350 Blocks Project Final Count

This is the final month for the

350 Blocks Project.

December was a productive month in the sewing department,

so I have a few blocks to add to my total.

 

The Disappearing Four Patch baby quilt has 16 blocks.

 

There are nine paper pieced blocks in my Christmas pillow.

This makes a total of 25 blocks for December and

529 blocks made in 2015.

Happy Quilting!!

Happy New Year!

2016!!

When I was a child, I'd think about how old I would be in

certain years and think...

"Wow! When it's 2000 I'll be 40 years old!

THAT is old!"

Here I am... 55 at the start of 2016 and

first of all, I am thankful to be here,

second of all... I don't feel old at all.

What did I know when I was  young?

I am not one to make resolutions,

mainly because when I have, they have lasted

all of a day, or maybe a week. :)

This year

I do hope to be more aware...

more aware of what I do with my time,

more aware of what I do with my actions,

 more aware of the needs of others,

more aware of what my body and spirit need,

and more aware of what I can do to make life easier

for my family, for others and for me.

Happy 2016 everyone!

Yesterday I spent some time in my Hidey Hole

working on the last sections of the "Gravity" quilt.

These are taking much longer to make than I thought!

 

The picture isn't too exciting because the fabrics are different shades of gray,

but I have finished three of the sections needed.

Hopefully I will finish all of the sections today and begin to 

sew the whole quilt together.

This past week I did finish knitting a pair of socks.

I will put this pair in my "gift" pile to have ready when needed.

A while ago I knitted a pair of socks from some yarn

that I just loved. There was a fair amount left over,

so I decided to make a pair of ankle socks for my daughter with

the tiny feet.

 

 

One is done... one is in the making.

One thing I am going to try to do this year

is make some of the kits I have stashed here and there

in my Hidey Hole.

I have a number of Bucilla Christmas kits to make and pulled one

out last night.

While watching football, I stitched this part together.

It's the base of the tree for an Advent calendar.

Happy New Year and may you create to your hearts content in 2016!!

Six Geese A Laying...

The Sixth Day of Christmas ornaments

are finished and hanging on my tree.

Now that I have finished the first six ornaments,

I have to wait for the next patterns to be published.

Oh no....

What am I going to stitch now?

Patience, patience!

The goose is sitting on an egg, waiting...

 

This pattern came with a goose and an egg!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what Larissa

designs for the second half of this series of ornaments.

These are my six completed

12 Days of Christmas ornaments.

They go together so quickly,

especially when using the

Sulky self-adhesive stabilizer on which

to print the embroidery patterns.

It disolves quickly in cold water

and does not leave a residue.

 

You can find the patterns here.

Happy Quilting or Stitching!

Best of 2015

Cheryl, over at Meadow Mist Designs, has asked

what our Best Posts of 2015 are and is having a

linky party so we can share our picks.

Our best can be favorite quilts, most viewed, most commented on...

whatever you want your best to be. 

Looking back through my blog posts,

it was hard to chose five favorites.

I decided to show the 5 quilts I like the most from 2015.

 

Starting with #5:

"Ziggity Zag"

Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic asked me to test a pattern for her.

What a fun quilt this was to make!

#4

"Cherokee Whispers" was made for one of my nieces,

totally from batiks.

#3

This isn't a quilt, but it used fabric and required sewing.

I love my Tuffet!

 

#2

Making "Ellie" in all her girliness was so much fun.

She was given to a special great niece when she was born.

 

And #1

"Tell Me About It"

I collected "text" fabrics for a while

and was thrilled when I found this pattern on line.

It's fun to look at this quilt and see all of the hidden words

and phrases randomly cut from the fabrics.

It's amazing to look back and see what has been accomplished

during the year. Hopefully it will inspire and encourage us all to

keep having fun with this wonderful gift we've been given....

The love of Quilting.

 

Happy Quilting!

Christmas Pillow

I was hoping to get this little project finished

before the end of the year.

Even though my Hidey Hole is a mess

and there are other things that need to be done,

I took a little time and finished my first

Christmas Pillow yesterday.

Actually, I have made Christmas pillows,

but have given them all away.

This one is for me!

This is the pillow without the insert.

If I get tired of using it as a pillow,

I can use it as a mini quilt wall hanging.

:)

Here is a link to the pattern.

All of the quilting is in the background.

 

Here it is...

stuffed and on my couch!

 

Nine blocks finished up just under 18" square.

I put a zipper in the back and bound it like a quilt.

One pillow made,

several more on the future project list!

Happy Quilting!

2015 Finishes

It is that time of year to be

planning and thinking of what the

next year will bring,

as well as looking back and seeing what

has been accomplished in the year that is ending.

2015 started off with a huge goal I had made for myself.

I wanted to make a quilt for each of my

11 nieces and nephews.

They would be delivered at a family reunion in August.

Amazingly, I accomplished that goal!

It was down to the wire, but I finished and delivered

all 11 quilts.

Along with these 11 quilts,

a few other projects were finished in 2015 as well.

 

As with all of us,

there are other quilts that were started,

but not finished.

Hopefully 2016 will see those finishes

along with some other fun projects.

Happy Quilting!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas....

 My True Love gave to me....

Five Gold Rings!

This ornament was the most challenging 

to make so far.

I had to stuff as I went when

stitching the back to the front

and it took some fanagaling.  

(I see a spot where the stitches are pulling a bit...

Need to fix that!)

 There is one more ornament to stitch in this series.

Hopefully more patterns will be available soon...

These are addictive!!

:)

I also made an ornament for a friend

who purchased a little camper this year.

I saw a similar ornament somewhere

and decided to make my own.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

Paper Piecing

As I was getting out my Christmas quilts

and table runners this year,

I realized that I don't have any

Christmas pillows.

I have LOTS of pillows,

but none are Christmas pillows.

So....

the other night I was looking through some saved

ideas and found one to use to make a pillow.
** Here is the link to the pattern**
(Edit)

I'm not a huge fan of paper piecing,

but this would be a small project

and I really like the star.

Out came some Christmas fabrics

and the paper piecing began.

A while back I read that the

"Doodle Pads" sold at the Dollar store

make great foundations for paper piecing.

I had to trim the paper down to fit in my printer,

but it was easy and inexpensive.

At first I thought I needed four stars for my pillow,

but soon realized nine would be needed.

You can't beat how sharp the points are with

paper piecing.

I just wish I enjoyed doing it more.

I will sew all of these blocks together,

pull all of the paper off

and make my first Christmas pillow!

Please visit Patchwork Times to see what others are creating.

Happy Quilting!

I Learned Something...

All of my life,

whenever I sang the "12 Days of Christmas"

My true love brought

"Four Calling Birds"

on the fourth day.

Did you know that originally

it was

"Four Colly Birds?" 

I had no idea!

"Colly is an Old English term for 'black,' 

from the word 'colliery,' meaning coal mine. 

And colly birds, therefore, refer to the common blackbird."

(From Enterprise Education)

If I had read this before today,

I would have put at least a little black in my

Colly Bird.

Anway....

On the Fourth Day of Christmas,

my true love gave to me....

 

Four Colly Birds

Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

Patterns can be found here.

Merry Christmas!

One Week....

Until Christmas!

And I am ready.

This year has been kind of odd....

it's too warm for it to be December

(But I am NOT complaining!)...

I've had a virus for a week

and have not been able to do

my usual holiday preparations...

We, as a family, decided to take a family vacation

in lieu of gifts this year,

so very little shopping was done... 

And I am really enjoying this holiday season!

The Christmas Cards went out yesterday,

a few decorations are up,

Christmas music has been playing

and it is beautiful. 

The Christmas Quilts I have made over the past couple

of years are out, 

giving the place a festive feel.

(This quilt is one of my all-time favorites.)

I need to remember all of this in the future!

The Peace and Calm of the Season are gifts.

Some knitting has been done

and another pair of socks is finished.

Enjoy your day!

Merry Christmas!

Ornaments Continue

On the Third Day of Christmas,

My True Love gave to me...

Three French Hens!

Isn't she just adorable?!

I am having a great time making these little beauties.

And in case you missed the first two....

A Partridge and the Pear

 

The Turtle Dove

The patterns for the first six ornaments can be found here.

Hopefully the Colly bird will arrive on my tree soon!

Merry Christmas!

A Little Sewing....

... Is good for the Soul.

I needed to step away for a little while this morning,

so I came into my Hidey Hole

and finished this top.

I had charm pack pieces left over from another quilt

and started making the

Disappearing 4 Patch blocks.

 

A little yellow stop border

and the spotted outer border

and

Voila!

 

Once it's quilted,

which I'm hoping will be before the end of the year,

this baby quilt will be donated.

 

It sure is happy and bright!

Happy Quilting!

Another Ornament

Another ornament is finished in the

"12 Days of Christmas" ornaments.

(Patterns found here!)

 On the second day of

Christmas

My True Love gave to me...

 Two Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

(Or Pair of Trees as my daughter used to sing!)

I wrote about the construction of these ornaments here,

although Larissa gives EXCELLENT directions with her patterns.

The other day at church several of us were talking about our

Advent Wreaths.

I have to say...

I love mine.

It isn't a wreath, although I put the wreath at the bottom with the ornaments.

This one I found years ago and I can't remember where.

Merry Christmas!