Stripped And Ready to Sew

Candy Kisses

by Sandy Gervais

for Moda

is the fabric line that I have chosen to use for my mystery quilt that Dana is hosting over at

Old Red Barn Co

See the button on my side bar just to the right...

I jumped on the band wagon a little late, but I'm caught up and can't wait to get going. Since it's a mystery...I hope that these fabrics will be a good choice. I love the line and because it's not one of Moda's 'new' lines, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I don't run out before my quilt is finished.

I've been working on a lot of projects over the past few weeks and that along with working a whole lot of hours has kept me very busy.....

So without further adieu, let me show you what I've been up to...

As you can see...some granny squares...46 of them to be exact. My two youngest girls are expecting babies a month apart, one in November and one in December. We will find out in June and then July what they are having and so I thought I would get a jump start on making a blanket for each of them. This pic is a little off, but the color looks just like Kraft Mac and Cheese;p

When we find out what they are having I will then choose a color to go with these and then start on more granny squares.

The older of my two youngest daughters has developed anti-bodies in her blood as the result of a blood transfusion she had to have after the birth of her first child. She also has gestational diabetes and with each pregnancy, it rears it's ugly head earlier in the pregnancy. All of this has made her 'high risk' and so the doctors are keeping a very close eye on her.

Here are a couple of (side ways) dresses that I have made for a couple of my grand daughters

Sorry about them being sideways (thought I'd fixed that).
I have 3 more dresses that I have made like these, but no pics of them. Guess I'll have to do something about that...

This is a cute little picture frame that I helped one of my granddaughters make for her kindergarten teacher. I found a tutorial for it. It's the Fabric Picture Frame Tutorial by Rachel Very gooooooey and very funnnnn;)

This picture doesn't do it justice but we sure had fun making it. We wrapped it up in some pink tissue paper and tied it with a strip of pink fabric with cherries on it. Needless to say, the teacher was thrilled with it;)

The fabric that we used in the picture frame project is the fabric that I am using for my 9 patch project that CMQ inspired me to do. Since my sewing time varies as to the number of hours and the days that I can devote to my projects I just have to do what I can when I can. AJ invited all to join her in in making just one 9 patch block a day...and to make as many, or as few as desired. This was my first block...

...No contrast, you say? Well you would be right;) But I LOVE these colors, so this block and the other two that I have that are like it will be "re-purposed".

So........now my 9-patch is blues and yellows, as you can see from the frame. I have always wanted a blue and yellow quilt, and so I will have one, just as soon as I get this one finished. Right now I have two rows sewn together with white sashing. I was trying to get pictures of my layout, but I was working on it out on the front lawn and Mr. Wind thought he'd pay me a visit and well... I'm sure you can imagine just what happened. I will take pictures of my progress later this week and get them posted so you can see just how this LIW (Lady In Waiting) is coming along;)

So that, and more, is what I've been doing with my spare time...what have you been doing with yours?

Just a couple of more things before I go...please drop by and say HI to Leslie. She's getting into sewing/quilting and discovering just what a blast and creative outlet it is. Her giraffe quilt is

A-W-E-S-O-M-E

as are her other projects, but the giraffe quilt was her first and her own design!!! A very talented young lady (and yes, she is one of mine).

And just a couple of the pics I took this morning on the way home from work

(0630)

I hope that you all have a terrific week with lot of time to do the things you want to do;)

Happy Mother's Day

I rode my bike to work the other day so I could take these pictures of some of Mother Nature's handiwork...

I think she must have been taking notes when she was in Color Theory Class;)

If you ever need some help with what colors look good together just take a walk outside and you might find something you like. I don't think Mother Nature would mind if you 'borrowed' some of her ideas;)

I wish you all a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Enjoy your weekend;)

A Few of the Things I've Been Working On

These are a few of the things that I've been working on this week...

This is a crocheted bag that really gave me a workout.

I used a size N crochet hook and 2" strips of fabric. It needs some finishing, but overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it truned out. One of my co-workers, a guy, said it was, "very Springy".

