Ready to quilt

Its time to start free-motion quilting Charlie's ball quilt. It turned out a little larger than Jenn wanted but I think it's perfect...he can grow into it.

It's 60" x 74". I'm going to quilt it using a dark gray thread. That should hide pretty well on the navy without being too busy on the lights (I hope).

Before I can begin quilting Charlie's quilt, I have a dinosaur costume to sew up for his brother Henry.

Fun!😬

 

The start of Charlie's Ball Quilt

I've put off starting Charlie's quilt long enough. Jenn says he's ready for a "big boy" bed...no more crib. So that means he needs this NOW. It's not a huge quilt, just large enough for a toddler bed but really cute so she can bribe him to leave the crib...lol.

I've been matching up shirtings (my all time favorite fabrics, you know), with ball pieces I recieved through Instagram. I requested ball fabrics during the #getyourquiltywishesgranted

I recieved so many wonderful balls. 

When Charlie was over, he grabbed the blocks and crushed them to his chest. He wanted them then and there, as is. I told him they ARE his but he has to wait until I sew them all together...then it'll be ready to take home. 

As he was looking at my fabrics, he picked a few more pieces to put in the quilt. I'm going to add them in...maybe on the back?...still thinking about that.

And this denim look fabric will be the sashing. Got to get to work!

 

Allie's Hourglass quilt...DONE AT LAST

Its taken quite a while to finish this one up but FINALLY I can move it from the UFO pile to the DONE pile!! Yippeeee!! 

I free-motion quilted it on my trusty old Pfaff. That took about 2 weeks because of birthdays and visits and a summer cold. Then I added the red and white striped binding (found this in my Christmas fabric box). The quilt was totally made from my stash which makes me VERY happy. 

I'm planning to give this one away...there are actually a few family members that haven't recieved quilts. Im going to try to remedy that in the next few years.

 

Quilting Allie's Hourglass

Today I'm trying to finish up this quilt. I started fmq yesterday and did just over 1/2. 

I'm doing my usual swirls. This is the fastest design for me to do on my Pfaff. If I had more time (and patience), I would be doing straight lines...lots of them.

But, with a dozen quilts needing to be finished, fast is best. The year is 3/4 gone and I am nowhere near my goal of finishing up half my UFOs. So...back to quilting!

Shirting wheels quilt

Im working on a 6 year old UFO.

Every so often I pull it out and do a block. When I pulled it out a few days ago, I thought "let's just get this one done".

 I only had 5 blocks to go. Not much right?

 Well...it took me 2 HOURS to make one block! Granted, there was a bit of unsewing to account for. These seem straight forward but there needs to be the right amount of contrast in just the right place AND there are two different triangles.
This is not a quilt that can be worked on with a glass of wine handy!

So last night I finished up the last block...like at 10pm.

 Today I'm stitching the blocks into a top. After that it goes into the "to be quilted pile"...yeah, yeah...I know that pile is toppling over.

I'm going to be getting to quilting a top tomorrow so...

Bring on the wine (for my sore shoulder and back).

Pergola is built and I love it!

 Al finished the pergola I wanted as an entrance to our back yard. I'm so happy with it! We stained it black to match our doors and porch furniture then I planted grapes at the base of each side. My grandmother had a grape arbor in her yard and I've always wanted one. She had concord grapes ...made grape jam and grape juice.
I planted red eating grapes...we'll see how that goes.

The weather has cooled just a bit the last few days down to a comfortable low 80s. We've been spending a lot of time relaxing on the porch, drinking wine or lemonade, reading and chatting. I've been itching to sew but then again.... Think I'll just sit out here a bit more...

No sew day

I had the urge to sew today but the westher is just TOO nice!

I worked in the garden instead...tied up tomatoes and did some weeding.

Notice my garden ties...lol? These are 1/2" quilting scraps. They make great ties. 

Once I was thoroughly hot and sweaty, I went in and cut up some cotton shirts. 

I save part of the shirt center (buttons and holes) for pillow backs. Saves putting in a zipper.

I end up with about a yard of shirting...not to bad for 50 cents!

 That done, I relaxed with a glass of homemade lemon-limeade.

Looks like it's going to be another

No-Sew day.

🌞😉🌞

No quilting, just gardening

I haven't been sewing much lately...mainly because it's been beautiful out. The garden is doing well but needs tending. My flower pots are blooming nicely. The grass is in and growing so we're cutting it and weeding landscapes. Lots of outdoor work...that I love.

Tonight we're just sitting on the back porch enjoying the trees, flowers and the rain. And I'm enjoying my porch quilt. This one has lots of scraps in it...lots of memories. 

Plus thete are a few pieces I put in for the grandboys to find and enjoy...like the dogs in the corner.

I tried something new this year with my pots of flowers...I tucked in a few perennials (lavender) with the annuals. At the end of the season I'll plant the perennials in the landscape to enjoy next year. 

The geraniums, as always, will come in for the winter. I love flowers on my window sills when there's snow out.

A donation quilt up next

Isn't this ABC fabric adorable? I was cleaning and straightening my stash when I came across this older Holly Holderman fabric panel from Lakehouse. 

I have an assortment of coordinating fabrics too. I've been thinking of making a few small donations quilts for the hospital. They give a blanket or quilt and a teddy bear to each child that is staying overnight for the first time. I've donated a few before but this last week was the first time someone I knew, would receive one. 

Charlie got pretty sick this past week. He was kept overnight...and being only 2, he was pretty scared. Of course, his mom was with him, but still, all those tests, IVs, machines.... It's a lot for a two year old to understand. He just wanted to go home. 

Well, the nurses brought in a Dinosaur blanket and a teddy....he was so happy. Him and his brother love dinosaurs. 

This was the first time I got to see the joy these donations bring.

So my project this month is to make a couple of pediatric quilts. One for a boy and one for a girl. I know I have a lot of other projects that need working on but they can wait.

I DID finish the mondo bag I started last week. I'll be heading downstate to visit my dad overnight and this bag is perfect for a quick trip.

It's also a great beach bag. I love how it turned out. These fabrics were calling out to me to be used. If you know me, you know I love blues. I made a blue one once before but it was "borrowed" by a daughter. It's nice to have one again.

Mondo bag making

My newest project is not a quilt...It's a Mondo bag.

I've made a few and they just seem to disappear. These are so handy...they're a great size. Perfect for traveling or to take to the beach.

 

I'm making it out of some fabrics I've been hoarding. I love blues and this group of fq blues have been sitting in a box for too long.

So besides getting started on my new bag, Al and I have been landscaping. We've finished most of it...just some mulch and sod to go. That goes in tomorrow. Finally!

These two sweeties have been coming over to play in our dirt piles. We've been able to take them to the local park/beach now that they've been opened. It's really starting to feel normal again.

Pink Double 9-patch quilt is finished

It's done!! And I love it❤

I finished this pink and blue Double 9-patch shirtings quilt today. 

 I used an older, stained dress shirt for the binding. Since we we're under "stay home" orders, I dug through my stash to find binding. This shirt just made it! I used the little "Polo" insignia so no fabric would go to waste and am glad I did. I love that it shows a shirt was used.

 I've been collecting shirts for years. A local resale marks them down after a month of them not selling. Many times it's because it has stains, tears or other problems...perfect for quilting.
And of course, Al contributed a bunch to my pile. When he buys them new, I make sure they are all cotton so that I can upcycle them later.