My First MUG RUG!

So, I finally got around to making one of those mug rugs I've been seeing all around that are just so darn cute.  I was a little afraid to try fearing my best efforts would fall short.  But, I'm pretty happy with this little surprise project.

See, it started out as an idea for a pillow - a birthday present for my friend, TabbieG -  that would match the quilt I made for her birthday a year ago.  But I didn't have enough scraps to make a full size duplicate block.  So, I halved all the measurements and created this little mini block.  Added a bit of white to extend the rug and added this cute stackable flower button.  I even embroidered using the pattern right on the white fabric.  The only problem beyond this was I couldn't find a cute purple mug to complement it. 

So, since I knew TabbieG wouldn't mind and we all need a sweet treat sometimes, I grabbed a glass and my mug rug quickly became a Margarita Mat !!

In fact, we spent last friday night watching chik fliks and indulging in a couple of lip smacking margaritas!

Here's a few more shots...pics, I mean  ; )

What, 3 o'clock?  No worries...it's 5 o'clock somewhere!

Happy Fabric Tuesday!

Down but not out!

Talk about down...two weeks of that awful bug...missed a week of work...and didn't even feel like sewing...or blogging.  I managed to keep up with some of my blog reading, but it was hard to watch all the great projects going on and not being able to work on mine.  But, I am on the mend and got to spend most of my day today sewing.

I thought my Cathedral Windows Pillow was quite appropriate for sewing on a sunday afternoon and I got this much done.

I'm not completely settled on the layout of the fabric but at least I'm to the stage where I can experiment!

I can't wait to start sewing those curves and completing the windows!

Throughout the week, I did manage to do a little work on my embroidery and here's a peek at our latest lighthouses (even though I haven't removed all the markings or pressed them yet, sorry mom!) 

Mine...

and mom's....

We both have one more to go!

Also today I worked on a special project for a very special friend who happened to have a birthday today.  I can't post it til I give it to her, so I'll wait and share it for fabric tuesday.

Anyway, it feels good to be back to sewing and my blog.  That's what really makes me happy!  

  Hope you're keeping well and busy and happy too.

How my garden grows....

Last week I had 2 flowers left to finish stitching and guess what?  I did it!  So, that makes 120 flowers.  I anticipate making a large lap quilt with 10 to 11 flowers across and the length a bit longer than width.  Here's a snapshot of my garden layout. 

My design wall is a small board, not large enough to show a complete layout but the stepping stones, or pathway between the flowers will be white so you get the idea of how it will look once those are sewn inbetween.  The layout is random, just trying to have an even distribution of color. (Harder than it seems!)

I fought with my camera to get these pics.  I just couldn't seem to get the right lighting to show the colors (they're brighter) as they really are.  And I'm still under the weather with a nasty cough/cold so I lost the battle.  I did a few close up shots (trying to get rid of the carpet background ;)).

I kind of focused on that yellow and red flower right in the middle.  That's the last flower I made!

So, I'm feeling quite accomplished having finished the flowers and ready to move on through the next phase.

Hope you're making progress and keeping well!

See you next One Flower Wednesday!

Feb Finishes - March Starts

Hard to believe February has come and gone.  I've been waiting to post my february blocks til both my partners received theirs so here goes:

Block Swap Adventure	Let's Bee Together
Squares within Squares Quilter's Cache	Partners Choice

I've already received all the info for March's blocks, so I will get started on them as soon as I get rid of this nasty cold/cough bug that I caught that is apparently going around. UGH. I haven't felt like sewing or blogging for days...so you know it must be bad!  But I forced myself to do one last post for February because I wanted to let you in on this sewalong I found over at Lilac Lane.

It's a cathedral window pillow Melissa made with pretty Valentine's colors.  Beautiful, huh!!

AND she's doing a sewalong!  I've wanted to try this pattern for a long time and thought this would be a nice "do-able" project to learn from.  Every Wednesday she'll post a step in the process.

I'm going to use this fabric that I've had sitting in my stash for about 3 years.  It's called Gypsy Princess by Hoffman California International.  I just love it and thought it would be perfect for cathedral windows.

Last wednesday we started the background.  I didn't get very far, only because I started getting sick and could no longer sit at my machine.   But I'll catch up soon enough I'm sure.

Anyway, if you're interested, here's a link to the supplies list.

Hope you join!  Now it's back to bed for me.

TGIF - I've Got Mail

Look what came in the mail friday at then end of a long day and week!  This is the fabric I chose for a quilt I'm planning for my dad.

It's only taken me about a year to decide on the design and fabric, so I could hardly wait for it to arrive.

Got it home and out of the box but had to leave it there til I got back from the movie.  (Remember, it was TGIF so my friend Tabatha and I decided we deserved some fun and headed out to see UNKNOWN starring Liam Neeson. Good movie but we both agreed, not his best) 

Anyway back to the fabric and my dad's quilt.

You see he is a history buff, in particular he is quite knowledgable about World War II.  So when I decided to make a quilt for him I did some searching about the history of quilting online.  Most of what I found was related to the Civil War and I kind of started to give up on quilting something from the era I wanted. 

THEN I came across this book by Ellen Burns.

It is a 1940's sampler Victory quilt.  All the blocks in the book have a page with historical facts about WWII related to the block.  I couldn't pass it up, but was a bit disappointed to find out the color scheme from that era included brightly toned primary colors and prints that I thought would be too feminine for my dad.    BUT, I loved the block patterns and the stories behind them, and I really wanted to use this book.

SO, I decided to go ahead and use the more reproduction type civil war prints in the WWII sampler. And I was NOT disappointed when this great package finally arrived. I'm sure my dad will enjoy his quilt better in these and I know the blocks are going to look great with them.

As you can see, I chose the Northern Lights/Border Blast from Thimbleberries.

And they're going to be perfect!

So warm and cozy!

Can't wait to get started! 

 (As if I really have time for yet another project, but it does keep things interesting!)

Better get busy...

Final Five

Last week I estimated I needed 6 more hexagon flowers, but after doing another re-count and color check, I found I only needed 5 more.  Three of them are done but you can see the other two still need to be assembled.  I SO wanted to post a "finish" of the flowers today but it just didn't happen.  Having lots of fun with other projects though and also had to go back to work yesterday.  After a week off it just seemed to draaaaag by.  We'll see how things pan out by the next One Flower Wednesday.

I'm hoping to sit down tomorrow evening with a nice cup of tea and take a little blog tour to see how the rest of you have fared with your flowers this week and catch up on some email replies.  I'm just too exhausted tonight.

My Quiltfolio

I finally got around to updating my quiltfolio...the blog I started to record all my quilt finishes.  It's still not completely up to date but I added two more entries tonight.  It's amazing to look back at them and I feel so accomplished. (That is, until I look poke around on other blogs.  Some of you have turned out such awesome quilts and so many of them!!) 

But, I love the art and fun of quiltmaking and hope that my quilts bring many years of comfort to my friends and family.  Please feel free to take a peek.  Happy sewing!