You are good guessers!  Congrats to Meg, who had the first correct guess.  I'm going to make a second pair for qalballha also.  Ladies I will email you later today for some info.  If you didn't win, don't despair. I have something else to give away in the next week or so.

Here's a shot of the eight pairs of lounge pants hanging on my deck.  I made them using the pattern in In Stiches by Amy Butler.  The cuffs are made with some of her Midwest Modern prints.  This was plan B.  Plan A wasn't super successful, but I will tell you more about that at another time.

My to do list is crazy long today.  See you all later!

I'm finished making my craft for my local craft swap tonight.  I have supplies to make one extra item and so I thought I would have a little giveaway.  First person to post a comment with the correct guess wins the extra item.  Those of you who know what I am making are excluded of course.  I'll give you a clue:  I have made this in the past year and I am very comfortable with it.  The photo above might help you, too.  Good luck!

I'm in a sewing groove.  And let me tell you, it's about time!

Jane had a birthday party to go to yesterday.  I made this sweet t-shirt using the dog stencil from Lena Corwin's book.  You can barely see it here, but the pup has a crystal eye.  The 8 year olds like their bling.  Can you blame them?  I enjoy a little sparkle too.

Back to the sewing machine.  I'm on a roll.

Which is so not fair.  But that is life.

But, the string-x quilt is finally finished.  I wish I could get it to the fair, but life threw me a curve ball this week and I just don't have the time to put the sleeve on the back.  That's OK, though.  I am pretty much in love with it anyhow.

I pieced and quilted it with my machine, but sewed the binding on by hand.  It measures 81.5" square - a bit smaller than I had planned, but it still fits the guest room bed just fine.

These two photos were the best I got - I was going to take some more today, but I ran out of time.  And then it rained.  Oh well.  Here are a few more - the color is a bit off, but you get the idea.

I might like the back better than the front.  I used the leftover strips from the borders to make the center part.  The rest I just kind of made up as I went.  The large floral will be the curtains in the guest room so I wanted some of it on the back, too.  I just had a lot of the stripe so why not?  After all, the majority of this quilt came from my stash.

I love love love the way the quilting looks on the back.  Love.

I didn't have any aspirations that this would win a ribbon at the fair.  There are small bits that - ahem - give this quilt character.  But I wasn't striving for perfection.  I wanted to make a quilt this year and I did it.  It took a long time, but I stuck with it.  I have only made 4 small throw size quilts before, all done after I started this one.  This is the quilt I wanted to make, though.  This is the one that I won't give away.  It's mine and, yes, I'm pretty much in love.

I'm also feeling a bit stretched thin - a lot to do and not much time.  I think I am going to step away from the blog for a week or so.  Fatty and I have a grand adventure planned - we're off to Portland, Maine for a little getaway.  There is food to eat, drinks to consume and bloggers to meet.  More on that when I get back.

Take care, friends.  See you soon.

I made my friend Marcia a patchwork camera strap for her birthday.

This is the third one I have made and I think the kinks are almost worked out.  I need a new foot for my machine so I can sew the vinyl easier.  Does anyone have a good source for buying Bernina parts online?  The store where I bought my machine went out of business when I was in Telluride.  It was a wonderful, locally owned fabric store that had been open for 103 years.  To say that I am going to miss it sorely is an understatement.  I was there so often that many of the employees knew me by name.  Anyhow, I need a part and have no place to get it.  I'd appreciate any leads.

I can't believe it is already Friday and at the same time, I am so ready for the weekend.  I started binding the state fair quilt last night and I anticipate more than a few hours sitting in front of the TV, stitching away over the next few days.  Fatty and I have a date tonight and the girls start volleyball tomorrow.  School starts on the 20th and our days are getting increasingly busier.  I'm going to savor these last few weeks of down time and squeeze in as much summer as I can.

Hope your weekend is a good one.

The sweet ladies over at Sew, Mama, Sew asked me if I would do a tutorial for a summer beach and picnic blanket.  Of course I said yes!  I was completely flattered to be asked and had so much fun coming up with a simple, but fun summer quilt.

I've added a link in the sidebar that will take you right to the tutorial.  Or you can click here.  And of course, while you are there, you should check out all the other wonderful tutorials and project ideas they have.  Their blog is a fabulous resource for many how-to's and Sew, Mama, Sew's webstore is filled with cute fabric and patterns, too!

If you make one of these blankets using the tutorial, let me know.  I would love to see yours!

Have a great day!

The girls and I just came home from meeting our new nephew and cousin.  The little guy is so sweet - it was great to finally see him and hold him.

This morning I whipped up some cuteness for the new baby.  I made him some burp cloths like the ones I did for Declan and Augie.  I also got out my embroidery machine and put his name on some onesies and a hat.  Sweet things for a sweet babe.

And in case you were counting, that is 7 nephews and 0 nieces.  Lucky me!

We are home!  And just like every time we get back, there are bags to unpack and laundry to do.  But I haven't even started that.

Instead I started a quilt.

Happy Monday!