Sunday, May 29, 2016

Memorial Weekend 2016

Can it really be the start of the summer already?   I feel like I just had jeans and hoodies on and now we have the AC on and the pool opened....

This is my view of the pool from my sewing room.....Big Papi opened the pool and this clear blue is what we saw!!!!!!!!!!    YAY for a new balloon!


So, while Papi was out taking the cover off, filling with water and testing it, I was up sewing......
I started this Lella Boutique pattern last week.  I pulled lots of fabrics from my stash bins but I also released some bundles I'd had sitting on shelves looking pretty....  I wanted a lot of variety of color and design for each block and I think I may have just gotten exactly what I wanted!  I wanted florals, geometric, dots and stripes and with taking my time and searching I achieved it.
Now to look thru my big bin of backing fabrics and see if I have something fun for it.  Fingers crossed :)


And a blog post wouldn't be complete without a picture of our little monster......
Olivia turned 18 months old last Sunday and although she's the apple of this grandma's eye, she is into everything and laughs when I call her my little monster!


Here's hoping all of you a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!


Peggy





Friday, May 13, 2016

2014 Designer Mystery Block of the Month


So, this was 10 months into the Mystery BOM and then "NOTHING" happened until last week....almost 2 years after it started.

I've been picking up way too many new projects lately so I made the decision in January that for every 2 new projects, I had to do 1 old UFO.  May was the time to pick this bad boy up and git er done.....

I got the first section sewed in record time last Sunday and by Tuesday I had the entire top done and the back pieced.  Don't mind the pictures, we haven't seen much sun here in NJ so nothing is bright!


I LOVE seeing an empty project bin!   
I did have a lot of leftover fabric since Fat Quarter Shop is super generous with their BOM's and was going to offer to give the scraps and patterns away here on the blog but I had such a nice note from a girl on Instagram that LOVES the fabric and missed out on getting in on this BOM, so I offered the whole business to her and she took it all.  I'm mailing it all out tomorrow to her when I mail the quilt to my favorite long arm girl.......

I'm not quite sure which new project I want to start right now but this one is a sure frontrunner....

It's a pattern called "Homestead" by Lella Boutique.
I've never done anything by her but I LOVE hst's and I had this bundle of fabric sitting around waiting to be cut into so "why not!".........I'll keep you posted!

Have a great weekend and hopefully you can do some sewing or reading or something else that makes you happy.....  I'll be here in my HAPPY place sewing.

Peggy



Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Yes, It's May Already

     Funny how quickly the months are going now that both my husband and I are retired.  We've been taking small trips to Florida to see family and other things but that's a story for a day when I can get my pictures loaded onto the computer.

     For now, a little sewing update.

     First, 2016 is the year of the "Variable Star Block of the Week".  I'm doing mine with Kona Snow, some Riley Blake dots and scraps of prints for the center blocks.  I made the decision to do the 4 for each month at one time so I don't get behind.  These are my 4 for May.


I keep my blocks, kona, dots etc in a nice project box....

Next up is my "IheartB&C" blocks.  I'm doing 2 blocks a month with other girls on Instagram.  Last year we did the same thing but we could send any block we wanted.  This time, the coordinator thought it might be nice to get more of a variety of blocks so we all picked 6-7 from a program she'd found using all HST's.  This week I got 2 blocks and I LOVE them both!  Anyone that knows me knows how much I LOVE red so you can tell from the picture that I'm in heaven.   This picture is the 2 blocks along with an 11 inch square Ohio Star wooden sign.  I'd ordered it from a girl on Instagram and got that in yesterday's mail as well....  Well worth the money I spent!!!



Here's a picture of the blocks I made for May.  I also made each of the girls a mug rug to send along.



Another thing I'm working on for 2016 is making charity quilts for Ronald McDonald House.  An Instagram friend is collecting them and donating them in her mom's memory.  Her mom died late last year from cancer and wanted to do something in her memory.   We don't have to sandwich the quilts, all we have to do is make the top and ship it off.  She takes care of the sandwiching and quilting.....
This is the 4 tops I made in April.

Lastly......... This doesn't need any words.....


We will be grandparents again.......