Sew&Tell Friday - Not quite finished, but fun!

Hi, all!

Sew & Tell Friday has rolled around once again!  I've had company this week - my nieces have been here to visit - so not much finishing has gone on around here....  I've started working on a scrappy version of Karrie Lyne's Random Reflections quilt, but it's not far enough along for any pics.  But I do have a flimsy to show off, plus my niece has started a quilt!  I'm excited for her - it's her first, and she's already planning her second!  So without further ado, here are some pictures....

First, the flimsy...

This quilt is the end result of Beth's Striped Challenge, which challenged her fellow quilters to make something with stripes this summer.  Luckily, I won her lovely giveaway fabric, so I had some great stripes to work with.  I fully intended to make some intricate blocks, but there never seemed to be the time to create more than one block.  I finally decided to do just a simple patchwork with the stripes, alternating the direction of the stripes.  Then it occurred to me to put it on point, for more visual interest.  I just love this quilt!  My hubby says it looks like boating signal flags, so I'm calling it "Sail On".  I'm working on two quilts for our quilt ministry right now, but as soon as I finish them I hope to get this quilted....

Now on to my niece Heather - here she is, with her quilt blocks in all their glory.....

Her first quilt is made in a disappearing nine-patch pattern, using scrappy fabrics from my stash.  It's going to be so bright and cheerful!  She is also finish-challenged (she takes after her aunt!) so I told her that I would quilt it for her once she finished piecing the top.  She leaves Saturday morning - will she get it pieced before she leaves?????

Now I have some new pictures of the Lillibug!  She decided she needed some new shoes this week - take a look at her terrific choice!

And the funniest thing is that both my nieces and I all grabbed our cell phones to take a picture!

And here's the Bug enjoying time with her (grand)Poppa!  She had a very good day, getting to see her Poppa both first thing in the morning and again at dinnertime - lots of time to play with a new and unsuspecting play buddy!

And last, but certainly not least, one of my quilts is being featured on QuiltStory today!  Stop by their blog and check it out!!  It's a wonderful place to be reminded of why we quilt.......

Be sure to check out all the fabulous finishes on Amy's Sew&Tell Friday and Andrea's Lush Friday!  Thanks for stopping by!  Come again!!

Sarah

BY THE WAY:  Be sure to check out Stash Manicure's August giveaway - it's a goodie!!!

Make-A-List Monday #5!

Hi, all!!


Monday has rolled around again!  Let's see how I did on last week's list.....


1.  Work on the reclamation of a quilt from this pile of fabric pieces gleaned from my friend Kim's much loved and very tattered quilt.  She wanted to save as much as possible, so I'm going to try to make coin strips from these.    Done!  You can see my blog post about this quilt here if you want to read more about the story.  It's a good one!

2.  Make my Simple Sampler blocks for both quilts this week.  Done!  

3.  Start on the HSTs for Karrie Lyne's Charm Pack Quilt Along.  I've made 36 of these so far - they just need squaring up!  

4.  Work on striped blocks - really!!  Sunday was a productive afternoon - I've got the flimsy almost finished!  

5.  Work on reducing my scrap box to neat piles of fat quarters, 5" squares, 2.5" squares, and 2.5" strips.  I'm working on this, cutting down every bit of scrap as I cut for quilts.  I still haven't broken into the scrap bin, but at least I haven't added to it this week!  

6.  Start on my Fresh Cottons quilt.  Not yet!  Those precuts are still sitting there, staring at me, wishing they could become a quilt....... oh well!




This week will have to be a bit easier - my nieces are coming to visit on Tuesday and staying until Saturday, so I won't have as much time to sew as usual!  But here's what I want to get done....


1.  Finish the striped quilt flimsy.  I'm going to call this one Stripes On Point - at least for a working title!  I think another hour of work will see this finished....


2.  Assemble fabric for another Jacob's Ladder quilt for the quilt ministry.  I found out today another person needs a quilt!


