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

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Finishes and Near-Finishes!

 

Hi, all!

It's been a fast week, but guess what?  It's Friday!  And 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 good and productive week around here!  When the world goes crazy, sometimes sewing is the only way to deal with it - and that's good for productivity.

Tuesday I quilted this beauty, and put the binding on too!

Wednesday morning it joined this beauty in a great big box and went to UPS!  It's winging its way to Florida and my friend as we speak!

And Thursday was a big day, too, as I finished quilting all three of these memory quilts!  Binding should happen on Friday, with any luck.

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? A Refreshed Space....

 

Hi, all!

Friday has rolled around once again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!!  Let's go!

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For the past few weeks, I've been working on adjusting my main sewing area so that it's more functional.   After a bit over a year in the space, I have a better idea of what works and what doesn't, so I decided to make some changes.

I started by moving my old sewing table back against the sloped wall...

...with the shorter kids' crafting table next to it.  This gives me seating for 2-4 people (depending on how friendly they are), or I can continue to use the taller table as my cutting table.  Those kitchen base cabinets that hold it up make it the perfect height for me!  The shorter table sits on a pair of IKEA Kallax shelving units.  Each of the tables has another Kallax unit underneath it for additional storage of things I don't use frequently.

And this is my new sewing table!  It's an adjustable-height table, which is really nice, and right now I have it facing out the window. That may change, but for now I like being able to look out when I sew.  When I'm piecing, I can set my ironing board up right next to the machine so I don't have to get up to press as I go.

Here's the quilt frame, which sits next to the wall opposite the two long tables.  I didn't do much here, but Lilli did clean up the scrap tubs underneath - hooray!  I really like the curtain rods on the wall behind the frame - they are a great place to hang up quilt tops that are ready to be quilted.

And this is the newest addition - a nice big TV that is a lot easier to see from across the room!  (It used to be downstairs in our den until my husband convinced me he needed a bigger TV there.) I lost the bookcases that were in this corner (moved into one of the bedrooms, along with most of what was on them) but I did find these old IKEA shelves that used to hang in my old studio.  My husband installed them after hanging the TV and they are a convenient place to put a few things.

And just to keep it real, this is the messy corner that I still haven't had time to clean up yet.  I'm not sure I've ever had a completely finished, completely neat studio all at one time, and since I'm not sure that's attainable, I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  Just remember when you see pictures of beautiful studios, what's behind the camera is probably a higgledy-piggledy mess!

I still need to move my mini-quilts and art pieces so they are more visible, but at least the furniture is functional now!

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? A New T-Shirt Quilt for a Special Person...

 

Hi, all!

It's Friday!  And a long-anticipated Friday for me, because today is the beginning of vacation!  Whoop whoop whoop!!!  But before I get totally distracted by sunshine, sand and the Gulf of Mexico, let's do a little whooping together.  Ready?  Let's go!

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Meet Adeline!  Adeline was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and her mom wanted a quilt made with t-shirts with notes of encouragement donated by her friends and family.  

When she came to me, I agreed to make the quilt for her.  It is an honor to be part of those cheering on Adeline!

Because of the wide variety of shirts and unusual sizes, there was really no option but to make this a puzzle style quilt.

These blocks are so special!  

There's lots of texture in this quilt, such as the mermaid sequins shirts...

And the pink fringe!  

The donut print was actually a pair of leggings with a baby onesie - such a creative idea!

There's lots of bright, cheerful colors and loving sentiments, and plenty of empty filler pieces for others to add notes of encouragement...

...and even a Tennessee Vol shirt from relatives in Knoxville.

When I asked her mother what Adeline's favorite color was for the back, she said black - an unusual choice for a 7-year old, but do-able!  I found some soft and silky black minky for the back, and a black, grey and white stripe for the binding.

Here's the label her mom asked me to put on the quilt - you can see it at the center top of the quilt.  I found some pieces of a Mary Engelbreit print to frame it with, full of encouraging little notes itself.

Say a prayer for Adeline when you think of it, or send good vibes her way if that's more your style.  However we do it, let's lift up Adeline and her family as they go through a difficult time.  

Quilters are good at that!

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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? Summer Sunshine!

 

Hi, all!

Hooray, it's Friday!  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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A couple of weeks ago, I finished a quilt!  But because other things were going on (H2H, maybe?) I didn't have a chance to really share it with you.  But tonight as I sit under this lovely summer weight quilt I decided it was time to show it off!

I made this as part of an Instagram quilt-along held by These Clever Hands (@thesecleverhands) using her pattern Me Sew Happy.

This beautiful quilt used so many of my favorite bright scraps!  And truly scraps - I dug through the pieces I had already cut that were the right size, then hit the scrap bins for the other pieces I needed.  

I found pieces in my scrap bin that I didn't remember I had - like a square from the backing of the very first ministry quilt we made, pieces from clothing and quilts I've made for my grandkids, bits and bobs from other quilts that I remembered as I put this one together.  It was quite a walk down memory lane!

When I got ready to quilt it - on the spur of the moment - I wondered if I had anything appropriate to back it in my stash.  I went to look and found the perfect fabric - but is there enough?  YES!  There was just the right amount for the back of the quilt.  Hooray!

Then after quilting I looked at it and thought, "Wow, a striped rainbow binding would be perfect for this quilt!"  Went to check in the stash, and amazingly I found just the right binding fabric - and just the right amount of it for this quilt!  I must have been living right!

And one last shot, just because it's an awfully pretty quilt!  Oh, one more thing - I tried a silk blend batt for this quilt and I really like it!  It felt like a cotton batt while I was quilting it, but after washing, it has a beautiful soft drape and it's very light.  I definitely would use it again in summer weight quilts.

And in other news....

...this represents two good days of work by my granddaughter Lilli and me!  Five bags full of H2H thank you gifts are ready to go to the post office!  I guess I know where I'll be spending some quality time now...

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? MORE Quilts for Hands2Help!!

 Hi, all!

Friday has finally rolled around once again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  It's been a busy week around here, and my inbox has been flooded with beautiful quilts being shipped all over the country for Hands2Help!  So today I'm going to share the ones that have come in since Tuesday so we can all give those non-blogging participants a huge WHOOP WHOOP!  Let's get started!

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Adele D. sent these quilts off to Covered in Love, Little Lambs, 
and Quilty Hugs!

Angie N. made this joyful quilt for Little Lambs!

Britt P. made this beauty for Quilty Hugs

Erin D. gave these quilts to her Hometown Heroes!

Jeanne S. sent this quilt and eleven more to a local charity!

Karen A. also donated to a local charity.

Londa B. donated to Quilty Hugs and her Hometown Hero!

Mary O. sent her quilts to Covered in Love and Quilty Hugs!

Peggy P. sent these beautiful quilts to Victoria Quilts Canada!

Ruth S. made these two for Little Lambs of Utah!

Debbie G. just finished this one for Little Lambs!

Cindy B. made this cute little elephant for Little Lambs!

Terry D. made the quilt on the left for Little Lambs and the other 
is for her Hometown Hero!

Here's Kathy C.'s contribution, for Hometown Heroes and Little Lambs!

Ila M. made this beautiful quilt for her Hometown Hero!

Jan S. chose to donate her quilts locally!

Sue T. sent hers to Little Lambs and Quilty Hugs!

And Terri L. sent these two to Victoria Quilts Canada!

Aren't these amazing?  

So many fabulous quilts from the quilting community

spreading so much comfort!!  

So let's hear it for ALL the H2H quilters - 

A HUGE whoop whoop!!

And be sure to come back on Sunday for the final count....

It's gonna be good!!

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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 great big 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