Design Wall

I am drinking tea and hand-sewing the binding on the rainy day quilt.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Design Wall Monday

Here is a project that I have been slowly working on since May.  I got sidetracked with graduation, then dealing with the miscarriage, but now I am back on track again, I hope.

This is a commission piece, a baby quilt for a lady from church who asked me to make it for her niece.  I needed to order more of the white fabric as I did not quite figure the right amount, so imagine white poka-dot printed fabric between the blocks.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

I am linking up to:
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts


*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

The Traveling Quilt & More

I have been a little bit sporadic the past few weeks on my postings, my responses and there also seemed to be an issue with some of my posts publishing  Our household had it's very first occurrence where I did not get sick but the rest of my family caught the flu; baby girl caught that & the croup.  I was happy to get my post up this past week for my day on the blog hop *\0/*, but I still have yet to post what I was working on for FNSI 2 weeks ago. Please check back to see that post, later today I will be able to add pictures.  It is just a little bit early to be sneaking into baby girl's room to snap a picture of one of the items.

The Traveling Quilt
I have joined up with a small group of people for us to have our quilt blocks go on a journey.  I have a slight obsession with rainbowy things so that is where my inspiration pieces start.

For my quilt I have asked the people in our group to just make rainbow blocks of different sizes.  I want to to then join them together myself with some extra fabric I have on order because I want to send this quilt to someone to quilt for me!  It will be the first quilt I have ever done so, but this quilt will be for my own bed so it will be worth the extra money.  I just could not ever come up with a color plan for my own bed that would work until I made my rainbow trip around the world quilt for the Kona Hop that is a wall hanging in my bedroom [post HERE].

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

Think Ruffles Hop-Fifth Day

Needle and Hook

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Blessings From Our Nest

Little House on the Dairy

Just One More Stitch

Creatin' in the Sticks

Just Sew Quilter

Happy Birthday Miss Z!

It has been a crazy few days, which I really didn't get into yesterday.  I had this overwhelming desire to complete my daughters quilt by her birthday which was today.  Two years ago my darling girl came into the world (after 24 hours of labor, 2 hours of pushing and an emergency c-section that is) and when I gaze upon her I can't help but be awed my the miracle of her being here.  Even though all 4 of her 2-year molars want to come in at once, this weekend, I cherish holding her.

Miss Z's Quilt is sandwiched (above); I have been working quite hard on the FMQ stitching (Right) late into the night last night.  It won't be done for her Birthday, but it WILL be done tomorrow.  I plan to have it completed, washed and on Miss Z's bed by bedtime tomorrow.  I have to square up a couple more items for my post for blog Hop on Tuesday so you won't get to see a close up of the quilt until Wednesday, so I am leaving you with a little bit of a teaser.  To the right is a close-up on the back of a little stitching that stood out, sometimes one does these things without thinking.  More to do tomorrow!

I am linking up to:
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

BOM's & Design Wall

I am in that mad dash mode to make sure I finally have Miss Z's Quilt completed for her birthday this year! So this week my list looks like this:

1. Finish Miss Z's Quilt
2. Travel Quilt Pannel to put together
3. Finish 4-patch & HST for a swap
4. Finish My blog Hop projects for my stop next week
5. Finally Finish ironing, trimming and organizing the last of the fabric pile I washed over a month ago
6. Listen to another couple audible books and write reviews for them.
7. Go through my scraps, organize them

Now, I am realistic and know that I just can't get all of it completed this week, but I am certainly going to try my best!!  I have signed up for things and I really do need to follow through with #2-#4 on the list, but I threw the other three on the end just in case I can fit them in around the first Four plus watching the Olympics and peeking in on the Hugs & Kisses blog hop posts this week!  I am going to promise you that my EveOnline Playing will be sparse this week!

Okay, now to share some items on my design wall:

Sadly, this is still where I am at on Miss Z's Big Girl Bed Quilt

Remember this block?  I am using it as my inspiration for the traveling quilt!!

Those are just a couple items to tease you with off the top of my list!  Though my blogging will be sparse this week, I will try to drop in with a picture on my progress as the week progresses!

I am linking up to:
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

Don't forget to go visit the posts for the first week of the Hugs & Kisses Blog Hop with Sew We Quilt!!

