Thursday updates

First of all, a BIG happy 40th birthday to my first born!!  She's a hardworking respiratory therapist,  mom of 3 terrific kids and 2 spoiled dogs, wife to a good guy, and much more athletic than her mom has ever been.  We'll get to celebrate with her a little on Saturday when we bring her kids back home.  

On the sewing front, the Hexie Snowmen table runner is ready to quilt, and it has turned out every bit as cute as I was hoping it would.  The applique snowflakes worked out well.  Once it’s quilted I’ll get the button eyes attached too.  I love it.

Wednesday sewing time also gave me a chance to finish quilting the Flag pillow front.  I've added the red envelope backing and the dark blue binding all the way around the edges. I'll share a finished photo after hand stitching that binding down. 

There may have also been a bit of a "squirrel" moment as well.  Pat Sloan posted the first block of a new sew-along project called Summer Soiree.  I loved this first block and couldn't resist playing with some bright summery fabrics.  I saw some fabric choices online that I like better than mine, but I’m working with what I already have. 

Pat, the designer, will post one new block each Wednesday just like with her previous sew-alongs.  I had a fat quarter bundle of 20 bright batiks that will be my basic colors, along with a scrappy white background, and I'll pull some bright prints to use as well.  No idea whether I'll do the whole project, but I did have fun with this block, and I'm confident that something good will come out of this project. Plus it uses up a bunch more fabric that has been languishing in a drawer.   https://www.ilovetomakequilts.com/summer-soiree-sew-along.html