Yay for the Weekend!

 I got another row on my Cheddary Challenge!  I have two blocks done but they may wind up in the back since I am really ready for this top to be done!  This picture is sideways, but for now you get the idea.

 I then started putting Smith Mountain Morning blocks together (really hoping this is the UFO of the month for September--if not I may switcharoo it!).

I have two more rows together and pinned to be added, then a few more and borders.  I hope to finish this up at Becky's Sew In tomorrow.  For now, I am taking a machine sewing break and watching "V is for Vendetta" with Kathy.  I brought some hand stuff down to do and my knitting, so never fear more crafting is happening tonight!  

So very happy for a long weekend!  I am working a few hours at the crack of dawn on Monday but other than that I am free to sew, sew, sew!

Edit:  This is the UFO that was pulled.  I think I can manage to get this quilted in September!

11. MY BROKEN CROCKERY this one is a flimsy which I love and didn't want to wreck by quilting it myself. I need to either bite the bullet and do it by machine or by hand or just see if Ros can do a tiny one for me.

Cheddary Challenge Progress

I sewed up all but one of these blocks this morning.  I am out of cut bow ties and am hoping this is enough for another row and that they are the right size.  We went to a Hunger Games themed party this afternoon at Madison and Denise's place.  We watched the movie, played a trivia game they made up about the movie and a board game that wound up being too complicated for us.  We had lots of good food, some of it themed with the movie (ants on a log, roaches, lol).  

I was hoping to sew these onto the quilt top tonight, but instead I am being lazy and just reading my blogs and playing on facebook.  My work schedule already changed (lost my afternoon class Mon-Thurs and added an earlier class on Mon, Wed.) so now I have to get up earlier three days a week, grrrr!  

Anyway soon I shall have an update on this quilt and hopefully it will be a completed flimsy!

Weekend So Far...

After work Friday Kathy, Bug and I drove north to spend the day with mom for her birthday.  We got pedicures again (usually I wait more than three weeks, but it is fun to go with mom!) and then we met a few of my mom's friends for drinks and eventually met up with my dad and sister and more friends to dance at the Station.  I had never been there, but the band was pretty good and it was nice to see some of mom and (step) dad's friends again.  We spent the night and dad made us all breakfast and then we headed home.  On the way up there we stopped off at Olde World Quilt Shoppe and I bought the only three double pinks they had for Hawaii Sunset 1848.  I also couldn't resist the fabric with the anchors on it..it was on clearance (along with four others from that line--I made a Schnibble in it awhile back) and I thought it would make a good background for a QOV down the line.  

 On the way home we stopped at the rug store that has fabric for 2.99 a yard to see what they had.  This pictures isn't so great, but I got one yard each of two light fabrics and two yards of the one with the blue flowers...thought it looked like a shirting and would wind up in a Bonnie Hunter quilt.  All for under ten bucks, yay.  Notice I didn't tell you the total for the earlier purchase, lol.

 I could hardly wait to get home to start working on the bindings for the quilts that Joanne quilted (over at http://insanelycheapquilting.blogspot.com/ ) which came in the mail the end of last week.  I am SO excited to get all three of my Dad's memory quilts (Mourning Crosses Quilts) all bound and labeled and in the boxes to be mailed!  WHOOT.  This first one is for my Uncle Jim in Minnesota.  He is going through some medical stuff right now and so the timing of this couldn't be better.  I also decided to send him my yellow Flock of Triangles quilt that I made the beginning of the summer two summers ago.  It is the quilt I was making when DJ and several other Deaf people were staying at my house (long before we got together) and it has alot of sentimental value for me for some reason...it was also the quilt that almost hung in the quilt show the first Christmas DJ and I were together and so I have resisted getting rid of it.  I decided my uncle needs a blanket of sunshine because he is truly the light of our family.  My Dad was a better Dad because of him and his unwavering faith has been an influence in my life.  I hope it helps heal him and lifts his spirits.  For this I can let it go :)

 The back of his quilt has a camping theme and is one I bought just after my dad died in the Trego quilt shop.  My Uncle Jim and Dad took me, my sister and my cousins, Carla and Tricia to the Boundary Waters several times when we were kids and we have so many good memories from those trips.  Learning to dig a trench (in the rain since us girls didn't think we really needed one) while our Dads watched from their own two man tent was one of the highlights.  They let us set our tent up on a hill with a slight incline once and we rolled downhill and kept taking turns being at the bottom of the tent all night too.  So anyway, that is how I decided on his backing fabric.

