A day with Molly

I have the week off (I know I told some of you I have two weeks off, but last week was one of those two weeks, which I ended up working), and what better way to start my time off than unexpectedly getting to spend the day with my beautiful daughter, Molly.  

After working out together in the morning we ran errands and I mailed a bunch of packages -- including lots of June charm packs!  Forgive me for being so slow, KT, Jennifer, and Carla, but your charms are in the mail.  I get to deliver Terri's in person later this week.

And we have now have a week four winner --

Joanna (Creative Adventures)
Joanna, please contact me to claim your prizes from me and Kate Conklin Designs :)

After going out for lunch together and running a few more errands, Molly and I returned home to find a mailbox full of packages.  I received fabric to make a bee block and the last package from Material Obsession with fabrics and instructions for putting together the Sue Ross BOM.  

I'm too ashamed to mention how far behind I am on this....
Let's move on.


Another package contained my first Scrapbuster block for June (tutorial by Little Miss Shabby here -- I really love her blog!).
 

Mine is on the left, and the one on the right was made for me by Claudia (Armchair Quilter).  I'm having one bee make them for me this month and another bee make the same blocks for me in August.  
Two blocks down, and I'm already in love!


And then there was this package:

VERY exciting!

How much do you love my beautiful new pillow?  
The pillow was made by Jennie of Sunflower Quilts, and it makes me smile!
Hop over to her blog and see her sewing room.  It's amazing! 

After briefly kicking back to enjoy the pillow, 
Molly was filled with sewing inspiration and decided we needed to sew a gathered clutch.  Right now.

I love seeing her at my sewing machine 
(which used to be my mother's sewing machine)!

This is as far as we (well, mostly Molly -- I was just there for moral support) got before Molly left to have dinner with her wonderful boyfriend.  
Didn't she do a great job with her gathers?  
And guess what, Penny (Sew Take a Hike)?
I am no longer afraid of zippers!  I shortened it myself!
Now I just need to make a gathered clutch myself for Penny's 
gathered clutch swap (free tutorial here).


Thanks for the great day, Molly!  Run with me in the morning?


With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Pillow Talk Swap 3

I finished my pillow top for The Pillow Talk Swap, and I really hope my partner likes it!

I alternated Bright Hopes blocks: a print center surrounded by gray strips and gray centers surrounded by strips pieced with prints.I used the same pattern as the one I used for this 16" mini quilt top:

Pillow Talk Swap 3 has been a blast and so inspirational!  Definitely check out the flickr group if you haven't already!  

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Mini show and tell

I thought I would finish a quilt back or two today for the Spring to Finish challenge, but that never happened.  After spending a lot of time looking for good deals on fabric online without ever actually pressing that "buy" button and then grocery shopping, I didn't find any time for sewing until late in the afternoon.

I finished this Hope Valley 36 patch for a bee,

and these gnome homes for another bee,

and I finished a few more cross blocks.  Believe it or not, I'm actually running out of fabrics for each cross quilt and need to get more.  I still just can't make myself hit that "buy" button.

You should probably know that my beautiful daughter looked at me with her big eyes and flashed her movie star smile, and she will now be the happy recipient of the Nicey Jane + Essex cotton linen cross quilt.  It was only a matter of time really.

Actually, I did buy one thing online today -- the first issue of Fat Quaterly.

Seventy-eight pages of information, inspiration, patterns, articles, and giveaways! 

On Wednesday you saw that I am joining the Pillow Talk 3 Swap, and I am very excited about it.  I love the pillows that have come out of that swap in previous rounds.  Maybe I should make a practice pillow.  The only pillows I've ever made were the ones to match Molly's half hexagon quilt from last summer.

 I recently completed my first swap in a Flickr swap group.  This is what I received from Melanie (Crandons):

The swap was for the 1/2 yard of the Amy Butler fabric and the 1/2 yard of the FMF vines, but Melanie tossed in all these precious scraps!  Opening the package felt like Christmas morning, and I am convinced that no one could love or appreciate these scraps more than I!  And -- another believe it or not moment -- my first FMF ever!  It's about time!

And last, but not least, I prepped just a few more hexagon blocks for the ORBC quiltalong.

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Wordless Wednesday -- Pillow Talk Swap 3 Inspiration

1. DQS7 Finished 1, 2. Shoo-fly pillow 3, 3. pillow talk swap~ ready to ship!, 4. hope valley crosses , 5. Half Plate Green, 6. Plume Sails, 7. YIP 365.184:: Zen squares pillow, 8. If it's a boy quilt - front, 9. Coin Quilt from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, 10. String Pieced Pillow, 11. Good Folks String Quilt Top, 12. Pillow Talk Swap & Tutorial, 13.Untitled, 14. white banded patchwork pillows , 15. cheerful obsession, 16. Mauve

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1197421@N20/pool/

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan