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

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's Wednesday night, the day before Thanksgiving, and I've been cooking all day.  Didn't think I'd have anything to share today, but as I glanced at Instagram in a down moment, I saw two pictures I just totally fell in love with!  And wonder of wonders, they are both scrappy and therefore perfect to share with you....

This first quilt was made by a local acquaintance who truly loves to make scrap quilts.  If you need inspiration, her Instagram feed is definitely the place to check out!  She calls this her Bitcoin quilt.  I've seen quilts made like this before, but wasn't too interested - until I saw this one.  For some reason all the color and movement just sings!  This will definitely be going on my list of quilts to make.  After all, I've got all those strings already cut out!

And our friend Emily, of Em's Scrap Bag, posted this beautiful picture - beautiful for both the quilt and for the sentiment!  Emily's blog is another great place for inspiration but this quilt was totally new to me. I'm already seeing lots of possibilities with this one!  

So that's all I have today - I'll try to do better next week!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and if shopping is your thing, a safe and productive Black Friday and Small Business Saturday!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Let The Holidays Begin!

 

Hi, all!

It's Thanksgiving week, and there is SO much going on - the holidays are really starting in earnest now!  Maybe, like me, you need to remember to take a deep breath every so often and just enjoy the season.  It's so easy to get caught up in all the fuss and bother and forget the joyous parts!  

Last week is kind of a blur, but I did get some things done.  Let's see how that list went!

1.  Quilt a customer's quilt top.

Done! And par for the course, I didn't take any pictures...

2.  Finish the Gratitude quilt.

Done!  I absolutely love the way this turned out, and every piece of fabric in it is reclaimed from a man's shirt, including the binding and back!  I gifted it to the man who gives us a Christmas tree each year, and he loved it!

3.  Work on the Christmas pillows.

Done!  I'm happy to have these off my plate - the last of my Christmas sewing!

4.  Clean up the front planters outside while it's still warm this week.

Done, but once again, no pics - and it's too dark outside to take them now!

5.  Begin decorating the house for Christmas.

Well, the live tree is up, but still not decorated.  I'm behind!

6.  Plan a Christmas party for my quilt-y peeps!

Planning is in progress!

I was under the weather for a few days last week, so I didn't get as much done as I had hoped.  But it makes this week's list easy!  Here's what I'm hoping to get to this week....

1.  Stuff the Christmas pillow covers and package them up in pretty bags for gifting!

2.  Deliver the customer quilt.

3.  Decorate the house for Christmas.

4.  Cook for Thanksgiving!

I'm going to leave it at that, because I'm still not back to 100%, and there's a LOT of Christmas decorations to drag down from the attic!  Maybe I can get the grands to come over and help put stuff out all over the house - they love doing that!

So now I really want to know - - - what are YOU working this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Big Christmas Project Finished!

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's Friday again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  I know the holidays are coming up in a hurry and you may be doing a lot of secret sewing - but I hope you can still find something to share that you feel is whoop-worthy!  Let's get started!

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

A few weeks ago, my husband asked me if I had time to complete a special project for him before Christmas - and of course I said yes!  You might remember seeing these on my design wall just before we left for New York City...

Then last week after we got home, I spray basted all of them onto scrap batting..... 

And this week, quilting began!  A simple cross hatch design, marked with a hera marker...

Once I had finished the quilting, I realized that the letters were still going to need to be stitched down, so it was time for a little raw edge appliqué....

That step actually went a lot quicker that I thought it would, and it was time to move on to the next step - backs and binding.

I had a great piece of Christmas fabric on hand that I used to make envelope backs for all eight pillows, and more of the glitter fabric I used for the appliqué to use for the binding. A little assembly line was set up, and binding began...

...and voila, all eight pillow covers are completed!  I'm still waiting for my pillow forms to arrive, but as soon as they do I'll be packaging these up for gifting!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

Now that's a blast from the past! 
They're a lot bigger now!

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.... Gratitude is Finished!

 

Hi, all!

I am definitely dancing a happy dance right now, because my Gratitude quilt is completely finished!!!

If this is the first time you've seen this quilt, here's a bit of its history.  I read about Amy Smart's Gratitude quilt on her blog (the pattern is free until the end of November!!) and immediately knew I'd need to make one.  Then my husband gave me a bunch of his old shirts to cut up for the fabric, and an idea was born!  So I gathered up a few more shirts and cut away.  Every piece of fabric in the front is made from men's shirts.....

...and so is every piece in the back!  I used all the extra 10" squares I had cut to make this back, and it really makes this quilt completely reversible!  But even better....

...the backs of two shirts yielded enough fabric to put a scrappy binding on this quilt, too!  So every piece of fabric in this quilt came from men's shirts that would have gone to Goodwill, and I have a big stack of 5" squares left over for another quilt.  I made some adaptations to Amy's pattern, creating a plus block that has four different fabrics in the corners, and I changed my border to the piano key border to utilize the leftover pieces.

So, have you ever used shirts for fabric to make a quilt?  

Hugs!

Sarah 

Make-A-List Monday - Back In The Saddle (Seat) Again!

 

Hi, all!

Wow, it's good to be home!  We had a fabulous time in NYC, came home exhausted but exhilarated, and jumped right back into the swing of things.  Whew!  The holidays are coming fast, and there's so much to do - but first let's take a look at how I did on that list from two weeks ago....

1.  Work on eight more pillow covers that will be Christmas gifts.

Started!  Here are the eight blocks with their appliqués...

I've spray basted all of them to batting - next step will be quilting!

2.  Find a back for the Endless Summer quilt top.

Done!  I love this piece I found at Joann's, and the back is made and the quilt is ready to go on the frame!

3.  Cut some white and beige men's shirts into 2.5" strips for the Gratitude project.

Done!  Here's a progress shot, and I'll be sharing more about this quilt on Wednesday!

4.  Pack for a trip!

5.  Clean up the house so the house sitter doesn't run away screaming!

Done!  We were blessed with beautiful weather, and didn't even need the heavier sweaters that we brought with us.  And our house sitter appears to have had a nice time, too!

Last week ended the 2nd quarter of the Wips-B-Gone Challenge, and I managed to finish three projects in that quarter.  Today I decided on my 3rd quarter goals - the Christmas pillows, finishing the Gratitude quilt, finishing the Endless Summer quilt, and working on my Kaleidoscope quilt blocks.  It's going to be a busy 25 days!

So what am I working on this week?  Glad you asked!  Here's the plan...

1.  Quilt a customer's quilt top.

2.  Finish the Gratitude quilt.

3.  Work on the Christmas pillows.

4.  Clean up the front planters outside while it's still warm this week.

5.  Begin decorating the house for Christmas.

6.  Plan a Christmas party for my quilt-y peeps!

Plenty to keep me out of trouble this week, for sure!  And now, I really need to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? There's No Place Like Home....

 Hi, all!

It's Friday again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!!!  I've had a non-sewing week, but I've still got plenty to share, and I hope you do too - so let's get started!

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

As you may remember from last week's posts, my husband and I took our oldest granddaughter Lilli to New York City for a few days this week in early celebration of her 14th birthday!  We've been planning this for months, and Lilli had quite an agenda sketched out for us - and I have some pictures to share from our excursions....

We arrived in NYC on Sunday and after wandering around a bit to show Lilli Times Square, we got tickets to Phantom of the Opera to start our week off right.  Phantom was only the first show we saw, though - we also saw Hadestown and Wicked later on in the week!

Monday we hopped on the ferry bright and early and went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  It was the first time Bill and I had seen the statue up close and personal and it was amazing!  I'm especially proud of this photo...

Monday afternoon we also went to the 9/11 Museum.  If you are ever in NYC, this is a must-see.  While we took many pictures inside (this trip was a bit of a home-school assignment for Lilli as well as a fun trip), this is one of my favorites....

And even though we were totally exhausted from all the day's walking, we had to walk over to Rockefeller Center, where they were already starting to put up Christmas decorations....

...and visit Magnolia Bakery for some of their absolutely fabulous banana pudding!!!  Pardon the picture - Lilli is at the age where she really doesn't like to have her picture taken, but she was very willing to share her banana pudding vicariously with you!

Tuesday we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (after an unintended extended ramble through The Ramble, part of Central Park - my husband made us turn a little bit too early for the direct route from the subway across the park to the Met!)  And of course, I found lots of quilt inspiration!  Isn't this amazing?

Wednesday was our day for the American Museum of Natural History!  So many amazing things to see there, but this was my favorite...

We were so excited to see the giant sperm whale, but when we got to the place where he was displayed, we found it blocked off.  We could see the whale from the landing where we stood, but couldn't go into the hall itself.  And look - the whale has a bandaid on his fin!

It turns out they were holding a COVID vaccine clinic in the room, and the whale was "participating" in the drive!  This just made my heart sing, and took the sting out of not being able to enter and wander around the exhibit.  

We had so much fun!  I think this was our best trip ever!  But as they say, there's no place like home, and it's good to be back!

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...My Own Take on The Gratitude Quilt

 

Hi, all!

While I'm enjoying some fun time in NYC with my husband and oldest granddaughter, I thought I'd share my progress on the Gratitude quilt with you!

The first step was to assemble the center, and I teased with this photo last Friday....

...and then I found a beautiful blue shirt that yielded the strips for the inner border!

On Saturday I played around with the outer border, making use of the leftover strips from my 10" squares in a different way than Amy did.  I think I like the piano key look!  I managed to get four more 10" squares from that blue shirt, so they will become the corners of the outer border.  But all of that will have to wait until we get back from NYC - no more scrappy sewing for me this week!  

Are you playing in your scraps this week?  Let us all know what you are working on!

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Mixed Bag....

 

Hi, all!

Friday has rolled around once again, and you know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!!  This week seems like it has just flown by, but hopefully you can find a little something that you're whooping about to share!  So let's get started...

*&*&*&*&*&*

I've been chasing a squirrel this week, working on a men's shirt version of Amy Smart's Gratitude quilt. (PS she's offering the PDF pattern for free this month - you ought to go get your own copy!) I'm saving the full photo for next Wednesday's post, but I did get the center of the quilt assembled....

Isn't that a pretty swirl?

And then I started some more pillow covers for a special project!

And look at the view out my sewing room window - isn't that spectacular?  Definitely whoop-worthy!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up?

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... Progress on Gratitude!

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's been a busy week, but I'm pleased to say I have made some progress on my Gratitude quilt!  First I cut this huge stack of 10" and 5" squares from my stack of shirts....

...and then I cut a white oxford shirt into 2.5" strips to cut the cross-pieces for the plus blocks.  It's hard to believe, but one XL man's shirt yielded more 2.5" strips than I needed to cut all the strips for 41 blocks!

And then, I even had time to make a couple of blocks just to see what it will look like!  I've cut all the pieces for the rest of the plus blocks, and cut down about half of the 10" squares into their quilt parts, but still have some cutting to do to finish that.  

And now I'm wondering what this would look like on-point?  I may play with that on EQ8 to see if I'd like it.  Who knows?  The blocks are quick and easy so hopefully I'll have more to show next week.

So now I really want to know - what wonderful scrappy things are you working on?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Welcome to November!

 

Hi, all!

Welcome to November!  It is definitely feeling fall-like around here - the temps have dropped into the upper fifties and lower sixties, and maybe just maybe we'll get a freeze soon that will kill the dad-blasted ragweed!  I hope your Halloween was full of fun and candy - we had some of the cutest little trick-or-treaters I've ever seen and gave away scads of candy.  I sure feel sorry for their teachers today!  

Jake and Jack made a re-appearance on our front porch this year, exhibiting their baking and candy-making skills - because Life Was Good, But Candy Is Better!

It was a good week around here, with lots of sewing going on!  Here's how last week's list went...

1.  Make the last of the Endless Summer blocks.

2.  Assemble the Endless Summer quilt top.

Done!   I'm so happy to have this top finished, but now I need to find a backing for it so it can REALLY be done!

3.  Quilt the spool quilt.

Done!  This was definitely a "squirrel" - but I like it!

When I posted this picture on Instagram, I got lots of requests for a full shot of the back, so here it is!

I don't know the name of the fabric (another question from Instagram) so if anyone does know, chime up in the comments!

4.  Quilt a ministry quilt.

Done!  This batik top was donated to the ministry - isn't it pretty?

5.  Start working on the kaleidoscope quilt WIP.

I didn't get to this, and it's going to have to take a back burner for a week or two.  A new project has come up (surprise surprise!)

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

I made good progress on this, cutting up an enormous number of squares from those men's shirts. This is way more than I will need for what I have in mind, but I'm sure they'll get used up sooner or later!

So all in all, a very productive week!  I've managed to finish all my second quarter WIPS-Be-Gone goals, which is good, because as I said, a new project has come up that I need to spend some serious time on.  So here's what I'll be working on this week...

1.  Work on eight more pillow covers that will be Christmas gifts.

2.  Find a back for the Endless Summer quilt top.

3.  Cut some white and beige men's shirts into 2.5" strips for the Gratitude project.

4.  Pack for a trip!

5.  Clean up the house so the house sitter doesn't run away screaming!

Yes, next week will be an exciting week - we are going to New York City for a fun trip, and we're taking Lilli, our almost 14 year old granddaughter, with us!  I can't wait to see NYC through her "first-time" eyes!  We have plans to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the 9/11 Museum, the Met, the Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim, and the Empire State Building during the days, and a couple of Broadway shows in the evening.  Plus, I think Lilli has several bakeries on her list of places she wants to see! It's going to be a jam packed few days, but we will have so much fun, and hopefully I'll remember to take lots of pictures.

That means, though, that I won't be posting next Monday, but I'll be back in two weeks with a report on my progress.  

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

Hugs!

Sarah