Hop, Skip & Jump!

I have joined my first Block-of-the-Month Quilt Along! It is a 12-month quilt program sponsored by Sew Lux Fabric.  I will receive one 12-inch block pattern per month. The series will run from June 2013 through May 2014.

The Hop, Skip & Jump BOM Quilt block kits will feature prints from the Happy-Go-Lucky collection by Bonnie & Camille for Moda. I love the colors and prints of this fabric line!

I think they are so happy and fun!

 

The twelve blocks in the series are supposed to be beginner-friendly and will be variations of the Churn Dash and Snowball blocks. Sew Lux will provide all the step-by-step instructions as well as photos, illustrations, and cutting diagrams with each month’s block pattern.

I am excited to get started.  I received a "bonus block" today via email and it's a fun Churn Dash Block in dark blue, red, white and gray.

The fabric and first block are scheduled to arrive around June 1st.

Can't wait to receive my supplies and get started!

I'm a Bag Lady!

My three awesome blogger buddies, Karen, Amy and Regena and I often pick a project and swap with each other. It's fun, we can get creative and we each get 3 completed items!

Regena was the organizer of our recent Friendship Swap and decided that we all needed to make the Reusable Grocery Bag! It's an awesome pattern from Michelle Patterns.

It's a very quick and easy bag to make.  They are designed like the plastic bags that every store in America is using. 
You can choose your own fabric and you are being "green" and fashionable at the same time!

These are the bags that I created:

 Cherries and gingham for Karen

 Doxie for Amy - who has the cutest two dachsund fur babies ever!

 and happy chickens for Regena!

These are the awesome bags I received!

They are fun, sturdy, hold a lot and make spending so much money at the grocery store

somewhat enjoyable! You don't have to use them just at the grocery store either!
I also take mine to our weekly Farmer's Market at work.
They will tote anything!

The black and white bicycle one Regena made specifically for my husband. She thought he needed a more "manly" bag of his own. Chris and I do most of the grocery shopping together and he does the majority of the cooking at our house. 

And he's an avid cyclist so the fabric is perfect.

If you would like to become a bag lady and have your very own resuable bag but don't want to make one, just hop on over to Karen's etsy store. She has them for sale and let me tell you - they are awesome, extremely well made and come in a ton of fabric choices!

Being a Bag Lady is so fun! Happy Shopping!

It's For the Birds Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog and my day of the Birdie Blog Hop! Thank you for hosting another awesome hop Madame Samm and Mary. 

This is my second blog hop and I'm sure it's going to be as much fun as the April Showers Hop!

I LOVE birds!  We have a fountain in our backyard and it so enjoyable to watch the little sparrows and finch and hummingbirds come to play and splash around.  They are all very "chatty" and it's so relaxing to listen to them "talk" to each other.  Sometimes there are as many as six playing around at once. The little birdies are so sweet and innocent and I'm glad they visit!

 Here is Mr. Robin. Isn't he beautiful!

 Splish Splash!

Sorry for the blurry photos.  I took them with a zoom from my back door so I didn't scare them away!

We also have an African Gray Parrot that lives with us, however he is in NO WAY innocent!
name is Rascal and you can read about him here.

Last September we took a trip to Oregon and visited the little town of Sisters and the Stitchin' Post Quilt Shop. Every July they host the largest annual outdoor quilt show in the country.

I purchased an appliqué pattern with little Chickadees. I really didn't think I would ever actually use the pattern.  I had never done appliqué and didn't really want to learn - I just thought the little birds were cute! But when the Birdie Hop was announced I knew I was in and it was the perfect opportunity to learn something new.

I LOVE the way this little quilt turned out! It's cute and sweet - just like my backyard friends!

I have to admit that it was a bit challenging. Lots of little pieces to cut and stitch. I made a few mistakes, but actually enjoyed the process of watching the little Chickadees come to life. It was fun and I'm really happy with my little mini quilt!

Close up of the little Chickadees!

The original pattern did not have the leaves. I added them because

I thought the tree needed a touch of Spring.     I took the following pictures outside in my backyard. You can see the difference in the colors with the sun shining on the quiltie.  

I used mostly scraps that I had I my stash, but did purchase the fabric for the borders. I also created corner pockets on the back for easy hanging if I choose. I used this tutorial from Patchwork Pottery.

Thank you for visiting today! I hope you choose to follow me or come back and visit anytime!

Take a minute to check out the other awesome projects today! You won't be sorry.

http://sunshinequilting.blogspot.com

http://feltfree-p.blogspot.no

http://busyascanbe.blogspot.com

http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com

http://buzzingandbumbling.blogspot.com

http://patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com

http://ecoughlindesigns.blogspot.com

http://SewMuch2Luv.blogspot.com

www.natilittlethings.blogspot.com

http://justletmequilt.blogspot.com

http://ncweekendquilter.blogspot.com

http://Selinaquilts.blogspot.com

http://saneandcrazy.blogspot.com

http://abis-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com

http://roseprairiequilts.blogspot.com

http://marlarockscrafts.blogspot.com

HAPPY QUILTING, HAPPY SEWING,
HAPPY HOPPING, HAPPY SPRING!

April Showers Blog Hop!

Hello beautiful people and Welcome to day three of the April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop and Welcome to my Blog!

"April Showers" usually means rainy weather, which brings lots of pretty flowers and Spring! Spring is also when we start loading our trailer and heading out of town to go camping! Yay!

I've never done a blog hop before but my good friends Amy, Karen and Regena were participating and twisted my arm to join them, so here I am! They are also posting their lovely creations today so be sure to hop on over to their blogs and look at their awesome creations!

What is a MUG RUG? It's a mug for your cup of coffee, tea or other beverage, and maybe a snack or a few cookies. It's smaller than a placemat but larger than a coaster. Or even a mini quilt! They are fun and fast to create. My sister Debra thinks I should make her one for every holiday and season...me thinks maybe she needs to learn to quilt..... :o)

I've struggled lately with my creative sewing mojo (sew-jo), but this hop has helped and it sure felt good to be back at my sewing machine. So good in fact that I created not one, but three mug rugs! I had a few ideas rattling around in my head and I just couldn't decide between the three of them so I did them all!

The first one I LOVE! I won a charm pack of these yummy, bright charm squares from Nadine. The fabrics are mostly Michael Miller fabric - The Gypsy Bandana and Lush and Picnic ginghams and Bella Flora by Studio. They are happy and cheerful and remind me of Spring and the flowers in my yard - Impatiens, Geraniums and Hydrangea!

I am also in love with the Dresden so I decided to combine the two and made a happy Dresden flower! I stitched-in-the-ditch between the blades on black wool felt and black/white polka dot fabric and then used pinking sheers to cut away from the edge.  I love the way it turned out! It's a little bigger than a normal mug rug, but it will look great on my desk at work and it makes me happy!

My 2nd mug rug is made from scraps of "Happy Go Lucky." I used this tutorial from Jenna at Sew Happy Geek. I really like the way it turned out. They say "April Showers Bring May Flowers" and I think the blues in the fabric could be the "showers" bringing out out the "flowers" of coral, light blue and green. I quilted it following the lines of the zig-zags.

And my favorite is this one I made for our trailer! I am so happy with the way it turned out. I didn't have a pattern, just played around with it and I think it's adorable.  The red and white gingham match the tablecloth we use when we are camping and the Martians in the door and window just make me giggle! My husband said "I've never seen a flowered trailer before." Haha! I haven't either but I think it would be adorable!

It was great to feel creative again.  Now to clean up the mess that I made during this project and get crackin' at the other projects that need to be finished!

Be sure to visit the other awesome blogs today. Thank you to Erin at Sew at Home Mummy and Madame Samm for all the hard work they did organizing this Blog Hop!

