Show & Tell

a lovely surprise came in the mail today. a thank you card from Melanie of Jelly Bean Angel. & two fragrant lavender pillows. beautiful & handmade by Melanie herself. she even grows & dries her own lavender. i could get used to this. they smell so so good.even though i have sewn on half the binding. i haven't finished my Bento Box yet. i'm all over the place with the hand quilting. & don't know if i'm half done. or three-quarters done. but we have Show & Tell at tomorrow night's Thimbleberries Club. our email for this week said "if you don't show you'll have to tell". i would rather show. wouldn't you?

the Summer quilt would be a regular show. but the Bento quilt was on my UFO list submitted earlier this year. oh the pressure & work required to accomplish goals. will i be showing. or will i be telling.

while we're on the subject. here's a thank you card i received from micaela6955. her daughter was thrilled with the Tea Party Apron she won.& what day is it today. how come i still haven't RSVP'd for that Wedding. it had to be mailed by August what. une faux pas.

A Moment Of Silence

stay in your seat while i roll the credits in order of appearance:

patchwork book from Japan ISBN4-8347-2371-2, thrift shop clothing, white DMC cotton thread, cotton batting, backing fabric from stash, Clover silver chalk marking pen, black DMC perle 8, Fons & Porter needles for "big-stitch" utility quilting, comes with mini gripper which you will need, tutorial for making a label, exquisite furniture and location courtesy of lovely upstairs neighbor with immaculate & tidy apartment.

One Equals Three

another pattern has tempted me to pick up that rotary cutter. but who said i had to make 3. while i was gathering ONE. TWO followed me to the checkout counter. and THREE was in my stash.

ONE - this cute paper doll fabric has patiently been hanging out in my holiday pile. yes i have a whole pile of just holiday. i'm sure that you do too. the dotty green & tiny trees is the new ME fabric. i'm going to mix them with some old stuff i have.

TWO - luv this AH print. always wanted to do something like this with black. whenever i find a print that i like @ JoAnn's i immediately check the selvedge. if it's AH i just have to have it. used a coupon. yeah.

THREE - this one's for the Summer Stash Challenge. i'll get the piecing done on time. but the quilting. not sure about that.

it's alot i know. to speed things up i start with about 1/2 yard of each fabric with right sides together. then when you cut your strips together they are ready to sew.

Red, White & Blue

on purpose i was looking for a theme pic & asked the kids to pose with this fun beach towel.

then i said "auntie karen wants you to hold the towel really tight & the little one should get in front". a perfect shot but i got suntan lotion on the camera lense.

even when the kids are not your own you are very aware of them growing up.


especially when you watch them boogey out to the wooden dock so far away.

& when they're chillin.

the jetty. so natural. beautiful browns & sandy beiges.

my summer stash challenge. very colorful. all pinned & ready for me to work on.

Summer Stash Challenge

perhaps i have shown too much.

pattern calls for over 200 nine-patches pieced to a square.
this is what 50 looks like. i'm hoping to get at least 128.

anxious to get started i made as many as i could. using stash is very rewarding. but if i can't find more of this fabric (in my stash of course) i will have to make it smaller than the pattern calls for. the red & white could be 18 years old. the blue almost 8. except for the green which is only a few months old to me the fabric is very lightweight. new quilting fabric is dense & substantial. when finished this might feel more like a summer nightgown.

Summer Stash Challenge

yeah! the piecing is finished.it was quick & easy. but i don't feel guilty. no i don't. a big bag of rainy day stuff has been transformed into a usable quilt top. and isn't that cherry print fantastic. i found it in my stash. it's so old. how old is it. i really don't know. but it's perfect as backing for this summer quilt. i can't decide how to finish. it's small enough to quilt by hand. but i'll take some time before i make my next move.

Summer Stash Challenge

1 shirt. 2 blouses. 1 jumper. 1 circle skirt.

all cut out. but had to adjust measurements of pieces. some shorter. some longer. it's a guessing game with clothing on how much yardage you will get. it'll look different than pattern. well not really. but it has inspired me to make again with proper yardage. ooohooh. let's go look at stash again to see if i already have it.

Summer Stash Challenge

count me in for a Summer Stash Challenge. it seems all quilters are feeling the same about their accumulation of goodies that are not being used. i've already started my Scrappy Sunday project. but don't want any conditions on how & when i will complete it. for a challenge i needed to dig deeper into the unknown territory of the back room. so i decided on a large bag of thrift store clothing that i have been saving for a rainy day which is all laundered & ready to go.