BIG Milestone!

I had a BIG Milestone birthday last week & celebrated it with gusto.  

Even the King (Braveheart) had to have a Happy Birthday pink tiara.

 Two of my grown kids; Scott (from CA) and Lisa (from IN)  flew here to help me celebrate with style!   We won't talk about how old I am,  but I think you'll be able to figure it out from these pictures.

I loved all my cards!

We all laughed about how many times we went out to eat 'cause they didn't want me doing all the cooking.  Fine with me!

I've been on a new eating plan and am losing weight (13lbs so far).  I have been dreaming of chocolate fudge cake with fudge frosting and told my sister that's what I wanted for my birthday.  Being the good sister that she is, she obliged me! 

I'm ready to take a big bite of it!

You can't see him in the picture, but my son was standing right behind me.....

Yup!  you guessed it!  He pushed my head just a little!

Sure was good!

I hauled in the loot too!

I know I forgot some things.....but here's new clothes, new swim towel, drinking bottle, shower caps for swimming, woodwick candle, a Nook color Reader, Ebay & Visa Gift cards, Shower Gel, another fancy candle, red satin wallet, and a personalized pill case.  

and on the back of it.

That says it all.........doesn't it?

Thanks for visiting.

Wonder Why?

Nothing puts a smile on my face more than Moda charm packs! 

Wonder why?

Maybe it's dreaming about all the things I can do with them?   Maybe it's cause I get a little sampling of the whole line?  Maybe it's cause they are 'color divided'?  All tidy and organized?  And the main focal fabric is on top?  Easy to store?  Label paper band so neat & easy to read?

Who cares?   I just love Moda Charm Packs!

Thanks to Fabric ala Carte for their great giveaway I won!  It's a Moda charm pack and I've got a BIG smile now.  This one is Clermont Farms by Polly Minick & Lauri Simpson.   Fabric alacarte also has a blog, so pay her a visit today too and tell her Sew Fun Quilts sent you.  http://thescrappyquilter.blogspot.com 

What are you smiling about today?

Thanks for visiting.

I'm still playing!

This is the little sign that's on the door into my sewing room, just for fun.

(oops....it's a bit blurry and crooked....but, oh well.)   I love playing in my "Sandbox" and I have lots of fun toys in there too. 

 Come on in and I'll share some of my "playing" with you!

I love batiks!  and this is a Bali Pops from Hoffman Fabrics in California called Zinfandel.  I found another perfect batik to go with the strips.  The picture just doesn't do them justice!  They are way more vibrant than the picture.

Last September I won a great CT Publishing Giveaway and received some of Alex Anderson's fabrics and her latest 4 books for easy strip quilts.   One of the patterns in one of the books gave me the inspiration to do some "fun playing" with these batik strips. 

So........I'm still sewing away and "playing!" 

Love the easy strip piecing and sewing!  WhooHoo!  This is one of those times when the humming and rhythm of the sewing machine works its magic on my attitude.....especially when I'm HOT!     I'm just sharing some of the WIP (work in progress) with ya'll.  

Here's some of the partial blocks.

And another set of partial blocks.

I'll show more when more of it is finished.

Want to come "play" with me?  I'll even share some of my toys. 

Thanks for visiting.

Surprise in the Mail!

I received a BIG surprise in the mail from my oldest son who lives in CA. 

It was packed full of beautiful home decor fabric samples.

Some of the pieces are quite large.

They're not heavy upholstery type fabrics;  they're lighter weight.

My mind was just swirling about things I can make as I

pulled out each piece and stroked it, smoothed it, ran my hands

across each piece, and then re-folded it.

Ahhhhh!    I love all kinds of fabrics!

What would you make?

Thanks for visiting.

What to Do Between Big Projects.....Chapter 2

Chapter 2 in my saga of.....PLAYING! 

After playing with the different layouts of my HST aqua blocks, it was time to sew them together and do something with them.   (In case you missed Chapter 1 you can read it  here. )

I used double thread with a size 16 needle by winding a bobbin of the same color.  I did this for both the Aqua and the White thread. 

I added a "backing" fabric of the white Kona Cotton fabric to give my blocks some body before I started the quilting.

I stitched a simple (double white thread in needle, elongated stitch) 'stitch in the ditch' on this one.

Here's the one showing the stitching of the quilt design I traced on vellum.  I put a little piece of batting behind the design area and a back lining of white Kona cotton.  I used my open toe applique' foot, and the "triple" stitch on my sewing machine.  Why not?  I was PLAYING!

The completed design.



I also stitched one fourth of the design in the other 4 white spaces, using double white thread in the needle.  (difficult to see it..sorry.)

Now what to do with them........???

When I first found this remnant piece of fabric I had no idea what the end result was going to be..........it was just fun PLAYING!  Try it for yourself, and "Free" yourself from a pattern and "Rules"......

The finish! 

The pillow inserts I had on hand were not quite big enough; I had 14" ones and had to go buy 16" ones.   

What kind of "PLAYING" have you done lately?

Thanks for visiting. 

Thankful to be an American!

Happy 4th of July to everyone!

We won't be seeing any big fireworks here in San Antonio this year, because of our drought and  fire danger.  Officials have banned fireworks displays here;  so sad for our celebrations.  I've always looked forward to our 4th of July celebrations ending in a huge fireworks show.   Not to be for us this year.  Guess I'll watch the Boston Pops Show on TV.

Nevertheless................

I'm so thankful to be an American!

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."


 
 

Thanks for visiting my blog!

What to do when you're between big projects.....play!

The other day I was digging  looking through the stacks of  leftovers  large scraps  piled  folded nicely  in my fabric closet and came across another piece of Michael Miller's Leaves in the aqua colorway....my favorite one.

mmmmh?  What to do with it?

 Under my cutting area,  I could hear a muffled cry...."use me"......."use me".....coming from somewhere.   I bent over  squatted (great to do as part of my new exercise program) down.  Ahhhhh!  Yes, my GO cutter.  I'll use Magic.  (Yes, I finally named him.)   I haven't turned that handle in a few days.  

Using the 4" finished triangle....look what Magic and I accomplished in just a couple of minutes.  And.....look,  I still have another wonderful  scrap  piece of that fabulous fabric for something else.  It couldn't get any better.

I  just sewed them together.....not knowing planning what I was going to do with them.   I simply love to chain piece and relax to the humming of my Janome, she sings to me.

I cut those babies apart so fast, it would make your head spin.  Well, not really, but by this time I'm getting kinda excited to "play".  I pressd the seams  to one side  open so they'd lay flat and there wouldn't be so much bulk in the seams.

Goody....gooody... now I can play with the squares layout!

Pinwheels are always fun!

Or maybe....hourglass blocks??



mmmmmh?   simple side by side......

Maybe with one of the pinwheels in the center?

Naw...I don't like that one.....not distinct   can't see the pinwheel well.

Ok...what else?

Nice open areas two white squares to show off some quilting?

 

My gosh, what am I doing?  What am I gonna make with these?

Or??

nice white area 4 triangles meeting in the middle ??  quilting motif??

I'm sure there are more ways to layout the blocks "play", but by this  time I just wanted to sew again. 

My Janome started singing to me again......sweet music to my ears. 

What do you think I did?

Thanks for visiting.

AND.....we have a winner of my giveaway!

I don't use the online computer number generator to choose my winners.  My number generator lives in Wyoming and is my sister, and I love doing it this way.  So, I called her and told her to choose a number between 1 and 64.

She quickly said #23.....which is Me and My Stitches, Julie Letvine.  Congratulations, Julie.  Julie quilts and also makes very unique quilt jewelry   Here's a link to her blog, so you can take a peek:   http://quiltjewelry.blogspot.com

Julie..send me your mailing address so I can get this pretty fat quarter bundle sent to you.   I don't like posts without pictures, so here's what Julie won.

Oh...by the way...my sister said if she keeps choosing these numbers for me, she thinks the winners should send her something too.....LOL!  Yes, she has a great sense of humor and gives me smiles everyday.  We talk on the phone everyday sometimes 2-3 times.

Thanks everyone!   I'll be doing a July giveaway too......so be looking for it.




Thanks for visiting.