Finally Finished!!!

YES! IT'S FINALLY FINISHED!!!

I'm going to ride the wave of excitement over the completion of my broken dishes quilt for a while. I'm soooooooooo happy that this quilt is finished and is in use right now.

front

front close-up

back

back close-up

 I still wish that I had chosen to do some straight line quilting on this one, but I guess I'm not as disappointed with the fmq as I was when I first started it. This is only the second quilt that I've made for my house, so I'm excited to see it get used and washed, etc...

I hope I have inspired you to finish one of your long term WIPs. I know I feel better having accomplished what seemed like a herculean task - and my kid is happy with it.  Happy Sunday!

Working day

It's almost afternoon and I'm just getting ready to work. My husband took my kid to the zoo. The dog just went outside, after stealing several toys from my daughter's room - she couldn't get me to play with her so she just gave up. I've got to finish the quilt today. I completed the top for a quilt for my kiddo in October and I just haven't been able to finish it. I don't know why. I love it. It's really a great piece of work. And I know she will love it since she wants to keep everything I make. The only quilt that we have that I made is the first one. It's not bad, it's just a first quilt - it needs a little repair, right now, too. Anyway, I really, really want to finish the quilt for Penn, so I will work on it right now.

here it is...

and the back

so close to being finished - what am I waiting for?

Please don't forget to enter the two giveaways of Architextures fabrics that I have going on right now. The Stamp blog entry and the Let's Get Acquainted blog entry include the rafflecopter widgets. Each comment earns you one chance to win four fat quarters of Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander. These are wonderful, low-volume prints. I got my hands on some of it and knew that I wanted to share with y'all (I was born in Texas, I can totally say y'all).

Good luck on the drawing - may the odds ever be in your favor - and all of that.

I think I'm going to put on some Buffy the Vampire Slayer and finish Penn's quilt. Enjoy your Saturday...

Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop and Architextures Giveaway

Greetings! Today is my day in the Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger blog hop sponsored by Plum and June. It's a really great opportunity for us new bloggers to get out there and make a name for ourselves, so a great big thank you to Plum and June for letting me take part.

Thank you all for stopping by and visiting my little corner of the interwebs. Since I don't have an "About Me" section on my blog yet, I will go ahead and give you a little background into who I am and why you might want to read my blog.

1.Go Boldly Quilt 2.heringbone and leaf mug rugs 3. Fabulous 50 4. paper pieced star 5, woven block for simply solids bee 6. Airmail stamp mug rug 7. HST baby quilt (girl) 8. Lone Star paper pieced block 9. Hexie pillow

All about me:

My name is Green and I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My husband and I have been married for 15 years and we have a three-year-old daughter named Penelope. We share our home with a cat (Mrs. Isabella Cat) and a new pony puppy (Lulu Grace).

I started this blog about six months ago as an offshoot of another blog that I used to write that was mainly about being an older mom and all the stuff that comes with that. As my posts became more and more about quilting, SoSewGreen was born.

I'm a self taught quilter and knitter. I have been knitting for ten years and quilting for about two. Knitting is wonderful, but it is less instantaneous than sewing.
I suppose I had a little bit of formal sewing training when I was in 7th and 8th grades. I ended up being in Home Ec for two years (it was my last elective selection both years). I learned how to use a sewing machine, then. I sew on a Singer Simple machine that my husband bought for me for about $100 from Wal-Mart. I would really love to have a fancy machine, but this one, surprisingly, does the job for me. I have been able to purchase many feet for the machine and I can do free motion quilting and sew curves and do just about everything I need/want to do. I would love to be able to have more fancy stitches since I love some toys, but... I can wait.

I have recently started joining swaps and bees. I'm currently working on the Simply Solids Bee (modern quilt blocks using solid fabrics) and the Bee(ful) of Paper (paper-pieced blocks only). I love joining bees because I'm constantly challenged with new techniques. It is a wonderful way for a beginning quilter/sewist to hone their skills. Also, since you are going to give the block away, you really want to make it perfect.

10 quick facts about Green:

1. I'm named after a Joni Mitchell song "Little Green"
2. I'm a singer and I used to work at amusement parks around the country in their shows
3. I have a BA in English
4. My mother is an artist
5. I have broken my left arm three times
6. It took me three tries to obtain my drivers license
7. I love Bollywood movies (my favorite actor is Shah Rukh Khan)
8. I love to learn new things and the next thing on my list is tap dancing
9. I started carrying a purse when I was 30 - until then, I always carried a backpack
10. I love to cook, but I hate making salad

Thanks for stopping by and listening to me ramble. I'm offering a giveaway to all of you who have read this far. Up for grabs are four fat quarters of Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander. I will choose a winner by random number generator on July 5th. Giveaway closes on July 5 at midnight. Winners will be notified by email. If you are a no-reply blogger, please remember to leave your email address in your comment so that I can get a hold of you should you win.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for visiting. Good luck with the giveaway. Now, go get your sewin' on!

