Some of my projects have been secret ones. Now that they are delivered I can finally share. =)

April's Sew Sweet Bee queen bee was Donna @ Donna's Lavender Nest. She asked for a strawberry block from Lori Holt's book, Farm Girl Vintage. So cute!!

For the Chosen Sister's Birthday swap, Pennie had asked for an Amy Butler Weekender Bag. I have made it once before, you can see it here, so I took on the challenge to make one for Pennie.  As it was the first time, it is a bag that takes a lot of time and you can't hurry through it. For a while I wanted to give up. Dare I confess, I wanted to throw it across the room? But for Pennie, I powered through and I am pleased with how it turned out, even with the flaws. Last weekend Pennie shared she took it to her first quilting retreat. =) That made all the struggle worth it. =) 

Terrible picture of the interior.

I send a hearty THANK YOU to my friend Capi, for graciously hand sewing the lining in for me. =) 

For the record, this may be the last one I attempt, or at least until I sufficiently forget how challenging it is to make. =D

Have a happy Wednesday!

Some of my projects have been secret ones. Now that they are delivered I can finally share. =)

April's Sew Sweet Bee queen bee was Donna @ Donna's Lavender Nest. She asked for a strawberry block from Lori Holt's book, Farm Girl Vintage. So cute!!

For the Chosen Sister's Birthday swap, Pennie had asked for an Amy Butler Weekender Bag. I have made it once before, you can see it here, so I took on the challenge to make one for Pennie.  As it was the first time, it is a bag that takes a lot of time and you can't hurry through it. For a while I wanted to give up. Dare I confess, I wanted to throw it across the room? But for Pennie, I powered through and I am pleased with how it turned out, even with the flaws. Last weekend Pennie shared she took it to her first quilting retreat. =) That made all the struggle worth it. =) 

Terrible picture of the interior.

I send a hearty THANK YOU to my friend Capi, for graciously hand sewing the lining in for me. =) 

For the record, this may be the last one I attempt, or at least until I sufficiently forget how challenging it is to make. =D

Have a happy Wednesday!

Sometimes I wonder where I am, too! *grin* However, I can tell you where I was last week. Hubby and I were in Florida!! At Panama City Beach, to be exact. It was a wonderful time of rest and relaxation. We didn't do too much besides lounging on the beach and hanging out. I did get brave and swam in the ocean for the first time. I am sure we two 50 somethings looked silly jumping and playing in the waves, but I don't care, it was fun! 

I did do one really foolish thing. On the first day on the beach, I put sunscreen on everywhere, except my face. You can imagine what I looked like in a little over an hour later.  For the rest of the week, I was the poster child of a stupid tourist. I am vain enough to not share pictures of that!!

My favorite part was the walks on the beach in the morning and at night. It was glorious...

During one of our morning walks, we ran into a sand crab.

As you can see, he was very crabby {sorry, I couldn't resist. ;-) } that we messed with him. It was funny to watch him walk. I had forgotten they walked sideways! We also saw manta rays. I didn't have my phone with me, so I didn't get any pictures of them. 

We found many shells during our walks, but I allowed myself to bring home only two. The others I gave away to other shell hunters. 

The one thing I wish we could have brought home with us was the weather. When we left Florida, it was 85 degrees. When we got home it was in the 50's. Brrrr! I love hot summer days. They can't come soon enough! 

Thanks so very much for stopping by and remember, sunscreen is your friend! =D 

Sometimes I wonder where I am, too! *grin* However, I can tell you where I was last week. Hubby and I were in Florida!! At Panama City Beach, to be exact. It was a wonderful time of rest and relaxation. We didn't do too much besides lounging on the beach and hanging out. I did get brave and swam in the ocean for the first time. I am sure we two 50 somethings looked silly jumping and playing in the waves, but I don't care, it was fun! 

I did do one really foolish thing. On the first day on the beach, I put sunscreen on everywhere, except my face. You can imagine what I looked like in a little over an hour later.  For the rest of the week, I was the poster child of a stupid tourist. I am vain enough to not share pictures of that!!

My favorite part was the walks on the beach in the morning and at night. It was glorious...

During one of our morning walks, we ran into a sand crab.

As you can see, he was very crabby {sorry, I couldn't resist. ;-) } that we messed with him. It was funny to watch him walk. I had forgotten they walked sideways! We also saw manta rays. I didn't have my phone with me, so I didn't get any pictures of them. 

We found many shells during our walks, but I allowed myself to bring home only two. The others I gave away to other shell hunters. 

The one thing I wish we could have brought home with us was the weather. When we left Florida, it was 85 degrees. When we got home it was in the 50's. Brrrr! I love hot summer days. They can't come soon enough! 

