3 Finishes

~ Mary ~ 2 Comments

Sometimes it seems like nothing is being accomplished and all the sudden there are several finishes to share.

First up, my Charm Square quilt … just squares and borders but happy and bright and ready for donation.

  • 2 Charm Square packs
  • Borders are cut 2.75 inches
  • I started with 2 yards of the border/binding fabric and have a chunk left

I also finished crocheting 2 blankets. If I get the quilts washed before mid March, I’ll have another stack of blankets and quilts to take to Chris to donate to SafePath. With both of these, I think I’ve found a good yarn/pattern combination so while I do like finding new patterns, I also like to make blankets I’ve enjoyed crocheting in different colorways so I’ll need to remember these combinations.

  • Pattern – Blanket Stitch – found free on Ravelry
  • Yarn – Lion Brand Ice Cream Big Scoop in the Lemon Meringue colorway – about one and a half skeins. It was kind of hard to tell for sure how much was used because the 2nd skein was a mess with chunks of yarn stuffed in the skein. Usually I have good luck with Big Scoop skeins so I hope this was just a one time thing.
  • Hook size – H
  • Chained 150
  • Finished size – 36 x 48
  • Pattern – Marble Baby Throw – found free on Ravelry
  • Yarn – Premier DK Colors – this is a new yarn I’m trying that I bought a while back on sale at LoveCrafts.com, it’s very soft.
  • Hook size – G
  • Finished size – 33 inches square

My unpacking is done, the laundry is in progress and if I work a bit on the tax stuff I should have some time today to make more chisel stars and/or start a new blanket!

A free day

~ Mary ~ 6 Comments

Actually, two free days … I love not having stuff already scheduled. This morning I finished crocheting the granny square afghan, made more chisel stars, and then we went for a bike ride along the bay to the village. I know I just shared a photo yesterday but I have enough blocks done now that you can see the light tessellating stars that form where the blocks come together. . I just need 20 blocks for this quilt so you can see how fast these are to make.

Does it count as exercise when you’re biking somewhere to have a beer?!

March’s precut

~ Mary ~ 8 Comments

EDIT – Stephanie corrected me … March’s precut doesn’t have to be in a bundle! I guess I saw fat quarters and moved right to my project using a bundle of them!

Loose FQs, big chunks, 1/8s, fabric club stuff, all is fair game for March.

I know it’s not March yet but my schedule is very hectic over the next few months so I’m working when I can … rather than starting a new project that won’t get finished before the end of the month, I’m starting my fat quarter quilt now … technically I shouldn’t even be piecing because I have unpacking and laundry to do, still lots of work on the taxes, and another trip on Thursday but since we came home early from St Martin, this counts as a free day to me! So I’m spending some quality time with Finn and doing a little sewing.

I wanted to use one of my dies along with the fat quarters so I chose my chisel die, I haven’t used it in quite a while so I paired it with the 3 inch finished HST die and started piecing. I wanted to put a few blocks up on the wall before deciding if I was going to mix up the fabrics in each block or stick with one … I’ve decided to go with just one fabric plus the background in each block … I’ll use 10 or 11 fat quarters for this quilt.

A little vacation

~ Mary ~ 4 Comments

We’re in St Martin for a few days … vacation for me although Keith has work. We had a beautiful group sail this afternoon … always the highlight of these trips for me. I didn’t take many photos because I was busy enjoying myself.

It’s not a bad resort … but right next to the airport which isn’t ideal. We had originally planned to extend our trip a couple days but while we’re enjoying ourselves, it’s not quite the peaceful place we’d hoped for so we’ll head home earlier than we expected. That’s not a bad thing, less boarding time for Finn and more time for me before the next trip.

Dinner on the water

~ Mary ~ 3 Comments

I’m not sewing this weekend but I have been working on the granny square blanket and am enjoying it so much I looked up a pattern for a granny square ripple to try next. I have made progress on my non-sewing to do list and we took time out for a bike ride late this afternoon and had dinner at Ballast Point Park, sitting by the water. Beautiful!

I do need to start a hat to take with me on my trip. Since they’re so quick and I’m going to be gone almost a week I’ll pack a couple extra skeins too in case I finish it.

I want to sew ….

~ Mary ~ 10 Comments

Just a few days before we head out on a business trip/vacation to St Martin … the Dutch side I think … I want to sew but there are so many things around here I’ve let slide… laundry, mail, straightening up after our company … I got the laundry going, made up the guest bed with clean sheets, and am about to get the mail and pay any bills before we head out. I don’t think I’m going to have time to sew but maybe I’ll trim a quilt, get a binding on … we’ll see.

Believe it or not we’re also house hunting … online. Are you indecisive? I thought Tampa was going to be our eventual retirement home … (I’m 58 and Keith is 57) But it’s looking like I was wrong … believe it or not, we’re looking at homes in Big Canoe … north GA where we just sold our condo a couple years ago. We’ve always loved the area, it’s closer to the kids … and closer to my Mom and my family although we wouldn’t be able to live there full time for now due to the amount Keith travels. I’ve spoken to a realtor and we’re planning a trip next month so we’ll see what happens

Quilted

~ Mary ~ 6 Comments

The last item on this week’s list is done! It’s rare for a top of mine to go straight from the design wall to the longarm but I decided the heart pantograph would look good on this Charm Square top too. Don’t you love the texture quilting brings to a top?! Pantograph is Leafy Love.

And how cute are my little Valentines?! Becky is so good about sending me photos of the girls. I sent all the kids cards for Valentine’s Day and I’m assuming that Caleb and Bree got theirs but Becky doesn’t leave me wondering!

Keith and I chose to stay home rather than go out so I cooked him one of his favorite meals and we had a quiet evening – it was perfect!