I Am Joining "A Lovely Year of Finishes 2015"

I just read about this party sponsored by Fiber of All Sorts and Sew Bittersweet Designs.  At the first of the month you choose the project you are going to finish and then share it on your blog or on Flickr or Facebook.  Then at the end of the month when the project is complete you share it again and link up to the A Lovely Year of Finishes party.  I am too late to post my goal for the month on the linky party but I can share it here so that I will have the motivation to complete it.

This idea matches perfectly with my decision to complete projects that I have committed to or those that have been waiting to be finished.  I am excited about another way to be inspired to stick to my plan.

My project to finish this month is to get the binding done on at least one of these quilts.  It would be great if I could complete all three. 

Have a great day!

 

Planning for 2015

After spending a few days at Ocean Shores relaxing with my sister Laurie, I reluctantly decided that it was time to put away our Christmas decorations.   As I was curled up on the couch looking at our Christmas tree I decided to begin the process.   First I had to get out all of my Christmas tubs and line them up in my sewing room so that everything can be stored away properly.  While doing this I was distracted by the many piles stacked around my sewing room.

I found embroidery that I had completed in the past few weeks while in the car and in not so great lighting.  After taking close up pictures I was reminded that good light is important when you want straight and even stitches in your embroidery.

These pieces are for a "JOY" banner so I guess I wont be too close to them and notice all of the imperfections.

I was able to complete the embroidery on my Sundaisy block, the stitching on this project is a little more to my liking.

One more block to stitch for "Daisy Days" and I can put the quilt together.

What I learned as I prepared for undecorating is that I have so many unfinished projects, more than I had even realized.  I know now so it is time for a plan.  Not a resolution but a plan.  First I will go through the room, make a list of everything that is incomplete and those projects not yet started but all materials have been purchased.  I will then start checking off that list as I complete them.  I think I will have most of my Christmas gifts for next year if I stick to this plan.

The hard part about all of this for me is saying no to the block of the month projects that I know will be tempting me.  It would be fabulous to complete a few quilts from previous blocks of the month I have worked on these past few years.   My project list will include quilts, embroidery, cross stitch, crochet, small sewing projects and a few not so small sewing projects.

I am looking forward to a fun year of finishes.

Happy New Year!

We Enjoyed a Happy Christmas Eve

I had the Monday before Christmas off and decided to spend a little time making Elf hats for our Christmas Eve celebration.  One of our grandsons had requested that we watch the movie Elf after our dinner and exchanging of gifts.  Just after this request was made I saw a tutorial for elf hats and pinned it.  Click here for the link. They were fun to make and were a hit with the family.

 

 

Here they are ready for in all different sizes.

 

 

Little Danny's hat must of fallen off so not everyone was looking at the camera.

 

We started the evening by attending the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at our church which is always a very special blessing to all of us.

We had a wonderful time together but missed our two families that live far away but they were in our thoughts we talked about how we wished they were with us.

Catching Up On Sugar Block Club Blocks

I have been working to get caught up on my Sugar Block Club blocks and was able to complete two of them this week.  I have the November block waiting to be stitched but will not get to it until we return from our trip to Knoxville.  In fact I should get away from the computer and get busy packing for the trip.  I am excited about traveling to see our son and his family.  It has been over a year since we last saw them.
 

I have made all of these blocks with the left over fabric from another block of the month.  I love the fabrics and it is always nice to get two quilt tops from the fabric for one.  I was looking around in my sewing room today and I am determined to complete some projects, I found quite a few more UFOs than I had originally thought were hiding up there.

Don't miss the little blessings!

Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.

Neighbors and Friends Live Here Mug Rug Swap

I participated in the Neighbors and Friends Live Here mug rug swap this fall.  The swap was sponsored by Michele at Quilting Gallery and the pattern was designed by Lenna Green at Stitching Cow.   My swap partner Janice in Australia received her package so I thought I would share what we sent each other.

Below are the two beautifully created mug rugs that Janice sent me.

The next two mug rugs are what I sent to Janice.

My pictures are a little blurry and not exactly true to color but I didn't notice until after sending them off on their long journey. 

It is always fun to meet new friends through swaps.

Getting Started On Sew Sweet Simplicity

Jacquelynne Steves has a free block of the month that started a couple of weeks ago.  I am a little slow at starting  but after looking through my fabric stash this is what I am making my project out of.  Most of the fabrics are from a line called Wild World by Jenean Morrison for Free Spirit.  I wanted to spread the news about this fun block of the month so click here to sign up and join the fun.  I will share the completed block soon but did not want to wait so that you can get started too.

Center block complete and all of the pieces cut and ready to stitch together.

I am editing this post to add the picture of my completed block.

Don't let those little blessings be missed today!

Sewing Is Therapy and Fun!

I have been a little behind on my quilt blocks and other projects but I did have time to complete a very fun project in October.  I was able to make these costumes for two of my beautiful granddaughters.  It was great fun and a little bit of a challenge since they live far away from us. I can be pretty particular about the fit but had to let go of that and enjoy the process.  Their mom did a great job of giving me accurate measurements which was a great help.

Little Harper's costume is so cute on her.  This one I did not make but would have tried if I had the time.

I spent a little time completing the embroidery on the block below while at the bookmobile conference last week.

Fiona's Garden Path Stitch Along block 9.  Now it is time to put it all together.

The two blocks below were completed this week when I took a couple of hours on Friday and hid away upstairs in my sewing room.

October Aurifil Designer Block

November Aurifil Designer Block

I will have to share more of our California trip and our Wisconsin trip soon.  We had a great time traveling but are thankful to be home for a while.