Thursday, December 31, 2009

Wishing everyone a safe, happy, healthy and crafty New Year!


Monday, December 28, 2009

Insect Jar Quiltlet

I haven't done any sewing other than handwork in the last few days but this is a picture from Christmas morning of our son and the little quilt I made for him to hang on his dorm room wall. He took an entomology class last semester and has discovered an interest in insects, etc. The books on the bottom left of the quilt represent the three field guides we gave him for Christmas also. He even said he likes the quilt in spite of the fact that he is sure that quilting is some sort of 'cult'.

I made a couple other little items for the grandkids but forgot to take pictures before they got wrapped so I will share pictures of those after they open the packages when we get there later today.

The three denim quilts made it safely to the great-nieces and great-nephew and I hear they like them. I hope to get a picture of them with the quilts so I can share it with you.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!
Was lying in bed this morning, not ready to get up when the phone rang. I can count on my brother in WV to be the first to call me since he is three hours ahead. When I talked to her, I reminded my sister-in-law of the present she bought for my brother when they were here in October so she was off to find its hiding place.

The son is still asleep in the living room so hubby and I are watching Prancer in the bedroom. We will be waiting to open gifts until #2 daughter gets home so Christmas movies will be watched! Monday we will head over to #1 daughter's home to celebrate with the grandkids.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Three Denim Quilts!

Yes, they are done. I need to label them and get them in a box and they will be on their way! WooHoo! I hope to get that done today and also get a couple other things in the mail and I have one or two other projects to finish up in the next few days.This is for the great-niece that likes orange and green...And this is for our teenage great-nephew. Not easy finding a 'manly' flannel so I hope he likes camo-geckos.
I need to label them and get them in a box and they will be on their way! WooHoo! I hope to get that done today and also get a couple other things in the mail and I have one or two other projects to finish up in the next few days.

Our son should be home tomorrow or Sunday and our daughter will arrive on Sunday so the empty nest will disappear for a short time again. Not sure what baking/candy-making will get done this year. Depends on what the kids want and want to help with! I am sure the boy will want his Chex Party Mix!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Where will we put it?

Last week my hubby came home with another sewing machine. This one is a Wheeler & Wilson that is at least 104 years old. The carving on the cabinet is the main reason he went for it, but, we didn't have a W&W machine yet! He has gotten it all cleaned up but I haven't had a chance to test it out. For the first several days it sat in the middle of the great room but last night it found a little corner of the room that didn't already have at least one machine in it!I got the first of the three denim tops quilted over the weekend and yesterday got the binding on it and did the hand-sewing at craft night. Today I hope to quilt the other two and get the bindings on and tomorrow I will sit around and get the bindings on. Hopefully the TDaP (Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis) booster I got in my arm yesterday doesn't slow me down!

I borrowed my friend's Cricut to make some things for my grandson for Christmas. He will be 4 next week and is starting to get interested in the alphabet and numbers. Not sure exactly what I will make but hopefully it is something he enjoys learning with!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Denim Quilts

******Important Update: As of December 31, 2015 this pattern will be available only in my Etsy Shop - LucysQuilts******

******If you have commented on this post in the past and haven't received the pattern it is probably because you did not give me an email address. You can either comment with your email address or click on View My Profile on the right and then click on Email Me on the left*******

In 2001, my sister and I each had a child graduating from high school and we decided to make a quilt for each of them as a gift. I was going through a bit of a slump in my sewing so I let my sister pick the pattern. She had this great pattern for denim quilts and thought that would be a good choice for her son and my daughter to take to college and since I had no better idea it was decided. We got together at her house and got the two tops made in a day or two and though both of the graduates were in and out of the house, neither had a clue.I loved the concept of this pattern and was inspired to make a few more, and then a few more and now I have no idea how many I have made based on the pattern but it is well over 100.

Many fellow quilters have asked for information about the way they are put together over the years including one request on my last post. I was hoping I had already done a tutorial here but looking back quickly did not reveal one so here goes...

The pattern was adapted from the pattern for the cover quilt on Kaffe Fassett's book Glorious Patchwork. I am not sure who adapted the pattern for denim but it was inspired. I have changed the pattern a little to make it easier for this method, but it can be done as printed in the book.I make my quilts out of old jeans because I love the variations in the fabric as it fades and the pockets are great. You can also use new denim of various shades or colors. If you are using jeans, you either rip them at the seams or cut them apart. Then you cut squares that are 2", 4", 6", 8", 10" and 12". You also need the fabric for the strips in between the blocks. The pattern called for black cotton and I have used several bolts of 60" black Kona for these quilts! The black is cut into 1" strips. Some of the strips are cut into 2", 4", 6", 8", 10" and 12" lengths as needed. Some are used for the strips between the rows.

The basic method here is to put a strip of black between each block of denim. The beauty of this is that you are never sewing denim to denim so the seams don't get too bulky. You need to practice with your machine to get the right seam allowance. I have found that if I use my 1/4" foot for this quilt the pieces don't match up as they should so I use the regular foot on my Pfaffs and sew more of a true 1/4" seam as opposed to a scant 1/4".

My first thought after I got the pattern was to use the sleeves that I cut off the twill coverall's that my husband wears for work. I have always saved them (I know, a little crazy) and he has had grey, forest green, cadet blue and navy blue coveralls over the years but that looked pretty boring so I went to thrift stores and fabric stores and found some twill prints that tied them all together. This is the one I made for my husband using up the last of my twill pieces (at that time) and as you can see I only had 2", 4" and 6" pieces left.In the first few years I went to thrift stores and picked up jeans for the quilts. I found that 12" squares aren't easy to get from most jeans so I bought some denim dresses or jumpers and occasionally very large jeans. I've also found a few pieces of denim yardage at the thrift stores or bought some on sale for the larger pieces. I have gotten some great colored/print denims at the thrift store in the children's section and a few in the women's section. I found one that was a white denim with huge blue roses that should never have been made into a pair of size 20 capris! It did work well in my king size quilt when added to yellow, green and blue denim!Now, since people know I make quilts out of old jeans, they frequently ask me if I am still making the denim quilts and hand me grocery bags of jeans. This is why I have several boxes of jeans in my attic waiting to be cut up!

The best thing about this pattern that makes a 52" X 56" quilt is that it can be easily adapted to make a larger quilt or to use different pieces if you don't have the correct number of pieces of the various sizes from the jeans you want to use. It is all based on a 2" grid. The pattern starts in the middle with a 12" square and then rows are added similar to a log cabin block.

Here is one I made for a friend using jewel tone quilting fabric. Love this one!!!This is one I made this summer experimenting with a pink print fabric for the strips instead of black.After getting this round robin quilt put together I decided to use some cream/tan denims with a maroon Kona for the strips and got this great quilt. As I said earlier, I have made more than 100 quilts based on this pattern. I made 7 or 8 using Christmas prints, a couple for wedding quilts using the wedding colors in various prints and one using Laurel Burch's Ocean Song swirl fabrics in various colors. Most have been denim and many of those were donated to the foster care program in our area for foster kids graduating from high school. I have found that teenagers love these quilts. They are also great for baby quilts or young children as they are very sturdy.

The original graduation quilts and my king-sized quilt were professional machine quilted by a friend. Then for the next few years I tied the quilts until I got brave enough to machine quilt them on my trusty Pfaff 1222's.

If you have any questions, or would like me to email the pattern to you, just email me.

*****UPDATE*****  - I am no longer sending out the pattern via email. Due to the high demand it is only available from my Etsy shop: LucysQuilts. Also, comments are moderated so it may take up to a couple of days for it to be posted if I am out of town but I will get to it and respond so you don't have to comment again if you don't see your comment right away.

*****I have posted a Denim Update here.*****

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Here is the third denim quilt top I needed to finish for Christmas gifts. Now I just need to get them quilted and bound. I have the fabric for the back so once the sewing table is cleaned off a bit I can get them basted and quilted. Then they need to get in the mail for Colorado.


Unfortunately, in order to finish the quilt I had to make a run to town to buy a new iron. My Rowenta bit the dust when I had less than an hour's sewing left to do on the quilt. I have been very dissatisfied with my Rowentas so I decided to go with a cheaper Tfal model. Seems to work pretty well.

Today I finished cutting the rest of the denim and twill that I had ready so I could get it all in the bin and out of the way as I started cleaning off the sewing table.

One of my upcoming projects is another Quilt Block Round Robin. I decided today was a good time to get my block made while the backings were being pre-washed. I decided I would send along a bag of batik scraps I got at a garage sale to be used in the blocks. In that bag were a stack of yellow squares which will be the used by each person in the blocks. I am asking for 12.5" batik house blocks and the yellow will be used for at least one window if the house. Here is my starter block. It is ready to get in the mail either tomorrow or next week.

