Birdie quilt Finish!

Now this is the way to start off a month right!

When I last posted about this quilt it looked like this,the binding still needed to be attached and there was some hand stitching to do around the birds.

A few nights ago the hand stitching was finished.

This evening Mr. P went to Denver with some friends to see a Rockies game.  So,that left me the entire evening to play in the sewing room!  I started off by making the binding.

Binding in progress...Before starting to sew on the binding I decided to try something that Amandajean over at crazy mom quilts talked about in her Machine Quilting 101 post yesterday.  She said to sew a basting stitch all the way around your quilt before attaching the binding.

This was the first time I had ever heard of doing that,and I wanted to see what,if any difference it would make.  Let me just say that I am sold!  It really made a big difference,it was so much easier to attach the binding.  I will be doing this from now on,and am looking forward to what tips and tricks she has to share  in the coming posts.

All bound and ready for the washer!  Where it is as I type up this post.  You can't really see the binding very well,but since it is way past dark...

Although there is still a Lot of room for improvement when it comes to bindings on my quilts,they have come a long way recently too.  Practice and some wonderful tips/tutorials have helped me tremendously,so Thank You to everyone who takes the time to share your knowledge!  Because I for one would still be ripping out stitches if not for your wonderful tips and tutorials.

Tomorrow will be the Big Reveal of my Secret project from last month!  So stop by tomorrow evening to see what it is.

Another one bites the dust...

Yes this month is all but over,what the title really refers to though is goal finishes.

Appliquéing the birds on to this quilt top and then sewing the two pieces together was my goal for ALYOF this month.

This goal has been successfully completed.

I am thinking of doing some big stitch around the birds in the same colors used for the applique,for now I just sewed around each bird with the machine.

The best part is that not only did I meet my goal,I also exceeded it!  The quilting is also done (minus the big stitch I am thinking of adding).  The backing fabric is a aqua print with tiny little birds all over it,picked up at Joann's last year.

Next up is my Big City Bag for this month,the Go Go Bag. Also a successful finish!

The inside is the same fabric used for the flap.  This is a hand dyed fabric that my mom gave me several years ago.  So I do not know the designer or any info about it,other than she purchased it sometime in the 80's or 90's.

The back side has a zipper pocket,as well as one on the inside of the bag.  I just happened to have two zippers in the perfect colors to go with the bag!

One more photo just because I am loving how nicely this purse turned out.  There were a few spots that were troublesome but only because my machine does not like to sew through any bulk at all.  Other than that,this bag went together smoothly.

My third finish for the month,the four barn bags that I wanted to get done.

The bag of the Month Club,the Butterfly Sling Bag.  Still looks like this for two reasons one,my printer is on the fritz,only printing parts of the page.  The front page you can see in the photo is the only page that printed in its entirely.  The rest of the pages have a lot of partial photos and words.  Secondly,there is a lot of bulk to this purse,and as stated above my machine does not play nice whenever that situation arrises.  So for now it has been put on the back burner...

All in all,this has been a very productive month especially considering is was a short one and a week of it was spent on vacation.

Linking up with these parties:

ALYOF February finishes party

Big-City Bag Link Up

Let's Bee Social #9

Linky Tuesday

July Finishes for ALYOF link Party!

Here we are again people,at the tail end of yet another month!  So lets get right to what was accomplished.

First on my list was Clutches for my niece...

She wanted six,I ended up making seven,with the one for her,included in this photo.

This one,for her sis-in-law who is helping her,or being her wedding planner.

Next up,the Triple Zip Pouch,for my secret swap partner.  If she does not like this one I will make her another,as I have until the 17th of Aug,to send it.

All twenty crayon rolls that I made,because a customer at the FM requested some :)

My favorite of the three bags I made from the new pattern I tried out.

Next on my list was make soap,laundry(which I already posted about)and bar soap.  I ended up using a plastic tray with shallow circles from the recycle bin,and for the actual bar at the back,a shortening bar tray,also from the recycle bin.  This batch is scented with LemonGrass essential oil,I decided not to add any dye to my soap.  Not pictured,is a batch of Lavender scented soap.

The last item on my goals list is,start at least two Christmas projects,well,I have them cut out.  You will just have to trust me though,because I forgot to take pictures of the cut up fabric! (oops)

My projects list...

Did not make any more progress on this quilt after this photo,but there was at least some progress.  No progress on the Try something New,but it will happen,and when it does you will hear about it!

Make some bags from stray quilt blocks...bag number one

Bag number two,there are still 5 or 6 to go,but two is a good start.  The last two,pillowcases and list a few items,did not happen but,again,they will soon,and since they were only projects... I am okay with that.

I am tired,but happy about getting so much accomplished :)  However,this next month I plan to take it easy for a change!