Happy National Ice Cream Day in the USA!!!

Did you know there was a National Ice Cream Day in the USA???  It was started by President Ronald Reagan!!

And here is a patriotic view from my foyer … all hand quilted with buttons making a star shape in the blue… I enjoy having made this quilt and caught this shot this morning to share with you!

This week has flown by for me!  I have stayed very focused on Starlight.. Starbright!!!!

First I will share my happiest moment yesterday when I took this shot…

Which makes me 2/3 complete on all the quilting!!!   YIPPEE!!!!!!

Slow stitching is the ONLY way I could produce such a cool stipple… and I love using such bold colors to quilt with on this quilt!!!

When I started quilting this project the last day of February I thought I would be done by the time my daughter returned from her summer vacation… she is gone to Tennesse for 5 1/2 weeks… to be home first part of August to prepare for her Senior year of high school starting soon after.  But this quilt still has more time needed devoted to it and a bit more time.  I don’t want to rush and leave poor stitches or incomplete areas.. I want all the quilt to be contiguous when I finally see it in full complete!!! lol  And for when I gift it too!

I am hoping to find a special short verse of some sort.. to add to the label I will put on the back once the quilting is complete… 

Any ideas y’all???!!!!

So I have now started on Block #7 on this quilt for my daughter… here is a shot I took this morning…

I am hoping to have this block done by end of the month or when Brandi gets home 😀
Each block finishes at 28″… it takes for frame moves to finish a block.. this one may take 5 as I will have the outer border to get also as this is an outer corner block.. 🙂

Linking this portion of my blog post to Kathy’s Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching HERE… the remaining post is an update to those that follow me whilst I am writing a post for linking! lol

Anyone is welcome to read and enjoy but Kathy prefers we link only hand quilting items and below are home reno pictures and stories… Have a happy slow stitching Sunday Y’all… that is my focus for the day also! lol (Kathy talks about focus in her post too.. hope you go take a look today!)

My machine quilted finish got used this week…

My honey uses it to cover the table and blend in with the backdrop.. it makes the black cases and Featherweight Sewing Machines just pop with black against the white background.

Here is a close up of just the quilt and backdrop….

So I will call this successful!  lol  It has a few puckers at intersections but those mainly disappeared with it’s first washing and drying… so as it get’s used and washed more it will continue (hopefully) to hide these areas as machine quilting is just not my joy! lol

Also this week my honey has been working on the bar in our kitchen and I went on a walk down memory lane to the house we first moved into… before we started giving it some personality! lol
Here is a pic from the real estate ad….

Notice the kitchen on the left… see how there was a doorway and a pass through window??? What were they thinking!!!

So we improved it fairly soon after we moved in to this …

Although the bar wasn’t super sturdy or even very functional… Rick improved it by opening the doorway up and the wall between the doorway and the pass through was checked and NOT load bearing.. 🙂  Lucky my honey is very smart with home reno!!!

Well now he is putting the finishing touches on the bar … but look at this long shot I took this morning… how the opening to the kitchen looks now!!!!

If you scroll back to our original kitchen from 1980… it was dark and not a part of the house… now our home is very cool and interactive … I love the open concept we have been able to capture here 😀

So let’s look more closely at the process of turning the flimsy half wall into a functional sturdy bar that really integrates all the spaces in the main of our home…

Adding a perpendicular shorter length wall was integral to getting the wall to be sturdy…

 That wall is screwed into the tile then down into the concrete.. there is NO JIGGLING of the bar at all now!!!

Then he added 2 pieces of plywood to make the shape of the top and covered it with the beautiful formica we got online (lucky there as it was more perfect and completely different in person than it was when we chose it online)!!!

This is a good shot of the variegated greys in the formica and how well it matches those 1980’s existing formica covered dove grey cabinets in the kitchen! lol

Once the bar was made he surrounded it with wood edging and stained it to coordinate with the living room ceiling fan and other woods in our home … lots of secret stuff happened during this step!

My honey has had many professions in his life and home reno guru is one of them… he had many high end clients and saw and made many high end dreams come true so when we plan a project like this… he does the very best to make OUR dreams now come true.. on a tight budget! hahaha!

 Check out the cart we found speaking of budgets!

This rolling island cart (we havent’ decided what we should call this piece… any ideas???) was found on our local swap on facebook and cost us a whopping $30 cash and gas to go get it (10 minutes from our home to theirs!).. YIPPEE!!!!  We were planning a cart very similar to this one… with heavy duty lockable casters and we had planned to use the remaining formica for the top of it but this one has nice butcher block wood top!!!

It is a bit worn but not terrible… so my honey will strip it by sanding it down to fresh wood and restain to match our bar edging… then the house will have this wood color throughout mixed with white wainscotting and light/med grey walls… neutral but classy!!!

Here is another shot I took this morning…

My honey let the stain cure then is adding layer upon layer upon layer (very light layers) of varnish to give this bar it’s final step for a long life… then the blue painters tape can come off and we are free to enjoy it!!!!

And ideas on decorating this space??  It needs something next to the wall… and maybe a table topper in a circle or hexi on the hexi part of the bar… what do YOU think???

Also this week we had to replace our post light in the front yard.  Another thing for my honey to do.. using his electrical skills! lol

You see when the yard folks came around to mow they were on a loaner mower as their was being fixed… not acclimated to the subpar loaner mower they hit our post and the light fell off! lol

No harm done though as we found one inexpensively that I really liked… so before long after the little incident… we had this shot to share with our mowing friend…

And this morning I caught it at sunrise while the light was still on for you to see!!!

So Casa Del Loro has had a good tune up… We may take a break now.. not sure.  There are many things we still want to accomplish before Brandi returns from her summer break.

So now until my next post … be safe!  And do a good deed today.. just because you can!!! 🙂

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A Star Spangled Finish!

Yesterday I finished the final sewing on “Oh My Stars”!  Here are a few pics I took before it got washed 🙂

I used Color catchers in the wash but didn’t know if the strong reds and blues I didn’t prewash (as they were from charm packs) but they Riley Blake fabrics I chose did not run on the whites I used .. Yippee!

It is waiting to be hung (by yard sticks!) from the first hanging sleeve I ever made.. I am pretty proud of that!  One day I hope to show a quilt… learning this handy way to install one was stupendous 🙂

Here is where it will hang soon!

Doesn’t this space >>>>>>
look like it needs a little flavor??? lol

Here is a close up of the star made of little wooden buttons I painted with model silver paint 🙂

A view from the back 🙂

The details on this quilt include…

• Inspired by Jenny Doan (MSQC visit to my LQS) tutorial and her finished quilt
• Flimsy was finished in May… you can read about that here
• I only used Aurifil thread on this quilt… from machine piecing to hand quilting and binding.  Aurifil I am loving now for piecing… YLI remains my fave hand quilting thread but just doesn’t have the color availability that Aurifil does 🙂
• Quilting started June 9 but interrupted for Project RJq ;)… read about that here
• Batting used was wool… Hobbs Tuscany
• Quilting finished including hanging sleeve AQS style from above noted tutorial
• Finished size is 36″ x 46″ wide

Hope you enjoyed this full on show today!  I sure enjoyed all the slow stitching that went into this project.

I will be sharing what is up next soon… and don’t forget in 2 weeks there is a LINKY PARTY right here with a prize for a lucky linker too!  This is not a competition.. it is goal oriented.. wanna know more??? Follow me.. I talk about setting and meeting goals all the time! lol

Linking this slow stitched masterpiece to Richard & Tanya Quilts… Link a Finish Friday here!
and
Linking to my fave Sunday spot… Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching here 🙂  She is making a rug by hand today!

Have a blessed Sunday and take time to enjoy what God has blessed you with on this Sabbath!

Whooping Organization & Happy Friday!

It is Friday.. that means time to link up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric addict and WHOOP!!  Today… as previously promised.. I will share the remodel that occurred to my sewing space… especially organizing a stash!!!

You see I just started my quilty infatuation with luscious fabrics when I started quilting about 3 years ago… since that time I have made about 12 quilts and gathered small amounts of leftovers from each but not much… I can estimate the fabric well it seems 🙂

Now I have projects completed and projects planned and a stash… time for a little extra organization since I like this hobby so much! 😉

My honey built this cool cabinet from some plywood he got for FREE!  Now he will add doors.. but you really want to see this space come to life not look pretty yet right?

 I organized what I had and separated by like things… books in one area, mags and patterns I want in another section, fabrics I had already separated by future project on the shelves…

 Now what about the floor and the messy desk too!

 ABOVE you see my whole space now… check out the organization.. and because of this organization I was able to work on Oh My Stars a bit more too!  Update on that Saturday 🙂

Let’s go through how we decided to organize the shelf… remember it was just open real estate… and I didn’t have lots of $$ to invest in this project.  I did all this with a organized friends help… I advise asking an organized friend if you want the best results… buy them lunch if you like.. but that part was sooo worth it to me!!!  We spent about $25.00 on my stuff and a few organizational things for my honey to make our separate spaces look like one cohesive space 🙂

Anyway, top shelf is future projects and a couple bags to grab quickly if I want to quilt on the road (we do a lot of traveling to neighboring cities and towns).

Books take up half of the next shelf… standing up are books… laying down are mags and recipes that don’t need to droop by standing up! lol 

Next to the books is my main stash.  This looks small but several of my “future projects” are holding stash right now… so that will be liberated and wrapped around the boards my honey made me.  (He made custom fit boards and a shelf divider there so my stash could be compact as well!  We used luan for the boards (work as comic book boards) and are not affected by the humidity like the cardboard would have been for me.. plus they will last forever!

The next 2 shelves are my honeys… funny he built this for him and I took over… but truly he loves it with all my quilty stuff organized 🙂  … 

The next to the bottom shelf holds stash cut to my idea of manageable sizes… more on that if you are interested in figuring out what works for you 🙂  … and MORE future projects.. I have a lot of those don’t I! lol

The bottom shelf holds large yardage items in the 31 flip flop bag… and my big steam iron for ironing large yardage items only… otherwise I don’t use steam anymore.

Then all that is left is a couple storage cabinets and some mags I need to go through …

So here is to Organization and a Happy Friday to you!

I am trucking away on Oh My Stars and should have a finish posted tomorrow I hope 🙂

Here is my view of the world…

I watch the birds bath from here.. I hear my bubblers running water.. I enjoy the sunshine when it comes out to play… which is most every day here on Florida’s east coast!

Hope you have something fun to Whoop about this Friday.  Just click HERE to see what others are Whooping about and link your own up too! 

Have you organized your stash and kept it organized?  Do you have any tips for a newer quilter like myself for good stash management??  Would love your feedback in comments below 😀

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

2 Hand-y Projects at once :)

Thanks to all that have already linked up to my goal setting linky… if you are interested in knowing more… check out this post…

So did you catch my title??  I have two hand projects going at once!!! lol

One of my personal goals with my List, Tick, and Party idea is to start having more than just 1 project going.. not many more.. but more than 1 most of the time at least… keeps my mind more active and keeps me out of trouble too! lol

So in meeting an M4 goal I have 2 projects going at once.. both are on my list of projects to complete during this month too!

First up is Oh My Stars..

I am having a blast quilting this just intuitively…

This is a great shot of the texture too!

I am using Hobbs Tuscany Wool batting… my first experience.  I will do a review of it when this project is done but be prepared for the batting you have around your edges picking up every stray thread and scratching your arms as you rub against it… very very uncomfortable… but the loft is AMAZING!  The way my quilting shows in real life is stunning in itself.. so I think overall a good choice for a wall hanging… wouldn’t want to snuggle under it though I think… just not my preference… I think bed and snuggle quilts should be ALL COTTON! lol

My other hand project was actually inspired to get done because of need and Project RJq sparked my love for working with high quality batiks.  So back to batiks I went for this hand piecing project… a table topper for my kitchen table…  Here is a pic from the recipe before being bound

but I am using batiks in that color family instead of prints..

It is a Moda Bake Shop recipe they mark as “ambitious” but is really easy if you can cut and measure and hand piece already you can do this recipe for sure!

So I am calling this a Star Flower Table Topper to follow along on my blog if you like.  And here is my first star flower laid out…

Then put together!  Took me a couple days because although this batiks needles well by machine… it is very tightly woven as many batiks are and is more of a stab stitch motion to hand piece… bummer.. but fun overall.. just requires taping my finger for the tight weave to get this!

Next up is this earthy toned and textured star flower hexi…

Would love to hear about what your pallets look like… for me it is earthy or patriotic…

Share with me.. and check out the linky party at Kathy’s Quilts for more handy work… leave a comment on her blog for a chance to win 1 of 3 cute fat quarters 🙂  Turtle inspired print!! lol

Better yet.. after you finish checking out the loveliness there come on back and click the link above to read about MY LINKY PARTY !!!

Check it out!

My honey built us a cabinet for the florida room out back (think screened in porch kind of) where I do most of my sewing and he does all his various things too!  We needed organization… so in about 5 hours he came up with this beautiful cabinet…

Yes.. it is made of plywood.. in fact we got this plywood free on Craigslist last year!  but boy is it sturdy and HEAVY too! lol 

He plans to “face” the sides with beadboard and add doors that are thick for inside storage there too.. and those also covered with beadboard and all painted white… super cool .. when all that happens! ha 🙂 

So here is my space today… after doing some reorganizing…

 I have my shelves that are for my fabric and quilting things .. and he has his shelves..

He got real estate dibs because he planned in on share space you see!  Wasn’t that sweet!

On the top shelf is my projects I am gathering or planning to do in the future all separated.. 2 big bags and a basket.

The next shelf down came with a divider I instantly saw my books and mags and recipes all there… so there they went.

The next 2 shelves are his sewing machine parts and things for fixing featherweights.. and I have more current  projects in the making on the next shelf down.. the very bottom shelf will be storage for featherweights and extra cases as we usually have those… 🙂

 Now looking more at my space you can see that I can actually NOT CROP a picture of my sewing space with computer and worktable 🙂

All that is left in the floor is the stash I own.. it isn’t much yet but my bestie Connie will help me tame what I have already and decide what to keep and what to toss..

My honey is gonna get a piece of luan plywood (very thin plywood) and cut me some boards to store fabrics on.

I am mongo excited when I found out I can get wood ones that last forever instead of the comic book boards that have a limited lifespan… especially in the Florida weather.. where my stash lives! lol

Fiona is not covered because she is about to go into the shop for maintenance.. lol!  Nice to know the repairman!!

Speaking of repairs.. look what came in squeaky but cleaned up sooo beautifully and now moves smoothly and quietly too!

This is a Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine from 1875 to 1902.  We found the serial number but can’t pinpoint the date on this one based on just that…

We haven’t thought of a fitting name yet… for now she is just Gorgeous! lol  I thought of Bluebell.. but it is kinda silly and she is elegant I think… she now sits on the secretary coming into my living room in climate controlled situation 🙂  Happy about that!  What a deal… $31.00 plus shipping 🙂

I am now all done with this echo line of quilting and working inside each remaining diamond shape to get it quilted evenly…

Then I think I will do the button stars.. but I may do the red.. I am doing wavy lines .. about 4 of them throughout the red.. in red Aurifil thread 28 wt.  I bought this bendy ruler for a project a couple years ago and didn’t use it… I think my waves turning out symmetrical without a template might just work!  I will try it anyway!

In closing… please don’t miss out on a chance.. WHEREVER you live.. to get these 2 delicious fat quarters in celebration of finishing a quilt with these fabrics in it.. both are quilt store quality fabrics and will come right to your home if you just List, Tick, & PARTY with me THIS weekend!

Share this with all your bloggy friends..

I want to encourage one and all to set goals and reach for them through out a month and see what happens different from not having a plan in place.  Amazing what happens! 

Just link a blog post about goal setting for yourself personally … where you have been.. where you wanna go .. what you wanna do.. what you wanna learn… whatever!  Just write down your personal goals and share them in my linky party this weekend..

