A few recent acquisitions...

Thought I'd show some new fabric that has recently made it into my stash....

First up, I was a winner in the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side blog!!  I had my choice of either 10 FQs of Designer Cottons or 10 half yards of Kona cottons from Sew Fresh Fabrics.  Now, that's a prize!  I chose the 10 half yards of Kona.  It was perfect timing because I've been mulling around making a series of Modern Amish wallhangings and this is perfect!  I chose left to right:  Crocus, Lupin, Peridot, Jade Green, Brown, Mulberry, Caribbean, Cerise, Tomato and Surf....

I've been waiting for this collection since September!  It is the gorgeous Lily & Will by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill designs.  Oh my, it is so beautiful.  I would love to get it in each of the colors ways, but unfortunately, the budget won't allow that.  But, I have a very special baby boy quilt to make and as soon as I saw this collection, I knew this is what I wanted to use.  It took so long to come in though that I missed making the quilt for the shower, but the baby isn't due to arrive until January, so I should be okay. 

I'm making Anne's Nighty Night Will with it - cute and elegant at the same time, I think...

I had to jump on the Pure bandwagon.  I just couldn't hold out any longer...these three charm packs and the yardage - the argyle - I love that! - for the outer border and the brown w/blue swirls for the inner border...

I think these will make a lovely Cindy Lou Who Schnibble.  And then I will have gotten my Pure fix - LOL!

I think I see a theme here - I'm just loving the blue & brown these days.  o:)

The Final Schnibble!

Talk about getting in just under the wire.  I didn't think I'd be able to get this done by the deadline, but I just (and I mean just) finished the last A Year of Schnibbles Schnibble - my Plan C!!  Woo hoo!

A couple of notes about this quilt.  First of all, when one reads directions, one should actually digest the directions.  I looked at the photo and thought stars and 4-patches...how easy is that!  I did read the directions and then just went on my merry way and made 6 star blocks.  Except the directions clearly say DO NOT PUT STAR BLOCKS TOGETHER, but instead put the quilt together in rows.  After unstitching the six blocks, I put the middle of the quilt together with no problem.  I was glad to learn on someone else's blog that I was not the only one to do this - LOL!

My next problem came when I put the borders on.  As the photo clearly shows and the directions again clearly state, you are to save four 4-patch blocks for the outer corners.  When I got to the end, I realized I had way too many "piano keys" and no fabric left over for the 4-patch corners.  Phooey!  So, I had to go with the piano keys all around.  You can bet if I make this quilt again, I'll have all this down pat.  In fact, I could teach a class!  o:)

Still, I love the quilt - I think the Prayer Flag fabric is really shown off nicely in this quilt.  I have had a lot of fun since I joined this Schnibble club.  And, this won't be my final Schnibble, that's for sure.  There's lots more of these wonderful small quilts to make.

I can't wait to see what hostesses Sherri and Sinta come up with for the next year of ...whatever!

And we're off! (Well, soon anyway)

Well, it's almost time to leave for vacation and I've come to terms with the fact that this is all that is getting done on my August Schnibble.  Here is the middle of my Plan C.  I'm really happy with how it turned out using the Prayer Flag fabrics.  I think it was a good choice for this pattern! 

I'll finish it up when we get back.  This heap is what I've gotten done on the border strips so far...

It was a valiant effort, but I'm just letting it go!  It will get done when it gets done! Jelly Roll Sampler quilt will also get done when it gets done at this point.  I got the last block done, but never even got to choose the fabric for the sashing.  I do think I'm going to do a piano key border using all the fabrics though.  Shouldn't take too long.

So, even though we are leaving tomorrow, I took today off to tend to the million + 1 things that need to be done before vacation.  Last minute odds & ends, shopping, needed a new pair of sandals, cleaning the house, on-line checkins, etc.  And I thought just maybe I'd get a few minutes to sew a few stitches today too.  What I wasn't planning on was breaking a tooth this afternoon eating a piece of chicken.  I just kept looking at the piece of tooth in my hand saying "this didn't really just happen, did it?"  Yeah, it did.  And it hurt.  Couldn't drink anything, way too sensitive, couldn't eat and even breathing in air hurt.  I was on the phone to my dentist within about 30 seconds.  Luckily he took me immediately (one of the perks of going to the same dentist for 23 years, you get great emergency service).  The whole office knows our family is going on vacation, so they took good care of me.  Of course, now I'm looking at a new crown when we come back but at least he put a strong temp on the tooth so I can eat and drink with abandon (good thing, as food and drink are a BIG part of this trip o:) )  

So, we're off to one of our very favorite places....

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!

The whole gang of us.  We're thrilled to be able to take our whole family this time.  Even though they (except grandson Rick) are grown up, they love Disney.  Us too.  o:)  Here we all are on an earlier trip...

Here's hubby with his idol, Walt...

And being silly with son, DIL and DGS...

And here we are are having some fun with the characters...

And with daughter Ariel (no, not named for the mermaid) at the Tree of Life...

