Two Tries for the Broken Dishes Block

The first version of broken dishes turned out way to big!  I'll be making it into a mug rug.  I was more careful to trim each half square triangle down to exactly 2 inches and this solved the problem for the second version.

Success, the block is now the same size as the rest of my set.  Now on to the basket one.  I think I'll be making it with pinks and browns.

Beginning a Friday Night Sew In

Go to Heidi's blog to sign up or get involved by reading what other quilters are working on tonight.

Tonight I hope to make progress on a cute table runner.  I need to have it ready to take to the quilt shop tomorrow afternoon for the monthly meeting. 

I'll be needing about 18 - 24 charm squares and a few 1 1/2 inch strips and some large ric-rac trim.  I am going to just about clear out one pack of Thimbleberries charms that are leftover from the quilt club 2 years ago! 
 

The pattern I'm following was provided by the quilt shop.

If I finish my "homework", I'll be rewarded with a wooden nickel that is good for 1 free fat quarter.

It didn't take long at all to do up the free motion meander quilting.  Then I sewed on the brown ric rac with a warm brown thread using a small zig zag stitch. 

Just a little more to do yet as far as some handquilting.  I just did a little to follow  along the sashing strips.  There was one minor blunder as far as the ric-rac goes.  I was waiting to attach the trim on the ends until the binding was sewn on, but I forgot to insert it and I had a bit of unstitching to do to get the ric rac under the binding in 4 small places.  Oh, well it didn't take too long to fix. 

I am happy that this runner is a good fit for the endtables pushed together.

It covers the top nicely and I enjoy having them function like a coffee table.  I have other tables that work better as endtables.

In this photo the quilting shows up a little better. 

I'll be off soon to a garden show and then I have a quilt meeting to attend to collect on my wooden nickel and see the other show and tell pieces.  Later tonight, I'll have fun browsing around the blogs of the other quilters that participated in the Friday Night Sew In.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Pink

I'm back with some more string style blocks to build my collection that I started making last year.

It was so fun to work on these over the weekend and make a dent in my pink scraps.  There were pieces from pajamas that I made a few years ago and from some recently made raggy jackets and even
a few treasured pink pieces from a Hollyhock Quilt I made for an exchange. 

There's plenty of pinkness left in my scrap bag, so I'll be dreaming something else to continue sewing something else before the end of March.

Check out the blog to find out more about the Scrappy Saturdays over at SoScrappy. 

Anticipating Spring

Swamp Inspired Mini Garden

I recently attended a session on miniature gardening at the local greenhouse.  We were learning about creatively planting little landscapes in containers.  There was a talk and demo involved and a couple of nice handouts.

After seeing that cute pink leaved spike plant, I brought one home.  I am keeping it in the kitchen until the weather is more mild outside.

Next session is to be held in May and it will possibly be a hands on workshop!  Hope it will fit in my schedule.

This was the sweetest little garden and it contains a parsley and a mini cyclamen with pink blossoms.  The plant in the front is a baby tears.  The wire gazebo has a mini chandelier.

Sow Along

Just wanted to share my 6 blocks for a sew along with Randi at Barrister's Block.  She will be letting us know what the next 3 blocks will be tomorrow.

I love the one in the bottom center best!  It was made with some of my leftover Prairie Paisley fabrics by Minick and Simpson.  The one in the lower right hand corner is my second favorite!  Must do more blocks with a bit of Cheddar!  It's brightness is quite attractive. 

I am challenging myself to use up bits of this and that and I am going to try to make all my blocks from what I happen to have on hand.  I'll be using up some Thimbleberries, and Moda fabrics and whatever coordinates with those that is in my large stash of leftover scraps and yardage that hasn't been cut.  Perhaps I will get something special for the sashing or look for some special prints for the back, but my plan is to use up what I already hoarded.