Friday, August 31, 2012

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Pretty Little Quilt...

Hi, all!

It's Friday again - and time to get your whoop whoop on!!  The last Friday of summer - maybe you've got a great summer project to share?  It's always fun to look forward to the next season, too - all the time in the winter to sew that we don't have so much of in the summer.  Oh, the possibilities!!

Here's one of the quilts I worked on this week...


This quilt was made with some giveaway winnings from Sherri of A Quilting Life.  She had a blogiversary giveaway and I was lucky enough to win these beautiful Riley Blake fabrics, enough to make this wonderful quilt!  


We had a request for a quilt for a ten year old girl with Crohn's disease, who was going to have major surgery to deal with the physical effects of Crohn's.  This fabric seemed perfect - I couldn't think of a better use for it, than to make a child happy!  It was wonderful to work with, too - the pattern that came with the fabric was easy and worked up beautifully!

So that's my whoop whoop for the week - I just hope the recipient is whooping with joy too!!

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And now it's your turn!

What have you been working on this week?
What's made you whoop for joy?

We want to see - and share some whoops with you!!

The linky party will stay open until Sunday night.
Join in the fun!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Make-A-List Monday - Oh, I've been busy!!

Hi, all!

Oh, I've missed you all so much, my bloggy friends!!! I've been nose-to-the-grindstone for the past week, trying to get a ton of quilting done before my surgery next week.  By the time I sit down in the evenings, if there's been any time at all to blog, I've fallen asleep before I get a chance!!  But I'll have plenty of time to catch up on everyone's blogs next week, I'm sure.  

So let's take a look at last week's list and see how it went..


1.  Quilt the rest of the summer camp quilts.
Done!  Take a look at this pretty stack of ten quilts...


These have all been dropped off at church for others to bind...

2.  Bind a quilt (the batik pictured above) for the ministry.
Done and delivered!


3.  Quilt and bind two more quilts for ministry needs.
Done!  Here's one of them...


Then there's this one, which I quilted and Pam did the binding on...


And a third is finished, but I didn't remember to take a picture until after the sun had set!  Oops!

4.  Do something on that upholstery project!
I really need the Cone of Shame.....  still no progress on this!  But in my defense, I did piece a quilt top for a sweet little girl who had to have major surgery this week - it's on the frame for quilting tonight.

And now, for this week....

1.  Quilt the child's quilt on the frame for the quilt ministry.

2.  Quilt a man's quilt for the quilt ministry.

3.  Quilt a woman's quilt for the quilt ministry.

4.  Quilt as many more quilts this week as possible 
to get ahead for September!

How's that for an open-ended list with no end in sight?  It will be interesting to see just how many I can get done this week! I guess it depends a lot on how much rain we get from Hurricane Isaac - whether it tracks more towards Arkansas or Tennessee.  Only time will tell!

And speaking of Hurricane Isaac, keep the folks in the New Orleans area in your prayers - this could be a devastating storm for them, as I was reminded by Jamie of L'Fair Quilts.  Recovery from Hurricane Katrina is still ongoing.....

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And on a personal note, I've got a huge whoop whoop a few days early!  I know I don't usually talk about this on my blog but I just want to shout this from the rooftops - I had a CT scan yesterday and it came back completely clear!!  Woohoo!!!  (Thanks for letting me let that out!!)

So now the question is - - - what are you working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Friday, August 24, 2012

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Marathon Quilting...

Hi, all!!

It's Friday again - are you ready to get your whoop whoop on??  

Summer's winding to a close - can you believe that Labor Day is a week from this coming Monday?  I'll be having surgery the day after Labor Day, so I've been trying to get as much quilting done as possible before then - I won't be able to quilt during September (recup' time) so I want to have some finished quilts on hand for the ministry.  And since I need to do so much quilting, what do you think happened?  Of course - I ran out of batting and it took about two weeks longer than usual to come in!  But it did come in today, and I went on a quilting marathon! No babysitting for me today - my daughter had the youngest granddaughter in tow - so Jolene and I had a day!

Just in case you haven't met, this is Jolene!!

I got up early this morning and, using the batts I pieced together from my batting scraps, quilted three quilts.  Then I found a long but skinny piece of batting and quilted two narrow kids' quilts.  Then I pieced another batt from scraps and quilted another top.  Fortunately, just as I was finishing up that sixth quilt, my LQS owner called to tell me that my two rolls of batting had finally arrived!!  So I jumped in the car, made a quick drive through Chez McD's on the way, and picked up the batting.  

Back home, I loaded up another quilt and just got started on it, when the phone rang again - my new glasses had arrived!  So I hopped back in the car and ran back to town to pick them up.  Headed home again, seeing much better, and finished quilt #7, then loaded and quilted three more!  So here's what I'm whooping about today....


