Design Wall

I hope everyone had a nice 4th.
I spent 2 days with family and got to see some people I haven't seen in a while.

To see what other quilters are working on go to Judy's page.

Here is what I am working on...

This is Hawaiian Star on the frame.

I started using a dark blue on the back to match the fabric with a variegated on the front to pick up the colors on the front. The dark blue thread was showing up on the top and I couldn't not get the tension adjusted so that didn't happen. Also, I didn't like the look of the variegated thread. So took it all out. It takes much long to remove as it does to stitch! I am using a silver gray on the front and back. I like it much better.

I am working on a t-shirt quilt. Here is the layout I decided on. I do have another shirt to cut up to fill in that space at the bottom left.

This quilt is off the frame and I am stitching down the binding. I used  Moda Snowman Gatherings and Snowman Gatherings ll charm packs and some yardage from that line.

I pieced the fabric that was left from the front to make the backing. I did have to add some other blues and tans that I had. My family does not like the back. I was pretty happy with it because I felt like I was using what I had instead of buying more.

I just happened to go into my kitchen, which faces the west, Saturday evening and saw this. You can't see the lightening bugs flashing, but that added to the beauty of this sunset.

Design Wall Monday

See what other quilters are doing at Judy's page.

On my wall...

Working on Barn Trail. Sometimes I don't like how it is coming together so I put it away for a while. I still need to add the fence which will have quilts hanging on it, leaves on the tree and pumpkins on the ground. I plan on giving this to my brother and his wife. 

Blocks 28, 29 and 30 of the Civil War Sampler (on the left) and Scrappity-Do-Dah on the right.
I am making SDD for a chair cover quilt for my husband's chair.

 For SDD squares are cut at 6 1/2 inches, cut into HST and a 1 1/2 inch strip is sewn in the middle. Then, the directions say to trim the block to 5 inches. I am able to trim mine to 5 1/2 inches. It seemed like a lot of waste trimming that much. The quilt will end up be bigger which is fine with me. I planned to make it bigger than the pattern anyway and now I won't have to cut as many squares and strips.

 Blocks 31, 32, 33 and 34 of the Civil War Sampler. I am behind the rest of my group so I spent an afternoon choosing and cutting the fabric for the remaining blocks. Most of these go together pretty quickly. It is nice to be able to grab the next pile of cut pieces and start sewing when I have a few minutes.

Design Wall Monday

It's been a busy week.

I drove my son 3 hours (one way) to meet up with his friends for a summer camp he is working this week. We stopped for breakfast on the way, then some shopping at Scheel's before meeting his friends. On my way back home I stopped at Boline's to pick up some backing and batiks I need to complete a project.

I attended a graduation party for my niece. It was nice to see people I don't see very often. Proud of her for sticking with her education. She works part-time too so she is a busy girl.

Then I spend an afternoon baling hay.

In between all that I am trying to get my yard in shape. The weeds are starting to take over. We had a decent rain earlier in the week and the weeds came out pretty easily. But it has been so hot. I am taking a break from the weeds today.

Sunday is our day to go shopping. We start at the farm store, then to W*l-M##t, then to breakfast. It is usually kind of a lazy day for us since we don't get many of those. I did spread some mulch though. Then we visit my mother-in-law at the nursing home. She was very alert and verbal. She hasn't really spoken more than a few words in a long time. The nurses said she had been chatty all day.

I did work on some quilty things....

... another 6 inch block Fair entry.
The block on the left is one of the 365 Challenge blocks and is regular piecing.
The block on the right is paper pieced and hand appliqued. It can be found at
Quilter's Cache.

I am working on a new quilt for my husband's chair. The one he is currently using is getting pretty worn. He uses it to cover his chair to protect it. I like this scrappy pattern - Scrappity Do Dah - and wanted something that wasn't too light in color. I am using lots of my stash and scraps.

The HST piece on the right is made from left-over cut off triangles. My quilt group shares with save theirs and share them with me at our treats. I keep them by my sewing machine and use them as leaders/enders. Not sure what I will do with them yet, but I have an idea brewing!

To see what other quilters are working on go to Judy's blog.

A day late...

... this was suppose to post yesterday for Design Wall Monday, here, on Judy's page. But, once again, I was having computer/internet connection issues. I have decided this problem is mostly due to where I live. I think I live in an area that just does not have good service. We have used several different providers through the years. People that live in this area have the same problems we do. I just find it frustrating to have to pay for a service that doesn't deliver well.

My connection was so slow yesterday that I could not get photos to post to my page. I decided to save my page and wait until today to finish it. I couldn't even do that.

Anyway, here is what I have been working on for my county fair entries.
6 inch Quilt Block ...

This pattern is part of the 365 Challenge.

Tea Towels, set of three...

I had seen this fabric earlier this year and thought it was so cute. I like the cheerful colors and that it could be used all winter, not just at Christmas time.

I haven't decided yet if I will keep these or use them for gifting.