Thanks so very much for stopping by and remember, sunscreen is your friend! =D 

Hello, friends! I hope this beautiful spring day finds you all well. =) 

After months of dreaming of getting back on our bike, this last weekend we had perfect warm weather for a get away and it was glorious! We took a ride to Decorah, Iowa, which is an area we haven't really explored much. We will be doing more trips to this lovely area in the future, for sure! 

I made Russ pull over so I could take a picture of this barn quilt. =D 

Minutes from town, there is a lovely waterfall called Dunning Springs. Russ decided to scramble up the hill. Me, being the fearful sensible one, only climbed up a little ways. On the other side of the falls is a staircase that takes you up to the top. That was a much easier climb and the view is spectacular. 

Deborah is also home of Red-Roxy Quilt Company. Be sure to check out their website. It's a lovely shop filled with tempting fabrics and notions. It's worth the trip to visit if you are ever in the area. I walked out with these two Blueberry Park fat quarter bundles. I am trying to stick to my fabric diet...Really, I am, but can you blame me for wanting to bring these beauties home??

Meanwhile, on the home front, a jelly roll and two charm packs of Little Ruby has joined my ever growing stash of Bonnie and Camille fabrics. Eventually some yardage and a fat quarter bundle will be making their way to my home, as well. Ruby and Bliss were my favorites. Little Ruby has a mix of both, as well as a few more prints, only they made the prints at half the size. They are so cute! 

I have also been playing with strings from my scraps. Simple mindless sewing is relaxing to me. I have 220 string triangles finished. I have been playing around with how to lay them out, but nothing has been decided. 

As always, thanks for stopping by. =) One of these days I will have a project to share. I have a few and as soon as the recipients receive their gifts, I'll post them. =) 

Until next time! Have a happy spring!

Hello, friends! I hope this beautiful spring day finds you all well. =) 

After months of dreaming of getting back on our bike, this last weekend we had perfect warm weather for a get away and it was glorious! We took a ride to Decorah, Iowa, which is an area we haven't really explored much. We will be doing more trips to this lovely area in the future, for sure! 

I made Russ pull over so I could take a picture of this barn quilt. =D 

Minutes from town, there is a lovely waterfall called Dunning Springs. Russ decided to scramble up the hill. Me, being the fearful sensible one, only climbed up a little ways. On the other side of the falls is a staircase that takes you up to the top. That was a much easier climb and the view is spectacular. 

Deborah is also home of Red-Roxy Quilt Company. Be sure to check out their website. It's a lovely shop filled with tempting fabrics and notions. It's worth the trip to visit if you are ever in the area. I walked out with these two Blueberry Park fat quarter bundles. I am trying to stick to my fabric diet...Really, I am, but can you blame me for wanting to bring these beauties home??

Meanwhile, on the home front, a jelly roll and two charm packs of Little Ruby has joined my ever growing stash of Bonnie and Camille fabrics. Eventually some yardage and a fat quarter bundle will be making their way to my home, as well. Ruby and Bliss were my favorites. Little Ruby has a mix of both, as well as a few more prints, only they made the prints at half the size. They are so cute! 

I have also been playing with strings from my scraps. Simple mindless sewing is relaxing to me. I have 220 string triangles finished. I have been playing around with how to lay them out, but nothing has been decided. 

As always, thanks for stopping by. =) One of these days I will have a project to share. I have a few and as soon as the recipients receive their gifts, I'll post them. =) 

Until next time! Have a happy spring!

How about I make this a non wordy post and share some quick highlights on what I have been up to in the last month. =)

This one I pieced only. Someone else did the coloring and the embroidery. Isn't it fabulous!

These are the gifts I made for Capi's February birthday...

The free pattern for the Butterfly mini quilt can be found at Fort Worth Fabric Studio. 

Scissors cozy tutorial can be found here.

I didn't use a pattern for the quilt, but it's easy enough to figure out. It's all half square triangles and I added corner stones to the sashing. =) Simple and sweet. 

The Sew Sweet Bee queen bee for March is Cathy @ A Quilting Chick. She asked for a Star Surround block designed by Melissa @ Happy Quilting.  

Have a happy weekend! =D

How about I make this a non wordy post and share some quick highlights on what I have been up to in the last month. =)

This one I pieced only. Someone else did the coloring and the embroidery. Isn't it fabulous!

These are the gifts I made for Capi's February birthday...

The free pattern for the Butterfly mini quilt can be found at Fort Worth Fabric Studio. 

Scissors cozy tutorial can be found here.

I didn't use a pattern for the quilt, but it's easy enough to figure out. It's all half square triangles and I added corner stones to the sashing. =) Simple and sweet. 

The Sew Sweet Bee queen bee for March is Cathy @ A Quilting Chick. She asked for a Star Surround block designed by Melissa @ Happy Quilting.  

