Rush Hour - Going the Distance

Welcome to Rush Hour in the sticks.

This is my stop in the 

RUSH HOUR

blog hop.

Studio E Fabrics has a new line of fabric called "Rush Hour"

and have kindly sponsored this blog hop.

The projects in this hop are all

RED BLACK GREY or  WHITE 

and 

have something to do with the theme 

RUSH HOUR

Let me tell you about my Rush Hour in 4 words:

"On the road, again..."

One hour from home to work.

No way to make it faster.

(Trust me)
But always feeling rushed.

Nothing but highway for 2 hours per day.

That's me "Going the Distance"

I set the cruise and go.

Now what did I create to make this rush hour better?

Have you ever listened to books on CD in your car?

I DO!!

It sure makes the trip go faster, but when it's time to change to the next CD, 

those little papers the disks come in are about impossible to fumble with.

The answer:  A CD holder for my visor.

You can find the basic pattern for your own CD holder HERE.

I added the coffee cup paper pieced block.

If coffee is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Elastic on the back holds it right in place.

Now, when the book is at the climax and I have to change the CD

I won't have to fumble though the box and paper holders for the next one.

I'm sure the other drivers on the highway will appreciate that...

I'm always carrying multiple bags to work to carry my lap top, lunch, hand sewing (for breaks), and any thing else I might need.  I made one BIG bag to carry everything in ONE.

Do you see the windmills in the background?  

No one will be able to claim this bag but me.  :)

My car with me inside and appliqued on a BIG pocket for the front of the quilted bag.

Do you recognize me?

(blog header me)

Coffee and my bag and I'm off...

"Life is a Highway"

here in my car.

Going

 the distance,

going for speed

I can't drive 55!!

That's right, I drive one of those little boxy cars.  

I'm no "Mustang Sally".

You surely didn't think of me in a

 "Mercedes Benz" 

or a

 "Little Red Corvette"

or a

 "Little Deuce Coupe" 

or a

"Pink Cadillac"

did you?

(Wow, do you know how many songs are about cars?)

The following blogs are sharing Rush Hour today.

Please shower them like a "Car Wash" with comment love!

Monday, September 29

Grandmama’s Stories

Kris Loves Fabric

Jane’s Quilting

Life, Quilts, and Cats, too

Thimblemouse and Spouse

Creatin’ in the sticks This is me!

Coeur d'Alene (moved from the 26th)

(A lot of songs were butchered in this post)

Thank you, Madame Samm for this great sew and tell you have created, your encouragement, your gentle push to be better,

and

for my artwork inspiration.

Thank you, Carol for all the cheer leading and continually inspiring me to be a better quilter and blogger.

Away I go to share the highway with cattle trucks and cars in a RUSH to somewhere.

When I pull up beside them, they don't know what I'm listening to...wink.

Friday Finish - Blocks and Bows

There hasn't been a lot of sewing time this week, but I do have a little to share.

I finished the blocks for the September queen of my modern quilting bee.

I love it when the fabric comes already cut and all I have to do is sew it together.

Thanks, Max.

The  pattern for the blocks is from this tutorial at SewHappyGeek.

Call me a worker bee.

If you've been following along, you know that we have a wedding coming up.

Family will be arriving 3 weeks from today for my daughter's wedding.

Busy bee 
 is an understatement at this point, but we are still having fun.

I finished a million 20 bows for candelabras and pews.

Burlap ribbon is quite a bit heavier than any ribbon I've worked with, but with a million a few tries, they are finished.

I used a couple of You tube videos as inspiration:

I started with this one

but 

this one was my favorite.

Stay tuned, there is a lot going on here in the sticks...

My day in the 

is Monday and I will reveal my 

rush hour.

Carol is the cheerleader for the hop and she has the full schedule

at her blog, Just Let Me Quilt.

Want to know more about this wonderful world of blog hops?

Check out Madame Samm's guest post at Studio e.

Studio e is having a giveaway...HERE.

Have a productive and beautiful weekend,

Rush Hour - You Don't Want to Miss It

I'm a bit late, but what's new?

Today is the 3rd day of the 

RUSH HOUR 

blog hop.

Are you in a rush?

Well, maybe you can find a creative project to help you get through your rush hour.

Carol is leading the way, so let's go hopping.

Here is the schedule:

Tuesday, September 23

Just Let Me Quilt

I piece 2-Mary

Marjorie’s Busy Corner

Quilt in a not-Shell

The Slow Quilter

The Blended Blog

Quilting Bias

Wednesday, September 24

Stitchin’ By The Lake

Buzzing and Bumbling

Lixie Makes It

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Living With Purpose

Madly Mid Mod

Coral Canyon Quilting

Thursday, September 25

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Kwilty Pleasures

Selina Quilts

A Stitch in Time

It Seams To Be Sew

Pig Tales and Quilts

Lakeshore Stiches

Tea Time Creations

Friday, September 26

The Quilting Queen Online

Quilting Quietly

Vicky Myers Creations

Grammie Q’s

From This to That

Quilted Delights

Coeur d’Alene

Sew at Home Mummy

Monday, September 29

Grandmama’s Stories

Kris Loves Fabric

Jane’s Quilting

Life, Quilts, and Cats, too

Thimblemouse and Spouse

Creatin’ in the sticks

Bquiltin Studio

Tuesday, September 30

Lily Patch

MooseStash Quilting

Words & Stitches

Karma Willow Designs

Kwilt Krazy

How arT you?

Sew We Quilt

Come back and join me Monday, September 29th.

That's when I will be showcasing my Rush Hour to the world.

(If only we  had 1 rush hour, I have days of many rush hours..lol)

September, So Happy to See You

It's day 4 of the See You in September Blog Hop

and

welcome to my stop in the hop.

Shari over at Living With Purpose has kept this blog hop organized and has been a great cheerleader.

Thank you Shari!

Thank you Madame Samm
at

Sew We Quilt

for dreaming of this wonderful place 

where quilters can sew and show!

For this hop, participants are to show 3 projects from the summer with one of those projects using 

Riley Blake Designs gingham.

September is a special month here in the sticks.

DH and I were married in September and we both celebrate birthdays.
In fact, today is my duck whisperer's (hubby) birthday.

We haven't been able to get away all summer, so to celebrate September,

 we loaded my three projects for the hop

into the car and spent the weekend in Teller County, Colorado 

taking pictures, shopping, relaxing, sightseeing, and eating great food.

The apron, above, was a vintage find during our trip.

(posted here)

This is where most of the photos were shot for this hop.   A beautiful fishing lake surrounded with mountains and lots of hiking trails.

I warn you, this post is very picture heavy!

Sorry.  I just have been waiting all summer to hop.

But this hop is all about what I did over the summer.

I tackled an attic window quilt to start the summer.  I've always wanted to make one and there is a spot in our cabin that is perfect to hang this.

The pattern is my own, put together by looking at other attic window quilts on the Internet.

I had the duck panel (South Seas First Light Panel by Austin Jackson)

 and figured out how to cut out 2 inch strips without loosing too much of the duck scene.

I had this quilt finished in time to enter it in our local fair.

The judge liked it enough for a blue ribbon  and particularly liked the wood grain free motion quilting

I did on the outside border.  I smiled for a week.

If you click on the non polaroid pictures above, I think you will see the quilting better.

Some of the first craft projects I conquered in middle school and high school were counted cross stitch.  My mom still has a few of them.  

I started this project and enjoyed a little summer stitching out on the porch.

Once this little jar was stitched

it became part of a nested churn dash block.

And then the block became a sweet 16" pillow with RBD gingham.

I had just enough of a pre cut strip of RBD small yellow gingham to make the first churn dash block.

The second churn dash, backing, and binding are RBD medium gingham in aqua.

I cut the binding on the bias for a different look at gingham.

But, my super sweet cross stitch pillow isn't my RBD gingham project.

(well it is, but it isn't the main one..lol)

Molly is always there to assist me.  

She was right there to work on a bridal shower gift for "Mini Me."

Stop reading right here, Trista!!

(I want it to be a surprise)

*wink*

My daughter, Trista, is going to be married in October and there is a shower for her in 2 weeks.

This throw (60" x 72") will be part of a gift for her and I am finished ahead of time (for a change).

(That's Pikes Peak in the background)

I used 4 charm packs of RBD large gingham to make the blocks. 

Each charm was bordered with Kona white to form the blocks.

Setting the blocks on point was a first for me and I can't wait to try it again.

It makes the quilt look more complicated than it is. :)

It was about to rain in this picture.  The purple looks so much darker and the wind was whipping it around.

Trista loves purple, so I used Kona solid for the back.  The inside border is also Kona solid and I chose a green because her wedding colors are purple with a touch of green.

I made a swirly flower pattern in free motion for the quilting and a scalloped edge seemed right for this quilt.

Trista will love this.

The lake was so reflective of the mountains in this photo, I had to show it.

And there you have it, my summer in a nutshell AKA blog post.

But, wait, you should sign up for my giveaway before you leave.

This summer there was a huge shop hop.

The Row by Row Experience was a chance to get free patterns from local participating quilt shops.  Many of the shops carried the Fabric Plates from Zebra Patterns 

and 

as a thank you 

I have one to give away.

UPDATE:  giveaway is over.  

Linda is the winner

 Linda said...

Carla, you outdid yourself! Everything you made is gorgeous! I love the idea of putting a panel behind the attic windows! Wow!

 Thank you, Linda.  You always have the best things to say and you blow me away with your talent.

To win this fabric license plate, just leave a comment.

ANYONE can win, although it does say QUILTING USA.

And

If you follow this blog,

as a thank you,

leave a second comment telling me you do.

Now, don't be a "no-reply" commenter.  ok?

You can't win if I can't e-mail you.

I will choose a random winner at the end of the blog hop.

That's September 16th.

Be sure to visit my hop mates today!

Leave them comments and make their day!

Monday, September 8

Quilting Quietly
Creatin' in the Sticks You are here
Procrastination Queen
Lovelli Quilts
Cherry Blossoms

Thanks for visiting.

Happy Birthday, to my wonderful hubby.