Summer projects and a winner!

I have just over a week until Fall Quarter begins and I am trying to check off a few projects from the to-do list. This week:

Canning. Check.

We had half a bushel of peaches from North Carolina minus as many as we could eat in a week. I thought I would try canning with the rest. I think they were a bit too ripe, everything is a bit runny. But still edible so I put this one in the WIN column.



On the left, runny peach butter; on the right, runny peach jam.

Baby Gifts. Check.

Two coworkers had babies in August, both boys. I made a couple of simple minkee-backed blankets for gifts. Super fast and heartfelt, so also a WIN.



On the left, trucks for Riley; on the right, snails for Chester.

And speaking of wins, I "drew" a name for the Rainy Days fabric.



Eleven corresponds to Mama Bear's comment. Congrats! I'll be emailing you for your address.

-- Post From My iPad

Sunny Days

I've finally finished my hexagon quilt. Most fabric is from Rainy Days and Mondays by melimba and beccabury for Riley Blake. I had a fortuitous problem -- not enough of the charcoal solid I was using in-between the hexies. I improvised some of the yellow print I had on hand to makes suns -- and that's my favorite part!




So I am calling this quilt Sunny Days. And it makes me happy like its namesake.




I used the leftover half hexagons to create a pieced back. Has me thinking of ideas for another quilt...




And I think the shape looks awesome on the back of the couch (see the cat scratcher in the lower left corner? My brother-in-law made it for us and it is worth its weight in gold! Charlie recently had to rewrap it so we could continue to have un-scratched furniture!).

I'm so excited, I want to share some of this adorable fabric line with you.




I've cut a few charms from my scraps, and there are two larger pieces of the green and umbrellas-on-yellow. Make a note in your comment if you're interested and I will draw a winner on Wednesday.

And in case you are on the fence regarding the cute-ness of this fabric, here's Jaxon modeling the scraps...




-- Post From My iPad

Krakatoa!

We returned from vacation with a big to do list. I was in a car accident before we left and the body shop couldn't fit me in until this week, so I had to take my car in and get a rental. Jaxon had his first eye exam and his 4-year-old well-child doctor visit. And of course, it never fails, a string of thunderstorms came through and knocked out power.

Isn't it funny how you forget all the ways you use electricity? I thought, okay, I can't use the internet but my laptop is charged, I can watch a movie. Only the movie I wanted to watch was on Netflix, so I couldn't connect. Our stove is gas, but the ignition is electric, so we ordered pizza. With the air conditioning off it quickly got hot, I thought to myself at bedtime, I'll open the windows and turn on the ceiling fan. Right.

The good thing about our lack of electrical is I had plenty of stitching time. I've finished my inspiration piece for round two of Hoop Up. I decided to go with the porthole theme. Apparently the ship I am on is passing a volcanic island....



I chose a linen blend (color is "lake") and made lots of French knot foliage....



And did something I usually avoid -- embellished with beads. I thought a volcano at night needed some bling!



Now I need to prepare my fabrics for my teammates and I'll be ready to go!

Still vacay-ing...

Only two more days to do this:




...and make these:





Found time to finish this book, SOOOOO GOOOD. Counting the minutes until the third in the trilogy comes out.

-- Post From My iPad