Finish It Up Friday Binding, Book and Bitty Owl!

I managed to finish the binding on this crumb quilt.

 It was my first attempt at making scrappy crumb blocks. They are addicting in a way and frustrating in a way. I want to sew all my scraps into usable chunks of fabric. And it seemed like the way to really did into my scraps buckets, but I found that I did not deplete my scraps like I had hoped. I have lots and lots more.

 You can see that lots of my scraps are browns, oranges and fall like in nature. Not the usual brighter modern colors we see so much today. But I think they work just the same. It is fun to look at the scraps and remember the projects they came from. Some were gifted to me too. My DIL gave me a huge black trash bag of scraps leftover from "dammit dolls" she made for family and friends several Christmases ago. So there are kitties, baseballs, crayons and other novelty type prints.

 I had a large stash of black and white fabrics from a quilt I made for a step-granddaughter for her college graduation. Plus the Mickey and Betty Boop fabrics came from the fabric scarves that the groomer tied around Emma's neck after her spa days. I can't throw cute fabrics away!! So made a scrappy border. Not too intricate, I just sewed pieces together and then cut them to match the dimensions of the sides.

I also finished this cute little owl -pot holder, trivet or something. She is too cute to use as a hot pad, I think she could just be a cute kitchen wall decor.  Would you use it to set a pot on?

I have 3 other projects in the works this month. A pillow for my daughter, a wall hanging for me and a Christmas decor project. I'll post them as they are completed.


And I finished my current book,

My review is here

Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Finish it up Friday - NADA!

FINISH IT UP FRIDAY  at  Crazy Mom Quilts


****A request for HELP at the bottom of this post. ****

This week has not been as productive as some in the past. I have a new challenge looming and it is not finished, nor will it be for some time. I will share it, if and when, I get it done.

This is just a peek. Hexies and an antique churn dash block.










Nothing was finished this week. I am sewing the binding on my crumb quilt. So hopefully by next Friday that will be done.

I am loving the lime green!


I have a retreat coming up the first weekend in May, so I have been busy cutting projects.  Half square triangle that are 2 inches will finish at 1 1/2,  Way outside my comfort zone!!

 I like to have most all of the cutting done beforehand if possible. I don't cut well with others!  :)   I love going to this particular retreat both for the camaraderie and for the setting.

But because it is a remote hunting lodge, we bring our own bedding, towels, and food in addition to machines, fabric, notions, tools, ironing boards, cutting mats and all. I am almost too old to tote all that stuff. So I have promised myself to actually "retreat" and take some "me" time too. Walk in the beautiful surroundings, read a book, do some hand stitching, maybe even take a nap. It is hard to sit at my machine for 8-10 hours a day. I just cannot manage it. I'll let you know how it goes this time.



Stay Busy and Stay Happy

PS:  Last week on Finish It Up Friday, I was visiting all the linked up blogs. There was one that had a link to the procedure and diagram of how to sure your seams in the binding were in a precise spot. For color matching. Also to make sure the seams did not land at the corners. I have tried to find it again. If anyone, can tell me where to look for this diagram, I would appreciate it. There was a drawing, and it had to do with measuring the sides of the quilt so that from point A to point B around the corner was the length of the binding strip between joining seams. Thanks.

Saturday Snapshots April Fool's Day 2017

It's been a long time since I linked up to Saturday Snapshots hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy reads.  I have been absent, not reading much, busy with new stuff.  I lost my mojo in 2016, this year is better.  Here are some pictures of some changes.

This is my daughter holding her new granddaughter. Isabella was born in early July.

She is tiny here

At Christmas in her Bronco sleeper and sitting in her bumba seat. 

And now she in crawling and wanting to stand and walk around furniture. She is such a different baby from her brother.

And he has changed too.

We were on a walk in early March. It was sunny here, not too cold, still brown grass and leaf less trees, but blue sky and not much wind. We have a Children's Memorial Walkway near a small lake in the middle of town and Joe found a . Carson's Courage Cars. You can read about that movement by clicking the link. He was really tickled but didn't quite understand why I wanted his picture before he could have the car.

I have been sewing too.There are some past post here on the blog. And I have been reading. I hope to get back to this page more in the future.  Spring is near and my attitude will improve with the sun shine and warmer weather.


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

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