Scrappy Days

Well, it's been a while since my last post and I have been busy. Actually amazingly so. So let's see .... I finished the Safari Life children's book and here are pictures of all the pages.

It also included two finger puppets and a pocket to keep them in. A companion panel had stuffed safari animals. I sewed them up, stuffed them tightly, and then stitched their bellies closed.

Polly liked them! She's a small kitty but you can get an idea of how big these animals are.

I finished sewing together the blocks and sashing for Simplify. It's big -- queen-sized!

I really like how it turned out and hope the recipients eventually will too. I think I have a plan for the quilting but it will certainly take some time. It's very heavy! And did I mention it's really BIG??!!

I finished up the Dresden Quilt Workshop quilt. Susan, the designer behind Suz'n Quilts and this masterpiece, will be so HAPPY to see! It was also #3 of the Dirty Dozen Challenge: COMPLETED!

This picture shows the colors best. It's made up of about 85% French General fabrics.

This one shows Polly wondering why I'm hiding! See her poking her nose under the bottom? Lol!

Here are my Tiny Tuesday blocks all pinned to the design wall. The two brown blocks are to the right on the ironing board and the top row is red. Hard to see, I know, sorry about that! Some months had 5 Tuesdays but most didn't. October does and that will finish this project off. I pinned the rows up in the order that we pulled colors. However they may not stay in this order. As set up it will be 42" x 63". I've been trying to figure out what to do with the blank spots and I think I have a plan. Letters & words! RSC 2019 and my initials (SEH) will more than likely show up. Maybe there will be space enough for my name? City where I live? Who knows? First I need to finish up my brown Tiny Tuesay blocks but my brains are a-swirlin'!

I finished these wool applique pillows to go with the previously finished bat. Unfortunately I ran out of stuffing so the spooky cat can't be finished quite yet.

Last but not least I pulled out Kyoto again. I started this last year with Jinny Beyer. It was a mystery sew-a-long. I was super silly and put it as my Bonus Project on the UFO Challenge at my local quilt shop (OSew Personal). It's a hand-stitching project so, yes! It takes a bit of time but I don't mind in the least. Here's a picture of round 4 of one of the pieces in progress. There are 3 more rounds and there are 6 of these pieces. That will complete Step 5 of 8, which is the finish.

I pulled this out to work on again during the World Series. Let's hope it goes a full 7 games because I've still got a ways to go on this! Lol!

Something I'm pretty excited about but not at all quilty. Yesterday morning after walking Gracie my Runkeeper app on my phone looked like this:

Check it out -- 999 miles! With a meteor! So, in spite of the rain this morning, I took Gracie on a short wet walk and now my app looks like this:

All my miles have been recorded since I got my new phone about a year & a half ago. They are exclusively my morning walks with Gracie. Sometimes I forget my phone so of course those went unrecorded. When I go on vacation I don't record any mileage either even if I go to a zoo or walk around college campuses or walk other dogs! These miles were all Gracie-approved! Wouldn't you think I'd be skinny?!?!!?? Lol!

I think that pretty much catches us up! Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Angela for Scrappy Saturday. So many fun projects to look at!

FNSI

Yesterday was Friday Night Sew-In but for me it was an all-day sew-in. I left around 8:30am to sew with my friends in Edwardsville. It lasted all day with me getting home around 8:30pm. I'd like to say that I ended with sewing with my virtual friends. Life is good!

I should have taken pictures of all the meals served to us but suffice it to say that it started with a light breakfast. I did manage a picture of my plate before devouring my entire "light breakfast".

What did I work on? A little, quilted children's book called Safari Life. Keep in mind I've never done one of these so-called easy projects. Apparently I picked a doozy though because other quilters would walk by and say, "Wow! That one certainly has a lot to it!" Leave it to me to pick out a difficult, labor-intensive book for my first. Want to see a couple of pictures? Of course you do!

As you might tell, it's a very interactive book with flaps leading to secondary pictures. It was fun to make but IT.TOOK.ALL.DAY!!!!  Would I make another one? I guess the answer to that would be a YES because I bought two sets to make. Go, Me!

The trees are starting to change color and the sky was a brilliant blue this morning. I took this picture on my walk this morning.

