Stuffed for Christmas

Christmas sewing was very minimal this year and yet I had fun making a small gift for my great grand daughter.  It was a Moda panel of 4 animal stuffed toys with babies for each. Pig, Cow, Lamb and Chicken. Not a lot of work (stuffing the things is always the most work). So while I did not do a lot of sewing or knitting this year, Christmas was wonderful for our whole family. Merry Christmas 

How To Get Ready for Valentines

Guess this will not happen for Christmas, will shoot for Valentines...💗

HOW? Dropped Stitch?

HOW in the world did I drop a stitch on these socks I am knitting.  I do not remember dropping a stitch, HOW? When I pick it up then I have one too many stitches, HOW did I add a stitch on these socks I am knitting? Good News they are just socks and one stitch that I will make disappear with knit two together will  be no big deal when it is on the foot in a boot.  Knitting can be forgiving.

HOW I Can Make a Difference

It is that time of year where we are preparing to leave on our 4 month RVing trip. It is overdrive time to get my charity sewing rounded up and ready to move out the door. So today I did that and ended up with:

Lutheran World Relief School Bags -- 22 of them just need to get the "rope" to make the ties

10 small pillow cases for Cook Children's Hospital to take to Mid Cities Modern Quilt Guild for charity project

14 Three Yard Cuts for Lutheran World Relief Fabic Kits. Each kit has 2 3 yrd cuts and 2 spools of thread.

It is the icing on the cake that all of the items here were from my stash. Yes, all those 3 yrd cuts were from fabric over time I had bought on sale that I had imagined may be used as backs, but when they just sit it is time to move them to where they can do the most good. There will always be more sale fabric for backs. I can imagine a woman learning to sew and maybe start a business that would help to give her independence and income rather than sitting in my stash.  The is HOW I know I can make a difference.
Check this off the pre RVing trip list.

Scraps and Small Work Together

Design is all about being flexible and going with change as it presents itself. Vision can make one do a little sewing that is little parts. Working on a secret round robin project has me now doing 2"squares with 1" snowball corners. Originally I envisioned these would be 4.5" squares with 2.5" corners but as things progressed I could see that just did not look great and so this is now it...but could it all change again? NO, well maybe.

These are one inch and cut from scraps that luckily I will have just enough to eeeek out what I need.

All for these XandO cuties but still working on design of the entire concept - it could all change again?

 

 

 

 

 

 I love doing this kind of quilting where you have to dig deep about what you know about a person and how you want to show love to them through your work. It is challenging and fun. FUN

Weekend Sew

My BFF and I had a weekend together and we of course decided to get her Dog in Sweater quilt by Elizabeth Hartman done. (My DH was off motorcycle tripping with oldest son). My BFF did not want to tackle this quilt by herself as she has not been quilting very long and had not even opened her machine for a year. We studied the pattern, went to two quilt shops and brought fabric then set our plan in motion. The pattern is "easy" from a construction point but detailed and not to be cut without identifying each and every piece A through like DD (that is the alphabet and then alphabet again.) A lot of pieces, a lot of sticky notes. She chose the small quilt that has 4 Dogs in Sweaters size about 45x50 (don't have the pattern here so just my memory of size). The real point is the four dogs are the focal and there are a lot of snowball corners A LOT OF THEM...1" snowballs (letter R) did get us talking like a pirate ARRRR. A couple of  days cutting and sewing about 6 or 7 hours each day got her done (a few breaks for eating and drinking in this). Yes, the cutting took a while and wine afterwards to reward ourselves. But the finish was great and it is a fun pattern to do with a BFF.

AND two of her four dachshunds were there to make sure it met their approval.

Our entertainment on the TV was the French Open. Love tennis and the FO was a perfect backdrop for our project.

HOW nice is nature

Taking a break and found this lovely plant in my driveway as I was walking to The Rectangle to get ready for our trip a few weeks ago. It is a lovely white/green shade and delicate. A weed I guess but too beautiful to be left unnoticed.
HOW wonderful nature is with color, form and beauty.

Coasters in Spring Colors

It is Spring with the birds singing, the rain coming and eye opening color showing up to take away the quiet of winter. New coasters are needed (the old Spring coasters have been washed too may times and seem faded and not so quite bright).
I won in a raffle just the right look for my Spring coasters and it would take another something out of my stash and into the world.

