Rehab Progress, Some Great Mail, and A Quilt Exchange

  I’m back to Rehab and block 12 from the Fat Quarter Shop Designer BOM is a wrap.  This block for me was a bugger and I did quite a bit of reverse sewing…but yippeeee, it’s done!  Now to get to putting the top together.  Thanks Sinta for the  motivation on getting our BOM’s done!

There was also time to work on my Halloween topper and I got the whole thing put together. Some creative pressing will have to happen to get it to lay flat however!!

Being part of the  mini quilt swap hosted by Kris has been so fun,  and my wonderful mini quilt arrived  from my swap partner Michelle along with a sweet charm pack.  Thanks so much Michelle.  Kris had a giveaway for early bird mailers, and Jen and I were both picked.  In my mailbox there was a cute American Jane pattern and yummy American Jane fabrics!  Thanks so much for hosting the swap Kris, and thanks for the great prize!

I am in a friendship group that meets twice a month and we have a yearly quilt exchange/brunch.  Last year we picked a fabric from our stash and with our name attached, placed it in a sealed envelope.  At one of our meetings we picked envelopes and then for the whole year we worked on making a quilt for that person…the name is top secret of course!!  Today was our brunch and big reveal.    Forgot to have a picture taken of my quilt at the brunch, but that’s it laying on the grass….I LOVE IT!!!!  My friend Penny made it and as I told her, I will treasure it forever.   Such a fun time and beautiful quilts. Oblivious to us, there was a nice couple sitting on the other side of the restaurant who came over to say how much they enjoyed the quilt show.  The man asked if any of the quilts were for sale…… silly man :-)!!!!

This Friday, June 15th, is Friday Night Sew-In.  Heidi has the sign up list up and running, open to one and all!

Happy start of the week to everyone!

Tutorial Monday

I’m a bit late today but with good reason!!! The Dots slept over this weekend and we played and played. Hide and go seek is the current favorite game. Today they are back since their mommy is off to work. I wouldn’t trade a single second because I know they will be grown up before we know it and off hanging out with their friends.

I am so excited about these tutorials. A huge problem though…I WANT TO MAKE THEM ALL!! So enjoy, and like always if you make any of them and post on your blog, please link and give credit back to the maker of the tut. Thanks to one and all for generously letting me use your pictures.

Jen at Miss Punkie Pie made this cute pencil case. She has made a measurement adjustment here and made the case using this tutorial from A Spoonful Of Sugar girls This would make great gifts for kids, teachers and quilting buddies for marking tools. I love Jen’s blog. We have been bloggy friends ever since I started blogging and watching here sweet girl Amelia grow up through her blog has been so much fun.

Liz at Sew4home has me again!!! I have flipped over Camille and Bonnie’s new Moda Line, Vintage Modern. Here are a wonderful bunch of tutorials using this pretty fabric.

First off here’s a pretty Toaster Cover, tutorial here.

Patchwork oven mitts …wonderful fast, easy gifts….tutorial here.

A very sweet

Pleated Apron, tutorial. Love those pockets!

Here’s a tutorial for Patchwork Napkins, and while you are whipping those up you might as well include this very pretty Patchwork Table Runner tutorial All the above is part of the Kitchen Confections series featured at Sew4home. If you haven’t visit there I highly recommend it. There’s so much useful resource information as well as their wonderful tutorials.

Sorry about the picture spacing issues…blogger and I just weren’t getting along!!!

Lori at Bee In My Bonnet, another go to resource blog for me. Wonderful tutorials and amazing projects not to mention all the pretty eye candy! She has this great tutorial for Cup Cozies…..I know some friends who will be getting these!

So cute….love these Vintage Snowman Boxes….such happy expressions!! Tutorial here.

We are at the halfway point of our Christmas Through The Year group. Anyone is welcome to join in.

No sign ups necessary. Just make a gift or two each month and link up to Darlene at the end of each month, and not only will you be a present ahead for Christmas, but you will be entered in to a drawing for a giveaway for the month. Happy week everyone!

Camp Fun!

Camp as always is fun. A time to catch up with camp buddies from prior years, and make some new friends. A time to be silly, and hang out with the girls. Much needed for me for sure. This year my friend Janet joined in. We have been quilting friends for 20 years and it was wonderful to have her along and as a roomie.

The Quilt In A Day ladies spoil us and make the whole experience so much fun. One of the highlights is a visit to Eleanor’s sweet cabin for afternoon tea …… upper left corner. She is right there to greet us with a big welcome. There’s my friend Janet next to her Crazy 9 Patch quilt, with the main fabric Pokey Little Puppy…so cute!! She had leftovers and whipped up a braid quilt, using one of Quilt In A Day’s signature patterns…template included. Very fast and easy. There’s a group of quilts hung out on the line outside of our sewing room.

I finished my Flurry Quilt by Kate Spain for Moda. The kit is from November camp which I had cut out then. So fun to make. Then I finished Little Dots pillowcase to go along with his Grinch quilt I made him for last Christmas. He will be graduating to a big boy pillow, and now he will have one like his big brother. I also started sewing my strips sets together for a Halloween table topper. You would laugh if you had seen all the projects I had packed, but I am very happy with what I got done……visiting seemed to be my other project and we definitely spent some wonderful time visiting with these two wonderful ladies. That’s Sue on the left, Eleanor’s right hand gal, and my buddy Annie who works for Quilt In A Day and is a fellow blogger, and just added another sweet grandbaby to her growing family. They are both pretending they made this quilt….it really belongs to another camper!

I took tons of pictures and could go on and on and on….but, The Dots are coming for a weekend sleepover in a bit so I need to whip up some of their favorite snacks! More camp photos to come later. Wishing you all a happy weekend with a bit of sewing time thrown in here and there!

Christmas Finish

 The month is winding down with a few days left.  Darlene will have Mr. Linky up on the 31st for you to link up your Christmas projects for the month.  Those playing will be eligible for a chance to win a wonderful giveaway.

My gift for this month is pretty darn pitiful….. I made these mug rugs last year and I had two that just needed binding.  The other one I sent to my mini swap partner. 

I am off in a bit for a four day quilt retreat.  A time to regroup and hang out with quilty friends.  Happy week to everyone and I’ll be back on the 1st.

Tutorial Monday

I’m very happy to share some more wonderful tutorials with you…love them all for sure.  As always, if you make and post any of these projects please link back to the creator/crafter of the tutorial.

From Liz at Sew4Home…..Kitchen Confections, a wonderful placemat tutorial.  They are made out of Moda’s Vintage Modern.

Beverly at Flamingo Toes ….such a cute name…. has a tutorial for this very Cute Sewing Tool Caddy.  A great gift for a quilty friend or two.

Coasters, coasters…such a great gift. Svetlana at s.o.t.a.k handmade made this

 

 

cute batch of coaters…tutorial here.

Is it just me or are sewing kits hard to resist??  Here’s a very sweet one from Amy at Lots of Pink Here…tutorial here.  Love the fabric she used too!

Can you guess what this is???  This very clever idea is from Lee at Freshly Pieced ….it’s a Drawstring Lego Storage Bag/Play mat…tutorial here.  I know a couple little guys that will be getting these.

If you are planning on making a gift this month  for Christmas Through The Year, Darlene will have Mr. Linky up on the 31st for your chance to enter in the drawing for this months giveaway.  I know she has something wonderful planned.  New to the group? Just jump in and play when you can, and have gifts tucked away for Christmas…no sign ups!!  Happy week everyone.

A Good Mother’s Day…..and Rehab Report

We had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Breakfast out with The Dots and their mom and dad…so yummy. Then they took us on a tour of their plots at the community garden. The boys are enjoying the time spent there, learning about vegetables and how to plant them and tasting vegetables given to them by the other “farmers”. It’s such a wonderful family experience not to mention all the goodies they are harvesting!!!!

I tried to wait patiently for block 12 to come, but no luck. So I decided to start putting blocks together. Row one started . Love the stem/leaf sections added in. I have already started thinking ahead to which BOM I will work on next. I dug out this Fons and Porter one that was started about 8 or 9 years ago. Notice the info

sheet has started to yellow!! It’s called 1890’s Scrap Bag Star. I have a ton of the star blocks done, now to figure out what else needs to be done.

This is a busy week here. Lots of time to be spent with quilty friends, and then next weekend a few days with my girl…..really looking forward to that! Today, well I’m off in a bit to spend the day with The Dots…heaven!!! Happy Monday.

Waiting…….

I’ve been waiting by my mailbox for block 12 from Fat Quarter Shop….thanks to Sinta, my stint in rehab is going very well. She has created a BOM catch-up monster!!!

In between the waiting I have been working on a couple things. First this ……… this is a sneaky peek of a mini quilt for my swap partner...so I can't show the front!!! Just needs binding and it will be ready to go. Then there’s this ..

The next project is a gift for a friend. I’ve been playing with the layout. I finished the rest of the blocks tonight and tomorrow night the whole thing will go together…hopefully!

We had a fun day on Monday with The Dots. I can’t believe how big they are getting! “Driving ” is one of their favorite things when they visit. Such sweet boys and so happy.

I found this wonderful snack idea on Pinterest that the Dots love, love!!!! Drop dots of yogurt in a pan and freeze….like yummy little ice cream dots. Some people are so smart!

Then there’s my potting bench. It was given to me by a friend quite a while back. Sadly I have run out of spots for it. I struggled with what to do with it. I still was so attached to it (silly I know…it’s a potting bench) and I just wanted it to have a good home. Then I thought of my friend Loretta that makes the beautiful glass yard art!!!! Eureka! She was very excited to have it, and her sweet dog Mandi was so excited to strike a pose in front of the potting bench.

Well I’m thinking there’s time to eek in another few minutes at the sewing machine and start putting that quilt together. Wishing you all a very happy weekend, and a very happy Mother's Day and hugs to all you moms!!!

BOM Rehab and Tutorial Monday

  THANK YOU SINTA!!!  There’s some happy dancing going on. I am actually all caught up with my FQ BOM for 2011.     

 

 

 

Blocks seven, nine, ten and eleven FINISHED!!!!   So number twelve, I’m waiting for you….come on down!

    Here we go with month five for Christmas Through The Year.  Please feel free to join in if you can.   It’s pretty darn exciting to see the gift pile growing.  Darlene and I are having so much fun co hosting.  Again, how did Allie do this all by herself??  Super Woman I’m thinkin’!   Now on to the tutorials.  If you do use any of these and feature them on your blog, please link back to the designers. Thanks to our generous crafters for use of their pictures and tutorials.

These three tutorials are from Lisa and Sarah at A Spoonful of Sugar, a sweet mother/daughter team. First off this cute Fabric Gift Pouch tutorial here. 

A wonderful Gathered Round Basket.. the tutorial is here.

This sweet Pencil Case with instructions here.

I’m kind of crazy for pillows and when I saw this Christmas Tree Pillow from

 

Kati at From The Blue Chair, I knew this was going on my to do list…tutorial here.

Shelley at 7 Layer Studio is sharing this wonderful tutorial for her Mini Wallet.  Those clutches are cute too!!!

Wouldn’t this personalized Etched Glass Dish be perfect filled with goodies?  Ashley at Make It and Love It has this great tutorial.

We all love pouches for sure.  Betty Lou at Sugarland Quilts  made these cute Strippy Pouches for  her April Christmas gifts using Kim’s tutorial at Kim Sherrod Studio.

Featured over at Sew, Mama, Sew is this super cute Ric Rac Clutch from Jennifer Ladd, tutorial here.  Love that flower.

Tomorrow The Dots are coming over to play.  We are suppose to have a warm, sunny day so I think a trip to the park may be on the agenda.  Happy week to you all!

And The Winner Is……….

Darlene  and I are jumping for joy (we put our pom poms down while the jumping was going on)!!  We had 22 people aboard the Christmas train this month.  Month four and our boxes are looking so pretty with handmade goodies tucked inside.  Christmas Through The Year is open to everyone….just join in when you can.

Drum roll please……..the winner for April is, Brenda at Quilting Cowgirl.  I will be zipping an email to you for your address so I can get your Bow Tie quilt on it’s way to you.  Congrats Brenda, and thanks everyone for joining in this month.

 

 

Happy May Day!