A Charity Quilt for A Veterans' Event

Our Legion Post does an event called "Souper Sunday" where we serve a lunch of soups, rolls and dessert. Everyone pays per bowl and the event raises money for veterans. 

I made a triple batch of French Onion soup for the event. It was an all-day project just cooking the onions but I was glad to help.

I also made a red, white and blue themed quilt to raffle off. I did't use a pattern, I just made two sizes of star blocks and a nine-patch to go in-between the stars. 

I longarmed the quilt with stars to add to the patriotic look.

Once completed, it was kitty approved!

A Patriotic Quilt Marathon

I was gifted 18 yards of red, white and blue fabrics. They were vintage bundles still in the packaging. I broke them all open to discover all half-yard cuts. I proceeded to wash all the fabrics, sort by color and press them. It was an all-day project. While pressing, I had to come up with a way to use up all the fabrics. Since they were half-yard cuts, there's a lot I could do. 

I chose three Villa Rosa patterns, making cutting easy and consistent since all these patterns requires thick strips to be cut. I liked the Olympiad pattern so much I made two quilts with it. They went together so quickly that it was an easy decision.

Using the scraps left over from the first two quilts I chose to use the Phoebe pattern next. It used up the ends of the strips from the first two quilts along with more of the half-yard cuts. At this point I was looking forward to doing a project that was not red, white and blue!

Once I completed the Phoebe there was still a bunch of fabric left. That's where the Daybreak pattern came in. It uses the same 5-inch square measurement as the Phoebe so I used up leftovers from that quilt along with more half-yard cuts. 

Of course, I had a helper. Jordy just loves to nap on quilts loaded on the longarmer. I'm sure it has the feel of a hammock and I know how much I love a good nap in a hammock so I don't blame him.

After all that, there was still fabrics left so I used it to piece the backs for two of the quilts. 

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to buy a single piece of fabric for 40% off. That's a big deal at the quilt shop so I purchased enough 108" wide backing fabric to complete 4 quilt tops. With 108" wide, I can get 4 quilts on the longarm with just 3 yards of fabric. What a bargain!

It didn't hurt that we're in a deep freeze here in Wisconsin so I wasn't going anywhere so I might as well get quiltinq!

What a fun adventure it was making all these. I'm sure these will become raffle quilts for events at our Legion Post or I will end up donating them to an individual as needed. 

I'm very happy to have given these old fabric bundles a new life.

Gnome Ornaments and Table Runners

I made up my own version of a gnome Christmas ornament. I've been working on it for the last month. After cutting various sizes of yarn beards and little hats I think I've come up with the exact size that I want to make. They might be a big hit at the upcoming holiday bazaar this December. 

I'm also working on a few table runners. Last year's bazaar was so successful that I sold all the Christmas themed runners I had and have none left. What a nice problem.

I have a few more in the works and hopefully I can get them all completed before the month end. Sometimes the issue is the kitten. She just loves to help! 

Exploding Heart Quilt

I've been planning a wedding quilt for my nephew and his bride for quite a while. I wanted it to be special so I searched and searched for the right pattern and fabrics. Once I decided on the exploding heart pattern, it still took me some time to find the right fabrics. I wanted some nice colors without the fabrics coming off too feminine. During the time I was searching I straightened up my sewing room and came across a layer cake I purchased a few years back. It was perfect. 

I did have a problem to overcome if I used a layer cake. It would waste lots of fabrics with the process of making quarter square triangles. That's where working in a quilt shop really came in handy. I explained the problem and a coworker suggested I borrow one of the Accuquilt cutters we have at the shop. There's a die cutter for the triangles and I could manipulate the 10-inch squares through the cutter to get more pieces than if I did the traditional QSTs. I couldn't wait to give it a shot. 

I cut and cut and cut then I cut some more! It was so fun, efficient, and I really got a lot of triangles out of the 10-inch squares. In an afternoon I cut enough pieces that I was ready to make the entire queen-sized quilt top.

I began sewing the triangles together and I really thought I would be sewing them for days. But once the chain-piecing started it went really fast. It was all going together so well. I was loving the process. And the colors were so gorgeous it never got boring.

Since it's a queen-size project I had to use the living room floor to lay the quilt out. Each row had to be laid out before the next to get the quilt right. It was a challenge moving the blocks around with a cat in the room. He loved to plop down in the middle of it all. Once I had all the blocks sewn together I chose a nice green for the backing. 

I chose a nice flowing pantograph to use on my longarm. With all the white space I really wanted the quilting to have a bit of drama. 

My next challenge was making a label. I'm not that experienced with my embroidery machine so I was a little concerned about how to make the label. In fact, my first attempt was way too large so I had to start all over. At least I got the lettering aligned with the heart motifs I used - haha!

I took this photo right before I wrapped it up in pretty wedding themed wrapping paper. I absolutely love how it turned out. 

And here's the happy couple on Sunday after the wedding.

Salsa and Basketball

Yesterday I finally felt like myself again. So I got up with the attitude that it's a new year so let's start it out right. I am going to get all the summer tomatoes that I blanched and froze out of the freezer and make some salsa. 

That meant washing and sterilizing lots of jars followed by chopping lots of vegetables. 

It was a good day to get this done. I started around 8:30 and I was done by 10:30. That sure felt good. It's been on my to-do list for a while so I was very happy to get it accomplished. My husband was thrilled - it's one of his favorite things. 

We're trying not to push my post-surgical recovery too hard so we went downtown where we enjoyed a nice dinner followed by attending the Milwaukee Bucks game. It's too bad they lost but we had a good time getting out of the house.

A Little Christmas

Since I have to lay low this holiday season, there's not much going on. I did manage to get a Christmas tree up and I love how nice it looks. It's much smaller than we're used to and I think this will be come a tradition. It takes up so little space and I like it. 

Since the tree is much smaller, I set up a table next to it with a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. What fun it will be to complete it with the help of family members! 

I am really enjoying this holiday season. Here's the view out of my bedroom window.  

I had no idea slowing down could be so wonderful.

Holiday Market at Hillside Coffee House

My friend owns a coffee shop and she offers up events throughout the year. This weekend she held a Holiday Market where she invites crafters and artists to sell their items. I purchased a table space for the event. I sort of regretted it - at first. All I could think of is it's the first weekend of the Christmas season and I have so much to do and this was a distraction. But I persevered.

I set up my booth on Friday afternoon. After years of attending craft fairs I have learned to relax throughout the process. Years ago I fretted and did not sleep the night before worrying about whether I had everything I needed. Now I don't even think about it. I am so lucky for that.

The holiday market ran for 2 days, both Saturday and Sunday. It was a pleasant surprise to meet new customers. Of course, I did my own social media posts and quite a few of my friends and past customers stopped in to see me. I am so grateful for all of them. I was also happy to see my best quilting friend, Sue. I can always count on her stopping by.

What a weekend! I made 24 gnomes and I sold all but 2. I made so many sales I couldn't believe it. After I got home I inventoried everything, packed up my craft fair bins and stored it all away. Even with all the hard work that goes into setup and teardown, in the end, I have no regrets for attending this event. It was exhausting and rewarding at the same time. 

See you in spring, Hillside Coffee House!

Fall Craft Fair at All Saints Church

Each spring and fall my church holds a craft fair. Yesterday was the fall craft fair. It's a very popular fair. The people in charge only allow actual crafters to rent tables. No Scentsy, Pampered Chef, ThirtyOne, etc....none of that. Only crafters. The craft fairs are extremely popular. So much so that it makes the top ten lists of craft fairs in southeasters Wisconsin. The tables are difficult to get. You must fill out your table rental requests almost 2 years in advance to get in. I've been renting tables from them for almost 30 years. It's also my church so I love that.

Since the pandemic the church only allows about half of the crafters to rent tables. So we are spread further apart and from a vendor point of view, it's much nicer. People seem more willing to stop and linger since they aren't crammed so close together. It just seems more relaxing for everyone. However, the desire for homemade things seemed to have increased. There are more people attending than before and they are definitely purchasing. My sales have tripled which is really nice for me. The funny thing is that I don't really care if I sell much, I just like attending the craft fair. 

This year besides making the usual table runners, aprons, bowl cozies, and pot holders I made use of my embroidery machine to make things. I've learned over the years that it's not a good idea to wait until the last minute to start making things so I make crafts all year long. The week leading up to the craft fair is spent dusting off my display racks and setting things up to make sure everything goes together like I want. Price tags are pinned to products and signs are made to make items easier to find. 

Here are some zipper pouches I made.

I also made some mini zipper pouch stockings.

I used up leftover holiday fabric to make some reusable gift bags. 

I had a great time at the craft fair. Many of my quilting friends stopped by and even one of my clients came to say hi. I just finished making a quilt for him a month ago. It's funny that now the fair is over, I'm not sure what I want to work on next. I'm thinking about Christmas gifts or maybe finishing a UFO. It's fun to imagine what comes next.

Zipper Pouches and Other Stuff

I've been experimenting with making new zipper pouches. I started by embroidering a few designs on some linen fabric. Then I matched them up with some fabrics to make the pouches. It was really fun to put these together. 

I'm thinking these would make nice gifts or something fun to sell at my next craft fair. 

The flowers are blooming like crazy around here. Aren't these pretty?

I love the detail in this photo. I was pleasantly surprised I could get this close without this little guy getting spooked and jumping off the leaf. 

August is my favorite month. Nature's beauty is apparent and I love the hot weather. 

Last week we bartended at Irish Fest in downtown Milwaukee. And we saw Maroon 5 at the American Family Amphitheater on the lakefront.

It's hard to tell, but trust me, that is Adam Levine in the middle of the stage.

I went with a friend to a June Tailor warehouse sale this week too. Judy Gauthier, who is featured at the event was there. She is a quilt book author (3 books actually) and a quilt shop owner. I've known her for a long time and I looked forward to seeing her again. I made sure we got a photo together while I was there. 

A Busy Summer Week

I love the television show The Office. It is my constant companion while I sew. Since I can find it on a cable station almost any time of the day it's easy to have it on even if it's just background noise. So I wanted to make a project bag using The Office themed fabrics. I got it started this week.

At this month's basement quilters group I finished up the baby blankets and burp cloths I started at the beginning of summer. I am so happy to have all these done before my next craft fair. I completed 18 blankets and 38 burp cloths. I think I won't have to make more for a little while - haha!

Our beloved Milwaukee Bucks are world champions and we've been dying to go downtown and take a photo next to the Fiserv Forum. We chose to do so this week because there's an art fair in the Deer District. What better time could there be? 
 

I sold a quilt on Etsy so I decided I would spend some of my earnings at the art fair. Sort of a pay it forward kind of thing. At least that's how I justified my purchase. I bought this cute little business card holder from a welder who repurposed old metals into new things. The "hairs" on this little guy were made from political yard signs. I'm so glad those are something else now. Tee-hee.

On another note, I picked these vegetables from my garden this week.

It's hard to tell but the entire bottom of the bucket is full of carrots. My garden is doing pretty well this month. It's hard work, but I love it.