We're babysitting our son's dog this weekend while he's in NYC for an advertising conference. I locked Max into the laundry room so he could eat his dinner without being bothered by our dog, Sam. I guess when he finished, he decided he needed a cosy place to relax...but the litter box??? Not such a smart boy...the next place he visited was the bathtub!
I came home from the quilt show and made this little bag. It's a QuiltSmart pattern called the Smart Bag. It's too cute...I can see some changes I'll make in the pattern the next time I make it, but it was so easy!
Shopping has to be one of my least favorite things to do. Admittedly, shopping for yarn and fabric is fun, but for clothes? That's the worst! Last Friday morning, I decided to empty my drawers and closet and get rid of everything that didn't fit. I was brutal...when I finished, most of my drawers were empty and except for a few pairs of capris I bought over the summer and a pair of pants I bought 2 weeks ago, it was all packed into bags in the garage for DH to take to Goodwill this week. Back in April, I started going to Weight Watchers and I've lost over 20 pounds. I've gone from a size 12 to a 6 and from XL to M. I held onto a few big sweaters that I can wear over jeans. So, since I'm starting back to work next Monday, I NEED CLOTHES!
Yesterday the most delightful prize package arrived in my mailbox! I'd been visiting "A Very Mary Design" and had entered a contest on her blog. Mary Ann is a very talented lady, you should check her out! She had a drawing and I was the lucky winner...she sent me a variety of treasures. I love them all, but my favorite has to be the paisley letter C...I'll have to find a great way to display it in my sewing room!
The time has arrived and I stepped back to the machine today...it felt so good! This quilt has some serious issues which need to be worked out with the quilting. The piecer wasn't a beginner when she pieced this, but she had never made a quilt that was this challenging. She also taught herself applique with it. She had trimmed all of the quilt blocks when she realized that she trimmed them all to the finished size! So she added a narrow black border around each one.
None of the blocks seemed to fit in the way they should have. There is a lot of fudging on this quilt! While quilting the diagonal lines, I noticed that there are a lot of intersections that don't quite match up. She originally planned to hand quilt this, but decided her hand quilting skills weren't quite up to it.
It's not the most technically sound quilt that she has made...and she's made many since. But it is the one she's most proud of and I'm glad that I'm finally going to be able to finish it off for her...because she's me!
A day spent with friends around the bonfire...making s'mores!
Time spent with my daughter and her best friend...
Roses in their final blooms to greet us at home...
And the Phillies won the National League East!!!!!!!
Does it get any better than this????
In spite of what the thermometer says, fall really is approaching. I'm ready! I'm itching to use my jelly roll of Harvest Boutique fabrics and I've found the perfect pattern for it...Bonnie's Playing With Jacks quilt. It's all made with 2.5" strips and I think it will look great with the fall fabrics. Thanks, Bonnie for sharing your talents with us!
I'm still trying to decide on a BOM...I've been looking around my sewing room wondering why I think I need another project! Maybe it's time to concentrate on some others. I'm waiting for the bug guy to show up for our annual termite inspection, so maybe I'll try my hand at the longarm...I haven't touched it since before my surgery! I'm definitely going through withdrawal...especially since it's one of MY quilts on there! :o)
My big dilemma is that I'm really wanting to start something new! I've been considering joining a Block of the Month from one of the online quilt stores. What stores have you done BOMs with? I'd love some input. The one I'm seriously looking at is the Moda University Mystery Quilt at The Fat Quarter Shop. I'm just hesitant to sign up for something that I can't see! I do love the block they show on the website, but I really wish I had a clue what the finished quilt would look like before I invest that amount of money! As long as I'm asking questions, for those of you who subscribe to BOMs, do you actually do the blocks when you receive them? I have visions of piles of block kits on my table and no actual blocks made!
I'll have to keep thinking about it...
Tips and Techniques for Long Arm Machine Quilting with Donita Reeve
Creative Machine Quilting by Marcia Stevens
Fall is in the air! It's quite chilly this morning...a perfect time to think about what I'd like to make with the beautiful jelly roll of fall fabrics that I received on Saturday from the Fat Quarter Shop! Thank you so much! You can visit their blog at The Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber...tell them I said hi!
And I'm still keeping busy! I finished this log cabin quilt before my surgery, but didn't take a picture until yesterday. It has been donated to my church for their service auction to be held on September 29th. I hope they make some money with it!
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I also did something that I guess could be considered an orphan quilt. :o) A few years ago I joined the Keepsake Quilting Club and received two boxes of die cut squares...samples of all the fabric that I could order from them. Even though they weren't quite square, I decided to make the best of it and sew them all together, totally randomly. I made them into four patches, then sewed them all together...that's 576 little squares there. I'm trying to decide on borders...I'm thinking they'll need to be pretty plain since the center just screams, "look at me!!!"
