Make-A-List Monday - Bring On Fall!!!

Hi, all!

Well, Labor Day has come and almost gone - which means fall and quilting season are upon us!!  Not that I don't quilt during the summer, but it seems more fun somehow in the fall and winter…  what do you think?  Nancy's Labor Day weekend craft show was a success - between the quilt raffle and her sales, she raised another $875 dollars for the adoption fund.  Congratulations to Missy Shay, who had the lucky raffle entry and won this quilt!!

I'm very happy to say that my list last week went pretty well - here's the rundown...

1.  Finish the chevron table runner for Nancy's display table.   

Done!  It came out really nicely too - all ten feet of it!  

I did straight line quilting on this one, to echo the chevron lines.  It looks great on the back, too!  I figure this can be used for a table runner, or maybe a king size bed runner, now that Nancy has finished with it.  

2.  Make a bunch of yo-yo's for Nancy to use in making hair pins to sell at the show. Here's her inspiration...

Done!  But I forgot to get pictures of her finished product...

3.  Quilt a top for a friend.

Done!  This one was fun…

I just love the way the quilting looks on the back! I'm really thankful my friend asked me to quilt these beautiful antique Dresden plates for her - I hope she likes it as much as I do!!

4.  Take care of the girls while Nancy works the show!

Done!  We had a lot of fun - went out to eat, watched the new "Bears" movie from Disney, played lots and lots, and Lilli and her Papa started putting an airplane model together!  Lilli picked out the paint colors - pink and hot pink!  We even went out to the craft fair for a while, where the girls had a blue raspberry ice - can you tell?

5.  Reorganize the fabric at church by color.  It's gotten really jumbled up and needs a complete re-do.  

Done!  Three members of our group (thanks, Rita, Pat, and Rhonda!) met me up there last Tuesday and we pulled all the fabric off the shelves, sorted it out by color, refolded it when necessary, and re-shelved it.  Whew!  But I forgot to take any pictures - something I'll remedy Wednesday night.  It looks great!

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

Done!  This quilt went to a man just diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer...

This one went to a woman who had a pretty serious abdominal surgery and faces a long recovery…

This one went to a man recently diagnosed with colon cancer...

 

And this pretty little quilt went to a new baby girl!!

(love those baby quilts!)

So all in all, a pretty good week.  Busy for me with non-ministry things, so I'm really grateful for all the hard work that the other folks in the ministry have been doing!  It's wonderful to have reached a stage where we are ahead of the game for a change…

And now, here's what I'll be working on this week…

1.  Quilt a top for a friend - another commission going towards the adoption fund!

2. Quilt and bind another quilt - another commission going towards the adoption fund! (I'm going to quilt that little boy all the way from China to here!)

3.  Quilt and bind a couple more tops that were donated to raise funds for the adoption.  

4.  Finish some quilt tops that were sent for Hands2Help.

5.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that arise!

Looks like I'll be keeping Jolene busy this week, that's for sure!  But now, the question is….

What are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Time to Take A Deep Breath!

Hi, all!

Whew!  It's so nice to be past the craft show and able to slow down just a little bit!!  Actually, there's not much slowing down but it is nice to think about something else for a while.  I hope you had a fabulous week last week, and got lots and lots done!  

My little pixie….

Before I get to this week's to-do's, I want to tell you something funny that happened today.  A little history first, though.  When Lilli was little and we'd go to Joann's, she always wanted a bolt of fabric in front of her across the cart, and she would drum on it while I shopped.  Emmy wants a bolt of fabric there, too, but she pets it and oohs and aahs over it - showing off some fabric addict tendencies!  Today we were shopping at Joann's, and she was doing her usual petting of fabric.  We went up to the counter to get it cut, and I took the bolts and gave them to the counter lady.  Emmy watched with suspicion as the lady spread the fabric out and measured, then picked up her scissors and started to cut…

PANDELYRIUM!!!  Emmy let out a blood curdling scream as the scissors cut into the fabric!!  I comforted her and she quieted down… until the lady started cutting the second piece of fabric, and the whole thing started all over again!  She didn't completely quiet down until we gave her the folded fabric, but even then she looked at the counter lady with suspicion.  You could almost see her thinking, "You killed it!"  I can see her future as a total fabric addict, one of those who buys pretty fabric and then can't bear to cut it!!

Now let's see how last week's list went…

1.  Lots of ministry quilts!  We did an emphasis on the quilt ministry yesterday in church, and I've received nine quilt requests since then! I quilted three today, so those need to be bound, then six more need to be quilted and finished off!

We finished six quilts that went to new homes last Wednesday.  The numbers are getting kind of jumbled in my head, but I think I have eight more on the list right now!

2.  Cut the white fabric to make the cover for the craft show framework.

3.  Make some more mug rugs.

4.  Print out signs and name tags for the craft show.

5.  Price and tag items for the craft show.

6.  Pack everything up and load up the car for the craft fair.

I've lumped all these together for picture purposes - here are shots of our booth from this past Saturday.

My beautiful daughter, who made lots of the non-quilty crafts
and worked the booth with me...

For those of you who want to know how it went, I wish I could say it was a rousing success, but…  It was very cold (about 30 degrees when we got there) and that kind of cut down on foot traffic, plus they stuck us out in a secondary pavilion that was not marked well.  I made enough to pay for the booth and a bit more, but will probably not try this again.  But - - - I did set up a Facebook page for the shop and I'm putting some of the things we had at the craft show on the FB page for sale, so come check it out!  Search for Fabric Addict Quilts and More on Facebook, or click where it says Facebook page above to find it - and if you'll LIKE the page, and leave a comment on one of the posts, you should start seeing it in your feed.  It's a good way to keep up with what's going in the shop, and maybe pick something up before I list it on Etsy!

7.  Keep up with any additional quilt ministry needs that arise.

I'm trying!  I think it's a case of "be careful what you wish for" - we've had a flood of requests since we did the quilt ministry emphasis at church, and if it wasn't all written down, I'd be lost for sure!!

And here's what's on the list for this week…

1.  Quilt at least five quilts for ministry needs.

2.  Make Emmy's Halloween costume.

3.  Make a pillowcase for Emmy's bed.

4.  Quilt a top for a friend.

5.  Write up a price quote for a commission quilt.

6.  Cut charms for the Kate Spain Charm Swap.

7.  Make some items for small custom orders from the craft show.

8.  Start working on an antique quilt repair job.

9.  As always, try to keep up with any additional quilt ministry needs that arise.

There's probably lots more I need to do, but this is what I think I can actually get done.  

So now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - It's Almost Craft Show Day!

Hi, all!

Well, it's Monday again, and just a few short days away from the craft show!  So much to do, so little time!!  But my head may stop swimming if I write it all down, so maybe if I get it all set out here, it will magically get done!

But first, let's see how last week's list went...

1.  Finish a quilt for a woman just diagnosed with cancer.

Done!  We have a lot of new members in our group who are just learning to piece, and this is one of the tops they have made...

2.  Finish a quilt for another woman with breast cancer.

Done!  Another "new member" top...

3.  Finish a quilt for a man with lymphoma.

Done!  Rita pieced this beautiful batik quilt...

4.  Make more aprons and elephants for the craft show.

Done!  I'm a bit behind on pics, none of the elephants yet, but here's one of the aprons I made...

5.  Make a test block for a competition.

Unfortunately, this is only done on paper - I've drawn and fiddled around, but haven't had a chance to make the block itself.

6.  Fine tune and deliver the commission quilt.

Done!  And she loved it!!

7.  Do a test run on the craft show space to decide how to display all the sale items.

Done!  My husband made the framework and my daughter is full of great ideas about how to display all of our handcrafted goodies!

I've still got to cut the white fabric to cover the framework, but that's a job for tomorrow...

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

We had three other needs arise last week - here are pics of two of the quilts that we made...

Here's Dovie and her daughter, Pam (a member of the quilt ministry) with the quilt we made for her...

And this quilt went to a little 4 year old girl with Down's Syndrome, who is currently in Vanderbilt Hospital awaiting surgery to correct some heart issues.

Okay, last week's progress looks better than I thought it did.  Here's what I need to get done this week, let's hope it goes as well!

1.  Lots of ministry quilts!  We did an emphasis on the quilt ministry yesterday in church, and I've received nine quilt requests since then! I quilted three today, so those need to be bound, then six more need to be quilted and finished off!

2.  Cut the white fabric to make the cover for the craft show framework.

3.  Make some more mug rugs.

4.  Print out signs and name tags for the craft show.

5.  Price and tag items for the craft show.

6.  Pack everything up and load up the car for the craft fair.

6.  Keep up with any additional quilt ministry needs that arise.

I promise to take pictures at the craft fair, and share a little bit about how it went and what we did.  My daughter has really blossomed in her crafting, and is making some super cute things for the sale.  Keep your fingers crossed that it's worth all the time and effort we've put into it!!

So now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Short-Timing It!!

Hi, all!

Here it is Monday again, and less than two weeks away from the craft show I'll be participating in at the end of the month - - - EEK!!  All of a sudden my head is swimming with all those little details - bags, price tags, display items - so much to think about!!  But at least I'm thinking about it now, and not a week and a half from now....

But for now, let's see what got finished on last week's list...

1.  Make a ministry quilt for an autistic 8 year old boy recently diagnosed with leukemia.

Done!  Rita made this cute top using a flannel print with lots of forest creatures on it...

...and I paired it with a great camping print and a forest print for the back!

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

Done! I named this quilt "Remember The Love" because that phrase kept going through my head as I quilted it.  The quilting is loopy hearts all over...

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.

Done!  His mom said he loves blue so I think this quilt will fit the bill!  Isn't it amazing what you can do with a pile of random 2.5" strips?

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

Done!  And not only deconstructed, but put together and quilted!  I need to give it the once-over to make sure there aren't any threads, etc., but then it's ready to be delivered!  Woohoo!!  I'll have pictures soon...

5.  Mail my father-in-law's quilt.

Done!  He has received it and says he's looking forward to putting it on the bed when he moves into his new apartment next week!

6.  Make some more of these cute little elephants.

Done!  Here's two new ones....

7.  Make some more aprons for the craft show.

Didn't get to this one, but maybe this week...

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

Done!  Which is why I didn't get to the extra aprons.  I had to work on ministry quilts today!

My husband and I had a great day Friday on his day off - we made it out on the lake in the morning, then went to a movie and did some shopping in the afternoon and evening.  Then we babysat for our granddaughters on Saturday afternoon and had supper with them afterwards.  Sunday afternoon we set up the craft show space frame my husband put together for me - it's going to be perfect!  Now I've just got to get all the sale items pulled together....

So here's what I need to work on this week...

1.  Finish a quilt for a woman just diagnosed with breast cancer.

2.  Finish a quilt for another woman with breast cancer.

3.  Finish a quilt for a man with lymphoma.

4.  Make more aprons and elephants for the craft show.

5.  Make a test block for a competition.

6.  Fine tune and deliver the commission quilt.

7.   Do a test run on the craft show space to decide how to display all the sale items.

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

Hopefully this will be a productive week without too many bumps in the road!  

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? It's the LIttle Things...

Hi, all!

Here it is, Friday again - can you believe it?  The weeks go by so fast!!  I hope you're ready to get your whoop whoop on!!

I've mainly been working on quilting tops for the Rogersville mission trip - nineteen in a week - so I haven't had much time to work on anything else. But I did get a few little things done...

I made my first dresden plate block...

...then appliqued it to this cute little apron I made!  

I've got plans to make an apron with pockets and a dresden plate - can't wait to see how it comes out!  

I also made this one using some orphan blocks!

My friend Donetta made her very first quilt top, and I think that deserves a big whoop whoop too!

