Lemonade is Served! (AYOS Finish!)

I fully intended to make a true Schnibble Doc using my Sweetwater Reunion fabric.  Excited by the idea of just starting to sew the HST without cutting the charm squares, I decided to use some cream/ivory charm squares.  All was well until I realized I didn't have matching fabric that could be cut for the lattice strips.


So I turned lemons into lemonade and made this table runner!

I did straight line quilting - which was a lot of fun to do.   I just love the fabric I choose for the backing -

If fact, I like the back almost as much as the front.


Binding was the same pennant fabric as the back - my table is all decked out in loveliness.

Looking forward to this week's parade as well as the next pattern.  Just ordered my Sweetwater's Lucy's Crab Shack charms!


I am linking this finish at Sew and Sew.

Happy Stitching!

Coast to coast

Last week, I had to travel to Seattle for business (picture from my morning walk) so I do what any of my blog readers might do - googled to see what quilt stores might be in the area.  I found Quiltworks Northwest and it was only a very slight detour off the highway from airport to hotel!



I enjoyed slowing walking the store and purchased some really cute fat quarters which (except for the top one) are themed Paris.

Most of the fabric in the store was sorted by color.  I saw very little precuts anywhere.  Imagine my surprise when I rounded a corner of the store and there it was in all its splendor.....

Several bolts of Sweetwater Pure - see my last post on Pure Obsession.   They also had 4-5 jelly rolls.  The real surprise is that I bought NOTHING of Pure.  I had just inventoried everything I owned and figured I had enough in my stash to make it work.  (Seeing this photo now, however, is very tempting...  good it is a coast away....)


And now, for my giveaway results...

I had over 700 entries from my SMS giveaway for a charm pack of Fig Tree Quilts Strawberry Fields.   Congratulations to number 233 - Tawny from Canada.  

I had so much fun reading where everyone was from including UK, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Singapore, Kenya, Austrailia, New Zealan, South Africa, Malaysis, Croatia, Argentina, Brazil & Turkey in addition to the good old USA!   


I am very grateful for new followers - welcome!


Happy Stitching!

Pure ... Obsession?

(To enter my SMS Giveaway for a charm pack of Fig Tree Strawberry Fields, go here.)


I started my quilting journey in earnest a few years ago and one of the first fabric lines that completely caught my fancy was Sweetwater's Pure.


So I bought two charmpacks and a layer cake and a jelly roll.   I used the jelly roll right away and made bags.

I then decided to collect 'some' of the fabric and stockpile so I could make a queen size quilt.  


Along with 2 charm packs (which I'll save for AYOS) and a layer cake, here is what I have:


3 yards of this argyle print - not quite enough for backing

2 yards cuts of these:

1 yard cuts of these:

and these array of fat quarters\

I decided to make a queen sized version of Schnibble Lincoln - I'll need 25 star blocks and 56 strip blocks.  The Schnibble book calls for 2 layer cakes for a quilt which is 7 by 7 blocks.  Mine will be 9 by 9 blocks.  My guess is that I have more that enough fabric but before I cut anything, I'm off to carefully calculate and plan it all out.




Happy Stitching!

A Gaggle of Geese

(To enter my SMS Giveaway for a charm pack of Fig Tree Strawberry Fields, go here.)


I bought a new toy - a ruler specific for Flying Geese called a Wing Clipper.


It works GREAT!  I know there are various geese rulers out there.  I liked this one because you can make a variety of different geese sizes.  Trimming was easy.

And now I have a gaggle of geese in two different sizes.  I'm going to use these for star blocks.

(I just love the neat birds nest of trimmings in the photo background.  Not much waste at all.)  Note my use of wooden clothespins.  I find it to be a great tool for my quilting - it is a nice way to keep piles together without using pins.


I've assembled my geese into stars.  This is the layout I am thinking about for the center of the quilt.  What do you think?   When I originally set out to make this quilt, I had purchased a whole bunch of fabric and decided that this quilt would be far too busy.  I decided to take this iconic print as far as I could with the yard that I had.  (Colors are more true in the photo above.)

Happy Stitching!

Strawberry Fields - SMS Giveaway!

Glad you dropped in for a quick visit - I know you've many new blogs to go explore!  (Perhaps I'll see you there!)   Come back sometime when you've more time for a nice visit - I love to make new blogging friends.


I'm offering a charm pack of Moda Fig Tree & Co Strawberry Fields.

Two chances to enter:

1. Leave a comment and tell me your US state or yourcountry.  (It is fun to see where people are from.)
2. (optional) Follow my blog and leave me a comment telling me you do so

The rules:

• Mr Random Number will choose the winner.  I must be able to contact you via email.
• Giveaway closes Friday, May 25 at 8 pm EST
• Have fun!  See SewMamaSew blog for more wonderful blogs hosting giveaways.

Happy Stitching!

Lemonade - FNSI results

This month's pattern for AYOS is DOC (photo from Carrie's site).  This one uses Sweetwater's Hometown.

I decided to use Sweetwater's Reunion line for my Schnibble.  I set out to make my Schnibble 4 blocks by 4 blocks and merrily created my first block choosing the method to trim after sewing.  This mean since I was using charm squares of ivory (or cream or whatever), I could start sewing right away.  First block:

During FNSI, I finished blocks and the border and set out to assemble the quilt.  


Problem.  


Turns out I didn't have the matching Moda solid (to my time saving Moda charms) in order to cut the sashing strips.  I had several different fabrics (all Moda) that were close but not close enough.  I also didn't have enough charm squares to cut and piece the sashing.


Here is where the lemonade from my blog title comes in.   I decided to make a table runner instead!

Get it - lemonade out of lemons? (Smile)


Anyway, I'll likely add the HST blocks to either edge.  The Schnibble Doc pattern is very fun.  I am going to make the actual Schnibble with other fabric at some point because I quite enjoyed the puzzle like assembly.


Now off to enjoy the other FNSI results as well as view the over 300 entries in the wonderful entries in Amy's Bloggers Quilt Festival.   I entered my Romance quit - post here. 

Finally, I plan to participate in SewMamaSew Giveaway  ....see you on Monday!


Happy Stitching!

Romance (Blogger's Quilt Festival)

Romance is my entry in Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival.  

I started this quilt in October and finished her (it is a she) in May.  

This is a two fabric quilt - Luna Notte by 3 sisters (SKU 4033 15) and Rouenneries by French General Deux 13527 31).  The binding I used was a solid red from the Rouenneries line.

She is 72 by 63 inches and was quilted in an all over pattern by Cathy Kirk.

Romance.  (Good name for a quilt.)

My entries from the past:

• Infinite
• Sunny Days of Summer

Happy Stitching!

Sea Glass

Just finished block 5 from the HST quilt along from In Color Order.

The name Sea Glass was suggested by a reader in a comment.  LOVE this name!


FNSI coming up on Friday - don't forget to sign up here.


Happy Stitching!

Morning walk - May for Me

My job can be stressful so I decided as part of May for Me I was going to get up and walk each day for 20-25 minutes before I go to work.  I get to work early - between 6 and 6:30 - on a regular basis but usually hit the snooze several times.  Not this past week.  Alarm rings and I am up, do a quick change, grab my phone and out the door I go at roughly 5:45.


The mornings are just beautiful.  The sky is just started to get light, everything is peaceful and there are very very few cars.   I walk about 1 1/2 miles and listen to favorite podcasts.


I did this every morning this past week and the results - wow!  Those 25 mins are making me happy and ready for the rest of the day.  I felt energized all day (ok not the first day).   My need for immediate caffeine in the morning definitely reduced.  And I can tell that I am dealing with the stress better.

Because I've been motivated to walk, I don't hit the snooze and I still get to work at 6:30!

Loving May for Me and I am planning to continue this walking all summer.

I am having a lot of fun playing BINGO as part of May for Me despite the fact that hundreds of squares have been called and I only have 6 buttons - one of them being the free square!   I decided to keep track of my progress by editing the photo of my BINGO card instead of just sewing on the buttons.  The first thing I do each morning when I get to work (luckily my boss doesn't read my blog!) is check the BINGO call. 


However, it must be my lucky day because I did win a charm pack based on a random drawing!! I'm calling it a Mother's Day gift!

Sharon, Tonya, Marcia, and Snoodles are the lovely hosts for May for Me and BINGO - Thanks ladies!


