Birthday Blocks

My birthday is in the fall, but last year a group of friends decided to do birthday blocks for each other.  Our one 'rule' was that you could send your blocks anytime~ by the person's birthday, before, after, etc  I received some of my blocks when I was gone to the retreat in September. Others have come in the mail.  I chose the block Four Square 2 from Quilters Cache, and 'autumn' as my theme.

We decided to carry on and do the same thing this year.  Some of the gals chose Christmas-themed blocks, some autumns, etc. It is a little fun sewing every month. I forgot to take photo's of the two I most recently mailed.  But I did recieved 2 in the mail. So this is my 'group' of blocks so far~

This is going to be 'my' quilt.  Hopefully I will be able to put it together in December. ;-)

I am working on a few other projects, but can't show them to you... yet. So until next time~
Happy Quilting!

Making HST's~

Do you have a favorite way to make half square triangles?  Does it make a difference if you only need a few, or you need a lot? 

If I have bunches to make, I love my Triangulations program. It is easy, fast, and no trimming up when the sewing is finished. ;-)  But if I only have a few to make, I usually draw a line and sew on either side. Today I needed to make some using charm squares.  When I cut my white to coordinate with them, I discovered my charms weren't very uniform. So I decided to sew around the outside of them and cut on the diagonals. Granted~ you do end up with bias around all the edges, but if you've pressed and used a little starch they are manageable.

I'm  working on a little something I can't show you for a few more weeks. I saved part of the trimming until I had the HST's sewn into blocks, handling the HST's a little as possible. It is working out very well.  I have no idea who first thought of this method~ I've known about it for years, but just didn't really like it so much. Having charm squares changed that. ;-)

Hope you are having a little fun behind your sewing machine today too!
Until next time~
Happy stitching!

Oops~ Forgot one!

LOL I am doing one more BOM this year. The Kansas City Star BOM that is in the newspaper.  Don't know how I could have forgotten it in the last post! :-o

This is the January and February blocks.  I am using up small stash pieces of my reds and white on white's for it.  :-)  You can get a glimpse of the quilt in the newspaper page~ it will have a feathered star in the center~ I can't wait to do that block! ;-)

Hope you are finding sewing time!

The Faster I Go~

..the slower I get. ;-) Or so it seems!  My blog seems to be the thing taking the hit for me being busy. I'm so sorry about that. But I do have a few things finished, so how about staying for a little chat?

I made more pincushions for the CTTY project for February, but I dare not show them! So I am showing you the ones I made for my swap, so you get the idea. :-)

I also got my March BOM block finished for the Country Threads BOM. Here are all three months together~

If you printed off the instructions early in the day on March first, you may want to stop back and re-print them. The corrections were made and a new copy put up later in the afternoon. ;-)

I also finished my placemats and had a few scraps left, so I made a little table topper for our entry.

And my HGTV BOM block for March was finished in time....

It is called 'Prizes' and you can find it on QuiltersCache.


And I spent two wonderful days last week at the Sewing and Stitching Expo in Puyallup, WA. Wow!
The vendors! :-o The fabrics! :-o The wool!! :-o  It was fantastic!  They do have a website and blog; and the dates set for next year. ;-)  I'll be there! ;-)  Now I have a list as long as my arm of things I want to do this month! Can I get it all done? I hope so!!

Until Next time,
Happy Stitching!

FNSI

Fun Friday Night Sewing~

Instead of working on a UFO, I decided we needed some spring cheer~ St Patty's Day placemats. :-)

I am going to bind them and they will be ready for the table. :-)

Thanks to Heidi at Handmade by Heidi for the fun night!
Until next time~
Happy Stitching!

Happy Friday!

I know! The month is nearly over already and I haven't been back since the 7th!  If there was an icon to make a face that said 'eek', I would put it right here! ;-)

I haven't been slacking off~  :-)

I got the backs made for a couple tops I want to get quilted.  (sorry no pics yet)

I got my February BOM done for the quilter's on HGTV's quilting board and all posted. It is called 'Morning Stars' and you can find the pattern on Quilters Cache. ~

I made a pair of potholders for a friend's birthday~

I finished my first panel on my Over the River and Through the Woods quilt (by Crabapple Hill).~

 Sorry it is so dark~ it is a grey and rainy day here.

I made a few thread catchers for Christmas Through the Year ((pattern from Red Hen fabrics)~
I made a few more but forgot to take photo's before I mailed them off for birthday gifties. ;-)

 The one is really not wonky~ I just didn't pull it all the way up. ;-/

I worked on my pincushions for a swap (pattern found at Flamingo Toes)~

I also got my blocks finished for the Country Threads BOM, but guess I forgot to take photo's. :-/

And tonight I am joining Heidi for Friday Night Sew In and working on a UFO. :-)

Hope you've been having a busy, but productive month too!
Until next time~
Happy Stitching!!

Flying Time!

Time has been flying for me again! Where does it go? :-o

I do have a couple things to show for my absence! ;-)

First~ I was the lucky winner of a jelly roll of  L'amour  from Sew Cindy ~ love it!! I have never made a 1600 quilt, so thought the time was right. My friend in Canada and I sewed' together' for a day and I got most of it done. :-)   And I have been dreaming of a Valentine's quilt for a long time~ so this was absolutely perfect!  Thank you Cindy!!

I had to be creative with the borders.  I had a little bit of fabric in my stash, but not quite enough. :-/  I can't wait to get a backing now and get quilting! :-)


I also finished the mini from Pam Buda's Patchwork Pocket Sew Along.  You can call me crazy, but I love fiddling with little blocks! LOL

I am continuing to stitch on the Over the River and Through the Woods pattern by Crabapple Hill. I'm a little over halfway on the first panel.

Hope you are finding time to stitch too!
'bye for now!