How Many Projects?

Despite two little girls underfoot for most of yesterday, I did manage to get a little sewing in.... made 116 HST blocks using Kaffe Fassett charm squares and 5" squares of Kona "Ash"...

I know, I know... no new projects til you finish the two you're working on now!  But I couldn't help myself...  *lol*

On a Rainy Wednesday

Knowing that today would be cold and wet, thus making errands a royal pain in the kazoo... I did the errands yesterday afternoon when it was sunny and warmer.  Warmer... not warm...

The plan was to clear out the left side of the closet in the sewing/computer room and GET ORGANIZED!  Somehow, the impetus to do the errands continued when I got home so, instead of waiting until today, I started yesterday.  Thankfully, the shelves fit perfectly... as in "not an inch wiggle room" once they were both in there.

Then, the first stages of organization began...

Looks good so far... but there is a ton o' stuff on the bed in the room next door that will need dealing with today.

I discovered that I had way more fabric than I thought...  yes, the fabrics were purchased for specific projects; however, looking at it all I realized that I need to stop planning projects and get these done!  Now that everything is together instead of some in this location and some in that location and... oh wait... there's more over here... everything is in one spot where I can find it... and I won't forget that I have it!

Did take a little time to make a couple of mug rugs as a pick-me-up...

 

Both will be gifts...

Blueberry

I’m not sure what color this Kona solid is but I’ve decided to call it blueberry!  I believe two others working on the Bottle Rainbows QAL used the same blueberry fabric and I knew I had to include it as well…. because my granddaughter Emma loves… with a capital “L”… loves blueberries!

The girls got to see the completed block yesterday and Emma was so excited about the blueberries… she couldn’t believe there was fabric with very real looking blueberries on it!  Chloe identified the Kaffe Fassett tree-looking print in the lower right corner as a blueberry bush!

It was nice to place the last block on the bed with the others…  they look very nice together…

I spent a little time getting all the unused fabric scraps (believe me there were quite a few of them) back into their bins and otherwise cleaning/straightening up.  I'll start sewing the blocks together and working on assembling the quilt.

I've decided not to put on a border and will piece the binding so it matches each border block. 

The Bottled Rainbows QAL has been such fun and a real joy to work on... all the beautiful colors, all the wonderful fabric scraps to revisit and play with, and a new challenge by working on my first QAYG project!  I don't see this quilt being finished overnight but I already have my next FNSI project ready to work on...

Marine Blue

The penultimate block for the Bottled Rainbows Quilt Along...

Thought the mermaids were perfect for the "marine blue"... 

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Spent a little time cleaning the lint and dust out of the sewing machine yesterday morning.  I'm not one to clean it every bobbin change... or even every 3-5 bobbin changes.  I suppose I need to do it more often than I do now...   

How often do you clean out the lint/dust and oil your machine?   Just curious...

Teal

When I saw mikmouse's moss block on Flickr, I loved the circles... so had to try that.

Just two more blocks to go now...

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Came across this photo and just had to share....

Everything in the picture is interesting... and the photo made me smile to think how far we've come communication-wise...  this lady is typing on a very vintage typewriter and I'm typing on a computer keyboard.

Mug Rugs

I've been going through a bit of mug rug withdrawal most likely due to the Mug Rug Madness week led by Erin of Two More Seconds.  Plus, I needed a small gift to send to my sister who does my taxes for me each year.  One of items on this weekend's "to do" list is to package up all my tax info to send to Carol and I wanted to enclose the mug rugs.  So, here are the mug rugs I made...  

Carol's husband is retired Coast Guard and they collect lighthouses so I thought these would be cool.

While these would be acceptable to her DH and her two sons, the mug rugs aren't very girly, I don't think... so I made a couple JUST for Carol...

 

I don't think any of her three boys will be claiming these two...   *lol*

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My daughter and granddaughters stopped by to visit yesterday afternoon and the youngest drew me a picture...

All the grandchildren like when I hang their artwork on the frig... so, after I admired her drawing, Chloe took it over and posted it on the frig for me.

Note: According to Chloe, the "love" on her shirt means she loves me.  

Turquoise

I loved the beach-y blue of Mariliz's first Bottled Rainbow block and decided that would be the first blue that I made.  

I never know how these will turn out when I start sorting through the fabric scraps... and even tho I did the "diamond in the middle"... the block does not look like the other "diamond in the middle" block...  interesting...

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Exciting news here!  I got an email from Shelly of Prairie Moon Quilts...  I've won a cool book that was part of her National Quilting Day Give-away!

Am I excited or what?  My very first give-away win!   Yea me!

Thanks so much, Shelly!

Olive/Moss/Dark Green

My last green block...  there was a scarcity of this shade but I was able to use scraps from the Lilac Hill quilt... love lilac!

Now... I just have the four blues left!

Bottled Rainbows: Show and Tell

Although I did work on the dark green block last night, I haven't glued down the fabric scraps...  it was a long day and I knew when to call it quits.

Thought you'd like to see what the completed blocks look like lying on the bed...

 

Yes, the lighting isn't the best but you can get the idea!

Eggplant

I think this is my favorite block yet...

....and it's gonna be hard to beat!   11 down, 5 to go...

Something I Can Do

The videos and photos from Japan bring home the suffering of the Japanese people after surviving both an earthquake and the resulting tsunami.... and who are now facing the worry of a possible nuclear meltdown.  Horrifying, devastating, life-altering... the loss of life, of homes, of communities.  I can't begin to imagine.  How helpless I feel... what can one person do?

