Mother's Day card

It was Sat. night, and I realized that I hadn't made any Mother's Day cards yet! A quick peek through some of the cards I've seen online helped me come up with a design. One of the scalloped borders from Nestabilities, some sponging, stamping, trim and half-pearls and Voila! my Mother's Day card. The stamps are from Verve and CTMH.

It's FINALLY done!

I've been trying to make this "Quarter Quilt" using one of Kaye Wood's patterns for quite a while now..... I was sure that I could whip it up in a weekend - and if I hadn't been interrupted a kazillion times, I might have done it. But, I put the last stitches in the binding tonight, and voila! a new Quarter Quilt for the spare room. It even matches the comforter quite nicely! Of course, the comforter will be coming off when the nice weather finally makes it's way to us.
The last QQ I made was flowery and I used a rose-red fabric - and seeing as the spare room is most often used by my son, I thought it needed something a little more manly.
I loved how this pattern went together too - there's a "twist" in the instructions, and I thought that was the most fun part - but you'll have to order the pattern to find out what the twist is! The first pic is a close-up of the fabrics and the pattern; the 2nd is a pic of it on the bed.

New cards....'cause I'm all out.....

I don't seem to have a lot of time for card-making lately, so my box is getting low in some categories - especially the "Thinking of You" kinds of cards. I have a few friends that are going through some tough times, mostly because of serious illness - and a "Get Well" card just isn't appropriate.
I took some time on Saturday evening to make a few - and here they are:
I used my Cuttlebug for both cards - to emboss some of the cardstock and also to cut the oval shapes. The white one went into a church mailslot, and the brighter one is going in the mail today.......

Friday Night Sew-In

Sometimes these monthly Sew-ins sneak up on me - sometimes I know that it's coming, and yet, when it's actually Friday evening, I have nothing planned.....
I have SO many quilt projects on the go right now, plus 3 formal dresses that I need to have finished for May 2nd - so, lots of sewing to do - I just have to pick one, right? So, I totally ignored all the things that need to be done now, if not sooner, and I started a new project! I saw a few pictures a few weeks ago, for a quilt called Split Decision - it looks like so much fun, and basically needs a jelly roll (a package of fabric strips, all cut 2 1/2" wide, by the width of the fabric) - and a ruler and cutting tool. I just happened to have 3 jelly rolls, so after Eeny, meeny, miny, moe - I chose the Lily and Will set of fabrics and started cutting the appropriate lengths. Then, it's just a matter of sewing the bits together, and pressing the seams - and voila! a whole lot of blocks for a great quilt!
I haven't had a chance to put any of the blocks together, and some of the blocks haven't even been made, but I have a great start on what's going to be a beautifully soft quilt. Here's the proof....
I'm going to leave the parts out - that way, if I have a few minutes while supper is cooking, or while I've got a few minutes before I have to leave for a meeting, I can sew a few parts together, and next thing you know - I'll have a top! Keep your eyes peeled!

Birthday cards - part 2

After a really crazy few days, I finally had time to sit down at the sewing machine this evening - or so I thought. Today (Fri. Apr. 15th) is Friday Night Sew-in, and I was getting ready to start my project, when I realized that tomorrow is the birthday of a very special friend - and I had no card for her! That would never do (she knows that I make cards, so a quick trip to the store wouldn't do...) - so I grabbed my cheat sheet - a print-out of cards that I've found on the 'net; cards that fit my style of card-making (I occassionally add in a few that will stretch me a bit, too). Forty-five minutes later, I had 4 cards - only one is going to be just right for tomorrow - so the rest will go into my file.
I'm not really happy with the 2 on the left - the circle / oval is too bare, and the whole card just doesn't flow the way the original did, but they'll work for someone (and I'll try to fix the bare spots...and add bodies for the butterflies!). I'm not sure that the bottom right corner card will work for my friend - it seems a bit "manly", so she'll get the top right side one. I bought a Xyron a few months ago - I've had problems "gluing" tiny bits onto cards, especially when I'm using individual letters, so that's why I bought the Xyron. It's been sitting in it's box ever since, but I got to try it out for the ribbon - and I'm quite pleased with the end result!
Check back here tomorrow for the results of my FNSI - I started a new project, and I'm excited about it!

More Layer Cake quilt-along blocks

Somewhere along the line, I got a bit derailed and then completely behind and mixed up.... I'm finally starting to get caught up again, and sewing/quilting is a little higher on the priority list. Last night, I spent a bit of time cutting block parts, and tonight I got 2 more LC quilt-along blocks put together. I have the last one cut, but ran out of time to get it stitched tonight yet - but, tomorrow's another day!
I've enjoyed the process of making these blocks - the problem is that you have to decide on your layer cake long before you know what any of the blocks are going to look like. You're really at the mercy of the block designer, and your layer cake. Most of the fabrics in my layer cake were very "busy" - lots of design, lots of colours - and that made for a few blocks that I'm not really thrilled with. The way to get around that is to wait until all of the blocks are posted, and then, very carefully, choose your fabrics. I've done that before, but this time I wanted to be at the same stage as everyone else - and you're only eligible for prizes if you stay with the group. Oh, didn't I mention that there were prizes? Sorry! Not that it really mattered in the end - I didn't win anything.....
At any rate, here are the pics of the last few blocks I've finished:

My current project!

Every so often, I get inspired by certain projects, and I realize how easy some of them would be to make, if only I did a bit of prep work. So, now when I start a new project, I cut at least one 2 1/2" strip of each of the fabrics I'm using - and then I set that strip aside. I do that with any Fat Quarters that I buy, as well (and I can't seem to go to any kind of quilt show or shop-hop without buying at least a few FQs!)
The best part about making those strips is that when I want a quick project, I can grab those strips, and I can quickly get a lot done it a short time - and seriously, how long does it take to cut an extra strip when you're already cutting 30 or 40 for another quilt project?
I saw an online request for quilts that are desperately needed for an organization, and as I was trying to decide on what specifically to do, my pre-cut strips started calling my name.... I had seen a picture of a really fun quilt online, and I had printed it off for reference. All it really needed was a lot of 2 1/2" strips, cut into 8 1/2" - 9" lengths. Sew 4 of them together, press all the seams to one side, and trim the finished block to 8 1/2" square. Then, arrange the blocks however you want!
Here's a pic of a few completed blocks, and some of the strips, and the other pic is the layout I'll probably use: