Time Flies!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've done a post! Bad Blogger, bad! So much has been going on, working in the garden, doing home improvement projects, trying to organize my studio and getting chickens! The last one is something I've wanted to do for a long time, more on that later.

As for my quilting, I seem to be stalled. I started doing cross stitch and not being a fast stitcher I've fallen behind (I was doing The Fat Quarter Shops stitch alongs). I decided that stitching before bed would be the only time I would work on it and if I fell behind it didn't matter, it's not going anywhere! But the time it took away from my quilting has made it hard for me to get into my room. Yesterday I decided enough foolishness and got back to work! Pat Sloan's QAL just posted it's last block this past Wednesday and I am two blocks behind. Not bad considering! I cut out the fabric for those and should have them done today or tomorrow. I've also been dragging my feet about the sashing and cornerstones. I think I have it figured out so I'll get on that too! 

I'm also working on a two quilts I designed one is for a coworker of my husband and the other is for a friend of ours. It's a ocean theme. HERE is the original post for it. I do have a lot more done then that, but it's pretty sad this post was back in November 2020! I did stop for a time, especially due to the move last year. I believe I only have 6 more blocks to do, then sashing and cornerstones. The one for my husbands coworker is a quilt that I started back in March! I made the blocks to look like sunflowers so I'm calling it Sunflower Field. I am trying to write up the instructions for it, but I'm new at it so it's taking longer than I would like. I'll try to post a photo of the finished block later. Right now I think I have enough Foundation Papers pieced to do 4 blocks... I need 18! I need to figure out how to sew faster! 

Here's a stack of sunflower petals.

And this is one of my favorite blocks in the ocean quilt. Sorry for the wrinkles, I grabbed the pile and took the photo not realizing it needed an iron taken to it and I just wanted to get this posted.

I'm thinking of calling this quilt either Picture This or Snapshot. What do you think? 

So those are my two designs I've been working on. Now for Pat Sloan's QAL...

Here it is up on my make- shift design wall. I was/am trying to see what I like for the sashing and border and if the block placement will work. Hopefully I can get this turning into a flimsy and start deciding on how I want to quilt it.

And now for the chickens!...

They are peaking out to see if I'm coming to let them out of the coop!

The light color one on the left is Rose, the one in the front right is Blanche, the tall black one is Dorothy and the one between Dorothy and Blanche is Sophia...you can see below Sophia has a pearl necklace 😂When she was younger it was two rows of white that made me think of pearls, she has since gotten more pearls. 

 Yes I named them after the Golden Girls!

 So that's it for now. I will try not to stay away so long. I'm a big believer in schedules and routines. I just have to get mine back together! 

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you soon!!

Sheila

 

Color Challenge Block for April And Cranberry Salad

Hi ALL!!! This is my month to make and blog about April's block! And this year we are posting a recipe to go with the block!!! How fun! 

To get the pattern for this and all the blocks head to Jen's blog. But don't leave me yet!!! This months block is red and the theme is cherries. Yes I know my title says Cranberry Salad, but it uses cherry jello! So let's get started...

Here is my block.

I love how easy it was to put together and how nice it turned out! Since I used two shades of red I used Aurifil #2265 Lobster Red when piecing it together. This way I don't see the Dove grey thread (Aurifil #2600) I usually use when piecing peeking through here and there.

Here are the other bloggers. Make sure you head to Jen Shaffer for the blocks instructions!

 

Jen Shaffer    Patterns By Jen

Kathy Nester     Penny For My Thoughts

Kris Driessen     Scrap Dash

Joanne Hubbard     Everyone Deserves A Quilt

Raylee Bielenberg     Sunflower Stitcheries

Andi Stanfield     True Blue Quilts

Crystal Drummond     Day Brook Designs

Sarah Myers     Quilted Diary

Ashli Montgomery    Quilt 2 Endalz

Join the fun and don't forget to visit all the wonderful sponsors!  

For some reason I'm having issues loading  links, but if you to

Jen's blog she has a complete list of the sponsor HERE. 

And now for the Cranberry Salad recipe! My mom made this every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas to have with our turkey. I don't know about the rest of the grocery stores, but I buy the jello in October because I can never find cherry jello in November or December! Maybe because this is a small town or this is a more common recipe than I thought!

Cranberry Salad

Ingredients:

1 small box Cherry Jello

1 can Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

3/4 cup Hot Water

1/3 cup Cold Water

1/2 cup Chopped Celery

1/2 cup chopped Walnuts

Directions:

1. Mix hot water and jello until dissolved. 

2. Add cold water and let it cool. 

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Put it in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes then stir and return to the refrigerator for another 15 to 20 minutes. Continue to stir every 15 to 20 minutes until it thickens.

4.  It's best to make it the day before so it has plenty of time to set and chill!

I hope you join in and get a chance to win these great prizes! Don't forget to visit Jen's blog for this months block, all the other bloggers to see how they made the block and get their recipes and of course visit the sponsors!!!! And I hope you have enjoyed my post, take a look around (many post with dogs!), stay awhile and I would love if you followed my little blog!

See ya soon!

Sheila

January's OMG, Latest QAL and More Bullet Journal

 Can you, as a quilter think of anything more exhilarating than the possibilities that a new bundle of fabric holds. Even more thrilling is the start of a new project, the fabric uncut, the placements of the fabric in that first block and in the case of a QAL, a mystery of what the future blocks may hold...

That's what I was feeling Wednesday morning! Pat Sloan's new QAL started called Home Is... I'm not much for applique, but if I want to grow as a quilter I have to work on building my skills. Her first block has a small applique heart on it and if you really don't want to attempt it you don't have to put it in. I chose to challenge myself! Here's my block 

 

and a close up of the applique heart.

I used Aurifil #2425 Bright Pink to stitch around the heart and I'm using Edyta Sitar's Sweet Sixteen fabric for this QAL. Don't you just love those little birdies!

Now onto my OMG for January...

Since I didn't complete my OMG for last month I'm carrying it over. I'm happy to say that I finally finished the third block! Only one left, then quilt, bind and done!

 Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal January Link-up

And that's my OMG this month it is the same as last month, complete the Merry Mini wall hanging... Get it quilted and binding on! I'm feeling pretty good about getting things accomplished this month. I hope it lasts all year! 

I had a few comments and interest on my bullet journal last post, so I thought I would talk more about how I use it with my quilting. I don't spend too much time drawing in it or making it too fancy. I need it to be a way of organizing my thoughts. I get overwhelmed if too much is swimming around my brain and have always found jotting down a To-Do list help settle me. But I would end up with post-it notes and scraps of papers getting lost which doesn't help keep my brain settled. I started to use a journal a few years ago and I'm still working on ways to make it work for me. Here is last years page of how I keep track of what needs to get done or what I decide not to work on or just save the patterns to.

Sometimes it helps remind me of upcoming QALs or let's me see I have way too much I want to do! I can also look at my list and figure out what I have to work on next. I use this along with the Project List that I shared last post. This breaks down the projects into how many blocks are in the quilt or when the next one comes out.

You don't need a fancy journal to keep track like this, just a notebook will do. I started out by using a binder with pages I printed out. It helped me figure out what I want to keep track of, what I don't and how I want to set things up. Last years journal was a little less artsy than the previous year, but I did use it to think up quilting ideas or blocks I'd like to try. I do like looking at some of the drawings I did in 2019 when I had a moment to play. Maybe I'll do more of those too!

If you have any questions I'd love to help! If you are interested in more of my pages let me know and I'll post them next time. I keep everything in my journals...dinner ideas, sew everyday tracker, yoga tracker, and my daily happenings along with quotes and whatever is interesting me at the moment. 

Until next time!

Sheila

For all the animal lovers...                     Me and Duke,

He has helped me heal with his gentle soul.

It's October! OMG For October And A Finish!

Happy October! How's the weather in your world? It's chilly here. Wonderful for cozying up with a quilt and watching some old TV shows. But who has time for that! There are quilts to be made, binding to be added, designs to be put to paper and quilting to be done!

 

For this months OMG I would like to finish my Jelly Snowflake. The Fat Quarter Shop ran the quilt-a-long in July and Pat Sloan is running it again. I wanted to do the QAL when the Fat Quarter Shop was running it, but I had a few too many projects going. But then I always have too many projects in the works! ahahaha I wouldn't have it any other way! When Pat said she was running the QAL again I figured now was a good time. She started it September 8 and ran until October 6. I know, only a few days left and I only have the first blocks done and over half of the second blocks done. I decide to change them a little and it caused more work, but I don't mind and it makes it even more unique. I also plan on changing the other blocks too, so I know I won't get it done by the 6th! I do plan on having it pieced by the end of the month though! That's my goal! 

 Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal October Link-up

 

On the finished side...

 Kitty and Pumpkin, my design that I started last year! I put it aside since I didn't complete it for Halloween and so many other projects  awaited my attention. Now I'm waiting for a wall mounted quilt rack to hang it up on. I plan on using the rack to hang small holiday and seasonal quilts on. I guess I better get busy making more wall hangings!

I enjoyed quilting it. I added texture like hairs  on the kitty, veins in the leaves and swirls in the sky to give movement. I put buttons for the pumpkins eyes and filled in the mouth except for the lower part to give the look of a tongue. I used Aurifil thread in 2692-Black, 2890-Very Dark Grass Green, 2135-Yellow, 2235-Orange, 2425-Bright Pink,  2715-Robin Egg and the bobbin thread was 2600-Dove. 

I've also linked up with For The Love Of Geese and her Put Your Foot down! Join in, it's on Thursdays!!! And Free Motion Mavericks!!!

 

Time to get back to designing my next wall hanging!! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Sheila

October Color Challenge!

 This is my month of Jen's Color Challenge! This month is the Ruby-crowned Kinglet or the color olive green.

This is a wonderful block and not as hard as you might think! I think a whole quilt of this block in different colors would be so beautiful!

I like to match up the threads to each months block so that if I decide to quilt it with the coordinating threads I already know what colors I need. My go to thread is Aurifil 40wt. The bottom thread color is 2887 Very Dark Olive and the second is 2890 Very Dark Grass Green, but I think 2892 Pine would be a better match. Sounds like a good reason to buy more thread!

Head to Jen's blog to get the directions for this months block and then to the other fine quilters for their blocks

Jen Shaffer of Patterns By Jen

 

Fawn Benzing of Quilty Creations By Fawn

Roseanne Nelson of Home Sewn By Us

Stephanie Jacobson of Steph Jacobson Designs

 Alla Bianca of Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes

 Kathy Bruckman of Kathy's Kwilts And More

Kathy Nester of Penny For My Thoughts 

Joanne Hubbard of Everyone Deserves A Quilt 

 

Sponsors October thru December

Said With Love - PDF Pattern

For The Love Of Geese - PDF Pattern 

P&B Textiles - Fabric Bundle of over 60 fat quarters

Quilters Dream Batting - Dream Blend - 70% Cotton 30% Poly - 60" x 60"

Warm Company - Warm and Plush - 45" x 60"

Warm Company - 1 package of Lite Steam -A- Seam 2

Island Batik - 3 1/2 yards of assorted fabric

Patterns By Jen - Superior Thread S-Fine 50

Patterns By Jen - PDF Pattern

Wow those are some great sponsors! So don't forget to share your block for a chance to win.

I hope your October is wonderful! See you later!

Sheila

A Good Month

I love a busy month, especially when it means getting projects done! I finished a secret sewing project earlier this month and yesterday I finished quilting a friends quilt and the Out Of This World top by Pat Sloan...

I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I used Northcott's Stonehenge in orange and yellow. I'm not sure of the color names because I've had them for awhile. I love how it picked up the colors in the Starlight fabric collection by First Blush Studios for Henry Glass & Co. I bought that bundle a while back waiting for the perfect project for my sweet boy. He's always been fascinated with space and even talked of being the first to go to Mars....eeek! Honey lets watch the Alien movies!!!

I added the constellation fabric from Hoffman called Out Of This World and half way through I found this wonderful blue fabric from QT fabrics called Intergalactic Space Time designed by Dan Morris. I think it was the perfect addition to this quilt! And last but not least, my go to for background fabric is Silver from Kona Cotton by Robert Kaufman. And since this was my OMG for this month, I'm very happy to get it finished!!!
 Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - October Finish Link-up

I also finished Septembers and Octobers blocks from Aurifils DOM... 

 This is Septembers block by Lissa Alexander called Inside My Window. I love the widow of color! The other one I used a bright yellow for the warm and welcoming glow of home.

This is Octobers block designed by Alyce Blyth called Advent block. I love the simplicity of this block and I used the same light color as I used in the house block. A nice neutral, but still has a design through it. Check out the Designer Of the Month for some fun blocks. You can even look at previous years for more inspiration!

Since this post has gotten wordy I'll post my friends quilt in a couple days...besides, I have a whole bunch of threads to hide!

Keep your machine humming!!! and Chat soon!

Sheila

Winter Fun Quilt A Long Blocks 2 & 3

I had a few delays the last couple weeks, but I think I'm back on track! I've actually been getting off track since my surgeries in August, but I'm feeling pretty good and things are coming together. I did some secret sewing for Jen of Patterns by Jen. Sorry I can't show you it at this time! I'm working on getting caught up on my QALs and that makes me happy! Here is Block #2 and #3 of Pat Sloan's newest QAL Winter Fun.

 Block #2 is Ice Skating.

and this is Block #3 Hot Chocolate.

I'm enjoying this QAL and it's only 9 blocks! I'm using batiks in blues and purples they also have metallic snowflakes which is hard to capture with a camera. There is still time for you to join in! These 3 blocks went together quickly so grab some fabric and sew a long! 

I'll be back in the next couple days to share more blocks!

Until then happy stitching!

Sheila

October's OMG

I can't believe it's already a week into October!!!! Little T is off school for fall break, which means a break for me getting up early! It also means my routine is a mess now! Oh well I can never have too much time for my baby. 

Now for the OMG! 

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal October Link-up.

This is Pat Sloan's BOM called Out Of This World. She just posted the last block and I have a couple more still to do! After seeing my Instagram friend @amaurer65's finished flimsy, I'm eager to get mine done!! So my goal for this month is get my Out Of This World flimsy done. 

And if you don't keep up with Pat Sloan, she has a new QAL started!!! It's called Winter Fun and it runs from Oct 2 to Dec 11 and is only 9 blocks. A quick one if you would like to try one of her QALs!She also has her past QALs still available if you don't like to wait!

Here is my block #1 Building Snowmen

I fussy cut my snowman, it just seemed so appropriate! I'm using all batiks and most have snowflakes on them! They also have gold and silver stamped on them, but it's hard to see in the photo that they are metallic. I love how this turned out and can't wait for Wednesday!!! That's when block #2 is released!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Sheila

OMG For August

Wow it's August already! For this months OMG I want to get my sashing and cornerstones done on Pat Sloan's Main Street QAL. Right now I'm auditioning fabrics for the cornerstones. I doubt I'll get the border done too, but I'm hoping to at least get it going!

 Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal  August Link-up.

We're on block 9 in this QAL, but it wouldn't be hard to catch up! Stop by Pat's blog and download the blocks. She leaves them up for free always! 

See ya later this month, with hopefully a finished sashing and cornerstones!!!

Sheila