DONE!

My Fair Isle quilt top is finished! I am so happy to have this part done, but I don't know about getting it quilted before Christmas.

 I didn't have time to go take great pictures without shadows on them today. I am off to work in 30 minutes.

 Here it is on my queen size bed. The size is the main reason I don't know if it will get quilted before Christmas.

That's a lot of stitching! Have a great Saturday. Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Thankful Thursday

I am most thankful this year for many things. I want to put that out there. I try to find something in every day, no matter how small, to be grateful for. Here are just a few of those things;

I love you all, my dear family. I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to my blog family too.  Without wonderful readers, this space wouldn't be the same.

Sunday Satash #30

Been awhile since I did Sunday Stash. I am trying to keep from buying fabric right now, but had some I realized I hadn't shared yet.

 These are Gracie Girl by Riley Blake Designs. Love these and had to have them after I saw them on somebody else's Sunday Stash awhile back.

 These numbers are also from Gracie Girl. The red stripe I cannot remember what that one is. I will go look later and edit this post .

And then I just had to grab a few more oval elements. Love that line. Linking up to Sunday Stash at Molli Sparkles.

Science Fair Time

Finally, finally J's Science Fair quilt is done! I am so happy with how it turned out, and I cannot wait until next week to give it to him. They will be coming here for Thanksgiving and I am going to give it to him then. Yay!!

         So glad we got pictures yesterday. Today is dark and rainy out there.

The back, I love. In this picture, you can't tell what the largest area is, but it looks grey. But it's not.

                     It's this fabric.

 I put his initials in three of the spaces.

 I quilted 4 lines close together every 6 inches or so, both horizontally and vertically, and then did more curvy, round quilting inside those squares.

 There wasn't enough of the molecule fabric to bind with, so I mixed it up with some orange Kona, which I had in my stash.

I can't wait to see what my little science guy thinks of this!
Pattern measurements are based on the pattern in the book Modern Bee, by Lindsay Conner.
Linking up with Crazy Mom for Finish it Friday.

Fair Isle Progress

So, I am sewing along with Lee at Freshly Pieced. I am loving the way this quilt is looking so far. I am trying to stay a wee bit ahead so I don't fall behind, if that makes sense. Here is where I am so far:

                            Poinsettias and fir trees are done.

                             Reindeer...

                                    ...done!

And now I am working on both the checkerboard row and the zigzag row together. I am using lots more pins than I usually like to use, but hey, it's working. I can't wait to see this top together and I am already planning another one in different colors. Thanks to Lee for a great pattern!

WIP Wednesday

Wow...it's been a whole week since I've been here. Not that I haven't been busy and doing some sewing.  I have been bouncing back and forth between quilting J's quilt and piecing my Fair Isle quilt. Here is the proof:

 Here are the sections for the reindeer blocks for my Fair Isle quilt. All cut, clipped together and marked so they don't get mixed up.

 I know how easily things can get mixed up, so I marked the top left of each block with a safety pin so that I don't accidentally add a row to the wrong end as I build them.

 This is my favorite part of the binding step of a quilt. Seeing all that freshly pressed binding cascading off the end of the ironing board.

                And then rolled up around a clothes pin. I love the way this looks.

                      Prettiest fabric lollypop ever.

And here it is, ready and waiting for the binding. So happy the quilting is done. It took a long time. Linking up with Lee at freshly pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Another WIP Wednesday

Lots of sewing going on here. In an effort to keep as many projects moving forward as possible, some with deadlines and some not, I do a bit in each. Here's what's up this week:

 Working on my reindeer blocks for the Fair Isle QAL. I know I need to work a bit ahead or all will be lost.

Got my poinsettia and fir tree blocks done.

 Working on the quilting for J's quilt. Lots more to do, but I am loving what I have so far. Not too sure if I can get all this quilted and bound by Thanksgiving. Three weeks, hmmm, maybe.

And I cut all the rest of the pieces for my Cat Weave Quilt. Not sure when I will find time to sew this one up, but at least it's ready to sew. Have a great week. Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Monday Musings

So, this is my 376th post. Closing in on 400. I set myself a goal this year to post more often, and I have done that. I pushed myself to post with some of the weekly link ups, as a way to keep myself going. Sunday Stash, Wednesday WIP, Friday Finish, Sewjo Saturday. That, right there is 4 posts per week, and many weeks, I made it. Some weeks, I did not and some weeks I did other posts. I did some blog hops with Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt. Why did I do this, you might ask.

Well, a couple of reasons. One, having deadlines, for me, keeps me motivated and moving forward through my many projects. Two, when you link up, it brings more traffic to your blog. I wanted to increase my readership. I love showing what I do.

 I entered contests and blog hops to get further exposure. I enjoyed showing my creations, but I also found that this pushed me to try things I might not have tried.

 I finished quilting a couple of quilt tops that I had hanging around for years, and I was delighted to finally have them finished and put into use.

 I made a few larger quilts and some I quilted and some I sent out to be quilted. I found the best local woman and her husband who do long arm quilting.

 I made quilts from patterns in books that I received for Christmas. I love a good quilt book, but if I don't make at least a couple of things from it, it is a waste. I do have one book like that, but maybe this next year I can get into it.

 I found great joy in using up some of my stash and actually did not buy any fabric for the first few months of the year. It is tough. There is so much beauty out there. But this pushed my creativity too, so I did like it.

 I made more baby quilts this year than ever. It is a great size and goes pretty fast. I have one more coming up. This is one of those deadline things I mentioned earlier.

 I used on line patterns that I found and fell in love with. Some stash that had been waiting for that elusive "perfect" project actually found it. We know that doesn't always happen.

 And I found fabric that just cried out for a made by me pattern so out came the graph paper and the colored pencils.

And I pushed myself to make a quilt or two with lots of pieces. I usually don't have enough patience for that.
So, where am I going with all this rambling reflection? I am trying to decide the direction for me in the next year. I will definitely keep on in the same vein that I am currently in. I want to make so many things. I still love to share here and show lots of pictures. I hope to use some of the weekly link up parties and some blog hops to keep me moving forward, but I am not going to beat myself up if I miss some. The goal of more posts this year has been successful. Deep Breath. I want to keep the joy that is quilting and drop a bit of the stress that is too many deadlines. Not sure I can do it. I am a real type A and driven. My husband knows I cannot sit still without a project in my hands for very long. Thanks for reading and thanks for following my journey. More to come.