Monday, December 7, 2009

More testing

I have done a few rows for the next denim quilt while testing various machines that hubby has been working on. It is so hard to keep track when you have several machines of the same type and each foot pedal is a little different too! They all seem to be doing pretty well so hopefully tomorrow I can get this denim top done. I got some flannel for the backs of two of them but need to find something for the third.

Testing, 1,2,3

My little grandson is back home with Mommy and Daddy and the princess so I have been able to spend some time in the sewing room getting something done. I tested out my new sewing machine making this denim quilt top and it worked nicely once I got the tension set right, etc.
On my way home from dropping off the little guy I met my sister for 'linner' and traded her not so healthy Pfaff 1222 with one of mine. My husband is turning into quite the Pfaff 1222 expert so he got hers running better and also has two others waiting for me to do some test sewing. It is so handy to live with your sewing machine repairman! If one needs a good cleaning and oiling I just put it on the dining room table and he takes it out to the shop, checks it out and brings it back in! All of these machines are almost 40 years old so a lot of parts are no longer available and we will have to start cannibalizing as time goes on.

I have one more denim quilt top to sew and then I need to get three quilted and bound and in the mail for Christmas. I would love to get that done this week but we shall see!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Happy Birthday to ME!

It is a few weeks early but here it is. A nearly new Pfaff 122SE. There are no scratches on the work surface which means it hasn't been used much even though it is probably over 30 years old. I haven't had a chance to sew with it yet since the grandson is here visiting for a few days but I hope to sew something in the next couple of days. It has a few differences from my other 1222s, most noticeably the two tone paint job. Also, this model came with snap-on interchangeable feet instead of all the various feet that my others originally came with.

Our Thanksgiving travels took us past Fabric Depot down in Portland so I stopped and stocked up on white-on-whites. I picked up a piece of one white-on-white for my internet quilt-y friend, Jennifer, that has little crabs on it. I used some in a block I made for her and she wanted some for her stash. I also got 3 yards of 108" muslin to use for a project I have coming up. I hope to get it laid out after I take the boy back home to his parents.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

November's blocks

Here are the five blocks I made for November's QBE. I have already received a couple from other members of the group and I am liking my choice of black and white with a splash of bright color. I am looking forward to putting them together one of these days.

There will be no sewing today though as I will be heading out as soon as I take my shower for the other side of the state. I get to spend the evening with my grandkids and tomorrow morning and then I will pick up my son from college and bring him home. Hopefully I will have a picture of my granddaughter in her little dress - whether it fits her or not!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

sewing, but not quilting

Since the denim quilt tops got finished I haven't done anymore quilty kind of sewing but I did make this cute little dress for my granddaughter, Clara. She is 16 months old but is a bit shrimpy so I think the dress will be a bit big but it is somewhere to start. I have more fabrics to use for more dresses and the good news is that she might grow into this one before summer comes again! I am holding off on the elastic in the sleeves so I put the right length in when it fits her. I hope to get a picture of her in the dress next week when I am at their house.
I finally got around to taking pictures of these three blocks I received in the Quilt Block Exchange. The first two are from October and the one on the right is my first one for November.I hope to get started on my November blocks tomorrow.

Today I helped out tying quilts for Lutheran World Relief at our church. Several of the usual ladies were out of town so I got a call to help. We got the usual 10 quilts tied this morning so I am glad it worked in my schedule this time. After stopping at the store for ingredients, I spent the rest of the afternoon making lasagna for my husband for his continuing birthday celebration (we went out to dinner last night) and an apple coffee cake for 'bruncheon' tomorrow at church. Now I am pooped and need to get off my feet.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The rain continues...

which means I have no excuse for not getting a lot of sewing done! I have managed to finish two denim quilt tops. The first one was supposed to be for my great niece but...
...I wasn't satisfied with the results for her so I made this one instead.

I have also started ripping some more jeans so I can get more cut up so I can sew more tops.

