COMING UP

I found this post I had started in late April and never finished so I'm posting it today as a preview of the blog I'm working on that show my projects - from these fabrics and others:

I've got several things planned for the near future and this is one I'm really looking forward to.
There's a special little girl who will be 2 in July and guess what (who) she really loves. You're right, it's Minnie Mouse - in red, not pink (a girl after my own heart!).

This little lady is my almost granddaughter - I got to travel with my best friend, her grandmother, from Texas to Marystown in Newfoundland Canada when she was born. Her parents are there for a while for work and will be back in Texas for her birthday. I made a pretty pink quilt when she was born so I'm going to follow it with a cute red, black and white Minnie quilt now that she's getting big. Watch for more later - I designed the quilt in EQ 7.

Speaking of grandchildren . . . .  I'm going to be a GRANDMOTHER in September! I can't 

believe that I haven't shared that before! This is some fabric that my daughter-in-love picked out with her mom to make a quilt for the new one (her mom is one of my quilting friends and will make the simple quilt they picked). It has the colors that she wants to use- gray, teal blue, and lime green - and her theme is zoo animals. She is keeping things generic because they are not finding out if it's a boy or girl.

I bought this striped fabric from the same line to  make a skirt for the crib and the gray for a sheet (maybe).

The last fabric I'm showing today is one for a quilt for a special young man - he's my oldest son. Several years ago when I was just starting to quilt, I made a quilt for my niece and took it to her shower. He was there and said "now I know where I stand: you've never made me a quilt". (That's not true but that's a different story!) Anyway, since then I have been looking for the perfect quilt for a young man in his late 20's. This is the fabric I have collected over the course of a year. 

Look for more about these fabrics in the next post, hopefully soon!

Have a great day!

Dee

Past Time!

It's way past time to post a new entry for my blog! It doesn't seem like I have done much sewing but I guess I've done more than I realize.

The last several weeks this is the project I've been working on. It's actually a UFO from the fall of 2012. I got the top made and started doing some stitch in the ditch when I realized that I needed to go across each row of squares not in the ditch. So I pulled out my stitches (not too many, fortunately), set it aside and got busy with other things. This is made on the fusible grid interfacing and had the shape drawn on it by the class instructor. We placed all our fabrics on the grid and used a small iron to secure them before we began to sew. We folded between each column of squares (I think they started out at 2") and sewed a 1/4" seam. After sewing them all one direction, we had to clip at each intersection and sew the other way. It was quite a new technique for me but I did enjoy it.

I've had it on my "to do" list since the fall but had an incentive to get it done before the middle of the month. A local church is going to have a quilt show where they drape quilts over the pews for display. I was asked by a friend from that church I if would loan a quilt or two and I thought this would be really different from any other quilt. It did not take much to finish it but now I am looking for the embellishments that I bought for it and just recently put "in a safe place" (I'll send it without if I can't find them in time).
If you look close, you can see things that I consider important, either in Texas: state symbols, professional sports teams or for my family: colleges, occupations, recreation.
I hope you enjoy it - I know I can't wait to put it on the wall after the show. 
Next week I'll give the link to the show in case anyone from around Houston is reading and would like to go.


This is the Block of the Month I'm doing for 2015. I joined Pat Sloan's Vacation Time for this year's project. (There is a link on the right to the supply list and patterns.)  So far I have made 4 blocks - one each month this year, and yes, I have done them during the month they were meant to be done. Somehow, though, I have not shared them before today so here they are!

First is January's block "Down by the Boardwalk"




Next is "Toes in the Sand" which we did in February.

March's block is called "Surf's Up".

 And for April we have "The Penny Arcade".





Here are all the blocks together. 

I'm using a FQ bundle that I had bought for a quilt for my father-in-law. I was debating what to use and decided this would be a good pattern for his quilt. I added in a few more fabrics and the yardage needed for background and borders. 

It's a nice soft but manly palette and I like the way it looks so far. I will be adding in a few extra blocks so that it will fit a twin bed. I plans to have it finished for him for Christmas.



Have a great day!
Dee

Mug Rug Swap

Last post I gave you a little peek of something that I had finished working on but couldn't share yet. Now I can tell you more. I participated in a mug rug swap sponsored by Fort Worth Fabric Studio.

The theme was spring and we were to make our mug rugs and get them in the mail by March 2. The snippet that I showed you was a small part of the rug that I made. Here's a picture of the whole rug.

I went searching for "spring" things and I really loved this little butterfly. I made it with one of my favorite colors - purple. I sent it off with a little extra of the print fabric and a small amount of two solids that would coordinate with it.

I received my mug rug in a box about a week before the "mail by" date. Inside the box was a really cute mug rug in one of my other favorite colors (green), a mug, some tea, and some really neat fabric. Oh yeah, there was a really delicious cookie in the box too . . .  yes, I've already eaten it. The fabric is really neat - it's not fabric I would normally buy for myself but I love it. I can't wait to find something to make with it.

It was sent to me by Tanyia, who lives in Florida and has a blog called 
Domestic deficit disorder. Check out her post about the swap and look around while you're there.
We weren't sent any information about who we were sending our rug to so it was one of those times when you make something that you like and hope that they like it too. I didn't realize until I addressed my package to her that we were actually swapping with each other, which was kinda neat. The appliqued mug rug that she sent me had a silhouette on it which reminds me of the logo for the subdivision that I live in and I love that. Are you ready for pictures now?  Here is the mug rug

and all the goodies she sent with it (minus the cookie).

While my husband is at the deer lease trying to shoot some pigs, I will be cleaning up my sewing space and finishing up a wall hanging UFO. I'm trying to get it finished so that I can display it. Hopefully I can share it soon!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Dee

Block of the Month Finished . . . What's Next?

My 2014 Block of the Month is finally finished - quilted, bound, and on the bed (at least for the weekend). I'm pleased with the way it looks without adding a border. I found this really nice blue dotted fabric for the binding. It has both  medium and dark blues in it and the dots also range from almost white to light blue. It looks great with the background of my quilt.
Here it is on the bed that my niece slept in this weekend when she came to visit.

 And here is a close-up of the binding. I put it on by machine, which was a new thing for me.

So today I'm headed off to a class at my local quilt shop. I'm looking forward to learning a new technique. The class is called Turned Edge Machine Applique and we're making a table runner. Here are my fabrics -  the white is the background, the colors are for petals of flowers, and the green will be the leaves. 

I probably won't finish today, which is good since I haven't picked my backing yet, but I should get a lot done. I'll report back in a few days with my progress.

Here's what I'll be working on in the next several weeks:

1) my block for March Vacation 2015 (by Pat Sloan) done

2)quilt my January Aurifil block

3)make February Aurifil block - they run from the 15th to the 15th

4) work on quilts for 2 family members

Before I sign off, here is a sneak peek of something that I made for  a swap. We'll be sharing in about a week and I'll let you see the whole thing!

Have a great day and a great rest of the week!

Dee