Jan. OMG FINISHES!!! Yippee!

 I'm looking forward to joining many of you at Patty's OMG this year:

My January goals were to:

1. FINISH my Anne Downs quilt and have it sewn together into a flimsy

2. Get our grand-guys cow quilt quilted and gifted!

AND....I'm happy to report that I got them both done!

Click HERE to see the details of my Anne Downs Flimsy finish.

And... click HERE if you haven't already seen all the details about my grand's eye- spy cow quilt finish and his adorable little happy dance that would make any grandma's heart smile!

I have to admit, these have been such fun projects.  Thank you Patty for the monthly motivation to set and celebrate goals together. Click HERE to check out everyone's January OMG finishes.

Next Jan. OMG Anne Downs Flimsy Finish!

A year and half ago I set out to stitch this adorable BOM by Anne Downs called

 Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs. I've had so much fun stitching it and sharing it's progress with you here on the blog. It's kinda exciting to see it finally transform into a flimsy, ready to be quilted.

 It's finished size is about 48"x 50" and I plan on keeping the quilting simple by
using a running stitch, just sewing 1/4" on each side of every seam.

Maybe a few quilted butterflies will find themselves fluttering from one block to the other...we shall see. It's just one those happy finishes we often can't wait to enjoy having hang in our home soon. 

Sharing with everyone else at Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching linky.

Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project

From Canada to Oregon and soon to Carolina....many hands make for light work as we quilter's work together to help those who lost everything in Carolina's Hurricanes.

I volunteered to quilt donation quilts for Carole's Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project and was happy to receive this one in the mail. And thanks for the adorable pincushion Deborah! (That was just so thoughtful) It will be on the frame this weekend. I'll then get it's binding on and it will soon  be on it's way to Carolina. I hope you'll think of joining us. Whether you can make a quilt specifically for this drive, or you have one finished and sitting on the shelf in your home, all quilts are welcome, in any design, preferably twin size or larger up to queen. Carole has partnered with the Catholic Charities organization distribution to ensure our quilts get to people who need them most.   

Shipping Address for Completed Quilts Only- 

Carolina Hurricane Project
c/o Catholic Charities
20 N. 4th Street, Suite 300
Wilmington, NC 28401

When You Can't Reach the Peddle....

While visiting our grand guys this past weekend, knowing I made quilts and after inquisitively watching me stitch during movie time, one of their friends really wanted me to teach him how to sew. My daughter didn't hesitate to unpack her sewing machine and we let the boys dive into a box of fabric scraps. As I sat and worked on some binding, I taught the oldest, who is nine, how to use the machine. I taught him the main parts of the machine: foot, pedal and the ol' 1/4 inch! 

 He was very focused, detailed oriented and caught on quickly. Well, before I knew it...

.

..he was quickly on his way to making all the younger boys their very own blankie, even

seeking their help when he couldn't reach the pedal himself! (Look at how focused they are!)

After busily rocking a teething baby,

...I soon returned to the kitchen to find all the older boys giving sewing a team effort!

(Is this just not adorable!!) One at the machine, another at the pedal, and one

guiding the fabric. I was so happy my daughter caught these moments for me!

By the end of the day, our guy had made four blankies for all the younger boys.

He spread them all out and I was flattered when he insisted that I join him for his finale! 

(As you can see,  I was busy giving our little grand guy a bath...and well, 

you know how one year olds LOVE to splash and play in water!)

As if the story can't get any better....we soon realized he can earn a Boy Scout patch for his efforts!

I truly had the best weekend with these guys and loved sharing our hobby with them.

A Crochet Blanket....

I quilt, my mom knits and my sister crochets.

I got this blanket as a surprise in the mail today!!!

Our deal was she'd crochet me a blanket and I'm going to make her a quilt.

She's wayyyy ahead of me....but I love it! And it's sooooo warm! Lucky me....and Jackson.

Annnnd the winner is....

The early bird sure got the prize this time around! Random Number Generator chose number three...

