the CD/DVD holder I made out of the new pattern by Gudrun using her new Super fabric line.

I was so productive in the sewing department that night. I finished sewing all the Blush 60* blocks and finished sewing all the blocks for my Mocha Merigue Wonder Blocks quilt. That's been an old UFO that I know I will like, but just didn't care for piecing the blocks. Once I got started though, they were easy to finish. I also pulled the fabric to make Jacque's block for the swap. I was able to use my stash and have 14 different fabrics in it without cutting into my jewel toned batik fat quarters I had been buying, so I think I may just have to make another quilt with those since I love them so much. I got in about 5 hours of sewing which felt so good!

Mikaela is 34 Weeks Old!

2011-09-15T13:30:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 34 Weeks old yesterday. She was all full of smiles when I got home. She'd had a good day at Cressa's Daycare and enjoyed some fun playing with Daddy. He was letting her bounce on his neck.

Until she started holding on by the hair and pulling!

She wanted to eat the camera instead of pose for it.

She just didn't want to sit while mommy took pictures.

She was all for playing with Daddy after her bath. She even got two books read to her by daddy.

But then she was intent on watching the season finale of Big Brother with us. She just knew Rachel would win!

Daddy gave her a horsey ride and then it was off to bed.

Friendship Blocks

2011-09-15T13:19:00.000-06:00

My Friendship Swap blocks have been coming in like hot cakes! I've so enjoyed seeing what everyone uses for the different purple batiks, since I know there are lots to choose from!
Jenn Boerger made this one for me.

Linda Stitchnoch made this one for me.

Cindy Gardiner made this one for me. I just LOVE the daisy fabric. It's one of my favorites.

Sara Fridley made this one for me. She's not in the swap, but a blogging buddy who offered to make one for me. Thanks so much Sara! It was so great to meet you at Quilts and Vines.

Regina Smith and Patti July made these next two for me. I'm not sure who made which one, but love them both.

In the package from Regina was this spool of Grape thread. I just love the vibrant purple color. Can't wait to use it! Thanks Girls for the blocks and thread!!

I still have two blocks to get, then I'll figure out what I'm going to do with them. If anyone would like to make a block, just leave me a comment and I'll give you the specifics. Thanks!

September Sewing

2011-09-15T13:07:00.000-06:00

I haven't done much quilting during the month of September, but I did make this Diaper Clutch for my cousin Molly and her husband Tyler who we stayed with in MN a couple weekends ago. I just love the owl fabric and thought it would work well since they had a boy.

I also made this sample of the Quilt as you go quilt from Gudrun Erla's new line Super. It's really bright and cheerful. I wasn't so sure about the prairie points, but they turned out well.

I also made this Simple Pillowcase. It's also a sample. I thought it was for GG's this month, but it's for next month, so I'm ahead of the game!

I did some fun quilting in the middle of the big flowers.

It's super simple and would be a great way to practice FMQ.

I also made this rick rack pillow. It turned out really neat and I think the colors are great.

This is the back. It's a simple to make pillow with a binding.

This month's GG is Friday and I'm so looking forward to spending time with my friends and having a girls night out. I made this name badge holder that turned out so cute with my leftover selvages. Where the binding is, there is a clear vinyl place for the name tag.

It has two zippered pockets and two regular pockets.

I think I'd like to use the pattern and some different fabrics to make this up for my work badge, but without the selvage edges.
I've also done some sewing on the Blush 60* quilt. I'm hoping to get lots of sewing done tomorrow night and maybe some quilting this weekend.

Mikaela's New Crib

2011-09-13T19:47:00.001-06:00

This weekend we picked up Mikaela's new crib. Daddy was off on Monday, so he put it together for her. It's a lot bigger than her pack and play, but oh so much fun. It has slots so she can pull herself up! She definitely likes to pull herself up and bounce.

She's all full of smiles.

Her mobile from Trish looks awesome on the side and she loves to listen to it at night.

Her 2 front teeth are so cute!

She loves the crib and is sleeping a wee bit better, still not through the night, but it will come.

MN State Fair

2011-09-13T19:23:00.001-06:00

Over Labor Day weekend Paul, Mikaela and I headed to MN to visit my mom's cousin Sue and family. We're really close to them and they had come out to see us in June, so it was fun to get together again. Her daughter Molly had just had a little boy Cash, 3 weeks before our visit, so we got to meet him too. We left Fri. at noon and spent the night with my college roommate Nichole, her hubby Jon, and son Mason. We had such a great visit and caught up again. It was so good to see them. Sat. morning we traveled to MN and spent the day with the family. I got to go to the quilt shop in Rosemount as it is right next door to Molly's Salon. We had a big family meal and spent time trying to get Mikaela to crawl.
Sunday morning we headed out early to the MN State Fair. It was our first time and we had a blast!
I just loved the Coliseum, so much to look at!

I definitely had to pick up some Sweet Martha's cookies.

I had to eat the bucket down too, with a little help!

Paul had some Walleye on a stick.

It seemed there were a lot of things on a stick, including lottery tickets. I bought $15 worth and won $122 dollars! It was definitely my lucky day.
It was a bit chilly when we left, but we bundled up good and had some warm food like cheese curds, pickle dogs, roasted corn, and punto dogs to fill us up!

Mikaela was having fun and everyone loved her hat!

We had to go to the Dairy building to see the butter heads. They were pretty cool, pun intended.

We had an awesome time visiting our family, attending the fair, going to the Twins game, and shopping at IKEA and Fleet Farm, stores we don't have out here. We spent more money at Fleet Farm than the entire trip it seemed. Boy it's a good thing we don't have one of those stores!

