Make-A-List Monday - Time For A New Normal!

Hi, all!

It's hard to believe it, but the day has finally arrived - tomorrow the littles start full time kindergarten, and I'll have a new normal - not quite so much child care, which means more time for sewing and home DIY projects!  I'm trying to figure out what this new normal looks like, but something tells me I'll find a way to fill up the time....

OK - let's look and see how last week went...

1.  Work on the twins' quilts.
Done!  They are actually finished and ready to mail, if I could only get a little bit of sunshine (or even just a dry moment!) to take some good pictures...

2.  Enjoy my last week with the littles before they start kindergarten.
Done!  We had some good times, ate some good food, watched some good movies, did a little car karaoke - I'm going to miss spending lots of time with them all!

3.  Mail off the prizes for the 12 Days of Christmas in July winners.
Done!  So glad to have them all sent out!

4.  Update the Tutorials and 12 Days of Christmas in July pages on my blog.
I didn't get to this one yet.  Bummer!

5.  Quilt some charity quilts.
Done!  I quilted two at church Wednesday night, put the binding on another one at home, and quilted and bound the Stash Builder Box group quilt today!  

6.  Keep up with any needs that come up for the quilt ministry.
Done!  It was a slightly insane week for quilts this week... 

This quilt went to a woman just diagnosed with throat cancer...

...and this one went to a woman recently diagnosed with cancer.

This quilt went to a woman who just suffered a massive stroke...

This quilt went out Wednesday night too, but for the life of me I can't remember who it went to, and apparently I forgot to write it down...

This quilt went to a family that lost their father this week...

And this quilt went to a gentleman just diagnosed with colon cancer.

These two quilts went to newborn twins...

...and this quilt went to a woman who broke her hip and is now in rehab.

And last but not least, these six quilts went to our local general hospital, to be distributed in the baby nursery and chemo wards.

Whew!  What a week!  I also started my Gypsy Wife quilt and kept working on a design for a new project for Free Spirit Fabrics, so there really was no rest for the wicked!  Let's see what's planned for this week...

1.  Quilt the final two quilts for Hands2Help.

2.  Complete the Free Spirit Fabrics design and figure out fabric requirements and cutting directions.

3.  Work on the next Gypsy Wife block.

4.  Meet with a new customer about a horse show ribbon quilt.

 5.  Mail the twins' baby quilts.

6.  Do some blog maintenance.

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

Something tells me that other things will come up, but this is definitely good for a start!  Plenty to keep me busy here!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Mixed Bag!

Hi, all!

Friday almost snuck up on me this week - but I'm so glad it didn't!  I've had a lot of fun sewing this week, and I've got some things to whoop about.  Are you ready to join in the fun?  Let's get started!

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First of all, I finally finished this quilt...

...and the matching pillows!

I started on my Gypsy Wife quilt. This is the first block, called Color Wheel.  All of these fabrics are from Kate Spain's Latitude batiks.

I put together the first of a pair of baby quilts for my upcoming twin nieces, due in mid September...

...and I started working on drafting a new pattern based on an antique quilt!  This will be for another Free Spirit Fabric project, coming in October.  

I also spent some fun time with my grandkids in this, the last week of summer here, and the beginning of full-time school for the youngest ones! Unbelievably, they start kindergarten next Tuesday!  As a special treat, they will be providing our happy dance today.  

We had a lot of fun jamming to 70's music in the car this week.

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

I May Have A Scrap Problem... And So It Begins!

Hi, all!

Wow, it seems like a long time since I've written one of these posts!  I find that I now miss all the scrappiness - definitely a good thing, since I have so many scraps to use up.  And today I'm starting a quilt that caught my imagination long ago, but I didn't accept that it was "do-able" until I finished my Long Time Gone quilt recently!

So this is my next project!  Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell.  As usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short - there's a quilt-along on Instagram for this quilt that started last week.  I'm just going to work my way through the book a block or two a week.  

And do you remember these beautiful fabrics?  Kate Spain sent me a bunch of scraps from her new batik line, Latitude!

As I was pressing and sorting them out, they just naturally divided up into warm and cool colors, and that's what I want to do with this quilt.  My plan is to use the cool colors for the long vertical stripes in this quilt, and use the warm colors for the blocks (with some of the cool colors thrown in as backgrounds or accents) so that the blocks appear to float on top of the background strips.

Here's hoping what I see in my head works in real life!!  And here's my first block - it's called Color Wheel...

I learned some valuable things with this block.  First of all, Jen Kingwell uses a VERY scant 1/4" seam when making her blocks.  Secondly, if you are using a fabric without a clear right and wrong side (like a batik!) be very careful in putting together the blended HST blocks at the NESW points of the 9-patch.  It's easy to get those pieces reversed if you're not careful!  And this block calls for pieces cut 3 7/8" square for the HSTS - I rounded up to 4" so that I could trim them down to the perfect size.  I've found that it works better to go large and trim down than to risk it coming up a little small.

Anyone interested in piecing this beautiful quilt along with me?  I'm really looking forward to this, and I think it will be the perfect design to showcase those beautiful batiks.  I've been hoarding them for months now looking for the best way to use them - I sure hope my concept works out as well in fabric as it does in my head!

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And just in case Gypsy Wife isn't your cup of tea, I found a couple of really cool pins today...

First of all, I saw this pin for Fifteen Minutes of Play, a great technique for making fabric from your scraps and using them in quilts.  

And then I saw this quilt!  What a great way to use those "made" fabrics!!!  So if you've only got a few minutes, give the Fifteen Minutes of Play technique a try and see what happens.  It could be amazing!

You can find the direct links for both of these pins and many more on my Pinterest board, Oh Scrap!

Have you been playing with your scraps this week?  I'd love to hear about what you've been working on!

Hugs!

Sarah