Freebies and deep thoughts

Three things to be happy about
(1) picking apples at an orchard
(2) refolding your quilts
(3) flea markets

Thursday night I was standing in line at Maryland Live!  casino, waiting to pick up a freebie they were giving their most loyal players (*grin*).  They gave away one piece of Bella Russo cotton canvas luggage every week this month, available on Thursday or Friday nights.

I was only able to get this last piece - a 20" backpack.  Nice, isn't it?  I missed the 20" trolly, the 24" duffle and the 15" computer bag.

Anyway, I got into a conversation with the lady in line ahead of me and somehow she referred to something as the "8th wonder of the world." 

That started me thinking ... just off the top of your head (without Googling), can you name the 7 Wonders of the World?  I'm sure I learned them as a kid but this is what I could think of, in no particular order:

(1) Niagara Falls
(2) The pyramids at Giza
(3) the Great Wall of China
(4) the Grand Canyon
(5) Mount Rushmore??
(6) the Mona Lisa?? or was it Venus de Milo??
(7) the hanging gardens at Babylon

I didn't check my list to be sure (it doesn't really matter) and some of these might be a bit off or just plain ridiculous ... don't shoot me if I'm wrong!  How many can you name?

And oh yeah - Maryland Live!  also gave me a free room and a $15 food credit - gotta love those freebies!

Sew forth and sew on

But first ...

Three things to be happy about:
(1) a straight cut
(2) comfortable shoes
(3) making a difference

Enough play time with the scraps, time to finish a more pressing item.

This lap quilt is for a member of our guild whose church wants to honor their servicemen (and women) with quilts for Veterans' Day.  We have to turn them in no later than October's meeting, and it just needs quilting.  This goes to the front of the line!

I found this wonky churn dash pattern at Missouri Star (You Tube) and I liked it right away.  The piecing is very easy and it went together in no time at all.  I liked the technique so much that I'm working on a quilt using smaller blocks..

You're probably thinking "but there's only ONE red block!?" Yep - that's how I roll!

One of our workshop projects at last week's retreat was this Sewing Date Traveler bag by Robert Kaufman.  You can find the free pattern here.. 

I like the chicken fabric I used on the outside; the red lining has cat phrases "Dogs eat, cats dine"  "Kittens are angels with whiskers"  "A cat can purr it's way out of anything."  Cute.

I'm kind of proud of this bag because zippers scare me away and I didn't think I could do it but I did! 

It doesn't stand up by itself and it's not perfect but when I add the binding - this puppy will be finished.  Now I feel like I can go forth and conquer another bag!

There's no hurry but I may as well get it out of the way.

Feels great to check stuff off your list!


Sew forth and sew on til later

Testing, testing

Three things to be happy about:
(1) Rainbath shower gel
(2) guild retreat
(3) Outlander TV series

They're showing the second Outlander installment for this season, and oh my did they pack it down!  It didn't lose any important parts thank goodness, almost 20 years compacted into 2 shows.

Yesterday I gave you a peek at how I'm using some of the scraps from our retreat. 

I found a scrappy block I liked over at 15 Minutes of Play, and I even liked Victoria's bright yellow background fabric.  Here's two test blocks I've done so far:

Remember the longish, thickish crumb piece from yesterday? 

I made a few and cut them into 2" strips.  As you can see, these will have a LOT of seams!

My Companion Angle ruler came in handy to cut those QST's!

Each block needs 16 sub-units, to make 8 hourglass units to surround that center.

I'm still in the "do I want to make this" stage... it's a beautiful block and will be work-intensive.


I have a challenge quilt that's due in December, and a veteran's quilt due at next month's meeting.  Hmmmm....


We'll see, maybe regroup if necessary - sew forth and sew on!

Quilty days are here again!

Three things to be happy about:
(1) fruit butters
(2) steaming oatmeal
(3) an explosion of mums

Hello again, it's been a lonnnng time ... no, come to think of it, it's been a verrrrrry long time!  I've been chastised by several people for not updating my blog and they're right!

I had a great time at my guild's annual retreat last weekend at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, VA.  The room was HUGE and we had loads of working space!

But you want to know a key ingredient in that great time we all had?  SCRAPS!!!

Loads and loads of SCRAPS!!

Jennifer brought bags and bags and BAGS of scraps to share with everybody, her only stipulation was "I don't want to take any of these back home!"  And she didn't.  I didn't get a picture before we all dove in, but you can get an idea of the sheer volume if you visit her blog, Jennifer's Chronicles.

Azalia, Cheryl H, and I are each making a quilt to show at December's guild meeting, as an example of how to use up those great scraps.

Thank goodness for inventory!  These blocks were pieced here and there over the past year or two.

Bits and pieces come together ... this will be the center of my block!

Part of the outer edge - come see tomorrow!

Sew forth and sew on!