Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? The End Is In Sight.....

 

Hi, all!

Friday has rolled around once again, and it's a special one!  For me, it's the beginning of the holiday season - today is my birthday!  Next up for us is my grandson's birthday, then my husband's, then Thanksgiving, then Lilli's birthday, then Christmas!  Everything moves quickly from here.  So now you know one of the things I'm whooping about - and now it's time for all of us to share our whoop-worthy moments!  Let's get started!

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I really put the pedal to the metal this week, and busted out the last of the Endless Summer blocks!  I had hoped to be able to show a fully assembled top today, but alas, I ran out of time....

But - - - the left 3/4 of the quilt is assembled in columns of two blocks, and hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll be able to get it finished.  And that's definitely whoop-worthy! 

And you know how I've always said I wanted a minion?  Well, my granddaughter and sometimes-minion baked me a minion birthday cake!  Isn't that cute?  There are even scissors, a needle, and thread in his pocket!  And it was DELICIOUS!!!

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... And A New Project!

 

Hi, all!

If you have seen my blog for the past month or so, you know that I'm working a WIP challenge - so of course I decided to start a new scrappy project!   Last week I shared Amy Smart's pattern Gratitude...

...with the thought that it would make a great scrappy quilt.  Then my husband cleaned some lovely cotton dress shirts out of his closet and said I could have them for my stash if I wanted.  It occurred to me that this would make a good manly quilt made with shirtings!  So I started cutting up those shirts...

...and when I realized I wanted more variety in the quilt, I went to the bins of shirts I had been stashing for years....

...and dragged out a whole bunch more!  FYI my husband is a bit of a clothes horse and absolutely loves nice dress shirts - so when he cleans out his closet I benefit!  And when you think it's not worth cutting them up, take a look at all the 10" and 5" squares those shirts yielded!  

I didn't count the final number, but after the first six shirts I counted 45 ten inch squares and 93 five inch squares!  There's a LOT of fabric in a man's XL  shirt and I think this is going to make a fun version of Amy's quilt.  Next week I should have some progress to show you, so stay tuned!

I'm also considering using this as a design for a few memory quilts I need to make using some very non-traditional pieces.  Still ruminating over that one, though, so we shall see!

So what have you been doing with scraps this week?  Anything fun?

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - remember that Amy's pattern is free until the end of November!  

Make-a-List Monday - Where Does The Time Go???

 

Hi, all!

I know it's hard to believe, but today marks two months until Christmas!  Where oh where has this year gone?  Time flies when you're having fun, but this is ridiculous. Soon it will be time to start decorating the house and celebrating the season - and honestly I can't wait!  Fingers crossed that the vaccine gets approved for my two youngest grandchildren, then we can breathe a sigh of relief and go back to normal extended family gatherings without worry.  I'm so looking forward to that!

In the meantime, though, there's still my weekly to-do list!  Here's a look at how last week's list went....

1.  Join the two halves of the summer quilt.

2.  Complete the quilting and bind.

Done!!!!   I am so excited to have this quilt on my bed now, and a little time to enjoy it before it's time to put the Christmas quilt back on...

3. Make at least six more Endless Summer blocks.

Done!  Six days ago I laid out the blocks I had made on the design wall, and I had 35 of the 64 I need.  Today when I quit sewing I had 52 - so I made 17 this week!  And best of all, I only need 12 more!

4.  Quilt a ministry quilt.

Done!  This was a WIP from my own stash, originally intended to be a king size quilt for my bed, but when I got it to the two-halves stage, I realized I really didn't like it for myself.  So I turned it into three lap size quilt tops, and this is one of those tops all finished!

5.  Get ready for a yard sale.

Plans were changed, and I decided not to do a yard sale.  So this one went by the way!  It certainly made for a nice restful weekend...

I also started a new project (of course!) which I'll be sharing more about on Wednesday!

So a very good week!  It feels so good to be getting so many of my WIPs finished, and I'm enjoying "playing" again in my studio.  Here's what I'll be working on this week....

1.  Make the last of the Endless Summer blocks.

2.  Assemble the Endless Summer quilt top.

3.  Quilt the spool quilt.

4.  Quilt a ministry quilt.

5.  Start working on the kaleidoscope quilt WIP.

6.  Work on the new scrappy project and post about it on Wednesday.

A good list for the week!  Hopefully I can get it all done, but I have multiple "nana" duties and a haircut and color too, so fingers crossed!  

And now I have only one question - - - what are YOU working on this week??

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? Another WIP Finished!

 

Hi, all!

It's Friday, y'all!  It sure seems like the weeks are just flying by, doesn't it?  I'm sure many of you are working on Christmas presents already, but I hope you'll have something to share that you are whooping about this week - so let's get started!

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Earlier this year I decided I was going to cut into my precious hoard of Kate Spain fabrics and make a king size summer weight quilt for my own bed.  For those of you who have asked, a summer weight quilt is a little lighter/cooler than my winter weight quilt, which has a wool batting.  Originally I intended to use a silk batt, but I think the one I ordered in June is sitting in a container ship off the coast of southern California, so I decided to go ahead and finish it using a cotton batt.  And here's the finished quilt!

This quilt is really large - 100" x 110" - and is made of 2750 2.5" squares.  I used the teal, light blue, and light green prints from several Kate Spain collections, and a couple of prints that had a splash of bright coral in them, alternated with white Kona cotton.

As I've mentioned, this quilt is so large I had to make it in two sections and connect them after quilting.  It's not really hard to do - this is my second quilt made this way - and a postage stamp quilt really lends itself to this technique.  (Click here for a link to the tutorial I used.)  I basically went by the tutorial, except that I sewed the backing overlap down by hand instead of stitching in the ditch, and then I loaded it back on my quilt frame and quilted down the 8" wide strip where the two pieces were joined.  

Do you see my Gypsy Wife quilt hanging on the headboard?  It's a little bit bold compared to the bed quilt, but I still love having it on display.  And doesn't the long pillow go nicely with the quilt?  I really like having the two different patterns - log cabins and postage stamp - but made with the same fabrics.  

And here's the glamour shot - isn't portrait mode fun to play with?  This is my ninth finish in the WIPS-B-Gone 2021 Challenge, can you say hooray?

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... But Amy Has a Solution!

 

Hi, all!

Well, this week I haven't had much of a chance to play with my scraps, or even to surf Instagram in search of great scrap quilts - but I found something my email inbox that was definitely worth sharing!  

Amy Smart of Diary of A Quilter is always coming up with great quilt patterns, but this week she has something really special - she has updated her Gratitude quilt pattern...

...AND she's offering it as a free PDF download to all her readers until the end of November!  When I first saw this quilt, I thought how fabulous it would look scrappy, and it turns out that it is very scrap friendly.  So head on over to her blog and take a look!  And I highly recommend signing up for her emails - they are always fun to read and informative.

That's it for this week - I'll try to do better next week, maybe even by starting my own Gratitude quilt!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Cool Days, Long Nights!

 

Hi, all!

I don't know about you, but some of my favorite things about fall are the cool days and the longer nights.  It takes a little while to get used to the early darkness, but so worth it!  Lots more time to sew and quilt and do all kinds of fun crafting, too.  And I got lots done last week - here's how it went...

1.  Quilt the snowflake quilt.

Done!  I'm so happy to have this finished in plenty of time for Christmas!

2.  Make at least five more Endless Summer blocks.

Done!  I think I actually made seven since I wrote last week's list, and I now have 32 of the 64 I need to make the quilt top.

3.  Quilt at least one half of the king size summer quilt.

Done!  And not only one half....

...I managed to get BOTH halves quilted!!

4.  Do a quick clean-and-refresh of the upstairs for company coming this weekend!

Done, and we had a great time visiting with family members for the first time in a long time!

5.  Quilt a ministry quilt.

I didn't get to this one, unfortunately!

So a busy week, and a productive one too!  I am really loving this WIPs-B-Gone challenge - in the first quarter, I managed to finish...

...EIGHT projects!  Granted, most of them were Christmas presents that I had started this year, but they needed to be finished and now they are.  And that means that I have time to play!  

Today I set my goals for the second quarter, and they're pretty simple:  finish the king size summer quilt, make more Endless Summer blocks, and quilt the Rainbow Spool quilt.  I'm running out of WIPS!  But the next 25 days are going to be pretty busy - my husband has to have his pacemaker battery replaced this week, all three grands have dentist appointments, so I'm on Nana duty, and in early November we are going to NYC and taking our granddaughter Lilli for a few special days.  So I'll be happy to get these priorities done, and if I get to more, that's great!

But now I need to set goals for the next week!  Here's what I hope to get to this week...

1.  Join the two halves of the summer quilt.

2.  Complete the quilting and bind.

3. Make at least six more Endless Summer blocks.

4.  Quilt a ministry quilt.

5.  Get ready for a yard sale.

I'm going to keep the list short and sweet this week - I'd really like to get the pile of yard sale stuff out of the garage this weekend, and if I have too many fun things to do in the studio, I won't work on the yard sale stuff.  Anyone else feel my pain?

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? More Progress on my WIPs!

 

Hi, all!

It's almost impossible to believe, but it's already the middle of October!  How did that happen?  This month is flying by - but today is Friday, and that means it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on once again.  Are you ready?  Me too!  Let's get started...

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As you probably already know, I've been participating in Leanne's WIPs-B-Gone 2021 Challenge, and it's been great!  I've worked through so many projects since 9/23.  Some you've seen already, but here's what happened this week...

I finished my Christmas snowflake quilt!

I finally got back on the horse and made some Endless Summer blocks - four days, four blocks.  My goal is to make at least one each day, which will mean I have enough for my quilt top by the end of November.

AND I quilted half of my summer-weight king size quilt!  I can't wait to get the second half on the frame...

My first quarter goal for the WIPS-B-Gone challenge was to finish five projects - - - and I am happy to say I actually finished eight!

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.... But One Less Scrappy WIP!

 

Hi, all!

One day not too long ago, a kind reader asked if I was ever going to start posting again on Scrappy Wednesdays.  With a request like that, how can I not?  I had stopped for a while because I was so pushed by commission work, I didn't have time to do any scrappy sewing and very little surfing for inspiration.  But it's better now and I promise to be better about posting regularly!

And today I have an actual scrappy finish to share!  First, a little history.  In November 2019, I made this fun quilt using Amy Smart's Patchwork Forest pattern....

I used a fat quarter bundle of Sugar Plum by Heather Ross, and when the quilt was finished, I still had a good bit of scrap left over. Rather than throw it into the scrap bins, I decided to cut it all into 3.5" squares so I could make a snowflake quilt.  I'm pretty sure I started it in late 2019 or very early 2020, but unfortunately life got busy and it ended up tucked away in a project bag on a shelf.  

When Leanne (@devotedquilter) started her WIPS-B-Gone 2021 challenge, this was one of the projects I pulled out and put on my list - and today I finished it!

I had to make some adjustments as I laid this quilt out, because it turned out I didn't have quite enough print pieces for the original design.  So I made it a little smaller and I think it looks just fine!

Have you tried using the portrait mode on your iPhone to take quilt shots?  It can really give some interest to your pictures!

I had a pretty piece of sparkly snowflake fabric tucked in that project bag for the back, too!   It makes a nice counterpoint to the front of the quilt.

And I finished it off with a pretty aqua binding from my stash.  Not a typical Christmas choice, but it goes well with the colors on the front!

So I finally have a scrappy finish - the first in a long while!  What have you been working on while I've been slacking off?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Fall is For Quilting!

 

Hi, all!

Has it started turning cooler where you are?  I keep waiting for those cool days but so far, they're a no-show.  Soon, though!  In the meantime I'll be enjoying the last little bit of summer weather.  

Now, though, it's time to see how I did with last week's to-do list....

1.  Quilt Lilli's annual quilt (while she's out of town and not looking over my shoulder!)

Done!  I'm so happy with the way this turned out!

2.  Work on those Christmas pillow covers!

I finished three "JOY" pillow covers, one for each grandchild.  I'll probably make a couple more plain block pillow covers to go on Lilli's bed, though, as she has a full bed and room for them.

3.  Hem three pairs of yoga pants.

Done!  And I find I'm just as reluctant to hem pants when I ask for them as I am when anyone else does!

4.  Make at least one Endless Summer block!

I am exceedingly happy to say that I did make ONE Endless Summer block.  And I figured out that if I make at least one per day, I'll have enough to finish my quilt by the end of November.  So, a new goal!

5.  Finish assembling the snowflake quilt.

Done!  I'm grateful that this one still looks balanced even with the changes I had to make to have enough background squares.

6.  Make a back for the snowflake quilt.

7.  Make a back for the spool quilt.

Done!  These two are now ready for quilting!

8.  Quilt a ministry quilt.

Done!  This was such a pretty donated top, I'm glad it's a finished quilt now, ready to bring a quilty hug to someone!

It felt so good today to finish the very last item on my to-do list!  Hopefully I'll be able to do as well on this week's list - here's what I want to accomplish....

1.  Quilt the snowflake quilt.

2.  Make at least five more Endless Summer blocks.

3.  Quilt at least one half of the king size summer quilt.

4.  Do a quick clean-and-refresh of the upstairs for company coming this weekend!

5.  Quilt a ministry quilt.

A little bit shorter list this week, but I've got to spend some time dusting and vacuuming and basically getting the house looking its best as we have family visiting this weekend.  Fortunately, we've been keeping the house looking pretty good since we've been home 24/7 so it's not a major job, but it will take a half-day or so!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Let The Fun Begin!

 

Hi, all!

Fall, Friday, and fun!  What could be better?  I do love this season - the cooler weather, shorter days, and the colors of fall.  Plus the holidays just around the corner - can you believe that there are only eleven more Fridays until Christmas? (Sorry for those of you who like to live in denial...)  But Friday also means it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on - are you ready?  Let's go!

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It's been a busy and productive week in my studio!  First of all, I finished this pretty table runner...

Tons and tons of matchstick quilting on this one, but I love the texture! 

And I had just the perfect piece for the back.  It's even pretty on the back side - the matchstick quilting is fun!

And then I finished Lilli's annual quilt!  I need to share the story behind this one - the top was donated to our quilt ministry, but as a holiday quilt (and king size!) it didn't fit our parameters for the quilts we gift, as we want people to be able to use their quilts year round.  So I bought it from the ministry, thinking I would finish it for one of my own beds.  But my oldest granddaughter spotted it and asked if she could have it for her annual quilt, and of course, I said yes!  But as a king size, it was much too big for her full size bed.  So we made it a bit smaller by removing some of the blocks, and now it's the perfect size.  And the extra blocks will make lovely pillows!

With these two completions, I have finished all my Christmas present sewing, and everything I work on now is for fun!  And that is DEFINITELY worth a whoop whoop!

And here's another thing worth whooping over - I managed to keep my youngest granddaughter's fish alive while they were out of town!  That sounds silly, but I'm always worried I'm going to have to find a look-alike fish if something happens while they are gone. Thankfully, this time all went well, because while it's hard to see, this is a rather distinctive looking fish and I think it would be hard to match!

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