Lazy Sunday in the Sunshine

Kathy's Celtic Solstice and Planning a Quilt Camp Mystery

Saturday Kathy, Randy, Becky and I went and saw Catching Fire and really enjoyed it.  Afterwards, Becky came over and we made chili and I sewed while she cut clue two.  

 I didn't get a current picture, but Kathy is done with Clue one of Celtic Solstice and has started on the sewing of clue two.  She is doing the HUGE one so it isn't going quite as fast for her.  She plans to sneak in some sewing while I am at work so she can be caught up by Friday for the next clue!

 I reorganized my civil war fabrics today.  Got them out the the drawers and folded the larger chunks so I can see what I have.  I also then had the brilliant idea to choose a scrappy selection for the mystery that Becky and I will be doing in February at Quilt Camp.  She is doing her Celtic Solstice in civil war fabrics and I think that is what inspired me!  So first I had the picture above and then the one below...

 Finally I decided to go with this one (red, white, and blue).  I am sure I will change it up some, but for now I have these all set aside.  There is LOTS of presewing of hst's between now and February, but I have several more Rock Candy Christmas gifts to sew now and this will wait.

I made several more tissue covers and did lots of wrapping of gifts to go out today too.  Coleman's 27th birthday is tomorrow so he insisted we celebrate today since I work tomorrow.  I made him beanie weanie (his bday dinner request) and we got him and ice cream cake.  He was happy with it all and he has leftovers for tomorrow.  I also managed to get the binding on Lazy Sunday!  I will get a picture in the sunshine tomorrow, but here is a peak at it.

Lazy Sunday Quiltmaker/Quiltville Mystery Quilt is Quilted!

Lazy Sunday started out as a pile of fabrics picked from the paints in a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine....

And now thanks to Ros it is quilted!  

 Close ups of the edge to edge feather quilting she did.

And a few pictures of the backing.  Most of which was from the freebie table at PHXMQG.  I got lucky and got a whole stack of one line of fabric and added the pink I had in my own stash--worked our perfectly for me!  Thanks mystery donor!

Lazy Sunday is a Flimsy!

 Came straight home from work and got the last border on Lazy Sunday!  So very happy to have this one done (still need to decide on a backing) and the borders went on okay.  They were not exactly the right size but it all worked out pretty good.

 WHOOT WHOOT!  I think I can dig out Hawaii Sunset now!

Borders in Progress!

Kathy and I spent a few hours sewing tonight and made some progress on our quilts.  She is working on Twist of Fate and got the rest of the top together and the first of three borders on the quilt.  We discovered that the kit we bought in 2007 (this is my oldest ufo, lol) shorted us on a yard of fabric!

 So she has a dark border and then hopefully a green border if we can find the fabric again...otherwise we will make due with a scrappy green border since we have several fat quarters of various shades of green.  I love the puzzle like look of this quilt and am so glad Kathy decided to take it and run with it.  It was one of those quilts that I just kept putting last in line!

Meanwhile, I attached the green hst border to Lazy Sunday and have been working on piecing the final aqua border.  I don't think that is getting attached before bed, it will wait another day!  I wanted to have it done by the time Bonnie did a link up--I think she said in September, but I can't locate the info on her blog just now.  I can't wait to get this one outside and photograph it in the sun too, the lighting in here doesn't do it justice, it just looks washed out to me but really it is quite pretty!

I am SO very tickled to be finished up three quilts (well one Kathy did, lol) this week so I can get to some of the other projects that are waiting for me!  I NEED to get back to Hawaii Sunset...I think that one is coming out as soon as this one is done!  WHOOT WHOOT!

Long Sewing Weekend--Whoot Whoot!

 I worked a 15 hour day on Friday (first one job, then the other) and was so excited for three days of nonstop sewing!  Saturday morning I did do a bunch of cleaning that needed done, and reorganized my family tree stuff that needed a few hours of work.  Then I started sewing and only just now stopped!  I made these two zipper pouches to add to my Christmas gifties.

 I made (and later stuffed) this little monster softie.  Kathy and I may make ten or so of them for all the nieces and nephews if we get motivated.  It was fun to make!