Happy Sewing!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10th

Hayley @ Mrs. Pickles

Karen @ Sew Much 2 Luv

Mélanie @ Les passions de Cliodana

Cindy @ Quilt Doodle Doodles

Jamie @ Busy Bee Quilts

Regena @ The Distracted Domestic

Amy @ Domesticity and other Ponderous Things

Denise @ My Whittle Adventures

Heather @ a Reformed Heath'n

Marica @ ~Englating

Work in Progress (WIP)

I made a deal with myself on January 1st, that I wouldn't buy any new fabric, new kits or other crafty projects until I finished the projects I already have at home.  But there are sooo many pretty fabrics out there and so far, I've only purchased one small little item.
Hey I made it until January 10th - don't judge....

Anyway...one of these projects was a quilt for my grandson, Christopher. I signed up for a class at my local quilt shop to sew a Radiant design and it was supposed to be for him for Christmas, however the class was canceled in December and I just didn't finish it on my own.

Last Saturday, was the re-scheduled class. I was able to finish all 30 blocks for this fun quilt.
Now I need to sew the blocks together and add the borders then it will be time for batting, quilting and binding.
My goal is to have this quilt finished by January 31st and have my first project for 2013 done!

 These are the fabrics that I chose. I LOVE the center fabric with the multi-colored stars.
The fabrics are fun and bright and perfect for a Lil Man.

 

The blocks all finished. To create the final block you sew the light block and dark block (the one with the black center) together on the diagonal, cut the block in half and that creates the light / dark block combination. You can see a finished one in the upper left corner of the picture.

 My finished blocks on the design wall.

The way the blocks are placed creates the "radiant" effect.

I Love the way it turned out! It's so bright and fun!
Now to decide on the border fabric and finish it up!

Happy New Year 2013!

Happy New Year's Eve!  What big plans do you have tonight? Chris is smoking a brisket and a couple of chickens and we will have those along with some side dishes for dinner tonight. 

Then (hopefully) I would like to have our Christmas decorations packed away before the ball drops - unless I can be talked into doing something more fun (which wouldn't be too hard!)

We used to have a party on New Year's Eve, but the past several years we've taken it easy and have a nice dinner and watch a movie and I'm usually asleep by 10pm and Chris wakes me up to watch the ball drop in Times Square! Ha! 

I have this thing about waiting until midnight to ring in the New Year THEN I can go to bed!

2012 was a wonderful year! It was happy and healthy and full of adventures.

We embarked on a dream that my husband had and opened our own Okinawan Karate Dojo (school) in March. It's been fun and exciting but has made our lives busier because we both still work full-time jobs in addition to woking at the dojo. Chris is the Sensei so he does the majority of the teaching and I handle the office stuff.

We welcomed a new granddaughter in March - Eleanor Lynn. 

She is happy, adorable and smiles all the time.

Our oldest son, Chris and grandson, Christopher III moved in with us also in March. (Wow March was a busy month!)  Having a 4-year old at home again has been interesting but oh so much fun! Christopher is a very smart, very happy Lil Man and keeps us all on our toes.  There are lots of toys, Hot Wheels, Nerf guns and laughter and we wouldn't change any of it!

I had a milestone birthday in June and turned 50!

Wow! I've had a wonderful life with a beautiful family and loads and loads of memories and look forward to the next 50 years!

Chris raised money and road his bicycle 75 miles for the Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG cancer foundation.

We grew tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in 2012 and we plan on growing them again this summer and maybe adding a few more items.

I made my first two quilts ever. They were baby quilts and turned out adorable!

I would like to make one for my husband and each of my sons in 2013.

I've sewn and crafted and re-discovered my cross-stitch and embroidery skills. I love to create.

I celebrated 15 years at my job with Contra Costa County.

Our camping adventures took us to new locations this year for fishing and camping.

We saw Crater Lake in Oregon and Antelope Creek Ranch in Northern California, in addition to our other favorite places to travel.

I actually got the hang of fly-fishing and even caught my first fish! 

