Sew It's Sunday

 I sew a bit every day. I still have not gained back my momentum for hours of sewing daily, but I chose the tiny houw project just to keep my hand in the game and it seems to be working.

This beauty is finally pin basted and ready to be quilted. And I have a quilting plan for it as well, so yay! I am waiting until I finish the tiny houses to start quilting it. I don't want to have to reset the machine every day, as I know that will put a wrench in my daily sewing.

This quilt top is also finished and the back is made. I don't have enough pins to pin baste it too, so I will wait until a bunch are out of the penny sampler to do the pin basting. I think I finally have a quilting plan that I like for this one. I doodled around on paper to come up with one.

And then there is this beauty. This is the Meadow Blanket CAL with Lucy of Attic 24. I am just starting on the borders for this and the colors are divine. I like crochet because I can do it anywhere and I can watch TV while doing it. Lucy's blankets are all just lovely.

Well, now I'm off to make tiny house number 90. This project is winding down. Can't wait to show you the whole thing. Have a lovely Sunday friends.

Well Hello October

 Yes, I know we are more than half way through the month. I have been busy. I have no real excuses, but then, this is my blog so I don't need any. Here's a bit of what I've been up to.

First of all, I am participating in the Geesey Geesey QAL with Rachel of Stitched in Color. I bought some Kona white and used a Shibori technique to dye it. I used Rit dye in Pearl Grey. It's actually a bit lighter than this now that it's dry. I am going to use it for the "sky" in my flying geese blocks.

These blocks are for my Penny Sampler Quilt. The pineapple block on top is the one I am using for the quilt. The second one was actually the first on I made, but I got confused and placed the pink pieces next to the center square, which was not my intention. I re-made the block the way I wanted to, and am so very happy that I did. The third block is just a six inch block for the top section of the quilt.

And lastly, for today, I voted. Very important to help save the democracy. Talk to you soon.

A Couple of Things

 I've been working on a couple of things I'd like to share here. In my last post, I shared my latest crocheted blanket. Now I am making one for my youngest grandson, B. His favorite color used to be orange, but now it seems he likes yellows and golds as well. So this is the yarn selection. I am crocheting a ripple pattern from Lucy at Attic 24.

I think I posted that I was painting rocks during the pandemic. This is one of my latest rocks. I do lots of little pictures on rocks which I put positive messages on the back and we put them in a basket out front for neighbors to take. I believe we have done a few hundred rocks since we started.

On the sewing front, I was finally able to move ahead on the Penny Sampler Quilt. I am doing the Dutch version since I have already done the Nordic version a couple of years ago when Rachel offered it.

My quilt is all blues, pinks and a bit of red. So this is my tree. It was so fun to choose the fabrics for this block. I pulled all my fabrics back in the beginning, so I just go through the bin they are in for each new block assignment. We are in the home stretch with this year long project.

This is my faceted diamond block. I forgot to re-orient it. It will go longways on the quilt. The third block for September is the windmill, which I haven't downloaded to my computer yet, so I will do that soon so I can document that here. I am so excited to get this quilt put together. I have really been enjoying the monthly assignments.

So have a great weekend and stay safe and well. I will see you soon.

Penny Sampler Quilt Club Catch Up

I wanted to do a quick post for the Penny Sampler Club. My May blocks have been done for over a week. This is a weird month. First, we go our assignments on about the 7th. I still felt like I had all the time in the world. Then about a week later, I worried that I would run out of time, so I started on them. Then, I was so taken with them, I did them all in just a few days. So now I am working on other things and waiting until June.

 This first block is my bell flowers. When I posted it to Instagram, one person thought it was tiny tee shirts and another thought it was kimonos. So funny.

We made two economy blocks this month and mine are both fussy cut windows from the Sonata line by Amy Sinibaldi. I had pulled that fabric in the beginning when I did my fabric pulls for the project, just hoping to be able to use them.

And this one, my favorite, is the flowers in a vase. I loved doing it in the last Penny Sampler and was so happy to see it back in this one as well. Choosing the fabrics is my favorite part of so many of these machine paper pieced blocks. I never thought I would ever learn to do this technique, let alone to like it. Rachel has changed all that for me. Her blocks are so interesting they just draw me in.

I hope you are all staying safe and well. See you soon.

The Week That Was

I feel like I do lots of stuff every week, but when I sit down to write about it, I struggle to remember what I did. Oh, well. Here is a brief look at my week.

 I finished the flower on my Dropcloth ABC sampler. I am really enjoying this piece of work. It is fun to slowly work my way through the elements.

 I wore my Mother's Day crown all day last Sunday. I made one for each of my daughters as well, and they sent me pictures of them wearing theirs. The idea for these came from Susan Branch.

 Another batch of confetti cookies was needed. We have had a couple of guys working on our front yard and I wanted to thank them for their efforts.

 I ordered some cherries for our cocktail hour. Our local liquor store was out and these are our favorites, so I found them on line.

 I am also building this kit of London's Elizabeth Tower. These are like Legos, but super tiny. We didn't realize that the size was so small when we ordered it a couple of months ago, but I have decided to persevere and do it anyway. This represents a week and a half of effort.

 I am still working on blocks for my Penny Sampler Club quilt. These are called bell flowers, but I had a couple of funny comments on Instagram. One thought they were tiny shirts and the other thought they were kimonos.

In baking, I decided to make my own puff pastry. I have never done that before. It was a fun experience and it worked out okay. I do want to try it again and see if I can improve the outcome.
So that's my week, mostly. Hope you are all well. Talk to you soon.

Monday? Really?

Sometimes the days chug by slowly, but sometimes you look up and it's Monday again! Weird. Well we are over one month in official lock down here and I am okay with that. I keep busy, but there are some days that I don't feel like doing anything at all. Like today. So, let me show you what I did last week.

 This is the beginning of my Hands 2 Help quilt for this year. I bought a bundle of Little Clementine a while back, but then I didn't end up doing anything with it. Not sure why. So when I was looking through my stash, I saw this and thought it would make a cute baby quilt. The colors are soft and the prints are so very sweet.

I finally got off my butt and made the bicycle block for the Penny Sampler Quilt Club. I added flowers to my basket, because that seemed appropriate.

 I have finally finished all five of the pillow covers for my daughter and I mailed them out this morning. I can show you this one, since she has seen it. Each one is different, but made with some of the same fabrics so they go together, but not matchy.

And this is the back with a zipper flap to cover the zipper. I love those bananas.

 This is the front of my Dropcloth Sampler. I am enjoying this bit of handwork.

           And this is the back of the sampler. Almost as pretty.

And this is the pile of oranges we picked, waiting to get juiced and zested and made into lots of yummy treats.
So that was last week. I am crocheting today, and baking cookies this afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel like sewing again. Have a good week and stay safe.

It's Thursday, What Else Can I Say?

Sometimes it's hard to think up a fun title for a post, when all it is, is an update. But I am glad to be able to be here and show what I am up to this week.

 First, I am still working on my Dahlia blanket. I have lost a little steam for this project, but still plugging slowly away on it. I am on week 4 of 6. The colors are so happy and I do love it.

This is one of the April blocks for the Penny Sampler Club. There are only two blocks this month and one of them is the bicycle I was so anticipating. It's larger and a bit more complex, so I decided to warm up with this one. I had all the pieces cut for a week, before I could make myself sit down and sew it. I don't know why I kept putting it off. I find that I am easily distracted by other projects many times and I have to reign myself in.

When my daughter got married, I made 100 assorted napkins to be used at the reception, and then for her family to keep and use daily. This is what they looked like new. They are not as clean and bright now after so many years of use and washings. But Miss N has latched on to the teal with white flowers here in the bottom row. For some reason there are only 2 left. They are the only napkins she will use.

So in an effort to save her mother's sanity, I made her these four napkins in pink and purple, her favorite colors. I will get them in the mail as soon as I can.

 I am also making new pillow covers for my daughter's pillows. I haven't recovered them in about 5 years, so I know they need a refresh. Choosing fabrics long distance was tough, but this is what we whittled it down to.

 Ad this is the beginning of the first pillow cover. I am making Dear Dottie blocks in her chosen colors for this one. Each pillow cover will be different, except for the fabrics. They will all come from that box above.

 My hand stitching project is this new Sampler from Dropcloth Samplers. I saw it on IG and just had to have it. I love having a slow stitching project to pick up as I want to.

And yesterday I started with the A. I am letting this lead me where it wants to go with the colors. I know this will take me quite awhile to stitch, but that's okay. I'm not going anywhere...literally.
Take care and stay safe.

Sign of the Times

Sign in, sign out. That's what made me think of the title for this post. And it's true. I do love to sew and as I am retired, I do sew every day. But now, it seems imperative to do so. It helps me focus on something besides the dreadful news that is everywhere. So here is some of what I have been sewing:

 A fun embroidery piece by Liz, of Cozy Blue. I love this so much I am doing another one called Mushroom Girl. I think this one is called Home Girl.

 This is the hanging diamonds block for my Penny Sampler Club quilt. Made with V and Co. ombre with the little white flowers on it. I can't remember the name right now.

 These are my pinwheel blocks for the Penny Sampler. They will go in the sashing strips that will be the same pale green as you see here.

 Here are my double diamonds for Penny Sampler. Not sure if I showed these before, but hey, no biggie.

 This is my first attempt at drafting a paper piecing pattern. I wanted a tea pot that looked more like a tea pot for my Penny Sampler. Not a bad first try. I am going to use it, even with it's imperfections.

 This is the bird block. I have decided not to embroider the feet on mine. But after seeing so many on Instagram I kind of want to make a quilt of them in different colors.

 These next three blocks are the beginning of something. I'm not sure what, but so far, I like them. I really need to use some of my Heather Ross pretties so this seemed the chance.

 Still crocheting too. This is my Dahlia blanket from the pattern by Attic 24. Love the happy colors in this blanket.

 I bought the umbrella fabric a couple of months ago, and the one with people with umbrellas. They are from the same line. All the rest came from my stash.

 It seemed like a good time to use them for something like this. The corners of the snowball blocks and the inner border are Ombre Confetti Metallic by V and Co.

close up

I finally finished piecing this small heart quilt, but don't seem to have a picture of it. I must remedy that.

And of course, Saturday was Pi day. So, I made chocolate cream pie. Recipe is on the King Arthur web site. I highly recommend it. Not too difficult either.

So that's what's going on here in my little world. Stay safe and healthy my friends. The world needs us quilters. Talk to you soon.