September - National Sewing Month and OMG

September is National Sewing Month so I consider it a great time to end my summer break from creating and get back to it.

We’ve enjoyed several long weekends traveling with and without our camper and it won’t end until mid-November.  I’m adjusting my daily schedule to allow time for sewing…which I have missed terribly.

One of our upcoming trips is to attend an Airstream rally in St. Augustine.  I’ve learned that a couple of dinners will be provided by others but we have to bring our own plates, flatware, etc.  I think a camper-related tote would be appropriate to carry those items.

I’ve selected this pattern

Miss June by Loft Creations

Stephanie Dunphy’s patterns are my favorite.  I’ve made several bags from her book Uncommonly Corduroy.  You can find the Miss June pattern on sale at Connecting Threads.

These are the fabrics I chose

The camper print and paisley are On the Road Again by Katie Doucette for Wilmington Prints.  The flamingo print is Roam Sweet Home by Kris Lammers for Maywood Studios.

And to get back into the swing of things…I’m committing this to be my One Monthly Goal hosted by Patty at Elm Street Quilts.

I hope you all have had a great summer and everyone in the U.S enjoy this long weekend!

June OMG and UFOs

June is going to be a very busy month for me professionally and creatively.

I will be traveling quite a bit for work so that means I am going to have to be super focused while in the sewing room.

My One Monthly Goal for June is to turn these blocks into a flimsy.

This was a Saturday Sampler project at our local quilt shop back in….2009!  We used Marti Michell templates to create a different block each month.  These have been sitting in a pizza box since December of that year.  Guess it's time...

This project is also on my list for 17 UFO’s in 2017.

My UFO progress for May was a success.  I completed two more Farm Girl blocks from Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage book.

 Peas and Carrots

Postage Stamp

I also finished the knitting project from Michelle Hunter's Building Blocks book.

The table runners are in their flimsy stage but now I can't decide if they will stay table runners or if I will sew them together for a tablecloth and put it in Arya the Airstream.

So I think I will "table" (sorry!) this one until July.

In addition to the Saturday Sampler, my June UFO goals are to complete three Farm Girl blocks, finish the Swilly scarf...

Sorry for the bad photo...no sun today.

...and make progress on the Asanagi Wrap.

Photo from Google Search.

The pretty lady in the picture is Olga Buraya-Kefelian, the designer.  You can visit Olga at Olgajazzy.com.

I'm linking up at Elm Street Quilts for the June OMG and pomegranate and chintz for 17 UFOs in 2017.

Wish me luck!!

OMG Finish – May 2017

Just under the wire!

I am pleased to share my finished knitting project from Michelle Hunter’s Building Blocks book.  I have mentioned before that this book uses 12 different blocks to teach knitting techniques.  I was in such a hurry to finish before tonight’s OMG deadline that I didn’t photograph block 12 which was a lesson in advanced decreases.  Maybe you can spot it below.  Check out the third block in the third row from the top. 

This was my One Monthly Goal for May and it has been accomplished.

Visit Patty at Elm Street Quilts to see what others accomplished this month.

17 UFOs in 2017 and OMG – May Goal

Hard to believe it is already May 1^st…Happy May Day 😊

I’m pleased to say that I am making progress on my UFO busting.

You can see my finished Farm Girl blocks by clicking here.

I also completed two more Building Blocks from Michelle Hunter’s book.

 #10 was a lesson in the Slip-Slip-Knit (SSK) stitch

#11 was a lesson in the Make One stitch

#12 and final block is underway.

I’m learning Advanced Decreases in this lesson.

Next will be to ‘block’ each piece and then assemble them into a small afghan.  Sounds like a good project for my May OMG goal, so it is!

In addition to finishing this UFO, I’ll complete two more Farm Girl blocks and get back to the two table runners I missed in April.

Visit Patty at Elm Street Quilts to see what goals others have set for May and don’t forget Meredithe at pomegranate and chintz for 17 UFOs in 2017.

Have a great week!

OMG Finish – April 2017

I am very happy to report that the bird feeder hasn’t caused too much of a distraction and I was able to complete my April OMG.

These two little quilts are donation quilts that I wanted to have pieced this month.

They will be donated to Happy Chemo through Sarah’s Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  Quilting and binding will happen very quickly so the next time you see them will be during Sarah's next progress linky.

Visit Patty at Elm Street Quilts to see how everyone else did for April’s OMG.

OMG – April 2017

It is time to select my One Monthly Goal project for April.  This one is quite important because it will benefit Sarah’s Hands to Help Quilt Challenge.

I am going to piece two simple quilts to be donated to Happy Chemo.

One will use these fabrics which I’ve shared before.

The second will include these cute fabrics.  Love the little kitties.

I placed my bird feeder outside so I can see it from my home office / sewing room. 

Here are a few visitors from last week.

Bluejays

(can you see the one in the tree?)

Cardinal 

Red-headed woodpecker

Let’s hope this bird feeder doesn’t cause too much of a distraction...I really need to accomplish my April OMG.  Click here to visit Patty and see what others have planned for this month.

OMG – February 2017

Way back in 2012, Corey hosted a block of the month called Birdie Stitches.  Click here to visit Coriander Quilts to see her blocks.

