FRIDAY FINISH

Dawn stopped by yesterday morning and brought me this ...


a stack of quilt tops for the Mountain Baby Quilt project that she supports (I volunteered to quilt). But staying in and quilting was REALLY hard when I was being tempted by this ...

and this ...

It was so pretty outside - sunny, breezy and NO humidity!! So - I decided a compromise was in order. Got one of the those sweet baby quilts finished,

And then took some handwork outside and finished up my June block for Love Knows No Season.

Don't forget to stop by AmyLouWho's blog and check out the Sew 'n Tell.

FRIDAY FINISH

Don't have too much time to blog ... so what else is new? But I do have a Friday Finish and it is Saturday! I'm still trying to catch up from being in Florida for a month.

So - here's my April BOM from Elsie Campbell's "Love Knows No Season." The background (as always) seems a bit washed out in the photo, it's better live and in person.
AND ... what did I do during my "down time" in Floriday? Knitting is portable so that's what I did - a lot. I'm having a severe attack of SSS ... Second Sock Syndrome!

Now that my life is back to normal ... and that's NOT saying much ... I'm hoping to get back to sewing and blogging.

PS - don't forget Sew 'n Tell

FRIDAY FINISH

Sew many projects unfinished. Sew little time spent sewing. What have I been doing? Visiting with my mom and reading, reading, reading. I LOVE my new toy ... Barnes&Noble's NOOK. And what better way of keeping it close, wherever I go - a NOOK Book Bag. First there was this one. Now here's Proto-type #2.


I made the back pocket a little bigger and added a bit more velcro to keep the cards and money a little safer.

Isn't this just too cute!

Mom is loving these bags! I'm working on a pattern ... I'll let you know when my scribbled notes are legible.

Don't forget to stop by AmyLouWho's Sew & Tell ... button on the side bar.

SEW AND TELL

This has been the "sewiest" kind of week for me. Last weekend I was retreating with my sewing buddies in western Maryland. This week I'm in southern Virginia with my sewing buddy Donna. I came down here to teach a class on the Square-in-a-Square ruler for Donna's guild. 22 ladies, lots of strips and squares,a few grumbles but finally everyone figured out the "OPTIONS." Here's the class sample ...

This Christmas quilt was finished the night before the class and made using the same blocks. It's a free pattern on the SnS site.

And the I started working on these stars. I had this project cut and ready to go to MQX last year and didn't make it. It's been sitting patiently in the "to do" pile ever since. I've got a long to go but at least it's started!

I do love sewing with friends ... it's inspiring!

FRIDAY FINISH

HURRAY HURRAY! I love Friday's ... it's the day we get to do a little blog hopping and see what others who suffer from this wonderful thing we call craftiness have accomplished. Hop on over to Sew and Tell and join in on the fun.

So (sew) what did I finish this week? First up - my March block for Love Knows No Season. Elsie's FREE BOM is only available until the next block posts on April 15. You better hurry over here and get it.
Here's a not very good picture of my Sunday Drive. This is a Pat Sloan pattern. It still needs lots of buttons (leaves) on the trees but that will wait until AFTER the quilting is completed. This was a fun project, even though it took 3 years. I love how Pat designs scrappy patch backgrounds with the applique hanging over.

AND ... finally completely finished ... another Sloanie quilt ... Farmer's Market. These were FREE blocks on Pat's web site. This was also a long forgotten project that finally made it's way up to the top of the pile. And it's also not a great photo. I took this late last night and the lighting wasn't good. (photographers always say that about not-so-great pictures). I'll try for better ones and some closeups later today. Hmmm ... probably could play a little with cropping too so you don't have to look at my ceiling. I was trying to keep Cute Husband's Gear Head pants out of the shot.

And my last finish for the week ... this one was a START and a FINISH! It's measures 28". It's a Square in a Square project for a class sample. I'll be teaching this ruler at my friend Donna's guild in 2 weeks.

I also did LOTS of ironing and not sewing related ironing just regular ironing. Donna told me that IRON was a 4-letter word! I am glad that the weather is nicer and Cute Husband has started wearing polo shirts to work ... more time for sewing related ironing!

Have a GREAT weekend!

FRIDAY FINISHES

Holy cow, am I late with my Sew 'n Tell today. I actually finished these 2 tops yesterday. I'm late getting the photos posted because I had to go for the dreaded mammogram this morning. After that, I thought I deserved lunch out ... don't you agree?

Before you get too crazy and think I MADE this 2 quilts this week - take a breath. You KNOW that didn't happen. The mostly blue and white, 9-patch and snowball was started last October. Yesterday it got borders. This is going to my sister (Goody 1) for Christmas. I've got plenty of time.
This one is called Buffalo Ridge. It's from the book Nickle Quilts. Dawn, Starlyn and I did it as a block swap, also started back in October. We made 3 of each block and 3 of each flying geese (there were a million of those!) and then swapped. This way, we got a lot more varieties of fabrics and when we met up to swap ... lunch! Not sure where this quilt will end up living but I do have some great ideas for quilting it.

Dawn - if you're reading this ... I know 1/2 my geese are pointing in the wrong direction. Starlyn said I could call it a "design decision." That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

FRIDAY FINISH AND MOVIE STAR FUN

I'm baaaack! Just spent the last 4 days in Florida with my mom (the clam chowder snob) and my sister (Goofy 2) and her family. I think it was warmer in MD than it was in FL! A fun visit but it's always good to be back home.

Here's my FRIDAY FINISH for Amy's Sew 'n Tell (see the sidebar button). This is the February block for Elsie Campbell's BOM: Love Knows No Season.

And ... a little tea towel that's going to be for sale at my guild's quilt show this weekend.

Now ... on to a little movie star fun!!! If you're old enough to remember Smokey and the Bandit, you might enjoy these pictures. If you're not old enough, well, shoot - look it up on the internet. My brother-in-law (Goody 2's husband) just happens to be Burt Reynolds' gardner. And this car just happens to be one (of several) that was used in the movies. And this Trans Am just happens to now live in my sister's driveway. Burt gave it to Al!

I was a good sister-in-law and made the appropriate postive comments about the noisy pipes and "wow, 100 mph" kind of stuff that Al was expecting. I've never seen Burt Reynolds in person but I did ride (at 100 mph) by the entrance to his estate. Kinda cool, huh?

If you're looking for some entertainment this weekend, stop by Southern Comforter's Quilt Show.

FRIDAY FINISH

Oh the pressures of having a Friday finish! At 8:00 this morning, I was sitting at my sewing machine putting on a binding - before coffee, before e-mail, before getting dressed. Sew 'n Tell Fridays are such motivation! So ... here's my finish for this week ...
These blocks were part of Pat Sloan's Good Book Cafe. They're free! A couple of years ago, Pat started an online book club and each month, along with suggested reading was a quilt block. I didn't keep up with the books ... not quite enough murder and mayhem for me ... but I did make the block EVERY month. Then promptly folded them up and put them in the "to finish" pile. Finally, they made their way to the top. Well actually - somehow, they managed to squeeze out from under the pile and cut in line.

HURRAY FOR A FRIDAY FINISH!

Rootn' Tootn' Cowboy

As promised yesterday, here's a look at Rootn' Tootn' Cowboy. It's a Spring Water Designs pattern. I often get stuck on what to do for a boy quilt but this certainly fixes THAT problem. Although ... when I was little I wanted to grow up to be a cowboy and I spent several days looking for cowboy boots for MY daughter when she was little - it was the ONLY thing she wanted for Christmas. Today ... this gets quilted.



You really need to go and look at the banner on this blog, it's big and beautiful and "wool crazie! I was instantly taken with it and hear my bin of woolies calling me. BUT - I have to resist the urge. There are other more pressing (not ironing, don't worry) matters at hand today. Besides, I think the bin of wool is under several other bins and baskets so they won't escape.



Off to load the cowboy quilt on to my Handiquilter and "git 'er done!"

Edit: I posted this before Amy got the Sew 'n Tell link up this a.m. - check it out!