Monday, March 30, 2020

Send Me To The Woods With Riley Blake Designs

Riley Blake Designs is releasing some adorable fabric this month that will definitely have
you wishing you were sitting in a warm and cozy cabin in the woods wrapped in a quilt.

The Wild Woods
60" x 60"


Send Me to the Woods by Tara Reed for Riley Blake Designs is great for quilting, apparel 
and home decor. The fabric is 100 per cent cotton and looks and feels so amazing!


Such fun panels!


A moose, a bear, and a deer mixed in with pinecones...so woodsy!



I love the buffalo prints don't you!


The moose has eyes on you.



You are such a deer!


Bear with me...lots of pictures today!


Riley Blake Designs "Shades" were perfect with "Send Me To The Woods"


Soooo...are you ready to go to the woods? I am!



Check out some of the other "Send Me To The Woods" projects and all the
other amazing inspiration on the Riley Blake Blog HERE.


"The Wild Woods" is free during March and April HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


Thursday, March 26, 2020

The Coolest and Prettiest Hippos In The Pond

It seems like there's always got to be a cool or pretty one in a group and these two hippos
 are just that. Blend Fabrics "Congo Hippos" make these two hippos stand out from the rest
 of the hippos in the pond. You'll love this fabric designed by Katy Tanis. It's 100 per cent 
cotton  and perfect for quilts, clothing, or home decor...like pillows! 


"The Coolest Hippo in the Pond" sports a dapper hat and hip glasses, 
so of course he's admired by the other hippos in the neighborhood. 


The Prettiest Hippo in the Pond" doesn't act like she thinks the cool guy is 
all that great, but she secretly adores him! 


I always use Heat n Bond Lite, Iron-on Adhesive for all my applique projects.


You can find PDF downloadable patterns for "The Coolest Hippo in the Pond" and "The Prettiest Hippo in the Pond" HERE and HERE.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Making Us Laugh Blog Hop With Beach Boy Freddie

We could all use a good laugh and Joan at Moosestash Quilting has the perfect way
to give us some giggles. She's the best hostess...thank you, Joan!

Beach Boy Freddie thought he'd do his part to make you smile.


We're all a little nervous about the virus and so is Freddie.
He's encouraging his fellow flamingos to do their part in avoiding the germs, too.

This wall hanging will go in a frame when the stores open back up so I can buy one.
We're on 30 day stay-at-home orders by our governor so the non essential stores are closed.
I'm not sure quilters and crafters would agree that craft and fabric stores are nonessential.


It's unreal to see the Las Vegas Strip with hardly anyone around...this is a first!
All the hotels have closed for the next 30 days. So crazy!


My photo backgrounds changed with the move and with needing to stay close to home.
Freddie didn't mind, though.


He can look dapper anywhere he goes!




Look who else is making us laugh during this blog hop...

Monday, March 16, 2020

It's Time For "It's Cool To Be Square" Blog Hop Sign-ups

It's time for a new blog hop and I think this one should be so fun!
"It's Cool To Be Square" is set for May 18-22 with simple rules, of course.


Make a project that's square shaped or has squares in the fabric.

You can make a mug rug, pot holder, mini quilt, baby quilt, bag, etc.

Post your project on your assigned day and list the other blog hoppers.

Have a giveaway or don't have a giveaway. It's totally optional!

Visit everyone's blog on the list and leave a sweet comment.

Are you in?

Email me with your name, email, blog name, and blog URL 
and I'll get back to you with a date for your post.


I'd love to have you join in the hop!

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Selling, Packing, Moving, And Other Adventures

I feel like I've been out of the loop on what's happening in the quilting world,
mainly because we sold our house and have been busy packing and moving.
I try not to be too wordy in my posts, so you can move along if this is too much for you.


I can't believe how much stuff we had! Kris at Kris Loves Fabric asked me if that U-Haul was for
my fabric. Such a silly girl! No, I needed a bigger truck for all my fabric and sewing essentials!
We'd already sent a bigger truck load to Las Vegas a few days before we officially moved.

We hadn't planned on selling our house, though we knew we would eventually so we could
move closer to family. A realtor I'd dealt with before called me to say he had someone
interested in our house. A three car garage is a golden bonus and they wanted that feature.

