Cool Weather Calls For Quilting

 our weather has a mind of its own supposedly our 80 degree temps got changed to low windy cold 60's with another cold front coming through so why not start on the flannel quilt lol

A quick walk this morning ,like a 10 min walk😄wind & coldness came out of nowhere,Grace was like "but we just got here"😄

Winter is definitely not leaving without a fight🤣

285 Blocks Later

I have always luved the ole tyme tie quilts,I'd planned to make one a few weeks back when we had a freeze come through but now Mother Nature has decided to let us have Spring with a touch of Summer lol my Grace jumped in to help so I could hurry up & play with her lol

this is my first attempt at a full size quilt, guesstimating I just laid 5" flannel blocks on top of one of my bed quilts & arranged them till I liked the look, I'm thinking of a 2 1/2" block border as of now laid out there are 15 rows of 19 5"blocks totaling 285 & if Mother Nature decides all the cold fronts are over,I'm going to sleep under it at least once if I have to turn the air down low🤣

Grace luvs adventures,I took her to  see the Easter Bunny  Sunday evening lol

He Makerh Everything Beautiful

 spite our crazy weather ,80's one day ,20's the next Spring has kept up a good fight, my Grace & me took advantage of those warm spurts lol hopefully Mother Nature has calmed down & will let Spring do her thing which is simply just to be beautiful

Some Days Calls For Cornbread

 helping my niece with yard work ,she sent me home with vegetable soup & what goes better than cornbread 

so many pretty wild flowers ,almost a shame to have to cut the grass 

the bees were buzzing around faster than we could cut the grass

then there was the first ladybug siteing for Spring lol

Spring is definitely in the air🌺🐞🐝

Catching Up & Starting new Prrojects

Do we really ever get caught up? Why do we start new projects with so many UFO'fluttering about? these are questions that will go unanswered throughout eternity 🤣

all caught up on my RSC blocks

Jan/blues

Feb/pinks

Mar/greens

for the 2023 RSC (rainbow Scrappy challenge) I'm making 4" blocks & going to attempt to lay them in a fashion that will give the illusion of a color wash quilt, guestimating a good lap size of 56X60 it seems I'll need a little over 300, roughly 27 for each months color,give or take a few depending on the size of the borders I choose

Flannel tie quilt, a new project in the making,I thought I had grabbed the wider fabrics but there's were still over the 45

I cut 224 / 5" flannel squares this morning,long quilting rulers & rotery cutters are a blessing!😄this will be my first full size ,I lean toward the larger lap size lol & of course all sites will tell you for a 5" blocks you'll need 200 plus, 300,I even seen one saying 400 plus🤔 so this will be a guestimation,I measured one the the store quilts I have & divided & added by rows & roughly I should have enough, I'll lay them out soon to make sure

nothing like poping popcorn the old way in a pot on the stove eye,a few spoons of sugar in a glass of water & a squeezed lemon makes for homemade lemonade,be sure to scrape some pulp outta the lemon for extra yumminess!

Spring? Who you kidding?

 

Today's the first day of Spring & if the calendar says it is then it must be true spite our 27 degree weather that came with a freeze warning & tomorrow's not looking any warmer lol! Just have to luv Ala weather!

perhaps it will encourage the makings of an ole tyme flannel tied quilt lol I've been wanting to make one for ages & finally got fabrics,backing & wool yarn to get it going,it was hard to resist a 30% off sale especially when they're all 108"wide

so far I've only made lap size quilts in the 57X60 range,this one will be a full size ,Google says for 5" blocks I'll need over 400🤔since this type of quilting isn't quilted,it should go fast?? let's go to the sewing room & see what happens!

How Do You Define Joy

JOY

a feeling of great happiness
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying

if you look closely you'll discover you don't have to go far to find things that bring you joy, the sound of birds singing, a cool breeze on a hot day,for me it can be as simple as watching my grandbabies, fish, being in my sewing room, making cookies with the girls,the list is way too long to list

you can take joy in a hard days work

And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor.( Ecclesiastes 2:10 )

there is joy in the Lord

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (Habbakuk 3:19 )

JOY! such a little word, but so much impact!

It's National Quilting Day

 Today is National Quilting Day, whether quilting,enjoying a quilt show,or showing off your finishes as well as quilts in progress,it's a day to celebrate quilts,I've just gotten back into quilting a few years ago & managed to finish a few in the last two years this is a wonky log cabin block with a keyboard border I made for a Rainbow Scrap Challenge 

I had a lot of Americana fabrics left from when I use to make dolls & made this take five blocks quilt

last year I decided I wanted to make a Fall rag quilt,all fabrics were from my stash

my last finish was a week ago,I wanted a cottagee look & had just enough fabrics from other projects to pull this quilt together,I did the take five block on this one as well 

each of these quilts come out to around a 56X 60, the perfect lap size for snuggling,I have plans for my first full size quilt coming up soon,there's a few UFOs flying around that will turn into a

*chicken quilt

*red/white large stars quilt

*little houses quilt

Quilt in progress 

 4"blocks for a yearly Rainbow Scrap Challenge  that I participate in over at So Scrappy ,I'm doing a color wash theme with my blocks this year

when things settle down🤣yes that's a funny thought,this is my very first quilt I made with my Aunt over 15 years ago waiting to be quilted,she taught me to quilt old school on her 100 yr old quilting frame,shed always told me do it right  which ment by hand,many have told me to just run it through the machine but I said I would & I will,it's been on my heart to finish it up & hoping to get to it as soon as possible,I have no idea what the block is called ,I think she made it up but she if anybody knows if there's a name for this old block I'd luv to know

 

Happy Saint Patty's Day

 did you wear green today? my Grace & me are still enjoying Sadie's company,getting theses two to cooperate for a photo shoot was a hoot,seems like I clicked that camera 50 times🤣

I stopped by JoAnns this morning & patterns are on sale,but I did good! walked out with only 3! yea at $1.99 I still can't believe it either 😄got a pretty grey print flannel for backing on an upcoming quilt,do you remember when your grandmother made simple square blocks sewn together & tied a yarn knot in the middle of each square? I'm under the illusion I'm going to whip this up & sleep under it this weekend😄oh well more on that later, wishing you a great weekend of happy sewing!

From Clouds To SunSets

early morning started  out with beautiful cloud formations & ending with a beautiful sunset

Grace & her spend a night buddy spent the morning playing & wrestling

I got a few flower seeds started for Spring,I'd seen where you plants seeds in a milk jug & thought I'd give it a try,as flowers start to come out in our local nursery I'll buy ready to plant flowers as well,I just like to play in the dirt & try different ways to grow things,last week I planted a few rows of corn & sunflowers

   seeds are planted watered & jugs are taped back together,now we wait !

Bachelor Button Blue Boys

Holly Hocks

Zinnias California Giants

Zinnias Thumbelina

Purple Cornflower

Carrots

In the next few days I'll plant the rest of the seeds in seeding pots,plant seeds I saved from last year,make plans for the flower beds& get ready for Spring

Robes & Spend The Nights

 Another UFO marked off today,I knew this fabric would be warm & snuggly but didn't realize it'd be bulky & try my soul😄 a quick hem in the morning & I'll be ready for the cold front that's coming in this weekend

friends of mine have a beautiful chocolate lab Sadie whom I take care of when they have to go outta town,my fur baby Grace luvs when Sadie comes for a visit,when they pull all the toys out it looks like a doggie daycare over here😄

GRACE

SADIE

A Quilt Finish & A Park Run

 I started this quilt back last year for no rhyme or reason,no contest just because I wanted something cottagee & had enough fabrics left over from other projects,my fur baby Grace always takes claim to the new quilts,she literally was determined to snuggle under it beside me while I was finishing up sewing the binding lol 

I tried to do a photo shoot outside but the backyard is a mess right now with all the rain,as soon as I try to arrange it on the couch she burrows under it ,when I say Grace what are you doing she pops out like "what?"😄

now maybe I can finish my little houses quilt,excuse me Grace's little house quilt😄can you guess where she is when I'm seeing the quilt tops together? I'll give you a hint under the sewing machine lol I'm hoping to finish up some UFO'S this week ,if they don't touch the floor she's content watching out the window for the neighbors cat to walk by😄

I've been sick these past few weeks & we both were getting stir crazy but I managed to take her to the park yesterday

spite this crazy cold front that's came through Spring is definitely in the air 

How Many Blocks?

three months into the Rainbow Scrappy Quilt challenge,there's always plans of big big blocks ,so far that's only happened once lol I'm still sewing together last year's quilt those big blocks turned into little houses lol,the color wash method grabbed my attention ,cute, interesting but no no no I'm making big blocks ,one a month I say!🤣needless to say I've been making 4" blocks for the last 3 months lol! guestimating for a lap size of around. 56x66 I'll need roughly 304 blocks

Greens for March with 27 in

Pinks for February with 21 in

Blues for January with 23 in

I have a feeling this will be a project that won't look right till the end or will it? LoL meanwhile I think I'll catch up on a few more blues & pinks & getting sewing projects finished & be ready for next months new color

Things Are Looking A Little Greener

 

I've managed to squeak out a few green blocks,it's slow going but it's getting there

the weather here has been extremely warm,a few days ago I was able to get a few glorious shots of my niece's back yard,Spring is definitely here

Better Days Ahead

 Just like the title says,that's what I'm hoping for,better Days ahead,this past week something has grabbed hold of me & beat me down pretty good,sitting outside yesterday evening as the sun was setting I spied quite a few beautiful sights,my neighbors cherry blossom tree,a jet going by,a glorious full moon,my dove couple dropped in for a visit,birds at the feeder,no matter what the day throws at us there is always something beautiful in it

the first of the daffodils has bloomed,I have a chipmunk that thinks anything bulb related is his so I transplanted my daffodils into a potting barrel lol

I thought I was going to have to take this little guy into the house as he sat there for the longest but he finally figured out how to fly

there was a glorious sunrise this morning,the makings of a beautiful start for the day

Hoping to make a little progress in the sewing room,I'm still not fully up to par so it'll be one stich at a time