A Hike, Crochet, Knitting and Cutting, OH MY!

Happy Monday, Friends!

Our weekend weather was spectacular. Hubby and I went for a long hike at the Biltmore estate on Saturday, then enjoyed lunch at one of the restaurants there.

The sunflowers were still showing off.

It was a great day to spend outside.

Sunday was equally as nice weatherwise but I needed to finish a couple of things and never went outside.

The first finish was a knit hat for my husband. I started this for our Hooks and Books book club a couple of weeks ago.

The pattern is Elphaba Hat by Kristel Nieves for Malabrigo. I used Rasta Super Bulky yarn in the color Laguna Negra.

The next finish is something I started a while ago to use up leftover yarns from other projects. I shared my progress a while ago. I finished weaving in the threads Sunday afternoon.

One big granny square...

It will be used in the living room during the cooler months.

The last thing I did on Sunday was cut out the Boo To You quilt. It was a four week quilt-along hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop. I do not think I ever shared the kit with you. The QAL was to begin in August. I was too busy with travel and getting ready for a retreat that I never started it.
                                        

Photo from Fat Quarter Shop Website

I cut out the pieces per the pattern's weekly releases. Excuse my messy sticky notes...I wanted to get this part of the process done!
                                                  
Fat Quarter Shop is so generous with their quilt kits; always a lot of leftover fabrics.
                                                
I'm planning to start the quilt on Halloween. Too late for this year but I am determined to sew up the kits I have and not let them linger.

My week will involve a good amount of time in the car and I will be stitching when I'm not driving. I hope to see you Friday with a floss update. In the meantime, have a great week!

See you soon,

Pulling a Little Switch - A - Roo

Happy Friday, Friends!

No Floss Friday this week. I'm switching things up a bit.

This weekend is Anabella's Autumn Apple Fest Cross Stitch Retreat here, in our small town. The Apple Festival is Saturday and takes up the entire Main Street. So, since I'll have cross-stitch to share on Monday's post, I thought I would share a quilty update today.

Sewcialites 3 is a flimsy!
                                
The fabric is a Bunnie Hill Designs collection called Lyda Rose. I love the subtle spring colors and think this little quilt will make a nice wall hanging or...
                                             
...a sweet little throw for my downstairs deck rocker.

The binding strips are cut. I just need to make the backing.

I think I will try quilting this on the embroidery machine. It will only measure 42-1/2 by 42-1/2 when finished.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have wonderful weekend and I'll see you soon!

On Monday I'll be linking up with Melva Love Scraps Sew & Tell...it is an inspiring party!

Sewcialites 3 -- Almost a Flimsy!

Happy Monday, Friends!

This is a quick post to share my progress on Sewcialites 3. After helping my Mom this weekend, I did indeed get to sit and sew for a while. I completed the last block for Sewcialits 3.
                                        
Sparks Block by Jessica Dayon.
                                        
I had to scroll back through the Fat Quarter Shop's YouTube videos to find Kimberly's episode about this block. She said blocks 24 here, and 25 were saved until the end because they were the most difficult. I didn't think Jessica's block was difficult. It was just time consuming.

Had to sit back and admire the pile of blocks.
                                         
I jumped right into making the 24 setting blocks and laid everything out on the guest bed.
                                         
I stacked the rows and labeled them.
                                         
I've sewn the rows and will begin putting them together this week. Another plan for this week is to cast on a knitting project...a hat most likely. I've joined a new book club called Hooks and Books. It is hosted by the owners of a yarn store in town. They alternate meeting locations between their shop and one of the used book stores.  This Thursday evening the meeting will be held at the book store.  We are reading to Practical Magic this month. 
                                          

                                           
I bought a hard copy of the book but I'm listening on Audible. I can do that while sewing, cross-stitching or walking at the lake.

We got a lot of rain Saturday from Hurricane Isaias but nothing damaging, thank goodness. I hope if any of you were in the storm's path that you were safe and did not suffer any damage to your property. Gene, I'm especially concerned about you in Alabama! Let us know how you are doing.

