Happy Halloween!

Here's this year's Halloween shirts for my grands.

Up first Ellie's and Theo's. (Both turtlenecks are the same shirt...don't know what happened to the color.) 

And Sophie's and Natalie's. 

All designs are from Designs by JuJu.  I had to go to my photos and look up all of the previous Halloween shirts to make sure I didn't repeat any designs. Hopefully the kids will enjoy wearing them. On to Christmas shirts -- or maybe I'll do winter shirts.  

Monday I showed some blocks I got from my FCQ Equilter group. You can see the churn dashes on the design wall here. Starting Friday, 11/1 it's my turn to request blocks.  I thought I had a block I wanted to ask for but when I really looked at it I decided it was more work than I wanted to do myself. I decided to go to one of my "old faithful" blocks. And, it's really easy.  This is from MaryQuilts.com. You can check out her instructions for Happy Blocks from Charms. Part of the reason I like this block is it is so FAST!  4 seams.  It usually takes me longer to actually pick the fabrics then it does to sew the block.  One of the cool things about the block is you can rotate the block so none of the seams overlap.  With fun center fabric these make great quilts for babies or kids.  

I'm linking up with Midweek Makers, To-Do Tuesday, and Needle and Thread Thursday.  It's been a long time since I've done a midweek post but I'm looking forward to seeing what folks are working on.  Hope you get a chance to check out some blogs. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 10 - 28 - 2019

October is about to wind down and I've got to get serious if I plan on making any Christmas presents this year.  And, I do have some plans to make gifts.  I have been trying to get a few quilts done this month.  I've quilted 3 tops and none of them have finished binding.  Tomorrow I will be binding like crazy -- I want some finishes this month.  

One thing I did finish was the block for Irma part of the FCQ Equilters.  She asked for the block "Antique Lace" from Missouri Star Quilt Shop. You can see the video here.  It is a huge block (16") and took me a day to complete.  Luckily we only had to make one since there are 9 of us in the group now.  

My turn starts on Nov. 1st through the end of December.  And, I've already picked out my block and my colors.  I'll share it with you once I make a sample.

I was poking around under my cutting table and "found" a ziplock full of churn dash blocks in R,W, & B.  I had completely forgotten about these -- I suspect they were from my last turn with FCQ Equilters.  And look at what a treasure I have. (Note: these were what I could fit on my design wall)  I'm planning on making a QOV with them.  

I'm thinking they need to be sashed so they don't run together so much. I'm not fond of sashing but sometimes blocks just need a little space of their own. Here's a little bit of sashing I laid out to see if I like it.  I do know I'll be using black sashing because I really want to use what I have on hand. I plan to have a 1" finished sash. What do you think?  

I've finally decided to give up on cleaning my cutting table.  I've got one rotary mat always clear and one that is piled up with stuff.  I keep putting the stuff away and more stuff seems to appear.  So I'm done listing and failing to get that clear.  (Hey, maybe reverse psychology will work and I'll get it cleaned up anyway! HA!!) 

My big plan (or goal) is to finish binding three quilts.  One is almost done.  The other two are in various stages but I will be doing machine binding on both sides of them.  Hopefully by Thursday they will be done and I'll be working on something else. Tune in next week to see if I succeed. 

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap, Monday Making, and Moving It Forward.  Spend some time to see what's going on across the Internet. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 10 - 21 - 2019

I made progress on the cutting table clean up.  YES!  But then a day or two later I pulled all sorts of threads and stabilizers out and it is, once again, a total mess.  One of the things I did do was start cutting triangles and squares from the bits and pieces hanging around the Go cutter.  I have a plan in my head for some stars using a 16 patch in the middle.  Maybe I'll get more scraps cut out and put away this week.   

It's nearly Halloween and I knew I needed to get going on the shirts for the grands.  Two days later I have all four shirts done and ready to pop them in the mail.  I'll show pics of those on Halloween.  (Hey, I know I often forget but I've put a reminder on my calendar....we'll see if that works.) 

