F-6 : Ta DONE!

DJ block F-6 is done and it's not even midnight [the deadline]. And the bonus? It's the correct size. Whew! I made the block and then did the applique... no no NO. Should have appliqued the melons on a slightly larger center square, trimmed to size, and then stitched it all together. Well, it's been a long time since I worked on Jane and I've sorta forgotten a lot of stuff.


DJ Block F-6 completed 30 Sep 2012

The melons are a little wonky, but, Hey! it's done. *g*
Until next time... Thank you for popping in for a visit and I hope you had a lovely day that included people you love and some time for stitching!

Quilty Hugs,

MAKING JANE

It's time to get going on Jane again. Today's block is: F-6.  It only took an HOUR to make the tiny sq-in-a-square shown below.

This block needs 4 of these. Why did it take so long? Because I thought I'd pre-cut the bits to speed up the PPing... well, that only works if one cuts the pieces the CORRECT size. lol. Oh well, I have until midnight to get this done. Golly hope it doesn't actually take me that long.

DJ Block F6 - partially pieced, but not trimmed.

 When PPing I sew right next to the line, on the seam-allowance side... how do you do prefer to do it? I like to allow a smidge to offset the take-up when the s.a. is pressed over.

DJ Block F-6 - showing pieces in block

Until next time. . . thank you for popping in to visit... what are YOU making today?

My DJ is really more of a WIP than a UFO, but I am linking to Leah's UFO party. Stop over and see what every is working on.

Quilty Hugs,

FNSI - A few more finishes!

Good news: completed some UFOs tonight. Finished a couple of bindings and tacked down a few sashings on a QAYG project. It was a very productive evening. This Friday Night Sew-In is a great idea. Please click the button on my left sidebar to see what others are doing.

Tomorrow is another Marti & Me Class at the Quilter's Cottage in Fallbrook. It's always fun to get together with like-minded quilters and the demo's are great! Then, of course, there is the opportunity to shop! Yippee Skippee.

Thank you for popping in to visit. Until next time, I hope we all have time to stitch up something wonderful.

Quilty Hugs,

MINI EMBROIDERY QUILT. . . Done

It's finished! The little quilt I've been working on for the Friendship Embroidery Mini Quilt Swap is all done. Soon it will be on it's way across the Big Blue Pond to it's new home somewhere in Australia. Sure hope the person who receives it will like it and enjoy it.

"Friendship's Offering" by Cyn;-) Forrest for the Mini Embroidery Swap

The poor little thing looks a bit washed out... I took the pic under incandescent light. Maybe waiting for daylight would have been better.  For a little bling, I stitched mini rick rack in the binding seam sort of like a flange.  The heart appliques are YoYo Hearts. They were fun to make. I like how it turned out.

On the back are Fast Finish Triangle Sleeves -- many thanks to the AAQI site that shares how to make these.  I put them on the top as well as the bottom of the quilt. To hang, just slip a stick or rod of some sort under the triangles and hang.  And to keep the quilt always hanging straight and flat against the wall, lay another stick - even a chopstick will do - in the bottom triangle sleeves.  The "label info" has been penned on the triangle sleeves with Pigma Pen. Unfortunately it doesn't show up in this photo, but it's there!

Embroidery design by Lena of the Stitching Cow; stitchery by Cyn Forrest

The center stitchery was quilted as it was embroidered. I usually work with a thin cotton batt behind the background as I am embroidering - it gives nice dimension to the stitches.  This was a fun project to do. More so because two local friends also participated and we cheered each other on. Nice. Many thanks to Lena of the Stitching Cow for her wonderful line drawing for the embroidery design, and thanks also to Michele at Quilting Gallery for putting the swap together... thank you ladies!

Until next time. . . I hope you have loads of time to stitch up something wonderful.

Quilty Hugs,

SHOPPING - Two Good Experiences

Too often we are quick to relate a bad shopping experience, but lax in reporting a good one. Well I just had TWO really good shopping experiences - one online & the other a follow-up to an inquiry made to a vendor at the San Diego Quilt Show.

Fabric from: Vicki at the Quilting Lodge

 First : Vicki at Quilting Lodge. She offered some special sales on her blog last Friday and I ordered a few. They arrived in TODAY's mail! Now that's fast shipping. Vicki said she would ship them out right away and she sure did! Thank you, Vicki.

Marti Michele Templates & books from: Cherie & Rod, Quilts In The Attic.

Vendor at the recent San Diego Quilt Show: Cherie & Rod from Quilts In The Attic. They were pretty sure they still had what I was asking about, but didn't have access to it during the show. Rod offered to look for it and mail it to me after the show closed. They sure did! Thank you so much, Cherie & Rod, for excellent customer service - fast, too!

I will definitely shop from both of these businesses in the future!  Really NICE people!! Have you found some extra special businesses that go the extra mile and that you are happy with? It would be nice to see some listed in the Comments... we could all benefit, eh?

Until next time. . . I have some more binding to sew on [I love to bind!]. What are you up to today?

Quilty Hugs,

YO-YO HEARTS 4 MINI

A little bling never hurts, so I'm making a few YoYo hearts for the Friendship Mini. I hadn't made these in so long I had to get out the directions.

Fabric and Heart Maker Tool by Clover ArtNo.8704

Stitching completed - popped out of disc/plate

First heart - just pull up the stitching thread and ease into shape

2nd Heart: secure thread by taking a small tuck to improve shape. Not a part of package instructions, but improv is always good, eh?

2nd Heart - this one has a little tuck in the back, then secure thread end

You be the judge: do you like Heart #1 or Heart #2 better? Does it really matter? Do they both look like hearts? There might be tiny little beads in the center of the hearts when I stitch them on the quilt - the washable kind.

So, this is what I am working on today. Hope to finish it by tonight. Until next time. . . . what are you making today?

Quilty Hugs,

MINI EMBROIDERY & MENU FUN

The Friendship Embroidery Mini Quilt I'm making for a swap is almost finished.  It still looks a bit plain... there will be a few more bits added, then a little more quilting, a binding, a label and done. Hopefully this will go into the mail by Monday. Sure hope the recipient likes what I've made. It's hard to guess what someone else is going to like. Fingers crossed.

Friendship Embroidery Mini Quilt Swap - in process

Missy snoozing and relaxing under the front window... nothing can relax as completely as a kitty!

Your camera WOKE me!

Until next time. . . I'm headed back to my sewing machine  to bed! What are you up to?

Quilty Hugs,

MENU FUN:
Doc says, "put more veggies into your diet!". What he really meant was A LOT more! So I've been experimenting by changing up some things I've cooked for years.  In this case, spaghetti sauce. There are so many veggies in here I call it the "Kitchen Sink" sauce. It was tasty. I served it with 1/2 Cup of whole wheat pasta & 1 Cup of this veggie/tomato concoction. It was great. So now-a-days instead of 2 cups of pasta and one cup of sauce, it's a smidgen of pasta and tons of veggies. Totally vegan. My body seems to like it.

Spaghetti: Super Veg-a-sized!

SAN DIEGO QUILT SHOW

Some friends and I took the Coaster Train down to San Diego to see the San Diego Quilt Show last Friday. The train was fun and the Show was great! There were so many gorgeous quilts at the show it was hard to choose just a few to share with you here.  I couldn't resist the DearJane and 2 Orca Bays. The rainbow quilt is fun and reminds me of the RSC2012 that so many of us are participating in.  The workmanship on these quilts is amazing! The photos I took? Not so much. Enjoy the show. . .

"African Slant" by Janice Pennington 86x86 original design

#139: "Mandie Jane" by Amanda Taylor 83x83

"New Beginnings" by Joan Torbett 75x85

"Kordova Klosure" by Sandi Delman 108x100

"Oh, My Stars" by Midge Kincaid 85x85

"Home Sweet Home" by Jennifer Phillips 75x75
BLUE RIBBON Winner!

"Rainbow From Hell" by Sharon Claar 59x84

 All credit information listed with each quilt, was taken from the SDQS program guide.

Linking to:
 Connie at Freemotion by the River.

Jo's County Junction - Try it on Tuesday.

Until next time... I will be sewing tonight; what are you up to?

Quilty Hugs,

DEAR JANE RETURNS

My poor little Dear Jane hasn't seen the light of day for sooooo long. Gosh I can't even remember exactly how long it has been. Last night - with encouragement from friends - I made a block. Not a difficult block, but a block just the same.

Dear Jane: block C-1

How do YOU organize your DJ stuff? I can't remember how I had everything. lol. If I am organized I think things will work out better.  Somewhere I have charts, etc. Must find where they are and get all set up again. If everything is out and at hand, I will probably get more done. Please wish me luck.

That's all for today. Thank you for stopping by for a visit. Until next time. . . I'm going to finish sewing on a binding. What are you going to do today?

Quilty Hugs,

BLOCKBASE SEW-ALONG Begins Oct 1st. - & A GIVE-A-WAY!

The new BlockBase Sew-A-Long will be starting October 1st. There is a button on my left sidebar. Sounds like fun to me. For extra fun there is a give-a-way for FIVE copies of BlockBase. Wow! Good luck everyone.

All the pics from the San Diego Quilt Show aren't quite ready. I am editing each pic to include owner/quilter info. I hope to get them up later today, or maybe tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Want a super quick & accurate 1/4 inch sewing guide, especially for hand piecing? Go HERE and check out what Emily came up with. Brilliant!

 

That's all for now. Until next time. . .  let's go stitch something: I'm making a DJ block today. What are YOU making?

Quilty Hugs,

MINI EMBROIDERY - A Near Disaster!

Too bad I didn't take a picture of this little embroidery as it was last night.  I gave it a quick dip into a bowl of cool water to remove the Solvy and laid it on a clean white towel to dry.  Later I noticed the puple floss  had RUN -- there were little 'splotches' on the background!!  Oh sheesh.

Friendship Embroidery Mini Quilt Swap

 I grabbed a Shout sheet, a squirt of All and crossed my fingers. It had to soak all night before it came out. Whew... a near disaster avoided. I am Happy Dancing that the Shout worked! But, lesson learned; next time I will TEST the floss before using it!

I'm off to the San Diego Quilt Show today with friends. We are going to take the train! What fun. Until next time. . .

Quilty Hugs,

WIP Wednesday: Friendship Embroidery Mini Swap

Several people around the world are signed up for this little swap. It is a cute and fun project. Below is a pic of my progress so far. How is everyone else doing? I hope to get my offering into the mail in about 4 days.

Friendship Embroidery - design by Lenna Green of the Stitching Cow

NO tracing... just print design, lay on foundation & stitch. Dissolves in water. Love it.

Until next time. . . what are you doing today?

Linking to: Freshly Pieced: WIP Wednesday.

Quilty Hugs,

HOOKING ALONG . . . A New CAL Has Begun

It's nothing official, just an informal CAL - Crochet A Long - with a few friends.  Want to join in?  Jules is writing up some directions. Katrin wrote a great post about this blanket - that's how I learned about it. Sounded good to me and I told EllyD and LuAnn about it... now we are all crocheting up a storm!

Mixed Stripey CAL

 What else is a gal to do with huge Space Bags FULL of yarn??

Part of my Yarn Stash

Missy - if there is a box around she will find it!

Missy 'observing' from her new-found box

I've been clearing out and de-stashing in order to re-organize my sewing space. This box was supposed to hold a lot of fabric and several books and magazines. It was headed to my Guild for our donation table. Guess I better find another box!

Until next time. . . what are you doing today???

Linking to Connie at Freemotion by the River.

Quilty Hugs,