Spring Thaw

Spring has finally sprung and I'm feeling revived and refreshed!  I'm beginning to think I have that seasonal depression that comes with winter, I just felt so unlike myself the whole winter and couldn't get motivated to do much during that time.  I had such big plans and all that seemed to happen was that I purchased things to do but never got them done, and boy did my sewing room show it (another post for another day).  I did start a block of the month in February which helped start getting me ready to start sewing again.  At my favorite quilt shop one of the teachers started the Park Bench Quilts block of the month

 

I decided that I wanted to use batiks in my quilt top so here is what I've got happening

 

February Blocks

 

 

March Blocks

 

April Blocks

 

I'm really liking these batiks and cannot wait to get the entire quilt top finished!

 

One of the ladies from our quilt guild spends the winter in Florida and while she was in Florida she had the opportunity to see this quilt block being put together

 

But didn't know what the pattern was called and I searched the internet high and low and couldn't find it so I sat down with Excel and created my own and this is what I ended up with minus the sashing

 

 

I wanted the graduated colors as well and lucked out that my favorite quilt shop had 1 left that I almost missed out on as another customer had picked it up and carried it around but decided to go a different way and laid it back down so it was my fortune to be able to pick it up.  I'm gonna try to find another jelly roll if possible to have.

 

Well I know this has been a long post and hopefully I don't wait so long to post again!

 

Until next time!

Jodi

 

 

Shop Hop!

I know this is a little late but with having little man

 

 

 all last week not much got done but taking care of playing with him!!  He is the joy of my life and I miss him dearly when he's with his daddy every other week.  But I do get more done around the house when he's not there.

 

Anyway on Saturday, 4/12 our Quilt Guild participated in a Shop Hop in Amish Country here in Ohio.  We had a great time, there were 8 of us that went and 3 won door prizes!!  They introduced me to 2 yes 2 more quilt shops I hadn't been to in Amish Country!!  Lots of pretty new fabrics, kits, and patterns to choose from.

 

I did get some sewing done yesterday, hope everyone had a great Easter!! I've been working on that blue trip around the world quilt and it's coming along nicely but I figured out yesterday I only have about half the fabric I need for the top so I'll be making another trip to the quilt store soon!!

 

I did finally manage to finish another quilt top that I've been working on for a while but I forgot to take pictures so I'll have to do that and update you on it.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

 

Well until next time!!

Jodi



What's on my cutting table

Guess I forgot to actually post this one, sorry!!

 

What's on my cutting table?  Well the start of a new quilt, Trip Around The World.  It's going to be for a raffle on Labor Day weekend but I wanted to get started on it as soon as I can. 

I have the other quilt top as far I can I since I ran out of the background fabric to finish the last side of the last border.  Yes I'm pretty bummed that I ran out being that close to finishing the top but I did buy all that she had left of that fabric and since I'm participating in a shop hop in Amish Country this Saturday, I decided I'd wait until then to try to find another piece to match and finish it up.  Once I get it finished I'll post a pic for everyone to see.

 

But back to my current quilt top.  I have some of the fabric cut but wanted to get an idea of how it would look and I'm liking what I'm seeing.  Since I didn't have an actual pattern to follow I set up an Excel spreadsheet, yes I know not a normal program to use for a quilt top, but since I'm doing 4 1/2" blocks I could create it in Excel so I could start at the top and work my way down.  Looks pretty good if I do say so myself

 

Well until next time,

Jodi

 

Sewapalooza!!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Bernina Sewapalooza held in Dublin, Ohio.  It was lots of fun getting to play on someone else's machine and getting to meet Alex Anderson.  There were sessions on quilting/general sewing, machine embroidery, and machine applique.  Alex did the session on machine applique and everyone had the opportunity to start her popsicle wall hanging/small quilt, here is my completed top

 

 

She also signed books and took pictures

 

 

So that was my 15 seconds of fame with her!!  She was very nice and seemed to enjoy the questions and interactions with everyone.

 

Well until next time!!

 

Jodi



Coasters & Quilts

A little sewing going on, back in the summer I got to spend some time in Amish Country here in Ohio and while there I spent some time exploring the fabric/quilt shops.  One of my purchases was this little fabric coaster

So I decided to make one of my own

My version has 1/2" strips and the purchased version has strips just shy of 1/2".  I didn't quilt it but could have I did use batting so it's "fluffy"

 

I've also been working, slowly, on a new quilt top.  Not sure where the pattern came from, but one of the ladies in my quilt guild made it with scraps and set it with white fabric and it looks very nice, I don't like to use pure white since I live in the country and have well water that turns everything dingy so I decided to use an off white for my setting blocks, I debated on the bright colors or 30 repro fabrics, as you can see the brights won.

All my blocks will be the same and I'm thinking of rotating them a quarter turn so they don't look exactly the same across each row.  Might try to line them up diagonally.

 

Well that's what's been happening in my sewing room since the first of the year, I know it isn't much but it is at least something.

 

Until next time,

Jodi

 

 

 



Another Christmas Quilt

Well this year my Dad and Stepmom got the Christmas quilt

 

That's my son looking a little like Jase Robertson and my grandson Silas cheesing it up.  He's such a cutie and anytime the camera comes out he thinks its time to get his picture taken.

 

Not much else has been coming out of my sewing room, I pushed myself to get this one finished in time for Christmas and yes I was actually finishing it up Christmas morning.  I just can't seem to get motivated to spend much time in my sewing room.  There is just so much going on around here it's just making it very hard.  If you are a praying person please say a prayer for me that things calm down and thanks so much for your prayers in advance!!

 

Well until next time,

 

Jodi



Projects

I feel terrible that it's been so long since I've posted but things here are wild to say the least, I know it's no excuse but it's the best I have.

 

There is a little sewing going on but not a lot, I finally finished a quilt that I started several years ago.  It was my first attempt at creating a quilt.  It was one of the Joann's monthly quilt block sets.  I started it and since I really didn't know what I was doing I put it aside until after I had taken a beginners quilting class at my favorite quilt store A Touch of Thread Quilting Gallery here in Zanesville, Ohio.  I also have that top (quilting class blocks) finished but not quilted yet, oh well I'll get to it eventually.  But anyway here is the one I finally just finished

 

Couldn't really decide on how I wanted to quilt it so I decided to start in the center and worked my way out by doing a square that gets larger and larger.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

Once that was finished I needed a new laptop bag since I had to go out of town for work and needed something pretty to carry the laptop.

 

And last but not least my quilt guild had a retreat this past weekend that I got to participate in and we made a Christmas tree skirt.  It went together so easy I actually finished before I had to leave to come home.  It still needs quilted but for the most part it is finished





 

The one strip looks orangeish but it really is red.  As you can see you could use the back side as well which is nice.  It really wasn't that hard to put together but you really had to follow the directions.  So as you can see I have been getting some sewing done but we have been on the go a lot in September and October so it is affecting how much time I'm getting to spend in my sewing room.  Hopefully things are calming down.

 

Hope everyone is having better luck getting sewing done since Christmas is quickly approaching.  I really wanted to do a craft show this year but I can see that it isn't going to happen since I have next to nothing prepared to sell.  I'm hoping that my ideas for Christmas presents don't get lost in the process.

 

Well until next time,

Jodi

Quilt for Christmas

Here is the quilt I got done for my in-laws

 

 

I'm very pleased with how it turned out and they were thrilled, I think my mother-in-law was actually crying.

 

I had several other things I wanted to get done for Christmas but it just didn't happen, oh well better luck next year.

 

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate.

 

Until next time,

Jodi

 



Update on sewing projects

WARNING!!!  PICTURE HEAVY!!!

Hopefully everyone had a nice enjoyable Thanksgiving and are now busy working on Christmas gifts, or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year.  I have been fairly busy working on new projects and some UFO's.

To start here's an update on my red and white blocks from Karen's block swap from a year ago this past May

The top is completely pieced together I just have to get the batting and decide what material I want for the backing.  It is a twin size and I have 1 or 2 blocks left to maybe make pillows.

I started this table topper

during our Guild's Quilt Retreat back in October, I had it to the point of cutting the corners diagonally and putting the border piece on with the pumpkin stems now I again just have to put the sandwich together and get it quilted.

Last year I made a quilt for my mom and step-dad for Christmas 

so I decided to make one from the same pattern for my mother and father-in-law, so here is the start

so I have 14 of 49 blocks made.  The cream squares have little burgundy hearts and the burgundy squares have a different pattern but it was the closest I could come to the burgundy hearts.  The cream and burgundy hearts will also be the squares in between.

I also did a special order embroidery job

one of the girls I work with purchased a 31 Gifts Sling Bag (I think is what it's called) that is a backpack, she wanted her nieces name put on it as a birthday gift.

Well hopefully I didn't bore you too much with this post but I really have been somewhat busy.

Well until next time,

Jodi

Very Busy Week!!

Be prepared this is a photo heavy post!!  I've been very busy this week and it feels good no make that great!! I've spent most every evening in my sewing room and have produced some very nice things.  The first thing I accomplished was a Twisted Christmas Wall Hanging

Then from the scraps I created the mini version

Same process so I didn't take as many pictures of this one.

Then I decided to make some mini composition notebook covers, I purchased this material several years ago at a flea market and really hadn't decided what I wanted to do with it so I used some of it for these

I think they turned out very cute, I'm planning on making more with different fabrics for a craft bazaar I'm doing the end of October.

Now I'm working on birthday presents for my 2 youngest nephews, well not the 2 youngest any more we got a new addition to the family yesterday evening, Mr. Aiden Charles Roberts arrived about a week early so it postponed his older brother and cousins birthday party for a week or so.  Now I have 3 nephews and 2 nieces under the age of 5.  I also have 2 older nephews, 1 is 21 and the other is 18 soon to be 19.  I have several more nieces and nephews on my husband's side of the family but these 7 are from my brothers and sister.  It's so fun to enjoy them but not as much fun as my grandson who should be coming sometime today for me to spoil.

Well until next time,

Jodi

 

Red & White Block Update

Here is an update on my red and white blocks, I'm pretty happy with how they are progressing

10 minute blocks completed

Faux cathedral window

First part of sashing added

Corner stone and second part of sashing added.

Now I'm working on combining the blocks to create the top.  My problem is that I've run out of the white material I'm using as sashing so I'm trying to decide how to finish it.  When I purchased the white I bought all the quilt store had so I guess I'm going to have to go on the hunt of something close.  So hopefully it won't be so hot on Saturday that I won't want to go shopping.  Yea you guessed it the heat probably won't stop me!!

Well until next time,

Jodi



Some Sewing Getting Done

Well I'm having a very hard time getting my sewing mojo going!!  Not really sure whats up but just can't seem to get myself motivated, not for lack of projects Lord knows I have plenty and then some.  I did manage to get a small item made last week, I know I know I'm a week late in talking about it but I've had so much going on with out of town guests, nephew's graduation and party and car issues to name a few there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!!  I have a yard sale I'm setting up at tomorrow and really wanted to have more crafty items to put in it than I do but I guess I'll have to make do with what I have done.

Anyway, on to what I did get done last week, in checking out Karen's blog at Sew Many Ways a project caught my eye made by Crafty Vegas Mom, it's an IPhone/IPad pillow.

It really was quite easy to make, I put crushed walnut shells in mine also to give it some weight. 

I do have a couple projects in the works as well, remember when I blogged about my red and white squares 

well I have all the centers looking like cathedral windows, now to get the sashing and corner blocks cut and then it shouldn't take me anytime to get them stitched together and have another quilt top that I'll have to make some time to quilt.  I also have been trying to work on the Amish with a Twist BOM

 that I picked up at Calico Cupboard. 

Maybe just deciding which project to work on would help with the mojo, I don't know???

Until next time,

Jodi

Vacation Results

I was on vacation this past week and I didn't really get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but I did get some things done.  My brother wanted a set of corn hole bags made with embroidery designs on the front, I got half the set done but the design for the second half wasn't cooperating so I'm going to have to pick another design.  My daughter wanted a set and I have them made but hubby has to finish filling them with the corn, and I also had a special order set that I'm also waiting on hubby to fill so I can finish sewing them closed.  I will post pictures when they are completely finished.  

Last year I participated in Karen's (Sew Many Ways) 5" red and white square swap and received some really cute squares and couldn't make up my mind what to do with them, so they have been just hanging out in my sewing room until this past weekend.  At my quilt guild they showed how to do a 10 minute 3 seam bow tie block, check it out here.  So I decided that was what I wanted to do with my blocks

I wanted all my centers to be the same so I got some white fabric and started cutting out 5" squares to go with all my wonderful red and white squares.  I'm thinking I'm going to use white sashing with red corner squares for the setting to make a quilt, what do you think.

Well all in all it was a good week, very restful if I do say so myself.  I think I like those type of vacations the best, I do like getting away from the house also but this year it was just nice not to have to worry about where to go and what to do.  It was one of those that I decided most days what to do when I got up and got moving.

Well until next time,

Jodi

Saturday Sewing

Well Saturday was a great day, I got to sew most of the day and here is what I got completed



I purchased the kit from Quilters Quarters it is called Charmed Heart and you use the Lil Twister to make the pinwheels, I did however buy the Lil Twister from my favorite quilt store A Touch of Thread.  It was really easy and I love how it turned out!!!  Probably the most challenging part was laying out the 5" squares, I did get 2 of the same color side by side but it really doesn't look that bad, and no one at the store noticed it when I showed them the first step in the process.  This is something I will try again.  I've seen several patterns out in blog land that use this tool.

Well check it out and let me know what you think!!

Until next time,

Jodi

Christmas Gifts

UPDATED!!
Well as promised here is a list of what I made as Christmas gifts, unfortunately I forgot to

take pictures of some of them so I'll have to post them when I can get pictures taken.

First I made a quilt for my mom and stepdad and sent it to Florida,

this isn't the best picture but it gives you the basic idea.  My son-in-law the photographer

has the best pictures so I  need to get them from him took this picture.

Then I made covers for the neighbor, she bought a couple of those circle chairs that are

so popular right now

Will insert picture when I get it!!

Then I made casserole carriers for my stepmom and 2 sister-in-laws

 

I still can't believe I forgot to take the pictures before I gave them out, but I'm

notorious for doing this!!  I need to get better at taking pictures.

Well until next time,

Jodi

What I've Been Working On

Well here's what I've been working on lately,

Hand applique!

I was given a quilt top bom from Joann's from 1999,

and thought I would give it a whirl!  I'm very pleased with

how it is turning out, my only other attempt at hand

applique is from when I took the beginning quilting

classes from my favorite quilt store!  Those classes were

about 3 years ago and I wasn't sure I would remember what

to do, but I have to say it's been fun.  One thing I did ask

when I decided to start this was what their preferred

thread is and was told it is Mettler cotton thread with

the silk finish.  This stuff is great for hand applique, when it

knots up, I can unknot it very easily.  This is the 5th block I've

worked on, I put the 6th one back for later since it has 16 small

hearts to applique, I'll save it for last and hopefully when

I'm much better at what I'm doing.

Well until next time, (hopefully not so long before I

get to post again)

Jodi

Update

Well I didn't drop off the face of the earth, just been really busy trying to get things finished put together. Here are a few things I've been working on over the past few months.

Here is a cross-stitch wedding sampler made for a friend to give as a gift

Cross-Stitch Birth Announcement for one of my daughter's best friends little boy

Afghan for future son-in-law as a Christmas gift.

Plum Creek Quilt crib size, a friend of mine gave me this pattern to try and it was a lot easier than I thought!

Finally finished my sampler quilt that I made the blocks in the beginners quilt class given at A Touch of Thread Quilting Gallery here in Zanesville, OH.