The Blocks are Done!

Hello!  :)

Yes they are! They're ALL DONE!!!  :)  I finished the last three blocks today. Here's the Shy Guy Block . . .

And the Star Block . . .

And the LAST one . . . the Turtle Shell Block . . .

To say I was happy as I completed the last block is an understatement!!! That's a big load off of me. I thought they were going to take forever. Once I got going on them it wasn't that bad. The worst part was only being able to work on them while the boy was not home or sleeping. My goal was to have them finished before the 1st and I did it!  :)  Here's my updated countdown . . .

My Official Mario Quilt Countdown

Blocks to make 12

Blocks completed 12

Blocks remaining 0

~

1-1/2" Squares

Started with 3888

Used 3888

Remaining 0

~

Sashing - not started

Border - not started

Backing - not started

Basting - not started

Quilting - not started

Binding - not started

Yes I've added the rest of the process for the quilt. So as I may be pretty far along in the process I still have a ways to go. I'm planning on starting the sashing tonight after the boy goes to bed. He usually goes to his dad's house for the weekend but he'll be home this weekend so I won't have too much time to work on it then. I would really like to get this quilt behind me. Not because I'm not enjoying it because I am. Just because I won't worry about whether I'll get it done in time anymore.

My plans for this weekend are to decorate the house and tree for Christmas. I'm also hoping to get a chance to start quilting my Vintage Holiday quilt I made a couple of weeks ago too.

What are your plans for the weekend? I hope it's something fun!  :)

Until next time . . .

Mario's Hoppin' Along ;)

Hello!  :)

I finally took the pictures of the Mario blocks I finished this weekend and Monday. Of course, again, they're not perfect. The first one is the Pipe Block . . .

Then there's the Question Block . . .

And how about the Red Mushroom Block . . .

How about Mr. Luigi (I did reverse him) . . .

And the most important block of all . . . Mario himself . . .

I'm still having fun with the blocks and they're still time consuming as well. Every time one is finished I look at it and smile. They make me happy.  :)  I'm sure they'll make the boy happy as well. I'm hoping to get the last 3 blocks done tomorrow. Then I'll work on the sashing and be on the way to a completed quilt top. Yea! I can't wait to get it done. It's going to be so awesome!  :)

My Official Mario Quilt Countdown

Blocks to make 12

Blocks completed 9

Blocks remaining 3

~

1-1/2" Squares

Started with 3888

Used 2916

Remaining 972

Until next time . . .

A Few Finishes!

Hello!  :)

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.  :)

I've taken a few days off from blogging but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I've managed to finish up a few more Mario blocks but haven't taken pictures of them yet.  :(  I did work on them everyday except for Thanksgiving and today though.  :)

Today I had to finish up my Christmas Stitches Exchange gift for my partner as it had to be mailed today. I made the deadline. Nothing like cutting it close!  ;)  While finishing it up I looked over at my waiting to be worked on pile, and saw my Lizzie Kate monthly stitcheries waiting to be made into pillows. I had them sitting there with the fabric waiting until I had a chance to sew them up. I'm going to go backwards as I show you what I accomplished today.

Here's the January pillow . . .

I decided to go with a vintage pink rick rack to match the snowman's (or is it snow-woman's) hat & gloves. Then I added a snowflake button to finish it up!  :)  Can you believe it?!!! I'm actually ready for January and it's not even December yet!  :)

I also finished up the December pillow . . .

The picture for this one isn't too great as the table background doesn't show off the fabric too well.  :(  It's a muted red fabric with pinkish snowflakes. I added the vintage green rick rack and red buttons. Now I'm ready for December (pillow wise anyways) a few days in advance!  :)

The next pillow is November . . .

It's actually not stuffed yet.  :(  Since I didn't make it at the beginning of the month I decided it would be easier to store for the year if I didn't stuff it yet. I added a deep red (almost burgundy) bias ribbon to it. I stitched it on with a decorative leaf stitch. I'm not sure if you can see the stitching or not. I will stuff this during the year so it will be ready to go before next November. Yes I will!!!!  ;)

Believe it or not . . . this October pillow . . .

was completed a few months ago. Yes it was! I was ahead of the game. Kind of. I never stuffed it. So alas it too will be stored away unstuffed until next year. Then I'll stuff it and maybe add a button or two.  :)

This September pillow . . .

was also completed a few months ago. I never stuffed it either but it was ready to stuff. That's something, isn't it? I will store it along with the others and stuff it next year as well. Do you see a trend here? I'm not done yet.

Yes I even did the August pillow . . .

a few months ago. I'm guessing I sewed these up in August since this is the earliest one in the pile. Of course it's not stuffed either. I would love to find a sunflower or bee button to add to this before August comes around again.

So yes I did accomplish a lot today. No Mario blocks for today though. I may not get any done tomorrow either since Edison will be turning off my electricity from 10:00am - 3:30pm. At least I know about the outage but it doesn't make it easier to deal with. I'm thinking that maybe I'll get some Christmas decorations out and get started decorating. I'll try to get the Mario block pictures done soon so I can show you my progress. It's actually going pretty good. I'm more than half way done. I really want to get this quilt done quickly so I don't stress about getting it done in time.

Hope you're getting a lot of things done whether sewing, decorating, or anything else your heart desires.  ;)

Until next time . . .

Traveling Stash UPDATES!

Hello!  :)

Welcome!  :)  This is where you find updates for the 8 Traveling Stash boxes traveling around the US!

What is a Traveling Stash Box?  It's a box that's filled with a collection of fabrics, patterns, thread and other quilty fun! When you receive a box you take out what you like, replace it with items from your own stash, hold a giveaway and then send it to the next lucky person. You can find all the rules and guidelines (including how to save on postage) here.

The current GIVEAWAYS are listed in RED below.

Be sure to enter to WIN a box today!  :)

Here are the latest updates as of 12/01/12 . . . 

TRAVELING STASH & OTHER BOXES:
BOX #1:     Sharon @ Vrooman's Quilts is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Sharon!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

BOX #2:     Becky @ The Quilting Booklady has received the box! The Giveaway will be posted soon!  :)

BOX #3:     Ella @ Throw a Wench in the Works is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Ella!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

BOX #4:     Wendy @ Stitchduchess Crazy & Sane Quilting World is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Wendy!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

BOX #5:     Martha @ Quilt to the Edge is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Martha!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

TWO SISTERS BOX:     Nicole @ Bold Goods is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Nicole!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

PASS IT ON BOX:     Lisa @ In the Boon Docks has posted the Giveaway!  It ends on Sunday, December 2nd at 12:00pm!     ENTER HERE!!!

LEAP YEAR BOX #2 (giveaway begins on the 29th of each month):     Wendy @ Stitchduchess Crazy & Sane Quilting World has posted the Giveaway!  It ends Wednesday night, December 5th!     ENTER HERE!!!

MIA - LEAP YEAR BOX #1:     In the middle of September this box was mailed and never arrived. It's lost in transit. At the end of October the mailing label was found and the mailer filed paperwork describing what's in the box. If the original box shows up we will continue with it at that time.  :)


Find all the Traveling Stash Rules & Guidelines (including how to save postage) here.

Find out about all the Origins of the Traveling Stash Boxes here.

Find all the Traveling Stash posts here.


Until next time . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello!  :)

I would like to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you will be spending it with family and friends like I will. Enjoy!  :)

Until next time . . .

Getting Started with Mario

Hello!  :)

On Monday I sat down and got started making the blocks for the Super Mario Brothers QAL.

As I mentioned this quilt will be a surprise for my son for Christmas. I know he will absolutely LOVE it! The QAL mentions using Pellon stick-n-wash Stabilizer for the blocks. It's way to expensive for me so I'm making the blocks without it or any other stabilizer. The first block I made was the Green Mushroom block . . .

It turned out really cute! It was hard lining up all those 324 1-1/2" blocks. It's not perfect but it's good enough for me. It took about 5 hours to complete this block. There's a lot of tedious work there. It is totally worth it though. The next block I made was the Cloud block . . .

Of course it's not perfect either. I sense a trend here.  :(  Oh well. It's very cute!  :)  That was all I had time for that day.

On Tuesday I sat down and worked on the Fire Flower Block . . .

I like the way it turned out too! I have a feeling I'm going to love all the blocks. They are pretty big at 18-1/2". They are going to make a really nice quilt. I also managed to get the Goomba block done that day.

I messed up one of his teeth and had to re-do a section but it was a quick fix. He's definitely cute (in an ugly-cute kind of way).

Even though it's taking a while for each block I'm very much enjoying the end result. I can't wait to work on the next block. It won't be until Friday or Saturday though as the boy comes home early tomorrow and will be around for a couple of days. During this time I'm hoping to get started quilting my Vintage Holiday quilt. That's when I'm not busy with family and Thanksgiving. By the way . . . wasn't it just Halloween???

Here's my official Mario Quilt Countdown

Blocks to make 12        

Blocks completed 4        

Blocks remaining 8

~

1-1/2" Squares
Started with 3888
Used 1296
Remaining 2592

Until next time . . .

A New Day ... A New Quilt!

Hello!  :)

I'm on a roll! I don't mean just the fact that I've been sewing everyday. I mean I've published a post on my blog every day since Thursday! That's 5 days in a row! While that may be a normal occurence for some people it's very rare for me. I love it! That doesn't mean it will be a habit though . . . so sorry. For now it's great so let's enjoy it while it lasts . . . k?!

A while ago I came across an awesome Quilt-A-Long on Cut to Pieces blog.

It's a QAL for a Super Mario Brothers quilt. How awesome is that?!!! It's definitely for me! I know a certain autistic boy who's been begging me to make a quilt for him. He's actually asked for a quilt with Super Mario, Spongebob and PacMan. I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to incorporate all of them for him but I'll definitely give it a try. For now I'm doing the QAL Super Mario quilt for the front and will be using Spongebob fabric for the backing. I may even add PacMan in there somewhere. It depends on how big it turns out. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

This is the perfect Christmas present for my son! It's going to be a surprise for him. That will be a little hard as he lives with me. I;ll be working on this only when he's in school, sleeping or with his dad. Right now he's with his dad until Wednesday so it's the perfect time to get started on it. I got all the fabric out last night and began cutting.

This quilt is made with 3,888 1-1/2" squares. Yes that's 3,888 little squares! Just a little intimidating for me. I sat down yesterday and began cutting. Hours later this is what I had . . .

and another view . . .

That's a LOT of squares! Today I will begin plugging away on this quilt. It's made up of 12 different characters. The blocks will finish at 18-1/2" each. I wonder how many blocks I can get done in a day. I'm hoping I finish at least one. We'll have to wait and see how far I get.

Until next time . . .

Traveling Stash UPDATES!

Hello!  :)

Welcome!  :)  This is where you find updates for the 8 Traveling Stash boxes traveling around the US!

What is a Traveling Stash Box?  It's a box that's filled with a collection of fabrics, patterns, thread and other quilty fun! When you receive a box you take out what you like, replace it with items from your own stash, hold a giveaway and then send it to the next lucky person. You can find all the rules and guidelines (including how to save on postage) here.

The current GIVEAWAYS are listed in RED below.

Be sure to enter to WIN a box today!  :)

Here are the latest updates as of 11/24/12 . . . 

TRAVELING STASH & OTHER BOXES:
BOX #1:     Sharon @ Vrooman's Quilts is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Sharon!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

BOX #2:     Becky @ The Quilting Booklady is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Becky!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

BOX #3:     Ella @ Throw a Wench in the Works is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Ella!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

BOX #4:     Wendy @ Stitchduchess Crazy & Sane Quilting World is the winner of the Giveaway! Congrats Wendy! The box will be arriving soon!  :)

BOX #5:     Pat @ Amity Quilter has posted the Giveaway!  It ends on Tuesday, November 27th, 8pm PST!     ENTER HERE!!!

TWO SISTERS BOX:     Lori @ Sew French has posted the Giveaway!  It ends at 10:00am on Saturday, December 1st!     ENTER HERE!!!

PASS IT ON BOX:     Lisa @ In the Boon Docks is the winner of the Giveaway!  Congrats Lisa!  The box will be arriving soon!  :)

LEAP YEAR BOX #2 (giveaway begins on the 29th of each month):     Wendy @ Stitchduchess Crazy & Sane Quilting World has received the box!  Stay tuned for the Giveaway on November 29th!  :)

MIA- LEAP YEAR BOX #1:     In the middle of September this box was mailed and never arrived. It's lost in transit. If the original box shows up we will continue with it at that time.  UPDATE:  The mailing label has been found. The original mailer filled out paperwork describing what's in the box. It may just show up yet! We'll have to wait and see. Keep your fingers crossed!  :)


Find all the Traveling Stash Rules & Guidelines (including how to save on postage) here.

Find out about all the Origins of the Traveling Stash Boxes here.

Find all the Traveling Stash Posts here.


Until next time . . .

I Can't Believe it!

