Make-A-List Monday - Getting Ready for Vacation!

Hi, all!

Monday!  I'm always excited to see it come because I love to see how I've done on my list from the previous week.  Much better than having to go to work after the weekend....

Hot weather always gives me lots of time to play upstairs in the studio - we have been experiencing some really hot days here!  But that's great for my sewing time.  So let's see how it went....

1.  Put the binding on the checkerboard quilt.

Done!!  I'll be blogging about this quilt on Friday.

2.  Continue working on the retirement quilt.

Done!  I made 50 more blocks this week, and we'll start getting them signed this week.

3.  Continue working on the wedding dress quilt commission job.

Done!  The dress is finally deconstructed, and I'm ready to start designing my projects.

4.  Start cutting out my vacation quilt.

Done!  As of this afternoon, the blocks are all cut out and individually packaged in little zip loc bags with all their parts.  156 of them - whew!!

The fabrics are Kate Spain's Horizon and a Kona Sunset bundle, along with Kona white for the background.  I'm using V and Co.'s Endless Summer pattern, but I've enlarged it to make a king-size quilt for our bed.

5.  Quilt two quilts for the ministry.

I didn't quilt any quilts, because Rita has us well stocked in finished quilts, but I did cut up a huge pile of scraps into usable sizes (10" squares, 5" squares, 4.5"x 2.5" rectangles, and 2.5"x 1.5" rectangles).  I felt so virtuous when I got that done!

6.  Make another patchwork basket.

Done!  I created this pieced basket, and blogged about how I changed the pattern here.

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

Done!  It was a quiet week, but we did give away a few...

This quilt is going to a two year old boy in Alaska just diagnosed with cancer.  It's being held by Callie, our youngest quilt ministry member.  She designed and assembled this quilt top on her own!

And this beautiful quilt went to a woman whose breast cancer, which had been in remission, has returned.  She's a young mom and we thought this quilt would bring her joy and comfort!

OK, so last week's list is in the books, and well-completed!  Let's see what's on tap for this week...

1.  Make another 1-hour basket for a baby shower gift.

2.  Make a blankie to go in that basket!

3.  Come up with a final design for the wedding dress quilt.

4.  Cut more scraps - mine or the ministry's.

5.  Make more blocks for the retirement quilt.

6.  Work on Nathanael's Christmas stocking.

7.  Make the HSTs for my vacation quilt.

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

So that's my list for the week.  Seems like a skinny week, so maybe other fun things will appear on my horizon!  I get to have a "grandgirls" day on Thursday, while Nathanael is having his first physical therapy session - Lilli in the morning during the littles' speech therapy, then both girls in the afternoon.  That should be a lot of fun!

And Sunday, we had a fabulous Father's Day - my daughter was able to come to church with us and bring all the kids (my poor son-in-law had to work!)  I got this great pic of all of the kids and grandkids with Papa...

...but this is what it's really like to try to take a picture with three kids at the same time!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Pretty Fabric Boxes...

Hi, all!

Well, it's Friday again!  Are you ready to get your whoop whoop on?  it's inspiration time!!

I've been working on a big project that I can't reveal yet, so instead I'm going to show you some of the "instant gratification" sewing I've done this week!  

When I was poking around on Instagram last week, I saw a whole lot of people making "One Hour Baskets".  I googled for the pattern and found out that it is available free on Craftsy (click the name above for the link!)  

And then I drank the Kool-Aid....

I started with these three, made with fat quarters of quilting weight fabric (that I found at TARGET, no less!) and heavyweight fusible interfacing...

Then I moved on to a box made with charm squares, some light quilting on batting, and an interfaced lining.  This one is a little smaller, and a bit more substantial.

And finally, I made this one with 2.5" squares patchwork and some pretty vintage linen for the base, all straight line quilted horizontally on batting.  The gingham lining is fused to heavyweight interfacing to give it added stability.

This is a fun pattern to make!  I will admit to making some alterations to it, though.  Instead of using two pieces of fabric to make the outside, I cut just one to what the finished size would be after the two pieces specified in the pattern were sewn together.  To me, the extra seam was unnecessary.  I did the same thing for the lining.   I also simply "boxed" my pieces to make the corners, rather than cutting a square out of each side, and left the triangles inside the bottom of the box, between the lining and the outside, to make it sturdier.

I made my handles out of a coordinating scrap fabric, so that I could use two fat quarters to make each basket.  And I cut my handles 6" x 9" instead of 5" x 9", and fold the edges all the way to the middle for added strength before topstitching.  (This will make sense if you read the pattern.)

Some other changes I will make in the future:  I think I want to add a piece of interfacing to the handle, or sew a piece of webbing on top to make it even stiffer.  They seem a little floppy for my taste.  I would also add a piece of batting and a little quilting to the plain boxes, like my first attempts, to make them a bit sturdier.

As far as the name, one-hour basket is pretty accurate - by the third basket in my first attempt, I could knock one out in about 35 minutes.  The second style took about an hour and fifteen minutes (the quilting adds a little bit of time) and the third style with the more extensive quilting took about an hour and forty-five minutes.

I'm working on size variations - trying to figure out exactly how big to cut the fabric to make specific sizes.  I'm sure there's an easy way to do that, and hopefully I'll get some quiet time to sit down and do the math soon!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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

And now it's your turn!

What are you whooping about this week?

What's got you dancing the happy dance?

Share - because we want to dance right along with you!

(And it's always more fun to dance with friends!)

The party will end Sunday at midnight -

Hope to see you there!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - The Heat Is On!

Hi, all!

The heat is on!  We've already moved into 90+ degree weather here in middle Tennessee, which means it's great weather for staying inside and sewing, right?  I mean, when you can't be out on the lake - but that's what weekends are for.  

Last week, around Thursday, I would have said that I wasn't going to make it through my list - but I tell you what, I was on fire today! And I managed to finish off my list - woohoo!  Let's see how it worked out...

1.  Mail all of the Hands2Help prizes and my own H2H quilt donations.
Done!  Wonder of wonders, I managed to confirm all the dresses of folks I had to mail to right away, and I mailed out 48 packages on Tuesday!  My local (tiny) post office loves me.....

2.  Work on the checkerboard quilt.
I not only worked on it...



I managed to finish quilting it today!!

3.  Work on the retirement quilt.
Done!  We've got about 150 signature blocks ready to be signed, but there's still about 250 more to make!

4.  Start working on a commission job - a baby quilt and pillow made from the grandmother's wedding dress.
Done! I've been deconstructing the dress this week...

5.  Make a patchwork basket.
Done!  I really like the way this one came out, although I want to try one with some smaller patches.  Where are those mini-charm packs I've got stashed away???

6.  Finish the sashiko pillow top.
Done!  I'm happy with the way the navy batik works with the sashiko panel.

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

Done!  It was a pretty quiet week, only two quilts...

This one went to a gentleman diagnosed with prostate cancer...

And this one went to a man who had surgery for thyroid cancer this week.

Today I put the binding on three quilts for the quilt ministry, too!

And that was in addition to making the back for the checkerboard quilt and quilting it, finishing the sashiko pillow, and making the patchwork basket! It was a GOOD day!!!

And here's what I'm hoping to work on this week...

1.  Put the binding on the checkerboard quilt.

2.  Continue working on the retirement quilt.

3.  Continue working on the wedding dress quilt commission job.

4.  Start cutting out my vacation quilt.

5.  Quilt two quilts for the ministry.

6.  Make another patchwork basket.

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

We've got three sewing meetings at church this week, so I may not get to all of this, but it will be fun to try!  One of our sewing dates is a "Block Party" - we are all going to make one particular block, which can then be assembled into quilts for our high school students to take on their fall mission trip to distribute to the people they minister to.  Should be fun!!

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

Hugs!

Sarah