Pedal Sew Lightly

One Monthly Goal Link Up

2018-01-05T13:20:00.000-05:00

I participated in the All People Quilt UFO Challenge last year. Well, I only kept up with it until May but I still managed to finish Six of my Twelve projects and I advanced on a seventh.

So, I transferred my Six unfinished projects over to the 2018 form, added Six newer projects and I am set for getting' down to the business of finishing projects in the new year! It was hard to find an additional six because I discovered I'd done a pretty good job of knocking out finished projects and not aimlessly starting new ones during the year.

The APQ UFO Challenge gives you a random number each month and January turned out to be No. 12. It happens to be the oldest project on the list. I started it at a retreat three years ago this month.

The project is a pair of Christmas Tree Pants.

Pattern by: Monica Solario-Snow (Happy Zombie) on a SewMamaSew Sew-Along

Fabric by: Basic Gray

I am making the pants double sided and both flimsies are done. My One Goal for the month is to Finnish this baby! Sandwich! Quilt! Bind! Then I'll tuck it up in the attic with my Christmas decorations.

I am linking the goal up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal for January.

#2018PlanningParty Linkup

2017-12-30T18:08:00.001-05:00

I have three goals for 2018:

1. Finish at least one UFO/WIP per month.

2. Start and finish my C+S Christmas quilt using Flying Colors pattern by Sweet Tea.

3. Declutter and streamline my Sewing/Office space.

Pedal's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

2016-12-08T01:21:00.000-05:00

This Giveaway is now closed

One of my goals for 2017 is to revive my blog with a weekly post and the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is a great way for me to get a jumpstart on this goal.

I have so much to share but I want to keep it short so I'm just going to touch on my recent obsession with the Storm at Sea block. I've only made two so far but I have plans for several more experiments with color placement.

My first two examples are an explosion of color but vary in placement of the background fabric. The right example may look haphazard but it actually reads warm on one diagonal and cool on the other. I was shocked when I stepped back to look at the finished block to see that the shape reads quite well.

My second example places black and taupe neutrals in the spaces that had color in the first example. This piece was made for the AugMQG's Secret Santa Swap and was delivered to it's owner at our Christmas party this week. It's made with Kona and Peppered Cottons. I think it's beautiful but it definitely doesn't read as strong as the first version.

I was able to use this great Carrie Bloomston print for the back that I recently received from a Giveaway I won from SewPsyched. Isn't it just a perfect compliment!

Here is how to enter to win these three adorable Cotton & Steel Charm Packs:

1. Leave a comment on this post. Tell me if you have ever made a Storm at Sea quilt or even just a block.

2. Get a second entry by following PedalSewLightly on Bloglovin, Instagram, Facebook email or my Pinterest account. Leave a comment telling me how you follow.

3 Get a third entry by reposting my Instagram Giveaway notification on your Instagram feed with the links #pedalsewlightlygiveaway and @pedalsewlightly and leaving a comment here telling me that you reposted.

The winners will be determined by a random drawing.

This Giveaway is open to US & Canadian entries only.

The drawing is open through Sunday, December 11 at 8pm EST (5pmPST)

The winner will be announced by Wednesday, December 14, and prizes will be shipped by Friday December 16.

The winner will be notified by email and listed on the blog.

It is the winner’s responsibility to respond with their mailing address by 11:59pm on Thursday, December 15 or another winner will be drawn.

Good Luck and thanks for visiting!

I Call It My RK Frappe

2016-09-13T14:44:00.001-04:00

I have been playing along with the #100days100blocks sew-along on Instagram that kicked off on August 17th. So far I have made every required post! It was tough this weekend since we were camping and had hit-&-miss coverage.

When I joined the AugustaMQG they were already mid-book in the City Sampler and I chose not to participate at the time. I was a bit envious when they would pull out their books for show & tell.

Now, I have my ever-growing book! I had my Tula Pink City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book coil-bound at Office Max before I started. I requested the largest coil and so far it seems to be holding up to the growing pudge of blocks.

I have been working ahead and I move these post-it tabs as I go. They keep me on track with the major milestones of how far I have...pulled fabric, cut blocks and sewn blocks. It has been a very good system.

I also glue 1/2" by 1" fabric swatches in my book to remind me of the fabric placement. This is especially helpful since I am not using Tula fabrics.

My fabrics are a combo of Robert Kaufman products that consist of my large stash from Carolyn Friedlander accented with my tiny Elizabeth Hartman and Karen Lewis collections. For my solids I am using exclusively Kona Cottons.

All this fun has been organized by Angie, known as the Gnome Angel and you can find more information on her blog HERE. She has a full page of FAQs and links to shops where you can buy your own copy of the book. There are a lot of great sponsors too!

Jump on Instagram and do a search for #100days100blocks and see what all the fun is about!

I see a lot of late comers to the fun every day so don't think it is too late to jump in!

Thanks for visiting!

Unofficial Q2 Finish-A-Long List

2016-04-20T19:31:00.000-04:00

I missed the link-up deadline for the Q2 Finish-A-Long. It's been a rough couple of months and my quilting and social media accounts have been a bit neglected.

So, just for my own accountability, I'm going to post my list anyway.

QOV/Mystery at the Library:
All quilted now and just needs to be trimmed, bound and labeled.

Three Flimsies from my MIL to finish and donate:
Pink, Yellow and Bright. The Juki is back in action piecing so these won't be touched until it gets installed on the Grace frame again. I do have all the backing, batting and binding in house so they are set to go.

Christmas Tree Pants:
Front and back set to go. I'm not very motivated now that my kids are grown and our house is no longer "Christmas Central." The baton has been passed to my nephew since his home is the one with all the family 'littles' so far.

Lotta Baby Blocks:
Another project that isn't critical. It will be donated but my Guild's charity is quilt flush right now so it can sit until they call for more or we choose another group to donate to.

Cotton & Steel Basics Dog Gone Cute:
Still plugging away at these cuties. I've changed this from a mini to a child's quilt so it will be with me for a bit longer.

Melanie's Quilt:
No official deadline on this but I am shooting for a finish before September.

Christmas Pizza Box Pillow:
This is from a workshop I did with my traditional guild. I'm hoping to have two pillows done in time to gift this Christmas.

#Maythe4thMQS swap extra:

My actual mini is done. I even remembered to sigh it! This is a quickie project and I would say it sits at 1/3 complete as I type. I will most likely be mailing it tomorrow.

Oh Deer! by Shannon Brinkley:

I took her class last week so I can make a Top Secret project. I chose the Oh Deer pattern as my freebie so that I could test out the technique before I embark on the biggie. This will be sent as a 'Thank You' gift to the couple who hosted my son and DIL's wedding in their barn last summer. I was going to make a pieced barn mini but I think this will be much more casual elegant and fit their theme better. BTW, the class was very informative and fun!

Secret Project:

This was started to enter into a contest offered by the Augusta MQG and hosted at Branum's, our LQS. I had to abandon it when my sister and I had to spend a week in our home state due to a family emergency but it is also planned as a gift so it will get finished, eventually. Unofficial November deadline.

Tula True Colors Placemat:

Still in the bag and I have changed the back and binding out multiple times. I bought some more Tula while vacationing in the NC mountains during Master's Week so it will probably change again!

Yeah, I signed up for this:

I need to order my solids. It will definitely be an eye popper!