Hello!  :)

Yesterday I worked on my Vintage Holiday quilt some more. I managed to get the sashing and the borders done. Do you know what that means??? That means I have a finished quilt top!!!!   :)

I can't believe I finished it so quickly! I'm really happy with how it came out!  :)  It really came together pretty quick. I've never finished a quilt this fast before. This is my first Christmas quilt and will be for me and my family. As you can see by the picture I was sandwiching it together with the batting and backing. I actually have it all pinned and ready to quilt. I will be hand quilting this with some red and white perle cotton. It will take a little while though as today I've started working on another quilt. I'll share more about that another day. I do plan on having this finished in the next week or two though.  :)

Until next time . . .

What I Did on My Friday Night Sew-In

Hello!  :)

Did you notice the title of this post? It kind of reminds me of the infamous, "What I did on my summer vacation" from my school days of long ago. Do you remember those stories we had to write about what we did?

Anywho . . . last night I participated in the Friday Night Sew-In

I had the chance to work on my Vintage Holiday quilt with that awesome Dear Mr. Claus fabric I shared with you yesterday.

I sat down to start the night off with that pile of prepped fabric. I couldn't believe I was actually prepped and ready to go (a rare occurrence for me).  ;)

The night started out well and keep going pretty darn good. I managed to get all 12 blocks done! Yea! It was a long night but I really enjoyed watching them come together. I had a couple little hiccups here and there but nothing major (thank God!).  :)  I even added a little bit of rick-rack to some of the ornaments for that extra little touch. Here are Blocks 1 & 2 . . .

Blocks 3 & 4 . . .

Blocks 5 & 6 . . .

Blocks 7 & 8 . . .

Blocks 9 & 10 . . .

and the last ones . . . Blocks 11 & 12 . . .

I'd say it was a pretty productive night!  :)  When I purchased the fabric for the quilt I couldn't afford to get the backing I wanted from the same line. I figured I'd see if I had something I could use or pick up something less expensive. Yesterday JoAnn's had their "Holiday Inspirations" Christmas fabric for 65% off (for one day only) so I went to see if they had something that I could use for the backing. I found a great fabric that doesn't match perfectly with the fabrics on the front but does match perfectly with the binding fabric. I got 4-1/2 for only $15.75 (that's only $3.50 per yard). Now that's a deal! Here it is . . .

What do you think? I really love it! It's called "Candy Cane Snowflakes" by Beth Logan. It's a pretty thick fabric and not paper thin like some fabrics from JoAnn's are. Doesn't it look great with the striped binding I'm using?

I had a great Friday Night Sew-In! I hope you did too! Thank you Heidi and Bobbi for hosting! You're the best!  :)

Well I'd better get going so I can work on the quilt some more. Maybe I can finish the top today and start cutting another one. All I have left for this one is the sashing, and borders. They should go together pretty quickly. I'll probably go ahead and get the binding ready to go too since it's already cut. Wish me luck!  :)

Until next time . . .

Friday Night Sew-In Prep

Hello!  :)

I told you I'd be back!  ;)  I really need to get my butt in gear as I'm really behind in all my plans. I still have two quilts to make for Christmas gifts that I haven't started on yet. I do have the fabric and patterns so at least that's a start. I'm hoping to get started on one this weekend and the other next week. I don't really do well working on multiple projects at once but that's what I'm going to have to do with the two quilts I need to make. I'll explain and share more details with you later.

For now I'm starting another quilt. Yes I am crazy!!!  ;)  Months ago I fell in love with Moda's Dear Mr. Claus fabric line. It was love at first sight! Really! I love the vintage vibe and the colors! It's soooo me!!!  :)  I knew I just had to make a quilt with it. Then I saw Camille Roskelley's "Vintage Holiday" pattern. I instantly fell in love with it. The "Vintage Holiday" pattern with the Dear Mr. Claus fabric was a match made in heaven! I saved my money and finally got the fabric and pattern!  :)

Okay so the timing's not really great, but who cares. I have the pattern and fabric and Christmas will be here very soon so I'm getting started on it. Here's another view of all that vintage goodness!  :)

Yesterday I managed to sit down and get all the fabric cut for the quilt.

I'm so excited to get started on this and see how it comes out! I can hardly wait. This is what I'll be working on for tonight's Friday Night Sew-In.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to see how much I got done. I'm hoping I have a very productive night. What will you be working on tonight? I'd love to hear about it!  :)

Until next time . . .