July Quilting Accomplishments!

This was an extremely productive month and I feel like I accomplished so much.
My goals for this month included:
Thread Sewing Bag - 5 Done!
Finish Lickity Split Binding - Done!
Chez Moi Grommet Bag - 2 Done!
Chez Moi Happy Hour Quilt - Done and Labeled! My friend should receive it this week... so stay tuned for pictures if I can get her to pose with it!
Make Signature Quilt with Rosie - Top, Quilt, Bind - Moved to August Goal

In July I completed:
3 Cosmetic/Sewing tote bags
Thread scraps Bag for by my machine
Chez Moi Grommet Bag
Wonder Wallet and Checkbook cover
Another Chez Moi Grommet Bag
Quilted a quilt for Kathy
Made Leslie's Curtains
Pillowcases:
~Leslie
~Paul
~Me
~Chez Moi
~Pop Parade
Baby Burp Clothes
Snapshot of Friends
Au Natural Claire
5 & Dime
Al Fresco Claire
Pink/Brown Grommet Bag

I started the Peaches and Dreams Quilt, Won a Drawing on the I Have a Notion blog, and had a great group of ladies for Bag Ladies. I also read Black Hills by Nora Roberts which is an excellent book!

My August Goals include a few UFO's and I'm sure there will be a few new projects completed as well!
Red/White/Blue Rosie the Quilter Signature quilt
Barnyard Friends Baby Quilt... baby is due at the end of the month!
Zoo Friends Baby Quilt
QAYG Runaround Bag
Halloween wall hanging

Attend Quilt Show & Quilt Retreat

Pillowcase Factory Closed!

This week I was determined to get a few more UFO's off my shelves. When I make pillowcases, they are super simple, but I have to set up the serger so I like to make several at a time. This week I made 7! These two I needed the brown flange, so I picked it up at the shop today at lunch so I could get them finished. They match the Pop Parade/Boxed Blessings Quilt I made.


I also picked up a fat quarter of the Chez Moi flowers below to make the top of this pillowcase. I had bought the end of the bolt, so had to settle for a fat quarter, but it worked great and no waste. This will be the "gift wrap" for the snapshots quilt. I now need to get the gift all wrapped up for my friend. I'm getting so excited to give it to her.

The pillowcase factory is closed, well at least for this week! I put the serger away and started cutting out a new quilt I hope to finish this weekend. It's called the 5 & Dime quilt, so we'll see...

Boxed Blessings finally done!

Boxed Blessings the "big" quilt retreat quilt I was planning to work on is finally done. I thought I could get it all pieced and in a top by the time I came home. I could have... if I hadn't waited to start until Sat night! I found too many other fun, quick projects and didn't quite get done with the blocks. I had them about 3/4 done, and shipped them home. Over the past month, I've had to make a number of bags, so this kept getting pushed to the back burner. I quilted it in about 5 days, and spent 6 hours ripping out three rows of quilting because of bad tension issues. I think I was rushing too fast to be done on Memorial Day weekend. I put the binding on last Fri night and have worked all week to get the binding hand sewn down. After I got home from class last night I finished the last side of binding up while I visited/watched TV with Paul. He starts his new job on Monday, so today's his last non-working day to stay at home and veg, so he stayed up late last night while I sewed. The back and the front of the quilt, with the cool binding. I have enough to make a pillowcase to go with it too. I'll get the quilt to the store today so it's there for strip club tomorrow.

This is the finished quilt

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone! I love the start of the summer season. Working at Mt. Rushmore every summer I was in college, I always enjoyed Memorial Day weekend because there was always that first big rush of summer tourist traffic.
This weekend was unlike most for us. We usually go home for the family branding, but since we're going to my parents next weekend we stayed home and I worked both Sat. and Sun. My quilting was severly hampered by working, but I did get quite a bit of quilting done.
Friday night I loaded Pop Parade on the frame and quilted swirls on it. If I had known how long swirls would take, I never would have done it. I quilted a couple hours Friday night, a couple hours Sat. night, and Sun. night I finally finished up. I was exhausted, only to pull it off the frame and realize the last three rows had bad tension issues, so I spent an hour Sun. night, two hours today, and still have a good foot left to take out before I put it back on the frame to finish quilting it. I was so mad, but I want it to look nice, so it's worth it.

Here's a close up of the quilting on it.

Jill and I had been discussing doing a One Block Wonder together. I had a grand idea to use our cowgirls fabric, but figured for my first one I should try something off the sale rack. I found this peach Koi fabric and I know my MIL loves it, so I'm going to make the first one for her. It matches the blue pillowcase and pants I made for her last week.

Today we had grand plans of going fishing since I was off. Paul had me up at the crack of dawn. We went to Wall Lake and New Underwood Lake, but it was pretty windy, so no luck. Paul says it's called fishing, not catching for a reason.
We got home in time for naps and to watch the postponed Nascar race. They were talking about the Indy car race and I thought of Jennifer and her well planned family vacation.
I had planned to go to Hancock's for their big sale today, so I headed out mid afternoon. I picked up several zippers and magnetic snaps for a professional tote I'm making. Elastic for more pants. Leather thimbles, a new flex light (for good lighting for ripping), button pins for working on OBW, and some new scissors like Jen had a retreat. They are a lot lighter than the ones I normally use, so aren't as weighty on my neck. Ran in to some co-workers so ended up spending time visiting too. I went to Lowe's for plants, Best Buy for headphones, and Shopko just to look. It was a nice (but windy) afternoon and it was so great just to look. My MP3 player was taken at the airport on my way to retreat in OH, so last week I got a new one... 8 GB and FM Tuner... Paul is so jealous. He tried to convince me I could have his 4GB one and he'd use the new one. Not gonna happen! I love my new player and have already filled it about half full. I hated the headphones that came with it, so I picked up some new ones.


This week is the first class for the professional tote bag class mom and I are teaching. I am making one for a friend, so I planned to get it all cut out this weekend. That didn't happen, but I did get the fabric. The dots will be on the outside, the brown is the contrast, and the one on the right is the lining. I think it will turn out great.

I worked on cutting out a Wonder Blocks quilt out of the Mocha Meringue fabric this weekend, but didn't get it all done, so tomorrow I'm taking it to work and will do it at lunch. Jill made me this awesome Tool Caddy to take with me to work, so I'm taking it along with my rotating mat and hopefully I'll get it all cut out.

I love the little mat, rulers, and rotary cutter, which I didn't have. I so wish we had a Joann fabrics around here, but we don't so I get what I can at Hancock's when they have 50% off notions like they did today.

Boxed Blessings/ Pop Parade Quilt Top Done

Tonight my goal was get the blocks finished for the Boxed Blessings quilt done. I had them done by the time Dancing came on, so while I was watching that I put them all out on the bed and played with them. I talked to Jill for a while and then went and sewed the blocks. I was so excited to get the opt done. Now I'll just have to quilt it. I don't think I'll end up putting borders on it. It doesn't call for them. I'll decide tomorrow when I'm at class and have some opinions.

Here's a close up. I'm very happy with how my corners matched up, even though I didn't have a very consistant 1/4". I didn't square them up, but they went together well. I'm using the lime green check on the back and the same lime/purple stripe in the block centers as the binding.

Boxed Blessings/ Pop Parade Quilt

My main project for Quilt Retreat with my peeps was the Boxed Blessings pattern by Ingrid Barlow. Mom had bought the pattern in Sioux Falls because that's the one thing I really wanted her to pick up on her trip. We had just gotten in the Pop Parade line, so I thought it would make the perfect line to make these blocks.
I only got about 3/4 done at retreat, because let's face it I got distracted with other fun and easy projects. I left this one till late Sat. night and all day Sun. and I couldn't concentrate, knowing the time with my peeps was almost over. I had the main stack on the left done by the time I left, and all the matching pieces (the ones in the middle of this picture) sewn together. They just needed to be attached to the main part. Last night I started attaching them. I got about 1/2 done with attaching one side.

This is how each block will look when I get them put together. Hopefully I'll get all the blocks done tonight. We were watching the Survivor finale when I was trying to do these, so not as much done as I would have liked. With Dancing with the Stars and Bachelorette on tomorrow night, I know I could be easily distracted. My second and final night of Bag Ladies is Tues. night, so it's going to be a busy week.

Peeps Retreat Day 5 - Sunday

Sunday morning I awoke just in time for breakfast. It was another wonderful, filling meal. Then I was ready to tackle my Pop Parade- Boxed Blessings blocks. I spent all day working on them and only got about 3/4 done before it was time to quit and pack up our stuff. We took lots of pictures of the peeps too!

Jen, Jill, & Moneik

Regina D/S, Jen, Moneik, Regina A, Jill

I rode back to Jill's with Jen and Sherry which was a lot of fun. Angry White Woman sure has some great stories to tell! Some how we missed the turn and went the wrong way, but with the GPS we found our way back to Best Friends, the shop Jill works at. I saw so many cute fabrics, but had to refrain as I knew I had way too much stuff. I did pick up a pattern for a purse I'm really looking forward to trying.
We had supper at Panera Breads which was a treat for me and then headed back to Jill's. I packed up my stuff and got ready to send some home. It was 1:30AM before we headed to bed, but we were having so much fun talking & laughing. Jen and Jill couldn't understand why we watch the local news, so I said "because it's stuff that really happens"... they thought this was hysterical!