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!

Two Finishes and a Schnibbles!

I got the binding on Randy's Orca/Green Bay Quilt and snagged it off his bed for a picture. He loves it and is happy to have the very old and sort of holey strawberry quilt off his bed!
I also got the binding on Suli and Diegos' wedding quilt for their June wedding. Both these quilts still need labels, but other than that they are done!
Today Kathy, Becky and June (along with Phideaux) came over to sew. We really had a nice day of gabbing and sewing and ate some Papa Murphy's pizza too.
I was working on my Summer Day Schnibbles quilt...trimmed up all my geese yesterday and today.
Sewed them into blocks and trimmed those up too. Then sewed them into a top.
And added borders to it. It is a sweet little quilt and I am pretty sure this one will be for Randy's daughter Rachel's first baby. She lives in Norway and is a few months pregnant. No idea if it is a boy or a girl, so I think this little quilt will be a good one to send her!
So another finish for April's list...Whoot, whoot!

Happy Easter!

Just had to show these tops again!

Kathy cut the Summer Day Schnibbles this afternoon and I drew lines on all the squares so it is ready to sew when I get a chance.

And I picked up my NYE Mystery from Ros today on the way up to Mom and Dad's. It is quilted in a lime green thread which is perfect. I did a little repair on a seam that didn't quite seam and dug out a pin that got quilted in the border then made and attached the binding. It is scrappy but mostly purple.
And here is the wild and crazy, use it all up backing. I need to take pictures of it outside this week and get a label on it. The wedding is in June so I still have some time!

I showed it to my folks and my sister and they all swear that Suli and Diego will love it. I hope so! Happy Easter everyone.

Ros Worked More Magic

I am once again tickled by Ros' quilting! She quilted this Ann B. Smith 2011 NYE Mystery for me! This one has grown on me...I loved the fabric but am not nuts for how things had to line up just so and mine don't always line up...but overall I am happy with it! This will be a wedding gift for Suli and Diego and I think this really suits them. In personal news I am doing my best to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. It is hard when we still love each other but just don't see things working out for us. UGH! My cat ran away (didn't even know she knew how to get out the dog door) and didn't come back too. I think there is a country song in this somewhere.
June and I are going to sew with Ros and BJ (and maybe the rest of the Huggy Bunch) at Ros' tomorrow. We have a trip to a quilt shop planned and some lunch out. Should be a nice day.

Weekend Sewing :)

Made a doggie bed cover yesterday. Nothing fancy but it serves the purpose. Kathy came over and I putzed around a lot, cutting up bow ties and pieces for future jack in the box blocks. I actually went through all of my drawers and tried to cut from them and did some strips and re-color coordinated it all. I can't wait til all my fabric is on the shelves or in strip form in the drawers, but I made progress.
Kathy added the sides to all of her NYE blocks and did one with the top and the bottom. We also all went out for sushi and a trip to the fabric store for her backing. This is what she picked.
The one below DJ fell in love with so almost four yards of it hit her stash. Oy vei, I have created a monster! I told her she needs to sew more and put fabric in the cart less, haha!
I got a yard of this fabric on clearance. I liked it and the price was right. I also got a Civil War quilts book.
And too funny but I read this gal's blog so when I saw the pattern I decided I had to support her (had to!) and I really do like this pattern. Then today when I was organizing my pictures I saw where I had saved her picture of this quilt as a "want to make someday" quilt. I am thinking about doing it in my Denyse Schmidt fabrics.
Today I quilted and bound my Schnibbles I.S.T.H. quilt. This is the backing..two leftover Christmas birds fabrics.
And here is the front. Love, love, love it. Way more than I thought I would. It really appeals to me for some reason. Too bad--it will be a gift for someone next Christmas. (I am really doing well at putting stuff away this year early...love blogland!)
Then I decided to play with some of my cheddar bow ties! This first one is a Barn Raising layout.
What I have been doing is Straight Furrows. This is what is in the inspiration quilt I think..so that is what I was doing.
This is Zig Zag.
This picture is sideways, but if I added some solid squares to it, it would be On Point.
This is the Magic Circle.
And this is Half Dropped Rows.
And here is how they have been multiplying on my design wall! I need to decide it I will just keep putting blocks together as I have been or if I want to do some combination of all the choices.
By the way, I have an article that I saved out of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine from July-Aug. of 1995 that shows these and other Bow Tie "Great American Quilt Classics". Sure would be fun if they would pick up Bonnie's Cheddary Challenge story and do an article with all these Cheddar Choices! Really fun!

President's Day Sewing

Finished up "Bull's Island" that Ros borrowed me...actually really like this one though the ending was a bit neat and tidy. I made more bow ties, but didn't photograph them yet. I also cut a bunch more since I was in a cutting mood which is rare!
I whipped up those pinwheels I have been meaning to make...found some extra yellow hst's and added them to the mix since I was puttering. This quilt is going be so colorful, I love it already! (Jack in the Box).

Here is the backing for the NYE wedding gift that is now in my car for Ros to quilt. I also did some organizing and cutting of more tissue holders, made one more too.

Am in a crabby, stressed out mood so I am going to find a good book and go read myself to sleep. Tomorrow might be a better day.

Saturday Schnibbles and More Sewing :)

Decided to start my I.S.T.H February Schnibbles today. I started out with this first block but decided to use my Thangles to do the hst's and went with the wrong size. So I have one 8.5 inch orphan block. Then realized that I could use hst's that I already had in my leftover bucket...so changed it all up to this:

Looks a little more Christmassy than I had planned, but hey a good gift it will make!

So I went with it and here is my smaller version of I.S.T.H. (Insert Snappy Title Here).

Then I whipped up my second green Jack in the Box block for SoScrappy Saturday! Lovin it!
Here are all four together. I pressed the bonus triangles (Amy, lol) but didn't make them into pinwheels yet. Gotta get on it before I wind up a zillion extra hst's. I stole some of the one's I had from this project to put in my Schnibbles, but there are more where they came from!
I also went with simple purple borders for the NYE Mystery that has been waiting for some work. Kathy came over for a bit today and advised purple from the choices we had. It looks good!

Will get a better picture out in the sun tomorrow. That's it,,,now Randy, CJ and I are going to see "The Awakening" that they want to see. DJ is out at the Sand Dunes riding a quad. Tomorrow hope to get in some sewing, but working with a colleague on a Math Signs Workshop we are giving in March (eek!) and I need to prep some teaching stuff too! Weekends go too fast!