 

I'm putting my STAMP on it...and giving away some stuff

Today is the day. 

The first day of the Put Your Stamp On It blog hop brought to us by Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt with our head cheerleader Thearica of Pig Tales and Quilts. Thanks for including me, ladies.

I knew the stamp I wanted to make right away - it had a paper airplane on it and it's an 88 cent stamp. 88 is my favorite number, so I wanted to show that in the stamp.

I had some charm squares that looked like lined notebook paper from Bungle Jungle and I used a square of Michael Miller Couture Cotton in Apricot for the main fabric (I can't tell you how much I love these solids. The colors are so buttery smooth...) I added the numbers with some hexies made from Zen Chic Comma mini charms and I free motion quilted the "air" swirling around the airplane. There are some motion lines that I hand embroidered, also. And here is the Airmail Stamp:

In appreciation of you stopping by my blog, I'm giving away four fat quarters (4 FQs) of Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander - patterns are my choosing.

Aren't these yummy? You know you want to win :)

I will be choosing the winner by random number generator on July 3rd (voting ends at 12PM EDT July 3rd) and the winner will be notified by email. You have three entries if you choose to increase your chances. If you are a no-reply commenter, please leave me your email address so that I can get a hold of you should you win. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

After you enter the giveaway, please don't forget to check out all the other incredible bloggers/stamp makers on today's hop:

Marjorie'sBusyCorner

Life in the Scrapatch

Pig Tales and Quilts

littlemushroomcap

sosewgreen

The Thimblemouse

Just Let Me Quilt

Words & Stitches

In Stitches And Seams

Thanks for joining me on the first day of the Put Your Stamp On It blog hop.

And the winner is #103, Sarah who said:
Thanks for the giveaway! I adore Architextures.

Great paper airplane! So fun. 
  
Thanks to all who entered!!!

Ugh!

I promised myself to get some sewing in today. I've been sick and have also been watching my daughter and it is not so easy. (cry me a river, right?)
So! Today, my husband took my daughter to the children's science museum which she loves. I was not invited. I will stay home and do my sewing and not speak to anyone and try to recover my voice as it was lost somewhere...

I will post some photos later.

I have been checking out the blogs on the let's get acquainted new blogger blog hop and there are some truly fabulous, brilliant quilters out there - amazing people, too. Check out this week's authors:

Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage

Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt

Sarah @ Quilt Candy

Jackie @ NW Patchwork

Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles

Erica @ Happy Fabric

Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity

Lauren @ Seraphym

Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

To be continued...

Okay... I did get some work done. Here are the shots:

Herringbone cowl - in progress, but Erin the Zebra likes it so far

Baby girl quilt top ready for quilting and binding

working on Stamp blog hop block - top secret

part of Stamp blog hop block - shhhh!

 I got my Stamp block underway. I love it! I also got that albatross of a baby quilt (girl flavor) top finished. Yes! Now I just have to work on the baby quilt (boy flavor), finish my stamp block, finish my curvy block (and decide a use for that). I also want to make a sample block for the Simply Solids bee for next month - my month.

Okay, gotta get the dinner on.

Enjoy your weekend!
GC

Carpe Diem

Today is the day. Today is the day that I'm actually going to sew some curves. Get ready, people... get ready for the awesomeness that will be my curvy patchwork!

I wanted to show ya'll photos of my two mug rugs that I made for my mother in law - the herringbone and the applique tree-thingy but she left yesterday with them in her bag. I will be making some more minis later this week - who knows, the curvies may end up as minis.

To be continued...

Part II

Okay... the curve master foot is AWESOME! Here are my completed curves:

first one down!

retro flowers layout minus solid pieces and sashing

another possible layout minus some solid pieces

I used the retro flowers acrylic templates that can be purchased at TabSlot. The quarter circles all measure in at 4". I trimmed them down to 3.75" to have them match. The patterned fabrics are Piper by Dear Stella and the solids are Kona charms in natural and black.

I missed out on the Ellison Lane Mini Quilt Challenge and I did want to try something new. I'm glad that I finally sewed the dreaded curves. I plan to make some more of these blocks and make a small quilt out of them. I really want to make some larger drunkard's path blocks and make a mini quilt similar to this.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you all try something new this week. It's really fun!

I'm linking up with My Quilt Infatuation's Needle and Thread Thursday.

Go make stuff!

Didjya ever....?

Have you ever made some pieces and then tried to put them together and discovered that they just don't go together? This was my problem yesterday:

I had made these two blocks to go together as a mug rug. Two problems: 1) even though they are the same fabrics, they just don't go together, and 2) that would be one GIANT mug rug. Now, they are two mug rugs. Aha! Problem solved. Will post completed mug rug photos later.

Can we talk about the name "mug rug" for a minute? I hate it. Is there another name that I can use?
Please help me come up with something else to call it.

Get your sew on!

Finally got some work done.

Happy Friday!

