Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2016! Hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve!
I'm working tomorrow morning at 7am but will have a nice dinner tonight. Looks like it's just me and my husband. The kids have their own plans and my parents eat too early! I'm sure I'll still have a nice night!

Have a wonderful holiday! See you next year!!!

End of Year Projects

It's the end of the year and I'm trying to get a few forgotten projects on track again. The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew Along is on holiday break. That gives me so much more free time to pursue my own projects. I started this project awhile ago to gain some control over my fabric scraps left over from other projects. I've made a few more blocks this past week.

I decided just working on one or two blocks at a time takes too long. I've started to cut the fabric for a bunch of blocks for awhile and then speed sewing them at the machine! As you can see, I have 4 blocks ready to be sewn. I think I'm going to cut out more before I piece them together. It's easy to do after work as well. I need 49 blocks to complete this quilt.

My Christmas knitting has been over for weeks. I had nothing to do with my hands while watching television. I just started making a shawlette from the book, Free-Spirit Shawls by Lisa Shroyer. I'm using Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk Paints which is a purple/grey combination. It's so soft to touch! I really love it.

Here's the picture of the shawlette I'm working on. I love the feminine look of it.

There you have my end of year projects. I'll be working the next few days including New Year's Day. Not sure how my project I'll be making. I'll let you know!!

Merry Christmas!

Just a short post to say Merry Christmas! This is a quilt I made years ago using a Quilter's Newsletter pattern. It's the first quilt I machine quilted. You don't want a close up of that!!

Lily and Molly are all decked out in their holiday finery. (Not too happy about that!)

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Enjoy your loved ones! Eat a lot!

Knit Brooch

I finished knitting socks last week. They're all wrapped and under the tree. I have felt very idle when sitting down to watch television. I thought a quick knit project would be exactly what I needed. I received a kit last Christmas that I never made. I decided it would be perfect for a quick knitting fix!

This is the front of the directions. It came with the yarn, button, pin and directions. I started it last night and ended up finishing it just a short time later. It was quick and fun!

After a series of purl stitches, the rows are constantly decreased until you're left with just 3 stitches. So fast! I felt quite content having made this little project. So glad that Sarah sent me this cute little kit last year. Came in quite handy!

Finished Socks

I finally finished my Christmas socks! I just have to wrap them up and put them under the tree. I always wash them first and put them in the dryer for about 5 minutes.

As soon as I take them out of the dryer, I insert one sock blocker into each sock.

It gives the socks great form. I bought these blockers years ago and have used them with every pair of socks I've knit. They're not too expensive but a great tool to use.

Speaking of under the tree, my two kitties love sitting there! They stare at the lights and hit the ornaments every once in awhile! I think they're waiting for Santa.

My Quilted Christmas

I'm posting pictures of the various Christmas items I've made over the years. I take them out year after year. It reminds me of all the Christmas projects I've made in the past. I'm posting them in no particular order.

This is a table runner I found as a free project online. I used hand applique and machine quilting to finish it off.

This is a Lil Twister holiday wreath. I'm using it on a table but you could put a bow on it and use it as a wall hanging.

This is my Christmas tree skirt. This is one of my first quilted projects I ever made. It's actually hand quilted. (Sort of big stitches!)

I received this as a gift from my friend, Star. It's on the coffee table in my formal living room. Beautiful machine quilting!

This is a Debbie Mumm pattern. I used scraps to make this one. This is machine pieced and machine quilted.

This is a cute little wall hanging I made in the last few years. It's 3-D! 

This is one of my favorites! I think the pattern was in Quiltmaker magazine. It's paper pieced and machine quilted.

This is my bargello table runner. I love making this. Another favorite of mine. I want to make more bargello items one of these days. I love the effect!

There you have it! That's the tour of my quilted Christmas! Hope you enjoyed it!

Quilt Guild Christmas Party

We had our guild Christmas party last night. We had quite a list of things to bring to our party. We received raffle tickets for each item we brought in.  We had to wear our name tag and attend so that's 2 raffle tickets. We also had to bring in a treat to share with everyone. Men's white socks, cereal and a Christmas fat quarter were also items on our list. We all had to bring in a tea cup or tea pot so we could enjoy our tea party. We were all supposed to wear an ugly Christmas fashion. I had an old sweater. (It still had shoulder pads in it!) Last, we were all asked to piece a friendship star block in Christmas colors. I ended up with 10 raffle tickets. (Some people were quite generous handing out those tickets!!)
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Here's an idea of how much we collected last night. There's also a table behind the cereal with even more cereal boxes. They're being donated to a food pantry.

We also had  a guest speaker, Valarie Poitier. She was a wonderful speaker that had many quilts, as well as dyed fabrics, to show us. Her dyed fabric was beautiful. She actually frames some of her dyed fabric and sells it. It's true art work.

Here's one of her quilts. Lovely colors!

Look what I won! I have a new iron and Best Press as well! So glad I got my raffle tickets! Such a fun Christmas party!

Christmas Socks

I'm almost finished my Christmas socks! They're not for me! They're for a friend.  I have one sock complete. I had a cold this past week and it felt so nice to relax on the couch and just keep on knitting!

Here's the second sock. I have the pattern memorized so I'm knitting a little faster. I wish I could have gone shopping this past week but I ended up shopping from the comforts of home. I have to get out next week and really put a dent in my holiday list. I'm feeling better so I should be able to get out there. Hope you're all surviving the holiday season. It's such a busy time of year. Going back to my knitting!! Enjoy the weekend!

Farmer's Wife Update

Here are my 22 blocks I've made so far for The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt. I've made so many more blocks since I've last blogged about this quilt. I only plan on making 42 blocks. I'm sort of making up my own size. I feel their lap size is a little too small ( 50" X 59") but the twin is too large (78" X 95"). My quilt will be somewhere in the middle of those two quilt sizes.

Some of these blocks have been so fun to make while others have been very difficult. I feel as though I'm learning a lot and will end up with a beautiful quilt when finished! I suppose it's all worth it in the end. I'm paper piecing whenever possible. I love the accuracy of this method.


Here are the blocks I've made since my last post.

Jenny

Patience

Nancy

Granny

Patricia

Milly

Addie

Margaret

Jewel

Sara

Aimee

Grandma

I didn't sew that last seam in the Grandma block. I need the block halves to complete the top and bottom of 3 rows. The blocks will all be set on point. 

The next block has just been released. I'll be working on Ava next!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick post to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! This is the best time to enjoy our families and eat whatever we like! Calories don't count today!!

Speaking of calories, I made a pumpkin cheesecake! I can't wait to try it. I found the recipe online. It's supposed to be the same recipe that The Cheesecake Factory uses. We'll find out soon! I'm so looking forward to trying it out!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Farmgirl Finish!

Farmgirl Vintage is finally done! I finished the blocks a few months ago. The flying geese border took a long time to complete. However, now that the borders are on the quilt, I feel the flying geese look great. Definitely worth the time! Excuse the wrinkles. I had actually ironed this top very nicely. My cats decided to play with it and it became quite messy again.

Here's a closeup of one of the corners. The flying geese fit very nicely. I really love the look of the three different borders. It adds so much to the quilt top.

This quilt gets added to my quilting queue. I have one quilt I'm quilting and 2 tops waiting to be finished.  I just don't have enough hours in the day!

Merrily Machine Quilting Along

I haven't had too much time to machine quilt but I did get 2 blocks completely done. And I've also started to quilt feathers between the blocks. I have a ruler that has a curved edge that I've been using as the spine of the feathers. This insures that the feathers look consistent throughout the quilt.

Also, depending on the fabric, the feathers are not as easy to see. That certainly takes the heat off me for that particular feather! This picture shows one of the feathers but it blends in very nicely with the fabric.

However, this feather is much more visible. I really love how they're coming out. Each feather is a little better than the previous one. Hopefully, I'll be the only one who can see that on the quilt!

Contrary to belief, feathers are so quick to quilt! After tracing the spine, I draw in the feathers so the placement is even. The actual sewing is fast! I'm having a great time quilting this quilt. I'm looking forward to a little more free time so I can make some good progress!