Simple Blocks...

This weeks Finish it up Friday project is simple...and took me all week! Glad to have something to link up at Amanda Jean's Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday party!

These two matching blocks were purchased as a kit on clearance...with pre-cut pieces, which made it a quick project ...when I was able to get to sew :)

I love the block and how it blends into my office/sewing room color scheme...the binding is even material from my quilt for my desk chair.

The burnt red in the middle is a little out of place...but the blocks are actually part of a bigger quilt kit that are bought in sets at JoAnn's, so they go with rest of that quilt...
I just got them because they were a great looking block, cheap, and I now have the directions for making more :)

This pair is going to be separated, however, one for a friend and one for me. They are a nice mug rug/potholder size.

Adding this post to the great weekend linky parties listed on the right side bar...check them out for great crafting inspiration!

How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God!

therefore the children of men put their trust 

under the shadow of thy wings.

Psalm 36:7

Amanda

Picnic Quilt...

With the beautiful weather we had over the past two week, I had a thought, that a non-time consuming, big blocked quilt would be great for picnics and for snuggling in (on) on the back porch...

So, this quilt came into existence over a period of two days! 

On Thursday morning, I had this pile of different material gathered from around the house :)
- some are old dresses/skirts...
- some are left over flannel pieces...
- some are scraps...
- the back is an old sheet...
- and the batting is an old blanket...the big yellow thing at the bottom of this pile:

I decided that a quick turn quilt would make this an even faster finish...but that caused a few issues and I now think that I'd rather stick to binding!
However, that would have taken more time and we wouldn't have been able to take the Picnic Quilt out on the picnic we had on Friday....which was the last really nice day we've had!

The issue came after I turned the quilt and sewed around the outside...see the pucker at the bottom (in the green plaid)... I'm not sure if is the way I sewed it or if it's because the batting is so thick. I also started to quilt down one section, but stopped before I got all the way across because it was puckering very bad. I decided to stop ...and if it needs tacked together I'll just do some simple x's where the boxes meet.

But, we had a picnic to go on...
so, it was left 'unquilted'... I still really like the it!
It turned out how I wanted [well, except the puckers :)]...big and thick!
Also, it is made for outdoor use so I won't feel so horrified if it gets dirty or stained...well, actually, it was made with stains already there! The backing sheet had a couple and a couple of the clothing pieces....

and We had a great picnic...

And if you look behind the monstrous quilt and playground equipment, you'll see a brick building that was my elementary school [one class room per grade and we had a gym-cafe-atorium :)]...
I played on this play ground from Kindergarten through sixth grade. Well, it was not this particular equipment...the slides and jungle gym were updated after I left. However, a few years ago the school was closed and has recently been sold....so we'll see what happens - it does have to remain a school... from what I've heard throughout my life :)

So the beautiful weather on Friday, turned to rain and cold on Saturday...but we went out to two of the local Maple Syrup farms with our church to give Liz a small idea about maple syrup (we also read the chapter on making maple sugar in Little House in the Big Woods on Friday...)

At Hurry Hill Farms, they have a great museum, where the girls did a couple of crafts...and Liz got to 'tap' a tree. She was being shy about it, so the guy helping her did most of it :)

How was your weekend?

I'll be sharing my quick Picnic Quilt about at some linky parties...be sure to check a few out from my right side bar :)

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, 

and fear Him, and keep His commandments,

 and obey his voice, and ye shall serve Him, 

and cleave unto Him.

Deuteronomy 13:4

I've been saved since I was 5, yet this year is the first time that I am doing a 'read-thru-the-Bible' in a year program. I'll admit that right now, trying to get through Lev., Num., and Deut., was kind of hard, but I am reading some things that remind me that as a child of God, I have responsibilities in serving the Lord...with all my heart - in everything I do!

Amanda

Scrappy Color Wheel Quilt...

This was a great quilt to make...just seemed to take more weeks to finish than I thought it would, but, yes, sometimes life gets in the way of sewing :)

I just LOVE the way my Scrappy Color Wheel Quilt turned out!

Scrappy Color Wheel Quilt for my sewing room wall!

It was made using Rachel's (from Sitiched in Color) Wheel Quilt pattern given to those enrolled in her Curves Class...but here's a link to the pattern if you'd like to buy it and make one for yourself.

My quilt was made almost entirely of scraps...I only cut into a few new FQ's to get the blacks and dark purples I needed..so, I will also be adding this to her Scrap Attack Festival next week! 

My finished quilt is 33" x 33"...the pattern would finish about 40" x 40", but I wanted mine a little smaller for the space where I was hanging it. I did go by the pattern, then just cut it down around the outsides. I also curved the corners, rather than keep them square, to kind of echo the wheel...

My oldest beautiful daughter just turned 4 on Sunday and was excited to get outside and help mommy take pictures...it's a perfect size for her to hold up!

(Liz on her birthday...Amber & Liz on Friday...Amber 'coloring' at Pizza Hut on Friday)

And we got some nice pictures on this beautiful day!

 Love this one! It turned out a great size for a baby play mat :)

 It was a gorgeous day outside!

I like the wheel echo of the quilting on the back. The wheel was just stitch in the ditch on the spokes and then a stippling in the big solid areas to really make the wheel 'pop-out'...and it worked! Also, I kind of combined the patterns...every other spoke was pieced from small scraps, while the other ones were cut in one piece from bigger scraps.

The bottom one of this mosaic is it in it's new home, just above my computer, in my sewing area. I put two eyelets in the upper two corners and hung it on two screws.

** I'll be adding this post to the linky parties as the open for the weekend! Including Amanda Jeans Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts...I wanted to share this LAST Friday...but wasn't able to get it done till this week! I've also included this over at Sew Modern Monday @ Canoe Ridge Creations...Have fun hopping around the different linky parties! **

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ,

and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Moreover it is required in stewards,

that a man be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2

We need to be stewards of the things the Lord has blessed us with. I've noticed that things are going more smoothly around the house with a schedule we have recently started to try and follow...my only problem is that I haven't yet easily transitioned blog post time into it, but I don't want this space that I have been stewarded with to go by the wayside...so I will be trying to find where to fit it in :) I always feel a tug at my heart when I read about being found faithful to the ministry of God.

Amanda

One Year...

Yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, was my One Year Blogiversary! This is the 124th post...I can't believe I've found that much to 'talk' about! Probably because it's a lot easier for me to write something than talk (I hate using the phone...and I was a secretary for years, go figure :)...maybe that's why I hate the phone? )

I want to Thank you all for your visits to my blog and your comments, they all mean a lot to me...all the 5,670 different visitors in the past year (via Google Analytics). I went to find this number and saw that just this Friday (the 16th) I had the most visits ever in one day...239 - that is AWESOME!
Thanks again for stopping by...

I enjoy sharing here and am very grateful to my very loving and understanding husband who listens to me prattle on about sewing things and wishing I had more time to sew...not to mention the time I take to write on the blog. He's so supportive of it :) He does read it and compliments me on my work...isn't he wonderful! Love You Chad!


I do have things in process to blog about, as well as a 'review' about my new sewing machine, that I hope to be able to share with you soon!

Thanks again!

Nevertheless let every one of you in particular 

so love his wife even as himself; 

and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Ephesians 5:33

Both a husband and wife have distinct was of showing affection, this verse gives us a glimpse of how to show our affection to our spouse...something we all can work on more!

Have a great day in the House of the Lord!

Amanda

Ten Bibs...

and they're not for Amber :)

These 10 bibs were made throughout this week to be sent with the Love Without Boundaries 2012 Cleft Exchange Trip to Kaifeng, Henan, China from April 15th through 20th. They will be doing restoration surgeries on babies with cleft lips.


I first learned of this need from Kristy at Hopeful Threads...she's always sharing great charities to sew for! I just really felt like this one was for me to participate in!


Here are the 5 Toddler sized bibs...all the same. Pink-Yellow floral flannel with a thin poka-dot terry cloth backing...

And 5 Infant sized bibs of various flannel prints...

End of last week I began cutting these out...

on Tuesday, I was able to sew the two pieces together and get them turned right side out...

on Wednesday, I began sewing around the outside and figuring out how to put the snaps on...

(took a few tries for the snaps, but I'm glad I used them...so much nicer than Velcro)

on Thursday, I finished sewing around the outsides and packaged them up to be mailed out today!

On the outside stitching I experimented with some of the new stitches on my new machine...here is a close up of some of the fun ones...

I'm really liking the scallop stitch on the middle bib! The top thread was a light yellow, the bobbin thread was the green...worked well!

On a more personal note, we are also experiencing the beautiful weather that everyone else seems to be getting [at least in the States :) ] and so we spent a couple hours outside Thursday evening...

I like a nice walk or a good hike every now and then..... 

even some outdoor activities (occasional camping) are ok, 

but most of the time I would much rather be inside! 

For some reason bugs are drawn to me... mosquitoes mostly. And this time in the great outdoors was no exception...I was covered with clothing, except my hands and face...well, they found my hand - I even felt when the mosquito actually bit me - it hurt :( 

However, the girls just seem to love it outside...I already KNOW Liz does...

Amber seems to be enjoying it quite a bit too...

It was a nice evening!

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest,

and cold and heat, and summer and winter,

and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis 8:22

While fall/autumn is my favorite time of the year...I do enjoy the changing between seasons. The change of many things occur between seasons...but we can be sure and comforted by the fact that God never changes and has created the awesome beauty experienced throughout the changing of the seasons He has ordained...even from the beginning!

Marvel at His terrific handiwork that is nature...

Amanda

***I'll be adding this blog post to Finish It Up Friday with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts

 once the link is provided. Just love seeing something get accomplished each Friday!

 Also, I'll be stopping in on some of the other linky parties listed on the right side bar.***

Tulip Pincushion...

It's Finish it up Friday and Amanda Jean of crazy mom quilts is again hosting the great link party...and I always like trying to do something to be able to post. Today I was thinking about trying to finish up a quilt top (~40"x40") that will eventually hang on the wall of my sewing area. It is the last quilt project for my Curves class, which finished up this week. However...I started to realize that I probably wouldn't get the top done in time today, so I made a pincushion for the new flower pins I bought along with my new sewing machine.

I'll have to let you know more about my new sewing machine once I get more time to play with it...but for now you must know it is sooooo quiet - I LOVE it - and the thread cutter...ooohhhhh, how have I ever lived without it!

But today I did make a pincushion...a nice tulip one to go with my flower pins.

When I first saw this tutorial by Angela at Cut to Pieces, I knew I wanted to make one and which cookie cutter I had to use...I went right to the kitchen and brought it back to the sewing room :) I'm almost certain that I never made cookies with it, and I'm not to fond of making cut out cookies (probably 'cause I made so many when I was in my teens...) so, I knew that as a pincushion it would get more use!

I almost followed directions...but the joy that come from most crafts...the freedom to improvise!

I didn't have the crushed walnut shells or the fun foam...so I used steel wool for the filling and cardboard and some non-slip drawer lining for my bottom.

I think it turned out cute and I love when a craft project is started and finished during the little ones nap time!

Time to go make some taco dip...

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, 

a certain man said unto him,

Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

Luke 9:57

Always a introspective verse...would I be able to say that and mean it wholeheartedly? Would you?

...'whithersoever' Lord...

Do you even know that the Lord is our Saviour, can save us and we can be His children? If not, please take time to read the left side bar of the blog so you can know for sure that you are on your way to Heaven if you were to pass from this life.

Amanda

Mug Rug and Coaster Set...

Today is the last day to join the Modern Mini Challenge at Ellison Lane Quilts... and I'm just going to make the deadline! I cut out tiny little 1.5 squares a couple of weeks ago while working on the Scallop Peel Quilt. They were going to become a Mini Granny Square Pillow to match the new quilt for my office chair.

Well, I decide that I should start sewing them while I wait for my new machine so I quilt the quilt :) They are adorable little squares when put together...but I've never worked with stuff quite that small...and I don't know that I want to make many more at that size :)

Once I had the first square together, I decided to put these into a smaller item for my desk. This is the result...

The mug rug is 9.5" x 7" and the coasters are 4.25" square.

I love the way they turned out...even the little flap on the mug rug - which has a story to it...I was trimming down the granny blocks and thought it be neat to leave the bunting looking edge on one side...so I did. I even figured that the binding of that side would be tricky...and it was...but I proceeded.

However, when I was done, it looked horrible...at least to me... and I debated on what to do. It didn't take long to decide to cut it off and bind it with some other fabric.

Oh, how nice it would be if symmetry was not a issue with me :)

However, that wasn't quite enough, so, I had to do something to make it seem a little different... I don't know why a flap, but I had the scallops left over from working in Curves Class and went with it...now I have a neat little spot for my pen and pencil to rest on my desk! And 'soft' covers for the nice wooden coasters we received for Christmas.

A cute desk set to match my quilt and pillow when they get done!

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation 

hath appeared to all men.

Titus 2:11

God would have that all men be saved, but it is up to us to accept...but His grace is there for all. If you have never found the peace of trusting Jesus as your Saviour and would like to know more about the grace and mercy offered freely to you, please take time to read the left side bar of this blog or feel free to ask me more, I'd love to share with you about the salvation Jesus brings to our lives.

Amanda

Finished by Friday...

So today's Finish it up Friday was a real push for me to get a project done that I first spotted and decided to make on Monday. It took all week to make these :)

On Monday I saw this pin...

and I decided that they would be really nice to make for the girls. However, I chose to make a fewer number of squares and made the squares slightly bigger...yet they still took all week :) even though once worked on, they weren't hard and didn't take a long time...it was just a thing of finding the time!

Tonight, I finally finished this puzzle game thing...still not exactly sure what it is, but I figure that I should make something fun for the girls, they can make up their own games, and I can always use the squares to help in teaching them to count :)

So, I made 20. They were cut at 5" (4.75") from the material...then once finished, they are 3 3/4" square. (Also, different from the tutorial, I sewed up the opening on my machine with a small zigzag stitch...not much for sewing things shut by hand!)

I like the size they turned out and I think that 20 will be plenty to have to try and find throughout the house! The back of five received fun animals...

I think the girls will enjoy :) 

Thanks Amanda Jean for pushing me to get these done! I should be able to link up with a few minutes to spare... I'll also be adding these to some of the other linky parties listed on the right side bar.

Today's fun picture...

She's adorable and getting over her cold, yeah! She loves helping with the laundry and dished...and she's only one! Now, for her to just keep liking to help :)

And let us not be weary in well doing: 

for in due season we shall reap, 

if we faint not.

Galatians 6:9

Some days it doesn't take much for me to get weary and tired, but these are those kind of words that need to be said and repeated. I have known this, probably all my life, but it still need to be refreshed in me that the things we do have a consequence, either good or bad...and even the small things... so sometime we just need to take time to consider the things we do and what we may reap from them.

Amanda