Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? It Was A Very Good Day!

Hi, all!

Where did our week go? Seems like it was just Monday - but here it is, Friday, and you know what that means!  Time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  I am - so let's go!

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This afternoon I was despairing, trying to figure out what I had to whoop about this week - it's been a busy week working on one quilt that I'm not anywhere near ready to share pictures of, and that's about all I've done.  And I didn't have any time to work on a quick finish, because I had to meet a friend about a quilt ministry fabric donation.

So I headed off to an antique store that was going out of business - the word was that she had fabric she wanted to donate to the ministry.  As I love antique stores, and none better than one going out of business with great discounts, I showed up a few minutes early so I could look around and see what she had.  

I saw lots of beautiful Depression glass (which I managed to resist, with much pain) but then I spotted a vintage quilt that needed further examination.

Look at those lovely colors!!  And as near as I can tell, not a worn spot on the entire top.  And then I saw.....

....the name of the person who made the quilt - and we share a first name, even spelled correctly!  Of course, this quilt had to come home with me - and for the bargain price of, get this, $45!

Look at that beautiful hand quilting - Baptist Fan and as pretty as I've ever seen on a vintage quilt.  This one has such a contemporary feel, despite its age.

But wait, that's not all!  After I saw this quilt, I spotted another one - a pretty feed sack quilt that was in excellent condition, except for needing a good (and careful) washing.  But unfortunately, the shop owner knew what she had, and it was priced higher than I wanted to pay - $189.95.  So I moved on.

In another room of the antique store, I found a second feedback quilt, with stunningly bright colors.  Unfortunately, this one had some pretty major damage where it had been folded and probably displayed, and the muslin in some of the blocks had deteriorated and broken. Also, no price tag on this one, so I regretfully put it back.

Hugging my one vintage quilt tightly, I went to the counter.  In conversation, I told the shop owner that she had lovely taste in quilts, with two more beautiful examples, but it was such a shame that the one quilt I saw had been damaged so badly.  She made a joke about people who were as old as that quilt also having cracks and blemishes, and I laughed, saying that I repaired many quilts in like condition. She asked if I could repair that one, and I told her that yes, it could be repaired.  We went to look at it, and surprisingly, she told me that she would sell it to me for $40!  So here's my next awesome find....

Look at all those beautiful feed sack fabrics, laid out in a granny square pattern! Hand pieced and hand quilted.  The only problem with this quilt is some of the muslin squares....

...which have dried out and worn away on the edges where this quilt was folded up.  But wonder of wonders, with some muslin, tea bags, and patience, I can make patches for these blocks that will blend right in and fix the problem!  So of course, this quilt had to come home with me.

Then the shop owner walked back to the back to find the one remaining quilt.  I went with her to look at it one more time, just for the joy of it.  And then she offered to sell it to me for $70.... so what's a girl to do?  Take it home, of course!  Look at this beauty...

Isn't she lovely?  Yes, there are age stains and I'll have to wash her very carefully, but I think she'll clean up nicely.  And as I was showing her to my husband, look at who I spied on the quilt...

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck!   

And Goofy, riding a horse!

I wasn't sure that this was feed sack fabric, but after doing a little research, I found that yes, they did make vintage feed sack fabric featuring Disney characters!  And while we're looking at the quilt up close, do you notice the red quilting lines?  Imagine being so confident of your stitching you would stitch it in red!  It's just one more thing that makes me love this quilt.

So I am now the proud owner of three, yes three! vintage quilts!  

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

I May Have A Scrap Problem... Time For More Inspiration!

Hi, all!

It has been a busy week, trying to get ahead on some commission work, so I haven't had much time to play with scraps.  I did turn this stack of fabric...

...into a project bag full of the cut pieces to make one of Sam Hunter's Birch Bark quilts...

...or actually three of them, which I hope to combine into a king size quilt!  I used a bunch of yard-or-less pieces from my stash, so I'm counting it as "kinda scrappy" sewing!

Andd here's some beautiful inspiration I'm seeing while out and about in the Internet to keep you satisfied until next week...

Looking at the pictures I selected, I've decided that simplicity is the word for the day!  

Isn't this gorgeous?  And so simple.  I believe I read later that she is using English paper piecing to make these, but it would also be simple to just make 4-patches!  The trick is placing them on point...

When was the last time you saw an apple core quilt?  This is a fun pattern to use if you are brave enough to try out the curves.

Upcycled shirts and a few short end pieces of black solid yielded this beautiful quilt.  Where did I put all those shirt squares???

And see this cute pumpkin wallhanging?  It's not necessarily scrappy, but the adorable pincushion is...

...made with the off-cut triangles from the border!  Isn't that awesome - she used up her scraps before she even quilted the original project!

And this really has me in awe - a Scrappy Trips using almost all low volume prints but with a delicious color change in the center rows!  The creativity it took to envision this is amazing!!

Don't have many scraps?  That doesn't mean you can't make something wonderful!  The simplicity of this pillow is hidden by the wow factor of the design - and that red binding? Yowza!

And sometimes you just need to piece - simple, straight piecing - but look at the power of these simple pieces!  I can't wait to see what she makes with them...

Now go forth and be scrappy!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Making Hay While The Sun Shines....

Hi, all!

Well, the sun has definitely been shining a lot - up until today, it's been hot and sunny, although we've had a nice cool day today and another expected tomorrow.  And while that sun has been shining, I've been sewing, trying to get ahead of the game.  Here's a peek at how last week's list went...

1.  Start on the commission quilt when the fabric arrives.
Done!  And not only started, but actually finished!  I haven't taken pics of the finished quilt yet - it just came out of the dryer - but I'll have some later.  Here, though, you can see how big this quilt really is!  

2.  Start on another gift baby quilt.
Not only started, but also finished!  It sure felt good to have some finishes this week.  This was a fun one to quilt!

3.  Pull fabrics for Emmy's annual quilt.

Done!  I'm going to have fun sewing this one...

4.  Pull fabrics for Nathanael's quilt.
Done!  It's a good thing I hoard black and white fabrics - because they're perfect for these little penguins!

5.  Decide on a pattern for Lilli's quilt.
I not only decided on a pattern for Lilli's quilt...

I pulled fabrics for it, and, thanks to Jean in New Zealand, I have a name for this quilt that will go to my moody tween granddaughter - Moody Blues!

6.  Quilt the final UFO top in the stack!

7.  Quilt at least one more quilt for the ministry project.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to either one of these.

8.  If time allows, start cutting fabrics for one of the annual quilts.
But - - - I did get the pieces all cut for the penguin quilt!  

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

It was a lot less busy this week, with only two quilts being requested...

This quilt went to a young mother-to-be who has been put on bed rest...

...and this one went to a man who has just been diagnosed with lung and brain cancer.

And today, despite the fact that I have plenty of projects started and in progress, I cut out the pieces for one of Sam Hunter's design, Birch Bark!  

The other day my husband asked me "why he was sleeping under a store-bought quilt" (oh the guilt!) and I realized that I could enlarge this pattern and make it in sections so I can successfully quilt a king size quilt!  And now that it's cut out, I can grab it and work on it when I have a few minutes.

OK, so last week went ok, except for the quilting I didn't get to.  I feel much better with some finishes under my belt!  Here's what's on my plate for this week...

1.  Open the big box of t-shirts I received today, and decide on a layout for a commission t-shirt quilt.

2.  Make the blocks for that quilt.

3.  Start putting the t-shirt quilt together.

4.  Cut out another of the kids' annual quilts.

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

I'm going to keep the list short and sweet this week, because I'd really like to get that commission quilt out of the way. Then I can work on some of my other WIPs with a clear conscience!!  

Oh, and one more thing happened this week...

Our moody tween got her braces on!  She's doing fine - really rocking those sky blue rubber bands (apparently you can choose different colors now to express your mood!) and, as her Papa said, she could really put the hurt on someone with a bite now!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? There's Lots Going On....

Hi, all!

It's been a busy busy week, and here we are again at Friday!!  And we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready? Well, then, let's get started!

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It's been a busy and slightly disjointed week, as I got several projects started, but very little finished.  Christmas commission jobs have started lining up, so my busy season is getting ready to begin.  However, I'm going to choose to celebrate the little victories!  So here's the first one...

...a baby quilt-in-the-making, having reached the flimsy stage.  It still needs quilting, but I am tickled pink (or in this case, blue) that the quilt math worked the first time!  The dark blue star and white background around it are made with smaller blocks than the remainder of the quilt, and somehow, I made it work out right!  Whoop whoop!!

This customer quilt, on the other hand, suffered from a lack of good quilt math, as I cut the dark red strips too narrow.  But fortunately I had enough of the fabric to recut them, and now all the blocks for this large quilt are ready for assembly!

You may have seen earlier this week that I pulled fabrics for all three grandkids' annual quilts, and yesterday (thanks to some amazing instructions) I got all the bazillions of pieces for this cute penguin quilt cut out!  

And last but not least, I got some happy mail!  This cute pattern from Hunter Design Studio, AND a great new sticker to add to my car window!  I can't wait to give this pattern a try, but I currently have five new quilts in the works, so I really should wait.  Time will tell!

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 Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

I May Have a Scrap Problem... But Not A Stash Problem!

Hi, all!

It occurred to me this week that (a) it is only slightly more than four months until Christmas (!!!!) and (b) I had not yet thought about what I was doing for my grandkids' annual quilts this year (!!!!!!!!).  For those of you who may not know, I make each of my three grandkids a quilt for Christmas that reflects in some way what they were like or what they liked that year, with a fun label that tells a little bit about them, their likes, and sometimes something funny they did that year.  It serves as kind of a yearbook for them, and I love the thought of their own kids reading the labels someday and learning about their parents when they were little. 

So - time to get to work!  Emmy was the easiest - at seven, she is a total drama queen this year.  

I had seen Wendy's wonderful "drama llama" and knew that it would make a wonderful quilt!  Off to Sew Fresh Quilts with her fabulous selection of pieced animal quilts, and I picked up the pattern.  Then I went to the stash, and pulled these fabrics...

...which are ever so much prettier and "dramatic" in person!  This is going to be a fun quilt to make, once I get through the detailed cutting instructions.  

Nathanael's quilt took a bit more research.  He always loves the color green, but he has several green quilts, so I wanted to do something a little bit different.  Then I remembered Penguin...

...Nathanael's best buddy!  He carries Penguin with him almost everywhere, and I've had to sew his flippers on several times.  So I started looking for a pieced penguin pattern.  As luck would have it, Elizabeth Hartman had an adorable version, and my stash yielded loads of cute penguin body fabrics!

I guess it pays to hoard black and white fabrics for years and years!

Lilli was a little bit more of a conundrum.  She's in her moody tween stage and doesn't seem to like much of anything lately - this picture is pretty indicative of her mood lately....

But - - - she still likes the color blue, and I still like to make her quilts, so I started looking for a pattern that would work with fabrics I had on hand.  I looked through my Pinterest boards, and didn't see anything that sparked my fancy - and then I remembered my Wedge Play Workshop book by Christina Cameli!  There are a bunch of quilts I want to make in that book, and while I didn't settle on the one I remembered when I thought of the book, I did find one that I loved....

...AND I found beautiful fabrics (after many many changes in the pull) to make it with!  I had originally settled on a slightly different array, but when my daughter realized it was for Lilli, she suggested removing the purples (apparently Lilli is NOT fond of purple these days) and adding back in a couple of prints I had pulled out.  I'm happy with this pull and think it will be a fun and beautiful quilt!

So - no scrappy sewing, but I am at least playing in my stash and preparing to use up fabric!  What have you been working on this week?  Are you also getting into Christmas mode?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Staying Cool!

Hi, all!

My new best friends these days are the two fans in my studio!  One is a floor stand model that turns from side to side - that one moves the air around the whole room.  And then there's the battery powered clip-on personal fan that is currently clipped to my sewing machine.  Between those two and the air conditioning, I'm managing to stay cool and get lots done!  It's hard to believe that August is shaping up to be the hottest August in recorded history (following the hottest July and the hottest June) but I'm grateful that I have plenty to do inside to keep me busy!

That being said, let's see how last week's list went!

1.  Make the baby quilt top.

2.  Quilt it if there's time!
Done!  I'm super excited about how this turned out, but I'm not going to show you the whole quilt now - it's a gift so I'll share more pictures after I give it away!

3.  Meet with a friend who needs binding on a quilt.
This didn't happen - she got busy and needed to reschedule.

4.  Write an estimate for a quilt commission.
Done!  The fabric is on order, so I'll be starting on this one soon!

5.  Quilt a quilt for the ministry.
Done!  I'm working through our stash of Christmas tops for a special project - three more to go!

6.  Quilt another UFO (that stack is getting smaller!)
Done - and I'm happy to say there's only one more top in the UFO stack!  More pics to come on this one, probably Friday.

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

Done - and it was a VERY busy week!

This quilt went to a gentleman in a nursing home...

...and this quilt went to a gentleman who went in the hospital for a procedure and had complications. He is now in the ICU.

This quilt went to a woman diagnosed with cancer...

...and this quilt went to a lady in rehab who is confined to a wheelchair, but loves bright colors!

This quilt went to a two-year old girl going through some serious health issues...

This quilt went to a new baby boy...

...and this one went to a man who was seriously injured in a farming accident.

And last but not least, this quilt went to the husband of one of our ministry members, who is headed to a rehab hospital.

Whew!  I told you it was a busy week!  And this week is shaping up to be another just like it.  Commission jobs are starting to line up, plus I realized that I hadn't even thought about the kids' annual  quilts yet!  I'm trying to get my own things done before the commissions get started.  So let's see what's on my plate this week!

1.  Start on the commission quilt when the fabric arrives.

2.  Start on another gift baby quilt.

3.  Pull fabrics for Emmy's quilt.

4.  Pull fabrics for Nathanael's quilt.

5.  Decide on a pattern for Lilli's quilt.

6.  Quilt the final UFO top in the stack!

7.  Quilt at least one more quilt for the ministry project.

8.  If time allows, start cutting fabrics for one of the annual quilts.

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

So much going on!  But it definitely means I don't get bored.  And there's so much fabric to play with - the hard part is just choosing what to pull out next!

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

Hugs!

Sarah