End of June

When I started out the month of June, I was doing some secret sewing. It included this wall hanging quilt that I named "Yarn Basket." I made this for my sister, Tiffany's 40th birthday. Her birthday is today and it arrived via mail to her yesterday. This project was based on Lori Holt's Great Granny Squares  book and a quilt along she had. I missed the quilt along, but thought this would be a good one for my sister because she is an amazing knitter.

I quilted it on my Pfaff with a wavy stitch.

I am participating in Slow Sunday Stitching with some primitive embroidery as we watch World Cup soccer. If you want to be inspired with some gorgeous handwork check out this link http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com

My package arrived from the Need A Little Needle Book Swap over on Flickr.  Whitney, my awesome partner, sent this sweet little needle book that looks like an envelope. She addressed it to me.

 Here is how the needle book looks when it is opened.

I have already put the felt hexi coaster to good use.

My new friend, Lindsey, came over to quilt at my house yesterday and we had such fun. I worked on my Woodland Animal/ABC quilt and she worked on a table topper made out of the Little Black Dress fabric line. Of course, I forgot to take pictures, I am so terrible at that.  We hope to make quilting together a regular part of our schedules.

We are back to square one with car shopping for our daughter after a heartbreak over a VW Convertible Beetle. Her birthday is not until mid-August, but since we live in a rural location there are not a ton of vehicles to choose from. Fingers crossed we will find a good first car eventually.

I will select a winner for my one year blog anniversary giveaway on Tuesday, you still have time to enter here http://tanyaquiltsinco.blogspot.com/2014/06/1-year-blog-anniversary-celebration.html

Pretty Posies Finish

I finished quilting this Pretty Posies quilt yesterday. I used my new favorite wavy quilt stitch on my Pfaff. I started by going down the center of the flowers through their stems and the sashing. Then I eye balled half way between them. The quilting is about 1.5 inches apart going vertically. It crinkled up nicely in the washer and dryer.

I used a green marble for the binding. 

I had made 25 posy blocks, so I used the extra one as part of my label. I really like how that came out!

I also won a fat quarter pack as part of the American Made Brand blog tour. I won through the South Dakota blog stop http://moneik.blogspot.com/2014/06/amb-blog-hop-winner-and-pattern.htmland the bundle arrived in today's mail. I thoroughly enjoyed the road to trip to all 50 states and had fun discovering some new blogs from around our country.

 The mail has been great lately. I won this book as part of the the Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Along.  Lots of great eye candy and inspiration in there!

I also won this fun summery book through Goodreads.

I am working on a Woodland Animal/Alphabet baby quilt for a friend who is expecting a little girl in September. It is appliquéd, but I will just do that on my machine. I spent time digging through my scraps and cutting out all the pieces yesterday and today, so I am heading into the sewing room to work on that. I also will be using some of our garden's bounty for dinner by making zucchini pie with our first four zucchinis!

 Don't forget I have a giveaway going to celebrate my one year anniversary, you can find the information here http://tanyaquiltsinco.blogspot.com/2014/06/1-year-blog-anniversary-celebration.html The drawing will be held on July 1st.

1 Year Blog Anniversary Celebration & Giveaway

How come even though it is summer and I am binge quilting I still need a deadline to get something done? I have been participating in the Country Homecoming Quilt Along over at http://kimsbigquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/ and our two new house blocks are due tonight, so of course I made them this morning!

Last month, Sheryn made a house with window boxes, so I decided to copy her. I have been trying to make this quilt from scraps and have minimal repeats, but I am really having to dig deep into my brushed cottons stash. We have two more houses to go!

So are you ready for the USA vs. Portugal World Cup Match this afternoon? We are and I will be Slow Sunday Stitching on my Journey of a Quilter BOM as I did not get my Pretty Posies baby quilt ready to bind yet. I am trying to take my time and be more polished with my embroidery stitches. You can see what others are working on for Slow Sunday Stitching at this link http://www.kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/

I finished this zippered pouch this morning and made the small needle book and pin cushion last night. They are for a needle book swap over on Flickr. I really struggled with what to make as my partner does not seem to quilt too much, but she instead focuses on knitting and amazing cooking. She did put down that she likes French General fabric and flowers. I struck out with finding any French General Fabric locally, but I did find some of these pretty French looking fabrics. I will get this package into the mail early this week...

Here is the inside of the needle book and a ball of perle cotton to see just how small it is.

Today is my one year blog anniversary and since I am heading to the post office anyway and I was making embroidered pin cushions and needle books for my swap, I also made a bigger pin cushion and needle book/sewing kit to giveaway to someone out in the blogging world! I have so enjoyed finding inspiration for my quilting in the quilting/crafting blog world. Of course I have included a small box of chocolate too because my town actually has a Russell Stover chocolate factory, no mall, but a chocolate factory!

To enter this giveaway you must be a US resident (sorry, but international shipping is outrageous!), just leave me a comment. For a second entry, follow my blog in some way and leave a second comment telling me how. I will have my family pick a random number on July 1st to select a winner. If you are a no reply commenter, please leave your email address. Good luck!

FNSI June

 Howdy! I really enjoyed sewing with all the people in the blogging world as part of the Friday Night Sew In. You can go to this link to see what other people were up to http://sugarlanequilts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/fnsi.html I made a 15 minute dinner and abandoned my hubby to a movie to keep working on my new project.

Well as you know it is summer and since I am a teacher, I spend most of my summer quilting and reading. I was tempted to join the Moda Bake Shop's row along, but since I still have not finished my Lori Holt row along quilt I made last summer I restrained myself.  Then Little Miss Shabby's posies block tutorial appeared with a draft of this version shown above as part of the row along and I thought well I can make that as a baby quilt from my scraps! Here is a link to Little Miss Shabby's blog for the posy pattern http://www.littlemissshabby.com/ and her ideas for a mini version. This size was small enough for me!

So I dug through my scrap bins for the flowers and leaves fabrics (I have so many greens, I did not repeat any of them!). I chose to use pink, blue, purple, yellow, and orange for the flowers and I avoided my extra bright fabrics. I made 5 flowers in each color and plan on using the extra flower as part of the quilt's label.

Most of my Friday Night Sew In was spent making the leaves...I wrongly cut the leaves too big, so I spent time trimming them down and then assembling them. I put the pieced the flower tops and stems/leaves together this morning and added sashing.

I could not find a satisfactory border fabric in my stash; although I admit I did not look very hard! I ran down to my LQS and picked up this pink with darker pink flowers and green stems. This will be a baby gift, so the girlie pink will be good and does not distract from the pieced posies. I will probably bind it with a green. I also picked up a different pink from the sale bin for a backing 40% off.

I need to finish up my label and pin this to start quilting it tonight and bind it tomorrow for Slow Sunday Stitching. Check back tomorrow because it is my one year blog anniversary and I am planning a giveaway to celebrate all the inspiration I find by blogging about quilting!

Concentric Circles Quilting Finish!

 

I made this quilt top last summer as part of the monthly Schnibbles Quilt Along. It is the "Mercerie" pattern. I used some modern scraps I had inherited from my sister and a light jade Kona for the background. I did not like how the top came out, so I purchased a cheap backing at Joann's and it has sat in a UFO bin ever since. The other day I was admiring the circular quilting the of Little Penguin on one of her recent finishes http://littlepenguinquilts.blogspot.com/ and I saw concentric circular quilting on another blog and thought maybe I should try that...The question was on what quilt, so I dug through my UFOs and thought why not this one? It is 33 inches square, so very easy to maneuver for quilting on my Pfaff.

I dug through my plates and bowls and traced circles with a pencil. The biggest plate I had was 14 inches around, so that was my biggest circle. I traced from the smallest circle out, but for the quilting I found it easier to quilt the biggest circles and work my way in. I used my walking foot as Little Penguin suggested.

I finished the smallest circles this morning and ran over to Joann's to find a binding. The manager who is also a friend (she was my friend before they opened a Joann's in our town, but I am definitely a frequent customer!) said that's the quilt you did not like and I said you're right, but now with the quilting it is much better! She agreed that the circles gave it so much more texture and made a pretty bland quilt much more interesting. I sewed the binding on while I watched soccer this afternoon and washed it immediately. I will definitely quilt with concentric circles again.

My blog one year anniversary is on Sunday! I think I will celebrate with a giveaway, so check back soon to see what I have for a lucky reader...

Slow Stitching Father's Day

I am behind on my "Love Blooms Here" BOM blocks. I spent time yesterday and this morning prepping the next blocks.

I will stitch these blocks in place starting today as part of Slow Sunday Stitching.

Two bluebirds will go on the fence posts

and the sheep will get a face, ears, and a heart added.

I will also continue block 2 from my "Journey of a Quilter" BOM and maybe piece block 3.

I posted this egg carton with all the perle cotton I am using for my "Journey of a Quilter" BOM embroidery. I cannot take credit for the egg carton perle cotton storage. I saw it sometime last summer on someone else's blog, but unfortunately I can't remember whose it was to give them proper credit. It works great because it keeps the perle cotton balls from becoming a tangled mess and it is very portable. You can use an 18 egg carton, a dozen carton, or a 6 egg carton depending on your project requirements. I can even fit extra needles and small scissors inside.

Marge just left me a comment that the egg carton idea is on this blog http://threesheepstudio.blogspot.com Thank you so much!

Well my mom and dad are out of town, so we will celebrate Father's Day when they are back in August. My hubby wants to watch the World Cup and grill some steaks. The sun is shining, so it looks to be a lovely day even if some of it will be in front of the big screen watching soccer...