My big accomplishment was getting the stripes top quilted.  Here's what it looks like before binding.  I won most of these blocks using stripe fabric at an opportunity block drawing from Faithful Circle Quilters in Maryland.  I am happy to move them out.  The quilt will be donated somewhere soon, I just haven't made up my mind where. 

I'l share it again when I get the binding done.  Quilt pattern is Ariana from My Creative Stitches.  The thread is So Fine in a dark teal.  

Next up is a great hint passed on at retreat. So the little orange thing is a magnet purchased from an office supply store.  And, OMG, a clever person realized you can pick up a rotary blade with it. There some things you need to watch out for as the magnet is strong enough to pick up several blades. But it really is helpful to pick blades up and put on the handle or back in a case. Thank you clever person.  

I'm still working on my cutting table clean up and getting some tops quilted -- I'm hoping to get one more finished before the end of the month.  I have put away all of my stuff from retreat.  And I do feel progress is being made on all sorts of fronts. 

I'm linking up with my favorite Monday parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, and Moving It Forward Monday.  Hope you can take some time to check them out. I plan to right after I get this posted. And, now, that's a wrap.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 10 - 14 - 2019

How can it be half way through October? (For purists almost half way through October.)  I'm pretty sure I won't be ready for Christmas considering how fast time is going by these days.  Unfortunately I like to spend time reading -- probably two hours a day minimum.  I may have to cut back to get all the things percolating in my head done. 

I spent time down in the studio this week but didn't get much done. Or at least much that shows. I didn't even get all my retreat stuff unpacked.  Sigh.  Here's another quilt I finished at retreat. These were a set of blocks that I'd made earlier in the year but put aside knowing I didn't need them as a quilt for a while.  They were a really easy project for retreat.  No deciding which block went where.  Just sewing blocks into rows, rows to rows and boom a top is done.  I don't think I'm adding borders to this one. 

My main decision making this quilt was to use some of my Accuquilt Go dies.  I like buying the dies but I don't always put them to use.  I have a 9" Qube which gives me a set of 8 dies. I've added a couple of companion dies that work with the 9" cube.  My latest one is a 4.5" bow tie die.  Here's my sample blocks.  They seem really small to me... I was going to make a sample with 4 bowties but I can't find where I put the turquoise fabric.  (Darn it, I have been cleaning up the sewing table....can't find the fab.) I've got a used die coming that has zoo animals on it.  Must try some of my appliqué animals -- Sea Life, a mommy and baby elephant, and now the Zoo Animals -- a monkey, giraffe and a lion.  

And speaking of cleaning up the sewing table -- I've actually made a little, tiny dent in the excess scraps and stuff on the table.  I spent maybe 10 minutes last night just cutting triangles or squares from the smallest useable scraps.  Ok, honestly, it didn't make a dent but at least it was a start.  I guess I need to spend more than 10 minutes. I did get some other scraps/pieces put away earlier in the week.  But I have a long way to go still.  Sigh.

I'm hoping to get at least one or two of my quilts quilted this week.  I've got the backings but need to prep them, replace a part on the long arm, and then I'll be good to get going on quilting.  We'll see if I succeed on at least one finished quilt this week. 

I'm linking up with these parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, and Moving It Forward.  I hope to spend more time on these linky parties than I have recently. I get so many good ideas!  I hope you do too.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meandering 10 - 7 - 2019

Retreat is over. Yawn -- yep I missed a bit of sleep what with all the sewing and socializing going on. But fun was had by all.  And I made 2 quilt tops.  I'm sharing only one today.


Sharon and I sit across from each other usually.  Here's our space partway through the retreat.  Hum, a little messy but not as bad as it got by Friday night.  Just noticed Sharon sews barefoot.  

Lots of gifties were shared at this retreat.  This year we skipped giving away things.  The little green bag had candy and a cute salt cellar pin cushion.  I'll try to remember to take a pic of it to share sometime.  I particularly like this one because it has a wool ball in it to hold the pins.  I have several salt cellars from my mom and possibly her mom that I can turn into a pin cushion. I really like the little wool ball idea as it makes it SO easy to make.

