Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Ho ho ho! Complete!

 Just a little brag for something that has taken me years!

I finally got up the courage to use my mom's crystals!

I am a big believer in making traditions.



Each year I put a small trinket or charm on our family 

Christmas socks. The vinyl pocket at the top of the 

stocking is for a current picture of the owner.

This on has a snowman as the recipient of the 

stocking had not arrived yet ( born Jan 22, 2021).




As the family grew and stabilized in numbers ( 4 offspring)

I got new socks and continued. The earlier stockings with 

many additions, are now decorations for the garland!

I finally added crystals from my mother's 

necklace to the stockings!

It was a 2 strand crystal necklace, one strand 

broken but still beautiful.

I added 1 for each member of the individual's family. 

Even pets! They get a tiny crystal. 

The remainder are stored in the bead box for future additions.

It is a joy to have complete. 

Next year , I can keep her memory alive

by sharing stories with my family. 



Linking with :

Wednesday Wait Loss


Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!


TGIFF

Stay safe and sew on !


To do #3 Retreat!!!


Yaahooo! Retreat was a wild success!

I finished nothing but made great progress on partial finishes 

so I am taking the win! 

Here's my check list!


 ~finish ( de thread) the baby quilts X

 

~Pack and ship quilts X

I compress these with my vacuum cleaner !



~more green blocks X
( up to 34)



~join backing blocks 1/2 X
Only got 1 done up 



~assemble string stars X

This one is now a flimsy!



~add crystals to family stockings X


This is real Feel Good one.

List for this week

~ Chose  joining blocks for spiderweb~
~Make extra blocks to enlarge spiderweb~
~Trim square dance blocks~
~assemble Many Strips blocks for count~

Good luck everyone, remember to enjoy 
what we are doing and don't make it a chore!

Stay safe and sew on !

Linking up with :





Monday, March 29, 2021

Retreat success!

 Well , I had a wild weekend! First virtual retreat ever!  

It was a great success. The comradery and  comfort of

sewing along with other was very evident.

 Big bonus, I actually got things done!

Left on my design wall at the end of the weekend, 

is the Aliens have Arrived quilt . 




I put it at the end of the weekend list since it will take a 

bit more thinking to get going. 

 I had planned on getting it complete this month but 

 other projects jumped forward in line. 

It even lived behind some projects 

from a few weeks ago for awhile. 




There are material squares in some of joining 

spaces to audition colors. 

I am leaning toward the burgundy or black. 

Those two colors seem to bring out the 

interest in the blocks. 

It began with 4 x 4 blocks but that made it too small. 




I had 3 more blocks left so I did up another from 

spare triangle cuts and made the block arrangement 

4 x 5. Still  smaller than my usual 82" square 

quilts so I  am making up 5 more blocks. There will 

even be some recently acquired scraps in this quilt.



Two flimsies were completed this weekend!  Yay!

The found top Stretched Stars had 5 more rows added.


This little item was ready to assemble. 
 I had laid it out on the design wall but had to remove it.
 The blocks rows were
labeled and then stacked together by rows. 


It went together with only a few errors in placement !!
It is a string star! 
Yes there is a trend, I have a thing for stars!
  There are even more blocks in the works
for another quilt. 



Another item completed is a quilt back 
using 20" blocks from my stash. 
All set to sandwich another flimsy!


Lots done but always lots I get to do !

Linking up with :









Stay safe and sew on!









Sunday, March 28, 2021

Ohhhh Scraps!

 As a scrappy quilter , people frequently ask

 " Where are the quilts those scraps come from?"

and " Do you cut up yardage for pieces?"

Wellllll.... the scraps come like 

a radar speeding ticket, 

out of the blue, but much less expensive!?!

A phone call and a drive by and I end up with 

Christmas in the spring!

A friend of a friend directed this beautiful bunch of 

scraps to my door. 




Each organized bundle is secured with some large strips 

and is like a packet of inspiration!!!

The biggest detriment to scrap usage is wrinkles 

( someone said, but I think it is motivation)

so these came all nice and flat!



Sew much fun to be had!!


I finished a trip around the sun not too long ago and 

a squishy bag showed up in the mail.

 What did I find inside? 



A lovely card and assortment of scraps!!

Some beautiful oranges and colorful pinks, a great way to start a birth day!

Another cotton surprise came around that time too! 

Gave a buddy a ride and she came with a package of scraps!!

Leftover greens from St Patrick's day wall hangings!

Again, sew much fun!!




I wont be running out of supplies any time soon!  

It is a good thing I am at a retreat this weekend,

 I can make a tiny nibble into

 my scrap mountain of goodness!

Stay safe and Scrap on!

Linking up with :

Oh Scrap!


Saturday, March 27, 2021

Green progress!

 Sew weekend let me get some work done on my greens!

But..  I realized I was measuring the blocks a little crooked!


A quick trim and I am back on track!

34 right slope are ready , only 14 more to go and then

48 of the left.





 All my pre-sorted green strips are gone 

so I will have to hit the scrap bins!!


Sew weekend is going great! 

Getting lots moving and having a great time!



Have quilt backs started and 

finished the stretched star flimsy!


Stay safe and sew on !


Linking up with :

RSC 2021



Friday, March 26, 2021

Plan ahead!

 Another sew day coming up so 

I am pulling out all the goodies to work on !

First up is an old project ( 2010)

Lots of little squares!  I used 

quilter's fuse to make the large blocks 

of squares. They need a little 

sashing and then I can join up to

the alternate blocks. 


Inspired by a Quiltmaker pattern from
 Jo & Kelli Kramer. Mine will look similar but as 
always, I add, subtract and do things differently!



I have some piles of squares ready to make backs so 
with friends!!


There is a pile of string squares for stars ready to assemble waiting
in the corner for lost items !






A wonky star quilt is waiting to be designed too!




Those should get me thru the weekend!
Fun with friends will make the day 
complete!


Update! Update! Update! 

First day of retreat , I got the stretched stars 
flimsy completed !  Woot Woot!





Stay safe and sew on !

Linking up to:




 


 











Finished up!

 A lot of finishes this week!

I even got them all de threaded!

We had cold weather , but lots of sun for a photo!



They are not shipped yet. I need to visit 

as few more liquor stores to find a bit larger box!

Finished  5 crib/baby quilts ! Yay!




Another finish too!
 I finished the top stitching on this tablecloth for my sister. 
It will be mailed out with the baby quilts this weekend. 



Can't show the whole tablecloth, since I don't 
the creator info.


There is a virtual retreat this weekend so hoping 
for lots of progress this weekend! Not sure if the 
rent a dog will assist except to find the occasional pin!

Stay safe and sew on !

Linking up with:



Tuesday, March 23, 2021

To Do # 2 March 23

 Wow another list to do and I love lists! 

Checking off this week:

 ~Sandwich the purple coin quilt X

~Sandwich the pink, 1, 2 and 3!  X 

~Start a Green braid 1/2 X

I even impressed myself!

Spent a bit of time with child care, since the climbing child is

 mountain skiing this week. Then took a whole day to 

hang out in the sewing room and ,

"GET THINGS DONE".

First one up was the little pink quilt stack. 



There was a yellow crib sized quilt in 
the flimsy pile also so it came
in to play for quilting and finishing. 



It has a minky-like back and no
batting. Finishes up at 38" x 53".


Next is a pink coin quilt. It is one of three
made with the left overs strips from
my first "Grandchild " quilt!


There are some adorable fabrics in 
these quilts . They made it so much fun
to see again while quilting them!


This little one  finishes at 40" x 46"
and still needs the final quilting.
I got to use pink ballet slipper flannel
for the back so it is extra cuddly!


Recognize the hearts in one border?
They are the leftover heart blocks from 
my first pink quilt. When I started
layering 2 of these pink baby 
quilts, they were too narrow.

 
I used the spare blocks from the 
heart quilt to widen them up!
Success all around!




This one is the other using the spare hearts and ballet fabric. 
It finishes at 38" x 46". Both ballet flannel quilts have 
5 oz poly batting. I used up some large batting 
pieces so it was a great spares quilt day.


One more pink strip quilt !



This one finishes at 38" x 43"and has the minky 
back and no batting, but lots of cute fabrics!





Last up is the deep pink coin. This has a cotton back 
and 5 oz batting. Finishes at 49" x 53".  




The back was pieced with darker
colors so it would be okay for a boy too!

So what next? List completed? Nope.
Didn't start the braid but did start a green for RSC 2021.
It is a chevron made of green strips. 
I worked on it during a zoom bee group . 
So I will take 1/2 check on the list. 
I even had some pre-sorted green strips to work with! 


List for this week:
~finish ( de thread) the baby quilts~
~Pack and ship quilts~
~more green blocks~
~join backing blocks~
~assemble string stars~
~add crystals to family stockings~

Lots to do but it is my first virtual retreat weekend 
so definitely  achievable!

Stay safe and sew on !

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