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 . . .

A Finish ~ Ort Report & Progress Finally!

Hello!  :)

Last week and over the weekend I got some stitching done. I actually finished stitching the piece I'm doing for my Fall Exchange but of course I can't show it to you. I'm hoping to get it made into a finished piece in the next few days. Especially since I need to have it mailed out by Monday.

After the exchange piece, I picked up the Poinsettia House again. Here's where I had left off last time . . .

Here it is all stitched up and ready to make up into the mini quilt I had planned for it.

Now I just need to pick out the fabrics to go with it and get 'er done.  :)  With all the stitching I've been doing my ort (old ratty threads) jar is getting full.

I wonder how full it will be by the end of the year. I'm posting it as part of the

Now to show you the progress I made. I finally got my act together and sandwiched my "My Favorite Things" quilt.

I kept putting it off and putting it off. The sandwiching is my least favorite part of the whole progress. I think it's because it's so big and hard to do in my small home. Here's a closer view and a sneak peek at the backing fabric.

I think the red gingham backing (a recycled sheet) really goes well with the quilt and looks fabulous!  :)  Now I just need to sit down and start quilting it. I'm using perle cotton and doing it by hand. I think doing it that way will really add to the quilt. I wasn't really sure how I wanted to quilt it and am just figuring it out as I go along. I did get a chance to sit down with it last night and begin. Here's how I'm quilting the blocks and pieced areas between them.

I decided to use red to stitch around each block. I'm using white to outline each shape. Then I'm using yellow, red, pink and blues to stitch flowers in some of the larger blocks in the pieced areas between the blocks. I'm really happy with how it's turning out so far. I've gotten the first row done already. Only four more to go... lol! My plan is to finish each row of blocks. Then the rows of strips and then the borders after that. I have a few ideas of how to quilt the strips and borders but haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do yet. It's kind of fun figuring it out as I go along. Thanks for visiting me!  :)

Until next time . . .

A Friday Night Sew-In Celebrating the Red White & Blue!

Hello!  :)

Welcome to day 14 of the "Celebrate Red White and Blue Blog Hop"! There are only a couple more days left. Have you been hopping around and looking at all the fabulous blocks? I have. They're awesome!  :)  You can go here to find the entire schedule and links to the hop so you can start at the beginning. Don't miss out!

Here's Today's Hopping Schedule . . .

Diann C

Quilt Monster in my Closet

daisy and jack

sewingly along . . . You are here!  :)

MoomMist

Susie's World

Thanks so much for stopping by today to view my blocks. At first I thought I'd come up with 3 blocks and then put a table runner together in the end to tie them all together. Then I thought that I'd just make a bunch of blocks. Then I was thinking about what patterns I should use. After looking through some ideas I decided to just wing it. I hope you won't be disappointed. I actually came up with six 12-1/2" blocks. I took pictures of all of them outside and inside so there will be 2 pictures of each block. I hope you will like what you see!  :)

My first block came about by chance. I've been doing a lot of cross stitch lately. I actually made this one design for a swap. I liked it so much I made another for me. I used a different fabric then normal so it turned out bigger than I wanted. I decided to put it aside and made a third one for myself. I looked at the discarded piece and thought what should I do with this? Then it hit me. I'll use it in one of my Red, White and Blue blocks! Yes! That's it! Here it is . . .

Cross stitch and quilting combined! I echoed the cross stitch piece with fabrics from my stash. I think they accent it nicely! Here's another look . . .

A funny thing happened while I was working on this block. (Actually it wasn't quite so funny at the time.) I figured out the measurements for the stripes and began sewing strips together. Then I realized I'd forgotten to account for the 1/4" seam on both sides. Uggghhh! (This is something I do quite often.) So frustrated but eager to keep going I put it aside and cut new strips and started over. Then when I got to the center stripes I mismeasured again and sewed too many stripes together. Instead of picking it apart I sat it aside again, cut more strips and continued on. This time I got it right! Third time's a charm!  :)

What did I do with the all those strips I had already sewn together? I made two other blocks with them.  :)  Waste not, want not I always say!  ;)  (Plus I hate ripping out seams!) With the first of the two mistake strip blocks I appliqued some blue stars. I decided to blanket stitch around them in a golden yellow perle cotton thread. Another block finished.

Yea! Simple but sweet. The closer photo isn't really a good one (sorry).

Here's the other block I made with the mistake strip blocks.

This time I didn't have as many stripes to work with so I added a blue field and two appliqued stars with a patriotic eagle print fabric. I blanket stitched around these in a golden yellow perle cotton thread as well.

There are the first three blocks! All similar but different. Made by accident or was it fate? Hummmm . . . ;)

The next block is my favorite.

I had some beautiful vintage inspired fabric. I didn't want to distract from it's beauty so I just accented it with some stars and stripes. It needed a little something more. Hummmm.... I found some cool ribbon I had in my stash. It was perfect! Very simple and sweet!  :)

4 down . . . 2 more to show.  ;)  The next block is a basic log cabin with a historical fabric as the centerpiece.

I used lots of patriotic fabrics from my stash to complete this block.

Last but not least . . .

I'm not sure what this block is called. Is it a pinwheel? Is it a star? It's definitely red, white, blue and patriotic!  :)  The center fabric is my favorite find this year. It reminds me of the peace and love of the '60s. The other fabrics are favorites as well.

Well that's it! 6 red, white, blue patriotic blocks. What am I going to do with them? I'm going to make up a few more and combine them all into a throw quilt for me and the hunky dude. I'd eventually love to have one for every holiday and/or season. 

Thank you so much for visiting me and viewing my blocks! I hope you liked them!  :)  Thanks Jane and Madame Samm for hosting! It's been fun! Don't forget to check out all the other wonderful blocks!  :)

Also before you go . . . since I finished these up on Friday these blocks will be my submission for the Friday Night Sew-In.

Heidi and her cousin Bobbi host this monthly event. It's always fun to get together online with women from all over the world and sew on the same night of the month.  :)

Until next time . . .

My 100th POST!!! . . . Final Blocks of My Favorite Things

Hello!  :)

Welcome to my 100th post!!! I can't believe I'm here already. I thought for sure I had more time before reaching this milestone. I started blogging back on August 18, 2011. It seems like forever ago. Time sure flies doesn't it?!!! Now 8-1/2 months later I've written 100 posts and have 395 followers! Wow! Thank you all so much for coming back here time and time again to see what I'm up to! I really appreciate it and you!  :)  Later this week I'll have a giveaway to celebrate this milestone along with reaching 400 followers (hopefully I'll actually get 5 more followers before then)! Stay tuned!  ;)

Now back to the regularly scheduled program . . .

I swear I've actually been working on things the past couple of weeks. I've just been working slower than I was. Plus I've got a few new things going on. Some you already know about like the Traveling Stash boxes. They are some boxes that travel from person to person in the US where you get to take whatever quilting supplies you want and then replace them with the same amount you took. I was following the travels of these boxes then I actually won one. After that I ended up volunteering to keep track of them. Hence the Traveling Stash Updates. I've also been doing more thrifting, which I love!  :)  I've picked up more treasures this weekend which I'll share with you later. Stay tuned!  ;)

For now I want to share my final blocks for the My Favorite Things quilt I'm working on. I still haven't gotten the blocks and strips cut . . . I know! Someday I'll actually get them cut so I can begin putting this thing together. For now here's a picture of the blocks for the final row . . .

Here's a close up of the butterfly block . . .

Isn't it pretty?! I love this pink fabric! And check out the birdie . . .

Of course it's blue! Did you see his wing?  :)

How about some sunshine to brighten your day?

I love sunshine, although I do not like the heat. I really cannot tolerate anything over about 75 degrees. Yes I'm a wimp!

