22 June 2011

WIP Wednesday

I haven't been around much lately, I know. I'm sorry. Sadly, I just haven't been in much of a blogging mood lately. I've been trying to spend less time online & more time sewing and catching up on things around the house. But I've got some fun plans for my blog later this summer (giveaways?) so thanks for sticking around!

My WIPs this week:
I felt I needed a new skirt for summer so I pulled out this pattern and got to work.
With all the gathers I would not call this a one hour pattern, but it only took me a few hours from cutting to wearing it. :)

I used a light corduroy that I found at WalMart over the winter. I would love to use a light cotton, but those of you who've been to Wyoming know the wind always blows here and a heavier fabric is a necessity for a skirt here.



Here is the start of a project/tutorial that I am working on. I'm using charm packs of Arcadia fabric & I would describe the pattern as a variation between a nine patch & a rail fence pattern. I should have it near completion next week. I hope you like it.

What would you think of doing a quick sew along? Would you play along?

If you haven't done so already be sure to stop by Freshly Pieced to see everyone's WIPs.
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Thanks for stopping by!

17 June 2011

Sew-Ins & Summer Camp

A few months ago I read about this fun event called the Friday Night Sew In. It's a monthly linky party where everyone works on their project Friday night & shares their creations on Saturday.

Handmade by Heidi

I was planning on working on my Misfit Quilters DQS tonight anyway, so I thought I'd join in on the fun.

Also, be sure to check out Lizzy House's Peeps Summer Camp kickoff over at Sew Mama Sew.

Camper-button-150px

My Peeps are coming. How about yours?

09 June 2011

Bee Blocks & Other Business

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. It took me a little while to recuperate from all the family time in May & then my grandfather ended up in the hospital on Memorial Day, after having a stroke. He did make it to his 94th birthday (June 7th), but they took his breathing tube out 2 days later and he passed away in the night.

I didn't get much done while he was in the hospital & since his passing I have been a sewing maniac trying to catch up on a few things!

Here's what I've been working on...

A picnic-y block for mommymae (Fat Stash Bee)

A Drunk Love/Square in Square Block for Elizabeth (String Me Along Bee)

My design wall the other day.

Cathedral Window block for Sara (MSQB)

Any block in pink, orange, & yellow for Johanna (MSQB)

For this block and my 3x6 blocks (below) I decided to use Amy Ellis' Blogger's Block-a-palooza block. Initially it looked like a difficult block, but I loved it so much that I thought I'd give it a shot. Well, I ended up making 8 total with this tutorial. Once all the cutting was done the block came together in no time. If you haven't tried this block yet I highly recommend it.

3x6 Sampler Quilt Mini Bee - Beehive 28

Blocks for Misfit Quilters DQS.

Thanks for stopping by! :)


03 June 2011

Fave 5 Friday

It's Friday again. Here's my favorites from this week.

Gorgeous full rainbow. Too big & too close to get it all in one shot.

Jake was taking family photos the other day. Just like kids, can't get them to sit still & look at the camera. :)

Hartville, Wyoming. Beautiful little town in the mountains.


I saw this coming home the other day from town. It spits out asphalt to fix roads, but the first thing I thought when I saw it was Firefly! Seriously, doesn't it look like Serenity?

This is the mini I made for a fellow Firefly fan for a FMQ mini quilt. Hope she likes it! :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.





01 June 2011

WIP Wednesday

The other day, while my mother-in-law was in town, we decided to explore more of the country, so we headed over to Fort Laramie for a day of history. Ft. Laramie is only about an hour from here and is located on the beautiful Laramie River. It was used as both a fort & a stopping place along the Oregon trail in the mid-1800s. Many of the building are in ruins, but there are several that have been restored over the years.

On our drive out there I decided to start working on my Misfit DQS. This is my first time doing hexies and can I just say I LOVE them. So relaxing & mindless, and in no time you've got a nice little stack going. :)

This was the hospital. The cemetery is a ways off to my right, but there were a couple graves around the back of the hospital. (See the crosses in the foreground?)

Inside the barracks everything was set up as if the men were still living there.

The married officers quarters were set up beautifully.

Beautiful dresses & hand sewn quilts.

The Old Bedlam. The oldest standing building in Wyoming, was built in 1849.

The last stop on our way back to the truck was the old bar. The fun thing about it is that they serve Sioux City sarsaparilla & other "Old West" pops. They had one called Birch Beer. Well, I had to try it. Like root beer, that was once made from roots, birch beer was once made from the bark of birch trees. It had an anise (black licorice)-type flavor & was stronger than the sarsaparilla. It was delicious!

The wallpaper behind the bar was beautiful. The "barkeep" told us that the original barkeep's wife was from New York & although she loved the prairie she wanted the men to have a little "culture." So she ordered some William Morris wallpaper from New York, she put it behind the bar because she figured that was one of the walls that the men probably stared at the most.
Well, I just adored the wallpaper so when I came home I looked up this English textile designer. Immediately I recognized some of his work & realized where I had heard his name before!

On Monday, Sally & I went to my LQS to look around and she was nice enough to buy me a charm pack of my new favorite collection, A Morris Tapestry. :)

I wanted to keep the charms whole to show off the tapestry & yesterday I spent some time arranging them into 4 9-patch blocks. I'm still not happy with the arrangement, but hopefully I'll get it so I can start sewing it together today.

If you have any suggestions on which charms to move for better distribution of color & pattern I'd love to hear them.


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Today WIP is over at Don't Call Me Betsy. If you haven't already been there, head on over and say hi.

Yeah, that says "6 sore heads." I love Wyoming! :)