Happy New Year

Can't believe we have started a new year....2015.   Isn't there a song about that....oh wait, I think that was ' in the year 2525 '. Guess we have a few years till we get to that !  

Packing up today for a little road trip.... Thought I would see if this blog thing was still active, might give me something to do on the road, we will see how it goes...

Beth 

Back in the saddle again....

Really?  It's been this long since I have posted ??  Well, I just downloaded the Blogger app for my IPad, so just maybe this will make it easier for me to post a little more frequently.    And, just finished quilting a quilt that I had been stressing over for several months !  It was my LQS  block of the month this year, and it is the store sample, so it has been hanging in the store all year, unquilted - there was no hurry for me to get it done - not like the many baby, wedding, graduation, etc quilts I have quilted this year that did have deadlines.  So that gave me time.....way too much time to stress over what I was going to quilt on it.  Sometimes that can be so crippling!  AND I find that usually -wait- actually, always, once I get a quilt ON my machine, I get inspired and am able to move forward with the quilting process and find that I (and more importantly my customer ) are happy with the results.   Of course, I always have the fear  that once the quilt is on the machine I will still not have any idea of what to quilt on it, and then (horrors!!!!) have to take the quilt off .....but so far in this career, that has not happened.....so I guess I should not stress over that anymore and trust in my instincts !    That being said, if this new app lets me post pictures, I will post pictures of the quilt !

Cool, it works...will try and add a couple more !

Well, that will gave to do for now, not sure if these are the best pictures, I may need to run up to the quilt store and take better pictures, but we all know how expensive THAT could get !!

Won't you come to my friend's Party ? An Invite for YOU !

Oh my gosh, it has been so long since I blogged... I need to get back to this.  I can assure you I have not been slacking anywhere !   Our summer remodeling project is ( or was, 'till the cold weather hit) coming along, we thought we would be able to texture & paint 2 bedrooms before winter, but that just "ain't" gonna happen....  However, they are insulated, rewired, sheetrocked, taped and ready to go for spring !  That means texture, paint and trim right away next spring...still need to figure out if we can just "clean up" the existing trim or if we will have to refinish it...     I will post before, during and after pictures when we are done.   I just want to make sure we ARE done when I do ! LOL.   That will give us 2 bedrooms to move the remaining bedroom furniture in, while we finish the hall, the 3rd bedroom, the bathroom and the stairway.    We won't talk about the downstairs, yet.  

  So, in lieu of any pictures from me... I will post about this fun stitching event in the Minneapolis area... IF you are near there... GO !  This sounds like a fun deal- I love her designs !    Check her out !

Only wish I could go !   I hope she takes lots of pictures !     ....and I hope to be back here soon........

A New Pheasant Quilt

What have I been doing since the last post...well, still recovering from hip surgery, which is going quite well (about to start rehab), and customer quilting, and trying to set aside some time to get organized so I can do some sewing & piecing  for myself !   In early Feb, a benefit was held for my DIL's Dad, and I really wanted to make a quilt for the auction, and I really wanted to use one of the pheasant panels.    I didn't have time to do any elaborate piecing, so I came up with this pattern. 

I probably spent more time wondering what I was going to do for a pattern than I did piecing it !  I really agonized over the whole thing.... and finally ( like most things, I am finding out..) I just got started.  The only plan I had was to use the panel in the center as shown, and the 4 blocks in the corner.   Once I framed each panel, the rest just sort of worked itself out.   Now, I am not one to go into mass production, by the time I am done with a project, I just want to start a new one, and definately do not want to make another, but I think this is the exception.  I actually still liked this when I was done, and now that it was sold at the auction, I am thinking I need one for my house ! 

 Close up of the front, I wonder, you used to be able to double click on a picture on blogspot and it enlarged, does it still do that ?  Anyway, I hope you can see my quilting on here, it is of pheasants in flight and pheasants at rest...the quilt back tells it's own story !

The label...

Close up of the back

The quilt back and my DH.

Anyway, now my project list is a bit longer, and I did have to purchase a bit more fabric ( for the borders ),  my SIL says she has an extra panel for me to uses, I have enough left over of all the interior borders and squares, AND the clincher was when I went back to my LQS ,

 Comforts of Home    and they still had some of the fabulous flannel backing left... and I mean JUST !   There is JUST enough to make the back of the quilt... and NOT enough to pin it to my longarm !   I will probably have to baste on some muslin strips in order to put it on my machine... not my favorite thing to do, but for some fabrics it is worth it, and this fabric is worth it !   It is the coziest flannel I have ever seen, it has a bit of a fuzzy nap to it...

I am happy to say that the benefit was a huge success, too !  Great turnout by the community.  

Happy quilting to you all...

Beth

Catching up and trying to be "Pinteresting"

Well, here I am again with nothing but time for a few days while I get my other hip replaced...   Pretty much a ditto of Jan 2010 so if you REALLY want to read about it you can go back in my archives...actually it is going better than the other hip did, or at least is, so far !   So I will think positive.  Will be going home in a couple of days and get right back into quilting, because, I can stand at that "job", and that is much more fun than trying to sit on a rear end full of staples ! 

Rylind's first Christmas.... 7 months old

Now to catch you up on the new Grandson... Here is his Christmas picture...  too, too cute, right ?  He is so sweet.    I ( and his parents, I'm sure ) would like to take credit for the photo idea, but we found it on PINTEREST....  I imagine you have heard of it by now.  

 I gotta say, I vainly thought I was clever, but man, if you really want to see clever, just spend some time on Pinterest.  Be careful, it is addicting, but it is SO saving me TONS of paper.   If I saw something I liked online, I would print it out.  Sometimes it was a free pattern or recipe, or often just a picture as I am pretty good at figuring out how to make something crafty, or furniturey or quilty, just from a picture... after all, I am a draftsman.... but these people on Pinterest are genius !     I think I have a Pinterest button on my blog side, feel free to see what I have pinned, and follow me if you like my style,  I would love to follow you too !  After all, if you are reading this blog, we must have similar tastes, right ?   I think the first thing I saw and "pinned" and actually made was the sugar cookies that look like candy corn, and that was back in October.  They were so good, easy and CUTE....  another favorite of mine... and please, if you have an idea of what I can put in there, please let me know....  but for some reason I think this is so cool... Did you know that the top of a Parmesean Cheese ( Kraft) container will fit on a regular  Mason Jar ?    I don't know why that makes my world go around, but it does.    as you can see, it doesn't take much !!! Oh, and another thing I love... I don't know about you, but even though I have real chip clips, I usually don't have them where and when I want them.    I buy lots of office binder clips and are always using them too... not just for chips ( we really don't have that many chip bags sitting around at our house, trust me....) but the office binder clips I just use for SO many things.... ok, I digress...  HERE is the Pinterest tip....   when you get those plastic hangers at the store that have clips on them for slacks or whatever.... well, don't just leave them at the store, take them home and snip off the clips.. they are strong, and make great chip clips.    Like I said, it don't take much to tickle me... but this hint did too !! I was to the point that I would just leave them at the store, but not any more !!!!  

So... enjoy Pinteresting... but don't blame me.... lol...

Ok... I imagine I could find a  pretty quilt picture to post here... I really do have lots to share, lets see what I can find.    .....

oh boy here it is... and it is my favorite this season- but really, you would have to see it in person.   Here it is before it is quilted.  It belongs to my friend and customer Carrie.   She brought it to me to be quilted, and we put it on black minkee, no batting, because she wanted it to be really soft and wrappy and cuddly.    If you were to see these color up closely, it is just stunning.   The black is so black and the reds and greens are SO vibrant.    I quilted it with black thread, in a large overall poinsettia design.  Actually the quilted poinsettias are about the size as the fabric ones.   The back turned out so well, and the stitched poinsettias gave such texture to the minkee.    We will have to get pictures of the finished quilt and post them later.    The top was a kit from Keepsake quilting, I think Carrie used a different green fabric for the stop border.     I loved this quilt so much that I found the fabric and hope to be making my own soon!  and THANKS, Carrie for giving me your scraps...I'll never turn down a good scrap !!

ok...gotta go, the nurses want to have some time with me... they just took away my saline bag so now I am not "tied" to that anymore.   This afternoon it will be walking in the hall... can't wait to get back home and to my quilting !!!