The mystery is solved.

Finally.

Today I put the last stitches in the binding of the mystery quilt my local quilt shop featured last fall.  Most people were assembling their quilts at my winter quilt retreat.  Mine stalled out when I had so many obligation projects.

A few weeks ago I finally got back to it and can now show the end results.

The mystery pattern was called Fabric Foolishness by Debbie Caffrey.  

A closer view shows my focus fabric better....ice cream.  A nice summery fabric.

The down side of a mystery quilt is that you can't project the placement of the fabrics when you're choosing them.  I did ask the shop girls for opinions and they voted down the pink I had picked out.  I am disappointed that I didn't hold my ground.  As soon as it was finished I wished it had some pink.  I guess that's just the way it goes.

I am working on a few new projects now that I've completed an old project or two.  Maybe I'll manage a few progress reports.  You never know.

Pam

A couple cross stitch finishes.

I do manage a little bit of cross stitch and even finished a couple today. 

Part of the push was because one is for a baby shower gift. 

Once I finished one I continued on and finished a second one in the same manner. 

Both were ornaments from the Just Cross Stitch magazine. 

The first is from the August 2014 issue.  SamSarah's Snow Baby. 

I used more pink than the pattern called for. 

The second is Noel Pinkeep by Erica Michael's Design...from the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue. 

Yikes...2008!  I stitched this earlier this year but kitted it up back in 2008.  I thought it would be a nice pinkeep like featured in the magazine but then today's finishing method felt like a good plan. 

 

 

They are both a little too large to be ornaments but will be cute decorations.

 

Finishing is still just not my thing.  These are cute, though. 

I might need to change the name

of my blog to a title that includes something about being a block-of-the-month addict.  Before one can wind down I'm starting another!  (You haven't even seen the one that I'm 3 months into because I haven't started it yet.)

This newest one, Winter Solstice,  is an online group started by Paulette of Sweet P Quilting and Creations.

The homespuns and rustic look spoke to me.

 The pattern is out of the book: Life in the Country. 

 

Our first assignment was to make the two barns.  

When making houses and barns out of homespun or plaids you have to be ready for a bit of a wonky look.  That sort of thing usually gets lost when the whole quilt is finished.

I had a helper (or anti-helper) in my sewing room yesterday.

Murphy has a 'thing' for thread.  If I'm sewing the binding on a quilt I have to keep all the raw edges hidden or he chews on the threads.  He discovered the shelf of thread yesterday.  He is trying to eat the loose ends...the stinker.  He also found the waste basket. 

Pam

I am driven

to tie up some loose ends in my sewing cave.  I am working away on various odds and ends before leaving for some time away.

The most recent finish was my July block for Quilt Doodle Doodles block of the month. 

 

A cute line of steaming cups of cocoa.  

I have more pictures of another project or two but those will have to wait until I have more time.

Pam

Playing Catch Up

I keep thinking about all the things I said I'd post then I either don't have a picture or have something else to post.  So, today I will catch up a couple things. 

First...

my new Pfaff Performance 5.0  has come home.  It is such fun.   The learning curve was almost 0 since my previous Pfaff had similar features.  There are some new things I'm enjoying...like the automatic thread snips.  My old machine had it but I never used it.  Why?  I don't know.  It also has the knee lift...although I haven't done anything that would need it.  I sometimes use it on my travel machine so I already know I like it. 

Next...a quick quilt for Buttercup's birthday. 

I guess I don't have a close up.  It just uses the same sailboat fabric as The Scholar's birthday quilt.  It is meant to be used.  Tossed around, taken to college or camp and thrown in the washing machine.  It isn't anything fancy.


The back uses 2 strips that started out on the front.  When I laid them all out it was much too wide.
I put them on the back between strips of manatee fabric. 

Love the manatee fabric.  It has so much depth.  It made a nice backing because I didn't have to cut it up into small pieces.

I recently went to an antique mall and bought an old ladder to display quilts.  I just pulled out quilts that were on hand to try it out.  It will be fun to change out the quilts by season or theme.

I still have a class project I haven't unpacked and photograph.  So many projects, so little time.

Happy Friday.

Pam

The Olive Quilt.

Last summer I bought some fabric and a pattern designed to feature mainly one focus fabric.  The name of the pattern just never stuck because I kept calling it 'The Olive Quilt'.

It is a Villa Rosa Designs pattern called Sundance.  It's one of those post card patterns seen in quilt stores.  I'm sure I would have looked right past it but the shop owner suggested it when she asked what I was going to do with the two yards of fabric I 'just had to have'.

From the back view you can see why I dubbed it: The Olive Quilt.  It uses two yards of a focus fabric with these olive looking blocks inserted. 

The fabric waited around my sewing room for months until one day when I just walked in, planning to work on something else, and had to pick it up and make a quilt.  It is a one day project that, given my hectic and unfocused schedule, took me two months. 

I love Woodie cars and the whole beach-y theme so this fabric had to come home with me.

It doesn't really show, but I used a hibiscus flower panto which was one of the reasons it took so long to finish.  I had to order the pattern then was shipped the wrong one so had to wait some more.

Another reason it took two months to finish was because I needed to shop for backing.  I found this fabric at the same shop....vintage camp post cards.  I had to insert a piece of blue water-like fabric but it all goes together pretty well. 

I have another finish to show next time.  All the puttering and not finishing makes it look like I've suddenly become very busy in my sewing room.  In reality, it is just that I am finally managing to focus on one project at a time until it is done.

Pam

Buttercup turns 18.

My baby is 18 today.  Milestone birthdays are always the most exciting. 

Here she is turning 10.  The cake looked like a hamburger with a side of fries. 

Choosing a picture isn't always easy.  I don't have many pictures on my computer from when she was young and didn't get one scanned in before today.  Sorry, Birthday girl.  

She is off working at her summer camp job but we will celebrate tomorrow. 

Pam