Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Hedgehogs and grapes - Building Blocks Tuesday


Hedgehog 1

I've been working on my hedgehog blocks from the Fancy Forest pattern by Elizabeth Hartman (**affiliate link).  WOW, they sure do take a while to complete.  I've got a few more to finish up.  Hopefully, I will be able to share them all next week.

I've been having a little fun too.  This past weekend, the hubby and I were able to get away and tour the Napa and Sonoma valleys with some friends.  It is hard to believe that it is in the same state as us since the landscape is so different.

Untitled

It was just as hot as home, but instead of desert, there were gravevines as far as the eye could see.

Untitled

We had a fabulous time.  I recommend going if you ever have the chance.

What blocks have you been working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page on your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jennie


***This post may contain affiliate links.  If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links, I may be compensated, but at no additional cost to you!

Friday, August 26, 2016

Rainbow Road - a finish Friday

A finish!

Rainbow road

Reagan is surveying my quilting on this Strip and Flip quilt that I am calling "Rainbow Road".  I made two of these tops with the intention of donating one to the quilt auction coming up on September 24th, 2016 in Blue Jay, CA, that benefits the Ability First camp in Crestline.

I was inspired to make this quilt a while ago when I saw my roommate, the lovely Heidi from Buttons and Butterflies, binding one in our hotel room at QuiltCon 2015 in Austin, TX.  It took me that long to get it going!

I am also proud to say that this is the 2nd quilt that I have quilted on my longarm.  I was having a lot of trouble on my practice pieces doing my favorite spirals.  When I was first learning to FMQ on my domestic machine, I found that if I just did a whole quilt with one quilting design, by the end I was much better at it!  So, I implemented this same strategy on the longarm.  I am happy to report that it worked!  My first few spirals were oval or squarish, but by the end, they were round and nesting nicely.  Hooray!

The other Rainbow Road top is destined to be for my oldest daughter.  She had been waiting patiently for me to make a quilt for her.  She is only 10, so she has only been waiting a decade.

Oh, and here is the back, in case anyone is curious.

back of Rainbow Road



Thanks for reading today,


Jen




Linking up with:



  
**This post may contain affiliate links.  If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links, I may be compensated.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Fox blocks - Building Blocks Tuesday


Foxes for Fancy Forest quilt



More work on my Fancy Forest pattern by Elizabeth Hartman (**affiliate link) blocks!   I finished up all the fox blocks, don't they look cute?  I still need to make the fireflies, hedgehogs, and thistle blocks.  I'd really like to get this quilt finished by our guild's quilt show next month, but I am not sure that is realistic.  While I should be able to spend more time sewing now that the kiddos have gone back to school (TODAY!!!!!), I realize that means that there are truly just more things that will be added to our calendars and to-do lists.  Only time will tell if I can get it done.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my post last week asking for input regarding the link up choices.  For now, I've decided to just use the free version that allows text links.  I may change my mind if participation really drops off.  I certainly don't want to make things more difficult for those of us who still like to participate.  For a while now, us bloggers have faced a decline in readers, traffic and comments due to the popularity of Instagram.  But, I feel like I am now seeing a decline there too.  Perhaps that means that more eyeballs will be perusing the blogs again??  Again, only time will tell.

What blocks have you been working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page on your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jennie


***This post may contain affiliate links.  If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links, I may be compensated, but at no additional cost to you!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Linky renewal survey - Building Blocks Tuesday

Hello, fabulous readers!  I have a question for you today regarding Building Blocks Tuesday.  It is time for me to renew my linky subscription and wow! has it gotten pricey (almost triple what I was paying last year).  My question to you is: how much of a difference does having the thumbnail (picture) links below make in your decision to link up AND to click thru to other links?  If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment below, I would greatly appreciate it!  I only have until the end of this week to make a choice.  If I choose not to renew, Building Blocks Tuesday will NOT go away, it will just have text links instead of pictures (because those are free!).  Thank you!

Today, I have some more We Bee Canadian bee blocks to share.  These are Delectable Mountains for Margaret.

