Catching Up...

I am so darn bad at blogging on a regular basis! I am not even going to try to apologize or make excuses. It is just a fact that blogging has not been high on my priorities list. But...I'm here today to share some things that have been happening and I hope to be back sooner, rather than later.  :-)

There will be no rhyme or reason to the order of pictures I share today. I am simply going through some photos and sharing what I think are fun or special pictures. 

This was NOT fun! Fortunately I had a second pair on hand, so I didn't have to tape these. 

Honestly though, I kind of wanted to tape them and see Jack's reaction, as well as the grandkids. I'm sure they would have simply rolled their eyes.  

Since I'm feeling a little silly right now, I'll share one of my favorite pictures of my BFF Kare. She just might have a sweet tooth and when she goes/sews away from home, she is always prepared. :-) 

I don't know if you noticed in the picture above, but Kare is also health conscious, so she added a banana to the basket of Peeps and Milk Duds. 😂

My absence here on the blog doesn't mean that I haven't been busy. I love that Avery and Peyton spent some time sewing while they were here recently. They had projects in mind and I just let them "have at it." They are happy with their results and I feel certain that they are both becoming much more comfortable sewing on their own. 

They always clean up after themselves and I like that. Perhaps they can teach me. LOL

I've been busy with programs, classes and events over the past few months, and that will continue. This is what the back of my car looks like quite often these days. 

I'll eventually share pictures of some of the classes and events, but know that will not get done right away. I want to spend time at my sewing machine and will download pictures when I need a break from that. 

The image below made me laugh out loud. It was sent to me by a friend who heard me lamenting that I've been feeling like all I've done recently is attend meetings, prepare for events, etc.  If I was a drinker, I might consider doing this.  LOL

I'm going to go spent time with my trusty sewing machine. 💖 

See you soon!

School Colors - Secret Sewing Reveal

 This isn't on my design wall right now, but it was recently one of my secret sewing projects that is now complete. The timing of the reveal is perfect, as it's that time of year that kids are headed back to the classroom.

Introducing...

School Colors

This pattern is now available in both 

print and pdf version at 
Busy Hands Quilts.

Just like every other quilt I've made using one of Myra's pattern, this was so easy to follow and her illustrations are wonderful. The pattern includes two sizes (throw and twin); and they both perfect for kids going off to college or when you want to show your school spirit and stay warm at the same time. Unlike many patterns that require more blocks to be made to increase the size, the twin size is made using the same number of blocks, just a larger size. How cool is that? 

Here are a few pictures of Myra's completed quilt. 
 

School Colors - Image from Busy Hands Quilts

School Colors - Image from Busy Hands Quilts

Check out that quilting! 

School Colors - Image from Busy Hands Quilts

As you know, I always like to take pictures of the quilts I make from side angles. 

And a look from the other side...

One of the coolest things about this quilt is that the blue stars are not pieced as star blocks. They are created with some awesome pieced sashing. WooHoo!

You all know that I am a sucker for a good red, white, and blue quilt, so I'll be making my own version of this soon because it will make a great Quilt of Valor. But, I am also thinking that this would be a great quilt to make for a school fundraiser. All you need are the two school colors and a background/accent, and you are good to go. If you are having a difficult time visualizing this, Myra has provided some samples in a variety of colors. Check it out HERE.

School Colors - Image from Busy Hands Quilts

You can get your own copy of School Colors at Busy Hands Quilts.

While you're there, sign up for her newsletter. 

Check out Myra's Facebook page for more pictures of this beautiful quilt. 

You won't be sorry you did! 

So, what IS on my design wall today?

I finished Peyton's elephant quilt top. I'm got the back ready to sew and then it's time to quilt this puppy elephant. :-)

I've been playing around with a small project that I can use for teaching a very basic paper piecing class, and this is what I've come up with. After I took this picture, I layered it, quilted it, and have the binding sewn on. I'll hand stitch that down later today. 

 

I did finish the Picket Fence quilt top that I showed last week. Since I was using up leftover pieces of a layer cake (10" squares), my quilt is smaller than the pattern size. I was toying with the idea of adding a border, but I opted against that and am happy with my choice. Without thinking, I took it off the wall before I remembered to get a picture.  I hope to get this quilted and bound by mid-week, so I'll get some pictures then.

What are you working on today?

Check out the Quilters Eye Candy at

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and

Love Laugh Quilt

Helpers!

It's been quiet here on the blog over the last week, but that's only because we've been busy celebrating with family and friends.

In my previous post, I had pictures of our Christmas celebration here on Dec. 22nd, but I didn't share pictures of earlier that day when Avery and Peyton were here. They came early while Lynn and Ty ran errands, etc. Because it was just the girls (we figured Layne should probably stay with Lynn), we had lots of time to play and enjoy some alone time with them.

As with all the grandkids, Avery and Peyton love to be helpers. They helped Grandpa Jack fill the bird feeders. (Notice that the girls are wearing short sleeves. It was pretty warm that day {Dec. 22nd}, but that didn't last long. Check out the pictures at the end of the post that I took Dec. 23rd.) 

After filling the feeders, you really do have to come inside to check out which birds came to enjoy a feast.

Of course when you're using binoculars to check out birds, you have to check out each other too.

And when there are gifts under the tree, binoculars help you read the names written on each package. 

And in Peyton's case, you have to check out your favorite tree ornaments.

It was a good thing they filled those feeders because this is what it was like outside the very next day.

 

I have a lot more pictures to share, but I've got work to do. Perhaps I'll share them later today or tomorrow.

Some Sewing, Some Not

Here's the back to the Scrappy Strips that I showed on Monday. I used the extra blocks I made for the backing and I love it! 

 

 

I had a helper yesterday and she did a really good job keeping all of the blocks in order. It sure did speed up the process.  :-)

 

 

I had three young ladies with me yesterday as well and they sure did have fun playing on the roll of batting that I purposely did not put away because I knew they would love rolling around on this. I was not wrong. They played on this for nearly an hour the first time and probably another 20 minutes later.  

 

 

Ann bought some hula hoops and left them here because I only had two and there are six grandkids. They sure do have a blast with them, even Peyton who pretty much just kept walking through them. They always say, "Thanks Aunt Ann!" whenever they play with them.  

 

And then it was rest time...

 

I love this picture of Sadie and Avery. Avery, who is not even three yet, is almost as tall as Sadie who is five. They both have birthdays in August and just realized that yesterday. They had so much fun together.  



 

 

Not much sewing has been done the last few days, but that doesn't matter.

 

These days are so precious and I cherish them.

 

Be safe and have a wonderful July 4th!

 



March Recap

March was National Quilting Month.

What did you do to celebrate?

I was fairly productive during the month, but what I am even more excited about was the fact that I had numerous opportunities to share the joy of quilting with new quilters. (I sometimes feel like a "quilt pusher" who gets a kick out of introducing people to MY drug of choice - QUILTING.)

I've shown various projects throughout the month that I've completed, but here are a few tops that are ready for quilting. The bottom four have the backing and binding ready to go and all that needs done is to get them on the frame. I hope to have the backing and bindings ready for the top three by next week. Most of these are donation quilts or class sample quilts and although there are deadlines, they aren't super soon.

Here's the Mondo Bag and Strip Quilt that I made using just one Jelly Roll and 2 yards of fabric. That was fun and I'm making another set, only this time I'm using more modern fabrics - Poems from Pebbles. I got my Jelly Roll from M&E Quilt Shoppe and I know they have more, along with Charm Packs and Layer Cakes. (See I AM a quilt pusher!)

I was very lucky to spend National Quilting Day (and rest of the weekend with a couple of my favorite people.  :-) 

There was a lot of laughter and even some sewing.

Of course there was also some eating! 

Tony, Claire and Ryan worked hard and made a wonderful dinner Saturday night. There was a lot of team work during the cooking process, but don't let the pictures fool you. There was a lot of laughter coming from the kitchen too!

And even though this isn't what I had intended to make, these blocks (plus three more) got sewn and are ready for sashing. These are a version of a Disappearing Nine Patch.

The original plan was for Ann, Jerry, Connie and I to follow the same Disappearing Nine Patch pattern and see how our fabric choices made the blocks look different. We spent quite a bit of time Friday playing with the block construction and none of us liked what what happening so we decided to work on our own projects. I didn't take much else on which to work, so this is what I did. I don't love it, but that's ok. I'll finish it and move on to my next new and exciting project.

But, none of the quilting projects completed during the month of March compare to what Lynn and Ty completed. 

Peyton Louise is simply adorable and a wonderful blessing to us all! 

I see a future quilter here. :-)

Baby Update!

Peyton Louise was born this morning at 8:05 and all are doing well. She is 19 1/2" long and weighs 8lbs 13oz. Wowzers!

 Avery will be visiting her baby sister this afternoon and that should be fun to see.