BOM'S & Design Wall

Greetings!  I have two more blocks completed for Lone Star Pizazz BOM from my LQS.  The dark green fabric on this first one was from my own stash as I horribly messed up the block on my first try.  That will teach me to complete those tester blocks before hand!  My piecing skills have definitely improved over the past year, though I am not perfect I am still proud of my work.  The Fourth block I just picked up on Friday looks really complicated, so I will have to be very careful with this next block.  If you have some BOM's of your own or you have a project you have broken down into monthly parts, you should consider linking up to What a Hoot's BOMs Away linky party( see HERE).  I know a few of you will see this post from that very linky group, but for those who have not, it has been so much fun seeing what BOM programs are out there and to know that I am not the only one that lingers in such an area!  My goal this year is to have 2 complete BOM'a completed.  That might mean I use those blocks in different ways than all together in one quilt, but I will have completed that month's block nevertheless!  HERE is a link to my current BOM's which you can also find on the tab at the top!

Block 2

Block 3

Design Wall:
I have a bunch of secret projects on the wall today that I can't show you quite yet so I don't spoil the surprise, however I also have the tester blocks for Block 2 above that I want to make into a quilt top this week.This one I can't quite wrap my head around how I want the layout to go right now.  I was thinking of a simple 9 by 9 with a border or a sashing between the blocks with the white fabric.  The center coral fabric is currently on sale at Connecting Threads for like $4/yard, so I am debating with myself if I should pick it up now for the binding and backing fabrics since I don't actually have a lot of pink in my stash this has been a hard quilt.  My goal was to make a rather girl baby quilt so I think that part is going in the right direction atleast!  I really want to join up with Judy's Quilt-along, but I am afraid I have too much on my list right now.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

I am linking up to:
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

Don't forget to check out the beautiful creations on the Kona Hop!


Day Nine

More Stars In Comanche
Buzzing And Bumbling
Quilting Quietly
Grammie Q's
The Quilted Cat
The Quilting Queen Online
Lauraluvsloons
Sew Incredibly Crazy

2014's BOM Lists

I have a few BOM (Block of the Month) that I am now working through in 2014, some of which you have seen before and some are new!  I was hoping to get a block completed this week to share with you, but it didn't happen.  Instead I rested in my blankets and listened to an audio book.  I checked that it was okay to share my thoughts with you on the book which I shall do in the next couple of days!

This is what my BOM list looks like right now:

New:
The  Sugar Block Club 2014
The  Craftsy BOM 2014 (This is free here: http://www.craftsy.com/)
The Farmer Wife Sampler

Continuing:
Lone Star Pizzazz BOM 2013-14

The  Sugar Block Club 2013

The  Legacy Sampler  1 BOM 2012-13

The  Legacy Sampler 2 BOM 2012-13

You can see my BOM list at a glance, with pictures, on the tab at the top.  I am trying to keep it updated each week as I complete blocks.  My goal, of course, is to actually complete a quilt you know!  I will get there, in the meantime, I am sure enjoying the journey and I certainly have learned so much!

*\0/* Cheers
Shanna


Don't forget to check out the beautiful creations on the Kona Hop!


Day Five

Creatin' In The Sticks
Meadowbrook
Cathy's Chatter
Selina Quilt
Sew Fresh Quilts
The Sassy Quilter

Round 5: Old Thing Be Best Forgotten

I am a day late on this post, but I fell asleep early last night without finishing the ironing portion of my Blocks.  I also did not complete the BOM block that I needed to redo yet.   You will see a few posts form me today as this is my end of year clean-up report time as well., but I thought it would be too wordy if I put it all in one post.  These blocks I think are rather hard until I found Inklingo's directions. I still have so much work to do, so I am kind of hoping that Bonnie does not do the big reveal tomorrow.

So on to the blocks!

Clue #5

Clues #1-#4

I just LOVE how Lorna describes her new linky party: "Let's Bee Social! is a Sew-Weet new weekly linky party for quilting bloggers.  A new post each Wednesday will allow you to add your own link to the Let's Bee Social linky party post."  The majority of the friends that I have made while blogging have been through linky parties and blog hops.  To be frank, I could not have gotten through the last few months without my blogging buddies.  They have been my encouragement and a good deal of support for me. And now another opportunity to make more friends and enjoy each other's work and lives!

May you all have a wonderful new year!!!!

I am linking up to:
Celtic Solstice Link-up #5 with Bonnie Hunter@ Quiltville
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

Round 4: Merry Christmas Eve, Eve

Celtic Solstice
I did it!!!!!!!  I completed both Clues #3 & #4 for Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery QAL!  I have to admit that I am still behind on Clue #2, but tonight I am not dwelling on that!  You will notice that all the fabrics are pretty much the same instead of the super-scrappiness that I showed in Clue #1 previously.  Well, that is because I decided to make a second small sized quilt.  I am making the scrappy one for myself and this one I plan to make for charity.  By using the yardage I am able to not only clear out more space in my fabric cubbies, but it's great practice for me in using the Inklingo system.  I cannot begin to tell you how much easier these steps are with Inklingo, but I still need some more practice as I have had a couple jams when I was being impatient.

BOM's AWAY

Do you remember the practice blocks I made a several weeks ago HERE?  Well I finally turned the practice blocks into a baby quilt top!  It will only be a 40" X40", but it helps me jump start a goal I have for 2014 to start using up the random BOM's that I have laying around as well as my orphan blocks which might be left over from other projects or tester blocks.  Right now I am signed up only for one BOM at my LQS for this next year because I want to make a farmer Wife Sampler Quilt over the next 2 years!

This block to the right is a practice block for Mid-November's BOM from my LQS.  Unfortunately I was in a rush so I majorly messed up the actual block when I attempted it before practicing, so I decided to turn back to the practice blocks before I gave it another go.  I made 9 of these blocks now which I will also turn into a baby quilt once I figure out the sashing (should I go with the white or another color?).  I am sure I will share more on that project next year, haha!  I have been just waiting to say that!  These have been projects I have completed working on the mystery quilt which I affectionately called my "pause projects" instead of "Leaders/Enders."

A Little black Rain Cloud

Now I am going to reward myself with a large cup of Hot Chocolate with whip cream on top and some more episodes of The Deadliest Catch!  Thank you all for stopping by today!
*\o/* Cheers
Shanna
I am linking up to:
Celtic Solstice Link-up #4 with Bonnie Hunter@ Quiltville
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts
.

Round 3: The Slowest Horse

Round 2 of Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery is still in the works, so I decided to skill ahead to Round or Clue #3!  I bought the Inklingo Shapes kit for this mystery to see if it might not work well for me so that i could perhaps bring some of my work out into the livingroom instead of just staying in my crafting area in our bedroom. I have to tell you that Inklingo is really interesting actually.  I just wish we had a better printer so I could make the most of it, but I did not do so bad in my printing efforts.  One sheet will make 6 of the pinwheels and the sewing of them was amazingly quick!  I made these six pinwheels and sewed up the rest of the sheets while watching an episode of The Deadliest Catch so for me that was pretty quick as I get distracted!

 I will be trying to get these finished up tonight once Miss Z goes down to sleep.  Every single one of my points are perfect for the first 6 squares which is not always the case for me, so I am very pleased so far!  I also am working on getting Clue #2 completed before Friday, if I can, as well as finishing up some Christmas Gifts as there are only a couple more weeks left!!  Although, if any family is reading this that hasn't already gotten your presents, then yours will be a little late this year...but I am not telling what they are!!

This is my first Clue round again:

Thank you all for stopping by today!

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

I am linking up to:
Celtic Solstice Link-up #3 with Bonnie Hunter@ Quiltville
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts

Leaders, Enders, and a Little Progress

I have been a little quiet this past week..part of it has been some health issues, but most it has been Bonnie Hunter's fault!  I say that part in jest as she has been truly wonderful to us all in sharing her free patterns and developing a mystery quilt, also for free for her followers.  I have finally completed Clue #1 and it only makes my excited for the next clue.  I have to admit, last year I struggled a lot with jealousy over how quickly everyone seem to be handling the steps for the Easy Street Mystery; their fabric and their points were perfect.  It was silly to feel insecure about my own work, but I didn't really know anyone (but Mary) who was making the quilt.

This is a close-up of the border fabric that I bought for the mystery, which is inspiring my color choices

This year I am approaching the mystery quilt differently.  I joined up with 3 different groups, the facebook group has been by far the most encouraging group of people I have ever been grouped with.  For once I was finding that instead of feeling like a failure or being jealous, I was rejoicing that a nice guy and his mom got their blocks done first (It was really sweet, he went over to his mom's to help her cut out her block parts).  I was enjoying the sharing of pictures, colors, questions, and conversation about random stuff.  One of the really sweet people who I have met through other places on the Interweb, organized a spot for people who were in need to provide their addresses so those who have more fabric than they know what to do with, could share and they could then take part in the mystery as well.  Through this process thus far, I met a new fiend who not only lives in my area, but she frequents my LQS, and we are making plans to get together for lunch one day soon.  There is something about quilting in a community that changes the whole dynamics of everything!

There are about 115 block of each; I miscounted but I thought ti would be good to have extras!

Leaders & Enders

It has been asked what we are working on in between our clues for this mystery.  I am working on a baby quilt from the Modern Patchwork, Spring 2013 issue.  It has mini-skinny-pluses in alternating background and print blocks.  This is actually a very fun project, although I have to admit that I changed the size of the pieces I am working with from the ones requested to be cut.  There happen to be perfectly square blocks already cut out for The Dancing Stars quilt (Amy Ellis) that were extra, so my blocks will be quite smaller.  I think this works out better because I can showcase many different fabrics that might fit in the colorway I have selected.  The fabrics come from 2 different Kate Spain lines, and some prints from Connecting Threads as well.  My thoughts at this point is to make one pair of blocks per fabrics, but not assemble the quite until next year, this will allow me to add more fabrics as I add to my stash or have left-overs from other projects!

Adapted from Happy Baby Quilt, from Modern Patchwork Spring 2013 Issue

Thank you all for stopping by today!

I am linking up to:
Celtic Solstice Link-up #1 with Bonnie Hunter@ Quiltville
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts
Fabric Tuesday With Heather & Megan @Quilt Story

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

It's Just a Tale but I am Rather Attached To It...

Well, It's Monday again, I swear this day just happened a week ago!  Monday usually means movie Day for Miss Z while I catch-up on laundry and ironing (It's the movie we shall not mention, again).  I can hear the dryer cycling and I believe Pooh Bear is about to sing again, but our washer is broken today so I thought I would sneak over to the computer to update my blog.  I meant to post on Saturday what I accomplished from the "Friday Night Sew-In" but you know things happen!  Thankfully I can chill in my PJ's when the USPS guy comes to pick up the Traveling Stash boxes, well at least for the people that have sent me their mailing information.

Let's see, what did I accomplish?

1.  I finally finished the last two sets of blocks for the Easy Street Mystery Quilt.  I still need to lay out, assemble the quilt and decide on borders before the top is completed.  I don't have binding made for this one yet.  This is the main item on my design wall this week!

9-#1 blocks

4-corner blocks

2.  Completed the backing, sandwiched and spray basted the Time Warp Quilt (the one in 30's repro prints); the binding is ready to attach when stitching is done.  I am waiting for thread to arrive in the mail.  I promised a friend that I would give the Aurifil thread a fair shake so I needed White thread for this quilt.

3.  Made my extra Zig Zag blocks into a throw pillow cover.  I did not get to the quilt itself though for prepping.

Front

back

4.  I cut more fabric for my Holiday Happenings table runner.  All I had to start was a pile of four-patches for the project, so I am happy I am getting somewhere with this project.  I will post a picture of this project on Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by!

I am linking up this week to:
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts
Anything Goes Mondays with Marelze @ Stitch By Stitch.

*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

***For International followers I am having a giveaway specifically for you! Please stop by THIS post for more information!***

"I'm Just a Little Black Rain Cloud..."

Source

If you have ever watched The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, you might remember Pooh Bear singing the title song of this post.  I assure you, I have seen this DVD far too many times so whilest I was working on this month's BOM for my LQS, It was all that rolled through my head.  Over...and over..and over again.  You see, I like to make tester blocks as to not mess up the very precise amount of fabric they give you to complete the block.  This past week I fell so in-love with the block that I plan to make the tester blocks into a mini-quilt wall hanging for our bedroom/super crafting area.  I am determined to make some items for our home this next year; I often find myself giving things away just after I roll the lint brush over a project.

BOM BLOCK:

TESTER BLOCK:

No, I have not yet trimmed up the blocks because I like to wait to trim my BOM blocks until I have all of the blocks completed, just in case I need to fudge here or there.  As far as the tester blocks go, I am am almost done with 3 more of the same block and then we shall see how to arrange them!  I am thinking of going with using some of the other scraps from making THIS quilt, they are fabrics all from the same line from Connecting Threads.  In fact they are currently having a super sale on all their basics so I am mulling the idea of grabbing more yardage of the Gray print in this project.

I am linking up today to:
Design Wall Monday with Judy@ Patchwork Times
BOM's Away with Lyn @ What a Hoot Quilts


I am also linking up, for the second time: 
Anything Goes Mondays with Marelze @ Stitch By Stitch.
*\o/* Cheers
Shanna

PS** It turns out I have had very good luck recently, so I am having a drawing for FOUR more traveling stash boxes!!!  Please consider letting it visit your house.  Check out my post (with pictures) HERE, leave a comment on that post to be entered in to win it (US Residents only, sorry).  There are 2 more delicious boxes being given away, to find out more about those boxes click over HERE, and to read about the guidelines go HERE.

***For International followers I will be having a giveaway specifically for you starting November 18th. So please be looking for it!***