PMQG Medallion Progress

Wowwza this thing is getting big.  It is now 60 1/2 inches by 60 1/2 inches square.  I have always thought square quilts are a duck of a different color.  I wonder what the point of a large square quilt is???  It would be odd to turn this square medallion into a rectangle at the last minute so it will remain square.  It has such symmetry it will need to be square but it still seems a bit odd to me.  Have you ever made a large square quilt before?  This is a first for me but as it is something that the whole group of modern quilters at Portland Modern Quilt Guild are doing, I am going to assume it is going to be okay and not just plain weird having such a large square quilt.  I guess it will make a great picnic blanket, right???

Better start planning a darker background for the back of this quilt if that is it's future.

Anyhoo now that I have that off my chest here is a peak at my top as of today.  I am finally caught up on it.  Really like how it is coming together.  I think it certainly does have a bit of the modern look in it.  Loving the black and white.  Heck loving it all!!!

My quilt model was a little too short and her arms just way too short but you get the gist of it and I am lucky to have gotten a clear picture at all since she couldn't stop laughing.

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Retro Betty

I have the last of the blocks from the Sew Kitschy BOM from Kristy at Quiet Play completed.  I will be linking it up over at her blog as these blocks are all turning out so cute you will want to see them all.  I love her Betty.  I was looking at Pinterest under vintage kitchens this weekend for ideas on how to finish these blocks and might have found something I like that might just work with these blocks.  Here is the last of the series that I just completed this weekend.

My kitchen is brown and greens so this is going to look fantastic in my kitchen when I get it done.  I need to keep the finished wall hanging on the smaller side so it will fit my wall space without having to take down any of my existing pictures but I think it can be done.  The fabric in the picture hanging on Betty's kitchen wall is from one of the charms I recently won from Alida from Tweety Loves Quilting and just seemed perfectly retro for Betty's kitchen!

The blocks are looking so great together so far.  This year I colored in a small version of the layout before even starting this in January and the blocks look so much more cohesive together. Thank you Kristy for letting us see the plan for all the blocks ahead of time!!! I could never have gotten the correct spread of color without it.

Believe it or not I think September is going to see me catch up on all of my BOMs. Hopefully by the end of this week I will be caught up on the PMQG Medallion Along.  Then on to the September block of the Quilt Doodle Doodle and I will be caught up :)

Wishing you all the best week!

Keep Stitchin'

Koi Pond

After a lot of time picking out fabrics and messing with them, I settled on making a husky dog overlooking the koi fish in September's Garden BOM block designed by Janeen from Quilt Art Designs.

On the first try, I had larger rocks at the edge of the pond but decided to swap them out.

 

I think I made the right decision. I would rather of had bricks but was afraid it would be impossible to keep them heading in the right direction on all the pieces under the dog. I thought the large rocks were too distracting but honestly I think it is the rock colors as the smaller ones do the same thing.  Not sure if my eye being drawn to them is good or bad???

Another great block to add to the garden quilt and already looking forward to seeing what October may bring to the garden.  Time to start thinking about how to put these all together soon also...

Keep Stitichin'

It's A Sister Swap Thing

This summer I had the pleasure of taking part in the 'It's a Sister Thing Swap'' that Michele from Quilts from my Crayon Box hosted for the second year.  I mistakenly didn't take part last year and almost had myself convinced it would be hard to make time for it this year with my busy summer schedule.  Luckily, I committed and found time because it was a blast.  If you missed my earlier post about what I received from my assigned 'sister' here is a picture of the great treasures that Mary from Needled Mom made for me and here is my previous post when I received them.

She did a wonderful job making me feel so spoiled and pampered!  It was so fun opening up all the presents she had individually wrapped and ohhhing and ahhhing and with delight with each new find.


While Mary was busy stalking my blog and choosing what to spoil me with I was busy stalking Grace's blog City Mouse Quilter.  I read her blog front to back but a couple key points struck me immediately.
1. She loves going to the beach but needed a nice quilted tote bag to take with her.
2. She loves Kaffe Fassett fabrics but seemed to be collecting them and I can relate they are so gorgeous to oogle at who wants to cut into them.  I'm in the same boat and hadn't really put them together into a project yet so that was added to my to do list.
3. She is really into Civil War fabrics and reproductions and I happened to have some that I didn't like---(they'd make great hand me downs to my new sister) 
4. She likes Spearmint tea and Pumpkins --- never found the Spearmint tea and ran short of time for a pumpkin project and although fall is fast approaching it just wasn't the right time in the peak of summer.
5. She would love to go on a Bonnie Hunter trip but fears flying.  I so related to that.  After 2011 I just lack the confidence to board a plane but would love to travel.  I also would love to see my grandchildren grow up so it is safer to stay on the ground.

With the above facts, I set to work on a pillow top cover using my Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  I had seen this pattern in the June 2005 issue of The American Patchwork and Quilting magazine that Ricky Tims designed called 'St. Elmo's Fire'.  It is a paper pieced pattern that I envisioned would showcase the Kaffe fabrics wonderfully.  I have never made a pillow cover before and must say I might be addicted to them now.  I can't wait to find the time to make a few of these babies for me.

Here's what attracted my attention but as you can see it looked a little crazy and was in need of a little modernization. Here is how it translated into a pillow for Grace featuring Kaffe fabrics.

I really think it looks much better with the one, neutral color for the background. It helps the Kaffe fabric's be the stars they deserve to be.

Next I set to work designing a tote bag for Grace. She lives near Cape Neddick lighthouse...at least I think she does so I tried to draw it out in one corner of the bag.  I added some ships to the harbor.

On the backside of the bag, I put her name and a lobster that I got the pattern of Janeen from Quilt Art Designs.  I shrunk the lobster down a bit so it would fit my area but it did make it a little tougher to paper piece but I somehow managed.  Not the best decision but it worked out.  Grace loves her lobster and I had to have him on there.  I added a zip pocket to the inside and a divided pocket on the inside too for stashing things in there where you might want to find them quickly.  I based my bag on this free tutorial you can find here.  I substituted my panel for the canvas it called for but otherwise followed this pattern and added pockets to the inside.

The pocket has little mice on it and it just stuck me as appropriate for the City Mouse Quilter but honestly it never crossed my mind when I was making it...he hee hee.  In the mood to truly spoil Grace, as August 27th was her 65th birthday, I decided to add a Journal to my list of must makes for her. 

I added the Tim Holtz metal piece to it.  It reads---encourage your hopes not your fears---
I thought this to be great advice but not always easy to manage.  The girl was an orphan block I made a few months ago for a project I am still having trouble getting off the runway and probably will be junking so I thought it would make the perfect journal cover. She was inspired by art from Andrea of Southendgirlart that I found on Pinterest and is one of my few attempts at sketching on fabric.

Last but not least I threw in the hand me down fabrics to pass along to Grace and a new pen to start her off journaling with.  Happy Birthday Grace and best wishes for a great year ahead!  I really enjoyed being your stalker sister this Summer and passing on some goodies to you.

A big heartfelt hug and many thanks to Mary and Michele for making this swap so special for me!!!
Bless you both for helping to make my busy Summer extra special and full of smiles and creativity :)

Keep Stitchin'

QDD Catchup

So August is almost done for...but I am catching up on all my monthly BOM's and have officially caught up on my Quilt Doodle Doodles 2014 BOM.  I had to get both the July and August rows done this month and being consisted of a bunch of 2 1/2 inch squares it took a little bit of sneaking in extra time here and there but I got it done.

Here is my July row of Hot Cocoa Mugs:

It wasn't until I went to post this pick that I noticed the error in it.   The steam is way off center in the middle cup.  Not sure if I should leave it as is or fix it.  I have not done the decorative stitches around it as I was planning on doing them on a friend's machine.  I could very easily move it but it is kind of growing on me.  Or maybe that cup is sooo steaming hot it should have three steam puffs coming out of it...choices...choices...choices.  My co-worker is always telling me we always have choices.  What to do???...any suggestions are welcome should I fix it or change it up?  I cheated on the mugs.  They were suppose to all be made of 2 1/2" blocks but I wanted to use some fun prints to make some fun seasonal coffee cups...I'm pretty sure the quilt police will let me off with a warning.

August was a quick short row of candy.  I enjoyed the quickness that allowed me in catching up: )
I really like all the different colored candies in it, too.

So only two more pieces of this quilt puzzle to go.  September and October which made catching up now even that more sweet.  So far here is how it is coming together:

September will fill the hole next to the tree, which will mean I can sew it all together next month after I finish the September block.  October is suppose to be a row above the ice skates. I didn't have enough of the dark blues to do the whole quilt but love the scrappy look and the lighter blues give it a much lighter, happier feel to it, so I am completely loving how it is coming together.  It's always a little challenging when you can't see the overall picture from the get go, but it is perfect in my book so far.

Now to catch up on my PMQG Medallion top.  It needs July and August additions.  They call it July and August but as they come out near the end of the month it always seems like the following month's project so it doesn't seem like I am that far behind...except for the fact that the July round consists of 48 square in a square blocks.  I've been dragging my feet as I haven't been sure what colors to do next.  I have been contemplating black as the outside square but having just seen the next round posted on the 28th I will save the black for my August additions.

I also hope that all the sewing time over the Holiday weekend will be therapeutic for me as I feel the need for therapy!!!

Hope you have a therapeutic and relaxing weekend as well,

Sister Swap Update and Squishy Mail

This weekend I had a wonderful deluge of squishy mail.  It had me doing a happy dance and smiling from ear to ear.  I recently won some charm squares from Alida from Tweety Loves Quilting and love the assortment she sent.  The colors are going to be fun to work with. Check em'out.  She  is running a series of giveaways with her Monday linky parties so be sure to stop by and check out the details.  She loves seeing what we are all busy doing.  She has some great paper piecing patterns that need tested and I hope to find time to squeeze one in soon.  I am just so far behind on my commitments right now.

Those lips are just a hoot.  They are going to be especially fun to add to a project.

Then I have been anxiously awaiting my Kaffe Fassett charms from the swap that Stephanie organized over at The Quarter Incher.  This is Round 2 and wish I had seen Round 1 and gotten in on that action.  I adore the charms that everyone included this round.  Great selections!!!

Look at all that fabulous color.  You can tell I am a child of the sixties.  I adore all that craziness :)

I also had a purchase come as I found it hard to resist the Curve Ruler that Jenny does all her fabulous patterns with at Sew Kind of Wonderful.  Her latest blog hop really made it too hard to resist anymore.  I also had to get her Metro Hoops and Metro Twist patterns, too. 

But the best package of all was my package from my 'Sister' from Michele's--- It's A Sister Thing Swap at Quilts from my Crayon Box.  I decided to participate this year and it has been an awesome swap and I am sooo sew glad I didn't sit this one out. I already hope she does it again next year! This one was all about spoiling a new friend.

I received a fabulous assortment of goodies from Mary from the Needled Mom blog.  I have been happily following Mary for a couple years now and it was fantastic having her as my sister angel this Summer. She made me feel so spoiled and it is certainly the same feeling I have been shooting to give my Sister that I was assigned so it was a blessing to feel pampered in return. 

Look at all the wonderful goodies Mary has been busy preparing over the Summer for me:

I love that Embroidery!!!  It is always great to get something there is no way I could do for myself.  Mary must have a fabulous machine.  I love my Juki but it only straight stitches and my daughter's machine does decorative stitches but being a cheap machine it doesn't do them well.  A friend here in town recently bought a Pfaff Quilt Expressions 4.2 and I am going to schedule some play time on it soon. 

I love to cook...baking in particular and love the apron.  Once upon a time I even was a Pampered Chef consultant.  My husband always teases me that I bought more than I sold.  Hey...they treat their consultants well and I can't pass up a good sale. What's a girl to do...Shop, shop, shop.  Love the monogrammed  napkins and the potholder is simply beautiful.  Love her color choices.  She made to sure to throw all that yellow in for me and you can't go wrong with that.  I love her pink fabrics, too. Mix it up with all that white and black and I adore it.  Do you see those cute shoes in the black and white print???  I love me some good whimsy, too.

Talk about whimsy, those frogs are over the top adorable.  They just chase away all the blues and make me so happy.  Can't help but smile at them right back.  It is a post card but to me it is an awesome piece of art and I LOVE it!  I think they might be planning a picnic on the quilt in front of them.  The journal will definitely get lots of use, too as I love keeping track of things and those batiks are so beautiful.  It gets me so ready for Fall just looking at it and I will love using it all year long.  Can't wait for fall evenings and doodling in my notebook, maybe a fire and some hot cocoa, too.

Thank you so much Mary!! You are an amazing woman ( She is one busy Grandma) and have been an awesome 'Sister' to me for this swap!  Wishing you all the best always, thanks again for all the love you have pampered me with I truly feel blessed to have been your 'Sister'

I shipped my package to my secret sister today and can't wait till she gets it!!!  She has a special day tomorrow but unfortunately my package won't quite be there in time.  She should have it by week's end though.

Keep Stitchin'

Trails and triumphs

Summer has kept me busy lately.  My DH has kept me busy working outdoors instead of sewing but after we got a few things taken care of outside this weekend, I was able to sneak in some sewing time.  I've been keeping busy making a couple items for my 'Sister' in the It's a Sister Thing swap I am participating in this month.  I've been stalking a quilter's blog that I am paired up with secretly and immediately came up with a couple of items that I had to make her.  She is so open in sharing of herself that it was a delight to stalk her secretly and make her a couple of things I am sure she will love.  Makes me wonder if I share enough of myself here...being open is kind of tough...at least for me.  One of the projects I made was a first for me, but it turned out great...thankfully... and I will have to get to work making a couple for me soon.  I can't wait to share what fun I've been having with this one but it will have to wait a little while longer before I can share. Due date for shipping is August 31st and I still have to think of a couple goodies to include with my package for her.

I needed to get a few of my BOMs caught up, so I started in on my June...yep June Quilt Doodle Ice Skate row. 

This one was a lot of work and frustration.  I have had the white ice skates done for a while and completed the two red skates last week.  But when I put the row together it was like 8 inches too long...Yikes...followed by some not so nice words!!!  I had to rip it apart and unfortunately the individual blocks I had sewn together by horizontal rows not vertical.  So ripping this BITCH apart was a nightmare.  Then when I went to fuse the skate blades on I had forgot to take into account they would be inversed so I had to redo them on the fusible web product.  Ironed them on finally and then when I went to do the applique stitch around them, the sewing machine decided to skip ALOT of stitches!!!  Finally after stopping and ripping the stitches out a few times, just went for it and then added the stitches in by hand with embroidery floss that needed filled in.  I do know I have shared before that I hate applique.  Love and admire others work but it kicks me in the bootie every time.

Deciding to move back into my familiar territory of paper piecing and get another BOM done, I moved on to my August Sew Kitschy block and look what happened.

I had it all assembled before I even noticed.  I had been worrying the whole time because I had less than a fat quarter of the background material and feared running out the entire time so when I had all the pieces together I must had been too elated and forgot to pay attention.  See that brown stipe in the middle???  It is suppose to be the kitchen counter.  Hello seam ripper again!!!  And here it is after I corrected my up-tenth flub up of the day.

Much Better

Ignore the fact that the far right spoon doesn't quite look all the way inside the container because at this point you know I am. Hell no way am I fixing that.  More on my to do list but I think this is enough problems for one day. 

 

Thank goodness my Sister Swap items went together much more smoothly and successfully.

 

Luckily our outdoor project went more smoothly...even if it did include way too much physical work.

It started out with the hubby ripping up our yard with a Kubota on Friday to make room for a new driveway and parking space for the new RV.

 

 

Followed by a lot of work framing in a compacting the new driveway.

 

 

On Saturday we got 12 yards of recycle asphalt delivered

 

 

Followed by many hours of spreading it all out and leveling it out

 

 

And then we compacted it over and over again.

 

Now we are debating what to do next.  We are thinking of burning it and than sealing it.

Wish us luck with whatever comes next.  For right now it is looking great and we don't want to ruin it by driving on it.  I know silly but it was a lot of work!!! 

 

 

Keep Stitchin'