End of May 2018 Wrap up

Surprisingly May ended up being a good month for quilting. 3 tops made, one even back from my friend Kerry who does my machine quilting!


                                                               This is Arcadia - 3rd top finished

The one I am working on now is another quick pattern called Just Can't Cut It. And yes another kit that is well aged! 

Needs the borders then it can be crossed off the list. I had made one of these before for my Dad. The main fabric was a fisherman print as Dad loved to fish.. Am enjoying this print-Cowboys and Christmas! It has a narrow green border and then the print again for the wide outer border.

One last project-made the 12 blocks for month 2 of the Kaffe Mystery

A friend sent me this cute bag. Will use it for projects when we take off for a few days.

My block count for the month of May is 88. I am following a blog where we report our totals for the month. Always kept count of quilts, not blocks. So this has been fun!

Linking up with Small Quilts Doll quilts

Design Wall Monday-a day late!!! (5/22/2018)

      Did not get my usual post done for yesterday so am playing catch up! Nothing new for me!!! It was a week of yard work mostly for Galen. We are slowly getting rid of our Asian Jasmine ground cover in the front. Yes, it looks nice, is not native and likes to climb walls and bushes. It is a pain to keep out of the shrubbery. So after 19 years it is getting torn out. My job was keeping the new sod watered! It is taking hold so we are hoping that after this month as can get back to our regularly scheduled watering days. I am cringing to think what this water bill will be; but we did need to sod some of the front yard!

On the sewing front, there was some success! I did finish the top I was working on. Hash Browns by Cozy Strip Club and a long overdue club project from Honey Bee. I gave it to Kerry yesterday to quilt for me.

Also gave her 2 quilt tops from my friend Wendy in MO. Kerry will quilt them and when finished I will pass them on to the Thank you Quilters. The quilts go to Ft. Hood. Not good pictures, was more interested in showing Wendy the backings I bought for them.

Will have better pictures when finished!

Since I finished the top I was working on last week and had been going through containers I was 

finding quilt kits that needed to be made. Thursday and Friday I spent the days cutting 4 kits.

Started kit #1 over the weekend. Arcadia is the pattern by Mountainpeek Creations. I do enjoy their designs. 

20 floral blocks

This is the pieced sashing. 

Playing with the layout as one of the prints is directional

Row 1 is done

As for our girls, Tilly, our 11 year old Standard had an appointment with the vet on Wednesday. She needed her teeth cleaned. She was still a little groggy when we brought her home later that afternoon.

She was a lot more alert about an hour after this photo and back to her ornery self by bedtime.

As for Tiki our 13 year old Standard she spent most of Wednesday sleeping or nuzzling her buffalo. She was missing her sister.

That was life at the Stewarts last week

See what others have been doing!

Design Wall Monday May 14, 2018

It was a fairly productive week. I managed to bind another quilt. It will go on the stack to be sent where and when needed. My friend Kerry at Tincanquilting.com did another great quilting job. Yes it is the same backing as the one I showed last week. One thing nice about using wide backings if the quilts are the right size you can get 2 on the same backing.

This next picture is a better one of the quilt I showed last week

I dug out another old strip club pattern and fabric from 2005. I think I pulled it out once before when we were remodeling the kitchen in 2014. Had some of it sorted and cut. But then the kitchen was done and it got put away again. Not anymore.

The Pattern is Hash Browns by Cozy Quilt Company. This will be a great guy quilt when finished

I laid it out on the kitchen island as I was also canning the last batch of sauerkraut! Sometimes I can multi task!

Done with sauerkraut now - another 7 pints and 6 quarts should last us for a little while. And yes, we do give some away!

 

All sealed and ready to get put away!

 Linking to Small Quilts

Design Wall Monday-May 7 2018

I actually accomplished some sewing last week. Galen was out of town from Tuesday on. I bonded with my one of my sewing machines. Set it up on the kitchen table so I didn't have to keep running up and down the steps to let the girls out to chase squirrels! It's is one of their favorite activities!

Before I started on a new quilt top I finished binding this one. Still have one more to bind or maybe two if I pick up one today! Kerry at Tincanquilting.com is doing a great job on my quilts

I have had this quilt kit from Honey Bee for a little while and decided it needed to get made

Got my strips sewn together

And cut

And then proceeded to put the first block together-Wrong!

        Amazing how I can look at a picture and still put it together wrong! Won't  be the last time that will happen!

Now on the right track

And the top is finished!!!!

It is a good size quilt-72 x 90. And a  fun pattern to make.

Over to Small Quilts

April 2018 Wrap up!

A lot has been going on in April. Galen went on his bio-blitz trip with the people from I Naturalist (I Nat). He got several additions to his firsts lists or lifers. He got back on the 9th and we took off on the 15th to go back to Junction, TX, Stayed in Kerrville for that trip!

I decided that instead of taking my machine I would take 4 quilts that needed the last step on the binding. No I did not expect to get them all done but I did not want to run out of something to do!

At Junction we went to the South Llano  River State Park. There are several bird blinds with feeding stations. Loved the use of the old wood pieces for feeders

And of course the ever important running water

I walked to this one with Galen but then later on stayed in the pick up with our "girls" so I could have windows all the way down. It was warm but there was a breeze.

Yes it is possible to bind a quilt in a vehicle

                          I did finish my On The Rail quilt back at the motel later that day.

Galen finally got his Black Capped Vireo. One he has been trying to get since he started seriously taking pictures.

Since he got his bird we decided to cut our trip short by a day and head for home. But not without making one more stop at Creations in Kerrville and then the Natives of Texas Plants Nursery. We are trying to get all Native plants for our yard and they have a few different ones that our favorite local nursery does not have. (Green and Growing) Of course I am looking for plants and the next thing I know Galen has the camera out to take a picture of a butterfly. Turns out it was one he did not have before and also rarely recorded north of the Rio Grande Valley!

Mexican Silver Spot

Back home I got down to finishing the quilts. The weather was great for taking a break, sitting on the deck and sewing on binding.

Easy Breezy pattern from Fat Quarter Shop

Off Center (stashbuster pattern) Sparrow Quilt Company

Didn't my friend Kerry at TinCanQuilting do a great job?

Higgensville Fences (A very old strip club from Honey Bee in Austin, TX)

Another great quilting job by Kerry. She has been machine quilting all my quilts for the past year.

And with the Spring weather we have been working on our flower beds. As our trees have grown we have a lot more shade areas. New plants. This bed is right off the deck and the bird bath has a fountain-the birds love it!

And not to forget our girl Tiki-she turned 13 on the 30th. Happy Birthday Tiki

Tiki is not one for having her picture taken. She is our brown Standard.

Tilly says here I am, you can take my picture!

The girls did enjoy their bacon/cheddar cupcake from Tailwaggins in Georgetown

Before I close I was able to add to my quilt block count another 48 for the month of April. Some blocks for Quilted With Love Block challenge, 12 for a quilt top, 8 for a Kaffe Mystery and various others blocks. Was surprised when I counted them up!

linking to Small Quilts/Doll Quilts