Sweat Shop and other little things . . . .

Yesterday was Veteran's Day.

Thank you to all of our service men and women

here and abroad!

And especially to my brother and sister-in-law who served together 

in Bagdad, met and fell in love!

One good thing came out of all of that!  

And so because we honor all of our service peeps . . . 

I had a day off.  

So did Gidget and the kid.

And a sweat shop commenced.

It was a slow start.  

We needed to shop for fabric for the kid's borders.

Then we had to stop at the Marshall's next door.

You can see where I'm going right?

There needed to be some easier projects to get this party started.

This little beauty I found on Pinterest.

And since I can never part with a scrap,

there were plenty to go around.

Gidget had a bag full of denim.

So she mixed it with my scraps.

Really cute.

We talked about doing one with all different

greens and some reds thrown in.

They go together pretty quickly. Fun and festive!

The kid finished her top on this black and red

scrappy trip around the world.

It came out great!

Now to layer and quilt.

I wasn't so productive.

First, I had a kitchen accident making lunch for everyone.

Scraped my knuckle on the cheese grater.

GROSS!

This is why you order in!

All is fine.  But I was traumatized! Hehe.  Not really.

 I worked on piecing together all the leftovers

from my scrappy trip around the world.

This quilt was finished last week.

A fun colorful  plaids and stripes quilt for a good friend

having a tough time.

She will do great!!

Love the colors.

The binding came out perfectly!

Don't you just love it when that happens??!!!

on another note . . . 

Over the weekend I was in Cape Cod and saw this totally cute mermaid.

I think I might have to try to make some of these.

And this little sign just make me chuckle.

Whatcha working on?

Summer's End . . .

I love this time of year.  The weather is crisp in the mornings,

and warm in the afternoons.

It's such a reflective time for me.  Kids go back to school.

Schedules get busy, days are getting shorter.

But there is something about this new beginning that always makes me smile.

I want to buy office supplies and new shoes.

Haha.  

I have been working on my Scrappy Trip Around the World Quilt.

It is about to find a new home.

I layer my big quilts after work in the conference room.

It's always fun to see who is walking down the hall after hours,

and they are always amazed at what I am doing in there.

This one is BIG!  So I was very happy for that conference table.

And as sometimes happens, I found an oopps after I had quilted the whole thing.

I often use fabric for my backings that have been given to me or found

at a thrift shop.  This piece came from my sister and I didn't check it!

My bad!

She must have used it stapled up some where because the holes are evenly placed.

 So when life gives you lemons,

make lemonade.

I appliqued six little squares (not that easy I might add) on the back like tumbling blocks.

And Voila!  It's all good.

Now just a label and it is ready for it's new home.

Don't you just love finishing and sending off?

Time for another new beginning . . . .

On another note . . . 

I spent a week in August with my family in Wisconsin.

It is one of my favorite places on earth. With some of my favorite peeps.

We had so much fun.  Laughter.  Food.  Drink.

Relaxing days 

The Littles were with us too, only they aren't so little anymore.

How does that happen?  

They brought a quilt I had made for their Mum, my sister.

They always travel with it.  I love that.  Quilts are to be used I say!

This picture that my cousin took pretty much sums it up.

Great end to a wonderful trip and summer.

Bring on Fall!

Hope you had a great summer too.

Sweat Shop Sunday . . . .

So the kid needed to work on this quilt,

which is a graduation present  . . . 

We've all been there! 

It won't make the "deadline" but it will make the college departure.

A sweat shop was in order!

She did get all the blocks finished . . .

The borders will help bring it to the right size.

I worked on the kid's beach quilt repairs . . . 

I am pebble quilting the dark blue sashing . . 

Still deciding on how to do the rest . . .

Then is was off to the beach front for some fun time with the ladies . . . 

And they had mermaid swizzle sticks!! 

After that, a little quiet time at my beach reading a book 

and talking to a friend . . . 

What a great way to end the day!

Hope you did something great today too.

Finally Finished . . .

Has anyone seen my Mojo hanging around?

I seem to have misplaced it.

This scrappy trip around the world top should have been finished weeks ago . . .

There is always a distraction.

Three seasons of Dowton Abbey on DVD . . . 

Going back to the gym to try to regain a body . . . 

Cleaning out closets . . .

Now that right there tells me my Mojo has gone missing!

