Design Wall Monday - August 17

Wow - how can we be halfway through August already!!  Summer flew by like always. 

On our road trip to Omaha, granddaughter Olivia picked out fabric for her first sewing lesson with grandma.  She is a huge animal lover so this dog fabric isn't surprising. 

She did a great job on her pillowcase.  She started on a second project - a table runner.  Maybe we'll work on it a little more today before they head home.  

My own goals for the week are pretty fluid for right now.  But I do know that finishing the August blocks for the Meadow Mist mystery is my first goal.  I have some yellow RSC blocks cut out and waiting to be sewn.  And then I need to work on this month's Saturday Sampler blocks.  We'll see how the week goes.

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog 

RSC26 - Week #33

There was little time for sewing this week, except for this 1 block for Marigold, the mystery project from Meadow Mist.  I have the August blocks all cut out, but this is the only one that I actually sewed.  I'll have a little time to sew this morning hopefully before I go pick up a granddaughter this afternoon.  

Some time for cutting RSC block pieces did happen however.  The parts are all cut for the 2 Honey Bee blocks.  They are on a design board - waiting for time to sew.

And the parts are cut for all 4 of the Scrappy Stars blocks. 

We'll have 3 grandkids here until Monday.  The boys plan to golf and fish with grandpa.  And Olivia and I will do a very first sewing lesson with the fabric she picked out on our Omaha trip this week.  We'll begin with the pillowcase, and if there is time - and she likes sewing - we'll work on a table runner she picked out.

Let's go check out more Rainbow fun . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Finished (or not) Friday

I'm home!!  It was so nice to get away for 3 days!  We did some fun things, and also just relaxed and enjoyed being away.  The purpose of the trip was to attend the Lindsey Stirling concert, and that was fabulous of course.  If you just want to see my ONE small quilting finish, scroll to the end of this post.  LOL

Monday morning we left Sioux Falls, and made 1 stop in Sioux City on the way to Omaha.  The Sioux City stop was Heart and Hand Quilting to have Olivia pick out some fabric for her first sewing lesson that will happen this weekend hopefully.  We also popped into a nearby book store (Book People) and a coffee shop.  Then it was on to Omaha.

One bonus was staying with my niece and her husband. We spent one afternoon and evening in their pool, and sitting on their patio.  Temps were in the 90s with really high humidity so that pool was wonderful.  They have waterproof playing cards, so we played cards while floating around.  Olivia is a swim team kid, so she really enjoyed that pool.

Tuesday morning we went to a wildlife "safari" park just off I-80 west of Omaha. Parts were drive through and other parts were walk through.  The animals were all native prairie species such as elk, pelicans, bald eagles, deer, bison, etc.  Then we visited the Strategic Air Command museum, followed by Baker's Candies.  The SAC museum is a place I've visited before and would go again and again as it's fascinating.  The candy shop - enormous and definitely a fun and tasty stop.

Then we braved that heat and went to the Lindsey Stirling concert.  The concert was at an outdoor amphitheater, and our seats were wonderful.  However it was still 93 degrees and sunny and HUMID when we arrived.  That was the sweatiest crowd of people I've ever been in I think. The venue allowed empty clear plastic water bottles to be brought in, and had free refill stations set up all over.  Thankfully.  Once the sun went down it was better, but still so hot and humid.  

Heart and Hand Quilting in Sioux City is close to the interstate so it was an easy stop on our way south.  I've stopped there many times over the years on road trips.  Olivia picked out a couple of dog prints to use for her pillowcase.  And I found some Sasquatch batiks to use for a project that is floating around in my brain.  There were a couple of cute table runner kits and some fat quarters that came home with me too of course.  I've added all of my purchases to the "fabric IN" column on my stash tracking spreadsheet. 

And - here is my one finish - the Tilda and denim floor pillow.  The binding was done in the car on the way to Omaha.  It's 24" inches square so I need to get a pillow form to put inside.  The back is done with an "envelope" so the form can be just slipped in easily.  The binding on the Windy Days wall hanging was begun while sitting around at my niece's house, but isn't finished yet so maybe next week there will be another finish to share.

For more finishes, please visit:  https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

The Pizza Box Challenge

What's going on with the Pizza Box Challenge this month you ask?

For August it was my turn to share a star block pattern with the ladies of the Sew Vintage group.  In honor of America's 250th birthday we're making RWB star blocks to use in some Quilts of Valor.  Each month a different lady shares a 12" finished star block pattern.  I called this one Woven Star.  

Some of us are also making a block set for ourselves, in whatever colorways we want.  I've chosen to do 30s.  This block is pretty in any color.  Notice how full my pizza box is getting.  We have lots of RWB star blocks collected already for Quilts of Valor. 

Another QOV flimsy

The flimsy is done for Gleam (Quilt of Valor).  It was a Sunday afternoon finish, at 60 x 72..  I have a backing ready for it too, so maybe this one will go to a long arm quilter soon.  It's great to have another set of scrappy blocks turned into a finished quilt top.  That also means there is an empty skirt hanger in my closet - waiting for a new set of blocks to grow. 

An empty bin

I do have an empty bin - and I have a plan for filling up that bin with a new project.

All of these rag quilt squares (flannel sewn to denim) are in the mail, on the way to Colorado to a quilter who plans to use them in a donation quilt.  I'm so glad someone wanted them because I just knew I would NEVER use them.  

So . . . you knew that bin couldn't stay empty for long.  It now holds the fabric I've gathered for the Meadow Mist mystery that just began about a week ago. Keeping up with a monthly clue is manageable. 

They gave a sneak peek of the finished mystery, and I really like how scrappy it looks.  So of course I'm all in.  Mine will have lots of batiks and a navy blue background.  For August we are making 2 different blocks and I've cut the parts for them so I can sew later in the week once I get home again.  There will be 4 Dutchman's Puzzle blocks.

And there will be 5 Sawtooth Star blocks. For now the block instructions and all the pieces are in the bin - on top of folded fabrics - safe from losing anything accidentally. 

Design Wall Monday - August 10

I'll be away from my sewing machine for a few days this week, as I'm on a little road trip with a daughter and granddaughter.  I've been whining all summer about never getting more than 100 miles from home.  But this morning we're hitting the road for Omaha.  We'll be staying with a niece, and attending a concert while we're there.

Right now the main thing on my design wall is finishing the Tilda/Denim floor pillow.  A little simple quilting was all that pillow front needed.  I'm hoping to get the binding hand stitched in the car while on this road trip.  I have a small tote I'm taking with me that has hand stitching - this binding, and binding on the Windy Days wall hanging as well. 

I've scheduled a couple of things to post while I'm gone, and hopefully I'll have some fun things to report when I get home again.

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog