Christmas in July

Little by little I will be working on Christmas in between getting things ready for the fall shopping season. Today I have what I finished on Friday. A gingham and tree table topper inspired by a Primrose Cottage pattern.

I know most of you have seen me making this style for a while now. But I did use a different fabric for the medium color in this one which is the one with little candy canes. I found a piece big enough for the center of this topper while doing some organization of fabrics. 

And the backing is from a bolt of red and white that I bought from Marshall Dry goods. I need to take time to do some piecing of leftovers/scraps for some future backings too. 

Not sure that much sewing will get done this week. I'll be in that room but not sewing! Hubby and I are doing a big project, it almost got the best of me yesterday!! 

BTW I hope you all got to enjoy the fireworks on Saturday night. We did not. We went into town to watch, sat for 1.5 hours and they sent up 5 minutes worth of fireworks and then it stopped. We, along with lots of other people, waited for 20 minutes or so and then someone in the crowd got a message that they were canceling for the night as there was a T storm rolling in. We did see lightning in the distance and wondered if they were going to hurry up. Everyone ran to their cars and then it just poured down.  Sunday night we went back to our spot to view as they always did a rain date in the past so we assumed it was on for Sunday night. NOPE we got there and no one else was around. Got online and found it was canceled for this year!! What no fireworks for the 250th, we were so disappointed. They said they had technical difficulty Sat. night so they were canceled. BUMMER!  

Linking with Monday Musings, Design Wall, and Sew and Tell

 

Sunflowers and maple leaves

Recently I have had people in my Etsy shop looking at fall and Halloween items. I better beef up my supply starting with sunflowers. At least I think of sunflowers as being an early fall sign.

Check out my binding fabric. While messing around in my stash I found this long forgotten yardage of black with metallic gold stripes. I love stripes for binding and this one being cut on the bias, to round those curves, just looks pretty cool!

The first finish of maple leaf runners that I pieced over the winter.

Finding backings in the stash for fall isn't too hard;)

Good thing I snapped this photo of my clematis a few days ago, the rain has since made it droop a bit.

Wishing you all a very happy 4th of July, be safe out there!

linking with TGIFF, Off the Wall, and Finished or Not

 

Summer time

 What says summer better than watermelon! Where did Spring go, I can't believe it is already July!!

I love that watermelon print! Perfect for a picnic, now if only the weather would cooperate! We are hot and so humid, a little rain here and there.

So fun to dig look through the stash to find just the right backing;)

 This rectangular watermelon table runner is a UFO finish. I had pieced two last summer and didn't need this second one until now. Pattern by Anka's Treasure. Little by little I will get around to finishing more UFOs.

It looks pretty good on a kitchen Island too. We have been getting some really good watermelon at Sams Club and it just so happened we opened a new one in time for the photos.

Edited: I should have looked up the book that the pattern is in before I posted it.  It is Anka's Treasure Trendy Table 3 book. I took the watermelon from there and set it in my own table runner. 

Linking with Wednesday Wait Loss. 

Delectable Mountains

Three delectable mountain table runners done. You might recall me piecing them last winter.

The mountains are batiks in all three runners while the neutral backgrounds are quilting cotton. 

The first one has a teal coloring, the second a green/gold coloring. And this last one is gold/orange.

The past several days was all about finishing up WIPs and UFOs. Another finish included two of my turkey table runners. They are identical so only showing one of them. 

My Calla lilies are opening.

Linking with Sew and Tell, Monday Musings and Design Wall Mondays

 

Patriotic continues plus more

 Both of my recent patriotic wall hangings sold almost instantly. You can see the first one here and the second one here if you missed them. One lady bought both of them, one for her veteran brother and one for her son. I had one more I wanted to list and thought I would just ask her if she needed any more. In the mean time I listed it and before she could answer me it sold to someone else! 

The first lady was disappointed and I told her I had more panels like this and I would make her one. Done and sold! Same panel and design with different fabric and quilting.

We spent last weekend up visiting our son and DIL three hours north of us. So much fun catching up, sitting out by the fire pit, picnics, and playing cards. The hubster and I also enjoy a bike ride while they were busy working on Monday. We headed home Tuesday.  We also enjoyed seeing Lupine along in ditches near them.

I took all the slippers, 20 pair, I knit over the winter to our DIL who gives them to her church group for distribution to those in need. The free pattern is called Grandmas Slippers.

Plus I have been crocheting hats in various sizes in the evenings while watching TV. I completed 21 of them. Her group will also distribute them. I am using up yarn, which makes me happy, but also helping to keep some kids warmer which makes my heart warm. 

Linking with Wednesday Wait Loss, Finished or Not, TGIFF

Colorful Strings

 Do any of you remember me working on these bright string blocks over the winter? They are now a complete finish, quilted and bound on Friday and Saturday. 

My first donation quilt finish for 2026. These string blocks were sewn to phone book pages. I had saved several books before they became obsolete!!

Recently I purchased some fabric from a friend that was out of the quilting desire and wanted to get rid of her stash. Some I will set aside for business fabric and some went into my donation fabric stash. The bright backing is one I got from her.

You might also recognize these orange pineapple blocks which were also made over the winter. After binding the above quilt I went on to add the neutral sashings and brown corner stones so it moved closer to the finish line. Now I just need to find a suitable fabric for the backing, which is proving harder than I thought it would be! This will also be a donation quilt. 

Both of these quilts are made from strings leftover from gobs of other projects!

Linking with Oh Scrap!, Monday Musing and Sew and Tell Monday, Design Wall Monday.

Rounding out my week...

 by making round wedge toppers;)

Bright yellow bee fabric and black and white polka dots and gingham make this one shine bright!

Strawberry fabric in blue, what could say summer better. 

 A pretty blue backing was the perfect fabric for the binding also. 

Did I ever show you what the back of one of these look like? This is before I applique the center circle on. 

 

The green plaid said please make something with me!

This green fabric wanted to be the backing, pretty perfect job it is doing!

A customer wanted a Halloween topper that she saw in my Etsy shop that had alreaady sold, lucky for her I had more of the same fabric. 

See ya a round!

Linking with TGIFF, Finished or Not Friday, Off The Wall

Eagle and Flags

 You might think you are seeing the same wall hanging that I posted last Wednesday. It's definitely the same border but a different panel. 

I liked the border on last week's wall hanging so much that I decided to use it again. 

Isn't the eagle so majestic as he is guarding the flags. 

Getting the next project ready for piecing.

But first I needed to clean the bobbin area of my domestic machine. I think it is long overdue!!! I probably shouldn't show you, but I will anyway. YIKES! 

The super dark purple iris are starting to bloom. Sometimes they look almost black and then when the sun shines on them a gorgeous deep purple. Definitely not going to have a lot of blooms this year. 

Linking with Wednesday Wait Loss

Blue pumpkin

One blue pumpkin placemat panel turned into a wall hanging. 

Additions I made were the two gold sashing to the top and bottom of the panel itself.  From there blue and white triangles and surrounded all that with a brown. A very skinny white sashing was added before the final blue border with matching binding. 

I was amazed I had two blue prints that coordinated with the blue plaid I bought to go with the panel. 

Some might say it is too early to work on pumpkins, but hey I already had someone purchase a turkey table runner. So it seems it is never too early to work on any season if you are in the mood!

I am pretty pleased I jumped right in and used a piece of the new acquisition, that doesn't always happen.  I had the backing fabric in the stash. 

Friday's linky parties:  Finished or Not, TGIFF, Off The Wall, Beauties Pageant