Summer is nearly here?? - Building Blocks Tuesday

Back in the saddle again...only to be thrown out again.  I finally got a chance late last week to sit down at my machine and sew a little.  I got these two blocks done for Barbara in the We Bee With It Bee.

Sometimes I think Red, White and Blue is the most versatile color combo!  These were fun, but I am not sure I will make them again for a while.

It seems as soon as I thought I would get some solid sewing time in, I am reminded that there are other things that need to take priority.  This week it is Open House at school.  It really sneaked up on me.  I am the art docent for Lizzy's class, and I need to mount and display one of the art projects that we did this year.  I also have to find time to go teach the lesson to any new students or students that were absent the day we did it.  All before Thursday of course!  This being a short week put even more pressure on to get it done, and I'm sure the teachers feel the same way.

Also, this coming weekend is Lizzy's birthday party.  She has decided to have a slumber party and has invited several girls from her class.  Only...no one has RSVP'd yet.  I am hoping that, like me, the holiday weekend just preoccupied their minds and that they will respond today.  Fingers crossed.  We purposely didn't invite too many kids because we didn't want a swarm of 7 year olds tearing through this little house.  Now, I am wondering if that was a bad idea.  I ran into a friend today who has 2 little girls, one Lizzy's age and one Ashley's age and asked if they might join us.  I need bodies here!  Otherwise I think Lizzy would feel let down, and I wouldn't want that.  Party planning has begun.  I have several activities planned, and a rather involved breakfast to make.  Hopefully, we will survive.

There are also a handful of projects around the house that really need to get done soon, before summer hits.  I need to call a few contractors for bids, some for perfectly silly things like fixing our doorbell, some for more involved projects.  Ugh.  Just when I got the house back to normal from our bathroom remodel.  It's always something with home ownership!

And, I can't quite believe it, but summer vacation is only a few weeks away.  Scary.  I kept thinking that surely I would have this quilt done by then, and that quilt started, and a whole bunch of fabric cut to take EPP with me.  Has any of it happened?  NOPE!

Hopefully, you are doing better with your preparations for summer??

Oh, and don't forget to head over to Amy's Creative Side for voting this week for the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Craft it Forward Giveaway (and a Craftsy sale)

Hi there!  I want to share some awesomeness with you today.  Take a look at these goodies I received from Vanessa of Nessa's Place.





I just love this little weighted sewing caddy.  I often sew my binding down while watching TV and my sewing kit is always sliding off the armrest of the chair I sit in.  I think this will be so perfect to replace my current system!  Thank you so much Nessa!

Now for the giveaway part.  As part of the "Craft it Forward" ideal, I am now to host a giveaway and make something for 3 people within the next 6 months.  Now there is a catch!  If you enter and win, yes you will receive something special from me, but you in turn need to host a giveaway and pick 3 people to make something for within 6 months of receiving my package.

So, if those terms are agreeable to you, please leave a comment on this post, any old comment will do. I will pick 3 winners on June 1st.  I will email those winners with a little questionnaire and make them something special!

Before I go, I also wanted to let you know about the Craftsy sale going on right now on supplies.  There are all kinds of craft supplies on sale, but the quilting kits are an especially good deal!  I usually appreciate it when you guys tell me about good deals going on out there, so here's a good deal for you!



I recently bought a few quilt kits from Craftsy and thought I got the deal of the century.  Of course, the Elizabeth Hartman Avatrix quilt kit I bought is even less expensive now!  They also have some great deals on Aurifil thread, packaged batting, bag kits, and some lovely Kaffe Fasset prints.  Just sayin'!  And of course, there are always great classes on sale too.**


OK, that's all for now.  Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you want to Craft it Forward.

Thanks for reading,


Jen



***This post contains affiliate links.  If you purchase certain products after clicking through on my links, I may be compensated.

More mini fox faces - Building Blocks Tuesday

I've been a little lazy/crazy/lazy??  I have not touched anything sewing related in over a week.  Between going back East for several days, and trying to get back into the swing of our normal routine here at home upon returning, I haven't had the chance.  I really need to find time!  I find it therapeutic, and a great way to calm one's mind.  Boy, does my mind need calming at the moment!

I'm sharing a few more mini fox faces today for Building Blocks Tuesday.  I made these a few weeks ago and put them together in a mini for the winner of my Facebook giveaway, Shauna.  It turns out I never snapped a picture of the finished mini, but you can see it HERE or HERE.

These really do come out super cute!

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Modern Window Pane - Blogger's Quilt Festival

Welcome Back.  Here is my second entry for this year's Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  I am terrible at coming up with names for quilts, but I guess I will call this one, "Modern Window Pane", and I am entering it in to the Modern Quilt category.

I made this mini for the Rainbow Mini Quilt Swap on Instagram.  This mini is about 23 inches square, and each colored block is made of 25 one inch squares.

Speaking of those little scraps, I was getting a little nostalgic as I was putting them together.  Most of the pieces came from my scrap bins, and I used pieces not only from my most current projects, but also from my very first quilt!  So, in a way, this quilt sums up the last few years in fabric. I liked it so much, I decided to make one for myself too.  I'm still showing you the one that I made for my partner because I gave her the best one of the two I made.

Quilt Stats:

Size: 23 x 23 inches square
Pattern: I just threw this together, but I dare not take credit as I have seen several similar quilts in other sizes and colors.
Fabrics: Miscellaneous scraps
Quilted by: Me, using my walking foot and a decorative stitch
Quilting Thread: Aurifil in White.

Thank you for considering this cheery little quilt in the Modern category.  I hope you will visit all the other category pages.  There are some terrific quilts this festival.

Oh, and don't forget to nominate your favorite for Viewer's Choice.


Jen

Mini Fox Faces - Blogger's Quilt Festival

Hi there!  Here is my first entry for Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side. I love these little mini fox faces!

(This is a miniaturized version of Elizabeth Hartman's "Fancy Fox" pattern.)

I made this Foxy mini for my Schnitzel and Boo Mini quilt swap partner.  I used some yummy Cotton and Steel fabrics to make these faces, and it was so delightful seeing each one turn out.  Elizabeth's pattern is very easy to follow, and I would love to make a full sized one soon.

Quilt Stats:

Size: 17 x 18 inches
Pattern: this is a miniaturized version of Elizabeth Hartman's "Fancy Fox" pattern
Fabric: Misc prints from Mustang by Cotton and Steel, and Kona Medium Gray
Quilted by: ME in chevron pattern
Quilting Thread: Superior Thread Sew Fine


Thank you for considering my quilt in the mini category!  And please go check out the rest of the festival, there are so many AWESOME entries in each category!



Jen

Blocks on Tues... err Thursday - Building Blocks Tuesday

Hi Everyone,

I have missed my last two posts.  I know I do not need to say "sorry" or explain, but I want to do both. My grandmother passed away last weekend.  She went peacefully.  I am very sad, but it was her time.

She was a great lady and taught me so much about life and living it, especially as a woman. I would like to tell you more about her, but I am just not ready to yet.

I made a few blocks last week for the guild's BOM.  They aren't my style, but I'm sure they will make a fabulous auction quilt later this year.

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Winged Square - Building Blocks Tuesday

I have no new blocks to share today, so I pulled this one out of the archives.  I made this for the Simply Solid Bee back in 2013 and at the time my bee mate was calling it a Winged Square.  I've recently seen a few quilts that have blown up this block to the entire size of the quilt, and they look fabulous.

Have any of you done one of those supersized one-block quilts?  Which block did you use?

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspirational Sunday (8) - via Road to California 2015

Welcome back to Inspirational Sunday.  I have a few more art quilts to share this week and then we will shift to another genre for a while.

First up is "Cock-a-Doodle-Dandy" by Gigi Kandler of Arroyo Grande, CA.

Gigi says of her quilt, "This quilt is based on a photography I took of a rooster that lives in the Village of Arroyo Grande, CA.  I started the quilt under the wonderful guidance of David Taylor in a workshop at Asilomar.  The background is reminiscent of a whole cloth quilt."

I think that yellow background really makes this rooster stand out, and also think of chickens at the same time.


Here is a close up.

Feathers seem to be a great place to show off some really tight quilting.

Next up is, "Rainbow Bridge" by Renee Gannon of Ukiah, CA.

She says, "Seven years amid the Southwest's natural beauty left invisible yet indelible lifemarks on me, amount them a memorable hike from Navajo Mtn to Rainbow Bridge in 1981.  Its sandstone structure a lifemark of the water, sun & wind that created this natural arch, the streaks of desert varnish further mark the effects of those forces on its surface.  Based on a photo taken by the quilt maker, made for the Mendocino Quilt Artists 2013 theme, "Lifemarks".

Here is a close up so you can see the quilting.

This next quilt won second place in the "Art Critter" category.  It is called, "One Fine Day" by Laurie Britt of Bakersfield, CA.

Laurie says a little about what she used to make this quilt, "I was inspired to make this quilt after seeing these majestic beauties on a road trip to Colorado.  Fussy cut Raw edge Applique, Mistyfuse, inks, pastels, shiva paint sticks, textile paints."

Sometimes it is difficult to get a good close up of these types of quilts....

Last but not least is another fabulous quilt by Joanne Baeth, "The End of the Line?" by Joanne Baeth of Bonanza, OR.

Joanne says of this quilt, "While Salmon Fishing on the Oregon coast, I have become intrigued by the fate of old fishing boats that have been taken to boat yards to be repaired, sold or scrapped. Is it the end of the line?"

As you can see it won first place in the Art Naturescape category.

I really like this one.  I reminds me of several scenes I saw in Prince Edward Island, Canada while visiting my family.  I don't know about you, but I would love to have it hanging somewhere in my house!


Next week, we will shake things up a bit and look at a different genre of quilts.  I hope you will come back.


Thanks for reading today,




Jen

Outlander swap tote - a Finish Friday

Behold!  My finished tote for the Outlander Craft Swap.

It started with a plan....

Then, I got to work on the thistle applique.  I used a fusible to help give me a bit of support for those tiny jagged leaves and keep them in place.  Then I used a small blanket stitch to machine applique them to my white background.

Next, I moved onto the trapunto for the knot portion.  I have not done trapunto before, so I was kind of winging it.  I put a small piece of batting behind the knot, then stitched on the lines of the knot. Then I used my applique scissors to trim the batting away as close to the stitching lines as possible in the areas that I wanted to be shaded.

Then, I added batting to the entire piece, and when to work adding quilting to the shaded area of the knot.  I used Cindy Needham's "Scribbling" technique to do this.  She talks about it a lot in her Craftsy class, Design it, Quilt It - with Cindy Needham (affliate link**).  I highly recommend this class!!!  It is chock full of awesome quilting designs.

When I was all done quilting the knot, I moved on to the background behind the thistles.  Can't not have some swirls!

Next, I turned the whole thing into a tote bag.  I debated making it a pillow.....it would have been a lovely pillow.  But, I thought my partner would never get to show it off if it was just a pillow.  Rarely do I see people walking around town with pillows in their hands.  So, a tote.  A nice, useful, practical tote (with an interior zip pocket and a regular interior pocket too).

I hope my partner likes it!  I used up practically all of my favorite 2 purple fabrics.  I hope she likes purple!


Thanks for reading today,


Jen




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**This post contains affiliate links.  If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links, I may be compensated.