Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? One Last Finish for 2021....

 

Hi, all!

The last Friday of the year has arrived, and we all know what that 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 wild and crazy time here, but I couldn't let the year end without posting one last finish for the year!  I'm happy to say that I have finally finished my Endless Summer quilt, started many years ago as a vacation project.  It's languished in a project box since then but this fall, as part of the WIPS-B-Gone challenge, I dragged it out and started working on it again.  And here's the finished product!

We had some sunshine today, but it didn't last long enough for me to get any good pictures outside...

...but it's still beautiful, isn't it?  These bright summery colors should bring a lot of cheer to January and the new year!

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

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Look Who's Growing Up!

 

Hi, all!

Friday has rolled around again - the third to the last in 2021!  Can you believe it?  Well, believe it or not, it still signals that it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on, so let's get started!

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Almost twelve years ago, when I started this blog, I introduced you this little charmer - my oldest granddaughter, Lilli.

Over the years, she has helped out in the studio...

...tried her hand at some other talents...

...become a big sister...

...started school....

...learned lots about being a good big sister...

...headed up a growing gang of cousins...

...sparkled...

...hammed it up...

...developed a million dollar smile...

...kept on growing up (even though we told her to stop)...

She continues to ignore us, and yesterday this beauty....

...turned fourteen!!  I had so much fun going back through the blog to find pictures of her through the years - she has truly grown up here!

She's still got that million dollar smile, albeit with braces (which should come off in about a month or so!), and some has developed some serious baking skills...

...even making her own birthday cake!  

So I'm doing some serious happy dancing here as we celebrate Lilli's fourteenth birthday!

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

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? You Missed Me!

 

Hi, all!

It's Friday, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!!  So without further ado, let's get to it!

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Many of you messaged or emailed me this week, asking if everything was ok - since I apparently dropped off the face of the earth last week! Well, there is a good reason for that, and her name is Bree...

She is a 13-week old mini Australian Shepherd, which is basically the equivalent of a two-year old!  She's changed a bit from the day we got her...

...but apparently our choice of name was not only good, but prophetic. If you are an Outlander fan, you may recall that in Gaelic, the word "bree" means a great disturbance - and she really is!  Having a young puppy is rather like having a toddler that bites constantly.  We call her various names in addition to Bree - she's alternately known as The Kraken (as in "release the Kraken")...

...or Fancy Pants - don't you just love her racing stripes?  And today I added WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) to her list of names, as she spent most of the day trying to demolish her toys.

She does occasionally rest, and when she does, she's a really sweet girl!  Just as with babies, this is why we put up with them.  While they are resting, we forget about all the mayhem they create!  

She's quite a snuggler, too.  Once she has chewed our hands into submission, she likes to curl up in our laps for a little nap.  Unfortunately, she isn't big on laptops sharing that space, which helps explain my absence!

She's finally getting close to sleeping through the night, which will help a lot I think.  There's still lots of exploring for her to do, and  she's a curious little thing.  I spend much of my day chasing her around and making sure she's not destroying anything important.  She hears the word "no" a lot, but it doesn't seem to make an impression on her yet!

So - - - can I get (an exhausted) 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.... 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!

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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?

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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