Design Wall Monday - a flimsy

Yay!  It's a finished top!!!  This is the Halloween version of the latest Saturday Sampler and it's ready to quilt.  I do think the border print that I used for the outer border draws the eye away from the snow fence sashing - at least a little bit.  I was trying to lay this out on the deck this morning just as it was beginning to rain, so forgive the slightly dark and fuzzy photo.

The border print has the same green and purple found in the green print in the blocks.  I got very lucky in finding this print.  I have lots left over and plan to make several 60 degree runners from those leftovers. 

My mitered corners turned out pretty well.  And my favorite part of the print is actually the purple strip with the dancing skeletons and mummies.  So cute. 

I'm linking up today with Design Wall Monday at: https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Almost ready for borders

I have one final sashing piece to add to the last row.  And then I can sew the last 2 rows onto the quilt top of my Halloween version of Saturday Sampler.  The borders are ready to attach once the rest of the top is done.  I'm going to miter the borders because they are a wide border print.  

My cousin says it makes her think of a snow fence - which makes sense to any of us who live in the northern part of the country.  LOL  I'm hoping the borders tone down that snow fence look a bit but we'll see.  

I'm determined to have this Saturday Sampler top ready to quilt BEFORE leaving on the guild bus trip shop hop next Friday morning.  It's good to have a goal, right?

A 15 minute block

For the first time in over a week I got to sew.  I escaped to my sewing room for only a few minutes this afternoon while waiting for an email response for work, but it was enough to be therapeutic.  And this 12" block is the result of 15 minutes of play time.  More patriotic scraps were used here - actually 2 leftover jelly roll strips.  I think this block would lend itself to a Quilt of Valor very nicely.  

Different variations of this block have been popping up online on several blogs that I follow. Each quarter of the block is a half log cabin.  I've also seen the whole block called a Bento Box block.  

First family vacation

We took both daughters’ families on a vacation to the Black Hills. I wanted one good photo of all 5 grandkids taken at Mt. Rushmore. That was WAY too much to ask . . . But the 6 year old who was unwilling to cooperate to have his photo taken was the same kid who cried when it was time to go home. So maybe we’ll do this again after all.

Road Trip

Perched on a bluff high above the Missouri River, along Interstate 90, is the statue Dignity. She’s magnificent and I don’t get tired of stopping to see her. This statue is only an hour away from my house.  The artist is Dale Lamphere of right here in South Dakota.  Notice her Lone Star quilt?  The diamonds in the star actually “shiver” in the wind. At night Dignity is lit up and looks bronze.

Chaos

My house is in a state of chaos this week, and I am just going to have to take a deep breathe and remind myself that the mess will be gone by the end of June.

There are 45 gift bags in my dining room.  Our guild bus trip committee met at Holly's house on Saturday afternoon and began the process of filling these gift bags for each person going on the bus trip in 3 weeks.  We added the snacks, a fold-able nylon shopping bag, coupons and pens.  I have a stack of quilting stencils to add to each bag, and next week Trish will deliver the t-shirts.  I have the name tags to finalize and then can add all of the rest of the "stuff" - and tie their name tag around the handles so each gal gets the correct bag based on the t-shirt size they requested. 

These are the kits for a small surprise project that each lady will also get in their gift bag.  The fabric is cut, but I still need to run off the instructions and then pack each kit into a gallon zip lock bag.  And then drop them into all 45 gift bags. 

What you can't see however are the stacks of supplies for a family trip we are taking soon.  I have birthday gifts for 2 grandsons and a son-in-law, And there is a large container of supplies such as paper plates, cups, plastic silverware, napkins - and more for the cabin/house we are renting. Eleven people in one house - and we don't want to spend all of our time cooking or cleaning.  We'll buy groceries for breakfasts and suppers once we get there.  But in the mean time I'm "collecting" things we plan to take with us and it's all in my kitchen - taking up floor space.  Chaos!!

Cats, cats, cats

The June color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) is dark blue.  The navy seemed too dark in comparison to my other kitty blocks, so I chose a medium dark batik for the body. I had about 8 charm squares of this fabric left from something, so I did have to piece that bottom body section. But it worked out nicely and I used a navy blue for the tail and ears.  I'm really happy with the pink heart.

Here he is - joining the rest of the group of happy kitties. These are 12" blocks so one each month should make a nice sized quilt. 

Now I'm off to see a play this afternoon with one of my daughters and one of my friends. The sewing and the golf course and the laundry can wait for another day.