And we already have some trips planned for 2013.

My goal in 2013 is to get more done and spend less time procrastinating. 

I am a BIG prograstinista!

More doing instead of dreaming.

More reading.

More time spent with GOD and His word.

More experimenting with ingredients and cooking different cuisines.

More time enjoying our lovely backyard.

More Grandma and Papa time with the grandkids.

More playing, more fishing and more bike riding.

More sewing, crafting and quilting.

More blogging :o)

I have projects that I never finished and projects I want to start.

More minimizing and more organizing and more follow through.

Thank you for reading my blog and sharing my adventures.

I look forward to what 2013 has in store for me and my wonderful family and I wish you a very Happy Near Year and a wonderfully, awesome 2013 filled with your own amazing adventures!

Bungle Jungle

I recently finished my second ever quilt!

I made a baby quilt for a woman I work with who was having a baby boy. I fell in love with this adorable kiddo fabric - Bungle Jungle by Tim and Beck.

It is bright and happy and has wonderfully fun colors. Perfect for a baby boy!

I also used this tutorial from Moda Bakeshop.

It was a fairly easy tutorial for a beginner quilter like me and if I need another baby gift one day, I will probably use the same pattern.

 

This pattern required 1 Charm Pack and 1 Jelly Roll and addtional yardage for the sashing.

Charm squares and jelly roll strips matched together.

The start of the blocks.

I wish I had "fussy cut" the giraffe better so her eyes were showing...oh well...still learning!

The blocks completed and ready for the sashing.

Quilt Top Done!  Yay!

The quilt back used the leftover jelly roll strips sewn together.

After quilting! All over design in the strips, squiggles in the sashing and free-hand stars in the center. My friend, Sharyn, is just starting her long-arm quilting business and I was her first paying customer!

LOVED the binding on this quilt! It is also made with the jelly roll strips. It turned out very cute!

Binding sewn on and showing some of the back and front together.

ALL DONE! The colors of this quilt are so fun.

The pictures don't do it justice and I was taking them at night.

My craft room has bright light, but it kinda washed out the colors.

The finished back.

My friend, Rosalie, LOVED this quilt and said she was going to hang it on her son's wall so it didn't get ruined.  I told her to use the quilt. It's supposed to be used and loved, and spit up on and rolled in and everything little boys do.

This was a fun project, went together fairly quickly and I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

Now on to quilt number three - another bright, happy quilt for my grandson.

Happy Quilting!

Pumpkins, A Super Hero and Lottsa Pink!

Our three sons are grown men, so husband Chris and I haven't decorated or carved pumpkins for Halloween in several years. But this year our oldest son and grandson are with us and Lil Man and I decorated with banners, bats, ghosts and pumpkins and the other night we carved the pumpkins we brought home from the pumpkin patch and had a great time!

 He had fun with the "guts" - even touching Daddy with his icky hands!

 YUMMY!

 These pumpkins had very thick rinds - almost 2 inches - so there was a lot of scraping down the insides so they would be easier to carve.

 Supervising Daddy while he traces the pattern.

 Husband cheated a bit and used the dremel to carve his!

 and Chris and I did it the old-fashioned way - with knives!

Yay! The finished pumpkins! I think they came out really well and we got a lot of compliments on Halloween night from the trick-or-treaters!

And speaking of trick-or-treaters.....we started out with 276 pieces of candy and handed out about 225! Lots of little people in great costumes this year and less of the teenagers that put on a scary mask and call that a costume!

We had a HUGE bowl of candy ready!

Captain America! (aka our grandson Christopher)

and our granddaughter Presley as "DeeDee Doodlebop"

She had great make-up too but it's hard to see here.

This was our granddaughter, Ellie's first Halloween and she is "The Furry Pink Monster". Not really sure if this costume has an actual name or not!

Love ya little Ellie Bean!

The weather cooperated and it didn't start raining until about 9:00 p.m.

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating, came home with LOADS of candy and it was an awesome Halloween!