Sunday Stash - 03/19/17

Before I tell you about my week I have to wish a very Happy Birthday to my favorite niece, the one and only Callie!!!! I remember the day she was born and I can't believe it was 29 years ago. Wait how is that possible I'm only twenty nine...well maybe I'm just a little older than that. She is silly, smart, beautiful, kind and I couldn't ask for a better niece.  I love you Callie!!!! Here is 29 years compressed into one photo collage.

Now on to this week's stash report. I told you last week that I finished Mecca's Courtyard Tiles and even tried to deliver before I did my report so I could count the last of everything on it. But she wasn't home when we went by her house. She called not to long after we got back and was home so we head over with the quilt in tow. She loves it!!!  Yeah!!!! I have already counted the front and backing fabrics for the quilt, but I haven't counted the front of the pillow shams, the inside backing of the shams, the envelope backing of the shams or the binding of the quilt. So I have some good numbers used this week.

Fabric Used this Week: 8 1/8 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 76 3/4 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 10 1/2 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 66 1/4 yard USED

We are on a roll this year!!! I have been working on my City Street's quilt and hope to have the flimsy finished by Friday. Sharla has been working on her Somerset Strip Box flimsy and should have it finished soon. I've pulled Callie and Beau's Wedding quilt and am starting to piece it. If I can work it in before April 18th, then it would be ready for there 2nd anniversary. I've also got a couple of other projects that I'm working on slowly in the background, with the goal of finishing as many projects as possible this year.  Now if you didn't see all of the photos of Mecca's Courtyard Tiles quilt, here is a couple more.

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times - Sunday Stash. I hope you have a great week and have a wonderful start to Spring tomorrow!!!

A Lovely Year Of Finishes: March Finishes

I'm not sure what happened in March, but I didn't get to spend much time in my sewing room. Worse what time I spent wasn't the best use of my time. But I still did get a little done, and some is better than none.  So lets see how I did against my list.

My first and main goal was to finish the blocks for Callie and Beau's signature wedding quilt. I had some done, but since the wedding is next month I wanted them finished. I am very happy to say that they are done. In fact I gave them to her at a shower last week.  She was very happy, which made me very happy. I didn't get a picture of them finished, but here is a picture of her opening them.

My second goal was to finish my bee blocks.  I finished my Compass Quilters blocks very early in the month, in fact I finished all my blocks pretty early but I didn't post about them because I didn't get them into the mail until yesterday.  But here they are, first is the polaroid blocks for Tanyia, then wanta-fanta block for Kim and lastly linked squares for Maureen.  Next month I will only have two bees, which will be good since I have Callie's wedding in the middle of the month.

Now here is where things go south for me I did get a little pieced on the second memory quilt top, but it isn't finished or near finished, I didn't do anything on Sharla's Box Trot.  I did get some cross blocks done, but only 10 not the 20 I wanted.

I really wish I had gotten more done last month, but honestly it was just a crazy month and I'm surprised I got anything done.  I am in the process of making my list for April, but it is going to have to be an easy one, because I know that I'm going to be spending lots of time outside of the sewing room.  Today I'm linking up with Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs and Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts.

Quilty Thankful Thursday #15

I am doing other things besides being thankful, but none really note worthy. Ok maybe it has just been a bad month for me, I have really struggled to get things done, but inside of crying about that I am going focus on being thankful.  o here is my list for this week.

1. Family.  I am lucky to have a family that loves me and appreciates me. This week I attended a wedding shower for my niece Callie and I was able to give her the blocks for her signature quilt. She is going to have their guests sign them at the wedding. Before she opened the box I told her I was giving her a gift, but I wanted it back. She said ok, but I could see she was unsure. She was thrilled when she saw what was inside the box. She readily agreed to give them back to me, and I promised to return them to her again. I know they aren't perfect and when I started to say that, she simply said, it was going to be wonderful.

2. Spring rains.  I love watching everything bloom in the spring, even if it does cause my allergies to go wild. We've had a very wet winter and spring so far, which is good, most of the lakes are still needing more, but it is nice that they are up from last year and everything is starting to bloom. I know that we will get some spring storms and I don't look forward to them, but I do so much love what the rains bring. Here is a photo from a year or two ago, I'm anxiously awaiting irises blooming.

3.  Squishy envelopes. I recently responded to a giveaway and was lucky enough to win. Ok I think she ended up giving something to everyone that responded, but I was still happy. And then this week I got a nice squishy envelope in the mail and it contained two charm packs of Simple Marks Summer by Malka Dubrawsky. I think I'm going to use them to make a cover for my sewing machine. I know I did one recently, but it wasn't quilted and more of a prototype. These colors are just happy and I think they will work well in my sewing room.

4. Tools for all occasions. I am lucky to have lots of quilty tools. I have several rotary cutters, so that I can have one in my sewing room, one on my desk, and one in the living room where I often cut for Sharla. It seems like this month I've not gotten much done, but because I have a small cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter on my desk, I can slip in small cutting jobs while on conference calls. I know that probably doesn't sound like much, but my company is virtual, so all meetings are conference calls. I am able to cut for my cross quilt even if I can't find time to sew.

5.  Sales.  I love sales, especially when it is on something I want. Sharla and I are both collecting mini charm packs. Yes, I know they aren't the best value for the dollar, but we both want to do a postage stamp quilt in the future and these will give us lots of variety. And last week Fat Quarter Shop had a sale on mini charm packs, so we got several.

So these are my thankful items for this week. How about you?  I will be linking up with Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl.  If you have one or more things to be thankful about, you can link up too.

Quilty Thankful Thursday #14

Ok, I'm not sure who is trying to rock my boat but I'm tired of it. Things have been crazy for a couple of weeks and I'm just plain tired of it. So today I'm going to do a little positive thinking and look for thankful things in my life. These are in no particular order and not all quilt related, but hey that is just me.

1. Today is my niece's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALLIE!! Callie is one of a kind...she gets that from me (hehehe). And I'm always thankful that she is a part of my life.  She always makes me laugh.  This will be her last birthday as a single girl, she gets married next month.  Here she is on day 1 and at Christmas this year.

2. Next I'm thankful that we got both the van and the stove I talked about last week.  I'm still getting used to the van, it has many more bells and whistle then the old one.  I will say I'm loving being able to change the volume or radio channel from the steering wheel.  And as much as I love it, Hollywood isn't as happy.  He has to ride in the back seat on the way to daycare, and he wants to be up front.  He did like that I can roll the windows down back there and he can ride with his face in the wind. And as far as the stove goes, I got both brownies and mac-n-cheese this weekend, so I was very happy. Here is the car before this weeks rains, it still looks all shiny and clean.

3. Lots of pretty fabric. I haven't gotten to sew much in the last week and that makes me sad. But then I need something from my sewing room and I go in and see lots of pretty fabric, and I know that I will get to sew something fun soon. I bought the bundle below from my LQS several months ago. They had the same fabrics made into a quilt. I loved the colors but not the pattern, so I thought I would use them in my cross quilt. But I just can't cut them yet. I love looking at them. And when I am too swamped to sew I will pick some pretties like these and just set on my desk so I can dream of sewing again.

4. Music. I love to sing, the world however doesn't love to hear me. So I often sing in the car, at my desk or while sewing. I like just about any song with a good beat. I love when a song has a line in that I will use over and over. Now I have two songs recently that have been that way for me. The first is Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars. Love that song, but really love the line "Smoother than a fresh jar of skippy".

The second is Biscuits by Kasey Musgraves. I will admit I love all the words to this one, but the chorus is simply great. I just can't help myself I just have to sing along!!

Just ho​e your own row, yeah, and raise your own babies

Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies

Mend your own fences and own your own crazy

Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy

Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy

5. Lastly for today, I'm very thankful for Amazon Prime. I hate shopping, and today alone I have 5 or 6 things that I needed to get. I would have had to go to at least 3 if not 4 stores to get them all. But I went to Amazon, they had everything I needed and with Prime everything will be her Saturday or Monday at the latest. Plus I could comparison shop while on line to make sure I was getting a good deal and I didn't have to deal with crowds, lines or cranky checkout people. Now if I could just grocery shop on line I would be set, but I just don't trust someone else to pick out my bananas. I'm just happy that I didn't have to make 4 stops today when I go to pick up Sharla.

Well that wraps up my thankful list for this week. I hope each of you has lots to be thankful about as well.  And if you want to share, check out Quilting Jetgirl's Quilty Thankful Thursday. I will be posting there today.