I jumped on the band wagon with Amanda Jean and her block-a-day Quilt Along.

This will be a simple quilt, just 9 patch blocks, and we will be making one a day. I will be using fabric that is in my stash, as much as I can. It will be BRIGHT! The perfect Summer Quilt;)

This is a quilt top, minus the borders that I'm working on for one of my granddaughters.

It went together very fast. Now all I have to do is figure out what to use for the borders and the back. I have a couple of blocks, that didn't get used on the front, that will be going into the back of the quilt. I love a pieced back with a little suprise sewn in here and there.

We had a really good rain storm this past Saturday and we're supposed to get another one tonight. I guess this means that we'll have lots and lots of May Flowers;)

I just hope that it doesn't get too hot too fast and the flowers wilt.

Here's to a great week with lots of sewing time worked in;)

Virtual Quilt Festival

There's a Virtual Quilt Festival going on over at Amy's . Go check it out and join in on all of the fun;)

This is a picture of one of my favorite quilts that I have made and here's why...although it's not very big, only about 30" x 30", I made up and drew the design, hand appliqued the stars and hearts on it with a button hole stitch and then hand quilted it.

As imperfect as it is, probably the reason this one is so near and dear to my heart is that a very young grandson spent the night and he asked me if I could take it off of the wall and cover him up with it. We left this one on the wall and covered him up with a bigger quilt and he was OK with that because he could still see my Stars and Hearts Quilt;)

Enjoy the VQF:)

Time For a Little Catch Up

First of all, I would like to thank all of you that sent well wishes regarding my kids and their so journ through the snow to come out for a visit. I truly appreciate it. My kids did finally get here, almost two days later than planned because of the snow in Cheyenne, Wyoming. As unhappy as I was about them being stuck in Cheyenne for nearly two days because of said snow, I was happy about it keeping them here for several extra days while yet another storm hit us and, again closed the roads. They are now back in MN and getting back to life as usual.

One week ago tomorrow this is what my front yard had all over it...

...over 9" of snow fell in less than 24 hours! Today it's been in the mid 70's...dare I say it...could Spring finally be here???

Here's a hint that it just might be...

Hopefully, it will stick around for awhile;)

This quilt top was a BOM that I did awhile back and, until a couple of weeks ago, remained a LIW (Lady in Waiting)...

This middle picture has the truest color

...ALL FINISHED...;););)

I made these three skirts...

...out of this...

...old jeans and lots and lots of ribbon and trim...

I made little bags out of the leg pieces that I cut off of the jeans;) I also made a couple of of pillows for 2 of my grandsons. I get so excited about giving them the things that I make for them that I forget all about taking pictures.

I'm participating in Connie W's (Cootie Bugg 2) Siggy Block Swap. I'm just waiting to get my blocks...all 60 of them and then I'll have to figure out how I'm going to put them together.

Projects in the works are...a crocheted bag, my red, white, and blue afghan, new scrubb tops for work, my applique block from the Linda Jenkins' class I took, and..., and..., I think you get the picture.

I just have to add one more picture of the snow from last week...

This is one of the trees in my front yard...I think the picture looks pretty cool (no pun intended) with the black of the trunk and the white of the snow.

I hope it's not too late to wish you all a happy week;)

Happy Easter 2K9

Wishing you all a Happy Easter

Enjoy your day;)

Lookie Lookie Sugar Cookie

OK...so it's not a sugar cookie but you have to admit that it rhymes;)

Let me explain...this morning, well actually it was about 12:30 so I guess that's really this afternoon...my neighbor's brother knocked on my door...I had just gotten up. No, I don't usually sleep the day away, but I did the night shift last night and didn't get home until 6:30 AM...anyway, back to the knock at my door...I answered and the man there introduced himself as my neighbor's brother and said that he was visiting his sister and wanted to make her some cookies, but she didn't have a cookie sheet and wondered if he could borrow one of mine...Well, of course, and when he brought it back this cookie was on it. He did give me a whole cookie, but I think I had it half eaten before I thanked him and closed the door. It was yummy;p and just for the record...you can borrow my cookie sheets any time;)

