Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Two Down, One to Go!

 

Hi, all!

It's Friday once again, 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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Last week, I had made progress on Nathanael's annual quilt - and this week, I can show you the finished top!

This is one big quilt - about 75x95 - so it will make a nice bed quilt in his green bedroom.   I think he's going to love it!

And if you've now got the itch to make one of your own, hop over to Kelli Fannin Quilts - you'll find all the instructions under her sew-along tab at the top of her blog.

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

Make-A-List Monday - Three Months Til When?????

 

Hi, all!

Monday is here once again, and as I was paying bills today I wrote the date on a check - and was shocked to realize that today is exactly three months from Christmas!  So I guess we're in the beginning of the holiday sewing season.  Time management becomes important now!

So here's how last week's list went....

1.  Work on Nathanael's annual quilt, made with Kelli Fannin's Pokemon design.

Progress has been made!  Thanks to some diligent sewing this weekend, I finished all the blocks and now am ready to start the sashing!

2.  Prep fabrics for a baby quilt for our niece's new baby.

I didn't get to this yet.  Started to work on it today, but realized I had time to start cutting the sashing and went to work on that instead.  But I have the fabrics and pattern and I'm ready to start as soon as I get the Pokemon top finished!

3.  Fold and shelve some new fabrics I bought at a local sale.

Done!  Aren't these beautiful?  

4.  Clean up the studio a bit.

Ha!  If anything, it looks worse.  But I did clean up the big pile of solid scraps that was in the middle of the floor where I was digging through for colors for the Pokemon quilt!

So obsession took the place of time management skills last week, I'm afraid.  It's hard to multi-task when a quilt gets under your skin, isn't it?  

And here's what I'll be working on this week...

1.  Finish Nathanael's Pokemon quilt top.

2.  Prep the fabrics for the baby quilt.

3.  Cut out the baby quilt.

4.  Start sewing the baby quilt.

5.  Clean up the studio a bit.

Once again, a short list, but I'm going to work hard to see how far I can get on that baby quilt!

I did get to spend some fun time with two of my grands today while the third was at some doctor's appointments.....

These two have such a unique relationship - they pick and pick at each other, but they almost always end up laughing uproariously.  There were lots of giggles and finger-pointing going on, and my husband's nice quiet afternoon on the porch wasn't quite as quiet as usual, but it was fun!

So now, I really need to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? Making Progress!

 

Hi, all!

Friday is upon us once again (it feels like it's been a VERY long week!) and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Have you been working wonderful things this week?  I hope so!  Let's go!

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Last week I shared with you the beginnings of Nathanael's annual quilt, made using the sew-along tutorial from Kelli Fannin's blog....

Well, I'm very pleased to say that I have made some serious progress this week, and now my design wall looks like this!

I set myself a goal of completing one block a day, and so far, I've been able to keep up with that.  Weekends get a little complicated, but I'm hopeful of finishing this top by next Friday, or the following Monday.  There are four more blocks to go, and then assembling the top.  The blocks are fun to make but very time-consuming - lots of cutting of tiny little pieces and then sewing them back together again!  The Pikachu block has 135 pieces in it, if I remember correctly.  By the time I finish a block, I'm pooped!

I did take some time out today to go pick up Lilli after school so we could spend some time together.  Bree was VERY glad to see her, although I am not sure Lilli was quite as pleased!  But they love each other, despite appearances.  

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 dance 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

Make-A-List Monday - Arrivaderci, Roma!

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's official - we are back at home after ten lovely days in Italy!  Jet lag is finally in the past, and I've been re-discovering my sewing room, among other things!  First, though, let me share some of the pictures from our trip....

A warning - my husband took lots of "tourist-y" shots, of the architecture and stuff.  Most of my pictures were of things that caught my eye, like this fabulous camel...

Doesn't he have the funniest expression on his face?  Or how about this prime example of parking in Rome...

We saw a lot of those little SmartCars in Rome, and lots of them parked just like this.  We wondered how they managed to get in and out of them when they were parked like this, and someone suggested that maybe they climbed out the back hatch.  Who really knows?

But we did see loads of the tourist-y places too - like the Colosseum, which is right in the middle of Rome, in between much more modern buildings.  

It was fascinating to ride around Rome and see, stuck between modern buildings, ancient ruins dating back to the time of Christ.  

We also went to the Vatican, which is overwhelming in size and grandeur.  The art collected there and the history it covers was fascinating.

After Rome, we headed to Florence by train.  Train travel in Europe is wonderful and I wish we had more of it here in the states!  And of course, in Florence we had to go see Michelangelo's David....

...which is SO much bigger than you would think!  The statue is almost 17 feet tall, and the detail is incredible.  

We also went to see the Duomo, which is an incredible bit of architecture.  

It's hard to get a picture of the inside of the dome that does it justice, but it is the largest dome in Christendom and is actually two domes, one inside of the other!

Outside, I spotted this guy, who looks like he's wondering if it's ever going to rain.....

And then I saw this guy, who looks like Lord Voldemort demanding Malfoy to give him his wand!

We took a day trip into Tuscany, and stopped off at Pisa to see the Leaning Tower.  It really leans a LOT, and is amazing to think that it manages to stay upright!  

They really like their steak in Florence, and this was not an unusual sight to see in the window of a restaurant.  We ordered a Florentine steak, which they brought to the table raw for us to approve - about 28 ounces of gorgeous aged beef.  They cook it very rare and request that you don't ask for them to cook it more well-done, which was fine with me because I like my steak rare rare rare!

Then it was off by train again, this time to Venice.  We were actually staying on the island of Murano, which is about a fifteen minute boat ride from Venice, and we spent our last two days there instead of traveling by water taxi back and forth to Venice proper.  

They had some pretty spectacular bakeries in addition to the glass manufactories and shops that they are famous for, and absolutely fabulous Italian pasta and seafood.

It was beautiful and bright and we ate beside the canals most of the time we were there.  Some of the most amazing pasta I've ever had, and it makes me want to up my cooking game with Italian food!

Then came our last day, which started with an early morning water limousine ride to the airport.  Can you believe there's a dock at the airport?

I think that early boat ride was my husband's favorite part of the trip, particularly when a landing jet flew across our path to the dock!

Hopefully I haven't bored you too much with this eclectic choice of pictures from our trip!  But now that we are home, it's time to get back to normal, so here's my list for this week....

1.  Work on Nathanael's annual quilt, made with Kelli Fannin's Pokemon design.

2.  Prep fabrics for a baby quilt for our niece's new baby.

3.  Fold and shelve some new fabrics I bought at a local sale.

4.  Clean up the studio a bit.

I'm going to leave it at that this week, because I'm really trying hard to complete Nathanael's quilt.  I've started it already, and here's what I've done so far... 

While it isn't difficult sewing, it does take a while - this afternoon I cut out the Pikachu block (135 pieces!) and sewed it together.  All in all, that took about four hours!  I'm hoping to get one block done per day, and there are seven more, so hopefully I'll be done with the top by sometime next week.  That's the plan, anyway!

Well, now I really need to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? Doing a Little Gaming.....

 

Hi, all!

It's Friday once again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  Let's go!

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

Well, I'm still recovering from jet lag after our return from Italy, but I did get some sewing time in this week!  I decided it was time to put on my big girl pants and start working on Nathanael's Pokemon quilt.  I'm using the block designs from Kelli Fannin's quilt along from several years ago, and man do those blocks have a lot of little pieces!  But Kelli writes a great pattern, and I've been extra careful about marking all my pieces, and here's what I accomplished this week!

The top banner of the quilt is assembled!  I've still got nine character blocks to do, but it's a good start.  I think I'll do the ball block next, since I've got all the colors out that I will need for it already pulled.  

Little miss Bree was very very very glad to see us back, and we managed to return just in time to celebrate her second birthday!  She had a very good day - she had to go to day care in the morning while my cleaning lady was here, and when they found out it was her birthday, they gave her a doggie cookie to celebrate.  Then we stopped by Burger King on the way home to get mom some lunch, and the lady at the drive-thru window gave her a chicken nugget!  She wasn't too sure about that at first, but once she bit into it, she was all about the nuggets!! So now she has something else to expect when we go out for  a car ride.... 🤣🤣🤣

So - - - can we 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? One Down, Two to Go!

 

Hi, all!

Can you believe it's already Friday again??  The days pass fast when you're having fun!  In can you missed it, I'm currently in Italy, but I had time to write a post for this Friday and schedule it to go live so you all can share your whoop whoops along with me.  We'll be taking a week off next Friday, so whoop it up now!

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Last week I shared the great progress I had made on Lilli's annual quilt, and I am so very pleased to say that her quilt top is done!  

It will have to wait until I return for quilting, but it's so nice to say that one top (of the three) is done for this year!  The pattern is Crunch Time by Kelli Fannin Quilts, and it was so well written it made it all easy!

What didn't make it easy, however, was my little "helper"!  As I was busily sewing in the sashing strips, thinking I was so close to being finished, I heard a loud "BOOM!" and the whole floor of my studio shook.  Turns out Bree had come in from outside, come upstairs to see me and launched herself from the upper level of the studio at a dead run, landing just behind my sewing chair and scaring the you-know-what out of me!  When I turned around, she was positively laughing at me.....

Isn't that the most malicious grin you ever saw?  Well, I told her I still had to do a little bit of sewing, so she decided she needed to "help" me.   A few minutes later, with a nearly whole quilt top on my lap, I looked down and saw this....

The little monkey was laying between the wall and my feet under my sewing table, spread out over about three feet.  You can see my sewing machine foot pedal just to the right in this picture - I had to set my foot on her tail to press it down!  But I did finally get that last seam sewn and pressed, and I devoted the rest of the afternoon to giving my little beastie the love and affection she demands.  It's a tough life!

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

Make-A-List Monday - And Away We Go!!

 Hi, all!

Well Monday has rolled around once again, and not just any Monday - it's the week of our trip to Italy!  We are so excited but I am working hard to make sure we have everything we need with us (and nothing we don't!)  But before we get to all that, here's how last week's list went....

