Time Flies!

Oh my goodness! I cannot believe it is the end of August! 

Where have I been?

Everywhere! 

But recently welcoming this cutie has been the highlight of our summer.

Meet my newest granddaughter~ Rosie. 

               I've been traveling, sewing, quilting, machine embroidering and pattern testing... and anything else I could squeeze in!

My most recent tests are the Dogwood Pouches-

and Compass Carpet Bag-

from Sew Sweetness.

They are part of a new 4 pattern series called The League of Extraordinary Bagmakers, vol 1 

(which means there will be more! :-) )

Today I worked on a little machine embroidery, and if my project works out, I will be back to show you soon!

Keep stitchin'!

Where Have I Been?!

...or more importantly~ how can it be April?!!  :-o

Well, I took a small break, that turned into a big blog break!  I have been to two retreats, and hither and yon! :-)

The first retreat, I worked mostly on machine embroidery projects and I didn't take pix!  Sorry. :-/

The 2nd retreat was this past weekend, and I promised my friends I would take pix as I unpacked. I did not factor in that the weather might have other ideas! It is far too windy today to get good quilt top pix~ I did try. ;-)

So I took bag pix. I taught this bag to a group of 16 wonderful ladies. 

And of those who decided to sew it while at retreat~ they all finished and left with gorgeous bags. :-) The pattern is called Carmelita Bags & Wallet and is by Cool Cat Creations. It comes in three sizes and I made the large.

The wallet pattern is included in the pattern.  It opens to a zipped coin place, a pocket for bills, and lots of credit card pockets. :-)

I have made her Audrey Madeline bag in the past and thought I would really like that outside zipper pocket in this bag. So I added it to the next two. I have not made wallets for the bags yet, but I really like the idea of my wallet matching my bag. :-)

 

I think I am going to have to make a bag insert so I can easily slip my stuff from one bag to the other. :-)  LOL I don't carry a lot in my purses, just the bare essentials and my pocket calendar.  I keep a zippered pouch in the car with things that may or may not be needed when I am out as that helps to keep my purse much lighter. :-o

What have you been sewing/quilting? Leave me a comment and I will stop by your blog soon. Now I need to get back to unpacking. :-o

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

New Year and New....

Happy New Year!! :-)

Yeah, it is January 9th and I am behind already. LOL 

But not really. I just took time off for family, I wanted to enjoy December, bake, decorate and relax. And I did.  It was wonderful! Now I am ready to dive into 2024!

I had the most unexpected Christmas surprise~ I am still pinching myself!

I won a sewing machine on IG!!!!!!!! :-o  

I still can't believe it! But this pretty box arrived last week~

And this little beauty was inside!!!!!

 It is the Janome 100th anniversary edition. It is all mechanical, has 22 stitches and weighs a mere 14 pounds! 

As soon as I finish my 'chores' today, I am going to get sewing!

I cannot wait to put her through some exercises. :-)

How has your year started? Are you sewing?  Do you make sewing goals?

I don't make resolutions, but I have a few goals, we can talk about those next time. :-)

Until then~

Happy Stitchin'!! 

Virtual Cookie Exchange

 

Welcome to the party!!

I love this hop! Not only do I find new-to-me recipes & ideas, but the holiday posts are so inspiring!  I'd like to give a special shout-out to Carol @Just Let Me Quilt for arranging this fun hop for us!  Thank you Carol!!

I have been thinking about snow. :-) One of my favorite cookies is called the Snowball Cookie and the blog Mama Knows Gluten-Free has my  go to recipe.  Being gluten-free is a challenge around the holidays for me, but I must say it has gotten easier over the years. And my non-GF family gobbles these cookies up too!

 I didn't get a chance to make cookies this week because I have been keeping my embroidery machine humming~

My kiddoes have mentioned (more than once LOL) that they need new kitchen towels.  I found this design at Embroidery Library and purchased it during a sale. I love it!!  I need to make myself a few too. ;-) ;-) 

I hope you are enjoying the hop and meeting new-to-you bloggers too.

Be sure to visit these bloggers today~

DECEMBER 6

Hill Valley Quilter

Beaquilter

Crazy'boutquilts-- me!

Bumbleberry Stitches

That Fabric Feeling

Homespun Hannah's Blog

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Tomorrow!!

Hi y'all! I know I have been missing lately, sorry...life happens!  But I will be back for the cookie exchange hop! 

Our hostess Carol, says~~

The "Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange" starts December 4th! I know you'll be inspired with Christmas projects and yummy treats. Check out who's sharing their Christmas cheer:

DECEMBER 4

Just Let Me Quilt

Inflorescence

Songbird Designs

Words & Stitches

DesertSky Quilting

Quilting Gail

Days Filled With Joy

For The Love Of Geese

 

DECEMBER 5

Selina Quilts

Just Because Quilts

Karrin’s Crazy World

Quilt Schmilt

Domestic Felicity

Happy Cottage Quilter

Nettie Sews and Lucky Quilts

 

DECEMBER 6

Hill Valley Quilter

Beaquilter

Crazy'boutquilts

Bumbleberry Stitches

That Fabric Feeling

Homespun Hannah's Blog

 

DECEMBER 7

MooseStashQuilting

Ms P Designs USA

Quilt Doodle Designs

Quilted Snail

Sew Many Yarns

Just Sew Quilter

                                                           The Life of Grammy

A Bit of Fun~

 A few weeks ago Barb from Barb Tourtillotte Illustrations 

was looking for someone to 'play' (to me it is play, but she said 'create' ;-) ) with her newest fabric line called 'Bundle Up' for Henry Glass.

(photo from Barb's website)

 I applied and she picked me!!!!!!!!!

The fabrics are all so fun!  I love snowmen and all the little forest animals are so cute.

She sent me FQs, the large panel and the smaller block panel. 

I dreamed and played and came up with placemats for the block panel and FQs~

I had so much fun!

I added a pocket for a napkin and silverware. My DGD is learning to set the table, so this will definitely help her. :-) 

There was a border stripe FQ and I carefully cut that apart to put along the bottom of each placemat. 

I had two FQs left and I had saved one to put on the bottom of the panel, and the other I used for binding. I really cut that close!

 

If you look closely, you can see that I added a red tassel to the bottom of the panel.
It fits perfectly in our hall~ is it too early to keep it up? :-) LOL

Thank you, Barb, for trusting me with your gorgeous fabrics!! 

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!

 Welcome to the second day of the 'It's a Dogs Life' Blog Hop! Thank you to Carol @justletmequilt  for dreaming up this fun hop!

 The Challenge--

Sew your project with dog themed fabric or applique/embroidery of dogs.

As an added challenge, if dogs don't ring your bell, think vintage.

Vintage blocks, quilts, fabrics, or whatever old designs makes you happy.

 

I went with 'think vintage'. :-) I love vintage fabrics and quilts! This quilt is very special to me, although it is quite worn. It was hand pieced by a family cousin and hand quilted by my Mom & paternal Gran.  My Mom never told me exactly which cousin (I think it was a cousin of my Grandmothers) and now, of course, I wish I had pressed her further.  :-/  I know she was on my Mom's side of the family and never married. So the quilt top languished in a box until my Mom rescued it after the cousins passing or from the cousin's sister~ I'm just not sure.

I absolutely love all the prints used; how some have completely faded away, and finding a little person in a print is just the most fun!!!  Do you love 30's fabrics too?

I have been collecting 30's fabrics for quite some time and have a quilt top almost together~ maybe I will be able to finish it this winter. Cutting piano keys for the borders is taking much longer than I thought it would! :-o

Please make sure to visit my fellow bloggers today~  

SEPTEMBER 19

 Ms P Designs USA

Karrin’s Crazy World

Just Because Quilts

Days Filled With Joy

 

And thank you for stopping by!

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!!