What a busy week.  We had a new AC and furnace installed and touched up the trim paint in the livingroom and hall.  We had a new refrigerator delivered, and my husband put new insulation in our attic.  We also went to the lake one day and did a lot of shopping.  I still tried to get in some sewing.  Above is 160 1/2 square triangles for the next cross quilt. 

I found some great fabrics to go with the fish print for my Dad's Christmas present.  I started cutting out the pieces.

I went to Memory Lane club meeting this past week.  I got the new row material, still working on last month's row though as you can see.  I have the leaves to applique and then the yoyos to make.  Hopefully, I will get that done this week, then I can get a picture of the whole long row.

Summer can sometimes throw me off schedule with all the things to do, but I keep trudging along.

Sew Long for Now

I finished the top to my mother-in-law's Christmas present.  I am making all the tops for my Christmas presents and then I am going to machine quilt them. 

I have been working on the Memory Lane row for June.  It is very indepth.  I made 6 churn dash squares and then two more squares I appliqued flower pots on.  Then I appliqued 3 flowers in each pot and I had been working on appliqueing the vines across all 8 blocks.  I finished that and ironed on the other flowers and leaves.  So, I just need to do the applique stitching around 42 leaves and I don't know how many flowers and then make the yoyos for it.  No problem.  I need to do this by Tuesday....Let's just say that will not be the day it gets done.  The latest two rows have been so complicated.  I hope the last two are a little easier since I have so many projects going.

I have been working on my second cross quilt.  This week things happened that caused me to fall off my resolve to get back to sewing a little everyday, but I am determined to get back into my schedule.  It really helped me accomplish a lot this spring and see visible results.

Sew Long for Now

I have been sewing for a long time and I went on my 1st shop hop this past week.  It was so fun and I learned somethings.  One is go with friends, it makes it even better.  Second save all you can for a year before you go...they have great deals.  Third is take vacation from work during the time.  I didn't make it to all 7 locations, but I did make it to 4, next year I want to go to all 7!  This shop hop was called the Dogwood Days and there was a special fabric sold exclusively by the shops just for this hop.  Each shop did an item with the fabric and you got the pattern free and then you could purchase the fabric or kits made up with the fabric for the project.  This one is an example from Sew Biz in Radford.  They also had door prizes, etc.  I got some of all twelve colors and then I got two kits.  One from my local shop in Roanoke and one from the Lynchburg shop Quilted Expressions.

I want to make one of these.  I saw these at Sew What Fabrics & Batiks in Wytheville.  What a great store with a wonderful staff.

This was their quilt for the hop.  I forgot my camera the second day and have the other two shops' items on my phone camera...now to figure out how to download them.

I have actually got some sewing done this week too.  I am on the applique part of the next row of the Memory Lane.  I put the sashing around my mother-in-law's quilt, so I did do some actual sewing.

Sew Long For Now 

Happy 4th!  It has been an interesting week to say the least.  Friday night my husband and I were outside looking at the garden when the wind picked up and it was really strong.  We heard loud cracking noises and walked around to our front yard about the time the transformer across the street blew up and we watched trees in the neighborhood bend and break.  We didn't loose power, but the next morning we lost internet, phone, and cable.  I work from home using the internet and phone.  I got an impromtu vacation which I spent trying to do a lot of sewing and housework.  I got the eight blocks done for the May Memory Lane that I was behind.  I also started the June eight.

I layed out all the row I have done so far to get a look at what the quilt is looking like so far.  I have the June row cut out and will be putting it together this week.  Two more rows after that and then I can do the sashing and put the top together.  I am liking the look so far.

I still have other things to catch up on and I will be working hard in July to get caught up.

Sew Long for Now

 No sewing done lately.  I spent a week looking at this view.  It's Mount Rainier in Washington state.

And playing with this sweet thing!  Sadly her mother wouldn't let me bring her home as my souvenir from the trip.

Sew Long for Now

I finished the June Color Me Happy block.  I still have not done the May Memory Lane row yet.  I am trying to get caught up.  I am going on my trip and the day after I come back is the next Memory Lane meeting.  I so hate to be behind, but I may not get it done before I leave because I have to do a lot to get our youngest ready for encampment.  He is leaving while I am gone and the list of things to purchase and the patches to sew on his uniform are long.

 

I finished my sister's quilt.  I tried to take a good picture, but it was overcast and it just doesn't do it justice.

So, I tried taking a closer shot of it with the backing showing so yo could get a better look.  I mailed it yesterday and hopefully today or tomorrow she will receive it.

On my sewing table is the May row for the Memory Lane quilt, two blogger BOM's, my MIL quilt, and cutting out my second cross quilt.

Sew Long for Now

My sewing was interrupted this week by the birth of my first grandchild!  Isn't she adorable?  I did get my sister's quilt finished machine quilted.  I am so far behind on things though and I have a week then I am flying to the west coast to meet my granddaughter.  I have to get the binding put on my sister's quilt and mail it...it's a week late and she is going on a trip next week also.  Maybe after my trip I will get caught up on things before my summer guest arrive in August.  I do need to check and find some quilt shops to visit in the Seattle area while I am out there, I have heard great things about the northwestern coast.

Sew Long for Now

It is finished.  This is the green quilt that I did by hand and it took me forever to finish.  The cute cuddly little guy in the right lower corner is Smith our chocolate poodle.

Sew Long for Now

This week I spent some time with my family slinging, straining and jarring honey.  We started keeping bees 3 years ago.  It hasn't been an easy journey, but finally we were able to get some honey.  Actually we got 2 1/2 gallons off one small super.  It looks like we will probably get more this summer.  In a week since we took the frames with the honey and replaced them with empty frames they have already drawn them out.  These are some hard working bees.  We had Russian bees and Italian bees and they didn't work out.  These bees are local Virginia bees. 

The bees seem to have worked some tulip poplars, that is one thing known to make the honey darker and it is in our area.

On the sewing front I am now machine quilting my sister's quilt.  I found this gorgeous batik 106 inches wide and am using it for the backing.  I was going to frame the front in it, but decided not to.  I am going to use it as the binding also.

Of course I have lots of other projects waiting on the sideline.  I am finishing sewing the binding on the green quilt and it is about 3/4 of the way done.  When it is finished I will get a picture to share.

Sew Long for Now

I did the Color Me Happy block for May.  I love working with these batiks.  A friend who is also doing this one said that they are hard to quilt through, but I love the look of them so much I hope it makes it worth it.

 

 I finished piecing the quilt for my sister for her birthday.  She bought a coffee shop in her town and I thought something with a coffee theme would be nice.

I have to tell you a story, I was trying to stand on a chair to take a picture of the quilt looking down so I could get a nice view of the pattern.  I didn't use a pattern I made up how to piece it and I wanted to get a good look to see how I felt about the placement.  I fell off the chair, I landed on my feet, but the chair tipped over into my calf and I ended up falling against my dresser.  I have pain in my back and hip still today and a nice bruise on my leg.  I am so glad I didn't break anything.  The things we do without thinking....I bought a nice teal quilting thread and I am going to get a matching backing and binding to give a little color or maybe use a teal for a border and then use the rest of the coffee bean fabric for the binding.  I will have to decide in the next day or two because her birthday is the 5th of June.

I am hoping to get a binding on my green quilt over the next week and get the batting and backing for my sister's quilt.  I have a long list of things to get caught up on.  Yesterday I went to BOM meeting for the Memory Lane quilt and they had this new line of fabric I just loved!  It was all I could do not to buy any, I really need to finish up some things before I start others.

Sew Long for Now!

I have the best children in the world.  They spoil me when they can.  For Mother's Day they surprised me with new quilting rulers and thread, what more could I ask for. 

I finally finised the Memory Lane row for April. 

Since the first picture is a little hard to see I tried to get a closer picture.  The blocks were relatively easy, but meeting those points when joining the blocks was a bit harder.  Let's just say my seam ripper had a work out on this one.

Yesterday I went on a road trip with two quilting friends.  We went to Patchwork Plus in Dayton, Va.  I had purchased the first two fabrics in the above photo at a local quilt shop and I was looking for something to go with them to make a quilt for my sister.  I found the last two in Dayton.  I love them, especially the last one.  It's called Marblehead by Ro Gregg for Paintbrush Studio.  I haven't seen anything like it in our local shops and it blends great with the original purchase.  I also bought a piece with fish on it to start thinking about a quilt for my Daddy.  We went to Rachel's Quilt Shop in Staunton, Va and I purchased a book called Adoration Quilts by Rachel W.N. Brown.  She is the shop owner and she personalized the book with a note and autograph.  It has lovely applique for Christmas.  The last place we stopped was The Quiltery in Fairfield, Va.  This little shop was a gem.  We got there 20 minutes before they closed so I was so overwhelmed with all they had and their great prices that I just couldn't chose.  I decided since it is only an hour from my house I will be returning there in the future when I have more time to spend.

I am feeling a little crazy right now as I look around at all the projects I have started and all the ideas I suddenly have.  I am almost finished the May block for the Color Me Happy project.  I still have April's blogger BOM to do and soon the May block will be posted.  I have my mother-in-law's quilt to finish the borders on.  I have many more pieces to cut for the next cross quilt.  Now, I have added a quilt for my sister and I am beginning to think of doing one for my Daddy.  Wow, I really need to get organized and finish some of these projects.

Sew Long for Now

The table topper was finished and delivered.  I want to do another one in reds, whites, and blues now that I have learned some things.

I have been working on piecing the next row of the Memory Lane quilt.  The flying geese were fun to make.  I would like to trim them up and get these six blocks pieced and then the row put together by next week. 

I went with a friend of mine to our local quilt guild meeting this past week.  Show and tell was very inspirational!  My friend loaned me a lot, and I mean a lot of quilt magazines to browse though.  So much to see and get ideas from.  I am also excited because we are going on a road trip next week to a quilt shop.  It will be so fun. 

Today is my wonderful husband and I's 26th anniversary.  I got a sweet txt from him this morning telling me he looks forward to 26 more years.  He is a special guy and I love him dearly.  He has encouraged me in my sewing all our married life and I feel truely blessed to be his wife.

Sew Long for Now

 I finished piecing the table topper for my Momma for her birthday, only have to quilt it and it will be ready to give her next week.  I made a few mistakes, but learned quite alot and I love the look of the little pinwheels!

 I started the next row in the Memory Lane quilt.  It has these cute blocks with adorable reproduction fabric!

It has been busy with end of the year activities for the children's outside activities so that's about all I have accomplished this past week.

I have the April blogger's BOM to do, the rest of the Memory Lane row, cutting out the rest of 2nd cross quilt, and sashing my mother-in-laws quilt. 

I was also trying to find a quick project to do for my sister's birthday in June.  She has been so good to me this year and I can never repay her for all she has done.  I think she likes a more modern style.  I will have to be looking around.

Sew Long for Now

 Here is the finised Scotty Dog row for the Memory Lane Quilt.  I added the yoyo's as the final step.  I made all the squares for my mother-in-law's quilt and bought some material to use as sashing.  I hope to work on that this coming week. 

I finally finished March's blogger BOM.  I need to go looking for the pattern for April now!  A quilting friend and I are getting together next week to sew.  I am putting together blocks from a charm pack and she is going to show me how to make a twist and turn quilt from them.  I am so excited to learn this, I saw this adorable quilt made from using that template.  Oh, exciting I started to cut out the material for the next cross quilt.  I have 500 pieces cut out so far.  Over a thousand more to go...

Sew Long for Now

I have been working on putting together these blocks for my mother-in-law's quilt.
I am always looking for easy streamline methods when I am doing a lot of blocks. After putting these two blocks together this week I realized that I can easily do certain piecing for the next 5 blocks all at the same time. Why does it take me so long to realize these things? So hopefully by next week I will have all of the blocks pieced. Then I can find a border fabric. I haven't decided if I want to do sashing of the blocks.

I went to class for the Color Me Happy quilt, here is block 4. I love the colors. I am enjoying putting these blocks together each month.

I am still behind on some of my sewing plans. I will eventually catch up. I am so glad for anything I get accomplished. My dream life would involve hours a day available to quilt. Oh, it is so nice we can dream.

Sew Long for Now

I have been working on my Memory Lane Quilt. I don't have a lot of experience with applique and so it is taking me longer. I am enjoying it and love the look of these scotty dogs.
I haven't done much more sewing this week though. We went to see the program at church Saturday evening and it was very good. We had a quiet Easter at home with just our immediate family. My Dad is still feeling poorly so my Mom wanted to keep him quiet and let him rest and didn't want many visitors. Monday I went with our daughter for a college visit. I can't believe it's time for that. It's all coming too fast for me.
On my work table is the March blogger BOM, finishing up the Memory Lane row, more blocks to make for my mil's quilt, and material to cut out for the next cross quilt.
Sew Long for Now

What a week. I got most of the two costumes finished. The picture is of the hat made for the high priest. It is deceiving in it's looks, it took me 6 hours to complete. I did everything except hem and put some trim on the robes. I got interrupted by several family events. First, our oldest son was deployed to Afghanistan. A few hours before he left some one stole their only car with all his gear he had packed to be dropped off. His wife is 7 months pregnant and they are stationed on the other side of the United States from us. I so wish I was able to be there physically to help. We have been purchasing stuff he lost to ship to him and so many wonderful family members and friends, even people we don't know have offered to help. In the middle of all this my Dad was admitted to the hospital. He is doing better so I am so thankful for that.

On my sewing table is the quilt for my mother-in-law, the block a month for the bloggers BOM from March, the row from the holiday quilt club, and the material to cut out the next cross quilt.

Sew Long For Now

The blue cross quilt is together.
I am going to hold off quilting it until I get the other two completed. There is a huge mistake in this quilt. The blocks in the corner between the crosses are suppose to form stars. Since I was doing this from scraps and just trying to figure out the pattern I goofed this up. It's going to be for our youngest son and he thinks it's a cool geometric pattern. Thank goodness for boys and how they see things different. For the next one I took graph paper and colored in the squares to coordinate with the fabric I am using that way I will get that design right.

I made a quilt for project Linus. My daughter tells me her friend ask her if she is going to bring her two project Linus quilts Tuesday night to their meeting. She was very upset because she thought they were due in April at an event they are having. I ask her had she looked at the calendar because the event is this Saturday. Panic ensued. Since she had class and this meeting I told her I would help her. We picked out some fabric from my stash. I cut it out, these are simple quilts with two yards of fabric; one for the front and one for the back. Then I go looking for some batting. I thought I had some, but I only had craft size. I finished one quilt and sent it with her last night and will do the other to send with her Saturday.

I have been working on the costume. I serged all the edges after cutting out the robe and then began on putting it together. I found out I may have to alter it again. While waiting on measurements for the other robe I have to cut out I began working on the hat.

Besides those things I have gotten very little of any other sewing done. I have been knitting a few rows here and there on my daughter's afghan. I have done a little hand quilting on the old green quilt, but not as steady as I was because of the time involved with the costume. I have to get them done hopeful long before the 7th of April for the first performance.

Sew Long for Now

I have been working on putting the cross quilt into strips, I have one more row to sew together and then I will sew the strips together. It's coming together. The interesting thing is I started this as just a trial and error to find easier and quicker way to do some of the piecing for this pattern with so many pieces. After I had put so much effort into that first block I just had to make a whole quilt out of it. It has over 1800 pieces in the quilt and I have been working on it six months. I am hoping the next two will go faster with some of the piecing methods I have discovered.
I put together a couple of more blocks for my mother-in-law's quilt. I thought if I could just do a block every once in a while it would take no time to complete it.

I don't sew for other people since going back to work full-time, well at least I try my best not to. It's too stressful and I never know from one day to the next if I will even have time to sew that day. Back in January the new music minister at our church ask me to make costumes for the Easter play. I told him if he got them to me by the beginning of February I could help him, I thought given my schedule with enough time I could work them in. I never heard from him and I forgot about it. Two week into March and I got an email asking me about the costumes. Now, changing from 7 down to 3. Costumes are a bit more complicated than quilt pieces, especially costumes that have to have the patterns re-drafted because they don't make them for the size they need. I told them I couldn't do 3 in 2 weeks. Then they ask me to do one and I said I would do that one. Now they are asking for two. Sigh...it took me 7 hours so far this week to re-draft the pattern for this one person and cut out the parts. I will not get it done in two weeks. It will be more like up to the last minute. I feel so much stress over this whole situation. People do not have any idea what sewing garments involve. I could really use some prayer right now for this whole situation. There is more than I care to write about the whole thing, just prayer I can do the right thing and not stress myself out over it so much that I make myself sick.
Sew Long for Now

Happy National Quilting Day

Head over the AQS and get a free pattern to celebrate

http://nqaquilts.org/natqday/