Succulent Garden for my Gnome and Emerald Challenge Fun!

 I finished up my green pinwheels to go with my green Jack in the Box blocks--so happy to be all caught up on that (a few more spools to go in green) before May gets here and another color!

 Today I planted a succulent garden!  I have wanted to do this for a long time and I hope the transplant went okay and it will grow and fill in the pot.  It is my gnome's new home and is on the new table and chairs my parents gifted to me when they moved.  Hoping this weekend we will grill out and eat in the backyard!

Tomorrow is the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild meeting (after the 35th Ave. BOM and black bag day) and I really procrastinated making something for the emerald challenge.  I really had planned to make this cool star block in a block in a block in three shades of green but just wasn't motivated enough in the end.  Then I realized that I could pick out some of my green spools (from my Spoolin Around challenge) and make a pillow to match my future quilt.  I made a few more green spools, picked out the more modern or more emerald ones that I liked and just went for it.  I am happy with it and am glad to have something finished for the challenge!  Can't wait to see what others have made!

We also spent tonight (and really all week) watching CNN and seeing all the craziness in Boston and then the explosion in Texas then back to Watertown for an unprecedented manhunt.  So sad that so many people have died this week unexpectedly--my prayers go out to any and all affected.  Kathy is from Greenfield, Mass and ordered herself a Boston Strong shirt to add to her Red Sox shirt collection.   We both hope we never see something so crazy happen in our backyard.  Prayers going up for Boston and for West too.

UFO's, WIP's, BOM's OH MY!

Lately I feel like I am going in a zillion different directions--in my life and in my sewing.  I don't really have lots of UFO's--more like I am "stuck" on the quilting part for some of them, and others are really works in progress or blocks of the month, mystery quilts, etc.  Still, for me having all this going on at once it a bit overwhelming...and gets in the way of all the stuff I still want to start (Emerald Challenge, Hat Trick, Floribunda, Maverick Stars to name a few) and I feel like I can't really justify starting something else unless I really take stock of what I have going on!  So skip reading this post if you aren't interested, this is really for me :)
1. This is TWIST OF FATE which is now all cut and in progress thanks to Kathy.  Still a way to go on it though.

2. I SPY SQUARES QUILT is an ongoing project...I have made several of these quilts in a few different patterns and keep a collection going at all times.  

3. MAC's BLUEWORK BLOCKS...I have several of these bluework blocks done and somewhere lost the motivation to keep on doing them. I need to either complete some more blocks or get the top together and be done with it! This project may take many years!  I haven't stitched any blue work in about two years though I have all the patterns if I want to continue on this.

4. MY BROKEN CROCKERY this one is a flimsy which I love and didn't want to wreck by quilting it myself--I started it once and wasn't happy so I need to pick that thread out and try again!

5. MY SEASONS BARGELLO quilt is a flimsy--still thinking about taking it apart and getting it quilted individually.

6. HAWAII SUNSET-this one is on pause for a bit but I will be getting back to it!  It is a bucket list quilt and I traded fabric with Amy and Andra so it is even more fun!

7. BUTTERMILK--in thirties fabrics-I just may check the sizes on these little nine patches and covert this quilt to Hat Trick which is this month's Schnibbles that I really want to do!  That way I get to "start" something new and "finish" something that was passed on to me that I am not dying to make right now!

8. MOTH IN THE WINDOW-I started this one on a whim one QuiltCam with Bonnie and love these blocks!  I have more cut and will be getting more done when the mood strikes.  

9. SCRAPPY TRIP AROUND THE WORD--started this one on a whim too.  So fun to play with fun and modern looking fabrics.  I am no hurry to get more done as I don't have a plan for this one yet anyways.

10.  HAND SEWN HEXIES-truth be told I have two other hand sewn hexie quilts that are doll size I need to do something with and this one!  I have really enjoyed all the hours I have spend hand sewing this and my technique has improved.  I will just keep adding to this one though I am already itching to do another using Mickey's techniques!

11. CHEDDAR BOW TIES--this one is a flimsy.  Love it, but haven't sent it off to be quilted yet.  Thinking this one will go to Ros for quilting--I want something spectacular, lol!

12. SPOOLIN' AROUND-this is an older picture.  I have been working on the spools in Angela's color of the month and that has really helped me to see progress!  Though Bonnie does these challenges as leader/enders I rarely do them that way so in order to eek in the time to see progress it helps to be aiming for a certain color done each month!  Whatever works, right!

13. JACK IN THE BOX--again and old picture, last year's RAINBOW BOM.  I have been repeating the colors as the Rainbow BOM goes around this year and will be really super duper happy to get this one done at the end of the year.  Two years with the same quilt is tooooo long for me!  I love it though and the pinwheels that are made from bonus HST's will be the border.

