Working on it

Here is a picture of the big girl quilt on the sewing machine being quilted. This was taken yesterday.
I finished the quilting and got the binding on by 1 pm and figured I could get the hand-sewing done last evening. Well, that didn't quite happen.

You see, I went outside to take advantage of our unusual sunshine and first cleaned up my husband's roofing mess and then used the 'walk-behind' mower to take care of the inner yard. About that time my husband got home and we loaded up the trailer with the cans full of roofing materials and took them to the dump. When we got home I did some mowing and then decided to roto-till the areas of the berry garden that aren't covered with serious weeds. When that was done I had to water my hydrangeas, rhodies and lilacs along with my tomatoes. My body was done with outside work then but when I got in I saw the strawberries and knew I needed to get some cleaned for strawberry shortcake snack. Then I was finally able to get in the shower. It was so nice to be clean!

I did get about 1/3 of the binding hand sewn last night and I plan to work on it while I have my coffee in a few minutes but then I need to make chex party mix and some cookies for my little boy and also for my niece, Katie, and I on our Quilt Shop Hop road trip tomorrow and Friday.

Paper Piecing done

In between many phone calls, lunch out with my husband and making strawberry shortcake I managed to get these six paper-pieced blocks done for my granddaughter's big girl quilt. Tomorrow I need to get the top finished and I would like to get it basted at least. It would be really great to get the quilting done also but we will see.

Many of the phone calls today revolved around the news we received from our second daughter of her engagement. It seems we will be having a wedding in August. One of the calls was to my sister discussing the need for a serious quilting session to get a wedding quilt made. First we will have to find out the colors, size and style desired.

6 Pillows - Check, Slippers - Check

A couple more projects crossed off my list. First, the pillows for my friend. I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I can't wait to see them on the window seat tomorrow. If I remember my camera I will share a picture tomorrow or Monday.

I also got leather bottoms put on my favorite slippers. My daughter knit and felted these for me for Christmas this past year. They have double bottoms but after less than 6 months I had worn a hole through one layer. I wear these almost all the time in the house because I don't like wearing shoes and my podiatrist said I should always wear something as a cushion for the bottoms of my feet. My sister and I saw these leather bottoms at a yarn shop when we were out antiquing for her birthday in April so I had her pick up a pair for me. Today I finally took the time to sew them on. Luckily, my daughter's bag of yarn is still here so I could use matching yarn. Hopefully this will help these last until next Christmas when I expect another pair under the tree! Take note Rebecca!

Now because it is raining again here I get to spend the rest of the day working on my granddaughter's big girl quilt. I have less than a week to have it finished so it will be ready for her birthday.

Here is the little quilt I salvaged for my friend's little girl. I guess when she was about 6 months old she was hospitalized in a small town while on vacation. The hospital gave her this little quilt and it has been well loved over the last 6 or so years. Her grandma made some repairs but it was looking pretty sad again when I got it. It was just sewn around the outside edge with no ties so it was pretty easy to take apart. I added some new corners where they were needed and appliqued pink hearts over 'owies' and stains. I used a fluffy polyester batting that I had on hand and tied it with some yellow yarn I also had on hand. For some reason the back was actually smaller than the front but since I was adding satin binding (again something I had on hand) that didn't matter.

I hope Miss Elisabeth is happy with how it turned out.

Some progress

We had a great time at Relay for Life. Our team met and surpassed our fund-raising goal for this year. We also left the event excited about next year. I sold a few of my little quilts along with one that I brought to decorate our shelter. We chose a patriotic theme for our space and I brought along my little flag quilt. I made it after 9/11 as a sort of therapy for me. It did its job and as I haven't displayed it in my home for several years when someone asked it was for sale I said sure. I actually had three people interested in it so if I had had more I probably would have sold them too. Maybe I will have to make some more.

I came home on Saturday to my husband tearing off part of the garage roof. On Sunday I took advantage of the beautiful weather and got the mowing done and on Monday I cleaned up the mess that my husband made pulling off old roofing and rotten wood.

I did get back in the sewing room yesterday and got the labels on the baby quilt I made a week or so ago and on the t-shirt quilt. I also made some more blocks for this quilt and got it put together and quilted. I finished the binding last night so I have another quilt I can sell.



I also cut out another tote bag and had it ready to sew today. And I did just that! This one is for my friend and she wanted something with pink, purple and bright blue. I hope she likes it tomorrow when she comes over to get it.



My next project to finish in the sewing room are the pillows to go with the window seat cushions I made for another friend. I got one pillow finished today and hope to get at least one more done tomorrow. Then I will need to make a trip to JoAnn's to get at least one more pillow form so I can make some more. I also have been asked to repair a 7-yr old's favorite quilt. It is well-loved and I hope I can give her a few more years with it.

