Twas the Night Blog Hop

 

 

Yup, I've joined another blog hop!  This one caught my attention because we are to make **quick** Christmas projects...not huge quilts.  These projects are to be week end projects, one nighter projects, or only require a few hours or less to complete.  Even though I'm always pushed near the holidays (purely my own fault), I thought this hop would not take the time commitment that many other hops require.  And this one has a bonus..... we will be gifting one of the other bloggers with our creation(s)! 

 

Hmmmmm..... I'm thinking that this fabric has it's name written all over this blog hop!  What do you think..... appropriate fabric??!!

 

 

 

 

I haven't started my project(s) yet, but have tons of ideas swimming around in my brain.  I don't know when I'll be posting or who I'll be gifting..... those details will come soon.  Please stop back by to see what I've made and see what the other bloggers will make too.  This is great timing for people like me who wait until the last minute to make gifts.  I'll get lots of ideas from the other hoppers and will still have from the end of November until Christmas to complete them.

 

Twas the night before

Christmas........

Oliver's Quilt

As many of you know, my cat, Oliver, passed a few months ago.  I had been planning to make a little memorial quilt for him and I just finished it.  Several months ago, Oliver "won" some George Washington fabric in a giveaway.  Go Here for that post.  Long story short, he won the fabric because his birthday was on Washington's birthday and his middle name was Washington.  I used that fabric for the focal point of this little wall hanging.

 

 

 

 

 I wasn't sure how to quilt the center panel because I didn't want to dissect George's face.  I ended up doing a 4 1/2" grid which worked pretty well. 

 

 

The corner squares, which you would assume would have patriotic quotes in them, actually have cat quotes in them. 

 

 

And my label.  The last names have been blurred to protect the innocent.  ;) (This can be enlarged with a click.)

 

 

 

Overall, I'm pleased with this little wall hanging.  I'll be displaying it on all of the patriotic holidays but, of course, I'll be remembering Oliver every day.

 

See You In September Blog Hop

Wow...... summer has just flown by and we are now entering my favorite time of the year.... fall.  I love the cooler weather and crisp leaves..... We aren't quite experiencing this yet but will be very soon.  And with fall on the horizon comes a new batch of inspiring blog hops starting with:

 

 "See You In September."

 

 

As with so many of our wonderful hops, Madame Samm from Sew We Quilt, has put this one together for us.  Our cheerleader and blog organizer for this hop is Shari from Living With Purpose.  I have to thank both of these great ladies for all of the behind the scenes work, organization, and communication that must take place for these hops to hit the ground running.

 

"See You In September" was announced a few months ago, giving us time to make three projects to show on our designated day.  One of those projects was to include some fabulous Riley Blake gingham.

 

I have to admit that my summer sewing plans were put on hold until the middle of August and then it was time to get busy.  Phew.... I hustled and got them done!

 

Here's the first project..... I guess I could claim this as my three projects but I don't think this would be quite fair.  ;-) I made 

three fabric bins, each one using Riley Blake gingham as either the lining or the outside of the bin.

 

 

 

Three nested together....

 

And next to each other, large, medium, and small. 

 

Large.... this one would be a great napping spot for a cat to curl up in. 

 

Medium....hmmm..... maybe a kitten would like to nap in this size.

 

And small.... maybe for cat toys? (I always seem to be thinking about cats!)

 

Of course there are multiple uses for these bins.  Everything from cats to fabrics and sewing supplies.  You can find the free pattern for these bins at  Matryoshka Bins.

 

Next up is a little wall hanging that I made for a swap this summer.  It has been mailed and received so I can now show pictures of it.  And I must, again, apologize for these photos.  The project is now gone and I never had a nice day to photograph this wall hanging outside. 

 

 

 

 

 

The free sewing machine applique pattern  that I used can be found at Sew Can She.

And last up is a large tote bag that I made for the same swap as the hanging above.  I wanted to use some more of that great Riley Blake gingham for this bag.

 

 

 Here's a close up of the flower/button embellishment.

 

 

 

And the inside...  I don't have anything to show you the scale, but it could hold a pillow form or two....or lots of groceries, whatever.

 

 

This easy, free tote bag pattern can be found at

Pieceful Kwilter.

 

I should have had many more projects ready to show you but at least I managed to get my three projects finished.  I've done some more sewing since making these projects and will post soon.

 

Thank you so much for visiting today.  Now I hope you will continue your blog hopping and visit the other bloggers that are joining me today.  I'm loving that we get to see three projects on each blog so we will be overflowing with inspiration!

 

Thursday, September 4

Jane's Quilting
Life in the Scrapatch
Sew Many Yarns
Gracie Oliver Arts (that's me!)
Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Thanks for visiting today..... Happy Hopping!