A finish for March

I finished putting the binding on the baby quilt this morning. So, except for removing excess fuzz, and adding a label, this quilt is ready for the new baby as soon as he and his sister arrive.

Oh - and Happy Easter to all.

Goals, goals goals

I only had 4 goals for March: baby boy quilt, row robin addition, binding Hugs/Kisses, and sashing Fat Quarter Stars.

The row robin addition is done and pass along to the next person. Baby boy quilt is nearly done. I have 2 sides left to hand stitch the binding, and I need to add a label to both twin baby quilts. I won't do that until the babies are born so that I can put their names and birth date on the labels.

The other 2 things, plus this month's Saturday Sampler block, plus this month's Year to Crow About blocks - not even touched. It is very frustrating to me when I fall so far behind. Maybe April will bring me a little sewing time. However, I wouldn't bet any money on it.

Love-Hate relationship

I love the feel of these fuzzy backing fabrics especially for kids' quilts. But I HATE binding a quilt with the longer fuzzy fibers! This one is turning into a pain in the butt today. The fuzzy fibers keep balling up on my thread, causing knots. As I trim the excess away everything near me is covered with black and white fuzz. I may never buy a long fibered backing again. I'm sure the end result will be great, but getting there is painful.

Scraps put to use

This short 60 degree runner was made using the scraps from the baby quilt. I will do some simple hand quilting on this and bind it with the same cheddar I used on the quilt.  Maybe it will be useful in the nursery.

Now I'll have some hand work to do when I am staying at my daughter's house after the babies come.

A little peek

Just a little peek at the baby boy quilt I've been making for one of the twins due very soon.

The jungle print is full of bright animals and the jungle strips are separated by cheddar and black strips.  Carly quilted it with a simple geometric design in a red, brown, gold thread. Very cute. And the backing  is a black and white hounds tooth that feels like a soft bunny.

The binding is sewn on and needs to be hand stitched down. My deadline is fast approaching!

March has been a bust!

I have decided that March will have been mostly a BUST in terms of sewing or much of anything fun. Too much time away from home for work, and then getting a nasty cold has made my calendar just disappear. I am babysitting at my daughter's this weekend and then this week I am going to be gone for more training. And then suddenly it will be Easter and without any plans even made yet. Yikes!

My poor husband has been fending for himself for most of the month. My sewing room needs dusting. And I need some spring sunshine on my face and green grass to appear.

Hopefully April will be a big improvement.

Another self-binding baby blanket

Self-binding baby blankets are one of my new "go to" projects. These little receiving blankets make such a nice little baby gift. I attended a baby shower on Saturday afternoon for the daughter of a friend. This is her first baby and due in mid-May.

Since they are choosing to let the gender of the baby be a surprise, I tried to pick colors that were more gender neutral. This one is light blue and purple.

I just gave my daughter 6 of them for the new babies due to arrive soon.  And I have more flannel set aside to make some additional ones as I need baby gifts.

Row Robin fun - Row 2

I can't post any photos of my blocks or my rows - or anyone else's rows - until the Row Robin project is all finished and we have our quilts back. I have taken pictures however. And when we are all done I hope to share some of them.

I will show the color scheme of the first row I made because Connie knows I'm working on hers this month so I'm not giving away any secrets by following her color pallet. I designed my own 8" block and I've included that pattern along with some scraps of my fabrics for her. And I've signed her label. Everything is packed back into her bag and ready to pass along at the next guild meeting.

Having this done early was really important since I know I'll miss that meeting. I'll drop this off some day this week with another guild member to deliver. What a fun project! The anticipation is building! Can't wait to get the next one to work on, and of course to get mine back all finished.

They grow too fast

Happy 1st birthday to my granddaughter Sophia! It was actually yesterday but I didn't really have a chance to post anything.  We will celebrate on Sunday.  I hope I am healthy by then so I can go - don't want to share my nasty cold with everyone.

Can't believe she is already a year old. Time flies too fast.

Where's Waldo?

OK - the real question is Where's Sara?

I'm spending this whole week in our state capital - and capitOl.  Pierre is not the most exciting place to be, but our capitol building and grounds are beautiful. And the training I'm attending this week is being held on the 4th floor of this building.

Hopefully it will be a bit warmer tomorrow so that I can walk the lake path and enjoy the geese, the statuary, and the perpetual flame fountain.

Oh - and the grass is NOT green here like in this picture.  It is still snow covered and cold.

Spinning my wheels . . .

I just feel like I'm spinning my wheels lately.  No sewing done this week, not even a few minutes spent doing the handwork on any binding.

I did sketch out a design for a block and picked out fabrics to use in the Row Robin. The exchange was on Saturday, but we are keeping these secret until the end so I can't show what I'm working on.  The first row that I received is gorgeous - a combination of pieced and applique.  It has a spring theme and a purple/white color scheme.  Can't wait to add my row to this one this month.

Ready for quilting

This morning I put the rest of the rows together for the Jungle Strippie quilt. So early this next week I'll pick out some soft backing and drop it off to be quilted. It might be a race to finish this before those twins arrive.

I like progress, even in small steps.

Jungle Quick Strippie

I have a couple of rows put together for this version of the Quick Strippie. This one is for one of the twins due in the coming weeks. I can picture quilting this with a variegated thread with lots of red in it. I should have a chance tomorrow afternoon to finish this top so I can drop it off for quilting on Monday or Tuesday.

March goals

I've decided on my March goals - again looking at small goals. 

I'm not tackling any additional UFO projects in March because I'm not likely to spend much time in my sewing room.  I'll be on the road 2 weeks of March for work. And on top of that, the twin grandbabies are getting closer to their April due date so I must be realistic about where I may be instead of home.  We certainly hope those babies wait until April to show up, but you just never know. 

New Projects:

• Baby quilt for boy twin - HIGHEST PRIORITY!!
• add an appropriate 8" row to the Row Robin that I receive in the exchange at guild

Works in Progress (WIP):

• Finish Hugs & Kisses quilt - handstitch binding & add label
• borders on Terrain Fat Quarter Stars quilt