Christmas Through the Year and Another Year of Schnibbles

The end of June; six months done and six months until Christmas.

It's definitely hard to believe. :-)



I hope you've been on board the Christmas Through the Year Train during the month of June because we're about to pull into our next stop - June 30th.

Are you ready to add your blog to Mr Linky to show a Christmas gift (or two) you've completed this month? Don't forget that you'll be eligible to win Cheryl's super cute bag (did you know that I'm bagophobic - LOL)

I'm struggling with Mr Linky so please include the link to your blog in a comment. I'll work on it again in the morning - I'm frustrated. :-)

I challenged myself to make two Christmas gifts this month and I'm proud to say I met my challenge. I hope the recepients like them - I do fret about that. :-)

Here's my June AYOS Leap Year completion. WooHoo!!!! This was a free pattern from Carrie at Miss Rosie's Quilt Co given to those that have participated in AYOS in recent months.


If you need me I'll be 'sewing like the wind' in my own personal "Happiest Place on Earth" (my sewing room)



In Friendship!

My Fabric/Pattern Challenges

I spend way too much time trying to decide what project to work on next. I'll pull a fat quarter/fat eighth bundle, layer cake, jelly roll, or charm pack only to put it away after some gazing. When I pull it off the shelf or out of the drawer I have grand plans and then they just fizzle out because I simply can't decide what pattern I might want to use.

I decided it would be a good idea to pull fat quarter/fat eighth bundles and at least get them pressed and ready to cut. Looking at the fabric while I'm pressing is so different than looking at it as a little sliver when it's folded. My initial plan can change based on what I see when I'm pressing.

I set up my Big Board, spray starch and iron in my kitchen where I knew it would be much cooler. I planned to put the iron through a major work out.

Around my kitchen table you'll see lots of lovelies -

Ruby by Bonnie and Camille

Pam Kitty Morning by PKM

Clermont Farms by Minick and Simpson

Sweet Broderie by Rosalie Quinlan

Sew Cherry by Lori Holt

Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille

Let the cutting begin - it's time to set up my cutting board, ruler(s) and rotary cutter (with new blade).

Everything has come to a screeching halt. Sigh!

I buy patterns based on many reasons - often just the design however sometimes it's the fabric that attracts me.

Here's my challenge:

Is it a cop out to make the quilt the same way the designer made it?

Should I be looking at the pattern thinking I need to select different fabric(s)?

If you're a regular reader of my blog then you know that I do both however it still presents a challenge to me.

I'd love to know what you do.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you so please share your process.

I appreciate your visit - come again soon.

In Friendship!

Bag-o-phobic

Bag - A container of flexible material with an opening at the top, used for carrying things

Phobic - suffering from irrational fears

Are you a sewist who possesses the Heaven sent talent to make bags? You have no fear of zippers, snaps, etc? If this describes you then I bow down and applaud you. Color me jealous. :-)

Recently my friend, Carol, and I were discussing how much we love bags and how envious we are of blog friends who make so many cute, pretty, adorable, sweet (you name it) bags. Huge Sigh!!!! Sadly, we both suffer from extreme bag-o-phobia. When we open a bag pattern and start reading the instructions our eyes glaze over, roll back in our heads, butterflies start fluttering in our tummies, beads of sweat appear on our foreheads, etc. It's not a pretty sight. LOL

One of our talented blog friends is Sherri of A Quilting Life - that girl makes some fabulous bags. In our conversation, Carol and I were discussing how we could get one of Sherri's bags. Could we sneak into her sewing room and grab two bags or maybe we could enlist the help of one of Sherri's friends. Sigh! We couldn't think of anything we could even offer in trade. Bigger Sigh!

Do you suppose groveling would help?

Nah, I didn't think so but we're not beneath groveling.

LOL :-o

Picture borrowed from Sherri's blog (with her permission) - we LOVE these! :-)
(picture borrowed from Wendy's blog with her permission)

And, then there's sweet, talented Wendy. That girl makes all sorts of bags; some with zippers, handles, buttons, snaps, etc. They are adorable and fabulous. How do I know? Take a look at the next picture - lucky me! LOL


A sampling of bags Wendy has made especially for me! :-)



Somewhere along the way I thought I would make a bag or two. Thought I might make one for Carol, too (she'd be so surprised - LOL)

I have Terry Atkinson's pattern, Zippy Strippy, some Millie's Closet fat quarters and three matching zippers. Just the thought makes my eyes glaze over, roll back in my head, the butterflies start fluttering in my tummy and the beads of sweat appear on my forehead. Big, Big Sigh! :-o


Silly me - it's just not going to happen because I'm seriously BAG-O-PHOBIC. LOL


I hope you're having a good day - feel free to laugh at Carol and I. LOL

Bear in mind that this is all very 'tongue in cheek' - my silliness!