 This one is Margie's.  She is a serious flamingo collector and so that and bits of one of my Dad's shirts is on the back of her quilt.  So this little quilt is soon on its way to Spooner or Trego--wherever Margie decides to hang it.

 This one is for my sister.  Next trip North I will pass it one to her.  I love that the pocket is there from one of Dad's shirts and know my sister will love that too!

Here are all three of the labels, they are now all handsewn on too.  You can see the camping fabric a bit in this picture.  I used some of the leftovers to make a bow tie too.

 Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll is also quilted...still needs binding (the only one that didn't get done in the box of six completed quilts!).  Just had to add a picture of it though.

 I also did the binding for Kathy's NYE Mystery.  We used the backing fabric for binding and it looks great. Not sure, but this may wind up being a Christmas gift for Kathy's niece Ayla.

 Here is Lincoln Schnibbles all quilted and bound.  This one will be a Christmas gift for someone.  I really like this one, but I have a red, white and blue one already so may have to part with this one!

 Here are the four boxes and Rachel's baby gift to go to Norway (still needs a box, but this one also got a label).  One of these boxes has Kathy's Irish themed mystery quilt for her dad.  She actually sewed her own label (dog) on too.  Her dad is in ICU in Mass. so hoping this quilty hug comforts him.  There is a Monday trip to the post office here!  So happy to be able to truly cross so many close finishes off my list!

I managed to make one bow tie block...have a whole stack of the little bow ties just waiting to become another row...if I get to sew tomorrow that is what I am shooting for.  August is almost over...where does the time go?  

Tomorrow we are supposed to go to a Hunger Games movie party with some fun friends.  Is it awful that I almost just want to stay home and sew?  I think it just recharges my batteries in a way nothing else does.  Kind of crazy, but right now I live to quilt!

Sewing with Amy and Bonnie (and Kathy)

 Felt like a day in slow motion, but I at least got to spend it with some fun people and sewing!  I finished up the nine patches and started on the teeny, tiny flying geese.  I think I have about sixty of them done.  More cut and ready to go--see in the basket.  I need to get more double pinks.  Running low!

Kathy worked on a few four patches for Tobacco Road.  She is going to be point woman on that one and I will assist.  That way I can say I made it too, right?  

I also made the binding for CJ's quilt.  That was really all..see sewing in slow motion!

Sewing with Kathy, then Becky and Bonnie

Today was a really stressful day.  A relative of mine phoned to tell me that he has cancer.  I think I am still in shock about this and can't believe so many of my family members keep getting and dying from cancer.  My mom is still in remission but hasn't been feeling at all well lately.  Kathy has no insurance and who knows what is going on with her cancer.  Now this.  UGH.  I was sewing when he called and continued to sew off and on through the stress of the entire day though I was not my usual self.  I skipped going to the PMQG meeting too.  Just couldn't muster the strength to smile and be social.

There are things going at at my work regarding a student I haven't even met yet.  Things have been completely blown out of proportion and my good intentions were not taken as such.  I can't tell you what a mess all that is, and how stressful it is to me.  I feel like I try my hardest to be the best I can and in two seconds one person who misunderstands can destroy things.  No fun, not what you are here to read but some of what I am going through and why I NEEDED some sewing time.  

Kathy sewed this morning and got her border on her mystery quilt.  Looks great!

 Last night I ordered a free collage from Walgreens and Kathy picked it up today.  I made it of the quiltville quilts I have made so far.  A few are missing, but I taped it up in the sewing room and it made me smile before my phone started ringing.

