Where did June and July Go???

I really suck at blogging lately, huh?  I don't mean to, but I hate booting up my old laptop... which doesn't hold a charge well anymore...so it's usually dead...it's just such an ordeal!! UGH!!  If I could post to my blog with photos on my iPad or iPhone, I'd post a whole lot more often...but Blogger doesn't play nice that way!! I therefore really understand why so many blogs have been closed as folks can easily post on Facebook or Instagram.  Anyhoo, life goes on, right? Thanks for sticking around!!

Ok, so I'll try to catch you up on stuff now!  First off, my whole family, hubby, both sons, wife, grandson and fiancee, we all went on a two week cruise. 

(The steps from the Game of Thrones "Walk of Shame" episode in Dubrovnik.)

that started in Venice, then went down around Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Malta, Sicily, and back up the other side ending in Rome. 

The best part by far, was having the family all together for that long!!  The fact that the ship caught the Noro virus was not so fun... but the worst part was Italy in the summer with NO AC in Venice or Rome in the two airBNB's we rented that both advertised being air conditioned.  

Younger folk can handle the heat and sun, but I can't.  I was miserable.  Soooo very happy to be home with my wonderfully air conditioned home. 

Now, on to summer sewing, right?  I had in mind to spend the summer going through my stash of scraps and cutting them into usable shapes... like Bonnie Hunter does...have I done this?  NOPE!  Sigh... cutting is by far my LEAST favorite part of the quilting process...  what's yours?
   Well, I am happy to tell you that I did WIN the first prize for our guild UFO contest!  Woo hoo!!  Here are some of those completed UFO's!!

I finished my Lori Holt Cozy Christmas Sewalong quilt!  It was fun to do, for sure!  But, AFTER piecing the top, AFTER having it professionally quilted, AFTER binding and labeling it, a friend pointed out that there was a big mistake in it! See the bottom right block- the star points are flipped!  Grrrr!

Too bad!!  I wasn't gonna rip it out to fix it!!  Sigh!

Next, I finished this flannel quilt kit I bought from Keepsake over a year ago!  The pattern is called "Over and Under". 

It is super warm and heavy, being all made from the Woolies flannel collection!

I really love it!  It will be wonderful for those cold November nights!

I finished this rail fence quilt made from jelly rolls. 

I really love making traditional blocks with modern fabrics, don't you?

The fabric collection used is called Type, and is several years old by now!

I also finished a quilt for my dear Mother.  My maiden name is Bond, and I have three sisters, so when I saw this pattern, called BFF Forever,  at our  local quilt show a few years ago, I knew it would be a perfect gift for my Mother!!

I named it "The Bond Girls", and selected the fabrics and colors according to us girls!!

I'm the one with the black and white saddle oxfords, my sister Sally is wearing the red cowboy boots, my sister Cyndy is the girly girl with the white tights and black Maryjane shoes, and my sister Patty is the garden girl with the flowers on her dress, tan legs and brown shoes.

My 94 year old Mother loves it and has it on the wall in her bedroom!!  I am so happy I could finish it and gift it to her!

I finished my two year stint as the president of our local quilt guild and the lovely ladies presented me with a gorgeous President quilt at our June meeting.

Made of all color drenched batiks, it is simply stunning!!

And instead of having the members sign on their blocks, they signed on another piece of light fabric, and a dear friend sewed them into a little book for me!

How clever, right?  I was so very humbled by their generosity and hard work!!

Well, I just finished another quilt two days ago, but I want to save it for next time!!  I'm participating in my local quilt shop's, Oh Sew Persnickety, first sewalong, and doing the blocks from my Halloween stash!  I am SOOOOOO tired of summer and ready for AUTUMN!!  Aren't you????

Well, Yogi is still with us!  He doesnt like the heat of summer either, and spends most of his days inside where the AC is nice and cool!!  We both want to know how you spent the summer, so far?  Did you make something super fun?