The cookie was a high point (ahhhh the simple things in life) to my down day today...My middle daughter and her family live in Minnesota. They left home yesterday and headed this way for a visit...She sent me a text msg this morning (2:00) telling me that they were stuck in Cheyenne, Wyoming in white out conditions...no more traveling. They got a hotel room and went to bed. This morning they were still in white out conditions and still unable to travel because the roads are closed! OK!!!! Where is Spring????? If anyone knows will you please, please share??? The earliest that they will be able to leave their hotel room will be tomorrow morning, cutting our visit one day + shorter;(

Here are a few pictures of projects that I've been working on...

This is a quilt that I'm working on for one of my grandsons.

The backing fabric is flannel with baseballs all over it.

Can you see it in the upper left corner???

...and this is my Linda Jenkins' block...

I took a class from Linda a couple of weeks ago and this is my rendition of the block she taught us.
I have several more leaves and a whole lot more circles to add before this one will be finished. I'm not very good at applique, but I'm having a lot of fun working on this one.

Time to go get ready for another night shift...

Have a great weekend;)

A Couple of Things I've Been Working On

This is the afagan that I've been working on...the red, white, and blue one that I mentioned in an earlier post. There's no pattern, just lots and lots of single crocheting. I hope to have it done by the Forth of July.

Can you see the green at the top of the picture? That was covered with snow on Monday morning. That snow is gone now, but we're expecting rain with thunder and lightning tonight and tomorrow.

Here's a picture of the signature blocks that I've been working on...

The picture is a little blurry, still working on the settings on my new camera.

I'm participating in a Signature Block Swap and these will need to be in the mail in the next couple of weeks.

I made more than double the squares I needed, so those will be used in the borders of my signature quilt.

My kids from Minnesota will be here this next week, provided the roads remain open and they don't get snowed out. I can hardly wait to see them;)

I hope you all have a great weekend;)

Happy Snowy Monday

The calendar says that it's Spring, but I wonder--is it really???

This is what I woke up to this morning...

........nearly 3.5" of new snow.........

that grass was green when I went to bed last night;(

No wonder Spring seems to be much shorter than Winter and Summer. It's cheated out by late snows and early hot spells.

I have so many projects in the works right now that I need to focus on just a few...

so I chose this quilt ...

I made this one about 3 years ago. It was a BOM that one of the local quilt shops was doing when I first moved here. I made a couple of changes to the original that the shop was doing and then took it to a local longarm quilter, Laura Erickson, to do the quilting. All I need to do is the binding so this is what I will be working on over the next few days.

I think I'll take it to work with me tonight (doing the night shift) and if I have any down time I will work on it. Ahhhhh, but it's Monday and Mondays are usually busy. Maybe by the time I get there things will have slowed down. Yeah, right I have my doubts about that. Oh well, at least I have a job...in fact I have two, so I'm not going to complain, except that with two jobs there's not enough time to sew;(

I hope you all have a great Monday;)

Lots to Catch Up On

Holy Cow!!! Where has the time gone??? I knew that I hadn't posted in awhile, but was surprised that it had been as long as it has...Soooooooo there's lots to catch up on...

The two most exciting things going on right now is that my youngest daughter and her husband are expecting their second child in November. Can I just tell you that being a grandma is one of the best callings in the world! This will be # 11 for me YIPEE!!! Secondly, my oldest son and his family will be moving here from Arizona. I can't tell you how excited I was when they let us all know that they would be moving out when their kids get out of school (end of May). My son starts his new job on Tuesday and so he will be here sometime tonight. His wife and the kids will remain in AZ and make the move June 1st!