2011 Relay for Life

2011-09-13T12:52:00.002-06:00

This year the Relay for Life was held in Midland. My dad's team from Milesville participated, so Mikaela and I joined him. The opening ceremonies were awesome. It was a beautiful day with 92 degree heat, but it cooled in the evening.

The Milesville Mardi Gras team was selling pies and ice cream, and lap beads.

I made these Luminaries for my mom.

I covered them in lots of pictures.

Others made them for her too.

I made this one for my grandpa Jim.

Mikaela was a trooper. We went to church and she flirted with the little 3 year old in front of us. She walked 4 miles with me after church and finally conked out for the ride home at 11:30!

They had this big lit sign which was neat.

We lit these big paper lanterns and let them go into the night sky.

Mikaela and I walked 4 miles and had a great evening with my dad remembering and celebrating mom's life. Our team raised over $3,000 and all the teams raised over $26,000, which for a small rural area is amazing!

Mikaela is 33 Weeks Old!

2011-09-12T19:37:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 33 weeks old on September 7th. We spent the weekend at Deerfield Lake fishing. Mikaela and I played and took pictures while Daddy fished.

I love this pictures even with the sun spot. It just captures her whole persona.

She's not so sure about the glasses, but doesn't pretty good leaving her hat on.

She loves to stand up, by pulling herself up. She'll use anything to get herself up.

She loved riding horsey on daddy's neck. She did so good at staying straight up.

She even spent some time with Grandma Leslie checking out the different weeds. She's a little nature girl and loves to be outside.

Central States Fair Exhibits

2011-09-12T13:08:00.002-06:00

The Central States Fair is held the 3rd week of August in Rapid City every year. It's kind of like our county fair, even though we live in a different county. This year i decided to exhibit a few of my quilts and clothing items. I took home 8 1st place ribbons, 6 2nd place, and 3 3rd place ribbons. A few pictures of my quilts follow with their ribbons.
My newest quilt though not shown well here, is the Square pants block wall hanging that got a 2nd.

The Koi fish quilt for my MIL got a 1st.

The sewing quilt got a 2nd and the OBW got a 3rd.

The 5 & Dime got a 2nd.

My jacket got a 1st, it's next to the winner of the class.

The Schlep Bag I entered in the sewing competition got a 1st. I'll be teaching this one again soon as it's a fun class.

The Bib/Apron I made for Mikaela got a 1st.

The pants I made for Paul got a 1st in the serged category.

The Brown and Teal quilt got a 2nd.

My English Paper Pieced, hand appliqued tablerunner won 1st and Best of class in the Original Design category. I was so excited to win as I had put in a lot of hours on this tablerunner in the past year.

Here's an up close of the ribbon. I've put it in my office with the tablerunner. I'm still so in shock! I won a $20 GC to a local craft store. It will be so much fun to go shopping for something new there.

Mikaela's cowgirls baby quilt won 2nd.

It was an exciting year at the fair and I so enjoyed entering. It would have been better had the lady who was entering my items not questioned if I'd really made all these or if someone else quilted them for me. I know she didn't know me, but it still felt downgrading that I shouldn't be able to make these items just because I'm young.

Mikaela is 32 Weeks Old!

2011-09-06T19:02:00.001-06:00

Mikaela turned 32 weeks old the week we went to MN. She changed so much that weekend that it's kind of hard to believe!

She started crawling! She'd been scooting around backwards, but she's actually really crawling forward now.

She still loves this teething ring. She was all full of smiles while we were at Sue & Al's.

She loved the new puppy we got her at IKEA. We had a fun trip there, since neither of us had ever been there.

She was roaring! She conquered crawling and was so proud of herself!

She even learned to stand up by pulling herself up on their coffee table. Sue thought she could have her walking if she tried.

She enjoyed her first Twins game! We had 4th row seats from the field on left base line. Awesome seats! She was actually really good the entire game.

She loved to people watch, even if we were all watching the batting, she was looking the other way.

August Quilting Accomplishments

2011-09-02T19:41:00.001-06:00

August was a fairly productive month, considering I was gone quite a bit.
I made the changing pad cover to go with the Diaper Clutch.

I made the bapron- baby apron.

I finished my first goal of making 2 wine bottle holders.

I finished my 7th goal of making a wonder wallet and runaround bag for Nichole for our Quilts and Vines weekend.

I made two Maxine Notebook covers. One for myself and one for Jen.

I made this ribbon blanket for Mikaela.

I completed my 5th goal of a Dilly Dally baby quilt for Pat's new granddaughter.

I finished my 8th goal of making a wall hanging out of my pink/brown buggy barn fabrics.

I also made a block for another wall hanging, but realized I didn't have enough brown and now need to take it apart and use a different brown.

I made a Diaper Clutch and changing pad for Nichole and Jon.

I quilted Aunt Mae's queen size quilt.

I also entered a bunch of quilts/sewing projects in the fair and got 8 1st's, 6 2nd's, and 3 3rd's. In addition I won Best of Class for my hand pieced hearts and diamonds table runner. I attended the Quilts & Vines quilt show with my friend Nichole and Mikaela.

Limited Quilting

2011-08-31T19:36:00.000-06:00

I spent a very limited time quilting and sewing the last part of August. I was gone every weekend and didn't get much time in the evenings to sew. I've really started to notice my funk, so I took some time to make a diaper clutch for my friends Jon and Nich and their son Mason. Nichole had seen mine when we stayed with them before and loved it, so I wanted to give her one. They loved it!

I also quilted this quilt for my Aunt Mae. It turned out pretty though I had a lot of problems with gathering at the end. I think it had to do with the polyester batting as it didn't lay as nicely as warm and natural does.

I just love the colors and ended up with a orange/brown/green/black verigated King Tut thread that looked great on it.

I just did a simple stipple on it.

So glad I got to do a bit of quilting, but looking forward to doing more in Sept. when quilting season officially begins again!

Mikaela is 31 Weeks

2011-08-26T19:24:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 31 Weeks old on the 24th of August. She had her first sleepover on the 23rd when she stayed with my Aunt who was camping. She had lots of fun and did really well. Aunt Jane made her this hat which is so cute, but she doesn't want to keep on! I'm gonna have to put some elastic on it, so she can keep it on. She was quicker than me as I tried to take her picture with it on.

But if I occupied her, I got a minute to take a picture before she realized I had put it on her.

Her little outfit is a 12 month summer so I put it on her, she's just the right size for it! It wouldn't fit next summer.

Summer Time

2011-08-25T13:19:00.000-06:00

Summer is almost gone and yet it seems to have flown by so quickly! Mikaela and I took in the Quilts and Vines Outdoor Quilt show a couple weeks ago and I got to meet my blogging friend Sara. I've got lots of pictures to share, but haven't uploaded them yet. Mikaela is 31 weeks old this week and she's on the verge of crawling, doing a lot of scooting. I entered 12 items in the quilts division and 5 in the sewing division at the Central States Fair this week. I received 8 1st's, 6 2nd's, and 3 3rd's. I also won Best of Class for original design for my English Paper Pieced table runner/ wall hanging. I entered it in the mixed technique division since it has hand pieced, hand appliqued and machine quilted.

I've finished two samples for the store as well as working on a third and I'm quilting a quilt for my Aunt Mae I hope to finish this week. Tuesday night Paul and I went to the World of Outlaws race. We had a great time and sat with our best man Jory. It was so fun to see him and watch a great race. Mikaela went camping with her favorite great aunt and had a good time as well.
I'm keeping busy and will be walking in the Relay for Life in memory of my mom this weekend. It's supposed to be hot, so we'll see how I do! I'm sure I'll get a good workout with the stroller pushing.

Mikaela is 30 Weeks

2011-08-22T19:16:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 30 weeks old on August 17th. We had a busy weekend and spent time with Daddy fishing at the lake. We went to Custer State Park and Mikaela and I hung out while Daddy caught a few fish. We tried several spots, but didn't get any keepers. Mikaela was sporting her sunglasses and a hat Aunt Jane made her.
She's teething, so she's doing a lot of gumming her lips.

She loves bottles, especially pop and water bottles.

The weather was beautiful!

She's all full of gummy smiles.

She loves her little purple hat from Angie. She will actually keep it on more than any other hat.

She's getting good at putting her pacifier back in if it falls out.

Mikaela is 7 Months Old!

2011-08-20T19:30:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 7 months old on August 19th. She was a very happy girl and full of smiles when we went out on Sat. She played with her favorite teething toy. Her hat drew quite the attention. It seems like any time she wears it, people always have to comment on it.

It's super cute hat and at least she'll leave it on most of the time.

We put sunscreen on and she rubbed it in her eye. We had to change sunscreens to one that doesn't bother her.

It was a busy day and she needed a nap. She loves her cuddle critter that mommy made her.

Fun Mail, Special Gift, and Friendship Block Swap

2011-08-11T13:11:00.000-06:00

Last night Paul gave me two packages from the pickup he had forgotten to bring in. I was so excited when I saw the first address. It was from Becky in VA. She had a drawing for a kit if someone wanted to take it off her hands. It's this Autumn Visitors and she cut wrong and just didn't want to deal with it, so I said I'd take it. I knew Paul would love it and he did. He thought I should start working on it last night!

While I was in my sewing studio for a bit last night. I took pictures of the blocks I've received for the Friendship block swap. Gaila made this block. I just love the little black/purple dots.

Jen made me this one.

Jacque made me this one.

They look awesome together and I can't wait to receive the rest. Since I know I won't have enough for a whole quilt, I'd like to have other friends make me blocks to go in my friendship quilt. I know I have a lot of readers/followers and I would love to have you all send me a block. Please comment or send me an email if you'd be willing to send me a block for my friendship quilt. The block is easy and I'm having it done in a black with 3 purple batiks.

The other package was from my college roommate Angie. She lives in MN and came out for mom's funeral with our other roommate Nichole. It's a beautiful framed cross stitch picture in memory of my mom. I just love it and can't believe how much it makes me think of mom. She would be so proud. Mom did a lot of cross stitch. It's been 6 months today since mom's been gone, but not a day goes by that I don't think of her and remember all the wonderful time we spent together. I miss her so much, but know that she is watching over me. This weekend Mikaela and I are going to the Quilts and Vines Outdoor Quilt Show near Sioux Falls with Nichole. It's a show mom and I went to several years and just loved attending. I can't wait to go and hopefully meet up with my blogging friend Sara. If you're gonna be there let me know and maybe we can get together too. Hopefully I'll take lots of pictures and be able to show you this truly remarkable show next week some time.

Mikaela is 29 Weeks Old

2011-08-11T13:08:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 29 weeks old yesterday. She was all full of smiles and playing on her blanket from her great-grandma Elaine. It's a blanket she had made and after she passed my Aunt Jane kept it and gave it to me for Mikaela. Mikaela was in to chewing her thumb last night, even though she had several teething toys around. She was able to fall over from a sitting position, roll over, and pick herself back up to a sitting position.

See those cute little teeth? She's in a dress Aunt Jane gave her for Easter.

We visited Aunt Jane last night and Cocoa wanted to play too. Luckily they both play well together.

Mikaela was laughing a lot with Cocoa around.

Weekend Sewing

2011-08-08T23:05:00.000-06:00

This weekend I didn't get much quilting time in, since we did errands Sat. and I cleaned and rearranged Mikaela's room on Sun. After everyone went to bed Sun. night I quilted the baby quilt for Pat. I believe it's for her new granddaughter. She just loved the fabric I used for the last two baby quilts, so I picked up a couple fat quarters and made another one. I have enough left to make one, maybe two baby quilts more. They are so quick and easy and yes they do get boring, but I love to do the quilting on them. Piecing does get a bit boring to me, so I try to do it with friends or when I'm not home, so I can quilt at home.

Here's an up close of the quilting. I used a King Tut verigated.

Sat. afternoon everyone except Mikaela and I took naps, so we went down to my studio. I loaded this wall hanging on the frame and got it quilted. I love how it turned out, though I could see later that maybe I should have used a cream verigated. Though this fabric is actually more of a yellow, so the cream looked too white on it. I fell in love with this block on several blogs and just love how it turned out. I used my Buggy Barn scraps from a few years ago. I am not a HST fan, but I did this one with Thangles and they turned out pretty well. I must be procrastinating, since this was so not on my radar of projects to do, but it just came together quickly.

I quilted loops.

The loops really stand out on the creamy yellow.

We were able to get the binding on this on Sun. Sat. night we went to Sheridan Lake and night fished with Paul. Let me rephrase that... Mikaela and I ate and watched while Paul fished. After Mikaela went to bed, I read and tried to do some hexi's, but it was too dark and we were on a floating dock... not the easiest to do. I finally ended up watching, but night fishing is NOT a spectator sport. I got really bored really fast.

Girls Night Out with Jenn

2011-08-08T22:52:00.000-06:00

Friday night Jenn and I got together for a Girls Night Out. Her hubby was playing softball and her kids were at their grandparents, so we sewed at her house. We had so much fun talking, laughing, and sewing.
I put together this wall hanging from my Square Pants blocks. I love how it turned out, and the blocks are some of my favorites, even though I love the block in scrappy fabrics too.

I played with the rest of my scraps and came up with this block. I'm about 4 HST blocks short of making 4 of these, so I'll only be able to make 3. I guess I'll make a tablerunner unless someone out there has less than 1/4 yard of this Buggy Barn brown to share with me. Let me know if you have some you'd be willing to part with! I'd definately make it worth your while and send you some yardage or some scraps in exchange. It's about an 09 Buggy Barn fabric.

Jenn put together this wall hanging with her HST's of Sugar Pop. I just love how it turned out and I think she did a grea job on it. She finished sooner than she expected and worked on an apron too.

I made this baby quilt top for my co-worker friend Pat. She just loved the ones I made for the girls, so she asked me to make her one. Instead of charging labor for it, she's making me scrapbook pages for Mikaela's book. I'm so lucky to have a talented scrapbooking friend, since I don't do so well on that front!

Jenn and I had a great time sewing and Daddy and Mikaela got some fun Daddy's Little girl time.

Steadily Sewing

2011-08-04T00:06:00.000-06:00

This week I've actually gotten quite a bit of sewing done. I made this cute little ribbon blanket for Mikaela Sun/Mon. nights. I love how it turned out, but it just made me mad making it. I bought it back in April on the shop hop I went on. I bought it more for the pattern than anything, since I have some minkee charm squares I wanted to make something out of. I opened the kit only to realize the pattern was a FREE Moda Bake Shop pattern. I was a bit irrate, since I paid a lot for the kit and they made it look like the only way to get the pattern was to buy the kit and that it was their pattern. I won't be going back to that shop any time soon.

I had the note book cover pattern for a small notepad and decided to use my leftover Maxine fabric to make one. I think I bought the pattern in MN two years when Jen and I were in a shop. Jen got kicked out of the shop and we still laugh about what a rip the owner is. Anyway I made it up for the most part like the pattern said. Monday night I made up 2 of them.

Only I had to add some decorative stitching and top stitching to it.

Then I made another, this time using decorbond instead of steam a seam and topstitched again. I think this was a little too much, but the other one is so flimsy. I think one less layer of decor bond or eliminating the batting would have helped.

But I'm just not one to follow a pattern. Jen and I have that in common. We use the pattern as a guide and really do whatever we want with the knowledge we already have.

Tonight I made up a Runaround bag out of this cute wine fabric. I'm going to Quilts and Vines in a week and wanted a new purse for it.

I also made a wonder wallet.

I made some insulated wine bottle holders for the wine I plan to bring back. Again I changed the pattern to include insulbrite.

Last night I was having a hard time as it would have been my mom's 55th birthday. I just couldn't get in the groove to sew, but did make this bapron - baby apron. I think it's cute, but it doesn't quite fit Mikaela right. I need to make some tweaks.

Tonight I also made this changing pad to go with my Grab n Go diaper clutch. I love how it turned out and luckily mom had the perfect vinyl type material.

Mikaela is 28 weeks old!

2011-08-03T23:33:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 28 weeks old on August 3rd. She's sitting up extremely well now. She was playing on Merry's quilt the other night and Missy decided she wanted to lay there too. Luckily they get along pretty well.

She was all ready for bed in this cute new pair of PJ's, but she wasn't ready to go to sleep.

She was all full of smiles for me. You can see her front two teeth.

July Quilting Accomplishments

2011-08-03T12:30:00.021-06:00

July was a very productive month for me! I had two long weekends at home and actually got to do quite a bit of sewing/ quilting. I accomplished all the goals I set for myself as well!
Gaila's block for the friendship block swap was done the very end of June.

I made this wall hanging for Jody and Adam's Wedding gift. She requested sunflowers for her kitchen.

I also made this table runner for their table.

I finished the priest vestment, which was my mom's UFO of the month. Our priest loved it and said it's the first one that actually fit him.

Hubby is a lot shorter than our 7ft tall priest.

I quilted and bound this wall hanging for my dad.

I quilted up and bound this wall hanging, another of my mom's UFO's for myself.

I put borders on this fun novelty fabric and quilted it with minkee on the back. It also was bound this month.

I made this wall hanging for my co-worker Pat. It only took me a few hours start to finish. I think it took longer for the hand work.

I made mug rugs for my coworkers Shannon

Pat

and myself. I also made one for Karen, but didn't get a picture. I have 5 left to bind and gift.

I made a baby quilt for my friend Larissa's new baby, in 4 hours!

I made one for Lariann, her sister who is also having a girl and I was going to her baby shower.

I made this notebook cover for my MIL Leslie for her to use at work. I used the Maxine fabric scraps which fits her personality well.

I made this table runner for my friend Shannon from my leftover scraps of Bistro fabric.

I completed the goal of finishing a store sample. I made this Beach Balls Little quilt from LGD. I also quilted it and it will be bound when the fabric line comes into the store.

I worked on several UFO's. This was one of my mom's UFO's I finished the top and now it needs borders. It's the BQII pattern made with the Jim Shore Angels.

I completed both of my friendship blocks which was another goal. This was Colleen's block. I just love the contrast and my flying geese came out awesome thanks to the LGD Flying Geese ruler.

I made a little wallet for my friend Pat.

I also made one for her granddaughter who is staying with her for a bit.

I made Pat a cosmetic bag as well out of the Cats fabric I bought with her in mind.

I made this Grab and Go clutch out of some fat quarters I picked up at QC in Hill City.

I made Regina's block for the swap.

I worked on this UFO of Buggy Barn HST's and made these 4 blocks in the Moneik Bob Square Pants block from Lynne's blog. I just love them, but think I'll just make a wall hanging since they are so huge. The squares are 24".

I also worked on my Blush quilt blocks and started making a few of the hexi's.

I also worked on the Pink/Green flannel baby quilt HST's and have a plan for how to make them into a quilt. I just need to lay it out now. When I have the right baby to make it for, it will be made.
I also reorganized my sewing studio, including counting my rulers. I had 75, but have added about 7 more since then, so I'm up over 80 now. Later this month I'll show the ones I really use a lot!

So I accomplished every goal I set out to do this month and also made about 10 projects that weren't even on the radar. I feel like I accomplished so much! Several have asked how I get so much sewing time with a baby. Let me first say I have a wonderful hubby. He'll give her a bath and feed her at least every other night (we take turns), I get to spend at least one night out with my girls Jenn, Shonna, and Gaila sewing, he will watch her while he's watching TV or bring her down to the studio and she plays with toys while I sew. On the weekends my MIL loves to play with her for a while, so I usually get an afternoon or evening or both of sewing time in. I also spend almost all my lunch hours cutting or sewing. I do almost all my cutting out of projects during lunch or hand sew binding down. I also sew a lot after Mikaela and Paul go to bed at 8 or 9. I'll stay up until 11 or midnight sewing.

I made a list of the projects I'm currently working on or have out to work on. I had 25 projects on it on Friday and I've finished 5 so far! A few of the others I should be able to knock out pretty quickly, but we'll see! So my goals for August include anything on the list, but I'll be working on a few specifically.
Wine bottle holders (2)
Runaround Bag/ Wonder Wallet
Dilly Dally Baby Quilt for Pat
3 Store Samples
Aunt Mae's Quilt
Cindy's Block
Mom's UFO - Jim Shore Quilt
My UFO - Buggy Barn Blocks/ Wall Hanging

I'll be heading for the Quilts and Vines Outdoor Quilt Show next weekend near Sioux Falls. I'm going with my college roommate and so am really looking forward to it. I've heard from Sara that she'll be there and hope to meet up with her. If there are any other bloggers out there who would like to meet up there, send me an email or leave a comment. I'd love to meet you! Mikaela and I will be shop hopping across the state Friday, hoping to stop in Chamberlain and Mitchell and maybe Dell Rapids on our way to SF.

Scrappy Sewing

2011-08-01T00:37:00.002-06:00

This week I actually got a ton of sewing time in! I was off early and home from work two days this week, which just happened to give me an extra hour or two of sewing time. Friday night I'd had it! I had too much crap laying around and didn't have room on the ironing board to iron! I started cleaning and just kept going. I ended up cleaning off the shelves, reorganizing the drawers, and tidying up the book shelf. This is the area I sew in, the cutting mat/ironing board on the left. Rulers on the ledge, file shelves with current stuff, drawers with notions, and a book shelf with small odds and ends/ Jennifer Chiaverini books, and my quilting books. My machine and Janome table with 3 drawer tote to left on the center bottom. Quilt frame to the right.

I guess this is a brighter picture. I have this thread rack of pretty rayon threads. I don't use them, but they look pretty on the rack. The pink large tote has my "current" projects in it. I made a list of the projects I'm working on... I have 20 on the list! Some are just binding, others I'm working on slowly, and yet others I can get done quickly. It helped to make the list and be able to check stuff off.

After I was done cleaning, Mikaela was in bed, and I felt like doing some sewing. I had used my lunch hour and cut out a few projects. One of them was Regina's block for the block swap. I was able to quickly and easily make this block using the Flying Geese x4 by Lazy Girl Designs. I fell in love with the ruler, using it for both Colleen and Regina's blocks.

Friday night I layed out the pink/brown/cream Buggy Barn HST's I had made. I wasn't real happy with my layout and I just didn't know if I'd made a mistake trying to use up my scraps. I emailed a few friends and Jacque suggested I didn't like it because of the scrappiness of it. I let it sit overnight and went back to it Sat. morning. I realized I needed the pink in the corners and to keep the diamond creams. I had to rework it a bit since I was short of some of the colors and I had to purchase another couple yards of the cream. Paul and I picked it up on Sat. and I was able to spend most of the afternoon/evening working on this thanks to Paul and his mom. They took Mikaela to the pet store and then fixed supper and watched her. I felt like I was in heaven getting a few hours of non interrupted sewing time. The squares were inspired by a post on Lily Quilts and I made the small block with my 2" Friendship swap HST's. The big ones are 3.5" HST's and the blocks are 24".

I'm still debating about putting them all together or making several small wall hangings. I think I'll do one big one with the 4 blocks and then make something else with the other leftover HST's. I love the secondary pattern this made.

Friday night when I couldn't get the scrappy blocks to work, I made some hexi blocks. I have them laying out ready to sew when I need some mindless sewing. I got 8 done in a matter of half an hour or so. These are Blush jellyroll blocks made into 60* triangles and sewn into hexi's. I don't have a pattern, so we'll see how big it gets.

Today I worked on a minkee/charm square ribbon blanket for Mikaela. I had purchased the kit for the pattern since I had some minkee squares I wanted to use and didn't want to figure it out on my own, though I knew I could have. I opened it up and the pattern is printed from Moda Bake Shop, but the way they packaged it, it appeared to be their own pattern! Oh boy was I hot. I just feel like they were trying to deceive me. I got the top sewn together, but didn't finish it because the Bachelorette was on. I ended up hand sewing the binding on my cowboys quilt and got it finished, so I didn't waste any sewing time! It was nice to spend time with my family too since they watched it with me.
It's been a productive weekend and I look forward to another great week. July has provided me a lot of sewing time, so I'll have to write my review this week.

Mikaela is 27 weeks old!

2011-07-28T19:56:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 27 weeks old on July 27th! She's totally full of smiles, sits up on her own and is eating stage 1 baby foods. She loves prunes and pears, but also eats sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, apples, and bananas.

She's has one little tooth on the front left and her second on her right side is coming in too.

We were outside and she just wanted to look into the air, the birds, planes, and noises around her were distracting her!

She's just about ready to crawl as she can scoot herself and get up on all 4's. She rolls over both ways now too.

Bag Sewing

2011-07-27T23:15:00.000-06:00

Tonight I had a few bags I wanted to get made. I actually got to start sewing at about 5, since I was off work early and Mikaela and Paul were napping. I made this cosmetic size bag for my co-worker friend Pat. She's going through some family challenges and I thought she'd get a kick out of the fabric. She has a kitty she just loves.

I also found this cute cat fabric that goes with it, so I made little wallets. They are about the size of a cash and carry, only I didn't piece them. I just used 4.5"x 6.5" pieces and did a bit of decorative stitches to hold the layers together. I made one for her.

I also made one for her granddaughter who is staying with her. I think she'll like having her own little wallet. She's 3.

I finally got around to making the diaper clutch. It turned out super cut and was actually pretty easy. I just need to get a piece of vinyl for the matching changing pad. I have to stop at the store tomorrow so hope to get it then.

Tomorrow I'm off early and going to attend the ordination of our new bishop. I've never been to one before, so I'm looking forward to going. Luckily my dad is going as well, so I won't be along. If I get any good pictures I'll share.

Splattering of projects

2011-07-26T23:25:00.001-06:00

I'm finally getting caught up on my blog, so I'm gonna splatter it with the projects I'm working on this week and what I did last week.
This is one of my mom's UFO's. It's a BQ2 quilt made with the Jim Shore Angels fabric. Mom had it layed out and ready to sew together. I sewed it together matching everything in April...only to realize it needed to be flipped to make it work right, so I took it completely apart, took every other block apart, and fixed it into the way it's supposed to look. I'd put it away since then.
Last week I found out about a quilt project to make quilts for all the beds at Terra Sancta a retreat center for our diocese. I figured there was no better place for this quilt to go. I sewed the blocks together Thurs. night and picked up the fabric I need to make the borders. I think it will look great and be a wonderful addition to the center.

It's a large lap, so I'll be making it a bit bigger with borders into a twin size.

I picked up these three fat quarters at the Quilt Corral in Hill City a few weeks ago. I'm making a diaper clutch. I really need to get it finished before Mikaela is out of diapers.

I'm also participating in a Hexalong this summer and trying to work on a few projects with hexi's. This is my 60* Blush quilt. It will probably be a throw size. I have a few others, so I'll post a blog post about the Hexalong later. At least I had motivation to cut all the blocks out last week during lunch. There is no pattern for this. I'm just kind of going with the flow and using the 60* ruler I love.

At work a co-worker started a positive attitude award called the Atta Girl to reward people who help each other out at work. Basically it can be given to any woman within our system. I'm the second recipient and they threw a surprise party to give it to me. I'm not sure who I'll give it to next, but I can only keep it a few weeks and then I need to pass it on to another deserving employee. I received it for helping my co-worker Shannon with several processes. Yes this is taken in my office, lots of quilts hanging all over my office! There are two more on the other walls.

Last week and this week I've been working on Colleen's block for the block swap. It's a simple block, but somehow I screwed it up, not 1, not 2, but 3 times! First I made all the HST's about 1/4" too small. I printed the paper wrong. So I quit that night. A few nights later I made the Flying Geese using the Lazy Girl ruler and they turned out great! I made the new HST's and went to put it together and I had reversed the blue and white on all my flying geese, so I quit that night! Tonight I re-made all the flying geese. I started to put it together and had made half my HST/solid block pieces wrong, so I did the frog stitch! Finally I got it put together tonight! I was determined! I love how it turned out and can't believe I had so much trouble with such a simple block.

Sewing away

2011-07-21T00:25:00.002-06:00

I have been sewing away, just not taking the time to post pictures! I get done so late with my sewing that I typically just upload pictures and go to bed. I never get around to getting the blog post done. On the weekend of the 17th I got quite a bit of sewing done. I quilted and made this book cover for my MIL to use at work. It has all Maxine fabrics and I think she really likes it. She just kind of goes with that personality.

I tried to do a few bits of accent.

I also finished up the sewing on the shop sample. It's called Beach Ball's by Lazy Girl Designs. It uses the lazy angle and though it wasn't hard at all, I just wasn't motivated to piece it after the first 5 blocks were done. Once I got to working on it, it went together very quickly. I actually love how it turned out.

I took it to the store and got backing and quilted it up the next night. I love how it turned out. I used an orange variegated thread on it.

I just love the King Tut thread on it. It will be bound when the fabric comes in to the store. It's Super by Gudrun Erla Designs.

Tuesday night I made this table runner for my friend Shannon at work. She had given me a bunch of stuff for Mikaela, so I thought I could give her a little something. I used up the last of my Bistro fabric. I love how the blocks turned out so wonky. The scraps are now all gone for this quilt.

She just loved it since she loves coffee and her kitchen is done in this theme.

So I have gotten quite a bit of sewing done. I'm working on some hand binding right now and I should be done with it later this week. I hope to get a bit of sewing done tonight, but I'm working late every night this week, so we'll see how tired I am.
Those of you who guessed on my ruler post guessed under 40. When I did this post back in April 2009 I had 32 rulers and I've added substantially to it since then. When I counted them last week I had 75, so Jen was the closest with her guess of 72. I added 5 more this weekend to bring my total to 80. Most of them are unique and very different, though I have a few 6x12 and 6x24. There are another 17 at my dad's house that I use for embroidery work. Thanks to everyone for guessing. I love hearing from my readers. When I reach 100 followers I'll have another giveaway.

Mikaela is 26 weeks old!

2011-07-20T01:10:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 26 weeks old on the 20th. She's so full of life and really watches everything now. We have to really watch that she doesn't fall off of things or roll over where she's not supposed to be.

She loves to have everything in her mouth. We've given her lots of teething chews, toys, and rattles.

And at the end of the pictures sessions she pouts her lips and says I've had enough!

Mikaela is 6 Months Old!

2011-07-19T12:40:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 6 months old on July 19th. She's setting up on her own and developing quite the personality. Sat. night in the extreme heat we went to the H2O water show at Canyon Lake Park. It was really good and Mikaela loved seeing all the people. It actually felt cooler than the temperature read.

She was watching everything!

She even rolled up in her quilt and played with the grass.

Friday night we went to the races. She slept through most of the first heats, then wasn't so sure about the noise. Then during the mains she started to enjoy herself, as long as she had mommy's pop bottle.

She enjoyed the pool again. This time she was able to sit up on her own.

Daddy set the bigger pool up and she helped fill it. Daddy was tickling her.

She's forming lots of expressions now. This one reminds me so much of my mom. She would purse her lips in a smile.

Apparently she was done for with the camera.

She's really into chewing now. She got her first tooth on the 18th and the 2nd one will soon follow.

She's getting tired and ready for bed. Mommy just loves this giraffe outfit from my mom's cousin Mary.

Lariann and Larissa's Baby Quilt

2011-07-18T19:09:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday the 12th of July I found out about a baby shower for one of my friends from grade school on Sat. the 16th. Her and her two sisters and I were friends. Her and one of the sisters had come to my shower and I had gone to the others baby shower last year, so I knew I wanted to go. I figured I could quickly whip up a baby quilt. I had 2 Dilly Dally charm packs and enough fabric to make 2 little girl quilts. I found out she was having a girl and set to work. I made the top on Tues/Wed. nights. I had it done in just a few hours, but Mikaela helped so it took a bit longer.

I quilted it on Wed. night and worked on the binding at work on Thurs. and Fri.

I just loved the daisies I quilted into it.

But, I knew her sister had had a little girl on July 5th and just couldn't go without making a quilt for her sister's little girl as well. I took the other Dilly Dally charm pack and made this quilt top on Thurs. night. We went to the races on Fri. night, so I got up early Sat. morning and quilted and bound it before the shower.

It turns out the hand work takes longer than making the top! I quilted daisies into this one as well.

I just love how the quilting turned out.

Here's Lariann with the new baby quilt.

She seemed to really like it.

Her sister wasn't there, but will get the quilt soon. I really enjoy making baby quilts, knowing that the recipient will love it. I have enough from fat quarters and scraps to make 2 more quilts just like these. I even worked out a deal to make one for a co-worker and she'll make me scrap book pages in exchange! I just love that kind of deal, since I suck at making anything scrap book related.

Mikaela is 25 Weeks Old!

2011-07-14T23:55:00.001-06:00

Time sure flies! Mikaela is already 25 weeks old. She got her first try at the swimming pool on July 14th. It was cold, but she absolutely loved it! Missy has her own pool, so they were both outside together. It was hot during the days, so in the evening in the shade it was still pretty warm.

She was really exploring in the pool. She's getting better at sitting, but not quite there yet. She liked to be by the edge.

She really enjoyed daddy making noises on her chest. I think every daddy does this, since I remember my dad doing it too.

She's been spending time in mommy's sewing room, since it's cooler there. She loves the cool hardwood laminate.

She's definitely enjoying posing for pictures.

She's such a ham when she wants to be. I just love the toothless grin.

She loves the red minkee as it's so soft and cuddly.

Sewing for Fun!

2011-07-13T09:17:00.000-06:00

I've been doing a lot of just fun sewing, just because I want to this week! On Tues. of last week, my co-worker/friend Pat was admiring the sunflower wall hanging/table runner that I made for Jody and Adam's wedding. She's taken classes from me before and enjoys my quilty projects. She was saying something about how she'd never get one of my quilts since she's never getting married, having kids, graduating or the likes of the reasons I might give a co-worker a quilt gift. She's such a kind hearted woman and I knew she'd appreciate a quilt, so I went to the store after work Wed. looking for something that would speak to me. I found this Maxine fabric panel and knew it was perfect! I showed it to her office mate Shannon and she thought it was perfect too!
Sun. night I put the borders on, quilted it, added a sleeve and attached the binding. It took me about an hour and a half. I sewed the binding on by hand Monday morning. She about fell over, she was so excited! She moved the pictures on her wall in her office so I could hang it up right above her desk. I called it, Just Because We're Friends! I love to give quilts to totally unexpecting people when I know they will truly appreciate it.

Before I started this on Sun. night, I ended up cleaning up my ruler rack. I have a lot of rulers and just had to get a handle on it. I wrote down all the sizes I had, by brand, so I would have a list to reference. I've been replacing some with Creative Grids, so I do have quite a few.

Anyone want to take a guess as to how many rulers I have? I will say I have 6 at work, so they aren't all on this holder. This is a holder my little bro got me for Christmas one year and I love it! Yes, the clock is right i was doing this around 9 Sun. night and then did the wall hanging afterward. My quilting time now is from about 9-midnight if I last that long! I'll send out a few fun fat quarters to the person who guesses closest to the correct number.

I used the other side of the panel and quilted it on Sun. after I got done. I cut it up into 9 squares for mug rugs. I used insulbrite as the batting, so it will keep cold things cold/hot things hot or not get it on the desk. I made this one for myself. I sewed the binding on by machine and oh my gosh, I'm in LOVE with the new Wonder Clips by Clover, I think it is. Nancy's Notions if I remember correctly. They have a lip that clips onto the binding, but a flat clear back that lies flat, so no pinning, yet they hold well and secure. I can't believe how much I love them, since I am not one to use clips when I do my hand binding.

Here's the look from the back. My corners turned out perfect without having to go back and redo them!

I made this one for my co-worker friend Shannon.

This one is for Pat, the same one I made the wall hanging for. They both loved them!

Yesterday I found out about a friends baby shower on Sat. I decided I could whip out a quilt, so I pulled out this kit I had made up of a charm pack and yardage. It's similar to a coin quilt, only not all the charms are cut in half. I cut it up and sewed the blocks last night in under 45 min. I have them in the rows ready to sew tonight and should be able to get it on the frame yet tonight. See... this friend is having a baby, but her sister, who is also a good friend just had a little girl, so I feel like I should make 2 quilts. I may just make another one for the other friend. I love this pattern! It's from Moda Bake Shop and goes together so quickly without a lot of fabric. We'll see how much I can get done in the next few days. This is Dilly Dally by Me and My Sisters for Moda.

My little sewing "helper" only had patience to sew the blocks. She was ready to go to bed, so I quit for the night too! So this is the FUN sewing I've been doing this week... totally not doing any of the goals I set for the month.

Mikaela is 24 Weeks Old!

2011-07-08T00:46:00.000-06:00

Mikaela turned 24 weeks old on July 6th. She came home from daycare one night with her hair all spiked up. It was so super cute. She's into eating everything or at least attempting to chew it.

She's got the cutest smile. It's almost as though she smiles with her eyes.

She was all smiley for me this night. The quilt in the background is from my baby shower. My friend Jenn made it for her. I just love to look at all the siggy's and remember those who were there.

I just love her cute little outfit from my mom's cousin Mary.

July 4th Weekend of Quilting

2011-07-08T00:12:00.001-06:00

Thanks to a wonderful hubby and Mikaela's grandma, I got to spend a lot of time quilting this weekend. It felt wonderful! I haven't quilted this much in months.
Saturday night I quilted the sunflower wall hanging. I put the binding on Sunday, and the handwork got done on Tuesday. It's a wedding gift for a co-worker who is getting married this weekend.

I did quite a bit of quilting with swirls in the flowers.

I just love the flower centers.

I also quilted this tablerunner Sat. night for the same wedding gift. It's a 60* tablerunner. It turned out huge! The binding was put on Sunday.

A close up of the quilting.

I also quilted this wall hanging/chair quilt. I'm not sure who will get it yet, but I know someone in my family will love it.

I was still in a quilting mood, so I loaded this wall hanging and quilted it up pretty quickly Sat. night.

I didn't have the "right" purple, so I ended up with cream thread, which actually looks pretty good.

In my effort to avoid working on a sample I need to do for the store, I worked on this vestment for the priest of my parents church. He's 7 foot tall and needs a longer one. I got it done on Monday.

Here's my model, but he's not nearly as tall!

This was a bit of a challenge, but I think it turned out well.

Monday night I decided to do something for me. I put the borders on this wranglers fabric. I made it to fit the 60"x78" piece of minkee I had for the backing. I ended up making it approximately 60"x75"

Tuesday night I quilted up the wrangler quilt.

I love how the quilting turned out.

I used a red thread and I'm pleased with it.

It feels great to have gotten so much done. Wed. night I got the binding on the wranglers quilt. I have been cutting out hst's out of my pink/brown buggy barn fabric to make a new quilt. I'm looking forward to it. For someone who hates HST's, it's funny that I have 4 different HST quilts going at this time! I'm doing them all different, drawn lines, thangles, triangulations, and already cut triangles, so the variety of methods, makes them all a little different.