Saturday Night Fun

I promised that I would come back to show you what all the striped squares of fabric were for.  A very dear friend of our family, Ken, celebrated turning 40!  His beautiful wife, Kristin, threw a surprise party for him.  Several guy friends met at the local 9 hole golf coarse and surprised Ken.  As they golfed, some of the wives set up for a party on the patio.  The patio is at the end of the 9th hole. So as Ken was finishing his golf game, he could see us all gathered.  What a FUN night! With Ken it couldn't be any other way!  

First 4 some to golf

Ken in his new golfing outfit

Another 4 some and Ken's caddy

The tee off

Pretty table decorations - see the striped square of fabric!

Coming off the 9th hole with his daughters, Klara & Greta

funny Ken & beautiful Kristin

And such a beautiful day it was!!

The results are in....

It's Saturday morning and time to reveal the results of last night's sew-in.  A BIG thank you to Heidi and Bobbi for sponsoring this monthly event!  If you haven't joined in yet, don't miss the FUN next month! So here is what I accomplished....

First, I worked on cutting and serging the edges of these squares of fabrics to be used for...shh! It's a secret! I promise I'll come back later to reveal the secret. Don't you just love the colors of the stripes?

And then I worked on sewing back together the quilt I mentioned in my last post...the one that I picked all the stitches out cuz I was not happy with it!!! I never took a 'before' picture but I do have a picture of one of the blocks from the second quilt in another color.  Instead of the yellow, just imagine...the block in brown.  Simply boring!

[These will also be picked apart and recut and stitched.]  

So all I can give you are little peeks cuz this quilt is also a surprise for someone.  Shh!

  

It still needs 2 or 3 more borders to complete the top but a least it is at the same point as when I started unsewing!  I added the red bandana fabric to give it some 'POP' and also alternated between churn dash and broken dishes blocks.  The main fabric is Happy Camper from Clothworks.  Cute isn't it?

And now some family pictures....

This is my daughter, Brit, and her boyfriend, Young, at their BBQ following her graduation.

Korean BBQ is delicious!

I hope you had as much fun sewing as I did last night! It is so rewarding to see projects come together!!

Friday Night Sew-In & a dilemma

Tomorrow is Friday Night Sew-In and I hope you are ready!  It really is a good time to reward yourself with some sewing time.  What will you be working on?  

I had a dilemma.  A couple of posts back, I talked about 2 quilts that I was making.  One I finished piecing the top and the other the blocks were finished.  As the finished one hung on my design wall while I was just too busy to get much sewing done, I grew increasingly dissatisfied with it.  I knew that if I didn't take drastic measures, it would become a permanent UFO.  So after looking at several blogs and other web sites for ideas, I took out a clean sheet of graph paper and started over.  Of coarse that meant that I needed to rip out the entire quilt top.  I recut some pieces and added new some fabric.  It is now, once again, a work in process.  I still need to rip out the stitching on all the blocks for the second quilt and recut but I have a renewed interest in these quilts.  I saved them from becoming UFO's!    [Sorry I never took before pictures.]      Has this ever happened to you?  How did you handle your situation?    I'd love to hear! 

Will be back on Saturday for the results of my Friday Night Sew-In!

UPDATE...finally

Again it has been a while since I have been able to get around to my blog.  There has been a lot going on following my daughter, Kirsten's graduation.  She arrived home on Monday, May 3rd and started packing up her things.  She has moved to South Dakota and has started her new job.  On the Friday before she left,  our wonderful family friends hosted a Open House/Art Gallery to show her work.  Here are a few pictures...

Early Saturday she was headed for Rapid City, South Dakota.  That same night, May 8th, our oldest daughter, Brit, graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in Art Education.  Yay!! We are so proud of her! Here are a few pictures from her graduation.

Receiving her diploma!

CONGRATULATIONS BRIT AND KIRSTEN!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU! WELL DONE!

The very next day was Mother's Day.  My daughter's did a nice job making me feel special! Take a look.

AND now for an update on the little bit of sewing I have been able to get done...I finished 5 more little bags and added a some bling.  I also knitted a pair of fingerless gloves to help out a friend (no picture).

Also, coming May 21st is the Friday Night Sew-In hosted by Heidi and Bobbi.  Head on over here to join the fun!  It's a great way to devote some serious time to catching up and maybe win a prize!

One last picture from my spring gardens.  Pretty...

That's all for now.  As summer comes, I will have more free time for the things I love! 

Happenings...

I'm back for a brief update.  It has been very busy around here but exciting! Our 2nd oldest daughter, Kirsten, graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University yesterday!  We attended a very beautiful Baccalaureate Ceremony on Friday and then Graduation on Saturday.  We are so proud of her and her boyfriend, Mike! Here are a few pictures...

This coming week will be a crazy one as Kirsten comes home and gathers her things to move to South Dakota to start her new job and adventure.  At the same time, we are preparing for our oldest daughter, Brit, to graduate from University of Illinois - Chicago next Saturday.  I'm preparing for the emotional roller coaster that this week promises to be!  Tears have already been shed and I'm sure there will be many more, both of joy and sadness!

On the sewing front, I have been able to work on a few things!  I have started 2 lap quilts, one having the top almost pieced and the 2nd one well on its way (no pictures, sorry), I completed 2 of these adorable little bags, directions here, and here, and I have finished all but 2 of the 96 blocks on my red and white quilt.

Aren't these bags cute!  I need to add some bling to the zipper to finish them off.  I will be making several more.  What I haven't done is work on my husband's Mariner's Compass.  Sigh!  I need a good solid block of time and I just don't have it right now.  It will have to wait a little longer.  That's it for now!

EDIT: I finished the last 2 blocks - a total of 96 blocks - of my red and white 2-color quilt - Robbing Peter to Pay Paul!  

April's Friday Night Sew-In and Fest

For this Friday Night Sew-In, I decided to make the tote bag that Heidi and Bobbi offered.  It looked like a fun project and it was!!  Thanks Bobbi & Heidi!! I decided I would change it up a bit by adding a pocket inside (I always need pockets! Don't you?) and I changed the handles.  I had so much fun and liked the results that I made 2!  What do you think?

I also spent some time organizing, washing and pressing fabric for my next quilt and making a list of things to get at the quilt festival.  So this morning, I was off to meet my friend, Tracy, at the festival.  

We met up with not too much difficulty and started by admiring the many beautiful quilts.  Here is a small sample of them...

Churn dash, architectural, mariner's compass art quilt, and units...

dandelions, play with H's, pineapple and bright scrappy flowers...

landscape and stars...

And we then headed to the venders.  It is a bit overwhelming with way too many choices!!!  I am glad that I limited myself and brought out my list.  I actually pretty much stayed the coarse.  (Remember I just had a big shopping spree in Cedar Rapids last month! ) I got a yard of a coordinating Moda fabric from Make Life (purchased a piece in Cedar Rapids) and the template and thread I needed for the Mariner's Compass.  I now need to get busy and sandwich and quilt the Mariner's Compass.  It has been on hold for too long...

It has been a fun 2 days playing with fabrics and seeing so much eye candy!  Ahh! 

Updates...

It has been some time since I have posted, so I thought I better give an update of what I have been up to.  

First, the mariner's compass is on hold for a short while.  The top is completed, batting ready, backing washed and ready to sandwich.  I am waiting for the INTERNATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL in Rosemont, IL this coming weekend, April 15 - 18.  There I plan on purchasing the template my husband has picked out and some thread for the quilting.  I love this inspiring festival and have been eagerly waiting for the annual event. Typically, I spend the first part of my day admiring the beautiful quilts on display - from traditional to art quilts, postcards to large sized, machine or hand pieced and/or quilted.  Such talent from around the world! Then, I visit the many merchants vending a myriad of products useful for quilters and crafters.   Every notion you can think of, fabrics galore, patterns, machines, etc.  Of coarse there are speakers, classes and other hands-on opportunities.  If you are in the area, don't miss it!  This is one nice thing about living in Chicagoland! 

I also completed a table runner that I purchased almost 2 years ago on a Shop Hop.  I wanted to learn the technique of adding piping to my quilts so I purchased this kit.  It has been on my 'to-do' list since.  Now it is a finish!

I also have been knitting for a service project in honor of a young mother from my church who lost the fight against cancer about a month ago.  The Monday Night Knitting Group will be using her yarn (donated by her husband) to make chemo caps.  I have completed 2 hats.

The week just before Easter, we took delivery of our new appliances.

And Easter weekend was full of family time....

Our beautiful daughters!

My brother and sister-in-law with their grandson, Izaak.

A very happy baby!

Finally, head over to Jandi in Stitches for a give-away!  She is giving away a charmpack of Moda's Fruitcake.  Delicious! And get ready for this Friday Night Sew-in!  What will you be doing? Go here or here to join the fun! Look for my results on Saturday and pictures from the Fest!