Hellooooo

Were you wondering if I had fallen off the face of the earth??  Nope I haven't.  Life is just a little unblog worthy right now.  I am super missing the hubs.  We still have a few months left until he returns and it just really stinks.  

 I hauled the dog the bird and the monster across 5 states to spend Thanksgiving and a little time with family in the mitten.(I also hauled the baby Juki along with us)

 I've been drinking.

 I've been playing with new nieces.

And I've only been working a little bit.  But I love Amy's pattern.  I'm teaching my sister in law to make her first quilt and she is using it as well.  Its been really great for a beginner since there aren't any points to match up.  

I didn't bring my camera cord so please enjoy these lame iPhone photos.  Maybe I will check in again soon. I've got something to show you.

Bagged, Tagged, Aprons, and Placemats

About a week ago for fun I pulled out all of the fabric I have bought intending to use it for bags, aprons, or placemats.  Its a weakness I have, but when I see something I love but don't need, I always tell myself to get a little to make one of those options.  It works for me I guess, but when I pulled the fabrics out I was appalled.  So I got to work.  

I haven't finished this bag yet, but I feel better having the body ready for handles.   

 Needs ties.

 These placemats just need to be closed and quilted

 This bag is done!

I finally got the birdcage cover done!  Don't you just love it when you put something off for four weeks, and then when you do it it takes a whopping thirty minutes?  Jeesh

I also put a few tags on some of my recently finished quilts.  Some people get so huffy about the fact that I don't always put a label on my quilts.  

This is part of that stack of fabric that still needs to be made into a bag/placemat/apron.  I am planning to do this.  Seriously you should see the gaping hole in my fabric stack now that all of these are fated to be worked on.  Looks like I could almost use a shopping trip....almost.

the road to bliss

 WHAT?!!  I finished another quilt??!!  Why yes I did! Boo-ya! 

I used a pattern I found out is called road to Tennessee, but I'm sure its called a hundred other things.   Anyhow, I'm calling it my 'road to bliss' quilt.  Because I try really hard to give my quilts corny names.  

 The monster thought it was great, and he thought it was fun to roll it up.  

I meandered the free motion quilting with two straight lines in that inner border.  I dig it alot.  But I always forget how much harder flannel backing makes the FMQing.  I powered though it though.  I'm pretty happy to have this one done!  You'll find me under this baby this winter for sure!

Citrus

I finished this baby up while I was at the Sewing Summit.  I feel pretty dang happy about it too. 

I bought these fabric back in May while we were in Denver for the weekend.  It was pretty fun to play around with them, even though they are way out of my normal comfort zone.  I could have used some white in this one to make me feel a little more confident.  But I still like it.

I don't know why I have such a love for gray lately, but this backing sure does make me giddy.  

Shoot, the whole quilt makes me giddy!  I just love a new quilt, especially if I am keeping it, which I totally am!!

The new and old

 My mother in law has some new fabric she is busy plotting over.  Today she scored some nice fat quarters to go with a couple hunks of yardage she picked up a couple of weeks ago.   Then she went though my books and magazines looking for a spools pattern, which is where she is probably headed with this quilt.  For some reason its even more exciting watching someone else start a new project.  

 Especially since the pile I'm working on are waiting for the summit to be finished.  I am taking a couple of quilts that just need hand sewing on the binding.  Won't it be nice to get a whole mess of quilts finished?  

I might just get this puppy quilted in time and have this one to bind at the summit as well.  Imagine coming home with three finished quilts.  Maybe then I could finish up a couple other projects that have been bugging me.... keeping me awake at night, thinking I need to get them DONE!  

She was rusty, the scissors were not!

The Hubs turned 29 earlier this month.  He was my mother in law's baby.  So the last time she had to worry about leaving things in the reach of a 3 year old would have been 26 years ago.  So its devastating, but understandable that a pair of scissors were accidentally left in the living room where the monster was playing quietly....too quietly.

You know the type of quiet that is wrong.  Unfortunate for my mother in law's Bliss quilt top, which she has been stressing about for nearly a year.  The quilt she was going to make perfect.  Punishment and apologies were dealt out.  

 It was fixable.  She had enough fabric.  The look of disgust on her face right here would be due to her seam ripping the wrong border side off....Raise your hand if you have done that before!!  Who hasn't?!!  It will be okay.  And scissor safety will probably be a priority....

my next quilt 

Like I need another project.  I wouldn't have fessed up to this if I hadn't needed to blog the bliss tragedy.     I love tumblers though! I can't help myself!

busting my butt

I have been working like crazy to get this quilt ready for binding.  Monday morning it was still stacks of fabric, and this morning I slapped on the final border.  I really want to get it quilted and put the binding on so I can take this to the Summit to hand close during the open sewing time.  

The backing is in the dryer and I hope to baste during naptime.  

I CAN DO THIS!