Okay, so I definitely have Disney on my mind...but we're really looking forward to this trip. Our son & DIL have had a tough year with some medical issues and some other sad things, so we're really glad to do this for them. So, I'm hoping that my broken tooth is the worst of our problems as we fly from the hot heat & humidity of Phila to the hotter heat & humidity of Florida. Mickey, here we come!!!!

Projectus Interuptus

As I mentioned in my last post, this summer seems like it has started to fly by all of a sudden!  I think because I had a list of quilty things I was going to get done this summer and it's looking like that's not going to happen.  I had it all planned out and now it feels like it's all just blown out the window.  Why?  Because we're leaving for vacation at the end of the week and by the time we get back, summer's over!  One of my goals set in Spring was to make a "summery" quilt this summer.  I guess I'm going to have to say Beach Cottage was my summery quilt because that top is done (though not quilted yet).  However, I wanted it to be Seaside Cotillion...

No the greatest photo of the quilt pattern, but it very lovely.  Really.  So, I started, as you see above.  Made all of my strips and even got two of the blocks done.  I was very organized, had all the strips laid out in order on my cutting table so I could easily put them together to sew my blocks.  Then I realized, OH MY GOODNESS, it's August!  Before I go on vacation I need to not only get my Jelly Roll Sampler block #12 finished, but I've got to get the whole top together so I can put it in the contest!  And, I've got to get my A Year of Schnibbles August quilt finished.  It's not even started.  I don't even have the fabric for it.  So, I hop right on the internet and quickly decide I'm using Prayer Flag..I've got to tell you, I am loving this fabric for my quilt...

I'm doing the Plan C Schnibble this month.  The other choice was Short Story, but I'm doing the larger version of that (already have the two layer cakes of Sultry by Basic Grey) in Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles Times Two book, and I certainly don't have time to make a larger quilt at this point!  So, Plan C it is!  Luckily, I had the fabric in two days and started right in.  However, that meant that my grand plan to catch up on my Snowbound BOM by making 4 blocks in August also flew right out the window.  Along with quilting Madeline, Joy Luck, Cameos and Beach Cottage.  (I also have to fess up - I won another gift certificate in the A Year of Schnibbles contest for Joy Luck - this has been most lucrative - LOL!  Not only am I getting all of these awesome quilts that I probably wouldn't have made, but I can keep buying more fabric!)  Also, off the radar until fall is the Dresden Plate quilt that has been itching to go from my mind to fabric.  Even got the handy-dandy EZ Dresden Ruler and this lovely Lecien fabric - Flower Sugar.  On clearance no less!

(Turn your head to the side now - sorry about that!)

I am quilt-stressed.  As I said, we leave at the end of next week.  And I have to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.  Last weekend, as I mentioned not one stitch got sewn.  Putting aside everything else, I still have to get the JRS quilt put together and my Plan C Schnibble top completed and posted before I go.  Now, what happens if they don't get done and I don't post them?  Nothing.  I just don't get to be in the contests that month. (And I probably should be in either because I've already won two prizes in Schnibbles and a prize in JRS).  Not the end of the world, not even a big deal.  Except I hate to have committed to something (even in my mind) and not follow through.  But, it really remains to be seen if I do finish.  Because things like, oh, maybe packing for the big trip, definitely have to take precedence!  Stay tuned!

An unexpected day off /JRS #11 and Schnibbles!

I got a 7am phone call this morning from my boss - of course my stomach immediately fell as I thought, oh no, who died (even though our families are friendly, he doesn't generally give me good morning wake-up calls!).  Luckily, the first thing he said was "nobody died."  Then he said "the good news is you don't have to go into work today."  Since it was only a blown transformer (meaning we'll have no a/c, servers, phones, or lights all day) and nothing bad happened to the building, it's a bonus day off for me!  So, I'm declaring this Quilting Day at Denise's house!  Wish you could join me o:)

So, I thought I'd take the time to get a little blogging in.  Here's is the next to last Jelly  Roll Sampler block - number 11.  One more to go.  When it's finished, I think I'm going to donate this very colorful quilt to one of the children's charities.

I have to say something about the jelly roll I used for this quilt.  Last year I made these as Christmas gifts...

I was a fabric basket-making fool for a couple of months last Fall.  They were fun, but I was basketed-out by the time I was finished-LOL!  I decided I wasn't going to spend the money to purchase the "good" Jelly Rolls for these, but I found the chain craft stores carried generic jelly rolls and with your 40 or 50% off coupons, I could get them for about $6.  Sweet!  So, I stocked up.  Now, they were fine for basket making, but as I found out when making this quilt, they are not all cut precisely at 2-1/2", not even in one strip.  I was wondering why some of my JRS blocks weren't coming out right.  I've been piecing for more than 16 years, I am a fairly good piecer, not perfect, but I know I'm not THAT bad!  I finally decided to measure the strips and, my oh my, quality control is really missing there!  I have a few of those jelly rolls left over and I think I'll just keep them for basket making!  Or, I guess I could cut them down to 1.5" strips.  Anyway, just a warning!

I also finished my Joy Luck, the July "A Year of Schnibbles", quilt.  Not very creative of me and it looks just like the cover...

since I used the same fabric.  I really liked the original, so decided to be a lemming again and just follow along o:) since I had a FQ bundle of Verna.  So, I just cut my own charm squares.  Now, originally, I was planning on using just two different Asian prints from stash along with a background, but when I pulled out what I had, I wasn't feeling it.  Since I didn't want to buy new fabric, I just decided to go ahead with the Verna.  And I'm glad I did!  I'm still deciding how I want to quilt it.  I'd like to do some sort of Asian design, but I'm not sure what that is yet!  I've got to get some backing for this and I think I'm going to do a Kona solid for the binding.  Maybe a hot pink.

Now, I'm off to quilt for the day - - Yippee!!!

I'm a Charming Girl!

I was thrilled to find that Kelly of Cotton Charm Quilts was opening up membership in

I had learned of The Charming Girls Club  a few months ago and eagerly read all of the members' updates.  It was fun and I wanted to be a "Charming Girl", but membership was closed and I had to be content to just be on the outside looking in.  But I knew I was a Charming Girl at heart and when I read that the club was opened to new members for its second year, I jumped!  I commented on Kelly's post and asked to join and she said yes!  I can now proudly display the button on blog.

This year, Kelly made a few changes to the club.  Not only will we post our quilting goals, but some life goals as well!  I like that.  There are things that I've been wanting to do, meaning to do and should be doing that are not quilt related and this will help me be somewhat more accountable.

Each month will have a different theme.  This month's theme is

So, here are my self-care and quilting goals for the month:

1.  I've been trying to be better about exercise.  I feel better when I do it and at my age, I really need it!
And, since I sit at a desk all day, I get just about no exercise if I don't really make an effort.  The problem is it is a time-sucker!  And I so hate to waste good quilting time.  But, it is necessary for my health so I can quilt for many years to come (and also so I can wear more than the 5 pairs of stretch pant in my closet that fit!). So, my goal is to do weight training 3 days a week and at least two days of aerobic exercise.  I have no excuse, I have a treadmill, weights, a step, videos, bands, etc. at home.  I just need to get my butt out of bed in the mornings and do it!!

2.  Along with the exercise, a good diet is also key.  I don't have too much trouble with that - I'd say that I've been able to overhaul my diet over the years to be about 75% healthy/25% really yummy.  Fortunately, I love fruits and veggies.  I've pretty much got breakfast and lunch down - but dinner can be a downfall.  I eat lots of whole grains cereals, greens, no soda, chips or snacky type foods for the most part.  My big problem is portion control. I can eat a lot of food. And, I hate to be hungry.  I also have a love affair with pasta and rice.  I am trying to learn to love whole-grain pasta and brown rice.  So, I'll be watching even more carefully what I eat this month.

3. A big quilty goal is to finish my Lady Madonna applique quilt.  It's huge, the biggest applique I've done and the pieces just need to be fused and then I can do the machine applique.  I like the machine applique part, but I'm procrastinating about getting the fusing done.  If I don't make myself do it, it will just keep getting put on the back burner.  So, I'm putting it out there so I'll have to hang my head in shame if I don't get it done!

4.  I've also decided to participate in A Year of Schnibbles for July - I've just ordered my Joy Luck pattern and will get that done (Schnibbles are so fun and quick, I don't think that will be a problem).

[photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop]

Thanks, Kelly, for letting me be charming!

Jelly Roll Sampler Block #9 and My June Schnibble...

It's the end of another month...and another Schnibble is in the can!  I wasn't sure I was going to do this one, but I decided I had the perfect charm pack for "State Fair".  I used Moda's Wonderland by MoMo.  To get enough darker charm squares, I added from my stash, used some Kona Snow for the background ....

Since I had to pull out quite a few charm squares from the pack because they were too light, I put them all together to make a scrappy back - how's that for stashbusting - LOL!  I think I'm going to quilt this with some freehand daisies.  Now I'm  glad I made it and I will have entry in the Schnibble parade this month!

And, here is my Jelly Roll Sampler block #9.  Wow, was this an easy block to do! Only three more to go!

And would you believe this...I won ANOTHER giveaway! From BryeLynn of the wonderful SewStitchCreate podcast/blog. An embroidered Christmas ornament is on it's way to me as I write! How fun. I'll post a photo when I get it. Thanks, Brye!!

A little late to the party...

But better late than never!  Since I'm currently on a Schnibbles kick, I thought I join in on the Year of Schnibbles.  Sherri of A Quilting Life and Sinta of  Pink Pincushion are hosting.  It started last October and I probably won't be able to catch up, but I'm going to give it a shot.  I've already made Madeline (shown below) which was January's Schnibble, I believe and May's pattern was "choose your own".  I chose Reveille and here it is all quilted and bound - just in time to enter! 

Here's a fun print I found in my stash for the back...

I love that these little quilts by Carrie Nelson are so quick to make.  So, I'm anxiously awaiting to find out what June's Schnibble is going to be....I don't have long to wait!