Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Something To Think About...

Hi, all!

Guess what? It's Friday again - and that means it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  I hope you're ready - I know I am - so let's get started!

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

You probably know that I've been on vacation this week, and we've been having a wonderful time.  The beach is gorgeous...

...the water is wonderful, and we've even had some unexpected visitors!  

But in the midst of all this, we've also seen what is just north of us.

We are staying in Mexico Beach, Florida, which was hit so hard by Hurricane Michael last October.  

The devastation here is unbelievable.

This is what it looks like almost TEN MONTHS after the storm.

Houses have broken windows, plywood covering broken walls...

...and blue tarps covering broken roofs are seen everywhere.

Some are vacation homes, some are the homes of the town residents.

Beautiful homes on the beach are standing empty and damaged.

But there are signs of things improving, like this person who is living in a camper in front of his property as he works on repairing it.

You see some construction going on to repair buildings that were destroyed.

But considering the amount of damage in this area, these sights are few and far between.  So when you don't think you have much to whoop about, remember these folks and be grateful for all you have.

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

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

Will You Join Me For A Quilt-Along?

Hi, all!

Well, it is almost that time of year again - time for the Twelve Days of Christmas in July blog hop and quilt-along!  We've got some great bloggers all lined up to share some fabulous ideas with you, and I'm working out the final details on this year's quilt-along quilt!  

Because this year's quilt is a bit different - you can create a design of your own and have a totally unique quilt - I'll be sharing a coloring chart for you to fill in, and show some examples to get you started!

First of all, here's the coloring chart:

Copy this picture and print out several pages to play with. There are many ways to do this - on my Mac, I can right-click on the image, select "Save Image As" and tuck it away in a file on my computer.  I can also do a screen capture by clicking Command-Shift-4, then drawing a box around the picture.  The file will appear as "Screenshot ***" with a date and time in the Desktop file.  I'm sorry I can't tell you how to do it on a PC, but I'm sure it's something similar. Once you have a file, open it up and print it out. You'll want to try various layouts, so print lots!  Colored pencils or even crayons or fine-tipped markers are helpful here.

And now, here's some inspiration!  These are four designs I came up with when I was planning this quilt-along...

As you can see, I used the same five colors in each (white, pink, red, lime green, and aqua), but the placement of the colors in each creates very different designs!  Sorry for all the markings and dots in the triangles - counting is a lot easier if you don't count the same triangles more than once!

And here's some inspiration I found on Pinterest by searching "kaleidoscope quilt"...

I'm working out fabric requirements for two different sizes, but I would recommend that you get a 45 degree triangle template.  I have two - one is 6.5" tall:

 and the other is 8.5" tall.  

The 6.5" size will work well for the wall hanging version, and I recommend the 8.5" size if you choose to make the larger version.  If you have a triangle template, be sure it measures 45 degrees, or it will not work for this quilt.  NOTE:  I highly recommend getting a template with the blunt tip - it is much easier to use in the final stage of making the triangle units.  

You can order either of these templates from Amazon (there are links above) and get free shipping with Prime.

I hope you'll consider joining in - this is a fun quilt to make and so much easier than it looks!  I've come across a great trick that makes it go together like a charm.  Next week I'll be showing you  how to make a sample block so you can work out the kinks and see how easy it is, AND give you charts so you can figure out your fabric requirements.

Hugs!

Sarah

I May Have A Scrap Problem... Konmari, Don't Come Near My Fabric!

Hi, all!

Since I'm on vacation, I haven't been sewing this week - but I have been reading Marie Kondo's book about tidying and purging.  It's eye-opening - she has some very good and sound ideas (and also some totally whack-a-doodle ones!).  But the one room I am declaring a Konmari-free zone?  My sewing room!  

If your curiosity has been piqued by the idea of only keeping things that bring you joy, I do recommend reading the book - it's an engaging read (I read over 60% of it yesterday afternoon while sitting by the pool) and you should be able to glean some interesting concepts from it while laughing at the idea of thanking your unwanted clothes for what they taught you before putting them in the bag to donate.

And just so you don't walk away from this post without any inspiration, here's the most amazing string quilt I've ever seen...

I'm not sure I'm creative enough to even come close to this level of artistry, but isn't it gorgeous?  It sure makes me want to try!

Are you finding time to play with your scraps this week?  I'm jealous!  Pet some for me, will you?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Not Much Going On!

Hi, all!

I almost forgot it's Monday - vacation will do that to you!  I'm especially confused this go-round, because the house we are renting apparently sits right on top of the time-change line, so our smart phones and watches keep changing time from EDT to CDT as we walk around the house!  It's very weird, not knowing the time.  But I will get used to it by the end of the week, I'm sure!

I sure lost track of time last week, as you'll see when I recap last week's list...

1.  Continue working on the 12DCIJ quilt-along quilt.
I'm happy to say I did do this - and also started a smaller version using a different assembly technique.  It's working well!

2.  Make the back for a commission quilting job.
Didn't get to this one...

3.  Make the back for a gift quilt.
Or to this one.  Shameful!

4.  Pull together handwork to take on vacation.
I did get to this - and brought a major "frog-stitching" project with me.  I've even engaged the services of the fabulous Lilli on occasion to help me - this one will take a while!  I also brought some origami paper and simple instructions with me, and the grands and I made origami frogs this afternoon to play with. Fun!

