Valentine's Day

I have one of my ufo's from last year finished.  I bought this pattern at the Tuscon quilt show in January 1012 and had the pieces cut and ready but never got around to finishing it.  It is done and ready to hang on the wall.

 

 

I also made a cute little phone holder.  Found the instructions on a blog and thought it might useful for those that actually use their phones for other things than just as a phone.  For me, I thought it would make a good 'home for my phone so I can find it. 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, since it is Valentine's day... I got roses last week and they are looking a bit bedraggled but they have been gorgeously sitting on the table since last Friday.  My dh earned a few brownie points with these!

 

Raining... again... in AZ?

Hard to believe but it is cold and rainy here.  Not much warmer than back home right now!  And even harder to believe is that our temps will be hot by the weekend?  Crazy weather patterns.
Anyway, this morning, once my chores were done, I played around in my sewing room trying to figure out what I might work on next. 
I found some really old blocks I started four years ago, didn't like what I had done, unpicked some seams and did a bit of matching, as best as possible and then started cutting fabric into pieces ready to make a bunch more of these blocks.  The blocks on the design wall are the 'fixed' ones though some I am still unhappy with - but, it will be a scrap quilt so hopefully they will be hidden in the quilt.

The fabrics on the left are more of my half hexies and put up alternating, light and dark.  I need to cut more of these and play with the layout.  I saw a picture last week that was my inspiration.  The picture was actually a pattern for sale for a crazy price and I had an 'aha' moment when I saw it and figured out how easy it is to do. 

I need to sew like crazy for the next few days before it gets hot here! 

Less tennis, more sewing

I seem to be playing less tennis and spending more time sewing.  This is temporary.  It is cool and everyone is busy with tennis qualifiers meaning courts are booked and friends are busy.  I could be reading but am using my time to work on some projects that I would like to get finished.

First, I made another flying geese quilt using Eleanor Burn's ruler and more of my repro/Aunt Gracie fabrics.  This one got a blue border.  I need a few baby quilts made for some new arrivals and this will be given away after I am home and get it quilted.

And then I decided to work on a couple of  my Patchabilities.  The first one I want to finish is southwestern and has been hanging around for a year.  I bought the pattern and got started last year after the Tuscon quilt show. 

The second one is a new pattern that I acquired in the fall and I want to get it finished so it can be used for Easter decor when I am back home.  I have the perfect spot for it and it will hang on my 12" hanger as you go down the stairs. 

Back to the sewing machine!

Hockey is back

Hockey is back so that means more time for me in my sewing room.  Golfing and Super Bowl on Sunday gave me some time as well. 

I added a yellow outer border to the flying geese quilt I made a few weeks ago.  This quilt is on its way home to Canada to wait for me to get home and get it quilted and bound. 

 

 

I came across the beginnings of a quilt from some fabrics that were similiar to Thimbleberries and I found some charms in my stash as well as yardage that seemed to go with it so I added more rows to make a decent size donation quilt. 

 

 

Using more of the fabrics in my Aunt Gracie/reproduction container, I began working with a fun ruler that makes half hexagons.  A simple way to make hexagons so this one is waiting for me to add an outer border.

 

 

I had some leftover flying geese from the first baby quilt I made so I cut up some more fabric and made a few more and have enough to make another. 

Next, I will cut up some of the fat quarters into two Yellow Brick Road quilts and work on that and I will still have fabric left! 

Winter Weather - more sewing room time!

Our tennis tournament was cancelled again today because of sporadic rain.  After getting the courts all dried off this morning, the skies opened with a downpour.  Tennis is messed up this week with us playing somewhere else to accomodate finishing up the tournament.  I am not upset as more rain means water for the desert and more sewing time for me. 

I finished getting my swap blocks put together and added some borders from my stash to get it to a good size for donation.  Not sure where this will go but one of my favourite charities will be the recipient.  This is the very last of my 6½" blocks that I swapped with my Wednesday Diva group.  This is a ufo that will get quilted and bound later in the spring.

And I played with the Eleanor Burns ruler for flying geese.  This one makes 4" x 8" blocks and I set them as shown in her book.  Not too sure if I need an outer border to finish it off?  It is a good size for a crib quilt as is.  These are my reprod and Aunt Gracie fabrics that I have been collecting for a long time and have had the best of intentions to use them up in some donation and baby quilts.  I have enough left over to begin another quilt just like this one. 

While writing this, we went from sunshine back to rain, dark and gloomy skies. 

When it rains in Arizona....

When it rains, especially when it wasn't predicted, I get to sew.  Tennis practise and fun play times were cancelled and I headed into my sewing room and have been there for 5 hours. 

First I decided to finish up my Dick and Jane quilt top.  This is a very old UFO, not sure exactly how old, but a friend remembered that I probably bought from Carola's quilt shop in Gibsons, BC - and it would have been at a quilt show. 

Then I started making more blocks from the last of the Diva Swap.

 

 

But, then I got bored with making these and started playing with some of my old fabrics... some Aunt Gracie's and some repro fabrics that have been in a bag for years, probably from way back when I though I might want to make a Dear Jane quilt?   I had purchased the 4" x 8" flying geese ruler from Eleanor Burns and started playing with that technique. They are on the right hand side of my design wall.  I think this will become a demo for the Sunland Stitchers.

 



 

 

The other technique I am playing with is a hexagon ruler from Missouri start quilts and am cutting up more of my 'old' fabrics.  The problem with this one is that you have to have the entire thing ready to go before you can begin the piecing?  I have the same hexie ruler for using with charms.  This one is large, working with 10" squares - of course, I am using scraps from the 'bag'.

 

I had a friend tell me that my picture of my bargello table runner was fuzzy so am trying again with my pictures of that project.

 

 

 

That, my friends, is what I did today.  Made a mess in my sewing room but did complete a flimsy, ready to head home for quilting and binding. 

Oooops.. forgot about my current project

I am working on a Dick and Jane quilt from a kit that I bought eons ago - honestly, I have no recollection of when this project came to live in my house.  But, it is cute!