Birdies Top is Done! . . . I think . . .

Hello!  :)

When I last left you I had gotten the sashings and cornerstones on my Birdies Quilt.

I also had decided that I wanted it bigger than originally planned. The original plan called for one border which was going to be this . . .

So I got out my Sophie stash . . . Yes I have a stash of Sophie for another project! I love it that much!!!  :)  I decided to do three borders. Hope it's not too much!

I came up with this as the first border . . .

What do you think? I love it!  :)

Then a second border, the same size as the sashing . . .

This one looked good when I just laid the fabric next to the quilt but I'm not so sure with it attached. My original idea was to bring some of the stitchery color out to the border to balance the colors out. What do you think?

I went ahead and added the last border. I wish I had a better picture. I took tons of pictures but this is the best of them. It's hard to take pictures of something so big by yourself.   :(

So what do you think? Please let me know. I need some opinions here. Sometimes I look at it and I love it. Other times I just don't know. Is it too much? I am happy with the size now.  :)

I will be using this for the binding . . .

And this for the backing . . .

Looking forward to your comments and opinions. Thanks so much!  :)

Until next time . . .

A Full February 1st for Me!

Hello!  :)

I didn't get any sewing done over the weekend like I had planned. The hunky dude, the boy and I did go bowling though. I hadn't been bowling in over 20 years. I was pretty darn rusty . . . skills and body . . . lol! I've been paying for it ever since. We did have fun though!  :)

I had joined a Valentine's apron swap over at Country Pleasures. I thought the due date was February 15th for some reason, which is pretty odd since Valentine's Day is the 14th. Anyway the mailing due date was actually February 1st. So I got busy picking out the pattern and getting the fabric. Then I managed to get the apron plus an extra one for me sewed up pretty quick. Of course I can't show them to you yet but I will soon. I mailed it out today so my partner, Gail of Faithfulness Farm, should receive it soon and then I'll share both of them with you!  :)

I had a pretty productive day today. I finally got the two Snowman Blocks I made for a January Block of the Month Swap mailed out to my two partners.

I also got the charm packs mailed out to the giveaway winners from Monday. So Jennifer and Gail they are on the way to you! Enjoy them!  :)

While I was at it, I got the I-SPY charms mailed out for the charm swap. I'm ahead on this one as they're not due until February 15th. I know I'm shocked too! I'm never early!  Lol!  ;)

That was the end of the mailings today. Whew! It was nice to get those items off on their way!  :) I did manage to make two mini blankets for Doobie today but forgot to take pictures of them. :(  I did take a picture of him earlier today all swaddled up in my blanket though (he was cold).  :)

He's so cute and sweet! Isn't he?!!! He looks like a puppy here but he's not. Do you see his new license? I finally went and got it so he's legal now!  :)

I was even able to make some more progress with the Birdies today!  :)  I managed to get all the sashings on. I decided to go ahead and add some cornerstones where the inner blocks meet using the border fabric. What do you think? How's it looking so far?

I'm loving how it's looking but it's a little too small for me. I know it's supposed to be a lap quilt but I think I want it a little bigger. So far there's only one border to add. Tomorrow I think I'll play around a little bit and maybe add two borders instead of just one. Next time you see it the top should be finished. I hope so! It's not that I'm trying to rush. It's just that I've been dying to see how this one turns out. It's for me! I'm so excited! :)

And if that isn't enough . . . Today the mailman brought some goodies to me!  :)

It's one of my Snowman Blocks for the swap! Isn't it cute?!!! My partner Toni also sent me 4 fat quarters of snowman fabric, some sewing machine needles and thread! I'm a lucky girl!  :)

Here's a close up of the block. She designed it herself! I love it!  :)  Thanks Toni! You did a great job!  :)

Until next time . . .

Stitch-N-More :)

Hello!

Guess what I finished this week??? I finished the last stitchery (so far anyway) for my Christmas Stitchery Mini Quilt. Here it is . . . 

The very last stitchery will be available this Friday. I can't wait! Maybe I'll get started on piecing the top before it comes out so I can get ahead of the game. We'll have to see if I can get motivated to do it.  :)

Guess what else I did? The latest Birdie Stitches Block of the Month . . .  

The November block was released on November 1st. I sat down to get it started and couldn't stop until I finished it! I added some extras to it too. :)  I had forgotten how much I love this Sophie fabric and these birdies! I really enjoyed working on it and can't wait until the last block comes out on December 1st. Wonder if there will be a Christmas tree? I bet there will be one!  :)

Today I received a couple of surprises in the mail . . . 

The first was a Thanksgiving quilt block from Toni in Pennsylvania. This is part of a 12-month quilt block swap over at Mary Jane's Farm. Here's the block . . . 

Isn't it wonderful! She did an awesome job appliqueing it! Thanks so much Toni! I love it!  :)  Toni also sent me three other items she made . . . a towel, a washcloth and a card! I'm a lucky girl!  :)

It was like an early Christmas here as I also received this in the mail . . . 

A fall apron made for me by Raine in Wisconsin. Through another swap at Mary Jane's Farm. Isn't it lovely?! She really did a nice job with it! Thanks Raine!  :)  She also sent me some apple fabric and a Thanksgiving towel. How sweet! Love it all!  :)

Be sure to come back here tomorrow. As tomorrow is the day . . . It's the day I reveal my Ghastlie projects! I have given you a couple of hints in the past. Remember this . . . 

and this . . .

What in the world could they be? Can you venture a guess? Well the wait will be over tomorrow! I will be posting them at 12:01am (eastern time) Friday, November 4th! Shhhhhh . . . don't tell anyone . . . but I'll be giving one of my items away! Be sure to come for a visit tomorrow!  :)

Until next time . . .

All Caught Up!

With the birdies that is!  :)  I still have many more projects to start... work on... and finish.  :)  But the birdies are done until the next one arrives on November 1st. I can't wait to see the last two. I'm so glad I decided to go ahead and join in on the Birdie Stitches Block of the Month quilt-a-long. If you haven't checked it out do so. They are so much fun! Okay... I know... you're dying to see the last three blocks I did huh?!!! Before I show you I want to let you know that the photos aren't the best... sorry!  :(

For the June block I decided to go with the design Kimberly (mybrownbagstudio) used. She adapted parts from the original design and added a few of her own. Here's my June block...

For the September block I kept the design as is but did add an apple.  :)

The last block I completed is a signature block for the back of the quilt. I took some elements from the original June block design and added my signature and the year. It's kind of hard to see it in the picture... sorry!  :(

I'm kind of sad that I'm all caught up. I will miss the birdies!  :(

Tomorrow I will work on some of my many other projects. I'm hoping I can knock at least one thing off my plate. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!  :)

Thanks for visiting! I love your comments!  :)

Until next time...
Cherise  :)

Progress!

Hello! I didn't get any actual quilting done this weekend but I did make some other progress. I managed to get the stitching done on 4 of the Birdie Blocks, for the Birdie Stitches Block of the Month Quilt! Now I'm only 6 behind... lol!  :)  It was very relaxing and satisfying. I really enjoyed it!  :)

The pictures aren't the greatest but here they are...

Block #1 ~ January...

Block #2 ~ February...

Block #3 ~ March...

Block #4 ~ April...

What do you think? I'm basically following the patterns but I'm also adding a little here and there.  :)  I really like how the Sophie fabric's looking. I haven't done any stitching in quite a while and forgot how much I enjoy it! I have some other projects I need to work on, but I think I'll put those off for one more day and get another block (or two) done.  :)

Hope You Have a Marvelous Day!  :)

Until Next Time...
Cherise  :)

Rainy Day Progress

Today was a nice, cool, refreshing, rainy day in Southern California. I loved it! I love the rain! I wish we had more days like this.  :)

Can you see the rain? Do you smell it? Okay... I know this isn't smell-o-vision... lol!  :)  Someday we will have it. Can you imagine?! I love the smell of rain!

The boy's been home all week with his cold/asthma. I was hoping he'd be going back to school tomorrow, but his cough is still too bad, and he's still needing multiple asthma treatments. Maybe Friday??? I am feeling better though. More like myself again! Yea!  :)

I managed to get some work done with my Birdie Blocks today. Remember where I left off? I had a pile of centers and rows to stitch together...

I got them all done! Yea! I did have to use the seam ripper and fix some of them a couple of times because they just weren't lining up right. :(   Here they are all laid out...

And all stacked up...

Doesn't the Sophie look yummy!??? You can tell I love this fabric, huh?!!!  :)

I picked out my floss colors to match my fabric and got my needles out all ready to go.

Next step is to trace the patterns on the blocks. Since I'm so far behind... should I just start with October and work my way back? Or start with January, like everyone else did, back in January? Hummmmm.....

I signed up for a Halloween Quilt Block swap so I got my Halloween stash out today...

Cute, huh?!!! Don't you just love the creature mixing the potion! Hopefully my partners (I'm doing two) aren't reading this. I'm hoping to start on the blocks tomorrow. I'll be making the two blocks for my two partners, and one for me. Then after I swap I'll have three different Halloween blocks. These blocks are for a 12-month block series that's beginning with the October one. After I get these done I'll be working on Thanksgiving ones. At least these are pretty quick projects that won't need to be put together and finished until next year.  :)

Hope you're having a nice week!

Until next time...
Cherise  :)

This 'N That... and Everything in between!

Hello!

I've missed you! Sorry I've been gone so long! I've been a busy girl. Getting into trouble here and there, working on some sewing 'to do list' items, and getting around to some other non-sewing things that have been on my other 'to do list'.

I wanted to post the following runner I made on 9/11 but didn't get to it then.

My heart goes out to all the people who were directly affected by 9/11. May your loved ones remain in your hearts and memories forever. My heart also goes out to all others whose lifes were indirectly affected. I know the events of that day changed us all as individuals and as a nation. I know I am proud to be an american!

I have always loved the americana colors! They warm my soul! I use them a lot in my decorating. Here's the back of the runner.

Let's see... you're probably wondering what I've been busy with. I managed to cut out MY Thanksgiving apron that will basically match this one I made last month.

I didn't get to work on it yet but it's cut and ready to go! I also designed, cut, sewed and finished my mug rug for a swap I'm in. It turned out so cute! I can't believe I designed it and like the way it turned out. I'm sad to say that I can't show it to you yet as I have to wait until my partner sees it first. I wanted to mail it out this week but my partner emailed and said she had flooding and damage from the storms. I'm waiting to hear whether she wants me to mail it now or wait until things are less chaotic. I really don't want it to get in the way.

The non-sewing related item I've been working on has taken up a lot of my time. I'm a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I've had a couple of boxes of retired stamps & other items I've been wanting to sell. I finally took the 100+ photos and got them all in an email and listed on my other blog. If you like stamps please check the items out at cbyc-su.blogspot.com. You can view the photos here. I also have a link on my right sidebar.

Were you wondering how I've been getting into trouble??? Well... did you notice the new buttons on my upper right sidebar? I've decided to participate in a few new things...

This event started today. It sounds like fun and you will have the opportunity to take advantage of some great deals along the way. You will have the opportunity to make blocks from many wonderful designers. You don't even have to make them all if you don't want to. Go check it out for yourself.

Birdie Stitches Block of the Month...

When I clicked on this button on a blog I immediately fell in love with the project and knew I wanted to do it... although it started in January and ends in December. Do you think I can catch up?? lol!!! This is the fabric I want to use...

It's Sophie by Chez Moi for Moda. It's so yummy and will look so great with the birdies! I just ordered it and can't wait until it arrives! I got a couple of charm packs for the birdie blocks.

I will be using this one for the birdie block centers...

this one for the sashings...

this one for the outer border...

this one for the binding...

and this one for the back.

I can't wait to get the fabrics and get started making birdies!!!

Do you think I'm crazy yet? Well... it gets worse! I've also decided that it would be fun to join this quilt-a-long.

The good thing about this one is that it doesn't start until September 27th and new blocks will come every 2 weeks instead of one or two a week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it.  :)

I've also got the Ghastlies Blog Hop that I've signed up for.

It doesn't take place until the end of October though. I've already decided what I'm going to make, gotten my fabric and am ready to go. Bad part is I can't tell you what I'm making until then.  :)

Well I think I covered it all! Whew!!! I know it's a lot... and YES... I AM CRAZY!!! but... it makes me happy! Sorry I covered so much in this post. If only I would post more often... sigh....

Until next time...
Cherise  :)