3

Min

Max

GENERATE

...as the winner of Diane's Strip Quilt Secrets.

Comment number three is from Mary R. who blogs at Urban Quilter.

Mary watch for an email from me and know I'm your newest follower!

And thank you to everyone who stopped by my little blog spot and entered the give-away. It was interesting to read everyone's comments and learn about the variety of things we do to entertain ourselves while we quilt. Many of us prefer the peace and quiet with only the hum of our sewing machine to keep us company while others enjoy a good podcast or movie. Either way, sewing certainly provides a healthy creative outlet for us doesn't it. 

Strip Quilt Secrets Blog Hop & Give-Away!

Diane who blogs at Butterfly Threads Quilting makes the most wonderful scrappy quilts! I'm always inspired by her combination of bright colors and fabric patterns to design such a variety of patterns. When she published her first book: Scrap Book Secrets, I devoured it, reading it cover to cover and taking note, especially as I read her chapter of Quilt Making Basics. And now she's done it again!!

BOOK TWO!

 

I quickly volunteered to be part of her book release blog hop as I've had this tote of 30's repro fabric strips that I had cut into two inch strips about five years ago to to stitch English Paper Pieced Hexagons. When my book arrived, I literally dumped the whole tote out, mixed up the large variety of colors and patterns....

...and started just grabbing and sewing the strips together.

After a few email exchanges with Diane and then referring to the index of the quilts by strip size ranging from 1 1/2"-3 1/2" found at the back of her book, I decided to make her Vortex pattern as most of my strips were already two inches wide...exactly what the Vortex pattern called for.

So I got busy sewing strips...which as you can imagine provided some easy chain piecing.

I chose black as my block centers and cornerstones. I found the block assembly quick with Diana's easy to follow, step by step directions and am learning to perfect my partial seam. BTW, Diane also offers four alternative quilt sizes (crib, twin full/queen and king) and a coloring sheet for each of the fifteen patterns included in the book.  I love that! So much bang for your buck!

So even though I still have a bunch of strips to sew together:

Here's a peek at what they are looking like as they come together as a finished 9 1/2" block:

A GIVE-AWAY!

This give-away is closed. The winner was announced here.

For the chance to win a copy of Strip Quilt Secrets by Diane D. Knot, comment on this blog sharing with us your favorite "sewing" time entertainment. For example, I often find myself just enjoying the quiet, but will every now and then find a good NCIS marathon or something on Netflix. (Anything that does not require a lot of my attention.) I will draw a winner on Friday, January 11, 2019 and announce the winner here on the blog as I also share my progress being made. NOTE: If you are a no-reply (Right now I have had 26 no-reply comments) so please leave your email so I can contact your for your mailing address. Due to shipping costs, this give-away if only available to US residents. Good luck! 

Also if you missed Diane's blog series highlighting the five main strip techniques highlighted in her book, click HERE to get a closer look at those and learn how much her book has to offer.

BLOG HOP!

I hope you have fun visiting everyone else on the hop and you'll also increase your chance of winning your own copy of Strip Quilt Secrets! Our blog hop runs all week. 

Here are links to all the quilters who are participating: 

Friday January 4 - C&T 

Saturday January 5 - Tanya

Sunday January 6 - Val (You are here!)

Monday January 7 - Lori

Tuesday January 8 - Heather

Wednesday January 9 - Audrey

Thursday January 10 - Susan

First Jan. OMG: Cow Quilt Finished!

I think this is the funniest quit I've created and quilted in quite awhile!

I love everything about it and am especially glad it will find a home with our youngest grand guy.

 This quilt got me back to doing the kind of freestyle, custom quilting I like to do. The puffy clouds as seen in the clouds above and the tulips and grass as seen below at the bottom of the quilt were fun.

 Celebrating our little guy being one with another quilty hug and...

...continuously cracking up as he keeps "dancing" on his quilt! 

Happy happy first birthday (again) little guy.

Love you bunches.

My New Year OMG & BOM!

Happy Happy New Year!!

