Happy Labor Day!

 My accountant daughter Hannah flew to Louisiana tonight for her job and was on the plane with Si and Jep from Duck Dynasty.  She got to get a picture with Si after they landed--how fun for her!

 I finished up the Eye Spy quilt and got some slightly wavy borders on.  I will hand tie this one and have it ready for a little one down the line.  After getting that done I went to work for a short three hour shift and then came back home and went right back to it!  Kathy was working so I finished up listening to China Dolls and organized the orange scrap bin and cut tons of 3.5 inch strips and then lozenges.  I am pretty sure I will have too many lozenges when these are all sewn...three more months to go!

 I have been posting my Wild and Goosey block that I complete each weekend on the Quiltville Open Studio group...it has gotten tons of attention and several folks have now started this or added it to their list.  That has motivated me further so I did an "extra" block today!  Loving seeing this one grow since I really want to have it quilted and bound to show Bonnie in person (she saw it last year, tiny!) in January.  Also one of the editors of Quiltmaker saw my pictures and asked if I could send her some to be published in the magazine.  How cool is that?  I hope it materializes, this quilt is tons of work but it is SEW gonna be worth it!

My daughter saw some of the pictures and asked who this one was for and I told her I was keeping it though it might be inherited by the oldest grandchild.  Her response was I will tell my brothers the race is on..haha!  While I cannot wait for grandkids, she is the only one even remotely ready to have any and right now she is focused on her career and enjoying life--such a smart girl!  So glad my advice about not having kids young got through to the kids...all mine were born by the time I was 23 and I guess the best thing about that is that I now have time for me and am still young enough to enjoy it!  :)  

Back to a full day of work tomorrow but hoping to sew again Wednesday or Thursday!

Wild and Goosey Check In and More

I managed to sneak in my Wild and Goosey block this weekend.  Here it is!  It has a few Eye Spy fabrics in it since I was cutting and organizing those today too.  I didn't realize that Quiltmaker had the pattern available for free online til somone posted it in the Quiltville Open Studio Facebook group that I moderate for Bonnie.  If you haven't started this one, do a few and make a tablerunner if you can stop at just a few!  Wild and Goosey Free Paper Pieced Pattern!

 I spent Friday night and Saturday with one of my favorite nephews--Colton!  He has gotten so big and is signing (milk, more, please, thank you,.   all done and now he signs Angela too).  He is quite a communicator for one who isn't really talking yet.  Seriously a smart little guy and the time went fast!  Mom, Dad, Colton and I went up to Prescott to a craft sale.  It was a gorgeous day (cooler up there than down here) and it was great fun.  I forgot my fitbit at home and thought I had lost it there which led to much retracing of steps (all not being counted--grrr!) but I had happily forgotten it on my pj's!

 Kathy made her second Jelly Bean Blast block...she wants to make Bonnie's Wanderlust Pattern.  It is going to be so pretty!

 I did get the yellow border on both Packer quilts, and one outer border on too.  I didn't think I had enough Packer fabric do finish the second one (so I was going to go green scrappy) but in cleaning out the eye spy stuff I found more so I think I can finish the second one after all!

Here is the Eye Spy with one more long row added...most likely will add more before I put the border on this one, have some cut and ready to go!  I work about three hours tomorrow so other than that and the drive there and back I plan to be sewing!

Eye Spy Another Baby Quilt Done!

Baby Boy Eye Spy Top and Wild and Goosey Block



 Today I got the borders on the most recent Eye Spy quilt.  Love these quilts...so much fun with all the different fabrics, I try hard not to duplicate any, but this one has two of the same bumble bee fabrics in it--oops!  I forgot to take a picture of the backing fabric but it is things under a magnifying glass, perfect for this quilt!  Makes a great baby gift with an eye spy book too!  I have a feeling I will be tying this one and gifting it when I head back to Wisconsin to one of my cousin's boys.

I also had to remember how to paper piece...didn't take long and I had the hang of it again.  These blocks are just too much fun! 

I also pieced two battings for crib quilts and added fabric to the backing for the eye spy.  I meant to get quilting a baby quilt, but just wasn't up for that! 

Happy Fourth of July :)

Happy fourth of July!  We didn't do anything special this year, I work up with a migraine and finally around two did some sewing.  No grilling out, no fireworks, but it is all good.  We did take down our curtains and washed them and the sheets and quilts on the bed so something productive happened.  I also got my teal Talkin' Turkey block done for the Rainbow BOM link up this Saturday.  Since we will be gone for two to three weeks in July I am trying to get all caught up before we go.  

 Here is the whole collection together, really gonna be a great quilt if i do say so myself!

 I also did a little Eye Spy cutting and then put together most of a quilt top.  We also spray basted and pinned one of the Beatrix Potter quilts that I will quilt myself.

