Binding time =)

It was a successful day! Houses got quilted and a binding made and machine stitched on. Time to snuggle in and relax with some hand stitching.

This set of blocks from earlier this week...... which got trimmed and stitched together yesterday.....

is now at this stage with a red dot binding machine stitched to the top....... hey, there was lots of red in those chimneys and I didn't have enough brown for a binding. I even remembered to make a 10 inch square into a triangle and it got stitched into the bottom right hand corner as I was attaching the binding.

Linking up with Slow Sunday stitching and Oh Scrap. 

Slow Stitching Sunday....

I have been doing a little hand stitching therapy this week. Just like Kathy, hand work is my sanity!

The binding started to get stitched down on Wednesday while watching Emily at gymnastics.

I added a row of tumblers (started while waiting on Aidan at guitar on Friday) and got 2 sets of rows stitched together in the evenings. Darn it... I switched the placement when marking the sewing seams.  Now I need to make 2 of the up's. I'll be laying out 2 rows today, marking and making sure I sew them correctly as up tumblers to start this time!

I attached two rows of Dresden's together and hand stitched the back while the kids were working on dinner from a cookbook Saturday. A burger with cooked onion on top with a special sauce on grilled sour dough bread. Emily wanted my potato salad so I helped her make that. They also made a drink - a peach and orange smoothie that tasted just like an orange julius. Remember those Mom? A photo of the back of the Dresden's in the quilt as you go method.

I see myself hand stitching the last two sections together, and maybe even hand stitching some binding. What will you be hand stitching today?

Linking up with the other turtle stitchers at Kathy's Quilts.  I won't be stitching outside as Kathy suggested, a wee bit too hot for me so I'll sit in my recliner with the AC vent blowing on me!

Saturday in red.....

I got the last 2 sampler blocks completed this week so all 3 red blocks are done. Yes, I seem to have put that last row on wrong. Oops. A little seam ripper action is needed today I guess. Then I will be working on trimming the house blocks from the previous post.

Linking up with the RSC Challenge.

Playing with houses today.....

I 'found' those house blocks I made a few years ago while picking up the sewing room. Wednesday while on the phone with Mom - after working and before kid pickup/gymnastics/sams club run I pulled framing fabrics for the rest of the houses. I think I had about 15 of the 42 done before I started today.
Framing time..... uphill and downhills..... I think I finally figured them out! I used 3x11 for mine.

So nice to move along a project once in a while! These just need to get trimmed down and then sewn together into a top. I used the free pattern over at Quiltville - Scrappy Houses. I need to decide if I sash the houses or leave them like this..... thoughts?

I'll link this up Saturday with the RSC Challenge..... since I started the houses a few years ago with that challenge and there are lots of red chimneys!

Progress....

Well, with the kids in an active camp at a gym..... I have had nice and quiet to work and an extra hour or two to get a little walk in before starting and a little sewing time after working. Counting down the days until they go back to school on the 13th! I actually got my 10K steps yesterday for the first time in a while. Hopefully it will cool down a little tonight for another walk.... it is feels like 100 out right now.

I got a little sewing in today......

The little hearts quilt - abut 27x27 got a quick quilting and a binding made and sewn on today.  I had that strip of blue left over so just added to it so I had enough for this quilt. All set for hand stitching the binding tonight. I prepped some extra batting and found a backing for it yesterday.

I also stitched 2 sets of rows together for the dresden quilt. I just need to stitch that backing strip down to join them... then one last seam before I decide what color binding to finish it off with.

No red sewing today.... well....this explains that one! Don't touch my soft bed Mom.... I'm making sure these fabrics don't go anywhere.

I suppose I should go fetch the kids. They were exhausted last night.  The boy insisted he didn't want to go all day Sunday and was not going Monday morning ... on top of a Thunderstorm all night long Sunday night so he was working on no sleep. Turns out he had a pretty good time and other than being sore all over (did I mention it is a gymnastics facility so lots of trampoline jumping, running and playing and jumping into the styrofoam pits) he was ready to head back today. Emily loved it. They are both in different groups based on age, so that is good. They needed some away from each other time. I switched Emily's Orthodontist appointment to take off her one last band on her tooth (when they were removed she didn't want that one touched anymore!) from tomorrow morning until Thursday after I'll pick them up from camp. They indicated they didn't want to miss out on the morning fun =). That just leaves pulling Aidan for guitar on Friday a little before 2.... I'll leave Emily there and pick her up after he is done at 3. They have water day on Friday but it sounds like it is all morning not the afternoon.  I think this week of camp will let us make it though the next 2 weeks before school starts again.

Slow Sunday....

The kids are off to Grandma's for the day. I just put them into a camp for the week at a sports complex - where Emily does gymnastics .... cause they are driving me nuts not doing anything! Emily is excited to go... the boy - not so much but that is his reaction to everything. We will see how it goes.

That means a little grocery shopping (I am going back on the Atkins to see about kick start loosing the next 10 pounds over the next few months) and then sewing time! I really need to get back to my routine of walking morning and night as well.

I want to machine stitch the last dresden to it's row so I can hand stitch the back together tonight. If it goes well.... I'll also prep the 3 rows already done and get them ready to hand stitch the back as well. As long as I remember to read my tutorial I should be fine!

I did a little tumbler hand stitching last night while watching Hotel Transylvania with the kids. I did get a row stitched on Wednesday while at gymnastics with Emily too - well mostly done and finished up that evening. 4 rows completed of 16 with row 5 started. I should probably start sewing the rows of 20 tumblers together as well. These are my hand piecing project using almost 5 inch squares cut to a tumbler shape. I estimate the 16 rows of 20 tumblers will be about 72 inches square.

If time.... after playing with some red scraps I might try and pin the baby hearts quilt for hand quilting. Baby has arrived so I really need to get that quilt finished and shipped to it's owner!

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Stitchers and Oh Scrap.

Saturday in Red......

Alas.... I have very little to show but I have high hopes for a little red sewing this afternoon!

The cat Emily and I were working on last weekend (found a panel while going through fabrics) is mostly finished. I got a wee bit stuck on the attaching the head gusset to the neck last weekend... but took a shot and managed to figure it out. We need to work on covering the ball with red and getting the hot glue gun out and then making the red bow and attaching it to her neck. Emily is still working on a name.

The sewing room is sadly still not fully cleaned but.... it is looking a little bit better. I convinced one kid to sort one of the 4 buckets (big Rubbermaid containers.....) into piles on Thursday. I didn't get a photo of that but there are 3 more to go ...... These are the reds from that bucket. The greens were the biggest pile in that bucket.

Sigh, I promised so here is  a before photo. We have a finished garage (was a model home and the 'garage' was their office space). Behind the wall is my working office.

An after folding the stash on the wall photo. I need to make a few more piles from the neutral/darks in the upper left hand corner but ran out of room. Still more to do... but it is a little progress. I have a floor again.... turns out it is a cream carpet! =). All the yarn had to get put into a bag and put up high... the cats kept eating it and I had colorful kitty litter scoops.

I only found a few projects I completely forgot about! I'm sure more will pop up as I continue going through the area and boxes of stuff.

Linking up with the RSC Challenge and hope to have some reds to show next week.