Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Thanks To All Your Help....

Hi, all!

Wow, can you believe it's Friday already?  My weeks have been flying by for a while now - so much to do and not enough time to do it in!  I hope you're ready to get your whoop whoop on - I know I am!!

And I owe my whoop whoop to so many of you who have donated fabric, quilt blocks and quilt tops to us - this week we sent fifty-two quilts with our middle schoolers on mission to Rogersville, Tennessee!  Here are pictures of some of the quilts that were sent (please excuse the quality of these pictures - I know just enough about my digital camera to be dangerous, and some setting got changed without my knowledge - these are a bit fuzzy!)

Here's all of the quilts spread out in our church just before they were prayed over...

And here are pictures of some of the kids giving away two of the quilts!

So that's what I'm whooping about this week - definitely a group effort, combining the talents, skills and resources of quilters both here and around the world!  Thank you so much for all of your support in this effort - it's amazing to see God's hand at work through this quilt ministry!!

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

And now it's your turn!!

What are you whooping about this week??

A great finish?  Mastering a new skill?

Maybe a new grandbaby??

(Yes, Val, I'm talking about you!)

Whatever it is, share it with us!

We want to whoop right along with you!!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight!!

Hope to see you there!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Fall Break Means Time to Buckle Down!

Hi, all!

It's Fall Break in the schools around our area here in Tennessee, and that means that my granddaughters are off on vacation with their parents.  And that means non-stop sewing for me!!  But first, let's see what happened with last week's list...

1.  Sew up all of the craft show items already cut out.

Done!  I'm getting a nice little stash going...

2.  Make up some more aprons.

Done!  I made three more aprons and want to make some more... they're fun!!

3.  Start deconstructing t-shirts for the commission quilt.

Not yet!  I forgot that I had to clean house because my sister and her new fiance were coming for the day on Saturday when I made this list...

4.  Check through all the Rogersville quilts for labels; take photographs of all of them.

All of the quilts now have labels and binding - 51 of them!  I'll be taking pictures on Saturday when we meet for our monthly sewing.

But here's what they looked like on Sunday morning when they were dedicated as part of the mission trip...

5.  Mail my father-in-law's quilt to him.

I had to wait to find a box big enough - and amazingly enough,  one came in last Friday with a fabric donation in it!  It's the perfect size, and I'll be getting that in the mail this week.

And speaking of donations, I received a manila envelope last Wednesday that had some super cute yellow fabric with fire engines on it.  I was so excited I took it to church and put it together in a quilt kit, then threw away the envelope with the return address.  Now I can't remember who sent it so I can send a thank you note!  If you sent that package, please let me know so I can thank you properly!!

6.  Cut out pinafores and ruffled pants for Emmy.

Didn't get to this one yet - there were too many quilts to finish binding and label and I ran out of time!

7.  Sort through the Traveling Stash box and replace items; write a blog post and give it away!!

Done!  And there's still time to enter the giveaway - just go here and leave a comment.  There are several other things you can do for extra chances, too.  Entries close Thursday at 5 pm CST.

8.  Cut out 112 charms from some of my Kate Spain stash for a Kate Spain Charm Swap!

I've pulled my fabrics, but haven't cut the charms yet.  Fortunately, they're not due until early November, so I've got a bit of time yet.

And there's still time and space for you to join in the Charm Swap!   Go check out Michele's blog, Quilts From My Crayon Box, for the info about the swap!

9.  As usual, keep up with any quilt ministry needs that arise!

Done!  We provided a quilt for the mother of a local 6th grader who is expected to die any day (the mom), and another to a man who was just diagnosed with testicular cancer and scheduled for immediate surgery.

Sorry I've only got a pic of one - my SD card isn't reading properly right now...

Okay - not great, but at least I got part of my list done.  So here's what's on tap for this week...

1.  Make a ministry quilt for an autistic 8 year old boy.

2.  Make a quilt for a woman who just lost her husband and adult son very unexpectedly.

3.  Make a quilt for a young man who was in a serious mountain bike accident and sustained major injuries to his face and eye.

4.  Deconstruct the t-shirts for the commission quilt.

5.  Mail my father-in-law's quilt.

6.  Make some more of these cute little elephants...

Meet Plaid and Checkers!  They ran away from the circus because the handlers wouldn't let them play with the children....

7.  Make some more aprons for the craft show.

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

That's enough for this week - my husband is taking Friday off, so we'll be doing some fun things!  Maybe it will be boat weather...  fingers crossed!!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Lots done, but lots more to do!

Hi, all!

Boy, last week was a blur!  Does it seem like this year is just flying by, or is it just me?  Fall has arrived with its cooler days and more time for quilting - hooray!!  So let's see what got finished last week, and what I need to work on this week...

Here's last week's list:

1.  Quilt at least five quilts for Rogersville.

Don't ask me how I did it, but when I counted up, it turns out that between 9/19 and 9/26 I quilted 25 quilts!  (And went through an entire 25 yard bolt of batting!)  Here's just a few of them - the ones I took to church for binding last Sunday...

2.  Make quilts for a husband and wife who are in the hospital for a kidney transplant; she donated a kidney to her husband.

Done!  We pulled two from the stash of finished quilts...

Hers...

\

...and his!

3.  Make a quilt for a woman just diagnosed with cancer.

Done!  Also pulled from the stash of finished quilts...

4.  Make more aprons for the craft show.

I didn't get to this one, unfortunately!

5.  Make more first aid kits and journal covers for the craft show.

I didn't get to this one either.  But since I think we're finished making quilts for Rogersville, I'll be working hard on craft show stuff for the next few weeks!

6.  Keep up with any new ministry needs that arise.

Done!  We are up to date.  Whew!

