Halloween Sewing

Just started another book that is a true story and interesting.  Really nice outside so I caught a few chapters out there.  Hope to get out there again today.  I have a Zoom workshop online in a bit so that will take up some of my day.  

Last year I made myself a Bonnie inspired table runner while she was sewing up pumpkins for her quilt.  She later came out with a cooler pattern so this year I made a HUGE one for my mom who has a huge table and one for my sister in law Ashley because she saw a picture of mine on my table and asked about it.  So much fun sewing up pumpkins. Quilted them myself and am really tired of tracing out pumpkins!

I decided I could not send a box and not send something for my sister so she is getting the other table topper.  So many fun Halloween fabrics in it.  It is Rock Candy by Jaybird Quilts.

 

Our New Home and Table Toppers

I thought I would share our new house since I skipped over that when I first started blogging again!  I finally hung up the cool metal quilt blocks my cousin gave me a few years ago.  They are hanging in the entry area right outside my quilting room.

I got rid of the weeds and planted three rose bushes in front of our house.  They are doing well.  I have never planted or cared for roses so I am excited about this!

Here is our bedroom with Frolic on the bed and Picnic on the wall for now.  Lots of mermaids and beach stuff.  I love that our bed is between the windows (we had to leave our headboard behind and I have not found a new one I like yet to replace it) and I can listen to the rain and see what is going on.

Again the sewing room.  I spend as much time as I can right here!  Kathy got a new office chair so her sewing chair is back in here and the wooden chair has found its way to the living room.

The view from my chair in the sewing room.

The living room (really the dining room but we changed it up!).  I ordered a new recliner for me but it has not come yet so we do not spend too much time in here yet.

The view from the living room facing the sewing room/front door.

The kitchen is huge.  We put our huge kitchen table in there and it works for the two of us and we can pull the table out to play games when the kids come over.  I bought the checked drapes after deciding I did not have any fabric that I wanted to use and really did not want to make FOUR sets of valances.  My old kitchen valance matched the bathroom so since there was only one, it found its way there.

We bought the special dish rack because I really wanted to not have a drainer on the cupboard.  No directions to put it together so that was fun, but we love it.

Singer kitty is on the freezer (which also fits in the kitchen!).

Sunshine is modeling the second tulip quilt.  I love this so much and am undecided if I should keep it or mail it off to a friend of mine.

I also quilted all three of these table toppers that have been piled up and waiting awhile.  They are all in the gift pile.

New Quilting Studio and Already Sewing!

Super happy with our new house and the decision to make the living room the quilting studio!  We made the dining room the living room and put the kitchen table in the kitchen.  We use every inch of this house and it is cozy and organized.  Took me about ten days to get everything where I wanted it...lots of naps involved and I had to rest a lot more than I would have liked, but it got done and now my reward is sewing!

We had to trash the old ironing board set up, but I liked it so much we bought the same shelves and oriented them a little differently for our space.  Here is a picture of it in progress.

 There are two built in bookshelves on each side of an unusable fireplace so I have quilting stuff on the one side and my keeper books and books to read the future grandbabies on the other side.  Not much really fits underneath in the cabinets as they are not very deep but I used it the best I could.

 Hung all the rulers behind where I sit on the wall.

 This is above the fireplace.  I have my year round sewing tree up.

 The front door has a little alcove with another door and I hung all of my metal quilts (gifted to me by my godson Koi and his mom Tara) FINALLY.  They were not hung at the old house as I had no walls left.

Kathy sits across from me when she is in here.  We each have our own U shaped space.  We bought (and she assembled) two shelves on wheels with drawers and a cabinet.  Each is under our window and helps since we lost the built ins from our old house.

 I put a bulletin board on the back of the Ikea shelf and stuck some stuff on it.  Works for me.

 This is the view from where I sit.  We put quilts in the large cabinet there and stacked more on top.  The quilts to be gifted are in the office along with the seasonal quilts to change out.  They will not all fit in here.  The top drawer has strings and the bottom drawer has tops and backs.

 My daughter is in her third trimester--YAY.  I gave her an eye spy quilt and then I made this one (she picked it from all the Patch Pals patterns.)  This was fun to make but like a puzzle to lay out!

 My friend Barb (in AZ) embroidered the cutest little animals for me to make a quilt from for the baby.  They all have fuzzy minky fabric in them and are soft and super detailed.  This picture does not do it justice, I need to get some close ups.  She gifted me 12 blocks and I decided to use a mystery pattern from a long time ago and it needed 13.  Barb whipped me up a kangaroo and it is in the mail on the way here now.

 I quilted and bound my second Scrappy Tulip quilt (from Mystery Quilts Anonymous fb group) a few days ago.  The first one I gifted to my ex chair at Basha, Marisol and this one I am not sure goes to who.  I like it enough to keep it but I have so many!

 I started the Jelly Snowflake Mystery quilt that Pat Sloan mentioned on her blog.  Info is on   A Quilting Life here.  Some are doing it in Christmas fabric, but I used the only jelly roll I have which is Moon Shine by Tula Pink.  Second clue comes out tomorrow.

 I also quilted three of my Rock Candy tabletoppers that have been done and waiting for that and binding for a long time.  They are in the gift me pile.

 Bonnie Hunter started her new leader and ender Easy Breezy.  I decided to use up a bunch of patriotic scraps and make a quilt of valor.  I kitted up 30 blocks to start in the six inch size.  They are cute!

 I am also still making a house a day. I have 106 so far.  I need to get them up on my design wall (finally redid it, the first one I put up nothing stuck to!) soon so I can get a picture of them all.  Still social distancing and being super careful.