One day last week I was feeling a little down in the dumps so Gracie & I took a different route home. Check out this house in my subdivision that I saw going home an alternate way.

Cracked me up which was just what I needed. It must be true -- laughter truly is the best medicine!

Have a great weekend!


Linking up with Angela for Super Scrappy Saturday here even though I wasn't all that scrappy!

Retreat? Nope ....

I was supposed to go on a 4-day quilt retreat this weekend but plans got tossed along the way. My husband has been experiencing quite a bit of abdominal pain. After a doctor visit last Friday, followed by a blood draw and a CT scan this week, I went to the follow-up appointment with him yesterday with quilting plans dancing in my head. Diagnosis: Pancreatitis! What??!! Recommendation: Bowel-Rest Diet in a hospital. Whoa!

We went to the ER near us and prepared for admittance. Of course, they needed to run their own tests -- blood, urine, an ultrasound, followed by another CT. Yes, pancreatitis it is! However -- hospitalization isn't mandatory at this point. Yes, we need to follow a bowel-rest diet for 3-4 days and then slowly add easy-digestible food. If the pain doesn't return, slowly add other foods. Takes me back to being a new mother! I double-checked with the doctor as to what easy-to-digest food he had in mind: rice, noodle, applesauce, carrot, and I'm thinking squash? He said I had it right. So, I may not be a dietitician but I am a mother!

My bags are mostly unpacked, I've cooked up some beef bones with onion & celery (which I'll strain and de-fat) for the sick-o, and I'm sticking close to home for the time being. In a bit I'll gather myself together and head to the grocery store for apple juice, jell-o, and popsicles!

I know it's all about him but I wasn't feeling so hot either -- the anxiety of being at the ER for 6 hours not knowing if they'll keep him or release him, followed by the let-down of not going to retreat. What's a girl to do? Why sew, of course! Got my Tiny Tuesday block done for this week.

Of course, I'll feel better if the St. Louis Cardinals can put together a WIN tonight! Let's Go, Cards! Have a GREAT weekend!

Linking up with SoScrappy here.

Guild Meeting & Quilt Class

Last night my guild welcomed May Black, a certified Judy Niemeyer instructor. She shared so many quilts with us, including her first! She's come a long way, baby!!! Of course her Judy Niemeyer quilts were fantastic but I have to say I fell in love with her bear portrait. I'm not really into "art quilts" per se but I have to admit I admire the work involved. This one is probably the only one that has really put joy in my heart. It was so beautiful! Did I remember to take a picture? Of course not!

What this is all leading to is that, no matter where you live, if you are a quilter, you should join your local guild. My guild, Hearts 'n' Hands, is large enough to support several national instructors each year. In between, we have some very talented guild members that share their expertise with the rest of us as well. For less than $2.50/month, I have been entertained and inspired by so much talent over the years of my membership.

Whenever we have a national instructor, the next day a class is offered by that teacher, giving us the opportunity to learn their technique. Today I attended May's class called Cactus Flower Table Runner. I've been interested in Judy Niemeyer patterns for a while -- ever since my friend Dorothy entered her quilt called Clam Shells into our guild's quilt show this year. Anyway, long story short I thought I'd give a Judy Niemeyer quilt a shot and signed up for the class. Here's a picture of our pattern.

Yesterday was a long day of prepping for the class. I already had my fabrics picked out & starched (yes, I'm a starchie!) and was ready to cut the fabrics up for class. It was our homework and I was determined to have it done. It took almost four hours!!! Oh my, were my legs aching from standing & cutting for so long!

Today was the big day and I was excited. Several of my friends were also taking the class -- Millie, Judy, and Edna. We piled all together and got our areas set up. We were all very excited to be learning this paper-piecing technique that is world-famous (in the quilting world, that is!).

Here's what I accomplished today. I made three of these sections and started several more.

I also got two of the missing pieces in that left-hand corner sewn up.

And I got the first & second sections of one unit sewn up.

This is really a fun project but learning the technique was intense for a lot of us. Our seam rippers were truly working overtime! Lol! I am going on retreat this weekend and hope to finish this up while there. I was pretty sure that this would be a one-and-done project ... until there was a drawing. Guess who won?!?!? ME!!!! What did I win? A FREE pattern called Cotton Candy.

