March finish

Hi!

I've been able to sew every day this past week. Yay!

I reached my March goal:

Three blocks for the baby's star sampler.

Other things I accomplished:

Sent my charms off in the mail to Michele at Quilts From My Crayon Box for the Kate Spain Charm Swap Round 2. Here are my fabrics: Daydream!

Reflections in Tangerine and Cadence in yellow.

I also finished all 10 blocks made from the bonus HST units from the Swoon quilt. I'm going to use them as a teacher gift quilt. I don't really have any ideas for a layout though!

Help! Ideas please! Something simple!

So gorgeous and fun, aren't they? Very rainbow and busy.

These blocks were a lot of fun to make, because I had the HST all ready to go, sorted in piles by color. I had my Quiltmaker Magazine as my resource for block options (thanks to Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville for helping me remember that I had that issue!).

I challenged myself to work fast, because I usually don't work fast, and I don't have a lot of time with a newborn.

I also challenged myself to just make decisions quickly, picking a block layout and colors.

And I had a lot of fun! I actually found myself giggling once. Amazing! (maybe it was just late-night tired and having a few minutes to myself, and just giddy with finally having a baby asleep and off my lap and chest.)

Oh, this just gave me an idea for a book review. Note to self! Hint: 15 Minutes of Play by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

I'm linking up with Kim at My Go-Go Life for Sew-Jo Saturday:

http://gogokim.blogspot.com/2014/03/sewjo-saturday-3.html?m=1

And as always, linking with Melissa at Sew Bittersweet Designs:

http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?p=4663

Line of Duty

Such a sad day. A huge 9-alarm fire happened in Boston, MA, USA, today. That's between 20-30 fire trucks.

Last I heard, 2 firefighters died while fighting this fire, and several more were injured. We call that "fallen" or died "in the line of duty"--that firefighter is the thin line between you, the average person, and the danger. That term is also used for police officers.

The red line is used for the firefighter, and a blue line is used for police and sheriff.

May their families be blessed and comforted. May their fellow firefighters continue to fight strong and be comforted.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Top o' the afternoon to you!

I'm so excited to be able to wear my Claddagh ring today. It's the first time I've been able to fit it on since last summer, since all the pregnancy swelling started. Not bad for having a two-month-old baby.

I'm so proud to be able to wear it again, symbolizing my love, loyalty and friendship to my best friend, my husband!

Yay!

One of these days, I'm going to make the Ireland Block of the Month quilt from McCall's Quilting. The patterns are all free!

http://www.mccallsquilting.com/mccallsquilting/articles/Free_Ireland_Quilt_Block_of_the_Month_Patterns

And I ordered this pattern from Creative Quilt Kits:

Now I gotta put the baby down for a bit, to scrub potatoes (for twice-baked), start the coleslaw marinade, and check on the corned beef in the crockpot!

I'm a Guest Blogger!

Hi!

I'm so excited!

I'm getting so many first experiences lately! My newest one: my first time guest blogging!

Check it out:

http://suepellanddesigns.com/2014/03/rachell-reilly-and-the-fire-fighter-quilt/

Sue Pelland wanted to show off my Maltese Cross Dresden, and asked me to introduce her readers to my block. I used Sue's template "Leaves Galore" to cut the curves on the cross. It seems my cross used her template in a unique way.

March goal

I'm not sure what goal to set for March. I just don't have a lot of time, and there's so much I want to do.

All right, I'll try this:

1--finish 3 more blocks for the baby's star quilt

But what about:

--A teacher gift quilt?

--Sylvia's bridal sampler blocks?

--try to start quilting the Swoon again?

Teacher gifts???

Hi!

Serious question:

What do you think of teacher gifts?

My son has autism. He is in a special classroom just for kids with autism. This is his second year with the same teacher in the same unit. He has a main teacher (contracted, licensed teacher), with three assistants/techs (hourly wage probably with no teaching degree).

It looks like he is ready to move on to another classroom that is higher-functioning and more academic, for next year. Yay!!!!!

I just don't have a lot of time right now, but I'd sure like to do something for his teacher. But do I make something just for her, or something for each of the assistants as well?

Is something like Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day "Hugs n Kisses" appropriate for a teacher gift? I like this pattern because it makes a bunch of projects from one layer cake.

And I would use the Autism fabric by Riley Blake.

Y-seams

Hi !

Sue Pelland of www.suepellanddesigns.com recently called me a dynamo. The day I received her email, I didn't feel like a dynamo. But tonight I do!

I just finished the Silver-and-Gold block--and look, it really is silver and gold colored.

It is the fourth block in a row with Y-seams that i have just finished! Four LeMoyne-type stars with lots of diamonds and set-in patches. They are my favorite, but there are a lot of Y-seams. Some people hate them. Some people fear them. They just take practice.

I think I've done quite well, even on tiny spurts of time that I have right now. All four blocks took me several weeks to complete, but tah-Dah!

Y-seam dynamo, at your service!

Anyone have ideas on how to help make the centers lay a little flatter with all that bulk? Yes, I did press all the seams joining the diamonds flat.

Goodnight!