The next block is an old wooden chair . . .

Of course it had to be red! Doesn't it just look adorable with all those lovely flowers?

Then there's the heart. I love hearts! Of course it's pink! It represents family and love of course!

And last, but not least, presents to share . . .

Who doesn't love presents?!!! I do much prefer to give then to receive . . . and I'm not just saying it! I really mean it! I get so much joy watching someone open a gift I picked out or made especially for them.  :)

You can find out more about this quilt I'm making as part of a Stitch and Quilt Along here. You can follow my progression with this quilt here, here, here, here and here.

As a last note . . . be sure to smile and always spread love and cheer wherever you go! I'll be back with more to share with you soon!

Until next time . . .

My Favorite Things are Moving Right Along

Hello!  :)

I'm really moving along trying to catch up on My Favorite Things quilt. It's the only project I've been working on the last couple of weeks and yes I'm still having fun with it!  :)

I still haven't gotten the fabric for the border strips and blocks cut yet.  :(  I want to be able to sit down and do it all at once. I'm hoping to get the chance to do it this weekend.  :)

In the meantime here's my progress on the 3rd row which are the blocks for March and April.

Here's the close up of  the house. It reminds me of Dr. Seuss.  :)

A closer look at the gardening block . . . pretty flowers all in a row.  :)

And a closer look at the tree block. I originally had the tree in green with lots of flowers like the pattern called for but I just didn't like it. Then I tried the blue alone. It still wasn't right. Then I added back a few of the flowers from the original one and I liked it. By the way... wouldn't it be cool if cats really were pink?  ;)

And the last one for this row . . . the rainbow block. Such happiness!  :)

Here are the next blocks I'll be working on . . .

These should be fun too! Did you notice there's another pink cat? I love pink and I love cats!  :)  Getting these next blocks done will mean I'm ahead of schedule.  :)

Hopefully I'll get that chance to cut the strip and blocks out this weekend and begin sewing the blocks together and forming the quilt top. If you just found me go here, here and here to see more about this quilt. Thanks so much for visiting!  :)

Until next time . . .

More Progress to Share . . .

Hello!  :)

I'm really having a great time with this quilt! So far the applique and stitcheries are so fun! They're going pretty quick too. I just watch my favorite tv shows and stitch away. I managed to finish up the next set of blocks. Here they are . . .

And a closer look at the chocolates . . . yummm!  :)

The daisy (this is actually a very long block) . . .

And some hot chocolate in a yummy pink floral cup . . .

And then there's the ice cream cone . . . can you say "yummmm" again?!!!  :)

And the end of this set . . . a good book. I choose a favorite Danielle Steele book of mine. I know . . . I love romance novels. (At least I did when I use to read.)

I really can't believe how quickly these blocks are coming together for me. Finally getting a start on this quilt has got me back in the swing of things again . . . yea!!!  :)

Here's the next set of blocks all appliqued and ready to stitch . . .

I hope you're enjoying this quilt's progress with me. I'm hoping to begin cutting all the blocks and strips to join these blocks together Saturday. I probably won't though as it's the hunky dude's birthday this weekend and I'll probably be busy with him. I did get him a rolling tool cart that he needs to put together though so maybe he'll be busy with that and I can get some cutting done. Guess we'll have to wait and see.  :)

Until next time . . .

My Favorite Things Progress!

Hello!  :)

I've been working on the "My Favorite Things" quilt off and on since I last posted about it here. I managed to get all the applique/stitchery blocks for the first row done.

Here's a closer look at the first block . . . "patty cakes" . . .

The second block . . . "singing in the rain" . . . 

The third block . . . "cup of tea" . . .

The fourth block . . . "old blue jeans" . . .

And the fifth and final block for this row . . . "holidays" . . .

These blocks have been very fun to work on.  :)  I'm really excited about this project. I actually have a lot more done but I'll wait to show you later.

Until next time . . .