Finally a Finish!!!

Here's a picture of the Bears in the Farmhouse from Judy's Quilt Along I did the beginning of the year. I am happy to say it is finished. I haven't been able to post a photo due to all the rain we've been having.

Hope you can see the great quilting Tirane did on it.

She is a terrific quilter.

until next time ... happy quilting ... work on those UFOs ;o)

30s Sampler Top is now DONE!!

I am happy to say that Mother's 30s Sampler is finally a TOP. I put the remaining border on this morning. I took it outside to get a better picture of it. Whatcha think?

It is rather large ... 90x96 I think I measured but they have a full size cedar bed - that is high off the floor so it should work nicely for them.

Now to decide on a backing.......
until next time ... happy quilting

Finally got some sewing time ....

Doing a happy dance as I finally found some down time and got to sew a bit today!

here is what I finished this morning for my friend for a swap we are doing ... she sent the beige fabric and wanted scrappy and Scrappy I can do!! This block is from Quilter's Cache - it is called Goose Creek. I used from my precut 2.5 inch squares and 4.5 inch squares so everything came from my stash. I really like how these turned out. Another block I'd like to make a whole quilt outta.

Here is also an updated picture of the progress I have made on my Mother's 30s Sampler Quilt I made the last couple of blocks today to surround the center. I plan on adding a thin white sashing between each of the blocks and then a border around this round and then another round of squares to surround the top like I did around the center. I hope this will make it large enough - if not ... I can plan from there or I may call on Tirane and her expert layout-planning skills.

This month has not gone as I planned so I will not be able to complete all my goals but I will be happy to get the things done that I can and let the rest wait. Other things are taking first priority and I am doing what I can around them.

until next time ... happy quilting

Quilt-Along Finished

Monday I did the HSTs and added that border and tonight I did the outter two borders. Now step 5 of Judy's Quilt-Along is finished and so is this top.
Whatcha think? I did the border HSTs wrong but I guess that is okay - it's different.

You can go here HERE and check out the other's who participated and see how there's turned out - amazing how the same quilt pattern looks so different due to the fabrics we used.
now it's time for bed.
until next time ... happy quilting

another finish

quickly posting of the picture for the Scrappy HST quilt for my sister. I finished the binding last night.

until next time ... happy quilting

First Finish for 2009

Doing a happy dance here ..... I was able to finish the binding for the HUG QUILT tonight and that means I have finally finished something for 2009!!! I can remove it from my UFO/BOB list and add it to my completed quilts list. How cool is that?

The pictures are not the best as I can't figure out how to take photos to show the beautiful quilting Tirane did on this one. But here goes ...

not sure if you can see the butterflies in the quilting pictures but they are stunning. Thanks Tirane for the beautiful quilting on my quilts.

until next time ....

I'll be binding

I got two quilts back from Tirane in the past week. I need to bind them now. I plan on working on the HUG QUILT tonight while watching a bit of TV. I hope to bind the Scrappy HST one over the weekend. If I can manage some close up pictures of the quilting I will share that with you - she did an amazing job on the butterflies on the one and her quilting on the other is just so nice. Pictures will tell all won't they? And to think both will be coming off the UFO/BOB list. Won't that be nice? Two finishes for March too!! I know I am behind on finishes but that is okay. Slow and steady wins the race right?

Little man started ball practice the other night so my weeks just got a little busiers so I may not be posting about getting things done for awhile. He did so good and the weather was lovely. Today it is raining and yucky out and he is supposed to practice tonight and he was really looking forward to it too. He'll be bummed out about it. We really need the practice too. This is his second year of playing and most of the other's have been playing since Tball so his skills are a bit behind the others but that is okay. His coach seems to be good and willing to teach those who need it. We will see.
until next time ....

HUG Quilt Ready to be quilted!

Here it is - ready to be quilted. This is a scrappy Sister's Choice Quilt set on point. I still have alot to learn about setting triangles :o(

I have this ready to be sent out to Tirane to be quilted. Feels good to be able to use from my stash and those BOBs and create something special kinda quickly. I even have a piece of pretty blue floral to use as the backing for this one. Will not be piecing a backing as it is ready to go.
until next time ...

