WIP Wednesday 3.31.21

 Wow, the end of March already.  Here's what happened this week:

I finished my Santa Tree Skirt.  I finished the center with just a circle.  I did not put the split that is usually in a tree skirt because we know that this will be going around the artificial tree that used to belong to my Aunt Irene.  We can slip the skirt over the post for the tree during assembly.

On the label I made sure that I noted that this tree skirt was in loving memory of my grandma, Dora.  The santas' coats are made of a house dress she was making in 1975.

I finished my shamrock table topper for the Table Scraps Challenge. at the Joyful Quilter.

I finished my green brackets for the Full Stop quilt for the RSC21.

I finished the longarm quilting on my Patriotic Folk Animals quilt.  I didn't get a photo of it yet.  This pattern can be found in Americana Quilts.

I hurried the above quilt off the frame to finish this Easter table topper.

I put together a bunch of Christmas fabrics to make a back for Bricks & Stepping Stones.

I now stand at 55 projects on my WIP list.  

Pieces Need to be Cut & Sewn

 1.  Cheddar Jack cat pattern from 

 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.  RSC16 Folk Art Birds

 7.  2016 Plus Blocks (from left over pieces of Soul Searching Blocks

 8.  Leah Day Building Blocks QA

 9.  Jelly Roll Rug

10.  Classic Meets Modern BOM

11.  Veggie Patch from Katie Mae Quilts

12.  Mod Mod QA (from Block Lotto, circles w/lines)

13.  Owl's Well That Ends Well (RSC19 project started 1/26/19)

14.  Rail Fence Blocks 64/900 complete started during the pink month of RSC21, January 2021

15.  Gobble, Gobble, pattern by Lori Holt, started February 2021

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.  Waffle Blocks (August 2019 -- RSC19)

21.  Little Houses (3.5" blocks)

22.  Pumpkins & the Beanstalk (a 2nd quilt)

23.  Dresser Scarf (My Grandma's WIP from the 1970's found 1/1/20

24.  Linen & Threads Mystery SAL, Started 1/1/20 for my sew-to-go-bag

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

26.  Bonnie Hunter Box Kite class from March 2017

27.  Unity Quilt Along with Bonnie Hunter (started 4/1/2020)

28.  Full Stop, started RSC21 (January)

29.  Maroon Sampler Quilt--I found this on 2.6.21

30.  Gypsy Wife QA started in August 2017

31.  Kathleen Tracy's 2019 Mystery Quilt Facebook QA started in March, 2019

32.  GO! ABC Quilt started during the pink month of RSC21, January 2021

33.  Stay Centered started February, 2021

Blocks Still Need to be Made

 1.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt

 2.  Scrap Crystals (RSC15)

 3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler

 4.  Drunkard's Path Variation quilt

 5.  Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt 

Blocks Are Made But Need to be Sewn Together (and/or Some Sashing)

 1.  Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks 5/17/17 QA

 2.  Cruise blocks won from Libby

 3.  Cathy's CRAZY BY DESIGN Dot Dot Dash Bag, Won April, 2018

 4.  Split Stars (blocks won from the Block Lotto, October, 2012)

 5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired)

 6.  Tall Fly (blocks won from Block Lotto; October 2012)

 7.  Pre-printed cross stitch pillow sham (May 2018)

 8.  Sonja's Windows string quilt

 9.  Flower Baskets (blue and white with some applique) Block Lotto win 10/1/18

Quilt Back Needs to be Made (Tops are Done)

1.  Card Trick (pink and blue)

2.  Hunter Green Star Quilt

3.  Good Fortune -- A Bonnie Hunter Mystery started Thanksgiving weekend, 2018

Ready to Longarm

1.  Bubble Gum Pink & Navy Quilt

2.  Bricks and Stepping Stones, Bonnie Hunter Free Pattern started 3.2.21

3.  Soul Searching -- Julianne sent it to me on 8/29/19

4.  9-Patch Scrap Quilt (CM) received 3/19/21 to quilt for a friend

Needs Binding

1.  Patriotic Folk Animals (from Americana Quilts Book) 

I'm linking up with Midweek Makers.  

The Easter Table Topper

 I started this project a couple of weeks ago.  It was supposed to be my Table Scraps Challenge at Joy's linky party, but I was late for the party.  I had to finish the quilting on my Patriotic Folk Animals so that I could take it off of the frame so that I could quilt this little table topper.  I think it turned out cute.

Sally who blogs at The Objects of Design, has an adorable Standing Bunny Tutorial here.  I used her pattern for the bunnies, except I ran out of the blue dot fabric and had to make them a row shorter.  You really need to check out her blog!  It has another adorable bunny tutorial that is very tempting.  She also recently posted about her fish.  Thank you, Sally, for sharing your designs!

