Christmas Quilts

Cozy…..  exactly what quilts are for!

This Christmas quilt is one of my favorites!  It was finished in 2016, just before Christmas.  My sister and I went to a quilt show in October and fell in love with the group of fabrics.  We picked out enough fat quarters to do two of these one for me and one for her.....  we cut up all the fabric and divvied it up.  I got started right away - the pattern from MSQC called 4 Patch Lattice  used a basic four patch pattern so I started by laying all of my groups of four out.  This is where things got hard for me.  I definitely have issues with making sure that the colors are perfect and that the patterns are perfect - there must be balance.

Four patches ready to sew.

Once I got all the four patches to look perfect I had to cut them all in half diagonally and then lay it out again.  This messed with the balance again and took me forever to get right.  This next picture is half of the quilt laid out on the table - I had to stand on a chair with the phone in the air as high as I could reach!  I definitely have issues!!!

Half laid out.

Triangles ready to sew!

Sashed and ready!

Somehow I managed to keep them all straight and did not mix them up too much.  I got the balance that I wanted!

On the long arm machine!!

Snowflakes on the Minky!!!  Love love love!!

I am in love with this quilt!

Bound with minky!

My precious little squishy dog!  

How things are supposed to be!  

This last picture makes me sooooo happy!!  I am under that quilt, watching TV with a squishy little lovey dog and a fluffy kitty cuddled up and happy!

In the next post I will explain how this amazing Christmas quilt ended up stressing me out and how I got myself into trouble and ended up making a second one before Christmas.


"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."  Psalm 37:4

Busy busy busy

Today is Christmas day....  Things have been so busy!!  I have so many posts that I have not done!!  But.....  guess what??…..  I got a new laptop for Christmas and I am soooooo excited to be able to type away on a normal size keyboard!!  Yeahhhh!!!!!  So much more to come!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!!  I hope you get to eat LOTS of cookies!


"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."   -Isaiah 9:6

Penguin Family

Let me start by saying that this quilt was not part of my plan for 2018!  I had seen the center panel online just by chance.  Then when I went to a sort of local quilt shop I found it in person and just had to have it!  The colors are so bright and cheerful and the little penguin family reminded me of my own.

Mama, Papa, and baby.

The quilt shop only had two prints that went with this panel, and one more that I used for the binding that belongs to a similar line by the same maker. I ordered the gray snowflakes and the animals on the sides online. Funny story....  the animals on the sides were supposed to be small. The site I ordered from had a little ruler on the print that showed them at about 4 inches or so.... when they came in the mail, they were a panel piece and they were big!  I had to come up with a new pattern for this awesome panel!  I ended up using a pattern I found through Pinterest called Chillingsworth's Bicycle Ride.  It was a free pattern that you could download which is even better!  I had to make a few adjustments since the panel was not the exact size of the one used in the pattern, which means that I got to get my graph paper out like I always love to do!  I did make a few minor errors in my calculations, if you look carefully at the finished product you can see where I "made it work!"  

What does the fox say??

Hand binding like always!  I LOVE this fabric I used.

Me sitting at my son's Judo, on the floor, hand binding.

I love the texture that minky creates.

I am in love with this quilt and am so glad that I put it together when I did.  Sometimes going through a tough time (a death in the family) is made easier with some quilting therapy.  I recommend it and encourage it! 

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."   - Romans 12:21

Lost and Found

Oh where, oh where have you been??

Have you ever thought that you may have lost one of your favorite sewing room tools???  This beauty had been lost for years (more than 5)!!  I had another one, so I made due just fine. But... if you were close by you heard my excitement when I came across this while I was cleaning and organizing.  I did a pretty awesome happy dance too. Yippee!!!!

I did quite a bit of organizing this past weekend....  it’s amazing how an entire bowl of opened safety pins will only take up a tiny bit of room in that same bowl once you close them all!  And I found a bunch of my pins also!

There are even screws in there!

Finally organized!

They are all closed.

I also decided to clean out a bunch of fabrics that I don’t think I will use.....  now to get them to Project Linus. That made room for more folding and sorting of my stash. Again.... yippee!!

I love when my fabrics are folded nice!

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.  

Proverbs 12:25 NIV

Star Trek and Teal Quilts Complete

Pattern and fabrics by Camelot Fabrics

I finished these quilts, had them washed, and ready for delivery just in time!  I even remembered to get a couple of pictures after I delivered them (with the help of my lovely son and beautiful niece).  I'm just not very consistent about posting my work.  As I had said in the last post, this Star Trek quilt was a project that had been in the works for quite a while.  I love how it turned out!  

When my Auntie found out that I was collecting Star Trek fabrics, she was not about to curl up with it.....  so we planned out a quilt that she would like.  She even picked out a few of the starting fabrics.  What I came up with is a little different from what my normal is, but it turned out good just the same.  Since my Auntie is always cold, hers is backed with Shannon Fabrics Extra Wide Cuddle.  It is the only way to go when you want to back with cuddle!  

Pattern by Camelot Fabrics

I am more than beyond blessed to have such amazing, supportive, and loving Uncle and Auntie.  They have encouraged and changed countless lives.  Some I'm sure they don't even know about.  Completing these quilts for them is a tiny way to give back.    

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.

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This was on the wall at the San Diego airport.....  we sat in front of it while waiting to leave on our mission trip.  It reminds me of something that my Uncle and Auntie would say.....  but they would say it in a way that would make you laugh!  

I love you Uncle Bri and Auntie Mary!!!

Binding with Love ❤️

I really don’t know how I get any work done.  Here I am getting the binding ready for the Star Trek quilt and I have to battle this kitty trying to turn my arm into a pillow.   I don’t mind too much though. Just like my quilting.... my animals keep me sane. 

I am asked all the time.... “How long does it take you to do a quilt?”  And the answer is that I don’t know. Each one is different.  Some of them take so much planning that it could be years, like this Star Trek one for example.  I really wanted it to be something that was usable and not an eye sore.  (To be honest....  I think I did it).

I finished the binding last night....  it took me three evenings of hand sewing - which I call binding with love.  So now I know approximately how long it takes to finish the binding on my average size quilt....  around 64x72 or so.  

So my uncles quilt is done....  I have 8 days to hand sew the binding to my Aunties!  I’m feeling good about being able to finish!  I can’t wait to see them and give them their quilts!

I will post full pics later.....  (I wish I had a professional photographer for my quilts!!)

Happy June and happy Friday!
I am linking up with crazy mom quilts --  Thanks for stopping by!

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”   Exodus 14:14 NIV

Inspiration

What inspires you????

I’ve been working on a Star Trek quilt and it made me think.....  I am not a Trekkie.  I would never even look at Star Trek fabrics if it weren’t for my inspiration. Several years ago I had a conversation with my favorite Uncle and my quilting came up. Somehow we ended up talking about the type of quilt he would like. I knew that a sports themed quilt would be great as he loves both the Raiders and the A’s but I knew I wanted to do something he couldn’t buy at the store or get online.  That’s why I decided on the Star Trek quilt!  I had seen a couple of Star Trek fabrics and figured I could figure something out. I found a few in the local stores, my mom found a couple at one of her local stores (thanks mom), and I got one of my favorite ones for the quilt online.   I picked a pattern that I saw online that was used to make a Trekkie quilt.....  it’s from Camelot Fabrics. This picture I found online and it was taken at a quilt show but I’m not sure when or where but there is a tag on the pic listed below. 

I’ve had these fabrics saved up for awhile as I wasn’t super excited about the fabrics still....  but I had to work on it since I finished my Aunties top already (hers is flowers and pretty colors- she is NOT a Trekkie).  

So as I laid out the squares and made sure the colors I picked would work for my brain (since my brain has issues).  I started thinking how even when I’m not inspired to create, I still love how it turns out. I had this same thing happen with the fall quilt I did. 

So....  what inspires me???  Color, characters, one specific fabric, and even a pattern quilted by my long armer. But I think most often I am inspired by a person. I am inspired by the love of others and that makes me want to create something special for them....  like one of my very first quilts that I made for my great grandmother. 

In the case of the Trekkie quilt it is not the fabric, the colors or the pattern that will be quilted on it but the person who will cover up with it even if he is not cold!  I look forward to finishing up the quilts for the best Auntie and Uncle ever!  I’m sure I will have more bragging to do when I post the final pics!!  

“Live long and prosper.”

Donate Quilts

So these quilts were made years ago to be donate quilts for QFK. I made them.... then folded them up into ziplocks along with the backing and the binding, cut and pressed just waiting to be quilted.  Problem was that I didn’t like doing the quilting myself.  So they had to wait for just the right moment. Last July, my super amazing long arm quilter asked me if I had any quilts she could test a new machine on. I was excited at the opportunity to let her finish these however she pleased.   The only problem was that I never saw them finished.  She had an urgent need to get them done and had them bound by her worker bees. They went to Project Linus and I am hoping to do a few more this year for them as well. I am a little disappointed that QFK was not more open to keeping new members. Maybe it was ment to be.   

If my memory is correct these were completed last October.  I’m not counting these as my completions even though they were officially completed in 2017.   

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.us/111/rom.12.2.niv

Let’s see how this works....

I really hope this works!!!  I have so many things to post about but have not been able to because the stinkin app to upload pictures doesn’t work anymore. Blogs without pictures are just no fun!

It's Another New Year

My favorite quote!

Amazingly, another year has gone by.  I knew that I set a lot of goals last year so I figured I better look back and see how my year went.  I knew that I didn't hit the goals that I set, but I thought that I did a bit better than I did.  As much as I love my Mary Poppins quote, I am definitely not perfect.

Number 1 and 2....  My first two goals were only half met.  I posted two of the four quilts that I made in 2016.  I really need to post the last two.  And I did not meet my goal of making more than four quilts in 2017.  I will get to that when I set my new goals for 2018.

Number 3....  As far as my clutter goal goes, it was worked on but still needs work!  This one may be a goal that will never be met as I have issues with getting rid of things.  And every time I think I have made progress my husband finds more boxes for me to unpack.  Overall I feel like I am still better than I used to be.

Number 4....  I did horrible at going to the gym.  I don't think I went at all!!!  I officially cancelled my membership in November.  The good news is that I am pretty sure my weight stayed the same - no gain is a good thing!  We have invested in a new elliptical type machine for the new year so we will see how that goes.

Number 5....  We went out and did archery a few times.  Not as often as I like but still something that I enjoy.

Number 6....  I did alright on this one.  I think...  I have been a bit better at cooking and keeping the house clean.  I just wish I was better at it.  Cooking is definitely NOT my gift.

Number 7....  Not too bad!  I had 8 posts in 2017.  Better than other years!!!  And the fact that I have plenty to post about is good!!  I just need to make the time.

Number 8....  I will never be good enough at this one!  I will have to continue working on a plan to get better at this one.

So....  goals for 2018:

Number 1....  Finish posting the quilts that are complete!  Catch up from last year and don't get behind with this years!!

Number 2....  Meet the goals of finishing quilts!!!  My mom and sister both surpassed my goal of 5 for the year.  And I know that they will again next year!  I just don't set enough time aside for myself.  I have plans for way too many!!  I have cut fabric and started several projects last year and the year before.  I need to finish some of these!!  Pics below.

Number 3....  Get to working out!!

Number 4....  Continue cooking, and start taking lunch more often instead of eating out all the time.  At least 2-3 of the days.

Number 5....  Be a better hostess.  Starting with the superbowl party.  Plan and cook without complaining!!  LOL!  I don't know if I can do this one....  but that is what goals are for!!!

Started in 2015 - Still not done!

Started in 2017 - Top is done - just needs to be finished.

Cut and ready to sew!

Half way done with cutting!  For my favorite Auntie!

Challenge quilt still not finished.

Not cut yet but getting ready for my favorite uncle!

This is fabric for one of my most ambitious quilts to be done this year.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, god lives in us and his love is made complete in us.   -1 John 4:11-12