Home At Last!

 She took her first stitches this summer :)

 3,500+ miles later, I am finally home, woo hoo! We have had my oldest grand daughter for a couple weeks and made a trip to Washington state for a wedding. We decided to make a little vacation out of it, something we haven't been able to do in a very long time. We have never been to Idaho, Washington and Oregon. It was a long trip for me health wise, but I wanted to share a few highlights.
First up was my husband and grand daughters first time seeing the ocean!

My favorite part of this too long trip was Oregon. I didn't enjoy the coast drive as much as I had hoped. It was way too busy for my liking. After we headed back east to see Crater Lake, the drive was beautiful! My husband had Crater Lake on his bucket list and it was stunning!

In all those miles we only directly passed by ONE quilt shop. I was tired and didn't want to bother but he turned around and stopped for me :) It was Tater Patch Quilts in Merrill, OR. It was a lovely store with lots of variety and beautiful quilts hung throughout. I wanted so badly to take some pictures but I wasn't sure how shop owners feel about that, so I didn't ask. Next time I will however! I grabbed a charm pack I hadn't seen in person, I love it! I also have been wanting to try Mary Ellen's Best Press. Downstairs was a bargain room and I found a couple great patterns cheap. I was thrilled to see the Gutermann thread I've put off ordering to finish my Nordika quilt. $2.49 for two spools, yay! My grand daughter said I should just buy all the beautiful fabric that was half off, love the minds of a 7 year old! When we went back upstairs my husband had bought me a book highlighting the quilt shops in every state. So thoughtful of him, he knew I'd never spend the money on something like that :)

 I am grateful to have seen things I've never saw before, but probably will never do that long a trip again until my health improves. It's good to be home. Now I'm going to get back to my Tule quilt. It's all basted and ready for quilting. Hopefully I can finish that up to share this week.

I hope you are all having a great summer, see you soon!

The Ladder Is White & Tule Progress

After stalking photos of other people's quilt ladders, I decided on white. I found two photos that were the same wall paint color as mine, one with a black ladder and one with white. I thought the white looked best for what I needed. It still needs another coat of paint but I'm happy to be able to use it today for a couple quick pictures.

I am only half done with the quilt top. I'm not feeling up to par again, but some progress is better than none!

I thought perhaps buying a higher quality memory card would help with my camera issues, but it did not. The pesky specks of white and shadow strip are still lurking in some of my photos. I've decided to get the Canon Rebel t3i, thanks for the recommendations from a couple readers! I did some homework and I think that will be a good choice for me for now :)

Have a great weekend friends!
Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation 
and Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio 
and SEWjo Saturday at My Go-Go Life

A Tule Lap Quilt

I got the idea for my newest lap quilt the minute I saw this wonderful quilt over at Pretty Little Quilts. Isn't is great? Love those colors! Her quilt pattern is from Camille Roskelley's book Simply Retro. When I looked it up, I realized the blocks are set on point. I wanted mine straight, which is how hers appeared in the photo. I had 10 fat quarters of Tule by Leah Duncan that I wanted to use.

 I couldn't find any graph paper so I drew one up (yes, it isn't all square) and got out the colored pencils. I tried it with 4 inch squares and it worked out perfectly for the fat quarters I have! I love it when that happens :) I actually ended up cutting into a 1/2 yard piece as well because I love the print.

I guess it's pretty much a granny square that isn't set on point. I'm sure someone has made it or there is a pattern somewhere out there. I made up my own for the size I wanted. I could have saved on cutting and piecing by using longer strips for the 2 and 3 piece sections but I wanted to keep everything the same so it would go together well. Sometimes my figuring gets off and creates more work, so I stuck with the 4 inch squares all the way through. Everything is cut and it's about half way pieced. I'm hoping to finish the top over the weekend. The only thing I'm concerned about is that some of the lighter prints will get lost in the white and lose the pattern design. But I still think it will be pretty!

I also have to share this new Butterfly Dance bundle I got from Vintage Fairytale. Staci had a bundle sale and I couldn't resist this, it's so darn cute!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Art Gallery Littlest Quilt

I have been wanting to make a whole cloth quilt and I needed a quick gift. I love the prints in Art Gallery's new Littlest line. I chose my two favorite prints along with some Pure Elements Grapefruit from one of my favorite shops, For Sew It Seams. Melissa is carrying some Art Gallery now, she also has many other wonderful fabrics and her prices are great. I always like to share where I get my fabrics from. These little shops are all so kind, they deserve a shout out! :)
Anyway, I only got three shots.
The front:

 It is quilted in a 3.5 inch grid. I find it strange that one direction or the other of quilting always disappears in the photos. Another reason I'm camera hunting. Have I mentioned lately that I dislike my camera! Moving on.
An upclose of the cute little bunnies:

And the back:

I really, really love this panel print, it's so pretty! I also love binding with Art Gallery fabrics. It goes so smooth and easy. I literally can be done in about half the time because I'm not fiddling with annoying frays that are in the way. It lays so flat and cooperates so well. Sorry if I have mentioned that before, but it's true!
I thought making a whole cloth quilt would be so fun and rewarding. I discovered, for me, it just wasn't! I felt like I was cheating. It just isn't the same as making a regular quilt. There are some GREAT whole cloth quilts out there that I adore, so no offense to their great makers! I will probably make another someday. There will be other prints I love and don't want to cut up. However, this definitely isn't my "thing".
This quilt finished at 40 x 43. The recipient likes gray and pink, so this came pretty close. It's more peach than pink, but it's still cute.
I'm debating now if I want to do an Art Gallery Tule lap quilt or a Kate Spain Daydreams mini. We shall see...thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She

Some New Storage Pieces

I have a few quick things to share with you all today. And yes, they are cell phone pictures for today, sorry!
Quite awhile back I was with my husband at the scrap yard and spotted some iron fence pieces. I immediately saw a quilt ladder in my mind. They had many layers of paint and gunk on them. My husband finally got them stripped down. He cut them up and re welded it back together to make it a usable size for me!

Now it needs cleaned with acetone and I have to choose a paint color. I just can't decide between white or black?? I will be using this for taking photos also, so what color would you choose?

I spotted this dresser at an antique store in town. I thought it would be great for my sewing room! It's all wood, so that's a plus. I have been wanting storage for my vintage feed sacks and fabrics.

I had originally planned to use this for a cutting area. It was just a bit short, depth wise, for my cutting mat. So I turned it into an ironing area instead. My tabletop ironing pad had become very dirty and stained, so while I was waiting for my husband to pick this up, I made a new cover.

I used a piece of fabric I had found on one of my SAS trips. It really doesn't match well, but I won't use it in any of my quilts, so I used it up. I made this ironing board when I first started sewing. I found this tutorial from Missouri Quilt Co. if anyone's interested.

The last find I have to share is a stainless steel shelf. My husband also found a bunch of these at the scrap yard, still in the box unassembled.

The guys said Walmart had throw them all out. They were display stands for coconut water! They are brand new and very sturdy. They even had the pieces of hard plastic to lay on the shelves so nothing falls through. I was so glad he got these. He paid like $4.00 a piece for them! I officially have more storage pieces than I can fit in my sewing room :)
Now I'm off to try and get some decent pictures of my whole cloth Art Gallery Littlest quilt finish. See you soon, have a great weekend everyone!

I'm Back & A Finish!

Hello friends! I hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
I am planning to be back in business again with regular sewing and blogging. If you follow me, you will know life got pretty messy for me and my family. Between the loss of my brother, several family health problems and my own health issues, it was not a pleasant time. I had surgery number 2, and I'm doing much better now!
I feel like it's been forever since I had a quilt finish. I have finished up my quilt using Reunion by Sweetwater.

I've been collecting Sweetwater fabrics for quite awhile now and decided it was time to use some up.
I have been having a real fit with my camera lately (it's time for a new one, any suggestions??) and it's muddy and wet today so pictures didn't come out so great. The only one I was able to capture of the entire quilt ended up with a big brown line through the center UGH. So partial shots will just have to do.

I pulled the reds, blues and greens that I had from my Reunion collection for this quilt. I just love these colors. There is a simple tutorial at Quilting In The Rain I based mine off of. I did change my sizing a bit. I wanted this to end up 50 x 70, but as always, it came up about an inch short both directions. No matter how accurately I piece and cut, this always happens to me.

It's so nice to be sewing again! And this quilt is just a happy quilt :)

I quilted straight lines on both sides of each seam, then diagonal through each block. I always feel the need to stay close to my seams, to secure them better. It's a personal OCD thing. I can't wait to learn free motion, so I can just let the designs flow!
I used my last package of Warm n White on this one. Now I have that whole big roll I got for Christmas that I can't wait to use from this post. I love the softness and drape of it! I used Gutermann white cotton for piecing and quilting. I chose a red print from Reunion for the binding.

I had small strips left from cutting the blocks, so this is what I put into the back. Nothing fancy, but I didn't have to use anymore of my stash either :) I didn't get a good shot of the back either, sorry.

I think this quilt will be a gift, for a very special person, that really deserves it. She probably won't even care there are a few flaws in this one!
Hope you are all doing well and I hope you will find your way back to me after my absence! I will be back in a couple days to share some fun new storage finds I have acquired. Along with some fun new fabrics and a baby quilt I should be done with by Monday evening.
Here's a sneak peek!

Thanks for dropping by friends, see you soon!
Linking up to Sewjo Saturday at My Go-Go Life and Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio. Also my first time linking up to Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story!

Happy Easter & Help...

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are all having a great holiday weekend. It's quiet around here, just my husband and myself. He is sleeping so I spent quite awhile going through bloglovin and catching up on all your great work. I have noticed I keep getting emails regarding the comments I leave on people's blogs. It says my post notification could not be delivered to the recipient. And I've also noticed I'm not getting email notification of all your sweet comments on my blog. Has anyone else been having this issue lately?? I'm not sure what to do or how to fix it! I hope I have been able to respond to each of you, because I truly appreciate your visits!
I have my Reunion top finished as well as the back. Sorry for the quick and crappy cell phone picture! I'm hoping to do some quilting on it today. Better pictures coming soon, it's raining today, thank goodness! We need it so badly right now.

I have been bad about getting sidetracked lately. When I first started quilting, I NEVER moved on to a new project without finishing my current one! I saw this Mini Medallion quilt along and really want to join in. You can find the post here. It's a mini so it will use up some scraps.

Being Easter, I thought it was a good time to remember what others do for us. My friend Cristina sent me this wonderful package in the mail. I was so surprised when I opened it up! She has been a great friend through life's recent troubles. I am so very grateful for the wonderful quilting friends I have met since blogging and quilting. You are all wonderful! What a great community to belong to :)

 I hope you don't mind my sharing your thoughtful gift Cristina. What great choices she made for me! The Fat Quarter Shop packaged this up so beautifully also. That new book is awesome friends! Some books have a project or two that you can't wait to make, and then some that are just ok. This book is FULL of wonderful quilts and I will probably make every single one! It's from Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life. I had to share that link, it takes you to one of my favorites in the book, so pretty!!
We have to remember that everyone goes through awful times in this life. Sometimes all it takes to brighten a person's day and make a difference is a, "Hello, how are you?". Or a simple smile. Kindness goes a long way and I appreciate all of your friendships, comments and virtual hugs. Have a great weekend friends!

Reunion Progress

I have been slowly working on my Sweetwater Reunion quilt. I turned these blocks

into these rows.

I was encouraged by a post I saw on Pat Sloan's blog. She has put up a 10 minute a day UFO challenge. You can find the post here. With life a bit crazy right now, I figured I can at least work on something for 10 minutes a day, so I joined in. I have 3 UFO quilts hanging in bags in the closet, maybe this will help to get them finished up as well. I still haven't even finished the 2nd potholder from my tutorial, I need to do that also. I got some of the rows (well only the bottom 3) joined and should be finishing this up soon.

I have been seeing quite a few quilts lately similar to what I'm making. I didn't use any particular pattern because I wanted mine to end up about 50 x 70 finished. I did my own measurements and will share when it is completed. My inspiration came from a couple tutorials here and here. The second link is a Riley Blake tutorial that adds a fun strip into the front. I think I will try that next time I make this pattern.

It's good to be sewing again. I splurged today on something totally not necessary. I ordered a fat eighth bundle of the complete Waterfront Park line by Violet Craft for Michael Miller fabrics. I had a gift card credit left on Etsy and figured it was time to get it used up :) I happen to see the backing I wanted on sale at Crafter's Vision for 6.28 a yard. They have a Michael Miller sale this week, so it was another 20% off of that too! That gave me the push to go purchase the Waterfront Park bundle that has been in my cart for the last few months. Does anyone else have carts full at several quilt shops...at all times? I'm betting I'm not the only one :)

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation