2018 Sew Alongs -- Thanks, Myra

Myra at My Busy Hands has been offering a linky party for Quilt Alongs for a few years.  I like that it has the start dates and cost right in the links.  Thanks, Myra!  Check out Myra's post here.



Here's a few sew alongs for 2018 that I am interested in. 

Almost Last Call Sew Along

Kathryn Kerr's 365 Challenge

I need to get my sewing groove back.  School has been keeping me busy!

Embroidery at Speech Again

It's a little after 5pm on Tuesday night.  Here I am waiting on our son in speech therapy.  This is my view.  It's Ohio.  It's too dark to get in a few extra steps along the busy street.  I have plenty of light to stitch.

Linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

Bull Ridin' Chippy

I've really let me blog go lately.  But our elf, Chippy, has been up to some fun.  Here's a picture of him riding Owen's mechanical bank like a bull trying to impress Barbie.

 

Saw this scrap quilt on Instagram and snapped a screen shot of it with my phone.  I'm TERRIBLE for not finding who originally posted it.  I'm putting it on a back post so I can find it later.  Sorry!!

 

 

A Little More Embroidery

This week you can see my embroidery with me at school.  I'm almost done with another set of flowers.

 

 

Linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

 

Scrappy Quilt Inspiration

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately.  I have been super busy this holiday season.  Our 10.5 year old keeps me super busy as well.  LOVE all that kid does!  Here's a fun scrap quilt I saw on Instagram posted on allpeoplequilt by @bluenicklestudios.  LOVE all this scrappy goodness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was down for the count in the photo above.  At least he is nice and cozy in my tumbler quilt.

 

Here he is below celebrating his 10 and a HALF birthday.  Yeah, Owen.  You amaze me every day.

 

A Few More Stitches

I made a few more stitches on my embroidery project this week while the kid was bowling.

I'm linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Happy Helper

Here's our happy helper cleaning the tracks on the excavator on Thanksgiving weekend.  He just loves being outside with Dad!

Slow Sunday Stitching

Some of the red flowers were done this week.  Woohoo.

 

I'm linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Moving it Forward Monday --Spillin' It

I used to show you what project I was working on for the week quilt wise.  I have a new passion in life... getting healthy.  I have been slowly gaining weight over the past 20 years.  My brother motivated me on Mother's day with just two sentences...

He said, "Happy Mother's Day."  "I lost 50 pounds." 

Well I can't have that!  He's not going to get all the attention during the upcoming holidays about how great he looks.  LOL.  So I started on a diet.  I lost 10 pounds.  Then I came to a standstill.  Religion has been a big part of my life these past five or so years.  I started to pray about it too.

I came across the book Eat Right 4 Your Type by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo.  The book explains what foods one should eat according to what blood type they had.  I have type A.  Yippee, skippee...  I'm supposed to eat mostly veggies, tofu, fish, no red meat, no pork...  Big changes for me.

I tried it.  Today I'm down 35 pounds!  My quest to get healthy has some fun things that I do now.  I have a lot more energy and I like to take our son on hikes.  We LOVE to swim, but winter will have its limits here in Ohio.  We will go to some indoor pools this winter for fun.

Look at my face yesterday in this pic.  Here I am in my new hat.  It was 60 cents at the local KMart that is going out of business...

                    7.24.17                                                              11.12.17



Wow! look at the difference in my face!  I'm lovin' it!  I'm a much happier person! 

Slow Sunday Stitching

I found another spot of yellow to do, but I moved on to the red anyways.  I'll get that yellow some other day.

 

I'm linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Working in Fullness

Yesterday I posted how the teeth of my ratchet part was starting to wear.  I forgot to post a pic of the fullness I was working in on a customer quilt.  Check it out.
  You can see where I have stitched in the maroon fabric.  Then all these wrinkles have to be worked out.  On this quilt I even had to take the bottom off a few times and readjust.  Luckily it did not walk from one side to the other.

And more fullness...  Sometimes with sampler quilts people like to work with bias edges differently than I do.  Don't worry, it will all work out in the end.  Hoping to post a finished quilt for my Friday finish this week...

 

Here's the part that I need my husband to fix...in his spare time.  (He looks at my blog from time to time.  LOL.)  Hi, Sweetie!  I posted a pic yesterday too.  Hint, hint.

Nolting Fix

I've probably cranked it down a little too tight if this is happening...  See how the teeth of the ratchet things are a little chipped down?  I need my husband to be my machinist and fix them for me.  He'll do it.

 I've been getting a few customer and guild quilts that have been needing some fullness worked in.  Sometimes if you crank it very tight it works out.  Other times I have to put my hand in there and work around the fullness.  Either way... It has to be dealt with.

Just One More Leaf

I managed to add one more little leaf this week to my Kim Diehl Small Stuff project.

Linking up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

Slow Sunday Stitching

I'm getting closer to having all the yellow flower centers done on this little crib quilt.  Stitch by stitch.

 

Linking up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

 

I'm excited that I will be getting electric in my ocean container building and in the chicken coop that my husband made for me for Mother's Day.  Woohoo!  Way to go, Sweetie!  He's awesome!

Red House Mini for a Friday Finish

 

Here it is along side the blue house I finished last week...

 

I quilted it with a simple Baptist Fan pattern using my Circle Lord giant board.  This mini is not sentimental to me.  It is for sale at a local store.  I'm excited to see if any of my quilts sell there.  The store just opened a few weeks ago.  It's open on weekends.  You can check out The Birch Barn on Facebook.

Linking up with:
Busy Hands Quilts:  Finished or Not Friday
My Quilt Infatuation: Needle & Thread Thursday NTT.
Confessions of a Fabric Addict:  Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

It was one of my goals mentioned at the 2017 Q4 FAL post on October 1, HERE.  I'm linking up with Ella and the gang for the 2017 Q4 FAL linky party here.

Moving it Forward Monday

I finally have this quilt on the frame.  We have been having beautiful weather here in Ohio and I have been trying to squeeze in all the fun outdoor time we can.

 

This is a customer sampler quilt with a medallion center.  It is being quilted using my Circle Lord Swirls giant template board.

 

 

Linking up to Em's Scrap Bag for Moving it Forward Monday.

 

Slow Sunday Stitching

A few leaves were stitched in place again this week.  It's more than I had! 

 

The end of this little quilt is shaping up!  The leaves aren't perfect, but it's cute and it's MINE!

This is a quilt pattern by Kim Diehl called Small Stuff.  It will be a cute table topper for our kitchen table.  I definitely need more practice on these leaves.  But it will still be perfect.

Linking up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Blue House for a Friday Finish

I finished this cute little mini today.  It was a block I made for the Welcome Home Sampler, pattern by Cheryl Wahl.  I accidentally made it in red AND in blue after I already made a block for the quilt.  I guess that's what happens when you put a WIP on the back burner and forget where you are in it.  Oh well.  It make two cute minis.  Here's the first finished mini.

I quilted it with a simple Baptist Fan pattern using my Circle Lord giant board.  This mini is not sentimental to me.  It is for sale at a local store.  I'm excited to see if any of my quilts sell there.  The store just opened a few weeks ago.  It's open on weekends.  You can check out The Birch Barn on Facebook.

Linking up with:
Busy Hands Quilts:  Finished or Not Friday
My Quilt Infatuation: Needle & Thread Thursday
Crazy Mom Quilts: Finish It Up Friday

Confessions of a Fabric Addict:  Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

It was one of my goals mentioned at the 2017 Q4 FAL post on October 1, HERE.  I'm linking up with Ella and the gang for the 2017 Q4 FAL linky party here.

 

WIP Wednesday

I have not been getting a lot done lately in the quilting world.  BUT I have gained some healthy habits and am happy to say I've been losing some weight.  I'm concentrating on calories,  (by eating the right things and burning them.)  Eat Right 4 Your Type (book by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo) has been working for me.

Here's what has happened in the quilting world this week:

I'm pleased to finish my Spangled Stars quilt.  This is my first red, white, and blue bed quilt.  It was part of the Spangled Stars QA at Susan's blog, Quilt Fabrication.  Thank you, Susan, for hosting the quilt along.  It started April 30, 2015.  Tadahhhhhh!  And it is done!  It measures a big 100" x 112".  You can read more about it in this post.



It was one of my goals mentioned at the 2017 Q4 FAL post on October 1, HERE.  I'm linking up with Ella and the gang for the 2017 Q4 FAL linky party here.

 

I only got a few leaves stitched in place this week.  It's more than I had!  This is a quilt pattern by Kim Diehl called Small Stuff.  This is the current project in my book bag.

My husband started a new WIP.  This is a truck load of trusses for a building he will eventually build.  The trusses are enough for a 100' by 100' building.  This will be a long-term project.



The Ohio weather has been extremely beautiful this season.  Quilting can wait.

 

 

 

 

Linking up with Susan Arnold (she designed the beautiful Spangled Stars quilt above) at QuiltFabrication for Midweek Makers.

Linking up with Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social.

Linking up at Ester's Blog for WIPS on Wednesdays.

Linking up at Needle & Thread Network for WIP Wednesday.

Linking up with Silly Mama Quilts for WIP Wednesday.

 I have a lot of fun projects to work on.  Here's my whole list...  I'm THRILLED that my list is down to 67!  That's way better than 93 at one point last year.

Pieces Still Need to be Cut & Sewn

1. Cheddar Jack cat pattern from Mama Spark's World 

2.  Digging up Bones (Owen's dinosaur quilt)

3.  Rock Island Campfire Quilt

4.  Picadilly Circle

5. ...And Sew On BOM at Quiet Play (one block to go)

6.  Go Four It! -- Scrappy 4-patches started as leader/ender June 2017

7.  Patriotic Folk Animals (from Americana Quilts Book) -- hand work for school

8.   Soul Searching -- need 2 more blocks for Julianne swap
9.  Leah Day Building Blocks QA

10.  Love Laugh Quilt Christmas Improv QA
11.  Classic Meets Modern BOM
12.  Mod Mod QA (turning this one into a baby quilt) (from block Lotto, mostly circles w/lines)

13.  Slow Sunday Stitching wool candle mat from Sue project

14.  Bonnie Hunter Garden Party (started 3.18.17.)

15,  Sew Sweet Simplicity BOM (made from shirt scraps)

16.  Kite Girl (RSC14)

17.  Amish Country BOM (from Lynn, Johnna's mom)

18.  Cabins at the Lake (from Fons & Porter Magazine) (only one house block complete.)

19.   2.5" Scraps from Dani making "cracker" blocks

20.  Flowers and Watercan (wall hanging)

21.  Little Houses (3.5" blocks)

22.  Split Stars (Block Lotto win)

23.  Spools (Leader & Ender project with Bonnie Hunter)

24.  Scrappy Hourglass Quilt 

25.  Slabs with White Rectangle (RSC14 started -- need blocks each month)

26.  Bonnie Hunter Box Kite class from March, 2017 (Will make baby quilt.)

27.  Super Mario QA

28.  2015 Orange, pink, grey kite blocks (from Accuquilt die, RSC17)

29.  Maroon Sampler Quilt

30.  Gypsy Wife QA (started again with Angie at Gnome Angel, August 2017)

31.  Crown of Thorns in blues

32.  2016 Plus Blocks (from left over pieces of Soul Searching blocks)

33.  RSC16 Folk Art Birds

34.  Kevin the Quilter's Sapphire Stars Mystery (started Summer 2017) 

  

Blocks Still Need to be Made

1.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt

2.  Scrap Crystals (working on blue pieces for RSC15)

3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler

4.  Amanda Murphy Designs (ugly fabric quilt)

5. Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt (my seams don't match Julianne's seams...)
6.  Drunkard's Path Variation baby quilt

7.  Slow Stitching Bear embroidery project (Started July, 2017 for truck to-go bag.)

8.  Kim Diehl's Table Topper from her book Simple Charm (Started August, 2017 for to-go bag.)
      

Blocks are made but need to be sewn together (and/or some sashing)
1.  Block Swap Adventure Orange/Yellow Sampler (2011-2012)
2.  Cruise blocks won from Libby (May OMG Goal?)
3.  Orange/Blue Fish Blocks (that I won)
4.  Split Stars (blocks won from Block Lotto; October, 2012)
5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired)
6.  Tall Fly 

7.  Fortune Teller (RSC14 started)

8.  Sonja's Windows string quilt 

9.  Block Swap Adventure (2013) Churn Dash Blocks 

10.  Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks (New QA starting 5/7/17 Gnome Angel)

 

Quilts back needs to be made (tops are done)

1.  Surround Stars Pillow (one big block is here somewhere.  It will be a pillow when I find it.)

2. Card Trick (pink and blue) HUGE charity quilt for local quilt guild
3.  Hunter green large (bubbly -- will be a challenge to longarm) charity quilt for the local guild
4.  Pat Sloan's, I Love to Make Quilts Sampler Solstice Challenge (Red & White finished top 2017)
5.  Bubble Gum pink and navy charity quilt for local quilt guild
  

Ready to longarm
1.  Little Letters QA Quilt (A RSC14 project)
2.  Temecula Quilt Company Magnificent Mini Monday QA (started June, 2017)
3.  String #2 (very heavy because of muslin foundation) customer quilt.
4.  Aqua and green embroidered customer quilt
5.  Bright string customer quilt
6.  Blue customer scrap quilt (similar to a Bonnie Hunter pattern)
7.  Scrap Therapy Leaves customer quilt
8.  Royal Blue embroidered customer quilt
  

Needs Binding
1.  Red House Mini

2.  Blue House Mini

Ed's WIP

My husband constantly has WIPs happening here as well.  His don't take up a closet-worth of space... it's much different for him.  Last Saturday he brought home 30 trusses.  This is enough for him to build a 100' x 100' building.  Then he can store more of his WIPS.  LOL.

Doesn't bother me none.  He's an amazing husband and father.  We are blessed!

Small Stuff -- Slow Sunday Stitching

I only got a few leaves stitched in place this week.  It's more than I had! 

This is a quilt pattern by Kim Diehl called Small Stuff.  It will be a cute table topper for our kitchen table.  I definitely need more practice on these leaves.  But it will still be perfect.

Linking up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Spangled Stars -- A Friday Finish

My one main goal for October (OMG!) was to finish my Spangled Stars quilt.  This is my first red, white, and blue bed quilt.  It was part of the Spangled Stars QA at Susan's blog, Quilt Fabrication.  Thank you, Susan, for hosting the quilt along.  It started April 30, 2015.

Tadahhhhhh!  And it is done!  It measures a big 100" x 112".

I quilted it with my giant template board from Circle Lord called Stars and Swirls.  I think it worked out perfectly.

 

I pieced the back in red, white, and blue fabrics from my stash.  I don't normally put a light binding on quilts, but I think it works for this one.

Linking up with:
Busy Hands Quilts:  Finished or Not Friday
My Quilt Infatuation: Needle & Thread Thursday 
Crazy Mom Quilts: Finish It Up Friday.

Confessions of a Fabric Addict:  Can I get a Woop Woop?

I'll be linking up around 10/26 with Elm Street Quilts OMG accomplishments.

 

 

October OMG

My one main goal for October (OMG!) will be to finish my Spangled Stars quilt.  This is my first red, white, and blue bed quilt.  It was part of the Spangled Stars QA at Susan's blog, Quilt Fabrication.  Thank you, Susan, for hosting the quilt along.  It started April 30, 2015.

 

I'm linking up my OMG at Elm Street Quilts linky party for October, 2017, here.

Here it is at the current stage.  It has been like this on my sewing machine for about a week now.  It's time to finish that binding and BE DONE!  It was my September OMG and just didn't happen.

 

Here's what it looked like when it was just a quilt top.

 

The label is on.  Time for a binding blitz so that I can show you a finished photo for a Friday Finish!