I'll Have Another Please!

I have been very side tracked!

No... not with that pink cocktail...

but with this book!

Big Little Lies

I have been reading this week in my spare time this month...

and really wanted to get this book finished before the weekend.

(So I could work on Crop Circles)!

I was gripped with the book anyway and was anxious to

see how the book ended.

 I have to say that the last 40 pages or so

kept giving me goose bumps on top of goose bumps! 

In all honesty 

I do get very involved in my stories! ha!

(you will find out about that little cocktail in the book if you read it)

This was a great read and I recommend it for your

summer reading list!

My next book on the list is Saving Grace 

but I did go ahead and

order What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty... 

who wrote Big Little Lies.

I heard it is a good book to curl up with too.

My goal is to read at least one book a month...

even if it cuts into my quilting time! 

It's all about balance right?

I haven't forgotten that it's Farm Girl Vintage Friday either!

Go to the link above to see the weekly schedule of

blocks!

Have you been making yours?

I love seeing all the blocks popping up on Instagram!

Have a great weekend!

Look Who Came To Play!

Over the holiday weekend... 

we had a sleepover and lots of time to play!

First we had a picnic...

Later, Evie even helped me press the new Farmgirl Vintage

blocks!

I got caught up with last weeks blocks and

also made this weeks two blocks. 

I feel better now!

I have been wanting to make those little canning jars..

but just wouldn't let myself skip ahead. I am glad I waited now.

I also got caught up on my wedges and my circles for

Crop Circles (pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.)

I was even able to start making them into blocks!

This morning I prepared a few more blocks.

I think I will be able to do a few each morning this week and

get near the finishing point! Nicole at Sister's Choice has left

me in the dust! She made all of her Circles already!

But fortunately, Cathy is playing along and making Crop Circles also...

she made her wedges...

Aren't her fabrics so cute???

I am glad she is playing along! She nearly gave up when her first selection of

fabrics wouldn't play nicely! It looks like she recovered well from her frustration and is

making good progress now!

Hildy is play along as well... but with a Jen Kingwell pattern!

Deer Me!

I thought I would play along and enter the Blogger's Quilt Festival

hosted by Amy's Creative Side!

I have done this a couple of times in the past... it has always been a fun experience!

This quilt I call Deer Me!

It's approximately 140" square.

So I am entering it in the Small Quilt category.

I used the fabric line called Indelible by Art Gallery Fabrics.

Indelible: impossible to remove or forget. Enduring, unfading, unforgettable, haunting.

The pattern was a free pattern called Birchen. 

Only I took the block itself and adapted it and came up with 

a new look.

When I originally went out to take photos of the quilt...and the pillows I made to go along with it...

I disturbed a group of deer that were grazing.

I thought "Oh" dear me! as they scrambled away.

Since the fabric line had deer and nature in the prints... 

Deer Me! became the name of my wall hanging.

It found a place to call home right above my bed.

I hope you are enjoying the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Don't forget to vote... wink!

Coming and Going

    

This quilt recently came back to me from the Intrepid Thread in Milpitas CA.

I had made it as a shop sample for them last year. 

It's fun to have it back... for a short while.

My plan is to gift it as a graduation present to someone.

I t had rained after I finished putting this Vintage Tulips quilt

together... and then I forgot to take a photo of it completed!

So here it is... getting ready to be handed off to the quilter!

Camille has a sweet mini version of this pattern also...

maybe it should be next on my list!

Maybe pillow shams??? Or just a couple of pillows?

Hmmm.

This is another one that is going to be going to my LAQ.

Sail Away by Fig Tree and Co. It was a fun quilt to make...

I am tempted to give this one to my sister for her vacation home

in Pacific Grove CA. I go there periodically so I would be able to visit it!

There is a cute mini version available for this pattern too!

Have you made one?

Sharing My Sneak Peak

I got a sneak peak of my Coastal Lily quilt that my LAQ is working her magic on!

I can't wait to see the entire quilt!

Our local quilt show is exactly one month away...

and this is getting entered into the show.

I am getting a little excited.... what do you think?

Step One, Step Two

My wedges for Crop Circles are made.

That is step one... done!

I even stitched a quarter inch from the top to 

give me my line to press over (for the applique part)...

that will be step two.

