french general place mat update

i have been completely sidetracked by this lovely project...

i LOVE IMPROV

i plan on making 8 place mats...i got some pretty  pieced binding done

and i prewashed the first one ... i am pleased with the look

and i got another one completed xo

and then these little hotpads/mugmats happened too since i will have quite a few of these little blocks left over...

it will be a dining room FULL of french general love xo

and i am still piecing a star A day  .... soon this beauty shall be DONE XO

                                happy thursday xo pam

french general improv placemat love

i gathered all my french general left overs from my le jardin

along with this french general linen / cotton that i have patiently saved ....

the idea to make placemats has been there for awhile and my first practice one did not disappoint ...i love it...i still want to prewash and make sure that insul-bright for the batting is the right choice xo

  it was a lovely sunday...a beautiful day with time spent outdoors...a clean house...a bit sewing and then grammy's.  happy monday xo pam

hooking up with randi for show and tell tuesday thanks randi xo

i love sewing with this girl xo

i had a wonderful day yesterday....i sewed happily all day with kay...she made me a delicious lunch and this sweet little pincushion too xo i LOVE her sewing parlour xo

 cute cute cute

my lovely pile of sewing goodness xo

 i made some progress on this ....ouch ~  it is a bit painful putting these 8 pointed star blocks together ... good news is that they are large 28" ~ and there is only 9 of them ...and i absolutely LOVE it xo

 also made a third tagmat easy tutorial here for my husband's boss ~ baby boy number three xo

i love making these ...such an easy project

and i am a ribbon lover xo

i am thoroughly enjoying my month off from customer quilting xo even though i LOVE my job and will be happy to start up again... my 2014 goal is to slow down a bit ...make less money...spend less money...enjoy every stitch...
and my word of the year is ~ EQUANIMITY ~ perfect unshakeable peace of mind....from buddha's brain
which is also my book of choice right now...

happy friday xo pam

easy peasy "surrounded by love" baby quilt for ruby

i made a very simple baby quilt in two days using a mini charm pack ~ simple style by v and co. from moda

i love how fast it came together with belly bop [perfectly named for a baby quilt]

"seams" so right to use moda  "surrounded by love" by deb strain for the binding xo

love the pieced flannel back ~ lovemymommylovemydaddy is from joann's

simple and sweet

baby love love

ruby joan is due on february 14 xoxo

love pieced backs and using up leftover fabric pieces

just a bit of handstitching and this sweet bundle will be ready for the baby shower on saturday xo

all DONE xo

love that last finished shot xo

quilt requirements ~  42 x 49" finished ~ 6 blocks across 7 down = 42 EASY blocks

1 mini charm pack or 42 ~ 2 1/2 " squares
1 1/2 yds backround fabric ~ cut 7 x 7 1/2 " from the width of fabric
cut each wof into 6 ~ 5 1/2 x 7 1/2" and use the remainder to cut 6 ~ 2 1/2 x 5 1/2"
piece the 2 1/2" print square to the 2 1/2 x 5 1/2" white rectangle , press and piece the 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 white rectangle to that ...block should measure 7 1/2" square
lay the blocks out randomly and in rows 6 across by 7 down =42 blocks
approx. 1 1/2 yard flannel back [i pieced mine]
approx. 1/3 yard for binding

quilt as desired ~ i machine quilted mine with belly bop by apricot moon designs from digitech
and i used moda's surrounded by love for the binding cuz it was PERFECT for a baby quilt xo

i LOVE making baby quilts ~ so fast so easy so good to have a finish ~ happy tuesday xo pam
hooking up with show and tell tuesday thanks randi xo

good to be back home xo

starting to feel settled back into HOME...part of me wants a MEXICO do over and part of me is happy to have my feet back on familiar ground...

got these planted yesterday and it felt so good to sprinkle a bit of color around here

i bought one meter of mexico fabric for 70 pesos [about $6]  in vallarta....it is a very thin cotton but i LOVE the print xo

and this was my big splurge for ME ~ wooden rainbow meditation beads...YES PLEASE I LOVE THEM

      

and for a sweet little baby girl who is arriving soon ~ i got started on a simple little quilt using  this sweet little 2 1/2"charm pack that i got at spring market from vanessa's booth xo

the requirements are super easy....there are 42 little charms so a 6x7 layout w 7 1/2" blocks makes a perfect size for baby 42''x 49"

u need 7 wof  7 1/2 " wide for the backround white and each wof provides the exact requirements for each row...6 - 5 1/2 x 7 1/2" and 6 - 5 1/2 x 2 1/2" ~ gotta love when this happens xo and i plan on a random layout with a quick finish ...

and then i got the diamonds for the star quilt pressed and trimmed as well

oh so satisfying and pretty -~ looking forward to a BIG finish on this one soon xo

so thankful for my love of sewing...always calms me and reminds me who i am xo
happy sunday xo pam

and i am back in body but not quite in soul xo

i am back from two weeks [ our longest and best vacation ever ] in puerto vallarta...we stayed in an apartment ~ had a great visit with lily and jerry and LOVED it...for sure i am going back...

so much color in mexico ~ i couldn't stop taking photos

these are just a few of my favorites xo

love the  flags and the blue sky

seashells and fabric = LOVE

oh and do you think it a coincidence that i finished up the kitty quilt for lily on the plane going down  more about the kitties here

and this was our apartment  ? xoxox

we stayed on francisco madero in old town...our neighbours swept their cobblestone streets

we had a gorgeous view of the jungle above us

our apartment was on the third floor with 3 bedrooms , a large front balcony[where i sewed and we ate and drank a lot] there were 2  small balconies off two bedrooms and we  shared the rooftop ~ complete w a very reasonable rent xo

i bought a featherweight sewing machine special for this trip

nick thought i was a bit crazy but then he is not a quilter xo

i happily worked on isaac and ani's quilt ~ more here and here

it was so worth carrying esther on....i have never flown with a machine before ~ she was a bit heavy to carry at times... but i was only questioned about her once and she fit in the overhead just fine xo

it was old school ...no mat, no rotary cutter, no iron....but it sure was nice to do some vacation balcony sewing....i managed to get the last 4 sets of stars pieced just finger pressing....my mexico blocks are a bit wonky but i am ok with that xo

finishing up this star quilt and making a sweet baby girl quilt are next up....and i have two more weeks off to focus on that goodness xo
happy saturday ~ pam