Green and Blue

Since I finished my 2 projects this weekend and I'm leaving on vacation Thursday morning, I didn't want to jump into a big project but I started something new anyway...... 

I pulled out my bin of green and blue fabrics which were inspired by Amy Smart's blog "Diary of a Quilter".  http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2011/11/new-pattern-and-shop-update.html  She made her churn dash quilt both in reds and green and blue. 

 When I first saw the blocks I was able to pick up some of the same fabrics she used in hers (yes, I'm a copycat) and along the way I've gone thru my stash and come up with some additions to the pile....

Anyhow, I cut up some Kona Snow and got to making some churnies in the 9-1/2 inch size....

I made 14 the past 2 nights but I'm going to have to stop here and get some stuff ready for vacation. 

One Day Retreat

On Tuesday I attended a sew in with some of my friend Michelle's lady friends from her guild.

The theme of the day was working with the "twister" templates.  I've done multiple twisters in the last few months but it was an opportunity to spend the day with Michelle and sew.

I chose Halloween fabrics from my stash and cut my own 5 inch charms. 

Here is the topper once I cut my charms up with the twister .

I was able to get the border on while I was still at the meeting place and even had backing fabric with me....but did I remember batting?  Of course not....so I had to wait till I got home.  Well, I had other things to finish first so this kind of got put on the back burner but tonight I did some cross hatching on it and got a black/green/purple dot binding on it and voile!  I have a finished table topper.  I just love the purple spider and spider web border fabric!!!

OH, and I just had to show you the wagon I bought last year to transport all my project "stuff" when I go to these sew ins.  I was able to put my sewing machine, all my tools, fabric, show n tell, lunch etc. and the bag on top is 3 quilts I picked up from Michelle that she quilted for me.  It's so nice to be able toget everything in 1 carrying  wagon to get it inside!

Hometown Christmas

I purchased this kit in 2004!  Yes, that's right 2004.......Every fall I'd tell myself to pull it out and get working on it but every year something else would come up and it would sit. 

Hometown Christmas is a Thimbleberries kit comprising of 4 booklets.  I promised myself back in 2011 that I'd do a booklet every 2-3 months and get it done....well, that didn't happen, although I did work on it here and there, just not on a regular basis.  In May of 2012 I made the decision that it was getting done come hell or high water so I got working on it in between other projects. 

Last week I put the finished center up on the design wall and when hubby saw it he made sure I knew he liked it and would love to see it on our bed this winter. 

It's so big I don't have a single spot where I can lay it out and get a good picture....(hence the wrinkles in the border)

Here's a closeup of some of the blocks...

I am prepare for it being quilted too....I purchased the backing last week so it will be mailed to my favorite quilter on Monday!

It is a bit small for a king size bed, and I'll show hubby that it doesn't fit quite right so it might have to be for my son's room.

If there's anyone out there in blogland that would like the patterns for this quilt, leave me a message and I'll mail it out to you Monday.  First come first serve!
It was a fun quilt to make but I doubt I'll ever do it again.

Peggy

Redesigned Room

I woke up to a very sunny day today but by the time I had lunch, it was dark as night, we'd lost power and it was POURING!  That was the perfect opportunity to get hubby to take the doors off the sewing room closet and move a heavy duty shelving unit from the wall that partly blocks the door into the room from opening all the way and move it into the closet.  Here's the result of that rearranging..... That meant that I could put the ironing board up against the wall and still have plenty of room to walk around the room.

While rearranging, I found a bag of fabric.....what a surprise (not).  While in Indiana back in May I saw a quilt on display in Backdoor Quilts so I bought the book and kitted it up myself....

I also bought some red white and blue fat quarters and some other assorted pieces......
I love re-shopping and not spending any money  :)

2012 Designer Mystery BOM Block #2

Keeping my promise of doing the block for this block of the month within 5 days of getting the kit....

This block is called "Mint Julep" and it was designed by Lisa Bonegan of Primitive Gatherings.

Snowflakes

I actually assembled this quilt at a retreat back in mid November and has had it quilted for quite a while but I put it away while I was reorganizing my sewing room (I think) and never pulled it back out.  Last night I opened the quilt room closet door and lo and behold it fell out at me so I decided that before I did a single thing today that I'd trim it down and get the binding on....but what to use as binding? 

The back of the quilt is the blue snowflakes, but when I threw it up on the design wall I realized it really needs red...so in search of a nice red I went and came up with something I think will work.  It's not actually a polka dot although thats what it looks like from far away, but when you get up close to it the "dots" are actually small hexagons I think.  It's from Karen Snyder "Anna Lena Designs"....

Here's a picture of  the quilting up close.  Michelle did a snowflake in it and it's soooo cute! I'm guessing that because the design is on the larger side that the quilt is already fluffy!  I can only imagine how much fluffier it will get once I finish and wash it.

I don't know what it is with me this year but I have 3 winter/christmas quilts going.....that's like unheard of for me :)

It's another rainy day here at the Jersey Shore...guess I'll sew  :)


Peggy

Another Finish

Gotta love a rainy vacation day....  I'd been working on this Gail Pan Designs project called "Busy Little Elves" for years and then a few months ago I pulled it back out, finished assembling the units and got the top into 3 units and then I don't know what happened or what I started working on, but it sat and sat and sat...............I finally pulled it out on Tuesday I think, got the units connected and then started working on the borders.  I finished it totally after dinner tonight and LOVE how it came out.

I'm going to assemble the back from all the left over fabrics that I used in the front....And then, I get to see my quilter Michelle on Tuesday and will drop this and the yellow/black/grey quilt off with her for quilting!

Below are two upclose pictures of the embroidery blocks.. aren't they cute?

New Embroidery Project

I have not finished any of my recently started embroidery projects but I'm going on a cruise in August and NEED a portable embroidery project to take with me so I pulled out this one.  You may have seen over at Michelle's Blog
that she too was starting it so I pulled mine out and will trace it and bring it with me to work on. 

 I kitted 3 of these up for Michelle, Robin and Myself when we went to Indiana back in May so it's not like I'm being a copy cat LOL  

Do You Kit?

Do you like kits?  I know girls that don't because they like to use from their stash, but me...I like them.

I think it comes from not being secure in picking out which fabrics go with what.  Like this bundle of fabric 

Robin worked with a pattern called "Salt Air Crossing" this week so I thought I'd collect up some fabrics and kit it mysef.  I think this bundle would work nicely with some kona snow.....what do you think?

I am also teased a LOT about a cabinet I have that Michelle and Robin call my "MAGIC CABINET".  Jelly rolls and honey buns go in and bundles magically appear  :)   That's not really what happens (obviously) but on occasion I will say to them "while I was looking in the cabinet I came across this kit or fat quarter bundle or whatever and they just laugh at me....Most times it's neater than this but you can see what they laugh at.    I did find a few kits in the back of these bundles just this week that I KNOW either I kitted or bought but have no idea how long they've been in there.  I guess I can say I'm a serious fabric/kit hoarder....just ask the girls, they'll tell you that all you have to do is mention a Thimbleberries kit and I probably have it.  I went on a serious kit buying BOM spree for about 4 or 5 years so I have a LOT!!!!!

Here's the couple of kits I found that I would like to work on this summer......

A Couple of Finishes

Yes, I do have a couple of finishes....2 way overdue.

I got the yellow/black/grey quilt assembled in record time I would say and it looks great.  I was going for Queen size but alas, I did not have enough fabric so it's approximately twin/full.....Good enough for a throw at the foot of my daughter's bed, which is what she wanted so it will be perfect.  I also found a great yellow marbelized 108 wide piece of fabric for the backing from Backside Fabrics, which is exactly what Jen wanted so I done good this week  :)    (this isn't the best picture, especially since the sewing room walls are yellow and the sun was shining but it is what it is for today)

I also had gotten back a few quilts from my favorite quilter Michelle back in May....yes, you heard it, May.  I was like I was obsessed when I got them, making bindings and getting them sewn on....but then I got sidetracked with other things and there they sat.  Well, I finally bit the bullet the last 2 weeks and got them bound  The top one is an Ohio Star quilt and the bottom is a Laurel Burch top that my friend Robin assembled from a bag of LB blocks probably 3-4 years ago.  

They'll go into the  cabinet until they're needed for gifts....

I had a nice surprise yesterday too!  My friend Michelle in Dover, Delaware kiddingly suggestedthat Robin and I come to Delaware for a"Twister" class she's doing on the 24th.  I looked at my summer work calendar and lo and behold I'm off that day and hubby will be on a business trip so I told Michelle to hook me up and I'd drive down.  YES, it's a 3 hour drive and the class starts at 9 but what's a lack of sleep when I get to sew with a friend, possibly meet some nice new ladies and get outta town?  I'll do a post on that after I go....
      I've got our Handyman extroadinairre putting some flourescent lighting up in my sewing room this morning so I'm doing the dreaded laundry........

I just found this picture of what the "Snapshots" quilt will look like when finished.  I did this one in 2010 in black/white/turquoise and it's still one of my favorite finishes!

Do you like yellow?

I've never been big into yellow but as I read blogs and other quilt related articles in magazines etc. I see that everyone says that yellow belongs in every quilt....REALLY?  Well, back in 2011 I did assemble an entire quilt in yellow and white for a friend (Hi Abby) and then back around Easter my oldest daughter sent me an email with a picture of a bedroom that she is trying to duplicate and it's in all yellow, black, greys and white. 

She wants a quilt for her bed and here are the chosen fabrics.
I decided the other day it was time to add some solids and more yellows from my stash and get the quilt going. 

I picked the "Happy Hour" book by Atkinson Designs and the pattern is "Snapshots".  NOW...I'd have loved to make the 14 inch blocks but somehow buying fat quarters does not insure that you get an exact 22 x 18 inch piece of workable fabric, especially after washing it.  So, I've had to settle for making 9 inch blocks which means to make a queen size top, I'll be making about 80 blocks or so..... eek!  

I assembled a few last night......

Yeah...the yellow looks much brighter in these pictures than it really is and this is not the real layout, I just threw them on the floor so I could take a picture.....

OH...and coincidentally, at retreat back in May, my friend Laura was working with these exact fabrics.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA (you firecracker). 
I wish I'd taken a picture of her project but somehow that slipped past me.

I guess over the next week or two I'll get these assembled and a final picture posted.

In the meantime, Happy 4th of July!

Peggy

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July to everyone !!!!