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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

I May Have A Scrap Problem... Drumroll Please!!!

Hi, all!

Today's blogpost is slightly late because.......

........ (drumroll please)...............





I finished all my Gypsy Wife blocks!!!

Here they are in all their glory...


I can't wait to start putting the sections together...

...but that's going to have to wait!

Christmas parties start this week (at my house!!)

and the decorations must go up NOW!

See you next week with some more scrappy goodness!

Hugs!

Sarah

Monday, November 27, 2017

Make-A-List Monday - Back to the Fun Stuff!

Hi, all!

Thanksgiving is behind us, and the first of December is coming fast, and we all know what that means!  Time to buckle down and get that Christmas sewing finished!  I didn't make a list last week (but my house was very clean and I was very relaxed on Thanksgiving!) so there's nothing much to recap - the only things I worked on were things I couldn't share.  

Oh wait - I do have one thing I can share!  Today when I was at Target, I found this awesome placemat...


...which immediately screamed "PILLOW!" to me!  That baby hopped right in my cart and came home, took a few minutes to find some partners (a 14" pillow form and some red pompom trim).... and then I came to my senses.  I set it aside to take apart tonight, and started working on a commission quilt.  But tomorrow!  This will turn into a pillow first thing in the morning.  THEN I'll work on the commission quilt.... 😇

So - here's this week's list of things I need to get done...

1.  Finish piecing the commission quilt.

2.  Quilt and bind the commission quilt.

3.  Create the dolphin appliqué for Lilli's annual quilt.

4.  Start quilting the kids' annual quilts.

5.  Decorate the house for Christmas.

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

So not a long list, but I think it's plenty to keep me out of trouble.  This weekend the Christmas parties start, and I've got two here at my house, so I definitely need to get the decorations set out.  It's always fun, and I've got it down to an art - I just need to grab the tubs out of the attic and take them to the rooms they go in!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Friday, November 24, 2017

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Not Much to Share...

Hi, all!

It's hard to believe that it's Friday already, but it's here!  And as always, that means that it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on again!  Let's get started...

I've been so busy the last couple of weeks, but unfortunately, I can't share any of my completed projects yet.  However, I am whooping about a few things....


Good neighbors with heavy equipment who helped us recover from some storm damage to our trees...


A little bit of "me time" to work on blocks for my Gypsy Wife quilt...


And a near-perfect turkey, after years of not having to make one!  We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year, and despite some minor hiccups, managed to pull it off with a houseful of happy people and no tears from kids or adults!

Now I think that's worth a whoop whoop!!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What's making you whoop it up this week?


What's got you doing 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

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

I May Have A Scrap Problem... Success!

Hi, all!

This being the time of year when we are made more aware of things to be thankful for, I can honestly say this year that I am grateful for scraps!  I never thought I would be able to say that, and there are times (particularly at church) when my scrap experience can become a little bit overwhelming, but I am learning to embrace the scrap!  


That being said, I'm happy to say that I took some time today and made all thirty-six Square In A Square blocks for my Gypsy Wife quilt!!


This was the first batch - I cut these out Monday night and sewed them up Tuesday morning.  It went so fast, I decided to cut out the remaining 23 (all one size) and get to work on them!


And I managed to get these done too!  I am getting so close to finishing up all the blocks for this quilt - it's tempting to just drop everything else and work on it, but I've got some other projects that have to come first....


And look!  Lots more bonus HSTs for my "future projects" jar!

I need to keep this short and sweet - lots to do this week because twenty folks are headed my way for Thanksgiving dinner.  Today is pie-making day - I have at least five to make, with a couple of those going to neighbors who helped us clean up after the storm - and the granddaughters are coming over to help us cook in the afternoon.  Should be a rollicking good time!

So have a happy Thanksgiving, and come back on Friday to do a little whoop-whooping!

Hugs!

Sarah

Monday, November 20, 2017

Make-A-List Monday - What A Weekend!!

Hi, all!

It feels like it's been much longer than a week since last Monday - we had a heckuva weekend here in Tennessee!  I'll share about that in a minute, but first let's check out last week's list and see how it went...

1.  Finish the t-shirt quilt and deliver.
Done!  I can't share pictures on this one yet, but I will soon!

2. Finish piecing the special quilt.
3. Quilt the special quilt.
Done!  I also can't share pictures of this one, but trust me, they'll be coming soon!

4.  Continue cleaning the house.  Goal this week is to gather up all the clutter in the dining room and polish all the furniture.
Done!  I think all I have to do now is the bathrooms, and find a temporary place to stash all the quilts that are on the guest bed so Lilli can sleep over Wednesday night!

5.  Pull fabrics for the next commission job.
Done!  I've got all the fabrics pulled, and most of the pieces cut!

6.  Try to get to the next Gypsy Wife blocks.
Done!  I managed to do the Hourglass blocks this week.  They were my reward for quilting two quilts and binding four quilts for the ministry!


7.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.
We gave away quite a few quilts this week...


This quilt and the one below went to sisters whose house burned down this week...



This quilt went to a woman diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer.


This quilt went to a woman going through serious medical issues.


And this quilt is for a new baby boy!

So all in all, not a bad week!  Since this week is a holiday week, and I'll be spending most of my time cooking and cleaning and visiting with family, I won't have a set list.  Instead, I'll tell you about my weekend!

Saturday I cleaned all. day. long.  Have I told you how much I hate cleaning?  Well, I do!  I scrubbed and polished and moved things that hadn't been moved in years; I found baby bibs and teething rings and baby bottles (those all found new homes, by the way) and in general really embarrassed myself with the state of my house.  My husband, feeling generous because Miami beat Virginia, took me out to dinner!  We love Chuy's Mexican Cantina, so we drove over to Murfreesboro about 4:30 for supper.  **We weren't eating that early because we are old, but rather because we hadn't eaten lunch!**

We sat down in our booth and were looking at the menu when both our phones buzzed with tornado alerts.  We weren't home and not much we could do, so we didn't think much about it.  But then our phones started dinging with IMs asking if we were ok!  Well, that got our attention!  Still, though, not much we could do so we ate supper and headed home. (To be totally honest here, I decided I was going to be totally p***ed if a tornado had taken out our house after I spent all day cleaning it!)  Conversations with a neighbor told us that the road just east of our house was blocked by fallen trees.  We found another way in, and fortunately found that our electricity was on (not true of some of our neighbors) but it looked like we had a lot of trees down in our yard.  A quick inspection of the house showed no damage inside, and as it was pitch dark outside, we saved a closer inspection for morning.  


This was the view out of my front storm door.  Now, I know I hadn't cleaned it yet, but it wasn't nearly that dirty when we left for dinner!


Stepping out on the front porch, this is what we saw.  That is the TOP of a tree brushing up against my bedroom window.  The only damage?  A small tear to the screen.


Yes, that is my beloved and well-used clothesline/photography assistant tangled up in that tree.  Needless to say, it bit the dust, and I'll be buying a new one today...


This tree was just shoved over out of the ground!


More trees and limbs...


More trees, this time red cedars.  I think we lost six red cedars in this storm...


Snapped off like a broken tooth!


We have lots of very tall trees on our property, and more than few looked like this after the storm...


See what I mean?


It will never cease to amaze me how a storm can come in, like a giant hand, and just plow down trees a few feet off the ground.


It even overturned and broke the kids' play set that Bill made for them a few years ago!


This was a thirty-foot red cedar the day before this was taken...


And look where we finally found the cover to my husband's grill!


But thanks to some wonderful neighbors with tractors...


...church members with Bobcats....


...and a LOT of helping hands....


...we've managed to get our yard back to close to normal!  Just in time for Thanksgiving - - - and I'm reminded just how thankful I am every time I look out a window!  Here's a little video, introduced by my youngest helpers, Emmy and Nathanael, showing how it looks now...


So - I'll see you on Wednesday, hopefully with some more Gypsy Wife blocks, but if not, at least my house will be clean and there will be pies!  Enjoy your Thanksgiving and come back to do a little whoop whoop on Friday.

Hugs!

Sarah

Friday, November 17, 2017

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? Ministry Quilting!

Hi, all!

Wow, Friday sure came up in a hurry this week!  And you know what that means - it's time to get our whoop whoop on again!  Are you ready?  Let's get started!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

I was afraid I'd really be scrambling for something to share this week - I spent most of the week working on two projects that I can't share yet - but Thursday morning I decided to devote a day to working on quilts for the quilt ministry.


My day started early with binding two quilts that were quilted at church this week.  Some folks like to quilt, but not bind, and I don't mind binding, so I finished these two.


Then I loaded this pretty donated quilt top on the frame and got to work.  


And about an hour later, this one was finished!  I loaded another quilt on the frame, and a couple of hours later... another finish!


So all in all, a pretty productive day!  Four more quilts to help fill in the stash a bit.  It was running low after we gave four quilts away on Wednesday night!


Four more quilts that will soon be bringing comfort to people in need!  I love what I do!!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

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 midnight Sunday.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

I May Have A Scrap Problem... A Little Progress, and Inspiration!

Hi, all!

Well, this week did not go AT ALL like I thought it would!  I had great plans to work on my Gypsy Wife blocks, but a short-deadline project came up that threw that out the window.  So I'm embracing the change, and sharing some other things this week!


First of all, I went to a trunk show with the fabulous Jen Kingwell last Thursday night and oh my gosh is that girl a great scrap quilter!  I've really been enjoying my experiences with Long Time Gone, Gypsy Wife, and My Small World, but I got to see some of her other quilts up close and personal and left inspired!!  And she even signed my Long Time Gone quilt!!


And over the weekend, I finished this scrappy quilt top (at least, the piecing part - there's still some appliqué work to do!) That made quite a dent in the blue bin!!  This will be part of my eldest granddaughter's annual quilt this year.


And how's this for a bit of scrappy sewing?  Of course, I had LOTS of help with this one - it's a ministry project with a very tight deadline, so it's going to absorb all of my time today as I finish it up.

So that's what I've been working on this week, at least on the scrappy front.  I've seen some fun inspiration on Instagram this week, though, and thought I might share a few with you!  First of all some quilt deliciousness...


Is there anything more beautiful than a simple 
scrappy patchwork quilt?


And as soon as I saw these churn dash blocks, I thought, "Wow, those would look awesome scrappy!"


Check out this beauty!  I bet it would make one heck of a dent in the scrap bins....


And if you're anything like me, all those bonus triangles are starting to pile up - but here's a great idea for using them up!  Quite a creative way to use different sizes...


This quilt just makes my heart sing!  Simple hourglass blocks, but done scrappy, it just glows with color!!

And then - - - have you ever seen a picture and just been instantly captivated and inspired?


I saw this jacket in a catalog and instantly envisioned it pieced, using my solid colored scraps and possibly some of the linen I bought earlier this year.  Ooh, or maybe some of those Kaffe Fassett shot cotton fat quarters I've been hoarding for a while....  I don't know if I'll get to it before the end of the year, but I definitely want to give it a go!  

Ok, are you inspired now?  What wonderful scrappy things have you been working on lately?

Hugs!

Sarah