Mini Mania Challenge....yep...I challenge ye!:)

Went outside to plant the Hellebore, Russian sage and ginger plants my in-laws dug up for me from their yard.  That's all I did because I was being devoured by the gnats! Bug spray was NOT helping!

I did get a few photos before fleeing the outdoors.

 This is Dinosaurland.  Everytime we find a lost toy in the yard we put it here.   I added an astronaut this afternoon!

 Something else was in the garden...this little mini I made after being challenged!  

My buddy Jo and her pals have been honing their sewing skills and have asked us all to join them! The new flickr group is called Mini Mania Challenge or MMC and I just realized that means 2100 in Roman Numerals OR what we are in now...the 21st Century! How cool is that?:)

Ok...I digress....back to the challenge.

Tiny pieces, colors, patterns...that's what it's about.  What can you do with a set criteria?  

Every 1st of the month is a new challenge with photos posted the last day of the month. 

In the new flickr group we can post sneak peeks and easily ask for help without having to send out several emails!:) They have been challenging each other since February with me just joining in this month.   Visit the flickr group to see what the others did with May's challenge and the past months.

(My new favorite way to finish the binding....bring to the front and use perle cotton!)

 You all are invited to join us.  What's great about this group is you can play or not play.  You can make a mini you LOVE and keep it! No swapping, no mailing, no stalking a partner to hopefully make something they would like...do your best work only to be sad because you have to send it off!  Skill building and Brain building to boot!:)  Right now it's an invite only so if you are interested just let me know and I'll send you a flickr invite. You then will be able to post photos and chat but you don't have to join to be challenged. Anyone can follow the new instructions on the 1st of each month!:)

The minis make great presents too....my mom loves hers!:)

Come on and play!  You won't believe how tiny the pieces are for the next challenge!:)

Speaking of tiny...the boy gave me some pixie lilies for my birthday...I hope the deer don't find them!

(Pin cushion, coaster, needle and scissor cases from my buddy Sandie!:)

Still hand stitching!

~d

Still here....still sewing

The weather has been flip flopping hot, cold, now hot again.  The garden is loving the heat...not me!

Here is a fifth finish lounging among all the greens.

 The inspiration came from a house hubby did a little work on last year.

I think the house itself would make a great quilt!

Now I need to give the runner to them!

So many little seedlings coming up...that's a tiny dogwood among the lamb's ear and periwinkle!

We have done some traveling too....

 View from our 12th floor window....any guesses?:)

Atlanta, Georgia!!  That's Centennial Olympic Park built for the 1996 Olympics.

We were there for sis-in-law's Investiture into the AIA College of Fellows.

The most touching thing in the park is the Quilt of Remembrance which has a mosaic of stones from around the world to honor the 111 people injured in the explosion.

 Google Quilt of Remembrance Centennial Park and look at all the images.

So many ideas!

Still working on my Medley of Jen Kingwell!

I goofed on all ten of the lower blocks by putting a light where a dark was supposed to go.

Fabric pens to the rescue! Can you tell which ones were colored in?

Those log cabin blocks are three inches!! 

~d

Second quarter finish along list.

Bring it On!

Bring on the Purples!

 Bring on the Whites!

Bring on the Pinks!

And the multi-colored delights!!:)

 An early Mother's Day gift from my boy and his girl! Love it!

 The veggie garden is growing...

...as is fuel for the fire pit.  

Yes, it needs some trimming.

But right now we have been challenged...by my pal Jo in England!

She said pick a pink, a green and a yellow....toss in a background color.

Half square triangles they will become...

 But which....

 ....layout....

...will be The One?

Ha! None of the above...I'm still playing!

 Also playing with applique the...

Jen Kingwell way!  

Ten blocks are done with another ten cut out awaiting needle and thread. 

Swore I wasn't going to start a new project(s)!!

Oh well!!

~d

She did It and 4th finish!

 Bright and early on a beautiful morning in Baltimore we helped set up at the Reading Partners tent.

 Everyone noshed on bagels while putting on their numbers for the race.  

Added bonus was the signs on the runners backs stating who they were running for...giving that extra boost in their stride!

 The team was excited as they should be for this is how they work too....excited to be helping the youth of Baltimore succeed!  They liked the new flag too!:)

 Tables and tables of food is how Baltimore feeds their runners...food for over 3400!

This is the only runner we cared about....she did it...besting her time.  

Her first 10K.

May there be many more!!

Now the flag hangs in the Reading Partners office!!:)

(30" x 37")

 Oh...I finished something too.

Had fun with the hand stitching...just went for it. 

 I don't know what to do with it as I'm not a red, white and black person!!  

Any ideas?

~d

2nd quarter 2015 finish list.

Running for Reading Partners!

The girl is an Americorps member working for Reading Partners.org 

She is so passionate about her job of finding volunteers to work in the schools of Baltimore, MD...so passionate they even talked her into running a 10K for a Reading Partners team! 

She doesn't like to run!!

Well of course I had to find some fabric and make something else for them having already supplied their office with table toppers and coasters of blue and orange...Reading Partners colors.

 Here is their logo. So cute and to the point!

 First pile of blue and orange fabric and felt turned into....

A bunting.  

Yes, took this picture last month.

 Second pile of fabric and fusible became...

 (Third finish for 2nd quarter..yes I have been sewing like crazy!)

A flag!

It's two sided. 42"x 43"

Now I need to get a pole....honey...do you have anything in your stash?:)

Run girl Run!!!

~d

Second quarter list for 2015.

A Bright Finish!!

One thing you can always say about Kaffe fabrics....they are bright!

(Gotta do something about the edges around the veggie garden)

There was a 1/2 yard piece of awesome fish in my stash and bits and bobs of a few others.

Cut into differents size strips boldly framing the fish made a great top.

 I even  had a few yards of something for the backing.  Added a little strip of Grunge to make it just big enough.  My pal Pat practiced with her new long arm. I really like what she did!:)

Some bright perle cotton hand stitching follows the wonky edges of the border.

 Fish too.

 Now if only I had a wall to hang it on.  For now it's helping keep the chill out of the house!

Second finish of the second quarter!  Of course all I had to do was the hand quilting and binding!

Now the edges look better...thank heavens for peonies and lamb's ear!!

~d

Second quarter Finish Along list.