Sewing in June

I've been doing lots of sewing in June, but I haven't gotten most of it posted yet. I finished up the Friendship quilt for Regina and while I was working on it, I was also finishing a few other projects. I made this Christmas wall hanging sample for the store out of Nancy Halvorson's Christmas line.

I finished up this UFO for my niece Molly's birthday that is next weekend. It's one my mom started and I wanted to finish it for Molly.

I also played around with the new Quarter Square triangle ruler and made a few samples for Tammy. I just love how these blocks turned out, but i think they'd be even better in some solid colors. I did a few different ways to show what they could look like.

Then I played with the 60* ruler too. I've been wanting to make a project out of my Blush Jelly Roll using this ruler, so I figured I could test it out with some scraps. It worked awesome and I'm already on my way to having a hexi quilt!


This weekend I made a vestment for my parents priest. It's another UFO of my mom's and needs to be finished and delivered before the first part of July. I still have the binding to do around the collar, but I think my lining is too big and I need some advice before I finish it up. Talk about a major project that scares the living daylights out of me!
I also finished up a wall hanging last night for a friends baby. It'll be gifted on Friday and then I can share photos of it. I can't believe how stinkin cute it turned out!

My New Hexi project!

This week I'm finishing up the applique handwork on my V-day table topper, so I needed to prep another handsewing project. I've had this one cut out since May but hadn't started it. It's going to be a small table topper in a Chez Moi fabric. It's going to be tiny since the hexi's are 3/4". I prepped 10 to start with. They should get me through the next few weeks.
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Paul's Wolf

Paul's been hinting that he wants me to finish this wolf wall hanging for Christmas. I've been working on it for the past two years. So today I took it to work to work on it during lunch. I figured if I just got started I could maybe get into working on it. I started with the ears and got them done. I love how they turned out. They are fused to a press sheet, so I can remove them and add them to the larger piece later.  I got started on the eyes, but only got one done. I'll have to work on the other one tomorrow. They are rather tedious, but coming along better than I expected. I have a mini iron and a omnigrid mat/ironing pad combo that works great for doing small parts of this project.

This is the Winter Wolf pattern I'm working on. Doing just a bit at a time may just work for me. I'd like to at least get it all put together before Christmas. I may not get it quilted, but if I got it put together I'd being doing really well. There is just something about all the pieces that really intimidates me. Hopefully I can finish it without Paul knowing. I think that would be cool, but I have a hard time not sharing what I'm working on with him, so we'll see how it goes.

Working On this Week

This past weekend was very productive as I got several quilts cut out while I was at my parents. I like to do cutting when I have the big cutting table and it's easy to take with me, without taking all the sewing stuff. When I'm at home I like to do things I can only do there, such as quilting and tracing on my big roll of SAS2. Last night I loaded the backing and batting for Aunt Vi's Double Knit throw quilt. Let me just say I HATE quilting DK. It's so stretchy and the back gets out of wack, causing puckers. I did and up and down squiggly line on it and about 3/4 of the way through, I couldn't take it any more. I just had to quit. Since it was still fairly early in the evening, I traced and started cutting out the deer for a wall hanging Paul wants me to make for a Christmas present. I got the outer part cut out, but still need to cut out the inner portions. Maybe I'll get to this after I finish quilting the throw tonight.

Tues. night I quickly quilted up this fall wall hanging for my mom. She used all her fall scraps to do the mystery quilt at retreat and then added some borders of leftover fabric. The snowballs turned out really cute.

I feel like I've accomplished a few things this week while I've been home, so hope to get some piecing done the next two weekends.

Virtual Quilting Retreat

This weekend most of my closest blogging friends are all at a quilt retreat in the WI Dells. I had planned to join them, as I did last year when I got to meet them all for the first time when we went to OH. With the challenges my family has faced this year, I decided it wasn't meant for me to go this year. I made the decision in early January and things have significantly improved, but I had already decided not to go. I miss my blogging friends so much!
Jen and Regina wouldn't leave me out though! I decided I would do a virtual quilt retreat with them. Friday night after work I got started. I made 4 red project bags and 3 mini black project bags. These will go to my dear quilting friends. I've had them cut out for months, but just got around to finishing them. The Keep On Quilting logo was from fabric I got at retreat last year.


Then I made a bigger project bag for my UFO's. It's already been filled with my latest UFO from Sat. I used the Winding Ways fabric for the applique. I also used the teflon foot to sew all these, including the applique and zipper and it worked great!

Then I moved on to my snowball/9 patch blocks. I needed to get my April ones done and ended up making 15 which is what I had cut out. I ran out of the gray rock candy, so I guess I won't be making any more blocks. I figured out I needed 2 more after I layed it out, so I quickly whipped those up with the few leftovers I had.


Then I layed it out on my design wall. It's 5x7 and I think will make a nice throw quilt for playing I Spy. It's so fun to look at all these fabrics and remember the projects I've made with them. I piled them all up in order so I can sew them together in May.

I really wanted to play with the new 60 degree ruler I got, so I used the scraps I had from the Al Fresco line and started cutting. I'm really not sure how I'm goint to lay them out. I was going to go with random and then I layed them in the hexi's. Not sure I like them this way either. The pattern I saw had them all random in a tablerunner. I'm thinking mine will be more short and fat like a table topper.



Throughout the evening, I was texting with Jen and Regina and keeping up with their projects and showing them what I was working on. It was so good to hear from them even if I couldn't be with them. I finished up a nice pile of each, so I have plenty to play with. I saved enough backing and binding, so now i just have to figure out how to set them.

It was after 1AM when I finally called it a night, but it was so fun to sew again for once! It feels like I haven't been doing much all month.

Keep On Quilting project bags

Today at lunch I was near Thimble Cottage quilt shop running errands, so I stopped in and picked up the 2.5" 60 degree Strip Ruler by Creative Grids. When I first saw this type of ruler on the shop hop, I didn't know what you would do with them. Since then I've found a couple patterns to use it with, so I wanted to pick one up before they were gone. I'm hoping to play with it this weekend and maybe make a tablerunner. I have the 4.5" one on order since I think it would be great for making another One Block Wonder. Has anyone used this ruler or have any patterns they really like using it? When I took a picture I layed it on the black Grip & Grip. Have you seen these things? It's like an applique press sheet and shelf liner in one. It's grippy so when you lay applique pieces on it, they don't move, but it also is heat safe. It's awesome!

Last night I was busy ironing on these little Keep On Quilting Logos to the project bags I was making. I put the vinyl on the Grip & Grip and then my applique pressing sheet on top so as not to melt them. I appliqued the logo on 10 bags and was able to get 5 of them completely finished with the zippers in place. I needed to change the thread to put the rest of the zippers in, so that will be my project tonight. I think they turned out super cute! I'm hoping to send them to a few close friends. They will always be a reminder of my time at quilt retreat last year as that is when I bought the fabric. Since the girls are at retreat this weekend I felt motivated to get them done finally! They've only been hanging out for 3 or 4 months.

March Quilting Accomplishments

March was an extremely productive month for me. I feel like I accomplished a lot, even though it didn't feel like it sometimes. I made lots of progress on finishing up some lingering UFO's that have been hanging out for the past year. I figure if I finish a UFO a month, I'm farther ahead then when I started.

March Goals & Accomplishments!

2 Thangles BOM blocks - DONE! I have a total of 4 of the 12 done, so I'm feeling good about doing 2 per month unless the mood strikes and I may do more.

6 Snowball Blocks (Quilt Along) - DONE! About 3-5 months more and I should have a good sized quilt for my niece for Christmas. I'm loving making these blocks. My brother & sis-in-law informed me on Sat. that she is almost ready to be in a twin bed, so I'll have to start making her bigger quilts. She's started to put words together into sentences, so it's fun to listen to her. Luckily we get to see her quite a few weekends in April, including this weekend again.

Paul's Wolf Applique - Although I didn't finish this, I got it out, traced out the pattern and started cutting out the pieces. I told him I'd be lucky to finish it by our anniversary. It's got a ton of tiny pieces to be cut out, but it feels great to have actually pulled it out to work on it. Some work on it is better than none.
Quilt Club Sandwiches Tablerunner - DONE! I had 6 for this class and it was an interesting mix of ladies. About half got done with the top. We had one finger cut with the rotary cutter, but that was the worst mishap. My mom and quilty friend Darlene took this class, so they were the rowdy ladies of the bunch!

Quilt Siggy Tops - Small & Large  2 DONE! I finally finished the quilting and binding on both of my quilt retreat siggy quilts. I love how they turned out and I'm so glad to have them completely finished.

Sweet Escape Tablerunner DONE! This class is coming up April 6th at The Sewing Center. It's a quick little tablerunner using a charm pack and a bit of yardage. I finished it fairly early in the month, so it's been a sample for a while. There's still room to sign up if you're interested.

Other Quilting Accomplishments:
Quilted and bound Objects of Desire #2 Tablerunner and finished the binding on O of D tablerunner #1

Attended the Wall Quilt Guild Banquet with my mom. We each won fun prizes and enjoyed visiting with old quilting friends.
Made a Pink Snowball 9 Patch Quilt for my online quilting friend Colleen & her new daughter, Annaliese. I love surprising friends with quilts when they least expect it and I think I really surprised her. Quilters are always so appreciative of quilts.

Made 3 Block Butlers for my mom &  two quilting friends, now I need to pick up flannel and make one for myself. They turned out really cute and used up some sewing themed fabric that I had in my stash.

Quilted Mom's Western Boots Quilt
This one has been hanging out since October waiting to be quilted, so I'm glad to finally have it done.

Made & taught a Rick Rack Road Class to Jenn & a few of her friends. It was a fun night and I've seen a few of the finished runners. They all look great.

Made a Fabric Bowl for St. Patty's Day


Made Paul's 5 Yard Quilt for his birthday. Even though I worked on it for the past two weeks, he still didn't realize I was making him a quilt for his birthday yesterday. The binding was put on tonight, so I just have to do the hand work now.

Hosted Girls Night Out at TSC, where I worked on a new tablerunner from the Essence line. I got all 12 blocks made. I cut out a baby quilt for my niece, but now I have to make it into a twin sized quilt. Luckily it's a large log cabin, so I should be able to make it bigger fairly easily.

My stash is going down this year. I've bought 3 yards, received 28 yards, and used 65.5 yards, for a net used of 34.5 yards. I'm doing really well with finishing up my UFO's too. I've completed 8 UFO's and worked on 2 others. I quilted 105 hours in March, which makes for the largest number of hours per month so far.

Other happenings this month included:

Paul's Large Mouth Bass coming back from the taxidermist.

Butchering with the family.
Checking out my Great-Grandma's quilts that were saved from my Grandma's house.

Goals for April

Finish Essence Tablerunner

6 Snowball 9 Patch Blocks

2 Thangles Blocks

Pink Cowgirl Quilt

Purple Snowball Quilt

I'm hoping to start on a quilt for my cousin's wedding. I have the majority of the fabric already bought and the t-shirts, but I need to come up with a plan and get started on it since the wedding is coming up.

We'll be travelling a couple of the weekends in April, so I won't get a whole lot done on the weekends. Mom and I are going on a shop hop, so I'm hoping to get a few new finds to bring home.