 I got all the blocks put together from night and day earlier and today I added the borders.  I really like how this one turned out and Coleman likes it.  So I need to make a backing and get it sent off to the quilter.  I also made the binding for the Thirties Quilt History quilt and put it away for later.

 Other than that, I sewed up bow tie blocks all day.  Becky came over and finished up her Nines Surrounded quilt (which I have planned to make too) and I was so distressed I didn't even get pictures of anything she worked on!  We put Bonnie on the webcam and that distracted me for a bit which was nice.  My bow ties are not as perfect as previous bow times--I hate the anxiety that makes me crazy.  The good news is DJ didn't cross my mind all day, HA!  Well, til now, ha!

I made TONS of bow ties and hope when I get them all put together there will be enough for another row.  This stack includes fabric BJ gave me last time I saw her and it was fun to see it become bow ties.  I am so glad I am blessed with so many sewing friends.  

More Sewing with Bonnie!

 I managed to catch Bonnie Hunter on her webcam again tonight...along with 400 other people including Amy, Angela and Nancy!  We wind up chatting via facebook while watching and commenting to Bonnie and it really makes a night of sewing fun.  I haven't met any of these people in person (yet!) but I feel like I know them and they know and get me!  I love my friends and co-workers of the non quilting variety, but they just think I am nuts.  My quilter friends can understand why I prefer Quiltville to Margaritaville, lol!  So Kathy sewed up these fabulous blocks (leftover bits from Night and Day a few years ago!) and I put the blocks into rows and will add borders too.  Coleman decided he likes this one and wants this one instead of Smith Mountain Morning (which is still in blocks waiting) as it is more him.  That is great because I have been wanting to make a quilt to give to my best friend Monica in Wisconsin and the other day she commented on my Jamestown Landing pictures on facebook!  We have been friends since we were 15 and I was dating Coleman's father and she was dating her now husband (some things work out, others don't!) and we have been through thick and thin together.  I love this woman like a sister and though I don't see her or even talk to her much anymore she will always be my best friend!  She sews and does a tiny bit of quilting, or did several years ago and appreciates the "value" of a quilt.  So I think Smith Mountain Morning will be well loved and well used.  I hope to have it done to mail her by October because that is her birthday month and her anniversary...this year will be 24 years for her and Bob!  They were married a few months behind me and my ex hubby so it is easy to keep track.  Do other divorced people remember on their anniversary and count the years?  Even though they don't count any more?  LOL.

Here are the nine patch blocks I have sewn up so far.  Just leisurely sewing them along and Jo is right...each step gets me that much closer to the next thing.  This Bucket List quilt--Hawaii Sunset 1848 was a great idea!  I think Amy and another bloggy friend Andra are going to sew this one up too.  Anyone else out there working on it?  Following along with Jo's Country Junction?  

I also pieced the back for the Thirties Quilt History quilt, binding to go.  

Terrific Mail Day!

 Guess what came in the mail today?  This fabulous ghastlies bag and a few other goodies from Sandy over at http://sandysshowtellquilts.blogspot.com/ !!!  Thank you Sandy I love it and am already schlepping it around!  It made my day--which needed some making.  Thank you!

 And I added another wine gift bag to my Christmas Through the Year stuff for this month.  This one is in leftover Christmas fabric that matches my Mom and Dad's quilt and tablerunner.  So I have to pick something out to put in the bag for them.

 Pictures of both sides of the bag.

Now I am off to my terp job's work meeting.  Then no more meetings, school/work just starts!  Here's to Friday!

Christmas Through the Year Sewn Up with Bonnie!

 Since Bonnie was on the webcam again (and even answered my question and commented on my comment) sewing I thought I better get up and sew a bit too.  So for Christmas Through the Year I filled 5 pounds of rice in this little sleeve type thing and now someone will have a nice hot pack.  I made two more smaller ones, but was out of rice, lol!

 Bonnie mentioned the possibility that this Spoolin' Around block will be her next Leader Ender project--she is SO on the same page as me, I have been collecting spool patterns and really want to do a project with them.  There are some really cool patterns out there, these little ones would make a good wall hanging for my sewing room though!

Next up I sewed two wine bags out of leftover fabric "Wildflower" from the last Schnibbles, Dimestore.  I found the pattern on Moda Bake Shop here.

 http://www.modabakeshop.com/2011/02/charming-wine-gift-bags.html

So a few more gifts made, and I will be making more of both of these items.  Really easy!

I also updated my UFO's so that I could marvel at the progress I have made this past year with Judy's challenge!  http://moderndiary.blogspot.com/p/ufos.html if you want to see how it is coming along!

Check This Out!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-08-15T22:28:00-04:00&max-results=2&start=2&by-date=false

I made Bonnie's blog (and Amy did too!).  Bonnie made my day two days in a row!  Whoot, whoot!  Check  it out!

Sewing with Bonnie Hunter!

 By now most of you know I am a HUGE Bonnie K. Hunter fan.  If you haven't been to quiltville.com by now, go check it out.  I wish I could convert lots of AZ people into fans if they aren't already so I could get someone to get her out here to teach, talk or show us her quilts.  She is on my bucket list, and she told me she put meeting me on hers!  That makes my day...and I know one day it will happen.  Meanwhile, tonight Bonnie was sewing live from her webcam (she recently started this but I have never caught her in the act, lol) and I saw it on fb and so I posted a quick shout out to my quilting buddies and jumped right on.

 I had to get some pictures of me sewing with Bonnie!  And after Amy called me a weirdo (affectionately!) she got her DH to get a picture of her too!  (Pic borrowed from Amy's fb!) I think I am going to have to add meeting Amy to my bucket list too.  She lives a stone's throw from my Dad and Marge's in Wisconsin, we have shopped at the same quilt store, lol.  I just didn't know her as well when I was living in Wisconsin.

 So what was I sewing?  I finished up the four patches for Hawaii Sunset 1865!  I think I have ten or so too many.

 Then since Bonnie was still sewing and chatting and answering questions I started sewing some nine patches (I am just copying Jo at Jo's Country Junction at this point..this isn't a Bonnie quilt, lol but I would not be attempting this quilt if I hadn't sewn a half a dozen Bonnie quilts step by step!).

So four four patches done.  I want lots of variety, so I think I will only be using one of each pair, but it is easier to make them in pairs as far as I am concerned--I strip sew them so I am doing two.  They won't go to waste, I am sure they will find themselves in a quilt at some point...or in the back.  

It was a nice night to sew with Bonnie and chat with friends online, thanks all!

A Bucket List Start!

 Made more than half of my four patches for Hawaii Sunset 1845--my first Bucket List Quilt.  I am using what I have but loosely copying the designers colors since I love it so much.  Last year on shop hop I was really into the poison greens so now I will get to use them!

 Kathy spent a good bit of today working with the bonus leftover from the Night and Day bin.  I am SO happy to be turning these into a quilt (via Kathy!) and she predicts it will be huge or there will be more than one.  So far she has enough for 18 blocks and more parts to go.  So glad we saved the pieces as Eleanor told us to, but I have to wonder how many folks actually get around to using them?  SMILE, waste not, want not!  Today was a really good day.  Looking forward to more good days and less heartbreak in my life.  Time does apparently heal all wounds.

A Bucket List Quilt and a UFO Finish!

 So Jo over at Jo's Country Junction http://www.joscountryjunction.com/bucket-list-hawaii-sunset-1845/ sent out a call for anyone who might want to join her to work on this Hawaii Sunset quilt from Quilters' Newsletter Magazine awhile back.  I got about this far picking out some fabrics before I remembered I was really trying to finish up my UFO's.  I don't have a lot, but I don't like have ANY!  So I just tucked it aside...and added it to my bucket list.  Then Beth over at http://bethstrand.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/what-would-you-do-with-15-minutes-a-day/ posted and asked her readers what they would do with fifteen minutes a day....this got me to thinking I can devote around two hours a week to a bucket list project!  So that is my reward for getting another UFO done today.  I am going to just go for it--it make take a year or two in and around everything else that I do, but the journey starts today!

