Surprise Mail!

I very rarely find any surprises in my mailbox.  Just the usual ads and bills. :-o

So imagine my surprise to not only get one, but two surprises in my mail this week!!! :-)

First a Ziploc full of selvages. :-)  I have been saving them for a project, but it seems like such a slow process to save by yourself.  Well, I was in a swap and the swap leader enclosed the baggie full of selvages with my returned blocks! Surprise!! :-)

And then one of the ladies who took my mystery class at retreat sent me that darling star pincushion!

Surprise!!  She stuffed it with some walnut shells, a little sand and some lavender buds~~ it smells heavenly!! 

Neither of these ladies blog, but they both are excellent quilters and they just blew me away! :-)

I hope you had a great week too!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

A Nine Bobbin Weekend!

Sorry I have been MIA~ I was at a 4 day retreat! :-)

I had plans to count my empty bobbins, but got so into my sewing that I forgot! :-o

My friend did and she used 9, so I think I might have been just a bit behind her because I taught an all day class one of the days.  More about that later! :-)

I am still unpacking and getting organized but I didn't want you to think I dropped off the face of the earth.

This is what the yard looked like when I got home~

 ...a blanket of pink petals. 

And my dogwood was blooming! 

This is one of 5, but they all bloom at different times. LOL

I hope you had a great weekend~ I will be back soon!!

Happy Stitchin'!

Spring Sewing....

A few weeks ago Brooke @ Silly Mama Quilts  asked if  I could proofread a pattern 

she was working on.  It was such a cute pattern that I had to make it! LOL

This is the Story Quilt. :-) 

I didn't have the fun house print that Brooke was using, so I went to my scraps.  

My mind just kept thinking, make a happy quilt! 

Bring some Spring inside (since it was still rather chilly outside).

This is my top before quilting. ~

And here it is all quilted up!

                                                                         The back~

 If you would like to see Brooke's adorable Story Quilt and find out about a fun giveaway~

go HERE.

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

A New Topper~

A few weeks ago I did a little pattern testing for Connie @ Freemotion By the River.

Her pattern featured some gorgeous orange/sunset looking fabrics and it is called 'Aruba Sunset'.  She said it reminded her of the sunsets they saw while on a vacation.

I was into my patriotic fabrics and decided a patriotic topper/wall hanging was just what I needed! LOL I love the center star!

You can't tell from my photos but the background is printed with swirls of light tan.  I quilted it with an all over swirly design and it is patiently waiting in the 'Q' for its binding.  (Two were ahead of it and I've nearly got the second one bound ;-) Since I only sew bindings at night, I think I'm doing pretty well. )  I've got the blue cut for binding.

 Thanks Connie for trusting me with your pattern!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

A New Quilt Along...

Well, new to me. It actually started in January! :-o

See the new link in my sidebar? ---->

Chris @ Shared Creativity  started a 'Military Brat BOM'.   I had to giggle at the name because technically I am not a military brat. My Dad is a veteran, and he and my Mom were married when he was deployed to Korea, but they didn't have any kids then (and my older brother came first when they did), so I couldn't have even been a twinkle then. LOL  Anyway, Chris assured me her BOM is not just for 'brats'. :-)

It is stars! My favorite blocks!

I chose to do mine with my patriotic stash, although she says you can use any fabrics and it will turn out. I'm all caught up now. The next block comes out the 15th of April.  I like that it is a mid-month BOM too.

I hope you are having a little fun sewing too!

Until next time~

happy Stitchin'!

A Quilty Week

I've spent the last couple days quilting a couple lap quilts and a wall hanging/table topper.

I got my Sew Sweet Simplicity BOM quilted~

I did all over butterflies and loops but I don't think you can see them in the pix.

And then I quilted the 2 test projects I recently worked on.  Sorry, I can only show the backs. LOL

But aren't they pretty?! :-)

I have lots of binding to cut and apply now~ no more sitting with empty hands in the evenings. ;-)

Hope you are having a lovely quilty kind of day too!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!

Being a Cut Up~

That describes me this weekend! :-)

I have been cutting more strips and bits for 4 patches and I also cut out the mystery quilt that is in the March/April issue of Quiltmaker magazine.

I have the hardest time choosing colors for mysteries! This time I had just purchased the large print for pillowcases~and then I got my magazine. Pillowcases are going to morph into a quilt! LOL

Notice the pages by the '5' in my signature?

Yep, I was so caught up in cutting out the pieces I didn't notice when the magazine slipped below my fabric until I sliced right through the corner! :-o Whoops!!

A bit of tape and my pages are back in order. :-)

I hope you had a little quilty fun this weekend too!

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!