Voting Starts Today!!!

Did you take time to visit all the beautiful furry friends at the Pets on Quilts Contest by Lily Pad Quilting?  

If not, go to THIS LINK NOW!

 

Then go HERE to cast your votes! 

These photos are guaranteed to make you smile - 

and who couldn't use a smile?

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Design Wall Monday - Catch-up Style!!!

There are so many things to do now that Sara has gone home!!!  

Not only do I have to get back into reading all my favorite blogs, but all my projects are screaming for attention!

This is why my Design Wall is in two pieces....

I often have to get behind it to get into my stash closets :)  No work has been done on my Blooming Nine-Patch this week, and I really want to get that next color up there.  These strips are just waiting patiently to be sewn up and made into delicious 9-patches - YUM!!!

You can see tons of wonderful projects in progress at Judy's Patchwork Times today!

My next priority is to make sure I am ready for several classes for the below quilt that I will be teaching soon.....the bright and beautiful Amish Beauties!

Then I have TWO Bertie's Year blocks that desperately need attention....

Yep, they've been languishing!  I've got them fused down, but not yet stitched down.  And I was doing so well at keeping up!  And I got an email that the next one is already on it's way - yikes!

I want to make a See-N-Go Project Bag  - from these gorgeous scraps (you can see mine HERE and get your FREE pattern from Jacquelynne Steve's Summer E-magazine - also FREE - HERE!) to match my Stitchery Keeper - see more about it HERE.




And then I have "just a few" other projects that are calling my name LOL!!!  

This month is Light and Lime Greens for the Rainbow Challenge over at SoScrappy, and I don't need to make any more green blocks so I'll take a break from that this month.  Hopefully that will give me time to catch up on some of these more pressing projects :)

So I know you're wondering if we got everything made for Sara before she left, right?  Yep, we did!  And then some, because I did some repairs on several of her pieces of clothing the night before she left :)

The Foxy Shorts turned out really, really cute!

I was a little nervous about making the Woodland Creatures PJ's.  It had been quite a while since I did any apparel sewing and working with these new-fangled all-in-one patterns was a little bit of a challenge at first...

And working with jersey knit fabric again - let me just say UGH!!!

But they really did turn out cute and very, very comfy!!!

And Sara finished up her second pillowcase - cupcakes for her sister Emma!

Yesterday morning we met her father and sister halfway between Nashville and Monroe NC to get her on her way back home so she can begin getting ready for school.  They start on August 26 there.  On the way, Sara finished up the little cuddle rag quilt I made the night before for Miss Link by snipping all the edges to make them ruffle when they are washed ....

As you can see below, Miss Link was a huge help - LOL!!!

It turned out really cute and I enjoyed sewing up those scraps and getting them out of my stash!  Sara will wash it and make it all raggy and cuddly today :)

It was so much fun to have her here ... and teaching her to sew was a privilege I never thought I would have.  What a blessing!!!  And I really want to thank you all for listening to my posts about her visits :)  But it was really strange to wake up this morning and see her room empty :(  That will take a few days to get used to I'm guessing.  But my guess is that Gypsy is not missing Miss Link even one little bit!!!!

What do you think?

Oh - if cats could talk, we'd all be in trouble!!!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Wrapping Up Our Visit!

Today and tomorrow we are winding down Sara's visit - she and Link go home in a few days -

I love this picture of them!  

One of my readers commented, "Photo-bombed by a puppy!!!"  LOL!!!!!

We've done so many fun things!  Wednesday was Grandpa's birthday, and we celebrated by taking a little spin in his convertible down to the local Sonic for sundaes.  Someone (I'm not naming names here!) decided to get some cheesy tots too :*)  Yep, THIS is how you Sonic!!!

She's wearing her favorite pocket T-shirt!
Love that soft floral on the white -
she has a good eye for color & what coordinates well! :)

I am trying to finish up a few projects that I'd like to have done so she can take them with her.  Today I will finish up her "foxy" shorts and the woodland creatures pj's - both pretty easy and quick projects, provided everything fits like it should without too much fiddling!!!

Sara is busy writing down instructions for all the things she wants to continue making at home - pocket t-shirts, pillowcases, etc.  She will be working on making another pillowcase - this one for her sister Emma - while I'm making garments today...

I'm sure you've already figured out that she raided my stash for some extra projects to take home with her, right?  *VBG*  These fabrics are for another pillowcase....

