DIY

Today was cleaning day (yes I did sneak in some sewing) but when I went to get my Swiffer to do some dusting of our hardwood floors, I found that I was completely out of the dust cloths. What to do?  I quickly did a pinterest search (love it!) and found this but only a picture and no tutorial. So I thought I would show what I did.

I found a hand towel that I could use (hand towels need frequent replacing in our home)...so I headed to my sewing room with towel in hand and my Swiffer. After measuring the pad, I realized that the width of the handtowel was perfect...16"...so all I need to do was cut the width to 5". 

I was able to get 3~ 5" width cuts from the hand towel. After cutting, I serged the raw edges so they wouldn't fray. If you don't have a serger, I would recommend a zig zag stitch. 

I measured and folded each narrow end 2 3/4" and stitched close to the serged edge to make 'pockets'.

Turn the 'pockets' right side out.

Slip onto your Swiffer and you are ready to clean!

It only took me 10 - 15 minutes to make all 3 ~ and better yet...they are environmentally friendly! Just toss them in the laundry for cleaning. 

Yes, I did use it to dust our hard wood floors today and it worked great!

And the winners are...

Tonight Mr. Random Generator and I pick the winners of my giveaway! The first winner is:

Hueisei: I'm a happy follower. I'm so far behind on the BOM with QuiltStory. Hope can catch up soon. Love the coaster :)

She won the Hometown coaster set.

The winner of the mugrug is:

Sandie @crazyaboutquilts: Love your projects! I love using rick rack too. :-) I'm a happy follower and I have a red mug~ either the rug or coasters would be wonderful! Thanks for the fun giveaway!

Emails have been sent to you ladies. Thanks for playing and I hope you enjoy them. Have a great weekend and...

Friday Night Results

If you are looking for my giveaway, check here. There's still time to enter!

Friday night results are in and although I didn't get as much done as I hoped, I pretty pleased. I sandwiched 2 quilts and now they are ready to be quilted.

This was the first quilt I worked on and pin basted it without any problems. On to the 2nd one. This is where I ran into a little problem...the back down and taped, batting down and smoothed out, and the top...wait something is wrong...it needs something to make it pop...just to much white space...hmm...just a little border to frame it...OK, top up and in my sewing room looking through stash to find the perfect border...or at least on that will work...cut, sew, press...ready...back upstairs. Now I knew that the backing was a little tight and would just make it before...now about an inch to short...can't squeeze it...take up top, batting...untaped the backing...back to my sewing room to piece the back...look through stash, cut, stitch, press...done. Start again...backing, batting, top, pin baste and ready!

yellow gingham border added

pink checked piece added

I still had a little time to play with this before saying good night around 11:00pm. *Smile*

I've been pretty busy today but I'll be checking what everyone did tomorrow...unless I get a chance to sneak a peek tonight. 

I'm linking to Quilt Story.

Some Sewing and a Giveaway

It has been some time since I've posted any sewing news but I have been busy...sewing and life in general. I have been keeping up with the blog hops over at Sew We Quilt even though I didn't get signed up. I'm just lovin' the Stacks of Bowls! If you haven't seen them, you can take a peek at the schedule of hoppers here.

Any who...you ask what I've been doing? Well, I finished this new table runner and placemat set (the table runner has been finished for a while but the placemats were waiting to be made.)

The fabric is Hometown by Sweetwater. I just love this line! It is so much fun to look for names of cities/towns from all over. My DH and I have even looked up a few on google maps.

I love the giant rick rack detail.

The pattern is called Riff~Raff by Silk Road Creations. 

I also caught up on my BOM quilting! Here is the August block for BOM with Quilt Story. The theme for August is fussy cut which was a little challenging for me because only one fabric that I am using is able to be fussy cut. The rest are blenders. 

Here are the blocks all together: hour glass, fussy cut, rounded, flying geese, 9-patch, HST

And here are the July and August blocks for the Craftsy BOM with Amy Gibson. 

July blocks: Dresdens

traditional

modern

August blocks: stars

I also made 2 blocks for the Quilting for Kids charity group on Flickr. 

These string blocks were fun to make!

I have a few more projects that I have been working on but you'll have to wait to see them. Here is just a peek...

They are for the Dots on Dots Blog Hop coming in September!

Now did someone mention a giveaway? Yep I did! 

During the Red White and Blue Blog Hop, I was elated to see that I reached over 200 followers! This did not go unnoticed...love the encouragement from my followers! So as a thanks to my followers, I have this giveaway made from my Hometown collection.

A mug rug (mug not included)

A coaster set (mug not included)

Here are the details:

1. You must be a follower of my blog or become one (all are welcome to join). Tell me in your comment.

2. Tell me which gift you would prefer if you should be chosen ~ the mug rug or the coaster set. (1st drawn will get their 1st choice)

3. If you are a no~reply blogger, you must leave your email in your comment or I'll redraw.

4. Giveaway is open to all and will end on Friday, August 24th at 10pm CST. Winners will be chosen by Mr. Random Generator. 

Norway Part 2

As promised, I'm back to share pictures from the 2nd half of our time in Norway...the time we spent in the country. Warning: Heavy picture post. 

My DH's parents live on the family farm. They do not own the main farm property but have a house on the farmland. My DH's grandfather divided a portion of the land to each sibling except the oldest (he inherited the main farmland). Long ago they built a small summer house. When they retired and decided to live on the farm, they added on to the house and made other improvements. 

The farm has old houses like the old farm house.

The date on the stone stoop...1864

And the main farm house

Several of my DH's aunts and uncles also have summer homes on the property and there is a boat house down at the fjord, a mill house, barn and other buildings.

We hiked all around the farm, picked wild blueberries and wild flowers, skipped stones and enjoyed the beautiful days.

We took a day trip into Bergen. 

Our DD1 studied in Bergen during her sophomore year in college. We were able to meet up with her friend.

Vage ~ harbor where we catch the ferry to Bergen

Much of the transportation in Norway is by ferry.

Old Bergen

Bryggen from across the harbor

 On another day, we took a trip to Folgefonna Glacier. There was plenty of snow up in the mountains!

Driving to Folgefonna

That high peak is the highest peak on the family farm as seen from across the fjord.

DH hiking in the snow

DD1 & DD3 on top of a big boulder

It was truly hard to pick just a few pictures among hundreds to give you a taste of the beauty of Norway and the great time we had. 

We had some great family times and it was hard to say goodbye.

Our 3 beautiful daughters down at the boathouse. 

Our family!

Hope you enjoyed the sites.

I'll be back in a couple of days with some finishes!

Norway!

If you read my blog, you know that in June/July our family vacationed in Norway! 

My DH grew up in Stavanger, Norway and my sister-in-law and her family live there and his parents live on the family farm on a small island south of Bergen, Norway. 

We spent part of our stay in the city and part in the country. Norway is the land of the midnight sun and is known for its beautiful fjords and mountains. Although pictures can't capture the true beauty, here are a few pictures from our time in Stavanger.

view from my SIL's home

park in downtown Stavanger

Old town Stavanger

Sverd i Fjell (three swords monument)

During our time in Stavanger, we took 2 hiking trips. The first to Manafossen, a beautiful waterfall. 

The day started a little overcast. 

(me, DH, SIL)

on the trail

This was our son-in-law's first time in  Norway!

Manafossen

Can you see him? 

The troll hiding in the forest? 

Norway's folklore is full of troll stories and you can find them lurking in the forests.

Our second hike was a big hike to Preikestolen, also called Pulpit Rock. This is a very popular tourist destination and it was crowded. The hike is strenuous,   however, the view is breathtaking!

A view of Lysefjord from the top of Preikestolen

It was hard to pick just a few pictures among hundreds but I hope you can sense the beauty of the country of Norway! I will be back with pictures from our time in the country.