Be sure to check out other handwork over at http://www.kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/ for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Sail Away Finish

I started this on Tuesday and finished it this morning! I have always wanted to make a sail boat quilt and Messy Jesse has been working on one http://messyjessecrafts.blogspot.com/ and the pattern is free http://www.quiltmag.com/quilt-patterns/quilt-junejuly-2013-%E2%80%93-naturally-nautical-blue-and-white-remake/ so I started digging in my blue scraps and just used some random pieces of muslin for the background. Every boat is a different blue fabric. I made mine smaller than the original pattern with 18 boats.

I quilted it with the large wavy quilt stitch on my Pfaff horizontally, so it looks like the ocean. I spaced them every inch. It scrunched up nicely in the wash and its finished measurements are 35 x 50 inches. I used the Pellon cotton batting and the backing/binding is something I had in my stash from Jo Morton and I know I bought it ages ago for $3 a yard.

Thanks to Kelly over at http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com/ I am trying to label my quilts. I named this one "Sail Away." I really love how this came out because I like how it looks like an antique quilt and it reminds me of all the sailing I did when I was a teenager. Now, I can start something else. I need to make a needle book for a swap, so I am off to the quilt shop for some special fabric.

Sunflowers

My sister sent this beautiful sunflower arrangement on Monday as part of my birthday present. She must have been reading my mind because I started to buy some for myself last week, but decided it was frivolous!

I finished my 16 sunflower blocks and pieced them yesterday. I am trying to decide if I should add a border or not. Border?

I can take my time to decide because it is going to stay a flimsy for awhile. I will eventually quilt it on my mom's long arm, but I will be on the lookout for a backing.

This is a terrific pattern to use up some scraps with! Here is the free pattern http://www.butterflythreadsquilting.com/p/mystery-quilt.html

I love making a quilt from fabric I have on hand! Which led me to start this sailboat quilt yesterday...

It is also a free pattern http://www.quiltmag.com/quilt-patterns/quilt-junejuly-2013-%E2%80%93-naturally-nautical-blue-and-white-remake/ but I'm only making mine with 18 boats and baby quilt size. Here is the way the pattern shows it...

I am a little worried about the big blank blocks and my quilting skills, but just the wavy quilt stitch will be easy and look nautical, but should it go vertical, horizontal, or diagonal? Please help me decide!

Journey of a Quilter BOM

 Now that Let It Snow is totally done, I can shift my handwork focus to my Journey of a Quilter BOM.

 Here is the first month's block nearly done. I spent lots of time on it today as part of Slow Sunday Stitching. I watched the French Open and stitched away the morning.

 I am using my favorite perle cotton for stitching instead of embroidery floss. I love the bright fabrics that are coming in the kits and I am using bright perle cottons too.

I pieced and traced block number two this afternoon. It was a windy day with dark clouds, but not much rain. It was chilly, so I wore cozy sweats which is rare in June and drank coffee all day. I am going to get block number three prepared as well as my Love Blooms Here blocks because I will get lots of handwork done while enjoying the World Cup with my family. 

June FNWF

Since my hubby is camping, I joined in on Friday Night with Friends. I enjoyed a glass of this sparkly, bubbly, screw top wine. Although it sounds cheap, at $10 a bottle it is on the high end of my wine purchases! We do not live near a Trader Joe's so there is no two buck chuck for me. My friends and I call this wine "Mommy Kool Aid" and it is available in three flavors. I like the red best, but the pink and white are good too.

A few weeks ago I saw the unveiling of this mystery quilt on Butterfly Threads' blog http://www.butterflythreadsquilting.com/

I think it looks like sunflowers and so summery. I started digging in my stash to make one. I am going to have 16 blocks in mine making it square, but am using the same color scheme as shown here. I really don't need another quilt, but had no self-control when I saw this design. Plus, it was a free pattern and I know I can make it out of fabric I have on hand. Diane's instructions are easy to follow. I spent Friday Night with Friends working on the yellow pieces. I finished cutting and sewing them. Now I just need to trim them down to 3.5 inches and select my brown centers. She recommended using one brown, but I might go scrappy with them too.

In Friday's mail, I received a package all the way from Dublin, Ireland. It was from Linda (Sew Nicely on Flickr). She was very generous!

I had requested a floral themed mug rug. She outlined the flowers on the fabric with beautiful embroidery stitches.

She included some fun Irish trinkets including a new coffee mug my teenager will try to swipe. Both sides of the mug rug are adorable. It is definitely reversible and I cannot decide which side I like better.

I just received info about a new swap partner that I am supposed to make a needle book for, so I have some digging around in my stash to do. Be sure and check out this link to see what all our friends were working on last night...http://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com/2014/06/fnwf.html