Have a happy weekend! =D

Last weekend, my darling hubby took me to Minneapolis to IKEA! I have been wanting to visit an IKEA store for years. I got lots of tips from veteran IKEA shoppers and they all came in very handy, especially the one that told me to plan on being there the whole day. We did that easily and logged in a few hours on the next day, too. 

 Jocelyn @ Happy Cottage Quilter said it perfectly, "IKEA is like the Disneyland of retail!" She was so right!! I hate having my picture taken, but Russ insisted I pose with the two carts we filled up. Trust me, it was tempting to buy more, however, we had limited space in our car, which really was a good thing in the long run. =)

Even so, we still bought more than we planned on!! Drawer organizers, wrapping paper, a popcorn bowl, trivets, kitchen towels, adorable wire baskets, area rugs and more. =) 

The new living room area rug. =)

I have wanted this button rug for my sewing room for a long time. It's so bright and happy. =)

But my favorite purchase took some assembly...

A Stenstorp kitchen island to replace the peninsula! The lip that is on the counter will go away when we get a new counter top. The white bin holds my kitchen towels.  

We have a few modifications that need to be made eventually to make it level with our floor. We are also thinking about adding sides to it and adding doors to the front to enclose it. I love the butcher block top!

Its probably a good thing that IKEA is so far away from us. I think I could live there! Besides, it is nice to have a place to run away to for a weekend away. =) 

For those who have been to IKEA, what is your favorite IKEA find?

Last weekend, my darling hubby took me to Minneapolis to IKEA! I have been wanting to visit an IKEA store for years. I got lots of tips from veteran IKEA shoppers and they all came in very handy, especially the one that told me to plan on being there the whole day. We did that easily and logged in a few hours on the next day, too. 

 Jocelyn @ Happy Cottage Quilter said it perfectly, "IKEA is like the Disneyland of retail!" She was so right!! I hate having my picture taken, but Russ insisted I pose with the two carts we filled up. Trust me, it was tempting to buy more, however, we had limited space in our car, which really was a good thing in the long run. =)

Even so, we still bought more than we planned on!! Drawer organizers, wrapping paper, a popcorn bowl, trivets, kitchen towels, adorable wire baskets, area rugs and more. =) 

The new living room area rug. =)

I have wanted this button rug for my sewing room for a long time. It's so bright and happy. =)

But my favorite purchase took some assembly...

A Stenstorp kitchen island to replace the peninsula! The lip that is on the counter will go away when we get a new counter top. The white bin holds my kitchen towels.  

We have a few modifications that need to be made eventually to make it level with our floor. We are also thinking about adding sides to it and adding doors to the front to enclose it. I love the butcher block top!

Its probably a good thing that IKEA is so far away from us. I think I could live there! Besides, it is nice to have a place to run away to for a weekend away. =) 

For those who have been to IKEA, what is your favorite IKEA find?

Irons are a must have tool for every quilter and every one has their idea on what the perfect iron is. When I first started quilting, I bought a Rowenta. I liked it okay, but I really didn't like how it turned off all the time and I didn't think it was hot enough. I began my hunt for the perfect iron...I bought several vintage irons and they were better, but not quite perfect. At an antique shop I found a General Mills Betty Crocker Tru Heat iron. I brought it home to give it a try and it didn't take long to discover, that this was the perfect iron. I love everything about it! It got hot, didn't turn off and no steam holes to mess with my seams. 

Because of its age, I figured it wouldn't last forever, so I had been keeping my eye out for a spare. I found it last summer at another antique shop. I was set! 

Maybe...

This week my iron died. We took it apart and hubby tested the hearing element. It was shot. Time for the spare to get some use. Though they were the same, I immediately noticed there was a slight difference. My spare was a bit lighter than my old one. Looking at the back of the iron, there was a model number. My favorite iron was a 1B. My spare was a 1BB. After more research, I quickly realized there are several versions of this iron. My spare was not the perfect iron. *sigh* 

Hello, Ebay!! 

Look at this beauty I found on Ebay! The exact same model number and BRAND NEW! It was delivered yesterday and it is even more perfect than the one that died! I am so thrilled with it! I expect to have many years of happily pressing quilt blocks with this sweet iron. =)

So, am I the only one obsessed with finding the perfect iron? What is your perfect iron? 

Now if only I could find the perfect purse, but that's another story! 

Irons are a must have tool for every quilter and every one has their idea on what the perfect iron is. When I first started quilting, I bought a Rowenta. I liked it okay, but I really didn't like how it turned off all the time and I didn't think it was hot enough. I began my hunt for the perfect iron...I bought several vintage irons and they were better, but not quite perfect. At an antique shop I found a General Mills Betty Crocker Tru Heat iron. I brought it home to give it a try and it didn't take long to discover, that this was the perfect iron. I love everything about it! It got hot, didn't turn off and no steam holes to mess with my seams. 

Because of its age, I figured it wouldn't last forever, so I had been keeping my eye out for a spare. I found it last summer at another antique shop. I was set! 

Maybe...

This week my iron died. We took it apart and hubby tested the hearing element. It was shot. Time for the spare to get some use. Though they were the same, I immediately noticed there was a slight difference. My spare was a bit lighter than my old one. Looking at the back of the iron, there was a model number. My favorite iron was a 1B. My spare was a 1BB. After more research, I quickly realized there are several versions of this iron. My spare was not the perfect iron. *sigh* 

Hello, Ebay!! 

Look at this beauty I found on Ebay! The exact same model number and BRAND NEW! It was delivered yesterday and it is even more perfect than the one that died! I am so thrilled with it! I expect to have many years of happily pressing quilt blocks with this sweet iron. =)

So, am I the only one obsessed with finding the perfect iron? What is your perfect iron? 

Now if only I could find the perfect purse, but that's another story! 

After several false starts, and time spent with my seam ripper, I settled on some simple double crosshatch quilting. I used wool batting which makes it light and warm. Perfect for cuddling on the couch. =)

You can read more about my process for the Postcard From Sweden quilt here and here. 

Have a happy Tuesday! 

After several false starts, and time spent with my seam ripper, I settled on some simple double crosshatch quilting. I used wool batting which makes it light and warm. Perfect for cuddling on the couch. =)

You can read more about my process for the Postcard From Sweden quilt here and here. 

Have a happy Tuesday! 

Snowy day here in Iowa today, so no work for me. I thought I would share how I kept organized as I made my Postcard From Sweden quilt top by Jeli Quilts. 

{Note to Craftygramma: I didn't have an email to respond to your comment. =) I was already too far in my process to make this into a quilt along. I hope this post is helpful for you. =) }

After I cut my squares, I immediately cut them into the triangles, then used my Wonder Clips to keep them together with their color name and number. In my picture, the ones with only the number are the ones I had that were the exact color she had in her list. As you can see, a vast majority of my colors were replacements. 

I followed Kelly's suggestion of having stickers with a row and number to help keep track of where it belonged. When I matched the triangles that went together, I put the sticker on the upper right section before sewing, that way I would know which way the triangle was to lay. I then chained pieced the triangles for each row. After each row was made, I marked it off. It helped me keep my eyes looking at the right spot. 

Here is one of the piles of triangles sewn together waiting to be trimmed and them put together in a row. The number/row sticker is still on each HST. I did not remove them until the row was all put together. For my quilt, I chose to press all my HST's open to eliminate bulk in the seams. 

The rows go together quickly. These have the little stickers removed and now each row is marked with their letter to keep them in order.

Here they are all done and waiting to be put together. =) 

And here it is! All sewn together! I made the larger version. It finishes at 60" x 75". It's such a bright and happy quilt. =) 

I am going to use this text 108" fabric by Windham for the back. 

Before I let you go for the day, I have been getting many no-reply comments, which means I am unable to respond to your comment. If you doubt whether or not your setting are set as no-reply, please consider leaving your email in your comment so I can reach you. =)  

Have a happy day!! 

Snowy day here in Iowa today, so no work for me. I thought I would share how I kept organized as I made my Postcard From Sweden quilt top by Jeli Quilts. 

{Note to Craftygramma: I didn't have an email to respond to your comment. =) I was already too far in my process to make this into a quilt along. I hope this post is helpful for you. =) }

After I cut my squares, I immediately cut them into the triangles, then used my Wonder Clips to keep them together with their color name and number. In my picture, the ones with only the number are the ones I had that were the exact color she had in her list. As you can see, a vast majority of my colors were replacements. 

I followed Kelly's suggestion of having stickers with a row and number to help keep track of where it belonged. When I matched the triangles that went together, I put the sticker on the upper right section before sewing, that way I would know which way the triangle was to lay. I then chained pieced the triangles for each row. After each row was made, I marked it off. It helped me keep my eyes looking at the right spot. 

Here is one of the piles of triangles sewn together waiting to be trimmed and them put together in a row. The number/row sticker is still on each HST. I did not remove them until the row was all put together. For my quilt, I chose to press all my HST's open to eliminate bulk in the seams. 

The rows go together quickly. These have the little stickers removed and now each row is marked with their letter to keep them in order.

Here they are all done and waiting to be put together. =) 

And here it is! All sewn together! I made the larger version. It finishes at 60" x 75". It's such a bright and happy quilt. =) 

I am going to use this text 108" fabric by Windham for the back. 

Before I let you go for the day, I have been getting many no-reply comments, which means I am unable to respond to your comment. If you doubt whether or not your setting are set as no-reply, please consider leaving your email in your comment so I can reach you. =)  

Have a happy day!!