Quiltalong with Judy

I am going to do the Quiltalong with Judy ... check out the preview for it here Quilt-Along I am going to do mine ... totally scrappy - imagine that ... lol ... I will be using from my stash ... so here is a picture of what I will be using .. not all of it of course but some from each bin.

I'll pull fabrics as we do each step. I have never tried to make this block before so bear with me - no pun intended there either. I might post fussing and fuming about the blocks not turning out and asking for help along the way.
I really want to try this though and hope it will be a learning experience too as I have never done a quilt-along or this block pattern either.
will keep ya posted
until next time .....

gonna have a finish for February ....

I am going to get a finish in February. This one is just about done. I pieced the backing for the scrappy HST quilt ... here are pictures of the top and the backing. The top is now about 84x86 in size.

For the backing I used leftover pieces of prior backings - squares that were cut but not used and pieces of backing I cut off before doing the bindings. This is what I will call a 'leftovers' backing ... lol ... little bit of this one and a piece of that one ... (can you tell the wind wasn't behaving during these photos? we have a storm brewing out today.)

for the rest of the day I am going to do mindless stitching ... I'll be playing with strings .. I need to make 24 blocks for a swap I am doing. Should be able to get part of these done.

until next time.

boring borders

Is it just me or does everyone else seem to get into the rut of making boring borders?
I was piecing the one border for the scrappy HST top yesterday and thought to myself ... when are you going to try something different? I have this great book I swapped recently for that has all kinda borders in it. A new goal is to start using some of these ideas/patterns to finish off the UFOs / BOBs that I complete this year.
Hope to sew more today and get the Scrappy HST Quilt ready to mail out to be quilted. Will update later on today on that.
Little man is doing a bit better this morning, the medicines are doing their job to kick this flu bug.
until next time ....

Quiltathon Sunday Edition

Day two of Judy's QUILTATHON is off to a good start.
Just after 8:30AM here ... I am working on my second cup of Vanilla Coffee ready as I sit here and post my update. I have already added two rows to the top and have all those HSTs waiting to be sew together and add as rows. I'll post an updated photo later on today.
9:40AM Another two rows have been added and pressed nice and neat into place. I am going to take a break from the quiltathon and will be back after church with my updates. Hope to get the top all done today but we will see. I don't have enough HSTs made up as of yet to do another row to any side of the top so I will work on more HSTs when I get back at it.
3:20ish here ... made up another 56 HSTs, got them sewn, pressed and trimmed. Taking a short break to post my update and stretch a bit. Those HSTs should be all I need to complete the center of the quilt, then it's onto the borders.

almost 10PM here ... here is what the top looks like now. I am done for the weekend. I added the last rows around the top a bit ago. Between company, the kiddos and all the phone calls I didn't get done what I wanted to but I am glad to have made some progress on this UFO. This ends my quiltathon updates. Nite ya'll!

Good luck to all those participating ... with accomplishing your goals. Anything we get done is better than nothing remember that. Some have may more time and work a bit faster than I do but I am enjoying my sewing time and that is what counts. I chose to work on a UFO instead of starting another project so I will be happy with whatever I can add to it to make it closer to being done.
until next time ...

Quiltathon Saturday edition

another Quiltathon is being held this weekend with Judy hostessing it for us. She is wonderful to have thought of this idea for a virtual quilt session among us bloggers. If you have anything you are needing or wanting to get done today come join in ... QUILTATHON

almost 10AM here and I have been up and at it but not just sewing all morning. I have gotten quite a bit done on the scrappy quilt I am working on - so far I have gotten another 33 HSTs added to the top and another 38 made needing to be trimmed and another 45 white squares cut and marked ready to turn into more HST units. I thought I had a before picture of this top but I don't. Here it is as of right now. I added a row to three side already today.
My goal for this quiltathon is to get this top ready to be mailed off on Monday to TIRANE Let's see if I can get that accomplished.
I have to get ready for an eye appointment so I won't get much done here until after I get back from there and the rest of my errands for the day. I'll post again with my updates when I come back.
It's about 4:30PM here ... having to stop for awhile. We are going to some friends' house for supper. Wanted to post an update though before we leave. I have another 76 HSTs pressed and trimmed and waiting to be added to the top. Might be able to work on this again tonight if we don't get in too late. If not tomorrow is another day.
It's almost 9:30PM ... We had a nice supper with our friends and now it's almost bedtime. I got another row added to the top and have another row set out to pin and sew in the morning. Planning on getting up early and sewing before church. No new pictures sorry. That will come tomorrow. Nite ya'll!
good luck quilters on getting what you'd like done today ...
until next time.

