My It's A Sister Thing Swap items have been completed and are on their way but I can't show them to you until I know she has received the package. So after that was done, I was finally able to get the last Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge quilt on the frame and quilted. Sarah graciously gave me a bit more time to get them all completed and sent to her since Penelope was having her upgrade installed and these quilts will be going with her church's youth group of helpers on their trip in October to help out Hurricane Sandy Survivors. I really didn't want to quilt this one on my domestic machine Lucy.

Here is the completed Spellbound!

This was made from mostly fabrics from Pat Sloan's fabric line of the same name and the Pink and White print from her Girly Girl line.I used the Yellow Brick Road pattern and really love not only how fast and easy this pattern was but how really cool it turned out. 

For the quilting I did simple loops and hearts, which felt totally appropriate since this quilt is meant to wrap someone in love. I did hearts of all sizes, some medium...

...some really large...

...and some really small.

I even threw in a couple of double hearts here and there.

And while I was in the occasional double mood, I added a few double loops every so often.

The backing is from the same fabric line and I bound it in the same Pink border fabric.

The thread choice was So Fine #493 Pastel Green. It was the perfect shade to work well on the front and it almost disappears on the back but you can still see the cool texture.

I tried a different method for machine sewing the binding onto the back and I like this one much better. I will definitely use this method again.

And what photo shoot would be complete without the glamor shot?

As I waited for the sun to come up yesterday outside in the right photo shoot spot, I saw this sight of the 3 of them hanging on the railing upstairs with the morning light streaming in through the windows and had to capture it.

With the fabulous morning light I was able to get some better pictures of the other two Hand2Help Quilts. First up is Growing Hyacinths. The sunlight really shows how pretty all these colors are together.

This was the 1st quilt I finished on the longarm using simple loops. It was all about getting used to the machine.

Here is better view of the fun footprints fabric from the same line that I used for the backing.

Of course I had to also get the requisite glamor shot and this one is just perfect with the sunshine and the shadows.

Lastly is Crazy Boys, because with trucks and monkey and the typical boy whatnot, they do get crazy. The morning sun really showcased the fabulous texture of the zigzag quilting lines.

This was done on my Lucy and will certainly be used again in the future. It was fast, fun and I love the result.

I used the same backing fabric but in the boy's version of course.

Are boy quilt shots even allowed to be called "glamorous"? Either way, isn't this one with the sun shining through really cool?

So there you have it, all 3 of my Hands2Help Charity quilts all done and after a nice wash and dry to make them all soft and cuddly, they were quickly packed up and they are now on their way to Sarah. Since I rushed to make these quilts this year, I learned that I don't want to do that again so I'm already working towards some quilts for next year's challenge.

I have some other great finishes to show off so stay tuned.

Confessing is the online quilty theme at the moment so I decided that I will share too.  We can all blame Amy from 13 Spools for this bit of fun and airing of our quilting dirty laundry.

2. As a continuation of #1 , I just don't get the appeal of the EPP blocks like the hexies.  All those tiny bits sewn by hand....no way baby. 

3.  Another thing I don't get into much is appliqué. Yes I will use it sparingly in a project here and there but you will never see me making a Baltimore Album Quilt. Ever!

4.  Squaring up my quilts. Nope. I don't do that.  Unless I'm making a show quilt to be judged I can't be bothered. And when have you seen me working on a show quilt? Not yet at least. Maybe never.

5.  I echo the sentiments of others.....what's up with all the fabric featuring the critters?  Deer, fox and the like?  You can keep it, thank you very much.

6.  I like working with solids but I hate, hate, hate the way some of them unravel like there's no tomorrow. And some of them are the big name brands. I don't understand how most non-solids ravel so much less but they can't make the solid fabrics behave the same. Someone needs to solve this problem.

7. 99% of the time I don't bother with squaring up my HST. Over time I've gotten much better at making them so that if they needed trimming, it is so minor that I'd rather make it work than spend all that time cutting miniscule bits off my blocks.

8. Why do some designers churn out fabric line after fabric line with the exact same motifs and in the exact same color way? Yes it is good IF you have an older line and need something to coordinate with a project that you are currently making BUT if I already bought a pre-cut bundle or yardage of the older line and have all I need, I'm certainly not going to buy more of the same with just a different name on it.

