So many things I want to do on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Hello all... another week flew by ...and I had plans...lots of plans... and I don't think I got a single one of the planned things done... but I did get other things done... so that is good, I guess... I'm just going with the flow as what I want to do seems to change every day...heck every hour... because there are so many many many many many things I want to do...

For instance I want to finish the Welcome Winter by The Drawn Thread... and I barely touched it this week...

this is the sum total of what I got done... the scarf is finished... but it was about 60% done when I picked it up... however in my defense there was some frogging that had to be done before I got it completed... maybe it's time will come next week... heck Winter is just getting started ...

My quilting mojo has been strong ... so far this year I've sent off 2 quilt tops to be quilted... Quilted by David posted this picture on Instagram of my first quilt finish for 2020...

 this was my problem child, the Cutting Corners quilt... it looks good here...  this is the quilt that I put in time out  back in 2016 out as it wouldn't lay flat... I took the borders off and sewed them back on 4 times.... grrr... it should be back this week.

And I sewed the back together for my Tiki Tok Calder quilt... you can see it here.

not a great picture but an interesting pieced back... put it in the mail to David on Thursday... and then turned my attention to the Snowfall blocks I started back in November... ta dah!!

I'm not happy with the color here... the quilt is a creamy beige-y white... but the best thing is the
top  is complete... 9 BIG blocks (18" finished) from the book Charm School by Vanessa Goertzen...

this one is a reach back in the past from my stash... that Fruitcake fabric from Basic Grey is at least 10 years old... and the pearlescent snowflake fabric is from P&B's Naturescapes... I think it is pushing 20 years old... really... I made a jacket out of it waaaaay back then... it is a beautiful piece of fabric that I have been aging... I still have a couple of yards and I have sealed it back up in its little plastic bin till another project that it is just perfect for comes along...I'm holding off sending this one to be quilted... I have a little time before Christmas...LOL


And then I moved onto another BIG project that I want DONE DONE DONE this year... actually the deadline for this to be completely stitched and off to the finisher is November 1... I have been asked by my son and daughter in law to stitch a needlepoint stocking for Elliott... I stitched stockings for the family 35 years ago... this one is my son's ...

it is BIG... 23" long and 9" wide at the top... on 18 count canvas... what was I thinking???  Well I visited a local needlepoint shop on Friday and found a perfect canvas ... it was meant to be... it was the only one they had by this same company... Strictly Christmas... and it has all the elements I wanted... a Santa, a tree and a window...

now I am going to make a few adjustments to this ... down on the toe are a couple of packages... I'm going to paint over them and put in a train engine like the one on my son's stocking... my son is a BIG Lego train fan... as a child he was totally entranced by trains and we rode lots of different steam engines across the US... in Ohio and Pennsylvania and Connecticut and California... great memories... and I'm sure Elliott will have plenty of exposure to trains... and my son loved the idea of making an engine prominent on the stocking... I have to say I was surprised when my son asked me to do a stocking for Elliott... he told me he loved having the stocking as a kid... I didn't realize it had made such an impression on him... I always loved the stockings but I didn't realize he did too... that makes me very happy... and it will be wonderful that Elliott will have a stocking made by his Grandma... more making memories, right??

The shop was very helpful and we picked out fibers as close to what I used before as we could... you can't get exact matches for 35 year old materials... but then I got home and remembered that somewhere there was a box of fibers left over from those days... and I found it...

I know it is a mess but I've fished out the blue for the sky and perle cottons for boots and Marlitt for the belt  and angora for the beard and there are more fibers in there that will work... I've found some red that matches the coat ...not sure if there is enough and will have to decide if I want to live dangerously and use it... I did pick up a red velvet fiber at the shop ... that is probably the best choice.


So right now I'm in the mood to work on this because it is a BIG project ...and it has a deadline...and  while I'm enthusiastic now that will fade...

But I'm also really really wanting to sew... I opened another plastic prison bin and pulled out blocks that haven't seen the light of day since 2017... these are from  Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern  Quilt Blocks book... I started these in 2016... and lost interest...and restarted the project in 2017...and lost interest... but now they are interesting again...

They are all done in my beloved Momo fabrics from Moda... oh how I love those 70's greens and golds and oranges and pinks... the colors of my youth... I have all of the Momo collections up to this year and have made several quilts from her lines... you can see one here and here and here and here and here... she isn't one of Moda's big name designers but I LOVE her stuff... I don't know anything about her other than she is Japanese and quite private ... she isn't even listed on  Moda's Designers page anymore ...and in the past, her profile picture on Moda's site was of the back of her head...

I've completed 56 of the 100 blocks and that is all I'm going to do... I'm setting them with a lovely Grunge called Chiffon... my FAVORITE Grunge ....

This is a layout from the Tula Pink book called Slide Rule...now mine is a little narrower and shorter as I'm using less blocks but it should finish about 63" x 74"... a nice throw...

I still have no clue why I'm so entranced with my UFO's to start this year, but I'm not going to question it... I'm just going to go with the flow... after I get this quilt top together there is another older Spring-y quilt think I'm going to release... as I remember it  just needs a border ... and this whole situation proves my philosophy of why it is important to have UFO's... you shouldn't feel guilty... sometimes you just lose interest... but then when you remember a project ...and it intrigues you again...and you pull it out and realize... IT IS ALMOST DONE... you are re-energized to finish that puppy... and that is a WONDERFUL feeling... so make sure you have UFO's... quilting UFO's, cross stitch UFO's, knitting UFO's, etcetera, etctera, etcetera... LOL

Weather last week wasn't bad... turned cold ... really COLD last night... not going to break 32 degrees for a couple of days... but no snow... I am thankful for that... it is January...in Ohio... 70 degrees is not a normal temperature...

So I have plans again for this week ...and not too many obligations... some dinner plans and I should go get the oil in my car changed...they do it for free at the dealership, I just need to get it there...

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... no family dinner plans tonight...yesterday we celebrated my oldest son's 35 birthday... I know I said he was going to be 34 last week... and you know math is NOT my strong suite... LOL... anyway we had a nice time ...lots of appetizers and desserts... I may make a pot of soup...that would taste good on a cold night... something simple... chicken and rice... yeah...that does sound good...

Hope you have a great week ahead... I know some of you are getting a lot of snow and bad weather...hope it is over soon... stay warm and do something crafty...

happy stitching-
carol fun

Snowmania ... inside... on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Hello -- well this is the first week that has felt "normal"... things occurred on the days they were suppose to... and I like that routine... we didn't have a lot of places to go and I like that too... I did consign all the Christmas decorations to their plastic bins and my son toted them down to the basement... did a small purge and have a little pile of stuff to give to Goodwill... made a bit more room for more stuff... and I LOVE my stuff!!

It is taking longer to get out all the snowmania than in the past... couldn't be because I'm getting older and slower, could it??  No way... well maybe... and there was a bit of indecision on my part as where to put what... I didn't want the displays to be exactly like they were last year...which would have been the easy way out... I wanted to mix things up a little... and some things are in different places but other things returned to their previous location... oh well... I'm happy with the arrangement so far.. a rough count is at least 80 pairs of beady little eyes are peering out into my living room... good thing I'm not paranoid...LOL.. and copious amounts of fake snow have fallen here, there,  and everywhere... my family thinks they may need to stage an intervention ... I do love the look of the snow in the displays... but they are safe for the moment as I've run out of the fake snow... should have bought more after Christmas... will remember to do that next year as I don't see my fascination with the sparkly stuff diminishing any time soon...

Here's what I'm "done" with.. to start... my calendar display... the January edition of Hands on Designs A Year of Celebration and a Christmas present from my younger son... a snow/glitter globe... so cool!! ... and fake snow...

I moved the Prairie Schooler Winter piece to the other side of the entertainment center so it got a little more attention... and fake snow...

Moving around the room... the wall quilt and tier tray... this was a super easy quilt... it is a panel from Moda... I added the two borders on the bottom and had Quilting by David do a great Snow Crystals panto on it... I love his vintage 50's vibe...

the tier tray has a nice mix of cross stitch and snowmen ...

at the top a piece from Teresa Kogut...

next level has the Winter ABC's from Lizzie Kate

and my most recent finish... Holiday Hoopla Christmas... except I eliminated the Christmas elements... for me Christmas and snowmen are mutually exclusive... so I removed his hat and gave him a cute bow tie ... added some pompom trim and popped him into a little tart pan...

bottom level has Alfred from Heart in Hand Designs... I'd like to do some more small pieces like him to add to my displays...

I'm still working on the shelf display but I did get All Bundled Up FFO'd..... I love that polka dot ribbon... picked it up months ago at Dollar Tree... bought a couple of spools ... you'll see more of it ...

