Stilll Working on the Churn Dash

Once I made some of the mixed blocks last week, I couldn't resist putting some of them up on my design wall. I want to get the remainder of the mixed blocks done this weekend so that I can sew the rows together next week. Since I am getting so close to completing all my blocks, I can hardly wait to see it all come together.

This week was another exchange of a row in our row quilt exchange. I had the most beautiful Jane Sassman fabric to work with. It was very difficult to decide what I wanted to do with this fabric. It was our fourth row, and the first fabric that I have received so far that had some purple in it. Now I have another package with another theme (a sewing theme) on which to work.

Hubby and I also made a visit to our grandbaby's house for some baby time. There are no new pictures because I forgot to take the camera again. We had been shopping and I picked up some baby outfits and tee shirts in the next size range for her. Her mommy said she was growing out of the first size range of 0-3 months. We bought her 3-6 and 6-9 months items. I also found a darling brown and beige TY teddy bear that just dropped at my feet (literally) so of course it had to come home with us.

Some friends of ours are going to be first time grandparents. Their grandbaby is due in October. Grandma-to-be is fond of Noah's Ark things. Last week I found a Noah's Ark Christmas ornament and bought that for her. Then this week I found this darling Noah's Ark stuffed ark with animals who that noises at a book fair, so that came home with me also. I am getting so bad. I cannot pass any baby books, or baby departments without finding something to buy for our grandbaby, and now I guess for our friend's grandbaby, too! This grandbaby thing is so contagious, and all encompassing I am discovering!

Now I understand when my mother came to visit our first child she would always have a lot of things that she brought for the baby. When our daughter was a baby, she had darling dresses and outfits that she outgrew before she ever had an opportunity to wear them all. My mother kept buying and bringing and buying and bringing all the time. Now I understand why!

Wishing you all happy sewing and happy baby watching.

Happy Quilting, too.

Light Churn Dash Blocks

Well, I have all my light churn dash blocks sewn. There are eight other blocks to sew, then I can put all the blocks together. I am getting close to a finish and I am getting really excited. I love it when a plan comes together!

Next on my list is a row for the current row quilt I have in my possession. This is the fourth exchange, so when this row is made, there will be four out of seven completed. At every exchange we share what we did. The exchanges are getting better and better each time. These row quilts will be awesome when they are all finished.

We had a visit with our grandbaby on Friday. She still sleeps a lot, but she was awake for a little while when we were there. Sorry to say that no pictures were taken. A friend of ours took a gift she had made for the baby. We were all there when our DIL opened the gift. It was a beautiful baby blanket that was hand stitched on the front. It is a counted cross stitch pattern. It is beautiful. Also in the gift was a darling little silver box for baby's first tooth, and another little silver box for a lock of her hair. I hope our son will take a picture of the blanket so I can post it. It is an absolutely darling, colorful counted cross stich pattern. Counted cross stitch is one craft that I have not enjoyed sewing. I guess I cannot count well enough because I often get lost in the pattern.

Today has been a quiet day in the neighborhood so far. Many families must be on vacation since there are few children riding their bikes in front of the school. There are few families at the park, too. Not many children playing on the playground either. It is nice to have some quiet days in the neighborhood. We live close to two hospitals so we hear sirens daily, all day and all night, too. It has been quiet in that respect as well. I like that. The quiet indicates no emergencies. Some days the sirens are wailing going in both directions.

Hope you have a great week ahead.

Happy Quilting

More Churn Dash Blocks

Here are more of my dark churn dash blocks. I am making the light ones next.

No grandbaby time this week. Talked to Mom and Dad though. We will probably see them next week.

I have been working in my sewing room this week, moving things around, finding lost stuff and loosing found stuff. You know the drill. I am trying to convince myself that I do not need everything in that room. I am not doing a good job of believing myself though! I have ideas spinning around in my head. It is time to pull them out and put them into action.

I have also been pulling fabrics for my churn dash blocks. That is what causes so much confusion. There are stacks of fabrics for certain projects on my sewing table. I have been pulling some of those fabrics and cutting strips from these fabrics. I am cutting the strips into pieces and sewing my churn dash blocks. I want to remember which stack the fabric was pulled from so I can return the fabric to the correct stack. This is one of the reasons I want to get these "in progress" projects finished so I can take the fabric away and put it....? Also, I don't want to use up all of a fabric that is intended for another project. I like scrap quilts so it would not be a problem to replace a used fabric with a different one. But that is not my choice at this point in those projects.

Yesterday was the first meeting of the new Saturday Sampler class at In Between Stitches. The teacher shared her finished sampler quilt top. She chose the bright color path. I chose the Joanna Figueroa designed fabric path. After seeing the teacher's quilt, I wish I had chosen the brights. The Joanna Figueroa designed fabrics are great, too. I know I will like it even though it is in more soft, muted warm colors. I hope there is some purple in there somewhere! But I shouldn't complain if there isn't since the last Saturday Sampler was all purple. That is what prompted me to join the group - a purple quilt!

While I was there, I also picked up a kit for the next block in another BOM I joined. It seems the colors for the first two blocks are much the same colors of my new Saturday Sampler BOM. Am I falling out of favor with purple? Absolutely not! I am expanding my color horizons. When another purple quilt comes along, I have no doubt I will jump on the purple wagon again.

Happy 4th of July and Happy Quilting