January? Done!

You'll remember my dear friend Bev challenged me to do a Quilt Block of the Month for 2015...you can see the original post here. 

My January block is done...so now on to February...looks like an interesting block.

You can see Bev's blog here...with the quilt she will be making as the year goes on.  This will be lots of fun...and a bit of competition will keep things interesting, I'm sure.

On another note...I found one more fabric to add into the yardage to use with my Somerset Jelly Roll...this is the newest addition.

You can see how it goes with the other 2 fabrics here...I really like these together.  They're quite different for me...so this will be lots of fun & maybe I'll make the Somerset quilt first...then the Rambling Rose one...just to shake things up a bit.

 

 

Now...on to February...starting with the Super Bowl on Sunday...

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

January Fabric Banner Swap

Today's mail brought my mini banner from my partner Joy, who also lives in Ohio...not far from me actually.  She knows that winter is not a favorite of mine, so she went with a lovely pink theme for my banner.  I love it!  The little crocheted doily is so cute & the lace flower is the perfect reminder that spring is getting closer to us each day.  Joy added touches of embroidery & some pretty pink beads, too...as well as some of the pink ribbon I sent to her in a swap last year. 

 

You can see the details here.  I love hand stitching & the bits of embroidery & embellishment here are so sweet. 

 

Even the back of her little banner says spring to me...I can hardly wait until we'll have flowers & greenery outside instead of the dead looking trees & snow we have now. 

 

I'm lucky to be able to mail to Joy for our February swap...I'm already pulling out fabric & trims to inspire me.  You can read about our swap here at A Swap for All Seasons. 

 

Thanks so much Joy...you made my day so much brighter!!!

 

 

I can share this now...

I'm a member of a wonderful year long swap hosted by Linda at A Swap for All Seasons.  The swap is for 4" x 6" fabric banners...no glue allowed...all stitched together.  My kind of swap for sure.  Each month we will get one partner to send to & we'll receive a banner from a different partner.  For January I was lucky enough to send to Patty in Oz...she lives in Kansas & while I was tempted to do something with the Wizard of Oz...I decided that since the January banner would arrive late January or early February...I'd go with hearts & flowers. 

 

When I create just about anything, I pull out things from my stash that I think would work...then I have to have them laying around for awhile to see what inspires me the most.  Once I found this heart applique that's probably from the 1960s or 1970s...I knew I had found the focal point for this banner.  I hand stitched the applique to a piece of some 1970s era quilted fabric with the sweet Valentine's motif.  All the ribbon & lace & other trim I used was from my stash.  I need to confess...I have way over the legal limit of Valentine's fabric.  I didn't realize how much I had until I started pulling it out.  Oh well...fabric doesn't eat anything...so it can stick around.

 

I added that cute little rose applique to the heart....and sewed on some faux pearls & crystal beads for some texture & sparkle.  I love little details like that.

 

Of course, the back of the banner needed some love, too.  I made a little label so Patty would remember who created her banner...and you can't really see it here, but the heart charm says "Hand Made With Love".  I have enough of those to use throughout the year.

 

When Linda invited me to be part of this swap I knew it would be fun...and a bit of a challenge since 4" x 6" is pretty small.  So far I'm loving it...and we already have our partners for February...and I've pulled out another pile of fabric & trims for that one.  I'll post again after I receive my January banner...it won't be long now.  Be sure to visit Patty's blog to see the beautiful pix she took of her banner...I'm thrilled she liked it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't resist...

In addition to my love of fabric & quilting, I have a passion for rubber stamps...so when I saw this Tim Holtz fabric on sale at The Fat Quarter Shop...I had to have some.  I'm thinking it will be some pillows for our sofa as well as a journal cover. 

Here's a close up...it's too cool.

Now I'm heading in to watch the Pro Bowl & work on finishing my January challenge block.  I have to do it because I promised Bev I would...and she's getting close to having hers done, too.

I can hardly stand it!

Today was an awesome mail day.  I found a sale on fabric I need for my Rambling Rose quilt ...so we skimped a bit on the food budget so I could order it before it sold out.  The result is what you see above...along with the jelly roll I already got for my birthday.

 

The fabric on the far right is what I'll use as the backing for the quilt.  I've always loved little ditsy dots & this one even has little medallions with rosebuds.  The others will be used as borders & binding...we'll see how it all works out once the Jelly Roll Race part of the quilt is done. 

 

Then...after I sold a bit in my Etsy shop...I ordered some fabric for my Somerset quilt, too.

 

They didn't have as much Somerset yardage that I liked on sale...and I'd like one or two more prints to give me options here.  I've got to decide which of the many colors in this collection will work best for me.  It might have to be one with the ivory background...we'll see.