I'm thinking maybe a patriotic version? Or a Christmas one? Who knows but I'm clearly not going to be one-and-done! Thank you, May Black, for being a wonderful teacher! And thank you to my guild for bringing in such interesting, talented teachers!

Short Post But Long On Projects!

I managed to get away this past Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. (You will be seeing more of these escapes over the next week or so. YAY!) I spent it with so many friends at a daytime retreat, meaning we sew all day and go home at night. Here's what I managed to get do.

I was very excited to get a start on this little project. The pattern makes a wallhanging but I was wanting to make it into a little pillow. Then I saw the designer did the very same thing. I promise I was going to do it myself before I saw hers! It is a very easy pattern and loads of fun.

This mini quilt is only 14" x 8". The little HSTs measure 1" finished -- teensy! If you would like to get this pattern, you can check out Suzn Quilts website here. You will find a lot of patterns there, both cute ones and beautiful ones.

I also finished up my little Bat Pillow. It's stuffed and sewn up, measuring in at approximately 6" square. I know you see the pins at the bottom of the cushion but it really has since been sewn.

I especially LOVE the piece of flannel I found in my stash that I used for the back. Doesn't it match perfectly??!!??

On Saturday I also cut out the pieces for four blocks that I wanted to get done on Sunday, which I did. I had seen an adorable little quilt while at Runaway Retreat last year and fell in love with it. I asked the person what the name of the pattern was and when I got home I ordered it. It sat around all year until now. Here are four TINY 5" finished kitties & pumpkin blocks.

This pattern is by This 'n' That by Sherri Falls and you can find it here. There are five star blocks that will separate these. I was so glad that I had already cut these out because they took a bit of time to sew.

In between projects I took a few minutes to sew up the Tiny Tuesday block. It's called Floating Stairs and I love it. You will notice that Darks are the chosen color for October sewing in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. That translates to browns, blacks, and/or grays. I'm using brown.

And that is it for me today. I've got laundry underway and a load of fabric to cut for an upcoming class on Wednesday! Until then ...

Linking up with Em at So Scrappy for Movin' It Forward Monday!

Movin' It Forward Monday!

Movin' It Forward Monday always presents the opportunity to see how much progress we've made since the last time we've posted. I think it also keeps us focused on our projects so we have something to post! Haha! So, with that in mind, here's my last block to Hospital Sketches, the BOM from Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilts blog.

 I'll need to put it all together and make a final decision on the borders.

Miss Polly didn't really like me invading her space. She wants ALL the sunshine to herself!

This weekend I also started thinking a little more about Halloween. After all, October 1 is not far away ... like tomorrow! When Hubby & I went to Colorado to visit his sister, we stopped at Quilters Station in Kansas City. What a fabulous store!!! If you're ever in KC, this is a must. Truly! You must trust me on this! Anyway, I picked up this pattern for little wool pillows.

Saturday I pulled some gorgeous hand-dyed orange wool from Primitive Gatherings (another MUST SEE store!) and grabbed some black and got myself set up. By Saturday evening I had this whipped up. It actually took longer than I thought it would because it's a bit fiddly.

Then on Sunday I put this together. All those little, tiny curves were definitely fiddly!

Unfortunately, I overestimated how much black wool I had at home so these will be the only two until I order up more black. That's OK, I've got other things planned ahead.

Yesterday I also decided to make some Peanut Blossoms. They're always a big hit around here.

We're finally expecting some Fall weather by the end of the week. Will probably have to whip up something pumpkin! Until then, have a great week!

Linking up with Em's Scrapbag for Movin' It Forward Monday!

Good-Bye, Purple!

Made my Tiny Tuesday block this morning before heading out to walk the dog. Finished the corners when I got back. Ta! Da!

I absolutely love partial seams so this was a joy to sew for me!

This is also the end of purple -- bye! bye! It's been sweet but Tuesday, October 1, will bring a new and possibly final color. Here are all four of my Tiny Tuesday blocks for the month of September.

And just as a reminder, here's one last look this month of my purple String-X.

What have you been up to? Hopefully something that will get your heart singing. Make it a great weekend!

Linking up with Angela at So Scrappy. There is so much talent there -- Go check it out!