Gifts

I only had one quilt that needed to be finished for a Christmas gift.

I made it this summer and for whatever reason,

I thought I would be able to put it together without any issues.

Really the only issue was my attitude.

But I got it put together.

I'm not a huge fan of the T-shirt quilt,

but I do love the way I used some T-shirts for squares in this quilt.

Hope your Christmas Sewing is working for you.

December

Here we go.

We are starting the last month of the year.

I always find it interesting that the last month goes so fast

while the first month of the new year goes so slow.

We have been busy.

I haven't sewn since the craft show.

I need to get a quilt quilted for Christmas,

so I hope to get it done soon.

More Craft Show

I made these aprons for the craft show.

They were quick and cute.

I'm hoping, being the weekend before Thanksgiving,

they will sell.

If not, I will use them as gifts.

Maybe I should have Wes wear one.

I think he can sell it.

Craft Show

I have a confession to make.

I really don't like craft shows.

But I also have a problem.

I have acquired a few sewing machines this year.

Not to mention a sewing machine cabinet

.

I need to clean out my basement before the kids come home for the holidays.

So I decided to do a craft show at the local Senior Center.

This means I have to sew everyday.

I have been so busy.

But if you have to be busy, 

you might as well be sewing.

This week:  Bags....there are more to come.

Mug Rugs

I do love a  mug rug.

Happy Fall

I love this time of year.

The trees are so pretty.

Even my sewing has changed direction.

Happy Fall!

I feel Fall Coming

Well, this journey started at a Senior Centers quilt show in Malad Idaho.

I saw it there and have wanted to make my own ever since.

I took my time.

In fact, I'm not done, 

but I have some other things to take care.

When I see the leaves change,

it reminds me that I have Christmas projects that need finished.

So, I will wait to put the border on this quilt

and finish some projects.

Like this one.

I'm so happy I don't have to cook this year,

I'm giving this one to my sister, the cook.

Enjoy the season.

The Last Row

I finished the last row!!!

I am going to put it together next week,

but I am going to wait until after I finish some Christmas projects 

to put the border on it.

We took a drive this week.

I stopped at this quilt store in Afton Wyoming.

Very nice people there.

The colors were changing.

But I loved this naturally distressed look

of a building near the railroad tracks 

in Bancroft Idaho.

I love Fall.

Baskets

I had time to sew the baskets yesterday.

I thought I was done, 

when I realized that I was one short.

I really wanted a gray one.

I love it.

I only have one more row to go.

The flowers.

I am scared to look and see how many 1 1/2 inch squares I get to cut out.

I can't wait to see a finished product.

Hand Quilting

I have been working on quilting my big quilt.

Thee is an awful lot of white.

I finally decided to quilt it so it would replicate the pattern on both sides.

I mark it with masking tape.

I have learned to mark small amounts at a time.

It is going to work.

Have a happy day.

Caught Up

My daughter and her husband came for a surprise visit last weekend.

I didn't get any sewing done,

but I did pick out fabric for the houses.

So yesterday, I was piecing them together

and I realized that they were speaking to me.

The pink house:  The house my granddaughters live in.

The cherry house:  our time in the lovely Linden California

House with flowers on the roof:  my flower garden

Yellow house:  It looks just like the farm house we lived in in Linden.

The Gray house:  well it didn't speak to me, but I still like it.

I even got caught up yesterday.

I made the spools. 

They were kind of fun.

By far the simplest row in the book.

Scrappy Happy

I love scrappy quilts.

I guess my definition of scrappy

is a quilt that I made out of my stash.

That being said,

I got this basted yesterday.

It qualifies as scrappy under my definition.

I found this backing from

Connecting Threads.

I love it and it couldn't be more perfect.

I finished this scrappy quilt earlier this week.

 I love it.

I must admit that

while I was making it,

I didn't know if it was going to work.

And to be honest,

I just couldn't see it.

But it does work and I have already used it.

That being said,

I didn't get a row of my new scrappy quilt done this week.

I'm hoping to get one done tomorrow.

Because Labor Day, 

should be used for a labor of love.

Smitten with these Mittens

I love the way the mittens turned out.

I had been thinking that they might be easier than some of the other rows,

You know, because they have a big piece of fabric in them.

I was wrong.

There were 92 little white pieces.

That includes 20  one inch squares.

-which is the norm for a row of this quilt-

But they were worth it.

A van load of goodies

My nephew said told me he had some magazines for me.

Come on over and pick them up.

So I get there and he had a few other goodies for me.

First question, 

We have an off brand sewing machine that gets bunched up, can we fix it?

Sure, it probably needs a good cleaning is all.

Next question.

This was my wife's grandmas. 

It has a 1969 Singer in it.

Will you take it home?

For the record, I didn't want to bring it home,

but I have a sewing machine cabinet with a 1960'ish machine in it, that needs a cord.

It is a beautiful cabinet, so we could sell it, I guess...

Yes, I will take it home.

My wife's grandpa, made this sewing draw set,

Do you want it?

Yes, put it in the back of the van.

Can't wait to clean it up, I know exactly where it will go.

And yes, I remembered the magazines.

I have been kinda busy getting ready for school to start tomorrow, 

but I really wanted to make my row of leaves.

Between you and me, 

I think they look like Christmas ornaments.

But I was happy with them.

Check out the stem.

It was 3/4 of inch,

Take off a 1/4 of inch on each side for seam allowance and

you have a teeny, tiny 1/4 inch stem.

Hope you have a great week.

County Fair.

It is county fair time.

I was happy that this quilt was a winner,

but they had it hung so no one could  possibly 

imagine how it really looks.

I enjoyed working on my row of hot chocolate mugs this week.

I am really enjoying the process of putting this together.

So good to be home

I woke up Monday morning and thought to myself:

I have to go back to work in 2 weeks,

I need to get some sewing done.

I put this cute quilt together.

There should be another one just like it,

and I am hoping to work on it this week.

Now, on to my Lori Holt project. 

I looked at these directions and thought, really?

I can't help but share

- the short version-

Cut the squares,

mark them

and cut them again.

Sew on the marked lines.

Cut them in half.

Sew on the marked lines.

Cut them in half.

Press them.

And you will have 4 flying geese.  

Way cool.

And then there was yesterday.

I need a baby quilt.

Something to teach people to hand quilt on.

Something to give away.

Partly because I didn't want to leave the house

and 

partly because we don't have a lot of quilt stores around here anymore,

I  made this little quilt from my stash.

It will be easy to quilt.

I'm still not sure about it,

but I will think about it.