 It is a gorgeous quilt and other than Bonnie's stuff I have never tackled anything like this...sure hope I can follow magazine directions, if not I will be emailing Jo (LOL!) and begging her to explain and expand.  Smile, nothing beats Bonnie's step by step directions as far as I am concerned!  So do you have a project you have been dying to get to that you can devote fifteen minutes a day (or two ish hours a week) to?
So on to the UFO!  These are my quilt history exchange blocks from 2010.  Our group exchanged blocks but FIVE people dropped out at the last minute and so I had five of my own blocks instead of one...then to make it even more someone else picked the EXACT same Broken Sugar Bowl block I did so I actually had SEVEN of the same block though in various fabrics.  I was so unhappy about all that that I just put it away.  But it was the UFO of the month and I can say I am so glad to have finally done it.  I bought the sashing fabric while in Wisconsin last summer when DJ and I were on a spree.  It was a good deal and I like how it all came together.

 Row 1

 Row 2

 Row 3

 Row 4 gave me fits.  First of all the third block on that was not even fudgebly off.  It was WAY too small on one side and a titch too small on the other side.  Luckily I was listening to Adele (and then Mama Mia) so I took it apart and redid the yellow triangles with a smaller seam which made it fudgable, though still too small. Then after I got the row done I realized that I had sewn the first block in with the wrong orientation (I was going for an X so that it seemed to make sense that I had ALL the same damn block!) so I unsewed that and fixed it.  Well worth it, I am satisfied with this top!

No idea where this one will go to yet, I don't think I will be keeping it though I really love that airplane block!  Was so nice to empty out the bin this was in and move a new UFO into it...lol, June had some thirties nine patches all made up so I found a pattern for a cool quilt and raided her stash before the sale and now it is a UFO for me to finish--though it hardly counts because I didn't start it, I am just going to finish it...later!  SMILE.  

Productive Saturday Sewing!

 Finished listening to the Edwards short stories and dug Dreams of Joy out of my car (been there for like 6 months, I was on disc 8) and am most of the way through it.  I was inspired by Amy to piece a border for Star Path QOV.  I didn't add an inner or outer border as she did, but I am happy with this one.

 I also pieced the backing from the last of the Anaheim discount fabric from when we went to Disney.  It is the perfect backing for a QOV.  I also made the binding.  Now I will ship it off to Alycia and she can get another volunteer to quilt and bind it and it will be ready for a soldier.  Thanks Nancy for a great mystery!

 I took some of the quilts outside to get pictures in the Arizona sun (seriously it is 100 and something out there) but I see my shadow made it into this picture.  Doc Schnibbles for Rachel's baby in Norway.

 and the back.

 Star Path in the sun.

 Kathy worked on the parts of these Night and Day blocks and finished them off and sewed them into this tablerunner.  Found a cute border fabric in my stash (thanks June) and it is now ready to be quilted.  This will go to my cousin Tara since it matches her quilt and her birthday is later this month.  We also made a quick trip to JoAnn's to buy a Kaleidoscope ruler (half off plus 25% off for educators) to use up the other leftovers from Night and Day.  Waste not, want not.

 I bought the other three Denyse Schmidt fat quarter yard thingys too.  Figured I had a coupon and I had money from my mom for my birthday so they are now mine!  Oh, and two skeins of dishcloth yarn as I am almost running low!

 Here is what Jack in the Box is looking like now that I have added the aqua colors.  I took it down to make room for my quilt history block UFO.  We cut sashing and cornerstones for it but that is as far as it got today.

And last here is a picture of baby Caleb snuggling in the quilt DJ and I made for him on our Prescott Staycation awhile back.  His parents are good friends of hers in Vegas.  What a cutie!