finish it up Friday announcement

After much consideration, I have decided that I will continue finish it up Friday, but I am going to change it up a bit. Going forward, I will host the linky party here once per month, on the first Friday of each month. (I plan to resume next week!) I appreciate all of you who have joined me over the years finishing up projects together. It's a great way to stay on track and be accountable! However, I feel the need to try something different, so I'll give this new schedule a try I will reassess things at the end of the year. Thank you for your understanding!
For those of you in the US, I hope you have a wonderful and SAFE holiday weekend. xoxo

broken dishes-a work in progress

Today I finished the last of my broken dishes blocks, bringing my total to 20 completed blocks. I thought it would be fun to photograph them on my clothesline for a change of pace. Aren't they soooo pretty hanging out there? I'm making another version of this quilt, except this time I'm making more blocks (20 instead of 12) and skipping the borders. I think it's going to be fabulous!

I'm using two bundles from the "I Want Her Stash" club from Westwood Acres, which were curated by Amy Smart and Denyse Schmidt. They have been curing nicely in my stash (I've had them for a few years) and I love how they play together. The background is my own fabric from my Emma and Myrtle collection for Connecting Threads. I love the vintage feel of this entire combination. It was a great exercise to use bundles picked by someone else for a change. I loved it!

bright birch trees 4-a work in progress

First off, thanks for the warm welcome back to blogging! I appreciate all of the kind comments that you left! I'm happy to be back at it. :)

After I made my third bright birch tree quilt, I told myself that was it...I wasn't allowed to make another one, because I thought I "should" try something new rather than remaking the same quilt over and over. My resolve lasted a little over a year, apparently. In May I started another one. I couldn't help it! This pattern is such a great way to use up little scraps....at least I think so! (Pattern is available here.) I was able to use ALL stash fabrics for the backgrounds, which is always a good thing!

It only took me a month or so to piece the top, which felt pretty fast, considering I wasn't spending all that much time sewing. I've had it basted for a few weeks now, and last week I finally started hand quilting it. (At least I'm trying out a new quilting treatment on this version!)

I decided to do some big stitch quilting echoing the lines of patchwork. It's looking better than I imagined. (Woohooo!!!! I love it when that happens!) I'm using this beautiful boxed set of threads that I've hoarded long enough. (The thread is perle cotton, size 8, designed by Anna Maria Horner for Anchor Threads. It was released several years, but I found some available here. No affiliation.)

I've hand quilted a few quilts in my day, but it took me awhile to get back into the groove. I ripped out my first quilting line 4 times (at least!) and then it occurred to me that I should mark some guidelines first, so my quilting lines aren't quite as wobbly. I used my Hera marker and a ruler to mark the temporary lines, which made all the difference. I'm well on my way to a finish AND I'm enjoying the process! Win/win!

(As an aside....I love my hera marker! If you don't have one, I would suggest getting one. It creates a temporary crease in the fabric rather than marking the fabric with ink, so you don't have to worry about whether or not your marking pen will come out of the fabric once your project is complete. While it works on both dark and light fabrics, I will say that it is much more visible on darker fabrics than light fabrics, but I've used it successfully on both. It's one of my favorite sewing tools ever. Again, no affiliation whatsoever.)

back at it

Well, hello there! I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. (Thanks to those of you who checked in on me....I appreciate it!) I didn't intend to be away from this space for the entire summer, but it was a lovely break. My one goal this summer was to enjoy my kids while they were home and I was able to do just that. I'm so thankful! (Some days that is a miracle, you know?) They headed back to school today, which is bittersweet. They are in grades 7, 10 and 12 this year!!! (I have a feeling there will be a lot of tears in the next 9 months, with a senior in the house....) Anyway, I'm excited for this year and I'm thankful to watch my kids grow up into great young adults.

I'm also excited to get back into the routine of sewing on a regular basis. I have a lot of things to finish (ooof!) and more ideas in my head than I can ever execute, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm super excited to say it again....Happy Monday to you! xoxoxo