...the results of my quilting marathon!  Ten lovely quilts all ready for someone else to bind!!  (Well, sort of ready - I still need to trim them up, but that will get done tomorrow morning early!)  It's amazing what you can do if you don't have a baby to play with take care of, and basically ignore everything else, including cooking supper.  Kudos to my wonderful hubby, who saw what I had done and took me out to to eat!!!  What a great guy!!

And one more thing I'm whooping about - take a look at my pretty little girls...


Aren't they sweet?  Lilli posed this picture for me - and had to include Bear in the pic!  (He's the greyish-pink blob in the middle - Lilli's constant companion since she was Emmy's size!)  My son-in-law says that Emmy has her "thug" look on - and I remember him describing a picture of Lilli just that way when she was little.  It's so funny how much they resemble each other!  There's no doubt they are sisters!!

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So now it's your turn!!

What are you whooping about this week?

We want to whoop with (and for) you!!

So share your accompishments - 
we all want to see!!

Linky party will stay open until Sunday night!!

Hugs!

Sarah



Monday, August 20, 2012

Make-A-List Monday -

Hi, all!

It's Monday again - how in the world did the week fly by so quickly?  Time is so funny - sometimes it just seems to creep by, and other times it goes so fast it's a blur....

Let's see how I did on last week's list - - -


If the batting comes in...
1.  Quilt the remaining nine summer camp quilts. (They're small!)
No batting, so no quilting on these!

2.  Quilt three more quilts for adult needs for the quilt ministry.
I did piece together some batting scraps that I had on hand
to quilt this quilt...


and this one....


and this one!



If the batting doesn't come in....
3.  Bind the Rabbit Hole quilt.
Done!  Emmy is enjoying her new playmat!



4.  Work on my friend's upholstery project.
Still haven't gotten to this one yet...

5.  Piece some backs for the stack of tops at church.
I did get to some of these, but don't have pictures...

And this week, here's what I'm hoping to get to (if the batting comes in!)...

1.  Quilt the rest of the summer camp quilts.

2.  Bind a quilt (the batik pictured above) for the ministry.

3.  Quilt and bind two more quilts for ministry needs.

4.  Do something on that upholstery project!

Thursday I won't have Emmy for the day, so if the batting arrives I'll be quilting from sun-up to sun-down!!  Wish me luck!!

So now, the question is - - - what are you working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Friday, August 17, 2012

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Sweet Baby....


Hi, all!

Friday has rolled around again - are you ready to get your whoop whoop on?  

I've had a quiet week - without batting, I haven't been able to get to all the tops I had lined up to quilt.  But I did get the binding on this pretty thing...


...the quilt, not the baby!!  And apparently she likes her new play mat, because she gave it the seal of approval today...


Aren't babies sweet when they're sleeping?  Actually, she's sweet most of the time, but there's just something about a napping baby....

So that's my whoop whoop for the week - just a little bit of sewing, but a lot of playtime with that sweet little girl!

*%*%*%*%*%*%*

So now it's your turn!

What have you been working on this week?

What caused you to "whoop it up"?

Do share - we want to whoop with you!!

The link will stay open until Sunday night...

Hugs!

Sarah

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Make-A-List Monday - on Tuesday (oops!)

Hi, all!

So much for big plans - I sat down last night on the sofa to watch a little tv and write a blog post - and woke up two hours later!  So here's Make-A-List Monday - on Tuesday!

Here's how I did on last week's list....





1.  Bind three ministry quilts.
Done!





2.  Make a back for a ministry quilt.
3.  Quilt and bind that quilt.
Done!


4.  Quilt and bind the Rabbit Hole quilt.
Quilted but not bound - hopefully today!



5.  Quilt two quilts for Phoenix Quilts.
Done, but I don't have pictures yet...

6.  Work on my friend's upholstery project.
Didn't get to this one...

7.  Meet with my sewing sisters on Saturday!
We had a ball!!

I also quilted four of the quilts that the girls made at summer camp this past July - they're ready for some of the other ladies to bind!  And I quilted a quilt for the ministry, for a lady with cancer.

So not too bad - a few things missed, that I'll need to try to get to this week.  I've got lots to do this week, but just used the last of my roll of batting - which is going to slow me down!  There's more coming, it's just not here yet.  But if it comes in, here's what I need to do this week...

If the batting comes in...
1.  Quilt the remaining nine summer camp quilts. (They're small!)

2.  Quilt three more quilts for adult needs for the quilt ministry.

If the batting doesn't come in....
3.  Bind the Rabbit Hole quilt.

4.  Work on my friend's upholstery project.

5.  Piece some backs for the stack of tops at church.

That's enough to keep me out of trouble this week!

And now the question is - - - what are you working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Friday, August 10, 2012

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Feather in my Cap...

Hi, all!

Friday has rolled around again - and it's time to get your whoop whoop on!!  I was really pushing to get something done in time, but it's done enough that I can share something new about it, so here goes....


I did the quilting on the pattern tester quilt I did for Angela of Cut To Pieces today!  Because this will be a play mat for Emmy, I decided to try out some giant feathers, one spray in each of the branches of the design.  This is my first time quilting feathers, and needless to say, they are really rough....


...but I don't think Emmy will mind, and it was good practice!  I think it was easier to start by practicing them large - I've got a good feel for the motions involved in making them, and I think I'll be able to do them better in the future.  The next time I have some spare time without a pile of quilts to quilt up, I'll load some junk fabric and a contrasting thread on Jolene and practice a bunch more!


I do love the back of this quilt - a great piece from IKEA!  They have such lovely large scale prints to use for backings....

So all this quilt needs now is binding, and it will be ready to become a well-loved play mat.  It's certainly colorful!!  Angela's pattern will be coming out soon - it's called Down The Rabbit Hole.  I really recommend it - it's a great design, super simple to make, and she's already done the (very complicated) math for you!   The top of this quilt took me less than an hour to put together once it was cut out - that's hard to beat!  And it worked up to about 60" across, a great size for a lap quilt or play mat.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*

And now it's your turn!

What have you been working on this week?

What made you dance a happy dance?


We want to dance, too - so share!

The linky party will remain open until Sunday night -
plenty of time to get it all together and link up!

Hugs!

Sarah

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

What's Cookin' At The Sweatshop - Another Busy Week!

Hi, all!

Another week, another big pile of quilts!  It's been busy, but hopefully this catches us up for a bit, so I can work on quilting the summer camp quilts that will be going to New Orleans!  Let's see what we did this week....

The front...

...and the back!

This very bright and patriotic quilt, pieced by Emilie, will be going to a young Marine who is suffering from PTSD.  



This pretty postage stamp quilt, also pieced by Emilie, will be going to a young woman dealing with cancer and Crohn's disease.  Notice the little flowers in the detail picture?  They cover up a "booboo" in the border.  Don't you just love applique? 


This soft print quilt (made by me! surprise surprise!) will be going to a young woman who is going through a difficult time right now. We seem to be branching out into encouragement quilts a bit - it's a nice addition to the types of quilts we make!


This sunny, cheerful quilt will be brightening the day of another woman dealing with cancer.  


And this bright and colorful quilt is going to a lady batting cancer.  Katy, one of our ministry members, met her husband in an airport while waiting for a plane, and felt led to send her a quilt.  Isn't it neat when an opportunity to help someone comes along?


This last quilt, made by Cindy, has a very special story.  Originally intended for a friend who was in the last stages of cancer, it instead was given to the friend's daughter.  You can read the whole story here on the Quilts Are For Giving blog - it's definitely worth hopping over and checking out.

So that's what we've been working on this week.  Next week, we've got to buckle down and get those summer camp quilts finished for the New Orleans trip - that should keep us busy!  Lots of quilting and binding to come.....  I can't wait to see all the quilts for New Orleans in one place - it's going to be an impressive pile of love and comfort!!

Thanks to all the people who participated in making and delivering the quilts above - from the donors to the people who put them together to those who take them to the recipients, each of you are important to the final outcome and very much appreciated!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Monday, August 6, 2012

Make-A-List Monday - The Best Laid Plans....

Hi, all!

I hope you've had a good and productive week - I did, although it didn't go quite as I planned!  Let's see how I did on last week's list...


1.  Make a back for a woman's quilt needed for the ministry.
Done!

2.  Add borders and make a back for a second woman's quilt needed for the ministry.
Done!

3.  Quilt and bind both of those quilts.
Both have been quilted, but I didn't get to the binding yet.

4.  Bind two children's quilts for Phoenix Quilts.
Not done...

5.  Work on an upholstery project for a friend.
And once again, not done!

But in my defense, I did make a quilt for a friend who is going through a rough time (pics on Wednesday), helped a friend finish up a quilt in a big hurry, taught another ministry member how to use the Juki and quilt frame, and I also made this pretty thing...


This is a top I made testing Angela Pingel's upcoming pattern, Down The Rabbit Hole!  This is a great pattern and you should buy it as soon as it comes out - believe me, you don't want to figure out the math on this one, but it's super simple to make!  I can't wait to quilt it, but I've got one more ministry quilt to quilt and then four to bind before I can quilt this one...

So now, let's see what's on the list for this week...

1.  Bind three ministry quilts.

2.  Make a back for a ministry quilt.

3.  Quilt and bind that quilt.

4.  Quilt and bind the Rabbit Hole quilt.

5.  Quilt two quilts for Phoenix Quilts.

6.  Work on my friend's upholstery project.

7.  Meet with my sewing sisters on Saturday!

I'd say that's more than enough!!  At least it will keep me out of trouble...

And because this post is a little short on pics - most will be on Wednesday's post - here's a picture of Lilli on her first day of school this year, stylin' a new Dora backpack!!


When did she get so grown up?

So now the question is - - - what are you working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah