Make-A-List Monday - Chugging Right Along!

Hi, all!

Welcome to a new week!  Fall seems to be flirting with us as the leaves on the trees try on little hints of color and the weather gets cooler.  My favorite season!  Plus fall and winter just seem to be made for quilting, don't they?  And I've definitely been doing some of that this week.  So let's see how last week's list went...
 

1.  Make a back for the hockey quilt.

Done, but no picture - it's just a plain old back!

2.  Quilt at least one of the grands' annual quilts.

Done - and not just one, but two!  AND I made bonus pillowcases out of the leftover quilt backing!

3.  Work on some fun Christmas pillow covers.

This is in progress.  Lilli and I did some seam ripping and pressing to get the blocks ready to become pillow covers, but that's as far as I got.

4.  Lay out and assemble the blocks from my vacation quilt.

Lilli and I laid out the entire quilt last week, and then stacked it in numbered columns - and I got half of the quilt assembled too!  I will be quilting this in halves, then joining the two together - a work-around because my quilt frame isn't large enough for the whole quilt!

5.  Make a few more blocks for my Endless Summer lap quilt.

I did sort through these blocks and take a count, but didn't make any more.  For some reason I had originally planned to make a king size version of this quilt (what was I thinking???) and I only have 25 blocks made so far.  I think I'm going to regroup and make a nice lap size quilt, which will only require another 39 blocks.  Much more manageable!

But don't think I was just lazing around when I wasn't working on those Endless Summer blocks - I was chasing squirrels!

I saw this quilt in the most recent BLOCK magazine, and it's been screaming at me to be made ever since.  So I decided I deserved a little squirrel time!  I already had all the fabric you see, so it was also a stash buster.  Win/win!!

So a good week, all in all!  I had a wonderful time working on finishing things up, and look forward to doing some more this week.  Here's what I'm hoping to get done....

1.  Quilt the hockey quilt.

2.  Assemble the second half of my vacation quilt.

3.  Work on the Christmas pillow covers.

4.  Make some Endless Summer blocks.

5.  Quilt the cat wall hanging.

If I get all of this done, I'll just keep plugging along on the WIPs-B-Gone list - there's plenty of fun things to do there!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - The Calm Before The Storm!

Hi, all!

It's been an eventful and full weekend, but now that Monday is here, there's a clean slate and a whole lot of sewing to do!  But first, let's take a look at last week's list...

1.  Bind two quilts for the quilt ministry.

Done!  And not only two, but I found one more (when I was looking for something in my studio) that was all finished except for binding, so I finished it too!

2.  Make progress on Nathanael's annual quilt.

Oh yeah!  I not only made progress, I finished the top!

3.  Start a quilt for the bunk bed.

Started!  I've put together this piece of jelly-roll race "made" fabric, now I've got to figure out what to do with it next.  It's made using a bunch of my solid and black-and-white-print binding scraps, with squares of a rainbow geometric print in between the strips.

4.  Make a pillowcase for Emmy.

Also done!  I love making pillowcases - they are such a quick easy fabric "fix"!  This one is made using some awesome unicorn fabric I found when I went to Ohio - be sure to enlarge the pic and read some of the sayings!  My personal favorite is "Unicorns don't do homework".

5.  Finish cleaning up from my home renovation projects (finding new homes for things that got displaced in the process.)

Oh well, I got some of this done, but certainly not all of it. It's a never-ending process!

6.  Make props for our trunk-or-treat display.

Done!  These were a lot of fun to make, and I'll share the finished display later in the week.

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

Done!  We just had one this week; this one went to a man who had open heart surgery this week.

So, a pretty good and productive week!  I had a week between commission jobs, and I put it to good use, I think.  But this week I have what I need to work on the commission jobs, so it's going to be a lot more focused.  Here's my plan for this week.

1.  Cut out blocks from a big stack of clothing for three memory quilts.

2.  Start assembling at least two of those memory quilts.

3.  Pick out backing fabric for the memory quilts.

4.  Work out a design using the scrappy "made fabric" for the guest room bunk bed.

5.  Work on cleaning up from the home renovation projects (so I can start a new one without guilt!)

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

A short list this week, but oh, I would love to get all three memory quilts pieced!   The sooner I finish up the commission work, the sooner I can get started on my own holiday sewing!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Not Enough Hours in the Day...

Hi, all!

Welcome to a brand new week!  I love the feel of a new week - on Sunday when I update my wall calendar, I see all the opportunities ahead and it makes me smile.  How about you?

I feel like I had a really good week last week - but let's compare it to the list and see how it went...

1.  Finish three more pieces for the Free Spirit Fabric project.
Done!  I can't show any of them right now, but stick around for next Tuesday for the big reveal!!

2.  Make some pillow covers for a project for church.
Done!  And I also made some Christmas pillowcases for the same project.  Here's what I've been working on...

I'm having a ton of fun digging through my stash and finding some long lost treasures to work with! (And using up a LOT of the Christmas fabric stash!)

3. Keep working pillowcases for A Heart For Texas.
Wow is this going well!  We've got more than 500 pillowcases already and more arriving every day, plus more than twenty quilt.  Our mission team will be leaving on Sunday for Texas, so we'll start packing them up this week.

4. Photograph, count and tag donations for A Heart For Texas.
This has been keeping us busy, but the very best kind of busy!

5.  Quilt a special quilt for the quilt ministry.
I still didn't get to this one...

6.  Work on replenishing the stock of finished quilts for the quilt ministry.
I did manage to quilt one for the ministry this week.

7.  Start work on a new commission t-shirt quilt.
Supplies are on order!

8.  Make a donation block for Michael Miller Fabrics.
Done!  I'm happy to have this one off my plate.  It's the one on the right - the other is for my Gypsy Wife quilt.

9.  Start planning the photo shoot for the upcoming Free Spirit Fabric post.
I'm still looking for just the perfect spot for this shoot - I really wish the leaves would start turning!

10.  Start posting some quilts on Facebook for The Great Quilt Destash!
Bad on me - I haven't done this one yet!

11.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.
Done!  This quilt went to a woman going into rehab after surgery...



...and these two went to sisters who lost their mom this week.






This quilt went to a family that suffered a devastating loss this week - their adult daughter was killed in a car accident.

 

So, while I didn't get everything on the list done, I did get a bunch done.   And I got to spend some fun time with these three munchkins...

And here's what I'm hoping to get done this week...

1.  Make the next block for the Gypsy Wife quilt.

2.  Label and pack up all the pillowcases to go with the mission team to Texas.

3.  Keep working on pillow covers for the project for church.

4.  Quilt a quilt for the project for church.

5.  Photo shoot for the Free Spirit Fabric project.

6.  Post quilts for the Great Quilt Destash.

7.  Work on the commission t-shirt quilt.

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

I have a feeling I'm forgetting something important, but if so, I'll squeeze it in somehow!  

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

Hugs!

Sarah

I May Have a Scrap Problem... Progress on Gypsy Wife!

Hi, all!

As I sit here writing, I'm looking out at a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico. We leave for home tomorrow, and while I've had a great time on vacation, I'm ready to get home to my own studio!  I've got a massive short term project coming up and it's been hard to coordinate long-distance - I'll be glad to get to where all my things are again.  More about that project in a few!

But for right now, here's the next block for my Gypsy Wife quilt...

This one is called Crazy Anne.  I didn't make mine quite as crazy, because I really liked the look of the big fat spinning pinwheel.  So this is my own personal little "sparkle" in this quilt!  Once again, these fabrics are from Kate Spain's Latitude line of batiks.

And as promised, here are all five of the blocks I've made together in one place!  I really think I'm going to love this quilt!!

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And now for that massive short term project!  Somehow the idea of our quilt ministry group at church making pillowcases for Texas has morphed into a pillowcase drive, which is awesome!!!  I've been blown away by how many people want to help, and thankfully our church is GREAT about accepting the many ways our members want to minister to others, so they are helping us get them distributed in Texas!  So if you want to help with the drive, go check out the details in this blogpost.  It's a great and really easy way to help someone in need, and it's also a great way to use up some of that stash that's been hanging around!  Each pillowcase takes slightly more than one yard of fabric, and I don't know about you, but I've got a bunch of pieces that will be perfect for this!  

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Keep plugging away at those scraps, and I'll be back next week with a more normal scrappy post!  See you then!

Hugs!

Sarah

Craftsy All-You-Can-Watch Day and an Opportunity to Help Texas!

Hi, all!

I just wanted to remind you - today is Craftsy's All-You-Can-Watch Day!  Today, for one day only, you can enjoy 1200+ classes for free!! So stream away, from 12:01 a.m. MST to 11:59 p.m. MST and check out the great offerings from Craftsy - everything from photography to cooking to quilting, knitting, crocheting - if it's craftsy, you can probably find it!  You have to be a member of Craftsy to enjoy this offer, though - but good news! It's free to join, so click here, sign up, and enjoy some great classes!

And another reminder - I am a Craftsy affiliate, so clicking on a link in this post may earn me a small commission - which goes to help support this blog.  It doesn't cost you a cent extra, though, and I appreciate your support!

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Now - have you been wishing for a way to help the relief effort in Texas for those affected by Hurricane Harvey?  You are invited to join in a pillowcase drive that I'm coordinating.  You can read more about it in this post, including information about where to send your pillowcases and a link to a pattern if you don't have one of your own.  We're hoping to collect up as many as possible by mid-September, but you can send them later in the month if necessary.  Our church will be making many trips to Texas to help with the recovery, so we'll have multiple opportunities to get them there.

Photo by Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

With a few minutes of your time, and a little fabric from your stash, you can make a difference in someone's life.  Who wouldn't want to do that?  I hope you'll join me!

Hugs!

Sarah

Do You Have A Heart For Texas?

Hi, all!

Yesterday when I mentioned that our church group was making pillowcases for Harvey victims, it apparently touched a chord as people started asking me if they could send some to be sent with ours.  If this is something you are interested in doing, read on!

This afternoon I made a few contacts and got the go-ahead to use our church as a collection point.  We are already planning to send mission teams to Texas to help with the clean-up efforts - this is something we did for years in New Orleans - and I've been assured that they can help us get the pillowcases into the hands of those in need.  We will also probably be sending quilts for the teams to distribute also, so if you have finished quilts you would like to donate, you can send those too.  (At this point, we cannot take unfinished quilts.)  

Images such as these have torn at our hearts this week, but I've also been inspired by the news today, which showed friends, neighbors and total strangers helping each other begin the clean-up efforts in Texas.  I can't be in Texas, but I can dig into my stash and make some pillowcases and quilts to send to people who have lost everything or to bring a smile to a child's face with something made "just for them".  Won't you join me?

Our group is using this tutorial to make pillowcases.  It's well written and simple, and if you are working with a group, it's very simple to "kit up".  You may have your own favorite method or tutorial, and if you'd like to share a link for that in the comments, feel free!

Please send your donation to this address:

The Glade Church

ATTN:  Sarah Craig

9000 Stewarts Ferry Pike

Mount Juliet, TN   37122

Be sure to include your name and address in your package so we can let you know it arrived safely.  I'll be updating with pictures of the donations themselves, and hopefully of some of the recipients as they are distributed.

Hugs!

Sarah

NOTE:  Credit for the picture at the top of this post goes to Deborah Caskey (@dacaskey on Instagram).