Friday, September 6, 2019

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Labor of Love...

Hi, all!

Fridays are wonderful, and fall Fridays are even better!  As I sit here (actually on Thursday) the breeze is blowing, the temperature is in the low 80's, and the sun is shining.  I could take this all year long!  So I'm definitely whooping about the lovely days that are ahead of us.  But there are other things to whoop about today too, I'm sure - so let's get started!


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I titled this post "A Labor of Love" and the quilt I'm going to share with you today truly is - but not nearly as much mine as the recipient's mom!



This wonderful scrapbook of a quilt is for Katie (obviously) and pretty closely reflects her school years. There's lots on here that's special to her, like the pillowcase with her name on it...


...the t-shirt from her senior beach trip, and the monogram from her bathing suit for that trip.  I had a lot of fun creating a "frame" for that pretty piece of monogram work!


There's lots of memories from her time working at Chick-Fil-A, too - including a copy of her name badge on part of her work shirt.  That was a labor of love on my part - after trying several different techniques to get an accurate copy of the real thing, I decided to take a photograph and print it out. That worked much better than the copier!  Then I appliquéd it onto the block.


Katie and I are in absolute agreement on this next sentiment, but according to her mom, running was a part of her life for a while, so she wanted this and some race t-shirts featured in a section...


Of course, school days are important, too, and your backpack is an integral part of those days!  I've never put a piece of backpack in a quilt before, but this one worked in well.  It's bordered by pieces from her uniform skirt.


And this cute little heart came from the text on the back of one of her t-shirts. It was so cute, though, I didn't want to just throw it away!  It's bordered with pieces from another uniform skirt.


And then there are the fun little bits and pieces that make a quilt unique, like the initials off the back of her volleyball shirt!


Here's another fun part - a piece of a well-loved comforter, decorated with a piece of daisy trim from her bedroom decorations.  The fabric on the comforter was too delicate to use as we first planned on the back of the quilt, but never fear - it will show up later!  I backed this delicate piece with t-shirt interfacing, so it's nice and stable.


But my favorite part of the quilt has to be the Project 410 section.  I don't know the whole story, but apparently this was a project that she created that took off and went for several years.  The mission statement, 1 Peter 4:10, should be a reminder to us all!  


And to top (or back) it all off, a favorite sheet on the back of the quilt!


So there you have it - a new memory quilt finished, and a new friendship started, as Katie's mom and I have been corresponding quite a bit over the creation of this one.  She claims to have been a borderline stalker on Instagram, but I have to say, it's been fun to have so much input on a customer's quilt, and to know that she likes what is being created.  It's also my first "long-distance" customer quilt, made for someone not local to me.  It's been a great experience!

I TOLD you there was a lot of beautiful sunshine today!

So - - - can we get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up today?


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



Wednesday, September 4, 2019

I May Have A Scrap Problem... And A Time Problem!

Hi, all!

Well, once again I have not had time to do any scrappy sewing this week - but I don't feel too bad about that, because Instagram and Pinterest have been FULL of some fabulous inspiration that I really want to share with you!

First off, let's see what Instagram has to share...


Look at this fabulous string quilt Meredith made!!  And I have a feeling that wouldn't even make a dent in my strings...


And Meredith was really on a roll this week - look at this fabulous scrappy creation!  I believe she said she made it with 1800 2" x 3.5" rectangles - that's a lot of scraps!


Tracy, a fellow Middle Tennessee resident, was totally inspiring me  with her rainbow scrap challenge blocks and tops this week!  Solid scraps always abound at my place, but I don't think I could do anything as gorgeous as this!


This one, though, I think I could do!  Now to go dig through the solid scraps and see what I've got...


But first, maybe we should have a little heart - or a big one!  This quilt makes me so happy, not in the least because it would be so simple to make with stuff I have on hand....

And now let's turn to Pinterest - another treasure trove this week!


These two quilts have much in common, yet each has its own fabulous flavor!  Lots of little pieces - scrap buster score!!


 And finally, how about this fun triangle quilt?  I am pretty sure this one can be built on the kaleidoscope block pattern I used for the 12 Days of Christmas in July quilt.  Isn't it amazing how different color placement can change a block?  I want to make a whole quilt like this!  I love the vintage look it has.



Inspired?  Me too!  Let's go forth and conquer those scraps!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Monday, September 2, 2019

Make-A-List Monday - Doing My Happy Dance!!

Hi, all!

Welcome to Monday, and to September!  It's hard to believe that we are so far into this year, and so much to do between now and the holidays, but that's where we are.  Are you ready?  One of my friends (I use that term loosely - you'll see why) has this annoying habit of posting a 100-days countdown to Christmas on Facebook every year when I REALLY don't need to be reminded of how time is flying - and he announced his theme for this year yesterday (dad jokes) and of course, reminded us that it's only 115 days until Christmas!  Oh my......

Now that I've shared that wonderful thought with you, let's see how I did on last week's list....

1.  Open the big box of t-shirts I received today, and decide on a layout for a commission t-shirt quilt.
Done!  Here's a glimpse of my "plan" for this quilt...


2.  Make the blocks for that quilt.
Done!  Here's the stack that I started with when I made the blocks...


3.  Start putting the t-shirt quilt together.
Done!  I was determined to get this top finished before I wrote this post, and I actually managed to do that 10 minutes before supper tonight!  


4.  Cut out another of the kids' annual quilts.
Didn't get to this one - as I said, I was determined to get this done today!  

5.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.
Done! It was an easy week this week - just one quilt, for a new baby!  Remember last week we gave one to a mom-to-be on bedrest?  Well, she had her baby, and this pretty flannel quilt was gifted to her for the baby.


So even though I didn't get to one item on my list, I'm still doing a HUGE happy dance because of all the progress I made on the commission quilt!  I've got so many other projects ready to go that I shouldn't work on while I have commission work - but that gives me a really good reason to knock these out fast!  

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

1.  Quilt the t-shirt commission quilt.

2.  Plan a baby quilt.

3.  Meet with a customer about another t-shirt quilt.

4.  Cut out another of the kids' annual quilts.

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

Once again, short and sweet - but hopefully this week I'll be able to carve out some time to work on some "fun stuff"!

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

Hugs!

Sarah