String Beans

It's been a while since I purchased this "String Beans" pattern from Loft Creations and even longer since I'd coveted the pattern.  I LOVE churn dash blocks and although this isn't your traditional churnie, it caught my eye and I've wanted to make it.  I did a quilt over the  summer in the blue/green colorway so I knew I didn't want to go that route again but tonight my "Noteworthy by Sweetwater" fabric bundle caught my eye and I decided that would be the perfect fabric for the pattern.    I will most likely use kona white with them and I think all I'll need to get started is the sashing fabric.  I'm thinking one of the reds!                                                   

My Week in Review

It's been a nice and semi productive week here in NJ....The weather was cooperative and stayed COLD for a few days so I was forced to stay in the house and sew, so I got the backings done for 2 quilts that were going to the quilter on Tuesday (more on that further down).  Then I took my December Designer Mystery BOM block apart and remade it.  I don't know what I was thinking back in December but I'd forgotten the "red star" part of the block which made for a boring block.  So, that got fixed and the January block assembled.

THEN, I cleaned up my room which was just cluttered with all the fabric from all the BOM's, projects etc...

Monday after work and dinner I had to load my car up for a trip to Delaware to spend some time with my BFF Michelle and her Guild ladies at their monthly "Sit N Sew".  I don't belong to their guild but over the summer I attended a couple of times and they were very gracious and welcoming.  The theme this month was assembling the "Iron Caddy's".  Coincidentally, I'd gotten a kit from Michelle for a caddy as a Christmas present back in December so I was all set...just had to drive and get a sewin

Here's a picture of mine all by itself and then the 2nd picture is all of them.  1 girl left early and another wasn't done yet, and we had a small group this time.  Aren't they cute?  Michelle's is the black/red with little button fabric right between mine and the purple one.

After sewing we left the center and drove up Route 1 to a quilt shop for Michelle to find a couple of pieces of fabric to finish a few projects....  I think I spent more than her even though I went in not needing anything in particular  :)

I got 2 pincushion kits, one is the star and the other is the half moon santa, a pattern for a cute winter runner, 4 black fat quarters for my upcoming Orca Bay project, some gorgeous red fabric and 3  1 yard pieces of baby girl type fabrics for an upcoming project.  I just loved the focus fabric and knew I needed at least 2 accents to go with it.  The green fabric is for a "retreat project" for May.

The shop was soooo cute and had a lot of projects made up with full baskets of kits !  I love a shop that does that!!!

Last night was spent resetting my machine up and dinner out with 5 friends from other schools in our district. 

Our next Sit N Sew project is the "PLUS" quilt so last night I did a little cutting for that and that will continue tonight too.  I also had some girls mention the old donut pincushions so I pulled my pattern out and am making some of those up while I watch tv at night.....

How was your week?

Pic Stitch

Have you heard of Pic Stitch yet?  My daughter that's getting married in April sent me a picture from it with her dress, shoes and earrings so I HAD to ask how she did it and lemme tell you....it was soooo easy!
I was thinking I could create a blog header somehow using some of my pictures so I created a little picture....now to figure out how to do a blog header  :)

Peggy

Designer Mystery

It feels like it's been ages since I posted one of my "2012 Designer Mystery Block of the Month" blocks.

This month is block # 8 and it was designed by Bonnie and Camille from Cotton Way and Thimble Blossoms.  Coincidentally, we're using their fabric line for this mystery, and I have to say, I love the fabric!  I've never been big on "sampler" style quilts but they added some geese for separators and strips so I like how it looks so far.

This block is called "Lime Sherbet". 
I'm doing this thru Fat Quarter Shop monthly, and have signed up already for the 2013 BOM as well.  I think the 2013 will be done in Fig Tree fabrics...yum!

How's everyone else doing with their blocks?  Is everyone keeping up?

