Finished another project!

I managed to finish the mini quilt I was making for my secret sister. I mentioned earlier that she was going through I rough time, but I found out yesterday that she'll be in the hospital for another 2-3 weeks! I started cutting the fabric for this quilt on Tuesday night and sewed and quilted it on Wednesday. All told, it probably only took 3-4 hours to complete. I like the satisfaction you get from projects that come together quickly. I need one of those every once in a while...


I think it turned out very bright and cheery and very patriotic looking. It took 21 charm squares to make this quilt (excepting the border of course). Each block is 3". I also used the leftover fabric from the tote bag for the backing.


I only quilted in the ditch on this mini quilt because the fabrics are so busy, you wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

This past week I've also been sewing together a ton of pet bandanas. I had cut them all out a couple of years ago and then got sidetracked. I'm now determined to finish all these projects just lying around and have been stitching them whenever I get a chance. There are actually 5 different sizes for a total of probably 250 bandanas. I still have to turn them all right side out, iron them and stitch down the tops for the collars to slip through. However, I'm very happy that I've at least got all of them stitched together. Here's a picture of the largest size ones.


You may wonder why I'm making these. That's a good question. Initially I was going to sell them on ebay. But now I'm thinking I might donate them to raise money for spaying/neutering pets. There are so many animals out there having litter after litter. That's why my parents now have 6 cats living in their garage. And there aren't enough people to adopt and care for all these cats and dogs. I'd love to adopt them all, but that isn't feasible. If I find that I can raise more money by selling them myself, I may resort to that and just donate the money to the charity. I'll decide when they're done. Until later, stay cool!

Getting some serious sewing done!

I've really been trying to concentrate on my UFOs as of late. I signed a 'contract' with my quilt bee to finish 10 of them by the end of the year and I'm no where close to being finished. After the Garden Gatherings top posted here, I have another 7!!! to complete by December 31st. Luckily most of them are only quilt tops.

The latest one I finished is called Garden Gatherings by Lisa Bongean. She makes such beautiful primitive quilts. It was a BOM I purchased through Kaye Moore. I started the quilt in January 2008 and managed to do a block each month of last year. There are about 200 scrappy HSTs in the borders and those were kind of time consuming. I'm pleased with how it turned out, but now it will go on the shelf of completed quilt tops until I finish some of my other UFOs.



I've also been working at night on hand appliqueing my blocks for the Baltimore Halloween BOM by P3 Designs. I've finished the first 3 blocks so far. Now I have to get started on my 3rd block for the Ladies of the Sea quilt for my husband.




I also received a package in the mail today from Hancocks of Paducah! I LOVE getting packages in the mail. I had ordered 5 yards of fabric and 5 charm packs (all on sale of course). They accidentally included 3 yards of fabric I didn't order. But when I called to tell them, they told me to keep it! Yippee! It was all batiks so I know I'll be able to use it. The bottom 3 fabrics are the ones I didn't order, but aren't they beautiful?


And here are the charm packs. I know I have a bit of a thing for them. I collect them right now, but one day plan to make lots of quilts with them.


So far this blogging thing is a lot of fun! Until next time...