Needles and Pens

Yes, he is finally here! Our baby grandson, Mason Mitchell, was born on Wednesday, September 26, at 10:32 a.m., a beautiful, healthy, nine pound, 4 ounce bundle of joy. Mama and baby are home from the hospital and doing well. We're all so happy the waiting is over. He is so precious! Just like his big brother, Aaron, so proud of his baby brother. And I am SO proud of him. :o) Yes, I am one happy Mom and Grandma. Here's the quilt I made for Mason, which has been all hush-hush until now. I wanted to do something extra special with this quilt, so I had it longarm quilted by Marcia Wachuta from Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting . She did a beautiful job with the swirls and hearts. I love it! I'm going to free-motion quilt like this someday... I couldn't wait to get the binding on so I could get it washed and see it in all it's crinkly goodness. I finished a baby quilt for my niece the same week, so I had to take a shot of the cous...

Still no new grandbaby... The due date has now passed, so we're all getting a little stir crazy around here, and when I need a distraction, I tend to sew -- a lot. I've sewn three baby quilt tops in the past three days: A " Wickedly Easy Quilt " from ByANNIE.com, all in dusty, mauvy pinks mostly from the 1980's. (Hate having to admit it, but that really sounds vintage these days. And one of these prints was from a skirt that I wore in high school, so what does that say about me? Wait. Don't answer that. LoL) I ad libbed a little bit on the border: A Sunday mystery quilt, by Cindy Carter of Quilt Patterns from Seattle . Today Cindy posted the photos that have been sent in from the mystery on her blog. If you'd like to see all of the pretty color combinations (or download the pattern), you'll find them here . And here's mine: And today I finished piecing a UFO that was originally for Judy Laquidara's monochromatic challenge last year...

Another week has passed and I still don't have a new grandbaby to brag about. Darnit! My poor daughter is two days away from her due date and feels like she's about to burst. Hang in there, baby. It can't be long now! Meanwhile, t-shirts are ready for baby's big brother and sister when the big day arrives (iron-on embroidered letters)... we are beyond prepared. LoL Last week I mentioned how I had fallen in love with a certain CQUSA mystery quilt , and made three in a row using the same pattern. Well now I can share the second of the three -- this was the original "mystery quilt." Starting out, I knew only that I wanted to make a baby girl quilt for my niece's baby shower (she's expecting in November), and that if I used half the number of fabrics called for, I'd get closer to baby quilt size. Here are the fabrics I chose, six fat quarters and Kona white for the sashing: After cutting, the first step was to make these little 8-1/2...

I've been making a lot of gifts lately, so haven't been able to share as I go, but there is one I can share today for Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday , a gift to my husband's longtime friend and co-worker, who is courageously fighting a battle with cancer. I fell in love with this pattern during a recent CQUSA mystery (I made a baby quilt, which I can't share quite yet), and for the first time ever, I've made three quilts in a row using the same pattern. It goes together really quickly, is perfect for showcasing larger prints and is very fat quarter friendly. The full pattern is made up of twelve 18" blocks plus sashing. This one is half that, with only six blocks, measuring approximately 46 x 66 inches. Countless prayers for our friend are stitched into this quilt, and my hope is that he will feel our love for him whenever he uses it. Our prayers continue for Joel and his family... for strength, for healing, and for peace that passes un...

Among the flood of touching 9/11 tribute photos and status updates on Facebook this morning, I came across a link for the 9-11 Day Tribute Movement and the message, "Good deeds unite us on 9/11." How perfect, to commemorate this day by doing good deeds! So I made my pledge: Today I will (finally) sew some quilt blocks for Quilts of Valor , "to honor and comfort our wounded service members and veterans." It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time now, and what better day than today? And so, I will sew -- and remember... (Stay tuned for updates) 1:20 p.m. Okay, so I decided to go with the Breezy 4-Patch pattern from Lyn Brown's Layer Cake Quilts download. And here are my first four blocks. (Beware, this might make your eyes water a little bit.) Gag! Large prints apparently NOT the way to go! Lesson learned. Going back for round two -- with something a little more subdued in mind... 5:30 p.m. Four hours and several int...

I guess it's pretty obvious that I cried, "Uncle," a few months back, but this makes it official. LoL I was NOT up to the challenge! On the bright side, though, I did get a lot more done than I would have without challenging myself. This doesn't mean I've given up on all of my projects, of course, just that I'm taking the pressure off. I've fallen far enough behind that it would take a miracle to "catch up" by the end of the year. The blasted kitchen is still coming along. The window is in. (Just doesn't have any trim yet.) The baseboards are done. I still don't like the wall color... or maybe it's the cabinets... ugh. Are you as tired of my kitchen as I am?? And now we're entering into fall, which is when I tend to hide out in my sewing room a lot. I've been quilting like mad lately, and should have a few finishes to share here very soon. And we're expecting a new grandson any day now... And... And... So that...