Finish it up Friday: second verse, same as the first

I'm 'enery the eighth I am
'Enery the eighth I am, I am . . .

Loved singing that song. And I have a Henry (although he's not the eighth), so I sing it at least once a week for him. Look at it this way: I'm helping him learn to spell his name.

But this week's post looks awfully familiar, hence the "second verse, same as the first" up there in the title.

Here is bag #3. I think I'm bagged out for a few weeks at least. Still working on that other #%*@ bag. It is really trying my patience.


But I *heart* the yellow and blue. Yellow tulips and blue skies.

In case you were wondering, yes, that tulip picture is mine. Not taken this year, or anywhere around here. That's the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Washington and it's gorgeous. This will be the first year in four years I haven't gone. Sigh.

Instead, here are two views from my window, on the SAME day. I swear, I'm not lying.

8 a.m. Snowing. Hard.


3:30 p.m. - sunshine and melting snow. Crazy weather in these parts. At least the Seattle area was more predictable!


But we're headed toward springier weather next week - hooray! I was getting mighty jealous of all the blogs with apple blossoms and daffodils. I've only spotted a few crocuses here and there. Ooh, that reminds me. Gotta stop by the library today and take a picture of those crocuses I saw.

I have been doing more sewing than just that bag, but I felt kinda dumb posting the same pictures on Monday and Friday. So Monday you will see my progress on my goals. Fridays will just be for finishes. Deal? Deal.

And tomorrow, before I start baking my mom's birthday cake (her 60th, er, 39th), I will post my second quarter goals for the 2012 Finish Along over at Quilter in the Gap. Join in the fun - goals are a good thing! I'm being ambitious - we'll see how I do!

Linking up with crazy mom quilts, whose rolling stone quilt rocks (pun absolutely intended!) and Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, who has the best finish of all - a new granddaughter!

Have a great Easter weekend!

Finish it up Friday: the one with lots of rain

I'm not going to complain about the rain. I love it.

Gene Kelly and I are crazy like that. He's crazier than I am though. He's out dancing in it. I'm just inside making awesome soup and rolls.

Rain makes me think of Christmas. I spent my childhood on the Southern Oregon coast, so it was always raining at Christmas. Well, it was always raining, but that's not the point. Rain = Christmas.

So I made myself a couple little Christmas, er, late birthday gifts.

I didn't need a new bag. I certainly didn't need two. But need vs. want are two different things. And this Now We're Goin' Places print and I were MFEO (movie reference - do you know it?). My first car, the one I bought for myself, was a 1973 VW Superbeetle. Orange.

Yeah, I love this fabric.
And my poor little smartphone (did I have a dumb phone before?) needed a protective covering. So she got one too. Tutorial/pattern found here, although you should measure your phone first and adjust accordingly. I didn't and now my daughter has version 1.0.


And I'm loving this pattern - the Bow Tucks Tote. Might be my new favorite. And it has pockets. Glorious pockets. For keys and gum and phones and pens and fishy crackers and, well, you get the idea.

I like it so much I made another in some of my favorite Pam Kitty Morning prints. A matching cell phone sleeve is forthcoming because, well, it HAS to match. Silly.

There may or may not be another one in the works. Okay, there is, in more PKM (blues and yellows). It's darling and almost done. These bags are super fast. The instructions are very clear with good illustrations so you don't get lost. And one will be designated my playdate project bag so I can take some embroidery or crochet along to playdates to keep my hands busy while we chat - win win for me. I can't stand just sitting. Can't do it.

I'm up to 50 Dresdens now. No end in sight, but I can get 10 done in one day and wipe my weekly goal off the list. This stack makes me a little lightheaded, they're so pretty.
And I'm up to 30 Sew Cherry granny squares. I think I need something like 56 or a hundred. Can't remember. But these are fun and the challenge of mixing up the colors and not making the same block twice is good for my brain.
Tomorrow is a cutting day - listening to General Conference (see previous post for explanation if you need one) and cutting out a whole bunch o' fabric for several different projects.

Linking up with crazy mom quilts again (love her log cabin pillow - my couch needs some pillow goodness like these), and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Sarah has some lovely feedsack blocks and a quilt top up for auction (proceeds to benefit her quilt ministry). If that's your schtick, check it out!

Have a lovely weekend. If you have sunshine, be sure to be grateful for it and think of my soggy self (who might get sick of it if I don't see the sun soon).

Finish it up Friday: all quilted out

I almost did two posts last Friday, because this beauty got finished Friday night. But I didn't want any icky inside pictures - my pictures are amateur as it is - didn't want to add bad lighting to the mix.

So my Indian Summer quilt is finished. I used this pattern from the Moda Bake Shop and I loved how it turned out. I didn't love it when I was in the middle of it, but I love it now.

And look Mom - I pieced the back with the leftovers. I was sorely tempted to cut them into 2.5" squares for a granny square baby quilt but I resisted. I'm already neck deep in granny square stuff. Don't need to add to the problem.

And I'm all quilted out. I did this one in wonky flowers and they were fun. But I'm out of batting and I can't buy more for a bit. I'm sewing together granny squares, but after today, I'm in clothes sewing mode. More on that in a minute.

I finished these two bags this week. They were both supposed to be for me - the big one is my church bag. What with a lesson manual and crayons and snacks and baby toys and diapers and such, I needed a big springy bag. The smaller one was a scripture bag, also for me. But my 8-year-old saw it and loved it so much I said she could have it.

And now on to clothes sewing. My mom is visiting me this weekend (dad too!) and she's loaning me her serger for a bit. I've got jammies to make for my husband, a robe and jammies for my oldest girl, dresses for both my girls, summer skirts for my oldest - a whole bunch, basically. So the quilts are going to the back burner while I whip out these sewing projects and cross them off my list.

Oh, another finish! I almost forgot! Last Saturday was my husband's birthday. He's been wanting me to make this for him for a really long time. He fashioned one himself many years ago, but it wasn't really working out. So I bought some obnoxious yellow duck cloth and measured his old one. We sorta worked on it together to get it just right.
But now he has a place for his wrenches. At the last minute, he asked me to stitch on his NRA Life Member patch. As he's just been asked to be in Cub Scouts at church, I think I'd better polish my patch sewing skills.

So, happy Friday. Linking up with crazy mom quilts again, because she's awesome and her book is coming out soon. Next week is spring break for my law student, so we'll see how much sewing time I get out of the deal.

Have a lovely weekend!

Finish it up Friday: the one with Granny and yet another bag

I think I might be the only person who isn't excited it's Friday. Crazy, right?

Since most days are the same whether it's Monday or Saturday, Friday doesn't really mean much. My law student husband doesn't go to school on Saturdays, it's true, but he's going shooting with friends tomorrow so it's really not a day off for me.

I've been sewing lots this past week (when I find a moment), but I've only got one finished, completed, cross-it-off-the-list project to show. But it makes me happy because it's pretty and useful.

I present yet another drawstring bag.

I've had that rainbow fabric for ages and finally put it to use. This bag now contains our Magna-tiles (truly the world's greatest toy and the most popular one at my house). They were stored in ugly gallon-sized Ziplocs and it was making me nuts. So a rainbow drawstring bag came of it.

By the way, order some of those things. If you have lots of kids, order three sets. They are awesome and you'll find yourself playing with them too. My kids make rockets and houses and spaceships and my daughter even made a cuttlefish. Seriously. It was so cool!

My granny squares are all done - hooray! I loved how they turned out and now I'm on to the sashing and bordering and quilting. Love this little quilt already. Someone on flickr commented that it made them crave rainbow sherbet. Didn't think of that when I made it, but I can totally see it!
And my Ruby granny squares - Ruby was a granny, so it makes sense, right? More of these to come when my big girl Ruby charm packs arrive.
I have big plans - I always have big plans. I've got some sashing to do on another quilt and then I'm determined to finish that one, once and for all, and cross it off the list. Wish me luck - and have a great weekend! Any big plans for the holiday?

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.