AMQG Round Robin Blocks:

I would like to have the flimsy complete to share at our May meeting.

Shannon Brinkley Super Secret Project:

The book is ordered and tracking says it will be here tomorrow. I have all the materials and supplies to complete this project.

(No photo but, in the spirit of all the above projects including a photo I have added one of my #tulatruecolorsswap mini in action during our camping trip.)

April, May and June Nurture Circle do.Good Stitches blocks:

The photo is of the blocks I made for March.

The Finish-A-Long is hosted by Debbie at A Quilter's Table.

Thanks for visiting!

2016 1st QTR Finish-Along Link Up

2016-03-31T10:47:00.001-04:00

Here is a recap of what I have been working on this year.

2016 1st QTR Goals w/ progress in Purple

Projects that are ready to quilt & bind:
QOV/Mystery at the Library-Quilted and ready to bind

Bagged with finished pillow case waiting for binding.

MIL's Pink
MIL's Yellow
MIL's Bright
Christmas Tree Pants

These blocks are ready to join:
Lotta Baby Blocks-Joined and ready to quilt

No photo but this is my retreat sewing space and where I joined the blocks.

Here's what I am currently piecing:
Cotton & Steel Basics Dog Gone Cute-one additional block added

Here are the other fabrics that I will be using for additional blocks. You can find this pattern at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Melanie's Quilt-HSTs sewn and trimmed

I think I'm settled on the Crosses & Losses pattern that was shared by Fresh Lemon Quilts not long ago.

Misc. Projects:
Christmas Pizza Box Pillow

Projects on deck:
4 Quilted baskets-FINISHED

Three of the four baskets I finished. Love this free pattern by The Sewing Chick.

3 Dish Drying Mats-FINISHED

Forgot to take a photo of the mats but here is a sample of what they look like.
Link to my Tutorial

4 Outdoor Pillow Covers-FINISHED

Here are some photos of our porch all ready for the Master's Golf Tournament guests that will be staying here next week.

I am really happy with the pillows that I made this year. The red pops against the white and black and I didn't have to put much thought into plants. Red geraniums and ferns seem like the perfect choice.

Some other projects I have worked on this year that were not on my 2016 1st QTR Finish-Along list:

Hexie handwork. It's about half done now.

Nurture Circle Do.Good Stitches for Feb.

Augusta MQG challenge project baby quilt. Finished!

I made 6 pillow cases for the Ronald McDonald House with my traditional guild, Pieceful Hearts, on World Wide Quilting Day.

The top for my #maythe4thmqs is done. Love the pattern by Quiet Play.

My first finished hexie project for the #skinnyminnyswap on IG. I used Modern Handcrafts Modern Hexie tutorial.

Participated in a Round-Robin Sew-in with the Augusta MQG in January and February. Branum's Sewing and Vacuum let's us meet in the shop. Stop by if you are ever in Augusta, GA.

My January Nurture Circle Do.Good Stitches block. Pattern by Shape Moth on Craftsy.

'Lancastered' WIP. Another project from the Augusta MQG Challenge.

Pot Holder/Trivet I made for a gift.

And on to next week:

I'm all packed to do some Airstream sewing while we are camping in the North Carolina mountains. I'll have plenty of time while Hubs is conquering mountains on his bicycle.

I have all of my Cotton & Steel stash packed so I can work on my Splendid Sampler.

My Tula Pink is kitted up to finish a placemat with blocks I received in the IG #truecolorsswap.

My Hexie project is in there for hand sewing.

My March Nurture blocks are on the list too.

Here's a sample of what my sewing room will look like next week.

I hope to get some open air sewing in too.

Well, that will do it.

Thanks for visiting!

Linking up with A Quilter's Table for the 2016 Finish-Along.

Traditional blocks into Modern Quilt

2016-03-23T13:59:00.001-04:00

Let's play some catchup on one of the things I've been up to this year...

I just finished up a challenge with the Augusta MQG. It started out as a giant stack of orphan blocks donated by Branum's, the LQS where we meet. They were distributed in paper bags and we did not know what we were getting. I got some real lovelies and most of them looked about like this...

I did get two Amish blocks, you can see them in the first photo, and one paper pieced Asian block, which I will share at the end of this post.

Our challenge was to make these mostly traditional blocks look modern and the resulting quilts would be donated to charity.

I started by slicing up my generic traditional blocks. These represent non-Amish communities.

I saved my two Amish blocks intact because I LOVE traditional Amish quilts. I placed them in the top and bottom rows.

The black patches with red and orange improv triangles represent Amish buggies with caution signs on the back traversing through the countryside.

I started out with solid green patches but then I Googled Lancaster, PA and could not believe how similar my layout was representing the lay of the land with two large swaths of Amish areas divided by Lancaster. The big difference was the green on the satellite map was very striated. I then sliced up my greens to replicate that detail.

The rows of blues and purples represent Amish girls standing in rows. I am going to add a few more strips.

The gray strips are roads and I'm still on the fence as to how much to include.

So far, I have one and a half rows complete and the others are still in preview.

I plan to quilt the town area in criss-crossing straight lines to represent electrical wires and the green areas will be in channeled rows to give a sense of planted fields.

I am calling this quilt Lancastered.

My husband is crazy about this project and does not want me to donate it. I am with him, not because I am crazy about it. I want to keep it because I do not see this making a very comfortable quilt. It is better suited as a wall piece. I may have to see if I can work out a cash donation in lieu of this project with my guild.

Now, here's the finish...

But, I did create one quilt that I think fits the challenge.

I took my single Asian paper pieced block, which was beautiful on its own, and floated it in an asymmetrical background of Kona Snow.

I backed it in this cut I picked up at Jeff's, our other LQS. I found it on the sale rack and it's a Deb Strain pattern. I had a more pinky-peach piece that I was planning to use but it was a bit off so I was thrilled when I got this home and realized it was perfect!

I put it on my Grace frame and quilted it in this overlapping wavy line design. I love it and will be using this design again.

I finished it with a binding of Kona Snow to keep with a minimalist look.

We turned in our projects at our meeting last week and we voted on whose project best represented the challenge of re-making traditional into modern. We only had to turn in a complete top but mine was so simple I finished it. There were several finished projects but mostly tops were turned in. The winner will be announced at our next meeting. I'm on pins and needles.

Thanks for visiting!

Linked with Let's Bee Social #117

Quilt Fabrication's Midweek Makers #12

Don't Sweat It

2016-02-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

With the exception of a few very ambitious walks and a few spins on the Precor, that title may be my theme for 2016 if I don't get off my duff more often.

My quilty set up, which is visible beyond the elliptical, is even more neglected this year. The Juki spent weeks in my sewing room working on small projects and then went on retreat so the cradle has sat empty and alone for more than a month.

It's hard to tell, but that is the latest episode of Sherlock on the iPad. Loved it!

So here is the final reveal of my Michael Miller Challenge that did not make the QuiltCon cut. My aversion to metallic fabrics only allowed me to use the Glitz to piece the word 'Glisten' so it is a little light on the feature fabrics.

The letters are paper pieced using Diane Bohn's My First Alphabet and the apostrophe is from her My Numbers & Punctuation. I purchased these on Craftsy.

All of the solids are in MM's Cotton Couture.

