Church Banner

Last night I met up with some ladies and we sewed for several hours. It was so much fun to laugh and visit with them. They were making purses. Mom helped me and we worked on the church banner. We got all the landscape pieces attached to the background. Now I just have to sew them down, baste the quilt and quilt it. I'm hoping to be done by mid April, but we'll see how that goes.
The flower girl tried the muslin on for her dress and it was too big, so this weekend I'm going to make another one and see if it fits better. The wedding is fast approaching!
We got a little more snow last night and lots of slick roads the last two days, but I made it home okay.

May/June Quilter's Home

Last week Mark Lipinski posted on his blog that the new Quilter's Home would be arriving on newstands anyday. I asked if they had it at the quilt shop and they get their magazine deliveries on Wed., so last night I went to pick up my copy. I'm glad I got there when I did as there were only 2 left! They had sold a bunch yesterday. I think my favorite article so far is what to pack in the Quilter's Tool Kit.
Since I am going sewing tonight I checked to see if I had everything he recommended. While I do have a seperate travel sewing kit, I don't have quilte all the rulers he recommended as a second set. I do have them in my normal sewing room though. I keep my extra 6X12" and 6 1/2" square and a 1X6" rulers in my travel set.
Does everyone else have a second set of their most prized sewing gadgets specifically set aside for traveling to classes? Or, do you have to rummage around your sewing room, hoping to remember everything you need? I think my $50 investment (50% off notions at Hancock's) has been the best money I ever spent. I have almost everything I need for sewing away from home in one neat, square, 2"X12" bag. If you sew away from home once a month or more, I highly recommend a travel set of supplies. You'll be glad it's all set and ready to go when you are!

Crown Royal Quilt

Several years ago I saw a quilt made out of Crown Royal bags. It was a 9 patch and really poorly done, but looked really cool. I thought I would start saving the bags to "someday" make a quilt out of them. My brothers found out and started saving them for me as did my dad and other friends. I was slowly gaining, I only had about 20. Last Oct. my dad, brother & sister in law went on their annual opening weekend of pheasant hunting season trip to a friends house. They met up with other hunters there as well. One of the couples was from WI and the lady worked at a bar. My dad was telling her about the Crown Royal quilt I want to make, so she offered to send him some. I thinks she sent around 125 bags! I was in the midst of planning my wedding, so put them in the closet until I could figure out what pattern and fabric I was going to use. I made a churn dash block for another project and really liked how easy the pattern was and didn't take much fabric. I kind of put it in the back of my mind to see if i could use the CR bags to make the block.
Last night I was completely exhausted after work, but I really wanted to sew. I figured I was just making a test block anyway, so if I screwed it up not a big deal. I used 2 CR bags and a fat quarter of black fabric. The block turned out pretty nicely and was really easy to make. I'll have to remember to take a picture of it. I think I have enough of the fat quarter left to make a couple more blocks and make a wall hanging to send to the friends who sent all the bags. I have enough for one quilt and I'm still collecting to make at least a couple more quilts. If anyone has any they would like to send my way, I'd sure love to have them. This will probably be an after the wedding project, but I may make blocks as I go if I don't want to do wedding related sewing.

Happy New Year!

I am not a morning person, but Paul and I went to church with my parents at 8 on Easter morning. The priest started the sermon with Happy New Year! I may be a little tired, but I knew I heard him right. Well our church year starts on Easter and that's what he was referring to, but it sure got my attention. After church we came home and finished decorating the house and getting the folding table and chairs up. We had put a duck in the oven and two hams in the roaster before church, so they were cooking nicely. We fixed the other food and my parents came just before noon. My little bro Ed brought his new girlfriend Stephanie to meet us and Paul's uncle Will came over as well. His mom was feeling well enough to eat with us too. It was a little after noon by the time we ate, but it was all good and we really enjoyed some good laughs. After lunch most everyone left, except my parents. Paul went to take a nap. Mom, dad, and I played Rummy and my dad won. I got out the game UNO Attack and taught my parents to play. We all laughed so hard! It took almost 2 hours and I finally won. My dad is a fierce card player. I told him if he won again we were going to play cribbage. I don't like to loose at cards either. At my grandparents we always would have a noon meal, do dishes, grandma would take a nap, and when she got up we played cards till supper. She loved to play cards, but never had anyone to play with except on holidays. So my family plays cards a lot. My parents left about 4:30 to go home, and I was completely exhausted. I didn't sleep in or take any naps the whole weekend, so I was ready to crash. Paul and I layed on the couch and watched the movie Game Plan he got me for Easter. It was really good. Then we ended up watching Big Brother and the Newlyweds. I slept really hard and am still tired today. I have good intentions of making some quilt blocks tonight! It's been far too long since I have been at my sewing machine.

Good Friday day off!

I can't believe I've neglected my blog for this long. I guess that's what happens when you have company.
Thursday night I met up my mom and two of her co-workers and we went to supper together. We had a lot of good laughs! They are so much fun to be around. Then we went to The Sewing Center for Sew & Sews Club. I won a door prize of some green thread. I also saw they had the Janome Sewing Table in stock and the Bendable Bright light. They had the BBL on special so I picked one up that night.
Friday I was off work! So I started the day at the Sewing Center and picked up the Janome Sewing Table. I picked up my dad and we were on our way to a day of looking. We went to several home improvement stores and just did some looking and dad gave me ideas of for his birthday. This is only the 2nd time he has been up here this year, so we did any looking he wanted to do. We put on over 50 miles and didn't really go that far! About 4PM he was tuckered out, so I went home and Paul helped me put my table together, set it up and put my BBL on it. Then we met my parents for supper after mom got off work.
Sat. morning I got up and cleaned the house from top to bottom and did laundry. Paul put in hardwood flooring on our landing by the bedrooms which looks really awesome! My dad came out and spent the morning at our house. When I was finished cleaning dad and I went to a couple stores that we missed on Friday. Then we picked up mom when she got off work and went to the mall and Sams Club so my parents could look. We had supper and then they took me home. I know my dad was completely exhausted again from all the walking we did! I didn't get any sewing in, but I'm so excited to have my new table and light ready to use tonight when I get home.

I'm a Winner!

This week I received another squishy in the mail! It was from Gina in Wales for winning her blog drawing. I was so excited I had to take a picture of what she sent. She sent a tea towl with the country flowers of Wales, which I plan to use as a wall hanging, a book on Welsh Lovespoons, a chocolate spoon, and a coaster. They were all wrapped up nice and neat in a gift bag too. Thank you so much Gina for the wonderful gifts! It's great to have blogger friends.

Landscape Church Banner

Mom came out tonight and we worked on the church banner. We had the cross partially on there. We added the pieces of the landscape. I think the right side needs some more hills cut into it and there needs to be a mountain behind the cross. I'm going to have to go shopping for another fabric to put there and possibly another fabric for the left side. We'll just have to see what we can find. There wasn't anything in my limited stash that would work. I'm pleased with how far along we got tonight.

Design Wall

I won't say I'm genious, but when I need something I improvise or I figure a way to get it done. A couple weeks ago mom came over and we worked on the church banner. It was so hard to work on it since it's the size of a bed and in my little sewing room we weren't able to spread it out. We would take it up, lay it on the bed, do some work, then go back to the sewing room to work on it. This weekend Paul and I went to Menards and got a 4x8 sheet of high density foam board, and to wal-mart for 4 1/2 yards of flannel and last night I sewed the flannel together and stapled the flannel onto the foam board for a design wall.
Yes, it's big! There is a futon next to my sewing machine and I set it on that and was able to lay out the entire bottom section of the church banner. Since the foam is so strong, it is a great wall to lay the fabric out on. Tonight mom is coming out and we are going to work on the landscape part on the bottom of the quilt. This is the part that kind of freaks me, so it's a good thing mom is helping. I'm hoping we can get the fabric for the landscape on so that I can start stitching down the hills.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. I'm doing my part not to get pinched by wearing my green.
This weekend just went by in a tail spin. Paul's mom got out of the hospital on Friday night, so I met them there before Paul took her home. I met up with my friend Becca for supper. We haven't seen each other in ages, but had a really good visit and supper at Olive Garden was excellent.
Sat. morning Paul worked, so I was up at 6:30 when he left, which is way too early for a Sat. morning! I fell back asleep on the couch for a couple hours though. I got up and did laundry and cleaned house till he got home and while he took a nap, I sewed. I put the handles on another mini miranda bag and the velcro closures on two. I really wanted to start another, but I held back. Paul and I ended ups spending Sat. evening shopping for a new design wall for me. I now own a 4x8 sheet of high density foam board and 4 1/2 yds of fleece to cover it!
Sunday, being Palm Sunday I went to church early, thinking I would beat the snow we were supposed to get. I went to church and it was dry, but all through church I watched it snow very heavily! By the time I came home it was slick and we had a good inch. I decided I was staying home all day!
Paul took out the staircase to the upstairs and put in a new oak staircase on Sunday. I just stayed out of the way and it went really quickly. I locked myself downstairs in the sewing room and put the binding on both of my YBR quilts that Jen sent back and I received on Fri. They look so awesome! She's such a great friend for quilting them for me. They just need labels now. I also made two muslin sizes of the bridesmaids dress to send to one of them. The first one was too small. They went out in the mail today, so I'm glad I got them done. I also got the flowergirls dress muslin cut out, so just have to sew that together and have her try it on. I don't feel like I got a whole lot done, but I guess two bindings and two 1/2 muslins is quite a bit for one day! Tonight I'm hoping to get the flannel on my design wall so I can work on the church banner quilt.

Paul's Favorite Picture

This is Paul's favorite picture of the ones we took this weekend. It's out by the old barn at my parents home. I can't decide which one looks best.

Engagement Pictures

Paul and I were at my parents this weekend and my brother and his wife took some engagement pictures for us. We got some good ones, but the ones we really liked didn't upload last night, so I'll have to try again. This is one of the pictures we took.

My Favorite Jacket

I talked last month about attending a jacket class at TSC. It was a three night class and I only made two nights of it, but luckily I was able to finish it in two nights. It's a little wild for me, but I love the fit of it. It's so light weight and fits perfectly. I wore it to the trunk show Fri.g night, so that's why I have a name tag on. The pattern in from the My Favorite Jacket book by Cindy Taylor Oates.

My Name

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I just knew it had to be true. There is no one with my name!

Quilt Retreat Weekend

I think the first part of March is always so busy for me. It's like we feel spring should be here, so everything is planned for this time of year. Fri. night my mom and I went to the Dessert Sampler and trunk show put on by our guild. It was really good and I would say there were over a hundred small items displayed and at least 40 full size quilts we showed. We got to my parents around 10 and stayed up till almost midnight working on the guest lists for the wedding and reception.
Sat. morning mom helped my try my wedding dress on and we decided it didn't need to be let out, but did need to be shortened. We cut off 6 layers of dress! Now she will have to do a couple rolled hems and the final seam. I have to take the horse hair out of the top layer so she can put that back into the seam to hold it's shape. We got done just as Paul arrived. My brother and his wife came out and we met the lady who is taking pictures at the church and did some practice shots as well as looking at the angles in the church and what will look best for pictures. We took some engagement pictures too.
Mom and I went to Wall to the Quilt Banquet and trunk show by her boss Joan. It was really awesome and she is such a talented woman. I would love to make some of the patterns she has designed. I was in awe! My brother, his wife, and Paul went to the play my dad was in.
Sunday we got up early and mom went to teach her class at the quilt retreat. My brother and his wife and Paul and I went outside at my parents and took some engagement pictures. It was so cold and windy, so they didn't turn out very good. I think we'll have to try again sometime later in the spring. Paul and I went to the play and it was really good. Shortly after we headed for home. We were both exhausted when we got home.

Quilt Get Away Weekend

I have been anticipating this weekend for several months and it's finally here! This is the weekend of the Wall Quilt Guild Get Away. Tonight is a trunk show, put on by members (I'm one of them) and then tomorrow night there is a trunk show by Joan Davis (my mom's boss) the owner of The Quilt Corral and The Quilt Corral Too. She designs Gutzy Geisha Design Quilt patterns. I'm so excited to see more of her work. There are workshops on Sat. & Sun. My mom is teaching one on Sun., but I chose not to take any of the workshops because I don't need another UFO. Paul is coming down to my parents on Sat. and we are going to take engagement pictures and practice in the church to see what angles work best and see if we need more light or what. My dad is also in the community play, so we are going to that as well. It's going to be a very busy weekend! Hope you all have a great weekend. I can't wait to hear more about "George" when I return.

February Accomplishments... or lack thereof?

Well I have the same feelings as Jen. I don't feel like I accomplished anything in the last month. I guess taking a weekend out for Stock Show and a weekend for the Engaged Encounter really hindered my progress.
I finished:
Hearts Entwined tabletopper
Flowergirls quilt top
Leslie's Town Purse
My jacket
I also was featured in Quilters Home, got to see Mark's Katmandu trunk show, sent my quilts to Jen to be quilted, and became a dwirler! I also realized my absolute favorite new thread is Superior's Masterpiece, piecing thread. It's simply amazing and I encourage everyone to try it! So there's February in a nutshell. I'm hoping for more progress in March, but throw in Engagement pictures at home this weekend and Easter weekend and I may not get much done.

Strip Club and a 4 Wheeler

This weekend just seemed to fly by! Saturday morning I went to Strip Club at the Quilt Corral Too. It is always so much fun and they show all the newest merchandise. I couldn't believe how many new things they had in the store. They are always getting in new patterns and books. I'm going to make a new purse, so I picked up fabrics for it. I also got some fabrics to go with the panel Jen sent me. I plan to make a wall hanging, but needed some fabrics to go with it. After Strip Club Paul picked me up and we went to the Polaris dealership to look at the 4 wheeler he found. He was so excited when we decided to get it. I don't really care for them, but it's his toy and I know I'll be getting quilt frame and new machine soon, so gotta indulge him a bit. In the afternoon we went to Spearfish and picked up new clothes for the wedding and our engagement pictures we are taking this weekend. We had supper out and came home. It was such a nice day and so relaxing. Sunday I worked on my Miranda bag and finished it up.
Last night I had great plans of sewing on my new purse, but with the new 4-wheeler at home Paul wanted me to go for a ride with him. We did go and it was fun. We also confirmed the meal we want for the reception. I was exhausted and ended up talking to my brother and mom and got nothing done! Oh well there is another day.

Quilt Retreat Table Topper - 1 year in the making!

So I guess I lied about having all my UFO's done. I thought this one was done and just needed to be trimmed, but it didn't have the binding on. I didn't have any more of the purple used for the centers and the triangles, so I put a white binding on it. My mom and I belong to a quilt guild in Wall (about 1 hr. from where I live). She used to go to the meetings, but they changed them to a day she works. Last year I went to the quilt retreat that was held at a little hunting lodge near Philip. There was lots of room, plenty of light, and a great amount of fun and laughter. Granted I was the only one there under 40 there and most were over 65, but we still had a good time. This was the project for the weekend. It's called Log Cabin Variation. I had to work on Sat, so only made it to Sat. night and Sun. of the retreat. Almost everyone else made three sets and put them together in a tablerunner, but since I was late getting there, I only made one set and barely got done. It's 15" square. Granted I'm not a big log cabin fan, but I did learn a lot and I like the little inset triangles on all the corners. This is done quilt as you go style and then the backs are nestled together of each of the four squares. Our guilds quilt show is coming up this weekend and I wanted something to show, so I got this out to trim the tails on the back thinking that was all it needed. I put the binding on and trimmed and now it's done and ready for the trunk show on Fri. night.

My 1st Miranda Bag

I finally finished my first Miranda bag! I had so much trouble with the town purse that I was a bit afraid of making the Miranda, but much to my surprise and excitement this was one of the easiest bags to make. It's too big for a purse, but the perfect size for taking my stuff to work. I always take several bottles of water, a pop, my lunch, a book, and usually something quilty, so the size is perfect for being my new work bag.
I made the entire bottom of the bag on Thurs. night, but was really displeased with my choice of lining fabric as it didn't match. Since it was the faux binding on the upper edge, I wasn't sure what to do, so I took it to the Quilt Corral and asked the girls there and they agreed with my suggestion to fold it over and put a decorative stitch on the top. You can't see it in the picture, but it's just a wavy stitch and it looks really good with the stippling on the rest of the bag.
Friday night I had my jacket class. I finished the jacket, but didn't have a camera, so no pictures. I was done about a half hour early, so I made the handles and attached.
Sat. morning was Strip Club at QC2, so I took the bag as show and tell. The girls loved it and the Miranda pattern was one they featured as a new item.
I didn't realize until I went to put the flap on that I had put the handles on backwards, so I took them off and put them on the right way. I made a liner for the bag-e-bottom and the flap yesterday, so now the bag is completely finished. I have in mind to make a smaller version with the same fabrics, so we'll see how that turns out. I really need a new purse!