Goodbye 2016

Here we are....

the last day of 2016.

How did this happen??

Looking back on what has been accomplished in 2016

has been fun.

I finished more than I remembered!

This is one reason why I blog...

to help my memory!

:D

One thing I love about quilting is all of the different

fabrics and patterns we can use.

The options are endless.

I have all kinds of ideas and plans running through my head for quilts 

I'd like to make in 2017.

The possibilities are endless!

One goal I had for 2016 was to finish one Bucilla kit a month.

This lasted about 6 months, although I did sneak one in at the

end of the year.

I will continue with this goal in 2017.

I wasn't quite as productive in the knitting department in 2016,

but knitting goes much more slowly for me.

It's pretty mindless handwork.

 

Goodbye 2016.

Hello 2017!

Happy Quilting!

Quilt for Merritt

One more quilt is finished before 2016 comes to an end.

I love this baby quilt.

The pattern is so easy to make,

but with the right fabrics,

it's striking.

You know how much I love Kaffe fabrics.

This pattern really shows off the large prints nicely.

 

I had been waiting for the right pattern to use the shell fabric in the middle.

This is it!

 

This quilt is square...honest!

There is something about how I take the photos that makes it look off center.

 

This is done and ready to be wrapped.

Happy Quilting!

Birds and Socks

This week has been pretty free of obligations,

so it's been quiet and slow.

The night before last I needed to just cut and sew something.

I had pulled out a pile of fabrics I had used to make this quilt

so I could fold them and put them away.

Instead of folding, I started cutting and sewing.

I had some 2 1/2" strips cut already, so sewed up both sides of a pair of strips

and used one of my triangle rulers to cut them into HST's.

 

When using this method, there are a couple of threads to pop

at the top of the triangle once the sides are cut.

They come apart very easily.

 

Open up the triangle, press

and you have a half square triangle.

 

 

I played around with a design with the HST's and

decided to make pinwheels.

 

 

In my stash I found this piece of toile with birds.

 

The blocks are all pieced and waiting for borders.

I'm thinking of just a plain outer border, but will leave

it hanging on my design wall for a bit to see

what else might come to mind.

It felt so good to just sew and sew yesterday.

 

I've had some knitting time during the last couple of weeks

and finished two pair of socks.

These were made with Socks that Rock yarn

and were given to a friend.

 

My sister brought this sock yarn back from Massachussetts for me.

It is so soft!
These will be for me!

Happy Quilting!

(and knitting!)

Merry Monday!

I hope everyone had a peaceful and joyous Christmas Day yesterday.

My daughter and her boyfriend were here for the weekend

and left this morning.

It was a wonderful Christmas for us because we were together.

 I didn't do any sewing over the weekend since they were here,

but I've been playing a bit this afternoon.

Before Christmas I found a pile of "left over" pieces from a

quilt I made a while ago and decided to make pot holders.

These went into stockings and a couple of gift bags.

Who can't use new pot holders??

I was able to sew Clue #5 of En Provence

this afternoon.

This clue was easy peasy..... makes me a bit concerned about the next clue. 

:D 

I hope we won't need too much more of the dark purple.

Otherwise, I'll have to purchase some as I am almost out.

I'm not a huge fan of purple and had very little in my stash.

A tray full of fabric clues.

Have a wonderful week.

Happy Quilting!

Miscellaneous Monday

Lately I seem to be getting some little things done...

things that have been hanging around,

waiting for me to get finished.

Back in the spring I made a quilt for a 

dear church friend from some of her husband's shirts.

The pattern called for snowball blocks

and, like any good quilter,

I saved the triangles cut from the corners.

Well...

I found those recently and could not just throw them away.

These little ornaments are packaged and ready to give to my friend.

They aren't anything fancy,

but are a remembrance of the wonderful man she lost suddenly.

Each year my oldest daughter and I make ornaments for her to give

to the VCU staff and fans we have gotten to know through their basketball program.

It's a bit of a challenge to come up with something she can help with

each year. Her fine motor skills are a bit delayed with her Down Syndrome.

This years ornaments were a lot of fun to make and are so cute!

These are basketball ornaments (and one baseball ornament)

with baby socks glued to the tops for a hat

and googly eyes glued in place.

We wrapped yellow yarn around the top of the hat to get the 

school colors in... black and gold.

These will be delivered this week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fourth clue for En Provence was released on Friday.

We are to make 80 Triangles in a square

with the neutral and dark purples.

Done!

Here are all of four of my clues.

So far, so good with keeping up with the clues.

Hopefully this will continue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One last post of Christmas decorations...

Years ago I found this Advent tower on line.

I had never seen anything like it before

and haven't seen anything like it since getting this one.