Paul's Wolf

Paul's birthday is fast approaching in less than 2 weeks! I've had this kit for about a year and a half and just never have been motivated to finish it. I have all the pieces drawn out, all the pieces pressed on to the fabrics, and I've let it set. The first reason I believed was that I didn't have the right thread to quilt it with, but since then I've gotten it. The second reason was I needed the teflon template material to draw out the wolf, and yet I got that last June in MN, so I should have finished it. Today I brought the bag to work and copied the entire wolf pattern on to the template material. Hopefully tonight I can get started on the cutting of fabrics and have the head together by the end of the weekend. My goal is to have the entire wolf wall hanging done by the end of the month. It's the only goal I have left on my list for the month.

Fancy Project Bags

Last year when I was working at the store, I bought a kit in a really nice plastic zippered pouch. I absolutely love it for putting my UFO's in or my WIP projects so I can keep everything together. I picked up another one, but they are $3-5 a piece and they aren't readily available any more. I like them a whole lot better than my empty sheet bags which also hold projects. I like them because my book will fit in along with the project. I always seem to be shifting projects into the nicer ones. Jen gave me the idea to make my own using vinyl by the yard. I bought 2 yards last weekend and with a coupon it cost me $3 for the vinyl. I bought a couple zippers and used one I had in my stash. I thought it might be cool to applique on the bags, but I wasn't sure if they would melt. Using the low setting on my iron and my applique pressing sheet, I was able to applique the letter on using steam a seam 2. I put the zippers in using the roller foot I bought several years ago. I made all 3 in about an hour and probably for less than $2 each. I was able to cut out 4 bags from one 14" piece, so I still have over 1 1/2 yards left. I'll definately be making more, but I wanted to make a few for friends first and then I'll make some for myself. Now that I know how to make them, I might have to make a few more for my quilt along buddies. I put all of my blocks and cut out squares in the small one and it's the perfect size to keep it all together for a few months.
Yesterday I drew out what my quilt is going to look like. I still might make it bigger, but at least I have an idea started and know how many more 2.5" squares I need to cut.

I used a couple different decorative stitches to stitch the letters on.

Thanks for the great idea Jen!

Range Riders Quilt Top Done!

January used to be the slowest month when I was growing up. It was always so cold and it was dark early, so we stayed inside a lot. I always looked forward to February... Stock Show and my birthday! Now that I'm an adult, January just seems to fly by. I can't believe there are only 2 weeks left. I've been busy teaching quilting and sewing classes this month, so that's one reason it's flying by so quickly. Saturday I taught Janome Basics. It went pretty well and the ladies all seemed to learn a lot. Tonight I'm teaching Janome Memory Basics, Tues. night is Fast & Furious Baby Quilt, and Wed. night is Professional Tote, so it's going to be another busy week, but I love teaching quilting classes.
I've been working on the Range Riders quilt since the beginning of the month. I had all the applique traced and cut out and all the backgrounds cut out, but I knew it was going to take me a long time to do the applique stitching. Friday night I pieced all the flying geese. Sat. morning I got up and worked on the appliqued stars and after class I started putting the blocks together. After 7 hours on Sat. I had 5 blocks done.

I worked on more stars before church and then put the blocks together when I got home. By noon I had all 10 of the picture blocks done.

All afternoon I worked on the applique on the boots. I satin stitched the soles and heels of the boots black and then accented the tops with blue, maroon, or brown. By 3:30 I finally had all the boot blocks appliqued and I took a much needed break! I made homemade chicken noodle soup for supper and then let it simmer while I tore all the totally stable off the boots.

Sunday evening I put the quilt together. It actually went together pretty quickly and I only had a few seams I redid, just to make my points perfect. I changed the quarter inch on my machine and it made all the difference in the world with how my blocks were lining up. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. By 8PM I was done with the center and started putting the mitered borders on.

When 10PM rolled around I was just doing the final pressing on it. It's done and ready to go to the quilter today! It's a store sample and another lady is quilting it, so I don't have to, which leaves me time to finish up my last goal for the month and start working on my snowball I Spy quilt. I was really hoping to start it last night, but I made myself finish this one first, so now I can do some playing. I also got some new material for project bags I want to start working on. So many projects, so little time!
The finished quilt has mitered borders which went on surprisingly easy.