(3) Quilts in process

Tammy from my weekly Sewing Group, kindly gave me a Quilt of Valor kit, which included 10" squares, sashing fabrics and Missouri Star Quilt Company's Block book, which included the instructions for making a "Friendship Star Sashing Quilt".  I started early this morning, sub-cutting the strips and making the blocks for the QOV.  So far, I have 22 blocks with sashing attached, which is a little over half the blocks.

The last few weeks, I've been working on my "On the Go Tote".  It is almost complete, just need to hand sew the binding down on (3) sides, prior to inserting foam board or other type material to give
the tote bag some stability.


Last Tuesday at Sewing, I agreed to machine quilt a small quilt for Project Linus.  It began with a cute panel, which I added borders on two sides to increase the size of the quilt.  It had been months since I had done any free motion quilting, so I was glad to give it a try again and I'm happy with how it turned out.

Tuesday is our "Group Sewing Day"

Since 2012, I have been meeting with a delightful group of ladies every Tuesday to sew.  We begin about 10:00, sew until lunch and after lunch, sew until 2:00 and then pack every up and off we go, until we meet again.  We always bring our own sewing machines and all the supplies.  It's quite a production but we sure do enjoy getting together every week.  Today, we learned how to make a little
Stand-up "Tooly" for many of our sewing tools.

For the past couple of weeks, I have also been working on creating an "On The Go Tote" for carrying cutting mats, rulers, and other quilting supplies.  So far, I have completed the outside of the tote and am now working on the inside of the tote, which will have many pockets.  Both projects have overly detailed instructions, which have been giving me "fits".

If and when, I get these projects complete, I plan to go back to what I am comfortable making, Quilts.

DWM-Oct. 2nd

I woke up to a brand new day and then discovered tragedy struck Las Vegas last night.  It is difficult to imagine how horrific it must have been for those who were there.  Praying for our country, our  President, our citizens, our families,  and especially for our children.

Design Wall Monday

Panels..
Last Tuesday, at our Sewing Group, someone donated 20 + panels.  We each chose a panel, so we could create a quilt for someone special.  I thought it would be fun to make a few 3-D cubes for the corners and then add some strips to increase the width of the quilt.  It's a little busy but then there will be lots of colors and items for kids to see.  My husband said I needed to add a couple of items to the bottom of the boxes.  I love the dimension of the boxes but they can be rather time consuming to make.  Tomorrow, is our sewing day and it's always fun to see what others have created. 

Panel in the center with 3-D cubes in corners

Buck and his dear doe having a lick at the salt block

Be sure to stop by Small Quilts and Doll Quilts    
to see what other quilters have created this past week.

Design Wall Monday

It's amazing-I am actually posting on Monday.  Our Quilt Guild chose to challenge those who wished, to make a large "On the Go Tote" for carrying our sewing supplies to and from Guild classes.  Hobart and Laurie had already made one, so agreed to teach a class for those who wanted to make their own.  We each purchased our own pattern from Whirligig Designs.com.  I must admit I was quite excited since I had been saving a piece of fabric for over 25 years.  It's a fine corduroy with wild animals.

Thinking I would save time, I chose to make all of the pockets at home.  I discovered that was a "Bad Idea", since I sew 11 pockets WRONG!!   At our first guild session, I worked on removing the stitches from the pockets for the inside of the tote and it didn't make it any easier that I used very small stitches.  Go ahead, smile and have a good laugh.  It took me 3 evenings to remove all those tiny stitches.  Now, I was determined to complete this project and have been working on it a few hours each day.

I am still working on the front side of the Tote Bag-now working on the straps.  I began with two very long strips of fabric with a long piece of batting stitched in between but discovered that would not be sturdy enough for the straps of the tote when filled with supplies.  So, I am now adding a stabilizer with another piece of fabric to what I had already made.  I'm hoping the tote bag will not be so heavy to carry that no supplies can be placed in the bag.  I discovered that my size 90 needle was not strong enough for the all layers of fabric, since I broke 2 needles this morning.  So, I found a size 110/18 Jeans/Denim needle that has been working well.  

Front side of Tote Bag

Back side of Tote Bag

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Check out what others have been designing this last week....by dropping by Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.blogspot.com.   
















                                                                                           

The Total Eclipse and the clouds

My husband and I were ready for the total eclipse with lawn chairs and our welding helmets.  He was also ready with his camera to take the one amazing photo at the exact moment when the moon passed directly over the sun.  Everything was ready or so we thought, and then here came all the clouds and covered the perfect shot.  We did wait around for the darkness to arrive.  The lightening bugs came out for a few minutes along with the sounds of crickets.  The darkness disappeared as quickly as it came.

I can say that the deer must have been a little confused because about 2:00 p.m., a Mama deer and her (3) young fawns came to visit and enjoy our salt block and mineral block.  Any deer that come around normally come in the early morning and stay between 15-30 minutes.   A picture would have been delightful but we are always careful not to scare them away because we love to see them come.
The picture show below is from 2014 but you can see what they came to enjoy-salt and mineral blocks.

This afternoon, I hope to complete "The Blue Secret Quilt" top that I've been working on most of this month.  Obviously, it is a surprise quilt for someone special.  I had made enough 4 inch blocks for each person to sign and then discovered that I needed more blocks but the quilt top was almost complete with no more room to add more signature blocks.  Oh, what to do?  I discovered that I could sew narrow labels (1" x 4") in the small borders between the blocks.  I tilted the labels, which gave them a unique look.  I am hoping that I can take the top, batting, and back into Sewing tomorrow and have some of the ladies help me pin it, so I can machine quilt it at home.

This picture was taken in 2014

I am linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Been working on "Secret" Quilts this year

The happy couple were married in June 2017 and I am just now able to reveal a picture of the quilt.

Wedding Quilt

I had just discovered how to make 3-D boxes and loved the unique effect.  The (4) top boxes have
butterflies and bunches of grapes.  Of course, the Golden Gate Bridge is in the center.  I purchased 
a yard of fabric from Spoonflower.com/
The happy couple were holding their quilt and were both surprised and delighted.  I wish I could have been there to see them open it.  

At the present time, I am working on another "secret" quilt.  I took (9) strips of fabric to the
"Big Frog" for photo transfers.  Too much printing was involved, so I was happy to have them do "my" work.

While I'm waiting, I have started a QOV, using the pattern named Arkansas Crossroads. 
(40) red and blue 4-patch blocks
(40) white squares with blue and red triangles in opposite corners
With two borders, it finishes at 60" x 72"