I put the wreath and ornaments around the base of the tower.

It uses ball shaped candles,

which are a challenge to find.

What did we do before the internet?

My grandmother crocheted the little angels many years ago.

It's hard to believe we are already through the fourth Sunday in Advent.

This Nativity is my daughters.

She saw this one years ago and loved it.

What's not to love?

Do you see the quilted robes of the Magi and the Little Drummer Boy?

I bought this little Nativity in Columbia

last year when my husband and I went on the Panama Canal Cruise

for our 30th anniversary.

What a wonderful remembrance.

Hopefully once some of these little things are done,

and life is a bit calmer,

I'll get something more creative going on my Design Wall.

In the meantime, visit Patchwork Times to see

what others are creating.

Happy Quilting!

Ornaments and Things

Last year my sister and I decided to do an ornament exchange

with our families instead of buying gifts.

For the past few weeks I have been on the lookout for

ornaments to give to them and was not having any luck.

Then I remembered that I had two wool ornament kits

in my cabinet that I had not yet made.

Perfect!

I put the finishing touches on these tonight

and will wrap them tomorrow.

These kits are Primitive Gathering kits I had purchased
a couple of years ago.

Our Christmas tree is one of my favorite things about Christmas.

 It is loaded with ornaments, a lot of which were handmade by family, friends and me 

or purchased on trips we've taken.

I love to remember the people who made them or where we bought them as I

decorate the tree.

You can see the yoyo garland that wraps the tree in this photo.

I made yards and yards of it one year.

These guys brighten up the corner counter in my kitchen,
waiting to be used for coffee or tea.


Next are some of the Bucilla kits I've made over the past
few years to brighten the holiday.

 

Our Advent Tree hangs on a door.
(Command Hooks are wonderful things!)
I need to sew a pocket onto the back of the tree
to hold all of the pieces waiting to be placed on the front.
Until then, they are all on the front of the tree.

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there."

"Merry Christmas to all
and to all a good night."

It's Beginning to Look....

A lot Like Christmas!

My decorating is finished and the mess is put away,

so my house is pretty much in order.

I love to decorate for Christmas and have collected a lot

of things over the years.

Many have been given to me by family and friends

and a lot of them are hand-made.

Years ago my parents started giving me a Frykman Santa
each year for Christmas.
I love how whimisical and happy they are.

These Santas are made by a woman in Ohio.
She makes them out of old quilts and wool blankets
and adds vintage trinkets to them, too.

 

 I found these bottle brush trees at Target this year!

I made "Noel" on the left a couple of years ago
from a kit. Her buddy was purchased at some point.
The quilt on the back of the chair is the
Friendship Star quilt with wool baskets
I made last year.

Here are more of my Santas made from old quilts.
The turquoise Santa and the green and turquoise tree are made from a vintage Italian blanket.
The woman who makes these puts this information on the tags,
which I leave attached and tucked to the back.
My sister crocheted my little trees.

Years ago I made the pomander balls and they still smell so good.
I need to get some greenery to add to my bowl, but it's been raining here.

My husband has collected Santa Golfers for years, too.

(Or maybe I should say I have collected them for him!)

They sit on a shelf in our family room.

 

These Cross-stitched Santas were made over 30 years ago

when I was in my cross stitching phase.

 

This cabinet stores a lot of my smaller quilts
and is a great display for my milk glass pieces.
 

My Christmas cactus is blooming for the first time!

Now to get the Christmas cards finished and mailed.

Happy Day!!

Monday Mess...

My house looks like a bomb went off in it!

Christmas stuff everywhere,

but all not in its proper place yet.

Boxes, bags and piles of things that have been

displaced or emptied of decorations

and not put back in the closet.

I know it will all get done,

but it's the "inbetween" phase that vexes my spirit.

And where am I?

In my Hidey Hole....hiding from the mess.

:D

While I have been hiding in here,

I finished sewing the blocks together on my latest

Disappearing Four Patch.

I think this one will get a narrow white stop border

and a wider solid border in either the green or turquoise.

 

Disappearing Four Patch is my "go-to"

pattern for baby quilts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The third clue for "En Provence" was released on Friday.

We were to make 168 purple four patches.

This spiral makes me smile.  :)

 

Mine are finished and put with the first two clues.

 

This is my first time participating in a 

Bonnie Hunter mystery.

It's not too late to join in on the fun!

Go here to see what is needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After making my daughter the Advent Calendar,

I had some scraps and pieces of the 

Charlie Brown fabric left that I wanted to use.

I made these potholders for her with free hand quilting.

The quilting isn't pretty, but they will be functional.

Please visit Patchwork Times to see what others are creating.

I'm done hiding...

off to tackle the house!

Happy Quilting!