I made a field of clovers for the bunnies to meet.  I did some raw edge applique on the carrot and the flowers.  I quilted it with the Domino design by Urban Elementz.

We love Easter here!  It's a sign of spring and great weather.  More importantly, it's a reminder that A LOT can happen in three days!  Our God is an awesome God!

The Great Bike Adventure of 2021

 This week we started our great bike adventure of 2021.  Our goal for this year is to complete the Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail.  We complete different sections on each adventure.  Our first day out we rode only four miles and did some magnet fishing.  This is on one of our local parts of the trail that we ride or walk often.  It's a four mile trip.  This part of the path starts at the John Glen park in Massillon.  

It's a two mile ride to the magnet fishing spot.  We only found two lures and three bobbers.  He still loved it.  

Of course there is our selfie!

Then on the weekend we went on another part of the trail.  We started out between Massillon and Canal Fulton and rode to Clinton.  This is a 12.6 mile trip (round trip.)

He's motivated to ride his bike more because he thinks his "prospecional" bike outfit that he got for Christmas is cool.  It has the padded pants.  He says his butt doesn't hurt anymore.  

We stopped at this spot and counted 49 turtles on these logs.  There were turtles EVERYWHERE!

He did great on his bike, but he was really tired afterwards.  He was really hungry when we got home.  That's okay.

March Table Scraps Challenge & RSC21

 I'm excited to show off my table runner for the March Table Scraps Challenge.

I pieced the blocks with left over 1.5" squares and HST.  I longarm quilted it with a design from Urban Elementz called Ba Da Bing.  I like this pattern for things such as table runners because of the tight design.  It will end up being a dresser scarf in the bedroom.  Shucks, it's too long for the kitchen table.  I guess I'll have to make another table topper...  tee hee.

Isn't this a fun texture?

Other green things that I worked on this week...

I made all my brackets for the Full Stop RSC21 quilt.

I'm linking up to Joy's blog, The Joyful Quilter for the Table Scraps Challenge.

I can't believe it's the last weekend for the GREEN!  I'm linking up to the RSC21 here.

Christmas Sewing Today

 Today while looking for green fabrics in the huge green tub, I switched gears and decided to look for large pieces of Christmas fabrics for my Bricks & Stepping Stones quilt.  Success!  I whipped together this big Christmas back.

I remember I was so excited to purchase a plastic tote of fabrics at a garage sale when Owen was still in a stroller.  Little did I know then that these fabrics with the large prints wouldn't work well with the quilt block piecing I typically do.  But it definitely worked out today.

Bricks and Stepping Stones (on the free pattern tab of Bonnie Hunter's site) can now be move to the to-be-quilted pile.  Hooray for progress.  It's beautiful out today.  Glad I got this done early so that we can go for our first bike ride of this year.

The Citrus Quilt is Finished -- WIP Wednesday 3.23.21

 Here's what happened this week:

I'm happy to show that I put the binding and label on The Citrus Quilt yesterday.  These blocks were part of the Block Swap Adventure in 2011 and 2012.  Each month I asked for a 12.5" (12" finished) block with orange, yellow, or orange and yellow fabrics.  I gave no other instructions.  I was new to swapping.  I think the blocks went together great!  It measures 47" x 63".

I longarm quilted it using yellow thread and a quilting design called Dewdrops in the Garden by Urban Elementz.  I love the mixture of swirls, leaves, and circles.  Yellow was the color of the month for the RSC21 in February.  That is what inspired me to work on the blocks that have been sitting around for over nine years.  I'm happy to cross another WIP off the list. 

Everything was in my stash.  I got the gently used striped sheet for free at a local church where Owen safely "shops" once in a while.  There was a tiny hole in it, hence the orange slice near the label.

Here's a couple photos of the quilting.  the one above sort of reminds me of a butterfly.  It's a very simple design to follow. and went well with the muscle memory in my brain.  I have a feeling I will be using it often because it is very versatile and quilts quickly.

I made my green blocks for the Stay Centered quilt.  It is a free pattern that I got on the APQS website here.  You can also see my Bricks & Stepping Stones (a free pattern on Bonnie Hunter's site) patiently waiting on the shelf to the left for the green scrappy back to be made.

I picked this quilt up from a friend so that I could quilt it for her.  I haven't had any ideas yet.  She always wants an edge-to-edge design.

I loaded my Folk Art Animals quilt onto the frame on Monday.  I haven't worked on it since.  Today my son has FOUR virtual meetings.  I have two phone appointments with potential new tutors.  It doesn't look like I'll be quilting much today.  I am sooooooo thankful that I could quilt through the winter months this year.  It definitely made a difference in whittling down my WIP list.

I found a green dot fabric that I knew I would like for binding on some up-coming quilts.  I decided to make a pile of binding while I watched a dvd on my computer.  I watched Grandpa Wars with Robert DeNiro in it.  It was pretty cute and family friendly.

