A little bit organized

Yesterday I decided to sort through my scraps that were sitting next to my sewing machine.  You see, my machine is in the living room because the basement is just too dark and I wasn't sewing.  The hubs thinks quilting helps with my depression so he moved my best friend upstairs and wa la!  I've been sewing since.  So, anyway, the scraps and mess I make are very visible and very much in the way.  I decided to clean it up a little and I think I ended up sorting through just about all the fabric I own.  That took a lot of trips up and down the stairs but I now have a very tidy corner in the basement of all my fabric, magazines, supplies, etc.  Last week the basement flooded and I learned my lesson so now it is no longer in boxes or on the floor!  

This is what it looked like about 2hours in.  The laundry basket on the floor and two bags in front of it are all small scraps divided by color.  I hope to make a few string quilts and maybe some coin quilts out of and maybe some other scrap quilts I've seen out of all those scraps!

Saturday we went to my nephews graduation in Omaha.  It's always fun to see family and friends.  I haven't seen his mother in years.  Even though his parents are divorced, they did an awesome job of raising him together!  This is Aaron's t-shirt quilt.  He was very involved in band and drama.  In the top row is an Orange Bowl shirt because his band performed at halftime that year.

wasn't it nice of my brother to dress to match the quilt?

Aaron's grandmother also made him a quilt.  When I heard she was going to I told Aaron that he just needed to let her make one and I would do something different.  He told me no!  He'd been saving t-shirts so I could make him a quilt and his grandma was going to do something different anyway.  Here's what she did!

29 pictures of Aaron through the last 17.5 years!  Wow!  This had to be sooo much work but it's beautiful.  Did you notice it's hanging out the window?  That's cuz it's 10ft long!  It's hard to see but the upper left of the middle section of the quilt is a picture of Aaron and my mom.  She died 11yrs ago when Aaron was 6.  How special to include her!

Tonight I've been working on my log cabin quilt.  I'm so close to joining my blocks I can almost taste it!  I'll finish the last of the blocks tomorrow and hopefully have a quilt top tomorrow or Wednesday so stay tuned!

Until next time!

A new American Idol!

Scotty wins!  I was going for Lauren but oh well, they both have a huge career in front of them.  I managed to sew and iron during the commercial and actually got a lot done.  Sorry no pics for today!  I'm hoping to get Aaron's quilt back from the quilter early tomorrow so I can get the binding done.  She got behind due to a funeral so I'm gonna have to hurry.  I think I might machine stitch it to the front and the back this time.  I alway hand stitch my binding to the back but since I need to have this ready to present Saturday AM I might need to try something new!

Until next time friends!

Some new quilt blocks and a catcher

I've been enjoying quite a bit of sewing time lately.  I started a new quilt for me that didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.  I put it away for now but I have a plan.  I think I'll add some more white and then it'll be better.  Right now its just too busy!

I started a new commissioned quilt.  It was actually commissioned quite a while ago but then my friend lost his job.  Things are looking up for him so the quilt is back on!  It's a Log Cabin with a Barn

Raising layout.  We chose cream, blue and green.  I'm using Eleanor Burn's quit in a day and even though its taking a lot longer than a day, I love the technique!  Here's a sneak peak of "The Good Life"

We had a very busy Thursday thru Sunday with softball.  When Caitlyn started on this team last year she was supposed to be a catcher but was never given the chance.  They finally put her in for the double header on Thursday and she did AWESOME!  So awesome in fact, they put in her in for the first two tournament games on Saturday!  She had some great base hits and a great catch in left field (the 3rd game of the day Saturday).  They didn't place in the tournament but they did well and finally started hitting the ball!

That's my Caitlyn!

Today was somewhat of an exciting day.  E got a state writing award which only 3 students in her school got!  She's not into sports like her sister but she's sure a smartie!  I also got a job today!  I will be an ER nurse as soon as I pass my boards.  Yay for happy days!

Until next time friends!

Happy Tuesday to You!

Here's Brett's graduation quilt and a rare picture of me

I love being someplace and having people admire my quilts (i.e. graduation receptions) it just makes it so worth it.  Memorial day weekend is the last of the graduations for this year so I'll show Aaron's quilt after that.

I started a new quilt with some fabric I bought at, where else?, Joann's.  LOVE the fabric, hate what I did with it.  I think I can still salvage the quilt if I make some new blocks but I must say I think this is the first quilt (actually blocks waiting to be a quilt) that I haven't liked - enough to put it away until I found a fix.  Oh well, we'll see where it goes.  Tomorrow I start a queen sized log cabin quilt, it should be pretty.

Until Next Time!

Where have I been?

Wow!  I can't believe its been so long.  Life has really gotten in the way of my quilting.  I finally finished nursing school and now I'm job hunting.  The kids are keeping me busy with all their activities too.  After a bout with depression this winter, I'm FINALLY quilting again!  Two nephews and one niece are graduating from highschool so most of my time has been dedicated to making their quilts.

This is Tayler's quilt.  She didn't want a t-shirt quilt because she wasn't really involved in much and doesn't like her school.  Instead, I made this to match her personality.  The back is a red bandana fabric which I also used for the binding.  Since I love scrap quilts, this one turned out spledidly!  My quilter was on the mend from her 2nd knee replacement so I had to find someone else.  Her prices were A LOT higher and I'm not so sure I'm in love her quilting style, but she came to my rescue and got this done on time for Tayler's graduation so I am thankful for that!

This quilt was a request from a friend.  She is using it as a raffle quilt to raise money for her local Republican Party.  I had a really hard time getting this one done thanks to that awful winter depression but I finally finished it.  I ordered the stars from Keepsake Quilting a few years ago and added fabric I had on hand along with the beautiful red and patriotic blue fabrics I found at Joann's.  My quilter did a wonderful job quilting it and made the stars stand out.  I'm happy with the end result! (unfortunately I think this pic was before it was quilted.  I really need to take the process pledge and take pics as I go!)

The 3rd quilt (also the 2nd graduation quilt) is in the dryer as I type so I'll post pics of that one next.

Until next time!