One-of-a-Kind Birthday Cards

July is a popular month for birthdays in my crowd. 

What better way to make a birthday person feel loved than make them a unique card?

The card ideas in this post aren't entirely mine, unfortunately. I found similar cards on Pinterest, so I tweaked the idea to work for me.

Making cards with fabric also helps me find a use for those 

fabric scraps that seem to pile up! Yeah!

So, ---28-- above was sent to my husband's niece in Utah.

With 2 youngsters and a long way from home, I figured she needed a special card.

I hardly remember turning 28. (That was a long time ago.)

Then I made a --70-- card for my dear friend, Joan. She threw herself an incredible party with catered food, a band, and flowing wine bottles! She deserved a special card. 

The last card I made was for my incredible friend, Carolyn, who turned 55 right after returning from a trip to Africa. She has a doctorate degree and teaches at a local college. She took a group of students to Kenya on a mission trip to build a school library.

She certainly deserved a special card!

I love making these cards, especially when I have the urge to be creative. I

t's a quick fix for me. 

OK, so if you've made this far, I'm about to tell you that one commenter will win a card of their choosing! You choose the number and color palette (my scraps may define that) and I'll make you a card to send to someone who deserves it! 

All you need to do is tell me what birthday has been most special to you

....and what made it special.

Example: My 19th birthday was most special to me because I met my husband-to-be! 

I'll randomly choose a winner on the evening of Tuesday, August 1st.
Edited: This contest has ended and the winner has been contacted!

Linking up with MmmQuilts DrEAMi Linky #6

Handmade Monday #36 Sum of Their Stories

Busy Girl!

Hey there friends!

It's been a while since I've stopped by here to blog.

One good reason is that it's summer and I'd rather be outside soaking up the warm

weather while I can. Winter will come soon enough.

Anyway, I have spent a bit of time in the sewing room.

I've made a bib for Grace:

I've embroidered a towel for a wine-loving friend who's recently had a birthday: 

I've completed a blouse for myself...yeah, it's been a while since I've made a garment!

Bernie at Needle and Foot had a sew-along earlier this summer, so I hopped on.

I enjoyed making myself something to wear so much that I will be doing this again soon!

I've also gotten distracted with painting rocks. 

There are so many designs rolling around in my head to paint!

I'm always on the look out for smooth rocks.

My husband and I also took a trip to Glacier National Park in June.

Oh, the beauty! With very limited internet and no TV for a week,

it was an extra special break. 

Lots of fresh (cool) air, nature, and bears (oh my)!

 

We stayed here at Many Glacier Lodge for 4 nights.

Reading a few good books is always a favorite summer activity.

Right  now, I'm reading The Turning Point by Freya North.

I won this book on Instagram and am really loving it!

Of course, I've been gardening and tending to my flowers.

I can't take credit for these little pretties since they re-seed in the sidewalk cracks.

I'll end with sweet Miss Sophie who turned 4 on July 9th. 

So, what's kept you busy this summer?

Quilt Top Assembly for Postcard From Sweden quilt

I am just so pleased tickled with this project!

This weekend I finished getting all of my blocks, then rows sewn together for the

Postcard From Sweden quilt along.

Nope, not every corner seam is perfect, but most of them are.

This will be my baby.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Isn't she pretty?

I've questioned myself a million times over what I'll use as backing fabric.

I've questioned myself TWO million times over how I'll quilt this!

I've always adored Kaffe Fassett's fabric designs,

so I splurged on a piece I found in the sale section on Craftsy.

I knew it had to be purple cuz that's what makes me happy!

The next step to the link-up will be the finished quilt.

My life is extremely busy right now with the end of school in sight,

so I'm not sure I'll get this done in time.

Keep those fingers crossed!

Linking up to BusyHandsQuilts

All Presssed & Trimmed!

I am finally on track and getting linked up to Busy Hands Quilts for the 3rd step

of the Postcard From Sweden quilt along!

I feel like I've been chasing my tail lately!

Above is the pile of trimmings from 144 blocks. Aren't they pretty?

(I must be a nut to think of shards of fabric as "pretty".)

Call me a nut. I don't care.

Here is the "before" trimming photo.

And several hours later....

Here they are all gussied up and waiting their turn to be stitched together.

Oh, what a beauty they will be!!!

Linking up to Busy Hands Quilts

Pieced HSTs for Postcard From Sweden quilt

One of my goals for 2017 is to  make the Postcard From Sweden quilt. It's a quilt I've long admired since I first saw it on Pinterest. When Myra from Busy Hands Quilts posted about a quilt along late last year, I knew I had to hop aboard!

