Saturday, May 30, 2015

on the road again

About a week ago I headed off to Phoenix to spend some time with Mom and Dad. Dad had some surgery this past week and I am happy to be here to help them out (He's home and healing). Luckily I have my Hexagon project to keep me busy! I finished up hexies 18, 19 and 20 early in the week....
And I am beginning to join some into rows....
Such a wonderful portable project. What do you work on when you're traveling?

Monday, May 18, 2015

bluebonnet hugs 2

Remember when Ally fell in love with the quilt I made for my sister? She asked me to make her one of her own. And, well, how could I say no? Here it is! Bluebonnet Hugs 2....
 See how happy she is?
 And, of course a repeat performance of her silly antics when I asked to see the back....
 This one is backed in grunge, a little different from my sisters.....
 Enjoy it sweet girl!



Tuesday, May 12, 2015

playing with quilt as you go.... updated

About a week ago, Svetlana of Sotak Handmade posted this tutorial about the quilt as you go technique. I had seen this done before but hadn't really done it myself. I filed it away in my mental to-do list for another time. Then, today, Debbie at A Quilter's Table posted this about her experience with Svetlana's technique. Well I happened to have some free time today and these 2 posts were just the nudge I needed to try something new!

After some scrap digging and improv piecing, here is the square of quilt-as-you-go fabric I ended up with:


I used a couple of orphan blocks I had in my stash along with some strip piecing left over from my Bluebonnets quilt, along with some other pieces out of my scrap bin. I really like the way it turned out! And, following Svetlana and Debbie's leads, I decided to make a pouch out of it. I chose to make myself a Lola Pouch, slightly varying the measurements so I could get the most out of my panel.

I've made bunches of these pouches before, but never one for me!

Now, what should I put inside?

Update......
I was not happy with the way my binding went onto this pouch. I used a leftover piece of binding from another project and it was not cut on the bias. While that works well for many projects, I have had much better luck with bias binding on the Lola Pouch. So.... this morning I took the binding off of my pouch and replaced it with a striped bias binding. I almost didn't do it, because the pouch is just for me, blah blah blah. But I'm so happy I did! It lays so much nicer now!

Have a happy day!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

bookcase redo

I'm always amazed at how a simple can of spray paint (or two, or six) can totally transform an old piece of furniture! I have had this bookcase since I was a little girl (note orangy stain that was oh so popular in the 1960s!). My sister and I kept our favorite picture books on it's shelves for years...
turned sideways and prepped for painting
Knowing that I am a total slob when it comes to paint, hubby offered to paint it for me. Honestly, I think he wanted to protect our new fence from turning aqua. To each his own....
 And now it is beautiful and ready to be filled with books in our den!


hmmmm I wonder what else I can paint with the leftover aqua paint....

Thursday, May 7, 2015

a couple of little finishes

One day at work a couple of weeks ago I had a Starbucks drink (fizio spiced rootbeer. Have you tried them? My current favorite) anyways, the cup was sweating and making a mess. Well duh, I thought, we need some mug rugs spread around for employee drinks! So I dug in the scrap bucket and soon I had these three simple nine patch mug rugs ready. They are being put to good use!
 A couple of special friends have birthdays in May so I made them some Lola Pouches and tucked some treats inside. Have you tried the Lola Pouch yet? It's a new favorite go-to pattern for me.
sometimes a quick little finish is the perfect project, don't you think?

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

crafty tuesday

If you've been hanging around ellyn's place for very long, you know what yesterday was! That's right....
 Five of us gathered for crafting yesterday. Stephanie was knitting cotton washcloths.....
 Trae took this mound of beautiful floral fabrics.....
\
And fussy cut them into these lovely hexagons for a quilt....
 Christina was filling 80 of these cool wrap scarves with magic crystals (I'm pretty sure she had a better name for them! LOL) for Girl Scout camp leaders....


And Joellen and I were English Paper Piecing Hexagons for our quilt along. I love our crafty Tuesdays!

Monday, May 4, 2015

a bag for mom

A while back Mom requested a new tote bag for mother's day. Mom was the one who taught me everything I know about sewing. How could I say no to her request? I was happy to make a special bag for her. Since she's received it (early!) and approves, I thought I'd share it with you here.

 I combined three different patterns and made adjustments to make exactly what mom wanted, a certain size with pockets, including a zip pocket on the front for her cell phone. I'm really happy about the way this one turned out (and she seems to be too!)
and glad I can finally share some of the goodies I've been making.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

bluebonnet hugs quilt

My fabulous photography assistant, Super Ally, and I would like to share my latest quilt finish with you....
I'm calling it Bluebonnet Hugs. The colors remind me of the Texas Bluebonnets we enjoy every spring. And this quilt is meant to offer special hugs to my sweet sister, Diane, and her husband Dave who have been so welcoming and kind, letting Ally & I stay with them for almost 2 months this winter while we were in Ohio.....
In case you've never seen bluebonnets before, here's what they look like. So pretty!

The bluebonnets were so beautiful this year because we've had a ton of rain! But that also means there was lots of mud. It was also very windy the day we went. Didn't make for a wonderful photo shoot unfortunately.

  The pattern is from Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine & was fun to make! I did the whole thing from my stash. Well, except for the back. When I asked Ally to turn around so I could photograph the back, this is what she did.....
 Can you hear her giggling in that photo? What a silly girl. Anyways, I do love the strip of patchwork I added to the back....
 My friend, Sandy, did the fabulous quilting for me (and very quickly, I might add! Thanks Sandy!)

It took some doing to get Miss Ally to give this quilt up....
 I may have promised to make another one like it, for her. maybe.