One lucky linker will win the fabric lot plus a small bit of leftover 50 wt Aurifil in a nice pink I used when quilting this project myself!  Enough for a pillow I would imagine for sure!

Have a blessed Wednesday and Happy Stitching!

Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day is so hard to celebrate for me anymore… since my husband passed away 6 years ago it has been hard to move forward on this day.. and I think I may have found what works for me!  Remembering fun time with my Papa.. my maternal grandfather!

You see when I was little we lived across a field from my grandparents… I would go to “Gaga and Papa”s house almost every day.  As I got older I visited often… and during my tumultuous teens my grandfather was always there to listen… give advice… but not force his advice… I learned so much through his walk in life.

My grandfather died when I was pregnant with my first child in January 1985.. my first son was named after him when he was born the next month… he says he passed Papa as he was going to heaven and he was coming down to be born! lol

So that is my Father’s Day celebration… what are your strongest paternal thoughts about today?

I did start my day with some slow stitching.. on Oh My Stars… this is such a fun wall hanging to work on I enjoy every break I can get to put a few stitches in 🙂

I also took a little time to read and in doing so met a goal I set last month AND found the way I will quilt the border of Oh My Stars 🙂

I got this book from Amazon a while back and just never took time to read this gem of a book… but this is how I plan to quilt that busy outer border in navy thread 🙂

I am also making progress on Project RJq today… I will save that for it’s own post..

Looking forward to List, Tick and Party time at my linky the last weekend of June… make some goals for July and link up for a chance to win a cool prize this month!

Linking this luscious hand quilting post up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching here 🙂

Have a blessed Sunday! 

New Blog Header :)

If you read my blog in your reader take a look at my blog online today.. I put a new header up.. kinda busy but I am kinda busy this month… lol!

Still waiting for the mail lady Eleanor to arrive with the fabric to start on Project RJq… so I have been quilting on “Oh My Stars” 🙂

And I got all the in the ditch quilting done on the flag and inner white border… now on to the stripes!

I have also figured a design for that white inner border with my friend Wendy’s help… you see I got this book by the same author as a book she has for super cheap a while back on Amazon…

 Wendy suggested 744c design…

I braved my fears and figured out how to enlarge and enlarge a little more to get the perfect sized shape for this design on my white inner border!  It took longer to get the sizing right than it did to find a piece of cardboard to cut this template after printing off the shape in size on plain printer paper!

That is set aside for now as I work first on the stripes and other flag designs… like a template for the star placement in the blue area 🙂

I am very excited to have this fun and easy project on the side while I will be working away on Project RJq. 

I would like to incorporate this somehow in the quilt… maybe print a label?  I don’t know.. would like your feedback.. she is all into the breast cancer awareness ribbon and loves this fuscia pink the best of all pinks…

Ideas anyone or have I not shared enough of this project yet? lol

Have a blessed week.  Would love to hear what you are up to this week.

Take pics of your accomplishments to share in our end of the month linky party.. coming up June 27 to the 29th this month.. Prizes will be offered only for those that link and link back in their post to our party!  It is easy if you List, Tick, & Party!

A Slow Stitching FINISH!

Yesterday at 12:30 pm EDT I put what is now OFFICIALLY known as “The Man” quilt in the washer.  And here is how luscious it came out!

Close up of the texture after washing 🙂

My idea is to rinse it all out with cold water good on a wash with cold water and no soap and not much spin (glad I have all those adjustments available now! lol) … so it get’s rinsed well.  Then check it to make sure all is good… add some color catchers (all midtones and beige so I added 2) and soap and washed on a warm regular wash… I checked it very closely before putting in the dryer… I also ALWAYS wash my quilts with company… a large towel works well.. so I will use a large bathroom towel or beach towel with the same colors of the quilt for some added gently scrubbing action during the wash and fluffiness to the drying cycle.  I also don’t dry it fully in the dryer but get it almost dry and let it airdry … about 1 hour til dry is all 🙂

Once I had that going my hands felt relieved but I still have a hand quilt to make this month and one to make AND machine quilt!  Oh my!

Project RJq will be talked about fully next week.  I am waiting for 1 fabric for it… I am excited to share the ideas God has given me for her quilt!

So I turned to Oh My Stars….

What to do!  Start quilting in the ditch until I figure out how to use the wool batting I am NOT used to (I used Hobbs Tuscany Wool on this project) and it is ITCHY on the edges!  But I do like the loft it gives and my understanding is it won’t shrink much either… so we shall see!

Finally all that is done and time for the man to get “The Man” quilt! Tadahhh!

Well he avoided all pics at this time.. but did say if I caught him snoozing he was fair game!  So it is now a quest to get a pic of my man with his quilt! lol  The quilt went into the washer measureing 69″ x 80 1/2″ and came out 67 x 78 1/2″… so def the wrinkley finish and shrinkage I expected with cotton batting but does anyone know the formula for figuring out how much shrinkage I had here???  Just curious really! lol

The label I shared with my readers already(and kept secret from my honey) I want to highlight one more time now that it is in it’s final place.. you see my bestie Connie Combs made it for me.. I cross stitch but the passion is NOT there.. for this quilt and signed my name with her initials 🙂

And I added one of my new labels I found from the Etsy shop I mentioned in a previous posting 🙂

My honey loved it all!  He thanks me every time he sees me.. all together it took about 6 1/2 months to finish this quilt… but I am VERY happy with the results!

Finally today, I renewed my auction into a Buy It Now on eBay for 7 large spools of Aurifil thread… check it out HERE!

I hope you have enjoyed this post and will head over the Kathy’s to see who is linking up today with more slow Sunday stitching!

Also linking this finish to Richard & Tanya Quilts… Link a Finish Friday here 🙂

Have a blessed Sunday!

On to the border.. :)

Finally!!! 

So excited to be working on the last thing to finish the quilting on this wonderful MAN quilt 🙂

Except I still need to add the label once the quilting is finished!

This has the most intricate quilting I have done in the body of it and is very quilty overall…

I have used Aurifil grey thread throughout and 1 roll of 820 yards I think did this quilt with some left over 🙂

 I do use cotton batting in most of my quilts so once washed it will look wrinkledy and old but very cool and cozy as well!

I got my buttons for “Oh My Stars” organized!

In yesterday’s post I showed you the proposed layout for my 50 silver stars 🙂

And speaking of “Oh My Stars”… 

It is pinned and waiting for me to finish THE MAN quilt! lol  My honey helps with pinning and does a great job!  I believe a quilt well pinned will have no puckers if your tension is good while quilting 🙂  Have you found pinning or thread basting to be important or not?

More fabric is coming in for Project RJq … looking forward to starting it next week…as soon as I wrap up THE MAN quilt 🙂

How are your goals for the month going?   Are you keeping with your list, ticking it off and Partying??? I sure am !!!  Loving how I got motivated on my current project because another urgent need has come up.

Have a blessed week… stop in Friday and see what I am whooping about!

Making HUGE progress :)

… in so many areas of my life right now.

I am selling a lot of great Aurifil handquilting quality thread on eBay right now…

in all these delectable colors… It is 28/2 hand quilting 100% Mako Cotton thread as I only use cotton for my hand quilting.  Check that auction out HERE!

I am doing the final stripe of double stitches on THE MAN quilt 🙂  Yippee!!!  This is really going fast!

Just this row of double stitching and it is on the the chain border and the label and then WASH!
(Oh my goodness I got all my jobs in one line! lol)!!

I also got the stars all painted and laid out for “Oh My Stars” that I pieced last month…

it is patiently waiting to be sandwiched for hand quilting! 🙂

And I am already getting some of the fabric in for Rebakah’s Journey quilt!

I have a pattern picked out that I found online for free.

While I finish THE MAN quilt the rest of the items I need will come it… then I will share more on my fun plans for this project!  Almost all batiks on the front, and a cute fun fabric for the back though 🙂

How are you doing on your goal setting?  Ready for June 27th weekend to link up?  Think about all the things you list and check off in other parts of your life.. why not the crafty side too.. if only in pics where you can see what is ahead of you.. and what you completed too!

Hope you have a blessed week!