3.  Make my Simple Sampler blocks for this week!


4.  Continue with the Giant Pincushion Sew Along!


5.  Take my nieces fabric hunting!  I need to make a quilt for my younger niece, and I want her to ooh and aah over fabric for me so I know what she'd really like!


That's enough for this week - I'll be lucky if I get that much done!  But it's always good to set your sights high.....


Later!


Sarah

Finally Friday - Some Finishes and Other Great Stuff!

Hi, all!

Wow!  It's Friday again already!  Time sure flies when you're having fun - and I've been having fun sewing this week!  I've got two quilts to show you, both with great stories......

First is the quilt I finished last weekend - this one is called "Sparkle Plenty".  I called it that because of the story I read once about how Amish women would intentionally put a mistake in their quilts, to provide it with some individuality (they are restricted as to what patterns and colors they can use!) and they call it "sparkle".  This quilt was made as part of a quilting bee the second Saturday in July, and has plenty of sparkle!  About fifteen women met at my house and while some of us pieced the top of the quilt, others worked on making the back a unique and comforting part of this quilt.

"Sparkle Plenty" quilt front - with a peek
at the great IKEA backing!

"Sparkle Plenty" quilt back detail - click to enlarge!

This quilt is going to a lady in our church who has been battling cancer for about eleven years now - she was going to be off chemo for the summer, but the day before our quilting bee they discovered new tumors in her liver, so she has to go back for more chemo.  Hopefully this quilt will help her feel God's love and care for her....

The second quilt also has an interesting story.  A friend of mine brought me a large bag at church back in January, telling me that it contained a quilt that her mother-in-law had made many years before, using pieces of clothing and scrap fabric.  My friend had nursed her mother-in-law before she died and had many fond memories of this quilt.  She told me that it was in need of repair, and would I please look at it to see if there was anything I could do with it.  When I got home that night I took a look at what was in the bag.  I really really wish I had taken "before" pictures - the quilt, originally a hand-pieced apple core pattern, had large holes, both in the quilt top and all the way through; the quilt batt was in ropy clumps where it could be seen in the holes, and wasn't much better in the places where the quilt was whole!  I love vintage quilts and have saved some that were in pretty bad condition, but this one really needed to go to the rag bag.....   But my friend had told me how important this quilt was to her, so I started out trying to save big enough sections of the original quilt to make pillow tops.  It wasn't looking good - the fabric was so worn, the top wouldn't lay flat even with ironing.  Then inspiration hit me - just cut away the seams of all the apple core pieces - leaving a solid piece of fabric.  I did that, discarding the pieces that were too damaged to use again, and ended up with this:

I sewed those pieces into coin strips, and set them between strips of some blue fabric I had on hand.  An extra strip was set into the back, also in fabric I had on hand - so this was a great scrapbuster quilt!  Here's the final result (I'm trying out some new photo locations on my property - tell me what you think!)

"Amazed" quilt front - taken next to an old grindstone
used as a stepping stone to my front porch

I've named this quilt "Amazed" and here's why - this project has been languishing on my WIP shelf since January - I would pull it out on occasion and work on cutting down some more of the pieces, but it's basically sat back there untouched for about a month now.  However, Sunday afternoon I realized I didn't have any quilts to make for the quilt ministry, and I could work on one of my non-church projects for a change.  I started to reach for my Fresh Cottons precuts, and then I thought, "Why not work on that old quilt?"  I got started right away and by Monday night had a flimsy to photograph. I sent a picture to my friend and asked her how she liked it (she had told me to do whatever I wanted to do - she trusted me!).  She responded by telling me that it would be so wonderful to have it back as a quilt - she was going through a tough time and cuddling up in it would kind of be like having her mother-in-law back again giving her a hug!  Now, a month ago or a week ago, this quilt wouldn't have been nearly as "needed" as it is right now - and I am amazed at God's hand in the timing of this quilt!!  (I'm also not a little amazed that it came out as good as it did, considering where it started!)

