GREAT NEWS X THREE!!!!!!

What a great week it has been! The house closed on Monday, I got an apartment on Thursday and on Saturday if all goes well, I will be the owner of a new Hyundai Accent! We were really lucky because the second person who saw the house, bought it! There were a few glitches along the way but all's well that ends well! I was getting a bit worried about finding a place to live since this is a college town and most of the apartments are geared to students but fortunately my daughter-in-law found a great place. 2 bedroom, 1 bath with a patio area that is enclosed, loads of closets and close to everything! It has a washer-dryer hook-up which for me was a must. The biggest plus is that with the second bedroom, I will finally have a dedicated sewing room. I can't wait to set it up...just think, if I am in the middle of something, I can close a door and hide the mess,....not that I am ever messy! We have everything ready to buy the car after a test drive. I have never owned a new car so this will be a lot of fun(and learning  all the gadgets that will be new to me! So wish me luck) ;

I'm not sure how much sewing I will be doing in the next couple of weeks since I will be moving in and setting up. I have a lot of shopping to do because I only brought the bare necessities from Florida and then have to find a cable company, etc. But I have a bit to show this week and will save a bit for later, you know, spread the joy!

First up is the finished quilt that I showed you a couple of weeks ago. I found some adorable dotted fabric for the backing and added a cute little whale applique to make the back happy! Not sure exactly where this quilt will end up but I hope it adds happiness to someone's life.

I added a navy binding

Polka Dots and a Whale..who could ask for more?

Close up of my little whale. Doesn't he look happy?

SCHOOL SPIRIT!! HAIL STATE!!!!!!

Since I have moved from Sarasota, FL(Hopefully everyone is safe from Matthew!) to Starkville, Mississippi I have become a Bulldogs fan(still a Gator at heart though!...just don't spread it around!). My son's house is right next to the MSU campus so many of the football fans come by his driveway to and from the game! My grandchildren have set up a lemonade stand and boy are folks happy to see them after their long, hot walk back to their cars!

Here is a photo from the first game!

This week we are going to add some handmade MSU gadgets to hopefully raise money for the local elementary schools. I figured that everyone needs key fobs and what is better than one that shows school spirit? I used the tutorial done by Jaime and Jacinda at Pretty Prudent.

Here are a few that I have made..glad they are easy to make!

 I also made Key Fob Lip Balm Holders from Emmaline Bags! These were easy and fun to make. I did have to plan ahead a bit to center the Bulldog but after doing it once, it was really easy. This sure helps keep the lip balm where one can get to it!

OK, the mushroom one has nothing to do with School Spirit but I really like it!

Last item on the agenda is A Cool It Can Cozy by So Sew Easy. Dont' you just love free tutorials? I sure do!

Easy to make once you figure out how to center it! A perfect fit for a can and it is insulated!!!

I still feel a little guilty not making any Gator items but when I get to my stored fabric, you can be sure I will and I will send them to my Gator friends.

Again, all of my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Florida...may you be safe!

The Foxes find a Home!

I'll start off the week with photos of the mother-to-be and her Sarasota gifts! Yes, there will be two showers, one in Florida and one in Georgia. I am saving her real "foxy" gifts for the Georgia one but have to show two photos from her shower on Sunday.

Since I am not busy making making foxes at the moment, I had to find something new to sew and I did! I found these cute lunch bags on Purl Soho. Of course, I couldn't leave them plain so out came my appliqued alphabets! I made one for my granddaughter and one for her friend. These were really fun to make...sure an upgrade from the old brown bags we used to take our lunches in!

Patriotic red, white and blue

Still polka dots, but orange this time

From the side

Remember an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Final project of the week and this is a WIP...I had to order the fabric for the backing but I think I found the perfect design! I saw this pattern on Love, Laugh and Quilt and had to copy her pattern. Her's is so pretty and soft and "pastel-y"...is that a word? Because of the charms and other fabric I had available(remember most of my material is in storage) mine turned out quite bold and bright.

I have a bit too much brown at the bottom but I can live with it!

Flower of the week are white roses that Maddie put in blue water...thus beautiful blue roses!

Glad you stopped by this week and come back again!

MORE FOXES ALONG WITH SOME MONSTERS AND SPIDERS!!!!

I am still making foxes...this time softies! I found this great pattern at Stitched by Crystal. He is just a simple toy to make but each one has a personality of his own. I added mouths to them and of course, the girl fox has eyelashes. I stayed with the color scheme of orange and gray.

How many of  you know why I named them Freddie and Flossie Fox?....Watch out, you will be showing your age!!!

I have also been working on little pouches to hold pencils, named The Gobbler by Wendi at Shiny, Happy World. They are so much fun to make and really easy and what kid doesn't love monsters? I have made two so far but am planning more to donate to the schools for prizes.

A girl monster...see her fancy eyes?

Looking a bit hungry!

Mouth full of pencils...someone has to do it!

The eyes are a bit off center but then most monsters are a bit off center!!!!!

 Now for the flower of the week. Almost everyday, Maddie brings me a flower to keep by my sewing machine! Here is one of my favorites, the Spider Lily. I really don't like spiders but the flower is really neat so I like spiders as long as they are flowers...not the arachnids!

Glad you stopped by and visited. Be sure to come back again soon!!!!

Foxes, Fishes, Turtles and Boxes!! Oh, My!

This has been a really fun week! I finished two quilts for my "foxy" baby gifts. The first one was made with a Mama and Me charm pack. I added a fox applique on front. I could not find an applique that I really loved but did find a picture so my very talented daughter-in-law drew one for me! Isn't he adorable? For the backing I ran across an out of print fabric called Nordic Fox. It was a perfect match for the charms! I added a black binding that had red, gray, blue and white dots! Fun, fun, fun!

Mama and Me Charms

My grandson Teddy was my quilt holder this week. See the cute Nordic Foxes?

I was having so much fun with the little charm quilts that I found some green and white dotted charms that I have had forever! Sewed them together and added a fish to the front. I used some of my favorite (and now almost depleted navy and green fabric) for the back and decided to add another applique...this time a turtle! I got my idea for adding the appliques from Aunt Polly's Porch. You have to check out her wonderful quilts for her grandson along with the "grand room" she has designed for him! And be sure to watch out for Yogi! He is adorable.

The "bubbly " front with the cute little fish!

My favorite navy and lime backing with the happy turtle.

I found the aquatic appliques on Craftsy in Pamalama Jo's Designs. Aren't they cute?

Here are close-ups of the three appliques:

Mr. Fox

Mr. Fish

Mr. Turtle

Were you lucky enough to get a free Craftsy class from Joann's? I was and I chose Sew Sturdy: Home Organizers by Annie Unrein. It is a fabulous class and I can't wait until I can make the Catch-All Caddy! Here is the small organizer box that I made. I made it for my granddaughter, Maddie  in her favorite colors of purple and green.

To end this post, I have one more beautiful rose that Maddie picked for me. This might be the last one of the season so I looked at it whenever I could.

THIS, THAT and the OTHER!

Thankfully I am over my summer cold that visited  last week. I really didn't get much sewing done because of my drippy nose and constant sneezing! I finally got things going by the weekend and I finished up my QAYG coin quilt! I am so glad that I made a second one with orange and gray..I really think it is striking and fun at the same time. I made a quilt label with a fox applique because I found out the mother-to-be is going to be using foxes in her decor of the nursery. I think he turned out really cute!(If you can't read the lettering it says: JAS IV...yep this baby is the fourth with these initials) I got my granddaughter to hold the quilt for me. Thank you Maddie!.

Here is the front. I used Connecting Threads Sketched Stone for the sashing and their Orangina in Pin Dots for the binding.

 The backing is Pretty Dots in Light Stone

On the back corner is my cute little appliqued fox!

Close up of JAS IV  2016 

I decided that the baby will need a stuffed fox or two and here is the first one I have made. I have a couple more planned...this will be a really "foxy" baby! It is a pattern from DIY Fluffies. They are not really easy because of their small size so I enlarged the pattern to 120% and I think I will try him at 110% next. One thing about the regular size is that it can be cut out of scraps of fabric but you do have to be patient while sewing him! ( I know it sounds weird but I am in love with his tail!)

Mr. Fox from the front

His profile. Isn't his tail cute!!!!

He told me that this was his best side! LOL!

My last project this week was finishing up the cloth napkins I started a couple of weeks ago. Remember when I made the cord covers and my daughter-in-law thought they were napkin holders? Well, they do work really well for that purpose also! I love lime and navy so that is what I made. My grandson decided they were all right because I made a boy's side and a girl's side. He thought the flowery side was too "girly" but the circles were just right!

For boys and girls!

 I am waiting for some fabric to arrive so I can start a couple more projects. I thought I wouldn't be buying much fabric because I don't live less than a mile from Joann's anymore but the internet makes ordering things way too easy!

And for a final happy thought! The house is under contract. It happened the third day it was on the market. So please cross your fingers that everything goes swimmingly( probably shouldn't have used that term since most everything was underwater last week because of Hermine!)  My house is fortunately in a good high location.

ALMOST NORMAL ....WHATEVER NORMAL IS!

I'm  beginning to get settled in at my son's house. Of course, we don't know how long I will be here...all depends on the sale of the house. It is finally ready to show after a few Property Brothers fixes! We had the whole interior painted, new carpeting in the back half of the house and a deep clean inside. We also had some landscaping down to clean up the look a bit and now it is listing time. Crossing my fingers for a quick sale!

I finished my QAYG coin quilt but guess what? It isn't going to be a gift for my friend's daughter anymore! Why you ask? We "chatted" on Facebook the other day and I now know the rest of her color scheme! She is using touches of orange with foxes so I decided the red binding might not be such a good idea. I ordered some orange fabric for the binding and I found the perfect gray for the sashing so I am starting all over again. I will find something else to do with the first quilt. I really like how it turned out and it is a really quick and easy pattern. Connecting Threads QAYG Coin quilt.

Still haven't gotten all of my camera stuff worked out but here it is!

The back is in Lotta' Dots Steel Gray excuse the wrinkles!

I then found a cute pouch pattern at Fat Quarter Shop called Single Scoop Pouch. I had just gotten some of Cotton and Steel fabric that I thought would be perfect! I fell in love with it when it first came out but waited til I could get it on sale...I'm counting pennies right now.

Monarch in Sunset by Cotton and Steel

Arrows in Sunset by Cotton and Steel

Then I found another quick and easy(and useful) project at Sew4Home! It is a scrap buster to boot, who could ask for anything more?  These went really quick and were so easy to make. My 6 year old grandson knew what they were used for right away! They are cord wraps His mother wasn't sure and took a guess and I love what she came up with...another perfect use for them! Napkin rings(to go with the napkins I am making for her!) Here is a collage of the ones I made this evening...actually there is one more I made but it is holding my sewing machine cords neatly!

One set of small cord wraps in black and brown Lotta Dots and 4 Medium cord wraps in my favorite blue and green!

I had so much fun sewing this week and actually accomplished quite a bit. Now I will start on the baby quilt plus a few little surprises I am going to add to it! Come back and check out what I have come up with!

I almost forgot! I have been watching my daughter-in-law's beautiful rose garden and had my eye on one particular pinkish rose. Tonight my granddaughter brought it to me for my sewing area. I love this since I have a "black" thumb and can't grow anything but dust bunnies! Isn't it gorgeous?

Isn't this a great way to end a blog post?

NEW SURROUNDINGS AND A NEW START !!!!!!!!

Boy has a lot happened in the last month. My son and family arrived in Sarasota on the 25th of July and then the fun began! For the last few months I had begun going through things and packing and throwing away....not fun after 18 years at this house! It was really hard getting rid of lots of my "stuff" but it had to be done. My son is relentless in the "throw away mode" but so organized and fast that things really went better after he started helping. We had yard sales for two weekends and got rid of lots of "stuff"...so much stuff that I made a bit over $500! It was interesting to see what people buy and what they don't! What didn't get sold or given to friends and neighbors went to Goodwill...many, many trips! We also got to know our garbage men quite well! They were amazing.  We turned the keys over to the Real Estate agents, and we pulled out of Sarasota around 12:30 PM on Monday the 8th. It was a long 16 hours to Starkville, MS through much rain and many accident slowdowns. Once my son gets going, he drives straight through....boy was I tired when we arrived at his house. I'm staying with them until the house sells so I have my own room where I have set up a sewing area. I really haven't had much time to do much sewing but I have done a bit.

First off I am making a baby quilt for a friend's daughter who is having a baby in December. I am working on it now since I don't know what my schedule will be like. It is a Quilt As You Go Coin quilt. I have finished all of the coin rows and they are neatly pressed and ready to start the QAYG process.

I am using Connecting Threads' Lotta' Dots with a Light Stone Lotta' Dots  backing to go with the gray walls the nursery has been painted.

Since I really like this quilt, I looked at the fabric that I have with me and found a layer cake that I won sometime ago! I cut the 10" blocks into 4 charms each and then cut them in half to make a huge pile of coins. I can work on the strips in free time and be ready to make a couple of quilts when I finally get settled.

Here are my coins before I divided them into separate colors.

One other project I have started is making cloth napkins. My daughter-in-law really likes be environmentally conscious so I hunted through my fabric that I have with me, and have made two practice napkins and have found some more to make a set of 6. This is really a easy thing and helpful keeping so much paper from landfills. I found a really fun pattern at Chocolate and Zucchini that has two sided napkins. Here are photos of the two sides.

Cute little owls

Coordinating floral fabric

Please forgive the photos but my camera is in the storage unit and I'm having to use my phone...not really too good but til I can get there to retrieve my camera these will have to do! I will try to post somewhat regularly but we will see how things go. It is great to be back!