Slow Stitching on Fathers Day...

I think I have my quilting mojo back now! I finally picked up the needle and thread on Thursday and started adding the pink inner border to my midget appliqué quilt. The last 2 pinks got added on Saturday and today... I start prepping and appliquéing some vines onto the yellow border. I think I need to make a decision on how it will look now =) So far this quilt is completely made by hand with needle and thread. The final border will be yellow - with green vines and leaves with some colorful flowers  thrown in here and there. With all the hairy thread pieces on this quilt so far, I decided to find the pinking blade and install it into one of the rotary cutters when cutting out this next border. Since this will be handled a bit hopefully that will stop the thread madness.

Midget Applique quilt. 62.5x62.5 right now. Completely hand pieced.

5.5 inch yellow borders with some vines prepped.

Yesterday was a electronic free day (ok - I did watch tv at night after the kids got to bed). No phone, no computer, no kindle. I read (with Emily), played games and stitched instead of being on the computer. Imagine that! We were helped out with a 10-12 boy scout birthday party and then a drive to Papa A's to pick him up and take him out for a Fathers Day Lunch at The Texas Roadhouse. Emily joined me on the electronic free day and she did great!

Linking up with Slow Stitching Sunday. Head on over and see what relaxing stitches are being taken this week.

Happy Fathers Day to my Dad up in Vermont. We can't wait to see you next month! Emily is counting down the days until we fly to Vermont to see you. I promise lots of putt putt Pontoon boat rides around the lake while I am up there.

My Dad with my kids at camp when they were little ones!

My Dad last summer at camp

I was pounced awake by 2 kids this morning at 6:30. Something about going to Dunkin Donuts to pick up breakfast for their Dad bright and early this morning! He was shooed back to bed when we got home at 7:15 so they could prep his coffee and bring him breakfast in bed.

Greg (hubby) with the kids recently playing Monopoly.

RSC Post.... Inventory time...

Wow, that week went by quickly! The kids had Camp Invention all week so I had a quiet time to work without them home during the day. It was lovely.

I decided it was time to pull out my RSC things and see where I was as I have missed a few months on some things. June is a good halfway point to review as we are half way through the year.

Another 16 patch block was made to go with the growing collection. I found black and tan squares the multicolored month and sewed those together while they were out. I think those were leftover from my maple leaf quilt years ago!

I completely forgot about the friendship stars!.... I have 12 in purple and red but nothing else. Maybe some yellow ones will get added this month? I'm not sure I have that much yellow but we'll see.

I found my bow ties..... There are purple and teal... a couple red, green and I cut for 12 yellows to be made this month. Maybe I'll fill in the red and green this month too? We will see.

I made my blossom blocks earlier this month so I am set with that collection. Just waiting on the blue, orange and pink month I believe to finish those.

The green and browns that I cut last month for the bricks and stepping stones are all sewn together. That top just needs a small printed black inner border then the green small check for the outer border to make this a top. Such a fun and cute free pattern from Bonnie Hunter.

Linking up with the RSC Challenge on Saturday... if I am allowed!  Head on over and take a look. 

We will be attending a birthday party for one of the cub scouts in the morning and taking Papa A out to lunch for an early Fathers Day. Emily is trying to make Saturday our 'electronic free day' but she has allowed me the use of my phone for calls and texting - no game playing though.... or checking blogs. I'll be back on Sunday though to visit all the links. So... this might not get linked up until Sunday.

RSC Saturday....

My yellow for the week. One 16 patch block of 2.5 inch squares.

Yesterday's post had a finish of the RSC 2015 quilt here and the binding got finished on the Grandmothers Choice quilt in purple and green.

I also looked in the drawer of tops and pulled this little 50x60 one of 6 inch churn dashes to work on next. These were made a few years ago I think with the RSC Challenge. I made 12 each month and divided them in half to make this top. The extras - 6 of each color are on the side.

I pulled some leftover batting pieces and just need to sew them together with a zig zag stitch and then make a backing. I think these 6 parts will work together to make a batting.

I will probably do walking foot quilting - maybe a big cross hatch of 3 or 4 inches on the diagonal? and then a solid color binding of whatever I can find big enough in the stash.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned doing something with the green homespun... well greens and browns got cut into big rectangles and then lots of four patches were made.... these will become a bricks and stepping stones quilt from the free quiltville pattern here.

Head on over to the RSC Challenge and see how others did with the yellow scraps this week.

Finishes...

I got the binding finished this week on both of these quilts so they are officially finished!

Rainbow under the stars.... finished at 92x92 and will live on my bed. I bribed the kids with bowling if they would hold the quilts for me.

Grandmothers Choice finally got the binding finished last night too.

Time to go pull another top and see if I can get another one finished  off - I'm thinking the churn dash top that is 50x65 should be a nice small one to finish off this month. I pulled some batting parts that just need to get stitched together.

Slow Sunday.....

Well, I do know some slow stitching will happen today! I have 3 sides of binding left to hand stitch down on my 2015 RSC Challenge quilt... which means it is almost done (well, 276 inches of binding to go).

I got the first side done last night watching a movie and watching the cats dare to come out of the bedroom while there is a dog in the house! We are dog sitting Buddy the horse... I mean dog while Grandma is up in Ohio. The cats are not happy but are doing a good job of staring him down. He was sleeping in my office this week while I was working (old kids play room with play dough stuck in the carpet!)

Emily had her first non-family sleepover last night at my girl scout co-leaders house with a few of the other girls from the troop. No phone calls and they are up and watching movies waiting on ice cream waffles for breakfast =). Ms Sarah is laughing and telling us 'your welcome for sending them home all sugared up!'.

We have a memorial service today to head to this afternoon. (Mom- Ms. Gails husband from the store Mr. Mike passed last Saturday). I'm sure pool time will happen today and probably game night later this evening. Just another Sunday =)

Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching. Head on over and see what turtle  stitching is happening around the world.

RSC in Yellow!

Yea! I got to make some more of the flower blossoms  (Spring Bloom block free pattern here from canuckquilter.com) this month!  I looked at my notes and it said I needed 6 blocks of yellow so..... 6 blocks got made!

To group a few challenges together this month (17 in 2017, RSC yellow and hand stitching on Sunday's) I am pulling out my midget appliqué top and making the yellow appliqué border this month. It needs something first though so the yellow cornerstones don't get lost in the border. So far this one is completely hand stitched..... so I'll continue it with the borders.

I also got an almost complete last month of the 2015 RSC Challenge quilt that just needs the binding attached to the back. You can find that here.

Linking up with the RSC Challenge today in yellow. Head on over and see what sunshine colors have come out to play. 

17 in 2017....

May was not a very productive month... but......

The 2015 RSC Challenge quilt.. I really need a name for this one!.... got quilted and the binding is sewn to the front. I just need to hand stitch it down.... hopefully that will happen this month. This one is a biggie - 92x92 and quilted on my little viking domestic sewing machine in three sections, then machine stitched together on top and hand stitched on the back. It worked out well and was a great way to machine quilt a huge quilt on my little machine. I found enough of the hand dyed fabrics for the scrappy binding.

I also finished step 4 of the crochet mystery I started a couple of years ago. Now to add the white middle on all 20 of them for step 5.

Head on over to see how Meredithe and others did this month with moving along some UFO's.


I think my hand pieced and hand appliqué midget blocks top will come out to play this month. I want to make an appliqué border for it... but I think I need a small framing border first...Hopefully I can decide on a color soon (dark blue, green?) to hand stitch that on before starting to appliqué some vines, flowers and maybe a bird or two onto the yellow border. Each block finishes at 4.5 inches in this quilt...I  did about one a week while waiting in the car line at school on the kids to make this one.

It is $2 movie day today - a movie, popcorn and a drink to see Sing. It's my day off so I said I'd take the kids. Must grab a shower first so I'd better be off of here.