Another display is this two tier table.... lots of beady little eyes here... mostly ornaments ... I love all these little guys too... notice the artful use of fake snow... LOL

A new display area for me is in my kitchen... I got in trouble after seeing this chicken wire box shelf on IG... I pined after it for a while and then found it at my local Hobby Lobby for 50% off... sold!!!

it is a generous size and I was able to fill it with two snowman cookie jars which are both gifts from my younger son and lots of smaller snowmen who are food themed... you can't see it in this picture but there is a lip on the box and inside at the base is.... wait for it... fake snow!!

So while snowmania is happening inside Mother Nature has no clue what season it is... last week had a couple of lovely sunny days in the 50's and the last 2 days have been rainy and 65... we broke a 90 year old record for a high temperature yesterday... 70 degrees ... in January ... in Ohio... I'm not complaining because my furnace isn't running non-stop... forecast for next week is unseasonably mild temperatures... I'll bet we pay for this in February and March... Mother Nature always wins in the end.

As for what I got done in the crafty realm this week... well I finished knitting  a shawl I stumbled across in a ziploc bag... I have NO clue when I started it, but it is very pretty yarn and an easy pattern... I'll show it when I get it blocked... and that led me to another project which is totally captivating me... I can't stop knitting on this...

The pattern is a freebie called Taina and you can see it here.... the yarn is a new to me brand ...Urth Yarns  Uneek Fingering... I got it here at Jimmy Beans  Wool... I love that it stripes up and slowly changes colors... the beginning has a lovely olive and taupe stripe section...moving into gold and brown ...and now I'm knitting a turquoise and rust section...

 between wanting to get to a new pattern repeat and wanting to get to a new color section I can't put it down... lots of easy garter stitch and yarn overs... I'm using the 3002 colorway which you can see here... but I also bought a skein of 3020 ... you can't have a skein of yarn or a fat quarter of fabric or a pattern travel alone... its like with nuns... they have to have a companion with them... right???

I did make some progress on the Winter Welcome...

I'm shooting for a finish next week...

And in the meantime there is a lot on the agenda next week... lunches with friends and babysitting and dinner with friends and a birthday celebration for my older son... he'll be 34... boy the time flys ... for today we have a spaghetti and meatball dinner planned ... and we can break in the new high chair I got for Elliott... that should be fun...


Well I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and check out what everyone else is up to...there are quilt block on my design wall calling out for companionship ... I hope I can accommodate them later in the week...and I'm pondering several new quilt projects ... can't make up my mind which to start first...hope you have a great week ahead... I'm off to prep dinner and I had a thought where there might be another little bag of that fake snow... more snowmania...LOL!

happy stitching-
carol fun

Revisting the past on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Hello all ...it is Sunday? Right??  With the holidays in the middle of the week I've been totally off on what day of the week it is... I like holidays but I am a creature of habit... I like my routine... eat, sleep, craft, repeat...

As I've said before I don't make resolutions but a new year does make you think of things you want to do... I know some people have made tallies of UFO's both quilting and cross stitch... ummm.... NOT gonna happen... I don't need to know the actual number of projects that are languishing in plastic bins and bags... I am content in the knowledge that they are dry and dust free and are patiently  waiting to be released from their plastic prison.... someday... someday...

However something came over me on January 1... I saw a new pattern on a blog and thought, oh I'd like to do that... and then I thought Carol you have lots of stuff already started, why don't you look at some of those... and I did ... and then I decided that I should work on them.... OMG... I've been abducted by aliens... what has gotten into me???

First I pulled out a top that hasn't seen the light of day since October, 2016... it is called Cutting Corners and you can see the pattern  here ... it was put in time out because it had gotten on my last nerve... its problem was I could not get the borders to lie flat... I had taken off the borders and shortened them and then put them back on THREE times... but I resolved to give it one more try... and I did ... and it still isn't perfect but it is better... here's a pick of what it looked like when it went into time out...

I don't have a picture to show of what it looks like now but it was improved upon... I decided that I didn't want to look at it anymore... I had fabric for a back and sewed that up and sent it off to Quilting by David... hopefully it won't drive him as crazy as it did me... I figure he'll stretch it when he goes to quilt it and fingers crossed it won't get too many puckers... but if it does I will be okay with that because it will be done... and done is waaaay better than perfect...

A caveat for this pattern... if I want doing it again I wouldn't do it the way the pattern suggests... you end with bias on the all the outside edges of the blocks ...which I believe is the root of the problem I've had getting the borders to lie flat... you are sewing a straight of grain piece - the border - to blocks that have bias on the edge... I did starch the blocks and stay stitch the edge but as you can see it didn't fix all my issues... just a warning...  I have seen other quilts using this pattern and they looked fine... however the pictures weren't of the top but of a finished quilt... I'm hoping quilting will help this one...


And somehow working on this top from the past got me thinking about another one I had worked on... I remembered that the fabric was funky prints and colors and I don't have a clue why I put it into a plastic holding cell... but I did... and I found it and released it... I had 2 more rows to sew on with sashing but the rows were sewn and the sashing was made and it didn't take much to get it together... then on Thursday I got the borders on it and I made binding for it... ta da!!!

This pattern is one of my own ideas... it is a riff on a pattern from Missouri Star called Diamond Dash that I made in Christmas fabrics back in 2016 ... you can see it here... anyway I still like the chartruese-y yellow and olive green and slate blue and peach... you hardly ever see peach colored fabric... and the mid-century retro line drawing and birds give me flash backs to the 50's...

the golden age of my childhood... I was wishing I had more of this collection from Jenn Ski... it was called Tiki Tok... and decided to search the world wide web and I found some yardage on an Etsy shop... it is winging it's way here as we speak and will made a funky pieced back...

Unbelieveable... two days into the new year and I had 2 quilt tops completed... and I'm thinking of releasing another one from its solitary confinement as I know it only needs a border... I just don't remember if it needs one or two borders... but it may see the light of day here soon...

I also have a couple of new quilt  projects I want to work on and I have way less guilt starting another new project since I've completed something from the UFO collection... and speaking of UFO I did look in the box that has most of my cross stitch UFO's... there are several samplers there that I'd like to break out and finish up... I'm currently working on this piece that I started on Christmas Day...

this is  Welcome Winter by The Drawn Thread... you can find the chart here... I'm stitching this on a 32 ct Opalescent linen that I dyed Rit Aquamarine ...  here's my progress...

I don't know if you can see it but it very sparkly even after the dyeing...

I've already stitched the Summer and Autumn Welcomes and I'd like to do Spring too... I love these charts except for the fact that they are charted for silks and I don't want to pay the price for silk for a seasonal piece... so I've  come up with my own conversion using DMC and one Gentle Arts and one Crescent Colors...  GA Ruby Slipper for the cardinal and CC Queen Bee (my favorite yellow) for the house... I also changed the shutters on the house to DMC 3371 and made the front door DMC 934... very similar to the actual colors of my little house... I'm happy with my choices... I'd like to have this done next week when I go to put out my snowmen for winter... I still have all my Christmas stuff up and I think I've reached the point where I want to put it away... however, I'm waiting for my new snowman wall quilt to come back from the long armer... it is just the Moda panel but he will be cute ... you can see the panel here... my decorating usually  starts with getting the quilt up on the wall and then I do the rest of the house... but there is no sign of the snowman and now I'm getting antsy to release the snow men... I will see what next week brings... think I'll start with just putting some stuff away...

For the obligatory weather rant ... the weather was lovely on New Years Day... sunny and around 50.. I sat out on the sunporch stitching for a while... great way to begin the year... however, things turned gray and rainy and yuckky... snow flurries but not sticking... so I shouldn't complain too loudly... forecast has some sun in it for today ... and right now it is sunny...yeah... I think I'll  crank up the space heater and sit on the sunporch...

Doing dinner with Elliott and the rest of the family... not a lot of obligations on the calender for this week... I like that a lot... not sure why I'm feeling energized to sew and stitch but I want to keep moving as I'm sure the feeling will pass...

Elliott is growing like a weed... he really really wants to walk... his daddy walked at 10 months and he is going to be 9 months old in a week or so... his parents are so proud that he has 4 teeth... Grandma is happy to see this...

curls... he has curls... his daddy has naturally curly hair and so do I ... a gene that I didn't think would get passed on this far, but it looks like it has... Oh he is too stinking cute!!!  Totally unbiased opinion... LOL

Well I'm happy I got this post together early... started  on Friday and worked on it Saturday and Sunday... perhaps that should be my new routine... we shall see... I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today... and maybe doing a recap quilt post for Monday... we shall see what I get done today... working on some snowflake blocks...

Hope you have a productive week ahead with plenty of crafty time...
happy stitching-
carol fun