Casual Saturday Fun

Today started with my leaping out of bed at 7:32 needing to be at a class at 8 o'clock.  It was an interesting start.  Apparently, Monroe isn't as far away as I thought, because I was on time!

I showed my tree quilt as "show and tell" and got a lot of compliments.  I love that I am learning new techniques!

When I got home, I was inspired to work on something in my sewing room.  I have a lot of projects started, so I thought I should work to finish them.  Makes sense, right?

Well, the first thing was to make pillow cases for throw pillows for the guest room to go with Bird Quilt. (See April 2013, Bird Brained Bizarre).

This is how they turned out!  I am pretty stoked for this guest room to come together completely.  It's going to be SO CUTE!  Right now, I have pillows and new curtains.  The quilt is at the quilter.  It's the little things that make me :)!!!

SAMISH ISLAND

I think Matt and I might have a new favorite place!  We were invited to spend the weekend with our Goode friends in early August at Nathan's family cabin in Samish Island, near the San Juan Islands.  We had a lot of fun, but I think Saben had the most fun!

While we took walks, Saben went fishing.  She really enjoyed finding oyster shells.  She was the happiest medium-sized puppy out there!

We checked out a Whiskey Distillery.  Interesting tidbits learned: A small whiskey barrel costs about $200.00 and they only use it once.  That's crazy! 

We ate this DELICIOUS cheese!

We walked around this little town called Edison.  I loved this pic because of the afghan hanging in the window at the top.  It reminds me of my great grandma, Elma Mydland.  She was a precious little lady.

I just liked the name of this store and the fact that there was a huge nest on it's sign.

 
And, you can't forget to have ice cream!  Yum! 

We also ate a lot of CRAB that weekend.  This is us going to throw out the pots!

 

Beautiful, Washington summer sunset.  Love me some ocean and sun!

August Block

More "hourglass" and "birds in air" blocks sewn together in a different way.  I love how this one really takes on a new look as you spin it!

Whoooohooooo!!!

July Block--The CENTER!!!

This month was so fun!  We took the mosaic stars we made a few months ago and made a border for one.  This will become a center mosaic piece for the entire quilt.  The border is mainly made up of "hourglasses" and "birds in the air".  Different people call them different things.  I am so consumed with learning all of these new blocks and techniques. When I showed it at class, my teacher said it was exquisite!  I was pretty honored to receive such a compliment.

 

At this point, we are so far along that I couldn't resist laying out the blocks I have to see what it's going to look like as it comes together. I am so excited to have us a new, humongous picnic blanket!!!

 

You can DEFINITELY see the light, medium, and dark variations. Quilting is so fun!

More Patriotism

In July, I worked hard to make 3 quilt tops to donate to a unit of soldiers who are being deployed to the Middle East.  I pray that these blankets not only bring comfort to the soldiers, but that God covers them with safety and peace as well.

 

Patriotism in a Quilt

I have been learning the art of quilting this year. It is quite amazing how many designs and methods there are for quilt making! It is customary to follow a pattern when making a fabric mosaic but I like to color outside the lines a bit! This patriotic one, I designed myself, using a few blocks I have learned to do in other quilts.

Apparently, making quilts to donate to wounded soldiers is pretty common in the quilting community. I think that is amazing and such an amazing way to honor our brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms. So, I have been hoping to get a few done this year. My neighborhood quilt shop has a contest, but I am actually donating my quilts to another cause. An old friend has put out a request in the cyber world asking for people to make patriotic quilts for a unit of soldiers who are being deployed in August. These are men and women from my home town and some of them are friends, neighbors and teachers of people I actually know. 

If this is something you would be interested in helping with, please contact me asap! They should be patriotic but not an actual flag and twin-bed sized!

LOG CABIN BLOCKS

Oh my!  These are said to be easy, but personally, I found them to be monotonous!  (Sorry Grandma for making you make me one of these back in 1998!)  I personally like things that come together a little quicker and have the gratification of a finished product a bit sooner.  With these, the cutting AND the sewing took what felt like an eternity!  Thankfully, my mom helped me cut the darks, so I only had to cut 1/2!  She rocks! 

Nonetheless, my quilt block of the month class required us to make them!  36 of them!  At this point, I have 28 done...and 8 more to go.  Once I have them done, the count for the entire quilt will be at...57 done, 7 more!  I feel the end is near!  What an exciting accomplishment!

Just a side note, I am pretty excited that you can see the variation of shade (dark center diamond, lighter corners edges!) when the blocks are laid out together.  When I was looking at them individually, it was hard to see!  Phew!

This is actually what the corners will look like...! Lighter stripe through the centers of the corners!  So cool!