WIP....Trailer style

Well, here is my WIP for the last two weeks!

I've been cleaning and making lists and buying stuff and now I'm on hold until I move everything in on Thursday/Friday. 

That doesn't mean there isn't plenty to do, though! Getting homeschool material ready, clothes washed, getting the house ready for us to be gone for a few months.  I am so glad that our first stop on this trip is Orlando to be with family for a few days at a resort that has a water park in it.  We are so going to need it after this week! Then it's on the road for a few days until we hit Colorado. 

I'm excited. 

Oh, and don't forget to add to the list of things to do, get supplies ready for on the go sewing, and ordering Thimble It (which I saw on another website and decided it's a must have for my summer sewing.  They're little sticky pads that you put on your finger while you're sewing instead of thimble, which I hate using!  Only around $7)


Here's a few pics of the trailer.  It's cleaned up now, and I'll have the boy's quilts and our bedding in it, instead of the manufacturer's stuff.  I'm looking forward to the next step!  Wish me luck!

New Project for YOU!

We have a new project for our Quilting for Kids Group!

I received an email from Lorelei.  She found our group through quilty friends online and asked if we could help out.  Her mom and mine have similar stories.  They both work closely with foster children and the job that they hold is very important.  They help decide what is best for the children. 

Read her story and then sign up to help out if you can.

My mom was a foster parent (we adopted two of my sisters this way), then a foster parent trainer and social worker, and now a CASA for children in the system.

My mom just got a new case. Such a sad story. A little 5 year old boy, his mother committed suicide, then his father - in grief - tried to kill himself and the boy. Thankfully, he did not succeed, but his father is now in jail and he is in the system. Would be lovely to have my mom give him a sweet, special blanket.

What Lorelei is looking for is 24 blocks that are made using the tutorial from Katie (swim, bike, quilt).  She posted a great tutorial on Moda.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2012/03/i-spy-ten-little-things-quilt.html



You will need 6 different 5" squares.  Please use boyish fabrics.  No butterflies or flowers, etc.  But don't feel limited to only trucks or cars.  Know what I mean?

Sew those together, then add a solid border around it.

Border colors:  any shade of a solid in green, yellow, orange, red or blue
You will need two 2x9.5" strips and two 2x17" strips.

And you're done!

So, who's up for it?

Head on over to the group discussion and sign up.  And if you haven't joined Flickr, you should! And this is a great group to get started with.  I'd love to help you out and show you the ropes.

Thanks again for all your help in spreading the word.  Don't forget to grab a button over there on the right! --->

We Got a Truck!

I was thinking to myself, "Self, this truck thing is really coming down to the wire."

Then I thought, why am I telling myself that?! God's the One who needs to know that.

Oh, check that...He already does!

And, He already provided! Someone has offered for us to use his truck, which he uses only twice a year to pull his camper with.  It's the perfect size, big enough in the back seat for the boys to ride in, and is geared for pulling.  He even said, "This truck has dents and dings on it, so don't worry about adding another one or two! If you get into an accident, I get a new truck! So don't worry about it!"

Now that's a PRAISE!

So guess what...this is all happening in in 15 days.

Don't know what in the world I'm talking about? Read here.

Just know that I'm really excited.

And apparently I need to try 505 basting spray.  I think I have the perfect quilt to try that with.  My Bejeweled quilt.  I'm working on piecing the back now, but it's big enough that I think I'd rather spray than pin.   Hopefully I'll get to work on that before I leave.

And last but not least, I made some crayon roll-ups for some friends using a tutorial from Christine at PunkinHandmades.   There's a ton of tutorials out there, but I liked this one. :)

Hope you have a great Sunday!

I Hate Basting

I love quilting.  I hate basting.

It's one of those necessary evils, though, isn't it?




 I was basting this quilt up the other day (more info on the quilt later, when I get good pics) and I noticed something. When I begin basting, my pins are close to each other. Maybe like 3-4 inches apart. As I keep going, I noticed that they get a little farther apart. At the end it's like whatever I can do to get done with this is good enough.

Then I was like, man, is this what I'm like in other things? I start off well, but don't finish well? Well, I mean, I finished well enough, but not as well as I began. These are the thoughts I have when I'm on my knees basting in the middle of the floor as the children run by me.

What about you?

And by the way, if you don't have a basting tool, that's okay.

I've been using a wood skewer with the tip cut off for a while and it works great! The poor quilter's basting tool!  It's really helped my fingers and nails and makes it go a lot faster!
 

Wanna make some pillow cases?

Head on over to Danny, who's at it again.

She's collecting 20 x 20 envelope pillow cases for the girls that are headed to TRAC. It's a camp for teenage girls that are in foster care.

They're going to leave this camp feeling loved and special, and that's what it's all about.

Go crazy with it. Each pillow case should be original. Use an old quilt square or embroider, whatever you want! Just keep it young and fun.

 I hope you'll join in. She only needs 20 more! Go check out Mommy for Reals and sign up!

Baby Doll Quilt

Remember when I made this Birdie Stitches quilt for my niece Hannah?
 Well, I had some of the material left over and decided to make her a little baby doll quilt.
She walks around with her baby doll all the time. It's so sweet.
 You know, I only have boys, so I have to spoil my little nieces!

School's over already?!

Well, almost.  The kids here in South Florida get out on Thursday.  I can't believe it!

But boy, were we blessed with my son's first grade teacher.

She is a gem.  And come to find out, she is retiring this year.  So I wanted to make her something special from the kids.

But I wanted to make her something nice that she could use at home.  And who wants a ton of school looking things at home?  I mean, I was a teacher, and I liked those apples and handprints at school, not at home. 

So this is what I went with.



This is the front.


 
This is the back.

So now she has something pretty for the home, and when she wraps up in it, she can feel like she's getting a great big hug from all the kids.  (Aw, how sweet. :P )

 I had each child trace their hand and then write their name with a little note to the teacher.  Most wrote, "You're the best teacher in the world," or something similar.

My favorite was, "You give me care."  Now that is sweet.

May Sewing

It's a new month, which means a new chance to share our sewing progress made last month.

May was a good month for me. All together I completed 5 quilts!  1 for me, 4 for others.



I made three memory quilts for my Aunt and her children. You can read about it here.

I also made a Hard Rock memory quilt for a friend who collected these during the 80's and 90's. The back of the quilt is old jean shirts and even a pair of jeans that went to Woodstock! Check it out here.

The last is the quilt top of my Stained quilt. You can read about it here, but I need to update with new pics because it's been finished for a few weeks now, but has been busy keeping us warm and cuddly on the couch!

Now head on over to Lily's Quilts and see what others have been up to, but come back!!! I have a new quilt almost finished that I want to show you!

Have a great weekend!