So long.....Farewell....2011

Here we are counting down to the end of another year.....or is it the beginning of a new year??

I'm not really much for looking back...I prefer to look ahead........so, I don't have a mosaic of 2011 finishes. Well, truthfully, I find them difficult to do, so I didn't!
So, not being very techy, I need to figure out how to do them like this- with a mosaic and a label list.

I certainly learned alot of other stuff over the past year and I can hardly wait to learn new things in 2012.....

I really want to improve my skills develop some skills in FMQ!!

 It is on the top of my list of things to learn.

I also want to do more non-quilt things, like paper piecing, pillows. and make more framed pouches...that kind of thing. 

Quilts are, however, on my list as well. I don't know if I'll get to make Swoon this year, but it's on the list anyway. You know, just in case I have a spare month or two with nothing else to do!

I should have plenty of time!! While I did retire 4 years ago, I continued to work on a casual basis until this fall. I felt like I was just done and didn't want to go back anymore. So, I didn't renew my license to practice!!

Yikes!

Kinda scary, but also somewhat freeing as well. I was happy to have the opportunity to retire early and then ease out of the job.

Now my fabric budget has been downsized considerably, which is okay as it will make me use the fabric I have.

I will have to become very choosy with my purchases from now on. No more online impulse buying at night!!
I'm slowly weaning off by "shopping", filling up my cart, and then not buying anything........
........oh,oh...Ruby Star Shining is coming!
I want my goals for to 2012 to be achievable, with just a touch of stress to make sure it is something I really want to do....
I have already signed up for my first ever swap!!!!!

I would like to start knitting again as well....it used to be that every sweater I owned, I made! Hmmm...not sure why I stopped.
Now, away from quilting and goals, I had to take down the Christmas tree already. Sheriti insisted on reaching for every shiny, dangly and breakable ornament. One half of the tree was completely empty as I removed every ornament within reach.
Little brat...

Happy New Year everyone

testing...testing.....

Yesterday, as I was catching up with my blog reading, I came across a block swap.......

It's a Japanese x and + block swap.....

this is a block I have been wanting to do for a while now, and if fact had already saved the tutorial.

So, today I did a test block....

Very easy block to do......

however, it is supposed to be 8" unfinished, and mine came up just shy of the 8".

So, I guess I'll keep this one and be sure to use a scant 1/4 inch when I start again.

It could also be my pressing.....I'm pressing seams open to reduce the bulk.....not my favourite method...I'm more of a side pressing kinda gal!... so I may need more practice.

I like the block and I hope I am going to be able to make them "scrappy" enough and not too "matchy"!!!!

A final 2011 finish

I've been quilting like a mad woman for the last couple of days to get Dove Revisited (my DPQAL) finished under the wire for 2011.

 I did use a stencil to mark this pattern, and even with it my quilting was all over the place. Sheesh! It seems I can't even follow a drawn pattern  some days! However, it is done and I really love this quilt. I used a black binding for it which gives it a nice frame, I think .

Now, I can move on to my next project. Yay! I have had a mixture of 1930's inspired fabric from Aunt Grace Circle of Friends and also some Storybook just hanging around for a while.  I was short a yellow fabric and added a fabric left over from my Dead Simple Quilt. 

I think I'll call it Path To Tallahassee!!

I wanted to combine 2 different blocks for this quilt. My first  will be a DP block, since I already have the Go!baby die for it.

My second block will be Tallahassee, which is a paper pieced block, but an easy one. I found it at quilterscache.com.

I'm hoping the 2 blocks together will look good......sort of 1930's. The DP arrangement came about during my trial and error period for the QAL.

Then I saw a similar arrangement by stitchedincolor which was called Retro flower, so there it was....the second block!

Now, I can hardly wait to get started on my first project for 2012!!

Quick & Cute for the kids!

Here is a very quick project for the kids. It is a reindeer broach to pin onto their Christmas outfit or jacket.

