Little Letters Quilt is Complete!

Ahhh!  I have met my March OMG to complete my Little Letters quilt.

I quilted it with a free-hand all-over stipple a little smaller than my finger.  I like to put my hand on top of the quilt when I longarm so that I have something to aim for the size of the stippling.

The back and the binding are the same brown calico fabric.  Our grass here just started to get brighter yesterday after a lot of rain.

It's 30 degrees today with just a little dusting of snow here and there.  I love how the colors go with the colors in nature.

I started this little quilt back in 2015 when Temecula Quilt Company had a quilt along.  The colors that month were blacks, brown, and grey.

I'm 3/3 so far this year on my monthly challenges.  I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

I'm happy to be able to link up at the OMG finishing linky party at Elm Street Quilts.

Little letters was also one of my FAL 2019 Q1 goals as well.  I'm linking up to the FAL here.

My 2019 FAL Q1 goal list is here.

March Block Lotto

Just under the wire I finished making nine wings of spring blocks for the Block Lotto..  Such a cute block for scraps picked by Nann!

Whew.  Now I only have my OMG quilt to finish today to meet my March goal.

Last Scrap Happy Saturday in March Already!

It's the end of March already!  Time to bring on SPRING!  Today I worked on longarm quilting two of my RSC projects:

Above is my Little Letters QA.  I started this little quilt back in 2015 when Temecula Quilt Company had a quilt along.  The colors that month were blacks, brown, and grey.  I had to get moving on this quilt because the deadline for me to have it done is TOMORROW!  It is my OMG (One Main Goal for March.)  Tune in tomorrow for Slow Sunday Stitching to see if I got the binding done.  I did an all-over stipple on it for the quilting.  I like the texture and it's quick and easy.   

My brain has been busy this week with spring break.  Our school district only had three days off school, while the school district where I usually work had the whole week off.  I worked at our son's school those two extra days.  The weather is finally warm enough (in the 50's) to start quilting again.  My Nolting 23" is in the house that isn't heated all of the time.  When the aluminum head of the longarm gets cold it tends to skip stitches.  The waiting period is over.  I should finishing more quilts now!

Above is my hourglass quilt that was another of my RSC projects.  I made blocks in the colors of the month plus a neutral.  This is one of my H2H contributions this year.  I have been participating in the H2H quilt drive at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for several years now.  I'm hoping to finish about five for the charity called Jack's Basket this year.  The quilts are supposed to be 36" square.  I also finished quilting this little darling.  The little nine patch was mixed in on purpose.  Jack's Basket is a charity that gives a special basket to celebrate with parents with new babies that just happen to have Down Syndrome.  Since I know the life of a family of Down Syndrome well, the one "different" block represents the fact that it's okay to be different.

I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrappy for the RSC19.

Here's my helper working on cleaning the muddy floor with the shop vac.  The shop vac is one of the best things to use when it comes to dry mud and threads.  Regular vacuum cleaners just don't hold up to all those strings being twisted around the piece parts of a vacuum.

He's such a great worker.  Funny that he is wearing his shirt today that says, "Half-listening as usual".  He always cracks me up!  He's such a blessing to our lives.

Slow Sunday Stitching & Unstitching.

I'm working on my Linen And Threads - Mystery Sampler SAL.  This is a group that I found on Facebook.  The pattern is FREE!!!  I'm back to working on the January clue.  I wasn't quite happy with my colors and stitches for the peacock.  I spent some time ripping them out.  Luckily I didn't have that many done.

All the stitching to the right of the peacock is gone now and I'm going to work feather by feather.

It was easy to remove stitches while watching bowling.  It did, however, take longer than I expected.  I was being careful not to cut the cloth.  It was still relaxing and I enjoyed the process.  It will be worth it in the end.  We pre-bowled two weeks in one day.  Bowling season is now done.  Let the baseball begin. :)  Bring on spring.

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

More Green Blocks

This week I played with green scraps and made some green box kite blocks.  Box Kite is a Bonnie Hunter pattern in her book Addicted to Scraps.

This week I also played with some hourglass blocks from previous RSC years and made this little 36" square quilt top.  It will be one of my H2H quilts for donation this year.  I had just enough blocks with four left over.  It must have been meant to be for the Jack's Basket charity!

Those four extra hourglass blocks have already found their place in ANOTHER 36" kitchen sink quilt for Jack's Basket!  Woohoo.  Use 'em up!

I'm linking up today at Angela's blog, So Scrappy, for the RSC19.

Hourglass Quilt for H2H

I am using my hourglass blocks to make a 36" square quilt for Jack's Basket.  This will be ONE of a few quilts that I will be donating to the H2H Quilt Drive at Confessions of a Fabric Addict this year.

Oops!  I deleted the picture I wanted to share before this post.  Oh well... You get the idea.

I sewed the little blocks I started a few years back as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) and added a bright border.  It makes an adorable 36" square quilt.  I only had four hourglass blocks left over.  It must have been meant to be for this quilt!  Hopefully I'll get some quilting time at the end of the month for spring break.

This charity is near and dear to me because our 11 year old son just happens to have Down Syndrome (DS).  Jack's Basket is given to children born with DS.  When our child was born some of the people at the hospital told us all the things he would not do.  We were devastated.  Fortunately we have proven many of them wrong!  Examples are that our son would not be able to jump or skip until later in life.  Heck, he met his milestone and could jump by age three.  He could skip by age 5.  Someone told me he would not be able to write his name with a pencil until 4th grade because he would only have the muscle tone developed to hold a pencil but wouldn't be able to press down hard enough on the paper.  We proved that theory wrong in pre-school.

When he was born doctors told us within the first week of his life that we needed to grieve the son that we thought we were having before we could celebrate the son we had.  They gave us a book that told us about several negative and the worst things to expect.  But look at us now!

