Last Aqua Chip Block, a Crumb Creation and a Struggle with Letters

  

This week has been a struggle. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s the hint of winter, maybe it’s something else. 

I finished the embroidery of the label for the heart quilt that will go to my friend’s new granddaughter. I can’t show the label, because I haven’t asked for permission from the new parents. But you have all seen the front in this Post.

I finally struggled through the Table Scraps Challenge that was this month’s color, aqua and the prompt of Hot Flash.  If you log onto this post, at The Joyful Quilter , you will see the various ways other bloggers interpreted the challenge. 

Every month this year I have used my cutting scraps, sometimes also my scrap baskets to make crumb blocks and use them in the TSC. So aqua scraps became a rectangle. 

I folded it in half over some scrap batting. And proceeded to appliqué some images and letters. If you have done applique, you know the “reverse image” conundrum. Letters are an extra struggle. An H, an O and a T. Are easy. They are the same right side up or flipped over. Other letters no so easy. Think F, L, P ,N.  You get the idea.

Now I’m no artist. I can barely draw an acceptable heart. I use the internet a lot! I search for free images, with no copyright . FLASH was not easy. Every one I found referred to The Flash. The movie, the cartoon. So I slashed and cut and redrew and cut again. Acceptable for this “soon to be covered by a hot pot of soup”, hot pad. 

I’ll post to Table Scraps challenge as soon as it’s finished. 

One final Aqua potato chip block for the 5th Saturday. 

I’ll linking up to RSC and ScrapHappy Saturday at Angela’s blog. Hoping for a long weekend to sew!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Slow Sunday Stitching

 

Stitching on Marcellus and friends. Last week I talked about a friend in Oregon who has finished her Biscornu. I contacted her and she said I could share the photos. So here they are. 

Isn’t her work beautiful. The stitcher’s name is Linda. The pattern is from Heartstring Samplery in Sandy, OR.  Beth Twist of Heartstring Samplery taught the class and it was held at Cynthia’s of Bend, in Bend OR. 

I hope mine will look 1/2 as good. I made a little progress on octopus #4. 

I’m also Hand embroidering the name and birthdate on the Glowing Hearts baby quilt. I’ve blurred out the personal info. But her name is Juliet and she is adorable. 

Sharing with other slow stitching friends at Slow Sunday Stitching hosted by Kathy’s Quilts. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Time flies ***

 How can it be Friday already. 

I completely missed I LIKE Thursday, yesterday. Mr Busy had a doctor appointment early, there was a grocery pickup, my stitching group met and went out to lunch together. 

So I’ll answer LeeAnna’s conversation starter. Do I like Dairy Queen.?  We have a local DQ, and stop every now and again. The treats are kinda expensive in calories. Mr Busy always orders a Peanut Buster Parfait. I will get a a Blizzard. My favorite is Cookie Dough, but I’ll eat any flavor except cherry. LOL. 

Some good thingthis week. I have 7 tomatoes on the 1 plant that made it into the ground. 

Now if we can just have enough warm weather for them to ripen. Our earliest freeze has been September 21st. But a few places in our state, south and west of us had freezing nighttime temps last week. The Farmers Almanac is predicting, earlier cold, colder temperatures, more snow and a longer Winter. YUCK!

I found this on the internet and had to share. 

The string blocks are slowly being sewed together. I’ll keep you in the loop. 

I made baked banana oatmeal this morning. It was a new one for me. Both of us thought it was really good. 

https://pin.it/7DvUBAkFO

Or go to fivehearthome.com.

Banana Baked Oatmeal.

One last thing: the baby has arrived. I’m embroidering her name and birthdate on the back. 

I do not have permission to share her whole name yet. But it’s beautiful. 

I’m sharing with Not Afraid of Color, go there to find others.

And linking with Finished or Not Friday

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

I’d really hoped to finish Hello Summer this last week, but it was not to be.  I needed to work on the Glowing Hearts QAL,  hosted by Sandra at mmmquilts. I was very,very late to the finish. I trimmed it up, constructed the binding and got it ready to hand sew down on Wednesday, 

Many of you have followed my slow progress, but it is done. And before the baby arrives. A win-win. 

So there was some progress on Hello Summer, but it is not finished. The larger watermelon slice is nearly finished and the border needs to be finished. Then I can frame it. 

And get back to work on the octopus biscornu. 

Today it will warm up a bit from earlier in the week. A high of 80° is predicted today. But we don’t have humidity, so it should be pleasant to stitch out on the deck.  Fingers crossed. 

I’m linking up with other stitching friends at Kathy’s Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Linking up for Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  August is Aqua. 

I added on more potato chip block. Not much I know. But progress is progress. 

This week’s addition.

And both on the design wall. 

In defense of my non-productive-ness, the baby quilt is finished. And little miss is not born yet, but they are officially on “Baby Watch”. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Finished or Not Friday!

Charmed I’m Sure aka Glowing Hearts is finished except for a label. I will wait for the name and birthdate of the recipient before completing that step. 

You’ve seen lots of progress photos, so only the Glamour Shot today. 

My long arm quilter got it back to me in record time. She received it on a Thursday and Sunday she called me to say it was completed. I kinda gave here carte blanche as to the overall quilting design. It’s flowers and swirls, in a peach thread. Perfect the Nancy Halvorson fabric Charms features flowers and swirls. 

I’m linking up with Alycia for Finished or Not Friday

There is lots to see at her blog. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Finished or Not Friday

 

Finally this small baby quilt is off to my local long arm quilter. It measures 41.5 x 41.5. It is Glowing Hearts , a QAL from Sandra @ mmmquilts. 

I was able to find an almost big enough piece of batting, and just had to add 4 inches to the length. (No photos of the frankenbatting construction)..

The backing piece that I wanted to use was a bit short also. I usually cut backing by measuring the desired width of the backing x2. . In this case, 49.5. Rather than add a piece on the end , I used the piece I had, folded in half and sewed a 1” seam along the selvage edge.   Then pressed it and trimmed the fold off. And trimmed the 1” seam to be 1/2”. And pressed it open. Then of course I cut the length to be 49.5, but the width was still only 45.5”.  I had lots of leftover strips from the front. I  sewed them end to end until I had 2 strips 49.5” each. Then sewed them together along the long edge. I now had a pieced 4.5’ by 49.5 inches. If I added this new strip to one side, most would be mostly cut off when I trimmed it after quilting. I did that early on in my quilting journey and it looks awful. 

See the two strips that ended up on the edge? My quilter didn’t fuss and did a great job of quilting this. It’s “our” quilt and lives on our bed so it’s OK. But it’s not a look I like!

So I added it to one edge then sewed it to the other edge to make a tube. Folded it in half again and cut the fold opposite the pieced portion. When I opened it up the pieced strips were in the middle. I should have folded it so the pieced strip was off center, but thought of that after the fact. 

Taken in my kitchen with a shadow! ;(

Taken outside in the wind! Also :(

The baby this is made for has not made her appearance yet. Hopefully I’ll have it back from the quilter and bound before she is born. Then I will just have to put the label on it after I know her name and birthdate. 

I’m sharing this at  Finished or Not Friday  hosted by Alycia at Alycia Quilts. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful 

I LIKE Thursday. 7-31

LeeAnna gave us this conversation starter. I couldn’t possibly tell you about all my summers. I did work as a teenager, met Mr Busy when I got a job at the Piggly Wiggly the summer between my Junior and Senior year in HS.   I was head over heels for him!💖💓

Go to Not Afraid of Color, LeeAnna has a list of links to other blogger’s posts. 

 july 31

remember summer breaks when you were a kid? How did it feel to have so much free time or

did you help the family business when you were a kid, or take on summer jubs? As you got into high school and college did you have summer jobs or take special trips?  Did you take special courses in summer (example, typing, drivers ed, space camp, courses in crafts at the YWCA? )

Summers were special. Friends and I explored the neighborhood and wildlands around our house. We picked wildflowers ,sat in the shade and talked . I was a voracious reader and we had a bookmobile that came to our neighborhood. Only a two block walk. Sometimes I would check out three books, go home and read one, take it back and get another before the bookmobile left. 

This week was appointments, grocery shopping and time spent in my sewing room. Glowing Hearts is finished, batting found , backing constructed. I was short four inches of width. My quilter likes the backing and batting to be 8’ bigger (4 inches on each side) than the top. I didn’t want to add to the edge cause that looks weird when you trim it, so some 2.5” pieces were placed in the middle. I didn’t plan the colors, just sewed what I had. 

It’s windy this morning. Imagine that!!  This is as good as it gets today. Hopefully my quilter has an open slot. 

Stay Busy and Stay Busy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

ScrapHappy Saturday

 

I’m joining Angela at ScrapHappy Saturday  plus other more prolific scrap happy quilters  today. (I was gone and just realized I didn’t post this!)

I’ve been working at finishing this Glowing Hearts baby quilt. It almost qualifies as scrappy. And there is purple and orangeish fabrics there. 

I

In between stitching triangle corners and sashing I’ve been making potato chip blocks in this month’s color. The chips make great Leaders and Enders. 

I finished the outside three-fers  on last week’s purple chip block and added a 2nd purple block. 

I also did one more orange block from June, because I need at least 4 of each color.

Looks like this  one needs a really good press. 

That’s all the sewing I did this week,  there was a new stitch start, but I’ll save that for tomorrow’s Slow Sunday Stitch. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful.

May 31st. It’s the last day of May

 

 Not much green sewing in May. In fact not much sewing at all. I did complete 2 more potato chip blocks to go with the 2 posted about on the 5th. 

Yesterday I spent some time in my sewing room, putting things away, trying to remember where I was when, Mr Busy asked me to take him to the ER. Seems like a long time ago. There was also some pressing of some laundry that had been languishing since early May. 

 

I’ve almost finished 4 more heart blocks, for the baby quilt version of Glowing Hearts QAL. I have to add the bottom triangles. Those added to the 2 completed earlier leaves only 3 more to make. Then assembly can begin. I need to make a decision about sashing, corner stones and borders.  That will come when I get all nine blocks on the design wall 

Till then, I may ge a quick Table Scraps project done for mays Table scraps Challenge, green and fresh grass. We will see😉

Linking up with Angela at Scrap Happy Saturday. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Finished or Not Finished.

 

A lilac bush at our library. So pretty!

I’ve got nothing for the upteenth Friday in a row. But I’ll share on Alycia’s blog. I was in Colorado at Medical Center of the Rockies with Mr. Busy. An unplanned, urgent but not emergency triple bypass. I am home in Wyoming but he is at a rehabilitation facility til the 10th of June. It’s 129 miles away. So I don’t go every day. 

You would think I would be sewing. But my concentration is short. 

⤴️There are pieces cut for a baby quilts following along with Glowing Hearts QAL at mmmquilts. I have til August. 

There is partial construction of green potato chip blocks ⤴️

And there is a pile of  BH Triple Treat blocks that are in need of assembly. They looked like this on the design wall, before I stacked them up.⤵️

All waiting for me. 

Stay Busy (right?) and Stay Happy (I’m trying) and Healthy (absolutely) and Hopeful  (with God’s help)