finally back at it ...

whew ...... the last of my Christmas company has left and now the rest of my days off until the 5th will be spent cleaning, sorting, organizing and sewing.

We had a great Christmas and enjoyed lots of family time. At some time or another all my brothers and sisters and their families were all together and that means a house full but I love every minute of all the craziness. I am blessed with a large family and wouldn't know what to do without them. Below is a picture of my parents with most of their grandkids and their two great grandkids. There were four grandkids not in the picture.

The kids had fun opening their gifts Christmas morning with me and spent Christmas Eve with their dad and his family. I'm learning how to share these special times.

Here is the string quilt all complete! I did the binding on the morning of the 27th and gave it to my brother. Didn't the quilting turn out so nice!!

I had to work this morning but got off early and did a little shopping for have toos and now I have to get myself into gear and get some stuff done here at home. I'll take some pictures of my organizing stuff when I have it all in place. Slowly but surely I will get it all into place.
I still need to find a way to keep up with how much fabric I use for 2009. I use alot of scraps and pieces so I will just have to guess I suppose. I don't want to buy anything fabric wise in 2009. That is my plan and I hope to stick to it. I also plan on posting my goals for 2009 and finding ways to get them all into place too.

I have found that I am so blessed to have my large crazy family to be with and share the holidays. I am so thankful for the time I have with them and the memories we share and make too. I am so thankful for my job, I am reminded yesterday how wonderful it is to have a job. I helped a friend of mine sort through items to give away and keep as she prepares to move from her house. She has been outta work since February and has lost her house. I know I am so blessed to still have my house, all the things inside it, my wonderful family, my car and my job. May 2009 be the year of good positive changes for us all.

until next time.

Scrappy String Quilt

Another one is complete!! I finished piecing the backing for this one before work this morning and it is in the mail to Tirane to be quilted! This is my scrappy string quilt made from 6.5 inch blocks pieced on a foundation block. I love it and hope one of my brothers and sisters will too as it will be a gift for one of them.

I have one more to piece and then three to bind by Christmas - ish. I am running late with these a bit I know but .... remember me saying I felt like I was getting sick ... well ... I did get sick. In fact me and the kiddos all had strep throat and they have gotten better faster than me. Mine seems to be hangin on for dear life. I am sick of being sick and taking all the medicine I have to to feel okay to work. I have just a couple days left at work before we are off for the Christmas holidays so I am trying not to miss work. I did miss last Friday though .. that was the major start of this stuff and the day we all went to the doctor. I am so looking forward to being off and having some down time and catch up time. I have lots I want to do while I am off and I need some rest.

I have some Christmas shopping done but nowhere near all of it done. I will finish the rest of that up and wrap the presents this weekend while the kiddos are with their dad. I haven't baked one thing which is not like me. Christmas is my holiday and I love it and look forward to it every year but this year I have not felt up to it. With lossing me dear friend and my mother in-law both in November and all the stuff with my ex and me being sick this last week I have not done much in the way of getting ready for Christmas. I haven't even called my family to plan the meal for Christmas day. I tell ya ... time gets away from ya quickly. So lots to do this weekend and lots to plan too. I think I need to start a reminder list to myself so I can remember what all I need to do and buy and who to call and such.
The kids had their Awana Christmas party last night at the skating rink and they had a blast. It was such fun for them. I failed to bring my camera so no pictures of that to share. I need to try and remember to bring my camera to outting like that more often. I miss so many photo ops!

Here are some of the kiddos attempts at the Christmas card picture ... the first one is how they are part of the time and the others are how they are the rest .. don't want to mislead anyone into thinking I have two little angels here ... I think all and all they turned out nicely and I got copies and put them in the Christmas cards that I finally mailed yesterday.

thoughts and blessing ... I am learning how to let it be and let it go and it is not easy to say the least. I am trying to learn to turn things over to God and let him handle my troubles and struggles. Haven't mastered either of these things yet but I am working on it.
I am so thankful that the kids are feeling so much better. With us all sick we were all cranky and life was not fun for us this week. I am so thankful that the temps are rising around here and it is not so cold ... means less gas to heat the house .. which saves me money. I am so blessed to have wonderful parents ... they are simple folks and have a giving heart even though they have less than most. My mother called me at work on Monday and told me to come and get a bag of pecans they had to share with me. I go over yesterday (as I have been sick and didn't want to give it to them) and there was a half of a brown grocery bag full of lovely pecans. Now to get them shelled and into the freezer for baking. YEAH!! Another money saver. I am so blessed to have my dear friends who listen to my struggles and offer their advice and never give up on me even when I want to give up on myself.

didn't mean to write so much ... guess I am making up for the days I was sick and not able to post.

until next time ....

sewing on Sunday

Last day of the long weekend and I finally have some free time today to sew -- I'm gonna take advantage of the quiet house (the kiddos went to do a late Thanksgiving supper with their dad) and get some work done on the Betty Boop Quilt and sew on a couple other projects.
I have the string blocks sewn into sets of four now and they are laying on the floor of my living room for me to admire for awhile. These squares each measure 6.5 inches and go together quickly so I am hoping to make more blocks over the coming weekend and finish this off.

I have the fabric all cut for the setting squares of the Betty Boop quilt. Gonna go sew on that one for awhile now. Update ... I got the center of this one together and the first border attached before the kids got home. I have the fabric cut for the middle border and hope to do attach that soon. I want this one done and outta here. I haven't taken a picture yet so that will come later. Thanks so much for your help Tirane in the layout of this one!!
I was sitting in church this morning with one kiddo on either side with their little heads laying against me and I thought to myself how blessed I am to have them. I love them so much. I am so thankful for my kids and the times we have together and the hugs that we share. I am so thankful for the holidays that bring our families closer together - seems like over the holidays we are able to spend more down time reconnecting to one another. I am so thankful for the food in my pantry that I was able to put up this past summer and we are now able to enjoy - we ate green beans, peas and squash for Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for my sewing time - I use it to destress and it is my outlet - even if it is not every day - I look forward to it and enjoy it.

until next time ....

Jacob's Ladder quilt is completed

Oh my - the mailman made my day I can tell ya!! He brought me a package and in it was this wonderful quilt (my scrappy Jacob's Ladder Quilt) my friend Tirane quilted for me ... isn't it lovely. She did a fabulous job on the quilting. I am so happy with it.

Update .... The binding is now completed and I can mark this one as completed!!!

I have been pulling fabrics today to cut some charms for a swap I am doing and while cutting charms I decided to go ahead and cut 10.5 inch squares to piece the backing for my scrappy sampler I am working on. I think I have enough cut to piece the backing. Need to be in there sewing instead of playing on the computer but I needed a break. I plan on sewing some more tonight and finishing up the sampler over the weekend and hopefully the binding on the Jacob's Ladder quilt too. Am I ambitious or what??
I have been cleaning up my sewing area today to get ready for my company that is coming on Wednesday. This means to clean up and put everything away that is normally sitting on the breakfast room table and under the table and on the bar to the left of it. I have claimed this area as my sewing area. While cleaning it has come to my attention that I am totally addicted to scraps (as if you didn't know). I found lots of great scrap pieces to add to a scrap box to make blocks later. I also found lots of pieced blocks I totally forgot I had made. I took advantage of the cleaning mode and put all the made blocks along with the fabric I had been using into large baggies with directions if I had them. I have found enough BOBs and UFOs to keep me sewing throughout all next year - even without starting another project. Which you know will happen. I have quilter's ADHD - I can't stay focused on one project for long if I see something else I'd like to try then I wander off and start that one. I know I have got to work on this. My plan for 2009 will be to work on my BOBs and UFOs before starting another project. Let's see if I can stick to this.