Delectable Mountain blocks for Margaret


You can see one of Margaret's Delectable Mountain Quilts HERE.  It is pretty neat to see how they go together.

I've got a little over a week before the kids return to school.  It is only half days for the first week (why do they do that??), but I hope to spend a bit more time in my studio once they are back in the classroom.

What blocks have you been working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page on your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jennie



***This post may contain affiliate links.  If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links, I may be compensated, but at no additional cost to you!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

More broken herringbone blocks - Building Blocks Tuesday

My, has summer just flown by or what?  We had a fabulous time on our travels, but I am happy to be home.  Now, if I could just get back into the swing of things!

Before we go any further, I would like to give a huge round of applause to the fabulous ladies that kept Building Blocks Tuesday going while I was away:  Celine, Mary, Kate, Leanne and Jen did a great job.  They each shared some inspirational blocks and projects.  Thank you again, Ladies!

This week, I'm catching up on some things.  I've made my bee blocks for July for Shelly in the We Bee Canadian bee.  She was sweet and understanding that they would be a little late.  Luckily, she chose the same block that she requested earlier in the year: the broken herringbone blocks.

More Broken Herringbones, 1


More Broken Herringbones, 2


More Broken Herringbones, 3


I say, "Luckily", but I actually had more trouble making these this time around.  Not because they are difficult, but more because I just couldn't focus properly.  Getting back into the swing of things is sometimes hard.  While making these, I managed to trim one of the blocks improperly, resulting in the need to rip out a strip and replace it.  I also got some of my brown sashing strips mixed up with some darker brown strips of the same width that I was using in my Fancy Forest blocks.  It was off just enough that I had to take apart a few sections of two of the blocks to get it right.  I doubt that anyone would have been able to notice the difference in shades when the whole quilt is put together, but I could notice it when looking at each block.  Thankfully, I had exactly enough brown to finish these up properly.

What blocks have you been working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page on your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jennie


PS:  I also want to take a minute and apologize for my rant last week.  Given the tragedy that our nation endured just a few days earlier, it was incredibly selfish and insensitive of me to go on and on about my own troubles.   I do live it a bit of a bubble here, but that is no excuse.  Please forgive me.




***This post may contain affiliate links.  If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links, I may be compensated, but at no additional cost to you!


PS.


In case you were wondering, we really did have a wonderful time on holiday!  How could you not at a place like this...

a view of Lanai from Maui

There was another family that built a sandcastle each day during their stay.  My girls watched from afar the first few days, but then could resist "helping" them for a few days.

the girls help build a sandcastle

There were a lot of turtles resting on our beach this year.  This is just one of them, with Olivia in the background.

Yes, that turtle is bigger than her!

Lizzy also got a pair of live lizard earrings (for a few minutes anyway).

Live lizard earrings

We left Maui and returned home for one day before going to Colorado, where we hiked, gained 10 pounds from all the delicious food, went rafting, horseback riding, and generally had a great time.

We paused during one of our family hikes for a little rock climbing and gymnastics.

On our family hike.

The grown ups even got in some golf with the wildlife.

Deer on golf course

I went on my first fly fishing experience and caught (and released) this nice rainbow trout.

My first catch of the day in the Eagle River, CO

Lizzy went fishing later in the week and caught her own.

Lizzy catches her own rainbow trout.


Now that we are back, I am still waist deep in laundry and have a ton of yard work to do.  But, it will either get done or it won't, right?

Have a great week!

Jen







Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Wrapping up - Building Blocks Tuesday

Our guest hostess schedule is wrapping up this week with the lovely Leanne at Daisy and Jack.  Leanne is so talented, please go visit her today to see what she has made for this week's Building Blocks Tuesday.  And if you have an extra minute or two, skip back a few posts because Leanne doesn't just quilt, she makes all kinds of fabulous things!

Here was the schedule for guest hosts for the summer!  Feel free to go back if you missed someone.
As always, thanks for reading!

Jennie