Fall Break Means SEWING!

 Tomorrow is our quilt guild's small quilt auction so when I finally got a minute to sew I started with this Rock Candy tabletopper.  I made some awhile back and had this one all cut and ready to go.

 I also got the 35th Ave. BOM together. Not my best block as I was a bit rushed.  My parents finally came back from their summer in Wisconsin and were staying here this past weekend (they were doing a craft show nearby) so it was nice to see them and catch up.  My brother got engaged and his engagement party was last Saturday night so we went north to celebrate with them and Ashley asked me and my sister to be bridesmaids.  Wedding is tentatively scheduled for March 2019.

I also found time Sunday to sew the last two blocks of the Pat Sloan Library BOM.

 I sewed the top together up until the last two borders and got this picture.  I will get better pictures outside now that I added the last two borders.

 I am saddened by the news of the shooting in Vegas and have been working this morning on last month and this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  I have orange and pink to do...almost all parts are sewed and ready to be put together.

I am off work for two whole weeks for Fall Break....we are going out of town to San Francisco ( I have never been there!) on Friday with my mom.  We will see Alcatraz and Angel Island, China Town, the Pier, a Deaf Pizza Place called Mozzeria and Winchester House...and whatever else catches our interest in the few days we have.  Next week I am training back at my old video relay job for three days.  I also picked up a little freelance so I am not completely off work...also I have TONS to do for planning and prepping for second quarter.  So trying to get in some fun sewing while I can!

Free Friday Funday!

Today I got a massage and then sewed the day away.  It was so nice and relaxing!  I got out the Viking machine and quilted my cousin's baby quilt with a serpentine stitch.  It turned out pretty good and Zoey jumped right on it for the picture.

 Here you can see I got it bound.  I put a label on it Bonnie style for the first time and it was super easy to do.  I washed and dried it so after  I write on the label I can get it out to my cousin Ashley and her hubby Ches.

 We got the border fabric in the mail today so that inspired me to get the dark green borders on Packer/Celtic Solstice.  I put a three inch outer border on instead of a two inch.

 I also sewed up the backings for the Packer quilt and for the Mickey Mouse NYE Quilt.  They are now all loaded in the car (along with Jack in the Box) for Ros.  I can't wait for her to get back from vacation...:)

Then since I had so many finishes I decided to start something new!  I have a pregnant Deaf friend back in Wisconsin that I promised a baby girl quilt to.  It hit me the other day that I really wanted to do Bonnie's "Maverick Stars" so I am doing a baby sized one!  My stars are definitely wonky!  I am enjoying making them and the top should get done this weekend.  

Oh I also quilted two more Rock Candy tabletoppers and got them ready for binding.  They didn't get done in time for Christmas, but we didn't really need them so I guess I am ahead for next year! 

The Weekend :)

Yesterday was the PHXMQG Holiday party.  We had a good turn out and now I no longer the secretary.  The new board starts in January and I am looking forward to a year of enjoying things instead of stressing on things that are beyond my control.  

 Not a whole lot of sewing going on, I learned how to crochet with this cool yarn to make some Packer scarves.  I have two done and am hoping to teach my mom and sister on Christmas eve.  I got them each a skein and a hook.  Mom will have no problem since she does knit and crochet some, but I don't think my sister has every tried.  She needs a hobby so I am hoping she takes to it, lol.

I did finish getting the tops together for two more Christmas Rock Candys.  They need to be quilted and bound and are our last gifts to make this year.

An Early Christmas and a Few Blocks

 This past weekend we had an early Christmas up at mom and dad's house because my brother and his wife and two boys will be in Costa Rica this Christmas with her side of the family.  So mostly we watched them open gifts but we will be doing it again on Christmas eve without them.

 We gave Ben his lego tray and some legos to go with it, HE LOVED IT!  He spent a good hour or so putting both the car and plane together before we opened anything else.

 Since mom had gotten us each a HUGE soup pot (which I have wanted and needed forever) she brought that out to give to all of us.  That was fun.  Kathy and I have been working on more Rock Candy toppers.  This one is for Margie.

 This packer one is for Randy to match his Green (Orca) Bay quilt.

Several of the gals from our Celtic Solstice Kick Off Party and I are going to Tuscon in February to do a Bonnie workshop or two!  We got some of the last spots and I am signed up for both Playing with Jacks (which is on my list of quilts to make--I even have some fun balls and jacks fabric I bought with it in mind) and My Blue Heaven which I also love.  More to come on this later, but I am over the moon on FINALLY getting to take a Bonnie class (or two!) as I have wanted to do for years!

Speaking of Bonnie, here is my Jack in the Box quilt designed by her.  I have the center all pieced (that is two years of Rainbow BOM work!) with only two blocks left over.  I have pieced the borders but just thought it was too much like this and so I am glad I didn't just sew it.  I will be adding in an inch or so or a solid color to rest the eye on (thanks facebook friends for the feedback) my daughter suggested blue, I was also considering fabric with lots of colors in it, but I think a solid is the way to go to calm things down.

In other news, my honey bought me a dozen roses for no reason at all.  My week has just been awesome!

Tonight I finished up another Wild and Goosey.  Love this blocks and have a zillion more to go to get a top.  Am thinking I might want to sew them into the top to bring to show Bonnie..however small that may be...I also FINALLY got to working on my other Rainbow BOM.  I never got around to making the brown one, so here it is.  I think that brings me to eleven blocks now since I didn't make the fall colored block.  I will need to make one is some color because eleven blocks won't make a quilt.  These are the funnest blocks and give me a little string piecing fix too.