Pressed open the seams on this project...

just because it's the best way to make it look it's best!

This is the backside of my favorite fabric combination

(well, for today anyway)

Have you decided to play along with Nicole at Sister's Choice and me?

If you have started Crop Circles or are using another pattern to play along

just let us know... send a link to your post and we will share it!

New Favorite Things

I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday... so as a reward I went to a nearby 

"favorite" fabric shop for some retail therapy!

The store is massive... and I could probably spend hours in there just looking

around... and believe me, I try!

Do you see the Jen Kingwell quilt up there on the wall?

It's called the Circle Game. The store is called Quilter's Paradise. 

It's in Clovis CA. They also have a Jen Kingwell 

block of the month going...

 

It's called Bring Me Flowers. 

It's really cute... but I think it's way over my level of sewing!

I only went away with the background fabric I needed for Crop Circles though.

But I also left with the little wheels in my mind turning with ideas!

I had purchased one of these cute carts over a month ago...

and thought I would wait until Mother's Day to have one 

of my sons put it together for me. 

But then I forgot about that plan on Sunday with everything else 

that was going on!

So today I brought the box into work with me...

and my friend... and coworker.... who happens to have two of these...

put it together for me!

I do make a good assistant... but I hate to read directions unless, of course,

 they are

for a quilt project!

On a completely different subject... 

I saw the television show Mad Men last evening. 

Have you watched it before?

Evidently it has been on television for years.

I am not big on t.v. but if a series has great costuming like

Downton Abbey or Boardwalk Empire.. I can get absorbed in it.

How about you?

I think I might watch a season of Mad Men while I am working on 

by Crop Circles this weekend!

Midweek Mosaic

The beauty of yellow quilts...

Yellow seems to be one of those colors that I over look.

(photos found on Pinterest)

Or sometimes when I have tried to use it... like in a border... it can

overtake the quilt.

But if you can master yellow... the results are beautiful. 

I really love this little wall hanging with a vintage vibe.

Nearly Ready to Begin

I only got a little head start on my Crop Circles project 

over the weekend.

I have my fabric nicely pressed and I am waiting for 

my pattern to arrive. I expect it will be here tomorrow!

I am excited to see Nicole's progress over the weekend.

I am extra happy that she is blazing the trail on this pattern!

There seems to be a few things to think about and 

to consider when you are working on the units.

Which is all good... I really like learning along the way and

trying something new. 

The "new" part will be the applique. 

I never do enough of it to "hone" my skills.

A little hand sewing will come in handy...

you know, while waiting for appointments etc.

If you are thinking about joining the sew along with Nicole at

Sister's Choice and me it's not too late at all.

Look at the last post for more details or head over to Nicole's 

to see her first block!

Here is the back of the pattern so you can see what you might already have

in your stash! You can order the pattern from Fat Quarter Shop... but 

unfortunately a PDF version is not available anywhere.

OR

You are welcome to use a Jen Kingwell pattern of your choice as another option!

Read more at this post of mine.

I also worked on my Farm Girl Friday blocks...

You can see them on my Instagram feed, 

I am sure you all had a good weekend... if you didn't get spoiled...

it's not to late to indulge yourself!!!

Happy FGVF and A Guessing Game

I didn't realize it until 9:15 this morning...

I knew it was Friday... but

I had forgotten that it was Farm Girl Vintage Friday!

That made the day so much better!

I can't wait to see the new blocks pop up on Instagram!

Are you playing along?

Chick out the link above to see the blocks for this week!

Can you guess the names of these Schnibble patterns?

I was looking over some of my own AYOS

quilts that were made using Schnibbles patterns.

They are just happy little quilts!

I enjoyed learning new techniques...

and some that were a bit challenging

but were on my bucket list to make!

Like Doc above. That fun little card trick pattern!

It was super gratifying to make something in a 

short amount of time... in between those longer 

projects too!

I am all about instant gratification!!!

Each one was a fun little journey.

And the good news is, Sherri at A Quilting Life will be continuing 

Another Year of Schnibbles

parades over on her blog starting in June. 

I will be sitting in the bleachers waiting and watching... and maybe even making

a few along with you!

Now, doesn't that sound like fun?

This will be my first Mother's Day without my mom...

she would always spend Mother's day in Maui so I am

use to here being away... but  I won't be able to talk to her.

That's the hard part.

It will be my husband's birthday though. 

That should offer a good distraction.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.

Here are the answers:

1. Gentle Art

2. Sweet Spot

3. Short Story

4. Doc

5. State Fair

6. Honeycomb

To see a few more Schnibbles

check out Jo's Country Junction... this will take you back in time!

I've Got Crop Circles On My Mind

I am looking forward to my new project!

I wanted to make it since I saw a photo of it hanging in 

Carrie's booth at Market... was that last fall?

Thelma made the cover quilt for the pattern.

I even bought April Showers so I could copy her...

but somehow I never got around to making

Crop Circles.

I had been doing a little chatting with Nicole at

Sister's Choice blog and she also had been 

wanting to make Crop Circles.

She decided to use her sweet bundle of Gardenvale by Jen Kingwell.

I thought that group would be perfect for this quilt too!

However, I already had a designated project for Gardenvale.

I had pre-ordered a kit from Fat Quarter Shop...

In a moment of confusion  I had ordered a second kit.

Which I had been kicking myself for... but then thought that

I could use the Gardenvale fabric from the second kit for Crop Circles.

But... that wasn't working either because the kit keeps missing it's 

arrival date. 

As it stands not... the fabric is readily available but those

kits are not coming until sometime later this month.

Sooo... in order to get going on this project and start our little 

sew along... I had to make another fabric choice.

Oh, I bet you are thinking that I would just open up that April Showers

bundle and go back to my original plan... but that is not 

what I did.

I spyed a sweet little bundle in my stash that looked like spring

to me with a little bit of nostalgia to it.

Petal Pushers by Lauren and Jessi Jung.

So that's what I am planning.

Would you like to sew along with Nicole

and me?

We would love to have you play along.

Nothing formal... just friendly.

In fact... 

you could even pick another Jen Kingwell pattern.

If you want to go with one of her 

patterns FQS does have a great selection.

So, that's the idea for our sew along

... use Crop Circle pattern and Gardenvale fabric...

(like Nicole)

or your own choice of fabric..

(like me)

OR

Use a Jen Kingwell pattern... 

and Gardenvale fabric or fabric of your choice.

I can't wait to see who is going to join in our sew along... and see 

what fabric/pattern you choose!

Let us know if you plan on playing along!

I think it will be fun!

Doesn't Seem Right

May 1st came and went.

There was no AYOS parade.

I know it felt so wrong to me...

and it might have felt wrong to a lot of you also!

After Carrie moved on to work for Moda...

and we had made a large percentage of her patterns...

it seemed that it would be easy enough to 

transition and include other small quilt patterns into our 

monthly sew along.

There has been a lot of fun new pattern designs to play with 

that were

1, small and

2. made by fun designers

Perfect! That's all we needed!

But somehow, especially after making "Sample"...

I realized that

I  really missed Miss Rosie's patterns.

Bottom line is...

I  am not going to be able to keep up with our group any longer.

I am so sorry to say that!

(our original group  logo)

Back in 2008

Sherri and I came up with the idea of starting a Schnibbles

Sew Along. 

(2008?!? That's the better part of 7 years)!

We have been having a nice long run and 

I am always so inspired by what our AYOS group

Thank you all so much for that! But mostly thank you for your 

bloggy friendship! 

I know you all are always so  supportive... I hate to let you down.

But... there is a light at the end of the tunnel for me.

Carrie has special tins coming out in August with 

new patterns and a new precut size to make

those patterns with.

That's good news, right?

In the meantime... I have a few ideas.

One of them is to go back to my

 Block of the Month Rehab.

(BOM Rehab)

It was a monthly check in kind of thing that was on the same

format as our Schnibbles parade.

I have a lot of BOM's to catch up with still...

and that includes Farm Girl Vintage blocks for

Farm Girl Friday's!

I wanted to go back this week and reminisce over some of our

AYOS blogger's and look at the "photo album" of our

Schnibbles quilts.

Today I would like to share this one with you...

Kviltstina.

She was one of the first bloggers I  followed and one of our original 

group members. Check out the link to see her quilts from 

2008. I am still in awe of her talent.

I will share another link tomorrow...

and some more newsie news!