Wild WISP Tamed!!

I am so excited to have this WISP FINISHED!!! It isn't wasn't my oldest WISP, but it was one that I thought about frequently when I would see it sitting there, so lonely, on the "to be quilted shelf".  Month after month, year after year.  Poor thing actually started out as someone else's project, I bought it about six years ago at a white elephant sale that my favorite quilt shop would hold each Winter. It was a terrific opportunity to get rid of fabric, notions, UFOs, WISPS, etc., and in exchange we would receive store credit.  I came across this kit, very reasonably priced and couldn't resist.  Once I started the project I noticed that the original owner had cut out everything except the flowers.  Then I noticed that had cut much of it out incorrectly, possibly why they stopped and got rid of it.  Too bad for them, YAY for me, the flowers are a bit closer than intended, but not by much.  The kit fabric requirements were very generous and I was able to re cut the green and red fabric to the correct size.  I have a good amount left over that I am attempting to do something with, but those projects are not done yet. I was very excited about this quilt so I started it that summer and actually finished the top pretty quickly, I would say within a year.  I even had the back pieced.  I put it away because I wanted to have it quilted kind of fancy and my skills were not up to par at that time, so it just sat.  Well then of course, my skills improved but then I became busy and since it wasn't a gift for someone else, just for me, it was always bumped to the end of a very long line! THEN, while reviewing my blog entries for 2011, I noticed that I had drifted away from the original intent of this blog, which was to WIELD WILD WISPS!!  So I looked at how few WISPs, UFOs or WIPs I had successfully tackled versus how many new ones I created . . .  Not Impressive. Very embarrassing actually.  So . . . I am grounded.  I cannot start a new project unless I complete one of my WISPs!  I updated my list, deleted the few projects I had finished and shamefully added the WISPs I started in 2011.  This month has been a great start - only two things finished, but both of them WISPs!  One of the new WISPs, a gift for someone else, and one old WISP, for ME! :D
 Happy, Happy, HAPPY Quilting !!!!

Happy New Year!

I am so surprised that this is the first post of the year!  I certainly thought about posting enough times that I guess I thought I really had posted previously . . . at least once!  Well here it is, almost the end of the month and I am posting my 1 XMAS item for January.  I started this while on a quilting retreat in November, I was speeding along when my Janome finally quit, the next morning a generous quilter lent me her extra machine and I was able to almost finish it except for the last two borders.  Now the borders are on, it's quilted and bound.  I did not add the label yet because this may be a wedding present down the road, I am going to eventually add two stockings to complete the gift.  It's so nice to have a Christmas project done as well as finishing up a WISP!  I was able to hang it on the clothesline to take a picture - it was sunny and beautiful today, 66 degrees and it's the end of January!  This is by far the craziest winter weather I ever remember, I guess no snow this year.   Happy Quilting!

Happy New Year!

I wasn't able to post before the 15th, or before I left on the 21st to spend Christmas with my family in Massachusetts but I was able to finish 3 more purses, another monster, and 4 more scarves! Of course the monster was a companion for the orange one I made for my great Nephew Gus! The backpack tote/purse with the snap bags is for a niece whose favorite color is purple. The photos directly below show the outside, and then the inside of one of the reversable purses. This one went to one of my nieces whose favorite color is yellow.

This purse went to my sister-in-law, whose favorite color is purple.

As usual we stayed with my Gram, who turned 99 in August. She had fabric set aside that she wanted to find some matches in her stash so she could start another rail fence! We found one match, but then went to the local quilt store and found 2 beauties that really make the quilt striking! She got all of the blocks done, sewn into rows, and by the time I left she only needed to sew the rows together. I'll add the borders when she sends them to me. I also cut rectangles for a lap quilt for her to work on. I brought home a lap that I'll need to add borders to, quilt, bind and return :) We had a wonderful Christmas, even though the kids were disappointed that there wasn't any snow. The picture below is of my niece and her scarf that I finished on the drive to MA, and a bit while we were there! Her purse is next to her, and one of my earlier finishes :)

And finally, I was a pretty good girl this year and so Santa, among others, rewarded me with some yummy fabric and tools to quilt with! Beautiful Samantha is pointing out my favorite and what I will probably use first ! Happy Quilting!

Decorating for Christmas . . .

Is also a trip down memory lane! Sometime in late September of every year, I start noticing Christmas ideas, fabrics etc., and start dreaming of how I'd like to decorate my house for Christmas. This year I really started to dream after I discovered a website Pinterest.com (do NOT go there unless you are willing to lose MANY hours of your precious time) I even created a board there, titled "Christmas" and started pinning my favorite ideas. I noticed that I was leaning towards ideas that were red and white, and I thought, it would be really pretty to do everything in red and white, I even bought some mesh to do a red and white wreath . . . Then we took the tree from the garage (real trees are too aromatic for me) and the decorations from under the eves . . . and then I remembered, sigh. Every box I open, every ornament I unwrap is a memory. Especially all of the ones that the children made - I love those more every year! Among my favorites are decorations or cards made from the hand prints of my children. Some, like those below, were made at my children's daycare. Dated on the back, they are perfect time capsules.

Others, like the wreath, I made for relatives when my daughter was 1 year old, but I remembered to dip her fingers in red paint to make berries in their wreathes! The tree was a brother/sister combination, with the little one's prints for the top, and big brothers paw prints for the base of the tree. Another year I used plaid fabric and heat n bond ultra hold for her hand print. It is plaid on both sides, I just fused the fabric together and used a permanent marker for the year and her name. I wish I had thought of that one when they were both infants, it would have been nice to have one for each year, just different fabrics. I also wish I had invested in better quality paper and paint to do the projects, but the ideas were kind of spur of the moment and I just used what I had on hand, I'm grateful to have them! So, I guess until I get a bigger house, I'll just stick to decorating with my memories!! Happy Quilting!

November Finishes

I keep thinking I had finished more things this month, and I guess I did, but other people's projects - not mine! I have done alot of long arm work this past month as people want gifts or wall hanging's done in time for Christmas. I am showing today one of the scarves that I made, but couldn't show earlier since it was a birthday present. These scarves are sooooo easy! They are knitted, which normally I can't do because of carpel tunnel and basal joint arthritis. They are made from premier yarns and is called Starbella yarn, (which I can only find at Benjamin Franklin Craft store) the yarn is like a fishing net, with a distinct top and bottom, just cast on 8 or 9 stitches and simply knit! It goes very quickly, although you have to knit slowly in order to open the top loop, I guess that's why my hands don't hurt so much when I do them! Lots of fun and really cute! Well, going to start dragging out the Christmas decorations and lights today, I bought the kid's chocolate Advent Calender a month ago . . . now where did I put them? Hope you have fun getting ready for your holiday! Happy Quilting!

November XMAS Projects

November already, as usual I'm a bit late with my 1XMAS showing. I finished the multicolor scarf today in the car while DH was driving us around as we did a little "Black Friday" shopping. All told, I completed 4 scarves for Christmas presents, intended to go in the purses that I am giving as gifts to my Nieces, Aunt's and one sister-in-law! I also finished 2 envelope purses for 2 of the many Nieces. I am so close to completing other purses - but close does not count for today! I also completed two Christmas stockings. Our guild made them for a local ladies group that is going to fill them with homemade goodies and present them to "Wounded Warriors" who attend a luncheon that the ladies hold for them. We held a workshop on the 17th, provided the batting, lining, cut strips and pattern for the ladies to follow. 18 were finished that day (my two were examples that I had done earlier in Nov) I have 4 more started and will be completed before the luncheon on Dec 15th. We are coming to the home stretch, I hope to have all of my Christmas projects done by the 15th. We'll see . . . Happy Quilting!

Fall Finishes

Finished a lot of little projects this month, unfortunately no WISPS, they were all new starts, and some new ideas! Being QOV Co-Chair has become very time consuming in the past few months. My former Co-Chair, relinquished her post after two years and my new Co-Chair had surgery on her knee so has been unavailable or not 100% since June. I am glad the kids are back in school, that helps with time management for part of the day. In October we held a QOV workshop, we planned to make 1600 strip quilts or lasagna quilts. We supplied the 40 2 1/2" strips needed for each quilt and had material on hand for the border. We had 12 participants and I am sorry to say I forgot to bring a camera! It was a lot of fun and two ladies managed to complete their quilts, and most everyone else finished theirs except for attaching the borders. I confess I hardly got any of mine done, so now I have another WISP. I did make the door prizes for the workshop. (and then some!) Originally I thought I would buy fall fat quarters and fill them with chocolate and then tie with ribbon, but then I saw an idea on line for fabric pumpkins, and later that week I had night guild where I found that really cool orange soft and fluffy fabric (previous post) and so I decided to make the fabric pumpkins out of the fluffy fabric and stuff them with Dove chocolate and little Reece's Peanut Butter cups. I ran out of candy after 5 of them so I used high loft batting scraps to fill the rest. I used cinnamon sticks for the stem and leftover silk flower leaves for 6 of them and then I made leaves using cotton batting scraps in between 2 pieces of green fabric. I zigzag stitched all around twice and then sewed veins through the middle. I like the sewn leaves best!

I also made 9 pin cushions from a Halloween Charm pack that I couldn't decide what to do with. The ric rack can go from front to back and you can decide which side you want face up as the buttons are on both sides. I made the buttons from FIMO and used a button on hand to make the impression. While I was in the Fall fabric mood I made 9 little tissue holders and are saving those for November's QOV workshop.

I showed the ladies at my Bee what I had made and they asked me to teach them how to make them at our next Bee, which I happened to be hosting. I was running out of the fuzzy fabric, so I tried other fabrics, and although it was harder to join together, I think they turned out pretty well too! We used homespun, orange batiks and a stretchy, soft fabric. I then wondered how to make the pumpkin tall, instead of short and round, that did not work out, but I turned my mistakes into two candy bags - one full of m&m's and one filled with candy corn! Happy Quilting, and Happy Halloween to all that celebrate it :)