This quilt went to a teacher at the local high school who was just diagnosed with cancer.

7.  Start working on a commission t-shirt quilt.

I've been thinking about it really hard!  (Does that count?)  I should be able to get started this week sometime.

8.  Create a mini-size pattern for a pinafore for Emmy.

Done!  I just need to find time to cut it out and sew it up!

 I did get a lot of craft show items cut out and ready to sew up, too. And I found this great rocking chair at a yard sale...

...and guess who just LOVES it??

So even though I didn't get everything on the list done, I had a very good week!

But that was last week - time to see what I need to do this week!

1.  Sew up all of the craft show items already cut out.

2.  Make up some more aprons.

3.  Start deconstructing t-shirts for the commission quilt.

4.  Check through all the Rogersville quilts for labels; take photographs of all of them.

5.  Mail my father-in-law's quilt to him.

6.  Cut out pinafores and ruffled pants for Emmy.

7.  Sort through the Traveling Stash box and replace items; write a blog post and give it away!!

Yes, that's right - I'm the lucky recipient of another Traveling Stash box and soon one of you will be too!  I'll be posting about it sometime later this week, so keep an eye out!

8.  Cut out 112 charms from some of my Kate Spain stash for a Kate Spain Charm Swap!  

Michele over at Quilts From My Crayon Box is hosting this fun swap - she's limiting participation to 54 people, so if you're interested, join in quickly!  I'm hoping to make a Kate Spain quilt for my bed, and what a great way to get a wide variety of beautiful fabrics!  I can't wait to get started...

9.  As usual, keep up with any ministry needs that arise!

So that's my list for this week.  Probably not completely do-able, but something to shoot for!  

Oh, and I just wanted to share this great link...

A Martha Stewart recipe for One-Pot Pasta that I found on Pinterest.  This stuff is amazing!  You cook all the vegetables at the same time and in the same pot as the pasta, stirring frequently.  The cooking water is mostly absorbed, and the stirring makes the pasta super-creamy, almost like risotto.  I added some sweet Italian sausage I browned in another pan just before serving. It was wonderful!  I love Pinterest - it has really expanded my cooking horizons!!  This is definitely one to try if you like Italian food - it was easily as good as anything I've had in a fancy restaurant.  And it only took about 20 minutes to make!

Ok, enough of that.  Now the question is - - - what are you working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - So much to do!!

Hi, all!

Do you ever feel like you're jumping into something with both feet and wondering if you'll sink or swim?  I'm having those thoughts today but I think it's all going to work out!  But before I tell you more about that, let's see how I did on last week's list...

1.  Bind the batik quilt.

Done!  You can see more here, but here's a shot...

2.  Quilt a quilt for a young man in our church.

Done!  Debora pieced this one, and I like the way it turned out...

3.  Quilt a woman's quilt for the ministry.

Fortunately, the other long armer in our group had a quilt started that it is perfect for the need.  No pics yet, though!

4.  Quilt a man's quilt for the ministry.

Done and delivered!  I'm particularly fond of this quilt, pieced by my friend Debora - this is my own design!  It's nice to see it made up again...

5.  Quilt at least two quilts for Rogersville.

I actually managed to quilt three and took them to church for others to do the binding on.  No pics yet, though - I forgot!!

6.  Finish up the guest room for my niece's visit!

It's getting there - I got the wire curtain rods put up and started the panels that will hang there and create the closet doors.  I still need to put in dowels and hem those panels but that will be quick.  There are still pictures to hang and a few things to relocate, but other than that, it's basically done!

So I did okay on last week's list.  In addition to those things, I cut out the flag quilt that I'm making in exchange for some "handyman work", including all fifty stars!  Betsy Ross was lucky there were only thirteen states when she made the first one....

Now here's what I meant about jumping into something with both feet - my daughter and I have decided to join forces and participate in a local craft show at the end of October!  She's going to be making baked goods and food gifts, and I'm going to making up more of the same type of stuff I've already got in the Etsy shop.  We'll also go in together to make some mug rugs and mugs with cocoa mix and homemade marshmallows. 

I've probably lost my mind - this is all on top of working with my sewing sisters to make quilts for our middle schoolers to take to Rogersville, TN in early October.  

If I haven't told you before, our middle schoolers make three trips a year to work with a very impoverished group of folks in Rogersville.  They do things like home repair and teaching Bible camp, and have been doing this for three years now.  The people they serve are so poor, some of them don't have electricity or indoor plumbing.  Quilts will be much appreciated and well used!  Most of the ladies in the group are working on making tops, leaving Debbie, our other long-armer, and me to quilt them.  I'm setting a goal of quilting one per day, or at least five per week, until we run out of tops or get a seriously enormous pile of them done!  I'm then taking them back to church for others in the group to do the binding.

So - - - here's my (mildly psychotic) list for the week...

1.  Make a ministry quilt for a little boy.

2.  Applique the stars to the blue field of the flag quilt.

3.  Create a plan of what to make for the craft show.

4.  Make at least five items for the show.

5.  Quilt at least five quilts for Rogersville.

6.  Finish the guest room.

7.  Take care of any other ministry needs that arise.

That's my list and I'm sticking to it!!   

And on top of all that, I've decided to try out a new diet - it's called the Fast diet, or the 5:2 diet - you "fast" two days a week, eating only 500 calories over two meals on the fast days, and the rest of the week you can eat what you want - my kind of diet!  I've read and heard only good things about it, so I'm willing to give it a try.  Keep your fingers crossed that it works - tomorrow will be my first fasting day.  DH is joining in with me - because misery loves company!  And at least it looks like I'll be too busy to worry about eating!

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

Hugs!

Sarah