I've crossed the Border!!

Oh and it is a lovely place.....

The borders are finally on! Next up backing!

I hope you are having a great Friday! Happy sewing!

Ginny


Linking to Freshly Pieced W.I.P Wednesday

QAL- New and Old

Hello, hope you are doing well, maybe a bit cooler than a few days ago? We were. Only 91 today, only? Saturday was 105 - oh my! Strange weather these days. So with such sun and heat - you can only be outside so much right? Well, guess what I did with the rest of my time? Well beside catch up on my blog reading... SEW! yeah! And see what I finished.....drum roll please.....

Yes, all of my Retro Flowers blocks are completed!! Now after a few minutes hours of arranging and rearranging the layout, I think I am happy with it and ready to sew the top together :) Happy, very Happy!

(well, not happy with that second block from left at top--reading VERY gold when in reality it is the same limey green that is in the second row from top, last block on right....ok its a small thing).

On to sewing them all together and adding the borders. Progress...it's a good feeling ;)

Oh and in my blogland reading I ran across this QAL--anyone interested?  I couldn't help it, I have been wanting to try the "Granny Block" out after seeing such great blocks of color and scrappiness on many blogs so I signed up! (hmmm.....this wasn't on my (formal) list of projects). This is called the "Great Granny" as there is a 4th round of squares -  in the center is baby, next round mama, next granny and finally Great Granny--cute! So if you are interested stop by Jodi at Pleasant Home for some block inspiration and  then over to Lori Holt at A Bee In My Bonnet for a look at her finished 9 block quilt. The block tutorial is on Lori's blog and will have new posts weekly. PLUS GIVEAWAYS! Jodi has a bunch of great links to a flickr group for everyone to join and post pics.

Have a great week!!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday

WIP for this week

This week I have concentrated on catching up to July with my Craftsy BOM's. It was a nice change to work with the brightly colored scrappy blocks.  Here is my progress.

May Wonky Log Cabin. All scrappy, improvisational. Just a bit of stretching on the lower left corner, not to bad considering all the different cuts and angles

This is the other May log cabin improvisation block. How do you like the hand stitching? I had that large white log and really needed to do something with it so I thought a little hand stitching with the what and when of the quilt would work, especially when I am old and gray and my memory fails me (oops! some would say that is already happening  ;0  )

I wish I could have found a matching cursive alphabet for the "BOM 2012" but overall I am happy with it!

June Block Greek Cross -- love the colors in this one!

June Block- Octagon block in Amy Butler

These blocks finish at 12 1/2 inches and I found getting the improvisational log cabins to that was a bit of a challenge --after the fact. See when you trim them to 12.5 at the end you may trim up close to to the last seam or lose so much or your last log that there is very little left (see second pic and blue framing logs - we will have to see how this goes when the quilt comes together). So just keep that in mind if you are trying this technique--it really is easy and fun, pretty much stress free.

On to July blocks which are Dresdan's!

Current Projects:
Retro Flowers
Back Packs for Haiti
Craftsy BOM
Generals Wives BOM

WIP/UFO
Doggie quilt--cut and approx 1/2 of blocks pieced

Ready to Quilt:
Jelly Roll in Central Park -- need to make back and baste
Jacks Jungle Quilt -- ready to baste
Florida Sky in Batik -- ready to baste

Binding:
Batik Flowers

To Do list:
New Bag -- Just received yummy linen from Marmalade Fabric
Swoon
Quilted gift for a close friend (can't reveal here - yet)
Make a couple of bags 2 drawstring and 2 make up/zipper

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced (extended due to Independence Day Holiday) and over at Sarah's Confessions of a Fabric Addict -Whoop! Whoop!Fridays.





Happy 4th of July!

Wishing all of you a wonderful, safe 4th of July!

Things are a bit quiet here today, but come Friday and Saturday the town celebration begins with a fish fry, street dance, and lighted boat floatilla parade at dark Friday. Saturday is the 5K run/walk, pet and bike parade, tug of war at the beach, chicken 

bar-b-q and pie sale, even a duck race!

But no fireworks :(   Makes me sad--they are my favorite holiday treat!!

We are in a drought situation (as many of you are) and the risk of fire is just to great at this time. Most towns are rescheduling for Sept. 

Here is my patriotic Red, White, and Blue quilty Inspiration!

This is from Allpeoplequilt and I think I have just added another project to my "To Do" list!

Hoping you are safe and cool!

Ginny

New Month Means Fresh Sewing Day!

It's Monday....and it is a new month! July is here and that means it is a Fresh Sewing Day over at Lily's Quilts. Make your mosaic for June projects and join the Linky party at Lily's!

1. Jelly Roll Quilt, 2. P1050977, 3. 022, 4. 043 Retro flower block, 5. 042 Retro flower block, 6. 041 Retro flower block, 7. 038 Retro Flower block, 8. 039 Retro flower block, 9. 037 Retro Flower block, 10. 040 Retro flower block, 11. P1050978, 12. 002, 13. 01014. Not available15. Not available16. Not available

You will see that you actually made progress and probably even had a finish or two (or more!) and THAT is such a good feeling. Plus you will get to see what everyone else is working on and get to meet lots of new people and their blogs!  The link is open all month long, and if you don't want to link up, at least stop by, check out the mosaics and leave some commnet love.... :)

Also be sure and read her post on Siblings Together today. It is amazing what quilters around the world have done to help --- and it is a sad story what these kids go through. Be sure and have a box of tissues near!

Lily's Quilts: 100 Quilts for Kids + Siblings Together Linky + Giveaway

Have a great Monday!

Ginny

Sunday Stat's

Happy Sunday everyone!

I titled this Sunday Stat's because I really needed to get a grip on everything I have going on... I have several projects waiting in the wings and many more in my head but I really, really want to finish what I have before starting something else!  I keep buying fabric for those projects in my head and I really want to use it! I know I can't be the only one with this problem! Does this sound familiar to any of you?

So here is my sewing for the past few days:

These are 10in charms for the 10" Kona and Polka Dot Swap

hosted by Angie of Sew Scrappy Quilts

On the left is Kona Mango and right is Moda Dottie.

Next is my Jelly Roll in Central Park quilt, I really wanted borders so I have added 2!

Inside Border



Outside border complete and ready for backing, and quilting!

Finally here is a pic of a drawstring backpack I made.

This took 1 and 1/2 yd of fabric (makes 2 backpacks as you need the length for the drawstrings but 1/2 the width of the fabric -22in - makes the bag and pocket part) and only a bit of time maybe an hour or two (this was my first one and the first always takes the longest! The instructions were a bit confusing at times but it turned out fine!) It has two outside pockets and is made out of quilting weight cotton. This piece of fabric was donated and was 3 yards - 4 backpaks.

 These backpacks are going to Haiti for the school children. Some friends of a friend are leaving in August and will be moving to Haiti. They are teachers and they will be teaching with the Haitian teachers and being a resource to them, as most have only a 9th-12th grade education and no formal teacher training at all.  If anyone is interested in making and donating a couple, I would be happy to forward on with mine. Just drop me a line at my email above. This is a great way to bust some stash!

 

And finally here are my "Stat's" :

Current Projects:
Retro Flowers
Back Packs for Haiti
Craftsy BOM
Generals Wives BOM

WIP/UFO
Doggie quilt

Ready to Quilt:
Jelly Roll in Central Park
Jacks Jungle Quilt
Florida Sky in Batik

Binding:
Batik Flowers

A few of these are " just" a couple of months years old! ;)  But really it was not as bad (nor as painful) as I had thought making this list would be! Which is a good thing, because I really am looking forward to starting something new!! How about you? What does your list look like?

Ginny

P.S.
I hope all of you are doing well and are safe! I know that on Friday we suffered a tremendous storm that left many trees and electrical lines down, resulting in 100,000 plus homes and businesses without power in 90 degree heat! My oldest son being one of those without power, and a couple of neighbors without power to their businesses, they were told it would be next Wednesday - Friday before they would have power back. So we cleaned out fridges and loaded coolers and brought it to my house, since I was lucky and still have power. I know that same storm moved east and caused the same damage. So I say Happy Sunday, because at least no one here was hurt, food, homes, and cars can be replaced!

Oops! The Fudge Factor

Hi everyone! Hope your week is off to a good start. Warning: Post is picture heavy.

Today I am going to show you an Oops! and the Fudge Factor. Have you ever been working away on a project, getting so much accomplished and then when you next pick it up you realize - Oops! you screwed something up?? you cut it wrong, didn't cut it correctly and are now out of the fabric you need? Marked it wrong, sewed it wrong? Well I have, many times, and then I spend quality time with my seam ripper or my computer searching for that elusive fabric. For me, many times it is from not going to bed when I should and trying to get "just one more" done. This is usally the same time of night when I am typing up blog posts and hit a button where they disappear into cyberspace :)  I am getting better at stopping when I am really tired, knowing that I might just create double the work and have to redo tomorrow because I just had to do one more tonight.

Above is an example of a minor issue: my seam is off. Easy fix, rip the seam out, repin, and resew.

                              

                   .....and wa-lah! Looking good to go, ready for the next one!

                            

                                                 Notice anything wrong with this block?

At first it looks like it is a simple case of sewing the seam wrong. Nope, couldn't be anything that simple. Each part of the petal was sewn and then trimmed so that at the narrowest part of the white background should measure 1/2".  Now do you see the problem with the lower right hand 1/4 petal?

You guessed it!  I cut the lower right white background short at 1/4 in vs 1/2 inch.

Now in this pic you can see it doesn't make a difference on the interior petal seams. Just sew them together and trim the extra 1/4 in of print off the center seam. But you can still see the lower right

is shorter than the rest. How am I going to fix it? I am not sure but I think (hope) it will be with the

      Fudge Factor!

              No, no, no, not THAT Fudge Factor!

                         Although I know it does make it better sometimes! ;)

You know, it's what you do to make it work before you totally give up and redo the block!

Yes, I am hoping that between the give and take of the seams and trimming the blocks down to size that I can make this work vs. having to remake that 1/4 petal!

Is this earth shattering, change your life info - no. Its just sometimes it seems no one ever talks about the little things that go wrong. Or even the big things. Life is not perfect and neither is the process of creating. So I believe that showing and discussing what goes wrong is part of the process. I don't think it is whining, I hope you don't think it is whining..... It doesn't mean you are less than, or not competent! It just means that you are human, and having one of those days that all of us have! 

So on to my progress for the week end! FIVE, more Retro Flower blocks! Belowe are single pics of all the completed flowers so far.

          Love this soft coral, lacy pattern!

     This one turned out better than I thought it was going too!

 This is my Oops! block and has all the colors of the other blocks in it.  It will tie the color scheme together (that's my plan anyway:)

  Bright and bold red!

My first!

   My favorite, so far! Love all the colors!

        A bit wild, or maybe it has an asian feel?

So go ahead, work that Fudge Factor, knowing that you are competent and creative, and everyone else has the same things happen to them. And when it works-- celebrate lifes small successes, sometimes they are the sweetest of all!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced