Of course it would't be complete without another picture of my sweet liile girl! I found this funky fleece and made a throw that I use as the weather gets cooler. When it gets too cold, I use my quilt on the bed. But this is fun to use now and Angie really enjoys it.

Here are some placemats I've been working on. They are sets of four and bottom color is the backing material used.

I mentioned taking Stampin Up classes at my friends house. These are some of the projects we worked on. It has been lots of fun doing these.

These are a little different - the pink one is a tri-fold type container and inside is a baggie with some hersey's kisses. A cute little something to give a friend. The blue one is a box that can be made any size. Good to put a little candy in or a gift card or scratch tickets. Any kind of little gift. You could punch holes on the sides and string a ribbon thru and hang on a tree.

I'm working on some of my Christmas presents as I find the time. This is going to a "semi-retired" man that cleans our offices 3 times a week. He is always talking recipes and how he loves a good glass of wine with just about everything. So, when I saw this design I just had to do it. Maybe should not have chosen a grey sweatshirt but figure it's a nice conservative design for a guy. LOL Next one I make with be on a different color background, but I think he will like this one.

Today is Betty's birthday so I embroidered this sweatshirt as one of her presents. She really liked this design and I chose a bright pink sweatshirt. I really love the way it came out.

Pink Heart Pillow

Betty had embroidered these white heart squares and I confiscated them and made into a pillow.

Angie

Well, here is my sweet baby girl. The little devil. I opened the duffle bag to pack up some stuff for my craft fair. Left the room and when I came back here's what I saw. LOL

Turtle Pillow

Finished this little pillow today. It is 13" x 13". The turtles were embroidered & appliqued by Betty and I put them together. The back is a solid green with an envelope opening to remove the pillow form for cleaning. I love this green fabric, made me think of a turtle shell when I saw it.

Angel Pillow Top

This angel pillow top was made from a block DD bought from E-Bay a while ago. It was fused on the backing but nothing else was done. I used some fusible fleece on the back of it and then used a very small zig-zag stitch around all the different pieces.

Thought about making it into a wall hanging and think it would have really been nice. DD's opinion was that a lot of people don't have space for wall hangings and a pillow can just be tossed on the sofa for a quick pop of seasonal color, so it was decided to make it into a pillow top.

There a problems with finishing things that other people start - they are not as careful about everything fitting together the same way you would do it, but overall I am pleased with the way it came out.

Paper-Pieced Pillow

Here is the finished pillow. I love it but have you ever second guessed yourself? I used purple thread to outline stitch the printed blocks to make the design pop in the middle. Now think I should have used aqua instead and possibly stitched in the ditch instead of outline stitching. Oh well, it's done now and I do like it. It is about 17-1/2" square so I used an 18" pillow form inside with an envelope opening in the back to be able to remove for washing purposes. The back is the same color as the border. I'm giving this to Betty and David for their anniversary - I will be making one more to be able to give them a pair for their bed.

Paper-Pieced Block

This is actually 4 blocks put together to make the design. The printed fabric is the same design Betty used to make Roman Shades for her bedroom. She also had more material she is planning on using for a quilt but hasn't gotten to it yet. I think a quilt out of this design would be great, using the dark purple as the outside border. I am giving her the option of having me make a pillow out of this block or adding more for a wall hanging or a throw. We'll see what happens.

Can you believe this sweet little face? How could anyone resist her charms? LOL She is such a good baby girl.

Halloween Wall Hanging

I used four paper-pieced blocks to make this wall hanging. I took a class that Betty taught at our local fabric store. It was the first time I ever did paper-piecing. Deciding on the fabrics was both fun and hard. Luckily Betty had the perfect fabric for the faces. The orange fabric has a shimmer to it that worked out nicely too. Then I just happened to spot the border fabric and voila it all came together. I still need to put a hanging sleeve on the back to complete it.

Bingo Bag

Another denim bag. Betty embroidered the design and I sewed up the bag. I stitched a ribbon on the handles and around the top. On the handles to hide the fact that I used a different denim for them and it was slightly off the color of the bag. And decided to use it around the top for added color.

It was a PITB sewing it around the top, but it worked out okay.

Butterfly and Ladybug Embroidered Bag

This cute little bag was made for a little girl. My daughter embroidered the design and I stitched up the bag. I hope the picture does it justice. I love it.

Embroidered Tees

The yellow tee shirt is size 3T, for a little girl in Hawaii. The red one is a ladies large. I really love our embroidery machine. We have found a lot of great designs.

Dad

These are some pictures of my Dad from about 5 years ago. He has lost quite a bit of weight and has to keep pulling the pants up. He is feeling good at this point and is refusing treatments recommended by his doctors. I've talked to you about him and thought you might like to "meet" him.

Betty's Stack & Whack Pillow

This is the stack & whack pillow my daughter is making. Measures 14" x 14" with the border. I like that she chose the deep gray granite like material for the border. We love it. Now she wants to make 2 more for the chairs in her living room. Then she wants to start on some for Christmas gifts. This makes it so easy to get the crazy-quilt look.

Paper Pieced Heart - Pillow

Well, here is the paper-pieced heart block made into a pillow. Used the floral print on the back but needed to add a strip to the flap used to insert the pillow form. I really like the way the opening in the back works out. I think the pillow looks a lot neater than trying to fill it with loose stuffing.

More pictures of Angie. She likes to be near me, but not necessarily on my lap. Here she is laying on the floor by my chair. She looked so cute I had to snap a picture. Stretched out nice and comfy with her front paws crossed. She also likes to sit on my cutting board and on the sewing machine table. If I don't move a block I'm working on I will look over and she's curled up on it.

When I go down to watch tv with Dad at night she will come down too. Sometimes she will follow me upstairs at night and sometimes I have to pick her up and carry her. She is a lot of company.

Crazy Quilt Stack & Whack Pillow

Here is the finished pillow made from my stack & whack crazy quilt. It was approximately 17 " finished with a 16" pillow form in there and it seems to fit nicely so I'll leave it at that. I could take in another 1/4" around but really don't think it needs it. Would you?

The back is solid black with an open flap with a 4" overlap to remove pillow for washing the cover. I love the way it came out.

Now my daughter wants to do 4 of them for her living room. I helped her pick some fabrics for it and as soon as she finishes a project she's working on we will start her blocks.

Stack & Whack #1

Well, here it is, my finished block. I was almost going to ditch these pieces and consider it a lesson learned, but then I figured I've worked with small pieces before, let's see what happens. Once I squared up the small blocks and stitched them together I was really pleased with the results. This is 9 squares and after squaring up measures 13 1/2 x 13 1/2". This will now be made into a pillow.

Lesson learned: Be careful how many times you "Whack" your Stack! LOL

Okay Marge, I think I get it now. Am I only suppose to cut squares into 9 pcs? How large a square do you start with?

As you can see, I cut them into too many pcs. See the finished size compared to the cut block? I had to square it up - LOL. At least these were all scraps that I had accumulated. One of the fabrics I wanted to use would only give me a 7" square so I had to go with that size. Came out to be 5" by the time I finished. I don't think I'll finish sewing these - too much work! (Maybe I will.) I really need to get her book or find a class.

Pink Floral Pillow Cases - finished.

Here is the finished pink floral pillow case. I did a pair for my co-worker. She picked the floral and I chose the trim. Again, this is a case of where I would not have chosen this fabric for pillow cases, but ended up really liking it.

Now that I've finished this project I am contemplating the stack-n-whack quilt. Off to look thru my stash of materials to see what I can come up with. (I know, I still have bags to do, but want to try something different.)

The guys at work have set up birdfeeders outside our office windows. The top one is a cardinal attempting to get some seeds. At times we have bluejays there and since they are bigger than the cardinals, they hang upside down with their wings flapping, trying to reach inside for a treat. It is fun (and funny) to watch them.

The second shot is a squirrel trying to get to the thistle seed we put out for the goldfinches. It has been out there for a couple of years now and this is the first time the squirrels have been at it.

My camera doesn't zoom but if you click on the picture you may get a better view.

Plants

The first picture shows the rhododendrens by my front entrance. This was before I filled in the window boxes. They come out pretty early in the spring and we always seem to get heavy rain that wipes them out. They put on a nice show while they are in bloom. Really getting big now, I want to trim them back this year.

The second picture is a quince bush. Those babies grow like crazy. I cut them back every year. This is a case of where they were planted too close to the house so they hit the windows. I cut them back every year but you wouldn't know it. I plan on getting ruthless with them this year. There are shoots everywhere. I've dug some up and gave them away. I'd love to pull it out but I think it would be a losing battle with all the shoots that come up.

Toddler Pillow Cases

These are some of the toddler-sized pillow cases. I bought a toddler pillow and a travel pillow (both just about the same size) and have a standard size pillow to use for pictures and trying them on to make sure they are okay.

They have such cute fabrics for kids. I've done them in flannel and cotton.

Quilted Bag - #1

This is actually the first quilted bag I ever made. Couldn't find a pre-quilted material that I liked so I quilted my own combo. I love the way it came out and got a lot of compliments on it. It has a zipper closure - what a PITB to do! (Pain-in-the-) LOL

DD keeps telling me to make more of these but the others are easier.

My Rose of Sharon Bush is in full bloom and is beautiful. I will get out there and take a picture so I can post it. This bush is huge. My living room is on the 2nd floor and I can open my door and reach it from there.

I will be back a little later to post some of the toddler pillow cases I've done.

Jo

Pink Floral Pillow Cases

This is the pink floral fabric with a beige/tan background. I found this dotted fabric that matches the color of the darker leaves and the dots are shade of green, beige, white and black. I wasn't real sure about this combo but since taking the picture and seeing it this way I do like it. I will use it as a border rather than a stip like in the brown floral one.

What do you think of this combo? I haven't stitched it yet, just folded it to get the effect.

Brown Floral Pillow Case

This is the pillow case I made for my co-worker - she gave me the floral fabric and I found a brown with a dark brown dot on it that matched the color of the darker flowers so I added a stip of it for an accent.

Here is the Hydrangea bush by the gate to my backyard. When the sun hits it - WOW - it is gorgous. My daughter has a couple of these in her yard too and they are beautiful this year. I think all the rain we had this spring suited them.

Just wanted to jump on and let you know I'm still around and I am working on a couple of projects that I should be able to blog about soon. Have a safe and happy 7th of July everyone.

Jo

Sophia's bag

Well, here is the bag we made for our friend's little girl to take to dancing class. I wanted to add a bigger ruffle to the top but decided it would hide the name and take away from the design so I went with a smaller ruffle just attached to the outside around the top.

There is a button loop on the top that I made from the denim but in the future I think I would use the same material as the ruffle/bottom of bag. The denim is kind of heavy for the loop. Overall, I am happy with the way it came out.

What do you think?