In Friendship!

Yes, I'm definitely late this week; please accept my apologies. Cheryl is off on a much needed get away trip with her hubby so don't tell her that I was lazy. LOL

This is the half way point in the year - wow - where do the days go????

I hope you've been busy this month working on at least one Christmas gift.

It's Summer time and the last thing or person we want to think about is this jolly fat guy. He's very cute however it's JUNE! LOL

It's been 110, 112, 113 degrees (pick a number) in my corner of the world with no rain. Oh, wait yesterday we had 272 drops of rain. That was it!

You're rolling your eyes and thinking "stop nagging me Darlene". LOL

I feel your 'pain' because I feel that I'm nagging myself, too. We'll all be very grateful and appreciative of my nagging in December when we have all our handmade gifts finished and ready to give.

Yes, we will - seriously - we will - I'm not kidding. LOL

The CTTY Train will be pulling into it's next stop on Saturday, June 30th.

I'll be back with Mr Linky so you can add your link to show what you accomplished in June.

You'll be eligible to win Cheryl's incredible prize if you post a link.

Stay cool.

In Friendship!

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

And how can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain from falling down?

How can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go round?

How can you mend a this broken man?

How can a loser ever win?

Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again .

The Bee Gees

Yes, I had my heart broken earlier this week - actually I was crushed. It's really not a big deal but for a few minutes I was a bit devastated. So, rather than dwell on the 'big crush' I got busy. I sorted through my little quilts and started quilting and attaching the binding to the front. I managed to get three ready for the big sew down.

By the way, have I shared with you how much I love straight line quilting? I absolutely love the way straight line quilting looks. Crosshatching, stitching in the stitch, etc, make me sew happy. Simple with wonderful results. :-)

Yesterday we found out that a good friend's daughter is expecting a baby boy 'any day now'. We hadn't seen him in months so it was surprise news. I decided I HAD to make a quilt NOW. LOL I pulled out some charm squares and got busy. It's very simple but it looks a bit 'flat' so I'll share after I do the quilting. Stay tuned.

We survived our time with Eli (8 year old grandson) surrounded by Star Wars action figures, Lego's, etc. There was a trip to Wal Mart, Toys 'R Us, McDonald's, Popsicles, cookies, tropical punch Capri Sun and of course a trip to his favorite eatery the Golden Corral buffet because he gets anything he wants i.e. cotton candy. LOL He told his mom that he really had a fabulous time with his Nana and Papa.

THAT makes my heart smile :-)

Have a terrific day! Thank you for popping by to visit - come again soon.

In Friendship!

No Flitting

Found a Flower

:-)

Depressing sight.

LOL

I learned a very good lesson this week. Last summer Karen at Sew Many Quilts led a red and white charm swap. Initially I missed the deadline :-( but then I noticed a call on Karen's blog for a few more swappers. I left a comment and got in just under the wire. :-)

When the charms arrived I was a little dismayed - 'now what' I thought to myself. The variety of charms was overwhelming to me. I put the Ziploc bags away to think about another day. Annette at Sunshine Yellow immediately made a fabulous quilt and I asked if I could be a copy cat and make one like it. She kindly said yes but my immediate thought was that mine wouldn't be as cute as hers. Silly, I know but real in my mind. LOL

Fast forward to this past Monday - while searching in my closet for something else I came across the Ziploc bags of the red and white charms and tossed them out on my sewing table. The time had come to do something. LOL I went to Annette's blog and looked at her quilt one more time and decided to jump in with both feet.

The pattern is Charming Stars and featured on the Moda Bakeshop blog. I made four blocks and was instantly smitten. Oh my goodness my blocks were looking very cute so my quilt surely would look at cute as Annette's. Wouldn't it?

I spent all day yesterday (Tuesday) making the rest of the blocks (there are a total of 16) and assembling the quilt top all with a huge smile on my face. :-)
I thought I'd have to shop for a border fabric but before I went to bed last night I remembered something I have in my stash and it's going to be perfect.
WooHoo!!!!

The lesson learned - don't discount something just because it overwhelms me or may not immediately appeal to me.

I love, love, love this quilt top.
Maybe it is as cute as Annette's - teehee

Annette, thank you so much for graciously allowing me to be a big old copy cat. :-)

Monday morning before I started playing with the red and white charms I whipped up these two small quilts.
Kathie continues to inspire me to make small quilts - they are so much fun.
25 charms and a background fabric - TA DA!
(approx 21" x 21")

Top one made with Renewal and bottom one made with Lollipop by Moda.
I've been having so much fun. LOL

Probably won't get much more done because Eli (8 year old grandson) is coming to spend a couple of days with his Nana & Papa. That will be tons of fun.

BTW, there's a brand new cone on my pretty cone holder.
:-)

Thanks so much for stopping by - come again soon!

In Friendship!

Hello, here I am shaking my pom-poms and cheering you on to motivate you to continue to work on Christmas gifts or if you haven't started then now is the time. This little club is open to anyone whenever you feel like you want to join in.

I know, I know it's summertime and the last thing you want to think about is CHRISTMAS! I hear you telling me to be quiet. LOL You might be rolling your eyes now but if you make at least one gift a month you'll be patting yourself on the back in December.

All aboard the Christmas Through the Year train!

Next stop June 30 where you'll be eligible to win a sweet something from Cheryl but only if you make at least one gift.

BTW, Cheryl's gift this month is adorable - trust me - I've seen it. :-)

I've been very lazy lately and haven't made as many gifts as I'd like. Sigh!

I'm not stressing - I'm challenging myself to make at least two this month.

How about challenging yourself, as well?

On a side note - Cheryl does fabulous CTTY posts full of tutorials on the first and third Mondays of the month. I've decided that I'm going to post on the second and third Mondays of the month - all I do is shake my pom-poms. LOL

"I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year!"
Charles Dickens

In Friendship!

Schnibbles & Small Quilt Swap

Schnibbles:

I've had a very strong urge to sew, however, I can't seem to settle on a project. I feel like a hummingbird - flitting from charm packs, jelly rolls, layer cakes, fat quarters, pattern, books, etc. What to do, what to do?

I waste so much time - I need an assignment - LOL

Yesterday I rolled out of bed bound and determined to spend some time sewing. I knew I wanted to work on the June Schnibbles project - Leap Year. Cue my inner hummingbird - flit to those charm packs, no wait, maybe I'll use those, hmmmm maybe I'll use those! LOL Finally I grabbed the pattern, two charm packs of Ruby, bolt of Bella and chained myself to my cutting table (this way I couldn't flit - LOL)

I cut and made a handful of blocks, took a break to go to breakfast with my man; once home I got back to work. Wheeeeeee - a finished Leap Year flimsey. :-)

(needs to be pressed with starch and hot iron - sheesh)

Small Quilt Swap:

A couple of months ago I signed up to participate in a Small Quilt Swap through Kris at Dandelion Quilts with a May 31 deadline. I mailed mine off to my partner, Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts and earlier this week I received my small quilt from Chrissy. It's absolutely adorable and will be enjoyed. I love the polka dot binding :-) BTW, you saw the quilt I made for Chrissy last week when I asked for you for your opinion. Thank you Kris and Chrissy for making it a fun swap.

(should have pressed the folds - sheesh)

I'm off to cue my inner hummingbird and do some flitting. LOL

Thanks bunches for stopping by - come back soon.

In Friendship!

Christmas Through the Year

May Winner

First let me say congratulations and thank you to all who made Christmas gifts in the month of May. You're going to be so excited in December when you'll be sitting back sipping hot chocolate.

Cheryl and I truly have enjoyed hosting this little club and hope you've enjoyed it, as well.

A special thanks to Allie for starting this in 2011 and allowing us to continue the fun.

The stocking for May will be headed to Karin at Lovin' Life at the End of the Dirt Road

Here's the towel in all it's glory - LOL

I made this using a tutorial Carol and Cheryl posted on their blogs a few months ago.

Have fun in June and we'll be here shaking our pom-poms to cheer you on

In Friendship!