Monday, July 31, 2017

Make-A-List Monday - Back to the Real World!

Hi, all!

 Wow, it's been three weeks since I did a Make-A-List Monday post!  The 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop really takes a toll on regular blogging.  It's a lot of fun, but it's good to get back to normal again!  

 I know it's been a while since I made this list, but let's see how it went...
1.  Finish writing the tutorial and blogposts for the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop. 
Done!  It was a mad dash to get them written in time, but I did make it!  So many great ideas on this year's hop - if you didn't check it out during the hop, you should now!!

2.  Make the backs for the t-shirt quilts.
3.  Baste and quilt those two quilts.
Done!  The quilts are finished and delivered...



4.  Cut out the pieces for the photo memory quilt.
Done!  And I started sewing it up today...

5.  Print the photos for the photo memory quilt.
I didn't get to this yet - but I did figure out how to make those annoying lines across the picture go away!

 6.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.
A quiet two weeks.... This quilt went to a woman who's husband died unexpectedly...


...and this quilt went to a woman with ALS.


We also gave a quilt to a gentleman undergoing surgery for possible lung cancer, but I forgot to take a picture of that one.

OK, so I made good progress on the list.  Considering I had an unexpected trip to Virginia for six days, I'm happy I got as much done as I did!  Here's what's on tap for this week...

1.  Print the photos for the memory quilt.

2.  Assemble the memory quilt.

3.  Assemble the SBB Special Project quilt.

4.  Cut out the twins quilts.

5.  Finish up the 12DCIJ blog hop stuff - giveaways, updating the tutorials page.

6.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

I'm going to keep it short and sweet this week - I really want to get that memory quilt off my plate so I can work on some non-commission projects!  I've got a plan for my Gypsy Wife quilt - stay tuned for that a week from Wednesday.  This Wednesday, though - a special post!  Free Spirit Fabrics gave me the chance to play with some new Anna Maria Horner fabrics, and I'll be unveiling my projects then.  The kiddos and I did a photo shoot today, and I think the pics came out really good.  Come back Wednesday and see!

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

Hugs!

Sarah
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Friday, July 28, 2017

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Back in the Groove...

 
Hi, all!

 Well, it's Friday again, and that (once again) means that it's time to get our whoop whoop on!!  Are you ready?  Let's get started!

I've missed whooping it up with you for the past two weeks, as both fell during the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop.  But - - - the hop was a wonderful SUCCESS, with so many great ideas shared and fabulous feedback from all of you!!  I know all your wonderful comments made this a lot more fun for the bloggers who shared as part of the hop.  The hop was a LOT of work, but so worth it - so I'm whooping that I made it through with no major "oopses"!  I've still got a bit of work to do, choosing winners for all the giveaways - those will be announced here next Friday - but I've survived!  Now things can get back to normal around here...

 That's all I've got to whoop whoop about this week, not having had any time for sewing, but I think that's a biggie!  Now I'm going to live vicariously through all of you...
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And now it's your turn!  

What's got you whooping it up this week?


What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share! We want to dance right along with you,
And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah



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Wednesday, July 26, 2017

I May Have A Scrap Problem... Some Christmas Cheer!

Hi, all!

 Well, it's been a crazy two weeks around here, with the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop going on - but it's over now and I didn't want to let Wednesday go by without a scrappy post!  Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to work on anything but some commission jobs and the hop stuff, but I did make a super-scrappy back for my quilt-along quilt for the hop, so here it is!

I started with this pile, the contents of my Christmas fabric scraps tub...


...but unfortunately, even after using all those scraps, I had almost a full tub left over when I finished!  How is that possible?


There were lots of great projects in the hop that would be perfect for using up your own Christmas scraps if you are also overrun, so if you missed the hop, be sure to check out all the links here!

See you next week with (hopefully) some new scrappy sewing!!

Hugs!

Sarah
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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

12 Days of Christmas in July - The Finale!!

Hi, all!

 Well, it's finally here - the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas in July blog hop!  All the stops on the hop have been so wonderful - loaded with inspiration and fabulous ideas to get us in the Christmas spirit!!  I hope you've enjoyed this journey as much as I have.  My bucket list has expanded exponentially, but I'm so excited about all the wonderful things I'll be able to make this year to make our holidays super-special!

 Today's stops on the hop are:

Christina of Christina's Handicrafts, Aby of Abyquilts, and Kathy of Kathy's Kwilts and More are wrapping up the hop with some fabulous decor, quilts, and kids' crafts that I know you'll want to see!  Hop over there and be sure to leave a comment on each blog to be entered in today's giveaway, then come back here!

