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Monday, July 30, 2018

Make-A-List Monday - Back on Track!

Hi, all!

 Well, we've made it through the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop and quilt-along - a very busy two weeks for sure, as I was only staying a day or two ahead of the blogposts!  Next year I vow I'll be more ahead of the game - but it was still a lot of fun this year.  If you missed any of the posts, be sure to go  back and check them out - we had some fabulous projects shared by the other quilt bloggers.

 And now, since it's been two weeks since my last Make-A-List Monday post, I think I'll just start clean.  Here's what I'm hoping to work on this week...
1.  Paint the kitchen ceiling and crown molding.
(Gotta put this on the list because it really needs to be done!)

2.  Start piecing a Kitchen Sink quilt.

3.  Start working on Lilli's annual quilt.

4.  Meet with a customer about a memory quilt commission.

5.  Quilt a couple of tops for the quilt ministry.

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

That's definitely enough to keep me busy - plus it's the last week before school starts, so I'll be spending some quality time with the grandkids.  We're going to see "Christopher Robin" as a last blast of the summer, at the recliner theater!  They think that's "so cool" and it's not bad for Nana, either!  

And just so we have some pics for this post, here's some things I worked on during the last two weeks...


I taught Lilli how to play Monopoly and maybe even beat her Papa (who plays cutthroat Monopoly!)...


Had the columns on the front porch repaired and painted...


Finished a t-shirt quilt for a friend....


Painted my hallway (it's a lot longer than this!) and thanks to my fabulous hubby, hung up a new coat-and-purse rack by the back door!


And lost my mojo, but then got it back when I made this fun version of Jamie's "barn quilt" - a 29" square wall hanging.  I can't wait to make another one!

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

Hugs!

Sarah
at 10 comments:

Friday, July 27, 2018

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? How I Got My Mojo Back!

Hi, all!

It's finally Friday again, and in addition, an unencumbered Friday!  Now that the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop is over, we can get back to whooping it up - so let's get started!!

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Well, as you know, for nearly two weeks I was working on the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop and quilt-along. During that time, I also finished a t-shirt quilt for a friend that had a really short deadline.  I didn't get to work on anything much that required a lot creativity during that time... so sad!  I also finished listening to the last book in a twelve-book series that I absolutely loved...  Monday morning when I sat down at my sewing machine, I drew an absolute blank!  Nothing sprang to mind that I wanted to work on.  ACK!  Where did my mojo go??? I wandered around aimlessly for a while, actually did some cleaning around the house (that's how you can tell how desperate I was!) and finally, late afternoon, I remembered the barn quilt that Jamie shared during the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop.  I took a look at the pattern and scanned my stash - woohoo!  Three beautiful pieces of Kaffe Fassett fabric that had been in the stash for a while, and a little bit of Kona white.  Perfect!  A few hours of piecing and quilting, and I'm ready to introduce:

"How I Got My Mojo Back"


This pretty little quilt is only about 29" square, and was really very simple to work up.  Jamie used some new-to-me tricks to create this block, which is always exciting!


I even went so far as to put a hanging sleeve on the back - here you can see it hanging on my new hall shelf.  I used straight line quilting to finish this piece, which is easy to see in this picture.


It also looks really cute as a table topper, too!  I love pieces that can pull double duty.  



Since working on this cute little quilt brought back my missing mojo, I decided that should be its name - hence "How I Got My Mojo Back"!  


And within five minutes of posting it on Instagram, I had someone asking to buy it - so now it will be making someone else happy too!   

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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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

at 24 comments:

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop - Day 12! It's Beginning to Look a LOT Like Christmas!


Hi, all!

 So many wonderful ideas, I want to make them all!  I hope you are enjoying the hop and are just busting with plans for your holiday season - which we all know starts for quilters in July!  Today we have three more fabulous bloggers batting clean-up for us, and I can't wait to see what they have in store...

 Susan of Quilted Fabrication has a fun piece of home decor to share with us, and Brandy of Pampered Pettit has a creative twist on a must-have Christmas item!  And be sure to take a minute to leave a comment when you go to Jean's blog, All Points of the Compass - because it's her birthday!!  In keeping with her day, she'll be sharing some fun gift ideas with us.  There are some giveaways today, too, so be sure to drop by all their blogs and throw your name in the hat!
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And speaking of giveaways, I did promise to reveal the winners of the giveaways on this blog today, so here goes...


The winner of the BLOCK magazines is:




The winner of this tote bag bundle is:




And finally, the winner of this tote bag bundle is:


I'll be emailing each of you to get your snail mail addresses later today.  If I don't hear back from you by August 1st, I'll draw a new winner - so check your email and spam folders!

I believe all of the other giveaways are going to reveal their winners later this week - so check in with them later to see if you won anything!  After all, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

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And now, for the time to show off what you've created if you are participating in the quilt-along.  As a reminder, here is "Rejoice" in three different color ways...


The red and green version and the blue (Frozen) version are both finished quilts; the red, white and blue quilt still only exists in EQ7 but I'm fond of that coloration!  And here's another version by Vicki in MN, done in Island Batiks. She chose to reduce the size by making fewer blocks, so hers is more suitable for a wall hanging or very small lap quilt...


And now it's your turn to show off!  At the end of this post, there's a linky party where you can link up your version.  Even if you haven't finished yet, I hope you'll share so we can see all the different color choices out there.  I love seeing what you make using the tutorials I share!  The link-up will remain open until midnight on 7/31/18.

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Thank you all so much for joining us as we celebrated the 12 Days of Christmas in July!  It's been a blast!  If you missed any of the posts, the calendar is below so you can check them out now - don't miss a thing!


Merry Christmas (in July!!)

Hugs!

Sarah
Saturday, July 14th

Selina @ Selina Quilts

Sunday, July 15th


Monday, July 16th

Jamie @ L'Fair Quilts

Tuesday, July 17th

Sharon @ Vrooman's Quilts

Wednesday, July 18th

Thursday, July 19th

Danice @ Homespun Hannah

Friday, July 20th


Saturday, July 21st

Marian @ Seams To Be Sew

Sunday, July 22nd

Anja @ Anja Quilts
Moira @ Quilted Snail

Monday, July 23rd

Brenda @ Songbird Designs

Tuesday, July 24th


Wednesday, July 25th


Selina @ Selina Quilts

Sunday, July 15th


Monday, July 16th

Jamie @ L'Fair Quilts

Tuesday, July 17th

Sharon @ Vrooman's Quilts

Wednesday, July 18th

Thursday, July 19th

Danice @ Homespun Hannah

Friday, July 20th


Saturday, July 21st

Marian @ Seams To Be Sew

Sunday, July 22nd

Anja @ Anja Quilts
Moira @ Quilted Snail

Monday, July 23rd

Brenda @ Songbird Designs

Tuesday, July 24th


Wednesday, July 25th

at 14 comments:

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

12 Days of Christmas in July - Day 11! And More Giveaways!


Hi, all!

 And now, the end is near....  does that make you as sad as it does me?  This year's hop has been so much fun, with so many great ideas! But we've still got two days to go, with some great projects, the announcement of giveaway winners for this blog, and a link-up to show off your quilt-along quilt, if you've come along for that ride!  That link-up will be open to anyone who has been quilting along, even if you haven't finished your quilt - show us what you've done so far!  That will be tomorrow, though, to give you a little bit more time.  

 So here are today's stops on the blog hop! Kathy, who blogs at Kathy's Kwilts and More, and Summer of Summer Lee Quilts, have some fun ideas to spruce up your home (or someone else's) for Christmas.  I'm really excited for these - I love making things to make my house feel "dressed" for the holidays!  I believe there are some giveaways going on, too, so be sure to hop over there and check out their offerings, and throw your name in the hat!
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Are you ready to finish up your quilt today?  I'm guessing some of you jumped the gun already and have your finished top staring you in the face - the last step isn't very hard, you'll find - but for those of you who waited, here are the instructions...

Gather up those eight Tri-Recs blocks (the ones you put in a safe place, remember?) and the border pieces you cut yesterday.

Make the side borders first, in this order - one short border piece, a Tri-Recs block, a long border piece, a Tri-Recs block, and a short border piece.  Make two of these.  Attach them to the sides of your quilt center, matching the Tri-Recs blocks to the Fabric C squares and the ends of the borders to the ends of the quilt top.  

Now make the top and bottom borders. Alternate the remaining border pieces with the Tri-Recs blocks - three border pieces and two Tri-Recs blocks for each side.  Attach to the top and bottom of your quilt center, matching the Tri-Recs blocs to the Fabric C squares and the ends of the borders to the ends of the quilt top.

And now you are done!!  Your top is finished, and ready for you to "quilt as desired" (don't you hate that phrase?).  I quilted mine with a random meander and a 40-weight thread, so the quilting doesn't compete with the design. Because finished is better than perfect, right?  


So take some pretty pictures and write a quick blogpost or put a pic on Instagram so you can link up tomorrow and show off your beautiful quilt!  I can't wait to see what you all have made - so excited!!

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There are three more great bloggers headed our way tomorrow so be sure to come back one more day!  Hopefully there will be lots of quilt-along quilts to view, too (whatever their stage of completion) so there should be lots of eye candy.  See you then!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Saturday, July 14th

Selina @ Selina Quilts

Sunday, July 15th


Monday, July 16th

Jamie @ L'Fair Quilts

Tuesday, July 17th

Sharon @ Vrooman's Quilts

Wednesday, July 18th

Thursday, July 19th

Danice @ Homespun Hannah

Friday, July 20th


Saturday, July 21st

Marian @ Seams To Be Sew

Sunday, July 22nd

Anja @ Anja Quilts
Moira @ Quilted Snail

Monday, July 23rd

Brenda @ Songbird Designs

Tuesday, July 24th


Wednesday, July 25th

at 6 comments:

Monday, July 23, 2018

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop - Day 10! And MORE Giveaways!

Hi, all!

 I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....  I don't know about you, but a little snow and cool weather would be nice right now!  Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere can only dream of that, but maybe today's projects will help us think ahead to the holidays, when it will be lovely and cool!  

 Our first blogger today is Brenda, who is the creative mind behind Songbird Designs.  She has some home decor ideas for us, to make for your own home or give as gifts.  Then Amy of Sea of Estrogen has some more great gift ideas, and Bonnie of In Stitches with Bonnie will bring it all home for us.   And there are, once again, giveaways!  Be sure to stop by everyone's blogs and see what they have to share, and enter the giveaways!

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Today we'll be measuring and cutting the borders for your quilt top.  Because you want these to fit your quilt exactly, you will need to measure your top from the left corner across the first four squares of the quilt - one whole 9-patch block and one square of the next 9-patch block.  Be sure to include the seam allowance of the fourth square in your measurement.  On my quilt, this was 16.5".  It may be different on yours; whatever it is, write it down for the next step.  

 Now from your border fabric (Fabric B), cut two 4.5" x width of fabric (WOF) strips.  Crosscut those strips into four pieces 4.5" x the measurement you wrote down just a minute ago.  (For me this was 16.5")

 Now measure the center five fabric squares of the top, including the seam allowances on each end square.  On my quilt, this measurement was 20.5".  Write that measurement down.  From your border fabric (Fabric B), cut four 4.5" x WOF strips, then crosscut those strips into eight pieces 4.5" x your measurement.  (For me this was 20.5")

 That's all for today (told you it would be an easy day!) but you might want to be sure you can locate the 8 Tri-Recs triangles you set aside earlier.  If you're like me, it may take some looking... hopefully you'll remember that "safe place" you put them in!  
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There's something so exciting when a quilt gets close to being finished, isn't there?  We're almost there, so be sure to come back tomorrow as we attach those borders.  In the meantime, visit today's  blogs and enter the giveaways, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Hugs!

Sarah

Saturday, July 14th

Selina @ Selina Quilts

Sunday, July 15th


Monday, July 16th

Jamie @ L'Fair Quilts

Tuesday, July 17th

Sharon @ Vrooman's Quilts

Wednesday, July 18th

Thursday, July 19th

Danice @ Homespun Hannah

Friday, July 20th


Saturday, July 21st

Marian @ Seams To Be Sew

Sunday, July 22nd

Anja @ Anja Quilts
Moira @ Quilted Snail

Monday, July 23rd

Brenda @ Songbird Designs

Tuesday, July 24th


Wednesday, July 25th



at 5 comments:

Sunday, July 22, 2018

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop - Day 9! More Giveaways!

Hi, all!

 I'm thinking that I need to rework the words to my favorite Christmas song to be, "I want a bunch of minions for Christmas, only a bunch of minions will do..." because we've seen so many great ideas so far, and there just aren't enough hours in the day to do them all - but I'm going to try!  

 And today we've got two more creative bloggers to share their ideas with us.  Anja of Anja Quilts has a beautiful Christmas decor idea to share with us, and Moira, who blogs over at The Quilted Snail, has a great, fun project that anyone can do!  And guess what?  There are more giveaways!  So hop on over to see what's happening on Anja and Moira's blogs, then come back here for the next set of instructions for Rejoice!
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Woohoo!  Today we get to assemble the center section of the quilt! From here on out, it's pretty simple and all downhill, so don't worry too much if you need to do some catching up.  Easy days ahead!

If you didn't do it already, lay out your A and B blocks in a 5 x 5 checkerboard layout, with Block B in the corners and alternating with Block A throughout the quilt.  Join the blocks together in columns or rows (or however you prefer), matching seams throughout.  Press the seams, spinning the intersections as you did in the blocks themselves.  This is where that careful pressing will pay off - all your intersections should spin, which will give you a wonderfully flat top to quilt!  Once your columns or rows are completely, join together to finish assembly of the quilt top center.  Press the seams, spinning the intersections once again.  And you're done!  


Just to share, I put mine together by webbing two columns together at a time. I take the blocks of two adjacent columns off the design wall, stacking the top block in each column onto the blocks below it.  Laying the two stacks on my sewing table side by side, I mark the top left block in the upper left hand corner with a pin.  This is so I don't forget which is the top when I press my sewing.  Then I chain piece each pair together, so that all the blocks for the two columns are sewn in one long strip.  Then leaving the chain stitching intact, I press the seams, spinning the intersections again.  Take the whole piece back to the sewing machine, and sew the rows between the block pairs, once again matching intersections.  Cut the tiny chain piecing thread holding the pairs together on each seam, then press the seams, spinning the intersections again.  And voila, you have two strips sewn together - in this case, more than a third of the center finished!  It may not be faster, but it seems faster, as you have a completed section instead of two columns to sew together.  Repeat for the next two columns, then sew the remaining five blocks together into a column.  Sew those three large pieces together and your quilt top center is complete!

Wow!  Your top is GORGEOUS!!  I can say this without even seeing it because I just know all your versions are going to ROCK! But tomorrow we're going to take it up a notch when we start working on the borders.  See you then!!

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Well, we're in the home stretch now, both on the hop and the quilt-along.  I'm kind of sad - this has been fun!  But I'm looking forward to having time to make some of these fabulous projects - how about you?  Remember to stop by today's blogs, enjoy their projects and enter into the giveaways as you find them, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Hugs!

Sarah

Saturday, July 14th

Selina @ Selina Quilts

Sunday, July 15th


Monday, July 16th

Jamie @ L'Fair Quilts

Tuesday, July 17th

Sharon @ Vrooman's Quilts

Wednesday, July 18th

Thursday, July 19th

Danice @ Homespun Hannah

Friday, July 20th


Saturday, July 21st

Marian @ Seams To Be Sew

Sunday, July 22nd

Anja @ Anja Quilts
Moira @ Quilted Snail

Monday, July 23rd

Brenda @ Songbird Designs

Tuesday, July 24th


Wednesday, July 25th




at 5 comments: