Monthly Archives: June 2016

How to Create a Simple Pattern from a Garment

I want to share a quick project that I did last week. It isn’t a full-fledged tutorial, but I did take some pictures to give you an idea of how I went about making a new nightgown by tracing my old one.

I have a favorite nightgown that I bought some time ago at a very, very expensive store. You might have heard of it, Target?? I have worn it for at least four or five summers and it is worse than ragged. It is the kind of nightgown that I would be afraid to wear in a hotel because if there was a fire in the middle of the night and I had to run to the parking lot in my pajamas, it would be a very embarrassing experience. See…. it is awful.

If you look carefully, you can see that I had to tie little knots in the straps because they were so stretched out that it became a bit indecent. (I kind of can’t believe I am showing my worn out pj’s but it’s all for the greater good, right?) Anyway, I really liked this nightgown because it was so comfy.

Several weeks ago, I found a piece of lightweight knit at the fabric/thrift store in our town. It was a bargain. Maybe 2.5 yards long and 60″ wide so I knew I could get a nightgown out of it and, if I screwed up the pattern, I would probably have enough to try again.

What I did was basically fold the existing nightgown and trace the front and back sections on to the new fabric. The hardest part of this was that the new fabric is basically the same as the original and it was kind of hard to see (and worse to photograph) what I was doing. Also, the old nightgown was worn and the fabric stretched, making it difficult to work with.

For the front piece, I folded the front of the nightgown, wrong sides together, exactly in half (as close to exact as one can fold an old, stretched out piece of knit fabric.)

Then I laid out the new fabric. (See how close the colors are?) A quick aside to explain something; when I cut lengths fabric, I use the dining room table. I put my largest cutting mats down end to end first, so I don’t scratch anything. It also gives me the choice of using scissors or a rotary cutter. Ok – next, I placed the folded nightgown along the folded edge of the fabric and I traced it with a Clover Chaco-Liner pen. It was tricky because I only have white chalk markers and it was very hard to see on the pale pink. Once I traced it, I used scissors to cut it out.

I repeated the same steps for the back of the nightgown. Once it was cut out, I opened the pieces and placed them on top of the existing nightgown to see if they were cut to the right shape and size.

I know it is hard to see but if you look, you’ll notice that the new piece (underneath the old nightgown) is too wide. So I had to do some trimming. After that it was so quick. I pinned front to back, right sides together, and matching the stripes as best I could.

If you aren’t experienced with knit fabrics, you need to know that sewing on knits requires a ballpoint needle. They work best with knits and you won’t experience those annoying skipped stitches that often happen if you sew knits with sharps.

Once the front and back were sewn together, I cut some strips to use to finish the neckline and armhole edges and create straps. Knit fabrics when cut, curl at the edges but a quick spray with some spray starch and a little pressing took care of that. I cut two inch strips. Then I folded one long edge over 1/2″ and pressed it.

Stitching the facing strips (right sides together) to the neckline was quick. I started at the outer edge on the front, continued along the underarm edge, across the back and along the other underarm, stopping at the other edge of the front of the neckline. (This means I finished both armholes and the back of the neckline.) After pressing the seam, I folded it over, to the inside, and pressed under the raw edge. Finally, I top-stitched the whole length. For whatever reason, I failed to take any pictures of this part of the process. The straps were formed by taking a long piece and pressing it like I did the first piece. It was used to face the front neckline and it continued beyond the neckline to make straps.

Once that was all top-stitched, I stitched the straps to the outer edges of the neckline on the back. Does that even make sense?? It would if I had taken pictures, darn it.

Here is the final result alongside the original. Not bad, right?

I think it is kind of funny that the fabrics are so similar. That wasn’t intended but the fabric was a great price and the knit felt really nice.
This is the first time I have attempted to use an existing garment as a pattern. It worked well but as always, I learned a few things. The next time I do this I will:

Trace the garment on paper for use as a pattern. That way, I will be able to check the size and proportion before I have cut any fabric. As an added bonus, if the results are good, I have the paper pattern to use again and again.
For this garment, I would have made the bias strips for facing it a bit narrower. The resulting neckline finish is a bit wider than I like.