I now stand at 56 projects on my WIP list.  

Pieces Need to be Cut & Sewn

 1.  Cheddar Jack cat pattern from 

 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.  RSC16 Folk Art Birds

 7.  2016 Plus Blocks (from left over pieces of Soul Searching Blocks

 8.  Leah Day Building Blocks QA

 9.  Jelly Roll Rug

10.  Classic Meets Modern BOM

11.  Veggie Patch from Katie Mae Quilts

12.  Mod Mod QA (from Block Lotto, circles w/lines)

13.  Owl's Well That Ends Well (RSC19 project started 1/26/19)

14.  Rail Fence Blocks 64/900 complete started during the pink month of RSC21, January 2021

15.  Gobble, Gobble, pattern by Lori Holt, started February 2021

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.  Waffle Blocks (August 2019 -- RSC19)

21.  Little Houses (3.5" blocks)

22.  Pumpkins & the Beanstalk (a 2nd quilt)

23.  Dresser Scarf (My Grandma's WIP from the 1970's found 1/1/20

24.  Linen & Threads Mystery SAL, Started 1/1/20 for my sew-to-go-bag

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

26.  Bonnie Hunter Box Kite class from March 2017

27.  Unity Quilt Along with Bonnie Hunter (started 4/1/2020)

28.  Full Stop, started RSC21 (January)

29.  Maroon Sampler Quilt--I found this on 2.6.21

30.  Gypsy Wife QA started in August 2017

31.  Kathleen Tracy's 2019 Mystery Quilt Facebook QA started in March, 2019

32.  GO! ABC Quilt started during the pink month of RSC21, January 2021

33.  Stay Centered started February, 2021

Blocks Still Need to be Made

 1.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt

 2.  Scrap Crystals (RSC15)

 3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler

 4.  Drunkard's Path Variation quilt

 5.  Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt 

Blocks Are Made But Need to be Sewn Together (and/or Some Sashing)

 1.  Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks 5/17/17 QA

 2.  Cruise blocks won from Libby

 3.  Cathy's CRAZY BY DESIGN Dot Dot Dash Bag, Won April, 2018

 4.  Split Stars (blocks won from the Block Lotto, October, 2012)

 5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired)

 6.  Tall Fly (blocks won from Block Lotto; October 2012)

 7.  Pre-printed cross stitch pillow sham (May 2018)

 8.  Sonja's Windows string quilt

 9.  Flower Baskets (blue and white with some applique) Block Lotto win 10/1/18

Quilt Back Needs to be Made (Tops are Done)

1.  Card Trick (pink and blue)

2.  Hunter Green Star Quilt

3.  Good Fortune -- A Bonnie Hunter Mystery started Thanksgiving weekend, 2018

4.  Bricks and Stepping Stones, Bonnie Hunter Free Pattern started 3.2.21

Ready to Longarm

1.  Bubble Gum Pink & Navy Quilt

2.  Patriotic Folk Animals (from Americana Quilts Book) 8/8/19 (on the longarm frame.)

3.  Soul Searching -- Julianne sent it to me on 8/29/19

4.  9-Patch Scrap Quilt (CM) received 3/19/21 to quilt for a friend

Needs Binding

1.  Santa Claus Tree Skirt

I'm linking up with Midweek Makers.  

World Down Syndrome Day 3/21

 This week we celebrated World Down Syndrome Day.  Here are some pictures of our photo shoot.

Then we get to some funny ones...  Looks like we laugh the same.

Looks like I need to get back on my diet and exercise program.  I was doing sooooo good until May of 2020.  I was down 65 pounds.  I gained 50 pounds back.  I'm just being real today...

Below is one of my favorites.  Owen suggested this pose.  He was so serious.  We've been touching noses since day 1.

He's just growing up so fast.  I love how happy he is.  He makes things fun and enjoys life.

Folk Art Animals

 On the frame today is my Folk Art Animals quilt.  I am not using a template for this one.  It will be quilted free-hand.  I don't expect it to be done soon.

So far I've done a stencil design in the two corners, wavy lines in the border, and an all-over stipple in the animal section.  The horse's ear and the dog's ear are 3D.  Buttons will be added for the eyes later.

The pattern for Patriotic Folk Animals can be found in the book, AMERICANA QUILTS by Sandy Bonsib.  I really like the star on point on the flag.  The animals are fun.  The horse and dog ears are 3D.  After it is quilted I will sew on the button eyes and a button nose for the dog.  I may even try to do the quilting like the book suggests. 

Happy World Down Syndrome Day

 Happy World Down Syndrome Day.  March 21 symbolizes three chromosomes on the 21's set of chromosomes.  Down Syndrome is also called Trisomy 21.  Owen has so many amazing abilities!