BLock-A-Palooza finish & more

Last week I finished quilting and binding my Block-A-Palooza quilt.  Although skeptical at first, I like the way it turned out.  It feels good to have a finish!

I like the back almost as much as the front!

And a few binding pictures...love it!

The quilting is an all over stippling.  

I also finished the flimsy of this quilt but no pictures yet. I need to sandwich and quilt it.  

In between sewing on quilts, I have a need to work on other projects whether it is stitching, knitting, crochet...These projects are hand projects that I can take in the car or relax and watch TV.  One of my latest is T-shirt yarn as mentioned in a previous post.  Here is the finished bath mat that I knitted for my D1's apartment. 

T-shirt yarn is fun to make knits up fast. Try it!

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter! I'll leave with a few pictures...

P.S. Just linked up to Charming Girls' Quilt Club over at Kelly's.  Hop over to see what everyone's been up too!

Quilty News

On my last post I promised I would be back with my quilty news! 

And it was Friday Night Sew-In last night with Heidi and Bobbi! 

So...

 I have been continuing with hand quilting this.  I have been getting somewhere between 4-6 squares quilted while I'm watching TV 

[usually only 2 times during the week].  

That averages around 10 squares each week.  I have been enjoying the process of big stitching so I don't mind.

I also finished on my April Birdie Stitchery BOM.  

These blocks are so cute!

I also have started the 3rd wedding quilt.  

This one is for my nephew and his fiance.  

I finally cut out all the pieces and started sewing together the blocks.  

Last night for FNSI,  I finished sewing together the last 50 units.  

{there are a total of 320 units}

I then arranged them on my design wall, making sure the colors were distributed throughout the quilt.

After I was satisfied with the layout, I started sewing these units into larger blocks.  There are 16 units in each block. 

I ran out of energy around 10:30 last night after putting together 3 blocks.  

I got started this morning and now have 6 blocks sewn {out of 20.}

I think it looks like a modern wedding ring quilt.

What do you think?

That's my news...now follow me over to Heidi's to see what everyone else did last night!

Repurposed!

Do you Recycle, Reuse and Reduce?  

Being 'green' is very fashionable these days...and for good reason!  We need to take care of the Earth and the resources we have been blessed with.  

A newer term for being green is repurpose...taking something that you no longer use, or want and finding a new purpose for it.

I've been having fun repurposing [if that is a word].  Here's an easy peasy project to do...take a envelope that you no longer need...extra from Christmas cards, junk mail, etc.  Cut off the corner [about 2 1/2 or 3"] on a diagonal. Carefully open it up and trace the shape on the back of a fabric scrap. 

Cut out the fabric and spray baste it to the envelope corner. Stitch around close to the edge then glue closed. It is a great book mark...and pretty too...say goodbye to dog-earred corners in your books.

Another project was a challenge on Jenny of Elefantz blog.  She challenged her blog readers to take a skirt and repurpose it into an apron!  Although I didn't know about the challenge in time to be a part of it, I thought it sounded like fun.  So off to the resale shop where I found this skirt with 3 rows of ruffles.  I started by taking out the side seams and zipper...now I have 2 pieces! From my stash, I made long apron strings...attached them and finished the sides. 

My favorite project is T-Shirt yarn!  

I have made several balls of yarn from cast off cotton t-shirts.  

Here's a brief how to...there are many good tutorials online to follow...my favorite being  here. 

Lay the t-shirt down flat on your cutting surface...smooth it out...then just under the arms or under the picture/saying/words, cut straight across and again at the hem.  I used my rotary cutter and ruler.  

Keeping the 'tube' flat, cut 3/4" strips...But don't cut all the way through...leave about 1" along one fold. Once all your strips are cut, carefully open up the fold [uncut] and cut diagonally from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc. 

This spiral cut will result in one long piece of t-shirt fabric.  

All you do is pull the fabric in both directions...the fabric will roll creating 'yarn'... increasing in length. Wind it into a ball and it is ready to knit or crochet!

I'm knitting on large needles...making a bath mat from my D1's apartment.  

 Sometimes I just need to try something different...more on what I've been quilting on my next post!  

Join in the fun next Friday for FNSI! 

Click on the button on my side bar to sign up!

Out like a lamb...

Well, March is out and whether it left like a lamb is a matter of debate....and if I'm honest...I'm just glad to see it go and warmer weather heading my way!

Anyways...It is time to show you the latest finishes for the month...

Here is the 4th verse card for the Give Thanks BOM.  These are so sweet to stitch!

I also made this adorable bag to bring in the Spring!  This pattern is called The Abby Tote and is available from Vanessa over at V & Co.

It is reversible! The pattern directions are easy to follow and there are lots of pictures to help even a beginner.

Don't you just love the bow!

I have done some sewing for our home...I made a bed ruffle for the bed in my D2's room back in December [here] and I finally made matching pillowcases and changed the chair pad cover for my antique sewing chair.  I also hemmed the curtains in her room. 

D2 will be moving back home {from South Dakota} at the end of April.  Then the big push to get all the wedding plans finalized. I can't wait!

I leave you with a sneak peek of a quilt I have been working on.  I am hand quilting using the big stitch technique. 

I am really liking the vintage feel of this quilt. More later...

What have you been sewing?