Takin' It Easy

One flower from last week and another along the way brings my count to 2 flowers attached this week! 

Doesn't Raggedy Ann make a cute model for my GFG?  We should all have time to be so relaxed!

The newest additions are on the left, starting off my 3rd row. Here's a close-up.

Definitely coming along!

Will be checking in to see more flower garden progress

over at One Flower Wednesdays!

Almost One Flower Wednesday

And by almost, I don't mean wednesday.  I mean I ALMOST FINISHED ONE flower.  Got the border on but never got back to attaching it.  When I do, it's the start of row 3!

Last week I claimed I was on a roll, but these other projects (priorities) got in the way.

My little goslings are basted and ready for quilting.  YaY!

And here's a sneak peek at the block I did for Let's Bee Together.

The fabric was chosen by Mollie and she left the block pattern up to us.

I'll show the whole thing after she receives it.

And so goes another One Flower Wednesday. Thanks for stopping in!

Progress? Yes!

Well, I wanted to share the progress I made on my baby goslings quilt but for some reason I'm having a terrible time getting good photographs...day or night...doesn't seem to matter.  Color & lighting are way off and quite frustrating.  Anyway, I'll do my best.

I was able to add the sashing and outside border last night.

In real life the sashing is greener and the white parts are creamier.

But they all blend perfectly.

That's where it pays to have all the fabrics from the same line!

Basically the quilt top is finished. 

Just need to layer with batting and baste it to the backing fabric

 (which is the same fabric as the outside border in the picture). 

I'm not looking forward to crawling around on the floor

for the basting process. 

My back has been bothering me this week,

as well as my wrist.  (Yeah, I'm falling apart!).

Anyway, before I start that, I wanted to see how the prairie point border was gonna look so I pinned a small section and tucked them under the outside border.

Aren't they the cutest?

I think they'll be the perfect finishing touch.

Hopefully my next post will be the big FINISH!

Flying in Formation

Well, the little goslings are truly geese now and flying in formation. 

From this...........................................to this.

I completed all four rows and will be adding

sashing and borders today...I hope!!



The Great Thimble Debate - Part 2

First let me show you the two flowers added to my GFG quilt.

Pink and Green!

Right there next to my blue dotted flower from last week.

That's two completed rows now!

Don't forget to check out the other gardens at

One Flower Wednesdays.

Back in April, my search for a suitable thimble

lead to The Great Thimble Debate.

That was Round 1 and I'd settled on this one:

But I wasn't completely satisfied and based on

commenters suggestions ended up trying a few more.

First up...

Pros:  Disposable, non-bulky, similar to Round 1's winner

Cons:  plastic surface is too smooth, needle slides off

Next...

Pros:  snug (not tight) non-slip, comfy fit, no sweaty fingers, metal tip

Cons:  Slightly bulkier than adhesive disks

And finally...

Pros: comfortable leather grip, lets finger breathe

Cons:  Absolutely would not stay in place.

(package claimed it was adjustable but no

instructions on how to adjust it)

Drumroll please....

Yep, this is the one I finally chose.  Once I got used to the bulkiness,

it was SO comfortable and SO functional, now I don't even realize

I'm wearing it.  Honesly, I almost ranked it a tie with the leather disks

from Round 1, and may end up switching off, depending on the project.

But for now, I'm hooked...thanks to Valentina at Valentina's Corner

 for the suggestion and also to Linda at Stray Stitches for

suggesting the little leather discs from Round 1.

My flower garden is much more manageable now!!

 I'm on a roll...

Baby's Little Goslings

I gave it my best effort but the shower is tomorrow and the baby quilt is no where near finished.  Fortunately, the baby's not due til June 3rd so I'll work at finishing before then.  I did manage to chain piece half the flying geese.  Here they are waiting for their final cut!

The sashing fabric that I ordered arrived on friday but there was a mistake in the ad for the border/backing fabric and I couldn't get the amount I needed.  So I canceled that part of the order and, fortunately, was able to find what I needed locally.  Here's a pic of the pattern I'm using alongside the fabric samples.

Actually I'm kind of relieved to have more time so I can enjoy the process and probably do a better job in the long run.

As for tonight, I'm off with a friend to a movie we've been looking forward to.  We've both read the book (well I'm ALMOST finished) and hoping the movie version won't disappoint. 

Dots and more Dots

I added this blue dot flower to my garden quilt this week

to share for One Flower Wednesday. 

Slow but sure, just two more flowers to complete the second row!

Also in the works this week is the baby quilt for my neice

and guess what....more dots...cut and ready to sew.

Here's a close up of the background fabric,

a floral cream on cream.

And here's the first 3 flying geese blocks.

I "only" need 15 more of each color

and they'll alternate in rows like this.

My deadline of saturday is not looking too reasonable

at this point but we'll see.  I'm loving this fabric and so

glad I found a project for it!

P.S.  I'm still testing thimbles and will have final results of the Great Thimble Debate next wednesday.  Hope to see you then.

May Day

April just sped by and  May is here.  Last week, my son and I were playing a trivia game and one of the questions involved a May Pole.  I got it right but he'd never heard of a May Pole.  I'm not familiar with all the traditions and I'm sure you can find historical references online but I just told him I remember one year in elementary school our teacher created a maypole and we got to dance around it to commemorate spring.  What I really liked was the colorful streamers and the design created by weaving the streamers around the pole.

Not surprising the connection between what fascinated me back then with what motivates me to quilt now.

Anyway, I'm glad May is finally here.  Today (saturday) we said goodbye to April with a bright sunny afternoon. And although it was tempting to be outside, I spent most of my day at my cutting table and sewing machine. 

I've been busy planning my May swap blocks, working a bit on my Butterfly quilt and just started cutting for a baby quilt I need to finish by...what? next weekend?  I thought I had more time. 

See, in June, my neice (pretty sure she doesn't read my blog) is expecting her first baby. But the shower is next weekend. So I have some sewing to do! Anyway, she chose the name SOPHIE. Isn't that a beautiful name!  Unique...almost vintage.  So instead of traditional pastels I decided to go a bit vintage with this moda Fig Tree line of Fresh Cottons.  I'll be adding to these 1/2 yards I already purchased and will update as I go. The pattern I'm using features rows of flying geese blocks and a prairie point border.  Can't wait to start putting it all together.

In addition to the swaps I'm already a part of, I decided to add yet one more.  It's a Mug Rug Swap sponsored by Leona's Quilting Adventure and sign ups start today (Sunday, May 1st). So if you're interested, head over and check it out.

Oh, and one more thing...I received this little thank you card and a tiny charm pack (2 1/2 in. squares) for contributing to Just One Star.  What a nice gesture to receive something because I gave!  Anyway, I know the quilts are going to turn out fantastic and I believe  they will mean a lot to those who receive them.  I am just proud to have helped!

(I'm thinking these would be great for a holiday Mug Rug.  Maybe I'll finish it by Christmas!)

May is also the last month of school so we are on the downhill stretch...yippee!  Always a tough month as the year comes to a close but might be easier since the kids just had a week off for Spring Break!



Predicted temps here in California for May 1st,

a warm, slightly breezy 80 degrees!

Hope your May Day is sunny!