1.  Continue making blocks for Lilli's annual quilt.

Done!  Check back on Friday to see what happened - but I'll tease you with this cute block!

2.  Remind Emmy to make me more drawings for her quilt.

Done, and she assures me that she has it all under control....

3.  Bind a quilt for the quilt ministry - the last one for our current project.

I didn't do this one, because my friend who's making it had unexpected company and didn't get it finished yet.

4.  Write up my packing lists for Italy.

Done!  Or at least started - I imagine I'll be adding to them for the next two days as I get everything completed.  

It's funny - I have a list app on my phone that I use constantly, but for trips, somehow putting all the things down on physical paper clears my mind so I can concentrate on the task at hand.  Is it like that for any of you?  

So for this week, my list is very short and sweet....

1.  Pick out a hand project to take on our trip.

2.  Write two blogposts - this one and one for Friday. 

(That will be all I will post until we get back on 9/10.)

3.  Prep the house for our trip.

4.  Pack!

I don't think I'll have any time to spare for the studio this week, but if I do, I'll probably cut up some of the scraps I generated last week.  I've been good about keeping up with the new scraps, even if the old ones are still stagnating in boxes under the quilt frame.  Baby steps, right?

I plan on taking lots of pictures of Italy to share with you when I get back, along with eating LOTS of good food!  

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? It's Crunch Time!

 

Hi, all!

Friday is here once again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  I hope you are ready - so let's go!

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It's been a busy week in my sewing studio, as I buckled down to start working on the first of three annual quilts for my grandkids.  I'm happy to say I found the perfect quilt for Lilli this year - Crunch Time by Kelli Fannin Quilts.  

So I got started this week making the cookie blocks - they went so quickly!  Kelli really writes excellent patterns.

Once I got all of those done, I needed to make the specialty blocks.  The first was Cookie Monster - lots of tiny pieces but still easy to assemble....

Cookie was immediately followed by the milk block, which was significantly simpler....

And then last, but not least, the crumbs block! 

And with that, all of the blocks were complete!  I've laid it out on my design wall with the vertical sashing pieces....

...but tomorrow I will make the horizontal sashing pieces and assemble the top!  It feels so good to know that I have one of the three quilt tops this close to being finished...

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

Make-A-List Monday - Progress and Distractions!

 

Hi, all!

Welcome to another week of fun and games!  Our trip to Italy is just around the corner and it's starting to feel really real now - we booked the trip about eight months ago, and back then it felt so far away!  But now it's only a week and a half away.  My Italian feels so inadequate, but at least I'll be able to understand a little bit of what they are saying, and Google Translate can take care of the rest.  

In between thinking about what we need to do before leaving, I did get some of the things on last week's list done....

1.  Complete the vintage block top.

Done!  It turned out so cute, and went in the mail to our cousin today.

2.  Pull fabrics for Lilli's annual quilt.

I not only pulled them, but I cut out the pieces needed for most of the blocks, and today I made two of them!  This pattern is Crunch Time by  Kelli Fannin Quilts.

3.  Choose solid colors for Nathanael's annual quilt.

I went to the store and bought a few colors that required large quantities; the rest I will try to fill in out of my stash and scraps, only purchasing if I can't find something that will work.

4.  Clean up some in the studio.

Well, I did clean up a little but the stuff I didn't get to seems to have spread.....

5.  Work in the front flower beds (if weather permits).

I did it!  We had an easy cool morning, and I waded in - I wish I had taken a "before" shot, but you'll just have to take my word for it - the grass and weeds on the left side of the flower bed were about waist high.  I filled up three contractor bags with lawn waste, and could probably have filled up three more with what was under and behind the cherry tree, but I ran out of energy and it was starting to get hot.  So the rest will happen another day!

I also did a little baking today - I found a recipe for a blueberry ricotta galette that is so easy and so delicious!  Galettes are simple - you just lay out a round of pie dough (I buy mine ready made!) and top it with fruit mixed with sugar and seasonings and a little corn starch.  This one has a layer of ricotta underneath the fruit.  Then you fold up the edges, brush them with egg, and sprinkle it with a little sugar.  Thirty minutes in the oven at 400 degrees and you've got a simple but delicious dessert!

And now for this week - here's what I plan to be working on....

1.  Continue making blocks for Lilli's annual quilt.

2.  Remind Emmy to make me more drawings for her quilt.

3.  Bind a quilt for the quilt ministry - the last one for our current project.

4.  Write up my packing lists for Italy.

I'm going to keep it short and sweet this week because I'd really like to make some serious headway on Lilli's quilt - it would be wonderful to have one of the annual quilt tops finished before I leave - and honestly, my mind is so distracted with things I need to do!  I'm hoping writing lists will get it out of my head and onto paper.  Then I might have some brain power left to do other things!

And here's a special request - you know I mentioned Kelli Fannin Quilts earlier?  Kelli is dealing with a cancer diagnosis right now and is currently going through treatment, and could really use all the prayers, positive energy and good thoughts we can send her way.   I've tested some quilts for Kelli and made several of her designs and she is just the sweetest - the world is a better place with her in it.  So send up some good vibes, will you please?

And now, I really want to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah