Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!

I was so excited to see the pattern and tutorial for this pillow Julie shared on her blog The Crafty Quilter.  I had drawn my sister Raydine's name for Christmas and I knew that this would be the perfect gift for her.  I love the fabric that Julie used for her pillow here.  I have the same fabric but have been using mine for a row by row quilt, it is not complete so I did not want to use my Fig Tree Farmhouse fabric and not have what I needed to finish my row by row quilt.

I made the pillow with some of my Little Ruby fat quarters.

I had a great time making this and wish I had time to make another.

It is a little hard to see but I used some old white ric rac as my trim.

I made an envelope back and binding for the edge as Julie suggested.  Thank you Julie for sharing this great tutorial.

Sherry

I Finished a Couple of Projects!

Woo Hoo!  It has been a while since I have been able to complete sewing projects.  That would be any projects actually.  Below is my zig zag quilt that I had added to my 2016 Finish list.  I sent it to be quilted, Kathy did a fabulous job and now it is bound and ready to use.  I do have to add a label though now that I think about it.

I took the pictures on a rainy day so they were taken inside and do not do the quilt justice.

You can see the quilting a little in the picture below.  I love that Kathy was creative with the quilting.

I am now sure where this quilt will end up or with whom but for now I am content that it is complete.

The project below was made for a family in our church who lost their sweet baby at birth.

We completed it and gave it to sweet baby Ian's family.  

We were able to give this as a gift of rememberance of this child.  It was a labor of love made with a few tears.

I hope to have a little sewing time and maybe finish a projet or too in December but I know it will be a busy time.  I want to focus on the blessings of now and not miss what each day brings.

Maybe it is time for a little Christmas music and some decorating.

Sherry

I will link with Julie at The Crafty Quilter and share my November finish.

Fall Fun In Wisconsin

We had the privilege of traveling to Wisconsin to spend time with our family there.  We don't usually see each other more that once a year so it is always fun to be together and catch up.

Here they are our grandchildren wearing their new Seattle hats, sitting outside on a beautiful fall day.

Each fall we go to the pumpkin patch and the kids pick out pumpkins and gourds to take home and decorate with.

Julie and Dad

Rose

Lily 

Toni 

Sam

Brad and Julie

It is always great to spend time with these kids.  Full of energy and fun.  Lily had just figured out what her costume would be for Trick or Treating.

Time to go home, it always seems to come so quickly.

Thankful for the time we had together.  We are blessed.

A Little Stitching and A Sweet Friend

It has been such a long time since my last blog post.  This has been a very different few months.  Not much sewing or creativity going on here at my house.  I hope that will change soon.  I have done a couple of small embroidery projects and attended a couple of "Sit and Sews".  I do have two quilts the were quilted by my quilter Kathy that I will bind and share soon. I will show you two of my "One Stitch at a Time" designs by Kathy Schmitz.  I have completed the stitching on my July and August designs but now I must make something with them.

           My August project below was fun, I used my crayon box to make this one a little different, it has been a while since I tried adding coloring to my embroidery projects.

September's design was called "Sweet Surroundings"  I made this one with a friend in mind but have not had time to complete the project yet.

My husband and I spent a little more time than usual at the ocean this summer.  We have always taken our dog Emmy with us.  It was always Emmy's favorite place to be.  She would perk up and be full of energy.  She was failing fast this summer so we took her with us whenever we could.  We were sad to have to say goodbye to Emmy late in August and will always remember her love of the beach.

I am not sure that I want to get another dog, we are so busy and I don't know what is best right now but we are thankful for the time we had with Emmy, she was 13 years old.

Here she is waiting for me to get moving or throw the ball to her.  She had begun loosing weight when this picture was taken but still enjoyed running or walking on the beach.

To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Fun Fabric and a Finish

Not long ago I entered a giveaway at Pink Pincushion and I won.  The giveaway was this cheerful "House of Hoppington" fat quarter bundle from the Fat Quarter Shop.   It is really a fun collection of fabrics.  I have not decide what quilt pattern to use, there are 18 fat quarters, any ideas?

The project below is one that I have been planning to work on for some time.  I had chosen the fabrics to make a pillow for a wedding gift for my brother and his wife.  Their wedding was in April and they received the pillow this week.  I  went up to my sewing room one day and said to myself, "you will not leave here until this project is complete."  I sent the pillow off to them the next day.  Actually, I should say that Pat sent the pillow off for me the next day.

This pillow was made using the "Quilt as you Go" method and was inspired by a tutorial found here at Quilting in the Rain.

The pillow was planned to be a rectangular shape but due to my miscalculations it is now a "almost" square pillow.

I did make the overlap on the back off set on purpose, I have learned that it is o.k. to be flexible and a little creative even when it comes to the back of a pillow cover.   That is the little bit of sewing I have been able to accomplish this month.  I have had to let go of my goals planned for this month and last but feel o.k. about that because family and friends have filled my spare time.  Setting goals has been great for me but letting them go when necessary is good for me too.  I will be linking this post with Julie at Crafty Quilter for Hello 2016 Goodbye UFO's here,  Visit and see the projects that have been completed this month.

Where Bloggers Create 2016

My "sewing room"/creating space is upstairs in our old 1940's house.  There are two bedrooms at the top of the stairs and of course, I have chosen the larger of the two for my space.  The picture below shows my space in a rather messy condition as it has been much of the time lately.  I guess that means I must be using it to create things but I am not sure that that is true.  I think it is more like I haven't kept it too tidy lately.

Not the clearest picture but it gives you the general idea.  The chest on the right is still unpainted, it has been a goal for several years now.  I plan to move my room downstairs shortly, we will see if the painting gets done then.

I love my card catalog and I "file" many things in the drawers which are labeled, of course.

I smile when I see this sweet little frame given to me by a sweet friend.  I look at it to be reminded of what I should be doing while in this room.  

As you will notice I like to keep things around me in my room that remind me of swaps I have participated in and friends and family who have given them to me.

I found this pincushion while visiting my sister in California and my buttons are from years of collecting them.  Many were my grandmothers.

This sign was a gift from my sister Becky.  It hangs over my file boxes and basket of patterns.

I do love pincushions.  My sister Lynda made the tomatoes and the purple pincushion is one I bought when we visited Hawaii.  Of course we had to visit the fabric store in the town we visited on Maui. The heart pincushion is from a swap I participated in and I crocheted the flowered pincushion a few years ago.

This is my fabric, much of what you see is fabric to back the many quilts that are waiting to be completed.  I do have just a few fabrics that I will have to think about before deciding how to use them.  The glass front bookcase below these stacks holds a bit more. 

The project on the corner of my work space has been sitting there a while but I can say that it is now a completed project.  I started and completed it yesterday.  I will share it in a blog post soon.

A sweet friend gave me the bird thimbles on top of my grandmothers spice chest.

Fabrics that are part of a couple of projects in progress.

This picture and the following are of some of my favorite things in my room.

This picture and the one below were taken a short while ago when my space was a little bit neater.

I should have posted a warning at the top of this post that I had many pictures to share.  I love having my space to work in but even when it was the kitchen table I have always enjoyed making things, sewing, embroidery, cross stitch, crochet and many other crafts.  I hope you enjoyed my little tour and will come back again for a visit.  Visit Where Bloggers Create 2016 at My Desert Cottage to see many more sewing rooms, studios and kitchen tables.