14. TALKIN' TURKEY--this one is this year's Rainbow BOM.  I LOVE IT!  I can't say enough about how happy these blocks make me.  I think I am going to keep this one when it is done so 12 blocks, lap size should be good.

15. KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOR--This is the 35th Ave. BOM so will be working on it all year long too.  I like it but am wondering at my sanity doing so dang many BOM's for 2013!

 

16. BREAD AND BUTTER STARS-this one is flimsy which I need to quilt.

17. LAZY SUNDAY MYSTERY--am working on part two now.  Will be done when the last clue is available I am sure!

18. HEXI DOLL QUILT--all the hexies are sewn and pieces are cut.  I just need to hand sew these  flowers to the squares and get the top together, then quilt it!

Well, there we have it.  I think this really is what I have going on...WOW.  Five of the things are monthly progress items, and four are flimsies waiting for quilting..so that leaves ten works that are waiting to see some action.  It is worse than I thought...OH MY!

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!

Teeny Weeny Bit of Sewing Tonight!

 Jacki needed a few more pink blocks to round out a project she is working on so I whipped up this churn dash tonight and BJ will be whipping up some more too!
So Kathy finished up her green blocks too.

Tomorrow we are off to help my parents move some more and will stay up north overnight and help more on Saturday before finding our way home.  I am crossing my fingers some more sewing will happen on Sunday!

Green Day :)

 Today I watched two and a half Quiltville QuiltCams that are achieved on youtube and sewed away and ALL things Bonnie and all things GREEN!  Jack in the Box done in green again (pinwheels yet to do).

 Added quite a few more green spools to my stack--have another dozen or so to go.  It is really working to do each color that Angela picks as it pushes me to make more than I would ordinarily!  Bonnie said her challenge is up for this is July (and we may be doing hourglasses for the next year) and I really do want to be done with this one when the next one gets going!  None of them are assembled into blocks yet because I haven't decided how I am setting them.

 Then I got going on Talkin Turkey--also green and also by Bonnie!

 And got it finished!

 Kathy worked on her green BOM--Scrap Jar Stars.

 And here is the rainbow so far (remember I did the red one first before I decided to do this as the Rainbow BOM and we haven't officially done red yet).  I LOVE THIS BLOCK!  I seriously think this is my favorite block ever--just so fun with the strings and the points!

Quilt of Valor

Awhile back I made this Quilt of Valor with a mystery group online and Alycia and pals has now got it quilted and soon will be off to one of our soldiers!
Alycia Quilts has a blog post about it and several other donated quilts.

Hitting the Green and So Much More--FINALLY!

We have not been on our regular schedule where we have lots of time to sew on the weekends lately.  One thing after another going on and it seems we are never here or if we are we are too tired to think about sewing!  I got into the TV show "The Tudors" on my AmazonPrime and in the last week or two watched four seasons worth while working on socks or handsewing.  Today we helped my parents move--AGAIN.  Yes this is about the 5th time they have moved since we moved to Arizona (4.5 years ago).  They are only moving about five minutes from the last house they were in.  Today we moved boxes and a few pieces of furniture.  Kathy and I washed a gazillion dishes (I should have taken photos--mom has wine glasses, champagne glasses, hurricane glasses, margarita glasses, Packer glasses, drink glasses, shot glasses, more wine glasses...you get the idea.)  

We arrived home so very tired from head to toe (and I got a massage yesterday which rocked, but I am so sore from that already!) but we persevered and sewed!  I had to get going on some GREEN for Angela's Rainbow BOM.  I made nine of these tonight and added them to my previous greens.

Meanwhile, Kathy caught up on her orange blocks from last month.  She got both done but I snapped this before the second one was done.  We also noticed that one of her purple blocks has the bottom star points turned around.  I think I blogged about it and no one said anything and we have looked admiringly at them for two months now, sheesh!  We both love the scrap jar star block in orange!

 In the car on the way to and from mom's I handtacked my hexies down.  I improved so much on these four pincushions.  You can see the stitches are not so good in the first two, but the second two look good!  We filled them with walnut shells (bought at the pet store cheap) and I whip stitched them closed.  One is for the exchange at the PHXMQG, one I may keep and two will be gifts and may count for my Christmas Through the Year item this month!

 These four blocks are the 35th Ave. BOM blocks for this month.  I am happy with how they came out (Kathy has hers done too) but I didn't care for the 2 7/8 x 3 inch of some of the blocks while others are 3 x 3.  It was WAY too easy to turn blocks and then be off on the seam allowance.  There was a bit of unsewing and a bit of reseaming happening with these.  So glad they are done and I hope next month is one easy block!

 Not the greatest photo, but here are all of my 35th Ave. BOM blocks so far :)

Tomorrow we are sleeping in and then we will sew and catch up on all the QuiltCam's we have missed lately.  I think there are two or three...that is how crazy life has been--Bonnie's number one fan hasn't even had time to catch QuiltCam!  :)