It's finished! My Quilts for Kids quilt is finished! I posted the information about this organization in an earlier post and I'm just now finishing the quilt. They supplied the fabric, I supplied the elbow grease. The quilt measures 38" x 45".

I finish lots of quilt tops, runners, tablecloths, etc., then panic when it comes to quilting the project. Thus.....I have tons of unfinished quilts stored away. The instructions with this organization specifically asked for heavy quilting in order for the quilts to stand up to daily washings. I knew that a simple stitch in the ditch would not be adequate, but what to do? After a long period of procrastination and several prayers, I jumped in with a simple wavy line, sewn diagonally across the quilt from top to bottom. It looked OK...didn't pucker.....looked fine on the back...... Then another line approximately an inch from the first line....and so on.

I'm very pleased with the end result. It looks nice and will hold up for a long time. Here's the back with my label attached. Under the label is a scripture for comfort and healing. May God bless the child that receives this quilt and may they enjoy it in good health!

(And now.....when I get time.....I may actually finish some of those waiting projects!)

Here's another quick and easy project for you. I used a purchased pattern and followed the simple instructions. This pattern is designed specifically for striped material and you can make some beautiful patterns by matching the stripes at the ends of the runner.

Before you decide that you don't want to match the stripes....keep reading. I used to make garments and always stayed away from matching stripes and plaids.....too much work and too many seams to rip out if they didn't match. This pattern, with clear instructions and a 60 degree triangle ruler, makes it super easy to cut exact pieces that will fit together perfectly.




My runner pieces, all cut out and ready to sew together. The 60 degree triangle ruler allows you to cut your fabric pieces without hesitation.




This is a picture of my almost finished table runner. After you sew it together and turn it right side out, you will need to close the opening that you used to pull the fabric to the right side. The pattern recommends closing the opening with a slip stitch but I wanted to get this done a little more quickly. I used a double faced fusible web to iron the opening closed. You can buy this in rolls like tape and they are great for many uses like a quick fix for a loose hem. Of course, I top stitched the opening and all around the runner, knowing this would secure the sides together, especially at the fused area.




The finished runner.




The backside of the runner with my coordinating fabric. You could certainly reverse this runner to get more use out of it. Different seasons, different colors, whatever.

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America,there will be no forgetting September the 11th.We will remember every rescuer who died in honor.We will remember every family that lives in grief.We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls,the funerals of the children.”–George W. Bush (1946- ), 43rd President of the United States.

And then there were three..........

I took a fun and simple class today at my local fabric shop. We made cute little, cosmetic sized, bags that have unlimited uses. I made mine out of some sweet tractor fabric.


This is the bag in a snapped, open position.

The pattern is called Snap Happy! and has directions for three sizes, as well as instructions for making about any custom size that you would like. The fun part is the "snap" part. What do you think makes the purse snap open?

A metal tape measure, cut to fit! You cut your desired length from the tape measure and insert it into the bag casing. You pull on the prairie points on the sides of the bag and.....Voila....it snaps open and closed!

This was a fast project to make and I plan on making several of these for gifts. The possibilities are endless!

"Do you mind.....I'm trying to take a nap."

September's BOM and the first of the new series. There were two colorways to choose from, a bright colorway and a more pastel colorway. By the time I signed up, the bright colorway was already gone so I had no choice but the pastel colors. After seeing the bright colorway finished block for September, I'm really pleased that I'll be working with the the softer colors.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

It's Christmas in September! I started working on a Christmas exchange that needs to be finished by the middle of October. It will be a small winter wall hanging and I'm using paper foundations for the focal blocks. I think it will be about 16"x 20" when finished, but that may change as I work on the project.

Backside of the stars. Not many pieces and pretty simple to make. The block is 3" x 3" (finished).

Star front.

Tree backside. This block is 5" x 6" (finished). More complicated than the star and harder to guesstimate the right size of fabric pieces because of all of the angles. Best tip is to just cut much larger pieces than you think you will need and save yourself lots of time and do-overs. Even though you waste more fabric, it keeps you from pulling your hair out.

Front side of tree. I'm trying to achieve the looks of a snowy, winter night.

I made one of each of these blocks to audition the fabrics to see if I would like the way they turned out. It just saves time to take this extra step to make sure everything will turn out as you envisioned. Fortunately, I'll be able to use these blocks in the final hanging.

Since my BOM blocks were sitting on top of my "to do" pile, I went ahead and set them into what I think will become a tablecloth. The picture isn't great....I had to stand on a chair and kind of guess about the placement. The background is my carpet and it confuses your eye. I sashed the blocks and used cornerstones to make sure that the whole thing was square and accurate. If you don't want your cornerstones to stand out, you can make them out of the same fabric as your sashing. By setting the blocks this way, I could accurately cut my sashing at 12 1/2" x 1 1/2", my cornerstones at 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" and this would ensure that the whole thing was nice and square. If you cut long strips of sashing and simply cut off the excess at the ends, you can have some stretching and distortion, (plus, many of my blocks had bias, stretchy edges). After setting the blocks this way, I felt pretty confident that my border would also be accurate, even though it would be done with long strips with the excess trimmed off. Hmmm......clear as mud?

As I said, this may become a tablecloth. It may also be a lap quilt, I may pipe the edges, I may just add flannel as a batting.....and so forth. It just needs some thought at this point and I will come back to it sometime in the future. Overall, I'm pleased with the results.




Sandy........ I'm thinking about you and sending prayers for your recovery, hoping that you are doing well today. Be tough!

My friend, Sandy, sent this to me several years ago and I just love it. It represents the four of us, high school friends then roommates in college. Two blondes, two brunettes. No, we aren't' goddesses, we're just plain ol' girlfriends that have known each other for many decades.

I hope you can read this poem that is on the back of the card. (Click on the picture for a bigger view) It really sums up the value of friendships. God directs people into our lives and we receive so many blessings from these contacts.

Whether you've been friends for 40 days or 40 years, please take the time to send a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the priceless gift of friendships.