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