What I've been up to....

This has been a really busy week for me......as usual, it wasn't "supposed" to be.  Somehow, I manage to find reasons to leave the house.....not sure what that's about - maybe cuz the weather is so beautiful right now and I love to be out in it - except for the allergies!

At any rate, I have been trying to get some of my projects done.  Or started......

Here is something I bought yesterday - I saw them last week and I didn't get them then, but I love glass, and I couldn't resist..........

Its a quilted BALL canning jar.  No, I don't can.  But, I love the glass and I can use this for anything --- but there was a purpose for buying it.  I am going to fill them with silver and pink Hershey Kisses.  For my daughters baby shower......I will order the pink kisses online and  the little tag says "It's a Girl!"  The lid of this jar is silver.  It will match the silver kisses.  I will be buying round labels for the top and designing them myself.  I'll be adding a ribbon around the top too.  These will be thank you gifts.

Then there is this:

This is a blanket for the baby.  But it's huge - it covers me from chin to toe and I'm 5'2".  Maybe I should have cut it in half and made two.  But I like it.  This is the kind of blanket that will last a long time.  Its comfy - the back is fleece.  I just sewed straight lines up and down....and yes, there is a bumpy part on the back but I'm not ripping and resewing!  If this blanket gets the use that it's meant to, that won't matter after awhile.  I'm sick and tired of sewing and ripping and resewing.  So this is staying as is.  Its comfy and that's all that matters.  
This blanket above, is a companion fabric to the Noahs Ark Precious Moments panel I bought.....

This is the panel.   The panel that has given me fits for 3 months now.  I originally had the above companion fabric on the back of this panel, and batting in between.  I was hand quilting it, and I had the entire inside of the panel sewn.  Then I ripped it all out.  I hated it, the stitches on the back were horrible, and it just didn't look right.......

I've been carrying the panel here and there with me.  I had it on this design wall for a couple of weeks.  I knew I didn't like it as is.  The person that I ordered it from (online) had cut the edges of the panel really short and left me no seam allowance at all on the edges, so if I just quilted it, and put a border on it, I'd lose all the outside edges of those little blocks on the outside.  Also, the green and blue blocks on the border just were not making me happy.  I love the images, but I hate all the blue and that green, well, its bright.  When I got this, we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl grandchild.  We now know its a girl.  :-)  I hate all the blue in this.  Not crazy about the green.....and that little border just outside the panel and inside the big border?  Its a pale color with little butterflies.  I love butterflies, but that strip does NOTHING for the panel.  But, Jenn loves Noah's Ark and Precious Moments, and this is the ONLY panel I could find......its a 2009 fabric and it's nearly impossible to find at all even online at this point.

SO, it is what it is.....I've been waiting for it to talk to me.  It has ~ it's told me that it doesn't like being what it is here in the photo.

Yesterday, I went to Wal Mart.  Yeah, I know, don't pass out - I sometimes get fabric from WM.  It's ok.....really.  The fabric in this panel is nothing to write home about.  I could have gotten really expensive fabric from a quilt shop (sorry Kelly Ann) but, at the point I'm at with this thing, it was ok to just get what I got.  Anyway, back to the story..............
I took it to WM and a very nice lady there named Ruby helped me.  She did something I hadn't thought of doing....





She folded back the sides and top/bottom.  And whaddaya know - it looks SO much better!

This helped me to decide what I wanted to put with it.  I chose yellow.  I had already picked out the yellow.  But Ruby said, she thought it needed something else......I said I was going to put pink with it but had made lots of pink stuff and wasn't sure that I wanted more pink.  Also, there is VERY little pink in the panel - but there is just enough....Can YOU see it???  With the pink fabric next to it, it really makes the pink pop!  This panel NEEDS a darker color in it - darker yet still bright.  I love this pink with it, so pink it was.
I also like the yellow, so I got the yellow.  I'm thinking of making the pink and inside border and seeing how I like it.  I may use yellow for the outside border and I'm going to use it for the backing also.  I will put something in the middle....not sure if it will be a cotton batting, or something loftier.  I don't want this blanket to be too heavy.  
And I think I'll tie it.  I can't seem to decide on a way of quilting it that I'm happy with.  I broke my darning foot so I cannot FMQ till I get another foot.  If I FMQ, then it detracts from the design of the panel.  If I follow the lines in the panel then it becomes kind of wonky.  So I'm thinking of tying it.  But, that doesn't really sit well with me either.  I'm just really confused but hopefully, after I get the border(s) on and it looks different, maybe then I'll be able to figure out what to do from there on.  This is when I wish I had a machine that embroiders.  I can think of a few little designs that would look cute.


I also worked on my Mystery Quilt from Kelly Ann's - I'm behind tho.....this is July and part of August's work.....

I really need to get moving on it, and I need to get to Kelly Ann's to pick up September's clues.............I'm procrastinating.

These are the pieces close up.  It's really cute.  I can't wait to see what it will look like all put together.

Here is my bin with selvages.

I decided to put my chicken to use.  I'm tired of chasing my little tomato pin cushion around the table when I'm trying to take pins out or put them back when sewing and removing pins......she works really well and I like looking at her.  So she's staying as my pin cushion.  She didn't match anything in my dining room anyway!

Last but not least, here is my pinwheel quilt, on the floor near the closet.  I can't seem to get the quilting right on this, either.  I have 2 rows in there of straight stitching I need to rip out.  I've sewn and ripped 3 times on this quilt.  I'm frustrated.  Now I really think THIS quilt NEEDS to be tied and it will fit the quilt perfectly.  The backing is fleece on this one also.  Yummy chocolate fleece and so soft!  Not sure who it's for yet....its just a lap quilt.  Maybe a gift?




I have volunteering with Evan tomorrow - we have "Reading to the dogs" at the library in the morning, and then in the afternon there is a meeting/gathering/picnic at Mary's house for our quaraterly meeting.  Fun!  Lovely weather predicted.  Which reminds me, I have to make a macaroni salad.......better go check to see if I have the macaroni to make it or I'll have to run out and get some.  Sigh.


Off I go.  I feel guilty for not posting as regularly as all the people who blog every day.  I don't have an excuse.  I just get too busy - but I do find time to read everyone else's posts!