Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Niece Visit

I have a guest on my blog today that is very special to me. She has been coming to visit me every year for four years. She made a quilt out of fabrics from my stash when she was 12. I cut the blocks for her, given her age, she organized them where she wanted them and proceeded to sew them in rows herself. After she picked the border I put it on, quilted and bound it in time for her to take it home. This girl's got talent!

Ella's 1st quilt  2009

The next year she learned to make yo-yo's which have never been brought up again! The last two years she has come alone without her mom. Boy, do we have fun!


Ella and her journal  2012


Ella 2013

Hi! I am excited to be a "guest blogger" for my aunt today! My name is Ella and I visit my aunt and other family in Las Vegas every summer from San Diego. Every year when I come to visit, my aunt helps me with a project that I work on during my stay. My first project was my quilt (as seen above), I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it come together in about one week! I still get lots of use from that quilt. This year I have already finished 11 earbud cases for my friends and I also plan on making two boxy bags before I leave! 




Earbud cases  July 2013

Hope you're having a great week, I am!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Picture Frames

This was fun to make. I finished it last week and I will be quilting it soon, I hope. My niece from the San Diego area will be at my house during the week and her cousins house on weekends for the next two weeks. She will go to work with me and be able to sew in the classroom if she wants. I work Sunday, Monday and Friday this week so we have to figure out a project tomorrow! 


Picture Frames  July 2013

Sparky is always at my feet and today was no exception. He's my darling and he knows it!

Check out my quilt that Zany Quilter quilted this week. Scroll down to find mine. She is pretty busy these days. I can't wait to see it on Tuesday. I have some binding to do on a number of quilts so new photos of completely finished projects coming soon. That's new for me! 

Have a happy!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

More bags... and Yo-Yo's!

These zippy bags aren't really instant gratification, so I don't know what my deal is! They do give me a feeling of accomplishment though. The yo yo's are definitely instant gratification. Making these for a friend that needs them to go on a Christmas quilt. Continuing to make knit dishcloths too. Last night I spent a lot of time ripping out the quilting I did on my Reading with Rover donation quilt. The top looked great but the bottom had eyelashes and bird nests everywhere! I will never quilt three quarters of a quilt without looking at the underside again. So instead of finishing with the ripping I finished some more bags!

detail - Zippy bags
Zippy bags & yo yo's  July 2013


more Zippy bags  July 2013

Zippy bag with Sparky walking by
I was looking for these photos and came across my Mini duffle bag pictures. You know I do have some Mini fabric left. I will see what I can come up with.


Until next time... have happy days!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Bags, Bags and More Bags

Yes, I love to make zipper bags. Here is what I have been working on for the past week. Watching C and M do this at our sew in was educational and motivating. They are multiplying before my eyes! 

Zippy Bags July 2013
Seems like each one I finish is my favorite! They have a long zipper so when it is unzipped you can see everything you have inside. I love mine that I received in early 2013. The black and red plaid is my man bag version of this bag. I have since found some lime trim. I couldn't wait to make the gray and lime bag! No trim on this one. I have about 6 more cut out to assemble. 
 
My favorite Zippy bag.
The black and white stripe is part of the fabric. I didn't add trim as it would interfere with the design. They are supposed to be flowers with leaves but stem and the leaves ended up on the bottom. A friend has already claimed this one so I will be making another one for me. 

The back of my favorite.


Alan and Tiffany's peonies in bloom in Fort Collins. They have these lining both sides of his house. I don't remember these flowers as a child. I wonder if they grow in North Carolina? Why didn't we have some?



These are the ones I wanted to see bloom while I was there. They opened the week after I left. I think these are the ones he told me were no longer available for sale. I guess they are like roses, they keep coming out with new ones every year.

Happy Quilting!