15 Minute Challenge - May 31st

Tuesday - made hour glass blocks
Wednesday - finished hour glass blocks
Thursday - sewed hour glass blocks to quilt top
Friday - basted prom quilt, started quilting
Saturday - continued quilting prom quilt
Sunday - continued quilting prom quilt
Monday - continued quilting prom quilt

Hoping to finish the prom quilt this week ...

Oops, I forgot to link up.  If you want to see what others have accomplished this week,  check out this link, to Life in Pieces..

Favorite Things Friday

Can't think of one favorite today .. I was going to talk about paper towels, but since that was the best I could do this week, I decided to opt for a list of things I like.

I like ...
   when all five doors at the grocery store are open at the same time
   when I use the last of the staples
    top ramen
    making fleece blankets to give as gifts
    watching movies
    road trips
    sleeping in a cool room with the windows open
    snuggling under a nice warm quilt/blanket
    finishing my quilts
    starting new quilts
    warm sand after getting out of the water

Please stop by QIMP to see what other people have as favorites this week.

Advice

and I promise I'll take it this time ..

should I use the minky as a border to make the quilt a little bigger (four inches around the whole quilt) or use the minky as the backing?  Right now, the quilt is about 60 x 44 .. with the minky, it would be 68 x 52 ..

15 Minute Challenge - May 24th

So a new week .. my goal this week is to finish piecing the hexagonal portion of the prom quilt, get the backing and baste the Noah's Ark quilt.

Tuesday - put four rows of the prom quilt together

Wednesday - added four or five more rows to prom quilt

Thursday -- added more rows .. only three to go.

Friday -- added borders to prom quilt; put rows of Noah's Ark together.

Prom quilt with one border (note the cat thinking about getting on it).

Saturday -- added borders to NA quilt

Sunday -- nada

Monday -- basted, quilted, put binding on NA quilt

Great week!  Helps that I took off work on Friday and Monday! :)

Hoping for another productive week .. prom quilt and maybe some other projects, pot holders? placemats? pillow cases?  or maybe start another quilt.  I have a jelly roll I want to use...

Favorite Things Friday

My favorite thing today is vacation days .. days off work.  I'm taking off today and Monday.  I just love that I have an entire day (or two) to do what I want.  Today, we have plans for Costco and taking walks, and I have plans for quilting and hanging out with some friends.  All in all, a lazy day.  I still haven't gotten out of bed and it's almost 10 a.m.!!

So that's it.  To find out what others have for favorites today, just hop on over to QiMP and check it out.

Bloggers Quilt Festival - Spring 2011

The Bloggers Quilt Festival is being hosted by Amy's Creative Side.  To see all the wonderful quilts that have been entered click here -- I couldn't figure out how to get the button to work. :(

I saw the last day appeal today and couldn't resist entering.  I wish I had newly finished quilt to enter but I don't.

Here is the quilt I am entering.  It was made for a colleague.   Every time I brought in a quilt I had made for someone else, he oohed and aahed over it.  He said he wanted one.  So I made him one.  It isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it.  I think he was too.

What I learned from this quilt is that when piecing backs I need to be just as precise as the front.  this is the first, and so far the only quilt, I made with a pieced back.

15 Minute Challenge - May 17th

Tuesday - sewed borders on top pieces (prom quilt)
Wednesday - finished sewing borders on top pieces (prom  quilt); sewed first row together
Thursday - sewed 2nd row together; cut strips of Noah's Ark quilt; sewed strips together
Friday - nothing
Saturday - sewed strips for Noah's Ark quilt; cut squares; sewed two rows of quilt together

Cat approved ..

Sunday - sewed remaining strips for Noah's Ark quilt; sewed together; auditioned binding fabrics.

This was the fabric I originally bought for the border; I didn't like it so I decided to try with the fabrics of the quilt..

 here

and here

Decided to go with the blue .. I'll use the other fabric for the binding.

Monday - sewed border on NA quilt; made binding

Click here to see what everyone else has been up to this week.

*goals for next week:
three rows a night on prom quilt
get backing for NA quilt; baste

In The Moment ..

One of my least favorite phrases is "being in the moment."  (Along with surreal -- but I'll save that for another day.)  Even though I don't like the phrase, I like the concept because I don't know what tomorrow holds and yesterday is gone, there is only now.  I want to enjoy today, now. I don't want to wait until things get better, until I am in a different situation. I want to enjoy NOW.  I am never going to be any younger than I am right now (I will, however, be older by the time you read this).  So, this is it.

Okay that moment is over, but hopefully you get the idea.

The only thing is that I have to remind myself.  I have to remember to say to myself, "don't let this moment slip away; remember it; this is special."  Otherwise, I don't and it's gone.

15 minute challenge, May 10th

Not a very productive week, but I'm continuing to work on the prom quilt.

Tuesday - cut minky pieces ..
Wednesday - added white strips to minky pieces
Thursday - sewed more borders
Friday - nothing
Saturday - nothing
Sunday - nothing
Monday - added more borders

I took my sewing machine to shop on Sunday because it was squeaking and the tension was kind of off -- so soon after having the servicing.  However, the guy at the quilt store checked it (and couldn't hear the squeaking, of course) and suggested that I needed to buy new needles.  I did and it appears to have taken care of the problem with the tension.

Hoping to do more sewing this week ..

Check out what everyone else got done this week here.

Favorite Things Friday

My favorite thing this week is surprise packages ... 

I recently received two packages in the mail .. one from Australia and one from Indiana.  

Shay (Australia) had offered to send me a template for making a tote bag, but when I got the package it was the fabric and directions for the tote bag!  Thanks Shay!  

And these cards were in a package from Katie (Indiana).  I had told her that the next time she comes to visit I wanted to make some cards and she just sent me some.  Isn't she great!!  Thanks Katie.  I still want to make cards when you come to visit ...

And then .. last Wednesday was staff appreciation day (the official name is professional administrators day).  Today, my boss brought in this...

You can't see it all but there are quilting magazines, fat quarters, candy bars .. forgive the quality of the pictures ...

Check out QIMP for more favorites...

15 minute challenge - May 3rd

Tuesday ... finished hand sewing binding on Purple Pinwheel!! (you know I couldn't resist putting more pictures up.)

Wednesday - Cut 5.5 inch squares for the Prom Quilt

Thursday - sewed white 1.25 strips onto tops of hexagons, trimmed blocks 

Friday - cut more squares, put blocks out on the floor to get an idea of how the quilt is going to look

Saturday - nada

Sunday - nothing

Monday - zero

So this week I only sewed 4 out of 7.  Maybe next week I can do better.  The Prom Quilt is really holding me up but I would like to finish it by May 22 when my daughter walks for graduation .. let's see if I can get on the ball with it...

Click here to check out what craftiness others have been up to ...