Finishes - 2/23/19

My plans for last week got thrown for a loop when my body decided it wanted to get sick and actually force me to slow down.  =(   After spending the morning Saturday between urgent care and then Walmart waiting my prescriptions to be filled, and then crashing nothing much got done until Saturday.

First up was sewing this teddy bear.  He'll be off to a little one who is a new big brother as of Friday when I deliver dinner to a family at church this week.  Big Bro keeps eyeing the bunny I made Lil Sis, so he needs his own critter.

Got the blocks cut and/or sewn for the next commissioned quilt.  The pieced blocks still need to be trimmed to 9.5" unfinished, but that is for this week.

And I got backgrounds fused for the first set of Easter postcards.  To come are Easter eggs, baskets, and who knows what else.  =) 

I also managed to make it by the post office so the two commissions from last week and a set of swap blocks were put in the mail on Thursday when I ran out for early voting.

Gratitudes:
1. For an urgent care office in the next town (none in the town where I live) that is never busy....

2. For friends who bring meals over when I'm not feeling good.

"Raw Materials"

I've really enjoyed working with the men's shirts as I've been making the memory bears.  And I've had a lot of positive response from the pictures of them.  And actually I had someone want to buy this bear....but it is one of the 12 memory bears that I've been making for a commission. 

The friend who really liked it, wants to order a bear from me.  Not having anything else like it (shirt or the fabric stash), it was off to Goodwill for me to see what I could find.






First stop was at the small Goodwill store in the small where I live.  As it happened the day I went in they had green tagged items on sale for $1, and another color was half-price. Of the top 5 that I bought on Saturday (the bottom 3 I'd had for a while), three of them were only $1. 

One men's shirt, and three 2XL/3XL women's scrub tops that were in like new condition and 100% cotton fabrics.   I'm hoping to make a dog from the middle scrub top because it is a cute dog print fabric. 

Loved the top one in this stack.   It's a patchwork seersucker that should work up to be a cute bear.   Almost makes me want to use some of my precut squares (or cut some!) to make some of the critters.

I'm a little worried about the navy/cream print not working with the black buttons for eyes.  That might end up as a pillow instead.

Pinks/reds fit for a girl bear.  The bottom one is a light pink/white gingham looking shirt.


















These are the shirts that I could find between the three different Goodwill stores that I went to that are close to the one memory bear.   Will take them to church to let my friend pick which one she likes the best.

Gratitudes:

1. For good prices on the "raw materials" that I was able to get on these shirts.

2. For the one bear already 'sold' that will pay for most if not all of these.

Military Bear BOM - Delayed

The next block for the Military Teddy Bear BOM will be delayed until February because of all the hoopla with the Craftsy debacle, my vacation in December and an unexpected trip to the hospital last week for me.

Thanks in advance for everyone's patience!

Moira

Teddy Bear October Block of the Month

I'm running late this month in getting this block released, life just got too busy and I didn't manage to get it done.   My apologies to all who have been waiting for this.

This months pattern is Charles, the Navy Sailor.   He's dressed in is white uniform and waiting on the deck of the ship that he's been deployed on and ready to see his family again.

The block will stay up as a free BOM through the month of November, with the next block released the first of December.

To download the pattern, click here to go to my Craftsy site where I have the pattern.


Gratitudes:

1. Patient blog readers!

2. For having a weed-whacker that enabled me to at least whack down the tall stuff in the front yard last weekend.

September Block of the Month - Fran and her Design Wall

September's BOM has been released. 

Meet Fran who has been busy making her quilt blocks and is now arranging them on the design wall at the quilt retreat.

This bear was named after a dear friend who passed away several years ago.  Fran loved to make small blocks, and I thought of her as I was piecing the 1.5" quarter-square triangle blocks on the design wall.

And this is the setting that I used to put my blocks together into a finished top. 


You can find the pattern for the applique block and the setting for the wall-hanging here on my Craftsy page.  The bear pattern will be free till the middle of October, and the setting pattern will remain free after that.


Gratitudes:

1. For the rain received today - even if it meant not being able to have my yard mowed.

2. For the gift card that I was able to use to pay for part of the shelving hardware that I bought for the house.

August Block of the month - Jane and Ann

Meet Jane and Ann who are showing the quilt that they finished during the quilt retreat.

You can find the pattern here on Craftsy.

Enjoy the block!


Gratitudes:
1. Progress in getting things done today.

2. Payday came!

Wrapping up the Week.

Busy week last week.  Worked from home for 4 days which takes a lot more concentration because it's easy to get distracted by all the 'fun' stuff here.   On the other hand, I did get a lot done while waiting for the computer to process things.  =)

The biggest thing accomplished this week was getting my quilt frame set up correctly.   I'm so happy to have it back up and usable for the first time in 3 years.   And even happier that my machine is behaving nicely.

First quilt that went on for me to practice on was this UFO made from swap blocks.  Checking back in my pictures swap was late 2014.  It's now waiting on binding.

Second quilt on the frame was this UFO quilt top.  Quilted in a meander pattern, this one has been sold.

I also put together three snack mats, all of which still need to be quilted.  The first used a UFO piece of cross-stitch for a focal point.   Green fabric and the lime green pleated trims were both remnants and worked perfectly for this.











Another piece of cross-stitch formed the start of this snack mat.  The cross-stitch was done on my road trip taken back in 2016 and started about the point where I visited my friend Susan.   I have a piece of hand-dyed aida from her to make another on using this pattern.  The green fabric was a remnant picked up this year, and the cream fabric with the dandelions on it was bought back in 2016 when I was row-hopping.








This snack mat started with some UFO HST's.   And even tho the pic makes it look wonky, it really is straighter than the pic shoes.

All three snack mats will be listed for sale when they are finished.

I also managed to design and then finished the four spool blocks that I need for the setting I've designed for my Quilting Bears mini-BOM this year.  I plan to release the setting at the same time as I release the August BOM.   There will be one more quilting bear to come in September and then this series will be done.

And finally, I had to stop by Joann's to get something I needed for a project and saw this piece of drapery fabric in the remnant bins.  I couldn't resist getting it (half off of the 50% off sale price).  It is heavier weight than the quilting cottons I've been working with but I think it'll work in the passport wallets.   If not then I'll use it to make travel pouch's or something along those lines for sale.

Gratitudes:

1. The start of a new decade for me today, been a good one so far.  Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

2. For help in getting the cord swapped out on the dryer.

July BOM - Ben the Army Soldier

Meet Ben the Army Soldier, he is proud to serve his country.   He is currently standing at attention and saluting as he waits for review by his commanding officer.

You can download the pattern for Ben for free until the middle of August here at this link.

I hope you enjoy it!

Gratitudes:

1. For being able to watch two special young people pledge themselves to each other at their wedding.

2. For a God who supplies all my needs no matter how things look to me.

June Teddy Bear BOM

The teddy bear is Leah and she is busy sewing up a storm at the quilt retreat with her friends.

The pattern can be made with fusible or hand applique.

With this pattern just a little tweak in where you place the sewing machine will give you a different look to the finished block.

You can find the pattern here in my Craftsy store.  It will be free until I upload the next Teddy Bear pattern in July.

Enjoy the pattern!

Gratitudes:

1. For the fun that I have in designing new blocks.

2. For others liking what I design

May 2018 Block of the Month - Sherry the Bear

This month's block of the month is Sherry.  She was not able to go to the quilt retreat with her friends, and is out walking her puppy to have some fun.

Click here to download the Pattern for Sherry the Bear.

Enjoy!



Gratitudes:

1. Only a few more days till the house closes!

2. Packing is progressing.

April Bear of the Month - Jan the Ironing Bear

Meet Jan who is at a quilting retreat.   She is busy ironing a quilt for her friend Susan.

This block finishes out at 12" and may be done by machine applique or hand applique. 

The pattern will be free for one month, and can be found HERE.


Gratitudes:

1. Offer is in process of being made on the house I saw on Friday.

2. God will provide the finances that are needed to make my budget work if I get the house....even if that means a PT job.

Teddy Bear BOM - Kathy, Miss January

The final teddy bear pattern for the 2017 BOM is now live on Craftsy.  

This is Kathy, and she is our Miss January.   She is modeling her new winter coat.

You will find her pattern here on Craftsy.

Gratitudes:

1. for a job to go to even when the office is colder than normal.

2. For knowing that I've got all of the paperwork needed for the mortgage pre-approval process somewhere........now to figure out where.....lol

2017 BOM - Nicholas Bear is busy preparing for Christmas

Meet Nicholas Bear who is busy working on his final Christmas projects so that he can finish them before flying out on Christmas Eve.

You can download Nicholas here -
Sewn To Own Creations

He wishes all of you an early Merry Christmas!

Note: There will be one more bear in the BOM coming in January.     And there are additional bears planned for release, but those have not been written yet.



Gratitudes:
1. New bridge is in and feels comfortable - no more gap in the teeth!!!

2. Headway was made on the final Christmas things to be accomplished

Teddy BOM - Block 10 is up

Meet Bentley the Pilgrim Bear.  He is dressed in his Sunday finest clothes and ready to celebrate Thanksgiving.

You can find the pattern here for downloading:

Download here

Enjoy!

Gratitudes:

1. Antibiotic is helping the sinus infection (now to only remember to take it!)

2. Weather is warmer.

More Bears......

Finished the final two blocks of the military bears.  First block was this one for the Air Force.   This is Sterling and is named for a long time family friend who passed away several years ago.

 Second block made this weekend was this one for the Coast Guard.   He is named Nick in honor of one of my ex-students who is going into the Coast Guard.


















And this is the layout I've got started.  The two-patches along the outside are what I'm thinking of for the border, with the same light blue used as the background filling in the remainder of the border.

Still to be done is to rework the the Navy bear to tweak his face.   Redesign is done, I just need to make the replacement block.  Once done I can put the quilt together.

And this is Jan, who at a quilt retreat and ironing the quilt that she is working on.

Gratitudes:
1. Cooler weather is due tomorrow.
2. My toe doesn't hurt after clobbering it this past weekend and the torn nail will eventually grow out.

October Block of the Month

Meet Brian, who is celebrating his birthday this month by dressing up for a costume party. 

This block was named for my brother who would have celebrated his 54th birthday this month.

The October block of the month has been released and is available for download by going to this link -

Download Here



Gratitudes:
1. For my sweet brother who was here as many years as he was.

2. That I know he's waiting for me now and I'll see him again one day.
.

Progress over the weekend

Got the baby quilt that was to have been a commission fused onto the background (fabric was prepped when it was cancelled).
Satin-stitching around the appliques has not been done yet because with over 200 spools of blue thread, I don't have the right shade of blue for the whales........argh.......lol.....

This one will be listed for sale either on ebay or etsy as to be completed (quilted) after personalization (first name) has been added.  Hopefully it will sell quickly.   Name will be added in white once it sells.  Today though I need to stop and get thread to match the two blues in the whales because out of 200+ spools of blue thread at home I don't have a matching color.  =(







Next up was working on the military bears.   I completed the Navy bear, but am not completely happy with the way it looks, so I will be tweaking his face so that it looks better.   (His muzzle is too big in my view.)

Next up are the blocks for the Air Force and the Coast Guard.

And after all of that is done I might redo the army bear, because of the way he is saluting.   Technically saluting with the left hand is ok, but it is not the norm.  So I may reverse the pattern to where he is saluting with his right hand which is the proper way to do it.

Did get the four setting blocks completed.  And everything is pinned to my design wall.

The blocks were an exercise in frustration because my math was wonky......12" divided by 4 is not 4".....lol....First pass at them I ended up trying to make 16" finished blocks to match up with 12" blocks.   Trust me - that does not work out well!

Not only did I have to do a bit of frog-stitching and tweaking the design for the blocks so that I did not have to make more blocks, but I also  ended up with too many blocks/block sections because I did not count properly....ooops.  Oh well, at least I had enough fabric. 

The extra block sections are earmarked for a pieced border for the quilt that I'm pondering on.

Gratitudes:
1. Payday will eventually get here......maybe
2. For finding a pair of like-new jeans in a thrift store that are a perfect fit (except for the length) for only $3!

Weekend doings

Progress this weekend included finishing up three new teddy bear blocks.   All of them will be new patterns, the two military ones though will not only have individual patterns but also one or more quilt patterns containing all of the blocks.

The first military block is Clark, and he is in the Army.













The second of five planned military blocks, is Jerry and he is in the Marines.   Still to come is the Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force.




















The final Teddy bear block for this weekend is Sherry.   She out walking one of her dogs, and is looking good in her tunic and leggings.   She's sporting a new purse and a stylish headband.

 The final thing I've made progress on this weekend was getting the top 3 rows sewn together for this commissioned quilt.   And I've already got a quilting plan in mind for the quilt.....woohoo.   that is where I usually struggle.

Gratitudes:
1.  Fall is here even if the temps are still saying summertime.

2. The bills are paid!

Block 8 - Colette Has Been Released

Block 8 of the Teddy Bear Block-of-the-Month has been released.

Meet Colette who is dressed in her new school dress and eagerly waits to go to her first day of school.

This block is sized to work for a 10-12" block.

The block can be downloaded from here on Craftsy.

Have fun with it!

Gratitudes:
1. Abundant design inspiration to keep me thinking and planning for future designs

2. For finishing up projects and being able to send them off to their new homes

Teddy Bear BOM - Maria, the Dancing Bear is ready

The Teddy Bear block of the month for August has been uploaded and is ready for you to download.

This is Maria who is dancing to celebrate her birthday which is just a few days away.

A note on the applique for this block - to get the feel of movement in the dress, I used the wrong-side of the fabric for the sections of the dress where the underside would be showing.    This is not a necessity, but I like the depth it gives to the block.

And yes, in case you were wondering, Maria is the Spanish version of Moira.   So this one is named after me...........lol.......  And yes, I'm sure you can guess what that means as regards to her birthday.

Click here to download the pattern.




Gratitudes:

1. Cooler weather than last week.

2. Safe travels so far for my parents.