Annie's Market Bag Summer Adventure

What's in your bag?

With plastics making their way out of our lives...

Having a fun tote bag to take to your grocery store is going to be a must.

Annie's facebook group is helping us along with this quick and easy, free pattern.

Turn your 5" squares into a fun tote for anywhere.

I've had this tin of "Nantucket" squares on my shelf for years...

just waiting for the perfect inspiration!

 I love my bag...

It's a great size for groceries. The handles fit nicely over the store racks, 

that hold their plastic bags, making it easy to load them up.

but...

I'd be crazy to not tell you my favorite use for it, 

is just for taking my relaxing supplies with me!

Care to join me by the car pond???

Join the Facebook group HERE

for your free pattern, make up your bag, and come on over!

:-)

There is always a cold somethin' on hand for ya.

#marketbagadventures

til next time...

Keep on Stitchin'

Artsy Fartsy Challenge with Island Batik and Aurifil Thread

I have to admit, when I saw the title of this months challenge,

I got quite a laugh out of it.

Being that I raised a house full of boys...the word "Fartsy",

 would have brought out hours of giggles and inappropriate conversations.

Oh, those were the days, one minute they were driving you crazy and the next,

they are all grown up. How I'd love to hear "Fartsy" chatter again!

Getting back on subject here...

I'm going "Artsy Fartsy" this month with

and

:-)

These challenges usually make me think on them a bit...

But this time, I knew exactly what I was going to use anyway.

Do you remember awhile back, I made "scrap" fabric cloth?

I shared that adventure HERE during the "Quilt Qwazy Queens" blog hop, 

celebrating International Quilting Day, in March.

Yes, I get a little crazy with those leftover bits and pieces of

"Island Batik" fabrics!

        

But it's a great way to recycle and reuse, as well as using up

leftover bobbins and bits of thread.

I use any weight thread that I can make run through my machine or bobbin.

The different weights, add so much to the texture of things.

After trimming up my piece I adhered it Timtex.

 Lining on one side and my scrap fabric cloth on the other.

I cut it into 4,  5" wide pieces.

It seemed like such a great idea in my head...

but I got carried away with the thickness when making the scrap fabric...

and on top of Timtex...

Well, I didn't think that one through!

:-O

With a ton of patience and a denim needle in my machine, 

I was able to stitch through 2 layers and attach a binding, that later was 

hand stitched down, to finish it off.

You have to be wondering, just what the heck I am up to????

It's a scrap fabric vase.

Pretty Artsy Fartsy, I'd say!

Having "Aurifil" cotton floss, a curved needle and a pair of needle nose pliers,

was invaluable for attaching the bottom.

Every good vase needs flowers.

These "Island Batik" fabric flowers were just the ticket.

If your needing a fabric flower fix...

I found this quick and easy tutorial, on "Pinterest"

HERE

Yep...I'm loving this "Artsy Fartsy" challenge.

A big thanks to "Aurifil" for sponsoring us this month.

Your threads of many colors and weights are perfect for any project you stitch.

...even a vase

;-)

If you want a good laugh...google the meaning of Artsy Fartsy.

I do believe I might just "resemble" one of two of those meanings!

HAHAHAHAHA

I'm really enjoying this months challenge

and it isn't the only project I've done for the month...

Check back in a few days!

(If your not too scared, that is)

tee hee hee hee

til next time...

Keep on Stitchin'

Quilts of Valor Blog Hop with Island Batik

We are sharing "Quilts of Valor" projects, with the new

 "Freedom" line of fabric from "Island Batik"

What better day for me to share...

than on the 4th of July!

These beautiful patriotic fabrics, are perfect for any patriotic or "QOV" project.

I used this 10" square "Stack"for my project...

...that I named

"Letters of Gratitude"

When I saw the pattern, I immediately saw envelopes.

 What better way to thank a Veteran,

than by sending him or her letters, expressing how much we appreciate the 

sacrifices they made, to keep our nation safe.

Turning those letters into a quilt to be donated to a deserving Veteran,

 was icing on the cake!

The pattern is actually called "Rocky Road",

and is the cover of this fun book.

I "customized" it by adding rows of red white and blue stripes as well as 

an applique row.

This made me smile, when I advanced the quilt on my longarm.

Yes, we are very fortunate to live in this nation, thanks to all our Veterans.

A big thanks to 

And a big shout out to Jennifer, our favorite "Dizzy Quilter" at

dizzyquilter.com

She took on the challenge of organizing this hop and keeping us all in line.

That is no small task on a good day.

LOL!!

Thanks Jennifer, you rock!

If you want more information on "Perfect 10 Quilts"

you can find it

HERE

This quilt is being donated to the "Quilts of Valor" foundation.

I know it will find it's way to a very deserving "Vet".

Make sure you visit my fellow ambassadors and see their 

beautiful "QOV" quilts.

July 1
Becca Fenstermaker — Pretty Piney

Denise Looney — For the Love of Geese

Gail Sheppard — Quilting Gail
July 2
Pamela Boatright — Pamela Quilts
Anne Wiens — Sweetgrass Designs
July 3
Bea Lee —Bea Quilter
Carla Henton — Creatin’ In the Sticks\

July 4
Emily Leachman — The Darling Dogwood
Joan Kawano — MooseStash Quilting
Jen Strauser – Dizzy Quilter
July 5
Steph Jacobson — Steph Jacobsen Designs

Leah Malasky — Quilted Delights

Anja Clyke — Anja Quilts
Maryellen McAuliffe — Mary Mack Made Mine

Take a moment to thank a Veteran today yourself!
;-)

til next time...

Keep on Stitchin'

A Time For All Seasons-July

This is the official half way point, of our BOM.

Whew...time flies!

Ohhhh...Carla has treated us to some fun blocks for the month.

As we are a USA based group, we are waving our flag in celebration 

of our Independence Day, July 4th.

(If your not from the US, this fun block would look fabulous,

 in any of your favorite colors)

What's Americans favorite "4th of July" picnic food?

Carla, nailed it with this adorable block, don't you think?

I'm searching for that perfect watermelon for next week, myself!

LOL!!

You can download these blocks "Free" for the month of July, only

at "Creatin' in the Sticks"

HERE

After that, they will be available for a small fee.

This is how our BOM is shaping up...

I'm just loving it!

Don't forget to share your blocks on our Facebook page

HERE

We have sponsors who are providing fabulous monthly prizes.

Here is the schedule for this year...

February

Sew Incredibly Crazy

March 

Just Let Me Quilt

April

Creatin' in the Sticks

April Bonus

Creatin' in the Sticks

May

Moosestash Quilting

May Bonus 

MooseStashQuilting

June

Just Let Me Quilt

July

Creatin' in the Sticks

August

Sew Incredibly Crazy

September

Moosestash Quilting

October

Creatin' in the Sticks

November

Moosestash Quilting

December

Just Let Me Quilt

January

Sew Incredibly Crazy

til next time...
Keep on Stitchin'

QAYG Made Modern

 "We’re shining a spotlight on some of our best sellers of all time,

 and this one made me think of you"

That was the happy mail I received from C&T Publishing, the other day.

They asked if I would review the book and do a project to share on my blog.

It just made my toes tingle and only took me 

all of 2 seconds to respond...yes, yes...of course I would!

I love QAYG projects. They are a great way to use up all those batting scraps,

 that tend to build up over time. 

Interestingly enough, this was another QAYG technique that I hadn't personally

tried out myself and I love learning new things.

I found this layer cake friendly project "Ballard Blocks", really spoke to me. 

I don't work with "Modern" fabrics much, but I've got some fun things in my stash, 

that I knew would work great.

The choices were tough...

There were all these fun food/snack fabrics...

 Or my treasured collection of what I like to call, the

"Naked Boys" from "Alexander Henry" fabrics.

LOL!!

Or this fun fat quarter stack of Parisian fabrics...

Decisions, decisions

????

Then, I stumbled on one of my all time favorites

Coffee!!!

Yep, that was it! It had to be a coffee quilt.

I had a panel print with 12 designs on it.

They were not 10" squares...

But, guess what...

This book teaches you how to build out your blocks right on your batting.

Heck ya, you can easily combine techniques from this book.

Adding a little sashing is easy, but they go into piecing 

different blocks, including a star block, too.

With the help of coordinating prints and a fun border...

This is my new crazy and highly caffeinated  QAYG quilt.

:-)

A perfect addition to my kitchen theme.

Sew... what do you think?

If you want to try some fun new QAYG techniques

you can find more on this book...

HERE

A big thanks to C&T Publishing for thinking of me.

This was a really fun, way to play!

til next time...

Keep on Stitchin'