 I also want to be sure you know about some additional posts that have happened during the hop.  Karen of Tu-Na Quilts, Travels and Eats has been stuffing a stocking with some great ideas, and is having a giveaway today.  Be sure to head over to her blog and see her creations, then enter the giveaway - it's a goodie!  Michele at Crayon Box Quilt Studio posted a tutorial for the quilt she made for the hop - click here to find the directions!  And Wendy of Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life did a tutorial for the cute little JOY mini-garland she featured in her hop post.  You can find those instructions here!  Carole of From My Carolina Home has a wrap-up post on her blog today, too.  Jennifer of The Inquiring Quilter is posting some of her Christmas tutorials from earlier years today on her blog.  And finally, Jan of The Colorful Fabriholic has a tutorial for her wonderful tree wallhanging - I know I'm excited about seeing that!  You can find those instructions on her blog.  
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If your Santa's Trip Around the World top is finished, I imagine you're thinking about the kind of back you want to put on it.  The fastest back of all, obviously, is a single piece of fabric, and you can use a 90" wide print or muslin to achieve that very quickly.  

But I had a LOT of Christmas fabric scraps that I wanted to try to use up, so I decided to dump out my Christmas scrap tub and see what was in there...


I started pulling fabrics and sewing them together in just a random mix, slowly building up the panels that would become the back.


This is definitely not the fast way to make a quilt back, but it is a good way to use scraps.  As you can see, there are small scraps and large scraps in this quilt back...


 And finally, at the end, I just added wide strips to each side to bring it to the correct width, because part of those will be lost completely after the top is quilted and trimmed.



And here's the final result - the back of my Santa's Trip Around the World Quilt!!


And here's a funny story - when I was cleaning up after finishing making the back, I was excited to put all the unused scraps neatly back in their tub and see how much I had used....


...and it barely made a dent!!!  Oh well, I guess there's still a few more Christmas quilts in my scrappy future!

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Now how about showing off your own versions of the Santa's Trip Around the World quilt?  It doesn't have to be finished - I'm sure everyone would even love seeing your progress shots!!  Just link up below and share with us.  And be sure to visit some of the other links and give them a big pat on the back!!  The linky party is at the very end of the blogpost, after the list of blogs participating in the hop.

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Thanks so much for joining me on this journey - it's been a blast!!!  

Now - about the giveaways.  I know I originally said I would announce the winners on Friday, July 28th, but we've had such an awesome response to the blog hop this year that I think it's going to take a little longer to tally all the responses and draw the winners.  So I will announce all thirteen winners on Friday, August 4th.  Thanks for your patience - I guarantee it will be worth it!  



After all, it's not every day you get a chance to win some of Tula Pink's Holiday Homies, is it?  Big time thanks and a huge shout-out to this year's sponsor, Free Spirit Fabrics, who provided all those lovely pre-cuts!!

So hop on over to today's blogs and leave your comments to be entered in today's giveaway!

Hugs!

Sarah

Here are the blogs participating in the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!

Friday, July 14th


Saturday, July 15th


Sunday, July 16th


Monday, July 17th


Tuesday, July 18th


Wednesday, July 19th


Thursday, July 20th


Friday, July 21st


Saturday, July 22nd


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Monday, July 24, 2017

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop - Day 11!

Hi, all!

Remember how, when we were kids, it seemed like Christmas would never get here?  It's kind of been like that with the blog hop - although there has been lot of wonderful stuff to see along the way - but the end is almost here!  But have no fear - we've still got lots of wonderful things to see!

Today's bloggers are:

Anja of Anja Quilts, Judy of PickingandStitching, and Jen of A Dream and a Stitch have got some great home decor ideas for us today, and today is the day when we finally bring together all the parts of the Santa's Trip Around the World quilt!!!  But first, be sure to visit today's bloggers and leave a comment on their posts to be entered in today's giveaway - then come back here and see how to finish up your quilt top.
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Now that you have all four panels sewn together, find a place to lay them out.  This may be  your design wall, or the floor - I ended up on the floor because my design wall was too small and the panels too heavy to stay up by themselves.  You'll also need that center square that you created and stashed away at the very beginning!


Place the center square where you want the center of your quilt to be.  Now lay out your four panels as shown below:


You can see that each panel is turned in a different direction, with the same corner print next to the center square.  If you have your panels turned correctly, the edges will all match up.  


If the edge of one panel is longer than the adjacent one, you've got something turned the wrong way (provided your panels are 15x16 squares in size.)


