The Monkey quilt is done

The Monkey quilt, for my niece in Arizona, is all finished. Of course, Wren & Ben want a Monkey quilt, too, so it's a good thing I have leftovers, huh? I do believe that I will have to use the rest of it up soon, so that they have their own Monkey quilt. They love the "5 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" song.


Here's the backing.
I had a red twin sheet, but obviously, it wasn't large enough, so I split it and added strips of leftover sheets from previous projects. That way, I could still use her favorite color, red, without buying anything else.

And just so you can see it, here is a close-up of both the quilting and the binding. I love the look of this binding. It's a batik with curvy stripes, that I got off the clearance rack in my LQS. I didn't know what I needed it for when I bought it, but I'm finding a good use for part of it here.

It's Independence Day!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you celebrate it in a way that makes your heart sing with happiness.

Have you heard of Golden Birthdays?

It's when your age is the same as your birthday date. My niece was 27 on the 27th, so that was her golden birthday, something she's been looking forward to since she was 5. I decided to help her celebrate by making her a Golden Birthday quilt. She had to go on a trip to California, but when she gets back in town, she will get it. She knows I'm making her a gift, and I think she suspects what it might be, but I told her I wasn't telling because it was a surprise. :o) Want to see? (That's my little grandson in the picture.)



And here's the back. I think it's a beautiful match...especially for a thrift store sheet. I love to use those for backings. I think she'll like it.


Did you notice that there are 27 golden hearts at the top? Yup. I just can't decide if I want to tell her, or let her discover it for herself.

Date Day in Portland

Yesterday, we went to the play Avenue Q, a Broadway Across America production. It was irreverant, filled with cultural references and absolutely hilarious! It was a wonderful introduction to Broadway plays. In August, I have tickets to take 2 of my kids to see Phantom ofthe Opera. Hopefully, that will be just as wonderful.
After the show, we hung out and killed a few hours and then went to a CD release party. The Bryan Flannery Band released their new CD, Rushing Back, so we listened to the band and bought the CD. I work with Marcus, the drummer, so it was nice to support a friend. :o)
It was nice to listen to the band, too.


Today should be cooler than yesterday. We broke heat records, 100+. Today is should only get to 92. I think it's a perfect day to try and get some stuff cleaned up around here so that I can do more quilting. I've got a binding to finish and a couple of June blocks to do and they are more fun to do with a clean sewing table............ Hey, it could happen! lol

Finally, the May BOM is finished :o)

Both blocks are done. Yay! I'm all caught up and ready to start on my June blocks and it's still June. I almost can't believe that I'm caught up. :o)

summer vacation is 1.5 weeks long, so far

...and I've been quilting up a storm. :o)
The other day, I decided to use the gingham fabrics that I got from my grandma a few years ago. It's not my favorite fabrics, but it was from my grandma, so I had to use it. Here is the quilt, so far. I started with 5" charms sewn into a 9-patch pattern and then cut the block into 1/4's, rearranged the parts and sewed it back together. I like how it turned out, but I think it needs something more, so I'm going to let it age for a bit while I think on how to give it a little "oomph!".


Today, I finished up my February blocks from my Be Attitudes BOM. Isn't this angel just too sweet?

Tomorrow, I do believe that I'll be able to get the May blocks finished and then I'll be ready to start on June ... while it's still June. How amazing is that?! lol
I didn't find the book "Liberated Quiltmaking", but I did get this one, "Liberated String Quilts".


It was fun to read through and I found that I'm already a liberated quilter and didn't know it. I already do a lot of things the way that they talked about, in the book. I think I'll read through it again, just to see what I learned.

do you want "Liberated Quiltmaking"?

There's a book I've been wanting for awhile, by Gwen Marston, but since it's out of print, the price is atrocious! Go check out Lazy Gal Tonya's site and leave her a comment if you've been wanting a copy of this book, too. Who knows, they just might reprint it at a more reasonable price.