And while we're talking about Little Things, here's what else I spent time with this week...

I'd put in a picture of her big sis, too, but big sis hasn't wanted her picture taken lately.  Hopefully I'll catch one soon!

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And now it's your turn!  

What have you been working on this week?

What has made you dance the happy dance?

Let us know - we want to cheer you on!!

The party will stay open until Sunday night - 

Hope to see you there!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Quilting Season Begins!

Hi, all!

Labor Day has come and almost gone, and as I saw on someone's Facebook post today, quilting season begins!!  I don't know about you, but I am so ready!!  So many ideas in my head and new fabric in my stash.....

But first I need to take care of business - like last week's to-do list!  Here's how it went....

1.  Help a friend finish a ministry quilt top for a young boy.

Done!  We not only finished the top, I got it quilted too!  This one is going to a 6-year old boy who just got adopted by his foster family!

2.  Make a ministry quilt for a 5-year old boy who just had a heart transplant.

Done!  This top was pieced by Rita (it's a Connecting Threads kit!) and I got it quilted up this week.  It's on its way to a new home!

3.  Make a ministry quilt for a young woman who was in a serious car accident.

Done!  This young woman is doing well - her jaw has been wired shut, but she made it to church on Sunday and we gave her quilt to her then!

4.  Make a quilt for a teenager dealing with brain cancer.

Done!  This quilt is so special - the center Amish star was hand-pieced by a new member of our group many years ago, and she donated it to the ministry when she started coming.  As the recipient is very fond of music, we added a black border with white musical notes on it, an the back is the same fabric and another black musical fabric, this time printed in shades of blue and green.  A patch on the back has a verse from his favorite song, which has become his theme during his battle with cancer.

5.  Finish a quilt started by my MIL to give to my FIL.

Partially done!  I loaded this quilt on the frame yesterday - it's a monster!  96 inches square.  Whew!  And today I finished the quilting.  Tomorrow I'll bind it...

6.  Start prepping the house for a visit by my FIL and SIL.  (This involves moving stuff around since we only have one guest room!)

Started!  I cleaned a lot of stuff out of a room that Lilli had been using for crafts, so the room is nearly ready to have the futon moved into it.  I also hung pictures in the guest room and cleaned out a whole bunch of books and toys to go to Goodwill.

7.  Keep quilting for Rogersville, at least five quilts this week.

I believe I quilted four quilts for Rogersville this week, because of the four quilts I finished for the ministry.  

8.  Get those stars appliqued on the blue field!

On hold for right now....

9.  Keep up with any other ministry needs that arise.

We didn't have any needs come up other than those that were already on the list.  Whew!

It was a busy week!  I actually quilted six quilts in two days - Jolene and I were fast friends those days.  I also did some fun quilting related to the book review I did for my friend Christina - 

and there's still time to read the review and enter the giveaway of her new book, "First Steps To Free-Motion Quilting"!  Just stop by last Friday's Whoop Whoop post and join in the fun.  The linky party is open until Thursday if you want to link up with us - try it, it's fun!  There's lots of impressive inspiration there, too.  Take a look!

And here's what I've got on my list for this week...

1.  Make quilts for a mother and son who were in a bad car wreck this past week.  

2.  Bind the quilt for my FIL.

3.  Finish up the guest room and mini guest room for our upcoming company.

4.  Quilt at least five quilts for Rogersville.

5.  Make three computer sleeves for the craft show.

6.  Make six journal covers for the craft show.

7.  Make two first aid kit roll-ups for the craft show.

8.  Keep up with any ministry needs that arise. 

I think that's enough to keep me busy although I'm sure more stuff will come up!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Book Review and a Giveaway!!!

Hi, all!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned that I had passed 900 followers, and that a giveaway would be forthcoming?  Well, I think that's a great reason to whoop it up a bit, so today's the day!  

I was also asked by Christina over at A Few Scraps to review her first book!  Some of you may know that I am a big fan of Christina's blog, and refer lots of folks to her free motion quilting tutorials, which are wonderful - a great way to learn how to do FMQ.  

I was eagerly anticipating this book, but wow, I was blown away by the actuality of it!  The first part of the book deals with the how-to part of FMQ.  There is a section on what you need before beginning, another on the basics of the process, and a third section that covers things like how to decide what type of FMQ to use on a project.  The next twenty-three pages of FMQ design ideas should give you a ton of inspiration!  

But wait, there's more!  Christina not only outlines the basics of free motion quilting, but also has twenty-four (!) great projects to hone your new skills on.  My usual method of deciding whether to purchase a book is to see how many projects "take my breath away" - a minimum of three is require before I'll consider purchasing a book.    When I counted up how many projects I wanted to make in this book, I found at least twenty I want to make, or that will give me a jumping off point for my own interpretation of the technique.  

Here are three projects I've made up from the book in just the past couple of days...

Hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow,
this will be a finished pillow cover!

I can't decide whether to make a wall hanging
or a pillow cover out of this one!

I absolutely love these bowls - super simple to make, and I can think of so many uses for them!  In my studio, I can use them to corral thread, rotary cutters, or even my bluetooth headset that I'm constantly worried I'll cut up when I'm not wearing it!  And on my dresser, I always need little "catchers" for jewelry, change, and the like.  How would you use them?

And guess what?  You can totally flip them inside out and change the look!!  I love it!! 

My daughter looked through the book and decided that she wants me to make matching quilts for the little girls by one of the quilt designs.  (There are six quilt designs, by the way, each one designed to highlight the free motion quilting you've learned to do!)

But by far the most eye-opening section for me was the Embroidered Projects!  I've been doing FMQ for four years now, and never once considered using it as embroidery on non-quilt-y projects.  What an epiphany! I'll be doing at least one project out of this section in the next week.  

The book ends with a very short and concise section about sewing and quilt construction techniques - good information but not a textbook on the process - and a very useful troubleshooting section.  I learned a lot here!  

There's a lot in this book for people new to free motion quilting, people who've been doing it for a while, even those of us who use a long-arm quilting machine!  I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to do their own free motion quilting, as Christina is an exceptional teacher and shares her experience (and yes, even her mistakes!) freely.  For those of you who have been quilting a while, I think you'll find some fresh new projects and inspiration here.  It's available in paperback and in a Kindle version on Amazon.

BUT WAIT!!  Remember I promised a giveaway?  Well, I was so excited about this book, I decided to put my money where my mouth is, and I purchased a copy to give away!!  So here's how you can have a chance to win (or two or three!).....

1.  Leave a comment!  Tell me something about your FMQ experience - your biggest quilt on a home machine, the most creative thing you've made, or the biggest "oops" you've ever done!  Have fun with it!

2.  Follow this blog, or let me know you already do!  If you follow through something other than Google Friend Connect, I'd love to know how you follow (just for curiosity's sake).

3.  Join the Whoop Whoop Friday linky party!  It's fun and a great way to get encouragement and inspiration! (Your link below will be your entry for this chance.)

3.  Spread the word about the giveaway by mentioning it on your blog and linking back to this post.  Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did!

Leave a separate comment for each entry.  And be sure you leave an email address if you're a no-reply blogger (or think it's possible you might be!)  I ALWAYS reply to your comments, so if you've commented here before and I've never emailed back, you're a no-reply blogger.  Leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!!

You can enter until next Thursday, September 5th at 5 pm CST.  I'll draw a winner and announce it on next week's Whoop Whoop Friday post!  And if you just can't wait to get a copy of this book (and who could blame you?) you can get it sent right to your door here on Amazon!

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And now it's your turn to whoop it up!!

What have you been working on this week?

What's made you dance the happy dance?

For anyone who's new, it doesn't have to be a finish -

just something you're excited about!

I'll leave the linky party open until 

Thursday at 5 pm this week - 

Be there or be square!!

Hugs!

Sarah