Judy at Sunshine Quilts has offered us a Stashbusting Challenge, and I wholeheartedly accept! She has challenged us to choose our favourite piece of fabric, you know, the one you don't want to cut up, and rather than continue to gaze at it, use it!
This is my favourite piece of fabric (well, it's actually my favourite pack of fabrics). My wonderful friend Linda gave it to me when I visited in 2000, and I have been so reluctant to cut it up. I justified this by saying it would have to be a very special project to tempt me to cut into this fabric. Well, I'm going to start that special project for this challenge. I'm strong today about the challenge, I hope I continue to be as strong when it's time to wield the rotary cutter.
I have the day to myself today, and there are three different things I'd like to work on. I have a new scrap block I'd like to try, and there are two new quilts I'd like to start ... I wonder which one will pull me in first. Hopefully you'll see the results soon enough!
Yesterday I didn't sew a single thing. Not a scrap ... nothing ... nada. What a strange day for me! I didn't really have lots of chances, but also I just didn't feel like it!
Cameron started back at Kindy yesterday, and he had a great afternoon. He found it a little tricky to grasp that some of the slightly older kids he'd played with before have gone on to school. Kindy time would have been prime 'me' time in the past, but since Amy doesn't start back at school until next week, I took her shopping and then to a sleepover at one of her friends homes.
After picking Cam up from Kindy, and since Marty had the day off, we travelled to Spotlight - he has been making a cat tree/scratcher, and wanted to get some fluffy or carpet like fabric to cover the perches. We found what he was looking for right near the quilting fabrics, and I was not tempted to buy a single thing. I did look ... but I have to confess I don't like to fabric shop while he's around ...
And when we got home it was time to do dinner and a little laundry ... so I didn't really have an opportunity to sew until after Cam went to bed. Instead of sewing, I decided to cut up some more of my scraps from recent projects and bits and pieces in my fabric boxes. I didn't plan to do heaps, but cut until 11.30pm (with a small break for making lunches for the next day). You see my scrap boxes in the picture. I have 1.5" strips, 2" strips, 2.5" strips, 2.5" squares, and 3.5" strips. I do have some other boxes of scraps, but they're 10.5" backing pieces, and other Thimbleberries scraps. I have so much Thimbleberries stuff left over from club projects etc that I keep them separate.
Now I just need to start working these scraps into some more quilts. I'm always amazed at how much sewing you can do will not much of a visible dent in the stash. I'm determined to keep at it, I know I'll see results some day!
Yesterday afternoon I decided to start working on the back for the Zig Zag Nine patch. I like to use Bonnie's 10.5" unfinished squares method for making up scrap backs. It sure does whip that stash into shape and uses up uglies that have found their way in there ... or things you've bought and just don't love anymore - for example that blue and yellow stripey piece. What was I thinking???I'm just so lazy at times , and I thought rather than cut quite so many 10.5" squares, I'd also use multiples of 10 if I had large pieces of stash, so some of the pieces you see in the picture are 20 x 40", 10 x 40", 10 x 20" etc. Not so many seams for me to piece, still stashbusting, and still interesting to look at. Whip the stash ... whip it good!
After dinner last night, I really felt like doing some piecing, and I didn't know what I wanted to work on. I have a few new projects in my head I'd like to get started on, but I will need to do a little planning first. So I decided while watching TV to start putting a few of the blue and cream blocks together. I started by making pairs of blocks, then fours etc ... The picture is as far as I got, there are still many rounds to go. It's nice to see the pattern forming. Even once I've assembled all the blocks I've made, I don't know that I'll add borders just yet, I may make up more blocks, these ones are fun. I have 100 so far, so let's see how big this quilt grows.Shortly I will take Cam and Amy to the park so they can ride their bikes around. Cam can work off some of his energy so we can have a quiet afternoon. I really would like to watch the men's tennis final. Should be a ripper game.Hope you're all having a great weekend!
I seem to get a lot of stitching done right now while watching/listening to the tennis. I was so surprised to watch the mens semi final last night between Federer and Roddick. I expected it to be a long and tough match, but it ended up being completely one sided.But I digress ... during the game I made up a mug mat gift for Cam's old day care lady - Betty. We're going to visit her today while Amy is at a birthday party, and I thought it'd be nice to have a little treat for her.Her home is in very traditional colours, so I chose a heritage green mug for her last time I was at the store, and made up a 5" log cabin block in green and browns from my Thimbleberries scrap box for the little mat.I have made a few of these now, so I'll have to keep track of who I give them to.
After the mug mat, I was able to put two of the corner sections on the USA Memories quilt, and this morning I finished it up by putting the last two corners on.I have no idea how I managed to have such a brain fade, but I cut both the setting triangles AND the corner triangles at the wrong size. I made the setting triangles too small, and the corners too large. Obviously I could cut the corner tri's down, but I had to cut the setting triangles anew ... and I really hated wasting those pieces of fabric. I've put them aside to trim down into the scrap boxes, I hope there's not too much waste. I just love the toile fabric. In fact, I don't think I've met a toile I didn't like! The toile came from Carolea's in Sunnyvale from her legendary back porch while I was in the US last year. Such a shame the store is closed now.I've now completed all my goals for this month, which is unexpected! I think I will busy myself piecing a back from 10" squares for my Zig Zag Nine Patch so that I can quilt it next month. Other than that ... who knows ... it's like free play!To all my Aussie friends ... Happy Australia Day - I hope you have a wonderful day!
It's finished. Yes, don't adjust your screen, you read that correctly! The Winnie The Pooh quilt is finally finished! Long time readers will know how I've struggled with this project, and now that it's done I really don't know why I had such mental struggles with it.I guess maybe it was the series of mini-hurdles. Not enough navy fabric to finish the borders. The size of it daunted me with regard to machine quilting. Running out of bobbin thread, and then running out of top thread.But it's all behind me now, I've finished it, and even Cameron is thrilled. I sewed the last binding stitches down last night watching the mens quarter finals in the Aust Open Tennis. Such a good game, I was enthralled.Today Amy has a friend over for a play-date, and later we have to go pay for her school books and fees for the year. I don't know how much stitching I'll get done today, but I'm looking forward to doing more work on my USA Memories quilt. Have a wonderful day everyone!
We have a name! Drumroll please ... HOLLY! It was hard to find a name we all agreed on. Especially Cameron - he wanted to name her Ninja. I don't know how you all feel about that particular name ... the rest of us didn't think it suited.But how appropriate is Holly? She is named for Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Holly Golightly had a ginger coloured unnamed cat.So, our kitty is unnamed no more ... and hopefully will respond to her new name :-) Welcome to the family Holly!
Yesterday was one of those days that was just so fun I didn't want it to end! Amy came home, and was just soooooo excited to meet kitty. She just adores her. Last night Amy did let Madaline sleep on her bed though, she doesn't want her to feel left out. What a honey.While watching the tennis in the afternoon, I made up my last three DJ blocks for this month. The green one at the top is H11 - Piercing Rays. A cute block with many Y-seams. Bottom left is H5 - Michael's Motorcycle. This is the first time I've made this block, it was made by a DJ friend in my other quilt, it was super easy to make. Bottom right is I8 - Pete's Paintbox. Last time I foundation pieced this block in five sections, but this time it was much easier to use freezer paper piecing. This means I've achieved my DJ goal for this month! Yay!
Next on my list of things to do was to make up another batch of preserves. My new(ish) Fowlers Vacola unit can only take 8 jars at one time, so I have to plan a little if I have a lot of fruit. The four jars on the left are ground tomatoes. We have a few tomato plants and I freeze the tomatoes as they ripen and when I have enough, preserve them with a bay leaf and some basil. Super yummy for making pasta.And on the right some more peaches ... and the tree is still going, so there will probably be more to come. The smaller size 20 jars are one pint, and I've run out of them entirely now, the two in the back are about one litre (which I think is around one quart). I'll have to get busy labelling the jars, or I'm going to get the peaches mixed up with the apricots that I made last month. They look kind of similar.
And last night while I was watching yet more tennis, I started assembling my USA memories quilt. This is going to be a beauty, I can tell!The block in the centre is by Sue, the two together top left are by Donna and Karen. Top right are blocks by Linda and Lynn. Bottom right is made by Liz and one by me. Bottom right are made by Linda and Gerri. There are still three more blocks that the girls made which will be added to the quilt, and I will make up one more block to even it up.After working on DJ blocks during the day with tiny pieces, working on this quilt in the evening was so funny. It felt like I was working with huge bedsheet size pieces!A big HI to Linda and all the Quilt Batts. Thank you so much for making blocks for me, I really love them, and they're just the most wonderful memory of my fabulous trip to the USA.
Mother Nature is just wonderful sometimes. We have desperately needed rain, and lo and behold, the heavens have opened! And with rain comes wonderful indoor time, and I've taken advantage of that!Yesterday I made up seven Heartstrings blocks in honour of Nancy's birthday. Happy belated birthday Nancy!. I'll mail them out with my other parcels on Tuesday or Wednesday. I can see how Mary has declared these blocks addictive. I challenge everyone to get involved in the cause, I see so many of you are already. I'm going to put the button in my sidebar, so go check out the Heartstrings site. Thank you so much to ForestJane for making up the button for us all, and also for sharing the cute picture for stash-quilts.
Having some wind and rain also meant that some of our peaches have fallen from the tree. Rather than let them go to waste (we can only eat so many while they're fresh) I've cut them up and bottled them. We'll be able to have yummy peaches for the year to come.These are Elberta peaches - old fashioned free-stone ones that taste just divine! This is the first year we've had peaches on our tree, as it's just a baby, and believe me, we're thrilled with it.
And here is my final piece of work for the day. One more DJ block. This one is J2 - Picture Perfect. I love this block, and I think it's perfect if I do say so myself. All the little seams line up so nicely. Those little white pieces are 1/4" wide. I have the freezer paper marked and cut up ready for three more blocks, so I may get them done today. I've done my chores this morning, so I have the afternoon to myself.Because of the rain I haven't ventured far from home this weekend, so I haven't been to the quilt store to pick up the thread for the WTP quilt, I'll do that in the next day or so ... I'm so looking forward to finishing it. Hope you're all having a great weekend!
I got a little bit of stitching done yesterday, gosh I love to piece blocks! I made two more DJ blocks toward my commitment for 8 for the month.On the left is E12 - Mary Ruth's Corset. Some tiny pieces in the centre there. I really love that purple 30's print. I don't have enough left now for any more DJ blocks, just enough for a couple of 2" squares in my scrap boxes. It's a nice feeling to use something up entirely!On the right is H4 - Abbey's Eyes. How much do I love this block! So much - seriously! This one I could imagine making a whole quilt from. I have actually made a change from the block in the book ... can you see what I've made differently? I've added a seam down the centre of the white arrow points. It just makes it so much easier to set that diamond in when there's that seam join there to manipulate. Y seams can be tricky things, but this block is a joy to put together.
And here are some blocks I put together for Clare. They're all bagged up now and ready to go. I'm so happy to be involved in her Quilts 4 Leukaemia project. What a worthy cause!Today I will make up the blocks for Nancy. I will love making up the Heartstrings blocks. In my stash I have these 10" squares of some unusual fabric that I had planned to use for backs. These days I use Bonnie Hunter's technique with the 10.5" backing squares, so the 10" squares have sat around with nothing to do. And then this project came up ... it's just serendipity, I'll use the 10" squares as the base fabric. I may just get addicted to these blocks and make myself a quilt using this technique too ... a project for another rainy day.Have a great weekend everyone ... it's raining here ... much needed rain.
I was soooo strong! Can you belive that faced with all the gorgeous fabrics at the the quilt store in the Barossa, I managed to stick with my fabric diet! I'll be honest, I wasn't really all that tempted by the fabric. I don't have a particular project I'm shopping for right now, and because fabric is so expensive here, I find it hard to impulse buy.Lorraine, her daughter and I travelled to the quilt store together, and afterward we came back here for a 'play-date'. She wanted to see some of my quilts, and Jasmine wanted to meet kitty. When Lorraine came into my sewing room she told me she could really understand why I didn't want to buy any more fabric right now. So I feel totally justified in being on my 'low fiber diet', and in a way worried about my stash status ... I didn't think it was THAT bad ... Of course, I'm probably just in denial *lol*!I did buy the things you see in the picture ... a cute pattern by Kaye England, some Marti Michell templates and the second workbook, and a little more freezer paper. The freezer paper I have been working with is quite old, and I think may have lost a little of it's 'stick'. I thought if I tried some new stuff I could see if I'm expecting too much of the paper, or if it's actually old and needs to be thrown away. Can you believe that this tiny haul still cost $80.00! Quilting can be an expensive hobby ... but gosh I love it!When I was in Paducah last year I met Marti Michell in person and she was just so lovely ... I actually had planned to find her booth because I wanted her Double Wedding Ring templates and the KaleidoRule. I ended up buying heaps of stuff. I really like the basic templates too, and plan to use them to help Amy learn more about quilting. The way the pieces cut out, it will be so helpful when she's using more interesting shapes.
And for our latest kitty fix, here she is asleep on the top of the lounge in the family room. Marty crept up on her with the camera, and she was so tired that she didn't even stir. This is the lounge which is right by my laptop, and she often comes and sits here by me when I'm at the computer.She's a very sociable little person, and likes to be wherever we are. If she finds herself in a room where we're not, she lets out just one little meow for us to come find her.
And this I have to share ... last night I came sooooo close to finishing quilting the Winnie the Pooh Quilt. I had about the equivalent of 3 blocks left to quilt ... and I ran out of the variegated thread I'm using on the top! This quilt is challenging me in every way, it's almost like it doesn't want to be finished. I should be able to get some more thread tomorrow ... so hopefully I'll have a finish on the weekend!
I have a friend coming over for lunch today, and this morning if I have the chance, I'm going to put a couple of blocks together for Clare and Nancy. Certainly if I don't get them done this morning I'll do them this evening. How fun! Have a great day everyone x o x
Last year I was lucky enough to visit with my friend Linda in the USA. We were chatting on the phone this one day and discussing her upcoming trip to Paducah. I don't remember exactly how the conversation went, but one of us must have said "Why don't you (or I) come along?". And that's how it began. We travelled with some members of Linda's quilt group, and what a wonderful time it was.For a special surprise, Linda made up some memory blocks for me, and so did Donna, Karen, Liz, Gerri, Lynn, Sue, Nancy and Kate. This month I plan to make up a quilt top with those blocks. I've made up a sweet setting with an applique block surrounded by blocks set on point. I started cutting up fabrics last night. I'll keep you posted.
This post is taking a while - I've just been on the phone to Linda for almost one hour! There is always just so much to talk about. We've been planning what projects we'll work on together this year. We'll resurrect some blocks we started a couple of years ago, and also perhaps begin work on the Civil War Diary Quilt. Our friend Donna is starting it, so what a fun project for the three of us to work on together!But back to the pictures ... I made two DJ blocks recently - on the left, M11 - Rickshaw, and on the right, M2 - Duff's Bluff. M11 has not gone together as nicely as I'd like, but I'm going to put it with the other blocks and decide later if I'll make it again. I figure that by the end of 169 blocks I'll settle for it. M2 was super easy to make and I love the way it has come out.A big thank you to Hanne (edit: oops that should have been May Britt - sorry hon), she sent me a link to determine the boy/girl status of kitty. It's a girl! We can now narrow down the list of names. I have a feeling we're also stalling a little on the name so that Amy may have her own input when she gets home. She called yesterday and I didn't mention the kitty, I really want her to be surprised when she comes home!I have a day to myself today, I would like to sew sew sew ... but I have a feeling I may get sidetracked with housework. Tomorrow I am going on a visit to a quilt store in the Barossa with my friend Lorraine. I wonder if I'll be able to keep strong on my fabric diet ... patterns, books, notions and threads are fair game ... I'll let you know!
This morning I finished the last stitches of the watermelon hat. I'm something of a novice knitter, and I am obviously someone who doesn't follow patterns to the letter, as my version bears little resemblance to the one that Yarn Harlot knitted. Having said that, I'm still thrilled with the result.
The original pattern had the 'seeds' stitched with a duplicate stitch. I had seen some socks with beading on the Yarn Harlot's blog, and thought it would be fun to do some beading, so prior to commencing with the pink wool, I threaded a whole pile of beads onto the wool and away I went with the knitting. The beads shouldn't be able to come off unless the hat is all unravelled. My MIL saw the hat earlier today and thinks it's mighty cute. She's a great knitter, so I feel like the hat has been given the seal of approval! A fun knit, and one that didn't take too long ... strike another of the list!
Here is our darling little (and still unnamed) kitty. Marty did a little research today on kitty's ginger status ... we had been told by two people that if it's ginger, it's a boy. After 'googling' it, we've discovered that ginger boy cats outnumber the girls 3 to 1. It's this whole chromosome thing ... so while we're happy for the kitty to be of either sex, we still kind of think it's a girl.
It's been a long time since Madaline was a kitty, and I'd forgotten how much time kittens can spend sleeping. This little fur-person goes from bouncing and bounding around the house to sleeping in what seems like a heartbeat. We've had no little accidents either ... this is one very civilised kitty. MIL is thinking she may get in touch with the friends we got her from and adopt one of the brothers or sisters. That would be so nice.
Have you read Bonnie's post about her progress taming her stash? She's just so inspiring! I have been plugging away at UFO's these past few months, and trying really hard to use up my scraps, and felt like I was getting nowhere. My storage system isn't so great though, so even if I was making progress I probably wouldn't be able to see it.
I've taken heart from Bonnie's success, and I'm going to keep on working the scraps and the stash.
Thank you so much to Kim from 'A Peach in Stitches' for creating this neat button to help keep us on track. She sure is one talented girl.
Badge from A Peach in Stitches
Be sure to visit her site if you'd like to use the button, as she's kindly provided the code for us there.
Here we have the newest member of our family. A so far unnamed (and we think a girl) ginger kitty. She arrived last night, and so far has been just a joy. I expected some fretting last night, but she was really just fine. Amy is away with my parents at the beach house and has no idea of her arrival (we were keeping it as a surprise), so imagine how thrilled she'll be when she gets home. Cam of course is loving her to bits ... hopefully not literally! More pictures after I've emptied the camera ... I'm using the phone right now.
And here is the watermelon hat I've started for my SIL's baby which is due in April. This one is coming out a bit bigger than I hoped, so next month I'll make one smaller for a newbie baby. The fun just never stops! Have a great weekend everyone!
Good morning friends, I can't believe how fast this week has gone. I had not planned for a couple of days between posts, but you know how life can just get in the way! I have been working away at my projects, and I'm super happy to report that ...
... the Zig Zag Nine Patch quilt top is done! I'm entirely thrilled with how it's come out, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of putting it all together. Just super fun seeing all those old fabrics again in the scraps and reminiscing about what they went in. This quilt has some scraps from my first ever project from 1992. Hard to imagine that I still have that fabric in my stash! Linda tells me she's sending some more 9 patches, so I think I may just make another one. So, I can now cross this project off my goals for this month!
My second finish for this month is my first ever pair of socks. I almost completed the second sock while we were at the beach house. I got to the point of decreasing for the toe on my way home, and then put them aside for a little. The final cast off was done on Wednesday evening.
Rather than starting on a whole new pair of socks (which is what I'm super tempted to do) I decided to cast on for the watermelon hat. I think I included a link a couple of posts ago ... it's from the Yarn Harlot's blog. I've knitted the first green bands, and judging by what I've done so far, I think it'll fit about a 6 month old baby, so when I'm done I may just make another a little smaller for a newborn. That may have to be a goal for next month. Now that Cam's seen it, he wants one too, so before winter I'll have to make one each for my kids too! No matter, it's mega cute, and I've decided to use black beads for the seeds, rather than the black stitches. I'll post a picture when there's something more to see.
Off to meet Jane at the village shortly. I have to get some groceries ... and some supplies ... we may have a new addition to our little family this weekend ... a gingery fur-person ... more news as it breaks!
We're back now, and Cam is just fine and dandy. He had a check up at the hospital this morning, and they've declared him just fine. I just wish I knew what kind of bug it was that bit him ... it would just set my mind at ease ... but anyways, what can you do?
A great time was had by all at the beach house. The weather was mild, which was nice, I don't like it when it's super hot over there, as there's only minimal cooling in the house. The kids (and Marty) spent quite a bit of time at the beach, and also on the bikes.
I relaxed entirely, and believe it or not didn't take any quilting with me! I did take my knitting, and almost finished the second sock. I came so close, I'm at the stage now where I'm decreasing for the toe. I'm amazed I'm not working on it right now, I love finishes! Usually I break out the laptop and do some designing too, and I didn't even do that!
