My Sewing Machine is Smokin'......

Well not quite, but it sure hasn't seen this much action in yrs!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. We're still getting plenty of storms our way, but also lots of sunshine and HEAT in between.

First up is the Thimbleberries Quilt blocks from the second class session I had a few wks. ago.
It is very time consuming w/all the sewing you have to do, but I'm really enjoying it. This is block # 4......

I'm really trying hard to get all my seams to line up. This one is my favorite block out of the 3.

Block #5.......
Thot this purple was rather pretty.....

And block #6.....
not as crazy about this print, but I can live w/it........

Here's the first set of borders.....now these really took some time, but were pretty easy to put together.


Here's something I made today for a special someone and I plan to make a matching outfit for her to go w/it......... can you guess who it's for??? :))
I wasn't sure I liked this fabric at first, but the more I sewed w/it, the more I liked it w/all the bright colors in it.....
The bright green is the pocket on the backside....

This is one I made a few weeks ago, using the same Lazy Girl pattern....here's the front....
The fabric is actually just a tad darker than what the pic shows cuz of the flash....the red fabric is the pocket.......
and I couldn't resist making a little matching wallet..... 'Koin Keeper' from This & That designs.
The only thing I didn't like about this pattern was they called for 'heavy' interfacing, which made it almost impossible to turn inside out, making it very stiff.
but overall, I was pleased w/the tiny pockets and the little zipper for your change...
Well, my machine needs a rest and so do I~ lol. I will be back soon hopefully w/some more finished projects. I really need to give the sewing a rest and work on some cross stitching soon cuz my little needle is really feelin' lonesome right now. LOL

Here's your quote for today~"Walking w/a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." Can you guess who the quote is from??? I'll tell you on the next post ~if I remember, ha ha ha.....

Take care everyone!
**Tanya**

Fishy Tote Bag

Hi everyone!
I've been having some computer problems lately and not sure what the cause is - my comp. or blogger, but it won't let me leave comments on many of your blogs and keeps telling me to 'sign in' over and over. So I wanted to say I haven't posted much lately because of it. Thank you to all of you for your sweet comments and for hanging in there w/me.

Last nite was the 'Friday Night Sew~In' that I try to link up to once a month. It's located on my sidebar if you want to see all those who join in and what all these other gals have been working on. It just motivates ya to work on something and hopefully get some project finished and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have to even be 'sewing'.

I made this 'fishy' tote bag out of the Sandy Gervais 'Lollipop' fabric line charm packs. (for those who don't know what charm packs are ~ they are PRE-cut 5 in. squares) that I have fallen in love with. Saves so much time and your hand too from having to cut them all yourself. There really isn't a 'front' side or a 'back' side, but I tried to make them a bit different. It is really bright fabric, but I thot it'd be cute for summer. The middle squares are actually a small pocket. The key was to try not to put the same print next to another same print. Think it used about 31 charms all total, so it was a bit tricky to do that.
I don't like to badmouth anyone or any pattern company or designer, but this pattern was a bit 'VAGUE' in certain areas, as in VERY vague. So instead of sewing it wrong and having to rip it all out towards the end, I went over to my local quilt shop and let them help me w/the last part of the pattern. Thank goodness for knowledgeable quilters!

The pattern called for a completely different way to do the pockets, but I made one big on one side and 3 on the other.

Overall I was pretty pleased, but if I ever make another one, I'll do a few things differently next time.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer break! Last Sun. was my hubby's side of the family's 75th reunion!! Today we had another family get together at his cousin's house, celebrating a newborn baby girl w/a B~B~Q. We really enjoyed visiting w/everyone.

I'll try to come back sometime next week w/some more things I've been working on, so don't forget me, lol.

Here's another quote for ya, "God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways."

Hope all the guys out there have a blessed Father's Day!!


**Tanya**

June Already???

Wow! I can't believe it's June already!! Are you ready for summer?? WE are! We had our second camping trip of the season this past wkend. As some of you may remember, our son-in-law is a pastor of the church in this first pic. We park our camper right there in the parking lot because we need to 'hook-up' to the electric and water, so we just walk a few steps and we're at church! LOL. Another view from on top of the hill where they live in the parsonage. They have a very nice spacious house/yard and we always enjoy visiting them and the grandkids every chance we get.

They are certainly enjoying their new pool. Boy, was it a HOT one on Memorial Day and all this wk. has been too, in our area. I ended up getting a sunburn, which is typical for me, as much as I try my best to stay out of the sun's rays, I seem to always get a bit too much.
Today I was in the mood to change some things around indoors, so this is what I did to the fireplace mantel, which I normally change seasonally. I just grabbed a few items from my Americana living room and arranged them on here.....down below on the hearth.....
Some of you may remember some of these items I showed on here last yr. I made the black mammy doll w/Americana fabric, but somehow lost her watermelon that she always carried~ LOL!

I stitched and framed the cross stitch piece, which is from an older Blackbird Designs pattern.

This pillow is from a gal who had my name in an exchange last summer. I think Blynn did an amazing job on it!


My MIL brought gave me 2 more old quilts yesterday. These two don't have anything wrong w/them, so I decided to drape them over an old chair that I moved to the family room, just for something different.

I really like the design in this one......
There's just something about the look and feel of an old quilt that reminds you of simpler times.


It's always fun to tweak things and give yourself a change of scenery, whether it be inside your home or outside, or go somewhere away from home. We certainly enjoy every time we're together w/our extended family, but it always feels great to be home again. I hope you get time this summer to get away for a few days or longer, but if not, just change things around a bit around your home, maybe a change of pace will do ya some good.

Your quote for today ~ "Give yourself permission to be kids again!"

I'll be back next time w/some more things I've made, so see ya back here soon!

**Tanya**