Goals for next week:
Only 1 week of school for DS~graduation is June 7th and 2 weeks for DD....summer is almost here! :)
ps...HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY DD!
This is what the girls will each receive. I have the frogs made and ready to stuff with either rice or plastic pellets (one girl is allergic to rice). I cut an 11 inch square (well, approximately) and sewed about 3/8 inch seam allowance and the pillows are ready to be stuffed with fiberfill. I hope that as each girl fills either her pillow or her frog then I can simply sew the final seam shut. and woohoo! Take home party favors! :)
With thoughts and prayers of all the men and women who have served our country and who are currently serving our country, "THANK YOU" for doing what you do so that I may do what I do.
Goals for next week:
This should keep me busy in the sewing room and everything else that goes along with hosting 6~10 year old girls for a sleepover birthday party! :)
I made a couple of tote bags today. I hope to make a few more to give to the girls at DD's birthday party next Friday to take home their crafts we are planning on making that night. DD picked out the fabric when we were at Patched Works Quilt Shop a few weeks ago. 
DH asked me to make a pouch for his GPS unit.
I lined it with flannel in hopes that the screen doesn't get scratched when it is stored in the glove box.
I also made a prototype frog for DD's birthday party favor. I backed this with flannel so it would be very cuddly. I also put brown rice for stuffing and 100% cotton batting. The thought was that it could go into the freezer or microwave for 'ouchie relief'. :) (DD took the picture so it's a little fuzzy~her camera is a tad better quality than mine and takes a better zoom picture...she used my camera!)
After dinner I made a few blocks for the next quilt project. One night while chatting with Norma and Linda, they directed me to the Quilter's Cache Square in a Square 2 pattern. I thought it would be a fun one to try using this horse novelty print. This quilt will be for a special teacher of DS's who friendship and help is greatly appreciated during our years at DS's current high school. DS said she loves horses and has even owned horses in the past. Funny thing~I brought about a yard of this horse print as an impulse buy~now I'm happy it was in the cupboard waiting to be gifted to a great teacher! :) 
With a little re-arranging I thought this design looked pleasing. After I sewed it all together, I realized that is it almost the same as when the blocks were not sewn on the design flannel! I guess I just like strong diagonal lines in my quilts :) I decided to use more 2.5 inch (unfinished) strips as the border treatment. The border is okay but, next time I would cut the white down to 1.5 inch (unfinished) as I like the look of a smaller, thinner inner border~again...just a personal preference!
I quilted it with the Ebb and Flow panto from Willow Leaf Studio.
Binding day.
I made two luggage tags for my May Secret Pal. One of her hobbies that she listed was travel when she retires this summer, any color and batiks. I blended a couple of tutorials I had to come up with the finished product. Hope she likes them. :)
Here is how my package arrived.
Jacquie included a Orla Keily Dishtowel Pillow Cover, 1/2 of a yard of some cute bird fabric and a set of Orla Kiely coasters. Thanks Jacquie! everything is so adorable! and now I own a 'Jacquie original'~woohoo! If you wish to make a Dishtowel Pillow Cover, Jacquie shared her tutorial on her sidebar of her blog, you will just need to scroll down a little way..
Here is my pillow with a 14 inch form in it. Looks good with the quilt from Norma, eh? :)
DS is interested in culinary so he volunteered to make 'Berry Baskets' for dessert last night. Yummers! Cream with fresh fruit in a waffle bowl.Goals for next week:
Lots to do in the sewing room this week~it's getting to be 'crunch time' :)
I continued piecing the Boxed Squares sub-units today with the red/white/blue 2.5 inch strips I won at Night Guild meeting in April. Now I need to decide if I want to keep the similar units together or scramble all the units up. I had more blue strips than any other color but I am surprised that the red units are the strongest color line. 
I choose the blocks but boy, I must have left my brain at home this morning! I made the bear paw first and this is the second one I made after the first was a totally disaster! It was easier just to start over! Next came the ladybug...I sewed the right side to the middle and then the wrong side...oh boy! I decided to 'leave as is' since it was the technique I was interested in learning. The I proceeded to sew the head the wrong way~impossible you say~I found a way and my seam ripper! :) She also shared a really cool method for couching on the ladybug antennae. By now the class was already half over...a lot of the sewers left and I found it much easier to concentrate. I made both the basket block and the heart block in the last hour. You can't tell from the picture but the handle on the basket is 3 dimensional...very cool! I definitely want to make more of these blocks and perhaps a wall hanging or maybe table toppers... All in all, a fun day sewing at the guild. :)
This is a Ben Franklin Mystery Quilt that we received clues once a month starting in January 2009. It will be shown at the June 2009 meeting then will hang in the fabric department for the summer. Over 50 ladies participated in the Mystery Quilt~it will be interesting to see all the different color combinations and block settings!
Binding day.Goals for next week:
Enjoy your special day! :)
photo from Google search 'Goldens Moms and Pups'
You see, I was thinking about making an Off Set Spiral quilt for DS but was not looking forward to the 300 hst's it would need if I made split 9 patches for a full size bed quilt.
I rushed home and began placing my mystery blocks on the design flannel. One minor problem I encountered was that the veggie border fabric I had chosen no longer seemed appropriate. So I searched and found this fun, funky shoe print that was gifted to me last year. Gotta love a stash that will has just the right 'weirdness' factor! :)
Here is TAW on the guest bed. I turned off the flash so the colors would be truer but then the picture is a little fuzzy. :)
This is the sassy back. I wanted to use my map fabric and thought a big yellow frame would bring it up to size. I used four different yellows and due to a calculation error, I needed to add a strip along the side and bottom. You can see a little bit of the light green showing in the lower left corner. Luckily, the bottom green worked as a 'grabber' on the apron. Why green? Why not...seriously, it is light and the thread blends and I had enough yardage so there was very little piecing. :)
One of those chain stores had Mary Ellen's Best Spray Starch Alternative on sale! I purchased quite a few bottles as I was replenishing my inventory and plan to give it away in my Secret Pal's Goodie Bags~this year, each month I have a different Secret Pal. So I figure that I will be able to give each one a bottle, a few fat quarters of their preferred fabric and another trinket or two that I will pick up as I see something. I also added to the stash but it is already in the washer/dryer.
I also couldn't resist making a few Boxed Squares blocks. These four sub-blocks are from two 2.5 inch strips. I have quite a few of the navy with white stars so, I think I will wait to sew the bigger blocks when I can distribute the alternate blocks. 
This morning I started quilting the Magic Trip Around the World. I just might have to re-name it the Sassy TAW~because it is being sassy to me! LOL I am quilting it with the Popcorn panto from Willow Leaf Studio in Permacore Eggshell thread. I am just about to the center point of the quilt before I decided to break for lunch, laundry and blogging.Goals for next week:
The Magic Trip Around the World didn't progress as fast as I had hoped. Now I am running into some problems with the backing.
Never a dull moment, eh?
Here is as much as the Flimsy as I could get into the picture!
Here is the rose print border. The blue really seems to 'rule' the quilt top. I was hoping the green inner border might just calm the whole thing a tad. In any event, it will look pretty on the guest bed!
I forgot to share a picture out the kitchen slider door yesterday, May 1st. So here is today's view. DH was able to mow today~the first of the season. Looks and feels like spring has arrived in my corner of blogland! Miss Daisy Dog decided to saunter past just as I snapped the picture. She loves being outside with DH and walks around with her tennis ball in her mouth~hoping that someone will throw it!
Thanks to Jacquie who organized this challenge.
The twin size Hollywood Big Quilt for DS.
The queen size Navajo Log Cabin for DH and myself.
