Monday, January 22, 2018

Sick Slow Down

So Friday afternoon I posted this picture on Instagram and wrote how excited I was that at this rate, I really was going to be able to manage getting this quilted and bound before my class this week!!! 


And Friday evening I had some extra tidbits of time and managed to get the blocks sewn together and the final pieced border on!!!  Isn't it just so fun!!!    I was so excited.    The quilt top was finished, I had the binding cut and ready to press, and the backing picked out so that first thing Saturday morning I could get this on the long arm and finished up.


And then Friday night it hit me.  The Flu!!!  Boo to the Flu!!!  I was down for the count all day Saturday and Sunday.  I am feeling a bit better today, and thought about quilting this,  but my sweet husband reminded me that if I plan to be up and on my feet teaching on Tuesday and Wednesday I best take it easy today.  And of course, he's right.  So I guess this will just be a quilt top for show :)  Oh well, sometimes life just goes that way.   I am just reminding myself to be grateful that I can get out of bed today, because it would have been really bad timing if it was two days later :)  

So since I didn't get anything done this weekend, how about you tell me what you worked on???  Any fun projects for your weekend sewing?? 
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Thursday, January 18, 2018

Lone Star and Sewing Started!!!

This Month in our Bees Knees group my good friend Corey asked us to make a Lone Star block using this tutorial that takes out the Y seams and uses triangles instead.  So awesome!!!   She sent us some of her gorgeous prints from her past collections and some Moda Cross-weave background, so pretty :)  I had so much fun making this block!!!  I always love a block that challenges me with lots of  points to line up, and these points were even matched on the angle, so great!!!    And I have to say, I am pretty proud of how it all came together, and you know I totally want to make an entire quilt of these now!!! 


And after I finished sewing my bee block, I read through your wonderful and very helpful comments (thanks so much for that!!!)  from yesterday and came to a decision.  I am going with the black background!!!   I really do love how it makes the colors pop and it is indeed something New to try, which is always fun.   As was mentioned in the comments, I was a little worried about the darker blue otter print showing up on the black, but after looking at it right next to it, I decided there is enough contrast.  And once it is all sewn together, if it blends to much my backup plan is to stitch around that particular block (it will be the center) in a gold thread to make it stand out more ;)  So now, I am off to the machine to get these Flying Geese started!!


I hope you are having a very Happy Quilting Day!!! 
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Wednesday, January 17, 2018

No School Monday Equaled Lots of Sewing!!!

The kids were out of school on Monday, and after a crazy weekend runaround, we were ecstatic to realize we had absolutely nothing planned for Monday, insert huge sigh of relief :)  And you can imagine my excitement when my daughter asked if she could work on her quilt since we had no plans.   Absolutely!!!!  We made a Pajama day of it, and sewed to our hearts content ;) 


Jessica learned a lot and got a whole lot of practice pinning and pressing to get nice seams.  It was so fun to see her grow more confident with both as the day moved on!!!   By the end of our sewing session, she only had a few seams left :)   She decided she wanted a break so she moved on to picking out her border and binding fabric.  She found fabrics she likes, but not she can't decide which to use for which???  Mint border and Purple binding or Purple border and Mint Binding.  Decisions, Decisions ;) 


It was so much fun to sew with Jessi!!!  And a bonus is that as she gets more confident she is also getting quite independent, which means I could work on some projects as well, right by her side ;)    Which meant Tuffet Time!!!   (see my previous posts here and here)    I managed to get it covered and the button added to the top :)   Isn't it just so cute!!!   All I have to do now is paint the legs and cover the bottom.


And speaking of the bottom, I wish I could have gotten a picture of us trying to get that button added through these little holes in the bottom but  there wasn't a spare hand for picture taking ;) .  It was a little tricky, and for sure a two man job, but after a few tries, we figured it out ;)  We learned it was best to get two huge upholstery needles and while Jessi pushed down on the foam that was sitting on the counter top with half of it hanging over the edge, I threaded a needle up through each bottom hole at the same time. Then while Jessi continued to hold down the foam, I threaded the strings that we had attached to the button beforehand, and then pushed them both back down through the same holes.  The key was to keep the tuffet flat enough so that the upholstery needles never left the top side of the wood base of the hole in the wood. (otherwise the needle gets lost in the foam ;)     Hopefully that makes sense if you are planning on working on your own tuffet :)
    And one last helpful hint, I wish I would have back stitched at the beginning and ending of my piecing.  When I went to pull it over the Tuffet, the seams started to pop a little.  I was super careful, and then stapled it down like crazy so I didn't have to worry about it coming apart, but I think a little back stitching would have made it a little more stable ;)    Things to remember for my next Tuffet Kit!!


Once I had my Tuffet covered, I didn't want to stop the PJ Sew Fest to run to the store for paint, so I moved on to picking out some fabric for more projects ;)   Always fun right!!!!   The Clementine Quilt Along  hosted by Fat Quarter Shop just released the Fabric Requirements on Monday.  They have Quilt Kits if you want your fabrics to be just like the originals, but I decided to use my stash and in the end, I choose a bundle of Farmers Daughter by Lella Boutique for Moda ;)   I sorted my Fat Quarters into 6 stacks of 4, with each stack having a black, pink, tan, and yellow print.  So now I can just grab a stack each month and I am ready to make the blocks ;)  The first blocks are coming out later this month and I am so excited to start sewing them!!!


And finally, I decided, at totally the last minute, to add another new project ;)  I am teaching my Pave the Way design at the Cedar Quilt Retreat next week.  I have been working on the pattern (which I will release soon)  to add size options and thought it would be fun to make another sample in a new size for class (ya, like in a week, we will see if I get it done or not ;)    I decided on the lap size which needs 9 Fat Quarters, and I instantly thought of my Tula Pink Spirit Animals bundle that I got in my Sew Sampler box a few months ago!!!  It had 8 Fat Quarters so I grabbed another Tula FQ I had in my stash, which of course, still matches great, love that about Tula!!!


I pressed all my Fat Quarters and cut them up, and then got to the yardage and was stumped.  I can't decide. . .  do I do a dark grey background, (which is very similar to my original Pave the Way)  or do I step totally outside my comfort zone, and try a black background (which I have never tried before)  ???     What do you think . . .Grey or Black????



And that was our Holiday Sewing and it was of so much fun!!!  How about you???  Did you get some extra sewing in on this Long Weekend???  What are you working on????

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Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day so let's have some fun :)

But first, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!  
The winner of the Peach Blossom Dreaming of Spring Fat Quarter Collection from Four Peaches Fabric  is . . .   Number #113. Congrats Fribble!!!   I have emailed you :)      

      

  
And on to today's


Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop .    Did you know that Jamie makes a new Lou Lou Bundle every Tuesday . . . this is today's, isn't it just so sweet!!!  Along with hosting the giveaway, Jamie is having a  Fantastic Sale with lots of Christmas Fabrics and Bolt Ends marked way down!!!!  And  she is also offering all Happy Quilting readers  a special discount of  10% off any Lou Lou Bundle  with the code bundleup good until Friday!!!  Oh, so much fun shopping!!!



Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for some shopping goodness!!  Lou Lou's Fabric Shop is offering one lucky reader a $25.00 Gift Certificate perfect to use on anything in the store, including the awesome Lou Lou Bundle pictured above!!!!




You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.   Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me if you are currently "Bundled Up" in your neck of the woods???  (It's cold here but still not a lot of snow, le sigh :)  

 ENTRY 2 - Lets show Lou Lou's Fabric Shop some Love!!!!   You can follow them on   FacebookTwitterPinterest, or Instagram.  Or you can follow their blog or  visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Lou Lou's Fabric Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, January 23rd  when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!
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Saturday, January 13, 2018

Spelling Bee Saturday - G thru L

It's another  Spelling Bee Saturday  and this week is another one of those catch-up weeks.  Not that I haven't been keeping up with sewing the blocks, amazingly I have.  I just haven't been around the last few Saturday's to post my progess.  So here they are all in a row, the Letters G, H, I, J, K, and L :)









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 I am having so much fun with these and I can't believe this already puts us almost half way through the alphabet!!! Wow, how time flies :)  Next week I think we have some more picture blocks, which are just to cute ;)  Are you sewing along . . . if not, and you are interested, you can grab a copy of  the  Spelling Bee Book  by Lori Holt and join in this alphabet goodness ;)  

Happy Quilting!!!

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