Last of my August Finishes

Table runner. Made this to fit our coffee table. Now I just need to clear it off so I can put this on it.

Middle is made up of vintage squares I got on Etsy (sorry can't remember who). I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, so I sewed them into 4 patches and then finally decided on a table runner. The blue fabric and the backing are also vintage fabrics. The green is from my mom. It's leftover fabric from curtains she made for the laundry room almost 20 years ago - does that make the green fabric vintage too?

2 potholders. These will probably be gifts this Christmas but I don't know who will get them.

Bedroom curtains. I really like them. They go really well with our green comforter (which didn't get included in the picture).

Now I can focus more on quilts and etsy. The table runner and potholders were ufo's, so it is nice to have some finishes from my big bin - although they didn't really take up that much space.

Plan this week is to take pictures and post the works I currently am working on. Mainly to help me organize my priorities and if all goes well I hope to have another finish my the end of the week.

Oh, I did have another finish this weekend but I was testing a new pattern for my sister and I'm not allowed to show pics until February (I think). Sorry.

A Quilting Project with and for my Daughter

Got to work on the hummingbird quilt my sister bought for my daughter the other night. Decided to recruit my daughter to help me.

She traced all the shapes and cut them out.

These are the fabrics that my sister had selected and sent along with the pattern.

My daughter decided she didn't really like all of them and instead went through my stash and came up with this. I insisted on keeping the background piece (the big yellowish fabric on the right) and she picked the rest. Here are all the applique shapes on their fabrics. I have ironed them on and cut them out. Placed them on the background and they look great, although we had to move the flowers around a bit to deal with all the different fabrics she picked. She has also decided that she would like to have this quilt to cuddle with on the couch instead of up on the wall. Hope to get the appliques on the background this weekend and post an updated shot of the project at the beginning of next week.

Sale at Rachel's Quilts

IT'S OPEN! I decided to reopen my Etsy store. I have been doing a lot of thinking about it lately so I thought I should open it back up. I am feeling settled enough in our new home to start focusing some of my time on Etsy again.

Everything is 10% off until the end of August.

My Quilt Space

So, here it is. My big quilt table that has room for my big cutting mat, sewing machine, my new yellow basket and small plastic triple drawer cabinet that holds threads and other little things I think I need. Tons of storage underneath and beside it, and it's so sturdy that I stood on this table while several months pregnant back in Michigan and never worried about breaking it. I don't think my husband was home at the time though. The white shelf to the left separates my space from the dining room. It also houses my quilt books and patterns and my string quilt (I toss strings in the box as I am working on other projects. So far this space is really working for me and makes me feel very motivated.

These 2 bins on the side are my stash. Very little of this is set aside for specific projects, although a lot of it was bought with people or projects in mind.

My new yellow basket, bought at Michael's on clearance. I love it. I keep projects that are next to be done in here. You can also see a couple toys that were confiscated from my children. They have since been given back. The hummingbird quilt pattern and fabrics were a gift from my sister to my daughter for her birthday this year. The fabrics are now waiting to be washed and then I can get started on it.

My dirty little secrets. The big bin on the left is unfinished personal projects. My goal for the rest of the year is to really work on completing some (I finished a table runner this weekend that was in it - post pics later). The bin on the right is my etsy bin. Finished and unfinished projects. It would be nice to eliminate one of these bins by the end of the year as they are taking up a lot of foot room.

This cute little door is right beside my quilt space. I wonder what you are suppose to keep in there?

I claimed it! I bought some bins and FINALLY organized my scraps by colour (for now). Batting and big pieces of fleece on the upper shelf. Besides the new bins, there are also some shoe boxes that contain projects (not all quilt related). The bottom part is empty boxes that I am keeping to use for shipping gifts, etsy orders, or to hold new projects. My mini ironing board also fits in the front. It's nice to put some of my quilt stuff behind doors and not always staring at me.
Close up of my new bins. You can also see my baggie of empty spools. I was giving them to my son's preschool teacher - now I don't know what I am going to do with them. Any ideas?

I have been busy this weekend. I finished the bedroom curtains and will try to get some pictures taken and posted this week. I also cut out fabrics and started piecing some blocks for a border of one of my ufo's. Hope to get it finished by the end of September as it was my goal to have it done a year ago for my birthday. I have several in progress things to take pics of, I just need to stop and take the pictures. I am 13 rows into knitting my first pair of socks and am really enjoying it. The first 3 rows weren't very pleasant but now I am getting use to the 4 needles, tiny stitches and fine yarn. Hopefully I will finish them before it gets to cold.

Fabric Friday and more Finishes!

Went fabric shopping today. Here's what I came home with.

2 yards of this because I love it (and it was on sale).

2 yards of this because I love it, too.
Isn't it adorable?

A remnant piece that would go with either of the above.

Big splurge and the reason for going - fabric for bedroom curtains. 3 yards.

Orange and yellow is for my husband, and the scroll leaf pattern is so very me. I hope he likes them as I plan on having them done by the time he gets here on Monday.

Fat quarter I bought to make something for my brother. He's a goalie but loves to play out. Figure his Christmas present will have to fit inside a bag made from this. Unless I think of something else to do with it.

Another finish. I had completed most of this baby blanket before I left Michigan in June and finished it while watching "Pride and Prejudice" (the british mini series not the recent movie) this week. I watched the whole series in one go and was up until almost 3am. I stopped crocheting around 1 and just enjoyed the show.

Close-up of the pink - white yarn that I have used before. Not sure when I will reopen the etsy shop, hopefully by the end of the month.

My son's curtains. He picked the fabric from my stash while I was reorganizing. I was saving it to use in a big quilt for him but by the time I finally get around to making it, he probably won't like cars anymore.

Close up of all the different vehicles.

Bathroom curtains.

The top fabric belonged to my friends Grandmother and this piece is all I had. I love it and didn't want to cut it up. The white with green dots is a remnant bin find that I had set aside for another project but I decided to use it for this instead.

I also took some pictures of my new quilt space and will post those this weekend. I also have some other projects that I worked on this summer that I haven't posted yet. I'll try to get those done too.

Finishes in Idaho

Well we made it to Idaho 2 weeks ago. Been busy unpacking and setting up the house and my quilt space. Yes, I have a real space for quilting and its wonderful. I reorganized things as I unpacked. I'll try to take some pics and post them this weekend. Here are a couple projects I have finished this week.

This picture refuses to go the right way. Anyway... This is the cover for our printer. It's so much nicer to look at.

The bird is the Oklahoma state bird, Scissored-Tail Flycatcher. I only had a yard of it and guessed my way into making this. It turned out alright, I think.

Every new place needs new curtains! (I have completed 2 other sets that I will post later). This is the kitchen window, above the sink. You can see the birdfeeder (1 of 3 we have up) in the background and the binoculars on the ledge waiting to be used. Definitely cheers up the window.

I used one of my favourite fabrics (I only had a 1/2 metre) and a blue fat quarter that I bought last week when I finally made it to JoAnn's and Michael's. They are right beside each other here! Great way to compare.