Christmas Stitching

Don't ask me where the time has disappeared to since my last post, I honestly don't know; it seems like just yesterday I was putting away the dishes after Thanksgiving and here we are clear through Advent and today is Christmas eve! I've been busy adding stitches to many things, all in preparation. As you can see from this photo on the left, I stuck to the challenge and finished the table topper on time to get it on our kitchen table in time for Christmas, never has a project brought more immense frustration; which makes the reward all the greater! I was bound and determined to see this one through and I did it!

I backed it with the vintage Santa print, it had been shelved in the stash closet for decades, it's just perfect! There's been lots of Christmas stitching going on this week, I cannot share it today as it has been for Christmas gifts that haven't been given yet; but stay tuned! Yes, just like that-- it's here!

Wishing you all the peace, love and blessings that this day can hold.

Life is Good!

Up next: Christmas!

As Time Flies By...

It seems like I just indulged in this all-too-wonderful annual treat; the limited- time-only peppermint chocolate chip milkshake! Speaking of limits, that's exactly what I put on myself when it comes to this splurge-- ONE A YEAR. Well, it might seem like I just indulged in one but it's been a year already. Oh, my! And as if I needed further proof that time is flying and leaving me in its dust, take a look at my Chick-Fil-A dining companion this week.
Spaces are rapidly filling that smile where teeth used to be, the tooth fairy's been busy at her house and there's another very wiggly one ready to join the others on the outside! She's growing up at warp speed!

In an effort to get this beauty on the table by Christmas and stay true to the Triple-C (Carpenter's as in "wheel" Christmas Challenge) that I dared to accept, this has been loaded on Snowbird and quilting has begun.  

This is the backing on "Triple C", and old, old Michael Miller print that's been shelved for "something special"! As quickly as it's flying I decided that its time has come; if not now-- when?!!

The Chrismon tree is up and in the foyer. Once again-- didn't I just do this, like, a week ago? 🤣

And yet, with all the hubub; when I went up upstairs into our converted attic space, where I keep my huge roll of batting and set to work, on my hands and knees cutting a piece, I looked up to see this in front of me. 💗 He turned fifteen in August, our precious buddy and constant companion. He's still healthy albeit hard of hearing and with some vision loss from a cataract; his lifespan is measured by an altogether different scale. I took a deep breath. Yes, I'm aware that time is flying, but that's my time; God's time and timing is always perfect. I can relax. Sure, there's a ton to do during this season of preparation, that's obvious; however, I'm grateful that I can reflect on what's right here around me and count my blessings one at a time! After all, what are we rushing around and preparing for this time of year for anyway?  Let's slow down and make room for Him. 

Time does seemingly fly by, but only once, 

don't miss it, not even a second!

Life is Good!

up next: "Behind the Scenes"

...Or So I Thought!

With a few of my quiltiest friends I had the opportunity to go on a retreat  the weekend before last; I was eagerly looking forward to this time away. I had accepted a challenge almost a year ago from Quiltkeemosabe and I anticipated this chance to meet that challenge and  achieve my goal of having a new table topper on our kitchen table by Christmas this year!
I had admired this pattern and Quiltkeemosabe gave it to me; the gauntlet had been thrown down. My fabrics were chosen and I was ready for the two-color version as shown on the pattern front.

Anticipating the greatest part of the challenge might be a color bleed I washed the red fabric seven times until Color Catchers faded to pale and scraps of red left overnight in water no longer leached any color. I was ready (or so I thought!). 

Before we left for our retreat destination I had precut all of the strips for the diamond-shaped piecing. One of the first things that I accomplished was piecing 32 diamond blocks as shown above. I stacked them neatly beside the sewing machine for pressing after we returned from dinner on Friday night. Little did I realize that I had misaligned almost every. single. one. of these units when pinning and, on further inspection that evening, I discovered that they needed to be un-sewn, realigned, pinned and stitched all over again. That was accomplished before bedtime (or so I thought!). After a good nights' rest and a bit of breakfast I was ready to begin piecing the large hexagon. Imagine my shock when I noticed that my units were all sewn with the dark (red) diamonds placed on the top and bottom instead of on the left and right! More un-sewing. More re-sewing. It was lunchtime before I was back at square one. 

I stitched like a fiend all afternoon and had the top together by dinnertime on Saturday. Or so I thought.! As you can see, above, two of the units were placed upside down within the pieced top!

Groan. The offending units were removed and replaced. Dinner time came and went.

Yes! Finally done!! I folded up the table topper and put it away in my travel bag, I was eager to try it out on our kitchen table for size once I returned home. It appeared to lie flat (or so I thought!).

A few puckers and wrinkles responded nicely to a "time out" after being misted, squared, and pinned to the carpet to dry undisturbed and, hopefully, flatter.

Finally-- ready for quilting! This challenge was WAY MORE than I ever imagined it would be! I suggested the following epitaph to Quiltkeemosabe, it certainly applies.  

All in all, the pattern is a good one; the directions are clear although maybe not written exactly the way that I think, intuitively. I wouldn't recommend a pattern such as this in a retreat setting where there's lots of other things going on around the room; at least not for me! In the meantime, while I worked on ONE project, the following was happening; Quiltkeemosabe single-handedly happened to finish SIX quilt tops herself!!

And me? I managed to sew a few tumbler strips together to clear my frustrations before I left on Sunday morning for home. But, yes; I rose to the challenge and WILL have a new table-topper on our table this Christmas! I ordered (or so I thought!) a very pretty Garnet-colored quilting thread for the finishing touch. I received only a portion of the order, the bobbins are back-ordered. Sigh. Patience is something that I have plenty of, and one more challenge that I can rise to. And sew I wait...

Life is Good!

Up next: Spreadsheet Required

 

Round After Relaxing Round

 Completed circles for November 2016 ~ (Nov. 10 - Nov. 30)

This is a catch-up post, literally and figuratively. I posted here last month about joining in the Quilty 365 challenge and my progress, or lack of it, in November. I began the challenge on November 10, 2016 and plan to continue through that date this year. Well, I decided to put myself back on track by doubling and tripling up on my appliqué circles to bring myself current. I am now preparing all the circles for the past month of December by going through my stash of collected (over the decades) Christmas fabrics and basting them into postion so that I can do the hand work in the evenings. It is truly relaxing.

Speaking of relaxing: these are some of the Christmas gifts that my daughter and I made together last month. We combined forces; she made up a few large batches of homemade bath salts and I made loads of faced washcloths. We bundled them up and traded with each other to make these cute gifts of relaxation for our friends: cute washcloths and bath salts given as sets for tranquil time-out.  Ahhhhh.

Life is Good!

Cheers!

Happy New Year! What's new with you? Have you resolved anything for 2017? I have: Drink. More. Water. Seems simple enough, right? Well... (and that's a deep subject) I have started off with lofty goals, to drink a gallon a day for a month! 🌊 I know, I know, that sounds like a tidal wave. Actually, I began early, on December 30. I decided to try this out first to see if I could do it, or if I would just be setting myself up for failure. By New Year's Eve I had already drunk more water than in the previous two weeks; easily. This practice, in reality, wasn't hard; I only had to train myself to do it. The more water I drank, the more water I actually wanted, my body seems to have taken over the demand on its own. My hot tea consumption dropped off dramatically. Wow, I have truly surprised myself! So, why did I choose this challenge for myself in the New Year? It, literally, came out of the blue. I saw a couple interviewed on Hallmark's Home & Family show last week, they were touting the all-around health benefits of "a gallon a day" and my interest was piqued. It was free, available and I was aware of the fact that I never drank enough water. I figured: "what could it hurt?" It seemed to me that it made sense one would naturally eat less if drinking a gallon a day but what about the other claims: better skin, flushes out toxins, boosts metabolism, decreases headaches, and banishes dark under-eye circles? Time will tell. I am going to follow through with this personal challenge and will definitely report my findings. So far I have noticed the obvious-- I get much more exercise while drinking this much water, back and forth to a certain destination, as you would imagine. However, that's not the only noteworthy item; I have already noticed an increase in my energy level and am waking up earlier, fully rested and refreshed. Hmmm. Water. Plain and simple. As we embark upon a new month together I will be weighing in (hopefully lighter) with the results. I, for one, am going to be toasting 2017 with water, and plenty of it. Bottoms up!

Life is Good!

Under The Needle

TMX2 is under the needle today, this has been a fun quilt to see through to this stage.  I never expected to do this quilt, it wasn't in my plans. It grew as a result of a challenge and was completed as a
bonus while piecing other tops! It came about almost as a gift, appearing before my eyes and then begging to be quilted, pushing itself to the front of the queue. This one was the perfect canvas to try out a new (to me) pantograph:

~Banana Swirls by Urban Elementz~
 I like the overall effect on the scrappy tumbler shapes.

I watched a really cute movie on Netflix while I was prepping and loading the quilt, if you haven't seen "Leap Year" with Amy Adams I can recommend it. The plot was predictable but the story is a sweet one and the scenery in the Irish countryside and along the Irish coast is completely stunning.

Life is Good!

Journey's End

At long last, "It's The Journey" is completely done and hanging in the studio. This wallhanging, measuring 47" X 60", was a little over a year in the making; it's history can be found  here, here and here. 

"It's The Journey" quilting detail.

The journey ends here; that final step was realized with installation onto the wall over Snowbird.

Life is Good! 

Nearing The End Of The Road

"It's The Journey"  ~ 48" X 60"

All good journeys must, eventually, come to an end. I put the final quilting stitches in this quilt today... it's been a long road to the finish line.  It all began here, just over a year ago; with what was known as the Head For The Border challenge at my LQS.  There were some false starts, more than a few stumbling blocks, and many, many decisions along the way. The quilting was just as challenging for me; a wide variety of components tested my abilities every step of the way!  This evening I've been trimming the edges and preparing the binding. Just like with every great trip I'm rewarded, at this final juncture, with a wealth of happy memories; from the initial planning to all the stops and sidetrips taken in transit. My plan is to hang this wallhanging between the two front windows in the studio, directly over Snowbird; it will serve to remind me that life never is about the destination... it's always about the journey. All in all, it's been a great adventure, thanks for riding along with me!

Life is Good!

 

A New Book...

... and a challenge! It all began innocently enough; don't all great adventures?  I saw this book earlier in the summer while visiting a quilt shop out west. I resisted purchasing it; because, really, I didn't need one more book and/or project... right? That's the logical explanation. Tell that to my heart. The more I thought about the book and saw references to it out there in blogland, the more that need to own this book eroded my sense of logic. Then, I did a silly thing: I asked Quiltkeemosabe to talk me out of getting the book.  Her response to my request was the opposite of talking me out of it; instead, thinking she needed one too, she saw to it that we EACH had a copy of this book in our hands within days! Sigh.  What to do? I decided that this action required an equal reaction on my part, if we were going to own the book we were going to OWN the project; I issued a challenge to her, and she accepted! We will work on the blocks together and meet monthly to compare notes and hold each other accountable. We'll each write up cutting directions for ourselves and for each other from our self-assigned blocks and work it out together as we progress... and, we'll have lunch! I'm referring to this as our monthly Bible study; we'll be at it for a while too, there's over 200 blocks! And sew... here we go on a great piecing adventure; because, seriously, who wants to be on any adventure by themselves?

Life is Good!

This and That Thursday

There's been but a lot going on lately; but it's not a whole lot of any one thing.  I've been chipping away at the Head For The Border piece, working on machine appliqué of the top and bottom borders. We will have the final reveal/reunion of our group at the end of August and if all goes according to plan I hope to have mine done and quilted by then. We all know what happens to even the best laid plans though. Wish me luck; we'll see, I'm hoping for the best.

There's been steady progress on the quilting of "Got Cookies?"; I'm actually out to the borders now and ready to turn it. 
I hope to have the binding in place next week and be ready for handwork.

I fulfilled a burp cloth request recently; something I still love
 to do, but the orders are infrequent and sporadic.

A certain grandson is soon to have his 6th birthday and he has requested
a Corn Hole game. Nana was able to do her part... PawPaw is still working on
painting the boards in the workshop. Shhhhh... it's a secret!

We ate at Applebee's last night and found tablets for ordering installed at every table now.
I think it's ridiciulous; more technology replacing jobs, plus the added distraction of games
available for play too... nothing like adding to the demise of a family dinner together where
 conversation and eye-to-eye contact used to be the highlight of eating out together. 
This was my rant on the subject, my husband tried to explain things to me from a business standpoint...
not that he was in favor of the tablets necessarily, but simply to give me another perspective. 
Personally, I find the tablets sad for all the reasons stated above... 
what do you think, is this progress for the better?

Speaking of family... there's a great family drama series,
Heartland, available for viewing through Netflix all the way 
back to the premier episode from 2007. Filmed in the majestic Canandian 
Rockies the series centers around a horse ranch run by two sisters 
and their grandfather; it's a joy to watch and I am hooked!
I don't know how I ever missed this from the beginning, but have been
catching up on all the episodes this summer; I'm so happy to have found it.
Netflix is really the best way to watch a series like this: no commercials!

Life is Good!