To-Do Tuesday #31

It's been a good week to get things done in my sewing room, and I haven't even had to work too hard at it either!  😍

Last week's list:

1.  Make a set of quilted cases for Carole's Safelight project.  ✔  Done!

They still need to be sent, but I'm not sure when I'll be going to the Post Office.

Still thinking about that one!

2.  Make the march Color Challenge Block from Patterns by Jen. ✔  Done!

3.  Get my Super Scrappy baby quilt basted and ready for quilting.  ✔  Done!

Layers together and ready for spray basting.

I even started the quilting!

So, for this week's list, I'm just going to work on finishing this quilt.  I don't think that'll be too hard since it is small, and I'm quilting it very simply with the scallop stitch on my Pfaff.

And then I'm giving myself permission to play with something new!  I have a few things in mind - I'll share more about what I decide on later.

Hope your week is getting off to a good start!  

Linking up with Roseanne at Home Sewn by Us for To-Do Tuesday!

March Color Challenge Block

Just a quick post to share my March block for the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge, sponsored by Jen of Patterns by Jen.

This month's block is inspired by the Baltimore Oriole, a beautiful orange bird with black and white wings and head.   Since I've been making all of my blocks in a monochromatic color scheme, I looked around for three different oranges to use for March.  And here's how it turned out!

And all three blocks so far.

Sharing at Patterns by Jen for the March Color Challenge Link-up.

Scrappy Embroidered Pouch

Last Sunday I shared the bicycle I'd been working on out of Gail Pan's Patchwork Loves Embroidery Too.  This week I finished up the rest of the embroidery!

I love the basket of flowers and the little bird!

In the book, this is turned into a little pouch for keeping sewing supplies in, and that's what I've been working on the last couple days.

I decided to use the scraps from the zipper pouch I finished a few weeks ago to make the patchwork part of the pouch.

After layering the front and backing with some batting (these pieces are about a fat eighth size), the next step is to add some hand-quilting to the fabric areas.  I've marked a grid to quilt with Ecru perle cotton thread, size 8, and that's what I'll be working on today!

Sharing at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap! and at

Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Bits and Pieces in March

Teal has been the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I found lots of bits and pieces of it in my scraps and stash to move along my RSC projects for this year.

Trees for the Rainbow Jungle -

24 HSTs for the zigzag project - 

The orange row is sewn together!

2.5 inch squares to make a color gradient block - 

A scrappy little squirrel cat in a log cabin - 

And I finished up the Scrappy Sprouts and Sunflowers flimsy!  Whoo hoo!

The sprouts were made throughout 2018, sewn together in 2019, and the sky and flowers finished up this year.  As soon as I get it basted with batting and backing, it will be ready to quilt! 

I'm looking forward to a new color for April - how about you?  Linking up with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday!

Book Club QAL Week 2

After finishing up both Evelyn and Jane last week, I worked on Louisa this week!

Working with templates has been a learning experience!  Cutting out the pattern, tracing it on the template plastic, then cutting that shape out of the plastic, tracing it on the fabric several times, plus then cutting the fabric - that's a lot of steps!  I noticed my Louisa came out quite a bit larger than 9.5 inches.  Fortunately, she trimmed down easily!

Here's the group!  

I'm loving the red prints and Kona Snow together.

Sharing at Elm Street Quilts for the Book Club QAL Thursday link-up.

I Like Thursday #179

Is it Thursday?  I can't really tell the difference between days lately.  How about you?  Most days have been pretty much the same, except for when I visit a grocery store to stock up, and then I quickly get in and out while trying to stay a safe distance away from anyone else I pass by.  It's very strange, to say the least.

Staying home definitely feels the safest!

Mike likes a morning Starbucks coffee, so we've taken to stopping at the drive-thru, and then going for a little drive.  Monday we went in search of elk...

and found some west of town, down by the river.

Crossing the road... slow down cars!

There was actually a herd of at least 35 right near where we took these pictures, but too far away from where we were to get a good picture.

Yesterday our drive took us by the lake in the middle of town, and we stopped to get a photo of the newest sculpture that's just been installed in this little park.

Zooming out, there's this:

The small Statue of Liberty was installed here in 1950 as part of a Boy Scouts of America project.  Evidently there are about 200 of them around the U.S.

I wonder where we will drive to tomorrow, lol!

What's your favorite comfort food?  Mine is Cheeseburger Soup (recipe here) - an old Taste of Home recipe that I've modified a bit to make it healthier.  (Nonfat milk, regular grated cheese, instead of Velveeta, less butter and potatoes - but still very tasty!)  Our grocery store had no ground beef (none at all!!!) when I went to stock up, but there was ground turkey, and that worked just fine for this soup.

I had fun sewing up these quilted cases for Carole @From My Carolina Home's Safelight project. I put these on my weekly To-do list, and that was a good reminder to get going on them.

This year the tissue holder was added, and

 those are really fun and quick to make!

With all the time spent at home recently, I finished up my April book club book, and it is such a good story!  

I think it may be considered a Young Adult book, but it held my interest throughout the entire story.  It's about a 17 year old boy who befriends a 92 year old woman in his apartment building in New York City and the way his life changes because of their friendship.

Hope you are all hanging in there!   The State of Colorado issued a "Stay at Home" order starting today, so I will be doing what I've been doing for about two weeks - staying home except for grocery shopping and our daily afternoon walk in the neighborhood.  Joining in with LeeAnna and the other "I Like Thursday" bloggers at Not Afraid of Color.

To-Do Tuesday #30

Happy Tuesday, friends!  I hope you are all well, and adjusting to our new normal.  I am lucky to be retired and don't have anywhere I have to go, but I am truly thankful for all the workers who have to keep going to work everyday, especially my brother and my two nieces who are all nurses.  May they stay safe and well, too!

While staying home, I've had plenty of time to get things done from last week's list, such as...

Stitching up the first three blocks for the Book Club Hand-Pieced QAL:

I'm very happy with how these are turning out!

Finishing my turquoise HSTs for the zigzag project:

I also finished sewing together the orange row.

And I sewed the sunflowers to the sky section of Scrappy Sprouts!  Yes, all three are sewn!  Whoo hoo!

I love that little robin!

For the week ahead:

1.  Make a set of sunglass and cosmetic cases for Carole's Safelight project.  

2.  Almost forgot about the March Color Challenge block - better get on that!

3.  I have a Super Scrappy baby quilt top that is ready to be layered for quilting.  I'd like to get that done this week, too.

The cute rainbow cats will be the backing for this quilt, and 

it will be a donation for the Hands2Help quilt drive.

Linking up with Roseanne at Home Sewn by Us for To-Do Tuesday!

Slow Stitching on a Sunday

Awhile back I had traced this design from Gail Pan's Patchwork Loves Embroidery  Too, but hadn't gotten started on it until this week.  Now I have a bicycle!

I'll enjoy stitching in some more of the details on it this week!

I also have the pieces cut and ready to sew for the third block in the Book Club QAL, "Louisa."

Earlier this past week, I made the first two blocks  - Evelyn and Jane.  I've been able to work ahead on the weekly blocks because of the great foundation in hand-piecing that I got from participating in last year's QAL.

And look what came through on my Library Holds!  I'll be able to get to know Evelyn, who the first block is named after!

Screenshot from my Overdrive app - boy, am I thankful for the ability

to download ebooks these days, with our library closed right now! 

Linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching!

Just for Fun!

It's been one if those weeks, hasn't it?   I have had a hard time concentrating on much of anything... how about you?  There are many projects I could be finishing, but just haven't been in the mood.

So... inspired by Angela's "Coronacation" houses, and Turid's "Making Us Laugh" blog hop hot pad, and these scraps on my cutting table -

I just played.   Meet the "Cat in the Turquoise Log Cabin!"

Just a mini - about 7 x 11 inches.

A strip of this and a strip of that to make the cabin, 

with some flowers growing outside.

And since it was a gloomy, rainy/snowy day when I was making this - 

 the perfect sky fabric! 

Polka dots for the backing - so fun!

Since this little guy really makes me smile, I decided to hang him on my fridge so I would see him every time I walk by!

Along the way, I finished up all the teal/turquouse/aqua HSTs I needed for this row of the zigzag project.

And that turquoise color gradient block, too.

I've made nine of these blocks now.

So I guess I've accomplished a few things this week!

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday.

And at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

Also Sandra's monthly DrEAMi linky at mmmquilts!

I Like Thursday #178 - Escaping

I'm all about escaping these days - how about you?

The news is a lot easier to tolerate with a glass of wine, right?

Did you know last Saturday was National Potato Chip Day?  We celebrated at our house!   Chips are a treat we don't allow ourselves very often...

You might notice that I wasn't even able to get a picture 

before we broke open those potato chips!

I have a good friend who I walk with every week on Wednesday, but in these days of self isolation, we decided we'd better not meet up this week.  Still needing to escape the house, I took my shadow self along!

At least it was a beautiful sunny day!

My shadow self even helped take a picture of the crocuses - more than the last time I shared them, but still the only thing blooming!

Need some escape reading?  I'm back to Robyn Carr's books.  I finished all of the Virgin River books and now I'm reading through her Thunder Point series.  They take place in a small town on the Oregon Coast, one of my favorite places to be!

Are you escaping with a little sewing?  I am!  These are my first two blocks for the Book Club Hand- Pieced QAL.  I'm really happy with how they've turned out!

The first link-up to share our blocks with other participants starts today, so I've put more info about these blocks in my previous post!

Joining in with LeeAnna and the "I Like Thursday" bunch at Not Afraid of Color.

Book Club QAL

I'm joining in again with Patty of Elm Street Quilts and Kristin of Simple.Handmade.Everyday for the Book Club Hand-Pieced QAL.  This year's blocks are based on main characters of favorite books - right up my alley!

I thought it would be fun to make this year's blocks in various red prints and white.  Since I had a yard of Kona Snow in my solids drawer,  that will be my white.

Our first block is Evelyn, named for the main character in Marie Bostwick's Cobbled Court Quilts series.  I haven't read any of these books yet, but I have the first one on hold at the library!

Although there are templates available for cutting the pieces for Evelyn, it was easy to rotary cut them, so that is what I did.

These pieces stitched together easily and Evelyn looks pretty good!

It was so enjoyable to work on the Evelyn block, that I went right on and made the next block, too - Jane!  We'll learn more about Jane next week.

So, we're on our way!

Sharing at Elm Street Quilts and Simple.Handmade.Everyday