Pincushions On Parade Starts Tomorrow!

This fun blog hop is starting tomorrow! 

Click Here For All You Need To Know

daybrook-designs-pincushion-parade-blog-hop-checklist ~ Download Here

Crystal @ DayBrook Designs 

has provided the checklist above for all of us to participate.

I am a host for two of the days and 

and am making plans to sew along.

Hope to see you sewing along, too! 

Unsettled and Haunted by Quilty UFOs

My sewing life feels unsettled right now 

and my thoughts and dreams are haunted by UFOs.

I have recently pulled out fabrics for two projects and not sewn a stitch.

Both of those have been put aside.

I have two current WIPs that are languishing unfinished ,

even though I love the fabrics and patterns. 

I have three larger BOM type projects that I started this year and I have not kept up.

I  also have two scrap projects started this year that are also sitting neglected.

I have one project that I started last fall and it was left behind
when I went south in November
and never picked up again when I returned just before Christmas.

All of these are projects that I really want to finish.

I cannot quite say why I am not sewing.

I could say it is because I am enjoying the warm weather and flowers blooming in my yard.

I am, but usually I go out and enjoy and then come in and sew.

It just is not happening.

I could blame it on the current unrest in the greater world,

but usually my sewing space in my happy place.

Peace by Piece is a personal motto.

I have been cleaning and organizing in my sewing room and closets.

These fabrics are some that recently haunted my quilty muse at night,

so I dug them out to set them in the sun.

These are Timeless Treasure fabrics from 2007.

I hope they are the ones to get me out of my quilty funk.

There are three blocks for a Sampler BOM from 2008

that never made it into a quilt.

This pattern is still available free online

@

Somewhere In Time BOM 2008 @ Block Central

It is a vestige left after the passing of this once great Quilting Forum,

one of the places where I learned to quilt.

2008 was the year before I started my quilting blog
so I have no old WIP photos.

You can see how old these stitches are and how imperfect my points and seams were then.

At that point of my quilting journey I was still sewing on my old light-weight

 Brother machine, that was getting tired and even trips to the 

sewing machine care guy I had at the time did not help.

You can see the seam in one of HSTs that the stitches are too far apart and loose.

I will have to reinforce some of these seams to use these blocks

but I am not taking them apart to try to make them "perfect."

The background fabric is not to be found.

It has probably long since been used in another project.

I do not think I am making the rest of the blocks. 

They are what they are and I am going to honor the past

by giving these three blocks a finish.

I will see what the rest of the fabric says to my quilty muse.

Hope to have a finish to show you someday soon.

Wish me luck ... ;) 

OMG ~ May 2020 ~ Goal Complete

My May One Monthly Goal is Finished!  

I set this goal here in the

OMG May 2020 @ Elm Street Quilts

It started with this cross stitch work and these fabrics 

Here in my May OMG Post

and finished

 Here for my "Cool To Be Square Blog Hop" Post

I used an artist's canvas and my heavy duty stapler to display this finish.

More how-to photos in the link above.

Happily, I am linking up today with the

OMG May Finishing Party Link Up @ Elm Street Quilts

I am always very happy when I meet my monthly goal.

Time to think about my June OMG Goal.

I have many, many WIPs and UFOs.

Hmmmmm ... what shall I choose?

Time will tell ... :-) 

I Like Thursday # 57 ~ Considering

Taking time to consider the Lily of the Valley in my garden.

May you and yours be well and safe.

Suddenly Summer

Summer has arrived and these summery sea fabrics

have landed on my cutting table.

The long weekend became a blogging break.

It also turned into a break from sewing.

I did not get my patriotic project done ... hmmm, maybe by July? 

Memorial Day Weekend was very nice,  mostly sunny, breezy, cool at night.

Mr Scrapatch and I scratched in the dirt a lot and planted and weeded and mulched.

We were in sweatshirts for our backyard barbecue late in the afternoon

Yesterday the temperatures soared over 20 degrees

and the sudden need for cooler air inside called for quick placement

of our window air conditioners.

There is one more that needs be put in the kitchen window

which will be the Hubs after work job.

Plans are also to go to get milk at the dairy so there will also be ice cream cones.

Anyway, today I am looking to be in an cool place, like

"Octopus's Garden in the Shade" by the Beatles

I shall have to settle for these pretty fabrics ... 

Octopus Garden Fabrics form Robert Kaufman

There is a free pattern for this fabric line here ...

Ocean Life ~ Free Pattern from Robert Kaufman

I do have a panel.

I also have a few fat quarters  from this bundle ... 

Drop In the Ocean FQ Bundle 

@ Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Today, though, I only have the various size cuts of yardage on my table.

Now what shall I be making with this?

After much dithering today, I have a plan! 

Hope to have more to show you soon. 

Memorial Day 2020 ~ 3:00pm

Taps Across America ... 2020

Bee Patriotic Sew Along

I am getting ready to sew along.

