Montana's Quilt - RSC 2023

In 2023 - for RSC - I chose to make I Spy blocks...I made two of each month's colour with the plan that they would be the quilts for the two younger grandchildren when they turned 2.

It is now Montana's turn to get hers...

I found this fabulous Red Tractor fabric at Shelley's at Warwick.   
As Montana has cows in the yard where she lives, it seemed appropriate!

Milo's quilt (very similar) is posted here.

At the moment there are 4 grandchildren and they each have an I Spy quilt.  It's unlikely there will be more...so I will need to start thinking about other quilts for when they are older.

Retreat at Glenrose (in the House)

Last year I went to Glenrose (House) with a group of people - some of whom I had sewed with before, some not.
The booking for 2025 had been retained but none of the other ladies were able to go this year, so I took it over and roped in the usual sewing buddies.

The booking is from Thursday at 4PM to Sunday at 2PM, so it's shorter than a "week" booking, but we're always up for a retreat.

I was able to finish the I Spy top for Montana's 2nd Birthday coming up in July.

I joined the wedges for a Christmas tree skirt.  I have a red & green one cut ready to go too - but realise I will need to make the hole in the centre bigger...so can fix that before I sew the other one.

For DV projects, I put this Coin Quilt together (the strips of "coins" had been made & hanging around for a long while).

And I put the borders on this top - which had also been hanging around for a while.

 I had been saving this for a retreat with Helen as she had a nifty way of making the mitered corners....it was quite easy!

Some of the other things that the girls worked on
Maureen made several Crowns for the border of her Chuck Nohara quilt...these are just a few..

Maureen also put together this quilt top for the DV project

Helen made a bag - the fabric is so lovely

and added the borders to this DV quilt top

Sandi made and bound 22 strip-pieced placemats, which I will give to the local Meals on Wheels group. She also experimented with finishing the binding by machine—we decided that using the Ditch foot was the most successful method.

De made another giraffe quilt top - so cute!!!

Lynda put a quilt top together - but I missed getting a photo! 

Both Helen & De made up this Quilters Retreat Panel - all the Needle Girls have one to make up by November.

Here is Helens - no picture of De's 😖

The girls are well-trained and know to save the Teabags so I can collect the strings for Jo.

No retreat would be complete without some retail therapy and there is a new shop in Warwick - so off we went.   I found a new "must have" project, as did most of us....and we spied this cute wall hanging - well, we all like the machine part...maybe not the dingle dangles.
It's a machine embroidery design so I have - of course - purchased it...(Designs by Juju..)

The booking is in place for next year.   But I have a few more retreats this year - one next weekend!!!!!, then June, August & November...I am quite the expert in planning & prepping!

Christmas Snow Globes / Baubles for Grandchildren

I started a tradition in 2019 - the first Christmas that I had a grandchild - and made a "Snow Globe" with his picture. 

In 2020 - there was still only one grandchild.

2021?? - I missed that year (2 Grandchildren by then) - but made up for it in 2022 (3 Grandchildren)

2023?? - I missed that again!!!! - but have caught up!

Here are the boys for 2023 and 2024

and the girls for 2023 and 2024

Maybe I can keep up to date in 2025???

ABC Book ~ Alphabet Book - Montana

Another ABC book has rolled off the press...or the sewing machine.

This one is for Montana - the 4th grandchild - and this is the 8th book I've made. There may not be any more grandchildren...but there are two more people I may make one for...time will tell.

Granddaughters Quilts.

Guilty of lagging behind, dragging the chain . . . . . again . . .still . . . .

I should have had a quilt ready for GD1 (Peyton) when she turned 2 (August)...My Bad! as they say . . . and I should have had a quilt ready when her younger sister (Montana) was born (a week before GD1's birthday in August) . . again!!! My Bad!!!

Finally, both done & handed over...

GD1's Quilt 

I Spy on one side and a "map" on the other side.  I think Peyton prefers the map - but it was turned over several times when I was there...LOL

I quilted the outside of the roads, and the buildings, 

did lines for the trees and benches etc...
If only I could FMQ well.

GD2's Quilt

When GD1 was on the way - my daughter (DD2) asked for a Toy Story Quilt.  This time it was her partner's turn to choose a theme and he chose Jurassic Park Dinosaurs . . .challenging for a girl . . .
but after some online shopping DD2 found some fabrics . . I added more . . .and one thing led to another and we have double sided quilt. .  .I don't like to make things easy.

One side is mainly fabrics from Spoonflower - a couple of Spotlight ones and 2 machine embroidered blocks to show the Jurassic park logo.

The other side features an alphabet panel of dinosaurs - yes the common ones like Tyrannosaurus Rex, but a few odd ones . . .including a "Fukuisaurous".  In fact, a Fukuisaurus (meaning "Fukui (Fortunate) lizard") is a genus of herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now Japan.

I quilted dinosaur shapes, dinosaur feet in two sizes, 

a couple of suns and cloud shapes, 

using the embroidery machine.

I did hand these over in October and am pleased to have them both done & dusted.

FNSI (2) - July

Tonight was our second FNSI for July - a "Christmas in July" Night.

I was meant to be away . . . but  . ..things happen...so I had a FriDay Sew In.   There were a few distractions during the day, but I managed to get three taggies done.

This one is for the new grandie - Montana  (a bit late)...but it has "Wild" on it.

These are for babies due in September (a bit early).

Thanks for the extra FNSI Wendy - not that most of us need an excuse to sew!!!