April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop!

Today is day 5 of the April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop and I am so glad that you have stopped by! Thanks to Mdm. Samm (Sew We Quilt) and Erin Davis (Sew at Home Mummy) for thinking up and organizing this wonderful blog hop and inviting me to join.  This is my first blog hop ever so I hope I have done them and you proud.  And without further ado here is my Mug Rug.

 I decided this would be a great opportunity to try out my decorative stitches on my machine.  I had these great fabrics in my stash thanks to winning a door prize at Fabrics Etc. a couple of weeks ago during the Greater Houston Shop Hop.  This is my first time making a mug rug and I found that I still need to figure out how to finish off my binding strips.  I am really having trouble with this step.  I have watched videos over and over, but just don't get it on the first try, ever. LOL

P.S.  After making the above mug rug my granddaughter told me she wanted to keep it.  Then of course my grandson wanted a "boy" one.  So, being the Nana that I am, I whipped one right up for him.  This time it only took me two tries to get the binding right. LOl

Anyways, I hope you will stop by all the other blogs on the hop today.  They are:

Bobbie @ From This to That

Leslie @ Les Quilts

Kristen @ Meadowbrook

Lavonna @ ZellerWear

Lynn @ Thimblemouse & Spouse

Amy @ Sew Incredibly Crazy

Martha @ Living Life

Shawn @ Creative Inspiraciones

Rhonda @ Sunrise at Ravelly's! Have fun Hopping around!

Linking up to:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Sew Much Ado

Kreative Creationz

My life right now....

Consist of taking care of two awesome grandchildren on top of our daily crazy life.  I am loving it.  Every wonderful, and trying moment of it. And while they are visiting, we are trying to make as many memories as possible.  

There has been crazy amounts of playtime:

We are growing green onions from our scraps:

We visited the Stingray Reef in Kemah:

Uncle Michael, Hannah and Dalton 

And went to Galveston to play at the beach and ride the ferry

And I just have to add that I love, love, love this photo that my daughter, Kaylyn, took of the two of them sitting by the creek

I think this would make an awesome art quilt, except I don't make art quilts.  Maybe someone out there would make a grandmother something so special??? LOL

So as you can see not much sewing or quilting getting done around here lately, but I do have two more pictures for you.  My daughter finally asked me to show her how to quilt.  My grandson had to join her, and yes she is working on her own quilt, LOL:

And I did finish up a pillowcase dress for my granddaughter

So I guess that gives me some progress and a finish for this week so far.  Yeah!

Hope your days are filled with so much love and awesomeness!

Linking up to:

Live a Colorful Life

Love me some summer.....

Yes, I do love me some summer.  Sun, sand, ocean, pools, and sundresses.  I have been drooling over this Riley Blake Designs "Seaside" collection for sometime now.  I am just IN LOVE with the beach scene print. When I found the Tea Party dress pattern at Oliver S + Co. I just knew the two were a match made in heaven. So with out further ado, I present my Princess Hannah's new summer sundress!  I can't wait to see her in it. 

Don't you just love this fussy cut on the bodice?

And this coordinating polka dot hem lining?

And yes, I am to lazy to hand stitch a hem and don't own a serger, so I totally cheated and did a double topstitch on the hem line. I love the way it looks!

And the great thing about this pattern is there is also a coordinating playsuit pattern for a boy and bloomers for the dress.  This is perfect because next I will be making the playsuit in the "Seaside" plaid for my grandson.  Won't they just be the two cutest things.  Okay, I'm done gushing for tonight. 

Love,

Linking up to:

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Plum and June @ Simply Miss Luella

Crazy Mom Quilts

Live A Colorful Life

I just have to share this.....

This overwhelmingly warms my heart.  Music is an amazing thing! Enjoy!

Challenge Completed and a Sew Together Bag

Crazy I did it!  I have finished my table topper quilt for the Henry Glass & Co. fabrics Desire to Inspire challenge.  And I love it! Here it is:

This was such a fun challenge.  It was also my first time binding a quilt.  It was much easier than I thought it would be.  

This last week I also finished my Sew Together Bag by SewDemented. This was a little challenging for me.  I still have to learn how to get my machine to sew over thick areas of fabric such as the side seams of the pockets.  Putting the binding on this was the hardest part.  I did however, learn how to install a zipper.  It was super easy with her instructions. 

My daughter loved it, but asked that I make one using laminated cotton so she can use it for make up.  Oh boy, don't know if  I'm quite ready for that binding again.

I also designed a pattern this week for my dear FIL's quilt.  I did it on graph paper and figured the math my self.  Hoping I did it right.  I will start cutting on it this week.  Here is the fabric I have been hoarding for this project.

I think it will be perfect for an ol' cowboy. What do you think?

Now onto the Riley Blake Designs BOM.  This months block is the Churn Dash or as they call it Simplicity. I have to say I love this block.  It is so easy and you can do so much with it just by changing up fabric patterns.  

And here are January, February and March's blocks all together:

Here are all the blocks I have made with this wonderful fabric:

Well that's all for now folks. I hope to be back this week with another finish.

Linking up to

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Live a Colorful Life

Busy Bee Quilts

Quilt Story

Sew Much Ado

Sew Many Ways

Crazy Mom Quilts

Challenge Accepted!

This week was a great week.  Why you ask?  I received a sweet little package of some beautiful fabrics in the mail from Henry Glass Fabrics.  I am so excited and honored to have been asked to join their Desire to Inspire Challenge.  This challenge is meant to get people sewing more, using your creativity, and working with what you are given.  You can read more about the Desire to Inspire challenge here.

So, this week I was surprised with this beautiful bundle of fabrics to work with.

Sweet Land of Liberty by Color Principle for Henry Glass Fabrics

And here are the blocks I have completed so far:

pattern: RBD February Mystery BOM

pattern: Bee In My Bonnet Houses from her Row-Along

pattern: My own (worked out perfectly with 13 stripes in the right order, huh?)

In other news to add to a great week, my daughter recently turned 22 (Happy Birthday baby girl), found out she only has two more electives to complete after this semester to graduate with an Associates Degree, applied to University of Houston Clear Lake, and is considering working towards her Masters (after she gets her Bachelors of course).  She's going to make an awesome teacher.  

Well that's all I have for today.  Hope you all have a great week!

Linking up to :

Freshly Pieced

Better Off Thread

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Plum and June

Live a Colorful Life

Lily's Quilts