Cleaning closets?  Gross.

So somehow this past weekend,

I made myself get back to sewing.

Sometimes you have to push yourself to get that toe back in the water,

or you will never get back to it.

Slow and steady.

I decided to try a few different layouts.

Popular.

 Zig Zag.

I liked this one, but not crazy for it.

All diagonal in one direction.

Blah.

Traditional.

And back to the popular layout you see all over the web.

I went with this popular layout.

I wanted to try something different, but this is the one that grabbed me.

And now my top is all pieced together.

Will need to prepare a back and send it off to be quilted.

Have I found my Mojo you ask?

Not really.  I think I need some sunny days, warm sunny days.

But I'll keep plugging along,

because when my Mojo returns, it will be a beautiful thing.

Isn't this a cute little pendant?

My friend Anne gave it to me.

She doesn't have the love of the fabric like I do,

but she certainly can appreciate it!

So how is your Mojo doing these days?

Sweat Shop Monday . . . . and other things . . . .

All good intentions at the sweat shop today  . . .

And not as much production as anticipated, 

but really if you have fun does it matter?

I think not!

The kid made good progress on her scrappy trip around the world.

Gidget didn't feel like sewing, but she and Mocha 

showed up for lunch and giggles!

I love my Mocha girl!  

I made a few STAW blocks myself.

Only about 6 or 7 left to do,

which is good, because I'm getting bored.

But!  Because I jumped ahead and finished my Gypsy top,

I can move right onto to a new project!

Haha.  I am a conniver and justifier always!

Know it and accept it!

This quilt will be going to the pay by check quilter!

on another note . . . 

My friend Anne who has been traipsing 

around the southern states with a multitude of friends,

has been sending me mermaid pictures wherever they find them.

I will be doing a post on mermaids this week.

My beloved mermaids!

Gypsy Quilt Done!

I have jumped ahead in my quest for every other project

being a finish of an old top.

While my scrappy trip around the world is languishing on my cutting board,

I finished my gypsy quilt which is going to a silent auction fundraiser.

I do love this quilt.

I will probably bid on it myself!

Haha.  I know, I could make another, 

but the second time around isn't as fun as the first right?!

I also made a bee block today for Kim in our Metro Mod Bee.

This one challenged my feeble brain, but I made it through!

on another note . . . 

I have passed the scrappy trip addiction to the kid.

She is making a quilt for a very good friend of hers.

And as tomorrow is a holiday for some . . .

The sweat shop will be open for business.

Hopefully I will have some silliness to report!

Sewing Sunday

It's been a great weekend for sewing here in the Northeast . . .

They closed down the roads in Connecticut,

so I was practically ordered to stay home and sew!  Hehe

I made good progress on my scrappy trip around the world.

I thought I was done with 48 blocks . . . 

But I think I want this one to fit my bed,

So bigger it will get!

I have 49 blocks now . . . I think I'll go to 64.

I also dragged out an previously pieced top, (PPT)

(nicer sounding than UFO I think)

to finish off for a charity silent auction.

This is my gypsy top that I pieced about two years ago.

A disappearing nine patch.

Straight line quilting about every two inches in both directions.

I will be so happy to find this quilt a home and raise some moola for a good cause.

And I will also be so happy to go back to work tomorrow and shed the cabin fever!

Did you doing anything fun this weekend?

Sweat Shop Monday

Another successful sweat shop day spent together!

We all had today off, so we decided to spend it together working on our projects.

There is always plenty of silliness!

And no one wants to be photographed!

Gidget wanted to make a larger version of this bag she made a while ago.

It is pretty funny to see our three sewing tables,

cutting table and ironing board set up in my small living room,

but it is very cozy!

Gidget's bag will be huge, 

but she is very pleased with the way it is progressing!

The kid started a new quilt using bali strips.

It is moving along quickly and she is pleased too.

Of course after 5 or 6 hours of sewing,

sometimes a few curse words escape 

and the seam ripper comes out.  Another reason to giggle!

They told me if they had to get their pictures taken, so did I.

Okay . . . hummmm, maybe I won't make them take pictures next time.

Here is the kid's quilt top so far.  

This is going to be a beauty!

And I made pretty good progress on my scrappy trip around the world.

17 blocks so far.

I'm going to keep making blocks and then play around with the placement.

I love this!

What did you do today?