Where Has This Past Week Gone?

Where has this week gone?  I did get my Jelly Roll Quilt Along block finished and I really like this one:

My daughter and SIL came for a day on Thursday.  We went out on the pontoon, all went swimming in the middle of the lake and then had dinner on the deck.  I've been waiting years for days like this with her.

Then sweet Jordyn came to spend the day on Friday.  We had so much fun going for a walk, reading books and playing with the Tupperware picnic set.

Her Mommy was helping her sister get ready for the high school graduation party for her twin cousins and for some reason didn't need Jordyn's help.

Then we had house guests again on Saturday because of three graduations in the family, so that required emptying the sewing room again.  I did finish the quilt I started at the retreat.  The lovely V brought along her AccuQuilt and I cut out this tumbler quilt in no time:

The colors are more appealing than they appear in this photo.  I quilted it with lines one-quarter inch outside each seam which left it really soft and bound it today.  I think it's for another sweet grand-niece that just turned one.

The fabric is Windham Mambo by Rosemarie Lavin that I got from Marianne when she quilted my Old Red Barn quilt along quilt. The binding is Amy Butler Love Sunspots that I had in my stash and the backing is a polka dot that I also had in my stash from the Cherish line.

My Two Girls!

My girl is back in Minnesota!! Yipee!!

She lives within walking distance of my other girl:

Audrey's mom took this photo on Monday and I had to share:

Oh, now I remember ~ I was suppose to talk about quilting ~ sorry!

Weekend retreat was a blast! I don't remember laughing so much in a long time.  Authentic Merry-Go-Round came back from the LAQ (she did a wonderful job) and I put the binding on at the retreat.  It's all finished!!

 I'm very happy with how this quilt turned out.  It's 67" X 72".

Almost Retreat Time!!

I'm not as prepared as I had planned to be.  We had unexpected house guests for two days.  You know what that means - completely packing up every piece of fabric, every pattern, every notion, the sewing machine, serger etc.

That can slow down a girl's progress.

On the sweet side, Audrey came over to meet the guests:

She just had her two month check up and already weighs eleven pounds!

She is sleeping up to seven hours at night too.

My one finish is my charity quilt for the Bumble Bean Basics Quilt Gather:

 It's all backed, quilted, bound and washed to crinkly goodness.

In the envelope ready to be mailed off to NYC tomorrow! Maybe you want to make one - lots of great sponsors putting great prizes up for grabs.  Go to the Bumble Bean Basics blog to get all the information.

Did you know I posted over at Stash Manicure today?

Check it out here!

And because I also hate posts without a photo.

Here is a question for you:  Would you pay 29 cents for 250 yards of thread?

Found in my sister's MIL's sewing things.  I wonder how old it is?  It's an almost full spool.

Miscellaneous

First - notice the blog layout change.  I was afraid to mess with it and screw it up, so I left everything alone for a long time.  I could stand it no longer, asked my friend V for advice and she sent me one long sentence of tips... and it worked!!

So much better and easier to read.

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Finished my eighth Jelly Roll Quilt Along block:

I didn't follow the direction exactly but like the block.

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My sister got a new Ipad and I surprised her with a new case:

It is perfect for her!

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Audrey came to visit:

Mommy and Daddy said she needed a sun bonnet, so:

And DIL needed a Boppy cover for a baby shower gift:

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Then another sweet grand niece tested my new quilts softness:

Pillow Talk Swap

This Pillow Talk Swap #3 just sounded like so much fun and a one time deal so I joined in (for this round anyway)!

Who wouldn't like a grand new pillow to brighten up their home?

So we get a little info about our partner as to their likes, but we never know who our partner is going to be.

This is what I put together and am sending off to my partner:

Just 169 1 1/2 inch squares of the new Pure by Sweetwater (which I happened to get at Quilt Market) for a 20 inch pillow.

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And for some reason today I could get the correct color and show the quilting on my Hope Valley quilt, so you have to look at it again:

 

Two Big Finishes!

For me anyway!  I think they're big finishes!

First, I finished my first wool project.  Wool is now my newest addiction, but has NOT surpassed quilting and fabric yet.

This is "Springtime Garden" by Cath's Pennies Designs.  The pattern and the pastel hand dyed wool was purchased from her.  She does fabulous work.  I felted (fulled) my own black and white from my newly acquired (large -another story) wool stash.

Lots of stitching that I mostly did on our road trip to Arizona and Texas.  It just took a while to pick it back up since we've been home.

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And,

I finished quilting and binding my Bricks and Stones (Red Pepper Quilts) Hope Valley quilt!

I did some cross hatch, double line, zig zag and stitch in the ditch.

 The back is Kona Coal:

The binding is the Hope Valley gray stripe cut on bias.

So happy with this quilt - not sure I can give it away!