Christmas Quilt Surprise

Last week I posted that I was finally getting to work on my scrappy Christmas quilt and only needed one more block to finish.

Imagine my surprise...when I discovered 19 half finished blocks. Am I losing my mind or doing too many things at once?

I had to cut six more red squares and six more white squares for the pinwheels. Then got to work sewing 19 new squares.

So this is the new size. I want to add two inner borders (red & white-thanks for the suggestion) and then will make the pieced border. There is some figuring involved since I am making this smaller than the pattern. I will adjust the inner borders - hope my math is right.

Monday will be another sewing day! Yea for long week ends.

Scrappy Christmas Layout

I only need one more square and I will have enough for the center of my Christmas wall hanging.

Here is one possible layout. I like the on-point feel with the odd number of columns.

I have a couple of different ideas for the borders. We will see what develops.

Going to a wedding this week end. I will post a photo of the finished gift after it is gifted. 

Next week end I will be sewing. We have Friday and Monday off for Fall Break. I can't wait.

Hope you have a great week. 

Finishes inside and out

The yard makeover is almost finished! Just a little sand and grass here and there then we can enjoy our new outside spaces.

The wedding gift is finished! Now I can work on the baby quilts.

The apron is reversible.

Baby quilt top #1 is done.

Baby quilt top #2 is done.

I have a plush yellow for both backs and navy dot for binding.

Not a big hurry since the twins are not due until February. I just wanted to see how the fabrics looked in different combinations.

WIP calling-Christmas Scrappy Gretchen.

Linking with Crazy Mom.

wedding gift part 1

In my last post I wrote that I had to work on a wedding gift for an upcoming wedding. Bet you thought I was making a quilt. No, I don't have that much time. (I do teach full-time.)

I am giving them a set of handmade kitchen items. 

First finished is this reversible apron.

I am using four of the Art Gallery fabrics I won from Fab Shop Hop.

Today I hope to finish two potholders, an oven mitt, and two tea towels.

Last weekend two of my quilts were in the quilt celebration. You may ask why my quilt is hanging side-ways. That would be because I sewed the hanging sleeve on the long side. I didn't realize it was wrong until I took it to the show. When I got the quilt back home I saw that I had sewn the label on sideways, too. Typical. Oh, my!

Two rows

This week end was the Jackson Quilt Celebration so I didn't have any time to sew. Labor Day week end I cut out two rows from my Row by Row patterns. I finished them in the evenings after school.

The top row is from The Fabric Dock in Wiggins. I love the sailboat block. It was very easy to make.

The bottom row is from Sew Memphis. The zigzag middle part is made of half square triangles. The back of that section is a hot mess but the front looks okay. 

I have patterns for 8 more rows but I think I will only make 6 more to have the required 8 rows. The rows above are the only ones that do not have the dreaded 'appliqué' as part of the design.

I now have a list of WIPs again. Christmas Scrappy Gretchen is in progress. Row by row is in progress. And I have chosen fabric to make a wedding gift for a wedding in October. Oh, yes, and two baby quilts for twins due in February.

Which one do I want to work on? The baby quilts, of course. 

Must make wedding gift first! Keep telling myself. Wedding gift...

Hot Fingers Finished

I finished twenty-nine pairs of 'Hot Fingers' and gave them to the board members at Saturday's meeting. Glad to be finished. In some ways a bigger project than making a quilt. 

Bag stuffed full 

Spilling out

Still lots inside

29 sets - That is 58 individual hot fingers!

Pincushion made from scraps -side 1

pincushion side 2

Glad this project is finished. Now I can work on my Row by Row quilt and Scrappy Gretchen Christmas quilt. The Jackson Quilt Celebration is in two weeks. 

Happy Sewing!

A little traveling, sewing, and bird watching

So, there's this shop hop thing going on, and I'm hooked. The day it opened here I went to the 3 nearest participating stores and picked up the patterns and fabric car tags but thought I would use my own fabric scraps to make the rows.

Then I went to a convention in St. Louis, MO, and checked out 3 stores close to my hotel. I bought one kit, picked up the free patterns, and bought the tags. So that left 2 more store visits to have the minimum rows to make a lap quilt. 

A little road trip was necessary to get the final 2 rows. My choices were a 3 hour drive to Memphis or a 2 hour drive to Wiggins and Hattiesburg. I opted for the shorter drive. The last two rows were so cute that I bought the kits. Now to put the rows together. 

The nearest QS has not had a winner but my sewing time/summer break is about gone. Don't know if I will finish before someone else turns in their quilt. We'll see how this row thing turns out. More on that later.

Here are some of my row by row patterns and tags.

Meanwhile, progress has been made on the gifts for reading board members. Please forgive the horrible phone photos.

Seventeen sets have been sewn and turned right side out. Twelve more sets have been cut out. They are quick to make but turning kills my fingers. Hope to finish before going back to work Wednesday.

My new sewing machine is set up on the dining table where I have a great view of the bird baths.

I love watching the tufted titmouse come for a drink.

Here is the hibiscus finally blooming by the front door.

Hope you have a great week end. Time to sew!