This and That

I managed to get three more hearts made the other day. Two are for gifts and the purple one is for Emily. She isn't sure yet if she's going to hang it or pin it to her school bag.

And I was recently blessed by a random act of kindness from Joanne, so I returned the favor by making her this little pincushion. The letter and wreath came from Kathy Schmitz and you can find the free pattern for them HERE.

Wonky Log Cabin Blocks

Here they are...my finished wonky log cabin blocks. I'm so glad I decided to add sashing between these blocks, because I think they might be a bit much if they were sewed together like this. I don't have the sashing fabric yet, so these will have to wait until I can go fabric shopping. Hopefully I can do that next week. Until then I have plenty of other things to keep me busy! :0)

Christmas Heart

I love homemade ornaments, and I've wanted to make some new ones for my tree for a few years now. I also needed to make two ornaments for a swap I'm doing at Christmas. So today I finally decided what to make. I didn't have a pattern...only a picture. After a couple of attempts at making up a pattern that was the right size, I ended up with this. It's wool felt on the front and cotton on the back. I put a layer of fusible between them to keep it all together. Then I did the blanket stitch and added the hanger and that was that! This is my prototype which I'll keep, so I still have to make at least two more. And Emily has asked for one in her school colors of purple and gray. I can't wait to see how that comes out. :0)

EDITED:  I've written up some instructions for making this woven heart ornament. You can find them HERE.

Kitty on Quilts Needle Keep

A while back, I saw a sweet little needle keep on Kathy Schmitz's blog. She had the kit for sale in her Etsy shop (you can find the kit HERE) and I just couldn't resist it. Tonight I finally got it put together. It's so cute and I love the fabric bit on the front. And I learned something new tonight...I learned how to finger crochet! I'd never even heard of it but it's so easy! I had to finger crochet the tie that goes around the button, and now that I know how it's done, I'm sure I'll be doing more of it. You can go HERE to see a video of it.

I also got six more blocks for my Wonky Log Cabin quilt done today. I only have 11 more to go! :0)

Wonky Log Cabin Progress

Well, here we are at Monday again, and I don't have a whole lot of sewing to show for the past week. I've done a lot of sewing...it just doesn't look like much. Here are the first 26 of my wonky log cabin blocks. I need 49 total, so I'm over half way there. I also have six more started (about half done). What has surprised me is that I'm running out of scraps! Well, strip scraps that is. I had a big tub full to start with, and now I can see the bottom. So it's good progress to have used all that up. Now comes the fun part...cutting into other scraps so I have more strips to use!

A few finishes

I had a good sewing day last Friday, and I got both of the little scrappy table toppers finished.

I got my granny square quilt back from Joanne on Friday, and I managed to get it finished too! :0)

And a note here to Liz who asked about the sew along...you're a no reply blogger and I had no way to answer you, but it's not too late to join. We'd be glad to have you sewing along with us! :0)

A day at the fair

Our county fair started on Saturday. We were there Saturday for Emily to do dairy judging with FFA, we were there Monday for the marching band to play and to watch the county tractor pull, and Emily talked me into going back today...and taking two of her friends along with us. It ended up being a nice enough afternoon, but I'm happy to say the fair is over for me until next year! I'm all faired out! LOL  

Here are two long horned steers that we saw. The picture doesn't do them justice...they're huge!

We also sat and watched some of the harness racing. This picture was taken later while we were standing along the back fence.

And most every year I've taken a picture of the kids on a tractor. Brian wasn't with us today, but Emily was happy to get up on one of the bigger tractors for a picture. After this her friend got up with her. They're both into tractors and pickup trucks! LOL

Scrappy toppers

As many of you know, I've been working with leftover scrappy 2-1/2 inch squares for quite a while now. At one point I had planned to make a quilt out of 36-patch scrappy blocks (and I still might someday). Well, I decided enough is enough for now...I'm a bit burned out on the 2-1/2 inch squares. So I decided to use up what I had started and I made these two little table toppers. These are just the tops...they still need to be quilted...but I really like them! And best of all, it's two more projects that will soon be finished! :0)

Travelling Stash Winner

I want to thank everyone for entering the giveaway for the travelling stash box. And without further delay, the winner is...Jen! Congratulations Jen!

And since I hate to post without a picture, I'll show you this. Emily saw this at the county fair yesterday and said that if she EVER does go to a formal dance at school (which by the way she says she's never doing) then her date will have to wear this. How on earth did my daughter get so into camo? LOL

PIF Goodies

Recently I received a lovely surprise in my mail from Jane. I had signed up for her PIF a while back, and look at all the goodies she sent to me! First is this lovely bag, made from her scrap blocks. It's just the right size and so cute! She also knitted me a pair of wrist warmers and a pair of socks (matching, as you can see). I also got a sweet little pincushion, a stitched lavender sachet, and a lace bookmark. The card is made from a photo taken by her son. Thanks so much Jane! I love everything! :0)

So now it's time for me to pass on the PIF by making gifts for three of my blog friends! Just leave a comment if you'd like to get a handmade gift from me, and are willing to pass it on to three more people. You must have an active blog to participate.

Traveling Stash

I recently was the lucky winner of one of the traveling stash boxes circulating through blogland, and it arrived in today's mail. What fun I had sorting through all the goodies inside! After looking through everything, these are the bits I decided to keep.

And now I've refilled the box and it's ready to move on to another lucky blogger. So if you'd like to be the one to get this traveling stash, just leave a comment on this post. I do apologize that this is only open to active bloggers in the US as the postage would be crazy to send it abroad. I'll pick a winner Sunday, September 9. Good luck to you all! :0)

Lots of scrappy goodness

Well here we are at the beginning of September already. That means it's time to make two more scrappy star blocks. I really like how these look, especially with four now instead of just the two. I can't wait to make two more next month. The link for the pattern for these is on my sidebar if you'd like to sew along with us! :0)

And I've been working on my wonky log cabins a bit. I have eight blocks total now and I've started on three more. Last night I separated the blocks on my design wall and put some scraps of fabric up to simulate sashing, and I really like it this way. The blocks stand on their own more this way, instead of all going together. I think it helps to calm the blocks down a bit, if that's possible! LOL