Priority Swapping.

1. Double Wedding Ring - I decided to get this quilt out again and stack it on my piano and now it is stacked on the safe.  I am doing okay on this project.  I pin until other things of greater priority develop.


2. Wild Horse Quilt  - I am making the quilt that will be raffled off during the wild horse event for this year.  I have been working on it the last two days.  I made great progress today but still have to stitch the appliqué portions before I sew it all together.  I like the colors and the pattern is from a book I have had a few years (Material Obsession).  The colors were so similar so I decided to keep it simple for me and follow a super cute pattern.  I stacked it up until this next week.


3. Diaper Bag, Receiving Blankets, Crib Sheet - We got news that our family was expecting their little addition a little sooner than expected ( about three weeks early).  I had to get on it asap so I packed the quilt on the floor away as quickly I could by getting most of the quilt sewn together.  Then I gathered the fabric and got started.



I made my Slouchy Bag pattern in new fabrics and loved the combination.  I plan on updating the pattern with some new pics.  I got the items finished a little after the new addition arrived ( a few hours).  I plan on dropping them off tomorrow and getting to see the little one in person.  I was hoping to have all my items ready but I have a few more little things to add, but that will give me an excuse to drop by later and see the new addition again.  So actually, that is a better plan.






4. Laundry - Unfortunately laundry has again jumped up the priority list so tomorrow at some point I need to dedicate a little bit of time to that not so much fun thing.  The pile is so big and the options are getting slim for the kids.  Positive side of that is that I am pretty good at finishing it fairly speedy so no worries and then maybe I could get a little bit more finished on my Priority List.



5. Long Arm Pile - There is one other pile and it isn't Laundry.  I have a little bit to catch up on and a quilt to make.  But they are going to have to wait at least for now because we have friends for the weekend staying with us.

First I will start out with my newest pattern. I absolutely needed something new for Valentine's Day and so this little table runner and pillow was born. Hope you like it. I used fabric from a very sweet sewer that I meant at quilt market.  So here is my first yellow addition to this snowy time of year.  It has a little bit of yellow mixed in.  Also, again this pattern is available in my Etsy and Meylah pattern shops.

(Riley Blake's ribbon trim)

The ribbon I used is most most favorite at the moment (It is one of Riley Blake's trims).  It is little flowerettes stitched together, it couldn't be more sweet.  I thought it would be fun to make a heart out of the ribbon and stick it on this really simple pillow.  I think it worked out pretty nice :)

(This is my favorite block)

(This is my favorite row ;)

So it has snowed a lot here!  and I am sure everywhere.  Some interesting things about our backyard is one... it is small, two... we have lots of creatures that spend the winters with us.  Here are my sewing partners (which is what we call them in our house).  There are three deer, really four but I think the fourth is out of the picture, that are nestled in this picture.  They are about 20 feet away.  We like them.  They like our backyard.  Living in the "city", it is crazy that I get to enjoy so much wildlife which I would have never imagined coming from the country.  Even during the summer we have crazy racoons and skunks.  My favorite is then the deer have their little ones in the spring.


Second yellow thing.  The second yellow thing I made was a cute Kimberbell pattern.  I met her and her sister at quilt market and I have never stopped saying the nicest things about them because they were so so nice.  I love this pattern.  I actually have a little love banner that I haven't finished but I wanted to hang it up for our sewing group that met last night at my house.  It sure is cute.  I am in love with yellow right now as I mentioned.


What I really love about this quilt though is that I again got to practice my background quilting.  It was very fun and I love the final look it gave this quilt in particular.  The stitching really "pops" (truly stands out physically), along with the other appliqué parts.


Also, in my borders I did some circle loops and added that fun swoop heart.  I couldn't be happier with how great it feels to make great progress on long-arming and I am feeling tons of relief now because it was shaky at first and I was doubting the whole situation.


Our sewing group was a such a fun thing.  We are making Kimberbell's Land of Liberty pattern.  I got to meet her at Quilt Market and it was a pleasure to pick her pattern for our group this year.  This month went especially well because I was able to hear from others about their progresses this past month.  We aim to finish the quilt by the fourth of July just in time to display.  Hopefully, I will get pictures at that time to share.  Also, I got to gift them that cute heart table runner from last post.  I love quilting and sharing it with others is a real joy :)

I have a few things to share today. First off I am feeling a little more comfortable with my craft.  I have a whole roll of batting under my belt so I think that has contributed to my confidence.  Before I share - FEBRUARY IS HERE!!!  I am so happy with that.  I got through all the stuff last month had to offer and this month has been a breath of fresh air.  I love February.  I am going to have a birthday this month and for quite sometime I have felt that this time of the year is especially lucky for me.  I sometimes am lucky.  I don't know what it is but there always seems to be windfall of things that come to me in February.  Maybe it is a consequence of my optimism that I build up this month.

Oh Beautiful Panels... I pretty much love them now.  I hope to get more.  I might end up with quite the collection of them in the future.  This little panel is from Riley Blake's Woodland Tails.  What can I say, I have a soft spot in my heart for skunks.  It must be my roots in the country.  I am positive that truly is what caught my eye in this one.  Most importantly, the panel allows for me to practice my fill/background fill in - you guessed it the background of the panel.



I did a small stipple in the blue background and then did a traveling swirl inside the circles around the little creatures.  I should have took a close-up of the skunk but it was clear at the bottom.  The snow is NOT easy to take pictures in and my sewing room doesn't get much light inside this time of the year.



I tried a new way to place my label.  This is a three-dimensional corner piece that has my label on it.  I really like this option because it doesn't effect the quilting on the front of the quilt which is great.  It slips in easily when the binding is attaching to the back quilt.  The first pic is showing the dimension and then second is showing how it lays flat to the quilt.

(all the beautiful quilting)

Look at all the cute binding!!  I used some orange and yellow scraps for the binding.  I almost bound it in pink but yellow is really steering my eye this month.  I have a few more yellow things to share once they are quilted.  I am trying to lend care to some quilts for our home lately.  I haven't finished anything for our happy little abode for a couple months now, I think if I recollect right.  I have two sitting waiting to be finished.

I was feeling the loving spirit.  I made a cute table runner for valentines.  This gave the perfect excuse to quilt swooping hearts.  I have had this material for a bit.  I got the mini-squares from Quilt Market and the bundle is from a while ago, both from Moda fabric lines.  I can't believe how quick it was to quilt the runner.  I put it on and then I pretty much took it off.

Here is my newest pattern and it is avaible in my Etsy and Meylah shops. I am super excited to share. It is called the Baby Dash. I have made it with the new line "LadyBug Garden" by Riley Blake Designs. I think that the fabrics are adorable. I enjoyed cutting these happy little bugs up. I also quilted this quilt with my long arm and it was one of the lucky ones, it turned out. I quilted with white thread so the piecing would stand out, although it makes it a little tuff to see the pattern in pictures. It looks cute in person. I'm glad to share :)
I made a block that represented a little ladybug.  That is how much the fabric just pulled me right in.  This block can be substituted in the large quilt if you want some lady bugs crawling through it.  Also, the floating border it a fun addition.  It is a simple but stunning baby quilt that is very fun to make (I've made this pattern 3 times now).

(little embroidery to make the ladybug fly)

(back label, isn't the ladybug garden cute :)

Well, I hope you love it like I do. I can't wait to share the next one. This week is going to be tons of fun.