Lemon Drop Martini Table Runner

I love yellow. It's my favorite color, so bright and cheery. What's not to love? 

I love lemon drop martinis. It's the cocktail I order every time we go out for a fancy dinner. I doesn't hurt that the martini is yellow. Haha!

I really wanted to make a table runner that pays tribute to my favorite martini. I purchased some yellow fabrics and whipped up this little beauty just to pay tribute to the cocktail.

It's a perfect table runner to celebrate the first day of summer. The two go together perfectly!

Bunny Bag & Other Little Things

A while back I made a cute little bunny bag for Easter. It required a hand embroidered nose, mouth and eyes. I did not want to do that. I don't what it is about hand embroidery but it's just not my thing. So I searched the internet for a .jef (machine embroidery) file of a nose, mouth and eyes. Lo and behold, I found the perfect fit. The pattern for the bag was a free pattern that can be found here. I really like how it turned out and I had planned on making more of them but life just got in the way.

This year I've been trying really hard to say no. But on occasion I will say yes. I quilted this charity quilt for my Sweet Sundays sewing group. It's a pretty big quilt but I got it done in one day. 

I also sewed some patches on my neighbor's kids' taekwondo uniforms. I don't think the word 'uniform' is correct for whatever these outfits are called. I just don't know. Haha!

 

My Other Projects

Last year my neighbor asked for advice on fixing some cushion covers for their camper. I gave them some advice on what to do however, I think they figured out that it was a bigger project than they could handle. I know he sews but I can't say I blame him for not wanting to tackle this project. So he brought me some canvas yardage and the cushions. I decided to reuse the zippers because they were the only part of the cushion covers that were in great shape. Plus they would be very expensive to replace and I am all about repurposing things. It wasn't a tough job, it only took one afternoon to complete. I hope they get years of enjoyment out of them.

I longarm quilted a charity quilt. for a friend from the quilt shop. It's very pretty and I recognize the fabrics because I used them in a quilt a long time ago.

I refused payment for the quilting so next thing you know, I get a Starbucks gift card from her for my efforts. It really wan not necessary. It seems now that I've learned to say no to most requests for quilting I really get to enjoy the process for the ones I choose to do. I love not having to stress about deadlines for other people's projects. 

My daughter is moving to a new place where my granddaughters will have their own rooms. They've shared a bedroom forever so we wonder if they will miss each other when they move. With more time to spare, Jeff and I volunteered to paint our granddaughter's new bedrooms. They both chose some interesting colors.

I guess after seeing this, they will be ok with being in their own spaces. 

I made some balsamic reduction. I think I should have used the entire bottle of balsamic vinegar considering how little is left after cooking. I don't know what I was thinking since I make this stuff all the time. We go through lots of it. 

Lynn's T-Shirt Quilt

Jeff and I volunteer at my granddaughter's elementary school often. So often that we became friends with one of the administrative assistants. We see each other at the farmers' market every week, she comes to my  granddaughter's birthday parties, we've even had cocktails together at the local wine shop. That's why I did not mind saying yes to making a t-shirt quilt for her son's graduation. She was kind enough to ask me a year in advance so I had planned for it and I really enjoyed making this one. 

Instead of making all the blocks the same size I chose to try something new for me. I made 4 columns, each one a different width. I didn't worry about the height of each block so that made the rows look staggered. It was a great look.

There were some logos on sleeves so I made a row of them to incorporate into the back of the quilt.

I quilted it with a simple swirl that didn't distract from the blocks. 

Snarky Cat Quilt

I've been collecting the Snarky Cat fabric collection for a while. The fabrics are so cute I had to get them. I just didn't know what I would do with them. Then I worked at the Mukwonago Quilt Show where another vendor was selling Villa Rosa quilt patterns. Villa Rosa patterns come on little postcards so there aren't many instructions to follow. They are that easy. They were such a good deal that I purchased 30 of them.

While wading through all those patterns I came across one that I thought would be really fun to use with the Snarky Cats. The pattern was just as whimsical as the fabrics. So here's the results:

The Villa Rosa quilt pattern is called Arctic Flame.

Tiny Town Quilt

Here's my Tiny Town quilt with my granddaughter, Chloe hanging out on it. I quilted trees on it but I don't think that did anything for the quilt. But as they say, the best quilts are finished quilts. Haha! 

Stand with Ukraine & Cut, Sew, Press, Quilt

I made this sunflower wallhanging today from a paper-pieced pattern. The money from the purchase of the pattern goes to a Ukrainian charity. I made it to hang on my front door although I have yet to figure out exactly what I want to do to get it to hang.

It was a fun attempt at paper piecing. I used nothing but scraps to make it so besides the donation to a charity, that was rewarding.

I also finished some wall hangings for my sewing room. They are from a Lori Holt pattern and I mostly used Lori Holt's fabrics. 

I still need to sew some buttons on and embroider the needle on the sewing machine wall hanging. That sounds like something to do while watching television.

Winter Quilt Show and Finished Projects

I attended the Winter Quilt Show in West Bend last week and I bought quite a bit of cool stuff. I'm not that fond of wearing t-shirts but I absolutely had to have this one! I picked up some longarm supplies as well. A quilt show is usually the best place to get stuff discounted for my longarm. It's nice to see some of the shows get back to pre-pandemic practices. 

I finished the travel tote bag I started last month. It turned out nice and I like the size of it. Even though I do love the fabrics I chose it doesn't match any of my luggage. So I think it looks funny on top of my teal suitcase. Maybe I will have to make another one to match the luggage or buy new luggage  - haha!

I also completed the largest of the Lori Holt zipper pouches. The panel came with quite a few of these on it so there's quite a few more to go. I just can't decide how I want to quilt them so I'm not getting as far as I wish when it comes to getting them done.