Back On the Farm and Other Progress

Happy Friday Everyone!

No, I haven’t moved to a farm (not that I wouldn’t mind) but I am back on track for completing the blocks from Lori Holt’s Farm Girl Vintage book.  Last year Dawn from sewyouquilt2 tried to revive this effort in me, and others, who had started the project but for various reasons didn’t finish.  And once again we found other projects that excited us more or life just changed directions. 

Well, Dawn is trying again 😊

We will complete at least two blocks per month until we finish…and we mean it this time! Right, Dawn?

These are May’s selections…

Scrappy Maple Leaf Block

Sunny Sunflower Block

This will only leave me with seven blocks to go.

In the beginning I wanted to do this project so that I would use up some bits of scraps.  I’ve decided one reason I lost motivation was because I became overwhelmed when selecting my bits. (I was trying too hard to match my scraps to the fabrics Lori used.)  So when the next block was announced, I would dread going to the scrap supply to pull fabrics.  Does that make sense?

It is an adorable project and I really want to finish these blocks, whether they go into a quilt, runners or something else.  This close to the end I think I should just pull all of the fabrics for the remaining blocks, when the mood hits me, then I’ll be ready when it is time to sew them.

Can you offer any other suggestions?

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I shared here that my friend Kelly and I are sewing along with Pat Sloan’s Let’s Go Camping block of the month.  

These are April’s blocks…

My block 4

Kelly’s block 4

It is taking us a little longer to get to number 5 because Kelly was traveling (ha, not me this time) and I had knee surgery yesterday.  Seems that exciting banana boat incident in Key West awhile ago completely tore my ACL. 

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I have made progress on two other quilts and will be back soon to share those with you.

This is Flossi working away on our recent camping trip

In the meantime, have a magnificent weekend!

Still Here

I am still here 😊

Thought I would pop in and show you what I've been up to since my last post in...uh, January!

First, our team won the Super Bowl...we are one very happy family.

I've been out of town quite a bit and try to make the most of my time in the sewing room when I am home.

Mary of NeedledMom and her sister are hosting a Temperature Quilt QAL.  You track your local temperature and create a block that represents the high and low for each day.  You can read more about it here.  

This year's block is a Square in a Square.  Mary provided a very nice tutorial on how to create this block but I decided to use this opportunity to learn paper piecing.  

I found the correct size template online and set up a sewing machine dedicated to this project.

My husband's great-grandmother's Singer 99

This is my quilt so far.

I found a couple of days where our highs and lows were pretty close together.  

My friend Kelly and I are participating in Pat Sloan's block of the month Let's Go Camping. It's a mystery quilt.  We have completed three blocks and I am wondering how this will all come together.  I purchased the main fabrics Pat suggested and the colors are all over the place...at least for me.

Here are our blocks.

My Block 1

Kelly's Block 1

My Block 2

Kelly's Block 2

My Block 3

Kelly's Block 3

Kelly and I went to a quilt show in February and found a cute pattern for a wall hanging so that is another project we are working on.  We are both happy to say that we are using our stash for this project.  

I'll share again once it is finished.  I'd like to say that will be soon but I have more traveling coming up (2 two-week trips back-to-back) so...it will likely be end of April or beginning of May.

If you made it to the end of this post...Thank You!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Making Progress

On a roll may be a bit too optimistic but I have been able to stitch a little each evening this week.  I would love to either sew or knit every day this year but we all know that isn’t going to happen J

This week I completed two more blocks for Sherri’s A Quilting Life BOM. 

I have three more blocks to go along with the sashing, corner stones and border. 

It would be nice to have this ready to go to the long arm quilter on the 13^th when I take my 2009 Saturday Sampler.  If you missed it, you can see it here.

Carole at From My Carolina Home is collecting blocks for quilts she is making and sending to the Ventura Modern Quilt Guild.  The guild is donating quilts to victims of the Thomas Fires.  You can read more about the effort and get the block pattern here.

My blocks…

Thanks Val for introducing me to this effort.

This weekend will have me taking down all of my Christmas decorations and cleaning.  Fingers crossed that I can sneak in a little more sewing.

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

Have a lovely weekend J

2017 That’s a Wrap

Happy New Year!!!

From reading some of my favorite blogs today I see that many of you are starting off 2018 with new goals and resolutions.  In my usual fashion, I’m still catching up J

My last post was September 1^st (yikes!)  Our camping and traveling adventures didn’t allow much time for creativity.  I’m not complaining!  However, I thought I should pick up where I left off and show you what I did accomplish.

A few new projects…

This is a new tote for our Airstream.  I used Stephanie Dunphy’s pattern Miss June.  You can read about this project here.

When we bought our Airstream we also joined the Wally Byam Caravan Club (WBCCI).  This organization issues big red numbers that should be placed on the RV.  Well, I just do not have the heart to put stickers on Arya yet so I made this banner to place outside the camper when we are attending club events.  Yep…I’m a rule breaker and let me tell you, some of the die hards would be happy to kick us out of the club…LOL.

Another new project was this Saku Hat from Olga Buraya-Kefelian olgajazzy.com. It is a slouch hat meant to be worn without rolling up the front.  However, my gauge was off and it ended up too big but my daughter likes it anyway.  I purchased enough yarn to make two so I’ll be sure to shorten the next one.

How did I do on my 17 UFOs in 2017?

Ehhh…

I either completed or made progress on 9 of the 17 selected UFOs.  Here are the results that I haven’t shared with you already.

Finish the 2009 Saturday Sampler, well it is a flimsy waiting to go to the long arm quilter.

Finish the Swilly scarf.

Pieced three more Farm Girl Vintage blocks with 9 left.

And for the new BOM progress…

Here is July’s A Quilting Life Mystery Block of the Month

I still have to finish piecing 5 more blocks.

Lastly, these are the completed basket blocks from the Fat Quarter Shop’s Sew Sampler Box.  I have to complete December’s block to be current with this project.

(NOT a favorite!)

That is it in a nutshell for 2017.

My husband had total shoulder replacement surgery on December 28^th so we are pretty much grounded for a bit.  We took the camper out over the Christmas holiday but she is tucked away for a few months, not only because of hubby’s procedure but it is nearly impossible to get a campsite in Florida during the winter months.

Please accept my apology for such a long and photo heavy post but I had some catching up to do.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and quilty 2018!!! 

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!

Taking a Little Break

June ended up being so busy with work and travel that I didn’t accomplish all of my sewing goals.  I was feeling pretty sad about it and also a bit pressured to catch up on my lists.  When I get like that I do not enjoy the craft which defeats the purpose of having the hobby in the first place.

So, I’m going to take a break from sewing and blog posting…NOT blog reading and commenting, I love keeping up with all of my blog friends.  I will also continue to sew my Farm Girl Vintage blocks and the other block-of-the-month projects.  These are easy to keep up with and I may even pop-in a post about them.  I’ll get back to my One Monthly Goal and 17 UFO’s in 2017 efforts in August or September.

My husband retired the end of June and we have a few trips planned, both with and without the camper.  Our daughter changes college apartments July 31^st so we are going to have an action-packed July and August.  

For those on Instagram, I’m sure I’ll be sharing there 😊

Thank you for following and I look forward to catching up soon.

Have a great summer…

BOMs

This year I’ve committed to finish most, if not all, of my UFOs.  And I’ve also committed to use as much of my stash as possible…although I may have made a purchase or two of new fabric 😊

In an effort to use what I have on hand, I’m allowing myself some new projects.  One is Sherri’s A Quilting Life Block of the Month.  

This is the June block…

Another project is the Fat Quarter Shop 2017 Basket Sew Sampler Quilt.  I subscribe to their Sew Sampler Box and each month we get a new ‘recipe’ for a basket block.

Block #2 came in the May Sew Sampler box.

I’m also participating in a fun swap with Dawn and friends at sewyouquilt2.  This one is using scraps to create slab blocks.  You can read about it here.  The blocks I made for the swap are in the mail so I'll share those once I know the recipients have them.

June has been crazy busy with work activity and then we took the camper out last weekend.  I'll be playing catch-up in the sewing room this week.

Hope everyone's summer is off to a great start!