Last week at Joann's I bought four pieces of fabric to use for little dresses for my granddaughter. Three are corduroy and one is denim. I have them prewashed and ironed so I can get started on the first one as soon as I get her measurements. I plan to have the first one done so I can take it over on the 20th when I go over to pick up our son for Thanksgiving break. Then, if I get time I will get the others done before Thanksgiving when we will be seeing them again.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Reveal

This past weekend I spent with my sister and her family. On Saturday we had the reveal for our Quilt Block Exchange. Nine of the twelve involved were able to be there. Lots of fun! All the blocks turned out great though we all struggled to remember which ones we made! You can see everyone else's blocks here. We will be starting another round soon.

If you are interested in being a part of a round robin block exchange there will be starting one after the holidays over on flickr.

I haven't gotten too much done in the sewing room recently what with working and traveling. This week is full of appointments: oil change, haircut, helping my husband pick out his first pair of glasses, picking up a friend from a Dr. appointment, etc. On top of that it hasn't been raining so I have gotten some leaves raked, blown, vacuumed, mowed - just in time for a storm to come in tomorrow and knock more leaves down! Maybe I can do a little sewing tomorrow afternoon while the rain falls.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

QBEs for October

I decided that my first priority this weekend was to get the 4 blocks for this month's Quilt Block Exchange done. Yesterday evening I was able to get one done and I created the other three today.

Now I need to go outside in the beautiful weather and do some kind of fall clean up before I run out of steam! I think I will be moving some sod first and then I might just do a little raking.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

About Time

to give you a report on last weekend. My husband decided we would leave on Wednesday instead of Thursday so I had a little less time to get my act together. I did pretty well except for forgetting my sewing table until we were about half an hour from home. We had to turn around and get it but still made it to our daughter's for dinner. The grandkids were wonderful as always. Nearly 4 year old Layden was showing me pictures of the earth in his mom's college textbook and said "Merf! The planet we live on." What a hoot! Fifteen month old Clara amazed me by eating an adult serving of spaghetti and won her papa over by giving him a huge hug when he finally sat down after unloading his stuff from the car.

I headed out the next morning for the quilt retreat in spite of waking up feeling a cold coming on. I bought these 6 fabrics during a quick stop at the new quilt shop in their town and the next little town. I made good time the rest of the way except for a quick stop for a box of kleenex!

I got my stuff all set up and started in on my scrap bin. Over the course of the weekend I finished another 37 crazy quilt blocks but the bin just didn't seem to get any emptier! It wasn't helped by the fact that others kept giving me their scraps! The only other project I worked on over the weekend were these double 4-patch blocks. At the end of the weekend I had 85 finished blocks, 14 half blocks and 74 4-patch blocks. I will cut more 3.5" blocks to finish of the rest of the blocks and then I will figure out what to do with the rest.

The Prize Patrol came by several times and I won this little bundle of fabrics because I had the oldest sewing machine at the retreat. I had a great time at the retreat despite being a bit sick. I especially enjoyed the chance to spend time with my second daughter who currently is working there at the camp in their Outdoor Ed program.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Planning and Packing

The company is all gone and the guest room is a sewing room again. We had a great time with my brother and his wife this past week - sometimes just sitting around and visiting but also getting some things done. They headed out very early yesterday morning without a sound. Yesterday I got the towels and sheets washed and other laundry folded and also got started thinking about what to bring to the quilt retreat.

I was planning on working with the leftover HSTs from this quilt, turning them into Lady of the Lake blocks but there is still lots of trimming to do. I did some trimming yesterday but determined I have too much to do today and tomorrow to spend all my time at it. I have pulled out some other projects and, so far, I have decided to bring a bin of scraps and work on 6.5" crazy quilt blocks - at least for a start. Other possible projects include a bag of batik scraps from a yard sale, my birthday quilt, this summer's color blocks, and maybe some mini card trick blocks. I will probably find other options further down in the piles too!

I finished the hand quilting on my round robin Christmas quilt last night and got the pom-poms sewn on the santa hats. I started on the little bows on the tree in the middle but got too tired. I still need some kind of cording for the string of lights across the top and then it will be done. I think! That will be one of the quilts I use for the trunk show I will be doing at the retreat. I am just bringing a few bigger quilts and showing more the doll and mini quilts I have received in swaps and round robins.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

We still have company here on the farm so I am not getting much sewing done but I am enjoying taking it easy a bit. I am still working on getting the sod moved and I picked the rest of our apples off the tree. Today my sister-in-law and I might get some of those cut up and in the freezer for pies later this winter. I also need to get out and pick the grapes and turn them into juice before I head to the quilt retreat next week so maybe I will pick them today for processing tomorrow.