I think I was in slow motion due to my migraine because it doesn't seem like I sewed much but I was in there for hours!

Two Challenges Met!

These first two pictures are actually pictures of a page and picture in my quilting journal...which is sadly not up to date anymore because the Modern Diary is now my quilting journal! But this large basket wallhanging quilt is my quilt number 4 from February 16th of 1991. I am including it here because today I worked on some TINY baskets which made me remember this wallhanging back from our peach bedroom days a lifetime ago. Seriously...this was made before # 3 was born and he is 19 now! It was from Eleanor Burns' May Basket in a Day book and I tied it with peach ribbon. No idea who I passed it on to, but it has been MIA for many years.
On to what I did today:
Here is Eye Spy Two all tied and ready to be gifted! Completed that while watching Phantom of the Opera recorded live from Royal Albert Hall. My daughter saw the show on Broadway four or five years ago and loved it..so we bought her the movie but twice I fell asleep trying to watch it so concluded it wasn't my kind of thing. I should have concluded I was too tired to watch it! DJ (Deaf, lol) picked up this dvd at the Redbox because she has actually seen it performed and enjoyed it. I went ahead and put it in at about 3 AM (after watching Whistelblower which was also really good) and managed to stay awake til "intermission" when I just had to crash. This afternoon (when I got up, lol) I watched the second half--I really enjoyed it and now I understand what Hannah meant! Now I have added that to my bucket list (since Wicked is not crossed off it). Randy is watching it now downstairs and so I am enjoying the music all over again as I sew and type!
Close up of the tying. Nothing special just yellow variegated embroidery floss. I am still pretending I don't see the two monkey blocks that found their way into this one! And back to baskets:
So today I worked on my tiny "Remembering Adelia" Civil War Basket Quilt. I planned to make at least four baskets and would love to have made twelve, but.... Here is the start of the block without the handle. I hand stitched the handle (first time and it look ok from a galloping horse in a misty dawn) and then unstitched where the handle should be in the seem allowance and resewed that part. I also make the bottom part of the other three blocks but the one that came out the best was the first one, go figure.


I hung it up and am happy with it! This was the challenge that Kathleen Tracy of Sentimental Quilter challenged on her blog and in her yahoo small quilt group. I have now managed to complete all of the March things I planned on, so now I will have to figure out what is next on my own!

Actually Spring Break is over in two days so I need to see what is up for teaching this coming week, grade some papers and then go over my powerpoint for the Math Interpreting Workshop Christine and I are doing on Friday. Time is flying but we are just about ready. Hope your sewing weekend was productive and fun!

Eye Spy Two

Worked on UFO #8 for Judy's drawing for March today. Here is the flimsy for Eye Spy Two. I really like this simple pattern. I have lots more squares but was trying not to get any duplicates (hmmm see the monkeys twice?) but that is fine I am not ripping! I have a bin with more squares this size though duplicates, 3 1/2 inch size squares and some hexagons I have been piling up. If I have time this month I may go for more flimsies, but if not I am going to try to get this one tied up for a future baby so I can cross number 8 off my list!

Spent much of my day working on the math workshop Christine and I are giving this month. It seems like the more we do..the more there is to do! We made great progress today and I feel good about where we are, but I am missing my sewing time!

More Odds and Ends...

We leave for Wisconsin and my youngest son's graduation from high school on Friday morning...I have a crazy busy work week and more than I need on my plate this week! We did double time tonight trying to get our ducks in a row. DJ helped me pin Koi's quilt and I will be stitching in the ditch on it tomorrow afternoon between my morning job and evening job. (I got two classes at MCC so I am back to working both of my jobs for June!) DJ cleaned our female Beta's bowl. We bought her to go with our male, but they hate each other. Turns out they have to be the same kind of Beta to even have a shot at getting along. So she has her own bowl!

These goodies were a little suprise for me in the mail over the weekend. I love the middle one and like the one on the right but am not sold on the one on the left. I may have to gift it. June if you are reading this do you like any of them?

We spent the weekend helping my sister and parents move...it was a nightmare, but we made a good time of it and I rewarded myself with three yards of this fabric at the quilt shoppe near my sister's house. It was all on the clearance wall anyway!

DJ and I finished tying this little Eye Spy quilt which I think my cousin Crystal will get for her new second son. I think his name is Finn.

I finally broke down and bought myself a scissor fob! I have been eyeing these on Etsy for quite awhile. I bought one for me and one for a certain good sewing friend whose birthday is coming up. She may be reading this, so if she is I will say that the colors are different!

Hopefully you will be seeing Koi's quilt all quilted before Friday!

Potpourri of Projects!

Tada the binding is all done on this NYE mystery quilt designed by Ann B. Smith. DJ's sister Samantha will be getting this for her soon to be born baby.

I was in the mood to finish up some of the many things that were building up as WIP...they were small but it was nice to get some of them done. I added some fleece (from Michelle) to the back of this doggie quilt and it is in our room for Bug now. I also finished the quilting on one I was using that never got completly quilted!

I added a final row to this Eye Spy that I started at Quilt Camp. A few of the added squares were from little pieced Michelle gave me too. I really love this one little orange square with cowboys on it! I cut up extras and added them to the Eye Spy squares and hexies I have cut too. We then backed this with corderoy type fabric that I bought online by accident...thought I was getting cotton! I have blue just like it. I don't have hardly any batting so I didn't add any. It is like a heavy blanket and will do just fine. DJ is tying this quilt while I type (YAY!).

I also added the backing to this doggie quilt and quilted it. I think my sister will be getting this one for her birthday for her chihuauas. (backing from Michelle!)

I added backing to this doggie quilt too though I haven't quilted it yet. That is what I did on Saturday! Then we went to the Diamondbacks vs. Twins game for the first time!

Today we did a whirlwind of grocery shopping...we have learned to "ad match" to make things easier. Anyway we can to save a buck. We have taken to labeling all the food so Coleman doesn't eat it all in five minutes. (I am serious.) Then we made Jimmy Deans and Biscotti. Finally I was free to get some sewing in...we have a birthday party next weekend to go to for Tommie (one of our Deaf friends) and we decided to make her a bag from this book.

I have made this bag several times before and am always pleased with it. My bias tape maker is a HUGE help in making the handles. (in case you aren't tired of hearing it, the plaid fabric is from Michelle!)

We were going to make two, but we cut one piece two extra and decided to just go ahead and make four. I now have three Christmas gifts ready to go! I love that feeling!

Tomorrow Kathy is supposed to come over to do some more cutting and I might get to sew before work, life is good.

I Spy a Label

Ros made me a label for Tara and Tommy's Night and Day quilt...so today I prepped it to sew on the back on the ride to Wisconsin.

I also fussy cut quite a few more I Spy squares and added a few more rows to this little quilt. I see a few doubles that escaped me but that is alright. I also added to the piles of I Spy squares I have for later sewing. I did some other sewing, but post dating that for July!

Ben's I Spy Quilt is Done!

We finally got Ben's I Spy quilt all tied and done. I need to add a label, but other than that it looks good and I think he will get alot of warmth and entertainment from it!

I recently read a book about Arizona quilts I got from the library. This quilt was my absolute favorite one in it. It is a corn and beans quilt. I have seen the pattern before and thought it okay, but with these colors it is so warm! I guess I am into pinks and browns because I would love to make this one and I have nowhere to put it! The maker was Alice Simpson McNeil Putnam. What a talented lady! Anyways, a little eye candy if you are in need of it.
This is a shot of the bulletin board in my quilting studio. You can see my little owl is looking over things...I added four leftover flying geese squares and perched him on it since this picture. The rest of the board has my daughter's senior picture (need to get pics of the boys up there!) and inspiration things, colors I like, etc. A few quilting pins, a pattern...and two very special things from NQC (the NewQuiltingClub) that the gals gave me when we met up in Chicago last spring. Oh and you can see my first handquilting hexagon that was done with paper piecing. It was fun!

Railroad Crossing Block and I Spy Progress

I had some sewing time after that Black Friday shopping this afternoon! Here is my railroad crossing block all laid out. Notice that my end triangles are not big enough (ask me how I know).

The pattern they gave us with this block had no directions other than a little diagram with a few measurements on it. I need more than this to successfully put my underwear on! Really! I figured out that I could use my Eleanor Burns Flying Geese rulers and make flying geese instead of piecing a zillion little triangles so that helped alot. Took me one time to remember to follow her directions os that I would have enough seam between the geese--I did it the same way last time. Slow learner when it comes to this stuff!

So when it was mostly done I had to rip out all the four corners and put in a bigger piece (one had to change brown/orange color since I didn't have a piece of the same stuff big enough!) and redo it. It took way longer to do this block than it should have. I really admire those quilting folks back in the day who did this by hand or even by machine minus the special rulers, cutters and measuring mats. I suspect I would not have been a quilter then...lol. Anyway, no idea what I will do with this block other than bring it back to Zoe's to show off in December, but I really like these orangy brown colors!

Also, thanks to Sue and Philla I have now finished piecing the I Spy quilt! I added the last row today and a border and got it all pillowcased and sandwiched...it is waiting for whipstitching and tying...it might have to wait until tomorrow because I am tired! My honey just got home from work so I think I will head to the couch and cuddle before hitting the hay!