Housewarming Gift

My daughter and her family moved last Monday and I am driving up to spend the day with them.  My SIL accepted a student pastor position while he finishes divinity school and they will be living here for the next three years.

My granddaughters are on the front porch and my grandpuppy is looking out thru the storm door.

Monday afternoon, the house looked like this...

...but my super-organized daughter had almost everything unpacked in put away within days!  She's amazing... I wonder where she got that from?

I wanted to make her a little something for her new home and yesterday, I pulled out some fabric to make a pillow cover, selecting Grandmother's Pride from 501 Rotary-cut Quilt Blocks.

This is a popular block recently.  It is called Granny Square online and 

a larger version is called Great Granny Square.

I used my large mini design board to arrange the pieces as I cut them, making it easy to move everything to the sewing machine.

After sewing the block together, I layered batting underneath and did a little straight-line quilting before assembling the pillow cover.

I'm also taking a batch of ginger cookies, too.... because that's what grandmamas are for!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For someone who questioned what my cookies looked like...

Quilty Update

Remember this quilt?

The one with the wavy line quilting?

The one I made for a friend/co-worker who lost his home in a fire?

I've not seen Chip since the get-together earlier in the summer when I gave the wrapped gift to him.  He didn't open it at the party.

Yesterday morning, I was getting ready to do a presentation at the school where Chip and I work and, as I was standing in front of the room as folks settled in...  Chip walked up, put his arm around me, and pulled me close...

He thanked me, saying he couldn't get over that I had made the quilt for him.... that the quilt is over the back of the sofa in their rented, furnished quarters, and he looks at it and touches it every day.  Chip commented how incredibly comforting the quilt was to him...

I told him that was the reason I made it for him.

We both were teary-eyed...

A little something to share...

...while back-to-school getting ready-ness is filling my waking hours.   Most folks have no idea what I do so... for your entertainment...

Just think.... the students will arrive this coming Monday morning!

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth

...but it's Back to School for staff members this week and I've been ultra busy doing fun stuff like this...

The students start back next Monday.... it should be an easier week!

Green Batik Jelly Roll Backing

Since I finished the green batik quilt top for the August FNSI...

... so I spent a little time yesterday piecing the back.

The backing came into being because I have discovered a couple of things about jelly roll quilts using batiks.

1)  Batik jelly roll strips are at least 2" longer than regular quilting cotton jelly roll strips.  {2" x 40 strips = 80" more in length of initial strip... 1600" + 80" = 1680" to sew}

2)  This added length of the JR strips leads to a wider quilt top... not a longer quilt top.

3)  If you add 2" inserts between the JR strips, the quilt top ends up even wider.

In this example, my quilt top was 61" x 64"... almost square.

So, after a little math....  I cut an 11" strip off one side of the quilt top, making the quilt top 50" x 64"... and more rectangular.  I added a strip of the backing fabric to the top and the bottom of the 11" strip... 

...and then sewed the 10" strip to a 68" length of the backing fabric.... thus making it wide enough for to be the backing!  {42" + 11" = 53" wide}

I need to get back to the never-ending hourglass project so this top and back will be tucked away to age a bit and will be quilted when the completed, super huge hourglass quilt goes off the the LAQ.

FNSI Report

As did Heidi, one of our two gracious FNSI hostesses, I prepped my fabrics in the afternoon.

There was a bit more prep work for this project since I was determined to use fabrics from my stash.

Figured out what I was working on last night?

 

This quilt top is destined to become a birthday gift for my brother's 60th in December.  Yes, ,I'm starting early but... I know how life seems to interfere with one's plans.   As my friend Mirj always says, "Man plans, God laughs!"

 

August Friday Night Sew In

First of all, I want to know where August has gone since this is the third Friday in the month.  July went by so fast that I totally missed the July FNSI...

Anyhoo... tonight, I will be playing with these fabrics...

It's not too late to sign up for the FNSI if you'd like to join in the fun!   Sign-ups are on Crafty Vegas Mom's blog this month.

Have no idea what this month's prizes are but.. who cares?   It's so nice to be sewing away and know that lots of others are doing the very same thing!

If you're curious about what my FNSI goal is, drop by tomorrow and see what I accomplished!

Four Solids

I got to my LQS for their anniversary sale and picked up three additional solids:  blue, aqua, and pink.   When I got home and looked at all five solids together with the prints... the pink was soooo wrong!   So out it went...

 

So, I think I'm ready for the Grandmother's Choice BOW starting on September 1st....  unless I change my mind again about what fabrics to use...

Birthday Surprises

Birthdays are such fun in the "surprise" department... and yesterday was no exception!  Blog buddy Cynthia of Sea of Glass sent me some sun catcher plant stakes...   I can't remember exactly what you call them... but they're gorgeous!

You tuck one or several of these sun catchers in a potted plant or in a flower arrangement to dress them up.  Cynthia even sent me one with a tiny frog hugging a blue glass bead.

I love how they glow in the sunlight...

Of course, I love the blues, greens, and purples.... however, Cynthia also sent me an assortment of cool flower sun catcher plant stakes.

Thank you for making these for me, Cynthia!  What an exciting birthday surprise!

PS:  Cynthia has a shop on Etsy! 

 

Leaffy

Leaffy has found a new home!

On the road again...

I'm heading to Wilmington to spend my birthday weekend with my son and his family.   Actually, I celebrate my birthday the entire month of August.   This year, I gave myself a nice little present... perfect, imho, for a nerd/geek who sews...

Yes, BlockBase is back "in print" and if you click on the BB icon on Barbara Brackman's blog, you can get free shipping!

I haven't had a chance to load it on to my computer since it was in yesterday's mail and I didn't get home til dinner time.... but next weekend, definitely!

I'll leave with a little funny....

 ...and a happy birthday to Sheila of Sew, Cook, and Travel, who is an entire day older than I am!

Solids

It's hard to match fabrics online but I gave it a try because of a "free shipping" day at one of my favorite online shops!

It's also hard to capture the exact shades in a photo... .at least it is for me!

I don't think I did too badly....   however, a trip to my LQS is still warranted!

August...

...for me, is...

...and today is the day!    

Teachers come back on the 20th....

...and students come back on the 27th...

So.... what did I do yesterday?

Yup... made another chicken....  

... it made me happy!