Also on my list of to-dos is my granddaughter's 'Big Girl' quilt. It needs to be ready for her birthday just after the 4th of July.

Off to Relay

I got the 7 little quilts finished and it is time to pack things up to head to Relay for Life. I also need to get the labels on those other two quilts before I go. I am just having trouble getting inspired when it is raining outside!!!!! It is supposed to stop today but it doesn't look promising! We do have a couple of shelters to set up but the field is going to be wet!
The first four quilts here are made from leftovers from some of the totes I have made. You can see some detail pictures over at flickr. One one I used my new Double Diamond Ruler to make the sashing. I think it turned out pretty well though I did get a couple of puckers in the quilting in the borders. I especially like the quilting on the toile pinwheel quiltlet.

The next two little quilts were made from leftover blocks that I received from someone(s). I found some fabrics to put them together in my stash and scraps. The Christmas-y one has holly leaves quilted into the snowballs.

And last but not least is the one I made from a pile of 4-patch blocks I made/received in an online swap. It will make a great doll or baby quilt for someone.

All in all, I am pleased with the results of my scrap busting I didn't have to buy anything to put these together and I hope to raise some funds for Cancer Research.

7 ready for hand work

The last several days I have been working diligently in the sewing room on some smaller quilts. Doll quilts, baby quilts, mini-quilts, wall hangings and table toppers. I finished the machine work on 7 of them and now just have to sit down and watch some movies and get the hand work done. That will be this afternoon's job!

All of these will go with me to Relay for Life on Friday. If you would like to help support my efforts you can donate at the above link.

I also got some blocks done for another top but I think I will make more so it will be maybe lap quilt size. That means it will not be done by Friday. I also have to do the labels on the baby quilt and t-shirt quilts I made. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Not much to show

I have been busy in the sewing room but nothing new in the completed pile. My goal right now is to get a bunch of doll quilts and baby quilts made to have for sale at Relay for Life next week. I think people would buy them since all the money goes to the American Cancer Society. So in the last couple of days I have gotten 4 doll quilt/table topper/wall hanging tops together and the backs and some of the bindings are ready also.

I started out using some leftovers that I got from other people, then I moved on to some 4-patch blocks I got in a swap and now I am working on the leftover fabrics from the totes I have made.
I kind of got stalled on my fifth little top because I need a 45mm rotary cutter to use with my new toy - a Double Diamond ruler. I want to use it for the sashings for at least one of the doll quilts. So I had to set that one aside until tomorrow or later. I pulled out the next tote fabrics and I have all the pieces cut for the next top and it is laid out on the ironing ready to be sewn in the morning. I have found that I will get going on my sewing a lot quicker in the morning if it is ready to go.

I still have fabrics for more little quilts but I am thinking I will get at least the 4 I have ready sandwiched and maybe quilted and get the bindings on so I can do the hand sewing on those once the t-shirt quilt is finished.

There are rumors that the weather might be nice tomorrow so I might do something outside if it dries out enough.

Two finished

Last night was quilt guild night so as usual I brought along some hand work. This time bindings. I finished the binding on this little chicken doll quilt


and got almost all the way around this baby quilt.



After I got home I finished the baby quilt while watching a little TV. The doll quilt is one that I will take to Relay for Life next weekend as a part of our fund-raising. The baby quilt just needs the label with the baby's name and birthdate and I can sell it to my friend who is giving it as a gift.

At the guild meeting I sat across from one member who is working on a yo-yo quilt using about dime sized yo-yos. She has about 10,000 yo-yos in it so far and it is maybe lap quilt sized. She plans on making it king-size! I would have stopped at doll quilt sized! I should have taken a picture of it to share with you all!

Yesterday I got the back to the t-shirt quilt made (since I found the fabric again) and got it sandwiched and started on the quilting. I would have finished it but ran out of time before my pedicure!

Today I plan to finish that and since the sun is shining this morning and it isn't supposed to rain today I hope to spend at least a little while outside.

Buzy Month!

Here it is:

May Tally

LWR - 1 backs and 7 top
Doll/Wall Quilts - 1 top and back (chicken disappearing 9-patch)
Quilt Block Exchange Blocks - 4
Quilt Block Round Robin Blocks - 3
Tops - 3 (Triangles, Transportation and T-shirt)
Quilted - 7 (2 children's quilts, 1 denim, Disappearing 9-Patch, Crazy Quilt, 2 baby quilts)
Totes - 3

Another thing my niece and I did this weekend was start planning for this year's Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop. If you live in this area and you have never done the shop hop, you might want to try it at least on a small scale. This year we are planning on 34 shops in 2 days and we will be going from Lynden to Vancouver and all the way over to Ocean Shores. Should be fun!