I am so thankful for my quilty friends who inspire me when I need a kick in the tail! I am so thankful for all the fabric I have been playing with today. I have enough fabric in my stash to make several more scrappy quilts. I am so thankful for Saturday's to play catchup and some downtime. I am so thankful for my Father in-law who is so supportive and encouraging even with the loss of his dear loved one.

until next time.

making progress ...

Wanted to start with a smaller project to try and get back into the groove of things. Here is a tablerunner made for a swap mate for a Secret Santa swap on a quilting site I am part of. She sent me the snowman FQ and I added the rest. I am beginning to think of myself as just a piecer and not a quilter. I didn't do a wonderful job with the simple quilting on this runner. I had a couple bunches in the back even though I pinned the fire outta it. I am still learning I guess.
I have some fabric left over and am thinking of making her a hot pad. Still thinking on it though ...



Here are a bunch of scrappy blocks I am going to assembled into my next scrappy top for one of my brothers and sisters for a Christmas present. I will update my progress as I can. I have collected these blocks from a couple of online swaps and several that I made myself. I like the idea behind using all these blocks - no two are alike. Should turn out neat. I am going to work on adding sashing and cornerstones to the blocks tonight. Might have this one ready to ship to Tirane on Monday??? I do hope so. Gonna try and piece another stash bustin scrappy backing for this one too.
I am so thankful for Fridays!! Not only is it the last work day it is the beginning of some much needed down time. I am so thankful for my nice warm house. It has been very chilly here this week and the weekend proves to be cool too. I am so thankful for the love I have had in my life. I know the best is yet to come but I wouldn't have my two kids without the last love of my life and they are my world. So for everything that happens to us in life there is a plus. I have got to work on remembering that. ;o)
until next time .....

might join the stash bustin challenge for 2009

Life has been very rocky this last year and I am hoping that things will start to improve and I can get myself motivated again soon. I just have the blahs and feel just numb inside.
As some of ya'll know, I have been doing stash bustin this year but saw this post on another friend's blog about joining the 2009 stash bustin challenge with Judy with Patchwork Times I love scrappy quilts as you can tell and have been trying several patterns to use up some of my stash this year. I don't think I can be as motivated as Babs and finish 24 quilts in 2009 but I do want to think about having goals to complete several more UFOs and work on downsizing my scrap bins and continue making scrappy quilts. I will be working on a new list of goals to try and complete for 2009.
Does anyone know of a tracker-counter type thingy that will help me keep up with the amount of fabric I use per project?? I want to see what I use per project and to date. Think it would be neat to have a tracker-counter to see what damage I can do to my stash in 2009. :o)
Want to try something new at the end of my posts ... a dear family member suggested I try noting my blessings each day to help me get through everything that life is dealing me. So here goes nothing ... I am so thankful for the wonderful families that I am so proud and blessed to be a part of. I am thankful for being the mother of two wonderful loving kiddos. I am thankful for the wonderful and amazingly supportive friends to help me along with life's struggles. I am so thankful for the Fall weather we are having and the beauty of the changing scenery that goes with it.

until next time ....

Scrappy Tennessee Block Quilt Done

November has not been a good month for us. It has been a sad one to say the least. We lost my dear mother in-law early Thursday morning. She was a dear sweet lady. She will be missed. With my situation being as it is ... I have to wait until he is not there to be with the rest of the family. It has been really hard to stay away when I want to be there. But ... I can't change this so I am staying busy here when I can't be there. The services are tonight with the funeral Sunday afternoon.
I took some of this time and finished the binding on my Tennessee Block Quilt. I wanted to do something simple to not mess up. I used the backing, which was a sheet and pulled it forward to do the binding. Not alot of thinking for that so I was able to complete this one today and wanted to try and post something since I was told it has been too long since I've done so. ;o)
Here is the picture - Tirane - a dear friend of mine did the lovely quilting on it. Ya'll need to let her do your quilting - she is amazingly talented lady!


so until next time ... now please go hug your family and tell them how much you love them ... as we are not promised tomorrow.