I have been working on the hand work on my round robin quilt and I am getting close to being finished. Once the quilting is done I have some pom-poms to add and I need to get some cording to finish off the Christmas lights in one border and some ornaments or buttons for the tree in the middle. It is turning out pretty cool!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

4 and 5 of 9

These two aren't completely done but I did finish all the machine work on them. They are both Christmas quilts - my border round robin quilt and the grandmother's flower garden applique quilt. I now need to get the handsewing done on the bindings, some hand-quilting done on each and get all the thread ends tucked in. I think they will both be getting some buttons sewn on also. They both turned out pretty well I think.

I have had the grandson here all week so it is pretty amazing that I have gotten anything done around here, but besides the quilting I have also cooked up all the wind-fall apples into applesauce, made bread, run errands, sorted out the Pampered Chef products from my party (we are going to deliver some of them today), moved some sod, and, last, but not least, maintained my sanity! We are having a lot of fun with our little guy but he does keep you going!

Today I need to get my sewing room cleaned up and tomorrow we will clean the rest of the house in preparation for the first of our company arriving tomorrow. More will arrive Saturday and we will have additional guests for dinner on Sunday. It will be a busy week or so! When all the guests are gone I will be getting things packed up for my quilt retreat and after that I will be working for two weeks at our church while our secretary recovers from back surgery. That brings us up to Halloween and I think I will be heading to my sister's then for the reveal of the round robin block exchange I have been a part of.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

3 of 9

I am making some progress towards my goal. This was pretty simple to finish since I just did an overall loopy meander, nothing fancy.

Since I decided I was done with the painting for this year I got started on my QBE blocks for September yesterday and finished those off today so they can get in the mail. They are all 12.5" blocks except the one on the far right. It is 9.5". I have received 3 of my blocks for September and I will post pictures when they are all here. You would have been amazed (or maybe not) at the mess I created making 5 little blocks!



Once the sewing room was cleaned up again I decided to work on basting again. I had enough pins to get two quilts basted. Both are Christmas quilts - one is my border round robin top and the other the grandmother's flower garden top.

Tomorrow we head to the other side of the state to baby-sit the grandkids and on Sunday we will be bringing the oldest back with us so I hope I am not too optimistic in thinking I can get those two quilt finished off this next week. Only time will tell!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2 of 9

Another finished quilt! This is my 2008 Western Washington Shop Hop Quilt. I quilted between the blocks and then got creative in each block. It isn't great machine quilting but this was a good one to try some new things. There are pictures of some of the individual blocks and their quilting here.

Meanwhile, I finished the second coat on the trim on the front of the garage yesterday and did the touch-up. Today I did a coat on the trim on the back and I am thinking I am done. I might feel more ambitious tomorrow morning again to do the second coat on the back but I wouldn't count on it if I were you!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Almost two more

I finished the quilting on the shop hop quilt and basted and quilted the baby quilt so I just need to tie off threads and do the hand sewing on the bindings and I will have two more finished. Tomorrow I will work on my Quilt Block Exchange blocks for September so they can go in the mail on Monday!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Main Color Done ...

...for this year.

Here is a shot of the back of the garage. I finished the second coat today. I got the first coat on the trim of the front also but I am done for this week due to weather and other commitments.

I am still working on the quilting on the second quilt. I did a line between the blocks and stippled around the edge. I also quilted 7 of the 20 blocks and got the binding around the edge. I have done a little hand stitching on the binding but I have been so tired from painting that Bubble Spinner is the extent of my activities after dinner!

Now I need to get my house cleaned up a bit as I am having a Pampered Chef party this evening. Cleaning will be interrupted occasionally to help Rebecca hold up pieces of plywood sheathing on her little house. I am hoping I will find a little time for some quilting.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

One of Nine

I just finished off the denim quilt while watching The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy with hubby and #2 daughter. One down, 8 to go!

About half of the back of the garage is primered and about half of the front got its second coat. Then before I got too tired to do anything else I added borders to my 2008 Shop Hop quilt top and put a back together out of scraps from the front. That might be my next one to get basted since it is on top of the pile now.

Tomorrow is church, picking up my daughter's friend at the airport and choir practice in the evening so I am not sure any sewing will get done! Oh, and there is laundry to fold!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Quilt update

Unfortunately I was running around all day Wednesday - no time/energy for quilting!