 I sewed up one of these two "candyland" blocks for the Skillbuilder BOM which I really am not doing anymore.  LOL, I decided to just do the blocks that really appeal to me and not guilt myself over it.  Not really sure what in the world I will do with them unless I make them all into pillows, ha!

 Kathy and I got the border cut for Swoon and I attached it.  I am SO OVER THE MOON with this Swoon top.  I am so glad that Sarah started Swoonalong2013 and I didn't resist another year.  I have the backing all pieced and ready for Ros.  So nice to see all my Denyse Schmidt fabric going to use!  I have hoarded it long enough!

 Kathy also continued work on Twist of Fate.  This quilt has been hanging out forever..I started it at quilt camp and she has been working on it here and there.  It is about half way done and she has the other blocks done.  Love the visualness of the twisty design!

I spent many hours this weekend working on Lazy Sunday too!  This is the latest Bonnie Hunter mystery from Quiltmaker magazine.  (Bonnie's next mystery will be in November..who is with me?) The next two borders are quite complicated, lol but I got the next one made, just not attached and then I will make the last border and get it on.  It looks rather blah to me in this light, but the next border has green and the outer one has aqua so that should perk it up.  I made the binding in aqua already too.  Still need to decide on a back for this one and make it.

Seriously productive sewing weekend and we caught several movies while sewing which was nice too.  Tomorrow back to work but may get a chance to sew one of the nights this week--just want to get these borders on! :)

Sunday Sewing Day!

Today Kathy and I finally recovered my ironing board.  The orange cover had some holes and was worn in the spot we use the most.  We decided to go with lime green this time but I already miss the orange!

 Tonight I was trying to think of something to make for my cousin who just graduated high school.  She will be visiting AZ from WI and we will see her next weekend.  She is a Packer fan (who isn't?) so one idea I had was a zip up pencil case and a journal.  I need to pick up notebooks so I can try to make a journal cover.  Any other brilliant suggestions send them on!

 All told I wound up making four of them.  The pattern if from one of the free bag classes on Craftsy (Bag Making Basics:  Reversible Tote and Zipper Pouch) and was really pretty simple and turns out cute.  I am finally putting all those free zippers I have collected to use!

 I also finished up clue three to the Lazy Sunday Mystery which is in Quiltmaker!  So looking forward to the layout next issue.

Happy Stitching Friday!

 Today I had the day off work and I did a bunch of cleaning and organizing (mostly of papers, patterns, etc.) in my quilting studio.  Then I decided I should make a few bags because I want some fun zip up bags for various projects that will go with me to Wisconsin when we go the end of July.  I did the blue one first and wasn't happy with the fact that I had too little blue on the bottom and too much flower on the top (leave it to me to try to adjust a pattern--I need to just stick to what is out there!) so I then made the second one.  I put the zipper in backwards on that one and after I noticed it continued to finish it thinking it would be functional and not THAT noticeable.  I wanted the dimples to be the lining so it had to go that way...well umm a zipper doesn't function from the outside if it is on wrong (in case you are not as dumb as I!) so after mulling it over and realizing I did not happen to have another PERFECT colored zipper to just start over with, I took the zipper off and put it back on correctly.  I am amazed that I was able to do that without taking the entire bag apart.  Yay me.  Loving my peachy octopus bag now!

 I then thought I should get to some "real" sewing and started to work on clue three of the Lazy Sunday Bonnie Hunter mystery.  I can't tell you what a humdinger of a clue this one.  I had already put together the four pink star blocks (and have 20 similar blocks to do that don't have the green in them still!) so today I marked all the hst lines and sewed 78 tiny blocks with the diagonal one way and 78 more with the diagonal the other way.  I have been cutting this quilt myself (imagine that) but Kathy helped me cut more because I was about half short from when I just cut til I got sick of it!  So in the tote above are the pieces for the twenty blocks and that will be up next so I can be done with these!

Kathy is also ahead of me on the log cabin blocks for 35th Ave. Kaleidescope of Kolor...she had some seam allowance issues (due to getting the machine serviced, the guy reset things and she didn't think to double check needle position!).  She added an extra strip on all sides so now they are slightly bigger than needed so it is all good.  She also cut my strips so I need to get to those soon too!