After we'd unpacked last night, I hit the sewing room and put together more of my zig zag nine patch quilt. I just love how the pattern is coming together. It's super fun looking at the scraps and remembering what they were used in, and looking and Linda's blocks and wondering what her fabrics went into.
Well, that's it for me, we're heading off to Sharon's house for a little while, and then off to see Grandpa Pearce. Another day in Paradise!
Posts will be scarce from me for the next few days, we're heading off to the beach house for a long weekend and some desperately needed R&R.I'm super tired and need the break, I was with Cam in the Pediatric Ward at our local hospital overnight. I took him to the emergency room yesterday afternoon, while playing in the garden at day care he had been bitten by some kind of insect in a Very Sensitive Place ... and he had a very bad allergic reaction. We're thinking while sitting down, something must have crawled under his clothes. The swelling was something to see, the poor little guy! The doctors were wonderful and very concerned, and rather than treating him and sending him home, they had him on an IV and admitted him.He's bounced back remarkably, and armed with an array of medicines and the doctor's blessing, we're heading off this afternoon. I'm really looking forward to having a snooze in the car.Have a great weekend all!
I didn't have an opportunity to get to the store yesterday to purchase more of the bobbin thread so I could continue quilting, so instead I decided to start work on the next item on my list.This is the Zig Zag Nine Patch that Linda and I have been trading nine patches for. I guess we've been trading for about a year now. I love the scrap quilts we make together. This is one of Bonnie Hunter's leader and ender projects.Linda sent me the background fabric some time ago, it was from Carolea's (who have now sadly closed). The red fabric in the setting triangles is from Hancocks of Paducah from their famous back room when I visited in May. Gosh I purchased a lot of fabric from them ... and I know I would have purchased more if I didn't start thinking about my luggage weight.It's super hot here today (40c) so I'm going to stay indoors as much as possible, and do a lot of stitching. I'm really looking forward to see how the pattern develops as I add the rows. I'll keep you posted!
Just a quick post this morning. I only have a few minutes up my sleeve before we run out the door. I'm taking Amy to the Plaster Fun House again these holidays. My friends girls just love it there, so we're meeting up with them shortly.Here is a close up picture of one of the feathered wreaths. When I'm actually looking at the wreath itself I can see my bumpy stitching where I have to double back over some parts of the feathers, but it just doesn't show up in the pictures. Feel free to click on the picture and critique it :-) But I am super happy with my first efforts, and it was easier as I went along and got a rhythm going. I quilted away again last night and ran entirely out of the thread I'm using in the bobbin, so I will need to get some more before I can start up again.The movie last night was wonderful. A Night at the Museum is what we decided could be Cam's first movie experience, and he enjoyed it ... but there were some parts that were perhaps a little grown up for him. Only because they were setting the story and it really didn't interest him, so he got a bit fidgety. Once the action started, he was transfixed! The older kids loved it, and I'd definitely recommend it!Better dash, I have 10 mins to put my face on and be in the car! Have a great day everyone!
I spent some time quilting this morning ... finished all the feathered wreaths, and worked at a little meandering. I told myself I'd keep going until the bobbin ran out and then have a rest ... quilting such a big quilt is tough on the arms. So now I'm thinking of some goals for this month, and for the year.First up, how did I go with last month's goals:- Start quilting Winnie the Pooh quilt
- Finish up gifts for Xmas
- Write directions and send off Winchester quilt
- Make twelve DJ blocks
- Start assembling zig zag nine patch blocks
As you well know, the Winnie the Pooh quilt is now on the road to completion, but I didn't get to it in December. I'm not beating myself up over it though, I set myself a pretty hectic schedule with the Christmas Gifts I made, and frankly, they were the most important to me. The Zig Zag Nine patch blocks can go onto this month's list while I decide what red fabric I'd like to use. I'm thinking about one I picked up at Hancocks of Paducah. All in all, a pretty darn good job!So, here are my goals for January:- Complete Winnie the Pooh quilt
- Piece Zig Zag Nine Patch top
- Put USA blocks together
- Make eight DJ blocks
- Knit Watermelon hat for SIL's baby
Just five things again, and hopefully achievable. I've put them in the order I'd like to complete them, though I feel sure I'm going to be tempted by the Watermelon Hat ... go take a looky and see if you don't fall in love with it too :-) Amy has declared it gorgeous and placed her order. Fortunately we're in the grip of a hot summer here, so her need is not pressing!
I set a couple of goals for 2007 also ... only two ...- Complete all pre-2006 UFO's (don't panic - there are only 3)
- Pass the 100 block mark on the 30's DJ quilt
Let's see how I go! 2007 ... bring it on!
Lastly, thank you all so much for your lovely comments about my feathered wreath quilting. I'm quite overwhelmed! I have to say that if you look up close it's not amazing, I'll show you a close up picture tomorrow. My stitches where I have to run over other stitches are kind of bumpy. I have just been using Bernie, my faithful home machine. I don't have a long arm, though I'd gladly give a long arm machine a good home! I must also say that I haven't just whipped the wreaths up freehand, I marked the design on the quilt and followed the line as best I could ... and you could say I 'coloured outside the lines' quite a bit ... but still, I'm thrilled with my first efforts, and though not easy, they weren't as hard as I thought they'd be!
I just couldn't wait to show you this picture, I'm quilting away on the Winnie the Pooh quilt! And I'm loving it! Is it because it was such a long time coming, or is it because I'm machine quilting feathered wreaths for the first time ever, and they're looking great!?!
I've hand quilted feathers before, not hard at all ... but machining them, and on such a large quilt ... well, I'm just thrilled! I'll do the feathers in the setting squares first, and I'll decide on the other stuff as I go. I feel sure this quilt will be a UFO no longer! I'll have quite a bit of time to quilt today, so let's see how far I get.
Tonight we're taking Cam and Amy to the movies to see 'A Night at the Museum'. I'm really looking forward to it, we've been planning to see it ever since we saw the first preview. This will be Cam's first time at the movies ever. We've been reluctant to take him before now, as he's such an active kid, we weren't sure he'd be able to sit still that long. I'll let you know how he goes.
Still no list of goals for me just now. I will set aside some time to plan some out really soon. Clearly I need to set a goal to set some goals :-)
Off to face the day now ... the sooner the chores are done ... the sooner I'm quilting!
Says it all really, doesn't it? Happy New Year everyone! May this year bring peace, happiness and prosperity to you all. Have you all made resolutions, or lists of things you'd like to achieve? I personally have never been one to make resolutions for the coming year, but I'm thinking this year I may do something different. I'm going to mull it over for a few days and come up with a list of things I'd like to achieve or work towards for 2007. I can clearly see one of them right now ... lose a few pounds ... that will be up there for sure. But I think it's going to be more than that ... think about my health more should be more like it.Hmmm ... that's amazingly clear thinking for me this morning ... we're all very tired in this house. We went to a super fun New Years Eve party last night, and we shuffled in at 1.30am. I guess that's not as late as we could have been, but it was pretty good going for Cam to be out so late ... he's only 4 after all. We all climbed out of bed after 10am, but I don't think there will be much activity here today. I'm pleased to announce that in the pool tournament last night I bowed out gracefully in the second round, only losing by two balls. Much better than my first round defeat on Boxing day (having only got one ball in the pocket). There were about 40 ppl in the 'competition' last night and it took until after midnight to get to the final.
How did I go yesterday moving along toward some more of my December goals? Well let me tell you there has been some amazing progress! Regular readers will know that the Winnie the Pooh quilt and I have not been seeing eye-to-eye in terms of it's completion. The quilt wants to be completed ... but I seem to have some mental hurdles preventing me from doing so! Yesterday afternoon significant steps were taken ... I laid it out and started pinning it ready for quilting!! Yes friends ... it's happening, and I can see you're all as astonished as I am!!If I'm a really good girl, maybe I can finish it to binding by the end of January. I'll add it to my goals for the month after I've decided what they're going to be.That's it from me for today ... be sure to have a wonderful time ringing in the new year! *big hugs*
This is my favourite piece of fabric (well, it's actually my favourite pack of fabrics). My wonderful friend Linda gave it to me when I visited in 2000, and I have been so reluctant to cut it up. I justified this by saying it would have to be a very special project to tempt me to cut into this fabric. Well, I'm going to start that special project for this challenge. I'm strong today about the challenge, I hope I continue to be as strong when it's time to wield the rotary cutter.