Yesterday I got Ludvina's Legacy basted and did some hand-quilting while watching TV. The rest of my day was spent working on getting the front of the garage primered.

This morning I basted AND quilted the denim quilt before 9:30 AM! Now it is time to go and put a first coat of color on the front of the garage. While I wait to be able to put a second coat on the garage I am hoping to get the binding on. Then this evening I will work on the hand sewing on the binding. Tomorrow morning I will work on getting the next quilt basted and maybe quilted (I am thinking the baby quilt is next) and start on the side of the garage - it is bare cedar that has been there as long as I can remember (over 40 years) so will need two coats of primer and two of paint.

If the weather holds I will get the garage all painted and add in some quilts too!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Please Help!

This morning I went through my flimsies to see what I could get done while my sewing table is cleared off. This is what I came up with...
...nine quilt tops that need to be finished! This isn't all of them but some I am thinking I will be hand-quilting so I probably should add one of them to pile and get it sandwiched and basted for hand quilting! I think it will be Ludvina's Legacy.

In order on the pile (not necessarily the order they will be quilted) these flimsies are:

A 52"X56" denim quilt for my great nephew who recently injured his spinal cord in a swimming accident,
My Christmas Border Round Robin quilt,
Another Christmas quilt,
My 2002 Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop quilt,
A Disappearing 9-Patch quilt,
Yet another Christmas quilt,
A baby quilt,
My daughter's king-size T-shirt quilt,
And, last, but not least, my 2008 Western Washington Shop Hop quilt. I hope you will all help me keep on track.

Because of other commitments today I can only hope to get one or two of them sandwiched and basted but the first will be Ludvina's Legacy so I can get to the quilting this evening when I am watching some TV.

Monday, September 7, 2009

What a week!

My little helper and I had a pretty good time this past week. I didn't get much done but he was a happy little guest at Grammyworld! He figured out that there are two little girls (5 and 7) next door and spent a lot of time playing with them. They ate blackberries and hazelnuts and apples that had fallen from the trees. They played on the slide and the helicopter and just ran around a lot. A few time he went up the hill with them to their house and got pushed on the big swing and got to see the chickens! In between he employed his version of Why? - What _____ for?

I got a little bit done around the house and in the sewing room but not much! I quilted the denim graduation quilt and the drawing quilt and got them finished and delivered. I also helped get a rummage sale at our church set up and running this weekend. I even got some meals made!

Yesterday while I was at church he and HIS Becca (Aunt Rebecca) got her car packed up and headed across the state to see his mommy, daddy and 'sisser'. I was happy to hear they made it safely and he is happy to be home.

I spent all day yesterday at the sale and then my husband and I went to Home Depot and Lowe's to find some fencing to keep Miss Lucy contained in the yard. We need to replace the chicken wire we put up 7 or 8 years ago that has gotten bent down to the point she can jump over it if I don't stay close enough to the house for her tastes!

Today is another day at least partly spent at the sale followed by getting it all packed up so St. Vinnie's can come and pick it up on Wednesday. Maybe tomorrow I will spend some time in the sewing room again. I have my sewing table cleaned off so I am thinking I will work on getting more flimsies finished off before moving on to the denim quilts. I have more company coming on October 3rd so the sewing room will have to be a bedroom again then.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Goings on

Much has been happening around here but not much sewing. I worked hard to get my house pretty cleaned and organized for all the company to arrive. Spent Friday cooking and then chaos descended!

My sister, my BIL, my niece and her friend and their dog arrived followed a little later by our daughter and two grandkids so when you add in hubby, me and our other daughter we had 10 here for dinner and overnight. The next morning my sister's oldest daughter arrived and in the afternoon my brother's son and daughter came for dinner and birthday celebration. During the course of Saturday I baked a no sugar carrot cake, a devil's food cake and a yellow cake. The carrot cake got a simple no sugar cream cheese frosting and the other two got decorated. You can see them here and here and here.
Also on Saturday and Sunday, hubby and BIL made considerable progress on our daughter's little house while she was at work:

Ou grandson was very busy working on the project also.

Can't forget a picture of the baby!

Sunday afternoon my sister, niece and I whipped up a denim quilt top and this week I hope to get at least two quilt quilted and bound! That might be a bit ambitious considering I have my 3 1/2" year old grandson here for the week! If you want to see more pictures of our weekend you can find them here and here.