Mini Summer Junk Journals

I have been spending some of my time crafting mini summer junk journals. I love the mini’s! They are so much fun to fashion. Measuring a tiny 3 1/2″ X 4″ is a sunshine yellow journal.

This mini was constructed using a cup of soup box for the cover. Then I layered the top with a thin sheet of quilt batting and then covered the front and back with yellow fabric using fabric – tac clue to secure it. The cover graphic is from ‘The Graphic Fairy’. I used a picture frame from the Tim Holtz collection. The color is a true gold although it photographed with a red hue.

There are 5 signatures and each is filled with 16 pages

This little book is packed with sweet summer themed ephemera

The second mini is slightly larger at 4″ X 5″. This one is a gift for a girlfriends birthday. I used a pasta box for the cover, batting and a darling summer fabric. I added a red ribbon tie and red button with lace to finish it off.

This one has 6 signatures and has 18 pages in each. I used 6 different seed packets for the cover of each signature.

I’ll share one more. I call this one the Mini Mini. It measures 2 1/2″ X 2 1/2″ with the pages extending out to 3 1/2″. I used a spaghetti box to build the cover. All of it’s pages are scraps of paper, paper bags, cloth, paper doilies, book pages, and lace bits.

It’s finally summer and I’ve been having lots of summer time fun!

HQAL: Jane’s Quilt

Here is my 3 week hand quilting update – and ‘art form’ that sometimes feels to me that it’s been taken over by unbelievable amazing gorgeous machine quilting – but today, it feels good to know we are keeping this art form alive. At our last posting I was working on the light color cabin blocks that circle the medallion middle.

For this posting I am happy to report I have a mini finish. It was impossible to get the full quilt in the picture but I have finished all of the light colors around the center. Not only does it look great but it finally feels like real progress has been made.

Changing direction for just a moment but in keeping with hand piecing/quilting, (mine is a hand pieced block) I participated in a quilt collaboration headed and organized by Kate Chiconi of talltalesfromchiconia.wordpress.com

This years theme ‘Can You Teal The Love’ (how does she come up with these great theme names) will feature a quilt to be raffled off at a huge Gala to benefit/support Ovarian Cancer. This is the 2nd time I have participated. Kate provides the color, theme, and size requirement and then gives you carte blanche to create your own block. The blocks are made from people contributing from all over and then she does all the finishing work to put it together. Here is my block for this years event

Color: Teal, pink, beige Size: 12 x 12 Theme: hearts

Due to COVID the last Quilt raffle was held in 2019. So thankful we have turned that corner and the event will be held again. Below is the 2019 quilt to give you a better idea of what this is all about.

I am excited to see this years quilt and I will be sure to share it when it is finished with a link to Kate’s posting. Those blocks above are gorgeous and amazing and Kate does an amazing job with balancing and placement of the blocks. (mine is bottom row 2nd on right)

Now it’s time to visit the posts of the others in this hand quilt along at the links posted below. If you do any hand quilting I hope you will consider joining us.

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy and Tracy

SAL: Snowman and Reindeer Update

So many happenings have been going on these past three weeks and here we are again, time to post on our projects. At our last check in my Snowman and Reindeer looked like this

I’ve made some good progress and you can finally see the beginning of the reindeer.

I still have quite a bit more to go as you can see from the picture below but I feel like there’s light at the end of the tunnel on this one now. I began on Jan 30th and have been working on her for about 18 weeks. A good 4 months of our posts. I just had a thought and laugh, imagine if time in general was based on SAL time. In a way it is!

Hoping everyone is well, in their crafting zone and enjoying. Always excited to check in and see what everyone is up too. If you’re not a part of the SAL you can view the fabulous projects of the others by clicking on the links below.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, 

Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie

HQAL: Jane’s Quilt Update

Another three week check in with the days getting longer and warmer here in the northwest corner of the states. At our last posting I reported I had completed the medallion middle and was working consistently on the white/lighter shades of stripping.

There have been a few interruptions these past weeks. A visit from a daughter and SIL down from Alaska and then a tooth ache which turned into a needed extraction by an oral surgeon – ugh – despite, I managed to move the hoop 3x and continued to make progress on this massive beauty. I can’t even begin to think about when she could possibly be finished.

In addition, I am working on another hand quilting project. I showed you her back in our January posting. It is from the Hoffman Collection – Dream Big Holiday

I have been working this one off and on at my leisure. It will be a Christmas gift so I have some time to complete her. The quilting patterns are my free hand designs. This is where I am now – progress being made!

Below are the quilt along links and as always, I am excited to check in and see what everyone else is working on. Stay well and happy stitching 🙂

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy and Tracy

SAL: Snowman and Reindeer Update

Slow and steady as I continue to work on my Snowman and Reindeer cross-stitch. Slow and steady gets the job done but I am nowhere near completion yet. At our last posting 3 weeks ago I was here with my project

As I continue to work on it, I am working my way around from the bottom up and over to the reindeer.

You can see what I have gotten done and what’s still to be worked in the photos below. Comparing the photos like this you can see I had tweaked the hat and you may remember how I decided to remove the ribbon after a considerable mistake with counting. Looking at the pictures together, I can also see how I confused thread colors for the brim. I am smiling through that mistake though – it wont be noticeable and the hat still looks fine 🙂

One of my daughters, Fawn and SIL have been down from Fairbanks, Alaska for a visit which cut some of my stitching time down to – nothing – they left Alaska with a fresh 2 feet of snow falling to mostly rainy days here in Bellingham, WA. They are leaving today. There was thrift store and antique shopping, a day of scanning pictures from the family photo archives, a morning in La Conner, WA, a historic seaside town and a sun break gave us a chance to bar-b-q one afternoon and get in some relaxing and a drink in the back yard. Mostly we were just inside and carefree.

Fawn posted this on her instagram

As much as I loved and enjoyed our visit, it will be nice to get back into my routine. Now I am off to check in with the others in our SAL, won’t you please join me by clicking on the links below.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, 

Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie

HQAL: Jane’s Quilt

Happy May Day posting and welcome to Tracy 🙂 In my last posting about Jane’s Quilt, I showed you these two pictures of the quilt. Basically I almost completed the medallion in the middle and had branched out into the white border around it.

I have gotten quite a bit done working the white border with almost half of it completed now. In the photo below you can see my progress better. The medallion is complete now. It would be amazing if I could complete the white border by next time. I am not putting any pressure on that as a goal as I have another hand quilting project in the works along with a cross stitch and crochet project as well.

I always look forward to HQAL posting and the chance to check in with the others on the progress of their chosen projects. Please join me 🙂

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy and Tracy

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

SAL: Snowman and Reindeer Update

I am working Snowman and Reindeer, a Dimensions kit – The Gold Collection – Petites. At our last posting my project looked like this

I had made progress with the scarf and added some blue and part of the button. Continuing with the scarf, I got it done and moved down into the body of the snowman.

For our next posting, I would love to get Mr. Snowman completed.

Please check out what everyone else has been up to by clicking their names below. We live all over the world so you may need to allow for time differences as we’re posting today at local time.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen

About the SAL

Please note this SAL is not accepting any more new members until further notice but this is what it’s all about anyway. This SAL (Stitch Along) is slightly different to other SALs in that we don’t all stitch the same design at the same rate. We choose ONE unfinished project, or ONE new one, and show progress of its completion over a series of three weekly updates. There are no deadlines and no set amount to stitch. The result is that the space in our drawers full of WIPs (works in progress) is gradually being freed up to store lots of new crafty goodness. It’s surprising how much motivation I’ve gained from being in this SAL.

HQAL: Jane’s Quilt

Time for the HQAL 3 week update. I have been working on Jane’s quilt but for this posting I am sorry to report I did not put in one stitch. There is a good reason though. At our last posting I had completed the medallion in the middle and made some progress into the lighter areas.

For this posting I wanted to report on the hand quilting I was working on. Back 2 years ago, I had made this baby quilt. A first baby gift for a honorary granddaughter ~ they had a boy!

With 2nd baby boy on the way I needed to get another quilt made. Checking my stash I had enough of the fabric I used on the front to get another quilt done – I could coordinate the two gifts – perfect! (and of course always hand stitched and/or hand quilted) She was easy to make, there was no piecing of blocks, just endless circles which took about 4 weeks.

Here’s the new gift ready for mailing

Now I am off to check in with the others in the hand quilt along. Hopefully you’ll join me, there are some amazing projects in the works to inspire you.

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Sharon, Sherrie,  Karrin, Daisey, Connie, Theresa

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piercers to share and motivate one another.  We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link above.

SAL: Snowman & Reindeer Update

It’s that time again for the three week progress check. I am working on a Dimensions Gold Collection – Petites kit by the name of Snowman & Reindeer. At my last posting this is where I was at

This is where I am now

Now I am off to visit the pages of the others in the SAL

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen

About the SAL

The SAL is organized Avis of Sewing Beside the Sea. Please note this SAL is not accepting any more new members until further notice but this is what it’s all about anyway. This SAL (Stitch Along) is slightly different to other SALs in that we don’t all stitch the same design at the same rate. We choose ONE unfinished project, or ONE new one, and show progress of its completion over a series of three weekly updates. There are no deadlines and no set amount to stitch. The result is that the space in our drawers full of WIPs (works in progress) is gradually being freed up to store lots of new crafty goodness. It’s surprising how much motivation I’ve gained from being in this SAL.

HQAL: Jane’s Quilt

At our last posting I reported on my progress with the center medallion of the quilt. I was about a third of the way finished and had also branched out into the lighter shades just to get the feel of what it will look like. In the photos below our sweet mini schnauzer, Skye, found the quilt quite comfy and the perfect place to rest.

For this posting I am happy to report that I have finished the center medallion along with branching out into the lighter shades again.

Jane’s quilt was a completed top that was gifted to me by Jane’s granddaughter Raeleen. Jane was the mother of one of my closest friends, Jeanine Rohder who too, has sadly passed. Jane was a very special woman. Born Jane Ina Eyers on 27th Dec. 1909. She passed away on the 6th Dec, 1996. I was looking for a specific photo to share with this posting but ran across this one of her and put the hunt on hold. The occasion was a birthday luncheon for her hosted by our friend Sherrie. Oh how I wish I had dated the photo now 🙂 As I said she was a very special woman who was loved by all those her life touched. I think she would have gotten the biggest kick out of the internet and all the amazing ways we are sharing and supporting each other with our love for not just hand quilting but all crafting.

Now I am off to check in on the others. I hope you will join me. There’s some amazing hand quilting going on.

Hand Quilt Along Links

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy and Theresa

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.