The realtor brought a couple over, they looked, talked it over, and then they put in an offer
contingent on them selling their house. They sold their house which then threw us into a
panic of packing and getting rid of stuff. I thought we'd pretty much thinned out things,
but I was so wrong! We have a 10' x 30' storage unit for most of our stuff, but we also have
some in a small garage. So crazy...I need to thin out more eventually.

The day before moving we discovered a roof leak. I thought I was going to have to get out my little
 white strait jacket when I discovered it. Luckily, a handyman came over and fixed it and the buyers
approved it. Unfortunately, the realtor called me yesterday and said it wasn't fixed after all.
The rain has been pretty intense, so it's good and bad that this showed up now.
It's in the eave behind the stucco, so no damage in the house or garage.

We're hoping to resolve this soon (or I will need dinners brought in and comfort messages.) LOL


A few months ago my friend, Barbara, asked me if I'd do a trunk show for her guild. Since I'd 
never done a trunk show or been to a trunk show, this was kind of scary but I told her I would
do it. It was set for March 12th which was several months away, so no big deal.

It turned out to be a big deal because we sold our house and the closing was set for...
MARCH 12TH! It was a crazy day, but I loved the trunk show and the ladies were so kind.
I was so tired, but it was really fun!

A really big surprise was when one of the ladies, Nickie, asked me if I knew Carla Henton.
(Carla is from Creatin' in the Sticks)

I might have squealed a bit that of course I knew Carla, worked with Carla, loved Carla, did blog 
hops with Carla, and blabbered all over the place about Carla! Nickie said Carla used to do her 
hair years ago before she moved to a small town in Southern Utah. Seriously, such a small world.


We landed two days ago in a two bedroom condo in Las Vegas until we figure out where we want
to buy/move. This is not going to work for long because there is barely room for me to sew.
This is what my bedroom/sewing room looked like after my family helped empty the small 
trailer into our condo. Some of my sewing stuff is still in the living room, hallway, 
storage unit and the small garage. Again...crazy!


We luckily had a shelf in the garage that I could use to somewhat organize the stuff.
I have a few deadlines to meet, so I'm anxious to get sewing! Yes, it still looks chaotic, I know.


Carla and I took a little break this month from blog hops to let our sweet friend, Joan, 
at Moosestashing Quilting host "Making Us Laugh." Somewhere in the pile of boxes and 
containers is my project and plan. I better get busy! We'll announce another blog hop soon.


Wednesday March 18

Thursday March 19

Friday March 20
Monday March 23
Tuesday March 24
Songbird Designs
Bumbleberry Stitches
Quilting Gail
Just Because Quilts
Patchwork Breeze
MooseStashQuilting


And then there's "The Virus."

We didn't want to pack up a lot of food, so we'd been slowing down with our shopping. The day
after moving we hustled to the grocery store, along with a lot of other people, and picked up some
food to keep us fat and happy while we hunker down to keep our germs away from other people's
 germs. There was no meat, no toilet paper, paper towels, and quite a few empty shelves.

Only one person was freaking out, everyone else was just getting enough food to get by and not
overloading their carts to horde food/supplies. My family is okay with food and we will share what
we have to keep them fat and happy, too. Monkey Boys are out of school, but we can't even go
 anywhere with them. Bummer! Hopefully, it will not be as bad as China and Italy have endured.

We just need to stay calm and do what we need to do to move on with life sooner rather than later.
P.S. We have plenty of toilet paper if you were worried about us. No pallets of it, but enough.

Well, that dragged on, I know, but I'm done now. Thanks for visiting!

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Saint Patrick's Day Runner With ThermOWeb And Crafter's Edge

We could all use a bit of luck in our homes and this St. Patrick's Day runner could just be the
 thing to bring that Irish luck to you! Those sweet shamrocks made with 
Crafter's Edge Nested Hearts and green fabric will bring some cheery fun to the party, too!

You can visit the ThermOWeb blog today to see this and other fun projects, too!

St. Patrick's Day Table Runner
14" x 50"


Putting the runner together goes quickly with the Crafter's Edge fabric dies and ThermOWeb 
products. The Heat n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive has just the right amount of thickness without 
adding bulk and you'll love how easy it is to peel off the protective backing paper. 

products  for finishing the runner without needing to pin the layers together before quilting.

Supplies:

Crafter’s Edge Crossover Machine
Crafter’s Edge Nested Hearts Fabric Die
Optional - Three 1” Buttons


Fabric needed:

1/4 yard green and white gingham
1 1/4 yard green cut lengthwise (1/2 yard if piecing strips)
1 3/8 yard white cut lengthwise (5/8 yard if piecing strips)
1 1/2 yard green backing
1/3 yard white and green polka dot– binding
1 3/8 yard – Stitch n Sew Fleece Sew-in High Loft or batting

Cutting instructions:

Cut 1 – 9 ½” x 9 ½” green squares (hourglass blocks)
Cut 1 – 9 ½” x 9 ½” white squares (hourglass blocks)
Cut 3 – 8 ½” x 8 ½” white squares (shamrocks background)
Cut 9 – 3 ½” x 3” green and white gingham Crafter’s Edge Nested Hearts with iron-on adhesive (shamrocks)
Cut 3 – 1/2” x 3 ½” green applique strips with iron-on adhesive (shamrock stems)
Cut 3 – 1” applique circles (shamrock centers or use buttons)
Cut 6 – 1 ½” x 8 ½” green strips (sashing)
Cut 2 – 1 ½” x 46 ½” green strips (top and bottom Border A) *cut lengthwise on fabric or piece to make 46 ½” strip
Cut 2 – 2 ½” x 10 ½” white strips (left and right Border B)
Cut 2 – 2 ½” x 50 ½” white strips (top and bottom Border B) *cut lengthwise on fabric or piece to make 50 ½” strip
Cut 1 – 16” x 52” green runner backing (extra allowed for quilting)
Cut 1 – 16” x 52” batting (extra allowed for quilting)
Cut 4 – 2 ½” x 43” green fabric (binding)

Sewing/Applique Instructions: Seams are sewn 1/4” wide

Step 1: Applique – Iron adhesive to wrong side of gingham fabric following package directions.


Cut out applique Nested Hearts using Crafter’s Edge Crossover II.




Peel off paper liner from the backs of applique pieces. Place applique, adhesive side down, on right side of fabric. Press according to package directions until entire piece is bonded. Let cool. Sew around edges of applique using a straight, zig-zag, or blanket stitch.



Step 2: Hourglass blocks - You’ll need one 9 ½” x 9 ½” white square and one 9 ½” x 9 ½” green square to make two blocks. Draw a line diagonally on wrong side of white square. Place right sides of green and white squares together. Sew a 1/4" seam along both sides of the drawn line.


Cut the block along the drawn line to create two blocks. Open and press fabrics to the dark side.


On one of the blocks, draw a diagonal line opposite from the seam on the wrong side of fabric.  With right sides together (colors opposite of each other) and nesting the seam, sew 1/4" along both sides of the drawn line. Cut the blocks along the drawn line. Open and press seams toward the side. Trim blocks to 8 ½” x 8 ½”.

Step 3: Center Row – With right sides together, sew appliqued shamrock blocks, hourglass blocks, and sashings together as shown below. Press seams to right.



Step 4: Border A – With right sides together, sew 1 ½” x 46 ½” green strips to top and bottom of Center Row. Press seams down.



Step 5: Border B – With right sides together, sew 2 ½” x 10 ½” white strips to left and right of Center Row/Border A. Press seams towards border. With right sides together, 2 ½” x 50 ½” white strips to top and bottom of Border A. Press seams down.



Step 6: *Runner assembly with batting and basting spray:
Protect the area where you will be working by placing an old sheet or paper under and around the area you’ll be spraying. Place the batting on work area, smoothing to remove wrinkles. Place the runner backing, wrong side down, on top of batting. Smooth to remove wrinkles. Having the batting a bit larger than the backing is suggested.

Roll back about six inches of the runner back to expose some of the batting. Using the basting spray, spray batting from one edge to the other. Carefully lay the wrong side of runner backing over the sprayed surface of batting. Smooth fabric to ensure it adheres to the sprayed fabric and remove any wrinkles. Roll back the rest of the runner back to continue spraying and smoothing about six inches at a time until you reach the bottom of the runner back. Check for creases or folds you might have missed.

Turn backing and batting over to have batting facing up. Lay runner front, wrong side down, on batting. Make sure runner front is lined up correctly; smooth out wrinkles. Use the same spray and smooth method as the backing. Trim edges and square-up runner.

Step 7: Quilt as desired and add binding. Add buttons if desired.





Give It A Whirl Blog Hop Starts Today

It is time to whirl, twirl, and spin with the "Give It A Whirl" blog hop! What was the challenge? Somewhere in or on your project ...