Friday UFO Finish

Well, it's not the best photo -- but the top is pieced, and that's what counts, right?

The wind is blowing too hard to take a photo outside, so I hung the flimsy over the bedroom window. I'll try another photo when the sun goes behind the mountain, and see if the fabric shows up better.

In the meanwhile, here is my September 13 in 2013 UFO Challenge. The pattern is "Cobblestone Road," by Daniela Stout of Cozy Quilts. The fabric is Circa 1934 by Cosmo Cricket for Moda.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

And Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday, hosted this week by Megan at Cherry Valley Designs.

It's the last Friday of the month -- I think that calls for a celebration! Enjoy the weekend!


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Thursday on the Wall

I spent WIP Wednesday delivering hazardous materials (paint and motor oil) to the recycling center, so here is what's on the wall this week.

It's the sample for November's Jelly Roll Party at Ruth's Stitchery. I had a little trouble with the pattern, but once I basically re-wrote it to work with my jelly roll, it's going pretty fast. The pattern is "Mirror Mirror" from A Quilter's Dream, and the fabric is "Little Black Dress" from Basic Grey for Moda. I'm excited to see how it looks with the remaining blocks, but first I have to finish my Quiltmaker's Scrap Squad quilt and write the blog post.

Since I can't show you the quilt until it appears on the blog next Friday, I'll give you a sneak peek of the lovely quilting done by Cornelia:

If you're a PBS fan, you probably already know a new season of "Foyle's War" has launched on public television. I always TiVO Masterpiece Mystery, so I can watch it twice. Each episode equals enough knitting time to finish one hat for Hats for Sailors. Here's the first two of the season:

Isn't this yarn great? It's a custom hand-dyed yarn from Sunrise Fiber Co. The colorway is called "Freedom" -- perfect for US Navy sailors, don't you think?

This had is made from the Liberty Wool I won in a Hats for Sailors Giveaway. The colors didn't photograph very well, the cast-on edge and the very top is really a soft olive green. If you're a knitter, go to the HFS website to take a look at the incredible giveaways being offered for the next round of knitting!

I've only received one entry for the September UFO parade so far -- I hope you're sewing away on your #6 UFO!

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Selfish Sewing Week: I Can Do It!

When I first read about "Selfish Sewing Week" on Rachael's "imagine gnats" blog, I thought, "Oh yeah, what a great idea!"

Now the week is here, and I had no idea what to sew for myself when I realized "today is the day!" I'm totally on board with the glass of wine, but since I give away 99% of the quilts, bags, mug rugs, etc. I make, I had no idea what to make for ME!

Luckily, Debbie listed her goals for the week, and one is a new bag. I have two test-sew bags in the queue, so I don't want to make a new bag. But wait a minute -- there IS that "Sweet Retreat" bag I started at Quilting in the Pines two, maybe three years ago. I know it's in a plastic bin -- where is it?

Found it, hiding under My Little Sailor's loom, covered with dust. See?

When I pull it out, I realize it isn't far from finished:

I even have the binding made.

The pattern calls for 6-8" gussets on each side, but I think I'll alter it to be nearly flat. I want it to carry my big cutting mat and junior size Sew Steady table, plus maybe a ruler or two.

If you want to make one, too, here is the link to Whistlepig Creek Productions.

Now, if it just weren't 7:55 am, I could pour that glass of wine and get to work on my Selfish Sewing project!

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Last Summer Saturday

Yep, summer officially ends tomorrow! I'm sure I'm not the only Coloradoan who will be glad to bid farewell to this summer -- from fires to floods, we've about had enough this summer!

To celebrate, the DH and I are going to farmers' markets today. So I'll post just a quick glimpse of what's going on in My Happy Place.

At quilting class on Wednesday, Cathy shared the clever idea of making a "mini" design wall from a foam core board and flannel.  I didn't have any foam core at home, but I had an old, worn-out June Tailor reversible cutting mat and pressing board. And some fusible fleece. Et voila:

A mini design wall that fits perfectly on my sewing table!

I really need it for the Jelly Roll Party Sample I am making for the November class. The pattern is "Mirror Mirror" by A Quilters Dream. 

The pattern is a little sketchy on details, so I worked out my own cutting directions. The fabric is Basic Grey's "Little Black Dress," which DH picked out at Sew-ciety in Castle Rock. After the farmers' markets, we'll scoot up to Castle Rock, where I'm hoping the shop will have some yardage from this collection for a binding.

In case these photos are a little dull, here's a photo of the DH's running shirts. Aren't the colors great? I think I'll make a modern quilt from all solids using this collection of bright colors!

Happy autumnal equinox to those in the Northern Hemisphere and happy September equinox in the Southern Hemisphere!

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WIP Wednesday: Getting Ready for Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Dress up in costumes, ring doorbells and demand candy from your neighbors? What could be better?

Today at Ruth's Stitchery, Cathy taught a fun class that has me all excited about the upcoming holiday.

We learned how to use the "Twister Tool" to turn small squares into even smaller pinwheels.

Here is my Twister Jack as squares:

I made the mouth and eyes yellow to look like there is a candle burning inside my jack.

I got started marking the squares with the "Primitive Pinwheels" tool from Primitive Gathering.

Because of the black background and orange pumpkin, I had to use a white pencil and a black sharpie to mark  the squares. 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Next Tuesday, I'll demonstrate the Twister Tool for Tuesday Tool. I hope you'll come back and see how this clever little template turns squares into pinwheels!

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Working with Winnings -- Design Wall Monday

My "13 in 2013" UFP Challenge quilt for this month is "Cobblestone Road" from Cozy Quilts.

 I'm sewing it with the Circa 1934 fabric I won in my very first "Schnibbles" entry. That was back in June of 2012 -- I guess the fabric has aged enough that I can actually sew it up now!

Here is the quilt so far. It is supposed to have two borders, but I'm leaning toward "Skip the Borders" for this one:

Linking up to Design Wall Monday.

Still raining in Colorado, but it's supposed to warm up and dry out as the week progresses!

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Sunday Scraps

Another rainy day in Colorado. The floodwaters are rising, but I am thankful my house is at the top of a hill. Sadly, one of my new windows is leaking -- luckily, I wanted to take a photo on the coffee table, and heard the "drip drip drip" of the leak!

Here is the project I was photographing:

It's a sailboat mug rug for My Little Sailor. There was an umbrella design in the pattern -- should have made that one!  The pattern is "Last Minute Mug Mat Extravaganza" from Doodle Time Designs by Faith Wellman. Mug rugs are such a perfect "scrappy project."

Linking up (at the last minute!) to Kim's "Scrap Basket Sunday."

I have a new quilt on the design wall -- come back tomorrow for Design Wall Monday!



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