Mid Week Makers

Some slow stitching spilled over into Wednesday. My sewing room has been emptied and packed up into Mr. Busy’s “build room”! This in preparation for new flooring in most of our downstairs. 

What’s a girl to do? She does counted cross stitch! This design is from Melisa at Pinker n Punkin Quilting.  This link will take you to a post with a list of all ( well maybe not all, but many) of Melisa’s Fall and Turkey themed charts!

It’s not a FFO , but it is an FO! 😉. My plan is to finish it much like Melisa did hers.

I’m linking this post to Quiltfabrication’s Midweek Makers! 

Also sharing with Alycia's Finished or Not Finished Friday. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Finished Not Finished Friday,

 

I really wanted to post this on Friday! But I had one more side to finish the binding on and did finish til 9pm. 

Then it was too dark for outdoor photos. So I waited til this morning. But it was drizzling rain, gray over cast sky and cold, 52F. So I punted. I took pictures with Rainbow Neighbourhood laying on the bed in the guest room. 

My long arm quilter did an amazing job with the custom quilting!  There are clouds in the cloud fabric, every house is different 

Can you see the black cat and spiderweb in the windows of the green house? 

All the roofs have the same design and all the chimneys are bricked. But there is a gift in the Christmas Star and holly on the door. Each cornerstone has a sewing machine. See in the upper right corner⤴️

This house has vines on the front, a really intricate star flower in the quilt block and grass blades quilted in the green.

The red heart house might be my favorite.There are hearts in the star block, hearts in the door and windows, even hearts in the sky!

I am “over the moon” happy with it! The pattern is awesome, thank you Sandra Walker, of mmmquilts.  Here is a link to Sandra’s post about her version of the pattern from mmmquilts! Hers is spectacular. I might have to do that one too! 

This quilt will live at my house with me. I can’t part with it!!

I’m sharing with Alycia’s Finished or Not Finished Friday , late Saturday evening.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Finished or Not Finished Friday

Whoo Hoo!! I have a finish. Finally the One Happy Girl quilt is quilted, thanks Nicki, and bound. 

A close up of a favorite block, Dick and Jane, the pieced flannel backing, and a close up of the quilting! I think the design is Jitterbug. 

I attached this narrower than usual binding (1 3/4”) to the back then stitched the fold to the front with a decorative stitch on my machine.  

This is the front. ⤴️

And the back. ⤴️

It’s a donation kids quilt so I am not concerned that it is sturdy looking. It’ll take some abuse, if need be. 

It’s a binding technique I picked up by watching a Fat Quarter Shop YouTube video with Edyta Sitar. 

I can’t get it to load here, but search How to make double-fold binding by Edyta Sitar -Fat Quarter Shop. I’m loving it, as it takes less fabric so I am using up scraps.

Linking up with Alycia at Quilty Girl for Finished or Not Finished Friday.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

OMG Finish Post!

7-4-23

Believe it or not my OMG is finished. Late this afternoon I finally got the pillow form inserted into the pillow cover that was my SAHRR.

So I’ll link up to July OMG Finish Post, when it goes live on the 25th! You can see my beginning goal setting post here. 

You can find One Monthly Goal posts at Elm Street Quilts or at Stories from the Sewing Room. Patty and Anne-Marie co-host this event each month. 

On Monday, I layered the top with a scrap of batting that was just big enough and a piece of an old pillowcase that I cut the side seams off of and opened it up into a long rectangle. Wish I’d taken pictures but I was on a roll!

I loaded lavender thread and bobbin in my machine and starting in the middle square quilted serpentine lines diagonally. Then vertically every 1” in the “rounds” . Actually they are just side borders. 

Don’t look too close at those inside corners of that friendship star. Huh? 

I had previously decided on an ugly gifted piece of fabric for the back. 

Following the instructions in a pattern from Kimberbell, that I purchased 2 years ago, I think! , I measured and cut and hemmed the backing. It worked smoothly, but if I do another….I’ll give myself a little more wiggle room. Kim’s instructions have you make a pillow form with muslin and fiber fill. I purchased mine from Amazon and it is the same size as the pillow dimensions on the pattern . It was a tight squeeze getting the pillow form inserted. But I prevailed. 

I promised a photo even if Mr. Busy and I didn’t get the bench restrained. So here it is! It still on our list to do, but…….

edit: guess this spurred on Mr Busy. The bench now looks like this. Slats are sanded, awaiting new redwoods finish. This bench was in my sister’s garden for years! I know she would be pleased that it is loved and cared for. 

For now I will post this to Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts! It’s in the only Fully Finish that I have today!😜

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

A Patriotic Finish ~. It’s still July!

Sharing at Alycia Quilts’ Finished or Not Finished Friday! 

Finally a finish. I put the last stitches in the binding just a few minutes ago. Then I took a couple of photos! 

Gotta love the Wyoming wind. Kicked up just a bit as I snapped this one of “Long May She Wave!”

This was Alycia’s Mystery Quilt for 2022. I think she is planning another in the near future! So fun! 

The a quiet bit!😀

I have a QOV label and will get that prepped and ready to attach. I need to check with the south Dakota QOV organization to make sure my uncle hasn’t received one already. And make arrangements with them to get it to him. My uncle is a Korean War Veteran and is 93! ( I think, guess I should double check that with his son) 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Finished or Not Finished Friday! Growing Up Odd! 6-30 23!

I’m sharing this “ it took me forever “ finish, finally!, over at Alycia Quilts. 

You must check out her Pink Lemonade quilt! 

I finally have this finished quilt to show. I started it a long time ago. It was my leader and ender project for more than one year. If I search my blog using the Growing Up Odd label, blogger goes back to 5-4-21. But that post lists a to-do as “keeping making Growing Up Odd blocks! So who knows!

But it took awhile. There are 1,552 2” squares in the smaller version of the original pattern, Growing Up Odd from Deanna at Wedding Dress Blue. I stitched the final stitch in the binding last night watching TV. But had it to Show and Tell at Thursday Stitchers yesterday. A new member to our group said the colors were “magnificent”! I never intended this to be anything but a utilitarian quilt. A picnic quilt! She said, “Ooh No, No, No! You must hang it!” I appreciate her compliment, she’s a respected fiber artist in our community! But I don’t think it will hang. It’s very heavy!

Hanging on our side fence. Touching the ground, it’s 74x74

Close up of the many fabrics! Yes, there are duplicates!

Close up of the back!Nikki used a great design, in multi colored thread. I don’t remember the name of the design.

So to you, blogger friends and readers, it is finally done! You won’t have to see another post about this one! 😄

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL Check-In!

My Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL throw flimsy is complete. I need to make an appointment with a long arm quilter, and decide on a backing. That’s next week’s to-do! 

I’ll link up with Sandra at mmmquilts on her blog and on Instagram #rainbowneighbourhoodqal!  Apparently I am to link up only on Instagram and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to link my IG post here! So you are on your own…I’m on IG @gmaquilts4me. I will link this post to Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts on Friday!

I’m not ultra thrilled with the sprinkle border, it’s a bit light for my taste. But with the medium gray sashing , the border selections in my stash were limited. I’ll frame it with a dark binding. Maybe purple, or red, or even a black stripe if I can find one.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

July 1st.       ps: I’m going to try to link this post or my Instagram post to Sandra’s blog today! 

Finished or Not Finished Friday

I always feel badly when I don't have anything to show for my time in the sewing room. I seem to "piddle away", but not much to show. 

I am participating in Sandra's Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL It's been so much fun.  I'm working on the sashing and sewing rows together. 

On the design wall - not very straight. I have to climb on a stool to reach the top of the flannel. I am unsteady so it's not a chore I do over and over. Up, place, pin and down. You get the idea. 

I also finished the last month of stitcheries. December of A Year in the Garden. I've been working on these little beauties for a few years. 

I'm sharing over at Finished or Not Finished Friday with Alycia!  Hop on over there to see her newest QOV and some cute pictures of her cows from Wednesday!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Finally a Finish! A Hands 2 Help donation!

Yesterday I met with some friends, 15 of us, to socialize and stitch on various projects. Some stitched on wool, some did regular embroidery, some Brazilian embroidery. Some of us bound a recent project. One friend is doing a kind of weaving, I think she called it huck weaving! She’s using Monk cloth and blue thread. 

 I stitched the binding on one of my Hands to Help donation quilts while I sat and visited.  I didn’t quite finish, there were lots of distractions, but did finish it at home. 

Happy Blocks all done for a gender neutral or at least not girly quilt.

And there is that smiley face fabric again!

And I also made house block #5 for the Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL. I’m think I’ll call this the Day Care Center.  The smiley face fabric is not gone yet!

Three more to go, because the Christmas House is finished, but I haven’t shown it yet. 🙂

I’m joining Alycia at Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Finished Friday. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Not Quite Yet Finished!

Linking up with Alycia and Finished or Not Finished Friday! Go check out the other projects linked up! 

Just ! another! quick look at my project! 

Got to this point at the Sew-in this week at the library. 

I forgot to bring a regular ironing board, so will give it a good press before measuring for the final blue borders. They are all stitched together and ready to measure and cut. Then I’ll have to find a backing so Aggie can quilt it! Finally! 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Finished or Not Finished Friday

My finish is a “bitty” one. 

I finished a small counted cross stitch pillow or dough bowl filler. I only have one Easter or Spring themed little, so don’t have a proper display!  I used Lori Holt’s tutorial for finishing. 

Here is the back. I didn’t “embellish “ the back with buttons and that special safety pin she uses, but my stitches are covered by the felt/ wool scraps..  The wooden thingy is a business card holder that my late brother-in-law made from a scrap of oak. Works just fine for a little prop!

My buffet with the Bunny Head mini runner I made 2 years ago and some long legged rabbits that have been in my stuff forever! I’ve gotten rid of lots of tchotchkes that I used to use! 

But my Not Finished projects are many! 

I’m not finished with “Long May She Wave”.

Row 7 is under my needle. I have 3 more horizontal sashings to attach, then sew then all together into a top!

Or “One Happy Girl”. 

The flimsy is done, but she needs a backing pieced and some batting found or constructed!

And there are a few more that shall go un-named! 😳

So I finally have something to link up with Alycia and her Finished or No Finished party! 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!