That is my weekend in a nutshell. I'll be back on Friday with a cross-stitch update. In the meantime, have a great week.

Linking up with Melva Loves Scraps Sew & Tell.

See you soon,

Did I Sew? And A Fair...

Hello, Dear Friends!

I mentioned on Friday that I would be attached to my sewing machine during the weekend. And I was...just not working on the things I thought I would be. I may have mentioned before that my Mom purchased a townhouse recently. She wants to use draperies she already has for the new place. They needed some hemming so that is what we did. I will share photos once they are laundered and hung.

It is fair season in the mountains. Last year, I got up enough courage to enter a cross stitch piece in the crafts exhibit and earned a third place ribbon.
                                        

Red Bird Sampler by With Thy Needle and Thread

This year, my family encouraged me to enter a quilt. My daughter selected the one she thought I should enter. It was Flea Market Flowers by Lori Holt.

Hubby and I went to the fair's exhibit hall where we found my quilt hanging SIDEWAYS! Apparently, men on a scissor lift were hanging the quilts and no one was providing guidance. They were draping the quilts over a cable and attaching them with clothes pins. You can see in the photo below that the clothes pins are on the left side...I rotated the phot0 so it would show properly.

We found the first place quilt...

Not my quilt.  Exhibitor AB.

I missed getting a photo of the third place quilt. It was cute, made up of bird blocks. And we couldn't find the second place quilt for the longest time. 

Finally, my husband stood at just the right angle to find the red ribbon attached to mine.

I was  excited to earn a ribbon at the county fair. But I think I'll try entering one of the regional fairs next year where they publish the judging criteria.

I hope you had a nice weekend and wishing you the best for the week ahead.

I'm linking up to Melva's Sew & Tell

See you soon,

Fat Quarters by the Dozen - Your Opinion, Please

Hello, Friends!

Hope everyone is doing well and that you had a nice long weekend. We drove to Nashville on Sunday for a concert and returned on Monday. I didn’t want to go anywhere on a holiday weekend, but it ended up being worth it.

I am having difficulty finding border fabric for the Fat Quarters by the Dozen quilt. I used scraps from various collections of Lori Holt fabric to piece the top center. Per the pattern there should be a skinny inner border and wider outer border. Even though many of Lori’s collections work together, I really do not want to purchase any more fabric for this. However, I will if I must.

It currently measures 54 ½” x 63 ½”.

I was thinking I could make a scrappy binding out of 2 ½” x 6 ½” strips from the fabrics in the quilt and call it done.

What do you think?

This project and Sewcilites 3 will be my quilting priority when I return from the cross-stitch retreat. I’ll try to share a bit about the retreat on Friday. No promises because I don’t know how crazy it will be. Sometimes I get so busy having fun that I do not take photos.

I hope you have a great week ahead and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on FQBTD.

See you soon,

 

Playing Catch Up

Hello, dear friends!

Since returning from Ft. Walton Beach, I've been playing catch up on housework and sewing.  The housework part is boring so we'll skip right to the very little bit of sewing I've done.

Sewcialites 3, block 24 was released last Friday. Star Light Block by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.
                                
This was not an enjoyable block to piece and it took me for - ever!

The last block will be released this Friday and then the finishing instructions next week. I'm looking forward to bringing this QAL to an end.
                                        
I still need to find two border fabrics for Fat Quarters by the Dozen. Then both 2026 QALs will be finished.

Sewing plans for the remainder of the week are to work on gifts for an upcoming cross-stitch retreat. I'll have a cross-stitch update on Friday.

I hope your week is off to a great start. I'll see you soon.

Quilt Progress -- Sewcialites 3, Fat Quarters by the Dozen and New Plans

Hello, dear friends.

My last post didn't show up on reading lists for a couple of days. So, if you missed last Friday's cross-stitch update, you can find it here.

The planned sewing weekend was a success. First up is Fat Quarter Shop's Sewcialites 3, block 22.
                                 
Down to Earth Block was created by Wendy Sheppard.
                                 
Next was Fat Quarters by the Dozen. This is another quilt along from the Fat Quarter Shop. I have assembled the quilt center and added the first border.            
                                  
I do not have fabrics for the two remaining borders so this one will sit for a bit. I used my Lori Holt stash for this so it shouldn't be too difficult to find fabrics that will work. All of Lori's fabric lines are similar in color and work well together.

Lastly, I volunteered to make a couple of quilted table runners for a charity raffle that will be held at a retreat I am attending in September. I decided on patterns and pulled fabrics from stash.

Freshly Picked...

                                            
Life's a Picnic...

My next post will be on Friday, July 31st with a cross stitch update.

See you soon,

Sewcialites 3 Block 21 and FQBTD

Happy Monday, Dear Friends!

Another quick weekend is in the books. Let's see what I got up to...

First, my husband asked for a batch of sour cream cookies. I was happy to oblige so Friday night called for baking.
                                                    
Fat Quarter Shop released block 21 of the Sewcialites 3 quilt-along.
                                             
Dreamy Block designed by Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life. 
                                                        
Only 4 more blocks and then we will be ready to finish it!

The remainder of my sewing time was spent on Fat Quarter Shop's Fat Quarters by the Dozen quilt-along. Finishing instructions were released last Wednesday. After reviewing my notes, I realized that I had planned for everything except the last two borders, backing and binding. The reason for this is because I used various scraps of Lori Holt fabric from my stash for the blocks. I can't decide on borders until the top is complete.

I cut everything I need to complete the center and the first border.
                                                
The plan is to work on sewing the quilt center together next weekend.

This week will be busy at work and I have housework on the list as well. We will see on Friday's check-in if I was able to get in some stitching.

Have a great week, and I'll see you soon.

A Quilty Update -- Sewcialites 3, Four Patch Fun and More

Happy Monday, Dear Friends!

Our trip to Charlotte on Saturday was a success. It was a 2-1/2 hour trip each way to IKEA. It rained most of the way there, but it wasn't terrible. No rain on the return, so it was a little quicker. We stopped for dinner on the way home. There is a new Mexican restaurant close to the house. They are going to do well. The food was delicious, salads were fresh and great service. We got there at the right time because a line was forming when we left.

We got home and assembled the bookcases. I spent the remainder of the evening putting stuff away. Of course, I'll change everything a gazillion (is that even a word?) times.

Today's quilty update starts with the latest block for Fat Quarter Shop's  Sewcialites 3 QAL. Block number 20 is the Gazebo Block designed by Doug Leko.
                                                 
So thankful for another quick and easy one. There are only 5 more blocks to go.
                                                
Bonnie Hunter's leader / ender project for July, 2025 - June, 2026 was Four Patch Fun. I've been sewing along but not always sharing progress. She just announced the next leader / ender project starting this month but I'm going to continue with Four Patch Fun.  Here is where I am so far...

Mine are simple two-color blocks in two different colorways.

I have 15 of these blocks with 7 more pre-cut.

                                    

                                              

I have 12 of these blocks with 11 more pre-cut.
                                                

                                                
I do not have a plan for finishing yet. These will likely be two separate quilts since the blocks measure 8 1/2" square.

I mentioned last week that I am joining Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Tree Farm QAL. This is a mystery quilt which means we do not know what the end result will be. I purchased the quilt kit that features the Poinsettia and Pear fabric by Sherri & Chelsi.

They include everything you need to complete the quilt, including a layer cake, background, backing and binding.
                                            

                                            
FQS told us to be careful when cutting into the layer cake as we will use those fabrics in future releases. They do not provide instructions on how to cut the layer cake. I've decided to collect the patterns as they are released and do the sewing at the end. I wouldn't want to make a mistake and have to purchase additional fabric.

But not to worry, I'll have plenty of other quilty fun when the next two quilt-along kits arrive this week. I'll share those next Monday.

With all the sewing and a trip to Charlotte, I've missed reading your  weekend blog posts. So, I'm off to grab a cup of tea and catch up.

I'll be back on Friday, July 17th with a cross-stitch update. Have a wonderful week and I'll see you soon.