I used a jelly roll (can’t remember which one) to quickly border plain white squares and started stitching.  The project was set aside once I finished the hand embroidery because I could not decide what to do with them.

Sorry for the terrible pictures

I was recently inspired by Tanya when she shared her sewing room update and all of the lovely mini quilts she has displayed there.  Pay her a visit and see her wonderful space. Just click on her name above.

I’ve decided that my February OMG goal will be to finish the quilting and binding on each of the birdie blocks and turn them into mini quilts.  I’ll have a different mini quilt to display each month.

Many thanks to Patty for hosting Elm Street Quilts One MonthlyGoal.  It is keeping me inspired to make progress on my projects and I always enjoy seeing everyone else’s accomplishments.

OMG – January 2017

My first OMG and it is a success!  Albeit a small finish but a finish nonetheless.

This mini valentine table topper was started in 2015 when Linda from Stitch Lines visited her good friend in south Florida.  Her friend happens to have a winter home very near me so I was fortunate enough to meet a blog friend in person.

Linda is the queen of miniatures and after spending some time with her I was inspired to give it a try.  She showed me how to use Thangles and gave me some great pointers.  Armed with some Kiss Kiss by Abi Hall for Moda and some Bella solids, I made my first attempt.  In spite of all her efforts, I made some mistakes but I did learn from them.

So, I am happy to say that I dusted off the kissy faces and finished my table topper for January’s OMG.  Please visit Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal January Linkup to see what others accomplished this month.

You can visit Linda by clicking here.

Thank you Linda, I hope you come back to south Florida soon!

17 UFOs in 2017

Good day, my friends.  As I mentioned yesterday, I am on mission to bust some UFOs in 2017.  Not only am I participating in Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal, I am also joining Meredithe’s 17 UFOs in 2017 Challenge at pomegranate and chintz.

The reason I love this challenge is because the participants are encouraged to at least make PROGRESS on their projects…no pressure to FINISH.  In my opinion, if you are making progress then a finish is inevitable.  Unless you fall out of love with the project.  I have one of those UFOs that I am not sure I love enough to keep it going…we shall see.

Here is my list for the entire year:

1.	Mini Valentine Quilt (also my January OMG)
2.	Butterfly Trails Label (I don’t think quilts are complete until they are labeled…why do I have such an issue with this?)
3.	Willow Weave Label
4.	Deck-Ade the Halls Label
5.	Building Blocks – finish knitting and assemble into an afghan
6.	Birdie Stitches – stitch in the ditch and make each block a mini quilt to be displayed monthly
7.	Summer Table Runner – quilt and bind
8.	Farm Girl Vintage Blocks – finish all blocks then decide which ones go into a quilt and which will be potholders J
9.	Swilly Scarf – knitting
10.	Asanagi Wrap – knitting
11.	2009 (yep, it’s that old) Saturday Sampler
12.	2016 Row by Row – doing this one before finishing 2015 because I love the Home Sweet Home theme
13.	2015 Row by Row
14.	2009 (what was it about that year?) – Thimbleberries 3s Company Quilt
15.	Sewing Machine Cover – I don’t love piping!
16.	Halloween Baltimore Quilt – I’m not sure I love this one…it may get donated
17.	Christmas Stockings – I machine embroidered names on the cuffs but now I want to add embroidery to the boots

My January nominees for 17 UFOs in 2017 are:

    ~~~ Mini Valentine Quilt~~~

        ~~~All Quilt Labels~~~

 Deck-Ade the Halls

     

    Butterfly Trails

     

        Willow Weave        

~~~Building Blocks - numbers 5, 6 and 7  ~~~

     

Just because I am busting UFOs this year doesn’t mean I won’t start something new… I’m sure that I will but the UFOs take priority.

Are you joining any challenges, BOMs or other sew-alongs this year?  If so, let me know and I’ll follow your progress.  We can encourage each other!

Enjoy your day J

Happy 2017 – An OMG Year

Happy New Year my crafty friends.  I truly hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and that 2017 is going to be happy, healthy and prosperous for you.

My Navy son is home for the new year.  He returns to Japan on January 14^th so I’m not spending very much time being creative but I am having a great time with him here.

I have so much to share with you but I’m not going to do it in just one post.  I owe you an update on some things from the last post…waaaay back in November.  YEESH!  But today I want to share about my plans for 2017.

I’m not one to make resolutions and I haven’t had much success over the last couple of years on my personal goals.  This year, though, I am turning things around.

I’m going to start with participating in two monthly linky parties – that I'm sure will help me bust some UFOs.  The first one is One Monthly Goal (OMG) hosted by Patty at Elm Street Quilts.  The second one is 17 UFOs in 2017 hosted by Meredithe at pomegranate and chintz.

Today I’m going to share what I plan to accomplish for the January OMG and then tomorrow I’ll share my 17 UFOs in 2017.  I still have to take photos for that one.

January OMG – Mini Valentine Quilt

This is something that I want to finish piecing, quilting, binding and labeling for enjoyment in February.  I’ll share the finish (YES! I must finish) at the end of the month and include all of the details.

It is an overcast dreary day in southeast Florida today.  Could it mean we may get a break in the heat?  It certainly hasn’t felt like winter here, even by our standards.

Hope the sun is shining on you today…