In all of this I have also moved to a new home and with everything that entails, service people not showing up when they're supposed to and then when they do they can't get the job done, had no Internet service for nearly a month. I finally go fed up and called my provider and had them walk me through the set up over the phone. After nearly an hour on the phone I was up and running...finally...I think I stayed up until nearly 3 that morning just trying to do a little catch up.

My camera got packed in some box that is somewhere here...I will eventually find it, but that was just the excuse I needed to buy a new camera. I should add here, that I now have 3 digital cameras...the one in the box, another one whose cables are packed away in another box somewhere and the new one that I bought just before I moved and now have no idea where it's box and cables are..........can we say AGGREVATION!!!!!!!!!!! I have been snapping many pictures, tho, and will be tearing this place apart to find the missing parts so this post won't be naked, as it were;)

There's nothing like moving to point out just what size a person's stash is. I knew that I had a lot, correction...TON of fabric, but now I truly know just how much I have...You might wonder if that's stopping me from getting more...well, of course it isn't. I went out and bought new supplies for the class I took with Linda Jenkins. I didn't have time to go through boxes. Anyone else suffer from this??? ;)

I FOUND THEM I FOUND THEM I FOUND THEM

YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEE

well at least one of them anyway...

What you might ask???

Camera cables, of course;)

this post won't be naked after all...

During my down time I was lucky enough to win not one, but two blog give aways. The first was this scrap bag from jelleybelley http://wwwjellybelly-jellybrain.blogspot.com/.

Lots of fun little scraplets along with a few large pieces. I know that several of these will go into my postage stamp quilt that I'm collecting for. As for the larger pieces...not quite sure yet. Thanks a ton, Emma, for picking my name;)

I also won another drawing...a quilt of all things!!! How generous of Barbara

http://panhandlesuesquiltingspot.blogspot.com/ to offer a quilt. I was shocked that I won her drawing. Take a look......

The front

Sorry about the picture being sideways.

I love the pink and black.

(and just so we keep the neck exercises equal on both sides...)

The Back

the stripes are too cool!

What a cute little label with all of the pertinent info on it;)

Thanks a TON, Barbara! I feel so fortunate to have won your quilt;) This little jem will be loved and cherished;)

And more fun stuff...Had Quilt Guild meeting last week. We had a very special guest...Linda Jenkins from Piece O Cake. Linda gave a class on color before our meeting. It was great, filled with lots of info, and the room was overflowing. After lunch we were then treated to a trunk show provided by Linda and her ever able bodied assistant, Paul, aka her husband. She shared over 50 of her quilts with us. I took lots of pics with said new camera, but am afraid that many of them might land on the cutting room floor because I'm not used to the new camera yet. There are beautiful pics on our guild's blog (uvqg dot blogspot dot com) tho, and you can check them out. Here is just a very small sampling of some of the quilts Linda shared with us...

Linda's applique work is beautiful

The front

and the back-just as pretty as the front

The next day Linda did an applique class for us. There were only 20 spaces and I was lucky enough to get one of them. She taught us one of the blocks from her quilt, Aunt Millie's Garden.

Aunt Millie's Garden

We did the Rose Block...third from the top, left side

A close up of Linda's hands in action

Working busily on our applique

well, sort of

Paul and Linda

Paul is Linda's husband and now that he is retired, accompanies her when she travels.

I will be making my block into a pillow. I love the portability of applique and the fact that there's a lot of handwork that goes into it. I would say that I have about a quarter of mine done now and am having a blast working on it. It definitely has that "handmade" look;) My applique skills are in severe need of help, but it's still fun.

There's been more knitting/crocheting going on here lately. I knit several beanies and matching scarfs for several of my grandchildren that they will get next winter. I'm also working on an afghan that I hope to have finished by the 4th of July...that's a hint as to the colors I'm using in it. I have to get a jump start on my gift giving and knitting/crocheting in the summer isn't one of my favorite things to do.

Just two more things and then I'll call this post good...

First of all...I am participating in a PIF

...so if you are interested in receiving a handmade suprise from me within the next six months, just leave me a comment and I will be choosing 3 of you. Make sure that you leave me your info so I can get in touch with you. The PIF part of this is that you will also post about PIF on your blog and agree to make something for three of your 'fans'.

Second...I woke up to snow this morning. The sun is out now and most of the snow from earlier has melted but the wind is blowing and it's C-O-L-D!!! I like Winter and the snow, but I think I'm ready for Spring and sun and flowers;)

Another Birthday...and A Few More Pincushions

I would be remiss if I did not take a minute and wish my youngest a Happy Birthday today. Her birthday is the third of eight that we celebrate this month.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LES!

I made one of these pincushions last week (previous post) and was very surprised just how quickly it went together. When I find something that is quick and easy I usually make several and so here are a few more of the same that I made tonight. I love that they are the same, but different.
A top view...sitting in the snow...

...and here's a side view so you can see the different fabrics that I used...

All of the fabrics that I used are from my stash.

If you need a new pincushion, or even if you don't...try this pattern...it's quick, easy, fun, and best of all you probably have a lot of fabric choices right in your stash;) You can find the pattern over at May Britt's blog...Abyquilt...

I hope that you are all having a good week with lots of sewing time.

Stay warm, or cool where ever you may be;)

Look Out Improv...Here I Come

First of all, I must start off my telling my oldest son HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! His is the first of eight this month and the first of three in a row. He, his wife, and two children live in Arizona and I was lucky enough to go out a visit them last month.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANNY

I was thinking that I wanted to challenge myself, in my quilting, this year. I usually stay within the confines of traditional patchwork and applique with mostly traditional prints and colors. In other words...not much imagination. With all of the bright, fun prints that line the shelves of our quilt shops now a days it was about time for me to take the plunge and step into the present day. I have no doubt that I will continue to do traditional quilting it will just be with a somewhat more modern look...I hope...I think...

As I was visiting blogland this week I found that the hostess of a blog that I follow, Jackie at Tall Grass Prairie Studio, was challenging all, who care to join her, in doing that very thing, to think outside the (their) box.

One of the things that each "challengee" is to do is to choose a color combo from the three that she offered and make a Log Cabinish type 12" (finished) block that will be part of some quilts that will be made and donated to charity.

There are people that have volunteered to donate batting and backing fabrics and others to machine quilt all of the quilts that are made and still others have volunteered to finish up with the binding. What totally awsome people!!!

The color combo that I chose was orange and pink. I love the look of these two colors together because the remind me of the beach, where I used to live, at sunset.

The fabrics that I chose to make my block out of...

...all from my stash...

When we chose our color combo Jackie said that we could add other colors to our block, so I threw in a little green and turquoise.

Here's my block.......

...what she lacks in construction points, she more than makes up for in cheery brightness...at least I think so;)

Tomorrow, I will be another year older, and wiser too , (yeah, right) Happy Birthday, to me;)

I hope that everyone is having a GREAT weekend;)

My First Finish for 2K9

I hope that every one's New Year is off to a great start.

Looking around blogland many of you are getting projects finished up that were left over from last year. I love to see what everyone is working on and that so many of you are already off and crafting on new projects for this year.

One of my favorite things is to see the same project being worked on by several people and just, even though the project is the same, how very different each one is, depending on the creators likes and preferences. There's so much inspiration to be had out there.

My daughters/daughters-in-law and I have started a new challenge this year...we will be doing one craft per month and one quilt block per month. Three of us quilt and three don't, so for those that don't we will be starting off with the basics, in hopes of not overwhelming them and inspiring them to do more.

Our January craft project is a pincushion. I chose to use May Britt's Pincushion Tutorial on her blog, abyquilts...you know the rest... Her directions and pictures made this a very quick and easy project.

Here are a few pictures...

Sitting in the snow...

...could it be a snow star or snow flower???...

The snow really throws the color off...

...the color here is much better...

The button is abalone and just a little smaller than a quarter...

...and a side view...

I hope that you are all enjoying you Winter/Summer whatever it may be where ever you may be;)