I'm so glad the week is over. I finally got a chance to get some sewing done. I completed two bee blocks yesterday and a block for a mug rug (herringbone - yay!). I also started knitting some golf club socks for my dad for Father's Day - I hope he likes them. I figured it was better than a tie and it will keep me busy. Here is what my day looked like yesterday:

baby quilt layout - still need to sew these together and finish the top.

woven block for simply solids bee - I really like how this one turned out. The colors are wonderful!

Foundation piecing Lone Star Burst block for Beeful of Paper.

A spy.

Finished Lone Star block for Beeful of Paper

Herringbone block - not sure I really am loving this block - but it can be turned into something good.

Sock for driver - it only has one stripe. I can't wait to make the big fluffy pom-poms for the tops of these.

 

 

 

Golf club socks were a truly inspired idea. He probably won't like them, but maybe he can be persuaded to use them if some nice cigars are included in the box.

Have a great day and get some work done yourself!

Just visiting

Before I get to sewing today - my first time sitting down at my machine in over a week - I thought I would take some time to visit all the current blogs in the "get acquainted blog hop" I'm participating in. Please stop by and visit these lovely blogs in the next few weeks:

New Blogger Blog Hop Participant Schedule

Friday, June 7th

Nancy @ Owen's Olivia

Amy @ 13 Spools

Ashley @ Wasn't Quilt In A Day

Casey @ The Studiolo 

Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That

Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood

Kim @ Robot Mom Sews

Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

Friday, June 14

Julie @ Jolie Maxtin

Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting

Adrianne @ On The Windy Side

Molli @ Molli Sparkles

Laura @ Little And Lots

Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Cari @ There's A Thread

Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21

Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage

Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt

Sarah @ Quilt Candy

Jackie @ NW Patchwork

Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles

Erica @ Happy Fabric

Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity

Lauren @ Seraphym

Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28

Green @ So Sew Green

Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts

Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme

Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap

Kathy @ Kayak Quilting

Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Kris @ Sew Sunshine

Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5

Christa @ Christa Quilts!

Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce

Anna @ The Crooked Banana

Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After 

Stephanie @ Quarter Incher

Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs

Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness

Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Fridau, July 12

Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure

Karen @ Karen, {Novice} Quilter

Anne @ PlayCrafts

Rachel @ Let's Begin Sewing...

Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm

Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain

Cath @ Wombat Quilts

Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19

Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio

Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures

Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma 

Alison @ Making Happyness

Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room

Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts

Nicole @ Modern Handcraft

Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya

Kelsey and Amanda @ Everyday Fray

Friday, July 26

Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission

RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts

Elisa Lea @ Lovelea Designs

Elizabeth @ In The Boon Docks

Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew

Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers

Emily @ Sew E.T.

Em @ Sewing by Moonlight

So far, I've really been inspired by the blogs and projects I've seen. So, get acquainted, leave a comment, maybe even subscribe to some blogs. My hop day is 6/28 and I will be having a giveaway of some lovely fabric - so please remember to check that out.

Happy hopping!

 

Sick.

My daughter has been so sick that I haven't had time to do anything other than take care of her for a whole week. My mother-in-law just got into town today and I didn't even have the time to clean my house as well as I usually do when she comes to visit. I will have to rectify this tomorrow.

smiling despite her 103 degree fever

Mama needs a brewski

late night strip cutting

I don't wanna cut into my mustache fabric (wah!)

 

 

 

 

I have a lot of strips cut for the herringbone blocks and I have a ton of UFOs right now. I really need to finish something. I have really been at a good creative place, but I don't just work on something until it's finished. I'm more likely to start something and get going on it and then stop and start something new the next time I sit down to cut and sew. Who else has the non-finishing problem? Do ya'll get sidetracked by all the new, shiny fabric, too? UGH! It's unavoidable. I just keep buying and buying and then looking and petting. Then I decide I want to make something and I have to buy MORE fabric - especially for that project. It's a disease, I tell you!

Now go and finish something!

Something new

Okay. That's it. I'm tired of the same ole, same ole. I need to break out and try something new today. I'm really gonna do it. I'm going to try and sew some curves. I'm participating in the Ellison Lane  Modern Mini Quilt Challenge and I have to do something new for it. I'm excited. I'm a little bit sleepy, but I think I can pull it off. I just need to get out my retro flowers templates out and my curve master foot and get to it. Photos later this afternoon.

Penelope is sick again. She has been sick a lot these last six months and I'm sure that it's due to school. Being around all of those kids is not good for anyone. I'm so happy to be home with her now, even if we did have to stay up until this morning.

So-sew... get to it.

June Goal Setting

I started cutting on some baby quilts and I will say that I will finish at least one by the end of the month. Here are the photos of my cutting:

I did end up going to WalMart and getting some cheap-o fat quarters for these projects. Today I ran over to Hancock's for some muslin for the other side of the HSTs. I ended up getting the fabric for an additional 10% off because I was a patient customer (I'm glad my willingness to wait gets me treats sometimes).

Tonight I'm going to cut up the white and get started on the HSTs. I should finish them all and be well on my way.