 

The orangey red floral will most likely be the binding...and the green with more ditsy dots will be the quilt backing.  I'm gonna be a busy girl here soon.  Of course I also have to finish a quilt for my sweetie Phil...I'll share pix of that one in progress soon.  Right now I have to go play with my new toys!!!  Gotta love a bunch of new fabric...it sure brightens up a gloomy cold Tuesday.

 

 

 

Such a Deal!

Over the holidays some of my favorite on-line quilting shops had fantastic one day deals.  The lovely jelly roll above is one of my favorite deals.  I still haven't sewn up the Rambling Rose one I got for my birthday...but once the last few Christmas gifts are completed, I'll get going on some quilts for me.  I've just ordered the backing & some border & binding fabric for both the Rambling Rose & this Somerset quilt...so I'll definitely have no excuse to let them sit too long.

The colors here are not ones I normally go for...but somehow I love them in this collection.  The coral, orange, greens, browns & aqua are just so pretty together.

 

 

I've chosen one of those acid green prints for the backing on my quilt.  I haven't quite decided on the border...if there is one...and the binding, but the backing is the most major expense & that's on it's way to me right now.  I found those fabrics on sale, too...I couldn't pass them up.  This coming week will be a good one for getting fabric in the mail...yea!

 

And...drumroll please...the hand quilting on the gift quilt I've been working on since October is DONE!  Now I just have to trim the edges, measure & get binding cut & sewn on.  I'm planning to finish it all this week...and after I know it has arrived at it's destination, I can finally share it with you here.  I can't wait...I love this quilt & will make a similar one for us later in the year.

 

I have another little project to share...hopefully soon...it goes into the mail tomorrow.  Until then...have a great week & keep warm.  Remember...those of you in Southern CA still need to send me some sunshine, warm Pacific breezes & heat!

 

Chionophobia and Cryophobia

This ugly pic is from March 29, 2014.  I can't even bring myself to take pix of the white shit anymore.  We've had a horrific week of dangerously cold temps but luckily not too much snow...just about 5" or so...which is 5" too much for me. 

I'm terrified of this extreme cold...temps below zero & wind chills taking it to -30.  Luckily I don't have to go out in it, as my lungs would immediately spasm & I'd end up in the hospital.  But Phil has to go out & I'm just worried to death until he gets back home again.  I also worry that so much snow will fall that he can't get into the driveway...which has happened too many times.

There is a local weather guy who has been on TV forever & he was talking about Chionophobia.  That's an extreme fear of the snow.  I looked into it further & there is also Cryophobia.  That's an extreme fear of cold, ice or frost.  Check & check...both of them are ME.

The recommendation for overcoming these fears?  Well, the one that makes most sense it that people who have these should move to warmer climates.  No shit, Sherlock!!!

Now to figure out how to get back to Southern CA...where winter looks like this...snow on the mountains ONLY...where it belongs!

Here's hoping this winter doesn't drag on as long as last winter did.  If you're suffering along with me...keep warm...and think about sunshine & 70 degree temps.  If you're in Southern CA...send some of that sunshine & those warm Pacific breezes.  We need it!

 

Starting Bev's 2015 Quilt Block a Month Challenge

You may remember that my dear friend Bev sent this set of 12 pre-cut quilt blocks with my birthday gifts.  If you look closely, you can see that they are from 1998...just 17 short years ago.  Bev & I have been talking about a long distance quilting challenge for awhile, so when she sent these my way, of course I said sure...why not? 

So this is the first package.  Sorry for the glare, but football was on & I didn't feel like taking the time to get rid of it.  You can still see what the block will look like...IF I follow the instructions.  I have a way of doing my own thing.

 

These are the fabric pieces...all neatly cut & ready to go.  I do like that I don't have to cut the pieces, however, I am penciling in stitching lines as I've decided to piece these by hand.  Good for while I'm "watching" TV.

 

And here is what I accomplished during the Indy/Cincy game today.  You can see that already I've placed the 4 patch block differently than in the instructions...but the way I had pressed the seams, they nested this way...so that's the way it is.

 

I've got other projects in the works, so that's all I finished today.  We've given ourselves until the end of the month to finish & blog about each block...so I've got a good start.

 

I do have to say that I'm not sure about how this will all finish as a quilt top.  This fabric from JoAnn's would not be something I'd purchase from the bolt.  There is a lot of sizing in it & from my experience sewing I know there can be issues with that once washed.  But this is still a fun challenge & I'll make all the blocks & see where it goes from there. 

 

OK Bev...have YOU started your block?  I can't wait to see what colors/patterns are in yours.

 

I'm linking up to Kathy's blog for Slow Stitching Sunday...where I've been MIA for awhile as all my projects have been for gifts...and I still can't share all of them, but I will once I finish everything.  Christmas here goes on well into January or February...my friends know how it goes.