Here's the first top I made.  The block is called Mendota and comes from a group that Louise who blogs at Quilt Odyssey is involved with. That link takes you to a blog about several Mendota quilts she has completed. I had all the blocks cut out so all I needed to do was make the blocks (4 seams - easy-peezy) And then sew the blocks together.  

Last year I bought a kit from Craftsy that featured space flight and planets.  I didn't read the info carefully because I ended up with some yardage and 4 sets of charm packs.  I didn't like the quilt pattern from the kit but thought I was getting a lot of fabric. Hum, didn't pay much attention for sure. It's fun to sew with new fabric.  I used less than half of one charm pack for Mendota.  Yikes.  I guess I have a lot of space exploration quilts in my future!   Here are some upclose pics of the blocks. 

Surprise, surprise!  The gal behind me had a couple of layer cakes of the same fabric she was using to make a quilt.  She too bought a Craftsy kit on a super sale.  

I'll share some more pictures from retreat over the next week or two.  I didn't take all that many for some reason.  Too busy sewing and chatting I guess.  

I haven't thought much about goals for the next few weeks.  But here's a few to get me started: 

Finish cleaning off the cutting table.  (it's never-ending.) 

Put all my supplies and "stuff" away from retreat.

Quilt a top or two (especially if I have the backing already.) 

I did not do any shopping while at retreat.  I really wanted to shop at some of the quilt stores but decided I really didn't need anything.  So I'm expecting one of these days I'll succumb to a special from Missouri Star or Fat Quarter shop or someplace.  2 months and 7 days with no fabric purchases?  Amazing. 

I'm linking with my regular Monday linky parties:

Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Moving It Forward, and What I Made Monday. 

That's it for the me today. I'm ready to get going with my day. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 9 - 30 - 2019 & Stashbusting!

Can I just say I'm pretty surprised I haven't posted my stashbusting statistics since MAY!  I could have sworn I figured them out over the last few months -- but no, I can't find them.  Nothing was posted on my blog and the Excel spreadsheet was missing the last four months too. So here they are. Please note I haven't bought any fabric for 2 full months.  Unbelievable! I can assure you some fabric will come home in October. Here is the report for June, July August and September.  

2019	Fabric In Month	Fabric In Year	Fabric Out Month	Fabric Out Year	Total In or Out Year
June	4.00	35.80	5.375	41.750	6.670
July	6.00	41.80	5.875	47.625	6.545
Aug	0.00	41.80	0.750	48.375	7.295
Sept	0.00	41.80	0.875	49.250	8.170

For the last few weeks I've been trying to get three charity quilts quilted for Faithful Circle Quilters in Maryland.  I'll be seeing a couple of gals from there this coming weekend and want to pass off at least some of the quilts.  And, yes, I did succeed in getting three done. One was done in mid-August before surgery.  The other two were finished last week. Here's the last one. Pattern is Whisper by My Creative Stitches; thread is So Fine 414 -- a cranberry red.

Thursday afternoon we realized it was Theo's birthday party on Saturday. EEK! We hadn't done anything for bd presents.  A quick trip to the store scored us a great book about construction vehicles that were like dinosaurs.  We checked with Aimee to make sure he didn't already own the book. Victory! It combined his two favorite things. Pat picked one of his wooden toys to give him and I embroidered a dinosaur on a sweatshirt I had on hand. I forgot to take any pictures of the sweatshirt. Bummer.  But Kevin sent us one the next day.  It hasn't been sweatshirt weather at all and doesn't look like it will be anytime soon... but Theo must have liked the shirt with his favorite dino on it. (The design is one from Funky Dinosaurs by Designs by Juju.)

Since the embroidery unit was out I decided to embroider my studio sweatshirt. I'd been planning to for a long time. Last night I woke in the middle of the night and realized the design wouldn't show because of the hoodie. I'm thinking of cutting off the hoodie and putting a ribbing on or some sort of binding.  The design is Quilt Clothesline from Embroidery Library.  The threads are a multitude of different colors and brands -- Mettler Polysheen, Arc, Isacord.  I try to use only poly threads since most of what I do will see plenty of washings. I still need to take the topping off and trim the stabilizer on the back.  I'll be doing that at the stitching group today. And decide about the hoodie.  Let me know if you have some suggestions too.  

This weekend is retreat!  I figured out today that I've had 9 wonderful retreats with this group of women.  We really have a great time. I look forward to it and plan my projects months in advance. This year I'm a little behind on the planning part.  I've got 3 more blocks to cut out for my last project.  As I've said many a time I do best with easy projects that are all ready to sew.  Need I say I'm looking forward to it?  

Here's what I wanted to get done before retreat. 

Quilt two charity quilts for Faithful Circle Quilters

Cut and package 2 more quilt kits to take on retreat ... Almost done...

Clean up the cutting table so I can use all of it again ... Started, really it is

I won't guarantee the cutting table will be all cleaned up before I go but I have made a decent dent in it.  I'm trying to put away scraps and fabrics left on it for the last 6 months or so.  (What was I thinking? Just leaving fabrics out.  Sigh.) I know when I figure out what I want to do over the next month or so it will be actually finishing some of the quilt tops.  Hum, that would help the fabric usage stats a bit.  I'll decide next week. 

Here's where I'm linking up:  Oh Scrap!, Monday Making, Moving It Forward, and What I Made Monday.   I took several breaks over the last week and enjoyed reading blogs from the Monday linky parties.  I'm probably not going to get to as many as I did last week -- I don't anticipate spending lots of computer time this week.  

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 9 - 23 - 2019

Almost no quilting happened this past week.  I did get a bit of knitting done on the sweater I'm making for Ellie.  (Hum, must take a picture to share one of these days.) I did get one charity quilt loaded and one row quilted before I ran out of time. 

Here's why I ran out of time.  As some of you know we own a beach house in Nags Head, NC. We headed down there Wednesday to see whether we had any damage from the hurricane earlier this month.  Plus we needed to spruce up the place and get ready for the new rental management team that will start in October.  I'll leave it at I was exhausted at the end of every day.  We were working like crazy! We didn't come home until Sunday. 

I did spend a little time with my photos on my computer.  (I take lots of pictures and then go back and throw away what I don't like or need.) I ran across a quilt I don't think I've ever shared. This quilt started with a box of fabrics and orphan blocks from Country Piecemakers.  I began by putting the blocks on the design wall to see what I needed to fill in.  Some of the fabrics came from the box others from my stash.  This looks like the blocks and fillers were already sewn in columns.  (I don't remember as I did this in January or so.) I was auditioning a border. 

Here's a close up of the blocks on the left.  A cute, bright little turtle. 

I quilted it with a big lazy stipple. And, note, no border -- not enough fabric to do one. 

And here is the finished product.  I passed this on to Janet for a NICU baby.  I really like this quilt -- mostly because of the bright happy colors. 

A reminder, mostly to me, of what I need to get done in the next week and a half.... retreat is almost here! 

Quilt two charity quilts for Faithful Circle Quilters

Cut and package 2 more quilt kits to take on retreat

Clean up the cutting table so I can use all of it again 

I did start to clean up the cutting table. Which amounts to putting away a ruler or two and moving 10 scraps to trash or appropriate place.  There's a LOT more to be done. I'll be focusing on the quilting the charity quilts the most.  I've probably got more than enough projects to work on at retreat. I have one project half cut out so I should try to finish that. 

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Main Crush Monday (welcome back Beth!), Moving It Forward, and What I Did Monday. Enjoy checking out these blogs.  They are wonderful for inspiration!  And don't we all need another quilt idea to add to our list of what we'd like to make some day? 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie