Mail Call Monday - Tumbling Triangles

Bonnie Hunter is hosting a Leader/Ender Challenge.  This year's block???  It's the Tumbler.

I thought about joining in, but I've never really been a huge fan of Tumbler Quilts, so why bother, right?

I really, REALLY enjoy a good QAL,,,  so...  I thought and considered.  I considered and thought.

And, then...

Tumbling Triangles will be the name of my quilt.  :o))


WHAT, Joyful???  How does that even fit?!?!?


Well...


(In my mind) Triangles are similar to Tumblers, right?!

I absolutely LOVE a good Triangle Quilt(!), but I dread the thought of cutting a ton of them!!


What will you DO, Joyful???


I looked at an assortment of methods for cutting triangles and asked Needleb if she had a Triangle Template for her Sizzix Big Shot die cutter.  No.  She didn't.  So I dismissed the idea...

... For another few weeks.

And, then...

A package arrived in the mail:

WHAT have you done, Joyful???

I got on Scrapbook.com to order THIS triangle template for Needleb's cutter:

She won't mind letting me borrow her machine!!  (Joyful says hopefully.)

Until next time...
Cut faster!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC15 - Week 35

Welcome to Week 35 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Last week I was traveling and this week I have some work projects to do.  What that means is that (again!) I didn't have as much time for the RSC as I would have liked.  Here's the blow by blow...

SUNDAY was a slow and easy day.  I finished FOUR Rainbow Crumb Blocks and, if you look closely, you should be able to see some INDIGO:

I also worked on my Old Orange Commission.  The quilting is done and it has now been trimmed. All that remains is the binding, but that's a job for another day - tomorrow, in fact:

On MONDAY, I made ONE Rainbow Crumb Block, that happens to look very much like a Slab Block, but the colors are mixed up a bit:

The next project was cutting the binding strips for my Old Orange Commission:

Along with preparing it for application:

TUESDAY, I cut lengths of ribbon for Bowie:

From THESE spools that were destashed by a fellow Raveler (last year.)  I decided that there was PLENTY to share:

And...

I completed ONE String Block in INDIGO:

But...

I thought I should share a bit of the quilt that I finished yesterday afternoon.  Follow this LINK to read more and see what the front looks like:

On WEDNESDAY, I created ONE Slab Block in INDIGO amidst my various chores and errands:

And...

I got back to work on my Custom CK Tote Bags.  If YOU are in the "1st sewing", you probably see the outer bag parts of your bag all cut, along with your prepared bag handles:

"2nd Sewing" group... your shirts are in the dryer.  I'll start prepping them this evening (or tomorrow afternoon, if it turns out that I'm too tired to see straight later on!)  ETA... Oops!  Make that FRIDAY!!  I forgot that I had to work on Thursday evening.

THURSDAY is the day for my weekly Quilt Group meeting, but I still managed ONE more String Block in INDIGO when I got home from lunch with the quilters and writing up the "minutes" of the meeting to post on the GROUP BLOG:

Then it was off to work...  :o((


On FRIDAY, Knit Group was canceled, so I did something that I probably shouldn't have done...

I went back to bed!!  After a LONG first week of school, I was tired.  It felt wonderful to snooze for a bit!!  Until I woke up...

When I woke up (groggy - because napping and I don't get along very well) I got out the feature of this week's Design Floor Friday post (which you can read HERE) and then had a bit of lunch.  My plans shifted because I knew that I simply didn't have the mental acuity to give my bag project proper attention, yet.

So...  After lunch, I went straight up to work on my CK Bags.  I had to prep the NEW shirts:

TOO cute!!!

Before I could do that, the bolt of fusible stabilizer and I had and extended dance on the cutting table. All of the pieces that I need for the above mentioned task have been cut.  The iron will have to wait its turn for another day, as I have other PRESSING MATTERS to attend to.  (Ugh! Maybe that was Not as funny as it "SEAMED".)  :P

So...

Not much "FREE" time in the sewing room this afternoon, but I did manage to make (another) ONE Slab Block in what I am loosely referring to as INDIGO:

There's a ball game tonight, so I need to head over to the school to feed that hungry Marching Band.

Here's (part of) the Drum Line "warming up" after dinner...

And, one of the trombone players "warming down" after the game:

SATURDAY morning, I slept in a bit.  The first week of school is exhausting for EVERYONE!!! When I joined Angela's LINK PARTY, there were already 12 RSC Quilters linked up.  Be sure to follow the link to see what everyone else has been up to this week.  Look for me at lucky link number 13.

I'll have to wait to follow all the links because I'm on my way to work.  First, upstairs in the sewing room and then, at my J.O.B.  At least, that's not until this evening!  In the meantime...

I'm going to sew.

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!

Design Floor Friday - Snow Star Swap

Welcome to another edition of Design Floor Friday!!!

Well...  Today we are going to get a look inside THIS box:

There is the makings of a quilt in there...

My Snow Star Swap, to be exact.  It is MORE THAN 8 years old.  Imagine?!  It's been patiently waiting its turn, while sitting on a shelf in that box for so long!  Poor, poor quilt parts.  :o((

OK, off comes the lid and out comes the contents...

Right on top was a scrap of muslin and my design plan, which you may have seen before:

Beneath that?  A stack of blocks swapped out of Sew It Seams in Morehead City, North Carolina. Actually, now that I think about it... that might have been closer to FIFTEEN years ago.  YIKES!!

And... all of the red fabrics collected at Mary Jo's Fabrics (on one of our annual "field trips"), along with THREE choices for backing, borders, and binding.  Fairly excessive amounts of yardage, I feel certain, but only time will tell:

LAY OUT SNOW STAR SWAP, ALREADY, JOYFUL!!!

That's it!!  Aren't they beautiful???  (The ones in the 2nd row on the left are the ones that I made.)

These reds have been washed and pressed...

But, I  didn't even recall that THESE were in the bottom of the bucket:

Moreover, I don't even recall purchasing them!!!

That's OK, they will get their turn in the washer and dryer today (along with the load of darks that has been waiting all week to go for a spin in the laundry room!) and be ready for the day that I finish my Custom CK Bags.  I'm getting REALLY excited to see how this quilt comes together!

This photo shows a closer look at what will be the borders, backing, and binding... in no particular order, since I only have the slightest clue which is which:

WAIT, Joyful!!!

Oh, sorry... I'm guessing YOU would like a closer look at the blocks:

I did 2 swap sets to make sure that I would end up with a good sized quilt:

Oh!  And remember that scrap of muslin?

That's my quilt label!!!  It's been drawn out since I designed the quilt (using ideas pulled from memory of techniques used in one of Sharon Craig's wonderful books about combining swap blocks into cohesive quilts.)  I traced the label on one of my friend Kat's gorgeous quilts.  Thanks, Kat!  It will be the PERFECT finishing touch... when I finally complete this quilt.

Now, I'll let all this "percolate" while I go upstairs for a date with my iron and some non-woven fusible interfacing.  The NEW T-shirts are waiting, but I can only do SEW MUCH in a day!

Then...

I'm off to serve dinner to ~ 35 hungry members of the CRHS Marching Band.  There's another home football game tonight.  GO, Team!!

Until next time...
Volunteer joyfully!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - UFO Club Finish {and I Promised...}

More about...


The Three Musketeer's Sew Day!!!


Last Saturday, I had 2 of my closest quilting friends over for a day of quilting fun.  It's been AGES since we last got together and it ended up making for a WONDERFUL day.

Helena arrived first, as she had to leave before lunch.  She got right to work on creating a back for THIS quilt:

Britt arrived about the normal time (for her.)  She stayed until early afternoon and got a fair amount done on THIS quilt made from gobs of her scraps:

I managed to get a long-standing project done... labels for gift quilts.  The fabrics were pulled from my stash and coordinate well with the quilts:

Today's "quilting uniform"???

Oh!  About that UFO...

It's a project that I decided had been postponed long enough.  This Old Orange Commission quilt has been waiting in the wings for a year now.  The stars aligned and it was DONE on DS2's first day of his senior year of high school:

Delivery will be scheduled for later this week.  I'm sure to have a delighted client!  It's a beautifully "rustic" Churn Dash quilt that one of her ancestors pieced.  I was commissioned to turn it into a usable quilt.  This quilt is the 4th in a series of such quilts that she has asked me to complete for her. It's such an honor to be trusted with someone's inheritance.  :o))

With my current schedule, I, in turn, trusted the commission to my friend Gayle.  She shared the work with me and did a lovely job on the quilting.  Thanks again, Gayle!!  Don't we make a great team?!?!  :o))

Until next time...
Shop your stash!!!
(There's no telling WHAT wonders await.)

Mail Call Monday - SewWhat! BAGS {And...}

It's time, once again, for another edition of Mail Call Monday!!  There haven't been any packages in quite some time, but this week, there were TWO.  :o))

First, Sew What! BAGS by Lexie Barnes:

It was offered in one of the For Sale/Trade discussion threads on Ravelry.  Inside this book, I found a number of projects that I haven't made before:

Thank you, tamichan!  Your destashed book will help me with some techniques that, until now, have remained a mystery to me.

Second, a gift from a friend on Ravelry.  The package contained 3 fabric "scraps" with shades of pink (which I need for one of my current projects.)

An Asian-inspired floral:

A pretty paisley:

And...

A (somewhat) wild print featuring hot pink/fuschia/magenta:

Thank you ldpaulson!!  These beautiful fabrics will most certainly be put to good use.

Until next time...
Happy mailbox!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC15 - Week 34

Welcome to Week 34 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Each week, I join the LINK PARTY at the So Scrappy quilt blog.  Angela, our fearless leader, assigns a Color of the Month for us to dig out scraps for sewing fun.

SUNDAY, laundry, laundry, and MORE laundry!!  (And a bit of packing.)


MONDAY, scheduling issues (DS2 doesn't have the classes he needs for graduation!) and the trip to Chattanooga.


TUESDAY, family surprise and the trip to Nashville.  What was the surprise?  BOTH of my cousins came for lunch before we headed out.  It was SO good to see everyone!   :o))


WEDNESDAY, Vanderbilt University tour and the trip (part of the way) home.  Why??  Because there way NO WAY that I could drive through the night in torrential downpours!!!


THURSDAY, we didn't make it home in time for my weekly Quilt Group and DS2's schedule repair was for naught.  :o((


FRIDAY, Knit Group, errands and the pre-season football game.  Not sure if it was a fluke or a sign of things to come, but we TROUNCED the other team!!

SATURDAY, LINK PARTY day and a "3 Musketeers" Sew Day!!!  (More about that later...)  you'll find me at link number ONE this week.  Alas, it wasn't a "normal" week, so there aren't the same number of photos as there usually are.  And not much talk about quilting, either.  Sorry!!

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - Dye Challenge Realized

My friend (fellow quilt bee member and our jelli printing teacher), Jean, issued a challenge at the end of our June Dye Frenzy.  I started with WEEKS to spare. However, I finished mine Thursday afternoon (just 2 days before the Saturday deadline!)

Jean encouraged us to "Do something with your prints."

Sew... I did!  :o))


First, I chose the print that I wanted to use from my body of work:

It was a tough choice, with so many good ones!!  Then, I went to my "Color Cubbies" (scroll to the bottom of the post for the photo that makes my heart sing) to find a fabric that coordinated with my jelli print, along with another to "bring the quilt together."

Next, I pieced, layered, and added "stabilizing quilting":

How will I quilt this piece???  Oh, I've got this!!!

But... where do I go from here?!?!

One section at a time, the approximately 12" square quilt came together:

Was bound...

And finished: (except for the embellishments that I meant to add!) 

It turned out to be a real beauty (that 3 people were fighting over at the Quilt Bee meeting on Saturday):

Here's a closer look at the central panel:

And a better look at the birds:

You can also see the layering that went on with the piece:

I'm REALLY pleased with how this little quilt turned out!  The only question that I've got is regarding the quilting.  One friend thought that it needed MORE and another thought that it was quilted PERFECTLY to make the jelli print stand out.

What do YOU think???

Until next time...
Step outside of your (quilting) comfort zone!!!