Collaboration

I am almost finished with a project my teen-age daughter and I have been collaborating on. It started a few years ago when she saw a picture in the Pottery Barn catalog of a quilt that she loved. I told her, "We can make that!" She picked out all of the fabrics, her choices were a little different than in the catalog. We did a lot of measuring to make it the exact size she wanted for her bed. I am ashamed to say we have had the center part of it made for a very long time! There is something about sewing borders on quilts that I don't like but with a lot of nagging on her part (it was warranted) I got the borders on sometime over my Christmas break. Right before we went on vacation last week I was FINALLY able to finish the quilting. I do enjoy hand-sewing binding so have been working on that the past few days while watching the Olympics.

I like to add a little dimension to my quilts when I can. This turquoise strip adds a nice pop of color to the quilt. 

After I stitched the white border on to the quilt body I basted the folded, turquoise strip to the the edge of the white border fabric. I then stitched the black polk-a-dot border as usual to the white border.

Back Home... Refreshed and Motivated

We are back home from a week in the mountains. Look at this gorgeous view we were able to enjoy from our cabin! When I made the cabin reservation I had only a vague idea as to it's location. We had no idea we had a 35 minute drive up the mountain. A large part of the drive was up a very  narrow, bumpy, steep road. I am pretty sure if we knew about the road conditions ahead of time we would have never decided to stay there. But... look what we would have missed out on. It makes me wonder what other things I have missed out on in my life because I was afraid of the drive.

Let this be a reminder to live life to the fullest, to step through fear, and enjoy the journey.

Blessings-

Susan

Under My Needle

I can't work on just one project at a time! Anyone else out there like that? I have to have several things going at once. I am sure it is not the most productive way to use my sewing time but that is how I enjoy doing things. So... here is a peak at a few of the projects under my needle the past few weeks.

First up is Bonnie Hunter's 2015 Mystery Quilt. My friend Nan asked if I would be interested in sewing along with her on this project. I jumped at the chance. It has been great to keep in contact with her while working on the same project. It has also been wonderful motivation to be sewing along with her. I am waaaayyyyy behind on this project. I just finished clue #3, and clue #6 was introduced late last night. I also felt overwhelmed keeping up so decided to make 1/2 the amount blocks. It has made this quilt-of-many-pieces seem manageable.

 Next up is a small project I finished yesterday. This is a small zipper pouch made from This and That Patterns and Moda's Gooseberry fabric. I love how it turned out and it went together pretty quick! I am going to be doing more travel this year with my new job and plan to use this to hold my various electronic chargers.

After starting Bonnie Hunter's Mystery I have become obsessed with her patterns. This one is called Wild & Goosey. The blocks finish 3 inches and are paper-pieced. I love how this is using up even my tiniest scraps that I hate to throw away. This will probably end up being a table runner or small wall-hanging.

That is all for now... I am off to do a little more sewing and some not-fun but necessary things like laundry. What are you working on? I would love to know!

Hand-work

I haven't used my sewing machine lately. Actually my machine went with me to a class about a month ago and I haven't unpacked it yet. :( I have however been doing a lot of hand-work and I am having so much fun with it!

This is a small table-topper I started about 10 years ago. I am very slowly getting it hand-quilted. I am getting close to getting it finished. It is all hand-appliqued so I feel like it needs the hand-quilting.

This is the real distraction from other sewing, and lets face it a distraction from house cleaning, laundry etc. I can't quit working on these hexies! I am using all of my Kansas Troubles scraps. If you don't have a small portable project you need one. I work on this project during my lunch break, in the car, between my daughter's basketball games, while watching TV, and while sitting on the deck soaking up this glorious fall weather.

Soup Season

I love this time of year! The changing leaves, the cooler weather, even the sunlight is more beautiful in the fall. I also really love serving soup for supper! My family's most requested soup lately is this one...  Corn Chowder. I wish I could take better pictures, but trust me, it does taste much better than it looks in this pic... and really, it looks much better in person than it does in this picture.

OK and now the details so you can make it at home for your family.

Corn Chowder

1/2 cup butter

3 small potatoes, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1/2 of a red or yellow pepper, diced

1/2 of a small onion, diced

1/4 cup flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup water

1 chicken bouillon cube

16 oz. frozen corn

4 cups milk

Saute the first five ingredients until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Mix in the flour, salt and pepper. Next, add the water and bouillon cube. Stir until thick then add the corn and milk until hot. If you like a thinner soup then add more liquid. ENJOY!!!! This feeds the four of us with no leftovers.

Sunflower Fields

We went for a drive today to Grinter Farms NE of Lawrence to check out this beautiful sunflower field. Sunflowers are our state flower. Did you know sunflower blooms face the sun and follow it throughout the day?

 We were able to get a few decent pictures with humans before we started dripping with sweat. It is HOT here this week!

According to the Grinter Farm Facebook page the sunflowers will be out for optimal blooming for about 2 weeks starting this weekend.

Definitely worth the drive if you like sunflowers or want a beautiful backdrop for pictures.

Stich Fix 2

I just received my 2nd Stitch Fix! Haven't heard of Stitch Fix? It is a personal styling service that hand selects clothing and accessories just for you and delivers them to your door.


You can choose to get your "fix" as often as you like. There is a $20 styling fee that goes towards your purchase, if you decide to buy all 5 items you receive a 25% discount. Interested??? Check out their web-site and if you decide to order please use my referral link: https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5503565

 Originally I signed up to receive my Fixes quarterly but I loved my last shipment so much I decided to go for it again this month. I really do need to replace much of my work clothes as most of them are from when I worked at Eddie Bauer 8 plus years ago.

So, I asked for easy care work clothes. This time a little more casual than last. I got a quick picture before I unfolded everything! I was loving the orchid and navy print on the top. 

First up a cute knit wrap dress. Loved the fabric, loved the print and it is very comfortable! Also, the perfect length for school.

Market & Spruce Ohara Dress

 Next, probably the dressiest item in the box. Not sure if I will wear it to work but I will wear it. Looks good with my favorite black cardigan, and a perfect back drop for some of the fun necklaces I have been collecting.

Pixley Clarice Multi Stripe Knit Dress

 Look how the stripes meet on the side to make a diamond pattern. I love the details of this dress! Notice the different patterns made by the directional stripes.

This necklace is very different than other jewelery I own. I love that about Stitch Fix, makes me try things I wouldn't normally.

Zad Delmar Pointed Fringe Necklace

I was not sure about this shirt when I first opened the package, it has a lot going on. The shirt has grown on me. It is very cute under my denim jacket or black cardigan and I love it with my new necklace (see above).

Market & Spruce Brentwood Jersey Stripe Tiered Top

 Last up is this navy top with gold buttons. My stylist noticed I had it pinned on my Pinterest board so sent it in this month's Fix.

Skies are Blue Haldis Roll-Tab Henley Blouse

There you have it, my 2nd Stitch Fix. I ended up keeping everything again. I am keeping a Pinterest board with all of the Fixes I receive here if you are interested in browsing. 

Thanks for stopping by!