Design Wall Monday

Well not much has been happening in the sewing room.  I have failed miserably on my goals for this month, but that will be another post.  I did manage to get these orphan blocks put together. I was contemplating tossing these blocks, but I am glad I took the time to set them.  I still have to add a border or two, but it is closer to completion.  I am also working on the setting for my Lewis and Clark quilt.  Maybe by the end of the week I will have some progress to report on that as well.

Spring break is over!  I am not sure how that happened, but I didn't get much done during my week off.  All my children will be starting up again with new sports this week.  It will once again be a hectic spring.

It won't be long and my oldest will be off to her year long exchange to Australia.  We are busy with preparations for departure.  She has started a blog to document her adventures if you would like to follow her.

Stop over to Judy's to see what others are working on this week.

Friday Flunkie

I sadly don't have any finishes to report this Friday.  I have made some progress on some old UFOs from the UFO parade.

I like how these 4 blocks look with the churn dash sashing.  I am not sure what I will put between the blocks to divide them.

I will admit, I didn't think these blocks were worth salvaging in the beginning.  I wanted to move them to a new home.  I like how they look now.  I may donate them for a charity event.  Since the blocks started at 12", the new blocks are 21" without a sashing or border.

I am also moving forward on my Lewis and Clark quilt also.  In the middle of those blue blocks will be some pinwheels made from scraps.  I hung up the border fabric on the right to see how it would play with the rest of the quilt.  I have a lot of yardage of it, and I would really like to use it up.

Hopefully I with make some progress over the weekend on these projects.

Mid- Week Sewing

I am not doing well at staying focused on my goals the last few months.  Unfortunately I don't see much "me" time in the next six months.  I did manage to sew a prototype of a block.  I used this post as the inspiration for my setting.

I also picked out a setting for my Lewis & Clark quilt.  You can see the fabrics I was auditioning behind the drunkard's path block.

I hope your week is going well.

Design Wall Monday

I worked on some new things over the weekend.  I have a deadline of sorts with them so I wanted to get started early.  I started them on Saturday.  I love the dynamic effect of the spicy spiral pattern.  It looks so complicated, but really it is quite easy.  I have all 3 runners put together and ready to quilt.  The one in the middle is my favorite.  I hope they will be well received in Australia.  It is ironic that their flag is the same colors as ours.  Perhaps these will bless their tables on Australia day.

I haven't had time to work much on my goals this month.  I did bind 3 more quilts at the retreat (which was on my goal list).  This leaves me with 4 more small ones to finish.  I have a plan for my red/tan blocks that have been hanging on my design wall.  I hope to work on that this week.

UPDATE:  The pattern is by School House quilts.  It can be ordered directly from the author if you can not find it at your local quilt shop (latpatt@aol.com).  

Retreat progress

Nancy is working hard on her triangle quilt.   I am working hard on some host family gifts.

It has been a glorious retreat filled with much laughter

Host families

Working on gifts for my daughters host families today.  Now if we could just get a city assignment.

March Goals and February Finishes

I didn't have ANY finishes for February.  This was pretty disappointing, but I finished all my goals with the exception of the quilting ones.  I put borders on several quilts and finished piecing a few.  I have a long way to go to get to my goal of 35 finishes from the UFO list.  

Since March is half  over, I better make my goal a little easier.

1. Quilt 2 customer quilts (carry over from last month)
2. Quilt 2 pillows that I started recently (Hexie Pillow and Moda Candy Pillow
3. Figure out a setting for my Red/Tan blocks and put them together
4. Bind the rest of my quilts from my January finishes

My Lewis and Clark blocks are still hanging on the design wall.  I need to try out some alternate blocks and see what I can come up with.  This weekend is another sewing retreat, so hopefully I can get a little piecing done and have something to show you by next Monday.

Design Wall Monday

Where have I been?  I haven't been sewing, so I don't have much sewing related to post.  I haven't even posted my goals for March and the month is half over.

I have been watching a whole lot of this.

 Don't ask me how my boys got interested in wrestling.  It does keep them active, but it is a very intense sport to watch.  As a parent, it is hard to watch their bodies bend at such unnatural angles.

I insisted Sunday morning that I have a little play time myself!  I had about a 2 hour window to work with.  I stitched up this pillow top using my Moda Candy pack. This pattern took 48 squares, so I used 6 squares from my 2 1/2" square bin.  I love how it turned out.  The green fabric is an older RJR line, but I think it matches perfectly.

If you are interested in making this pattern, it takes 48 - 2 1/2" and 1/4 yard of accent fabric.

(2 strips of accent fabric 1 1/2", and 2 strips of accent fabric 2 1/2")

The pillow is 20"

Thanks for visiting.  Stop over to Judy's to see what others are working on.

March Already?

How did that happen?  This whole year is just flying by!

It was a super exciting weekend for our household.  I have been patiently waiting to find out what country my daughter will be studying in.  We had a reveal party yesterday with family and friends.  The selected country was........

I had asked the baker to put the name of the country under the cake so that we could reveal the country together.  He really went out of his way and made it amazing.  The cake was delicious and there wasn't a single piece left.

Last year only one student from the United States was selected by Rotary to go to Australia.  She is so excited as this was her first choice as a destination country.  She will be there for about eleven months starting in July or August.  We should receive the city

I did pretty well on my February goals.  I accomplished everything except quilting and one more border on my Orange Crush quilt.  All things considered - it was a successful month.

I have been so busy with my family activities that I haven't had a chance to even think about March goals.  Today I hope to catch my breath, re-group, and think about March goals.