Finally, because I needed a quilt photo - working on my binding!  My Jacobs Ladder is back from my LAQ and a binding I will go.

Happy Stitching!

Mom, Happy Mother's Day!

I'm the oldest of 7 - all girls - so my mom deserves a wonderful day!  Love you Mom!




Happy Stitching!

The Hills are Alive...

Several years ago when my daughter was younger, she wrote letters to the actors that played each of the children in the Sound of Music and we had a lot of fun seeing how they would reply back.  We got signed photos and from Fredrick (the oldest boy), we got a lovely letter.   My daughter has these photos displayed in her room.


She and I are big fans.


Just had to share this book my daughter and I just bought.  (We had a gift card to burn!)

We are both big Sound of Music fans.  This book is a giant scrapbook assembled by the actors that played the 7 children in the movie.


There are photos from the set - a backstage view like this shot of Julie Andrews.

There are photos of the children's mom's taken photos of them (I love this one!)

And there are a couple of pockets of stuff - replicas of sorts - like this couple of pages of the script.  (There are  several areas in the book that have a pocket with the stuff inside.)

There is also a DVD of home movies - we haven't watched this yet.  If you are a major league fan - I would highly recommend this book.  There is much to explore.


Happy Stitching!

A Schnibbling we go! (is that a word?)

My Schnibble September (I made it last year) is featured at Martingale's blog Stitch This as one of the ten Schnibble quilts from Blog Land (I'm #10 in the slide show.)   Martingale is giving away a copy of Schnibble Times Two so be sure to leave a comment on their blog with a photo of your own Schnibble.

This week, I decided to crack open my charm packs of Reunion by Sweetwater for this month's AYOS.


Made my first block:

The block was quite fun to assemble and I dealt with the bias triangles just fine!  


I am likely going to make a table runner instead of the full Schnibble.


Happy Stitching!

FMQ challenge May

SewCalGal's guest this month for the year long FMQ challenge is Leah Day.  I follow Leah's blog and have been following her journey to create 365 FMQ designs but this was the first time I actually tried one.  (Not sure why it took me so long!)

I found this pattern quite fun, twisting things around and filling in the empty spaces.  I also enjoyed being able to do this with high contrast thread - not something I'd choose for an actual piece but really good for practice piece.  Generally, I was pleased with the consistency of my stitches.  One thing I am seriously considering purchasing is the Supreme Slider that Leah uses - you could see how her piece moved more smoothly under the machine.


Happy Stitching!

Fashion Show

Attended an unusual fashion show recently at a local high school.  The art students had to create an outfit solely from recycled materials and then model it in a fashion show.  The theme was fashion through time.  It was a lot of fun. 

The hoop skirt is made from hangers.... Cleopatra's skirt is made from paper towel and toilet paper cardboard tubes!  They did an amazing job!


I got Romance back from the LAQ yesterday.  Binding is on my todo list for the weekend and then some photos.  My LAQ- Cathy Kirk - did her usual amazing job and I can't wait to share!


Photo before LAQ:

Happy Stitching!

I interrupt this quilting blog...

You likely saw photos recently of the Space Shuttle Enterprise arriving at JFK airport - did you happen to see this one?  I found it on the web here.  As a Star Trek fan - I think this is great!

Happy Stitching!

Nights on Rodanthe (Giveaway winner)

What a blast the table topper blog hop was!  I appreciated all the wonderful comments on my lighthouse table topper as well as reading about beaches around the world.  The winner turned out to be a fellow North Carolina resident who visits the Outer Banks as well and frequents Rodanthe.


Congratulations Carrie!

Remember the movie Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere? About one minute into the trailer they show a shot of the beach and the house.  This is THAT house slowly being claimed by the ocean.  I snapped this photo almost 3 years ago after climbing a over a large sand dune.

Now, even more amazing is that someone purchased and MOVED the house to rescue it.  See some pretty cool photos here!


It was in choosing the winner for this contest that I noticed that my comments no longer were numbered.  Random number generator said 75 and that meant (horrors) I needed to count to find the right entry.  A quick google search found me some help and I now have my comments numbered once again.  My guess is the switch to the new blogger undid the comment number code I had before.  While I was in there updating the template, I played around a bit with fonts (Rocky Salt) for post headings and the like.  Fun stuff.


Happy Stitching!