Plan D

As in dunce, dimwit, or dunce, all names I was calling myself after cutting out the Plan C Schnibbles and sewing the border strips into four patches.  Talk about being on auto-pilot!  Gee whiz.  {Our assignment was to make either Short Story, Schnibbles or full size using Carrie Nelson's new book Schnibbles Times Two.}

I used two charm packs of Botany.  Due to my snafu with the four patches, I had to change the border design.  I think it still works okay.

I loved all the birds, and spider webs in the fabric.  It's a really cute, bright line.  I'm going to bind it in the tone-on-tone coral.  Here's a close-up,

I can't believe we've come full-circle.  A big thanks to Sherri and Sinta for the idea and coordination.  I've had a lot of fun sewing and admiring everyone's work each month.   I wonder what they have planned next?  And just because it's cute, a little red Dutch car we saw on the streets of Amsterdam,

 Until next time~

Joy Less Schnibbles

Here's my Schnibbles for July, a new one by Carrie, Joy Luck, and I got to say I did not enjoy this one.  I used 3 charm packs, 2 of Holly Jolly and 1 of Merry and Bright that I had in my stash.  Three because the Holly Jolly packs had too many lights to work right.  I also used a Sandy Gervais for the background.  It turned out cute but I think I am all Schnibbled out!  I find them to be so much work, cutting and sewing, for what you end up with. 

Those little lanterns would look cute in Japanese fabrics too.  Here's a closeup view.

This represents all my sewing for the month.  I don't know about you, but I think the summer is rapidly evaporating.  I have been doing a lot of reading having just finished,

I highly recommend it.
I am off to do a little packing (and maybe sewing) as my daughter and I leave for  vacation on Monday.  We fly to Vienna passing through Paris {sigh}, board a small ship and cruise down the Danube and Rhine through Germany to Amsterdam and then back home. 
Thanks for visiting.

Problems

Hi All ~
I hope everyone's summer is going well.  Oh, the problems I've had!  My Cannon EOS Digital Rebel Camera decided to stop working on a regular and consistent basis.  It started by giving me an "Error 99" message when I was in Ohio for my Niece's High School Graduation.  I'd push the shutter button and no picture. The nerve!  The Cannon website and the literature that came with the camera were most unhelpful.  I have since come to understand through sleuthing on the internet that a variety of problems can cause the camera to give this message and temporarily stop working.  I am just thankful I didn't have this problem on vacation.   But I did manage to coax a couple of pictures out of it before it stopped again.

The Schnibbles for June was State Fair and a fun pattern it was!  I love the whole pinwheely-goodness of it!  I used two charm packs of Mary Engelbreit's Recipe for Friendship by Moda.  It's such a sweet fabric line, all summery and fruity, although I am not too sure what fruit has to do with making friends, lol.   I like how it turned out.  Be sure to check out the Schnibbles Parade over at Sherri's or Sinta's blogs on July first when all the participants are featured.

I also had Bernina problems this month.  I sew on a 1530 that I purchased back in 1993.  My first quality sewing machine although I'd been sewing off and on since 1968.  Anyway, I go to clean the bobbin area and the race hook cover literally separates from the machine.

Look at the pathetic thing.  Ordered a replacement from Sewing Parts Direct.com and these people are fast!  It broke on a Tuesday and I was back to sewing on Friday!

And lastly, Block 9 of the Jelly Roll Sampler Quiltalong.  This is ending none too soon as I am running low on the  Fig and Plum fabrics.  More about the Quiltalong at Moose on the Porch. 
Now it's off to find a repair for my camera.  Thanks for stopping by.

Where Was I?

Yikes.  It's been awhile.  Got back from the arduous journey of packing up favorite daughter from college in St. Louis and driving back.  We hit that dreadful rain in Nashville at the height of Friday evening rush hour.  It took us 2 and a half hours to get through the city.  Next day, with absolutely no help from Gloria(!) we visited Lavender and Lime Quilt Shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Not much sewing going on since getting back to Florida.  I did get this quilted by a local longarm quilter and she did a fantastic job.  I used the yellow dotted fabric from the Hunky Dory line for the binding.  It's on the way to Ohio for my niece's High School Graduation, where I'll be headed on Wednesday.

 I got this made this morning, Block 7 of the Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along that Konda is doing, Fig and Plum with some green from Authentic. 
And lastly,

it was Sewer's Choice this month for the Year of Schnibbles.  I chose the Ballet Slippers Schnibbles and used two Aster Manor Charm Packs. 

I would have liked to use the pink in the Aster Manor line but thought I'd use a  gold stripe from my stash (rather than violate my "fabric diet") for the sashing.   I actually made the top in an afternoon before I left for St. Louis. I cannot believe how quickly it went together, highly recommended!  

A closeup of my favorite block.  I hadn't realized how pretty this line is before making this top.  Don't you just love the paisley?  It adds an air of understated sophistication. 
Thanks for visiting!

Year of Schnibbles~ Times Two~

I got a little carried away with this month's Schnibbles, Tagalong. First off, I bought the pattern and then misplaced it. Still haven't found it and didn't discover it was misplaced until it was too late to re-order it as it was not to be found locally. So not knowing the sizes of anything to cut I thought why not make it larger as I had already decided not to use Charms and was just sorta tired of making small quilts.

This turned out to be a bit more challenging than I anticipated and ended up asking someone a bit more mathematically astute for help! I used all stash and leftovers from prior projects but it's mostly Faded Memories from 3 Sisters, with a little Romanza, Sanctuary, Portugal, and that luscious pink dotted background from Charity for a Cause/Legacy.

It ended up finishing out at 68 by 80 inches. I'm quite pleased with the results.

And here's my Block 5 in the Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along. It's a lot of fun sewing along and seeing what other participants are doing with their fabric choices. You might want to check it out if you haven't already.

I'm off to weed a flower bed full of these pretty little yellow flowers, almost seems a shame. Thanks for stopping by!

Salute to England

Several years ago I spent 3 weeks touring England in a rental car.  A country filled with archaic cathedrals,

historic castles, bad food (sorry) and a plenitude of roundabouts!  So similar to our traffic circles (or rotaries in Massachusetts) but so confusing and comical to negotiate driving on the left-hand side of the road.  There's a huge one in London, I can't remember the name of, that had us going in circles for what seemed miles! Definitely not for the faint-hearted nor humorless!
Anyway, this Roundabout was a lot more fun, it was the Year of Schnibbles pattern for the month.  The Parade of the participants' quilts will be  April 1 over at Sherri's and Sinta's blogs.

I made mine with one charm pack of American Primer by Minick and Simpson and assorted stash fabrics.  It was such an easy pattern.

  

Thanks for reading my blog.