Hiding away in my cool basement sewing room...

...because it is really hot and humid here. And we don't have air conditioning. :( So my choices to beat the heat include sitting in the pool or in my sewing room. Consequently, I'm getting a few things accomplished quilt-wise.

Remember the scrappy zigzag top from last post? Well, here's what it looks like now that it is done. (The three dark straight lines going across the top half of it are shadows from the clothesline.)

I am calling it my Ode to Charlie Brown, because the zigzags remind me of his shirts. I used a couple different pieces of fabric on the back. Here's a peek at that, too.

Plus, I'm happy thrilled to report that I am in the process of putting the binding on the quilted sweatshirt jacket. Too bad it is going to be too big for me when it's done. No new pic of that one just yet.

And now, out to the pool.

Ketchup weekend, Design Wall Monday and other fun

This past weekend was a Ketchup weekend organized by Pat Sloan. I do not have any block of the months started that I needed to get caught up with, but I did have something I wanted to make. So I got to work on a quilted sweatshirt jacket. I made some good progress, but still have a ways to go.

Here is what I have so far.

I'm not sure I like it, but I will wait until I'm finished to form my final opinion.

Judy L. has been doing a feature called Design Wall Monday, where she shows what is on her wall and shares links to other quilter's blogs and design walls. I think it is fun to see what other quilters are working on, so I decided to share the state of my design wall today.

Here's a peek at what I'm playing with this week.

These are nine-patch blocks from some swaps I did a couple years ago. I made one quilt with my swap blocks last year. And I had all but about about a dozen of the black/white setting blocks needed for this one already made. So I whipped those up and am now ready to make up the quilt top. I will probably shuffle the nine-patches around a bit, until I like the balance before I start stitching them together.

And speaking of playing with swap blocks, this is what came off my wall before I put up the nine-patches. I swapped these blocks last year with some internet friends. The swap did not result in a lot of blocks, and I was going to make more so I could get a decent sized quilt. But, I am really trying to finish things, so I put my blocks up on the wall just to see what I could do with them. The result is a small quilt top, probably a good baby quilt size. It works for me, so I'm going with it.

The block pattern for this one came from Bonnie over at Quiltville. I chose this setting for the blocks, but there are so many great ways to play with them for different looks.

Two finishes this week :D

Yes, you read that right, I got two quilts finished this week. I feel pretty good about that. Maybe I will get the UFO list down to a reasonable size before the end of the year.

Tisket a Tasket Quilt- pattern from the book 'More Strip Clubbing'

It has been a real struggle for me not to buy fabric for new projects. In fact, there is a shop hop going on in my area this week, but I have decided not to participate. I just don't need any more distractions than I have already.

Four Patches and Friends quilt- pattern from the book 'Open a Can of Worms'

And speaking of distractions, I made a couple new bags this week from the stash. I wanted a new beach bag to take camping this summer. And I had so much fun making it, that I made two. I'm not sure what I will do with the other one yet. I got the pattern here.

So Sew easy Schlep Bags-pattern from Sentimental Stitches.com

A day of sewing brings progress

Yesterday was open sewing day at my local quilt shop and I was lucky enough to be able to go. I don't know why, but I always seem to be able to get more done when I go compared to what I can do if I am at home in my sewing room. And I definitely made good use of my time yesterday. I took several things along to work on, including two quilts that I got back from the long-arm quilter last week. I am thrilled to say that I got both quilts trimmed and they have the binding machine stitched down and are ready for the hand stitching to finish them up. That will be my busy work during TV time for a while.

I also finally got the outer border on my woolly flower quilt top. I have been putting it off for over a year, as I wanted the border to be more than just a plain border. Here is what I finally decided on. I am happy to have it finished.

Now I just need to figure out how to quilt this thing. Any suggestions?