Idyllic Quilt Progress

I've been rather obsessed with this quilt pattern.

 Busily sewing away.  Although I am still having trouble with the exact 1/4" seam width.  The needle on my machine does not move!  Seriously, it does not move.  Argh!  The regular Janome quarter inch foot fits on it, but the seam is way too big when using it.  I've changed back to the regular foot but it is a little too narrow. It is very frustrating.

 I find myself eyeballing it which is most definitely not a perfect scant 1/4" seam width.

 This puts most of my blocks not square, not meeting correctly, cutting off points to make things match...you get the picture .......

 But....I still love this quilt pattern and how it is coming together.  My favorite quilt of all is one with a lot of white and a lot of scraps.  This will have both.

 It will have a 2" white sashing around each block. I've got all 30 blocks completed but plan to make one more.  The red one in the right bottom....I don't like it.  All three colors are just too dark.  Too solid.  My favorite blocks are those that have lots of pattern and movement in the fabrics.

I've got so much quilt wise to be doing right now.  Two in the works for magazines, two gifts for this fall, and this one.  I really want to finish it to have it on my bed during the summer.  It looks so summery.

So, I've got to force myself to put this one aside while I finish one for QuickQuilt Jan/Feb 2020 issue, and start and finish one for another early 2020 issue.  It might come next though, then I'll have a bit of pressure to do the two gift quilts.  Heck, I work better under pressure anyway.   :)

The Weekend!

We have had some of the most pleasant spring like days around here.  I don't think our air conditioner has come on in the last three days.  We've enjoyed having our french doors all the way open. The air has been so clear, just a beautiful few days.

I have a gift quilt to make for a wedding this fall.  I asked what colors they like.  Well, you want to make something they will actually like, but when you ask, that means you have to make something in those colors, lol.  Their colors were very muted, but I did find a fat quarter pack to use that will work.  All but the navy.

And even picked a pattern, but, whoa, I am not sure now.  I love the pattern and think it would look so pretty with all the background being white.  I made a test block using some of my scraps.

 It's by Corey Yoder and I just love the little pops of color.  But....this will be a lot of work. I think I might save this to make out of my own scraps for one I'll keep and find something a little easier for the gift quilt.

I do think it is sooooo pretty!

I also tried to reorganize my fabric scraps/stash yesterday.  I had big plastic bins but they were full to the brim and too difficult to really find something in, so I purchased some plastic flip top shoe boxes. They are a little small, but I think they will still work well.  I managed to pull out several different colors to make it easier to find something specific.  Do you  organize by color or size?  I tried organizing by size a few years ago, but color seems to work better for me.

I'm determined to get back to posting more on my family blog (this one). I've said before how I print my blog every few years using Blog-2-Print.  It takes the actual posts, pictures and text, and puts them in a hard bound book.  I absolutely love going back and looking at them.  I've often pulled a book out to see when we went somewhere or when I was doing something. If you have a blog and don't routinely print photos (seems hardly anyone prints photos like we did in years gone by) these books are a fabulous documentation of your life and activities.

Enjoy your weekend!
Rachel

Twin Bed Decor, Magic Light Trick, and More

I know life is normally busy for everyone.  The same for me.  I never fail to have many, many things on my to-do list.  I'm a list maker at heart, and very project oriented.  Are a lot of introverts project oriented?  I wonder sometimes.

The thing I've spent most of my time on lately is this little project. Around Easter I felt very sad because my son and his family live so far away.  We have hardly any family anymore to get together and spend time with. I needed a project!  Projects always take my mind off my troubles, or lift my sadness.  So, I started pinning pictures of twin beds and decor for a grandkids/guest room. I wanted it to be simple and homey, to display quilts, and be inviting. Here are a couple of before shots of the room.

I purchased some 1950-60's handmade twin beds and refinished them.  I am very pleased with how they turned out.  They weren't in bad shape to begin with but I wanted to see what kind of wood was beneath than orangey maple look finish. Then I needed a small chest to go between them.  This little jewel was also found on facebook marketplace.  Tried sanding it down but it had some very deep stains on top and the wood seemed to be different, so I chalk painted it using Annie Sloan French Linen (a medium gray).  Once the furniture done, the decor began.

  I had so much fun playing with different quilts on the beds.

 The sconces are some I purchased from Amazon.  I used the "Magic Light Trick" where you pull the wiring out, velcro battery LED puck lights un in the shade, then mount as directed.  No wiring needed!

The rug was purchased from Wayfair.  Now, the final view of the room - ta-da!

I ordered matted and framed prints from Snapseed, from my recent trip to England.  So when the grandkids are here, they know it is "their" room.  :)  I just could not be happier for the way it turned out.  I plan to change out the quilts for the seasons but may have to make one more Christmas quilt....

And before I forget, I did make another little quilt recently for a baby gift.  The new little boy is the son of a golfer.

One more project I finished recently was to organize my shoes.  These clear, envelope style shoe boxes came from Amazon and they are ideal.  However their *might* be about 24 empty cardboard shoe boxes in my garage.....

And lastly I want to document some of our new home pictures.  We are so thankful and are enjoying it every day.

Adventures in England

Beware, long post.  I just got back from a week in England, visiting my son and his family.  We started the week's adventures with a picnic in the village and a tour of an old historical church.      

 Then we traveled to Bath where we toured the Roman Baths, sipped the water from the mineral spring (my son said it tasted like he ate a skunk, LOL!), went to a royal fashion museum, and the Jane Austin museum.

Then to Corfe Castle built in the 1100's.

 They had a place where the kids could play on 1100th century kids toys and games. (not sure about the hula hoops??  maybe back then they were carved from wood?)

Then we went to Lyme Regis to see some of the Jurassic Coast beach.

My last day there was spent at Stonehenge.  It was a beautiful day for it.

 Trying to get a picture of us all jumping......

 Goodness, I love these two so very much!

 This girl.......  :)

It was a fun trip for this reluctant traveler.  I don't really like to travel, but I guess I'd go anywhere to see my grand babies.  Thankful I can.