The top is done!

I spent most of the day working on Jeff and Anne Marie's quilt, and I'm happy to say that I finally got it finished tonight! (It needs a good pressing...) So, tomorrow it's off to the quilter's house - that should give her enough time to finish it so I can get the binding done in time for the wedding!

August FNSI

Another Saturday, another Friday Night Sew-In report...
We have a wedding to go to at the end of September, and I'm making a quilt for a wedding gift (I'm safe - they don't know I have a blog!) I picked up the fabric a few weeks ago at Sew Creative - this quilt was on display, and I knew that it would make the perfect gift!
The pattern is a freebie online (Sweet Caroline: http://www.clothworks.com/pattern_download.asp?ID=271) the only thing that I'm going to change is to not add the blue strips at the top and bottom of the quilt.
I managed to get all the nine-patch blocks made up, and I'm well on my way to completing the snowball blocks. I should have it done in time to get it to the quilter's by mid-week!

Another card from a few weeks ago...

Is anyone else's summer as crazy as mine has been? I figured that with a smallish garden (too wet this year) and no kids at home any more, I'd have a long, slow summer - with lots of time to accomplish all sorts of things....WRONG!!!
My garage door has 1 coat of paint on it, hoping to get the 2nd coat on sometime this week; I've managed to get a bit of sewing/quilting done (got the baby quilt all finished and delivered to DD#1 to give to the parents-to-be), and also did a bit of baking and canning for last week's fair in a nearby town (we don't have a local fair here any more).
I don't think I've even spent more than 3 hours all month making cards! I had a brief, energetic spurt, and managed to produce a few cards, but that's all. The worst part is, what has happened to all my wonderful free time?
But, before I get too philosophical (I don't want to lose all my readers!), I decided it must be time to post a card - and here it is! I've been working (slowly) at cleaning up my craft-room, and I came upon some half-finished cards and the elements to finish them, nicely tucked away in a plastic bag. So, a bit of time, some glue, mini brads, and a sentiment stamp or two, and I have another card to send to someone. Without further ado - I give you:

And now for something completely different....

Every so often I get in the mood to make a mini quilt - and the urge has hit again! Two or three years ago, I made a bow-tie quilt (http://delawarequilts.com/BOMs/BowTies/index.html), and when I made the block with the little triangle sewn onto it, I saved the little triangles that get cut off. I saved them, thinking that at some point in time, they just might come in handy - and boy, did they come in handy!
The individual blocks are approximately 1 1/4" square! Check out the link to see how the quilt should look when made with full size pieces (http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/art/htmls/ks_piece_logbarn.html) Here's mine - it's approximately 11 1/2" x 9 1/2"

Oh look - it's a card post!

It feels like a long time since I posted a card... actually, it's only been 33 days. So, I took some pics of cards I've recently made, and I'll share one of them here - I'm saving the other 2 for another time. It just seems like forever since I actually MADE a card.
There's a lady that used to go to my church; she always had a smile on her face, and was so welcoming of anyone and everyone. Now, she and her family attend a small church nearer their home - they feel needed there, and feel God calling them to be a part of that congregation.
It was her birthday earlier this week, so I made and sent her this card:
I used some Cosmo Cricket DP that I've had for a few years, and the birthday sentiment is from CTMH. I can't remember what set the motif is from, and I'm too hot and tired to run upstairs to check it out, so you'll have to be as puzzled as I am, OR you could check out the SU online site (that will only work if it's in the current catty though). A few brads and some bits of C/S that I found in my scraps box, and voila! a card! That actually wasn't too hard - I may try it again sometime soon!

Another Friday Night Sew-In

Well, I just might survive this week - lots of family stuff going on, and the weather! it's almost unbearable....
But, good things have happened this week too, so I'm truly thankful for that. Celebrating with the latest FNSI has helped too!
I had such grand plans for this month's sew-in, but they say that "the best laid plans of mice and men something-something" - I forget the rest, but you know what it means - everything went out the window! I did well to find an hour or two last night to work on a quilting project.
I am a member of an online quilting group; one of the members posted a comment the other day about a 4-patch posey project - that got me wondering what a 4-patch posey was, so I googled it, and found that it's similar to a "stack and whack" - any non-quilters reading this will have to look it up. I had an odd piece of fabric that I'd inherited at our quilt guild's last yard sale. I had no idea what to do with it, so I tucked it away. Well, I came across it Thursday, and thought I'd give the 4-patch posey a try.... and I think it came out fairly well! I've included a pic of the fabric so you can see what I started with. Basically, you cut 4 identical patches of fabric, cut them into 4, then take all the bottom left corner blocks, put them together; do the same with the other 3 block sets. Then you take one pile, and give each block a twist. Make sure that each section twists the same way. Sew them together, and voila! a 4-patch posey block!
Some of the blocks worked out better that others, but I've chosen a few to show you here. Just don't ask me what I'm going to do with the "new" blocks - I have NO idea! I might make a warm wishes quilt with them, but that's the only thing I've come up with so far. I might just leave it for the August FNSI!

I've got to stop doing this!

I currently have at least 4 or 5 quilt projects on the go (and I know that you're waiting for the pics of the completed eyelet quilt), but I couldn't help myself.... DD#1 has very good friends that are expecting their first baby. Obviously, every first-born baby needs a quilt...and, seeing as DD#1 doesn't quilt (she doesn't even have time to sew on buttons most days), the project was mine.
The nursery is going to be done in greens, browns and oranges, which is PERFECT, because I had just the right quilt pattern and fabric. So, I ordered the fabric, and Canada Post ended up in a labour dispute - soooo, no fabric arriving....
BUT, the post office employees are back at work, my jelly roll showed up, and I had a holiday weekend in which to assemble a baby quilt.
I love the Split Decision quilt pattern - it goes together quickly, and looks great!
I hope you agree! It's ready to layer, quilt and bind, so you know what I'll be doing for the next few days.
As well, I've got my eyelet quilt sashed, and I'm ready to put on the border. I'm not sure how to go about quilting it yet - it's really bulky where the pinwheel points come together. I'm thinking, I'm thinking....