Day 15 - Earliest Sewing Memory

It seems like sewing has always been such a natural part of my life that I don't really have a distinct first sewing memory - Mom always made clothes for me and my brother and sister, and I just naturally followed in her footsteps.  I remember sewing clothes for my Barbies and other dolls.  I have a very vivid memory of walking home from grade school thinking about an dress I wanted to make for one of my Dawn dolls. I must have been around 11 or 12 then. I remember making a quilt for my bed in High School.

Mom and I bought an assortment of fabric from Sears.  It was a simple brick pattern, and instead of quilting it, we layered two layers of batting and tied it with either yarn or embroidery floss.  I remember the fabrics were all kinds of colors - some of them were my mom's scraps from dresses and outfits I wore as well as things made for my brother and sister.  I especially remember one blue and red fabric that was one of my favorite dresses.  I wish I still had that quilt!  So many memories.

Always true!

Day 10 - 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge

Wow, has it been 10 days already?  And Christmas is really only 15 days away? Time does fly, doesn't it!  Work was fun today - we got in our first order of Island Batik Stash Builder rolls and I am beyond excited to have them available!  I really wanted to take a few home, but I know that I am too busy to start anything new until after Christmas at least...

The rest of the afternoon was spent making a few Santa Ornaments for an Etsy order.  They are really very fun to make!

Top Five books is the prompt for today, and that's a very difficult one for me since I have a very difficult time choosing favorites!  So here goes:

Quilts!Quilts!!Quilts!!! definitely has a place on my list.  501 Quilt Blocks by Better Homes and Gardens is also a long time favorite with lots of great block ideas.  That Perfect Stitch by Roxanne McElroy was super inspirational for me when I was hand quilting, and Show me How to Machine Quilt by Cathy Sandbach helped me make the leap to free motion quilting.  Art Quilt Workbook is one that I have owned and would love to actually work through someday, it's one of my favorites just to read and look through and think about!  Since that makes 5, my work is done :)

Hope you are keeping up with your holiday sewing and planning.  I'm feeling a little behind, but I just reminded myself that I don't have as busy a schedule this week, so I should be fine!  Tomorrow is a stay at home and sew day, so I should be able to cross some things off my list, I hope. 

Blog Post 1000!

Woohoo!  This is my 1000th published blog post!  

It has taken me quite a while to hit this milestone - just about 13 years, but I am pretty darn impressed with myself for making it this far!  If you would like to read my first post,  I wrote about making a costume using a bear skin - I still can't believe I did that.

My First Blog Post

I thought it would be fun to do a celebratory giveaway , but since things are a little busy right now, I think I will put that idea on hold till after Christmas, but don't worry I won't forget, I just want to do this right and make it fun.

Today I've been working on a new version of my Tidepools quilt.  I can't show you the fabric I am using for it, but this is the pattern.  Only one more quilt to make, and I'll be finished with my secret stewing for the year and will be able to relax a bit.

I also hemmed a pair of rain pants for my hubby - he's been retired for six years, and just got a part time job helping take care of horses at a local farm.  He is so excited to get to go do something he loves for a couple days a week and get paid for it.  I'm happy for him to be able to do this, he has wanted to do something like this for a long time!  Our lives have sure changed since that first blog post. 

I also finished up a couple projects for other people, so I've cleared those projects off my list.  It feels good to know that my list is definitely getting shorter.  I can hardly believe that Christmas will be here in just a bit over a week!  Hope everyone else is getting projects on their lists crossed off, too! 

Big wind, and hot soup.

My Bunco party today was a success, but it was not without some hiccups!  When this morning started out, the weather didn't look too bad, but shortly before all of my guests arrived, the wind started blowing.  It was not long after we started our game that the lights flickered, then were out for the duration.  Luckily we were still able to see to play, but I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to heat up the soup I had ready for lunch.

After checking with the power company I realized that my worst fear was true - our outage was not estimated to be taken care of until 4 or 5 this evening!  Luckily for me, one of my friends was able to take the soup home and heat it up on her gas stove and bring it back, so we all enjoyed hot soup, plus salad and chocolate cake for dessert!

After everyone left I decided to hand wash my dishes since there wasn't too much to do, and there was plenty of hot water available.  That's the one thing I've learned - when the power goes off  the water heater keeps the water nice and hot for a good while!  About the time I got done, the lights came back on.

I kicked my feet up and sat back to relax for a bit!

I worked at quilting a project for Island Batik this afternoon - hopefully I can get them all finished next week so I don't have to be working on them at the last minute after Christmas.  Now, I'm off to see what this week's clue for Bonnie Hunter's Mystery is.  I didn't get to do a single unit for last week, so maybe I can catch up a bit this week?  I hope!

We are almost halfway through the 31 Day Blog writing challenge - and I'm closing in on the 1000 post mark!  I'm planning something special, so stay tuned...

What's Black and White and Red All Over?

A secret sewing project for Island Batik!  I can't show you yet, but I know you are going to love this quilt as much as I do - it's always fun to see a project that comes out even better than you think it is going to.

As a consolation I will show you a pretty picture of a project I did earlier this year:

This is the baby size version of my CityScape quilt pattern using fabric by Lewis & Irene.  Isn't it sweet?

Use the discount code DEC2018 to save 25% off my PDF quilt patterns this week only!

Full Steam Ahead

That's me this week - there's a lot to do and I'm working at getting it all done!  Tonight is the guild meeting, so I figured I'd better write my blog post early for the 31 Day Blogging Challenge.

I also need to get my Christmas list started, my people always want to know what I want, and I can never think of anything until I am alone, then the ideas start to come.  Myra of Busy Hands Quilts wrote a great post on gifts for quilters, I would love any of the things she highlighted in it! Especially the sewing room lights.  She's also doing a giveaway for one of her patterns, so make sure you read the whole post!

I also really need a new ironing board cover, mine is looking pretty nasty these days.  I replaced my old iron because I didn't feel like it was getting hot enough - I guess not because the new one is awesome when I'm pressing my quilt blocks.  But it's also doing a number on my cover...which is actually pretty old, so it's time anyway. 

Today's prompt for #myyearinquilts on instagram is my favorite tool.  Hands down, this is it, and I've been giving it a workout lately.  I love my Olfa splash cutter!  What's your favorite sewing tool? 

Well, it's 10:30 at night and I almost forgot my blog post today!  I worked a half day at the quilt shop today, and spent the afternoon working on a project for a customer.  So far this week I've actually crossed three items off my list, just two more to go!

Plus one thing that wasn't even on my list - this pillow!  It was a custom request from my Etsy shop, and I love how it came out.  I adore the yo yos on the cream denim, they really pop!  And the texture is so fun! 

And now it's time to head for bed so I can keep working at that list tomorrow....

Christmas Quilts -

I love my Christmas quilts!  Most of them have lovely memories attached that involve my sweet quilting friends so they are extra special to me.  I think my very favorite is this lap quilt.

This quilt was made in the early 90's when I was part of a small group of quilters that got together every week to sew for a few hours.  We thought it would be fun to create a sampler quilt, so we each chose our own theme - a couple of us did Christmas quilts - and we took turns teaching each other a block.  It was a lot of fun, and we all had a wonderful time sharing tips and encouraging each other as we made the blocks.  It is hand quilted, using red thread in a fan pattern.  I used a lightweight poly batting in it so it is lightweight and soft.

Whenever I get it out I remember the happy hours of stitching with friends - we really had fun!  It was really my first taste of teaching and I loved encouraging and sharing with the other ladies.  I think that the center block and the tree were my contributions.  Isn't that bow block cute?  Kelly was the drunkards path block - one of her favorite quilt designs.  And I am sure that the top right corner was by Liz - I believe it's called Jack in the Box.

Last night I put my Christmas quilt on my bed.  This is another group quilt, a round robin.  I love it - the center block was done by me as well as the final border.  I hand quilted this one as well. I rounded the corners on this quilt, and I love the way it hangs on the bed.

I need to get busy and get the rest of my Christmas quilts out to enjoy!  We are getting ready to put a new laminate floor in my dining room, so it's kind of interfering with my decorating plans, but we'll get there.  Maybe tomorrow :)  At least today I got this post done for the 31 Day Blogging Challenge!

Christmas lights and Mystery Quilts

Last night we went out to see the lights at Shore Acres.  We asked our friends, Dan and Becky to join us and had such a lovely time!

I love the lights reflecting in the little pond there!

The lights were beautiful and the weather was perfect!  A bit chilly, but no wind or rain.

 The little house there is all decorated up so cute and they serve hot cider and cookies.  Upstairs are two bedrooms, each with a special Christmas quilt, and the bathroom features Santa in his bubble bath!  So funny!  It was too crowded to take pictures there, but one of the quilts was a puff (or biscuit) quilt finished with a ruffle for the sides of the bed.  It was super cute!

As you can see, many of the decorations are nautical in theme!  This beautiful garden is right on the coast, just a short walk from the beach.

What a pleasant evening with our sweet friends!

In the sewing room earlier I worked on clue 2 from Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice.  I struggled with those on Friday and had to use my seam ripper several times, but got these done just fine yesterday.  I also made progress on the half square triangles for this year's quilt!  

And then I got started on the December challenge for Island Batik Ambassadors.  I love the Check It Out fabrics they sent in my box!  Nothing like checks to make a Whimsical and Wonky quilt, right?  I am strip piecing four patches to start off, then have some Flying Geese to make when those are done.  This is going to be a super cute quilt!

Well, that's it for day two of the 31 day challenge.  So far so good!  Time to get busy pressing the strips for my four patches, and cross-cutting them.  

31 Days Writing Challenge

Yes, I've decided to jump in for the #31DayBlogWritingChallenge!  It is crazy, but like Cheryl say:

“Why December, Cheryl?  That’s our busiest time!” Well, that’s the point.  If you can blog every day in December, then you can do it at any time during the year.  We are all busy.  This is to show that you can do it in one of the busiest times of the year and start off the new year with a bang!

 Click the quote above to see who else is committed to this or to join in for yourself!  I am also very close to writing my 1000th blog post!  Whoopee - I'm racking my brain for some fabulous giveaway ideas for when I hit that mark - I really want to celebrate because that's a lot of writing and projects, and thoughts for one person to come up with.

I'm also participating in #myyearinquilts on Instagram.  (The prompts will help when I need an idea for my blog post I think - is that cheating?)

View this post on Instagram

For today’s post in #myyearinquilts I have this beautiful Peaks quilt - the perfect UFO to finish before the holidays! It’s only been waiting a couple of years and just needs borders and quilting! I can do this, maybe...so many projects that need to be done! Thanks to @modernquiltstudio for the prompts! #pamelaquilts #christmasquilts #sewmanyprojectssewlittletime #letsgetquilting

A post shared by Pamela Boatright 🌟PamelaQuilts (@pamelaquilts) on Dec 1, 2018 at 9:03am PST

Today's prompt was a UFO to finish before the holidays.  I've been wanting to get this Peaks quilt done since I pieced it a couple years ago - I just need to add the borders and quilt it, so maybe I can fit that in this year if I try!

Also on my schedule today is working on a custom quilt order, and maybe sneaking in a few more units for Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune Quilt - as well as Celtic Solstice.  I am on clue 2 for both mysteries, so maybe if I am diligent I can get two quilt tops done?  Follow along and you will find out!

In the meantime, I have no elves to help me out, so I guess  I had better get to it if I am going to get any of these things done...at least I can cross "write blog post" off my list for the day!

Whirlwind Weekend Activities

Whew, life really got busy there for a few days! I hosted my Bunco group on Friday, so that took care of a couple of days with preparations - but we had a terrific time.  I wish I would have remembered to take some pictures, but I totally forgot.  I prepared a main dish of roasted vegetables that was a big hit!  I used red potatoes, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, red peppers, then added salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic lover's seasoning.  Out of two large baking trays all that was left was a small bowl of leftovers!  I added a Polska kielbasa sausage to one of the trays.  I made a simple salad of baby spinach with pomegranate seeds, walnuts and feta cheese with Balsamic Vinegar to dress it.  Yummy!

Then I turned around and had to help prepare for a large gathering at our church!  We had a lovely good-bye party for our pastor and his wife (my quilting buddy!).  They will be leaving here at the first of the year for a new position.  Luckily they are moving close to where some of our kids live, so we will be able to visit occasionally.  Anyway - that was Saturday, and I was wiped out after all of that social activity and spent the rest of the day on the couch exhausted.

Sunday was a day to relax.  Hubby and I went to see The Polar Express at the downtown theater. What a deal!  Two movie tickets, popcorn and soda for $15.50!  We had a great time and it was nice to spend my day just taking it easy and not doing anything important!

I got this pillow out today.  I have tons of 5 inch squares and want to make some more of these, they are super cute!  No quilting again today - I did take in a couple of skirts for one of my favorite ladies.  I did go to JoAnn's and buy the flannel to make the annual Christmas PJ's.  I'll start washing it up tomorrow morning and get busy sewing.  Hopefully I can squeeze in some quilting as well - I have some projects that need to get done.  There's another Island Batik blog hop coming up right after he start of the year and I have a project for that to work on.  The fabrics are so fun - you are going to love seeing them!

It's nice that my house is decorated and ready for the holidays!  Hubby wants some goodies, but I'll try to space them out a bit.  Fudge sounds really good though!  Holidays are definitely different without kids at home any more, but I think we are getting into some new routines and learning how to enjoy the season in different ways.  This year we'll have three different celebrations in three different places, but I know we will have a wonderful time and get to spend time with all of our children, and that is what is important.  We'll have new traditions and new experiences and enjoy whatever it happens to be each day.  I'm learning to let go and not worry so much about making everyone else happy and just have fun myself and relax.  I'ts actually kind of nice!3

Christmas Mug Rugs

I wasn't very productive today, but I did manage to make a couple of Christmas Mug Rugs.  I've been wanting to do this since I got the fabric, but finally decided that today was the day!  They came out cute, and I just had to use the last bit of this cute Christmas print.

Here is the other one:

So fun!  I have several more pieces cut out to play with.  Notice that I didn't make a lot of progress in cleaning the sewing room today, but I figure if I can sew something out of the piles that are just sitting I really am cleaning...

I also made a custom monogrammed journal cover for an order on Etsy.  I'll take a picture tomorrow to show.  They are fun to make - I am thinking about a different color way I can try out.  Maybe something in blues and greens?  Or maybe I can use some of my vast collection of selvages if I can get enough contrast with the monogram.  Hmmm.  Definitely something to think about.

Tis' the Season for Giving and Happy Birthday, Catie!

Today is a happy day - a birthday to celebrate!  We got to celebrate the day our Catie girl was born with her.  Can't believe that was such a long time ago - 32 years.  She is definitely a joy in our lives, and we are glad she still likes to spend some time with us on her special day.  After having a fun brunch with her and her boyfriend and his parents we came home to relax for a bit.  I had thought about putting the  Christmas decorations up, but decided to wait until tomorrow.  I made it a tradition while Catie was growing up not to decorate until after her birthday, so I know that tomorrow I will really be ready to get everything dolled up for the holidays!

I was ready to work on the Island Batik Challenge for this month.  Tis the Season for Giving.

Catie actually gave me the idea!  She was telling us about the tree that the Veterinary Clinic she works for was decorating, then gifting to the animal shelter.  They are collecting all sorts of goodies, so I decided to make some cat toys to donate!  I got out my Island Batik Scraps, a baggie of catnip and some fiber fill.

I cut and stuffed and sewed.  I made some long "cigar"s, some small and large kick sticks, some cute little kitty ravioli and a few primitive mice!  I used up all of my catnip and most of my fiberfill.  I still have a lot of scraps left, though!

I decided that Scamper deserved to have some new toys (after all, charity begins at home, right?) and pulled out one of the long orange cigars and mouse for him.

He approves!

I will have to get some more supplies and work on some more of these - they are fun to make and I know the kitties at the shelter will enjoy them!  We are a small town, and our animal shelter gets a lot of its support from the volunteers in our community.  They often are in need of food and other basic supplies for the animals.  Morgan's Veterinary Clinic (where my daughter works) often works with the shelter to provide needed medical care for sick and injured animals there.  If you love animals, you can like their Facebook Page and see what's going on there!  I hope you support your own local shelter when you can, it really makes a difference for the poor animals that end up there.

Make sure you take the time to do some giving this month - it will make you feel good!

What the World Would be Like if Yard Work Didn't Exist

Well, in my case, there would be more quilting and Christmas decorating going on!  Maybe even some baking.  But there are outdoor chores and this time of year when the sun shines you have got to get out there and get the jobs done.

I started out with good intentions this morning of cleaning up my sewing room, but didn't get too far before I got distracted by a couple of 1/3 yard pieces of cute children's fabric.  I decided it was perfect for a little boy quilt, so I did some strip sewing and cutting, then realized that I wasn't supposed to be making new projects.  Oops.   I put the start of the new project away and went back to putting things back in their places.  When I got to the gigantic pile of battingscraps I separated out some strips that I could cut up for my flannel rag quilt project.  Then I realized that I can't find my 6 1/2 inch square ruler.  So those are still sittin in a pile for later.  At that point my husband came in and suggested we do the YARD WORK.  Ok.

I let my husband go mow our daughters lawn while I stayed home to do our yard work. That involved a little bit of raking leaves, pruning 9 rose bushes, and raking some moss out of the lawn on the east side of the house.  I worked outside most of the afternoon.   Boy, did that ever make me tired, but the results were worth it!  And the weather was really pleasant to be outside in as well.

The roses look great now, and when it starts raining again I can quilt in peace.  I'm hoping to get my Christmas decorations out tomorrow and hopefully get the inside of the house ready for the festivities ahead.  Should be fun!  Maybe that ruler will show up so I can get that batting taken care of, too.

It takes a long time to quilt a queen size quilt!

Yes, it does!  This quilt took me quite a bit longer to quilt than it took me to piece the top - but I think it was worth it - beware, more badly lit pictures ahead.

This is on a full (or double) bed.  Isn't it colorful?  I really liked the mix of fabrics in this.  I used a mixed fat quarter bundle and added some vintage fabrics and some fun paisleys.  There are some solid squares, and some really pretty prints in this quilt.  It is available in my Etsy shop.  The piecing is simple, so it's a great price!

I did all the quilting on my Juki - and discovered to my delight that when I had it serviced last month they even got the needle threader working!  Now I am spoiled because it's so easy to thread the needle - I'm so happy I've been telling random people I talk to about!

The back is a scrappy blend of blues and greens - I enjoy making the back of a quilt a little more fun and interesting.

I need to spend some time tomorrow cleaning up the sewing room disaster, and then I want to start getting out my Christmas decorations.  I think I'll work on some of those Farmer's Wife blocks and see how far I can get toward my goal of getting all my blocks done before Christmas. I'm starting to feel in the mood :)

Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts for Finished or Not Friday - join in the fun and see what everyone is working on!

December Rainbows

One of the things I say about the frequent rain in our area is that it sure makes you appreciate a nice sunny day!  Even a couple of sunny hours are enough to put a smile on your face and boost your spirits.  Often those sunny afternoons bring out a few rainbows as the clouds come back in.

As we were coming out of the store after running some errands this afternoon we saw this rainbow - it was much brighter in person and looked like it came down in the road ahead of us!  No pot of gold, though.

Tonight was Quilt Guild and I presented the Block of the Month for next month - I chose Snowball and Ninepatch.  In blue and white (of course).  I love it because it's a quick block, and easy to piece, so it will be perfect for the busy month of December.  The good news is that my block is already done, so no big rush the day of quilt guild to sew a block, which is my usual method of operation!

I've made several quilts with this pattern in various sizes.  Here is one of my favorites:

In other news, I decided to participate in the 31 day blog writing challenge again this year!  I have not been writing as much as I would like to and I hope this will spur me to do more of that.  I hope you will check it out and see who else is participating, or maybe even join in.

Plus that it will blast me out of my perfectionism and get me to just show up and do it, whether or not I have a lot to say - or to show!

The next couple of weeks I'll also be participating in the MyCreative2016 Instagram hop - check out the blog post and join in!  I've really enjoyed Instagram - it's a great positive place to be.

That's it for today, it's late and I should get some rest, it's going to be a busy month!