Layouts for February

I have to admit I didn't get much scrapbooking done this month, but I did get some pages done.  I love digital scrapbooking because I can do it on my work computer or home computer, so I fit it in whenever possible.  This month I did the photo challenge on Trixie Scraps Designs' blog and I created this layout.  I used the kit Best Year Ever. It was a great kit to show off some of my quilts.  I love rich colors in the kit and it has great elements as well.

Next I did a layout featuring the biggest pain in my bu.... these days, the one and only Hollywood.  So far this week alone he has eaten my purse, my key chain flashlight and my manicure kit. It is a good thing he is so cute or I would banish him from the house.  Yeah I know I'm a sucker.  I used the value bundle called Spunky Monkey for this layout because I love the blue/brown combo.

I have been craving Spring lately, too many cold days.  So I found a kit that was packed with pretty spring colors and lots of flowers and created my next layout.  I used a photo of Callie and Beau taken at Christmas. Don't they make a cute couple. The kit is call Heart of a Friend Value Bundle.

And my last one for this month features my little quilt buddy.  I put a bed under my long arm quilter and he comes in the sewing room with me and just sleeps while I quilt.  Every now and again, Hollywood will come in and hit the roll of batting above him and cover him up, but I move it back so I can see him.  He doesn't seem to mind my music blaring or the machine noise, as long as he is with me.  I used the kit A Life That's Good Value bundle because I love the flowers that are in it.

Well that's my layouts for February, all of the kits I used are really great and you should head over to Trixie Scrap's store and pick them up for your stash.

Layouts for January

I did more quilting than scrapping this month, but I did get some layouts done.  The kits I used are mostly older kits, but they are ones I really love.  My first layout is probably my most favorite for the month.  I created it for the Recipe Challenge on Trixie Scraps Designs blog.  I love the kit and it is call Triumphant Value Bundle because the colors are just fun to use.  And they matched the photos so well.  The photos were taken at Christmas and we had some fun with a present Callie received.  Yes that is Sheldon in the photos, the present was a life sized cutout of him.

Next up is a layout I did using Best Year Ever by Trixie Scraps as well. This kit is great because of the great flowers in it and ya'll know I love me some flowers.  But it also has wonderful papers in great fall colors. The photo is also from Christmas of the kids...yes they are still kids to me even if two of them are now engaged and we've gone from three to five.

Next is another layout using Best Year Ever, and I created this one for the mix it up challenge at GingerScraps.  I really am drawn to the colors in this kit.  The photo is an old one of Callie and Cole, it is hard to believe how much they have grown, but the boy in this picture is the bearded boy in the picture above...ok so maybe not a boy above.

And lastly is a layout I made using King of the Pride Value Bundle.  It is a wild kit and perfect to scrap the newest wild thing in my life...Hollywood.  The bright oranges really look wonderful and I love the alpha in the kit, good for so many things.  Hollywood is getting so big, but he is still all puppy, chewing, jumping, etc.  But we love the little...oops big stinker.

All of these kits are available at Trixie Scraps Shop and would be wonderful additions to your stash.

November/December Layouts

Ok I was on track at the beginning of November, but something went terribly wrong and the rest of November and December have gone way off track.  I had such wonderful plans, and very few of them came to fruition. But hopefully I will get more on track for 2014.  So let me end the year right by showing you layouts I made for the last two months.

To begin with I have one using Autumn Spice by North Meets South Studios.  I love the colors of this kit, they are really beautiful.  For my layout I used a photo of Callie and MawMaw.  They might have been very different but they shared a very special love.

Next up is one using A Life That's Good Value Bundle.  The flowers in this kit are awesome and ya'll know I love flowers on a layout.  The photo is from several years ago, and is of a motley crew.  But a crew that I am blessed to a part.  Even when I'm down these guys make me smile.

Now for a layout that was really fun.  Not because the photo is great, it was taken in my garage, but because of what the photo represents.  Sharla and I got a long arm quilting machine and I took a photo of the box as we waited patiently for the floors to be redone so we could get it put together.  Ok we weren't very patient.  The kit I used is After 10 Years Value Bundle and November Templatetopia.  I love templates, they make scrapping so easy and this kit is not my normal colors, but I love working with it because it makes everything look great, even a photo of a box.

My last November layout used Blue Jean Boy Value Bundle which is an awesome kit for doing boy layouts. Great colors and elements make it very easy to put together a page quickly that looks great.  I used an old photo of Cole for this one.

Now for my December layouts. First is one I did for the Recipe Challenge on the Trixie Scraps Blog and I used A Life That's Good Value Bundle again.  As I said earlier this is a great kit that is just plain fun to use. The photo is of Tom and Mecca, after all these years they are still happy together.

Next is one I did for a font challenge.  I used Triumphant Value Bundle which is a great kit because it can be used for so many different types of pages.  For this one I featured Cooper, the precious baby that went to the Rainbow Bridge in November.  I miss him every day!

Next I got to used some photos from Christmas Day of Tom's family.  The family is growing and growing. We now have Jessica (engaged to Trey) and Beau (engaged to Callie).  And I will say this, they made me laugh all day.  They are crazy but I love them!!!!  I used Picture A Family Value Bundle which is perfect for family pictures.  A great mix of colors and elements!!!!

And my last layout for December uses Spunky Monkey Value Bundle which is just a fun kit.  I didn't use any of the cute monkey elements, but they are simply wonderful.  The layout is of Hollywood, my nephews puppy.  He is a lab mix and way to big to be a lap dog, but he just refuses to believe that.  In this picture he is sitting on me.  Crazy boy!!!!

Well that is it for now.  Make sure you head over to Trixie Scraps Store and pick up these wonderful kits. They will make scrapping your pages easy and fun!!!!  I promise that things will be different in 2014 and I will blog more.  I hope to add lots of posts about quilts I complete as well.

I hope each of you has a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

October Layouts

Ohhh my can I just say October has been a busy month!!!!  We had all of our floors replaced last week.  Yes every single inch of floor space, which meant everything in my house has been moved at least once, somethings several times.  I love the new floors but am so glad I don't have to do this again anytime soon.  Luckily I got to do lots of layouts before this week to show you.

First I will show you a layout of my new floors.  I used October Templatetopia by North Meets South Studios, a wonderful set of templates that make doing layout easy.  And I also used Picture A Family Bundle by Trixie Scraps Designs.  I love the colors of that kit.  The photos aren't wonderful because I used my phone, but you get the drift.

Next up is a layout I did using Believe In Your Dreams by North Meets South Studios.  It has been created for the Gingerscraps Scrapping Survivor contest and it is just too cute.  When I saw the red shoes it just reminded me of some photos of Callie and this is what I created.

Next is a layout I did for the Scrapping Survivor contest.  It was a challenge because it required a large b/w photo and two color photos.  Then it also required colored and black and white elements.  I decided to use Sunshine Day Bundle by Trixie Scraps Designs and a ribbon from the Believe In Your Dreams.  I used pictures of my little sunshine boy.

Now for my layout using Triumphant Bundle.  This was Trixie Scraps GGI pieces and I love the colors.  I used a picture of Sharla when she was learning to use her new leg.  I really believe she has done so well with this process.

I am not a big Halloween fan.  Don't get me wrong, who doesn't love the candy, but I'm not big on dressing up for the day and neither is Cooper.  He wasn't happy to be wearing a sweet pea costume but I think he was super cute.  I used Witches Brew by North Meets South Studios for this one.  I have to say the kit is super fun!!!!

Next up is a layout I struggled with, I'm not into the Ghoul School stuff, in fact I had never heard of it, but this collab by Trixie Scraps Designs and Ponytails Designs is just too cute.  I love the colors, the bright colors with the grey is really cool.  I found a silly photo of me...yes me and made it work.

And my last layout for now is using God Gave Me You by Trixie Scraps Designs. The pieces are simply beautiful.  I love the colors, browns with touches of cream and pink.  I think this is my new favorite kit!! I used a photo of Ariella, because I thought her sweet smile went so well with the kit.

That is it for now, I recommend all of these kits.  They are beautiful and such fun to use.  And you should get them for your stash as soon as possible!!!!

September Layouts

I cannot believe that September is almost over, why is time passing so fast??? Am I getting old....DON'T answer that!!!!!  Well September has been a busy month, so far we've made progress on getting the floors replaced, if all goes well it will happen in two weeks.  We also have a new addition to the family.  Yes Cole has adopted a puppy, aka Hollywood.  He has boundless energy, much more than any of the people or other dogs in the house.  Hopefully I will get some good pictures of him soon and ya'll can see him.

Now this month I did do some layouts, so let me show them to you.  First is one I did using September Templatetopia by North Meets South Studios as well as Apples for Teacher Value Bundle and Sunshine Day both by Trixie Scraps Designs.  The photos are of Tucker and his new blankie, and that mean Cooper who insisted on sharing it with him.

Next up is a layout I did using Picture a Family by Trixie Scraps.  The kit was part of the September 2013 Scrap Pack available at Scrap Stacks.  The photos are Callie and Watson, one from when she first got him and one a little more recent.  He has definitely grown into a big boy.

Next up I did a layout using Autumn Spice by Trixie Scraps Designs, Designs by Connie Prince and Aprilisa Designs.  The kit was created as part of the September Art Social Kit for MSA.  The photo is of Callie and Sharla.  It was taken several years ago, but is one of my favorite photos of the two of them.

And last but not least is a layout using New Kid in Class Value Bundle by Trixie Scraps Designs. The photo is something I rarely use, and that is a photo of me.  Yeah that cute chipmunk cheeked girl is me.  We won't talk about how many years ago it was!!!!

I have to say I love all of these kits, so if I were you I would pick them up right away!!!!  For other great kits be sure to check out Trixie Scraps Designs Store.

July Layouts

I can't believe July is almost over, it seems like it just started yesterday. I have my July quilt cut out, but not a single block sewn on it. Hopefully I will get some done this week. I won't finish it but hopefully I will at least start it. Sharla is doing better, but still in a wheelchair, so my days are much busier than normal. Luckily I did get some layouts done to show you. First up is one using July Templatetopia by North Meets South Studios. I love those templates they just make everything easier. I also used Heart of a Friend Bundle by Trixie Scraps Designs. The photos are Tina and Ariella at her birthday party.

Up next is one I made using Love in the Garden pieces. If you love gnomes you will definitely want to get this kit. It is just so so so cute!!!! The photo is Callie and her "Beau".

Next up is a layout I did for a challenge on Trixie Scraps' Blog. It was a word challenge and the word was "Hot". I used King of the Pride for this one, because I thought the colors really worked with the word. I love the rich colors!!! The photos are Callie and Cole on Jockey Ridge.

And last but not least is the a layout I made using Got Glasses pieces. I love the colors on this one, and such wonderful elements. The glasses are just beyond cute!!!! The photo is Sharla, not really wanting me to take her picture, but alas I won that one..hehehe.

Ok that is it for how, but make sure you pick up some of these kits, they will be wonderful additions to your stash!!!!

iNSD and Lots of Goodies

Did you know that today is iNSD (International Scrapbook Day) which means lots of sales, challenges, prizes and so forth.  Unfortunately I'm working and broke, so not much shopping or games for me, but I love to look.  If you are interested in digital scrapbooking this is a great weekend to get some deals.  Today I'm going to show you some layouts I made with kits by the wonderful Trixie Scraps Designs. She has a 50% off sale going on this weekend so you really need to visit her store.

First up is May Templatetopia by North Meets South Studios (aka Trixie Scraps and Connie Prince).  I love their templates, they make putting together a layout super simple. But they layout still look wonderful.  I also used Heart Of A Friend Bundle, because the colors in that kit just make me happy.  The photos are of Sharla's log cabin quilt.  We just finished a class and I think her's turned out super!!!!

My next two layouts use Trixie's Grab Bag for iNSD called Social Butterfly. I think she hit this one out of the ball park.  The colors are wonderful and the elements are just great.  Plus the grab bag has page starters. I don't normally use them, but I couldn't resist.  The second layout went together in about 5 minutes, because all I had to do was add photos and a few touches.  Both of these layouts feature the biggest social butterfly in my life...Ms Callie!!!!

And lastly is a layout I made using Spring Fling pieces. These are Trixies pieces for the Ginger Scraps May Buffet.  I love the soft colors with the grey, a wonderful mix.  I used photos from Ariella's 2nd birthday party. She was a little overwhelmed by Chuck E Cheese, so she wasn't the happiest of little girls.

Make sure you head over to Trixie's Store and pick up some of her wonderful goodies this weekend while they are on sale!!!!!!