So Close . . . And Yet

Sew & Tell Friday

So close to finishing my grandmother's quilt! She pieced this entirely from scraps about 25 years ago, and did a lovely job. I was hoping to get it quilted and back to her for Christmas, but here I am, a week away, and I still have 14 lines of quilting plus the binding left to go, not to mention 1500 miles of mail trails. It has been fun working with fabrics from my childhood (I nearly always got at least matching shirt & shorts from everyone's leftovers.)

And yet . . . . I was going to try to power through it today, but it's starting to pucker. I don't want to mess it up! I ended up doing straight diagonal lines in order to quilt with the grain--this baby is full of bias edges. With more time, I might be able to get a few lines in highlighting the pattern as well.

I have a few other Christmas gifts to start finish, too. So I might set this aside a bit so I can work on it calmly. My grandmother is 92, and I want to do a good job yet get it back to her very soon.

For more great Sew & Tells, click on the side button to the left!

Happy Holidays to all ~ and peace through it all!

Gratitudes & Highlights

• Lovely, yet busy holiday season--we have snow!
• Awesome confirmation kids who raised $700 with bake sale for local adopt-a-family gifts--how much fun to shop with 20 kids & spend a total of $1200! They are learning the joys of serving.
  
• At least half a day to sew!
  

Sew & Tell Friday

::Nov STUD Swap::

I had so much FUN with this little quilt--I got the background finished fairly early in November, then I had a fantastic cold. Finally this week I was able to finish the yo-yos--only to find that the ones I'd made were not BIG enough (didn't take into account overlapping them).

Frantically, I made some larger ones and searched for buttons (I wanted to mail it on time to be in the Dec swap!). In the end, I was really pleased with the results. I didn't even want to mail it off! Nearly done with a smaller version (using the first yo-yo's) for myself.

 

November's theme is "Winter with a Twist." I have something sweet (candy border), something sparkly (lots of fairy frost and shiny thread), and something vintage (like--yo-yos).

Lessons learned:

1. Overlap yo-yos look cool.
2. One can spend oh-so-much time choosing buttons!
3. Backstitch rayon quilting because rayon thread slips out of knots.

Can't wait to get going on the December SWAP ~ Go Green!

For more Sew & Tell fun, go here.

This has been a tough week, but my GRATITUDES are:

• Satisfaction in finishing a truly nice swap.
• Great meatloaf sandwich for lunch (it reminds me of Grandma)
• No need to shop much for Christmas gifts--most of my family is perfectly happy with HANDMADE!

 

::WIP Wednesday -- Secret Project::

I can't show my work in progress--no more peeks until my swap partner receives her winter mini. I hope she likes it, but if not she can send it back (I like it!)

I am a little behind schedule due to this monster cold--I can't remember the last time I had one last a week! Praying it will dramatically improve before Sunday when I'm playing flute in church (deep breathing is kind of essential for that :)

 My best wishes to everyone out there for a Happy Thanksgiving! We are looking forward to game day with 2 teenage boys before going to Grandma & Grandpa for a big supper! Have a blessed day doing something you want!

Gratitudes

The beginning of holidays!

Relative health (achoo!)

Sunday I can start playing all my Christmas CDs at work :)

Sew-n-Tell Friday

The Good, the Bad, and the . . . .

Actually, there is no ugly, unless you count the cold I seem to be finally catching (and maybe the state of my house at the end of the week).

Anywho, let's start with the GOOD--this sweet block from the Scrappy Christmas Block Swap came clear from England! I have a pair of teddy bear blocks in classic Christmas colors, and since none of my swapped pairs go with each other, I've quilted these two into mini quilts, just right for a candle or candy dish. Rafael's Mum did a beautiful piecing job, which my quilting made a little wonky, but I think my friend in Japan will just love this little table topper.

Next, I have two doll quilts for her daughters, fluffy bunnies, fluffy batting, and plenty of ric rac. I finished these last spring, but now they're ready to go into a box and sail across the ocean.

With 2 boys, I love having little girlfriends for whom to sew! And, I'm thrilled to have this package ready--I often miss deadlines when it comes to Christmas, and this wonderful lady was my 16 year old's first baby sitter when she was a Japanese student here in Iowa. She didn't know he could crawl for 2 weeks because she usually held him the entire time I was teaching! She is a sweetheart and a great mom.

Now for the BAD --none of these things can be crossed off my list of UFOs to complete for the JOY Challenge or even off my list of Christmas gift must-haves--because they weren't ever on  a list!

Where is my sense of priority? 
Where is my self-discipline? 
(Just possibly I have never possessed these 2 gifts.) I admit, finishing is the hardest part for me, and right now I REALLY want to start a completely new project--which would be totally insane. Oh well, I am who I am.

Instead, if I manage to spend a couple hours this morning cleaning the bathroom and grocery shopping, I will give myself some sewing time this afternoon, finishing up my November Swap quilty. It's been  a lot of fun to work on so far, but no show until my partner receives it! I hope to get it in the mail by Monday.

Check out more Sew-n-Tell Fridays here!

Gratitudes

• The sun continues to shine in Iowa in November
• I have the entire day off! First Friday in weeks
• I am blessed to be able to spend time making things I love for people I love. Wouldn't life be boring otherwise?
  

Sunday STUD

::November:: Swap Til You Drop (STUD!) Quilty Received!

Thanks to my swap partner for this sweet little quilt. The theme is winter with a twist~it had to have 3 of these 4: something sweet (candy cane fabric), something soft (flannel mittens), something sparkly (snowflakes & gold quilting), and something vintage.

I think she did a great job~and check out the goodies she included: scraps from this quilt, some nice hot things to drink on a winter's eve, a coaster & a notebook. A lovely package all around. And she's so speedy! THANK YOU!!

As soon as it snows, I'll be hanging this up in my office!

I love these swaps~like the sew-n-tell, they really motivate me to get a little somethin' done. It's fun to ponder what to make my partner, and it's fun to receive such a nice surprise. My November SWAP is coming along--probably done this Friday. I can't show you what it is until she receives it. :)

Gratitudes

• Quilting projects to keep me insane
• A sweet DH who makes me coffee EVERY morning
• The cutest (if not stinkiest) corgi mix who follows me around as if I'm the center of the universe--unless someone else has some food.

Have a great week! The best time of year is coming soon!