9. Pin baste? Not! Either I spray baste or it goes on my longarm frame. I can't be bothered having to remove those pins as I go along.

10. I can't get excited about Civil War or other similar Reproduction prints. They just do nothing for me. Bring on the bright and full of color ones please.

11. What about cutesy prints? Nada to these too unless I'm specifically making a baby quilt.  Then they are totally appropriate.

12. I refuse to spend my hard earned money on specialty tools that I see no reason for like the log cabin ruler. I have a regular 6' x 24" ruler and I can cut strips perfectly fine with that. The less I spend on useless things like that the more I have to actually buy fabric with.

13. Ditto for things like needle threaders (I can see perfectly well to thread a needle) and thread cutters/cutting gizmo (isn't that what my scissors are for) and triangles on a roll paper (I prefer to learn the way to make these things without specialty items involved that I'd just have to buy over and over and over again. I know that is their point with the papers at least, but this hobby is expensive enough already.

14. I simply can't spend upwards of $12 for a spool of thread.  You know what brand I'm referring to. Yes it is thinner and it probably does produce less lint but cleaning out my bobbin case more often just doesn't justify the added expense. The thread I typically use has the same amount of yardage on spool at a fraction of the cost and it performs perfectly fine.

15. For the most part I'm not going to buy any Cotton + Steel fabrics either. I might use a coordinating print for some other project but the vast majority of them don't appeal.

16. I also skip over some other big name designer's stuff like KF and AMH and TP.

17. I don't prewash anymore either unless it is a Red or Brown that I worry might bleed. As others have stated, life is too short as it is.

I probably could add a few more confessions here if I thought about it some more but for today I'll leave my list as is.  So how many of these items would be on your list too?

In the interests of keeping it real and prove that I am far from being a longarm quilting superstar Yet, I'm sharing my current struggles with the kids art quilt, which by the way really needs to be done by Friday for the back to school BBQ.

My original idea was to keep it simple with some easy loops. The sashing is only 1 inch and in reality, not so easy for a newbie to keep looking good in such a small space while pushing around a 75 pound machine. 

I completed the 1st row on Friday and didn't like it at all. 

So of course it had to be unsewn.

This lint roller works fabulously for picking up all those little thread bits off the quilts.

So then Friday night I pulled out a huge pile of my quilting books to hunt for ideas and after nothing totally grabbed me with that "Ah ha!" moment, I remembered the straight line quilting on last year's kids art quilt. It looked good so that was my new plan for Saturday, after Sunshine and I got home from a classmate's birthday party.

But.....the trick that I learned from Kimmy Brunner at MQX for channel locks if a machine doesn't come with them doesn't work on my machine due to the type of carriage it sits on. Thankfully after a bit of online searching I found this method: using binder clips against both wheels.

The binder clips are hard to put on but it did work. The bad part? I didn't like the result. It does nothing for this quilt. Blarg! Now what?



Am I happy with this? Nope! Again not being a professional and really skilled at this yet, they don't look great at all. But then it sort of looks like a kid did it which could be an IDE = Intentional Design Element. Still I didn't really like it and I don't want all the people that will be seeing this quilt hand in the school's lobby to see it this way.

A new idea is needed. We are meeting friends in Lake George for dinner tonight so I don't know if I'll be up to ripping out these 3 rows when we get home. If that doesn't get done today, it will get done tomorrow after work. Then I need to get on the ball on Wednesday and get this done once and for all. Hubs thought I should do a meandering wavy line out and then back again, sort of like what a single cable looks like.

So what is my result?

Flying Geese!

Interesting.  I would have never guessed this one. It isn't a bad block to make but it certainly isn't a favorite of mine either.

What else did it say about me?

"If something's worth doing, it's worth doing right! You might seem shy at first, but once people get to know you they can't help but love you." 

Well I totally agree with the 1st part but the shy thing? So not me.  

Anyway it was fun for this morning. Go try it for yourself.

Now I need to get off the computer and ready for work.

No I haven't fallen off the face off the earth as it has been rumored. Life has been extremely busy and I although I have been doing some sewing, I haven't had much to really show as of yet.

One recent trip we took was to our annual China travel group reunion. This year 9 families out of the 15 total in the group were able to attend. Seeing the girls together was wonderful, watching them maintain their connections to each others is priceless. Now each of the girls are truly starting to understand the meaning of their "China Sisters". This was just one of the group photos we captured, on Sunday morning at breakfast before everyone started their trips home. This time we lined them up by height. As you can see, Sunshine is on the far left. She is the 3rd oldest of the girls but the shortest. And the tall girl on the right? She is the 2nd youngest of them all.

School starts back up for my 2 the Wednesday after Labor Day as is tradition in these parts so I've been taking each of them out shopping for the needed new garb. Thankfully I ordered Sunshine's uniform shirts and skorts a few weeks back and the shirts are currently getting the required school name embroidery done.

Of course along with the new clothes is the need for school supplies and I'm happy to say that neither kid's list was bad this year and everything is purchased and ready to be delivered to their classrooms during the "Meet the teacher" events this coming week.

We have been working on other projects around the house. We've finally painted the new bookshelves that hubs is permanently installing today in the playroom/future library. I love the pop of blue pain on the back. We still need to paint all the shelves and the doors for the bottom part but that will be easier without these big things taking up so much space in the basement. I'm now on the hunt for the perfect blue and white curtains for this room to give it the punch of color it so desperately needs.

This morning Sunshine was all about making rubber band bracelets and this necklace.  She learned how to do it, without the loom, at summer camp yesterday and now she is planning on making a bracelet for each of her China sisters.

In the studio there has been some progress too. I've finished the projects for the It's A Sister Thing Swap and I was able to take the pictures this morning so it will get boxed up and sent on its way on Monday. I won't show you what I created until it is received but I will show you this little sneak peak.

I've also been adding to the pile of completed blocks for my leader/ender project.

Both kiddos were home sick on Monday and Tuesday so I wasn't able to work on much but eventually I was able to load Spellbound onto the frame and I got it quilted. Plus I even got the binding sewn onto the front. Now all that is left is the hand sewing onto the back and the label. Until it is 100% and I get some proper pictures, here is a little teaser.

Another recent completed top is the kids art quilt for Sunshine's school. After I finished piecing the blocks and showed it to them on the last day of school, they wanted to keep it up on the wall for a few weeks of summer camp. I picked it up after returning home from our vacation and got the final top row and the applique letters done and last night it got loaded on the frame. Once I get the tension right, this should quilt up fast. It has too.... I need it finished for the welcome back BBQ on Friday night.

And while I was away at the China group reunion, this box arrived.  Do you see where it came from?

It just might have something to do with this.

Yes it is a super secret project that I can't tell you about but trust me, it is going to be fabulous and Yes I will torment you in the coming weeks with a few sneak peaks until the big reveal in a few months. I'm just nice that way.

It seems like everyone else is regrouping after the end of their summer activities and the return to the school year schedule and I will soon too. Then the pedal will be to the metal carpet as I work toward completing many things on the list. Stay tuned.

I couldn't take it anymore!

This ugly plastic car wash trash bag just wasn't cutting it, refused to stay where I put it and was just depressed me to look at.  But a gal needs a car trash bag to help keep her vehicle up as best as she can while still toting around two kidlets who can be pretty messy, right?

The other day I was flipping through a bunch of books and magazines looking for a specific quilt pattern and one that I looked through was this copy of 101 Patchwork Projects & Quilts, published in 2011 by Quilting Arts Magazine.

Inside I saw this picture.  I knew immediately that I needed one of those for myself and it would be the answer to my ugly car trash bag problem.
I grabbed a couple of pretty coordinating leftovers from the Kate Spain Charm Swap and within minutes the pieces were sewn and ready to quilt.  I didn't have the flannel the pattern called for so I used batting scraps instead. 

Some straight lines were the order of the day and were done quickly. 

My plan was to add cross hatch lines in the opposite direction but after I completed the first line I decided that I didn't care for it and chose to leave it with just the the horizontal lines only. A little unsewing was in order but at least it was only one row. 

I lined it with another favorite Kate Spain print. The only other thing that I did different from the pattern was I made a fabric strap instead of using the ribbon called for. 

I knew that the ribbon wouldn't hold up as well plus it is just pretty. And to be totally honest, I didn't want to wait to finish it til I went to the store to buy the matching ribbon.