Builders gotta build

In the four weeks I was gone, my dad did this:

Yep, new barn.  It's even bigger than the one he built last year, which you can see on the left.  (He sometimes claims that 'this' will be the year he doesn't build a barn.  We just all nod and say "Sure, Dad.  Yep.")

But then, (woohoo!) I won this book, which I'd been coveting ever since Julie started talking about it.

Looks like I'd better get cracking.  Dad's got such a head start on me...

Finally home again

My visit ended up being a bit longer than originally planned, but finally I'm home and reunited with my stash.  Oh, and with my folks, of course.  And the cat.
Now that I'm back on my own computer, I'm going to try to tie up a few loose ends for June as July bears down upon us.

First, the last of June's piggies, which I would have posted on Saturday for ScrapHappy Saturday...

 And I think these are all the rest of the May 365 Challenge blocks I've made, including some I'd forgotten to show.

I think I'm caught up through the 15th of May, which sounded pretty good to me until I remembered that it's nearly the end of June...
Though it wasn't all sewing while I was in Maryland.  There was another trip to the botanical garden (I could go every week, I think, and enjoy each visit just as much as the last!)  I did a lot of stopping to smell the roses,

while my grandson took a more active approach to the day.

There's a terrific maze next to the Japanese Garden, which most people walk.  Our young Mr C preferred it at high speed.

Back at the ranch, there was an interesting foray into the realm of rhubarb cocktails -

though I stuck with beer.  Pink is real nice and all, but not what I want in a beverage.

There were several monkeys, but this is the only one who stood still long enough to get a picture.

And I completely missed the boat on Log Cabin Loonies.  I did manage to get a few thrown together.  Though you'll notice that one of them is one log short of a cabin.

That may be my new favorite euphemism...

Aqua, teal, turquoise - not your ordinary pigs

Still far from the stash (and my ruler collection, which I inexplicably left behind when I came for this visit...), so I'm continuing with June's piglets in turquoise.  Or aqua.  

 This little stripey fellow has the aqua and lime green already combined!

And there's a pushy little monkey, as usual, clamoring to be included.

Just can't say no to a monkey.

I've been diligently working on my 365 Challenge blocks, but I'm pretty much giving up hope of ever catching up.  My new goal is to finish, no matter how long it takes.  My 365 Challenge will just last a little longer than 365.  A 459 Challenge?  712? 

And my little piles of Glitter bits continue to grow.

Because as long as I have a piece of fabric in my hand, I might as well make it glitter, right?



Linking with So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday.  Come see all the watery blue fun!

Quick Question!

Does this look like a sunflower to anyone besides me?

Or is it back to the drawing board?

April has ended!

Finally.

Continuing with the light 6" blocks that we've moved on to (which seem huge and bright after all those 3" dark blocks for the first set of borders), here's April 28th

which required a huge amount of trimming to bring it to size.

April 29th wasn't so wasteful,

and April 30th was lots and lots of happy little pinwheels, for a true celebration of the end of the month!

(I was certainly ready to run around the house with a pinwheel in each hand and one clutched in my teeth at this point.  Sorry, no pictures...)

A sweet little basket kicks off May

and I'm tickled at how that star turned up in the little red triangle.  Yeah, yeah, I did that on purpose, uh-huh, yep.

And what day is complete without a monkey?

I swear I don't know how they're getting in...

Scrappy is as scrappy does

Not much to show in the 365 Challenge arena today.  I finished this block for April 27th,

and got a start on this one for the 28th.

Though I did kick myself for not reading the directions more closely.  The designer has you making the hourglass blocks from 3.25" squares, then trimming them down, and you can see below just how much trimming has to be done.

The hourglass on the right is the freshly pieced one, and the one on the left has been trimmed to 1 15/16 (which is a wonky size no matter how you look at it).   I don't mind trimming off a sliver in order to have had a little elbow room during the sewing, but this is a huge amount to trim.  I'm way too stingy for this to slide by my notice.  The part where I kicked myself was when I realized that I could have gotten hourglasses that size starting with 2.5" squares (rather than the 3.25" ones) because that's the size I was using to make the 2" hourglass components for my Ohio stars last year.  Argh!

Pay no attention to the monkey.  I don't know how he snuck in here...

As I've mentioned before, I like to multi-task when I'm cutting fabric.  Why cut pieces for one project when you can push several of them further along?  (I've heard there are people who work on one project at a time.  I don't see how that could be possible.)

So, while I'm cutting out pieces for the 365 Challenge, why not throw in some monkey bits and piggy pieces?

Not to mention a little glitter.
As I pull each fabric I cut a 3.5" strip with the fabric folded either right sides or wrong sides together,

and cut a couple of squares.  One will go into my Quilty 365 box for my orange peels and backgrounds

and one will be cut into quarters.  Each Glitter block needs four 1.75" squares, and 1.75 is exactly half of 3.5.  How handy is that?

With the fabric still doubled, I cut at 4.25" and line up my template to cut out the background pieces.

Each block requires two pieces and two reversed, so by doubling the fabric, I end up with just what I need.

And as long as those were laid out anyway, I tested some other pieces to see how it would look.

Not that I was going to sew the block together.  Really.  Because I'm totally not starting this project.

Oops.

Just for grins, I cut out this stripe for the focus fabric for another glittery block.

A little more concentration was called for, but it worked out fine.  I laid it out just to see what it would look like.   Had to pick some fabrics to go with it, of course.

Anyone care to wager how long it'll be before this one is sewn together, too?
Yeah, me neither.


Linking with Oh Scrap at Quilting is More Fun than Housework and Mrs Sew & Sow for Scraptastic Tuesday, because Scrappy is my middle name!  (Well, it could be...)

Two pigs and a Monkey

That title sounds like the beginning of a joke.  I'm drawing a blank on a punchline, though...

This little piggy says her name is Kitty.

And this one hasn't told me his name, though I suspect it's Kaffe.

And this little monkey insisted he be included in the aqua parade.

Pigeon butt and all...



Linking with So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday!  Come enjoy all the watery fun!

Yessir, yessir, three bags full. Well, two, actually...

I'd promised a reveal on that secret project, so here we go.
Last month Cynthia from Quilting is More Fun than Housework was featuring May is for Makers, and one of her posts highlighted Love from Beth's storage pods pattern.  While checking out the pattern on Craftsy, I saw something else by the designer.
This pattern is the one that caught my eye.  I no sooner saw it than I clicked on it to purchase.  It was absolutely what I had been looking for, without even knowing I was looking for it!

These bits 

(I thought I had more progess shots, but I was wrong)

were assembled into a hexie-shaped basket that I gave my oldest daughter for her birthday.  As you can see, she's already put it to use holding her needle-felting supplies.

The pattern was a bit more fiddly than I expected, but the result is truly satisfying.  I'll be making another in the not too distant future.

So, flushed with success, I moved on to making my third Sew Together bag - this one for me!  Once again, I thought I had more process shots.  Wrong again...
Here's the inside ready for the zipper-handle installation,

and here's what the outside looked like at that point as well.

The inside all finished -

and put to use.

This one will be my hand-sewing/applique organizer.  You can see some of my Quilty 365 orange peels already living inside.

If anyone is planning to make this bag (and you all should be - it's a terrific bag!), I found this tutorial really helpful.

So that's two bags full.  Now I'm ready for a third.  Anyone have a favorite bag pattern to recommend?
I'm always up for a new challenge.