looking back on the month of May

sewing wise, May has been a month of much progress but few finishes.  here is a recap of what has been happening in my sewing room this month




1.  handsewing approx. 360" of binding on my Going Coastal Zig Zag quilt is going to take awhile  2.  I'm working on cracker blocks with '30s fabrics  3.  my patchwork skirt! {almost done!} 4.  binding for Going Coastal - I needed collage filler :-P

I also finished a giant star quilt top

and an as yet un-blogged Confederate General's jacket

what has you May sewing been like?

wandering...

Hello!  today I thought I'd share some pictures I took while wandering around Portsmouth, NH.  I think it was the first time I had ever taken time with my boys to just look at the tugboats & other sights to be seen there.




isn't this mural fantastic?

we made a stop at the Portsmouth Fabric Co., of course ;)




I've never eaten here, but my kids love the name of this restaurant :)

I have eaten at The River House - if you are ever in Portsmouth you must try their seafood chowder.  Best.  Chowder.  Ever.

I'm linking this random tour of Portsmouth, NH up with Cindy - what randomness do you have to share?

wearing quilts and other goings on...

hello!  today is crazy busy, so I'm just going to show you a couple of quick pics of what I'm working on right now.  more info will follow as I {hopefully} find time to sew & make a bit of progress.  ok, here we go!




I'm making a patchwork skirt, because who doesn't want to wear a quilt?  {and it's plaid!!}




these are 144 cracker blocks 1/3 of the way done.  I still need to cut 288 squares on the diagonal and sew 4 of the resulting triangles to each block {that's 576 triangles for all you math geeks out there :) }  I started these at the quilt retreat I went to awhile ago.

FYI, I'm super sizing this tutorial from the Moda Bake Shop.

Ok, I've got a full day of appointments, track & field, and two baseball games to get on with.  but first, I'm linking up with Sew & Tell Tuesday , Freemotion by the River, and Quilt Story.   have a great day!

edited to say:  now that it is Wednesday, I'm linking up over at WIP Wednesday, too :)

on the side of the road...

I saw these giant wood carvings while I was out driving the other day, and couldn't resist pulling over and snapping some photos to share with you all :)

Happy Really Random Thursday!

Binding in Progress

this is the binding currently being sewn on to my Going Coastal zigzag quilt.

some people like to roll their freshly made binding up neatly before they sew it to the quilt.




clearly I'm not one of them  :)

linking up to WIP Wednesday!

catching up over patchwork

Hello everybody!

I have  lots of stitchy things to catch you up on, like the quilt retreat I went on {yay!!!}  but took almost no pictures at.  I was a girl on a mission with piles and piles of fabric to sew into quilt tops.

want to see the first one I finished at quilt retreat?

I picked some Timber & Leaf up at my LQS before the retreat along with some other FQs I can't identify.  The background is a fantastic print from Indian Summer.  I knew right away I would be making a giant star with them.

the retreat was beside a beautiful lake, and I thought it would be the perfect place to take pictures, but the clouds, rain, and wind weren't cooperating...

so i tried again by the flowers and had a bit better luck  {btw, that is my mom holding up the quilt top.  thanks mom!}

I love this quilt so much!

and i have no idea how I am going to quilt it, back it, or bind it.  Any suggestions?

p.s. - I cut those flowers from my own garden :)

linking up to crazy mom quilts, Fort Worth Fabric Studio,