And another thing that amazes me?  My great new blogger friends!  Take a look at the fabrics that some of my friends have sent me to use in our quilt ministry!  Wow!!!!

So it's been a very good week for me - how about you?  I'm linking up with Amy's Sew & Tell Friday and Andrea's Lush Friday.  Check out all the wonderful things that other bloggy people are doing!!!

Have a fabulous week!  Later!

Sarah

Christmas in July Blitz #4

Hi, all!

It's Thursday again and time for an update on my Christmas in July projects!

I've done this week's Simple Sampler blocks for both quilts:

Plus I started on the Giant Pincushion Sew-Along - here are my paper-pieced hexies and diamonds, ready for step three!

And here's my inspiration for all this sewing!!

A poem springs to mind:  "There once was a girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead.  And when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad, she was HORRID!"

Fortunately for my sanity, she's getting better and is only HORRID once in a while - but the curls persist!!  I just love them!

So - - - what are YOU working on for Christmas?

Later!

Sarah

Random Thoughts and Things That Inspire Me!

Hi, all!

If you follow my blog, you know that last week I was teaching eight grade-schoolers (mostly 3rd and 4th grade) how to sew, and that we made pillowcases to give to a homeless shelter as part of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.    Well, early Thursday morning before the girls got there, I was setting up the room, replenishing bobbins and thread, and checking out the work the girls had done the day before.  Some of them needed a little help, so I sat down to pull out some stitching and make some corrections so that the girls would be happy with their finished projects.  I didn't want to correct them too much, because I don't want to discourage them from continuing to sew.  Most of the mistakes were just experience mistakes - things they won't do (crooked seams, pinches in the fabric, etc.) after they get some experience under their belts. As I was sitting there, I had the random thought, "I wonder how many nights my grandmother sat up pulling out my stitching and fixing problems when I was learning to sew?"  You see, she taught me how to sew when I was eight - and I don't remember being put off by her correcting me - yet I managed to make a presentable pair of tailored shorts with waistband, darts and zipper!  So I imagine this was something she also did - and yet she managed to encourage me to a lifetime of sewing and crafting!  It's such a simple thing to encourage someone else - you probably do it every day when you post a comment on someone's blog - but it is so important!  You may be that one voice that helps someone improve and grow in their craft.  Keep it up!

As far as things that inspire me, I hope you'll check out my friend Tracey's blog.  Her most recent post is about a quilt that she made by Karrie Lyne's newest Moda Bake Shop pattern, Random Reflections.  She started this quilt on Friday night to give as a gift at a party on Saturday!!  She did a great job and I have a feeling we'll see really great things from this newbie blogger!  So check out her blog and show her some blogger encouragement!

And just FYI, I hope you all know how much I appreciate your comments!  They encourage me every day!!

So what's inspired you lately?

Later!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday #4!

Hi, all!


Another week has come and gone - how did I do on last week's list?  Well, let's see....


1.  Finish up the quilt that we started at the quilting bee this past Saturday.  The blocks are completed, and they are sewn into rows.  I need to sew up the blocks, add borders, prepare the backing, quilt and bind it.  I would really like to have this finished by next Sunday so it can be delivered to the lady we made it for - a cancer survivor who is having a rough time of it right now.   This quilt is finished and in the hands of the person who will deliver it to its new home!!  More pictures will be posted on Friday!!

2.  Teach eight little girls how to sew.  Survive said process!  Make extra pillowcases to donate to charity with the new seamstresses.  We had a great time and I'm still alive!  In addition to the pillowcases they made for themselves, they made fifteen pillowcases to donate to a local homeless shelter!  If you want to see more, check out my blog post....

3.  Make my simple sampler blocks for both quilts.  Got them all done - you can see pictures here!

4.  Cut 5" squares for Karrie Lyne's Charm Pack Quilt Along.  Yes, I know you're supposed to use charm packs, but I've got way too many scraps sitting around right now, and I need to get rid of some of them!  I've got a stack all ready to start sewing - Karrie's given us two weeks for the first step, so I should be able to get that done!!

5.  Draw out a plan for the Christmas quilt using The Caroler honey bun.  Done!  I just need to get a few projects off the WIP table before I start on this....

6.  Work on striped blocks.  I didn't do so well here - unless you count one of my simple sampler blocks that is made with stripes!  I just ran out of time......




So - what's on the list for this week?  It's strange not to have something urgent pending!  I can pick and choose between some of my WIPs....  Here goes!


1.  Work on the reclamation of a quilt from this pile of fabric pieces gleaned from my friend Kim's much loved and very tattered quilt.  She wanted to save as much as possible, so I'm going to try to make coin strips from these.  

2.  Make my Simple Sampler blocks for both quilts this week.


3.  Start on the HSTs for Karrie Lyne's Charm Pack Quilt Along.


4.  Work on striped blocks - really!!


5.  Work on reducing my scrap box to neat piles of fat quarters, 5" squares, 2.5" squares, and 2.5" strips.


6.  Start on my Fresh Cottons quilt.  


It's so nice not to have so much urgent stuff hanging over my head - let's see how much I can get done on this list this week!  So the only question left is - what are you working on this week??


Later!


Sarah

Come See What I Did This Week!!

Hi, all!

It was an eventful week!  I didn't get a huge amount of sewing for myself done this week - although I did get my blocks done for the Simple Sampler Quilt Along - you can see them here!  What I did do, though, was spend my mornings teaching eight grade-school girls to sew!

Aren't they gorgeous!  

I had such a ball with these kids - 

they were excited and engaged and said they really enjoyed the sewing - 

they even wanted to know what we were going to make next year at camp!

One girl even suggested learning to make quilt blocks

that could be joined up to make a "camp quilt"!!

Training up the next generation....  ;-)

And because camp is for learning about giving, too, 

here's a picture of all the girls with the fifteen pillowcases they made 

that will be donated to a local homeless shelter as part of the 

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge!

So that's what I did this week!  I'm linking up to 

Amy's Sew & Tell Friday, and Lush Stuff's Lush Friday!

Go check out what all those talented people have been doing!!

Later!

Sarah

Christmas in July Blitz #3

Hi, all!

Made it!  I finished the two sets of blocks for the Simple Sampler Quilt-Along just this morning - I amazed eight little grade-school girls with my sewing prowess when they saw what I had finished just before they came in for sewing class!  I didn't think I was going to make it this week but here they are!

Those are the blocks for the first set of fabrics I started with.  Here's the blocks for the second set:

I'm loving the way both of these are turning out!  Can't wait to see what the next four weeks will bring!

So that's what I've been working on for Christmas presents this week, and I'm linking up with Shannon over at Monkey Dog Quilts - go see what everyone's been working on!  How about you?  Are you getting ready for Christmas yet?

Later!

Sarah

I'm Having So Much Fun....

Hi, all!

Remember back to when you learned how to sew.  Remember all the silly mistakes - forgetting to put the presser foot down and jamming up the machine, letting the needle come unthreaded, coming out with wildly crooked seams?  Welcome to my world this week!

Eight little girls (grade-schoolers) have joined me to learn how to sew this week, for an hour each day.  We're making pillowcases for the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.  Yesterday was a learning day - they learned how not to run over their fingers with the sewing machine, and how to sew a straight line. Today they started on their pillowcases.  I spent  the entire hour going from machine to machine, rethreading, clearing out jams, showing each one how to put their pillowcase together.  But here was the best conversation I had all day:

"My machine is jammed up!"  

"Okay, I'll come fix it for you."

"I tried to fix it myself. I ran the thread through the horse's head three times.  Wasn't that enough?"

"Oh, yeah, I think that was more than enough!"

I ended up having to cut the thread several places along the machine to get it out of that one!  

Later!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday #3!

Hi, all!

Well, it's time to see how I did on last week's list.......

1.  Cut fabrics for our sewing group's quilting bee this coming Saturday.  I got these all cut early in the week, thanks to using charm packs of the new Basic Grey/Origins from Burgundy Buttons.  I can't recommend them highly enough - shipping is amazingly fast and they have excellent prices!!


2.  Cut fabrics for pillowcases for the sewing breakout group at our church's summer camp next week.  I finally got these cut Sunday!  Eight little girls are going to learn how to sew this week, plus make some to donate to charity as part of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.  It should be lots of fun!!


3.  Use the fabrics I picked last week and get caught up with them on the Simple Sampler Quilt Along.  Made these blocks and posted them on Friday's blogpost!


4.  Make this week's blocks in the Simple Sampler Quilt Along!  They are made and also posted on Friday's blogpost!


5.  Make some striped blocks for Beth's Striped Challenge with the great striped fabrics she sent me!  Oops - didn't get to these!


6.  Find a great quilt design to make with the Moda "The Caroler" honey bun I picked up on sale last week!  I think I'm going to use Vickie's Pinwheel Bonus Baby Quilt pattern as a jumping off point / inspiration for my quilt.  I just need to draw it out on paper first....


7.  Start on my Fresh Cottons quilt?  Maybe!  Well, once again this has fallen by the wayside.  Too many other things going on this week....




OK.  So what's on the list for this week?


1.  Finish up the quilt that we started at the quilting bee this past Saturday.  The blocks are completed, and they are sewn into rows.  I need to sew up the blocks, add borders, prepare the backing, quilt and bind it.  I would really like to have this finished by next Sunday so it can be delivered to the lady we made it for - a cancer survivor who is having a rough time of it right now.


2.  Teach eight little girls how to sew.  Survive said process!  Make extra pillowcases to donate to charity with the new seamstresses.


3.  Make my simple sampler blocks for both quilts.


4.  Cut 5" squares for Karrie Lyne's Charm Pack Quilt Along.  Yes, I know you're supposed to use charm packs, but I've got way too many scraps sitting around right now, and I need to get rid of some of them!


5.  Draw out a plan for the Christmas quilt using The Caroler honey bun.


6.  Work on striped blocks.


I think that's enough for now - that should keep me busy for the week!  


So what are you working on this week?

Just couldn't resist adding a picture of one of my favorite little faces!

Later!


Sarah

It's Friday - Come See What I Finished!

Hi, all!!

Well, another week has come and gone - I've had a few sewing "finishes" this week, but even better, my husband and I (mostly my husband!) finally finished laying the hardwood floor in our house!  Sounds silly, but this has been going on for several years now, and we've been down to "just one more room" for a long time.....  So a couple of months ago, my hubby decided that he was going to take a few days of vacation around the July 4th holiday and finish that floor.  Friday morning rolls around, and as we're pulling up baseboard, I remarked that this would be a good time to fix the cracks in the walls since the furniture was moved out of the way.  To which my husband replied, "It'd be a good time to paint the walls, too!"  So while he laid hardwood flooring, I patched the walls and painted the room! I've never dodge-painted before - it was kind of interesting!  And we didn't kill each other, so it all worked out ok..........  Check it out!

The model shamelessly baring her belly in the last picture is my chocolate lab, Bailey!  I love the new color - it was a really ugly grey-green that looked like wet concrete most of the time - this is much more bright and cheerful and bring so much light into the room!  Of course, the new lighter floors help, too - we used a white oak instead of red oak, and it's much brighter.  We have lots of trees on our lot, so it stays really shady most of the time, which is why most of my quilt pics are taken outside!  

So now for my sewing finishes for the week - eight blocks for the Simple Sampler Quilt Along!  I added another set of fabrics so I am actually working on two quilts each week.  First, a picture of the newest blocks in my first fabrics:

And here's a picture of the six blocks in the new fabrics:

It's a wild mix of brights and black/grey, but I think I'm going to like it!