I really thought the shorts and pj's were all that I had left on my ToDo-Before-They-Leave list .... that is, until this little girl fell in love with my Blue Heaven flannel rag quilt....

So glad Link came to visit so I could have this adorable shot to join in the
Pets on Quilts linky party over at Lily Pad Quilting!!!!
Miss Link is competing for Puppy on a Quilt - #63 :)

I made this quilt several years ago and have loved it ever since!  There is no quilt more comfortable in the world!  Several members of the family have rag quilts now because they cuddled up under this one and fell in love :)

For the back, I used a beautiful paisley, and then added some left-over drunkard's path blocks
that were not used on the front to the top and bottom to add length
and make sure they got used in the quilt.  I LOVE that paisley!!!

Link waits for me to sit down every evening to watch a little TV to wind down before going to bed - and she hops in my lap immediately, snuggling down in the folds of this quilt like it's the best thing she's ever felt!

So I got the idea to make her a little dog-sized flannel rag quilt to take home with her from my flannel scraps - and remembered that I even have scraps left from the original quilt!  And of course, lots and lots of batting scraps too!

Hopefully that will be a quick, easy project to throw together for Miss Link :)  But I'm not going to stress over it - if I don't finish it before they leave, it's a simple matter to pop it in a box and send it on next week.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!  We got RAIN last night for the first time in a while, and it was very, very welcome.  Hoping for some more in the next few days as well.

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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On the Needles - 8/8/14

I've been getting a few stitches in here and there on my Rocio Sweater....

It's not looking like much yet, and the going is very slow with all we have going on with Sara's visit.  I usually just put a few rows in during my morning quiet times.  But once I get the second front side done, I will join all the pieces and knit down to the bottom, which I think will go much faster.

I don't have much further to go!  Yay!!!  

Now, if it just fits I'll be a happy girl :)

Can you see the pretty lacy design each added stitch makes on the front edge?

On the socks front, I've hit a little roadblock.  The Happy Dance Socks are definitely not "Happy," nor are they "Dancing"! ....

Somehow, I managed to get a purl stitch in there on the turn, and I didn't realize it until I'd knitted quite a few rows past it!  I was advised by everyone who saw it to just leave it there, that no one will ever know.... but I just couldn't!  I would know!  And I'd always be self-conscious that it was showing somehow.  Oh well.....I've already un-knitted at least 10 rows and still have a few to go before I can start back knitting :(  At least I noticed it when I did rather than after they were finished!

And one day last week, I came home to a VERY interesting and totally unexpected squishy package in my mail!  Ooooooo - don't you just LOVE unexpected squishy packages???  Me too!!!!  It looks like something from outer space, doesn't it????

This fun package was from my friend Lynn in Seattle, who apparently thought it looked like fun to make socks and bought all the stuff to make a pair, only to decide that it wasn't for her - oops!!!

So she packed up the whole kit-and-kaboodle and shipped the project to me :)  I think this yarn will make a really lovely pair of socks - especially with jeans this winter, don't you?  They will go on the socks needles next :)  Thanks Lynn!!!  I have officially named them my Opal Lynnie Lou Socks, and of course I will think of you with a smile every time I wear these :)

What's on your needles?  

Check out all the lovely projects at Judy's Patchwork Times :)

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Design Wall Monday - Bloom Style!

Still BLOOMING!!!!

This is the 6th row of my Blooming Nine Patch - I LOVE those soft aquas and limes brought in with this fabric, don't you?  Here's a little peek of what the rest of it will look like....

I couldn't resist putting together a few nine-patches to get a peek!  And I had to play with the size of my side setting triangles since I used smaller strips than called for in the pattern.  That's why my edge is so uneven :)

What are you up to this week?  It's a busy one for us!  Sara's last week here :(  She's made 4 pocket T's and we need to find a t-shirt blank for one more since the yellow we chose had the emblem way too high on the shirt to place a pocket there.  We didn't realize that when we bought it.

The only thing left on our agenda to see is the Opry Hotel and Mills area, which we will take care of one day this week.  We still have lots of driving time to go in order to make up the hours she needs for her driver's license, and lot of sewing to do too!  Shorts out this cute fox material.....

.... and then some PJ's out of this cute flannel....

Have a lovely week everyone!!!

Be sure to check out Judy's Patchwork Times for more cute projects in the works!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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My Red Hootie Owl - Finally!!!