 Lucky me, I'm on winter break for the rest of the week yet, still get up early and have breakfast with hubby before he leaves for work. Then I sit right here at our breakfast table and catch up with all of you in the blogging world until daybreak. (Which in our neck of the woods doesn't happen till about 8:00 am.) With that said, I decided to jump in and join two challenges this year in hopes to make a dent in my Quilty Inventory List.

First up: I'm joining many of you at Patty's OMG:

My January goals are to:

1. FINISH my Anne Downs quilt and have it sewn together into a flimsy

2. Get our grand-guys cow quilt quilted and gifted!

Next, I'm joining Deana who blogs at Dreamworthy Quilts for her Create Your Own BOM,

Mine will be by Lori Holt Picture Quilt:

There are twenty blocks in all and I plan on completing four blocks a month.

January I will make the bird, butterfly, cake and camera.

Thanks for the motivation Patty and Deana.

My 2019 Quilty Inventory

Okay like many of you, with the New Year ahead, I have found myself taking "inventory" of my stash. As I keep calm and carry on, I decided to make a list of my inventory along with "why" I bought or started each, in hopes to inspire myself to tackle a few them in 2019.

KITS

So here we go:

1. Hollyhock Flowers bought as I was inspired by some new techniques included in this kit.

2. It's Good To Be Square bought to make a summer quilt for hubby.

3. Brown Bear  Brown Bear bought as a great story quilt for the grands.

4. Kinder layer cake bought just because I like the fabric! LOL!
5. Material for two receiving blankets because my gift inventory is low.
6. A Bloomin Dozen Wall Quilt by Kim Schaefer.
7. Home is Best Wallhanging by Timeless Treasures
8. Buggy Barn Winter Blooms (Potted Hearts)
7. My Lori Holt Picture block quilt. I joined as a block of the week to create a quilt for our master bed. But! The store got wayyyy behind on their kits...thus, I got way thrown off. These blocks are always fun to make, I'm thinking of doing them as a block of the week again, I mean I have the kits!

W.I.P

These three are top priority. They are all ALMOST done! I'm going to be intentional about finishing each one as I love them. I plan to hang the Bee Happy in my laundry room, the houses and birdies in my living room and My Scrap Dance Tango from Carole's 2017 Mystery QAL I'll continue into a Queen size so I can use it on our Master Bed as our Winter Quilt.
Also, but not pictured: My Metro Rings Polka Dot Quilt

HAND SEWING

I am probably "two movies" away from finishing my Anne Downs quilt and though this has  providing some wonderful winter stitching, I'm ready for something new! Some cotton applique and not wool, as I miss my needle turned applique. These are kits I have on hand that I could rejuvenate:
1. Two Kim Schaefer Calendar Quilts: February, March and April
2. All Around Town by Susan Garman (2000)
3. My Hexi Flowers! (This one is almost embarrassing to admit!)

QUILTING

Looks like I have about a half a dozen quilts to get on the long arm. Not bad really.

Annnnnd I think my BIGGEST area of exploration is in having the confidence to do some custom quilting! Seriously, I'm my worst enemy in this area and literally have unquilted quilts hanging in my house! LOL!!! I'm afraid I'll ruin my quilts.So this week, I will BEGIN with our grands guys cow quilt. Not going to over think it...just going to dive in!!  

EXPERIMENTING

In our process of downsizing, I'm also experimenting with a different "sewing station". I'm 5'10" and have long legs. I'm using a pub size level table for my sewing right now and so far it is proving to be much more comfortable. My back doesn't hurt and my legs can extend. I'm kinda liking it. As we  continue to downsize, I'm also hoping to donate a few quilts and fulfill my foster care quilt mission for kids at our elementary school andddd play with my scraps more! (More on this Sunday)

Notice I'm not really committing to anything...but have to admit, taking inventory inspires me.

I'm looking forward to the New Year and close wishing you the very best as we all welcome 2019!!!! 

Sharing and linking with everyone else at: