Catching up...

Crazy to think that it is practically August already.  This year has gone by insanely fast!  Lots has happened since my last post (over a month ago...ewww).  Not only quilty goodness but I've been doing a little self-improvement lately.  I have lost 50 pounds in the last few months...who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!?!  Love you Sparkpeople!  A friend recommended this site to me probably last year some time and I just got around to checking it out.  It is amazing and better yet it's FREE!!  So in my new life I exercise regularly and eat right.  In fact, on August 6th I will be participating in my first 5K.  That is HUGE for me as I was never a runner.  I am very lucky in that my husband has been hanging with me through all of the crazy training I've been doing.  He's looking pretty good himself lately.  ;)

So back to craftiness.  Here are some pictures of some of things I've been working on since my last post:

 It was finally my month in the 12 Month bee and I know it's been done a million times before but I requested a string block using Tina Givens Havens Edge line.

Here is one of Julie's 12 Month blocks.  I can't wait to see how this finished quilt turns out.

Julie's second block.

Here was another block for Julie but this was from the Christmas bee.  I'm a little upset because the white was sort of off-color and I hope she'll still be able to use it.

One of the other ladies in the Christmas bee wanted a Christmas village and requested a block similar to this.  This block was blatantly "inspired" by this photo.

For a second block I pieced a little schoolhouse.

This was made as a gift for my stepmom.  Unfortunately this is the only picture of it finished that I have.  It was my first time trying the wedding ring pattern...it was ok...don't know if I would like to make a whole quilt top using it.  :)  On another note I used Aurfil 12 wt in my machine to quilt it & it was FANTASTIC!  I wish I knew where to get more of it.

This block and the next are for Alix in the Aqua & Orange bee.

Most definitely my biggest finish lately is my Hands 2 Help charity quilt ( & it was even done on time)!

By piecing the back I was able to use up practically all of the fabrics my partner sent me for the quilt.

This was all I had left of her fabric before I added the palm tree strips to the binding.

If you are interested in seeing some of the other fabulous quilts made for the Hands2Help charity organized by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict you can check it out by clicking on the button at the top of the left sidebar.

Wish me luck next weekend!  I hope everyone has a great week!

Cassey

Do you ever just have one of those days...

...or in my case weeks?  I have been so sick and then busy (because of being sick) that this past week has been a blur.  My house is in shambles partly because I have a 4 yr old and partly because I do not have a dining room table at the moment.  I just feel so discombobulated and it is driving me crazy!  I am thankful that I purchased the extra protection plan on the new dining room table so that it was able to be taken away in order to be refinished.  New furniture and small things (such as kids and pets) do not live harmoniously as I am slowly learning.  I was so hopeful for a productive weekend of sewing which I think I somewhat had but then when I woke up today I felt like I didn't have a weekend at all because I was sewing all weekend.  Ok, so maybe I'm just in a funk.  Nothing seems to be making me happy at the moment.

I did manage to finish 3 sets of blocks so that is good.   They were all for the Christmas Fabric Bee I'm in.

First up were Fairly Merry's self designed blocks:

They were a lot of work but she very kindly had done all of the cutting for us!  It was nice to be able to just dig right in!  These went out today so they should be home soon.

Next were mod mosaic blocks for Spontaneous Threads:

I have another one but I didn't have enough of the white sashing for the outer border.  Luckily, I had some of this same fabric on order so I am hoping it will come soon and I can finish up the second block too.  These are April blocks so I'm good for time.  This was a first for this type of block so I probably was not as conservative as I could have been with the white.  It was a lot of fun!

Finally, were Toerintx's blocks.  She requested pictorial blocks...uh oh, that is completely foreign to me!  I racked my brain for days trying to come up with an idea.  I drew up a few ideas and settled on a juggling elf.  GOOD NEWS: It came out exactly as I had drawn it.  BAD NEWS: I am not the best at drawing.  I have been told that it looks "folksy" which I have decided I am going with rather than "goofy" as was my word for it.  Either way, I hope it is ok.  It was so much fun to do.  I just wish I was better at drawing.

And for a second block for Erin I made a quick wonky star (something I have had lots of practice at.)

These are on their way home as well!

On Saturday I received fabrics for 2 other bees I'm in and luckily I have now had experience making both types of the blocks requested!  Hopefully, I can knock those out this week.

I should have another set of March blocks to share but unfortunately the fabric came up missing!  Very strange!  After 7 days of having not received it I contacted the sender and she said she had received a "Return to Sender" package which was the one she sent to me but the fabric wasn't in it.  I believe she sent out a replacement package last week but I still haven't gotten it.  I feel really bad.  That hasn't happened to me before.  Hopefully the second package will come soon.

How did everyone else fare this weekend?