Finally, I can post this!!

Hello, all!

Well, here it is - a picture of one of the birthday presents I've been working on! This one went to my lovely daughter Nancy, who celebrated her 26th birthday today, or more accurately, celebrated being born 26 years ago - she's only had 6 real birthdays, having been born on Leap Year Day! I love this quilt - it's a lot like her, kind of contemporary, clean lines and mostly cool colors. I love the blue and grey fabrics in this - they came from a fat quarter pack I bought in Seattle, made up of lovely Pacific Northwest batiks and prints. The greens, browns and the vibrant blue in the narrow border I added when I got back home, picking up some other colors from the Seattle prints. So - happy birthday, Nancy!!! I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed making it!

I cut out another little boy's quilt today, and started sewing on it this afternoon. Since it looks like our church quilt ministry is going to take off, we need to get some quilts made to stash away for future use! I hate not having one ready when it's needed..... This one is a great space ship print, paired with red and orange four patch squares. I think it's going to be really cute when it's done! One of the women in my sewing group has decided to host another sewing group time, two mornings a month, specifically to work on projects for this ministry - quilts for donating to kids in the hospital, clothes for children in orphanages, and maybe expanding into some other areas. I'm really excited about this - it's always fun to get together with these ladies, and really neat to be doing something useful while we are having fun!

It's a good thing I've got all these sewing projects - it keeps me busy and helps keep my mind off the cold weather. I'm ready for spring - but spring seems to be taking its time getting here!! Oh well, beach trip coming up soon! Maybe spring will show up by the time I get back.........

Later!

Sarah

New Opportunities.........

Hello, all!!

Well, they say third time is the charm, and I think with this third quilt being created for and donated to someone in need, we've created a new ministry!! This time it was for a little one-year old boy in the hospital, so we made a "woobie" type quilt - not full size, just big enough to cuddle with! It's probably about two feet square, and I think it came out really cute - the mitered squares were a new experiment for me, but I like them, and because it's a kid's quilt, you don't feel the need to stress out so much over perfect matching! It's got a kind of artsy feel to it. It's also a really nice weight, flannel on both sides with no filler. Very soft!!



My cute "nana" moment for the day? We are going on vacation to Tampa next month, and taking our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter with us. Lilli is VERY excited about going to the beach - and when I asked her today what she wanted to do when she got to the beach, she said, "I'm gonna call everyone on the phone!" I think she takes after her Poppa (grandpa) who, as a teenager, used to call his friends in Virginia every Christmas morning while in the swimming pool in Miami, just to rub it in!

Later!

Sarah

Through no fault of my own....

...my closet is filling up again with fabric! But this time, it's wonderful fabrics donated by people from their stash for the children's quilts we are making - so it's ok, it's not really mine!! A friend of mine brought four large sacks of fabric to church this morning - I haven't had a chance to look through all of it, but I did see a darling frog print! Can't wait to dig through and see what else is in there. And another friend brought me a bunch of sample books from an interior designer she knows - today I pulled those out of the bindings and they filled an enormous plastic storage box! Some of the fabrics are wonderful, and should make really interesting quilts - a little fancier but I'm sure we can find a use for them. Maybe I can use those to make some quilts for my daughter Nancy to auction off - she and her husband are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. It's really expensive to adopt, so they are trying lots of ways to raise funds. If you are interested in their progress, you can follow their blog here.

I'm so proud of my ladies from church - I put out a call for people to cut hearts from their scrap fabric for our prayer ministry to hand out at church today, and we ended up with over 1200 hearts! And that's really amazing considering each heart had to be cut out of a different fabric - looks like I'm not the only person with a fabric stash problem out there!

And now, totally unrelated to my need to use up my fabric stash, I want to share a video of my beautiful granddaughter with you - she's becoming quite a singer!!




Have a wonderful week! Later!!

Sarah

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything - unfortunately, I've been working on birthday presents, and I can't post pics of them yet - but I will as soon as I give them!

I did go to a "Stamp It Up" class last night, though - that was fun!! I've been looking at my friend Kelley's blog and she does such beautiful cards - it makes me want to take up another craft, but my husband might object to another full scale addiction! So when Kelley asked if I'd like to go with her sometime, I decided to go to these classes where I can make cards once a month and enjoy it without a full commitment. And it's amazing how much of the stuff can be used in my sewing - I can't wait to try some of the stamps on fabrics! AND - I finally learned how to tie small flat bows at the class last night!! If that's the only thing I take away from these classes, it will be worth it!

Little Miss Lilli has been very "two" this week - lots of drama, but also lots of fun! At one point this week, she threw herself face down on an upholstered chair, wailing to beat the band - I rubbed her back and said, "You have the meanest Nana in the world." She said, "Unhunh!" After a few minutes of me agreeing with her general gripe, we were friends again and all was right with her world. I don't remember the terrible two's being this entertaining when her mom was little! I think being a grandmother helps you mellow out.......

Later!

Sarah

Hi, all!!

Well, Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! I hope you've had a wonderful day!! I wanted to share a picture with you, of some of the ladies who worked on the Quilts for Kids quilts and their finished products. We had a great time making these quilts and we all learned so much!


On another note, I started piecing a new quilt that I saw on Quilt Dad's blog - it's called Off The Grid 9-Patch and it's a great pattern! In his directions, it's made with two charm packs and a honey bun, but in my quest to use my stash, I figured out that I could get the same amount of pieces from a set of 15 fat quarters that I had on hand! So I don't feel one bit guilty about making it! I'll post pictures after I get it finished, but you can see the pattern on the link above - once you get to his site, just click in his post to see what he's got baking on Moda's site. (I'd have directed you to the Moda site, but Quilt Dad's stuff is so cool I want you to have a link to his stuff too!

I think I'll be breaking out my Flynn Multi Frame for this quilt when I get it pieced - I'm excited to try it and hope it's as easy as the guy in the video makes it look. It's certainly much more reasonably priced than a long arm quilter and stand - and takes up a lot less space!

Have a wonderful evening - enjoy the Olympics!!

Later!

Sarah

How Exciting!!

Hi, All!

Just a quick post tonight - when I went to church, two of the ladies in my Saturday class had their sewing projects with them - one was carrying her new purse, and the other one's little girl was wearing the pinafore her mom had made!! Both projects looked great! I'm so excited that these ladies are learning a new skill and having fun with it!

Later!

Sarah

Hello, all!!

Well, I fell off the wagon a few days ago and picked up a piece of fabric I had no particular use for off the remnant rack - but I'm pleased to say that today I actually used that piece of fabric to make an adorable pinafore for my granddaughter! Quick and easy, too - I'll probably make quite a few of these! It's just too cute - open in the back, you just slip it on over jeans and a tee shirt and tie it in the back - it really dresses her up and covers up any breakfast stains on her shirt! And it not only used up fabric, it used up some ribbon I had stashed away....

When I started cutting out the pieces for this pinafore, Lilli asked for "fabric" so I gave her the scraps as I cut. She played with them for quite a while, asking for more every so often - I don't know what she made, but she took it off and put it where she saves things, so it must be one of her "creations"!

Finished the last of the Quilts for Kids quilts today! I'll be glad to get those in the mail so I can move on to some more - but I've got to get some other things finished first. A friend of mine wants me to see what I can salvage from an old family quilt, another needs some pants hemmed, and then there's birthday presents to be made...... Looks like I'm going to be busy for a while! Oh well, better get to work - Later!!!

Sarah

And a Good Time Was Had By All!!

Hello, all!!

Well, Saturday's sewing group meeting was a rousing success - I think we had seventeen ladies show up to sew!! Next month we may have to move it to church so we have more working space, but we had a good time, even trying to work on top of each other. A couple of the ladies worked on finishing up the quilts from last month - here's a picture of Katy with her completed quilt. She made this entire quilt by herself - great job!!

Everyone was hard at work on their projects - a toddler pinafore, a "not-so-ugly" trash bag, a child's messenger bag, a craft apron, a purse, two shopping bags, a hanging wall pocket, a quilted lunch bag - and maybe some others that I'm missing! Certainly a wide variety of things, but each had one thing in common - they all take less than a yard to make. Great for using up a fabric stash!!

Cassie was working so hard she didn't have time to talk with her hands! and Hilary made an adorable pinafore...
Here's Patsy working on one of the Quilts for Kids quilts, and Christy hard at work on her project:
Brandy worked on a messenger bag and did a great job! She's learned so much since she started last fall....


And tonight, during the Super Bowl, I worked on the last quilt from our January project, and tried something new! After stitching in the ditch around each square, I did free-form quilting inside the squares, putting a flower in the center surrounded by loops and swirls. I think it looks pretty good - not perfect, but I like it for a first attempt! Here's some pics:








Well, the game is over and I'm about out of steam - I think I'll finish this quilt tomorrow. All it needs now is the binding and it will be ready to wash before shipping. Looks like we'll be taking pictures soon of the whole group of quilters with their quilts...then it's off to the post office to send them on to Quilts For Kids!!

Goodnight!!

Sarah

Ready and Waiting.....

Hello, all!!

Well, the house is clean, the muffins are made, and I think I'm ready for tomorrow's sewing group! One Saturday a month, a group of us get together for a morning of sewing and fellowship and boy, do we have fun!! It looks like we'll have about 15 here tomorrow morning, unless we get a bunch of snow (it's Tennessee, and we don't deal well with small amounts of snow here...). This month we are doing projects out of a book I got for Christmas called "One Yard Wonders". This is a great book for fabric addicts!! It's loaded with projects designed to be made out of a single yard of fabric - everything from projects for your home to children's and adult clothing to toys, purses and pet items. I'm excited to see what each person chooses to do for their project. Personally, I'm torn between making an adorable pinafore for my granddaughter and a 9-compartment fabric tray done in an origami style. Who knows? Maybe I'll make both!!

On another note, I was at my church today and found out about a little girl from out of state who is in a local hospital here for treatment. Her mom is with her, but her dad and the rest of her family are at their home. This seemed like the perfect time to use one of the quilts that this group made at our January meeting, so we will be sending one of the quilts to her. It will be nice to know, even indirectly, the child that will be receiving one of the quilts! It seems like this could become a bigger ministry in the future - we'll just have to see where God takes it!

I'll post pictures tomorrow from our group meeting - so you can see what everyone makes!

Later!

Sarah

Hi, all!!

I had a great "Nana" day today - the Lillibug has started "sewing" on my machine (only she calls it her machine) and today she made a 'dress' for her friend Aidan (a boy!) and another 'dress' for Miss Cassie, who works at the daycare at my church and once gave Lilli a cupcake. Obviously Miss Cassie has found the way to my granddaughter's heart!! She loves to go through my fabric scrap box to find just the right fabrics for her creations. Usually it's clothes for her dolls, which I then have to figure out how to get on the dolls so they stay on for a while. It's wonderful to see her creative juices flowing, especially at such a young age! I can't wait to teach her to sew for real...........

Here's a little video of Miss Lilli at the sewing machine, for your entertainment pleasure!

Of course, typical for a two-year old, she won't look at the camera when Nana asks her to! We'll be back at the sewing machine tomorrow, I'm sure - I've still got quilts to finish for quiltsforkids.org, plus gifts to make and a sewing class to get ready for on Saturday! Talk to you later!!

Sarah