Peggy

Stash Attack

I was in my local quilt shop, "Quilting Possibilities" over New Years and was talking to the owner and she was showing me a new program she was doing called "Stash Attack".  The idea is to deplete the stash!You purchase 2 yards of a background fabric and she gives you the pattern for free, and you strictly use your stash.  Once you complete the top you bring it into the shop and she gives you a 25% coupon off the backing fabric.  Since I needed a baby quilt for a co-worker's first grandchild, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and do it.  It didn't take long to pick out some kiddie fabrics and get the hst's cut, sewn and assembled.  I think I started on Tuesday or Wednesday this week and I finished it in about 4 days. 

Stash Stack Club

Does anyone else belong to the Stash Stack Club with Pink Castle Fabrics? Every month I look forward to getting my fabric! This month is "purple month".

There's only one fabric, the 3rd from the right in the front row, that to me doesn't even appear to be purple but it's ok....I'll find something to use it for :) Notice the red cutting board? A birthday present from my husband for my birthday back in December. It just came last week so I wasn't able to show it before now. I like it a lot since my cutting table and sewing machine cabinet are both white...it looks awesome! PS: I have Brown, Blue, Lime Green, Orange, Turquoise and now Purple... I need to make some single color quilts with them! I'm anxiously awaiting "RED" month. I know for sure I want to make a red and white snowball quilt with them! Peggy

"test" explanation

So, my cute red and white blog background is gone, as are the snowflakes and snowman and anything else that happened to appear on my blog.  My BFF Michelle, center in the previous picture tried to help me straighten my blog out last night and did a great job but if you can believe it, I saw one thing when I logged in and other people saw another background/header etc.   It was just too much work and I'd had enough.
So, i'm back to a plain blog with just a house picture.  NOW...if I could just get pictures from my computer to be used on the blog ......that's making me crazy but I have bigger fish to fry tonight  :)

test

No Reply Blogger

I appreciate everyone that visits my blog and comments...I love it actually!  I do however, have no way of responding to questions or comments if you are a "no reply blogger" or don't even have a blog to look at and comment there.  That said, if you've commented and would like a response you really need to help me out here...... email? blog?

Peggy

Blogging on Sunday

I'm just jumping on here trying to get the hang of how "Blogger" now has things set up.

I'm used to uploading pictures from my computer to posts but apparently now I can't, I have to upload them to Google+ or something....I WILL figure it all out but in the meantime I will have to only post pictures when I can spend the time doing the figuring out  :)

I'm here though...doing our wedding planning, sewing, working and cooking...  Here's a recent picture so you don't forget about me  :)

Peggy

WHAT?  You like that wall hanging behind me?  Isn't it the cutest?  I got that for my birthday last month from my BFF Michelle....  I LOVE it too!!!   And I'm thinking hubby thought it was great because within minutes of opening her package he was at HD getting me a nice rod to hang it....Thanks Michelle, and thanks Al  :)   I'll keep  ya!

So, 2013 started off for me with the last clue of the Bonnie Hunter Mystery "Easy Street".  It was the first one I ever did and I can tell you it won't be my last.  The directions were clear and short of not knowing how to count sometimes, I had everything I needed and enjoyed the process especially because so many girlfiriends did it this time too.

I did a lot of the block assembly last week and then this week I finished up and started assembling the rows.  I got the the point on Thursday night that I had the quilt in 2 units and it just needed connecting.....Well, it was almost 11PM and I knew that when that alarm clock went off at 5:15 I'd be one sad gal so I shut down and figured I'd finish Friday after work.  Well, that didn't quite happen...I came in, was tired, took my shoes off, figured I'd take a cat nap but unfortunately that turned into over 2 hours.....  I did get it done after dinner and I'm just THRILLED with it!!!
     I washed and dried the backing for 2 or 3 backs yesterday so I'm prepping them tonight.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all my friends and family out there in Blogger Land....

I can clearly remember last New Year's Day so I think this was a fast year! 

We had a lot go on in our family and thankfully, for the most part, it was all good. 

I'm looking forward to all that 2013 has to bring, especially April 27th when my daughter Jennifer marries Tim....

"The Family Reunion"

      Back on Thursday when I decided to work on my Snow Days quilt I couldn't find one of the embroidery units so I had to search in my old sewing room downstairs.  I keep a lot of kits and extra fabric down there...  Well, I found the piece and then I happened to pull down one of those project boxes that wasn't labeled and could not believe what was in it.  There were some patterns and a pile of fabric. 

