July was one of those non-stop months. We were on vacation from the 1st to the 12th. Came home and got caught up on household and gardening chores and then hosted a bridal shower last weekend. Of course amidst all of this there was the usual number of migraines. Because of all of this, I did very little sewing and not a whole lot of blogging.
Yesterday I found a little bit of time and did the July piecing for Tish’s Fireburst Mystery Quilt. Fortunately, the piecing for July consisted of a number of flying geese blocks in different combinations and one little square in a square block. I like the fabric combinations and look forward to the instructions for August. I chose to make the baby size quilt and these fabrics will be so sweet when assembled.
Speaking of which, hurray for August! I am really determined to get back on track. I think this is doable as we have very little planned for this month. I am eager to get back to my routine and spend some time in the sewing room.
I just basted my Twisted quilt. The dining room table had the extra leaf in it so I took advantage of that space and got the layers pinned. I am vacillating between a few ideas for quilting it though. I need to do some doodling and make a few decisions.
Remember I mentioned I was hosting a bridal shower over the weekend? It was a lot of fun and I think the bride-to-be enjoyed it. Four of my sisters were able to come to the shower which was so nice.
One of my sisters, Cathy, brought me a big bag of fabric scraps! I have talked about my sisters’ shop, 6 Monkeys and Co, where they offer handmade children’s clothing. Because neither of my sisters do any quilting, they tend to throw away any remaining scraps after cutting out their project. (While I am talking about my sisters, I need to do a little shameless promotion! Their sewing skills are amazing and it really shows in the sweet dresses, shorts, shirts and hats they make. If you have kids or grandchildren, you need to check out their shop!)
Cathy offered to start saving scraps for me and now I have all sorts of fun children’s prints to play with!
I am itching to cut these into usable pieces but for now they are going to be organized by color and then they will have to wait just a bit.
Finally, Julia is getting ready for the fair which is next week. Saturday morning Julia gave Olive a bath because she needed a picture of herself and Olive to hang on a sign above Olive’s pen. It was rather comical trying to get a decent shot because Olive wasn’t having any of it. Finally, bribed with an extra meal, she cooperated. Silly pig.
Good to see your post, Bernie! By this time, I hope you have recovered from your migraine. I like your fabrics for the Fireburst Mystery Quilt! Will be fun to see how you do the quilting on that basted quilt too. What fun to have all those cute scraps! Olive is SOME pig! Love the photos!
Thanks Wendy – I am feeling so much better today. Just got some yard work out of the before it is too terribly hot. Did you look at the piecing instructions from Tish yet? I am going to get that done before I move my Fireburst pieces! Wow – do I dare to be done on August 1st???
You’ve been busy! Showers are so much fun to host and boy, they do absorb a fair amount of time. I love the twisted quilt and see one of those in my future. The colors are so fun. And, I have several great bundles from N+F to get me started! Julia and Olive look like they are having so much fun. I love following their companionship through your posts. Olive is really “growing” up. Have fun with those cute scraps…a quilter’s dream come true!
I really enjoyed making Twisted – it is great for using up scraps – tho I really wanted all florals and had to buy a few fat quarters to supplement. Who am I kidding??? BTW, the pattern is listed in my shop. 😉
Julia and Olive are both growing up! It is a huge responsibility and one that we try to leave totally up to her. Other than feed her a couple of times while Julia was away, she is completely responsible for Olive. I love it! Oddly, since she doesn’t have any younger siblings, it kind of replaces that mode of learning to be responsible for someone other than herself – Anyway, thats enough rambling. Take care Patty.
I’m glad the bridal shower went so well and it’s lovely that 4 of your sisters could make it, too. I also have had a bit of travel and a downturn of productivity this July, but all in it’s good time, right? 🙂
Thank you Yvonne. I noticed you have been preoccupied and that seems only natural. July had some behind the scenes projects for you and the loss of your grandmother. Hang in there – it all comes back around. 🙂
Such an active life filled with family, love and sewing! Being “on track” in the summer is a challenge, isn’t it? Awesome! Those scraps are so pretty and colorful! I’m glad you shared your sister’s shop! Will forward this email to my daughter! Twisted is also colorful and gorgeous! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely – Mainly summer is diverted by outside maintenance – my husband plants a huge veggie garden each year and while he does the lion’s share of the work, I do a lot of the picking and preserving of the veggies. This week, I am peeling and slicing peaches for the freezer. I love being able to make a peach cobbler in the middle of winter! Glad you are able to share my sister’s shop with your daughter. They have a fantastic selection of children’s clothing. Take care Patricia!
Oh Bernie,
So much fun you are having. Vacation and Bridal Shower and fabric!!! You know these scraps are exactly the kind of fabrics that make me sign and dance. The cute frogs, adorable puppies and polka dots in bright colors – I am so jealous.
Love how Twisted is coming along – a cool breeze of a quilt in the middle of this heat wave!!!
I totally hear ya! July was just here and gone! But it looks like the first half of August is pretty much mine, so I hope to also get back on track, and crank out a couple of this quarter’s finishes! Fingers crossed! Enjoy those delicious scraps! How fun to have sisters who sew!
Oh how fun is that getting some surprise scraps! Very fun colors! Vacations are fun but I really do think we are creatures of habit and routine, aren’t we? I know I really enjoy getting back to my routine no matter how awesome the vacation has been.
I am the same way Janice – I love being home! The scraps will be a lot of fun to play with. First I need to get that basted quilt finished up. Then I can start something new. You know the drill. 😉
Look at those luscious, luscious scraps! I’m imagining a new play quilt for your granddaughter. The quilt is pretty luscious, too. I’m sure quilting it will be fun. Have you heard that summer is for vacations and relaxing? Because the month you just described sounds like just what you needed!
Julia and Olive are the cutest! I hope she does well at the fair.
I agree – this is a great scrap bag! I am thinking of a coin quilt or something basic like that. The prints are a lot of fun and definitely in three strong color groupings (blue, green and red) It will be fun – I need to add in a low value something or other. 🙂
I was going to say, nice little pig…but maybe little is not the word. She cleaned up quite nice! Glad you could fit some sewing in between travels and everything else!
Haha Paige – little is not appropriate here. She is huge! I am very happy to be sewing again. I missed it.
Migraines are the worst, and I hope you don’t suffer frequently. And lucky you, to get all that fun fabric!
Other people’s scraps are the best! Looks like you have lots of fun novelty fabrics there!
I agree – maybe it is because the scraps are all new to us? Not something we have already been looking at from other projects? I can’t wait to start cutting these into a usable shape. I just need to settle on a plan first – Definitely something with bigger pieces (5″ squares or some sort of rectangle) so the fun prints aren’t all chopped up to bits. Take care Emily.
ACK I can’t imagine throwing away scraps! I love scraps lol. I met a gal on FB that makes crumb quilts so I send her all my little bits and pieces that are too small for my projects.
I love scraps too – it is funny because she couldn’t imagine saving the pieces I wanted – wondering why I would want such small pieces (but these are really generously sized scraps – I could use them as 5″ squares easily and cut many from the same pieces.) But I get it – she can’t make clothing from any of these and that is what she likes to sew. I am thrilled to get them from her. 🙂