UFO's and finishing projects

I recently dug out another UFO, okay it was a tiny thing that got lost in a stack of fabric I had cut for bowl cozies. I had a goal of making 54 bowl cozies for a craft show and while I was sorting my fabric I found two Christmas mug rugs that got lost in the stack. All they needed was binding and they were done. 

These guys were made with scraps of Christmas fabric and two panel pieces from a mask panel I got at the end of 2020. They have been sitting unfinished for only two years. I decided to get the binding done on them before starting my bowl cozies. I got the binding done on them and a recent table runner I made then took them out to a local Einstien Bagels for a quick photo shoot.

After the photo shoot, I managed to make 37 of the bowl cozies for the show on Oct 8th and made the other 17 the day after. I am off to start quilting a few more table runners I have put together. I've got another craft show on Oct the 15th in Oliver springs for October Sky Festival. I hope to add a few pieces to the finished pile before then.

Tea Time!

This photo Is an old one. I have a bad habit of taking a bunch of photos for blog posts and forgetting if I used them or not, The tea is one I got at the local Asian grocery store. It's a Sencha blend. The cup was new when I took this photo and the whole thing matches the vibe since Halloween is approaching.

Quilts of Valor

Quilts of Valor from Tellico Village Quilt Show

 For the last few years, I've been wanting to make a Quilt of Valor for my dad. My parents served in the Air National Guards and are currently retired. I've given quilts to my mom but haven't done a quilt of valor yet. 

About 5 or 6 years ago I got a jelly roll with a red, white, and blue theme with stars and stripes. I just couldn't decide what to do with it. I recently purchased a postcard pattern from the Fiberology Lab named Mazed by Running Doe Quilts and it uses a jelly roll and an l/2 yard for binding. 

I decided to do that with my jelly roll. When I opened the fabric roll and started looking at the fabric I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. Despite my misgivings, I sorted everything and paired the strips into 20 sets. From there the cutting instructions are simple and the blocks came together super fast. In the end, I'm happy with the way it came out. 

I feel it needs a border and plan on purchasing some fabric for that later. I usually piece my backings with scraps but I surprisingly have very little scraps from this. I think I have enough strip ends to make a stripe as part of the border or in the backing. I can't wait to finish this one. I was very happy with how it turned out.

Tea Time!

This one Ia a tea mom gave me. It was a lovely summer tea from Plum Deluxe called Watermelon Mint. I'm not a huge fan of watermelon-flavored drinks. I don't know why because I love watermelon itself. Nor am I a huge fan of mint in my drinks. Occasionally I'll grab one but that is rare. This one was good the combination was perfect. I had gotten the tea in July. The day I took this photo my power was out due to a huge storm and I had been using the candle to make a pot of tea. At this point, I was just letting the tea steep without the extra heat.

Tula Pink's Butterfly Quilt Rainbow Edition

 Catching up on another fun project I am working on is Tula Pink's Butterfly Quilt. In April I got a copy of her new pattern book and have been working on this one in sections. I was going with a quilt along but sadly fell behind. I recently was laid off, so I hope to use this time when I'm not finding a job to catch up. I have photos of some of my sets by color. I went stash diving for the fabrics I am using. So they are different from the ones in the book.

   

Yellow

Reds/ Pinks

Purple

Oranges

Tea Time!

This one is a summer tea you may still find. It's a limited edition so it will most likely be gone by the end of the year. It is very yummy and tastes like what it is named after. It has a wonderful lemon-vanilla flavor and smell that is great with desserts.

Halloween Bats and Boos Quilt along

Quilt Along!

 I love Halloween and any time I see Halloween fabric or a Halloween pattern I want it. I don't always finish it or use the fabric, but I always want it. I saw a series of videos by the Fat Quarter Shop that is their Bats and Boos Quilt along. They also had a cross stitch pattern made for the design. Both were free to download and very easy to follow patterns. 

I made the wall hanging with a few additions. I added sashing between the blocks and an extra corner block on the middle block. I plan to add a border of the same fabric I used for my bat wings. I just need to make the backing and I can prep it to quilt. It's small enough I think I can get that done quickly.  I have a photo of the current progress but I plan on taking a better one later.

Bad lighting but the background is not helping.

Future Plans...

Next weekend I have another craft show in Jackson Square, Oak Ridge, TN. I haven't made new things for the show because I still have enough stuff from where I prepped before. I have finally sold my Harry Potter quilt so I will have to bring another showcase quilt to hang up. I did go today and buy myself a new tent.

I had been borrowing a tent from my cousin and hers is hard to set up and half broken. I got a good deal on one from Academy Sports. I got a purple tent because I love the color purple. I was trying to decide to go with green or purple since the business name is Green Tea quilts. Purple won out in the end. I may remake my sign later, depending on how this goes. I do sometimes feel like I'm doing a lot of work for no extra return but I also have enjoyed being at the shows. No one said having a side hustle was going to be easy. 

Tea Time!

The bear logo is cute!

I stopped at Hey Bear Cafe on my way home from getting my tent. It's been over a year since I've been there due to covid and not going to that area as much. It's close to where I work but not my house. I've been working from home for a year and a half now so I don't have an excuse to go that way. The cafe is a boba tea shop that sells snacks. 

They have a lovely park on their property that they have food trucks and bands set up regularly. I didn't hang around today for the band because I didn't have my hand stitching project with me. I did get a lovely Jasmine Milk Tea with boba and custard. I love that you can adjust the ice amount and tea sweetness to your taste also. Jasmine Tea is also my favorite tea,

Finishing Projects

 

I have a few finished projects to share. I've been so busy between prepping for craft shows and quilt shows, I've not got that many large projects done. I did finish a wall hanging and a large casserole koozie at the beginning of August.

The casserole koozie is from a gypsy quilter precut. I used a few strips from a Tula Pink jelly roll to make it stripped. I added a few others I had leftover from another jelly roll for contrast.

The strawberry wall hanging was a pattern I got from RJR fabrics for free. It is an Elizabeth Hartman pattern from either last year or 2019. I saw it in the background of one of her quilt market videos and was so thrilled when I found it on the fabric company's website. It's when her Berry Season line came out. I feel bad I can't remember the exact date now. I've had it on my to-finish pile for a while, so I'm thrilled to have this UFO done.

The end of August was dedicated to a quilt that was supposed to go to Project Linus. I liked it so much I may keep it. The fabric bundle was from them and part of an under the sea challenge. I did give them a donation for the fabric. The quilt uses Tula Pinks' City Sampler of 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. I got this book earlier this year and had been wanting to do something with it. I finished it just last night so I don't have a final photo of it, but here is a shot of the work in progress.

Tea Time!

I have been slacking on getting new tea for the month. I've been getting my usual stuff. Here is a shot of me doing my hand piecing at Starbucks recently. I was having a nice day out and trying to relax. It was in June I think so it's been a while. I've stopped going back out since then due to the uptick in Covid cases. I need to get something to go soon and sit by the riverside with it. I'm working on a Tula Nova.