Finally!

I had such a nice, relaxing day in the Sweat Shop on Sunday.  It's been a few weeks since I had a day with no demands or chores that absolutely HAD to be done.  In fact, on Sunday I never did change out of my jammies or do much more than run a wash cloth over my face and drag a comb through my hair!

After I finished my four scrappy blocks that I'll show you next week (and, by the way, I checked--four more weeks worth of blocks still to make, so I'm not THAT close yet), I pulled out my almost-done Autumn House quilt and finished the borders.  Want to see it?

This is a Bunny Hill pattern; you may remember that last year, three of my stitchery friends and I worked on it as a block of the month project.  Between the four of us, we collected most of the fabrics that were used in the original quilt.  That was quite a feat since the quilt was several years old.  Using "original" fabrics isn't something I normally care very much about, but it was fun to do with this quilt and kind of a challenge to track the fabrics down.

Each month, we'd gather at someone's house and cut "kits" for each of us.  When we didn't have the "original" fabric, we'd audition substitute fabrics and sometimes we'd make different choices, so each of our quilts is a little bit different from the others.  I think my three friends finished the quilt top before I did and at least one of them has been sent out to be quilted, but I don't think any of them are totally completed yet.  I hope, though, that we'll all have them done and hung once autumn rolls around.

Sadly the weekend's over and staying holed up in the Sweat Shop with my jammies on isn't an option for the next few days.  I hope you had a lovely weekend too!

Scrap Basket Sunday

Oh, I'm so glad I can stay at home today and play with scraps in the air conditioned house!  Yesterday my stitchery friends, all six of us, met at my house for breakfast on the patio at around 10:30, and it was already miserably hot out.  After eating, we moved inside and crowded around the kitchen table in my small kitchen, stitching until it was time to leave for a little shopping followed by our lunch reservations at the High Hand Conservatory.  Did I take photos?  No, I think my brain had melted from the heat.  Because what I hadn't realized when I planned the day was that the former fruit drying sheds and the conservatory we visited were not air conditioned, and our temperatures reached 108 on Saturday afternoon.  After lunch, we visited nearby Newcastle where we stopped at a couple more non-air conditioned shops.  On the way back home, we stopped for soft serve ice cream cones where the ice cream melted quicker than we could eat it.  All I can say is that it was probably a very good thing our shopping was done, because a few of us were WEARING more ice cream than we'd eaten!  We were so happy to get back to my house and the air conditioning, even if it meant crowding around the kitchen table again!  Still, we all enjoyed the day just because we could be with one another--friends are the BEST, aren't they?!

Here are this week's scrappy blocks.  The other day when I was rummaging around my larger scrap bin, I pulled out a few more scraps to supplement the scraps in the basket--now it's full again!  I'd better get busy and make more blocks.  I wonder how many more I need for the Pie in the Sky quilt I'm working on?  When I started making blocks, I kept them wrapped around a cardboard roll, but they soon became too bulky, so I transferred them to clear plastic protector sleeves--the kind that hold paper in a binder--two to a sleeve.  I placed enough empty sleeves in a binder so that when the sleeves are full, I'll have enough blocks to make the quilt.  I know there are many more full sleeves than there are empty ones, so maybe I'm getting close!  How about you?  Are you joining us this week with a scrappy project to share?

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Can you believe it's supposed to be 108 degrees here in Sacramento today?  Yikes!  And on top of that, I'm hosting my stitchery group here at my house . . . where nowhere in my house is large enough to hold six women with their sewing supplies.  So, we have to gather out on the patio, BUT . . . once it gets too hot, and seriously that might be by the time they first arrive at 10 a.m., we'll load up the cars and head out--I have a surprise outing planned that shouldn't be too bad except when we have to get in and out of cars.  And I think that although we'll probably be miserable temperature-wise, we'll still have a good time together.  I'll try to remember to bring my camera.  (I sure hope nothing significant melts, except maybe a little cellulite!)

I'm looking forward to staying inside my air conditioned home on Sunday, holed up in the Sweat Shop, playing with scraps.  How about you?  Are you ready to sign up to invite us over to see what scrappy wonderfulness you've created and posted?

Thank You, Monice!

I know you remember Monice Moffat's Summer Picnic Quilt Pattern, right?  Quite a lot of you said you love the pattern as much as I do--and a couple of you thought this photo was my quilt.  Sadly, I haven't made mine yet--this is Monice's version.  But maybe some of us can work on the quilt together . . . well, maybe not PHYSICALLY together, but at the same time.  You know what I mean, right?  I'm not quite ready to start mine yet, but I'd sure like to start it soon!

So here's the really nice thing:  About 60 of you wanted to be entered in the drawing, and Monice was kind enough to give me TWO patterns to give away, which made the chances of winning slightly better.  The other nice thing is that if you didn't win but you still want the pattern, you can pop over to her Etsy shop and order it HERE.  And did you see her wool table runner pattern of a similar design?

That's in her shop too--AND she has a kit available if that's what you prefer.  (Personally, I think I'd also like the tractor to model it on!)

Ah!  But I bet you're wondering who the two lucky winners are, right?

Well, Shirley, who apparently doesn't have a blog, said, "I love patriotic patterns and Summer Picnic is just perfect! Hello Monice--your patterns are lovely!! Thanks for the giveaway."

. . . and . . . Frankie, who also doesn't have a blog, said, "I love this quilt! It's right up my alley . . . I love patriotic stuff! Thanks for the link to Monice's Etsy shop -- I'm pretty sure I need a couple of patterns. :D"


So Shirley and Frankie, click on my profile and privately email me your mailing addresses and I'll get these out in the mail to you--probably on Monday unless I haven't heard from you by then.

Oh, and in case you missed it:  Gloria posted a comment that she had purchased a pattern from Monice's Etsy shop and heard Monice is designing a pattern with a fall theme--I can hardly wait to see it!  Thanks, everyone, for playing along and encouraging Monice in her pattern designs--we're sure to see more good things from her.

Just a Couple Things . . .

First, if you haven't stopped by for a few days, you will probably want to scroll down a couple posts and check out the quilt pattern by Hen House Designs/Monice Moffat.  She's given me a pattern to give away to one of you and there's a link to her Etsy shop you might also be interested in if her style appeals to you as much as it does to me!

When I quilt, I always have the TV on something, and much of the time, it's just background "noise" more or less.  And I'll watch just about everything, but I never thought I'd get into anything "redneck," "cars," or "swamp" related . . . until now.  Now I'm oddly hooked on Duck Dynasty.  Tonight, for instance, I found it hard to pull myself away from Willie, Jase, and Si.  There was some sort of Duck Dynasty marathon--and it didn't matter whether the episodes were ones I'd seen before or ones I hadn't seen.  If I didn't have to go to work in the morning, I'd still be watching.  How about you?  Have you seen Duck Dynasty?

I wanted to pass on this idea someone had mentioned to me some years ago--you may or may not already be aware of it, but just in case . . . .  You can purchase adjustable magnetic curtain rods and use them to hang quilts on metal doors, the refrigerator, a dishwasher, etc.  I was told they were available at WalMart and that's where I found mine but I suspect other stores carry them.  (This is the door from the kitchen to the garage.)  It's nice to be able to decorate a door with a small quilt.  When I first brought it home, Hubby thought the rod would fall off the door when it opened and closed; it's always a point of satisfaction when his doom and gloom predictions don't pan out!  So far, so good!

Florence left me a comment saying she always makes just as many blocks as she needs for a project and she's surprised when I make little projects like the patriotic mug mat from random blocks and half square triangles, so I thought I'd explain.  Sometimes when I'm playing around with a design idea, something won't turn out right--or even when it's not my own design, after I get some blocks and sashing up on the design wall, I'll decide a color or pattern just doesn't look like I expected.  So I start again and end up with some stray blocks to play with.  That doesn't happen very often though.  What DOES happen a fair amount is that I seem to make a lot of flying geese blocks and I like the method where you sew squares on the diagonal to a background piece and fold the corners back, then trim away the underneath layers.  If I'm feeling kind of frugal, I'll sew a second seam, so when I trim away the excess layers, I trim between the two seam lines.  The "discarded" pieces then form "extra" half square triangles.  If I'm sewing flying geese where those side squares measure 2-1/2", I can usually trim the half square triangles to measure 1-3/4" or even larger.  It doesn't seem to take very much more time except the trimming part, and I usually work on trimming when I've finished whatever my main project for the evening was, but Duck Dynasty isn't quite over yet.  Hey!  Win, win, right?  That's what I thought.

Treasure!

I've been doing some spring cleaning and summer decorating lately, so I haven't had very much time for sewing.  The other day, though, I was going through sewing withdrawals and needing a little break, so I pulled out a handful of red and white half square triangles that were left over from another project.  They all had the same cream with a small blue dot background fabric, so I went hunting in my rather large scrap drawer to see if I could find a scrap of that fabric large enough to make something with.  Sure enough, I found a couple small pieces and I ended up with this summer time mug mat--

But the really fun thing is that when I was rummaging through my scrap drawer, I found this bag of red, white, and blue fabrics leftover from an earlier project--treasure!

Wouldn't these scraps be excellent for this month's Schnibbles pattern, Dulcinea?  If this isn't enough, I'm sure I have more fat quarters in my stash I can add to these scraps--and probably more scraps in the scrap drawer, for that matter; or I can make a smaller quilt which probably wouldn't be a bad idea either!

I thought I'd take a couple photos of the summer decorating I've done in my kitchen; I ordered a lighted garland to go across the top of the hutch, but it hasn't come yet.

It's hard to believe that June is here already, isn't it?  I wanted to put out my red, white, and blue things before Memorial Day but I never got around to it.  At least I'll be ready for Flag Day . . . I think!

Hen House Designs

Do you remember when I told you about this quilt pattern I'd found on eBay?  It's called Summer Picnic.

I asked blog readers if anyone knew about the pattern company, Hen House Designs, and the only thing any of us could find was a quilt shop with a similar name.  Well, let me tell you the rest of the story.

When my pattern arrived, the back of the pattern contained the name of the designer, Monice Moffat, and her email address.  I emailed Monice to tell her how much I liked her pattern and to find out what other patterns she's designed and where I could find them; that began an email exchange between us.

I learned that Monice has an Etsy shop, Nana's Hen House.  If you click on the shop name, it will take you to her shop where you'll see she has a couple of different pattern designs.  She has a beautiful tulip pattern called Whimsical Hearts and Tulips, a table runner pattern called Folk Art Flower Basket, Summer Picnic, and a brand new tablerunner pattern that's similar to the Summer Picnic quilt above, but it's a runner and she's done it in wool.  She even has a couple kits listed if you're interested.

But here's the really cool thing:  Monice was kind enough to send me a Summer Picnic pattern, like the one I bought, that I could give away to one of you.  Isn't that really nice?!  Please leave me a comment saying you'd like to be in the drawing and I'll enter your name.  I'll draw a winner Thursday night to be posted on Friday's blog post, so remember to come back to see if you've won.  And say hi to Monice in your comment, if you'd like--I think she might check in on us at some point.  Thank you, Monice, for your generosity!

More Scrap Play

I've had things I've wanted/needed to get done around the house this past weekend, but I still wanted/needed a little play time in the Sweat Shop (all work and no play is not a good thing), so on Sunday I pulled out a box of Thimbleberries scrappy half square triangles and decided another little patriotic project was the perfect thing to play around with.

Originally I planned on a mini quilt with diagonal stripes, but as I started to sew the pieces together, I decided to change the pattern up a little.  Here's what I ended up with:

The finished size is 13 inches--a nice little mini to tuck here or there for a bit of punch or accent.  Even the binding is scrappy!

Yes!

Fist bump!  Woo-hoo!  I managed to make four scrappy blocks in time for show and tell!

I was afraid I wouldn't get them done in time, and in fact, I'm a little later than normal posting tonight, but that's okay.  After all, I couldn't NOT have scrappy blocks to show at my own scrap party!  How about you?  Did you sign up on yesterday's Mister Linky to share photos of what you've been working on?  I'm looking forward to visiting everyone to see what's new.

I think I might need to make a string quilt for my next scrappy project.  In visiting Scrap Basket Sunday quilters, I've seen several and they are all great!  Do you have a favorite scrap pattern you've made or maybe one that's still on your "to do" list?

Ketchup

No, that's not what I meant!  I just thought I'd mention that I've been trying to CATCH UP on my normal routine after being away last weekend.  Tonight I visited the bloggers who signed up for the Scrap Basket Sunday show and tell last week, and I have to say everyone's doing some fun and/or pretty things with their scraps.  And, since I was away last weekend, I didn't make any blocks to show tomorrow, but maybe I'll get busy with those . . . or something else scrappy . . . or maybe I'll just be a guilty quilty slacker this week.  It happens.  Except not to some of you--and I'm sure the industrious quilters among you are ready with some new scrappy projects to show, right?  So here's the Mr. Linky sign up--hop on board the scrappy train just as soon as you're ready!