I've been slowly working on what I thought would be a quick cross stitch project. I chose linen fabric, which is always a challenge. I can't see on dark navy (or black) anymore either, so it's been really slow going.
Showing posts with label #theaquaumbrellaqal. Show all posts
Pumpkin Time
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
I saw a new pattern by Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew and I just had to make it! My stash was sadly lacking in oranges and I definitely didn't have anything in the yardage the background needed, so I of course went shopping. Here's my fabric selections. I'm planning to cut everything today and get sewing.
I have a cone of Aurifil I bought a while back. I didn't have a cone thread stand, so my husband made me one with a leftover chunk of walnut from our bed, a dowel, and a stainless garden tag hook that was hanging around in our garage.
I had been feeling like something was a little off on my sewing machine, so I called and got in line for service. They called Saturday morning to say it was my turn, so I took my machine in. Monday morning they called to say it was ready for pick up. Turns out there was a pin in the hook gears! Oh my! I was lucky it didn't do damage. My ticket also had the total stitches and hours on the machine--3,011,117 and 1,471 respectively!
I won second place in The Aqua Umbrella Quilt Along. I received my prize of a large stack of Bonnie & Camille Ruby charms.
I also bought a pillow cover from Valerie, so she sent it along with the charms.
It's the First Day of School and...
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
I ended up catching a milder version of my son's illness and spent several days in bed resting. I'm recovered now, but I'm still behind on life. I did get one of my quilt guild's Pulse quilts completely done and am hoping to finish the second one today so we can get those out in the mail. My guild meets Friday night and we are exchanging minis so I will share those next week.
I finished all of my The Aqua Umbrella QAL blocks and top. I'm trying to decide if I want to add more blocks to make it larger or just quilt it as it is. It's currently 58 x 60".
I am a week behind on the 365 blocks and I have yet to add all the 6" blocks to the top. I also need to do this month's Fig Tree blocks, make some shirts for my daughter and me, finish piecing a bunch of tops, quilt and bind a bunch of tops, make more doll clothes patterns (especially since the quilt shop I've been working in is closing and I'm out of work again), and make more Sew Powerful purses and maybe some charity quilts too. I have caught up on mending however!
I made 6 pints of freezer pickles and gave away the last few cucumbers from our plants, which have mercifully died back. We got another small harvest of green beans, enough for dinner tonight. The beans still look okay, but I am unsure as to whether they'll produce more or not.
This has been kinda an odd summer weather-wise. It seems like we go from pouring rain to hot, humid, and parched, although not as hot as some summers. The plants look really scraggly and weeds seem to be going mad. This morning I went to the bus stop with my younger child and there were mosquitos the size of sweat bees! Creepy for sure. We usually go out and walk at night and haven't had the mosquitos. We have had up to six tom turkeys wandering the neighborhood but I haven't seen any females or babies this year--also odd. The rabbits are thriving and doing some damage.
Here's hoping I get it all together and get super-productive!
I am a week behind on the 365 blocks and I have yet to add all the 6" blocks to the top. I also need to do this month's Fig Tree blocks, make some shirts for my daughter and me, finish piecing a bunch of tops, quilt and bind a bunch of tops, make more doll clothes patterns (especially since the quilt shop I've been working in is closing and I'm out of work again), and make more Sew Powerful purses and maybe some charity quilts too. I have caught up on mending however!
I made 6 pints of freezer pickles and gave away the last few cucumbers from our plants, which have mercifully died back. We got another small harvest of green beans, enough for dinner tonight. The beans still look okay, but I am unsure as to whether they'll produce more or not.
This has been kinda an odd summer weather-wise. It seems like we go from pouring rain to hot, humid, and parched, although not as hot as some summers. The plants look really scraggly and weeds seem to be going mad. This morning I went to the bus stop with my younger child and there were mosquitos the size of sweat bees! Creepy for sure. We usually go out and walk at night and haven't had the mosquitos. We have had up to six tom turkeys wandering the neighborhood but I haven't seen any females or babies this year--also odd. The rabbits are thriving and doing some damage.
Here's hoping I get it all together and get super-productive!
Super Mega Post
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Lots of things to share today. First, here are my The Aqua Umbrella quilt along blocks so far. I'm using various Bonnie & Camille fabrics. I bought a few specific prints to use, but I've been adding some others as I'm going along.
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| Week 1 |
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| Week 2 |
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| Week 3 |
Next, here is the bag that my daughter made using the fabric she got at the AQS show. We used a free tutorial and got what we paid for on that one. She's happy with it though. It's pretty massive. We added some pockets inside. The last picture is the best representation of the colors.
My garden is suddenly out of control. It's like a jungle. It looks like I should have a ton of cucumbers (maybe literally). I harvested our second and, I think, last batch of lettuce last night. We must have planted it way too late. Last year we had tons of lettuce. Of course, most of my lettuce didn't even come up this year, but still. I'll try again in the fall when it's cooler. My dill and chives didn't come up either. Not sure what's going on with those.
I made some more Quilts for Pulse blocks, bringing my total to 14. I will pool these with blocks my fellow guild members have made.
I actually had a paying sewing job this week. I machine embroidered this shirt for one of my husband's co-worker's kids.
While my daughter was at camp last week I taught my son to sew. He made two pillowcases using the hot dog/burrito method. He's pretty good! He did learn that you have to be super careful of brushing against the iron while you're working. You can see his burn near his wrist in the photo below.
I also finished up my B&C barn quilt swap and will mail that today. No sharing until she receives it though. As a reminder, I will be posting a tutorial for how to make it at that point as well.
I've gathered quite a few more funny photos, so look for one of those on Friday.
Today I am hoping to finally figure out the block I'm stuck on for my Fig Tree Mystery BOM. Once I figure that out, I can move on to last month's blocks and hopefully get caught up before the next group arrives within the week.
Last Handmade Birthday Swap Gift
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The birthday girl has received, opened, and acknowledged her gift, so I can share what I sent sooner than I planned. She had mentioned that she would like a mini Sew Together Bag, and she also likes Fig Tree Quilt's Farmhouse line, so that is what I used. I used a mini charm pack to make the outside of the bag. I quilted a simple crosshatch on it.
Inside I used some more Farmhouse prints, along with a red polka dot from Strawberry Fields Revisited and the aqua cherry print from Avalon (all Fig Tree lines). The mini differs from the full size bag in that not only is it narrower, it only has two pockets inside instead of three. If you already have the Sew Together pattern, you can easily find the mini directions with a simple Google search.
I added in a fun "choose happy" zipper pull on one of the pockets inside. Thankfully the birthday girl liked it as much as I did.
Here's everything I included for her: the bag, three mini charm packs, a mechanical pencil (because I love mechanical pencils; weird, I know), a Frixion pen, some Wonder Clips, a spool of Mettler (my current favorite for binding), some pins, scissors, glue pen refills (also something she indicated she'd like), and some milliner's needles (my favorite for EPP).
I also included some sidewalk chalk and crayons (not pictured) for her kids.
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| Front |
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| Back |
Inside I used some more Farmhouse prints, along with a red polka dot from Strawberry Fields Revisited and the aqua cherry print from Avalon (all Fig Tree lines). The mini differs from the full size bag in that not only is it narrower, it only has two pockets inside instead of three. If you already have the Sew Together pattern, you can easily find the mini directions with a simple Google search.
So I am now finished up with all the birthday swaps. Nothing left to do but wait for all mine to roll in next month. I am excited!
In other areas, the veggie garden is now completely finished for the year. My lettuce is still struggling, but everything else seems okay. The herbs haven't come up yet, but all the new beans are emerging. Rabbits/deer/turkeys are wreaking havoc on the flowers, but it has been worse before.
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| Some big toms (and a flamingo!) |
I'm trying to quilt my big pineapple quilt from last summer. Suddenly my Juki is vibrating so badly I can barely quilt. And the vibration is causing the stitch regulator to malfunction. SIGH. I did start the Aqua Umbrella QAL. I still need to stitch my Barn Quilt swap, which is due in two weeks. And I really want to make some heart blocks to contribute to the #QuiltsForPulse movement. Broken hearted over this and Christina Grimmie and all mass shootings. How many will it take before we can get assault rifles off the streets? Peace and love.
Veggies, Part Two, Some Gardening, and Some Sewing
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
We are progressing a little on the veggie enclosure. My husband needs to build one more fence piece and also the gate. We added in a few more feed tanks. This time we went with two 6 x 2 x 2 footers and one 4 x 2 x 2. I'm planning to put patio blueberries into the 4' tank and veggies and herbs in the 6' tanks. These are self-watering tanks. You put a drain spigot in the bottom of the tank. Then some slotted drain tile, fencing, and weed cloth. Fill with dirt, and once the tank has water in the reservoir, it requires very little water.
The beans and cucumbers are doing pretty well. The lettuce is still struggling. I bought more seeds, but I may not plant them until fall because our summer conditions are not very conducive to lettuce growing.
Our clematis vines are all doing really well this year for the first time. Last year this one had one spindly, dead-looking vine. It's starting to fade, but still looks pretty nice. I need to cut down the irises.
The rabbits have been busy eating all my day lilies and also my Stargazer lily, which has only bloomed once in four years thanks to the them. The photo below is the Stargazer and the Stella d'Oro lily minus all its buds. The rabbits eat the buds and leaves from most of the other day lilies. They've also hit a few of the hostas.
One thing I find really concerning this year is that my milkweed has basically failed. Usually it's a small shrub by now. We tried planting milkweed seeds too, and none of those germinated. I also don't see any in the vacant lot next to us. It may be a rough year for the monarchs.
I was laughing last week because a pileated woodpecker was going to town on the new house across the street from us. Joke's on me, because this morning a smaller woodpecker--a downy or hairy, but couldn't tell because I didn't have my glasses on--was really pecking at the underside of our deck stairs.
In sewing news, I've been catching up on the 365 blocks. I planned out my Bonnie & Camille barn quilt swap quilt pattern. (My sketch is in my Instagram feed.) I feel that it is important to sew for charity and I've talked about sewing for Quilts for Kids and the local NICU before. Another charity I donate sewing to is Sew Powerful. Be sure to check out their page--they do great things. I am presenting the Sew Powerful charity at my quilt guild Friday night, so I made a sample Sew Powerful purse to show. BTW, the pattern is a free download. I'm going to try to make another using the other option provided in the pattern, but I'm not convinced I'll get it done in time.
I am mailing my last birthday swap gift this weekend, so I need to finish that up. I'll show pictures after she receives it, so that will probably be in two weeks so that I don't ruin the surprise! I'm also planning to join a quilt-along hosted by Valerie of The Aqua Umbrella. Find details here. Because, you know, I need another project! ha ha ha But I love the quilt and must make it. It starts Saturday (June 11) and runs through the summer. Let me know if you join in too.
I'm off to the quilt store! Have a great week!
Our clematis vines are all doing really well this year for the first time. Last year this one had one spindly, dead-looking vine. It's starting to fade, but still looks pretty nice. I need to cut down the irises.
The rabbits have been busy eating all my day lilies and also my Stargazer lily, which has only bloomed once in four years thanks to the them. The photo below is the Stargazer and the Stella d'Oro lily minus all its buds. The rabbits eat the buds and leaves from most of the other day lilies. They've also hit a few of the hostas.
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| The milkweed is in the lower right. It's not growing this year. :( |
I am mailing my last birthday swap gift this weekend, so I need to finish that up. I'll show pictures after she receives it, so that will probably be in two weeks so that I don't ruin the surprise! I'm also planning to join a quilt-along hosted by Valerie of The Aqua Umbrella. Find details here. Because, you know, I need another project! ha ha ha But I love the quilt and must make it. It starts Saturday (June 11) and runs through the summer. Let me know if you join in too.
I'm off to the quilt store! Have a great week!
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