As I've mentioned before, the back is made with a Michael Miller fabric that I repurposed from a Tag Sale blouse purchase.

The 'photos' double as the tag.

I am very happy with this project and it is set to go keep my neglected elliptical, Juki and Grace Frame company in the bonus room. I am hoping this will give me the incentive to go visit my machines more often...say five times per week? I think a frequent glistening would do me good.

Thanks for visiting!

Pedal's 2016-Finish-A-Long Q1

2016-01-07T17:19:00.000-05:00

Here's my list for the the the Q1 2016 Finish-A-Long...

Projects that are ready to quilt & bind:
QOV/Mystery at the Library
MIL's Pink
MIL's Yellow
MIL's Bright
Christmas Tree Pants

These blocks are ready to join:
Lotta Baby Blocks

Here's what I am currently piecing:
Cotton & Steel Basics Dog Gone Cute
Melanie's Quilt

Misc. Projects:
Christmas Pizza Box Pillow

Projects on deck:
4 Quilted baskets
3 Dish Drying Mats
4 Outdoor Pillow Covers

I am going to a three day retreat with my traditional guild this month and I am confident that the ready to quilt queue will get longer before it gets shorter!

I'm linking up with Debbie at A Quilter's Table

2016 Quilting and Social Media Goals

2015-12-17T12:39:00.000-05:00

Quilting Jetgirl has created a 2016 Planning Linky Party and it was just the nudge I needed to finally sit down and tap out a blog post. Thank you Yvonne!

I knew I would have a number of goals for 2016 and in preparation to meet them I invested in a planner a few months ago. You can read my Fluropink Filofax intro post HERE.

I have been making and testing out inserts and I have settled on using simple black line pages. I used and made some with color and realized that they were just too busy for my taste.

Here's my second attempt at a Swap Tracking page.

I like it much better than my colorful original that had two swaps on the front and notes on the back. Now each swap has its own leaf with more room for planning and a few more checkoff details.

Next up will be a redesign of my Project Tracking page. As you can see, I have two quilts per leaf and I like to remove the pages when the project is complete. Now I can't do it until both projects are complete. It's not fun having to delay that 'finished' satisfaction of getting to pull out a page.

This planner will hopefully go a long way in keeping my 2016 goals front and center.

So, on to my 2016 Goals:

Get back on the blogging wagon. Goal two posts per week.

Quilt my QOV and the three projects my MIL gave me (she fell out of love with) so that they can go to loving homes and bring comfort to others.

Create a share worthy original design. Maybe host a sew-a-long. (Real long shot)

Revisit my 2015 Goal Fails and either cut them from 2016 or get them done. I'm a newish quilter, my tastes are still in development so not all of my 2015 Fails still hold priority.

I am the Program Director in the Augusta MQG and I want to dial into the job better. I'd like to book a workshop for the guild during our 2016-2017 year. We are still small (but growing) and would need to piggy back a visit with a high profile personality or book a budget friendly personality from our region. Feel free to contact me if you have a program to share.

Participate in more swaps. I've done two and I find them fun.

Try EPP. Our guild is having a demo next month so this may be a gimme.

Try a variety of Appliqué methods. I did some iron-on in the 90's but I need to revisit that technique and move up to the big girl table and do some Needle Turn.

This is a biggie, fight my Night-Owl predisposition and become more productive in the AM hours. This will be hard since I'm well into my 50's.

Lastly, I'd like to get proficient with Periscope. This will take personal practice and I need to fix the wifi dead-zone that I call a sewing studio.

Thanks again Yvonne for this great Linky Party!

I'll leave you with a few more Filofax shots because who can resist that shocking pink!

My soon-to-be revised Blog Tracker/Planner page.

Thanks a bunch for visiting!

Michael Miller is In the Can

2015-10-28T11:55:00.000-04:00

This has been a project of running with those first thoughts that jump in my head that I don't even know are coming. "Whoa, where did that come from?" kinda thoughts that happen when I'm not in brainstorm mode.

My mild potty humor blog title slithered through my brain as I was putting the final touches on the binding so, of course, I had to run with it too. It didn't start out as potty humor but as a phrase I have heard used to signify that a film project is complete. It took a few seconds for my mind to take it around the corner to the old Sir Walter Raleigh phone prank.

As this is my first foray into QuiltCon Challenge Land, I am not sure of the sharing protocol so I am not going to give a full reveal today. The weather is also too dark and gray to get good photos and I want to do the quilt justice so I have two excuses to just share snippets.

How "Let's Glitz Physical" came to me:

I just happened to be on my computer when the initial challenge invite popped up and I quickly filled out the form and waited to see if I would get the a bundle. Yes! I wasn't a day late and a dollar short this time.

I had no idea what I was going to do with this sparkly fabric. I am not a metallic fabric fan. I am very tactile and metallic ink/dyes ruin the touch for me. I wear minimal jewelry and am not comfortable with a lot of bling. And the kicker is that I am super sensitive to glitter. It smells funny, hurts my eyes and makes my skin crawl. Just looking at metallic fabric can give me the glitter heebie-jeebies.

I was in a bit of a panic about this project and then the little bundle of joy arrived in my mailbox.

As soon as I touched it I had one thought....My theme was set in motion. The whole quilt top flashed before my eyes. My only decisions were what color Michael Miller Couture solids to use, which pieces of Glitz I would use for the centerpiece feature and what pattern I would use for the feature.

I was to make one major change to my layout. A few days after the bundle arrived I had a short visit with Son #1 and when I shared my idea with him it was met with a very ominous and pensive silent stare. I thought he hated it but he was actually just laying out the top in his head. His first comment was "How are you going to justify it?"

Um, I am the Mom, I don't have to justify anything to you Son, I brought you into this....

Not really, I knew exactly what he meant.

Me : "Well, I was planning to center it..."

Him: "Did you ever think about Right?"

He was spot on and another snap decision was set.

My original thought was to use up the extra Glitz for the back but a few days later another unsolicited thought erupted.

That handmade camp shirt I bought at a yard sale in 2013 that I thought was quilting fabric and when I researched it at home didn't I find it on the Michael Miller site? Yes! And it compliments my theme! Perfect!

So I ordered my Couture and my pattern and set to work when all arrived and the project turned out just as my mind's eye pictured it. I love it and it may be my favorite project of my short quilting career.

I fussy cut my camp shirt and created a photograph look for the back. This allowed me to eliminate a traditional label as I have written my quilt information on the white photo frames.

The title, Let's Glitz Physical popped up one day when I was laying the quilt out on my design wall. It turns out "Glitz" is one of those words you can plug into other things. I told a guild mate my title and she immediately popped it into her title too!

My repurposed fabric even has the Michael Miller brand printed on it in a couple places. I love these ladies!

My binding skills have improved since I started quilting and this one turned out beautiful.

So, now I'm waiting for the clouds to clear so I can get some good photos. I'll probably get the Hubs to shoot them since I have such dismal photography skills and his are above average.

Can't wait to see all the other Michael Miller QuiltCon West Challenge projects.

Thanks for visiting.

Pedal's Pups on the Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop

2015-10-20T01:10:00.000-04:00

Week 6 of the Sew Fresh Quilts Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop

I've always had a thing for little white spotted dogs. I think it runs in the family because I have some adorable photos of my dad as a little boy with his own spotted pup sitting on the running board of his dad's car in the 1930's. Then, my Great-granddad Smith had a Fox Terrier named Pooch that I just adored when I was a chubby little toddler in the early 1960's.

Our first Jack Russell Terrier was a sweet little girl named Agatha and now we have a scruffy little broken coat guy we call Cooper.

So, Lorna, of Sew Fresh Quilt's, Dog Gone Cute pattern was a project that I had to make at least once. My first go round was the large block that I modified to resemble Cooper. (For more Info CLICK HERE)

But one Dog Gone Cute project was not enough for me so I purchased a bundle of C&S basics to make a colorful version on a three by three grid using the small block. I have six of my nine blocks finished.

I chose to use Charcoal Kona for my background and White Kona for the faces. I really like the perky ear with the pink HST so all my pups sport that look. It reminds me of that intense Jack Russell gaze that tells you they are always ready for fun.

Here's the colors I have on deck. I'm partial to that vaseline green color and I can't wait to add that block to the pack.

My plan is to do the thin sashing, border and binding all in the Charcoal Kona.

I'm not even finished with this version and I'm already contemplating a third.

Now, here's the Blog Hop line up:

Tuesday, October 6
Karen of Run Sew Fun
Kris of Kris Loves Fabric
Anja of Anja Quilts
Kelly of Quilting it Out
Tish of Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland

Thursday, October 8
Carol of Just Let Me Quilt
Nina of Inchworming
Doris of The Quilting Queen Online
Brandy of Pampered Pettit
Leena of Creative Instincts

Tuesday, October 13
Ruth of Charly and Ben’s Crafty Corner
Tanya of Tanya Quilts in Colorado
Laurel of Quilts by Laurel
Kathy of Kathy’s Quilting Blog
Deb of New Creative State

Thursday, October 15
Anita of Daydreams of Quilts
Gina of Quilts and Cakes
Beth of Words & Stitches
Rachel of Quiltineering
Julie of Mack and Mable

Tuesday, October 20 - Current Week
Cathy of A Quilting Chick
Selina of Selina Quilts
Shauna of Shauna’s World
Gayle of Pedal Sew Lightly
Kathy of Kayak Quilting

Thursday, October 22
Sandy of Upstairs Hobby Room
Heide of Heide’s Quilty Hugs
Britt-Inger of Hill Valley Quilter

Judy of How ART You?

Louisa of Sewmotion

Tuesday, October 27
Teje of Nero’s Patch and Post

Stephanie of Jak and Will
Valerie of Val’s Quilting Studio
Ellen of Georgia Florida Studio
Cristina of Pretty Little Quilts

Thursday, October 29
Abigail of Cut & Alter
Magdalena of iloveneutrals
Jenn of A Quarter Inch from the Edge
Anne of Batiks by the Bay
Susie of Susie's Sunroom
Tracy of Tracy’s Bits N Pieces

Thanks for visiting!

Gotta Excuse for Cheeky Lotta

2015-10-13T16:12:00.000-04:00

I've got a new excuse to do some shopping. It's called a 2007 David Winick Airstream International 75th Anniversary Edition Bambi. Quite a title for 19' of fun. We are driving up to Charlotte on Thursday to pick it up and will have a two night shake down trip in the South Carolina mountains.

It's been a couple of years since we sold our 2007 Airstream Westfalia and I have incorporated much of my camping equipment into our home and I passed even more of it on to Son #1 when he transitioned into apartment living. That means I have been replacing some of those missing essentials.

My favorite RV haunts are Ikea, Target and Marshall's. We stopped at Ikea after we put the contract on the Bambi last week.

I made the trip to Marshall's and Target yesterday and I had to have a little cheeky Lotta while it's available. Here's my haul.

Paper is not our default but it's handy to have on hand. I know why I chose the bright blue bowls and yellow cups, that was all they had available. I am just not sure why I didn't opt for any of the lighter blue options. Are you ever surprised at your choices when you get home and unpack?

The yellow is a great choice since the David Winick interior is gray and yellow. The bright blue, not so much, but it's Lotta!

Here's some snaps we took when we met the Bambi for the first time.

Love that porthole door!

She's number 57 of the 75 Airstream made.

Love the wood, aluminum, tweedy fabrics and Marmoleum floor and counters.

Another porthole, this one's in the bathroom door.

Special David Winick touch for the screen door.

We are so excited to be in the Airstream family again. We said good-bye to the Westy in August of 2012 when we were going through our big life retooling. This Bambi is like a cross between our first two Airstreams.

Our first was a 2004 28' International CCD with orange interior. Loved it to death and we had some memorable family experiences in it but it was too big for our life stage. We wanted something that was easy to use that we could park in a single space so we moved down into the tiny Westfalia.

The Bambi is a nice compromise between the 28' CCD and the 19' Westy. I wish I had photos on this computer to share but you can go HERE for the CCD and HERE for the Westy if you are interested. They are both pretty mod looking beasts.

Here's the only CCD photo I have on this computer. It shows Cooper as a youngster playing in a rare snow covered yard.

Here's the Westy at a rowing regatta in Oakridge TN. It was great because we were the team cooks and we could usually camp right at the venue.

Here's a mockup of the new rig:

This will fit into two end-to-end parking spaces.

One great thing about the new Bambi is it gives me a reason for some selfish sewing! Can you say Pillow Covers!

Thanks for visiting!

Taming the Scatterbrain in Fluro Pink

2015-09-30T17:24:00.001-04:00

I can be a bit scatterbrained at times and I am always looking for ways to tame this beast. During our ultra busy middle and high school home school years we used a five piece layout of the ever popular Pottery Barn Daily System. We have two calendars, a linen board, the office organizer and the letter bin. We called it Command Central, which seemed a bit unique all those years ago but it's pretty common today.

It looked great in our last house on the kitchen wall and, more importantly it helped keep our family on track. It was out in the open and everyone could see what we were all up to. My family has long been color-coded and we used a collection of Vis-aVis pens to keep everyone's activities straight..

My youngest graduated four years ago and my oldest is now married and lives out of town. The old Command Central won't even fit in our present home because of the very open floor plan. The calendars hang in the laundry room, the office organizer and letter bin hang on a sliver of wall just as you enter the kitchen and the linen board is off its hinges and is wedged between the kitchen desktop and the wall cabinet above. What worked so well a few years ago is not cutting it today.

I needed a new system to keep track of my quilting, blogging, social media, appointments, activities, Hubs ride schedule, the family business.... Basically, life as I know it post home school.

I may be scatterbrained when it comes to my schedule but I am an absolute neat freak about my purse. Nothing can float around, it must be contained neatly in my wallet, two small zip pouches and the one or two zip pockets I allow in my spare style handbag of choice. There is no spare change to be found hanging out on the bottom of my bag.

I will not carry around a standard purse calendar either. I've tried many times and once the corners start to dog-ear I give up and its gone. I knew whatever system I went with had to be special.

So, I went for an eye popping Fluro Pink A5 Filofax. As the only girl in the castle I often get my girly fix of pink in my personal items.

This was my second recent try at an organizer. A couple of years ago I opted for a gorgeous lime green leather Folio/A4 DayTimer. Love, love, love it but not for planning. It is too big for that but it is just what I need to carry and track things for work.