Just pipe cleaners shaped into a reindeer. Glue on eyes, red nose, and add the broach pin at the back! All done! Mom might have to handle the glue gun!!

Eeek! Critters in my.........

......sewing room! Aw! But, they are the cute kind!

This wonderful pattern is Winter Critters by the amazing Sonja-aka-Artisania. and can be found in Quiltmaker magazine.

I had some problems (as you can see) doing the foundation piecing with directional fabric, but I love the finished results.

I had some acorn fabric, and couldn't resist cutting out a few pieces for the squirrel to play with!
I also used my Supreme Slider for the first time, and do I ever love it! The wonky FMQ is all my own doing.....I still need to slow down my quilt movement....it seems I am always in such a hurry to get from point A to point B, that I move the quilt way too fast...then I forget where I want to go next....definitely a learning curve!!
OMG!! Is that squirrel real......?

I still need to make some sort of hanger to get it on the wall properly, and then I can talk to my new friends when I am sewing.

It measures somewhere around 24"x30"

Directionally challenged........

I started a new paper piecing (foundation piecing) project this week....I had been feeling quite pleased with my pp skills after completing my panda. 

However,

something has gone terribly wrong!!

For the first time, I am using directional fabric........extreme directional!!

And its not going well....

I cannot get my brain to figure out how to place the fabric on backwards, and have it turn in the right direction after sewing an angle seam and flipping......

These few pieces took me 2 hours.....about six sessions with the seam ripper...and 2 reprints of the pattern!!

And its still not right....

I even managed to cut off corners just to make it even more fun!

I am seriously frustrated.
Time to take a break and reassess!

Hope your sewing is going better!

Little Drummer Boy.........

Enjoy this great you tube video done by a teenager in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
This will put you in the Christmas spirit!

Getting Ready for Christmas

I spent the last week working  on a new Christmas table runner which came about when I saw this great block design called Diagonal Delight . The tutorial is by Amanda Murphy and can be found here and here. It is a very versatile block and it was very hard to choose just one layout! However, I managed to do it after trialing many of them. It really helped to have a design board (which is really just a large piece of batting tacked to a wall), and a camera. It's amazing to me how much I see in a photo that I don''t see looking directly at the project!! 

I had some fun with hand stitching using perle cotton in red and green. There is was a lot of white space, so I like the colour that the perle cotton adds.

The fabric is Kumari Garden Holiday and I did do some fussy cutting for the 4 patch parts of the block. A bit wasteful though......I only have fat quarters of each fabric.
However, there is more Kona Snow  than Kumari Holiday in this table runner! So, I didn't make much of a dent in the FQ bundle.

I intended to put borders on it, but it would have been too big for my table. Before binding, it measures 20x60.

I was going to round the corners as I had finally made my first bias binding, but I would have lost all that fussy cutting!!. I used Countdown To Christmas by Sweetwater for the binding. It is such an amazing Christmas fabric, and I have it in red and black as well as this white!

I'm glad this was a small project....started and finished in less than a week!

Wish I could say the same about the pouches I have been working on!! Although, I am done with the zippered ones, thank goodness.

I have 2 framed pouches in the works, also for gifts. Then, in  moment of extreme stupidity, I ordered more frames! What was I thinking?? But, they are just so darn cute, I couldn't resist. I have promised myself that I will order nothing int the way of sewing supplies
  during the month of December......well......except for the frames and the Essex lines. Okay, nothing more!

 I am still hoping to get Dove Revisited, my Drunkard's Path quilt, done before Christmas, but that might be pushing it. My Supreme Slider arrived and I can hardly wait to try it! I also got some of those Little Genie magic bobbin washers that Leah Day recommends.

The Christmas tree went up today, so I'm feeling quite festive! Not too many decorations on the tree...lights, glass icicles, the handmade, sort of old fashioned santa ornaments we made years ago, but always a favourite.

Time for a glass of wine! I think I deserve it!

Fresh Sewing Day

Yes, November is over and here we are that much closer to Christmas!
Looking back on November it seems I accomplished more than I thought! Hurray!!

The Panda is on his way to Thailand via Vancouver! The framed pouch was done using Rebecca Lynne's PAL.

Come Fly With Me is a finished quilt. 

Two Nikkie totes- you may recognize the copy I made of Kaelin's!

Zippered pouches done for gifts.

Pieced backing for the Drunkard's Path Quilt.

So, now it's on to December projects!! I'm starting something new using Kumari Garden Holiday......

Happy December sewing!!

WIP Wednesday

I've had a busy sewing week, but very productive! I have a finished top and back for the DPQAL.

I have called it Dove Revisited because it is not how the block was designed!! One wrong sewed seam and it took on a life of it's own! It is now basted and waiting for me to figure out how to quilt it!

I am getting an early Christmas present.... a Supreme Slider is on it's way, so I think I'll wait until it arrives before starting to quilt it!
I also finished a new Nikki tote using Ruby Star Spring and Echo.....love these fabrics together!....

I added an extra zipper pocket as well as a magnetic closure. I also made it a bit smaller than the original tote.
Zippered pouches have been really difficult for me.......doing the darned tab ends has had me pulling out me hair!! But I'm making progress......

Finally getting it acceptable for gifting.....my non-sewing Supperclub friends will love them, I'm sure!

I saw this fabulous tute for a block on Sew We Quilt, and I though it might make a great Christmas table runner. I have this collection of Kumari Garden Holiday FQ Bundle that has been waiting around for a year, so I think it would look great in this block.

Better get busy.......after I check out the other links at Freshly Pieced!!

Drunkard's Path Finish!

I'm so happy that I joined this QAL. It was so much fun to challenge myself with something new........curves!! Certainly, the cutting was made easier with the Go! baby DP die!
I had some self-induced design issues which actually worked out in an interesting way. ;-). It was supposed to be the Dove block, but became Dove Revisited. Fabric is Fandango by Kate Spain.
So here is my finished quilt top and pieced backing.....

I haven't decided how I'm going to quilt it yet. Hopefully, I'll get it put together over the next couple of days and then decide. I do the quilting myself, so it won't be anything fancy!! The binding will probably be charcoal. It should give it a nice frame.

Playing Nice.....

Don't you just love it when different fabric lines play nice together!!
Such as:

Ruby Star Spring and Echo!!
Last week I made a Nikki tote stealing borrowing the fabric idea from Kaelin. Oh my, do I ever love this tote!!

However, I find it to be a little large for my everyday purposes. So I decreased the size to 85% and started over......

Sadly, I didn't have enough of the Scattered Blooms in Agave, and I really didn't want to wait 3-4 weeks for more to arrive. But, I did have the Standing Stones in Teal. There was too much grey in the Stones, so I cut out the green only and used it for the back of the straps.

works for me!!
I also found the cutest buttons at Walmart of all places! I didn't realize until I got home that I purchased 2 different styles. Sheesh!!
Not wanting to go back, I put the same buttons on each side. This is a front and back button.

Here are the two totes side by side!!

They look quite close in size in the photo, they are actually quite different......well, I guess 15% different! I'm such a duh! some days!
I added an extra zipper pocket on the inside and a magnetic closure, as I had done on the first tote.
I think I am done with totes for a while. Now, on to the pouches I need to get done before December 9th. Oh, the pressure of it all!!

Celebrate Color

I'm adding a finished quilt to Celebrate Color. It is called Come Fly With Me.

Inspiration for the quilt was found at Red Pepper Quilts. Thanks Rita!

Fabric- Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton and Timeless Treasures Crosshatch in black and white
Backing is a plaid flannel
Bound in Kona Pepper
Measures 53"x70"
Straight line quilted in both directions, with hand stitching using Perle cotton in the leaf blocks.
Take a look at all the entries at Stitched In Color