Life was a bit busy at the beginning of March when she started the quilt along, so I was behind for the first link-up. That meant double-duty for me to catch up!

I had plenty of solids to choose from in my stash.

Most are Bella and Kona solids with a few orphans thrown in.

I narrowed it down to what I  needed.

Always, always wishing I had a few more purples. Sigh.

Here are my HSTs after cutting.

Each color pile was assigned a number and was set in formation like pointy little soldiers

awaiting their call of duty. Soon, they'd get assigned their partners!

All stitched into blocks and labeled according to rows.

These are my leftover triangles. I know they'll make a pretty project...someday.

Linking up to Busy Hands Quilts / Piecing HSTs

edited to add: I was late to the link-up! Shoot!

Project QUILTING 8.6: TIME IS UP!

This is the final week for Persimon Dreams' Project Quilting challenge for 2017.

This will be my third entry for this year's challenges. 3 out of 6 ain't too bad!

This week the theme is "Time Is Up!"  Always open to one's interpretation, I chose to look at my pile of scrap rail blocks that I'd been stitching up. I had quite a pile of them, but no real project in mind to use them. I was afraid that soon they'd get stashed into a bag and thrown into the closet where other once-loved projects go.

Once I heard the theme for this week, I said, "Time is up for those babies!"

I laid them out into a pleasing arrangement.  Then switched them around once or a hundred times.

I'd been wanting a sewing machine cover for my second machine and

I found that I had almost enough blocks here to make one!

Talk about being "a few blocks short"....

but that's another story!

Chain stitching began. 

Gotta save TiME!

I even used up scraps of batting by Frankenstein-ing them together.

TiME to use up that batting!

I found an ugly piece of fabric in my stash that I've often wondered why I bought it.

It's in the color line of Putrid.

Perfect TiME to use the Putrid Fabric!

I practiced my loop de loop FMQ on this piece.

Was looking good til a piece of the Putrid Fabric got doubled up and stitched over.

Got NO time for that!

A bit of a close-up of the FMQ going down on the back.

This took more TiME than I thought it would.

Fast forward to the scrappy binding.

TiME to use those leftover pieces of binding from previous projects! 

I even used selvages to use as loops on the sides.

A bit of Fray Check helped to keep the threads in line.

You can see my other machine to the rear right covered in a scrappy cover too.

It was TiME for this machine to get a decent dress!

Doesn't she look pretty?

The final 3-layer project measures 22"x26"

and was made in  my home in Dubuque, Iowa.

Thank you to Crazy Mom Quilts for the excellent tutorial to make these blocks!

Linking up at Persimon Dreams Challenge 8.6 Time Is Up!

Be sure to pop over there starting Sunday, March 19th to vote for your favorite projects!

Tuned Into Texture--Project Quilting Challenge 3

This past week sewists were challenged to think about texture and include it in a project.

I was stumped. I was busy. But I wanted to take part.

I looked at my pile of scraps from trimming my Baby Lattice Quilt and thought I could use them to make a matching baby bib and throw in some texture.

I got out the seam ripper and removed all of the white to use up the patterned fabric pieces.

I sewed the scraps wanky-panky together. (cool word, eh?)

I didn't want it to look like perfect patchwork.

Using my bib template that I've used a billion-jillion times to check for size,

I traced and trimmed the fabric.

I wanted to add a flower applique with some "poof",

so I cut a matching piece of batting to sew under each layer of the flower.

I used the blanket stitch around each flower. Very organic stitching!

Now it was time for the fun part! Thinking about the ripples in water when a stone is thrown in, I went for the "ripple" look around the flower. I sewed it onto a piece of batting that was in the scrap pile. I just zig-zagged them together to make a piece large enough. Perfect!

The ripple/echo quilting was the most fun! It really does give this sweet bib a lot of texture.

It was cut free from the batting and stitched with a gray polka-dot backing,

then top stitched for stability.

With my label, all it needs is a snap!

The bib measures 9.5" x 14". It has 3 layers and is a scrappy patchwork design.
Completed in my sewing room in Dubuque, Iowa.

I  hope the new mama will love this for her first baby!

Linking up with:

Persimon Dreams Project Quilting Season 8 Week 3

Lily Pad Quilting Cabin Fever Party

Oh Scrap! Quilting is More Fun Than Housework!