I have the book that is needed to make the blocks.

The book is Vintage Christmas by Lori Holt

and all the blocks are pieced.

Everything You Need to Know to Sew Along Is Here

This is a photo of Lori Holt's Quilt,

more photos and info on her blog link. 

I love her colors, including the aqua and pink.

There is Bee Patriotic Fat Quarter Bundle @ FQS

which is all lovely blenders that may also be used in other quilts.

Here are the fabric requirements.

It is a very "stash happy" pattern.

I am gathering fabrics

and making plans to sew along.

:-) 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

On my cutting table for this long Memorial Day Weekend.

I have had this kit in my stash for some time.

It has four choices in the pattern.

I do not remember where I bought this kit.

The fabric and pattern is

Yankee Doodle Gems from Wilmington Prints

The strip pack can be found in quilt shops, including

Yankee Doodle Essential Gems @ FatQuarterShop

My pattern came with the strip pack and finishing fabrics.

This pattern has directions for ... 

Two Table Quilts ...

1) Long Table Runner

2)  Square Table Topper

and two Wall Quilts  ...

3)  "Flag Gems"  ... with straight strips

4)  "Zig Zag Flag"  ... which looks like it is waving in the breeze.

This is my project for this weekend.

Hmmm ... which will I sew? 

Which would you sew?

May you and yours have a safe and happy and healthy

Memorial Day Weekend!

I Like Thursday # 56 ~ Everyday

Good Morning!

Dahlias are one of my plantings of choice this spring.

So this gorgeous burst of color greeted me on our outdoor fire pit table ...

... when I went out to sip my morning cup of frothy latte at 6:00am,

right after Mr Scrapatch left for work at his new "retirement job,"

more of the story on this here.

Dahlias are not a perennial here in my northern clime so I am reading up on  them at ...

Growing Dahlias @ Almanac.com

... in hopes of bringing them back next year.

I have not had much success winter other annuals

so time will tell.

I have pink ones like this one that has just been touched by the sun 

peeking around the roof of my neighbor on the east.

In addition to the pink, I have yellow ...

... and some of these beautiful flame touched ones.

I am going to put some in big pots and find the best sunny spots for them

and a couple in the ground and see which fares the best.

I have picked the floss colors for my custom house on the ...

Week 2 of the FQS Feels Like Home Stitch Along

As you can see the design house is mostly gray.

I like the look of their version.

I am just trying to make it look and feel a little more like my little home.

Back inside, I have started stitching my  modified version

of our brown roof line and green trim.

I have a plan.  Hopefully it will work

and look a little bit more like my home.

I have tried stitching outside,
but my eyes prefer the bright LED light I need to use to get the
needle into the right place in the cloth.

Nutmeg is helping and checking my work.

I love the way her fur glows orange in the sunlight 

coming in the window.

Here is my little Nutmeg on the flower table topper on my round coffee table.

that is the background of these photos.

I made this

Snap Flower Table Topper

a few years back and it is still my favorite.

There used to be a free tutorial for how I made this on Craftsy

but they took it away when the overhauled their site.

Maybe I need to find that tutorial.

It seems to have gone missing in my computer, too.

Maybe I shall have to do a makeover.

Hmmm .... ;)

Anyway ... today all I really want to say is ...

Everyday is a good day.

Playing

Everyday by Rascal Flatts

on my speakers.

Time to visit my

I Like Thursday Blogging Friends @ Not Afraid of Color

May you have a good day everyday.

Stitching Progress

Part 1 is done for my 

Feels Like Home Stitch Along Project

Maestro helped behind the scenes, of course.

Here she is adjusting the knobs on my

Z-Frame Universal Lap Frame

I like to use a

 Q-Snap Frame

to keep my cloth tight and flat.

This plastic frame is light enough to carry it anywhere

and I do enjoy sitting outside and stitching sometimes.

It has been mostly sunny but is still cool and very windy for May

so most of my stitching has been done inside.

Part 3 was released last Friday so I am very behind in the stitching along,

but I am good with that.

I use all six strands of DMC on my 10 Count Vintage Aida cloth
and a size 18 or 20 Bohn needle.
I can see this easily to stitch and I like the way it looks.

It is a journey, not a race, for me. 

I am working on the Part 2 House section

but it will take time as I am making modifications to the pattern

to make it look a little more like my little house.

More stitching soon ... :-) 

Quilty Road Trip ... Social Distance Style

This morning started Here,

because this is, literally, one of the first things I see in the morning,

after I use my eye drops to unglue my eyes, 

as it is on my bedroom wall opposite my bed. 

I do not actually "see" the eye drops.

I just reach out to where I know they are, aim and squeeze,

then wait a few minutes for them to take effect.

Usually, there is a blur of my hubby's face
and a fuzzy looking cat or three in view, too.

Only Katniss is actually fuzzy so I know if the other two look 

like they are having a bad hair day

that my eyes are not working yet.

By the time I ask Alexa to turn on the light,

the cross stitch starts coming onto focus.

After saying have a good day to hubby,
going out the door to his new job,

because the man does not know what the word "retired" means,

or that there is a "stay at home"
 ... um ... mandate? ... advisory? ... guideline? ...  

whatever the state is calling it now ...

for people our age.

I get my cup of coffee and say hello to my blog which comes up as my home screen

and there is my new favorite quilty project again.

Now that I have put my Quilty Love stitchery there again at the top of today's post,
it will be waiting for me again tomorrow morning ... I like!

Maybe I will put it at the top of the post everyday this week!

You may get tired of it, but I will not ... :-) 

Anyway...

my virtual road trip is rambling off course ...

just like most of our real road trips.

So ...

I wandered Here

so I could get cool with all the square inspiration of the day.

First off, 

Calico Joan @ the MooseStash,

opened my eyes wide with another one of her multitude of amazing quilty endeavors

and made me laugh with her zany humor.

Then I got as far as

This wonderfully Cool and Square quilty goodness

 @ Anita's Quilt in a Not Shell

before my road trip completely changed destinations ... 

and I bought this ...

 Pattern from Broadcloth Studios Here

... because I need a new project like I need a new turn in the road. 

I want to make a larger version of this for my very modern niece

 who is getting married in the fall.

Because I was at Broadcloth Studio

and I love their Quilty Quizes,

I found

A Quiz I Had Not Taken

... sew I had to take it ... 

... and I somehow I ended up Here ...

"While the road or the car never really changes, the scenery is what brings excitement and variety to the journey! Whether it’s color, texture, or the final quilting, there are a million different roads to take and a billion different adventures to have along the way."

Nine Patch?

Oh, Yes, that is me.

So while I ruminated upon my love of Nine Patch blocks awhile

I remembered a WIP ...

... so I traveled back in time to Here

... revisted Here

... then I had to dig out this pile of Fig Tree scraps

and sewed three more 9 Patch Blocks this morning

... and the morning traveled away with me.

Phew ... what a morning road trip!

Time for lunch, a little gardening

and I will get back to blog hopping later today.

I has been a happy quilty morning.

May yours be a good one, too ... :-) 

It's Cool to Be Square Blog Hop

My Quilty Love Cross Stitch is finished and ready to hang!

Welcome to my post of the 

It's Cool to be Square Blog Hop @ Just Let Me Quilt

When I saw this blog hop announcement, I knew just what I wanted to show and tell.

I had recently finished stitching my

Quilty Love Cross Stitch Completed Here

I made some design options from the original pattern,

changing not only the colors, but leaving out some of the smaller hearts

and the ric-rac trim.

These finishing fabrics were in the plans before I picked my floss colors,

as fabric is always my first craft love.

All I knew was that I wanted to finish this cross stitch with these fabrics

but was not sure how to set it.

I decided that I did not want a traditional rectangular frame,
or one of the new trendy sticky board and plaque settings with bows and such.

I wanted something clean, crisp and modern,

like the cross stitch piece itself. 

I wanted to hang it on my wall.

My first thought was to make an actual quilt and give it a 

Faced Quilt Binding ~ Tutorial Here

... but I wanted something that would keep it smooth and flat.

Then I had another thought! 

I bought this this 24" square artist's canvas on a 50% off sale at my local Michael's

just before everything in my state shut down.



I used this artist canvas method many years ago Here
to display another blog hop project
and it has been in my mind to do so again.

It seemed the perfect way to display my cross stitch.



This was very much a figure it out as I cut and sewed  project.

The cross stitch design finished at 9" by 12"
so I knew the fabric would have to be pieced to make it fit the square canvas.
I knew from the start that I do not want the cross stitch itself centered
but off-set in the upper right corner.
I knew I wanted the bright aqua print to frame the cross stitch.
I also knew I wanted to feature the lovely large rose print fabric. 

Sew I cut a 2.5" strips and sewed the fabric to frame my cross stitch HERE

This is how the fabric finished before I attached it to the canvas.

It is square ... about five inches larger than the artist canvas.

I cut a square of thin batting 24" square to pad the top of the canvas.

Then I simply layered batting and "quilt top" and turned it to the back,

stretched it straight and evenly, 

and used my heavy duty stapler to fasten it.

The staples are easily removed if I ever want to clean it or change it up. 

Success!

I created something simple and uncluttered to show off my handwork and fabric.

I really love this method and will use it again to display my cross stitch projects.

Here it is inside on my sunny yellow bedroom wall.

It makes me smile.

May you enjoy all the cool square projects in today ... 

May 18

Creatin' in the Sticks

Life in the Scrapatch (you are here) 

Day Brook Designs

Songbird Design

The Darling Dogwood

Kathleen McMusing

Quilting Gail

Thank you to 

Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt

for hosting this fun blog hop.

It is very cool to be square ... :)