I'd just been talking to my friend Michelle about her "Hot Chocolate" BOM that she picked up again last week after a long time too.  I'd remarked that I thought maybe I "dreamed" that I'd done it and after a lot of searching thru my room I couldn't find it with other BOM's.....How it got on top of an old sewing machine is anyone's guess. 

      I was really excited thinking I could put my "Hot Chocolate" project together too....  I started texting Michelle pictures of the 2 blocks and we realized that I had a different snowman project called "The Family Reunion" and coincidentally, it was a Pearl Louise Design as well, and put out on the market around the same time as the Hot Chocolate.

      I collected up my fusible, found a nice blue/snow background fabric and started tracing today.  I'm going to redo the 2 I had done a few years ago because I think I like the background fabric I have now.

Here are the 3 blocks I've finished so far....

     

 

"Easy Street-Step 6"

I am enjoying this journey on "Easy Street" so much!  I don't think it's because the steps have been easy, but I think the colorway just grabbed me from the start. 

I had one of those sleepless nights last night so as I was sitting in my sewing room doing a little embroidery at 4AM I saw the post go up for Step 6 but I knew I wasn't starting any cutting then....I waited till I'd gotten a little sleep, had some breakfast and even a quick trip to the quilt shop before I pulled out the fabric and got to cutting.

I had a few WOF strips and some fat quarters so I cut all the WOF up and matched them up with the odds and ends pieces so I got a nice variety.  Of course I didn't get all 128 the first time...Oh no, I had to go back and cut 8 more units and with a lot of luck on my side, I got the remaining units with 1 to spare  :)

I'm looking forward to Monday's accelerated step 7......

Here are my 128 black and white units and my 5-1/2 inch squares cut and ready for assembly........

Looking for 2 Fabrics

Do you ever find a fabric or two that you just love and want to use it but you don't want it to run out?

Well, when I started this "Easy Street" journey I found these 2 fabrics on Etsy or somewhere and have cut into them and used them in every step of the mystery but now I'm noticing I don't have much left of either and my search online has not produced any  :(   

I want to do Bonnie's "Orca Bay" sometime in 2013 and want to use these in that too....

Anyone out there in blogland have any of either they'd like to sell or swap? 

I have a stash that is huge AKA Obscene  :)

The top is chickens with black dots and all I know is it's by Fabrictraditions.  The ottom one is little bistro tables and I think the designer is Jackii Jones.  The line was called "Paris...Now" I think but I'm not finding anything.....

HELP!

Peggy

"Snow Days"

No, we're not having snow YET but rumor has it we're going to get some in the next couple of days.....

Me, I could wait for the snow to come on Tuesday but that's just me.  You ask why Tuesday?  Well, I go back to school on Wednesday and could enjoy a couple extra days off...ya know?

Anyway....My 2013 UFO list is made and ready to post this weekend but I decided that I had to pull the "Snow Days" project out to work on.  It was #1 on my UFO list and although it's totally NOT me, I was almost paralyzed at the thought of pulling the pile of blocks, fabric and embroidery units out.    Did I mention that this is totally not like me to be so apprehensive?  Well, I was!

 I did get lucky though....One of the girls I did the BOM with had posted a picture of one of the troublesome areas "for me" to the yahoo site we'd set up to show each other our progress so I took it "One step at a time, small sections, not just the big picture" and guess what?  That worked!!!

So, it's up on the design wall and there's only 1 small opening so all I need to do is pull some small units that are already made out, connect them and then get crackin assembling the center. 

I cannot believe I just let it all go since July 2010!!!!

It's almost embarrasing!  

Oh well, I'm not gonna talk about it anymore, just get sewing and hopefully be done before I have to put it on the 2013 UFO list.....

Last Finish for 2012?

I'm thinking this MIGHT just be my final finish for 2012.....ALTHOUGH, after careful inspection of my calendar, I see there are 5 more full days of 2012 left so who knows!

I've had this bundle of Riley Blake fabric called "Pieces of Hope" since at least July but I did purchase them knowing I was going to assemble a quilt with them before December was over. 

