Two Flimsy's Together!

 Randy got back from visiting Rachel (my honorary daughter) in Norway.  He took her a few books from me for baby Leon and some handmade dishcloths and a candle for Rachel.  In turn, they sent home some Indian food (chicken mahkani--delicious in a box, why oh why don't we have it here in the USA?) and some fabric.  They discovered if they go to the secondhand store they can find fabric for semi decent prices (everything in Norway is EXPENSIVE to use Americans).  So I got a pillow case, a curtain and two large chunks of fabric.  Really nice Winnie the Pooh stuff!  The other sort of looks like a toile.  All of it will wind up used again.

 It has been a crazy week and both Kathy and I finally got a chance to come up and sew the borders on our flimsies at about 9 PM tonight!  We will take better pictures outside tomorrow but here are the indoor photos.  Kathy's is above and is for her great nephew Noah who is eight and lives in New York.  He needs a big boy quilt so this is it.  Kathy is planning to quilt it herself--it will be the first big quilt she tries to do on the domestic machine, but Noah will not mind if it isn't perfect!

 Meanwhile, I had to take off the border I hastily put on the other day (pin, always pin!).  I had forgotten that I didn't quite make this as large as Bonnie's but I made my borders the same size as Bonnie's.  So um, ya some unsewing and resewing was going on tonight.  I will say that somehow three of the four sides perfectly fit my borders but the first one which I unsewed needed about a half inch extra fabric to make it all come together.  I am over the moon that it is finally made (started this one at Bonnie's My Blue Heaven workshop in Tuscon in February!) and Lexi is happy with it too.

 Here are the backing fabrics.  Will get that together tomorrow and get it bagged up for Ros when she gets back to town.  I know she will put the final amazing finishing touches on it!

I am so looking forward to two days of sewing!  I need to get started on my Santa Swap Sack partner's sack and gifts.  They need to be mailed around Thanksgiving and it will be here before I know it!  I have a list of cool things I can make but if you have any fab suggestions (or links to tutorials) on stuff you would love if you were my swapper comment them to me please!

Hawaii Sunset Update and More

 Coleman brought me a cup of coffee in bed this morning so I hung out and read my library book for a bit.  I love this author, this is the third book of hers I have read this month!

 Yesterday I pulled out Hawaii Sunset and cut the dark blue sashing strips.  I attached them to the larger setting triangles and figured out that my smaller setting triangles seem off...at least there are only four of them but I may have to redo them or adjust.  Linking up with Judy at the Patchwork Times  for Design Wall Monday!

 I hadn't cut the green squares for the sashing strips, so I did that.  I hope I counted right.  I feel like this last part is complicated because the directions are basically a picture.  It is far too big to lay the whole thing out in my quilting studio so I am hesitant to even try to do this--and it is further complicated by the fact that the edge strips are to be cut on two different angles and must be placed right for it all to work out.  I have not even attempted that part yet.  Most of it is back in the box except for this bit on the design wall.  Angela and Amy and I will get this done (really Andra and Judy!) one of these fine days but for me it will not be today!

 Instead I played around and followed the idea of the Bloomin Patch but I did not quilt as I went.

 The one below with the strawberry start will be going to Norway with Randy in a few days.  He is off to see his daughter Rachel (my honorary daughter) and her son Leon.  I am sending a few books for him but wanted to send her something I made.  That little strawberry scrap is leftover from a quilt that Randy now has.  I thought she might get a kick out of that.  I was pretty happy with how they turned out considering there was no real pattern and I was happy to use some of my red strings!

 And her is Kathy holding up what she worked on today.  She has her flimsy of her Crossroads blocks together.  She plans to quilt it herself and gift it to her great nephew Noah.  She has blocks done for his brother Jax too.

Kathy also got a scrappy purple binding on her Kaleidoscope of Kolor BOM from last year (yes, mine still needs that border fixed!) after getting it back from Ros.  The quilting is really pretty--you can see it a little better in the second picture that Ros took.  This one is for her niece Bree (the mom of the boys mentioned above).  This one has been a long time in the works and I know Bree is going to be thrilled with it!

More Blue Rainbow BOM Blocks

Angela's Attic Window was really simple to make (grabbed a few strips from my already cut and sorted bin and in just a few minutes VIOLA!) More blue Rainbow BOM's for January.

Attic Window

Kathy's Crossroads Block

I have more complicated blue blocks to get to but I have had so many big projects going that they have had to wait.  I love having so much to sew but I hate feeling like I cannot get to it all!  

Next weekend I must tackle quilting my cousin Ashley's Marmalade Squares baby quilt--it has been waiting patiently since November and the baby will be here in a month or so.  I also hope to get the fabric for borders and get it on Packer Solstice!  

Another Taste of Rock Candy!

 

 I did get in some sewing this weekend despite making homemade chicken soup, Chicken Mahkani, pumpkin bread and spice bars this weekend and watching an incredibly long, nail biting Packer game--which ended in a tie--WHAT!  I made several sets of hand warmers to send back to the boys in Wisconsin that are on my Christmas list.

 I took a picture of four of the Rock Candy tabletoppers we had already made (one we gave to Lexi when she was here).  These Halloween ones will go to my sister, sister in law and mom for Christmas.  LOL they won't be able to use them til next year, but it was SO much fun to make them with Halloween fabric.

 Here is a shot of my quilts and backings in my guest room closet!  So happy to get them out of the drawer they were stuffed in, and I am sure Ros will be happy about that too!  I am seriously getting behind on getting them quilted, but the budget just isn't allowing me to go nuts just now.

 This is block FIFTEEN of Wild and Goosey.  Slow and Steady I say.

 Kathy has been working on quilting this block by block and is at this very moment attaching the last two rows!  She will be giving it to a friend of hers for Christmas.

 We both got our 35th Ave. BOM done (mine is pictured).  In December we will get the instructions to put the whole thing together!

 Bug has found a new place to keep warm..in the leftover bits and batting bucket which has been out while Kathy has been working on quilting block by block.

 Saturday morning Randy and I went to the Swap Meet in Mesa.  I got some Christmas gifts (which I spent some time organizing and wrapping today) and I got us three different things for our Packer guest room.  It is coming together.

 I also made my pressing board.

 I played in my button collection.

 I made the first ornament for the online swap I signed up for (on yahoo, not a blogger).  Free tutorial is at Bugs and Fishes.

 Then I made ornament number two for the same swap.  The free tutorial is at  Stumbles and Stitches I also made an extra one...

 Then I made thirteen more in Celtic Solstice colors for the gals who are coming to In Stitches this Saturday for our Sew-Off party!  Shh, Ros don't tell the others..I think you are the only one that reads my blog from the group.  I even made an extra one to send to Bonnie!

 Then I made these two Packer Rock Candy tabletoppers for the Packer guest room too.  We have plans to make more (Kathy does the quilting, I did the rest) in Packer colors too.

 Here is one on the table!

We also spray basted and pinned the baby quilt for Ashley's baby girl.  I really meant to quilt this this weekend, but I ran out of time!  I should also mention that this Marmalade Squares baby quilt (free pattern on Moda Bake Shop) has an updated pattern on there now.  You may remember I had a slight rant about my difficulty with the pattern.  I never thought it would find its way to the creator of the pattern--Katie of Swim, Bike, Quilt  but it did.  She was gracious enough to write me and apologize for the error and let me know things had been corrected.  I feel bad to not just have emailed her and mentioned my problem--but really didn't think she would take notice of it.  So big shout out to the enormously talented Katie!  I will be making this quilt again--because I really do love it!

Here is Kathy's Crossroads Quilt for Susan--she finished while I was still blogging!  I think I can hear her doing the scrappy binding now!

Christmas Through the Year--LOL

 Here are my 35th Ave. Kaleidoscope of Color blocks--which are really more of a sashing kind of unit.  One more month before we get the setting directions.

 We picked up my Featherweight from Mr. Happy Sew and Vac Saturday.  He does an amazing job and she is running like a dream.  He said it was one of the filthiest machines he has seen...umm guess I should not wait a year to bring it in! I do clean it regularly, but not the way he does.

 Here is what Kathy and I spent hours doing today!  We FINALLY (seriously I have had the stuff to make these for over a year, maybe closer to two years) got to making potato bags for the microwave.  I have already figured out which twelve folks on my Christmas list will be getting one.  I think my son is really going to like the skeleton one!  I needed a lot more potato fabric than I had, so I just used some of the other stuff in my stash.

 Here are Kathy's Crossroad (Rainbow BOM) blocks.  She paired them up and started quilting them.  She just drew lines on there like we had done to the potato bags.  They are looking good and she is going to sew them together and give it to a friend of hers.  We aren't sure if it will look weird with the seams showing on the back, but she says her friend will be happy with it so she is trying that out.  Works for me!  Oh and you can see my green and gold toes...GO PACK GO!  They won today, we did catch the game while sewing.

 I also made a binding for Swoon (thought I had already done it, but I hadn't!) and attached it.  I will get some pictures in the sun soon.  I decided to use one color for the binding because of the scrappy border.  It needed a frame.

 I also pieced a backing for Lazy Sunday and ironed it all nice and pretty for Ros.  Will be handing that one off next time I see her.  All in all, it was a very productive weekend!

Finally got in a little YELLOW!

 I made a few more tissue covers (one for my cousin, one for me and two for the Christmas gift box) and then I trimmed up and sewed the yellow pinwheels for the Jack in the Box border.

 Meanwhile, Kathy finished up her other yellow block--so we are both ready for July's color!

 Here are Kathy's Rainbow blocks so far.  We won't talk about the seam allowance difference in the blue block--oops!

Here are Kathy's other Rainbow BOM's so far!  Looking cool.  We can now link up with Angela!