Well, it took me all month, but I finally got my RED HOT Hootie prepped for stitching!

I'm actually not that fond of this one.  I think I may have done it too quickly without really playing with the fabrics enough to get the right contrasts.  All the REDS are really beautiful, but they blend together too much.  Too much of the same thing going on!  They didn't look like they would mash togehter before I cut them up smaller....

But it will have to do, because it is DONE!!!  At least, I think it is.... you never know..... I still may decide to change a few things before I stitch it up.  Right now I'm tired, so I'm not thinking it needs any changes at all LOL!!!  I'm linking up with Angela at SoScrappy for the RED Finale, as well as Today's Linkup Party since I haven't even thought about this month's color (light/bright greens), much less planned any blocks with them.

We've been very busy here at AQAP!!!  Last weekend we went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga - what fun that was!!!

Sara got to actually pet the fish and loved it!!!

This girl wants to be a Marine Biologist one day, and her love of all things in the oceans is very real!!!  Could she be dreaming of her future here?

I love that pic!!!  

At home, Sara has been busy learning apparel sewing on her machine!  Her favorite thing to do so far is putting pockets on t-shirts we get at Goodwill for $1.  She has six of them so far - here's a few....

She learned how to make a freezer paper template, and that sewing on jersey knits is not always as easy as it looks.  I even held my breath and let her cut with the rotary cutter!!!  Of course, she has to wear a cutting glove :)

Next week is her last week with us, so we will pack it as full as possible!  There's still lots of sewing to teach her!!!

How is your weekend looking?  We will be plenty busy, but I hope to drop a quick blog post here and there.  I apologize that I have not been a very good blog friend lately :(  I promise to catch on reading your blogs in a few weeks!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Design Wall Monday - 7/28/14

On my Design Wall, my Blooming Nine Patch is BLOOMING!!!!

Wow!!!  That lime really adds a PUNCH doesn't it?  Notice the split in the middle - that is so that I can move those boards if needed because my stash closets are behind them :*)  None of these blocks are sewn together yet - that will not get done until all the blocks are done.

I know this quilt pattern has been around a long time, but I was amazed at how many of you said you have made a B9P - and some of you have made more than one!!!!  And I can certainly see why, because it really is a fun quilt to make and you get lots of reward with each row.  Each round of color is a new mystery to unravel!!!

This is where I was last week.....



I was like a little kid with it this week - I couldn't wait for each new color to blend in and see how it would look :*)  Here it is through the orange and violet batiks .... looking very dramatic!

I was especially curious to see how the Luscious floral by Rowan Fabrics would blend with the orange and violet batiks, as well as then the colors to come......

I've had this fabric for quite a few years now, and quite a lot of it too, so I may have been thinking of using it as a backing.  It was a last-minute addition which has proven to be perfect for this quilt!!!  One of those where you think, "Gee, I wonder what it would look like if I use this one?"

If purple/violet could look like fire, then this Paula Nadelstern Prismaglas fabric would definitely be flaming!!!

Much darker than in person - but when I lightened the dark rounds, the lighter center went too light!

I was really happy with this!  But then, of course, I was also nervous about whether the lime would stand out too much in the next row.  Even though the floral brings in some of the lime, I wasn't sure it would be enough.  See how stark the lime is against that floral here?

If I had just sewed a strip of lime onto the floral as a next border, it would be have been way too much!  But with the blended nine-patches in between, it totally works - the colors blend together beautifully!!!!

The lime is much brighter of course, but that was definitely part of my plan!

In this last picture, you can see the next colors to go in the quilt.... imagine their little blended nine-patches in between of course :)

I really wanted to pull some light back into the quilt and break up those dark colors a little.  Imagine how happy I was to find that I had that sweet, soft aqua/lime, and that there was enough of it in my stash too :)  The next fabric, an aqua/deep purple batik, is really beautiful and I am thrilled to have such a pretty quilt to use it in.  I think it is the perfect fabric to introduce the final deep purple for the border :)

Of course, we've been up to lots of other fun shenanigans around here too!  We took Sara to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga yesterday and had a blast!  And I can't wait to show you some of the cute things she has been sewing up on her new machine... so stay tuned!!!!

Go to Judy's Patchwork Times to see the gorgeous quilts others are working on!

And I hope you all have a lovely week my friends!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Also linking up with Freemotion by the River's Tuesday Linky Party!!!