July ALYOF Finished With Hours To Spare

I truly sneaked in under the wire on this one. My husband is waiting for me so we can head off to a great music festival, but I finished the binding on this today, and wanted to make sure I got a photo or two snapped before we took off.

Just a nice patchwork quilt. I let the large prints do the talking in this one, and simply quilted it with a large, wavy line across.  It gives it a very nice texture and will make a very comfy quilt.

These photos are awful - but no time to retake. Maybe I'll post new ones tomorrow.

Enjoy your weekend,
Barb

ALYOF
Pink Doxies Pet Project Show

Make Your Own Numbered Pins

Today I wanted to share a nifty little trick I came up with that saves me a lot of time and trouble. And money!

It's my Do It Yourself Numbered Straight Pin Trick.

In the past, I have torn up little squares of paper, numbered them, and then pinned them to the top left side of each row in my quilts as I have laid the pieces out for stitching together.  I don't have a design wall, so this entire Laying Out Process takes place in the middle of my living room, or as in this case, on my dining room table. (There's half a quilt laid out in the photo below.)

That method worked well, but takes time.  Then one day I saw a product online that had the pinheads engraved with numbers, so you could just grab those to mark your rows. Marvelous idea! But they were $25 for the set. For that much, I could rip up a whole lot of scrap paper to make my own rows.

But then one day the light bulb went on. "Why not make my own?"  So I did.  I simply took plastic, flat-headed pins, a fine point permanent ink marker, and numbered a set up to 21.

I then placed them in even and odd numbered rows for easy access, and put then in this cutest little chicken pin cushion that a local quilting friend had made for me.  Viola! A handy tool that looks fun sitting in my sewing room, too!

Bad lighting, I know, but I didn't want to move the entire quilt to demonstrate these pins!

What handy, time-saving tips would you like to share today?

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with Pink Doxies The Pet Project 
Linky Tuesday 
Tips and Tutorials Tuesday 
Sew Cute Tuesday
Needle and Thread Thursday
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop 200th

Going for the Piggy Bank Challenge with Val

I'm always game for saving money! And found money is the absolute best.

In fact, when my kids were little, we'd go out for walks around the high school near our house, and often find all sorts of coins and the occasional dollar bill in the parking lot. Score!

And then one day, I decided to start collecting aluminum cans which were carelessly scattered around the parking lot.  Sounds odd now, but back in the day, cans were worth a pretty penny, and it was like a scavenger hunt for the kids to see how many cans they could find each day.  All in all, when I emptied the piggy bank, and cashed in the cans, we had $90. Which was enough for a shiny, brand new, red, Diamondback bike for our son. SCORE!  His first bike and we didn't have to 'save' for it.

So I like Val's idea of stashing money away for some quilty pleasure.  I'm in!  I picked up this great little glamping trailer piggy bank last year and it sits on my kitchen counter. Now I'll put it to good use.

What am I saving for?  Hmmm.....I think I'd like to make another quilt camping quilt with great outdoorsy flannel, none of which I have in my stash.  Yep, that's what I'm saving for.

Join in the fun and see how much you can stash this year.  You know we quilters are good stashers!

Oh - while I'm at it, here's another fun pic.  It was my Christmas present from my daughter who is very talented at web graphics,  Illustrator and who knows what other programs.  Left to right is our son (a great Portland Timbers' fan), Me!, my husband, our daughter, and our hopefully-one-day son-in-law. And Misty and Camber, too. This is how we look when we get up on Christmas morning to exchange gifts.  My family!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Colors of Nature

This was the true color of the sunset last night as seen from our front yard.  It was astounding and the photo doesn't truly capture the intensity of the moments.

Now I ask you:  is there any doubt that man has a need to recreate the glories of our surroundings in art and items of daily living?  I know there is no doubt as to why I love working with a wonderful hue of colors in my quilting.  It's like bringing the outdoors inside!

Quilting with a BIG smile today,
 Barb

July ALYOF Project

I'm running by the seat of my pants!  Here's my July project for ALYOF. I will get it quilted and bound. Yep, yep. I will!

Can't even get it to download right side up. Oh, well. I think it's Happy Hour . . . somewhere! 

Linking up with ALYOF

Quilting with a smile,
Barb