WIPs With Friends

I did manage to force myself to sew over the holiday though.  

I am being very serious.  

Sewing seems like a chore at the moment. 

 I want this Hallowedding quilt finished, but have been DREADING the rest of the blocks. 

 Weird, huh?  

So I finally decided that I needed to see what the placement of the original blocks were

 and see how mine was really progressing. 

 That is the only way I could assess what I have left to make.

  Nothing like a little visualization to get me moving forward!

I wrote down the blocks I still needed to make and realized that some of the additional blocks that I had made fit in in place of some that the original quilt had!  

WOO HOO! 

 I still needed to make one more set of eyes.

And one bat

One set of 2 short potion bottles

One set of tall potion bottles

And holy cheese whiz Batman, this is what my background fabric for my first (of 2) spider webs looked like as I was cutting it out.

I laid it out to make sure everything went in the same direction.

Then I made my first spider web block!  

Sewing the curves was not difficult at all.

  Parts of the original pattern left a few things out that I had to figure out, 

but three hours later it was finished.

I have one more spider web left to make and then the Ring of Coffins.  

THAT'S IT FOR PIECED BLOCKS!!!!  

There are a few filler blocks that are just cuts of fabric. 

 I also need to measure everything and size up or down to make sure it will all fit together but otherwise I am good. 

 I have checked the size on about half of the blocks so far.  

Linking to Let's Bee Social

Now what are you working on??  Share with us!

~XOP~

Now it's your turn to link up your finishes here. 

 Remember that if you do post in the link up here

 you should post a link back to this post on your own blog too.

So now it's your turn to share what you are working on.  

Please use the linky to link up and share that you linked up to WIPs With Friends on your blog too.  If using Instagram please use the hashtag

#wipswithfriends.  

We can't wait to see what you are working on!

Use the blue Inllinkz button to link up and spread the word by linking back to this post!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanksgiving at my House

I hope all my American friends had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  

Ours was busy leading up to the dinner but relaxing after that.  

We cooked a turkey that our daughter raised and it was so good! 

 (Pay no attention to the rip in the skin)

My son came over with our (now his) dog.  

My daughter brought her peahen, Beep, who dined with us.  She loves mashed potatoes!

She doesn't really like my hubby so this is a rare photo!

All in all a good time was had by all.  What did you do on your turkey day?

~XOP~

WIPs With Friends

I can't say that I have anything new to share with you all, LOL. 

 The one thing that I would say I am currently working on 

(besides the Hallowedding quilt) 

is getting things ready for the QAL coming in the new year.  

I have made a blog button for it and put it on my side bar.  

Ocean Waves QAL

You can grab the html from the side bar and put this button on your blog if you are joining me.

I would appreciate everyone spreading the word too.  I hope we get a lot of people playing along.

My goal over Thanksgiving is to make 2 entire blocks.

One where the block finishes at 12" and one where it finishes at 16"

That is a LOT of HST!

OK, your turn.

What are you working on??

~XOP~

Now it's your turn to link up your finishes here. 

 Remember that if you do post in the link up here

 you should post a link back to this post on your own blog too.

So now it's your turn to share what you are working on.  

Please use the linky to link up and share that you linked up to WIPs With Friends on your blog too.  If using Instagram please use the hashtag

#wipswithfriends.  

We can't wait to see what you are working on!

Use the blue Inllinkz button to link up and spread the word by linking back to this post!

An InLinkz Link-up

Ocean Waves QAL Some Useful Tools

I have given this a lot of thought over the weekend and have decided that I will go ahead and do this as a QAL beginning after the new year.  

This will give you time to gather your ideas, some fabrics and a few tools.  

I made a test 1/4 of a block last night and used pretty small HST to do it. 

 I want to make a full on circle and see if I can live with that size or if I need to make it larger.  

I am also taking an online course to learn to us my EQ software so will try to plan this out in EQ.  Hopefully this will give me some ideas of yardage for you all. 

 I am going to use various navies and white with a smattering of colored bits.  

My friend, Norma, did this and I fell in love with her version.  

I thought she told me she used 2.5" squares for her HST, 

trimmed to 2" which means they finish at 1.5" in the block.  

I was wrong.  

Her HSTs were 2.5" and finished at 2" in the block. 

 This means my full blocks (the circles) would finish at 12" while hers were 16". 

 I think I'm going to make one of each and see how I like them.  

The test quarter I did last night was using the 2" and I have to say it was not too bad to put together. 

 I sometimes think that when you start making things bigger 

you have LOTS more room for things not to match up. 

 On the down side it does mean you have to trim precisely and 

sew the same if you want you pieces to match up.  

Using such high contrast as navy and white I certainly want my squares to match up!

I have a few things that I think will be essential for all of us to be successful with making this quilt.

The number one thing on the list of MUST haves is a Bloc Loc ruler.  

You will need to determine the size of the HST unit you want to use

 and purchase the closest size of ruler.  

Now you can always go to the bigger sizes, but remember you will have a LOT of HST to trim if you are making a queen size quilt like me!  

I find my precision is better when I use rulers closest to the size square I am trimming.  

I took out my 2.5" Bloc Loc ruler for my trimming.  

The amazing thing about these rulers is that the center if the ruler (on the underside) has a groove that LOCKS into your seam on your HST.  

Don't you just hate it when you are trimming and your ruler slips?

  This stops that from happening. 

 I LOVE my Bloc Loc rulers!  

You can find these rulers on their website here.  

The reason I am mentioning these things now is that Christmas is coming up and

 these rulers are a little bit spendy, but oh so worth it!  

I got Set#1 for Christmas a few years ago and have never regretted it!

Next up is the Clearly Perfect.  

Can you say amazing?  

I will not sew HST without it 

(unless they are gigantic and won't fit on the CP, of course). 

 The instructions tell you how to fit it to your machine 

(don't worry it is super easy).

Once you have it all set you can sew really nice HST using this.  

You put your squares together and set them up like in this photo. 

 The bottom "point" of the squares should line up with the far left line.  

You just keep that point on the line and sew. 

 Then flip the unit around and do it again.  

You cut them apart (point to point) and voila you have 2 HST!! 

 It takes a little bit of practice but once you get the hang of it 

you will wonder how you ever did them any other way.  

The good news is that we are trimming all the HST 

so close to perfect is fine for using this if you are unsure.  

Another tool to add to your Christmas wish list!

The next thing is a rotating cutting mat.  

When we will have so many HST units to trim this is essential!  

Joann's has them and you can use your coupon.

Lastly, another good tool is the 28mm Olfa rotary cutter. 

 You can see mine in the upper left hand corner of the photo above. 

 This blade size is wonderful for trimming small units.  

These are available at JAF as well so watch for these and maybe they will be on Black Friday sale!

You may want to invest in some additional blades too, as you will be trimming LOADS of HST!

So that is it for me for now. 

 I will try to have a WIPs with friends on Wednesday but 

I suspect my WIP will be getting ready for Thanksgiving!!  

How about you?  How was your weekend?

  Are you going to play along with me in this QAL?  

Think about the fabrics you want to use and get out there and get some of these great tools!

(or ask Santa to bring them for you)

Don't forget that if you post anything about the QAL to use our hashtag

#OceanWavesQAL

~XOP~

Ocean Waves Quiltalong (QAL)

Now you know which quilt I am wanting to make!  

It is an Ocean Waves quilt.  My friend, Norma, has made one that I *need* to make.  

This is a photo of her finished top.  

(with her permission)

What do you guys think? 

 Anyone interested in working on this with me?
I am planning on beginning this in the new year, so plenty of time to consider.

I have NOT mapped out a thing, but the QAL can go at your own pace.  We will choose fabrics, then talk about cutting and assembly of the main block.  

We can even make our own hashtag if you are on Instagram,

#oceanwavesQAL.  

So think about what colors you would like to use.  If you are unsure, just Google "ocean waves quilts" and you will see a LOT of inspiration!

  Or you can check out my Pinterest page, I have an Ocean Waves board.  

Who is in?? 

 I would love for some people to join in on this. 

Maybe I can make a button?  I guess I will give that a try.

Have a great weekend everyone and be sure and let me know if you will be joining in the HST fun!

~XOP~

Quilting Bees

I still don't have my sojo back but I did manage to get started on my bee blocks for November. 

 I cut them out and fused them now I need to stitch around them then out in the mail!

I love the big one.  

It reminds me of looking at the moon or Jupiter.  

It should be an interesting quilt when she gets all the blocks put together.

Are any of you in virtual bees? 

 What do you like about them?  

I like that I can make a few blocks each month.  

I also like that sometimes, I get to try things I might not otherwise have tried. 

The best part is that all the quilts go to someone that needs them. 

 It is a pretty simple way to give back and really does not take a huge amount of time.  

A bonus is that you get to use up some of your stash! 

 LOL.  

I can always use some help with that!

I should have a post talking about the QAL quilt that I want to make.

I may be making mine as a Leader Ender project too.

Are you all familiar with the Leader Ender concept?

Bonnie Hunter wrote a whole book about this.

She explains it all right here.

So check out the post tomorrow for info on the QAL quilt I want to make.

Maybe you would like to make one with me!

~XOP~

WIPs With Friends

Well I have done exactly nothing since making the scary eyes.  

I have, however, been collecting navy blue fabrics for an upcoming quilt. 

 I am on Instagram and under the #getyourquiltywishesgranted2 I asked for navy fabrics. 

 Think Neptune dark navy. 

 Like this.

The happy mail came pouring in!

I could not be more thrilled!  I am thinking about doing this quilt as a QAL in the new year. 

 That's all I am going to say for the moment. 

 My inspiration quilt lives in Texas and I am waiting for permission to share the photo of it.  

Once I have that I will tell you all about it. 

 Is anyone out there interested in a QAL starting in the new year?  

There are so many ways this quilt could be done.  As a two color quilt, or scrappy, or themed.  

The possibilities are only limited by what you can think up!  

Intrigued?   

Please leave me a comment and let me know if it is even worth my time to make it a QAL.  

Tutorials are a lot of work and if there is no interest I will just make my quilt and post progress.

~XOP~

Now it's your turn to link up your finishes here. 

 Remember that if you do post in the link up here

 you should post a link back to this post on your own blog too.

So now it's your turn to share what you are working on.  

Please use the linky to link up and share that you linked up to WIPs With Friends on your blog too.  If using Instagram please use the hashtag

#wipswithfriends.  

We can't wait to see what you are working on!

Use the blue Inllinkz button to link up and spread the word by linking back to this post!

An InLinkz Link-up

My Weekend

I had a fantastic weekend.  

I still don't have much desire to sew, which is unfortunate as I have a LOT to get done.  

I am hoping if I just choose a block and start on that maybe it will come back.

I did a lot of cleaning and errands on Saturday.  

Hubby printed out a pumpkin cake recipe that he wanted me to make so I decided that while I was watching me Spartans WIN for a change I would bake the cake.  

The recipe is from the Taste of Home website and you can find it here. 

 It was easy to do and the cake was fabulous.  

I substituted 1 cup of homemade applesauce for the 1 cup of oil. I think it was a great substitute.  

I did not miss the oil at all.  

Next time I would cut down on the amount of sugar.  It called for 2 1/2 cups of sugar!!!  

Trying to make it more WW friendly, if cake can be that! 

 I let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turned it out.

This is before I glazed it.  I used powdered sugar with some pumpkin pie spices in it for the glaze.

My best friend was never far away from me all weekend.  She has decided that she loves this quilt.  With the fuzzy back it is very soft.  

She laid near me while I did lessons 3 and 4 in my EQ7 class online 

(Craft University).

In addition, I made one more block for the Hallowedding quilt.

These eyes were from a Block Lotto post.

Aren't they so scary??

It was a little tricky to make and this pair took me about 2 hours!  

They do not give measurements but rather it is a tutorial on how to make them.  T

he thing that saved me was she had them laid out on the cutting mat 

so I could figure out the sizes she used to make this set. 

 I have another set of different eyes to make but I ran out of time.  

I hope everyone else had an enjoyable weekend too!

~XOP~

WIPs With Friends

I am back with my regularly scheduled posts now that the wedding is over. 

 I, in all honesty, have not really had a lot of time to do very much. 

Actually that's not accurate.

I have not felt like doing much since the wedding.

Post wedding let down, I think.

 I did put all the Hallowedding blocks up on my design wall but not in the order they will go in.  THAT is my big WIP for the moment. 

 I managed to purchase some freezer paper yesterday so I am hoping to be able to sew a few more of the Buggy Barn Basket blocks but that will be after today.  

This is what I have so far.

Sorry for the crappy photo but it was night and it is difficult to take a photo in my hallway!  

I can tell that I need more dark blocks .  

That was one good thing about putting all the blocks up on the wall.

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts

I did print out the next few blocks so that's also a start right?

~XOP~

Now it's your turn to link up your finishes here. 

 Remember that if you do post in the link up here

 you should post a link back to this post on your own blog too.

So now it's your turn to share what you are working on.  

Please use the linky to link up and share that you linked up to WIPs With Friends on your blog too.  If using Instagram please use the hashtag

#wipswithfriends.  

We can't wait to see what you are working on!

Use the blue Inllinkz button to link up and spread the word by linking back to this post!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Lost Is Found

I had an interesting pretty low key weekend.  

I am taking a class on Craft University that I will be blogging about when I finish.  

I did the first 2 lessons.  

Hubby has been working in the garage getting it cleaned up and organzied and he came across an old sewing machine caddy that was full of fabrics and blocks!!! 

 Unfortunately they all smelled awful! 

 I suspect they got wet or something.  

I brought them all inside and decided that I want to selvage them. 

 So I filled the washer with warm water and oxyclean and tossed them in. 

 They came out great!  

I did not want to dry in the dryer so I brought them into my quilt room and pressed them all dry.  Sigh.  

I still like them so I need to work on putting them into a quilt.  

The first set was a basket pattern by Buggy Barn.  

There was a LOT of extra fabric 

(which I also had to wash and still need to finish pressing)

Such soft colors. 

 I always think of these as "shabby chic" for some reason.  

I think I will make a few more so I can get a bed sized quilt.  Still thinking about this though.  

Next up are some bunnies.  

The patterns are from the book Grandma's Bunnies by Darcy Ashton.

I did fusible and then hand stitched around them all.

That bunny fabric on the left is actual vintage fabric.

So is that cat fabric on the right.

I also took a photo of my growing "keeper" collection, just for fun.  

I added the one on the far right during our trip to NY this year.

If you see one I don't have please feel free to point me in the right direction!

Happy Monday!

~XOP~

Hallowedding

For anyone that reads this blog regularly you all know that my daughter got married last weekend.  She is a VERY unconventional woman and did this entire thing her way.  

Did her parents always agree with her choices? 

No we did not, but we were there to support her every step of the way.

Most of my time in the past month has been dedicated to wedding prep.  

I am still working on the Hallowedding quilt but 

have not had a spare minute to do one more thing this past week. 

 I will, however, share some wedding photos. 

 I did not take many pictures so that I could be in the moment. 

 We had a professional photographer so there will be family photos from that session.  

I will share a few I did manage to take with my phone though.

The weekend started with us prepping the reception hall. 

 Eric's mom, sister, nephew, my other daughter and I did most of the hall set up. 

 Eric and his dad did a lot of unloading as did my hubby.

First up was putting up the Happy Hallowedding poster for the selfie station. 

 My friend's mom was an artist when she was alive.  

She drew the haunted house scene.  My friend put in the lettering and the costumed raven.

Directly across from the selfie station were things to wear, just in case you didn't dress up. 

 There were all kinds of glowing toys too for the kids. (and the adults)

This is what the hall looked like once we had the tables all decorated.

Since there was no wedding party we just gave the bride and groom their own table.

Eric's mom and sister did a fantastic job with the Trick-Or-Treating station!

I made this weird veggie skeleton.  

I also made a cheeseball that looked like a spider but apparently I did not take a photo of that!

Even though my daughter asked me not to make a bouquet I could not resist!  

The Hydrangea's came from Eric's grandmother's garden and the Allium from my friend's garden.  

I spray painted and glittered them, then Kelsey and I used the purple ribbon to wrap the stems.

I did receive a frantic phone call about an hour before we were supposed to leave saying Eric needed an orange pocket square for his suit and could I make him one. 

 So I took a photo of several oranges and she chose this one 

(it has Halloween themed prints on it).

Also, in that same phone call, "we left our glasses at home can you go get them?"  

Adding an hour to our time for dollar store glasses?  

Nope.  

I had some Waterford glasses that we had given to my parents for their 50th anniversary.  

They were not exchanging rings so wanted to drink from each other's glasses at the ceremony.  

She said she wished they still had the wine they had made a few years ago to do the toast with. 

 I opened my cupboard and asked, "Oh you mean this?"  

LOL.  

I still had my bottle!  

So I packed it in my cat wine tote and brought it all with us.

This is the only photo I have of myself dressed up!  I took it in my kitchen just before we left.

Here are the bride and groom.  I really love that bouquet!

My beautiful daughter!

The teeny, tiny chapel.

 Toasting station.

I loved her hair piece and her shall.  Peacocks galore!

The handsome groom!

Exchanging vows

Drinking from each other's glass

The kiss!

 The certificate (even though the legal ceremony happened at the court house on Monday)

Party time.  Everyone was getting into costume.  

My other daughter and her boyfriend went as Amelia Pond and the Doctor.  

And while I completely HATE this photo of myself I am posting anyway.

I went as the peacock queen and hubby went as a peacock trainer.

The back of my tutu was so much prettier.  I hand sewed the feathers to the tutu.

I didn't get a photo of my son but I know that the photographer did.  

I have to show you the cake. 

 It came from Cake Crumbs in Southfield MI and I would totally recommend them!

Shelby's friend made the peacocks for the cake topper and they were so sweet.
You can find her work here.

The male has his wing around the female.  

LOVE how his tail ended up in cupcakes!  

All different flavors of cake, made it really fun!

The sign out front of the hall.  I had to basically beg to get them to do this for me.

The "Mad Scicntists" entrance to "She Blinded Me With Science"

They didn't want to cut the cake it was so beautiful.  

I did buy them a cake knife with their names and the date on it 

as well as the server that had an etched peacock on it. 

(again I forgot to take any photos)

They chose Cake By The Ocean as the cake cutting song.

They were nice to each other with the cake.

First dance.

Daddy daughter dance.

Mother son dance.  

Mom and dad went as Amy Farah Fowler and Sheldon Cooper, the later years.

Our fabulous DJ Joey, put this together. 

 My niece, Jane wore the T-Rex costume and she was a HUGE hit on the dance floor!  

If you need a DJ you should totally look him up!  

Hubby and I dancing, Shelby and Eric, friends, and the bottom one is most of my husband's family.  Plus you can see my son standing in front of me, next to the groom.  

(I know, doesn't he look just like Chris Pratt?)

If this photo is any indication of what is to come, I can't wait to see Amber's pics.

Amber Yanovich was our photographer.  You can contact her through her website.

I will have more pictures once we get some back from Amber.  

I hope anyone else that took photos will 

use the hashtag #happyhallowedding to post whatever photos they did take.

~XOP~