My go to pattern is here https://stitchesonmyneedle.blogspot.com/2017/06/making-patriotic-coaters-easy-peezy.html

How I love to use my stash.
Now it will be brighter under my glass...

How Cute are Scrappy Spools

The Scrappy Spools got set and border and presented at Modern Quilt Guild 

It is a fun piece and nice to use all those selvages into a quilt and out of the scrape bag.  Fun. #fwmqg2018qal   #fwmqgshowandshare

Scrappy Spools

A work in progress, a challenge in my Modern Quilt Guild to do scrappy spool quilt, a nice pattern
placement not so sure of...
I love my use of the selvedges saved over a lot of quilts, it does bring back memories of quilts past and materials used. Working on layout, not liking the ones that are turned...seems like the selvedge is sort of lost since one cannot "read" them.
Back to the design board to play......

How I Recycle an Old Quilt Project

Back in 2006  I took a class on quilt as you go technique based on the Cotton Quilt Theory method of quilt as you go (several books on this). I completed the small top and really did not like the technique or the heavy thick product the top was so I put in in a closet and there it has been. Now I am working to empty those type of UFOs and this one measured (if cut in half) perfect size of two Nap Mats for Safe Haven that my Modern Quilt Guild supports. All they needed was binding and that too I was able to take from the binding basket of left overs from other projects. WhooHoo all things that can leave my studio and do good for someone else.

This is the quilt and it is reversible so it is blue on the other side. It actually looks better than I remembered

The top cut in half is now two Nap Mats bound and ready for little ones to enjoy. I like that is is a good boy Nap Mat with the Texas Rangers baseball material.

Thoughts on Grief Added to Spiritual and Faith Thoughts page above

Mini Fun Applique Quilt

Another mini quilt for the North Texas Quilt Festival auction. It is a fun piece to embellish. I put a bit of Mardi Gras on the cat as I was working on it on Shrove Tuesday and remembered the Mardi Gras beads I had stashed. The Kitten needed to party with panashe!

Pattern: Kitten's Halloween Party (I know but I put a bit of Mardi Gras in it) by: Stitches of Love Quilting

Hearts Linked Mini

 HOW does my heart link with others?

Valentines inspired me to think hearts and this cute free pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew fit into my mind set. Hearts come in all sizes and we are interlocked with each other in many ways but our hearts are linked in ways even we do not always understand. Hearts joined gives me hope that for the greater good there will always be hearts reaching out to link another.

This mini I made to donate to the North Texas Quilt Festival. Pattern: I Heart You Mini by Cluck Cluck Sew (copy right to Allison Harris 2016)


Like to pattern below
 Pattern

Miniature Quilts for sale and live auction – Miniature quilts donated by guild members will be sold at the Expo and 100% of the proceeds will go to the designated guild. These will be sold via silent auction, ‘buy it now’, and live auction each day!

Grapes on the Vine

An applique piece is for me not a quick sew. After a year I finished this grape wreath block. It is a Elly Sienkiewicz's Baltimore Album pattern. The 108 grapes took me way too long to make to get the size I wanted but well worth the small circles.

Before pressing

Done, all good

Mystery No More...Quilt

 Bonnie Hunter does a great job of her mystery pattern each year starting in November. The one I just finished is from Nov 2016-December 2016. I actually started on time and made great progress but then RV travel pops up and things in the realm of quilting slows to a crawl well really not at all. I do travel with my machines etc but large quilts and small pieces are not the projects I take along, so it was left on the design board. Forward to 2018 and it is finished. En Provence Mystery Quilt by Bonnie Hunter.  (www.quiltville.com). This pattern is no longer available on her site, but the latest mystery On Ringo Lake is.

Anyway, I like this pattern finish a lot and the designs inside designs the colors make pop. Mine reminds me of MardiGras with the purple and bright color pink and hint of yellow.

I don't mind that it takes me a long time to join the project to its finish, I do love the process of quilting and for me the finished project is not the explicit joy of quilting. Now to sandwich and quilt it.

 I enjoy the entrance of a new year. I love the feeling of hope I can make another year in good health and with joy. I know there is not guarantee of either and yet not knowing if OK as today is just what it is...now. I like the now and the moment of now with the breath entering and leaving giving energy yet taking rest with each exhale. The annual dinner for New Year's Eve with lobster and Dom champagne bring me joy and I love the family/friends gathering to toast each other and a new year. We dine early so those that have other events can get to them and those that don't can hang out.

Celebrate all year long.