Hello!  So the sashing material for my Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along quilt came in Thursday. These are the first 4 blocks complete with the lavender sashing.

The next picture is the palette of fabrics I'm working with for this quilt.  It was called an Easter Sampler Fat Quarter on Connecting Thread.  I love the spring feel of it.  This quilt will have a thin sash separating the blocks, too.  I'm thinking using a dark purple Essex Linen for that.  I'll show it later.

've started a new set of piecings for a quilt I'm calling Waves.  I'm hoping the solids from dark to light look like waves rolling in at the beach.  There are still many more pieces to go and I'm doing them by hand to go along with TV watching.  Laid out the pieces this morning to see how it was coming along.  Watcha Think?

The last thing to share today is a long time project that is finally coming to a stopping point. Since my 1st blog, May 7, 2015, I've been making random blocks that finish out at 6.5 inches or some multiple of that with the notion of putting them all together.  A Multi Mini Sampler of sorts.  My inspiration was Jen Kingwell's Gypsy Wife quilt but I didn't want it to be an exact match or replica, just in that direction.  Well, it is up on the design board now and ready for a sneak peek...

I welcome comments and hope you enjoy reading along.  Til next week.  Bye bye.  Debbie

Hello again, I've been busy this past week or so and will show you some of the results. First up is a new purse.  I've been experimenting with different styles and when I found this upholstery sample square I wondered if I could use it for a purse.  And, yes, you can!  It did present some difficulties with heavy seams and stiff outside fabric with much lighter lining material (quilting cotton). But I think it turned out alright.

Made from upholstery sample and leather straps.

The inside has a zipper pocket and two smaller open pockets for odds and ends. My steadfast sewing partner, Jasmine, is also featured in this pic.

Next to it is a closeup of the snap.  If there was a sticky patch to this purse it was attaching the leather handles.  It is done by hand and getting the needle into the leather holes from the bottom is definitely a challenge.

Late last week I went a little crazy with zipper pouches and made one for my garage heater (otherwise known as my sewing room) which you see below and one for the porch fan (which isn't pictured).

I'm also sewing along with the Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along.  This is week three and my 3 blocks are shown below.  I'm using fabric from an Easter Fat Quarter sampler. These will look better when their lavender borders are applied - as soon as the fabric arrives!

The final piece I have to share is a partially completed mini quilt called "Candygram" which I learned to do from Caroline at SewCanShe. There are many examples posted there.

I didn't quilt it because I think I might make it a part of another quilt I've been working on for over a year and I'll give you a preview of it in my next post.  Until then have a wonderful week (or two) and take care.  Auntie D.

It's been about a year and a half since last I posted.  After surgery, I just didn't seem interested in fiddlin' with it, but now I'd like to start again.  I've not been idle for this time, so I'll show you the things I've tracked with photos and look at what I'm working on now - but not all at once.  Let me say at the renewed outset, how inspired I am by so many other bloggers in the sewing field and how they have enriched my crafting experiences since my retirement.  It's the whole community aspect that sets off this urge to share!  Thanks!

Lately, I've been making bags; mostly for wrapping Christmas presents but also for my own use.  My favorite so far included a zipper pocket and the application of a snap.  Yea!  Here are some of the pictures: (click on picture to open whole post.)

 This pattern is the Madeleine Bag by Imagine Gnats complete with excellent tutorials on snaps and zipper applications.

 Here's the other side and (below) the snap and the cell phone pocket.

 The zipper is my first and was much easier than I anticipated.

I used a few 4 pieces of a Rowan Fat Quarter collection which will also show up in a Flying Geese quilt -- one day.

 This little bag was made last spring and was my first handbag.  It is called a Dresden Purse and was made using Jenny Doan's YouTube video tutorial.

I made it a little smaller than the tutorial but it is still roomy and easy to load and go.

That's all for today.  Thanks for looking and here's picture of one of my sewing partners:

Jasmine with the green eyes!

This week I received my 12x18 pillow forms in the mail and I whipped up covers for them from the Neko Japanese fabric I purchased from Miss Matatabi after reading about her online business.  The prices were great but the shipping from Japan, well...but such cute fabric:

I mentioned last week that I was working on a cover for my swing bench pad that matched the 18" pillows (you can see on the last blog post).  And, "ta da" I finished it.

 Here's a closeup to show the main motif running down the center.  The 16 patch blocks are made from 2.5" precuts of Somerset by Moda.  It all looks a little busy but it feels sunny and bright - just like the porch.  We did get the ceiling fan installed and have really extended the amount of time we can spend out there.  Yea!  This week I'll be working on finishing up a couple of quilts that are overdue but I'm getting close.  Hope you have a lovely week.

Hi, it's been 6 weeks and a bit of a bumpy ride but I did not stop piecing as you'll see below.

First up are the Sawtooth Stars with great tutorial by Sherri McConnell in her blog, A Quilting Life. These are the ones I made:

I also made some 9 patch cross blocks:

At some point I purchased Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks for my Kindle on android and flipped through making blocks that appealed.  There are the ones made so far and can be found in the book as Nos. 42,38,37, and 45.

I'm sorry to say I forgot where I saw the tutorial for the following blocks but they are made kind of randomly and allow space for a fussy cut like these farm animals I've had for well over 35 years!

But wait - there's more!  I purchased pillow forms and made covers for the screened deck chairs:

It was simple and much quicker than I thought it would be, even by hand.  Here's the back:

You can tell I haven't sewn in awhile since I didn't even think about matching the back overlaps.  Next time I should have finished the cushion for the swing bench which is somewhat more ambitious as it has the main motif of this fabric set on point and alternating with 16 patch scrappy blocks. I'm pretty much just winging with this design so we'll see if it works! 

Workmen are currently installing a ceiling fan on the screened porch right now and not a moment too soon.  We're having coffee on the deck in the mornings and could really use it.  However, this morning was the first time in a month that it was just lovely outside.  Low humidity and 63 degrees!

Simply Beautiful.  Praise the Lord!

It has suddenly been an eventful week!  I went to lunch with two of my favorite girlfriends who I haven't seen since I retired in February.  It was great and went on for several hours.  Lots of catching up.  I had promised one that I would be on the lookout for a lap quilt to make her and took some fabric samples to see if we were on the same page:

These are from a Moda Charm pack called Persimmon.  She did like it and I'll be making the charms into a 4-Patch Slice something like this one with a warm mocha lattice and a persimmon border.

However, it will be a while before I start it as I still have to quilt the first one I promised so many years ago.  My walking foot came in earlier this week or late last week - I lose track - so I'll be starting that process next week.

These sawtooth stars and tutorial looked like the perfect next blocks for my blue and white, etc. scrappy quilt --

but on the way to making them, I ran across Island Life Quilts and the "Minis and More" Summer Star Mini.  Something about it just clicked and I immediately stopped everything to sew up the half square triangles and lay one out using another Moda charm pack, Lakeside Gatherings. 

I'm not quite happy with it and may seek out some scrappy red to add a little sparkle before I sew it together.  It should finish out about 12" or so.  It may need a border.  

As you know if you have cats, they add luxury to every place they go and that includes your latest quilt projects.  In future, I'll try to capture some of that luxury (prior to shooing it away) but for now we are grieving the loss of our sweet Purrl who passed away last week with a brain tumor.  She was very self-contained and could even seem aloof until she'd come in the night to rest on your hip while you were sleeping.  Such a precious girl.  We miss her very much.