I Like Thursday #204

It's Thursday so it's time to post happy and uplifting topics. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with similar blogs. I have finished the third block from the State Fair Sampler. This one is called Black Hawk County and measure 24.5" square. I'm really enjoying making these blocks. The directions are well written and easy to follow. 

I've been admiring Jeanna's (from Slammin' the Screen Door}cross stitching projects. She makes the cutest projects!  When I was first married, I used to cross stitch all the time. It was before I discovered quilting! I haven't cross stitched in years. I saw this cute little project so I decided to try cross stitching once again. This  project is really small. I hope I get it done in time for Halloween! I hope I remember what to do.

This is the backing I chose for the Schoolhouse Dash quilt. It's more blue in real life. I think it will look great with the blue and pink front. It's a wide backing and measure 108" wide. Keepsake Quilting has the best prices on these wide backs if you're ever interested.

My daughter bought this little speaker for me and I just love it! I can listen to music from my phone and it sounds so much better coming from this speaker. This comes in really handy when I'm sewing away. It can get pretty loud!!

I can't believe it's Labor Day Weekend already. The summer always flies by. Enjoy the holiday weekend! Hope the weather's good!

State Fair Sampler Blocks 1 & 2

I finished the first block in the State Fair Sampler Quilt. The original quilt has a white background but my future daughter-in-law requested a black background. I really love how it's coming it. I feel the solids really pop against that black. The first block is Osceola County and measures 36.5" square. This one took a while. It has lots of points to match and lot of points to not chop off! 

The second block is called Decatur County. It measures 32.5" square. This one was much quicker to make. There are less points and not as many seams to meet up. I'm all set to start working on the next block. I still have to cut it out. There are 36 blocks total. They also get progressively smaller so hopefully, a little quicker too! I have over a year to get this done so I should be fine. (I hope!)

I Like Thursday #203I

Welcome to I Like Thursday where we post happy and uplifting content. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with other blogs. We've been having weird weather lately. The last few days have been nice but before that we had high humidity as well as on and off rain. One evening, the sky looked pink so I took this picture. I'm sure there's a reason why the sky had a pink tint but I just wanted to enjoy the pretty shade.

I'm still working on my Oopsie Daisie Leader and Ender project. I'm always working on a few blocks. I just make them in between my other projects. I think it will make a great quilt when finished. Plus I get to use my stash! I love that!

The Picnic Flowers quilt has had the binding sewn down. All that's left is the label. This is the first label I've made from leftover blocks. It wasn't too hard to make. I drew lines using a water soluble marker and tried to find a nice way to write my name.  It's the only time I use the alphabet on my sewing machine. I have to relearn how to do it every time I make a label. 

I just finished this book and highly recommend it. It's a book about 4 sisters and their families. It's sad, happy and inspiring and you won't be able to put it down!

I hope you have a great weekend. I think we're expecting rain. Big surprise!!

Step 1 State Fair Sampler

I told my son and his fiancee that I would love to make them a quilt for their wedding. It didn't take too long before my future daughter-in-law chose State Fair Sampler. However, she did ask for one change. She wants solid black fabric instead of the white background. It took me a little while but I ordered all the solids I need to make the whole quilt. The quilt measures 96" X 92" and is considered queen size. It really is a beautiful quilt. 

 The directions are well written and easy to follow. It starts with the larger blocks first. This is the beginning of the largest block which measures 36" square. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm using black and not white! I have over a year to make this but I doubt it will take that long. I would like plenty of time to custom quilt it with lots of ruler work. I think I'll be enjoying this one!

Schoolhouse Dash Quilt top

I finished the quilt top for the Schoolhouse Dash Sew Along. I didn't get last week's block instructions. I found a Facebook group that had all the block files available. I still followed the correct order by making Snail Trail first and then 4 Bowtie blocks. I needed those 2 different blocks to complete the top and bottom rows of the quilt. It's nice to have the quilt top done ahead of time! I'm going to find some blue fabric to make a border. I feel it needs a border to make the blue pop even more. No borders are included in the directions.

These are the last blocks I made for the quilt. I had forgotten how quick and easy this block is. It was a great way to end the sew along. 

I Like Thursday #202

It's time for I Like Thursday. A bunch of us bloggers post happy and uplifting content every week. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to find links to more like minded blogs. I just love this little kitty. We've had her for years and sometimes forget to put her outside. We didn't forget this year and she looks as cute as always! I almost want to pat her when I walk by her!

Our garden is doing so much better now. I made some Japanese eggplant tonight and there's more growing. I just stir fried it. I added a little garlic, ginger and soy sauce. It came out pretty good. It's a little more tender than regular eggplant and a little less bitter. We liked it!

We have spotlights over the driveway but it looks like we have a little more going on up there!! I love how they fit that hornet's nest right in the middle of the lights.  I think that nest will be getting sprayed this weekend. I'll be sure to stay indoors when my husband zaps it.

This week's blocks for Schoolhouse Dash is Snail Trail. I think this is such a pretty block. It went fast once you cut all those triangles. There is just one week left in this sew along. I'm already starting to sew the rows together. I feel this quilt top went fast. I have to start thinking about borders. There are none in the directions but I feel it needs one. 

That's been my week. We got a ton of rain yesterday and more may be on the way later today. I'm hoping it doesn't get too bad. Enjoy your weekend!

Two Projects Updated

This block is complete! Pomegranate measures 25.5" square. It needs a good ironing but I'll get to it eventually. I've also been working on School House Dash. It will be ironed very soon! I only have 4 blocks left for School House Dash and 2 blocks left for Carrie Hall's Sampler Quilt. It's nice to be finishing up a few projects. I have a few quilt projects waiting to be worked on!

I sewed on the binding onto Picnic Flowers. It's time to sew it down which I do by hand. It's nice to know television is good for something! I love doing hand work while watching TV. 

We've had an awful morning full of thunderstorms, winds and even possible tornadoes. I stayed home and sewed. It looks like it's getting better out there. Hope so!!

I Like Thursday #201

It's time for I Like Thursday. A bunch of us bloggers try to post happy content once weekly. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more like minded blogs. I'm still working on the Schoolhouse Dash. I think these Ohio Star blocks are the last of the blue colored blocks in the quilt. I have 8 blocks left and they'll all be pink and white. All blocks measure 12.5" square. I chose to make this a scrap quilt. All this fabric is from my stash so it's nice to put it to good use!

These blocks are Bonnie Hunter's leaders and enders project this year. She calls them Oopsie Daisie since they were made by accident from another one of her blocks. I've made 8 blocks so far. I like the way they fit so nicely together. I love using my scraps here too! Let's put that stash to work!

I tutored my student this morning and found this picture being displayed. I had never seen it before. Our library is called Nevins Memorial Library and this is Mr. Nevins! He was quite wealthy in his day. He left all sorts of great buildings all over our town. He and his wife are buried on the grounds of the library.

 Speaking of libraries, I just finished this book and loved it! It's not a romance but the story of a strong female character during Prohibition. The main character is based loosely on a real life person named Willie Carter Sharpe. It was a great story and I couldn't put it down! I love reading about strong women who were supposed to be dependent on men but decided against it and found their own path in life.

It's been a great week for weather. The humidity has been low and not too hot. Just perfect! However, things are about to change as they always do! Have a great weekend!

Picnic Flowers Quilted

I can't believe it's already August! The summer is flying by! I've certainly been keeping myself busy. I finished quilting Picnic Flowers over the weekend. The pantograph quilted 11.5" with each pass. It took about 8 passes to finish quilting. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast this went.

This is a close up of the quilting. I really love the look of Malachite on this fabric. It's similar to topography or some sort of enhanced stippling/meandering. I used So Fine on the top and Bottom Line in the bottom. The tension never became a problem. It was pretty easy.

Here's the backing. It's harder to see the quilting but it looks great in person! I'm getting the binding ready. It's the same floral fabric as seen on the quilt top. It's always a great feeling to get a quilt finished!