Slow Sunday Stitching March Clue Complete!

I finished the March clue of the Linen And Threads - Mystery Sampler SAL.  This is a group that I found on Facebook.  The pattern is FREE!!!

My stitches are not perfect.  Some of them are in the wrong place.  Some of them I made a big goof design choice and put them elsewhere.  I did learn that I need to count several times and put the big things in first.  I got all happy working with the green floss and thought I was stitching in the right spot to find out it wasn't.  When I went to put the big things in they didn't fit right and I had to rip out a few stitches.  Some of them I left to show my "learning talents".

Now I'll go back and start working on the January clue.  I'm not that thrilled with my peacock feathers.  The colors just don't look right to me and some of them aren't in the right place.  I'm ripping out the feathers (not all the blue body of the bird) and starting over with what I have learned.

On a happy note, BETTY returned this week!  She has been gone for over a month -- maybe close to two months.  I think she was being fed in one of the neighbor's barns, but I'm not sure.  I'm not really a cat person, but I love having Betty around as long as she doesn't try to get into the house when we are trying to catch the school bus.  Silly Betty!

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

More Green Sand Castle Blocks

Last week I was busy cutting (Accuquilt style) fun, green scraps.  This week I made seven more Sand Castle blocks (pattern by Bonnie Hunter).  Since this is such a scrappy quilt.  It doesn't matter to me if the greens clash or not.  What a great place to use up these little bits of fabric.

I also added to my 4-patch bin by using up the little green 1.5" square leftovers.  (I keep the bin in the background handy.  It's great for leader/ender pieces.)  I have another bin of just 1.5" squares that I cut when I'm done with other scraps.  Sometimes I sort by color; sometimes I don't.

I'm linking up today at Angela's blog, So Scrappy, for the RSC19.

Orange You Glad It's Tuesday?

Puns.  I love puns!  I also love orange in quilts.  I've been working on Sand Castle blocks (a Bonnie Hunter pattern from her last book, String Frenzy.  It's time I replenish some of my 4-patches with colors I need.  Here's what I got up early and worked on before going to work:

Orange is one of my FAVORITE colors in a quilt.  After working on the 2018 Bonnie Hunter Mystery, Good Fortune, my orange scraps are getting a little sparce.  Hopefully I'll hit a garage sale jackpot this summer and replenish them. :)  Happy Tuesday!

Temperature QA 2019

I've been keeping up with my Temperature Quilt Along for 2019.  Seriously, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with those blank spots at the end of the month... applique?  Month names?  Snowflakes?  Who knows...  At least the days are in line and I don't have a bunch of pins and labels on them.  Here's where I left off last on 3/8/19:

Find out more here:

https://twiddletails.blogspot.com/2018/12/temperature-quilt-along-introduction.html

I'm linking up at Em's Scrapbag for Moving It Forward Monday.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Woohoo!  I made progress on my Linen & threads mystery stitch along.  Clue 2 (the frame part) is completely done!

Here's where it was by Tuesday in the big atrium by the performing arts center of the high school.

My stitches are getting better.  I started on Clue #3 for March.  I love all the fine detail stuff of this clue.  Figuring out the colors is kinda hard for me, but since it's my first stitch along of this sort, I'm making the things I have work and I'm loving it!

Time to stitch during study hall...

Here it is being stitched as I watch students practice for an up-coming performance of Lion King Jr. from the high school balcony.  I can't wait to stitch all the little green vines and such!

You can find the Slow Stiching linky parth at Kathy's Quilts here.

Green Sand Castle Blocks and RSC19

This week I made a few Sand Castle blocks while playing with my green scraps for the RSC19.
Sand Castles is a pattern in Bonnie Hunter's book String Frenzy.

Here's a bunch of 1.5" squares cut from the carnage of the greens after the runs through the Accuquilt dies.  Man I love that thing for shapes and scraps!  Get ready for some 4-patch fun!

While I had the scraps out I also cut the prints in greens for some Box Kite blocks.  Box Kites is another Bonnie Hunter pattern in her book Addicted to Scraps.  That project died a little after I took her class and wanted to finish a few other projects.  BUT it has since come alive through the RSC.  I figured I'd just move that project along one month at a time by making different colored blocks. 

I have a few more Sand Castle blocks ready for sewing.  Tune in next week to see those.

Meanwhile... Mr. Sunshine is letting me sew.  He's using some of the quilts because he has strep throat.  In a weird way, this mama is HAPPY he has strep throat.  Owen has an unusual red/white blood count.  Our pediatrician explained it that he does not get sick much because his white blood cells are "fighting" on a regular basis.  It's not in dangerous proportions,  but we keep an eye on his blood work every year.  One thing they do not fight is strep throat.  Yes, I hate seeing him be sick and uncomfortable.  But I have learned that if I let it brew for a day and then take him to the doctor that he usually tests positive for strep.  Strep can easily be treated!  One or two doses of antibiotics and he's back at being his happy self.

It usually starts off with a lot of puking and dry heaving--I hate that part.  It's usually two nights of no sleep for me because he likes to sleep in the recliners.  Then it's a lot of sleeping during the day.

I can tell it's time to get him to the doctor when he won't talk to me anymore because his throat starts to hurt.  Luckily baby Donald Duck can answer yes or no questions for him.  

Off to the pharmacy to get his meds.  He'll start feeling better by tonight!

 I'm linking up today at Angela's blog, So Scrappy, for the RSC19.

Still Working on Clue #2

Seriously, I'm eventually going to get Clue #2 done...   It's all happening at  Linen And Threads Mystery Sampler that I found on Facebook. 

I've been taking in EVERYWHERE I wait!