A Wall Hanging, Another Little Project, and a Book.

Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts is taking a spring break, so I will try to link this to another blog.

I found another quilter so I am linking to Busy Hands Quilts. You should be able to click on the image above to get to her linky party.


There hasn't been a great deal of finishing here this last week or so.

I have been working on a small wall hanging. It is finally finished, well the top at least. Now I have to decide how to ask the longarmer to quilt it. Some don't do custom around embroidery. This pattern was free on Val Laird Designs blog several years ago. She did hers in pastels. I had an abundance of browns from a fat quarter exchange and I am more of a Fall colors kinda girl.

 It is hard to see here, but the nine blocks have embroidered and appliqued pictures. It is called Thoughts in Thread and I really like it. I finally took these close-ups.

Seems current in the fact that the world is in such turmoil, we must keep good thoughts, lovely thoughts, and pure thoughts in our hearts.  As of Saturday morning it will be on its way to the longarm quilter that EVERYONE in my circle recommended. Her name is Virginia Ohr and she is awesome. I will share when I get it back. She is backed up, so it may be awhile. The other fabulous quilter in our area has retired and is traveling with her husband. So for custom work, we are lacking.


I also finished a lanquishing project. You are going to shake you head I am sure. For years I had 2 placemats that were take-aways at a Mother's Day tea sponsored by my Beta Sigma Phi chapter. They were fabric fused on to batting, then pinked around the edge. They lasted a long time. I did not use them daily, but often. Finally the fabric began to pull away from the batting. What's a frugal girl to do?  Find a backing, quilt and bind, of course.  So here they are. The backing is a left over piece of pieced backing from a lap quilt I finished in October. The binding is a piece from my stash. I am very happy to have them done and usable again. There were also two small heart shaped coasters that I just backed, quilted then re-pinked around the heart shape.

 The front is the vegetable print, the back is the pieced cream, beige, rust and brown. I stippled them myself, so I won't show you a close-up.  They are fine for everyday use in our house.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Oh, I also finished reading Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse , it is wonderful. Have you read a book told in free verse?  Set in 1934 during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma.  One of my favorite, speaking of her Ma:

Today, she stood out in the drizzle
hidden from the road, 
and from Daddy, 
and she thought from me, 
but I could see her from the barn, 
she was bare as a pear, 
raindrops
sliding down her skin,
leaving traces of mud on her face and her long back,
trickling light and dark paths, 

March Finishes : Church Lady Apron and Bib Apron

2017 is turning out to be a pretty good year for finishes for me.  I have 3 different challenge lists and that is keeping me focused.

The Sewing Center/Fabric City UFO Challenge has a list of themes for each month. Then I have to chose which item on my L-O-N-G list of UFO's fits the theme and get it finished in the month. Then I post a picture to the proper album on their Facebook page and they draw winners of coupons or fabric every month. That is good motivation for some, I just need the "peer pressure" to get busy!. The link above with direct you to their page on Facebook, the UFO Challenge is a closed group, so you are unable to see all the projects.

The theme for March is "Spring". I am not a flowery, spring color kind of girl. I lean toward fall colors, so that was a hard one for me. One of my UFOs was to make a Church Lady apron. The pattern is by Mary Mulari, a fequent contributor on Sewing with Nancy on PBS,  Then I found an apron pre printed panel that I had cut out, ready to sew. IDEA!  Back the bib apron panel with springy fabric and give to granddaughter #1 for Easter. Make the Church Lady Apron for me, to wear while cooking Easter dinner!  I had some cute bottle cap fabric and a coordinating cross hatch print. Done!

They are reversible to should be sturdy enough and useful. 

The All People Quilt ( American Patchwork and Quilting) 2017 UFO Challenge goes like this. I filled out a chart, posted on their web site. Then at the beginning of each month, a number is posted on the challenge groups Facebook page. At the end of the month, I record the progress made on the ufo. It doesn't have to be finished. But can be, of course. #12 was drawn for March. Number 12 on my list was to finish a play/activity quilt for our first Great Granddaughter, Bella. The quilt stays at our house, so she has a safe place on the floor. I finished that too. 

   There is a strip added near the top, with taggies and loops to attach toys. The long looking piece is a striped ribbon I couldn't throw away. I added an empty plastic thread spool.  She loved it. Near the bottom is a printed panel section left over from her brother's Winnie the Pooh quilt. I made small square fabric pillows and attached them to several pictures on the panel for a Peek-a-boo effect.

Last but not least I made a teething ring with bunny ears attached. It is fabric and toweling. Gives a great Handle to hold on to and catch the drool!

 I am pleased to have these 3 UFO's off my list. 

My other challenge is a local group I belong to. We do a project every 60 days. I posted about the first project, dice roll #5 .HERE.  

I am posting these finishes to Crazy Mom Quilts'  Finish It Up Friday!   This post was written and published on the 12th, too late for Friday the 10th. So I am linking it today, the 17th. 

PS:  I finished a book too!  Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb. 

Book Review : Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Immortal in Death

J.D. Robb

1996 Berkley Publishing

Pandora, a top model and a woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. In this 3rd installment of the "In Death" series by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb, we learn more about Lt Eve Dallas and her life before becoming one of the top detectives in New York City in the year 2058. Eve is planning a wedding to Roarke, one of the richest, if not the richest, man in their world. And she doesn't like all the "pomp and circumstance" that is expected, like who cares about flowers and seating arrangements.  That added to the fact that there has been another murder and she is the primary on the case. Now factor in that the victim is a top model and the suspect is Eve's best friend, Mavis.

Robb takes us on twist and turns and this suspense/murder mystery/ romance unfolds. I have enjoyed all 3 in the series so far and am looking forward to the next one, Rapture in Death.

Because there are 45 books in the series, I had better get busy. I was reluctant to start this series months ago. They are addictive.

Another travel pillow finished + not quite finished but only step away!

Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Last Friday I showed the little pink pillow I made for our great granddaughter. I couldn't give it to her and leave her big brother out, so I quickly sewed up this travel pillow from some scraps. Jojo loves airplanes and this was leftover fabric from a quilt I made for his "Pa", my DH.  This one has a bigger, deeper pocket and a velcro tab closure. It will hold his iPad and keep it from harm, I hope!. My plan was to finally cut up the rest of the scraps into 2.5 " strips, but cutting up those airplanes was hard. Maybe I can find another project for them. 

I also finished this quilt top. It was a kit I purchased some years ago. It was languishing in the UFO bin.  It still needs to go to the longarm quilter, but the binding is ready for when it returns.  As soon as the label is attached, all these scraps will be cut and put in the proper colored basket.

This month I hope to finish a couple of aprons for my granddaughter and an activity quilt for the little one. So many projects and now I learn there is to be another great granddaughter before the summer is over, so there is yet another quilt to be made.  Looking forward to that one too. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

February Finishes - Book and Sewing Projects.

I only finished reading The Guilty by David Baldacci.

You can check out my review  here.

 I am still wading through the Karen Kingsbury collection on my Kindle.

That may be why it is taking me so long. That and the fact that I have been  nursing a sick Mr. Busy and I have been in my sewing room a great deal.

I have completed these, this month.

This was still in kit stage on Feb 1st. It still has to be quilted. I send mine to a longarmer. That requires a bit of saving, so it will wait for a complete finish for a bit. This was my February challenge for American Patchwork and Quilting's 2017 UFO Challenge.

And I did these little pillows for my 2 great grandchildren.

 This little pillow matches the quilt I made for Bella before she was born. I finally got around to making a label with her birth statistics and a little pillow I hope her mama will use when she is nursing. It has a handle for ease of caring to a rocking chair and a shallow pocket for breast shields or maybe mama's cell phone.

I couldn't let her big brother be forgotten, so I gathered some scraps from Mr Busy's airplane quilt and made Jojo a pillow too. His has a deeper pocket to hold a book, or more likely his iPad. A velcro strap will secure the tablet in the pocket when he carries it to and from "Gwamma and Pa's" house. He is a big fan of the movie "Planes" and know that Pa has a model of the Corsair F4U that is  on this bag...:Skipper" in the movie. 

I sent this one to our oldest great grandson for Valentine's Day. He lives in Arizona, he will be 7 in July. His grandpa, our son, is a Bronco fan. I got a "thumbs up" thank you from his mom. 

And one last finish: 

It's a Mondo Bag. Over 200,  2 1/2 inch squares sewed to an interfacing. It has batting too and is large and quite heavy. I hope I remember not to load it too heavy or I won't be able to lift it.  I love the colors though. 

That is it for February. Now on to March and it's challenges. I will be reading two books written in verse. 

 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.  I am looking forward to this "new to me" format. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Finish It Up Friday! And February

Yesterday was my birthday. I spent it mostly stitching with a wonderful group of friends. But I did get some time in my sewing room.

One of my challenges this year is with a group from a LQS in Rapid City SD. It's my hometown and though we have been gone from there for 40 years, it still feels like home. Some family is still there and it's where my kids were born. I digress!

The February challenge was to finish "something for someone you love". That's easy, right?  Lots of things are done for people I love, but I chose to finally make the label for my youngest great granddaughter's quilt. I presented the quilt to my granddaughter at the baby shower before Isabella was born. I did not have the "facts" then and had every intention of doing a label right away. Well, Bella will be 8 months old on the 7th of March, so I am really late. In penance, I decided a pillow was a great accompaniment. I purchased the quilt kit from Shabby Fabrics and there was lots of fabric left over. And because it had fussy cut roses and stripes there was extra. So I made a pillow with a shallow pocket and a handle. I hope her momma will use it when she nurses her, a place to tuck a breast shield or maybe her cell phone. The handle will make it easy to carry from rocker to rocker, room to room.

Here is the quilt:

and here is the pillow and label.

I'll attach the label this weekend. 

On to a few more finishes.  I am linking this up to "finish it up Friday" at Crazy Mom Quilts and the Sewing Center UFO Challenge Face Book page. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

A Finish or Three

      I've been busy in my sewing room lately. I haven't finished cutting the fabric to make the extra block for En Provence. If you remember, I only made half the suggested number of pieces and that was enough to make 8 blocks. But after looking at the layout, I knew I wanted a 3X3 setting or nine blocks. So I sort of stalled out. I'll get back to it.

I did finish the January challenge for the American Patchwork & Quilting  2017 UFO Challenge. I had hoped to make enough crumb blocks to make a top with sashing and cornerstones. I made that happen. And the backing is done too. As soon as my LA quilter returns from her vacation, I get it to her to be quilted/

This was so fun, I want to do another one. But now I have been inspired by Amanda Jean's Crazy Rails Quilt. I may have to do that one instead.  I am linking this post to Finish It Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


I also finished the challenge project for my Local Quilt Group. It was to finish a Mondo bag. A kit I received in a gift exchange at a retreat in May 2016 and it is DONE!  It went pretty well, but if I do it again, I will not use the same kind of fusible fleece in the lining. It is heavy even empty and if I fill it like I usually do, it will be very heavy.

So now I am on to work on the February project for APQ UFO challenge, #8 on my list. It was a kit for a Magnolia Quilt by Blank Quilting.

I have the main pieces cut and will start construction hopefully tomorrow. 

I also finished reading The Guilty by David Baldacci 

and liked it a lot. It is number 4 in the Will Robie series and it did not disappoint me. I have come to expect a great story with suspense and a twist at the end from Baldacci and he delivered yet again.

Until next time,

Stay Busy and Stay Happy