Now take the upper left panel and the center square. Pin the center square to the bottom edge of the corner print.  Stitch that bottomed approximately 1" from the edge of the quilt to the center of the center square.  

This is a partial seam, and will be finished later.  It will also allow you to assemble your quilt quickly and easily!


Next, take the upper right panel and sew it to the upper left panel, carefully matching and pinning the seams.  The edges should match up nicely - if not, you've got something turned around!  The corner print will be on the right side of the center block.  Sew the seam.


Repeat with the lower right and lower left panels, rotating around the center square.  Now all that remains is the final seam, and at this point you will complete the seam you started on the center block.


Voila!  You have completed your Santa's Trip Around the World quilt top!  Stand up, do a little happy dance, and then get to work on a back - you want to show this one off at Christmas time, don't you?
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 Be sure to come back tomorrow for a peek at the back I created for my version of Santa's Trip Around the World, and a chance to show off your own version if you've been quilting along with me!  

 And remember to visit the stops on the blog hop today and leave a comment on each for your entries in today's giveaway!

 Hugs!

 Sarah
Here are the blogs participating in the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!

Friday, July 14th


Saturday, July 15th


Sunday, July 16th


Monday, July 17th


Tuesday, July 18th


Wednesday, July 19th


Thursday, July 20th


Friday, July 21st


Saturday, July 22nd



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Sunday, July 23, 2017

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop, Day 10!

Hi, all!

 What was it Elvis sang about Christmas - I'll have a blue Christmas without you?  Well, it's not like that around here - you guys have been showing up in droves for the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop and I'm so glad!  It's wonderful to hear about what you have found and what inspires you and especially to hear that some of you are following along with the quilt-along!  There's only three more days of the hop, but don't expect all the inspiration to ease up - there's lots more to come!

 Today, our bloggers are:
Sunday, July 23rd

Mel's Quilting Blog
Resourceful Momma
Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting

Meloney of Mel's Quilting Blog, Mel of Resourceful Momma, and once again our little over-achiever Cheryl of Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting are all here to give us lots more really fun projects and ideas - I can't wait to see what each one has in store for us.  My cup is running over with ideas, but like a glutton, I just want more!!


Remember to leave a comment on each of their posts, and one here too, for four entries in today's giveaway.   You don't want to miss out on the chance to win some of Tula Pink's Holiday Homies, do you?  

Thanks to our wonderful sponsor, Free Spirit Fabrics, I have six jelly rolls, six layer cakes, and a fat quarter bundle to give away!  So go do some blog-hopping!!
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And now for today's step in the Santa's Trip Around the World quilt-along!  It's pretty simple - today you create the last quarter-panel for the quilt!  Follow the instructions you'll find here, and while you're doing that, feast your eyes on these fun gifts for quilters!  You can make or buy them for other quilters in your life, or print out this post and leave it laying around for your husband and kids, with circles around the ones you like!!

Let's start with jewelry...



I love this bobbin necklace with polymer clay "thread"...


And how about this leather "ruler" bracelet?


Do you like to make your own?  I bet you could find all the parts for this at your local Joann's or Hobby Lobby!

Now... how about some useful gadgets?


I love this idea - - - AND I have a spare glasses case in a drawer somewhere!  


And how about this bobbin case - made from a yardstick!  Even if you had to buy a new one, you could age it with olive oil and coffee to get that vintage look...


And check out these adorable pieced refrigerator magnets!  Definitely useful, and a fun way to show off your (tiny) piecing skills!

Do you need small gifts for a quilter's dinner or buffet?  How about these cute fat quarter "cupcakes" in individual cupcake liners... They'd make great place markers, too!


Or as a gift for a quilter in your life, how about a six-pack of fat quarter cupcakes?  Plus it gives you a good excuse to start buying cupcakes at the grocery store so you have a stock of the plastic containers!



 Here's another great idea, one that could be used for a large group too.  And here's a link for the printable to go with that package of M&Ms!



And how about a couple of quilt-y sayings to decorate your sewing space?



You can find the links for these pins and more on my Pinterest board 12DCIJ Pins!

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That's it for today, folks!  Be sure to check out today's blogs and leave comments, and then come back tomorrow as we finally pull all those quarter panels together into a quilt top!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Here are the blogs participating in the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!

Friday, July 14th


Saturday, July 15th


Sunday, July 16th


Monday, July 17th


Tuesday, July 18th


Wednesday, July 19th


Thursday, July 20th


Friday, July 21st


Saturday, July 22nd



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