Friday, September 14, 2018

Summer finishes

This summer just got away from me and I realized I hadn't even written down some of my finishes.
I made this Aeroplane bag.
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I made these bowl cozies and gave two to a friend who was moving.
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I made Mathew a travel pillowcase.
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Mikaela made one as well.
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I made this Crown Royal quilt for a friend as well. It was a major project this summer.
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Then I made another Aeroplane bag which was smaller.
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I quilted this small baby quilt for Project Warmth
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I also quilted this one as well.
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I made this bag.
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I fixed this wallet. It just needed a new outside.
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The inside was still good.
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I also made hearts for the quilt guild Heart blocks
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I finished this Sprinkles Baby quilt.
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It felt good to get all these projects done. I'm really working hard on my UFO list this year.

Friday, September 07, 2018

Family Wedding Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Brookings to my cousin's wedding. It was held at McCrory Gardens, a beautiful location. We took a good family picture.

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Grandpa and Grandma with all the grandkids
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Our entire family, my brother Ed and his boys, us, my dad and his wife Ann, and my brother Jim and his wife Adele and their kids.
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My dad Hugh and his wife Ann
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We spent Saturday swimming and going to the Children's Museum before going to the wedding. On Sunday we went to the State Fair. The kids had so much fun. They don't remember when we went 2 years ago.
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We saw the 4-H building and went on rides, looked in tractors, and ate amazing fair food.
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It was a fun weekend, even if we weren't camping.

Central States Fair

This year I planned ahead and put all of my exhibits in the camper and was ready for the fair. We started camping before the fair and through the week of the fair. I received several Blues and a couple reds in the sewing division. My daughter had 2 entries and she was so excited.

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We had about 10 more items this year than in past years. I love being involved with the fair, although by the end of the week it's been a long week.
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These two bags did well at the fair.
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My quilts didn't fair so well. All received reds and whites. This is a hard blow for a former 4-Her. The quilt division just has a different judging level than the rest of the fair.
My Black/White/Pink/Green 5 yard quilt, my oldest UFO.
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En Provence
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Scrappy trip around the world table topper - a wedding present for my cousin and his wife who are both SDSU fans.
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The Crown Royal quilt I made.
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The English Paper Pieced table topper I made.
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Paul's t-shirt quilt.
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Nova
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Positivity table topper.
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Sprinkles
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Pink/white/black 5-yard baby quilt
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Aeroplane bag
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Teddy's Cars quilt
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Mikaela's doll quilt
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August Sewing Progress

August was a very productive month of sewing for me. I finished this Aeroplane bag sample for the class I taught last night.
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I made this Quilter's Planner bag from the magazine that came with the planner.
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My friend Rachel's daughter "needed" a quilt to match her mom's, so I made this one for her. Paul and the kids were busy one night while we were camping and I was able to sew the night away making this. I finished it up later in the week and gave it to her on her first day of Kindergarten. Our kids are 3 days apart in age. Taylor LOVED the quilt, so I'm happy I was able to make it for her.
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I put a lot of extra hours in during August - it's my busiest work month and I needed a break. I took a Friday afternoon off and picked up my quilt machine from the dealer and took it out to dad's to quilt. I was able to get this scrappy trip around the world quilted in about 4 hours.
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I just did some squiggles.
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I also decided to make a quilt for a special family member and I started working on it in the camper. I can't show it yet as it's very obvious who it's for if I show the focus fabric. It's a modified 5-yard quilt.
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I'm making a couple samples for classes for the spring and decided to make this Take a Stand bag. this is a large size. This is the front.
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This is the back. Both sides have large pockets.
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I also got a whole Saturday morning in the camper and made this Glamping Gypsies Cobblestone quilt top. I finished it up at home, but boy having several hours to so, by myself was amazing. I need that time to refresh and relax, when I'm not so tired I want to sleep.
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I finished up the binding on this scrappy trip around the world. It measures 96"x 120"
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I had the open wide pattern and ended up using my fabric for a different tote, so I quickly made this medium sized one.
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it's a great little bag and is really quick to make.
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Here's the size difference with the Take a Stand Bag.
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I'm also getting a renewed push to finish the On Ringo Lake quilt. I spent a lot of time making the block parts as leader/enders over the last few weeks and finally put together a few blocks. I've got 3 done and lots more to go, but it's a start. This one won't be done by the next start, but at least I'm making progress.
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School started the last week of August. I now have a Kindergartener and a 2nd grader. They both have great teachers and I'm excited to see them both excel this year. They are both thrilled to be going to school.
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My progress on my stash reduction took a big leap this month. I'm so excited to see my UFO list going down. I made a list of 12 major UFO's to finish this year. I have 7 done, 1 at the quilter, 3 I'm currently working on. It feels so good to be making this much progress.

Stash Numbers:
In August - 2 yards
Out August - 34 yards
In Year to Date - 139.5
Out-Year to Date - 187.75
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I'm AHEAD by 48.25 yards!