So, I decided that my puppies needed a new bed.    After looking through the summer issue of Quick Quilts, I  found this pattern for a cute dog bed.

I think it turned out really well.

And here it is being used. . . . .

Can I brag a little?   I know it’s not really becoming, but I’m feeling so proud and so excited right now.    Maybe I should share why. . . . .

In March , yes of 2010,  I made a little quilted rag bag.  It was my first attempt at quilting and I loved it.   Since then, I’ve made 6 quilts, wait, make that 7 if we count the quilt top I finished this morning.  I mostly stuck to simple, straight forward designs.  I’ve been giving myself time to learn and taking it slow moving to more difficult cuts or patterns.   I’d been watching everyone doing all these quilt alongs, and I really wanted to try one.  So, I started working on one.   As I got into it, it was by far the most involved quilt block I’ve ever done.  I had never made HST’s.  I had only done 9 patches with whole charm squares, not 4 patches using charm squares.   I thought I understood how to use my square rulers to square up my blocks, but I realized today, after sewing all 25, that I really hadn’t done that well at the first square up.

The first exciting thing – was the light bulb that finally went off in my head while I was squaring up my completed blocks.  I finally got it!  It made sense!  WOO HOO!  I learned something and it’s soooo cool!  I can’t even express what I learned except that now I understand finally what everyone’s been trying to teach me on how to use these rulers to square up your blocks.

The second exciting thing – was I laid out the blocks to see how the quilt will look. . . . . wanna see?     Who am I kidding?  Of course you do!!!

Isn’t it going to look so cool when it’s actually sewn together?   I’m so excited I’m about to cry – how silly is that?     I just keep walking in the guest room where the quilt is laid out and thinking  “wow, I did that.”   This is the most involved quilt I’ve ever done, and I’m just so proud of how it looks so far.   It’s been an incredible boost to my confidence.

I hope that hasn’t been too much bragging – I’m just so excited.  And I figured my quilting sisters would understand that joy of moving to a different level than you’ve been at in your craft.  Thanks for letting me share. . . .

I’ve been working on catching up on Freckled Whimsy’s quilt along.    I’ve made some progress – hoping to actually finish all the blocks this weekend!

I started earlier today with this pile. . . .

and this and this pile . . . . .

And now I have this. . . . .

9 blocks done, and a pile of pinned blocks to sew.

Time to take a break, have a snack, and see what everyone else has gotten done so far today!

UPDATE! -

I decided that I really wanted to finish this quilt top for a baby quilt I started last weekend.  It’s for a good friend, who shall remain nameless and hopefully won’t guess that I mean her  if she reads this.    I’m not going to show the whole thing yet, just in case, but here’s a sneak peak . . .

Isn’t it just so cute!!  I can’t wait to quilt it and give it to her!

Back to sewing!

The Charming Girls are having a sewing party today!  I’m going to do my best to participate – after taking the puppies to the vet of course!.   We’ll be working on Christmas projects today – so I’m going to work on catching up on my Quilt Along that’s using the 12 days of Christmas fabric, and hopefully also get to work on a couple of my christmas gifts. . . . . We’ll see how the day goes.

I’ll be back in a bit to start sewing and will post some pictures later today!

Man, it’s been a busy 2  months!  I had no clue how much I wanted to get done or even how much I could get done.  I’m really surprised at what I accomplished. . . .

Here’s the original goals I posted:

1.  Have a new blog post every week!  (I can do this really – I know I can!) – Status:  Success so far and I’ve got blog project posts written and scheduled for every Monday through Sept 23!

2. Finish all my July Swaps -  Big Shot Fabric Swap (5 mini rag bags)  and  New SU Catty Swap (6 cards).  Status:  DONE!!!

3.  Create my projects for the New Catty Blog Hop (4 papercrafting projects).  Status: DONE!!   Posted Here.

4.  Make the Quilt Top for Brady’s quilt.  Status:  I’m moving this one to Sept -  I misplaced the pattern and had to reorder it (as a back issue) so it’ll take 6 to 8 weeks to get here.  In the meantime, I’m starting on a new super secret quilt project – just can’t say who it’s for cuz it’s a BIG surprise! But the fabric just got here today.  I can’t wait to start cutting!

5.  Complete the Verna Quilt top. Status: DONE! This one is too big for my machine, so I’ve dropped it off for the long arm.   Can’t wait to get it back and bind it!

6.  Make Sadie a new dog bed.  Status:  DONE!   And the puppies seem to love it!

7.    Spend a Saturday with the girls. Status:  I went out with the girls Saturday night and tomorrow I’m going out with the girls again!  Yay for me!

8.  Make some time for me – to read and enjoy it.  Status:  I read Iris Johansen’s newest book cover to cover yesterday.  It was awesome to sit on the couch and read.  HEAVEN!

9.  Go to a movie with my hubby – because he likes doing that. Status:  DONE!  We went to see Inception and had a great date day!

10.  Start working on my Christmas cards – make 15 this month.  Status:  Not done.   I just couldn’t get myself in to christmas card mood for some reason.  That means I have to catch up in September!

11.  Make a new tree skirt – if I can get to it!  Status:  CANCELLED.  I’ve decided that I can’t find any fabric that I like for this right now, so I’m going to wait till next year on this one.

Additionally,

1.  I started and completed a quilted throw for Grandma Cole’s birthday.

2.  Finished binding Sarah’s quilt.

3.  Completed the quilt top for  the wrapped with paisley quilt and got it to the long arm quilter. (this is the super secret quilt project mentioned above!)

4.  Joined a quilt along and completed the first 2 steps.  I’m hoping to have the 3rd step done by this weekend.

5.  Cut the fabric and started sewing a quilt top for a baby quilt.

6.  Did a little bit of scrapbooking.

And held down a full time job outside the house.   Whew!  I’m tired just going through the list!    I’m trying to get ahead on my fall sewing before football season starts and we start heading to Mississippi for some Bull Dawg football.

I know it’s time to start thinking about September and October . . . . . but I’m going to rest first!

I find that there’s a lot of people in my life having birthdays.  I guess that’s a good thing because it sure beats the alternative right?   This is a card I made for one of my good friends birthday back in July.  I’m loving all the new Stampin’ Up! colors!

Here’s the inside of the card:

I love designing the inside of the card as well. And I don’t think that birthday cards have to have a “Happy Birthday” stamped on them. I like to pick the sentiment that I think fits the person getting the card. In this case – I thought the quote was perfect. Actually, though, you could use this card for a number of different occassions.

Recipe:

Stamps:   Friends never Fade, Favorite Thoughts

Paper:  Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White cardstock.  Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper

Ink:  Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight

Accessories:  Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, 1/8″ taffeta ribbon in Daffodil Delight,  Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.

One of the great things about getting a new catalog  is getting new stuff to play with!   Of course, I had to sign up for a swap that used the new stuff, right?

I love this time of year when the wildflowers are blooming and that’s what this card makes me think of – the wildflowers growing along the side of the road.

I used the following  supplies:

Stamps”  Silhouette Sentiments Hostess Set

Ink:  Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Always Artichoke

Cardstock:  Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla

Accessories:  Bitty Buttons, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch,  1 1/4″ Daffodil Delight Ribbon

Guess what I’ve been up to .. . . .

Does that tell you? No, how about this. . . . .

I’ve been wanting to join a quilt along for a while now and it just has never worked out – either I find it when it’s long done, or it looks to hard for me. . . .  Anyway,   I happened to notice that Freckled Whimsy had just started a quilt along and I was only 2 steps behind!    Since she’s giving us 2 weeks for each step, I thought for sure I could get caught up.   AND I DID!!!   Yeah!

I’m using Kate Spain’s 12 Days of Christmas because I had these charm packs lying around and I couldn’t decide what to do with them.   I can’t wait to see how this turns out!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go to convention this year.  I got to participate in the Stampin’ Addicts Big Shot Fabric Swap!  My convention buddy, Marni, was so sweet to take my swaps and stand in my place  for me!

There have been so many people making all those cute rag bags this year.   I thought it would be fun to make a mini bag to use to give goodies or small gifts.

Here’s the prototype I created – unwashed.

I thought it’s cute – but something’s missing – so I went ahead and washed it to rag up the edges. . . .

Still missing something though -   so I decided  to move the handle to the black sides and add a fabric “flower” to the white side.  That seemed to do the trick.  I’m so excited about these!   Here’s a few pics. . . .

All 5 of them!

A shot of the front 3!

A close up of the front.

A view of the bag hanging!

I used the Big Shot and the Clear Scallop Square die to cut the main panels.  I used the scallop circle # 2 die to cut the “flower.”  Each flower is 3 layers of fabric, snipped at each scallop, and a large button from the new Designer Buttons (these were from the Brights Collection.  I used the Real Red and Tempting Turquoise buttons.)

Each bag takes 10 scallop squares of coordinating fabric.  3 small scallop circles of coordinating fabric.  1 large Stampin’ Up! Designer button.  The handle was cut 12″ x 2 1/2 ” from a contrasting fabric, and 5 3″ squares of batting.   Follow the normal directions for a rag bag and Voila!

For those of you who haven’t made a rag bag – here’s my stab at step by step directions.  Disclaimer:  I’ve never written directions for a sewing project.  So bear with me if something’s not clear.

1. Cut your fabrics:
   1. Cut out 10 scallop squares of fabric using the big shot and the Clear Scallop Square die
   2. Cut out 3 of the small scallop circles (of fabric) using the Scallop Circle # 2 die.
   3. Cut out 5 squares of batting  – 3” square
   4. For the handle – cut a piece of contrasting fabric 2 ½” x 12 “
2. Layer 1 scallop square right side down, 1 square of batting, 1 scallop square right side up. Pin together (if your fabric slides, you can glue it with a little bit of glue stick on the center of the fabric to hold it in place).  Repeat to make 5 squares.
3. Sew each sandwich with a straight stitch diagonally from corner to corner.  Turn and do the remaining two corners.  You will have stitched an X across all 3 layers of fabric.
4. Pin two squares together on one side – sew a straight stitch to connect the.  Use a ¼’ seam allowance.
5. Take the 2 squares you just sewed together and add a third one on one side  – Make sure that your seam side (your ragged edges) are pointing the same way when you sew it.  Attach the third square and then the fourth.  You should have a row of 4 squares attached to each other with all the ragged edges on the same side of the fabric.
6. Make the handle – iron the fabric in half.  Then fold in the remaining rough edge, then fold it over again, so that all the rough edges are inside the handle.  Iron and pin in place.  Sew closed.
7. Insert one end of the handle into one of the squares you would like it to attach to. Pin it in place.  Begin sewing a ¼ “ seam along the top – crossing over the strap.  After crossing the strap, bend it to insert and pin it into the 2^nd square it will attach to.  Continue sewing the top seam until you reach the end.
8. Take the 5^th square and pin it to the bottom side of one of the side squares.  Stitch in place with a straight stitch.  Continue  pinning and stitching the bottom to the sides until all are connected.
9. Snip all the external seams at about ¼” intervals all the way around the bag.
10. Take the 3 scallop circles.  Layer them and sew them together with a button.  Snip into the circle at each indention in the scallop for each of the 3 layers.  Sew to the bag on the side you’d like it to be.

Is that clear as mud?    Hope it’s helpful.  Let me know if I need to clarify anything.