It's a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Almost a year ago I agreed to participate in a house block swap that Barb organized. Today I put the finishing touches on my quilt and I am so happy with the way it turned out. Thank you Barb, Robin and Susan for great blocks!

I pretty much knew from the beginning that it was going to be put together a bit like a puzzle. I also added some birds.....

and some trees, just to make it like a real neighborhood.

I loved this one Barb made because there is always one house in the neighborhood that looks a little scary!

Robin added ric rac and I was careful not to quilt over top of it. This was her first swap and I think she did a great job!

Whenever you make a quilt without a pattern, issues are sure to arise. I had this giant big space that was too much of a hole and looked totally out of place. I did not want to take anything apart and had these hexie flowers hanging on my design wall. They practically jumped onto the quilt. I think they were the perfect solution. You know for sure there are flowers in my yard.

I had a bunch of these half square triangles leftover from the Vintage Farm Girl quilt. They worked well to fill in spaces. I won't lie, it was a lot more work but worth it in the end.

Here is a better shot so you can see all the different sized HSTs I used.

Thank you ladies, it was a fun quilt to make!

Kelly

Random Friday

Now you can see.....

why I had to remake

these blocks!
The recipients are probably thinking maybe this swap wasn't such a good idea. Not to fear, they are going in the reject pile. Seriously, what was I thinking? Some days....

Fallon

This was a week where I was off schedule. My granddaughter Fallon was in a district wide spelling bee. Seven schools competed and while she didn't win, her school did and they got to take home the big spelling bee trophy.
I have never been to one before and talk about nerve wracking! Oh it was fun though and I hope to go again next year. The kids were adorable and there were some tears. We were cheering for them all.

Tonight we are having some friends over for dinner. It is not fancy but I like to set a pretty table to make it feel special. Over the years I have found lots and lots of damask napkins. At first I avoided the ones with the initials on them, unless I found my own. Now it makes me wonder who took the time and love to embroider these so nicely. It's a shame if no one uses them.

I even ironed them this morning to make them look a little nicer. What do you think these initials are? I also like the size, they are big to fit your lap and stains seem to come right out. I even like them wrinkled.

Lastly, I am hooked on these EOS lip balms. I think the packaging is cute and they work great. The pink and white one smells like coconut suntan lotion and brings you right to the beach! I have them stashed everywhere.
Thank you for all the nice comments on my UFO pile quilt. It was a really fun exercise and I hope to do it again.

Kelly

Twice

It is freezing here today and the wind is blowing to make it feel even colder. Yesterday I cleaned up my sewing room from the crazed sewing for the holidays. I came across this design that I wanted to just try out in the bits and pieces that were strewn about.
Color is what it is all about on this cold gray day. I tried out glue basting my binding and had mixed results. I think it would work better with a larger piece, this is small 5 1/2 x 8 1/2. I had a hard time getting the miters correct. It did work though and I like the results on the long sections I will give it a try on the next one.

I am in a house swap and have my houses done but may redo one of them because they look pretty ho hum. Remember the nine patch swap that Barb hosted? I might combine the 2 swaps, we'll see.

Hope you are keeping warm!

Kelly

Friday

This has been a long week with very little sewing going on here. I am enjoying these blocks that can be made in less than an hour (not counting deciding on fabric) and using up my old Christmas/winter fabrics.

Isn't it interesting that you can see what you want to see sometimes and not what is actually there? For example this block "feels" like a Christmas block but there is not any Christmas fabric in it....oops I just saw the holly fabric that I used for the windows. Oh well you get what I mean.

Again except for the background all of these are not Christmas specific either.
I am not sure what will happen with these blocks but I am enjoying the simple picking and choosing and sewing without a plan.

Do you have a recipe box? I have a very vintage one and I love that it is loved and well used. I will admit I use online recipes, have my own binder of recipes handed down and who can live without the Joy of Cooking? Today I was looking for the Swedish Oatmeal cookies that Marian at guild brought that were a big hit a couple of months back.
There just is something simple and basic about opening a box and plucking out a recipe card in the handwriting of someone you love.

You never know what you will find......yep simple, basic and in the handwriting of a loved one.

PS If you want the recipe for the cookies let me know!
Kelly