5.  Load any UFO quilt on the frame and finish it!
I didn't get to this one either.  

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

We did give away a couple of quilts this week...

This quilt went to an elderly woman with stage 3 lung cancer,

And this quilt went to a woman who was just diagnosed with 

non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

I also received some wonderful happy mail, a great surprise...

Erica T. sent this beautiful pillow (pattern is Flutterby by Jen Kingwell, one of my favorites), a totally adorable dresden bear pincushion, and a Bonnie & Camille Christmas charm pack!  What a way to make a week that started out tough end up happy!!

And of course, it's hard not to be happy with a view like this at the end of the day.  Vacation is awesome, the kids and grandkids are all happy, hubby and I are basking in the glow of hearing "Nana" and "Papa" all day, and I know we won't want to go home at the end of the week.  I hope you are having a wonderful week as well!  

No list for this week - vacation is too much fun for deadlines!  See you again next Monday with a new list.

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? How To Be A Kid Again!

Hi, all!

It's Friday!!  And not just Friday, but the day before vacation starts - and that's definitely whoop-whoop-worthy!  I'm sure you've all got fun things to whoop about, too, so let's get started!

*&*&*&*&*&*

A while back, I found a quilt kit that I really wanted to make for my grandkids.  At the time, though, they were living in a third floor apartment, and my daughter told me to wait until they moved into the house they were having built.  Well, I put the kit away and completely forgot about it!   I found it when cleaning up a month or so ago, and realized it would be the perfect quilt to take on vacation with the family!  

It will be so much fun to teach the grandkids how to play hopscotch!

This was a fun quilt to make - the kit came from Connecting Threads and had great black and white fabrics!

I stitched in the ditch around the white framework, did a small random meander around the numbers, and a random straight-line horizontal quilting in the black background.

Now to find a stone (or maybe a seashell!) to use as my marker!  I can't think of a better way to keep feeling young, can you?

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

via GIPHY

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

I May Have A Scrap Problem... Some Inspiration!

Hi, all!

Not much scrap sewing has been happening around here this week - I've been working on the prototype for the 12 Days of Christmas in July quilt-along quilt - so I've gathered up some pretty inspiration for you!

Amanda Jean Nyburg may very well be the queen of the tiny scrap!  I love this pretty pillow top made with the tiniest of strips - isn't it amazing?  I do miss her blog but hold out hope that she will continue writing books to share her wonderful creativity.

I seem to be on a triangle kick lately - and these are really pretty!  My blue tub of scraps could easily knock out a couple of these...

I love the graphic simplicity of this quilt, and it looks like it could be a good way to use 2.5" squares! I don't know about you, but I have a lot of those already cut.

And finally, my favorite - a pillow cover made using Jen Kingwell's Flutter pattern.  Jen writes beautiful scrappy quilt patterns, some of which are easy, some are more complicated - but they are all amazing! I never would have thought of making enough of these blocks for a pillow cover, but this is a great way to have a quick scrappy finish!

I hope you're as inspired as I am after looking at these beautiful pieces - now to just carve out some time for sewing!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Definitely Monday!

Hi, all!

Well, it was a Monday!  Started out with the usual stuff, like laundry and paying bills, plus a post office run and pulling a quilt for a church member to deliver; then it moved on to gutter repairmen and an unexpected quickie repair of the HVAC (why does it always wait to go out until it's 88 degrees and 100% humidity?); hauling the dogs to the groomer and back again; and two trips to the grocery store!  Whew!  I was exhausted, needed to write a blog post, and lo and behold, we were out of data - so it didn't get done last night.  I'm hoping that I'm early enough this morning to get in on the late night "free" high speed internet that's available between 2 am and 6 am - because that's such a convenient time to use the internet, right?  Hopefully the rest of the week will go smoother than yesterday, or at least at a slightly less breakneck pace!

Let's see how last week's list went...

1.  Paint the living room.

Done!  I still need to hang pictures, but the room itself is finished!

2.  Quilt a special quilt.

Done!  I finished this t-shirt quilt for my husband for Father's Day, and he loved it! 

3.  Quilt the Hopscotch quilt.

Done!  This will be so much fun to take on vacation with the grandkids next week!

4.  Work on my 12 Days of Christmas in July quilt-along quilt.

Done!  I'm pleased with the way this is coming along.

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

Done!  We gave away two quilts this week...

This quilt went to a woman going through physical and mental issues...

And this quilt went to a 98-year old woman living in a nursing home.

So last week was pretty productive!  This week I'll be preparing to go on vacation, so I'm not sure how much sewing I will get to do, but here's what I'm hoping for...

1.  Continue working on the 12DCIJ quilt-along quilt..

2.  Make the back for a commission quilting job.

3.  Make the back for a gift quilt.

4.  Pull together handwork to take on vacation.

5.  Load any UFO quilt on the frame and finish it!

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

I think that will be enough for this week - and if I get anything extra finished, won't that be nice?

(Now if I can only get an internet connection so I can post this!  It has started storming outside, so our rural internet has no chance at the moment.  Starbucks, here I come!)

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

Hugs!

Sarah