Tomorrow I have a group of ladies coming to my house to piece a quilt top for a friend at church who has been battling cancer for eleven years.  We're going to make Karrie Lyne's version of the Jacob's Ladder block - she's having a quilt along you ought to check out - it's a great block and it would be a lot of fun to make!  Plus quilt alongs are fun!

One more thing - check out this great vintage fabric I found in a box in my attic (I think it came from my grandmother's house!)  I'm looking for a great way to use it - any ideas?  Just a note - it's only 36 inches wide!  Remember when you had a choice on cotton fabric widths?

It feels strange not to have a quilt to post, but hopefully by next Friday I'll have another.  See you then - but in the meantime, check out Amy's Sew & Tell Friday and Andrea's Lush Friday.  I can't wait to see what everyone's done!!  You also might want to check out Finished Friday at The Quilt Shoppe - lots of neat stuff to see there!!

Later!

Sarah

Christmas in July Blitz #2

Hello, all!

Well, I'm back again with come Christmas projects - and since they're also blocks for the Simple Sampler Quilt Along, I'm killing two birds with one stone!  It only seemed sensible to make two sets of blocks each week, since they are fairly quick to put together.....  So here's the blocks I've put together for the first quilt:

And here's the blocks for the second version:

So these are coming right along - I'm also starting to think about the best way to use a Christmas honey bun I picked up - a Mary Engelbreit series called The Caroler.  I'm thinking about using the Pinwheel Baby Bonus Tutorial found on Spun Sugar Quilts' blog.  I think with just a little finagling I can make it work with a honey bun!  Gotta drag out the graph paper and see what I can do....

So that's my Christmas in July blitz for this week!  Have you started on Christmas?  If so, what are you working on?

Later!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday #2!

Hi, all!

Well, here's how I did on the first Make-A-List Monday:

1.  Finish quilting my friend Wendy's gorgeous bow tie quilt.  The quilt sandwich is made, and Tuesday night is set aside for this project!  I did finish quilting this on Tuesday night.  Yipee!!  and 2.  Bind said quilt after it is quilted!  Finished hand-sewing the binding this morning, then washed, dried and photographed it!  It's ready for delivery.

3.  Hand sew the binding on a baby girl's quilt I'm making for the quilt ministry.  Finished and delivered! and 4.  Make a baby boy's quilt for the quilt ministry. Finished and delivered!

5.  Pick out at least one more set of fabric for Amy's Simple Sampler Quilt Along (to make for Christmas gifts!)  Done.  What do you think?  It's going to be bright and wild!









6.  Make some more striped blocks for Beth's Striped Challenge..... I did these two blocks this week, and hope to make more this week!  Maybe find one I can make a small quilt out of!

In addition to all of the above, I'm in the process of helping my hubby lay hardwood flooring in the living room, and repainting the room at the same time while the furniture is moved!  Whew!!  But amidst all that we managed to get out on the boat with our daughter and granddaughter for the first time this summer - see how happy Lilli and her Poppa are!

OK, I'm happy with how Make-A-List Monday worked out - it pushed me a little bit, but that's a good thing sometimes!  So here's my second list.....


1.  Cut fabrics for our sewing group's quilting bee this coming Saturday.


2.  Cut fabrics for pillowcases for the sewing breakout group at our church's summer camp next week.


3.  Use the fabrics I picked last week and get caught up with them on the Simple Sampler Quilt Along.


4.  Make this week's blocks in the Simple Sampler Quilt Along!


5.  Make some striped blocks for Beth's Striped Challenge with the great striped fabrics she sent me!


6.  Find a great quilt design to make with the Moda "The Caroler" honey bun I picked up on sale last week!


7.  Start on my Fresh Cottons quilt?  Maybe!


Wish me luck!  What are you working on this week?


Later!


Sarah