Rest In Peace

Rest in Peace, Cheyenne.  You were a good friend and I'll miss you. 

Eleven years was just not enough.

Another finish...

Another project on my short list is finished!  This wool Santa Mat was finished about a week ago and I haven't had time to sit down and post it!  It was fun to make, although I didn't fall in love with working with wool.  Want to know why?  There's way too much cat hair in my house to work with wool!  I spent more time pulling stray hairs off the black wool than I did stitching!

With the tree skirt and this done, I have two projects left on my list.  I've loaded the Gail Pan quilt top onto the longarm, but haven't had time to quilt it yet.  I've also started the baby blanket, but haven't gotten too far yet.  I have one secret project that I'm adding to my list.  It's only a tiny bit of work, but it has to be done by Christmas.  I'll try to take a picture when it's done...if I remember!   Then I'll decide what will be the next projects added to my short list!  Luckily the shopping is done and except for a few small things, everything is wrapped.  Grace is in charge of the cookie baking this year...can't wait to see what we wind up with.  I'll make pizzelles for my dad like I do every year, and probably chocolate pizzelles and chocolate chip cookies for the boss.  I can't believe Christmas is so close!!!!

Drunkard's Path

I don't think I've ever shared this quilt with you before.  When Grace was getting ready to go into a bed before her second birthday, I decided she needed a quilt.  Being a relatively new quilter,  no one had ever told me that a Drunkard's Path quilt is not a beginner's pattern.  

I forged ahead and cut out all of the pieces by hand, using a mylar template that I had bought at JoAnn Fabrics.  I carefully pinned according to the instructions, then machine sewed the curves. I loved the purples I used in this quilt and often wondered if this quilt is why Grace's favorite color is purple!

I started out hand quilting it, but switched to machine so I could get it done before she turned 20.  There are some hearts hand quilted in the light areas, but all of the purple was done by machine.

I pulled the quilt out to bring with us when she was sick and we picked her up.  I thought it would be nice for her to cuddle in during the ride home from college.  As long as it was out and washed, I thought I'd share.

I love this quilt!

One down

I finished the first project I tackled on my short list!  I had the binding sewn on the edges and was ready to settle in on Saturday to hand stitch it down when I got a call from Grace.  She'd been sick all week and was scheduled to take the train home for Thanksgiving on Tuesday.  But by the time we spoke on Saturday it was becoming clear that she had the flu and really needed to come home.  Now!  We hit the road for the 4.5 hour trip to her school at around 2:30.  I made the best of the daylight that was left by stitching until we lost the light, and managed to finish the binding just in time!  All I had to do when I got back home was add the binding and ties around the center circle, which goes around the tree. That had to wait for Sunday since we didn't get home until midnight. But it's all done and now it's ready for Christmas!

On Wednesday, with Grace feeling much better, we wound up running errands, most of which involved the need for me to immediately adopt a kitten.  You see, I had found the sweetest little kitten last week, put in an application on her, then found out that she had already been approved for adoption to someone else.  So, the search was on for another kitten to adopt.  Hey, once the Boss gave his approval, I was all over it!  So, instead of making stuffing and pies like I was supposed to be, I was going back and forth between Petsmart and the Animal Orphanage to adopt this little beauty!

Her name is Holly and she is the sweetest little thing!

And it looks like she's made herself right at home!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the kids here and not a single picture was taken to document it.  Well, except for this one of Andrew watching some post-turkey football!

I hope all of you had a happy Thanksgiving too!

Progress

I decided the first project I should tackle on The Short List would be the Christmas tree skirt.  Last night I finished removing all of the binding (which took just as much time to remove as it did to put on!).  Once that was done

I trimmed the corners of the quilt.

I couldn't find any of the fabrics I used to make the tree skirt, so decided on a black and tan Thimbleberries fabric for the binding.  Tonight I made the binding and sewed it on.  Once it's handstitched down, this one will be finished!  I didn't have enough fabric to do a bias binding, which I really needed for the curved corners, so I hope everything will lie smoothly, otherwise I'll have to press it into submission.

I think once I finish a project, I'll take if off my list and add a new one on.  That way my list will never be longer than four or five items.  I'll keep a separate  list for my applique and other long term projects.  It sounds like there are a few of us who will be making our short lists together.  This isn't a formal challenge, so there are no rules, regulations, linky lists or any of that.  I'm sure that we all want to spend our time sewing , rather than trying to follow challenge rules!  Just let us know that you're sewing along with us, so we can see your progress too!  I know that Kathie wants to sew a few bindings, Ruth wants to join us, JulieQ, and Debbiequilter to name a few.  Let us know if you're in too!  Vicky, have you had time to sew this week?

The Short List...

consists of the projects that I have to have done soon.  Like next month.  Or the next one.  From the left they are:

1.  A Tiramisu Baby Blanket, which is just the sweetest little thing! I'd like to have this done by January, I know of a few expectant parents and want to have at least one or two of these ready!

2.  My Gail Pan Christmas Wishes quilt.  I know I posted a picture of it at some point, but can't find it.  Needless to say, it's waited it's turn on the longarm for long enough, time to get it done!

3.  My Primitive Gatherings Old St. Nick Table Mat.  This one is close, a little more blanket stitching, some embroidered snowflakes, assembly and finished.  Should be a quick project!

4.  My Thimbleberries Christmas Tree skirt.  See the corner there?  Where there's a break in the binding?  Daisy must have needed a snack last Christmas and chewed the corner off.  I'll need to remove the binding, curve the edges and rebind it.  Hopefully it won't take too long!

So, that's the short list.  I'm afraid to make the long list!

Vicky, do you have a short list?

Finishing things...

I've been thinking a lot lately about how many quilts I have in progress and how I really need to finish some before starting anything new.  Apparently Vicky over at LA Quilter has been thinking along the same lines and after I commented on her post she emailed me back, saying "Let's hold hands and do it together!"  Vicky, I am SO with you!

This week I'm going to start making a list of what quilts I have that are in the works as well as the knitting and crochet projects I have, then I'll put them in order by which have deadlines.  Then I'm going to work to finish those pieces.  I hope the list isn't too daunting once it's made!

This is the quilt that has commanded my attention for the last week or so.  It is my birthday quilt for this year, which you can read about here.  I'm using the pattern Sherbet Stars by Cotton Way but when I laid out the quilt on my design wall, there was just too much open space because it was set with alternating plain squares.  I just finished custom quilting one of my quilts and want this one to be an all over design...definitely one without too much white space!

My solution was to make one extra block and lay it out 4 x 4 blocks.  I'm going to put a narrow border of the background, a second of the blue (which is not nearly as bright as it appears!), a third of the background and the last border will be the brown floral, about 6 inches wide. That will give me a nice sized quilt and I can quilt it relatively quickly with an all over design.

Can't wait to get my list made and see what's on there! I do know I have several long term applique projects that I've started, so not everything will be finished up quickly.  And then there are the projects waiting their turn on the longarm already...this list might be very long...

 

Sandy...

When we started hearing about Hurricane Sandy last week, I started preparing for the worst.  Once we had plenty of water stocked and enough food for a few days, I made sure to have some projects that I could work on if we didn't have electricity.  The first thing I did was finish the quilt that was on the machine.  I figured it was time...

it's only been on the longarm machine for over a year!  I sewed the binding on the front and was ready to sew it down during the power failure, if it came.

Fortunately, we didn't lose power or any trees, we were very lucky.  My heart goes out to those who have been so severely affected by the storm.  I did get two days off of work...and I did get the binding sewn down!

Happy Halloween!

10.21.2012

Two weekends ago Grace came home from college on break.  On Sunday, we went into Philly with the girls...

Which may have involved a visit to a lovely store...I may have come home with one of these...

I'm not sure who was happier...Grace or Calvin!

After a family dinner of gluten free chicken parmagiana we toasted marshmallows outside...Grace's always wound up catching fire.

Andrew and Dayna...

Lee just watched us, he doesn't like marshmallows, so he just ate the Hershey bars!

Ellen burnt a few marshmallows too.

And of course, Andrew set his stick on fire so he could draw pictures for the camera!

It was so much fun!

The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

A few weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to review Jennifer Chiaverini's new book The Giving Quilt, which is due to be released on October 30th.  What a delightful book!

In The Giving Quilt we are once again at Elm Creek Manor for quilt camp.  But this camp is different...it's the week after Thanksgiving and it's a free camp to make quilts for Project Linus.  Karen, Michaela, Pauline and Linnea all arrive at the manor, ready to make some quilts for "Quiltsgiving", but each has a different reason for being there.  Their stories and their developing friendships make for intriguing reading and have you come to realize that no one is what they appear to be on the outside.  Each of them have a unique story to tell.

In addition to meeting the Quiltsgiving quilters, it was good to visit with the characters that have become so familiar to the readers of the series...Sylvia, Gretchen and the rest of the Elm Creek Quilts staff.  Once again, Jennifer Chiaverini has written a wonderful book, not to be missed by the fans of the Elm Creek Quilts series!

Settling In Again

After having a few busy weeks!  I was lucky enough to tag along on one of my husband's business trips at the beginning of October, and we got to go here...

And here...

It was wonderful to be in the park at night...yep, we closed the park at midnight!

And we got a glimpse of The Beast's Castle....

If you ever get a chance, go to Disney without your kids!  It's so much fun! 

We arrived home from Disney last Tuesday and on Friday we headed up to Juniata for parents' weekend with Grace.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures...she was so sick that we wound up taking her to the ER on Sunday morning before heading home.  She had a virus and she's feeling much better today.  I'm glad we went up, she definitely needed her parents!  She'll be home on break this week, it will be nice to have her home again.  I know her cat misses her as much as we do!

On the Needles Friday...

This week brought absolutely no knitting time...by the end of the day I was too tired to do much of anything, so I didn't!  So, I thought I'd share another project that is on the needles.  This is the Old Shale scarf that I started last year at some point.

I'd love to finish this at some point this winter, but those are skinny needles and sock yarn...it's going to take awhile!  It's a good thing I enjoy the process...

So, what's on YOUR needles today?  Link up here at Patchwork Times!

On The Needles Friday

I did take the picture on Friday, just didn't have time to post it due to an impromptu dinner date with my sister which was loads of fun!  So here are the Skyp socks. The pattern is easily memorized (even for me!) and they're working up quickly.  I had very little knitting time this week and still managed to  make some progress!

So, what's on your needles? (and I swear these socks aren't purple, they just look that way!!!)

Stitches Through Time: Post 2

 Rather than go on and on about the beautiful quilts in the Stitches Through Time: A Legacy of Quilts that I visited last week, I'll just let them speak for themselves...enjoy! I have included the documentation that was with them where I could...

      

Sorry about the upside down pictures...they're right side up but flip when I put them into the blog!!!

 Thank you once again to the Gloucester County Historical Society, Woodbury, NJ for allowing me to post pictures of the beautiful quilts.  For more information, click on this link:  Gloucester County Historical Society