Sewing Up North

As I want to document the quilt happenings of this past year, I will start in no particular order with whatever comes to mind. 

 This project was a fun one because I assembled it at a sewing getaway this summer.  

A quilty Michigan friend of mine and I were trying to plan a time to get together to sew that would work well for us this past summer.  Since motherhood's distractions always stay front and center in life, I suggested we try to get away for a couple of days to sew.  Her mom was able to watch her kids for a couple nights, and Dave was in Michigan for a time.  So, we headed to Northern Michigan, to Atlanta, where my family has a cabin in the woods.  I asked my cousin Erin if she might be able to join us, and her mom also agreed to take her children.  

Sew, we all met up at the cabin one wonderful July day. 

Since I had been sewing in an RV for over a month, the cabin was a fresh venue for my hobby.

This cabin had plenty of space for our sewing adventures.

Most importantly, we were disconnected from the world.  To get a signal to make a call or post on Instagram we had to take a healthy walk down the road.  Luckily, we didn't encounter any bears, or other large wildlife.  Or more importantly, skunk! Such was the case the last time I visited the cabin with my family, and our dog who had never seen a skunk... the horror of that trip shall be saved for another story on another day. 

 We had cold dinners, pasta salad one night, seven layer dip the other.....plenty of snacks and sewed like the wind!

It's always nice to sew in real life with friends your normally type messages to.  April is a very talented quilter.  Last time we sewed she taught me how to paper piece.  This visit she taught me how to make a mean Moscow mule.  A natural teacher that one.

I sewed away on a long ago fabric purchase that had been sitting in my pile for 2 years.  The blocks came together very quickly with such companionably work conditions. 

The other ladies worked on various quilt blocks, then worked on garment sewing, Erin being a master, and April coveting a custom tee shirt that would fit her, as she is very tall. ( I cannot relate)

At the end of the sewing getaway I had an entire quilt top assembled!

Quite a success!

At the end of the summer, when I returned home, I got it quilted and finished up.  I did not attempt any basting in the RV because I am no fool. 

It is a beautiful quilt, with lots of fun summer memories!

I Used to Blog, but I Still Quilt

It's really frustrating though. Because I am not blogging I haven't been organizing my quilt photos.... and some projects I cannot find photos.  I really hope to get back on track.  Not only to keep from holding a thousand pics on my phone, but because the documenting of my process and projects.

Missing in Action and Missing a Fingertip

Have no fear!  I'm still alive. Even sewing a bit more. But I have a story to tell.....

In early September I started working on my Halloween Bear Paw, which I totally stole the idea from Gwen Taylor (or elletaylor7 on IG) 

I was so excited and making lots of progress....

Then one Sunday morning we skipped church, and I totally cut my finger tip off on accident.  I am not superstitious, however if we'd gone to church it wouldn't have happened. At least not at that time on that day.

....just cut a big ol chuck of finger and nail right off.  My rotary cutter just slipped.

It was an ER visit type of cut.  I couldn't get it to stop bleeding.

Luckily my PA was a surgical background type of gal and used some clotting mesh to make a scab.

It wasn't fun.  Thankfully she also did a nerve block to my whole finger and I couldn't feel a thing until late the following day.  Even then it was more a throbbing thing, or like that uncomfortable feeling when your fingernail gets ripped off your nail-bed.

 But it took a good week to heal up.

And part of another week to not be open flesh anymore.

It has grown back and new skin has it looking nearly normal now. 

 I have a tingly feeling in parts of it, and it doesn't like getting bumped. 

But I survived.

Unfortunately the injury really stopped my sewjo for my Halloween project, and my progress was greatly slowed.  I did however get the top sewn just after Halloween.  I have put it away to finish next fall.  No cutting is necessary.

School Stops Sewing

We have started school.

Fourth grade.

I have been keeping up with chores.

There is no leftover time or energy for sewing yet.

I made this before school began.  I made two others but apparently didn't snap a photo.  Oh well. It is a mug rug for a fellow homeschooling mom. 

I do have a new quilt school starting this week which is insanely exciting!

Sewing again

This week was a flurry of sewing!

After weeks of nothing, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was a good motivation to stay home and sew.  I stocked up on food and made a to do list.  My fb group friends sewed along, although not as much as I did because they were able to leave their houses. 

My dwell swap houses arrived a couple days ago. 

So much excitement!

I love all of the houses that came to be apart of my neighborhood.

I am still debating on a border.

I might just wait until The Good Life yardage comes out.

  

I finished my Scrap-Happy quilt top this past week as well!

I love it.

This week on my sewing marathon I finally made a mini quilt for my dear friend.

I meant to make this in June.

On a whim I decided to make up the placemats I bought the fabric for a few months ago.

I made a set of six, four for our dining table and two for our little kitchen table where we eat breakfast.

Then I decided to whip up a table runner for my hutch.

And a set of hot pads too!

It was a great amount of progress!  

School starts in two weeks, I would really like to get my snippets caught up before we begin! 

Truly Insane

Signing up to make a tiny paper pieced butterfly dwell block was possibly my worst idea ever.  Mass production was long and tedious.   I felt like quitting.  I complained a lot.  But I finished them.

Now I wait to get the swapped houses.
I have PLENTY  to do while I wait!

Sewing Pretty Things

I've been sewing lots of things lately.  Just whatever I happen to feel in the mood for. 

At my leisure. 

I did have a self imposed deadline for my Stars and Stripes, the fourth of course.  

 

Oddly enough when it came to basting it, I thought about going batting-less.... after much debate I ended up going with a layer of flannel instead of batting.  I love how thin it feels.  One day I'll make a summer quilt without batting... one day. 

Closing the binding was a race to finish on the 3rd, but I managed to get it done just in time.

The hubs had shoulder surgery in May, and cannot raise his arm up yet, so my quilt photos are going to suffer for awhile.... but oh well.

I made my test block for the Summer 2017 Bonnie and Camille Dwell Swap.

I have most parts of the butterflies cut and ready to mass produce.  I need to make 24 paper pieced butterflies.... It was possibly a bad idea. Luckily I had to order the white solid approved for the block, so I have time until it arrives.

I got my Chandelier quilt top done.  It is from Vanessa Goertzen's book Charm School.

This pattern is too, it is called Railroad Crossing.

Call me crazy but I am going to collect tops for a bit, then maybe this winter I will finish them up....This is my third project from Charm School, this one is called Scrap-Happy.  I broke open FOURTEEN beloved candy packs for this pattern.  

I am just starting with the chain piecing.

And as if I don't have enough going on (notice I haven't mentioned my Snippets, because I have not made any progress on it)

I've decided to make a second Fancy Forest!  In Bonnie and Camille!

I pulled my fabric groups for it and ordered my background..... So after I get my Dwell houses made, and catch up on my Snippets, and get the Scrap-Happy quilt assembled, and quilt and finish the Railroad Crossing, and then quilt and finish my Snippets...... I can start this Fancy Forest.  

**Insert all the crazy face emoji here**

Also, we are getting ready to finish the process to be certified as foster parents... so sewing time might come to a screeching halt soon anyhow. We will see!

-Happy Sewing to you!