More blocks

So this block was a little difficult.  The pattern didn't include sizes, which drives me crazy, so I spent a lot of time on what looks like pieced flying geese.  Finally got the inner part of the block done when I realized two of the tiny triangles were wrong-side up. You can't really tell in a picture but in person it was obvious.  So I had to rip them out and flip them over and sew it back up and it was a mess there for a little bit.

I finally got this block finished around bedtime.  It took all my sewing time yesterday!

I woke up with indigestion around midnight and got up and sewed this block together.  I'm really glad I had already cut it out!

Shop hop blocks

These are the blocks that I have completed so far from the shop hop.  The blocks came with maroon reds and forest greens for the accent colors so I have switched those out for tans and blues.  I also changed the background fabric to a warmer beige.  

See that tiny dutchman's puzzle block?  This is the second time I've made that block the wrong size for a shop hop quilt.  I'm very annoyed at myself.  The flying geese are perfect, perfect I tell you! But the block is only 8.5 inches.  Fortunately it looks like I can use the flying geese in other blocks and I'll just make new, larger flying geese to get the correct size block.

Show and Tell

I showed these for Show and Tell at the Saturday Sampler group.  This first quilt is the 2023 Greater Houston Shop Hop blocks.  I added the stars in the sashing.  This fabric was so soft and silky! 

This quilt is a bigtime squirrel.  My Quilty BFF gave me a baggie of squares and the pattern from her late MIL's stash.  I thought this would be a great leaders 'n enders project but it ended up taking over my sewing area and my brain.  I had to add more squares-I used leftover jelly roll strips-and even had to tea dye the white jelly rolls to knock back the brightness.  I'm really pleased with it.  Quilty BFF told me it would look nice as a tabletopper in my office and go with the Patriotic Pineapples quilt I have hanging there.  And then we laughed and laughed because who knows when I will ever get it quilted!

 

More blocks and purple

Last shop hop block.  This fabric is Northcott Canvas for the nearly solids, Colorworks Premium Solid Ultra Black & Benartex Creation for the focus fabric.   

Dry fit for the Purple Menace

Blocks for the Saturday Sampler

 

More Hop Blocks

More shop hop blocks.  I enjoyed these but I hope this mania leaves me soon!

 This block is an ooops.  I had difficulty understanding the pattern (how's that for being nice?) and I made this instead.  It's 9.5 inches so I will use it for something else and get more teal fabric to make the correct block.  I need to remake two blocks and then I can get to setting these and borders!

Shop Hop Blocks

 So QuiltyBFF and I got a little obsessed with the shop hop last week. We even took vacation time so we could hop during the week. This weekend I devoted myself to shop hop blocks. Here are Saturday's blocks:

I made the second block with the red flying geese too small-it's a perfect 8.5 inch block and was supposed to be 12.5 inches!  I think 8.5 is my default!

Bluebonnets

This will be the backing for the bluebonnet quilt! I had a 20% off coupon in my shop hop book, saved over $5 which is half the cost of the book! Am chuffed. This is a Hoffman batik. I love it! May have to make something for me out of this!

Shop Hop is over.

Friday I took an early lunch between meetings and scurried down to Painted Pony N Quilts. They had some great 30's mini quilts on display-you could vote for your favorite. I also bought two chances on the raffle quilt. I bought some forked pins here and more FQs: some 30's and some Civil War repros. I also won a drawing while there-two patterns for an airplane quilt. After work I went down to Pinwheels and Posies. I bought some FQs here. Then off to Cactus Quilts. I bought a book for my sister, Ladies Day out with the Bonnet Girls, that she liked when we visited earlier. More FQs here too. When I got home my quilts had arrived from the quilters! I'll post some pics tomorrow. Saturday DH let me sleep in-big mistake as the boyos had a 9:30 appt for pictures! My mom was not happy with me for missing. After coffee we went to Fabric Etc, I won two fat quarters! And I showed off the Duck Duck Goose quilt as I had bought the fabric there. Then we took the boyos for haircuts-the first one for Tig! In the afternoon DH, Tig and I took the long drive out to Calico Cats. It took about an hour and a half to get there. Very nice folks and Lake Jackson is pretty cute. I bought a FQ of some valentine fabric to make a matching pillow for my valentine quilt and a red, white and blue panel. Then we had lunch at the Wurst Haus-very good German food. That was the end of my shop-hopping. But wait! When I got home I got a call on my cell phone- I won a $25 gift certificate to Quilter's Cottage!

More hopping

Saturday, Day 2 of the Shop Hop, started out later than I had planned. We didn’t get enough sleep (but Magpie and I agreed that for our next sleepover she will sleep at her dad’s house and I will sleep at my house) and staggered out late for Coffee with Dad. Tig joined us for the day as DH and Red were off camping.

Our first stop of the day, after driving for over an hour in the rain, was Time Treasured Quilts. Magpie liked this quilt store because they had cake balls. I liked it because they had the Prints Charming spaceship fabric I have long coveted for 50% off! I bought three yards against the day the boyos reject ducks and penguins. I also collected some FQs of different pebbles and rocks: again for the Harry Potter quilt.

Stop two was The Hen House. I had a little trouble with the Tom-Tom-Go but we eventually made it even though it was still raining. I visited this shop once previously with my dear Pigwit. I was looking for some cute hats that I saw at the Quilt Festival that I thought might have been sold at this store but no luck. We didn’t buy anything here and Tig was at his most uncooperative.

Next up was a brief stop at Quakertown Quilts in The Woodlands. Nice folks, cute but small shop. Still raining.

Stop four: Quilter’s Quarters. Again, a small shop tucked into a shopping center. Very nice folks. I bought more FQs and the Antique Quilts magazine. I also bought two chances on a raffle quilt that was handquilted. Probably should have bought more. Found out today that a friend up here at work knows the woman who did the handquilting.

Stop Five: Sew Many Things. This shop was Magpie’s downfall-she fell in love with a FQ bundle so I bought it for her. Heh heh, I’m teaching her to stash! I also acquired some more FQs and a yard of fabric. This shop was also in an old house and the folks were very nice too.

We were pretty tired by this point but my OCD kicked in and we hit two more stops:

It’s a Stitch in Humble which is huge! I bought a Trick or Treat panel that I’ve been wanting (on sale!). One of the sales ladies gave Tig a square of cow print minkee which he is still carrying around. They were very nice here too.

Then finally, The Quilt Room in Huffman. My resistance was down here and I bought 11 FQs. Mostly rocks, bricks and doors but also some cute birds. They were really nice here and gave us bottles of water. DH liked their class list and wants to go take a class there. It is over an hour’s drive from our house though. I was exceedingly tired after a long day of driving and looking.

Sunday morning I was leafing through my Shop Hop booklet before Mass and I put it back in my purse before I left the house. DH was startled: “you aren’t shop-hopping again today, are you?”

Frankly, I just don’t have that kind of stamina.

Shop hopping

Well, my sister has gone home and tomorrow I go back to work after a week of Spring Break. She was busy in the morning on her last day so I took myself off on the local shop hop. There are twenty stores on the shop hop and Friday I went to seven of them. Silly, huh? The first shop was Little Stitches-very nice folks at this shop. Actually there were very nice folks at every shop! They have this monthly BOM that I am thinking of joining as I love love love these patchables! I bought one of the patchables that isnt in the BOM and I think I will call tomorrow to find out if I will start with the Chocolate Bunny one if I sign up now. Then I went to the Quilter's Emporium. This shop was kind of set up like an old fashioned general store with black furniture and big checkout desk. They had TONS of fabric and a lot of Civil War stuff plus wool felt kits and buttons etc. Nice folks here too. I bought some buttons and a couple FQs here. Then I drove out the the Feathered Star which is located in an old house. Very cute store. I bought some Valentine FQs here. As the store is an old house you get to roam around and explore-v. fun. Next up was Quilt N Sew Studio. They gave out kits to make little pressing pads. This shop is tucked away in the corner of the shopping center and is larger than it looks. They had a neat display quilt that is like a swirl-I need to see if there is a pic on their website-and see if they have a class on it. After this one I took a long drive out to Quilter's Cottage. I think the lady said they had 16000 sq feet in this store. I drove right by it at first. I bought some FQs here, mostly 30's, and some jelly bean fabric. I'm hoping to make a paperpieced Harry Potter quilt someday and will need some Bertie Botts! Afterwards Magpie called me and wanted to know when I could come have lunch with her, mom and Sister. Well, I was a good hour away at this point! So we agreed on a time, that I could realistically make, and on I drove. I was actually early so I stopped at Quakertown Quilts for my passport stamp and bought a couple of FQs and a new book: Gone to Texas. This book takes portions of a woman's diary from the Texas settlement and makes quilts similar to what she talks about in the diary. V. cool. After lunch we headed off for manis and pedis. I got my first pedi. I really intensely dislike anyone touching my feet but I was in serious need. The pedi was actually pretty good but I don't think she did that great a job of painting my nails. We stopped by one more quilt store, Sew Contempo, on the way home so I could get my stamp-seven for the day! I bought the shop block fabric here as Magpie really liked it. Then we headed off the my parents' to get Sister's bags and get her across town to the airport. Tig fell asleep as soon as we got him strapped in his carseat so he didn't cry when we dropped sister off. Magpie, however, cried for about twenty minutes. Poor girl. It's hell to be thirteen. To cheer her up I took her to Cafe Japon, a sushi place she is always talking about. She ordered white rice. ????????? She constantly surprises me with the stuff she does. She's always talking about this place so I figured she liked sushi. Nope. Won't touch it. Ah well, tomorrow I will detail our adventures on Day 2 of the shop hop.