tomorrow will be the beginning of a new quilt

the other night i felt motivated finally to get the last of the rows sewn for my mirabelle quilt. 

so i did.

and because an estimated one million motorcycles will be in my local area next week for the 75th sturgis rally i felt motivated to get to the fabric store for backing so i can stay home during this festive traffic nightmare.

so i did.

tomorrow our online quilting group begins a new quilt along.  a road to tennessee 

i am ready. 

i picked a dark gray for the background color which is super out of character for me.

 but i am looking forward to this project, and i can't wait to see how it turns out.

so basting and quilting my hexagon is going to the back burner.

i'm okay with that.

too many wips isn't my downfall lately.

feeding dogs. 

watering dogs. 

trying to figure out what barking dogs want.

 not to mention cleaning up ten thousand tissue shreds.  

why do dogs do that?  

don't they know i have sewing to do.

Guess Who's Home

...no not my husband.

But my boathouse is!!

I am in love with the pattern my quilter Rebecca went with.  

I told her nautical but not corny, and I seriously love the anchors and loops.

I need to finish my hexagon rows before I do ANYTHING.

A Finish

I had been working on this binding for what seemed like FOREVER, but thankfully it is now done!

I love how wild this quilt ended up being.  

It's a nice adult snuggling size.

Thistle's hiking adventure has been so awesome to follow along with that I almost feel like I have been there with her soaked boots, loud snoring shelter mates, bears, trail magic and all.   

I hope this quilt feels like a big 'great job' hug when she receives it and whenever she uses it.

I also love that I made myself go with batiks because I know she likes them, even if they make me uncomfortable.  When we first started doing quilt alongs Erica always picked batiks.

I used one of the thistle blocks on the back as the label ( don't worry I did finish the label) 

I am excited that I got it done before she finished and I am glad it will be waiting for her when she gets home. 

As for other things.  

I've been sewing the hexagons.

Perfectly I might add.

And I did get my farmgirl blocks done.  

Sewing Rows

Whenever I can squeeze in a few minutes I get a row sewn.

This will take me awhile. 

Mass Production

My plans to sew this past weekend were ruined by garage sale prep.  Our neighborhood is having the annual garage sale this coming Saturday and I wanted to get ready so I don't get overwhelmed doing it on my own.  Luckily I am good for the week and ready for the sale so I FINALLY got to get back to the hexagons!

I got the rest of my strips cut!

So now I am on to mindless chain piecing which I do well and enjoy.  

I'll surface soon

All Caught Up

I worked hard last night after dinner, getting the last of my blocks sewn so I am now caught up on all of my block projects!

These farmgirl blocks took less time that most.  

Maybe because I did all of the cutting at once which probably helped with my concentration.

So for the next six days I am caught up!

I finally made my June calendar quilt block

And my July calendar quilt block.

Now I am caught up with these blocks until August begins.  

I would like to keep up a little better!

Now I am going to get back to my Mirabelle hexagons!

Picking it Back Up

I took a few days off while my in-laws were in town but now I am trying to get motivated to get back on a track.  I hate that struggle.

I am excited that I had a chance to get backings for two of my upcoming precut projects.  These were on sale and I used a birthday gift certificate so I felt super lucky!

Since our company left I did catch up on the snapshot blocks.  My three scoop sundae was very fun.

My up, up and away block was easy and I enjoyed it.

I have thought about starting the block borders and assembling the first half, but I think I will wait.  I don't want it to get frayed from being shoved stored in my fabric cabinet.

Just before my company came I made the two oldest blocks I was behind on my Farmgirl blocks.

furrows

gingham 

So now I just need to make four blocks to get caught up.

I was given a few of the Hubs' grandmother's quilt books.  I'm looking forward to looking though these.  

The Secret Quilt

The baby quilt has finally been received by the expectant momma, so I can share this finish.

It is for our friend Jamie's fourth little one and with three girls we thought the baby brother should have a boyish quilt!  The color combo that the ladies decided on were, blue blue, grass green, with aqua and orange as extras to throw in there.  So with the fun bright blocks I ended up deciding on a melon colored print for the border because oddly enough the orange tones really ranged!  I went with a very light gray sashing and I think it still reads 'boy'.  

Here are the blocks

I made the swoon

Julie made the star

Briana made the zig-zag

Lisa made this hst block

Kristen made the dresden

Amber made the card trick

Erin made this block- its called Double -X

Miranda made the wonky log cabin

April made the fan

I picked a green polka dot backing because when a top is this wild I have troubles deciding on a backing. But I think this one worked.  

I think it is so wonderful that the quilting group is so generous and thoughtful.  I love that this is the eighth baby quilt we have made and in this little quilt six of the nine blocks were made my ladies that have received a baby quilt from the group.  The group is apparently fertile.  I hope it keeps up!  

My Last Day of Day Camp

Well, I didn't go to day camp but the monster did and it was my last day of freedom/me time/productiveness.  So I enjoyed it, but it went fast!  Those eight and a half hours just flew by!

I cut some strips and sewed.

Then I laid them out to see how much I will love them.

It worked.

I got lots of strips cut and started sewing. 

I am looking forward to getting back to this next week!

New Start

I have been feeling very good about things lately.

I finished up something secret.

I dropped my Boathouse off at my long arm quilter so I have a couple of weeks until I need to finish it up.

With the secret thing done, the boathouse away, and the AT quilt just getting the binding stitched at night I thought it was time for something NEW! 

 Since I still want to tackle these precuts I have hoarded I broke open two jelly rolls and started sewing!  

Just in case you are wondering how successful I have been since this precut quest began you might not realize that I have done everything but my Persimmon, Blitzen, and  Kiss Kiss precuts. 

Of course I acquired some paradiso,  Cotton Blossoms, Simple Abundance, and Fresh Air.

I am going to start my Persimmon in August with a quilt along my friends and I are planning.  

Blitzen is planned out and I will probably start that in the fall to get me in the Christmas spirit.

Kiss Kiss is planned and I have the fabric for it.  I might start it on a whim. 

I have something in mind for the paradiso, but it might wait until this winter or even next spring.

The other three I will continue to plot and plan. 

But for right now I am getting ready for a short visit from family.

It will be great to have grown ups here to talk to!