Update: Once I had the nightgown finished, I decided to add a bit of trim to the neckline to give it some shape. The cotton lace trim is not a knit so it acts to prevent any stretch at the neck. I like the look of it but of course, if I had added it before facing the neck, it would have a more finished look.

Another source of instruction on cutting a pattern from a garment is this video produced by Muv at Lizzielenard-vintagesewing.com. It is really helpful and gave me a good start. I look forward to giving this another try!

Linking to lots of fun places. Check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

A Few Things to Love About Maine

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We are winding up our summer vacation in Maine. The boys left yesterday so they could be ready to get back to their work routines on Monday. We stayed for another couple of days and fly back tomorrow. I feel like we got a good taste of Maine while we were here. We saw a great deal of the southern coastline, spent time in Portland which was very pretty and today we walked Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport. Luckily we took our walk nice and early before the traffic got to be an issue. While walking the coastal road in Kennebunkport we passed St. Anne’s Chapel. It was just breathtaking. (We also saw the Bush compound which was pretty, but not as much as the Chapel.)

Tonight we plan to finish up the trip seeing the Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory. Julia and I feel this is an appropriate choice considering we are on a beach vacation.

While we made our way up and down the costal highways I noticed a couple of things that one doesn’t see in California.

First of all, there are many road signs along the highway advertising what are fairly small businesses at the upcoming exits. We saw signs for little antique shops, one sign that advertised ‘used bookshop, next exit’, tons of signs advertising small art studios (especially pottery studios) along the way. California is huge and even when touring back roads and smaller towns, one doesn’t find signs like these. It felt welcoming to me – more personal.
Several times as we drove through neighborhoods, we saw signs that said ‘Deaf Person Area’ and one that said ‘Autism Child Area’. This was really interesting. I haven’t ever seen signs like this anywhere else. It certainly makes sense to let drivers know. (Do any of you have this sort of signage in your area?)
Another difference with highway travel here, as compared to California, is that the signs on the highway showed the distance to the next exit in miles and kilometers. No need for that on the west coast as we don’t really know what a kilometer equals in distance. ?
A warning sign for ‘Moose Crossing’ made me smile. I only saw the one and I was driving at the time so I didn’t get a picture of it. I wish a moose would have peeked out from the trees though. That would have been a treat.
Driving along the highway, some speed limit signs showed both the maximum limit and a minimum. That struck me as odd. ‘Speed limit of 70 mph and minimum speed of 45 mph.’
There were a few times that we drove through areas where road work was being done. In California there would be a bajillion orange cones delineating the work area, starting far from the actual work area. When one approaches the area, there would be guys managing the traffic with walkies, letting cars go through very systematically. It b comes such a production. Much the opposite here, there might be a sign saying road work ahead with a few cones nearby. It seemed so loosely managed (and maybe not quite as safe?) Where California goes overboard, the road work areas in Maine might be too far to the other extreme.

During our travels I had the good fortune to visit a couple of quilt shops. The personality of one shop was quite different from the next. I mentioned the Portsmouth Quilt shop in last week’s post. After that, I went to Whipper Snappers in Hallowell, Maine with my quilty friend Mari but I still haven’t taken pictures of the treasures that I picked up there so I will save that for another post. The third shop was called Attic Heirlooms, located in Damariscotta. This shop was exquisite. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the owner and the woman she worked with. The emphasis was wool; for quilting, needle punch, knitting, felting, and embroidery. With regard to quilting, her expertise is with appliqué. She dyes quite a bit of the wool and felts it before putting it in the shop for sale.

Did you notice the ceiling? It was so pretty. Also, that amazing selection of buttons. Yikes! I have not done any qulting with wool before but I felt like something with an Americana look would be a fun project to remind me of our trip to Maine. I didn’t want to do a full quilt using wool appliqué but then I saw this shop’s Row by Row project for this summer. (It was actually the third Row by Row project I had seen during our trip and, as with the quilt shops, each row had a very different feel to it.) I bought the pattern and kit for the Attic Heirlooms row which I will use as a runner or a small wall quilt for the winter months. (I don’t think I have ever bought a kit before. It was sort of fun to have everything picked out and put together for me.)

The fabrics are very traditional. I love the log cabin blocks that flank the appliqued house in the center. My very first quilt was a log cabin and I haven’t made one since then. This project will be a quick one to piece but I do plan to spend a bit of time doing some hand work on it. I took advantage of an amazing selection of Perle cotton and bought a few that work with this project. Aren’t these gorgeous?

While I was there I saw a selection of Christmas ornament kits. We almost always buy an ornament for our tree when we travel. This year I will make our souvenir ornament.

The owner of Attic Heirlooms has an ornament of the month kit that can be purchased in the shop or online. She had a handful of leftover kits from previous months in 2015 that could be purchased. This one was from May, 2015. The bird looks like a nuthatch which we see on our feeders at home quite frequently so I chose him. (I made a tiny art quilt featuring a nuthatch some time ago.) This project will have a very rustic feel to it and, luckily, the Pearle cottons I bought will work on this as well as the row by row project.
Finally, I want to share these amazing miniatures that were for sale in the shop. Made by a local woman, they are paper pieced and measure about 1.5 inches finished. My jaw dropped when I looked at them.

Check out the pattern on the back.

I can’t even imagine. They were very, very small and ever so precise. Judging by the many on display in this shop, the artist is quite prolific.

Let’s leave the talk about the other two quilt shops for another post. I don’t want to overwhelm you with quilt shop excitement! ? As much as I have enjoyed our vacation, it will be good to head back to California tomorrow to our home sweet home!

Linking to a few of my usuals. Please check out some of the links found at the top of the page, under Link Ups!

Summer Reading

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One of the best things about vacation is the pleasure of reading. At home I do enjoy reading and I do read quite a bit but mostly in short periods of time, before bed or for just a few minutes in the afternoon. Being on vacation is indulgent, right? Good food, sleeping in, and for me, reading whenever the urge strikes. I have read two books during this trip to Maine. The first one I finished off during the first couple of days. The second one I am still reading though I have just a few pages left. When it ends, I will resort to the back-up books that I have on my iPad.

Here is my take on the first book. Written by one of my all time favorite authors, Anne Tyler, Vinegar Girl was just released this month. If I had to guess, I would say that I have read about 12 of the twenty-one books Anne Tyler has written. Tyler has been writing books since the 1970‘s and her stories tend to center on quirky, hard-working, middle class individuals. Her characters are almost always very relatable and invariably they amuse me no end. If you are not yet familiar with this author, here is a lovely interview with her (of which there really aren’t very many out there.)

This story, while it isn’t my favorite of her works, did not disappoint me. It is written as a retelling of Shakespeare’s, Taming of the Shrew. Please don’t let that put you off. I am not a fan of Shakespeare, not even a little, tiny bit. I know the basics of the story of Petrucchio and Katherine, but that’s about it. Ms. Tyler has said she is not a fan of The Bard but agreed to write this book as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare program where many of Shakespeare’s books are being rewritten as contemporary novels. The main character in Vinegar Girl is Kate, a grumpy twenty-nine year old woman who lives at home caring for her eccentric scientist father and her ditzy fifteen year old sister. (Her mother died some time back.) During the day, she works at a local preschool as a teaching assistant, even though she clearly does not enjoy the children or the work. Her father is a research scientist working on an autoimmune project with the help of his faithful research assistant, Pyotr. It turns out that Pyotr’s visa will soon expire and he worries that without Pyotr, his research cannot continue. The father and Pyotr plot to have Kate marry Pyotr so he can remain in the country. I won’t give any further detail because this book is worth a read. Suffice it to say, the characters are likable and the story is amusing. I enjoyed the sentiment behind the title, Vinegar Girl, which is what Pyotr begins to call Kate. Is the story at all realistic? Well, no, but it is charming. As the story progresses, I became quite fond of Pyotr. At first, he seems to be a puppet, controlled by his puppet master, Kate’s father. As his relationship with Kate grows, he becomes stronger and much more likable. The immigration theme running throughout the story bothered me a bit. In our family, two of my nieces have married men that were in the States on visas. The amount of hassle and extensive documentation that had to happen to support their marriages was quite overwhelming. Reading about the couple of odd texts and cell phone pictures that they planned to use to document Kate’s and Pyotr’s relationship struck me as silly. I believe it was Tyler’s intent, that this show a lack of practical knowledge on the part of the professor and Pyotr. It struck a chord with me though after watching my neices’ lengthy process. The book is a very quick read and would likely be enjoyed by most. If you are looking for a deep, meaningful plot, this book might disappoint you. On the other hand, readers that enjoy a light, almost whimsical, book will be quite satisfied.

Overall, I get a sense that Tyler wrote this book in support of the project but her heart wasn’t as invested in this story as it has been in prior books. Previous books of hers had a much meatier plot and the characters were far more developed. This book wasn’t ‘laugh out loud’ funny and many of her previous books definitely made me laugh aloud. Others were deeply touching and sometimes sad.

Who would like to have a chance to read Vinegar Girl and let me know what you think? There is a fun book share going on within the quilting community on Instagram. I would love to give it a try here with interested readers. The way it would work is just tell me if you are interested by leaving me a comment. I will make a list of no more than six participants (in the order the comments are received). I will mail the book to the first person on the list along with three fat quarters that are somehow related to the book (anything is more fun if fabric is involved!) I will also send along the address of the person that is scheduled to receive the book next. Each recipient has, at most, four weeks to read the book. At approximately 235 pages, it doesn’t take long to read. That person sends it on to the next reader with a few fat quarters curated to the book. While you have the book, write a little note and sign it inside the front cover. That way I will have everyone’s impressions when the book finally makes its way back to me and other readers along the way will also get to see your thoughts on the book. In the interest of privacy, I won’t share all of the addresses with all of the participants. Rather, when a reader finishes the book, that person will email me for direction on where to send it next. Hmmm… This leads me to think about international participants. If you want to participate, leave a comment to that effect and also state whether you would be willing to ship the book and fat quarters internationally. Hopefully, I can work it out to schedule people in the correct order. That will have to be a work in progress, ok? The last reader will return the book to me. Sound like fun? Good, I hope you will join me!

As far as the book I am still reading, What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty, I will share more on it once I finish it. So far I am loving it though.

Finally, as a disclaimer, was sent to me by Blogging for Books as a pre-release copy in return for my unbiased review.

A Quilty Lunch Date

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We are still on vacation in Maine and having the best time. The weather has been wonderful and we have been to lots of fun places. It has been exactly what I was hoping for.

We have coffee on the deck each morning and watch the lobster boats come in and check their traps. So cool!

When Ray and I decided to plan a trip for this summer, I reached out to several quilty friends that live in various parts of the mid-west and the east to get ideas for our trip. It was so great to bounce ideas off of Janine, Mari, and Kitty since I haven’t been out here for such a long time and really, never came this far north and east. All three women were so kind as to give me loads of ideas to choose from for the trip. After much discussion, Ray and I decided on Maine.

Some time later, Mari and I were chatting via email and she suggested that since she has family in Maine, maybe she could plan a trip to visit during the time that we were scheduled to be up here. Guess what, it worked! Today we were able to meet each other in person. W decided to meet for lunch in the tiny town of Hallowell. The criteria for the meeting place was that we split the distance between us and drive to the midpoint, and that the town had to have a quilt shop (naturally). Hallowell worked out perfectly.

I was so excited to get together with Mari. You might remember that I followed along with Mari’s 2015 BOM, Classic Stitches, last year. I loved making that row quilt and learned so much from Mari’s tutorials each month. We have been on-line friends for two years now (which seems so crazy- two years already?) When we were both walking up to the restaurant that we planned to meet at it was like seeing a long-time friend. We greeted each other with a big hug and a fantastic lunch followed. Conversation flowed so easily. The afternoon flew by, too quickly actually.

Mari was so sweet to bring me a gift. She is a thoughtful soul.

Yummy fat quarters and gorgeous spools of Essential Thread, plus treats (some of which we may have shared after lunch?) The fat quarters are hand dyed by Vicki Welsh. I do have a small stash of Vicki’s fabric, but I don’t have these colors. They are a beautiful addition of gorgeous color.

What a fun day. We did get over to the quilt shop and both of us indulged. I will take pictures later on to share with you. I am so happy that I got a chance to spend some time with Mari in person. What a treat! I know we aren’t likely to get together again for a long while but who knows….hopefully we will have another opportunity to meet somewhere in the future. Till then, blogging, quilting and emailing makes for a very cool friendship. Thanks so much Mari for making the trek up here! It was so much fun.

The Time I Went to a Quilt Shop and Didn’t Buy Anything

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My family and I are on summer vacation. We are all having a lovely time visiting southern Maine, staying in a vacation home on the coast. Ray and I started our vacation by touring a bit of Massachusetts and New Hampshire on our way up to the house in Maine.

We made a stop in Portsmouth and spent an afternoon wandering around the city. Guess what we stumbled across? I’m not sure why, but it surprised me to find this shop right in the middle of the city. Unsurprisingly, I was eager to take a look inside. Ray went off to wander and Julia stayed with me, as I promised Ray- ‘I’ll only be ten minutes’. (Famous last words.)

The shop was a crazy riot of color. It is the second largest seller of Kaffe Fasset fabrics in the United States so that is probably enough for you to envision what it looked like. Here is some help, should you need it.

It was vivid color, wall to wall. Really gorgeous fabric everywhere, making it so much fun to walk through and drool over all that color.

It was kind of funny though; because I was there without intention, I couldn’t decide on a single thing to buy. These fabrics are not ones that I would buy without a plan. They are bold, large focus fabrics that are deeply saturated and don’t easily work into a project unplanned.

The two women that were working that afternoon were a delight. They were preparing their kits for the Row by Row challenge. I noticed that they were ripping, rather than rotary cutting, the fat quarters. She explained that they don’t cut hardly at all. Ripping is more accurate (and watching her, it seemed to be much faster.) She snipped the fabric at the top and tore straight down. Worked every time.

Browsing was just as good. It was good to see familiar designers being stocked in a shop like this. Go Amanda Jean!

There was plenty of inspiration to be had. I thought this maple leaf table runner was very pretty and it seems like a fairly simple project to create for the fall.

So, while I didn’t adhere to my promised quick ten minute visit, I did feel very satisfied to have browsed this amazing shop. I watched them rip precise fat quarters, drooled a bit over all of the lovelies they had, and came away with another possible project in the works; all the while not spending a dime.

Lest you think I am always this disciplined (and actually, if you have been reading my blog for long, you know I am not) you should know that I have a list of quilt shops to visit while in Maine. I need to do a bit of thinking first so I have an idea of what I will actually buy though. I feel better when I shop for fabric mindfully. It is just too easy to go crazy otherwise!

Linking to Main Crush Monday. Find the link at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

Positively Floating

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Ever since I fell victim to my Pinterest addiction, I have wanted to make a plus quilt. Something about the simplicity of the design and the ability to use large scale fabrics effectively makes plus quilts very attractive to me. Honestly, I don’t think I have seen one that I didn’t like.

Last fall, when I received my first Art Gallery Club shipment from Pink Castle, I designated that bundle to be used for a plus quilt. (I posted about this here.) The line, Dare by Pat Bravo, has some wonderfully vivid large floral prints. I immediately ordered a couple of yards of Thread On to be used as the background fabric. When that arrived, the whole bundle sat in the sewing room until March.

One rainy Saturday, I managed to cut all of the squares for the pluses. Then it sat some more. Finally I started to assemble the quilt top. Really, it doesn’t get much simpler than this. Once I going, it went together quickly.

This quilt top was not an easy one to photograph. It was really breezy this afternoon and I couldn’t get the winds to cooperate with me.

I had to resort to my ever faithful quilt model.

She is such a helpful girl.

I am looking forward to quilting this. Lots and lots of negative space to work with. That is both fun and intimidating at the same time. For the backing, I have been piecing the scraps that were left from the front. I need a bit more fabric to complete it though. I had hoped I had enough leftover fabric but I am short. Darn it. I ordered a bit more of the background fabric and it won’t take any time to finish the backing once it arrives. For now though, the top is done and I am calling this one Positively Floating.

Linking this pretty flimsy finish with my usuals. Find them at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

Feeling Lucky

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In case you didn’t already get the message, I LOVE our community. So creative and so generous, I am continually amazed with the giveaways that are ongoing. About a month ago, Quilter’s Candy Box had a giveaway. Guess who won? Yep, me. Lucky, lucky, lucky me!

Just in case you aren’t familiar with them, Quilter’s Candy Box is a brand, spanking new business run by Tracy and Elizabeth. It is a subscription service where you receive a box of quilty goodness in the mail each month. The first month of business for Tracy and Elizabeth was this month of June! On Instagram they have been actively marketing their fledgling business. (You would be very wise to give them a follow on IG.) They ran a giveaway for one free box in June and yours truly got very, very lucky that day.

I received the box yesterday and had been waiting anxiously because there were some subscribers that had already received theirs and were flaunting all that goodness over various social media outlets. The box did not disappoint! The contents were generous and included lots of fun things like a charm pack, pattern, crafty items, sweets and more. Take a look at the adorable coffee mug up there! That will be happily used by this quilter for her morning coffee.

This pattern is a special edition, created just for Quilter’s Candy Box, by Bonnie Olaveson. I have never tried Cathedral Windows so I look forward to making this. Take a closer look at this Serenity Charm pack. The colors are soothing and just so pretty.

I’ll tell you right up front, when I make this project, it is staying with me. I love the fabric and I’m keeping this one! Ok, let’s look a little further.

I love these little labels. The colors remind me of Maureen Cracknell but as far as I know, she didn’t have any input here. They just look like her, don’t they? Thread Wax. Here I have to admit my lack of knowledge. I have never used it and don’t know what to do with it. Anyone want to give me a hint? Thank you!

Here is this month’s treat. A lemon cookie. I haven’t tried it yet but it looks yummy. See the paperclip bookmark? I love it’s simplicity with one sweet button. It is currently holding my page on a new Anne Tyler book I started yesterday. (Are any of you Anne Tyler fans? I love her books and have read most of them.)

Here is the month’s crafty element.

This little embroidery kit looks like fun. I have been thinking of giving embroidery a try after looking at the 25th anniversary piece I made for my parents all of 37 years ago. (You can read about that here.) Maybe this is the place I am meant to start.

This was indeed a box of treasures. Quilter’s Candy Box runs a monthly giveaway and if you are following them on either Facebook or Instagram (or both) you are sure to see when to enter to win. The monthly subscription is another way to take advantage. I also checked in with Elizabeth to see if they was a way to order a box as a gift for someone without subscribing. This would make such a nice holiday gift for a quilter. (Note to my kids: bookmark their site. Hint, hint.) While it might not be right for a person’s monthly budget, many quilter’s would certainly love to give (and to receive) this as a gift. Elizabeth was quick to respond to my email: “As for purchasing single boxes as a gift, we will have them available occasionally. We will email our newsletter subscribers about it, and post about it on Facebook and Instagram. We also hope to eventually have a few boxes that are always available (like a birthday box) for a one-time purchase.” I plan to keep an eye out for these opportunities.

Thanks so much Tracy and Elizabeth for this very fun box of pretties!

Linking up to a few fun linkies. Check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

Giveaway Winner!

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We have a winner! The $20 gift certificate to my lovely sponsor’s Brewstitched shop was won by Kathy E. I used the Random Number Generator to pick a number between 1 and 62. Kathy was number 1 and she’s the winner.

Here is Kathy’s winning comment:

Here in Iowa, we are just experiencing Spring and it’s finally warming up! This coming weekend, though, temps are supposed to reach into the 90’s. When it gets that warm, I do everything I can to avoid the oven. We use the grill and the crockpot often. Sometimes I even set the crockpot in the garage since that gives off heat too! I am a hanger-outer too, so will be looking up your clothespin tutorial! Oh, and Foxtail Forest is a beauty!

I have to confess something silly. I know that it is just random to be picked for a giveaway and there is no reason for any number to have greater likelihood of being picked. But here is my confession. If I am reading a blog post and there is a giveaway involved, I never (honestly, NEVER) enter if I am the first entry. My silly brain always tells me – ‘no, you’ll not win if you are the first entry!’ I know that is not based on any sort of fact. So, maybe this will change my mind. Isn’t it funny how the mind works (at least mine anyway!)

Congrats Kathy E – I know you have a tough choice ahead of you because there are sooo many gorgeous fabrics in the Brewstitched shop. In her comment, Kathy mentioned her love of Dear Stella’s Foxtail Forest which displays excellent taste! Have fun shopping Kathy!!

Charitable Giveaway Winner!

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Today I drew the lucky winner for my second annual blogiversary giveaway. I had asked readers to tell me what donation they would like me to make a contribution to if they were picked. The winner is Nicolle whose blog is called LadySchep. It is kind of cool that her name was drawn. Here is why:

Happy Blogiversary! My two year was last week, but I totally missed it, lol. What a great way to celebrate! If I get picked, I chose Pregnancy Solutions in Venice, FL as the beneficiary.

See? It’s perfect. She didn’t get a chance to celebrate her blogiversary (she started just two weeks before I did) so we are celebrating it together with a donation to Pregnancy Solutions. I checked out their website and it looks like they provide a wealth of support to women of all ages who are experiencing pregnancy. What a nice choice for a donation. Happy Blogiversary Nicolle! If you haven’t come across her blog, check it out. Attorney by day & blogging in all of her “spare” time, Nicolle writes with a joyful tone and has made some lovely projects including quilts, stuffies, bags and more. I even read a few book reviews sprinkled in there, which I love. So many books, so many projects, so little time – right??

Thanks to all who entered and gave good wishes. I am so looking forward to my third year with all of you! Here’s to more projects, visiting, quilty support and friendship!

Turquoise or Aqua, Scrappy Projects

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The RSC16 color for June (according to Angela over at So Scrappy) is aqua. She suggested adding a pop of lime green but I am pretending I didn’t hear that part. 😉 I love the aqua part though. My blue scrap bin is overflowing and the lid no longer closes (literally) so I was happy to use a few scraps up.

This week I finished up the turquoise gemstones and they look so pretty. Turquoise, as in the actual gem, isn’t one of my favorites. But these blocks are. What do you think?

Now that I have so many blocks done, it is becoming difficult to lay them all out. (My design wall is not huge and the light in the sewing room makes for terrible photos.) But here is a sampling of them to give you an idea. I like this more and more with each month! I will have to find another way to lay them out. I suppose I will be crawling around on the floor with them next month!

After working on the Gemstone blocks (the pattern for which was designed by Cynthia Brunz and published in an issues of McCall’s Quilt magazine), I played with more aqua scraps to create some scrappy HST’s. These are so much fun to make. The process is very relaxing.

I have added these four HST’s to the pile which now consists of 24 eight inch blocks. As before, it is really fun to play with different layouts. This is a favorite of mine.

I am drawn to this configuration. Next month when July’s blocks are added to the pile, I will crawl around and arrange all of the HST’s and see where I am at that point. But this arrangement is high on my list! We will see after I add a few more rows to it.

There you have it! The scrappy updates for my June RSC16 projects. I am kind of hoping that July will be some shade of red. We haven’t done that this year and I want to create some ruby gemstone blocks.

If you haven’t already entered, I have a giveaway happening this week. Saturday, 6/11 is the last day to enter. Hop over and see! Have a great weekend all!

As usual, Craftsy has another great sale going on. Classes are 50% off beginning today, June 10th and running through the 13th. You know how I feel about their classes – I love them. If you haven’t tried one, now is the time.

(Note: I am a Craftsy affiliate and if purchases are made by clicking on the link I provide, I will be paid a small commission.)