I have also finally been working on my embroidered elephant that I started at the PHXMQG last month.  One of our members Danny taught a class based on a pillow she had done for show and tell at a previous meeting.  Lots of us fell in love with it and needed our very own elephant!  I barely got started in the class (but learned about a half a dozen stitches) and didn't find any time to get going on it all month.  Then at our most recent meeting several people had brought their elephants in progress and that got me all excited all over again so finally,  I am really enjoying it and thinking about what I will embroider next.  I volunteered (along with twenty or so other folks) to do some embroidery for Jane over at http://janesfabrics.blogspot.com/ with her thread.  It came in the mail and has me thinking...I even ordered two books (I am a sucker for books!) to inspire me further--but first the elephant.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Today my mom, dad, sister and her son, brother and his wife and newborn son came to my house for mother's day brunch!  They don't make it here much so it was really nice to have them.  We made Grandma Char's Egg Brunch and passed around Colton.  I had a bit of a migraine so in the afternoon I took an actual nap (that is RARE!) and then got up and sewed for several hours.  Kathy made her blue block and then started working on Twist of Fate again.

 I finished sewing up Lazy Sunday's second clue!  These colors just make me so happy.  If you aren't making this mystery it is in Quiltmaker and is so much fun!

A Whole Lot of Everything Going On!

 I spent all day today sewing and a bit of yesterday too.  Finally got part of the Lazy Sunday Mystery cut and  ironed...still have more to go for clue two, but progressing.

 Becky came over and we worked on our lace sock from the Craftsy class.  I should never have put it down..it was like starting all over and I really was ready to wall the thing!  Becky seemed to breeze right back into and luckily for me she is the kind of friend who will put her own work down to help..so she got me back on track.  Putting in the heel was crazy and getting the lace pattern going on all three needles was beyond me for some reason.  Now I have done two repeats of it and have caught on again!

 I decided to turn this little tiny log cabin into my in marker for work.  We have a board and we put a little wood shape with our name on it in the cubicle we are terping in.  Mine was an umbrella...it fell once and the handle broke off, it has bugged me ever since.  Everyone will know which booth I am in with this little marker...doesn't even need my name, lol!

 Last night I started on the nine patches (while Kathy cut for me--YAY!) and today I sewed about seven or eight hours on this larger version of Cindy Lou Who Schnibbles.  I like how it turned out and hope that my cousin Kai Len (married last December) will like it for her wedding quilt when she gets it.  I can also call this one my second NewUfo for April (the first being Wild and Goosey)!

Here is a look back at my smaller Cindy Lou Who Schnibbles...it was a bit more coordinated and not as scrappy, but I love the effect this quilt has :)  Now back to sock knitting!

Lazy Sunday Sewing! :)

 After yet another weekend of helping my parents move we spent a lazy Sunday at home sewing.  I carefully laid out my Lazy Sunday (Bonnie Hunter/Quiltmaker mystery) checking and doublechecking that my color substitutions were in the right place (ahem, they were not!) and started sewing away.  At some point I realized my parts were not going to add up the way I had things laid out!  So unsewing ensued.  And resewing too!

 So after I switched the four patchs around things were looking better!

 All twenty four blocks are complete and the other parts are cut out (thanks to Kathy!)  So part two of the mystery is on its way.

 I also finally trimmed up both my orange and green hst's for border pinwheels for Jack in the Box.  Sewed up the orange ones and stacked up the greens for the next sewing session.  Whew, will be nice to be all caught up on that before May hits!

 After helping me cut, Kathy cut some of her own.  She decided she wants to do another Rainbow BOM so she did the first one in green and started on one in purple too.  I forget the name of this block and am at work--we found it on threadbias.com Amanda posted it as her QuiltCon Challenge Block on threadbias.com.  There is a tutorial online but I am at work and I can't get to some of the websites to find the link! 

Edit**https://www.threadbias.com/blog_posts/crossroads-block-tutorial 

and in a few more sizes http://www.conniekresin.com/2013/01/crossroads-tutorial-in-3-sizes.html

Thanks Linda!