Here is a side by side comparison with my iPhone and iPad for scale. This collection represents my favorite colors; orange, hot pink and lime green. I realize my favorites are a bit loud so I use them sparingly.

I have recently started to follow a lot of planners on IG. This has inspired me to make inserts and accessories for my Filofax to get it dialed in to my needs. I love looking at all of their cute layouts but that will never be my style. My sticker and washi use will be spare. I do have plans to use some "useful stickers" but I will not be decorating my pages. I am sticking with personally made items in 2015 while I am building my full system.

I made a personal size pocket file to hold mail supplies and extras using a tutorial by Alexis, aka Miss Trenchcoat at Strange & Charmed. Click HERE to go to the Youtube tutorial.

I only sliced the ring punches on the right side of my folder so mine stays in my organizer and just flips open. I used See Jane Work file folders from Office Max and they do not seem as stiff as the Target $1 Spots that Alexis used so I had to reinforce mine with washi tape. Would you believe this is the first time I have ever used washi tape?!?

I will probably need to reinforce it better with packing tape or I may run it through the laminator and slice the pockets open through the plastic.

That is what I did when I made this larger A5 size folder of my own design. It was a first attempt and the plastic came out with a crinkle but it works great. It took two laminating sheets and two passes through the machine to cover the whole thing. You can barely detect the seam. To get a nice crease I folded it while it was hot and then ran it through the laminator folded. It was too thick to melt together but it made a nice tight fold. I had to give it a little extra push at one point. My laminator is fairly heavy duty so I would be careful if you have a light weight version.

And there you have my little peek at what I am up to with my quilting. And here's another...

Thanks For visiting!

In a State of Evergreen

2015-09-27T18:58:00.001-04:00

I participated in Lily Pad Quilting's Pets on Quilts Show 2015 and it was so much fun meeting all the other quilting pet lovers. Even though Cooper was not the favorite "Dog on a Quilt" I did nab a little swag. Lucky me!

I won this fantastic Evergreen Jelly Roll from the fantastically talented Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts. Her long arm quilting is over-the-top amazing so go check out her blog HERE. She also runs a pretty sweet online store with her husband, Clint, and you can check out the store HERE.

Green Fairy Quilts has a huge selection of precuts and they are having a 40% off sale on all their thread at the moment.

What's crazy about my Evergreen win is that both of my Christmas projects to date have used BasicGrey Christmas lines! Now I am destined to make a third project which is pretty great because I have a decent size collection of Annalee Dolls and this line is a perfect compliment!

This post will be linked up with Molli Sparkle's Sunday Stash and Sew Darn Crafty by Sew Many Ways.

If you want to see Cooper on my Dog Gone Cute mini click HERE.

For my BasicGray Christmas Table Runner click HERE.

My second BG project is a WIP pair of Christmas Tree Pants that I have not shared yet.

Thanks for visiting!

Team Lyndsie Quilt

2015-09-25T10:50:00.000-04:00

I have been focused on a very special project the past month. A quilt for a very sweet young lady from a large family of deep faith and a love for the Lord that shines through in even the darkest of circumstances.

Lyndsie faced her first battle with ovarian cancer at the young age of 17 and over the next ten years it would return three more times. She faced each battle with a strength and grace that would become a testimony of the power of God in her life. She amassed an ever growing team of prayer warriors along the way.

She would live to the fullest. Getting married, adopting a boy and a girl, spending time with her huge family and giving freely of herself to others.

Her last battle was long and difficult but through it she would touch many through her incredible testimony of faith. She shared her faith and love of the Lord with all who came in contact with her and she touched even more through the sharing of her story and calls for prayer on social media under the hashtags of #TeamLyndsie and #shewillbemadewhole.

Lindsey went home on August 28th and her Celebration of Life Service was so powerful that there were several professions of faith made that day! Her hashtag has now been modified to #shehasbeenmadewhole.

I started this quilt while Lyndsie was still with us. It was like an ever-growing prayer reminder card on my design wall. I was five blocks shy of having the top finished the day she went home.

When I came up with the idea to make a quilt I first brought it up to one of my guilds as a scrappy solids group project using a particular block. Then, when I got home I saw a collection of fabrics I have been hoarding for a special occasion. A bundle of Japanese F8s I had won from Sew Me A Song, plus the F8 bundle of Lecien Flower Sugar I purchased to add to it and a FQ bundle of low volume text prints. At that point I knew I needed to take this project on solo. I informed my guild of my intent and got straight to work.

These fabrics seemed so perfect for Lyndsie. They are vibrant, beautiful, colorful, fun, happy, and modern yet still old-fashioned. That is a great description for Lyndsie. I chose to use the X&+ block because I wanted to include the symbol of the cross to reflect her deep faith.

Teal is the color for Ovarian Cancer and I had a multi-yard cut of the perfect fabric by Valori Wells in my stash.

I love the Pay-It-Forward aspect of using the bundle I won from Sew Me a Song.

For the tag I was given permission to use a design by Grace All Day Designs that she was inspired to create for Lyndsie after learning about her through a mutual friend. She didn't even know Lyndsie! It is so beautiful and it is one of the scriptures that Lyndsie claimed.

Grace gifted her original to Lyndsie's family and she has made this available as a print in her Etsy shop at her cost. She is quite the talented artist and I recommend you check out her work. Here's the Link to her shop.

I put the finishing touches on this project yesterday and Lyndsie's parents picked it up in the afternoon. Unfortunately it was a rainy, dark day so this is the best I can do for photos.

This quilt will be used to raise funds for Lyndie's family to help cover the medical and extra living expenses incurred during her illness. It gets its local public debut at a BBQ fundraiser on Saturday. My prayer is that it will be a financial blessing for the family and that it brings comfort to whoever gets to take it home!

Thanks for visiting!

PHG Challenge Peek and a Test Block

2015-09-20T22:49:00.001-04:00

Last week I had some late nights working on my Peaceful Hearts Quilt Guild Challenge piece for our show in November. I got it done just in time for our meeting last Saturday so I was able to participate in the Guild's Choice competition. This is a traditional guild so it didn't have much of a chance to nab the ribbon but it was fun being part of the festivities. A beautiful scrappy string quilt won the ribbon.

I did a matchstick in all the color areas and doodle quilted in all the gray negative space. I'll try to share a full shot of this piece next week. I'm working on another piece that has to be done by Saturday and I've got an insurance audit at work so I can't make any promises but I will try!

I put together this test block for my Augusta MQG meeting. Hoping to to free up some of that improv mojo for our challenge project. This block is destined for my Kona Bright Test Block Sampler.

I have so much to share now that I have my computer back but my time is so tight with my multiple deadlines and heavier work schedule. I am going to try to do a series of short posts so I can get caught up.

Thanks for visiting!

Dog Gone Cute! Part Deux

2015-09-09T11:54:00.001-04:00

Hey,

I am back. I was able to get my vintage iMac repaired and I am so happy. Mainly because they were able to retrieve all the stuff I should have been backing up!

Now to play catchup with sharing some of the things I have been up to while I have been computerless.

I Finished my Dog Gone Cute Mini Cooper, but he's lonely and needs a pack. Which, is a good thing since I have signed on to do Lorna's blog hop!

His friends will be the smaller version and nice and colorful. I picked up this bundle of Cotton and Steel Basics at my LQS. Shocker, huh? They are finally wading into the modern end of the pool and I couldn't be happier.

Now, I just have to clean up the carnage created after back-to-back paper piecing projects and I can catch up with the hop!

Thanks for visiting!

Test Blocks with a Plan

2015-08-22T10:37:00.001-04:00

So, I am starting a new project, which I will share at a later date. I am using the X and + block. Badskirt has a nice little tutorial but her block was too small for my project. While scanning for fabric placement ideas I came across a beautiful finished version by Bijou Lovely. She provided a link to cutting instructions by Conoe Ridge Designs. I was set.

This is a project that requires a test block since I am mashing up information from two sites before I start chopping up my lovely stack of Japanese fabrics.

At this point I usually pull out my Baggie of traditional and not so lovely fabrics and make a test block that will be donated to my traditional guild's orphan block stash. But being fresh off making a Genny & Ruth block for Elizabeth Hartman's Rhoda Ruth Challenge, I decided to grab the brightest solid scraps out of my scrap bin.

Here's the Genny & Ruth:

And here's my test x and +:

Wow, you really need sunglasses for this one.

I hung it on my design wall next to the Genny and Ruth and that gave me a great idea. Instead of making my test blocks out of my "not my style" fabrics and passing them on to the guild, I am going to make them out of solid scraps and save them for an eye poppingly bright solid sampler quilt. I have two blocks already so I am off to a good start!

As you can see, the Badskirt/Bijou block was a complete success despite the fact that I flaked and messed up my corner square placement. I have moved on to cutting the actual quilt in confidence.

That's it. I am on my decrepit iPad 2 which makes blogging almost impossible. iMac gets his 15 minutes with a Genius tomorrow. I just hope they can at least extract my data.

Mini-Cooper, Dog Gone Cute & Pets On Quilts Show

2015-08-18T14:36:00.002-04:00

When I first saw Lily Pad's Pets On Quilts Show hop I planned to post this photo of Cooper on a pillow that I made for him using the Nested Churn Dash block when it was all the craze.

He looks pretty cute but guess what, he despises that pillow. He will only lay on it out of desperation.

On top of that, his housemate, Son #2's White German Shepherd Dog Evora, chewed the corner off of it the same day I finished it!

But now another option has popped up and none too soon. I absolutely fell in love with Lorna at sewfreshquilts' latest Quilt-Along. I may have been the first to sign on in the Comments. I was, you can go check HERE. While you're there you may just fall in love with her Dog Gone Cute pattern and down load a copy. I dare you to resist.

So, pattern in hand, or more specifically, sitting on my iBooks shelf, I decided to get an early start by creating my own fabric Cooper. I mean really, how could I pass up the opportunity to immortalize that little fuzzy muzzle in fabric.

Hey, that looks like me!

As cute as all of Lorna's pups were, not one was exactly a Cooper so I had to make a few minor changes. It was so easy, I just added a few more HSTs and used more fabric options to capture his tri-color face. I even gave fabric Cooper a freckled ear just like the real deal.

Who wants a pink poodle when you can have a cute Jack Russell Terrier?

I made good use of one of those "what was I thinking" fabrics in my stash. That mottled brown only comes out for "special" occasions.

She made a sandwich out of me and she says she's going to feed me to the Juki!

What the heck's a "Juki?"

Cooper quickly decided that the Mini-Cooper was better than the Churn Dash Pillow. Don't tell him that he won't be cuddling with it when it's done. The Mini-Cooper is destined to hang above the Bose in my sewing room. He will be the first mini to grace the wall in my new space. Yeah, I am calling it the Mini-Cooper.

What are the neighbors up to?

So now it is on to quilting. I took the Juki off the Grace to do a little FMQ. I'm a bit rusty so it will be a few days before I can reveal the finished Mini-Cooper.

On another subject, I had to finish this post on my work computer because I found my iMac stuck in the blue screen of death today. I fiddled and failed so I packed him up in his box and now I have to make an appointment to take him to the Apple Store. Not a fan of that place.

My postings will be spare and infrequent until I get the iMac back. If you want to see updates of my progress and quilty adventures, please visit me on Instagram. I'm pedalsewlightly there and you can find a link in my upper right column.

Thanks for the visit!

I'm entering Cooper in the Dog or Pup on Quilt Category.

Click above to see all the adorable entries!

Finish it Up Friday - Suits, Girls, Dogs and More

2015-08-14T15:32:00.002-04:00

My most ambitious finish for the week was finally posting a tutorial for my Cute Quilted Dish Drying Mat. If you missed it you can find it HERE.

I finished the Flimsy and Backing for my Pieceful Hearts Challenge Quilt. They are hanging on the catwalk waiting for their turn at quilting.

It reminds me of a man's suit and tie with its bold angular colors against the crisp gray Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen. I think I might title it "The Suit" since it is being made specifically to be judged in the guild challenge. This is new territory for me, competition and putting names to my quilts. I think "The Suit" thinks Granny is pretty cute.

I finally finished ripping apart a shirt I bought over a year ago at a garage sale. It's made out of a cute Michael Miller novelty fabric and I wanted to make sure it went to a home that would appreciate it, mine. I am in the process of fussy cutting some of the beauties out for a future project.

So pretty and chic! I love that little white spotted dog!

I finished one of two blocks for my August Nurture Circle assignment. This month we are to make two red and white star themed blocks. Love, love, love the red and white. Reminds me that I need to get my Tree Pants out to finish before it slips from WIP to UFO status. There's definitely room on the cat walk for more company.

This block was pieced traditionally as per the pattern cutting suggestions. If I were going to make an entire quilt I would recalculate cutting and use time saving techniques for all those HSTs and FGs. Plus I'd want to leave room to trim and square. This block wanted to go wonky and it is a couple threads under 12.5" unfinished.

I signed up for my second Mini Swap and I haven't even completed my first! It's Schnitzel & Boo's latest offering. How could I pass it up? These events are like a rite of passage in the swap world.

Kristi is trying to break the Round Three record of 965 participants. At last count she was up to 868 so hop on over and get in on the fun by signing up. LINK HERE. Sign up ends at midnight!

And last, but definitely not least, I signed on for a quilt along. This is also a first for me. I'm a bit of a lone wolf and "joining" does not come easy for me. It's a trait I share with the Hubs. But Lorna, at sewfreshquilts, came up with one that I could not pass up, dogonit!

Here's why:

Cooper

Um, I'm waiting for you to throw that tennis ball.

I love camping. Getting there is half the fun!

If I can see it, I can get it, even if I have to do a back flip.

Did you pack any snow with that?

I signed up for the Dog Gone Cute Quilt Along and I am so excited to get started!

I have my pattern in hand and it is even better than I expected. You can find it HERE.

Lorna has created a pattern with so many variables that I will be able to make a pup to represent every Jack Russell Terrier I have been privileged to have in my family. That would be eight counting four puppies who went to new homes. We only have Cooper now and at 10 he is still a handful. The other three have gone on to that big doghouse in the sky. One we lost as a very senior JRT and two succumbed to the dangers inherent in country living. Cars and coyotes.

I'm planning two projects. A more color correct mini of just Cooper for show-off and a larger project to coincide with the Dog Gone Cute Quilt Along schedule.

Thanks for visiting!

Tutorial - Cute Quilted Dish Drying Pad

2015-08-11T11:58:00.002-04:00

The following is the tutorial for my Dish Drying Pads.

