The Weekend Update :)

Hello!  :)

I have a little update for my "My Favorite Things" quilt.

Did you notice I said "little"? The only thing I've done this last week on the quilt is to order more of the blue polka dot Pam Kitty Morning fabric for the binding. (I told you it was a "little" progress... lol!) I ordered it from The Quilting Bug on Thursday night. It shipped Friday and arrived Saturday! How's that for great service?!!!  :)  Here it is . . .

Did you notice I also ordered more of the fabrics from the same line? The white one on the left is more of the same I already had. The others to the right are all new ones that I didn't have before. Aren't they awesome?!!! Believe it or not there's still more that I don't have yet! I love that fabric line and will be using it on another project that I'll be starting when I finish my "My Favorite Things" quilt. I really need to get started on quilting it but I couldn't on the weekend as everyone was home and I can't lay it out on the floor where everyone needs to walk. I was going to start it today but then the boy stayed home sick. He has pretty bad asthma and when the weather changes it really acts up. Plus he has a cold on top of it. I may have to take him to the doctors tomorrow for some steroids. They're the only thing that relax his bronchial tubes and lungs enough for his normal medicine to be effective when he's sick. I really hate seeing and hearing him struggle to breathe.  :(

Saturday was a great mail day! Not only did I receive the fabric I ordered, but I also receive a couple of patterns and floss that I ordered from 123 Stitch on Thursday as well. I can't show them to you as they're for an exchange. If that wasn't enough yummy mail, I also received a surprise pattern that day from my Blog Buddy Karen of Sew Much 2 Luv! She sent me this awesome pattern . . .

Isn't it adorable! It's so me! She know's me so well!  :)  She didn't even know that this has been on my wish list for a while now. I love it and can't wait to start it! Here's a close up of the pattern . . .

I love it! Thanks so much Karen! You're the bestest!!!!  :)

Since I couldn't work on my quilt this past weekend I worked on a cross stitch swap piece and this Christmas piece for myself . . .

I loved this pattern the first time I saw it! I've had it for a while now but finally got around to starting it. I'm going to make a mini quilt out of it. Sad to say I will have to put it away for a little bit though as I have to finish that swap piece first. I only have a week before I have to mail it out. I hope I get a chance to get started quilting my quilt soon too. I'm hand quilting it so it will take a little while. I definitely have a lot on my plate, but I always do. That's the way I am. I have to keep busy.  :)

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 . . .

Winnings... Purchases... & Coming Attractions!

Hello!  :)

Do you remember the Giveaway Day that I participated in at the end of May? I won this from Colette Moscrop . . .

Some lovely fabrics, velvet ribbon and some buttons all the way from the UK! The hunky dude requested a pillow for his office with the stamp fabric. The rest will be put in my stash for future use. Thank you so much Colette!  :)

Now for some of my recent purchases . . . Have you ever visited Bonanza.com? There's a great shop there called Crazy Annie's Stitchin' & Stuff. She has lots of cross stitch supplies at awesome prices! Last week she had a sale and I got all this for less than $30.

There are lots of future projects here!  :)  Can you tell I'm really loving Lizzie Kate?!!! If you like to stitch you should definitely go and check her shop out!  :)

Tonight is this month's Friday Night Sew-In.

I will definitely be participating! I'm going to try to do some actual sewing but I'll probably just get some more stitching done.  :)

This weekend will also be my first time participating in the International Hermit & Stitch Weekend.

If you'd like to participate all you have to do is go and sign up. Then just stitch as much or as little as your time permits over the weekend. On Monday post pictures from your weekend stitching. I can't wait to check out what everyone stitches over the weekend.

Until next time . . .

Leap Year Traveling Stash Giveaway!

Hello!  :)

This Giveaway is now CLOSED!   :)

This is Leap Year box! It's a fairly new Traveling Stash box that started this year. It only travels on the 29th of each month. I won it from Miss Mary @ Lillian's Stitches. Here's the box . . . 

Here's a closer view of what I found inside . . . 

Books and a pattern!

Larger pieces of fabric! Some charm square sets! A charm pack of Moda "Rooftop Garden"!

Lots of fat quarters + larger pieces of fabric!

More fat quarters + larger pieces of fabric!

And even more fat quarters + larger pieces of fabric!

And yes even more fat quarters + larger pieces of fabric! This box has lots of fabric!  :)

This is what I decided to keep for myself . . . 

Mainly fat quarters and a couple of pieces that are a little larger.

This is what I'm adding to the box . . . 

A 12-piece fat quarter set of "Christmas Traditions" by Windham Fabrics! Some cuts (all fat quarters or larger) of 3 Christmas prints, Ghastlies and a fall print! 3 spools of Sulky thread! And a 4-1/2" square ruler!


So . . . would you like to have this box come for a visit to your house? Here's how . . .

Rules:

1. Be an active blogger. Post about receiving the box on your blog in a timely manner. Post the giveaway for this box on the 29th of the month. 

2. There's a note in the box that logs where the box has been. Please add your info and place the note back in the box.

3. There's a list of Rules and Guidelines in the box. Please read and follow these and return the list to the box.

4. You may take anything you like from the box. Just replace every item with comparable quilt shop quality items equal to the amount taken.

5. Ship the box to the next person in a reasonable amount of time.

6. Due to the amount of postage shipping is only within the USA. 

Giveaway:

Please leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite fabric is (of all time, coming up, or current). I will leave the comments open until midnight (pacific time) on Monday, June 4th. I will email the winner and post on my blog on Tuesday, June 5th. If you are a no-reply blogger please post your email in your comment or you will be disqualified.

Good luck!  :)

Until next time . . . 

Giveaway Day!

Hello!  :)

The giveaway is closed! The winner will be posted tomorrow. Thank you for visiting!  :)

Today's the day! I'm participating in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day & finally celebrating my 100th post & 400 followers! Make sure you go and check out all the blogs and giveaways! I definitely will!  :)

What am I giving away? How about a charm pack of "A Walk in the Woods" by Aneela Hoey for Moda? Here's the charm pack . . .

And the fabric that's included . . .

All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me if you're a follower, current or new. For an extra chance tell me what project you're currently working on (in a separate comment) with a link if you'd like so I can check it out. That's it!  :)

The giveaway is open internationally. It will remain open until 5:00pm (pacific time), Friday, May 25th. I will choose a winner on Saturday, May 26th, with the help of the random number generator. I will email the winner and post it on my blog. If you are a no-reply blogger please post your email in your comment or you will be disqualified.

Thanks so much for visiting me, following me & celebrating with me! Hope to see you again! Good luck!  :)

Please check out my Traveling Stash Giveaway!

Until next time . . .

Quilt Blocks & Cross Stitch to Share

Hello!  :)

Do you remember when I made this block . . .

It was for the month of March of the monthly quilt block swap I participate in at Mary Jane's Farm. I just realized that I never shared the blocks I received from my swap partners.

The first one was from Lorrie . . .

Isn't it gorgeous! I absolutely love it! She did a great job! Thanks Lorrie!  :)

The second block for March was from Barbara . . .

Kind of reminds me of mine.  ;)  Thanks Barbara! You did a wonderful job!  :)

Here's the block I made for my two partners for April . . .

A stair step block with an embroidery in the center. It's a free embroidery pattern I found online from Red Brolly. Here's a closer view of it . . . 

I fell in love with it the moment I first saw it! Isn't it adorable?!!!  :)

Here is the first block I received from Joan . . .

I've seen this Easter fabric before! It's sooooo cute! I love all the bright colors! It totally reminds me of Spring! Great job Joan! Thanks so much!  :)

The second block was made by Rebecca . . .

I love the bunny fabric! I've never seen it before. It's adorable! I also love the bright springy colors in this one as well! Thanks so much Rebecca! You did a wonderful job as usual!  :)

I'm hoping to sit down this weekend and work on my two blocks for May. The theme is flowers. I already know what I want to do for this one.  :)

Moving on to another subject . . . One of my favorite bloggers, Karen from Sew Much 2 Luv has been doing a lot of cross stitch lately. You can view some of her recent finishes here and here. They're fabulous!  :)

I've always loved cross stitch! There's nothing I like better than sitting down with an embroidery or cross stitch project and watching tv or a movie. It's so relaxing and rewarding!  :)  I haven't done any cross stitch for quite a while but always missed it. When I saw Karen working on all her projects she really got me wanting to get back into it too! (Bad, bad girl!)  ;)  Then she mentioned that she joined a cross stitch exchange over at Stitched With Love Exchanges. I had to check it out. Of course I loved the idea and signed up too! Now I've got my partner and I'm stitching her gift and gathering goodies to go with it. I won't be able to share any of it with you until after the exchange is completed sometime in June. For now I'll show you some of my favorite finishes from the past. The first three are Christmas ornaments . . .

I've always loved how they turned out!  :)  The next one is a sampler I did for my parents on their wedding anniversary . . .

I included the original date they got married and the date they reaffirmed their vows. I've always loved this piece! Of course it has a lot of pink and aqua so that doesn't hurt.  ;)

The last piece I'll share with you is a Paula Vaughan bouquet. I love her designs!  :)

This piece is unfinished. I just can't decide what I want to do with it. Any ideas?

The past couple of weeks I've been doing some cyber shopping for cross stitch patterns. I guess you can say it's something I've been doing for myself as part of the May for Me Celebration going on at Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting blog.

I definitely deserve them, right???  ;)   They've been arriving this past week. I can't wait to get started on them and share them with you. Don't worry I'll still be quilting as well. I have too many WIP projects and new ones I want to start . . . lol!  ;)

By the way . . . I've decided to hold off on my combo 100th post and 400th follower giveaway until May 21st. I will include it as part of the Giveaway Day blog hop hosted by Sew Mama Sew.

Will you be joining me? I hope so!  :)

Until next time . . .