This is a special bundle created especially for "Autism Awareness" which happens to fall around March or April every year.  I researched and found that it will be in April of 2013 so to raise some awareness and money for our newly created Autism program in the school I work in, I am assembling a quilt for them to raffle off.

I saw the bright quilt on the left in this picture below on Pinterest.  I searched all over looking for the pattern or even the person that created this quilt, to no avail.  I have the pattern shown on the right and KNEW I could adapt that pattern to look like the brigtly colored one so I cut, made the blocks and then it sat for 2 nights while we celebrated Christmas.  I came back to it today and I finished it. 

My blocks are each 6.5 inches unfinished.  I used 2.5 inch strips to create the alternating unit and came up with a quilt you might consider a lap quilt, it measures 42-1/2 X 55. 
I do have a red and orange from the bundle that I could add a 3-1/2 inch border around but was wondering if I need the border?

I have the white background with the large dots for the backing and one of the stripes for the binding......

Peggy

2013 UFO CHALLENGE

A few BFF's and I have decided that with the new year coming that we need to finish up some old UFO's.
Of course, if you go back to my December posts of previous years you'll see that I pretty much do this every year but I don't always manage to accomplish the goal  :)      HOWEVER, this year the word "Obscene" has cropped up in my conversations not only with my friends but in my head...you know those conversations "WOW, this has been sitting here since when?  2007?  Oh my....and you have how much red fabric?  WHAT? it fills a 10 gallon rubbermaid bin?  OH lordy!"  You know those kinds of conversations!
So, hence comes the 2013 UFO challenge to myself!

I pulled out the 2 bins of projects, pulled the 20 or so projects and put 9 on the list.  I had to be realistic and not pull out 1 for each month....I have a wedding shower to plan, my daughter's wedding on April 27th, hopefully a small vacation with hubby,  I have monthly BOM's and "want to do" projects (not only UFO's), and oh yeah, I have a full time job, kids to feed, laundry to do and sleep.  I know, I know, sleep is over rated but I seem to need a few hours each night  :)

Here's a UFO I found in the bin that is actually FINISHED as far as I'm concerned. It's a round robin that I did I swear in 2007-2008.  How bad is that that I can't even remember when I did it and I don't have any notes or emails of who or when I worked on it.

It measures 42-1/2 X 59 and I think it's a perfect size for a little girl and I don't think it needs a single thing added to it...NOTHING!!!  So, today I will go thru my backings and find something that will be nice with it and put it aside ready for quilting......

I'll be posting my UFO list on my sidebar and marking when each one gets done.  The list is in no particular order but I can tell you that # 1 will be my "Snow Days" project.  I've been talking about finishing it for weeks or has it been months?  WHATEVER...It's getting done 1st!  I will show pictures of the projects before and when it becomes a finished UFO....I'm keeping it real and keeping myself accountable!!!

I'll take a picture of my SNOW DAYS after I get my design wall cleaned off.  I'm working on a quilt right now that will be for the "2013 Autism Week" in school.  I donate one quilt a year in school that our multiply handicapped children walk around and sell tickets for one lucky recipient.  This year I bought the cute Autism fabric and I'm in the process of assembling the blocks for that.....Show and tell on that in a day or two.

Peggy

Great Day

It's my birthday and I had a great package from one of my BFF's.....  Hubby ran right out to the Home Depot and bought me a curtain rod/quilt hanger and had it hanging within an hour.  I love the wall hanging and as you can see from the picture, it's right next to my computer, ironing station and sewing machine.  I will think of Michelle each and every time I walk into the room and see it  :)  

Step 5

I came into the sewing room around 7PM tonight not expecting I'd get much done. 
I started to draw lines on my little squares and kept thinking "geesh, will I ever accomplish anything?"  It took about an hour I'd estimate to make one block.  At this point  I realized that if I didn't  FOCUS that I'd never get anything done so I hunkered down with my 2 inch purple blocks and my 3-1/2 inch turquoise blocks and I sewed and pressed until I had all 64 blocks done......

Now, it's time to head to bed because tomorrow is another busy day.


Peggy

Christmas Quilts

   I've been on a roll lately with smaller quilts for little ones. 

  

   We had a small shower in school on Tuesday for one of our teachers who's leaving in January.  I'd promised her when I heard she was pregnant that I'd make a baby quilt for her.  I didn't ask her what she wanted, I just dug in my 30's bin and made a Bricks & Stepping Stones quilt from all different scraps. 

She absolutely loved it and told me afterwards that she actually has some feedsacks that she inherited when her mom passed away a few years ago.  I never know if these young mothers like the 30's or if they want something more modern but this time it worked out nicely. 

   AND.....at the shower while sitting with another teacher she was telling me how much her girls love the quilts I made for them when they were babies and another teacher kind of looked like "hmmmm my babies didn't get one".  I'd planned quilts for them, I really did, I even cut them out a year ago but never assembled them.  I always feel guilty when I see her and tell myself to come home and get them assembled.  Well, I went in to pull the kitted quilts out and realized I already had 2 alike quilts made, flannel backed and quilted.  All one needed was 2 short sides tacked down.  I got that done, wrapped them at 11PM last night and at 7am this morning as everyone was signing in I gave the quilts to the teacher....

I just grabbed this picture from the mama's facebook page.... Apparently the flannel backing is a hit and the girls love their new quilts.

I really enjoy making quilts and giving them away, so why do I procrastinate when it comes time to bind them?   GEESH.......

So, is everyone ready for Christmas?  I need 4 gift cards that I can get tomorrow, the dog needs a bath and I need to wrap Hubby's gifts, which won't take long, but other than that, I'm ready....bring on the 25th!!!!!

I'm off to work on Bonnie Hunter's part 5 pieces....anyone finished yet?  LOL

Easy Street- Part 4

I think that I've become "The Geese Queen".  Yes, this new Bonnie Mystery step called for 64 more geese with purple centers and turquoise/teal wings.  I got them done early this afternoon and then just before putting them away I realized Bonnie may have given us some advance assembly or cutting so I looked at the last page of instructions and there they were....assemble our 64 blue/purple geese with 64 of the white/purple geese from last week and voile......this is what you get  ----------------------->

So, now it's time to store this step away and settle in to do something else until Bonnie posts the next step on Friday.
And just in time.......Fat Quarter Shop hooked me up with my 7th Designer Mystery Block of the month.......Stay tuned for pictures of that.

Peggy

PS:  Is everyone done shopping?  I think I am!!!  I know it's hard to believe if you know me  :)    I'm usually shopping Christmas Eve.  I'm happy that I'm done and I'm all ready to wrap a couple of last gifts.

Starry Night

    Can you believe I've been doing this block of the month since 2011?  I know it's not been that long but when you're supposed to be doing a BLOCK A MONTH, I should have been finished back in September 2011....  BUT, I've made a promise to myself that I am taking 1 project off the shelf and not starting anything new until 1 old one is finished.  I'm giving myself 2 months per project to get blocks made, assembly done, quilted and bound....from start to finish!  I'm sure I could finish quicker but right now I'm doing 2 other projects that require attention...one is the Bonnie Hunter mystery, and I get those instructions on Fridays and the other is the Fat Quarter Designer Mystery BOM. 

     Here is the 12th block that I did tonight -------------------->
I absolutely love the fabric in this block!

     I see now that I need to assemble 13 Pieced Pinwheel Star Alternate Blocks!   That ought to keep me busy for a while  :)

    
Here are the 12 blocks....off to start cutting some pinwheel stars.....


Peggy

DONE

I'm obsessed I guess......

Yes, I'm done with step 3 of Bonnie's Mystery.
I had a nice selection of purples in my stash and an even larger
selection of the black on whites. 
I would have loved a little more of an advance step other than just 2 3 inch green squares but I'll settle for that.  I didn't cut them in half yet like Bonnie suggested.  I'll just wait and do that when it's time.

I guess now I have the remainder of the weekend to work on other projects  :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend.....

Peggy

Easy Street Part 3

No, I'm not done yet  :)  

I did see the instructions mighty early this morning but couldn't start cutting until I got home from work this afteroon.  I don't know about the rest of you doing this mystery, but I for one LOVE the colors Bonnie chose.  I can't wait to cut into my green's.

Here's all my parts cut out ............................


I also decided that before I went too far that I needed to make 1 block to be sure I got the size correct. 
Bonnie calls for an "Easy Angle" ruler but not being one to buy rulers other than your usual straight ones, I just cut mine the old fashioned way.  I like to know I have the right size before I go and make all 64!

Here's 1 made up...

Dontcha love it??????????????

Off to make the others now.....

Peggy

Easy Street Part 2

Was anyone else as crazy as me on Friday morning knowing we were getting step 2 of Bonnie's mystery?

I normally don't turn the computer on until later in the day, like 3:00 when I get home from work but here I am at 5:45 in the morning turning it on and printing off the instructions  :)   

I am normally making breakfast so I can get to work at 7am, but I gave up breakfast to get my step 2  :)

I didn't have much time to sew yesterday so I got the majority done today and am ready for linking up.....

(sure is a lotta black and white in this picture!!!)

Bonnie's Mystery Part I Finished

Here is a picture of my 192 3-1/2 inch 4 patch blocks for the first step of the mystery.  This was a fun and easy step.....I'm hoping all of them are the same way  :) 
My grey is a little lighter than the suggested by Bonnie but I was limited in my selection at my local shop and I didn't want to order online for fear the grey would not be what I wanted to use.  I do like it though and I KNOW it's going to look perfect in this project.  This picture is from my cell phone so the coloring is a little off.

I was accused by one of my BFF's Laura No Blog yesterday of having help catching up to her and the others in our group.  She thought that my little friend Pedro the Preying Mantis (see previous post) helped do some cutting and sewing since I was able to catch up after a day out of state....She then thought that my daughter's puppy Luna may have even helped....REALLY Laura?  Luna would have preferred EATING the rotary cutter to cutting with it.....

Little does Laura No Blog know, but I have a sweat shop going in my basement and we have a team of praying mantis's down there pressing fabric, cutting strips and doing some sewing for me when I'm too tired after a hard day at work  :)

Easy Street-Part 1

     I have been waiting it feels like MONTHS for Easy Street to start and don't you know, the day it starts I'm in my car heading to Maryland for the day!  Luckily for me it was just for a haircut and color and lunch with my favorite hairstylist, then home by dinnertime.  We ordered some chinese and off to my sewing room to start cutting 2 inch strips.  I really love the variety of black on white fabrics I had in my stash, and I even picked up about 5-6 small pieces in the last week or two, just to add some variety. 

I cut and then sewed strips and even got them pressed and subcut, and in true "Peggy Fashion" I made my first 10 4 patch blocks so I could see how they looked  :)    Just an FYI, I tried Bonnie's twist turn for pressing the 4 patches flat and what a HUGE difference in how nicely they lay....check out her part 1 instructions for the link to those directions....

     I have a "family to be" baby shower today at 3:00....my daughter's future sister in law, so I'll try and slip an hour at the machine before I leave and then when I get home later.  I'd love to get all the 4 patches made tonight and then focus on other things tomorrow, but we will see.....

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Happy Thanksgiving....

Taking a walk down Easy Street

As previously posted, I am participating in Bonnie Hunter's mystery "Easy Street".  I took a picture today of the fabrics I am using and in true form, I'm doing the mystery in the exact colorway Bonnie suggested.
I figured that way, if she says "green" I won't grab orange, in case I changed it up a little.....
I had everything in my stash except for the "constant" fabric, which is a grey, and I did order some black on whites to add to what I have already, but they haven't come yet.  I think the mail being re-routed because of Hurricane Sandy is holding my new stuff up, but I have plenty as you will see, to start the mystery.

The first step is being posted Friday.  I will be away most of the day but I'll print it off and may even get to start it.  Saturday is a baby shower, so I won't get much done then either....but Sunday is MINE so I'll be sure to get to cutting.
I think the colorway is AWESOME and can't wait to get started!

Are you doing the mystery?  What colorway are you doing?

Peggy