I am trying to figure out how to add a down-loadable PDF to my blog but as a newish blogger it seems to be above my skill level. If anyone would like to share how they do it I would really appreciate the help! Thanks

Pedal Sew Lightly’s Cute Quilted Dish Drying Pad

Skill Level: EASY

A little history:

My pots and pans cannot go in the dishwasher and I always seemed to have a dishtowel on my counter with pans air-drying on it. It was quite unsightly. When I first saw the dish drying pads for sale at the big box stores I thought it was the best idea ever but I could never get myself to buy one because, well because they are so dorky and unsightly, at least in my opinion.

So, one day it just hit me … I sew … I can make a cute dish-drying pad that would be an attractive addition to my kitchen!

So, how to make one that would hold up to daily use and not hold moisture and get all yucky?

I devised a plan, made one, tested it, tweaked it a tiny bit and then made some for my family to test along side of me. After more than a year of testing my dish drying pads are ready for prime time.

Materials List:

· - Bar Mops (Towels)

I use these because they are not too thick and they have channels that allow air to circulate under the mat. I purchase mine at Target by the dishtowels and they are very inexpensive.

· - Cotton batting scrap just larger than your Bar Mop (around 16”x18”)

· - Cotton quilting fabric. I use quilt store quality brands

Scraps or cuts to equal about 16”x18” and about 70” of binding

· -Cotton Thread for sewing and quilting

I quilt with a thread that compliments the front and blends with the back.

· -Basting Spray

The Bar Mops come in multi-pack bundles. They are standard Target products but the badging will change over time as they use their different logos.

Step One:

Wash your Bar Mops

Once if your fabric in NOT prewashed

Twice if your fabric IS prewashed

Step Two:

Iron your Bar Mop.

Step Three:

Trim the folded hem off all four sides of the Bar Mop. Trim as close to the hem as possible while squaring up as you go.

Optional Step A: shown in photo.

Serge or zigzag edge for added durability.

Step Four:

Measure your Bar Mop to determine layout for the pieced top.

These Bar Mops don’t seem to be very uniform, and I since I try to maintain as much size as I can out of each towel, all my dish mats seem to vary in size by miniscule amounts.

Step Five:

Piece your top using standard piecing techniques.

Here are some that I have made:

I keep it simple but you can get as fancy as you please!

UPDATE: I have been making a lot of my mats using Quilt-As-You-Go techniques.
Usually a simple stripe on a diagonal but sometimes I get fancy with a Log Cabin.

When using QAYG I spray baste the batting to the bar towel and then layer and sew each piece of fabric individually. Elizabeth Hartman has a great QAYG tutorial that she created for making bag panels.

Here is one I made for a young man in the Air Force.

Sometimes I still add a little quilting over the whole piece if I use larger fabric pieces and it is a bit too floppy.

Step Six:

Sandwich your mat with a layer of cotton batting between the pieced top and the Bar Mop just like a mini quilt. Use spray basting between the layers. Smooth the Bar Mop side as square as possible.

Step Seven:

Iron your little quilt sandwich continuing to square the Bar Mop.

Step Eight:

Quilt your dish pad.

Here are some samples of my work.

Step Nine:

Trim and Square your mat taking note of how it lines up with both sides since the Bar Mops have a linear design.

Optional Step B:

Serge or zigzag the raw edges using a stitch width that will be hidden under a narrow binding.

Step Nine:

Bind your mat in your desired technique.

Since this is a “Small”, I like to use either a 2” or 2-1/4” binding width. I also do a lateral seam instead of a diagonal since it is easier on a small piece.

Now enjoy the way your little mat brightens up your kitchen counter!

Special Note:

This Dish Drying Mat is designed to look pleasing on your counter while being handy for small, daily hand wash chores only. You will need something more substantial for major dish washing.

I'd love feedback on the tutorial process or the functionality of the piece if you make my dish drying pad.

Thank you for visiting!

Sunday Stash and Wedding Mosaics

2015-08-09T09:45:00.001-04:00

Sunday Stash:
I added this Pink Castle Fabrics Limited Edition F8 Flower Sugar Bundle to my stash in late June. It was waiting on my doorstep when we returned home from the wedding.

Speaking of the wedding, here are a few mosaics. These photos were taken by my fabulous Little SIL and she has quite the touch with an iPhone.

She took some nice shots of my table decorations.

She made sure she had a great seat at the ceremony.

And, if you weren't planning on on using Ephesians Farm for your next event, you will after seeing her beautiful shots. They have such a quaint magical ambiance.

Sewing Space Goes Full Circle

2015-08-07T13:54:00.002-04:00

I've been working in my new sewing space for just short of a month now and I love it. Here is a series of post about how my space has moved and evolved since I started quilting in December of 2012.

First try-Guest Room.
Second try-Bonus Room
Giving up the Dining Room, sort of.

I spent the longest stretch in my dining room and I'm going to run down the list of negative attributes it possessed for housing a quilting studio. Be warned, I'm going to sound like a spoiled brat because almost every one of my gripes would fit nicely on a dream dining room wish list.

It has four large windows:
Eats up wall space
They are shaded by an expansive wraparound porch

Large doorway open to foyer and living room:
Eats up wall space
My machine noise disrupts conversation and TV viewing
Clutter on view for all to see

Deep green walls that get tons of compliments:
Light suckers

It's a dedicated dining room:
But only for one week a year when we rent our home for the Master's Golf Tournament and I have to keep a large table, 6 chairs, hutch and sideboard in the room itself or spread all over the house in goofy places.
Huge dining room table facilitates collecting clutter
I can't hang anything on the walls to facilitate quilting.

Isn't that a petty list of peeves!

So, when my son moved his bedroom furniture to his new home with his wife (Love that!) we moved the guest room to his old room and I moved my sewing back to square one, the guest room.

Check this out, I actually have sewing things hanging on the walls!

These Ikea ledges are working great for my go-to ruler collection.

My little thread collection.

Temporary design wall.

The design wall will be replaced with two sheets of flannel covered Homasote but we have to special order it. Homasote used to be a regularly stocked item but it has been replaced with styrofoam sheathing.

My main sewing station.

The room size is perfect for working efficiently but small enough that I don't let it get cluttered. That was an issue when I could spread out on my dining room table in my old space. Plus, my new storage is easier to use than pulling out and opening storage boxes.

My cutting station.

My cutting table is a new/old addition to my space. My husband made this drafting table just after we moved into the first home we built in 1987. He has used it through the years to draw up plans for four more homes and it has had several stints as Son #1's desk. I thought the pencil ledge would bother me but after seeing Quilting Jetgirl's cut layout just before I made the move I was put at ease. It hasn't been a problem.

I also moved in that nifty bar stool. The three guys in the house hate that thing for some reason. The negative feelings are so strong that it was in storage until I could utilize it in a space that I don't share with them. I love it. It has become my thinking/planning chair at the drafting table.

Lois under my Juki's cover.

Lois, my other 301 is kitty-corner from my main sewing station. She sits next to my fabulous new fabric storage!

Fabric storage in new Ikea Billy.

I no longer have to keep my fabric hidden in easy to move storage boxes! It is all protected from the floating dog hair that liberally sheds off Son #2's White German Shepherd Dog by the doors. She rarely stays in my space now since she gets distracted by her cozy space in Son #2's room and feels close enough just having me upstairs with her. I love being able to see my little growing stash.

Large cuts and yardage.

I keep my yardage, some extra tools, batting scraps and other non-quilting fabrics in this vintage dresser. Hub's grandmother gave it to him when he was a bachelor and it is the only piece we own with family history. It was covered in darkened shellac and not very attractive so I painted it in the 1980's. It looked awful but stayed that way for years until I stripped in about five years ago. Now I love its adorable fresh look.

Ironing station.

I use it as my ironing station. My two-foot by four-foot pad fits nicely on it. Beside it sits a cast-off Ikea nightstand from my new DIL.

Viking station.

I think this little setup is a bit nautical. My two Viking/Husqvarna machines live between my door and closet on my little tanker table. I'd like to get an aluminum Navy chair or stool to complete this.

The Bose has moved to the Expedit/Kallax shelf now. When I turned it on the first time in my new space it was on WBBQ. Not my favorite station but they changed their format to "All 80s with a little of the current stuff thrown in." Since I was born in 1960 and spent my 20s in the 80s I couldn't resist it for a few weeks. I was dancing around and I had this strong urge to gel my hair, cut off my t-shirt sleeves and watch Mollie Ringwald movies. It was getting a bit distracting so I changed it to my favorite channel, Air1.

I love my new space. It has great natural light with its three large windows. I put three new 60 watt daylight bulbs in the ceiling fixture and light bounces off my lighter walls. Plenty of wall space to hang tools and I am so excited that I will be able to hang minis in my space. I have joined my first swap! I also have a free wall for a giant design wall.

The size of the room is perfect for holding everything but my Grace frame and Juki. We gave Son #1 and DIL some of the bonus room furniture so it is more spacious up there for our workout equipment and the quilting frame. I have a pretty sweet setup in the bonus room and I like to have TV in the background when I use the Grace so I am happy with this setup. I'll piggyback some photos in another quilting post.

The downside list is very short.

I have carpet now.

It is more isolated and removed from family. Hubs does come visit. He likes the black chair at the Lois station.

Since the room is directly above the master bedroom I can't quilt into the night because the floor squeaks.

Now, about Master's Week rental. It still needs to be used as a bedroom. I will move a few things out, fold up the sewing cabinets and put a twin bed in the room. It will not be as critical for the room to look like a true bedroom as it was for the dining room to look like a true dining room. We may have to drop our rental fee but I'm thinking its about time for a raise anyway.

Here's a peek at my design wall today:

This is the first quilt I have made specifically to be entered in a quilt show.

Thanks for visiting my new space!

Linky Parties:

TGIFF @QuokkaQuilts

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Updated 8/19/15 Amy's Free Motion Adventure

Barn Dance

2015-08-05T13:01:00.002-04:00

We had a major family event this summer, a wedding! My oldest son got married and we finally have another girl in the family! And as an added bonus, the newly weds moved from Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA as soon as they got home from their honeymoon.

Here are some mosaics of the rehearsal made by the Mother of the Bride. She is much better at photography and social media than myself. She had these posted before we even got back to the hotel!

Father of the Bride / Parents of the Groom / Family of the Groom / L-Bride & R-Friend

Bride and Groom practicing the worship song for the wedding / Flower Girl & Ring Bearer / Hubs, nephew, my Big Sis and her her Hubs / Brother of the Bride & FOB / Bride & Maid of Honor / Bride, Groom & Groomsmen

The Rehearsal Dinner

That cake is from Edgar's Bakery and it was reminiscent of the cakes my Grandma Penny used to make when I was a little girl in the early 1960s. We had the food catered by the Urban Cookhouse and it was excellent. We also accommodated our gluten-free guests with Orange Rolls and Pies from the Funky Muffin. Their rolls may have been the meal favorite. These are all establishments that are based in Alabama and Birmingham.

The day of the rehearsal was oppressively hot but we were blessed with a significantly lower temperature and a mild breeze on the wedding day. We even had a refreshing sprinkle right at the beginning of the ceremony. So light it didn't affect hair or even dampen the chairs but it cooled the air.

Pre-Ceremony:

Bride and her Mother

Bride and Groom in prayer before the ceremony.

Ceremony:

Waiting for the Bride (Son #1)

Mother & Father of the Groom (Pedal & Hubs)

Brides Maid & Groomsman (Son #2)

The Kiss

The ceremony was a beautiful worship service with personalized vows and the new couple leading the guests in worship as their first act as Husband and Wife. It was very powerful.

Post-Ceremony:

The Wedding Party.

Bride & Groom with the Flower Girl & Ring Bearer. (Big Sis' grands)

You can see my Micro-Stamps pillow in action

Reception:

In lieu of the traditional wedding cake, the kids brought in a Steel City Pops cart with a variety of gourmet pop cycles.

They are another Birmingham-born establishment and they were a big hit!

They also had a variety of games. The star of the show was a Corn Hole tournament.

(Emir on far right)

The guest were invited to to sign up and they played single elimination while the post-ceremony photo shoot was happening in the background. The winning team got to duke it out with the Bride & Groom. Emir & Jeff (in photo) got that honor and in the end became the Grand Champs.

There was never any guest-down-time because the games, BBQ dinner and Steel City Pops were available as soon as the ceremony ended while the wedding party was in photo mode.

Then we moved inside for music and dancing.

We had the semi-traditional FOB & MOG dances.

Groom and his Rapping Groomsman, Mike, provided some entertainment.

Mike busted out a hilarious impromptu performance and Groom sang a goofy song he wrote that had apparently become a regular event with his college social circle. It was very special for me because I remember the day he called downstairs, "Hey Mom, come listen to this" and getting serenaded with his guitar and Garage Band backup for the premier performance of said song.

And then, bam, just like that, they were rushing off in Son #1s old Acura...Leave and Cleave.

Now, you must all be wondering about that fabulous barn and beautiful altar. The wedding was held at Ephesians Farm. Ken and Shari were the most gracious hosts, always ready to assist in any way possible to make the day special. If you are anywhere near Oneonta, AL or Birmingham, AL, and you need a venue, you really should give them a call. They catered the BBQ for the reception and it was over-the-top-good. And we know our BBQ here in the South!

The accommodations and settings are beautiful. They provide tables, chairs, table covers, lanterns and lovely vignettes around the property. The Bride and Groom areas are quaint and address the specific needs of each group. Huge mirrors and comfy seating for the Bride and Ping Pong, game tables and manly seating for the Groom. And that rustic iron work and stone altar is just beautiful.

On to sewing and quilting:

Just before we left for the wedding I finished a little house warming gift for the couple our construction firm is building a house for.

It's one of my dish drying mats. The home is on the Savannah river and it has a mountain rustic exterior and a modern country interior. Peggy and Jerry have been such a blessing to work with and we bonded as true friends during the build. I wish all jobs could end like this! But I guess that's not really possible since almost all of our projects are commercial.

Todays WIP:

I am cutting into this stack of Alison Glass, plus some Robert Kaufman's Quilters Linen and finally getting started on my Pieceful Hearts Challenge Quilt for our show in November.

Now I'll leave you with a preview of my next post. Here's Cooper in my new sewing space. He loves it because it is like one big dog bed. Carpet! At least somebody like the plush floor.

Thanks for visiting!