What's Up Wednesday: Missing in Action

My sewing mojo is missing, and I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Idle and lonely

Until it returns, I'll be MIA here on the blog as well.

Maybe a trip to see this guy will help?!

In the meantime, happy stitching to you!!!

Friday Finish: Nine Years Ago

Before blogging it didn't occur to me to photograph the quilts I made.  Since then when the opportunity presented itself, I have tried to document the quilts I made prior to 2009.  Other than charity quilts, only two quilts remain unphotographed...until today....now there is just one (hint, hint Michelle).

One of my first quilts made

Several days ago I was given back this quilt to repair the label.   I made this quilt nine years ago for my beautiful mother-in-law's 65th birthday.  It was one of the first quilts I made (one of three rail-fence quilts made as gifts), and I haven't seen it in at least six years.

65th birthday quilt

It is bittersweet that I share these quilt pictures with you today, as today happens to be the sixth year anniversary of my mother-in-law's (Mami) passing.  She is missed every single day by her family.  Mami was a gentle, sweet soul who treated me like a daughter.  (She often referred to me affectionately as her blonde-haired daughter when introducing me to her friends.)  I am blessed to have known her, and I regret not telling her more often how much I love her and how wonderful she is.  You can never say those words too much, can you?

well loved and used

This is the one and only quilt I made for her and my quilting skills were definitely not up to par back then.  However, I know she loved and used this quilt because it is super soft and has more than one stain!  She kept it on her bedroom recliner and snuggled underneath when watching TV.

unraveled stitches

I only have this quilt long enough to reattach the label and restitch a line of quilting that came loose.  I have to give it up tomorrow (unless maybe my father-in-law doesn't mention it and neither do I!), but I took this opportunity to take a few pictures while it is in my possession.

partial label

The original label is quite large with three family photographs along with birthday sentiments.  This isn't the best picture, but I want to give you a glimpse of Mami's gorgeous smile.

Mami loved the color blue

I am not linking up with Amanda's finish it Friday since this is not a recent finish, but click on the link to see some wonderful finishes.

Have a wonderful Friday!  Thanks for stopping by,

What's Up Wednesday: Mini projects

I began quilting my sister's quilt and am using Aurifil thread for the first time.  So far I am loving the results.  I have to say however that I am a little disappointed that the Aurifil hasn't magically transformed me into a free motion quilting genius.  I guess only practice can do that.

FMQing

I played around with stamping on fabric and dusted off my scrapbooking supplies to make this mini quilt top.

Life is Sweet!

The cupcake block was made in my QuiltCon paper pieced class with Penny.  I stamped the words Life is sweet! on cream fabric and attached to the quilt top with flower eyelets.  My iron had issues with spitting which accounts for that damp spot you see.

never ending project

I made progress on my Cowboy/Cowgirl quilt that I WILL finish by this summer.

paper piecing

More paper piecing blocks by Penny.  I started this asterisk block and became discouraged when I sewed my fabric backwards.  I found this Carol Doak YouTube video with a solution to this oops  AFTER I had ripped apart my block.

scrappy chevron block

 Our guild's block of the month for May is a scrappy chevron block.  The tutorial for this block can be found here at In Color Order.

AAQI

Last Wednesday members of the OrlandoMQG made mini quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  What a talented and generous group we have!

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!  Thanks for stopping by,

Friday Finish: Quick Change Trousers

I finished these adorable pants last night, and I have to say they are the cutest thing ever!!!!!

the back side

The pattern is from Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby.  I have had this book for a while and wish it hadn't taken me so long before making this first pair.  I was intimidated by the sewing pattern, but I shouldn't have been because this project was so simple and quick to make.

the front

 I discovered last night that I had every width of elastic except the 1/2" called for in the pattern.  I will run out and purchase that today, but I was too excited to wait before taking pictures of the pants.  I just had to share them on the blog today! 

cell phone photo

The trousers are reversible and I made one side with all Architextures fabric by Carolyn Friedlander.  I just love this ledger fabric!  It reminds me of my former CPA days and wanted my grandson to have a little bit of that in the first clothing I make for him.  

reversible front side

I wasn't sure if MY son would let HIS son wear graph-paper pants, so I made the reversible side more subdued.  The pants fabric used is still Architextures but only the cuffs show the ledger print.  

reversible back side

I used fabric from the Type collection by Julia Rothman for the back yoke which I think is just adorable here!  I sure wish I had pictures with the cute little guy these pants are destined for, but I plan to visit him soon.  No doubt I will take one or two pictures of him wearing the pants then! 

Linking up with Amanda's finish it Friday.

Happy Friday and happy stitching!!!

Spring Break Goodies

Last week my daughter was on spring break (why can't schools coordinate their spring breaks?!) so we headed to Montana skiing.  Guess I was having withdrawals from sewing (this is the explanation I'm going with) which led to purchases of sewing supplies.

I had to - it was on sale!

It all started with Sew, Mama Sew's $6 sale.  I stocked up on a few favorites and a few new-to-me fabrics such as this Anna Maria Horner voile.  I figured since I actually managed to make some 3-D items (that I never thought I could make), I might one day try my hand at sewing clothes.

My first purchases of Liberty of London

While I was on Sew, Mama Sew's website I treated myself to some Liberty of London (NOT on sale) to see what all the fuss is about.  These blues will make a great addition to the Marmalade quilt, don't you think?  The top fabric is my favorite so far.

new quilting books

Two books I have been excited to receive - A Quilting Life by Sherri (who signed my book with the sweetest note) and Patchwork Please! by Ayumi were waiting for me when I got home.  A very nice Easter gift to myself.

fun fabric

Did you notice my fabric additions are neatly folded on comic book boards?  This last batch is Mod Century by Jenn Ski for Moda.  I gave my mom charm packs of this line to make her peace quilt.  I fell in love with the fabric when I saw the yardage at Main Street Quilting last week and bought a bunch to make my grandson a quilt.  

I guess I better get busy sewing!  Thanks for stopping by,

Mini Monday: Challenges

I never showed the {entire} mini quilt I made in my QuiltCon class with Lizzy House.

The process

One good reason for that is I haven't taken a picture of the entire quilt.  As I mentioned in this post, my mini quilt didn't turn out as I had envisioned but hoped to learn from my mistakes and make an improved version.   

Close up 

Our OrlandoMQG has issued another AAQI challenge.  Here's my chance to remake the mini quilt I attempted in Lizzy's class.  I am working on it now.  Stay tuned ;-)

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy stitching,