Spring Recap

 Now that summer is officially here, I thought I should show you what happened around here in May and June.  Here's a recap of the highlights.

Julia graduated from college, so I made her this little gift. The title of the hymn and smiling earth are perfect for my sweet girl who majored in Environmental Studies and minored in Religious Studies. (Pattern by Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive).

The best pictures of any event are the ones with my mom! Julia is happily interning at Disney's Animal Kingdom as a Wilderness Explorer troop leader (environmental educator). If you're headed to Disney before the end of January 2017, look for her and say hi!

 My cousin celebrated his 25th anniversary of priesthood, so I made him a new stole. I decided to use scrappy greens, knowing he'd get a lot of use from the color for "ordinary" time. I didn't know green is also his favorite color.

My husband turned 50 in June, so we went on an epic musical road trip from Nashville, to Memphis, through the Mississippi delta, and finishing up in New Orleans. I only stopped at a few quilt shops along the way: Craft South, Sew Memphis and Ella Rose. We were on a tight schedule, so grabbing fat quarters was a great option. He bought a guitar in Clarksdale, so I came in way under budget!

We picked out the bendy bag pattern at Sew Memphis for Bill's electronics and new reading glasses. He travels a lot for work, and this is a vast improvement on his ziplock baggie. I forgot to include the pull tab, but he doesn't mind.

 

And now for the WIPs. This spinning hexie EPP has become my traveling project. I kitted up some blocks to take on our vacation. Now I'm working on them during work breaks and in front of the TV at night. I've got 2 or 3 more block kits, but I might keep going to use up more scraps. Each hexie finishes at 3" on a side. I have no idea what this will be. I'll just keep going until I get tired of it or a shiny new idea comes along.

In other EPP news, my Lucy Boston-inspired Patchwork of the Crosses top is finished! It measures about 35" square, so I'm trying to decide if I'll add borders or not. It would be a sweet wall hanging as is. I have no clue how I'll quilt it.

I designed and started piecing this ombre mini back in early April. I had intended to participate in the ombre mini swap, but I didn't finish in time. I finally competed the piecing this week. I think the quilting will wait until after a class with Angela Walters in a few weeks. That will be fun!

Since the ombres were out, I wanted to play some more. I pulled an old Simply Color (V and Company) jelly roll off the shelf and went to town.  I found this pattern online that got me started. The jelly roll only had 21 strips, so I cut 3 more from my stash. Each strip set makes 7 equilateral triangles plus 2 ends (1/2 triangles). I cut the first triangle in the center of the strip set, which in this case was the lightest area. The top is about 36 X 45", which is a nice baby quilt size. It would be a striking wall hanging, too. I love how it looks on my front porch!

 Last but not least, Julia and Fred are engaged! Yes, there is a wedding quilt in the works. She really likes the wedding ring quilts I've been making for my nieces and nephews, but mama needs a change! She picked the Geese at My Wedding pattern from Quiltworx. We haven't decided on colors yet, but she likes modern solids. That works for me!

It's time for me to head back to the basement for more sorting and purging and cleaning.

WIP Wednesday

It feels great to make progress on sewing and home projects, but it is hard for me to maintain a high level of productivity for long. Balance is a buzz word that might play a large part in my life this year.

Finished this week: Crackers quilt for charity.

In progress: 
Clamshell pillow cover. I should be able to finish this today, and then start another one.

 Ninigret Friendship Star Swap. We had our second round of swapping last night.

Take it All with you bag. I'm going to a class this weekend to make this amazing bag with 42 pockets. There was a lot of prep work (cutting and fusing) so we can get right to work with bag construction in class.

Random:
I just got this gorgeous Riley Blake fabric in the mail. I have no idea what it will become, but I love it!

My friend, Kate, made this cute basket for me. Thanks, Kate!

And now, it's time to surf!

Upcycle It!

I'm loving the word Upcycle. Remember yesterday, when I couldn't decide what to do? I compromised and crafted outside! I've been wanting to try fusing plastic, and a challenge has been issued by a local quilter to create a bag to be auctioned this summer. (The only rules: a bag has handles and hold stuff.)
As I was reading blogs, surfing the net and watching the 10th hour of the Today show... Kathy Lee Gifford said something about reality shows that struck me. Why are we watching these families go on a picnic instead of taking our own family on a picnic? Which lead me to: Why am I reading about things other people have made instead of actually making something. So, I Googled fused plastic (tutorial, video), gathered up my supplies, and headed out onto the deck to get to work. (My paperweight is a hunk of Colorado marble that I collected when I was a Geology student.)


My first attempt was a failure (the tan piece shrunk up terribly). The iron was much too hot. A few more tries and I ended up with enough useable fused pieces to make this tote bag.
The Wal-Mart Bag Bag.
Cool, huh?


Just how far off the deep end have I gone into blog land when we make this for an after-school snack?


Pete's team played Josh's team last night, which is very convenient, but confusing. Especially difficult when Josh is pitching to Pete. How do we cheer for both of them at the same time? Go, Pete, get a hit! Nice pitch, Josh!


On the list for today, a pile of Linus project quilts that need to be quilted and finished by next Wednesday. I do love a deadline!
Tina

Two from Julia

Last Tuesday, I decided I would show you two quilts every Tuesday. Unfortunately, our computer has not been upgraded yet, so they will have to be older photos. So here are two quilts plus a bag made by Julia.
"Snowmen in Love" was made in 2005 from a Quiltmaker pattern. I do a lot of paper piecing, so this was Julia's learning piece. Here it is hanging in our guild show in 2005.
"The Brightest Quilt Ever" was her first bed size quilt. It was shown in the children's category at the Lowell Quilt Festival last summer. She was disappointed to not win a ribbon. It looks great on her bed with lime green sheets in her purple room.

And the bonus tote bag. We met Karen Stone at a guild meeting several years ago. As I was buying a book, Julia was chatting with Karen and Karen generously gave her the Hibiscus pattern. She used two blocks with couched fibers to make a tote bag for 6th grade. Someday, we'll make a New York Beauty together. We really have fun sewing together, but it's getting harder to find time in Julia's busy schedule.

It's snowing again! Argh! We're supposed to travel an hour across the state for a swim meet tonight. Yes- we can cross the whole state in an hour. I grew up in upstate NY, so I don't mind driving in the snow (I took my driving test in the snow). It's the other people on the road that I worry about. Wish me luck.

Ciao,
Tina