I've been Gardening!

Hello!  :)

Well sort of!  ;)  I finally got around to working on my Garden Steps quilt again. When I sat down to catch up on my blocks I only had block 3 and 4 to do.

Here's block 3 . . .

And a closer look . . .

Here's block 4 . . .

So simple yet beautiful . . .

After I finished the two blocks I felt really good. Then that night the next block came out. Well it's good and bad. Bad because I thought I was caught up. Good because it's always nice to see the next block. Now I have one more to do to be caught up. Wonder if I'll get to it before the next block comes out? I've been working on some cross stitch projects so I won't be picking this one up again for a little while. I also noticed as I was editing the photos that I forgot to put that cute little ladybug I added to the other blocks on these ones. My plan was to add one on each block. Kind of my signature. I guess I'll be doing that when I work on this again.

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 . . .

Another Week... More Blocks!

Hello!  :)

Well . . . I still haven't cut the fabric for the strips and blocks yet.  :(  Maybe this weekend???

I have got the next row of blocks done.  :)  Now I'm ahead of schedule . . . with the blocks anyway.

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

I really LOVE this one!!! Wonder why?  ;)  This block will also have three mini pieced quilts added but of course I haven't cut them yet.

Here's the best friends block . . .

I'm not sure about this one. I pretty much like the fabrics I choose. The faces and hair are bothering me. What do you think?

Here's a close-up of the gorgeous shoe block . . .

Aren't they cool?!!!  :)  And how about that pink cat?

He's soooo cute!!!  Yes it's a boy cat in pink!  ;)  His name is Bob. I had to give him up when I moved a couple of years ago. :(  I really miss him and love him. I'm sure he wouldn't have approved of me making him pink. He was a kitty with lots of personality and attitude.  ;)

These are the next blocks I'm working on and the last ones for the quilt.

I guess I'd better get my be-hind moving on the strips and blocks and start piecing this thing together. Now I'm ahead of schedule on the blocks but behind on the piecing.

If you'd like you can find out more about this Stitch & Quilt Along here. You can also read about my progression with the quilt here, here, here and here.

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 . . .