Bonnie of Quiltville! posted about a drive to send quilts to Japan for those who are without heat, electricity, and even homes.  Quilters Newletter in CO will be the collecting site for donated quilts to be shipped to Patchwork Tsushin in Tokyo, who will distribute the quilts to those in need.  If you'd like to donate a quilt, the mailing address and instructions are on Bonnie's blog.

I felt an urge to join in but time is of the essence but I'm not in the position to whip up a quilt in a week or two.  Then, I saw a comment on Bonnie's blog from Beth of Love Laugh Quilt who is asking for 8.5" double four-patch blocks.  Beth will collect the blocks and make a quilt to donate!  (Instructions for making the blocks are on Beth's blog.)

Beth, the angel who will be making the quilt

Well, shoot... I can make a few blocks!  So I did! 

 

Beth emailed me her snail mail address and the blocks will go out in the post this morning.

Light Green Block

Thanks to the onset of pollen season, I was visited by the Sinus Headache demon yesterday so I only managed to finish one Bottled Rainbows block.  I can't remember the exact name of the Kona solid color but it's photogenic properties are similar to those of the daffodil yellow fabric.  The light green is very pretty but it's hard to tell...

 

I did not have a plethora of scraps in this color (I lean toward the brighter shades) but managed to squeak by.  I now have ten of the 16 blocks finished so the end is in sight!

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Cool giveaway:  Quilter in the Gap is giving away 19" of HSTs in a rainbow of colors!  Be sure to check it out and sign up!

She also has a fun survey to take too!

Complete: Lilac Hill Quilt Top

Between quilts, I forget just how long it takes to sew on borders... and so, I was up later last night than I had planned finishing the quilt top.  I waited til this morning to take a couple of photos hoping that the morning light would result in more "true to life" colors.

Started during the January FNSI and finished last night, the quilt top turned out as I hoped.

 

I'll make the backing today and then pack everything up for a trip to my LAQ over Spring Break (only a week away now!).

Another great FNSI....  looking forward to blog hopping and seeing what everyone accomplished last night!

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Just found out about a great GIVE-AWAY and wanted to share.... Sunshower Quilts has an AccuQuilt GO! Baby up for grabs along with three dies of your choice!

...and there are FOUR chances for you to win!

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Friday Night Sew In

It's the end of a long week and I am looking forward to spending the late afternoon and evening sewing along with 165 fun people.... and looking forward to blog hopping Saturday and Sunday to see what everyone accomplished.

I'll be working on the Lilac Hill quilt, started at the January FNSI...

...blocks need to be sewn together, then the borders go on.  Everything is planned out so all I have to do is sew, cut, and sew some more.  I may not get finished this evening... but I definitely will finish this weekend!

Hmmm... looking at the photo, I can see a few blocks I want to move around....


Happy sewing!

 

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There is a cool give away on the Such a Sew and Sew blog in honor of National Quilting Day, which is tomorrow!

The give-away ends tonight so be sure to hurry over there and sign up... look at all those GORGEOUS fabrics AND a book too!

Moss or Grass or Some Kinda of Green

I wish I were a better photographer... hopefully, once I get the quilt assembled I can take it outside to photograph...

I have to say that rectangles are much easier than working with other shapes...  some of the greens are accurate/close to what they look like in real life... but others are just plain off.  I haven't had this type problem with the mug rugs tho...

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Thought for the day...

Daffodil Yellow

I didn't realize just how hard it would be to photograph this color...  the first three tries, the Kona solid turned out a pale cream... however, the fabric scraps were spot on color-wise... very strange.

It finally occurred to me to take the block to the other end of the house and take a photo in the morning light... and that worked a bit better.

The true color of the Kona solid is the dandelion puff on the fabric scrap in the lower right corner... or the back ground of the triangle with the gold rose.

Yes, I know... there's a pink rose in the middle!  I had a scrap of fabric that had the perfect color background and only two complete flowers... one of which was the pink rose!  So, there it is!   *lol*

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No mug rug today...  my mind was whirling with the news that, due to the tough economic times and a loss of $8.2 million in funds, the local school system for which I work will be closing a school.  The students who attend this school will be transferred to nearby schools.

There are other major cuts.... such as the loss of 90 positions... but nothing like the closing of a school.   Gives one much on which to think...

School Bus Yellow

I tried something a bit different with this block and am not sure it was all that successful.  I certainly have a deficit of scraps in this color but enough to get by.

Mebbe it would have worked better without the square in the bottom left corner... who knows?

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Today's mug rug...

 

Traffic Cone Orange

Orange has to be my least favorite color... don't know why.   But somehow, it's not so bad with the fabric scraps in the center.  (The rocket ship scrap is from a stuffed rocket ship I made for my youngest grandson and was also used in his H-block quilt!)

I hesitated about using the blue with orange flowers fabric but thought: What the heck!  ...and I think it looks nice!

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All my little girls came over to visit today and we made St. Paddy pretzels.  Of course, the one photo that wasn't fuzzy was the one with them acting silly...

We had a great time... and I sent all the pretzels home with them!   I'm sure their mother really appreciated that... *lol*


 

Bottled Rainbows Progress

I worked on Bottled Rainbow blocks yesterday since the granddaughters are coming to visit today and there will be little sewing time... I love me some Emma and Chloe time though!

Funny that one of my favorite colors would be one for which I had the fewest fabric scraps....

I had to "make" scraps for this one and used some "California" scraps...  never thought about it before but don't the fabric manufacturers make this color often?  I don't remember seeing that much... 'cause I buy it when I see it!

Sew A Little This, Sew A Little That...

Finished up a set of four coordinating mug rugs last night...

Another project checked off the list...

Today's project, working on bottled rainbows blocks!