Design Wall Monday

This post title is deceptive as I don't have a single thing on my design wall!  I don't know if that is good or bad.  I have a vast amount of projects cut and ready to go to my retreat Wednesday.  I don't usually go for 4 nights, usually just 3, so that is an extra day of sewing.  Next week I plan to show more projects!

First this week is my finished Row by Row Experience quilt.  I custom quilted it, letting each row speak to me.  I am not great at taking photos so I don't have quilting closeups.  I had two local quilt shops to pick from, awesome for a town of 3,000 people!  I chose to go in to Material Girls.  They were so delighted to have me there!

Idaho Travels with a little help from Washington and Oregon

For prizes they had a pack of 25 FQ's but said I could trade it in for what I wanted.  I looked around and one owner said how about this, do you like this?  It was this gorgeous quilt kit for Northern Cardinals using Winter Song fabrics by Holly Taylor.  I had seen the kit, but didn't purchase it and was thrilled to trade in for it, even though the value was way more, they didn't care.  Since I used their row they said I also got a gift certificate or any book I wanted.  I picked Here Comes Winter, it has a lot of cute, fun, little projects.

Northern Cardinal Kit by Holly Taylor - mine is cut and ready to sew at retreat!

book I received as a prize

The rows I used were from:  Material Girls - Orofino, ID, Stitches and Petals - Moscow, ID, Homegrown Quilts - Grangeville, ID, Cattle Country Quilts - Joseph, OR, Grammy G's - Palouse, WA, Quilt Treasures - Grangeville, ID, Rather Be's - Pomeroy, WA, Huckleberry Patches - McCall, ID, Wild Hare (split in two pieces) - Orofino, ID, Becky's Fabrics - Lewiston, ID and Palouse River Quilts - Colfax, WA.  It was fun going to all the different shops and I purchased all the kits to support the stores, even though I change a few fabrics here and there.  I pieced the back out of leftover chunks of fabric along with some yardage of flannel I had.

My friend Tamra sent me a pinterest link to an iron caddy.  I own one made by the organizer of a retreat I went to in Leavenworth, WA a few years ago.  I found instructions online here and made this caddy.  It unfolds to be an ironing mat.  I will be mailing it off as a surprise!

When I was at Cattle Country Quilts in Oregon in June I found this bag pattern, the Barbados Bag by Pink Sand Beach Designs.  I loved that is was tall enough for my Kindle and had outside pockets, one zippered on the front and one not and on the back there are two pockets as well as two pockets inside.  I made the bag this weekend and love it.  I still need to "move in" to it.  I ordered a new travel wallet that should arrive tomorrow.  I am hoping to keep my purse more organized!  I had to go rummage in my late MIL's sewing room looking for zippers.  The one on top is turquoise!

linking to Patchwork Times

Design Wall Monday

I have been so random at working on things lately, but focused and got a top done.  I really did not need to start yet another project but I started collecting the Row by Row Experience patterns in my travels, the first one on our trip to Oregon (the 4th row down).  I went with a friend to lots of shops within a couple hour driving distance in Idaho and Washington and also picked up one on my huckleberry picking trip to McCall.

twin size row quilt with 11 rows, one of them split and adding some license plate fabric

 I started Bonnie Hunter's Leader Ender challenge  making tumblers.  I went into my stash of 3.5" squares, figure out how to cut them to make a tumbler and the first picture is shown sewn together in pairs.  I thought it was boring, using whites and off whites.  

 I cut some prints and placed them over top and this is much more interesting.  I won't be sewing any of it together, other than in pairs, until I think I have enough for a quilt and then lay it out.  I will dig in my light prints and see what else I can find.

 I started the Farm Girl Vintage sew along and joined the Facebook group to go with it and promptly signed up for a tablerunner swap.  This lovely table topper was made by Nelly Homes of Australia.

 This is the tablerunner I made and mailed off to a woman in Australia, I can't say her name yet!  I used fabrics from the Day Sail line.  I love how it looks old but modern too.  I am very behind on keeping up with all the other blocks on the sew along though!

I am excited to go on a retreat next year in western Washington.  It's a bit of a drive but I will meet people I have known for years via an online group on yahoo.  I need to get my projects ready.

Linking up with Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday and other stuff

Where did June go?  I was so busy until school got out on June 11th, then had several things to get done and our daughter Amy, her husband Nate and their two kids arrived on the 19th.  We left with them on the 26th and came back on the 29th.  It was a great get away.

Now to catch up on the things I did get done recently!

My blog post for Quiltmaker's Quilty Pleasures Scrap Squad went live on June 19th.  I used the Hero's Homecoming pattern in the current issue of Quiltmaker and made Dogwoods in Bloom.  I love this one.  I decided to make a version in patriotic colors to donate to one of the military groups.  It is not quilted yet, but hopefully by the end of the summer it will be!

Dogwoods in Bloom.  Quilty Pleasures Blog for June.

Hero's Homecoming top for Quilty Pleasure blog

Today I finished machine quilting this quilt that I pieced in March for a graduation gift.  It's just a bit 

late!  I have the binding ready to apply and will finish it by machine as well.

Stepping Stones for Lindsay.

I used all the leftover fabrics to piece a back.

 I am very behind on the QuiltmakerIttyBitty blocks.  I only have January done but I have all the rest cut out through June.  July was just posted yesterday.  These are two baskets from February.  I am making two of each 4" block.

Itty Bitty Baskets 4"

 A neighbor asked me to quilt this signature quilt for her.  It was in her family and assembled by her great grandmother.  She knew I would not be handquilting it, but she just wanted it finished to display.  I need to hand stitch the binding but it's been way too hot here and we don't have an air conditioned house!

Antique signature quilt

 We left on the 26th for Boise and visited our daughter Lisa and husband Kevin and seeing their newly purchased house.  Amy and her family went the rest of the way to their home in Utah the next day.  We also went to a wedding on the 27th of one of our son's friends, where Brad was honored as an honorary groomsman.  On the 28th we drove to Oregon.  I should do a whole post on that trip.  We were going to go there two years ago with Brad to see the homestead sites of Doug's great great grandfather and great grandfather.  Brad had been the one who found the locations and Doug had put them into his GPS at the time.  We did see the homestead sites and also the Oregon Trail Intrepetive Center in Baker City where we got to see the actual wagon train ruts that they had actually traveled on.  We also went to Wallowa Lake and went up on the Tram.  The views are gorgeous.  We hiked all the trails, having gotten to the tram shortly after 9 AM when it opened.  We came back home the evening of the 29th.

Me at the top of Mt. Howard.  

Doug looking at the homestead site of his great great grandfather

Wallowa Lake

sign at the summit, we could definitely harder to breathe at a higher elevation

Linking up with Patchwork Times.  I was also nominated for a Lovely Blog Award quite some time ago so I plan to get that post done too if I ever stay home long enough!