A FINISH AND A START

I got the binding on my "Etchings" quilt.  I used the tone on tone grey.  It was either that or the red, but I thought the grey would be more subtle.  This line is so pretty.  I may have to scoop myself a jellyroll depending on what future projects I decide to do. (the full quilt can be seen if you scroll down a couple of posts)

There is also a bit of Pom pom de paris and some Lilly and Will 2. Both are Moda lines that worked well with it.

A new year, calls for a new start.  Using a layer cake of "hometown" by Sweetwater, I have drawn up a plan..............

.......more on that later.

I wanted to say a special Happy New Year to Marie, who is sitting up there in LL sipping coffee and reading her list of blogs.

Have a great day : )

SOME HARD SLUGGING

Hard work comes in many forms.  It can be physically hard, or mentally hard, both of which I have experienced this last few days.  I tackled block 18 of the farmers wife quilt.  There are templates and foundation patterns available for this block.  I opted to try english  paper piecing for this one because I thought I may have some better control over all those seams in the centre.  Well, one Canuck hockey game and an hour of the 'Bourne Identity' later, here are my pieces all basted over the papers.

I have them partially sewn together, but as you can see, the centre is going to give me grief.

Once the papers are out and it's pressed, I will be able to square it up to it's proper size.
 Next, I tried the foundation paper pieced templates and this worked ok.  One thing is for sure, angles are difficult to cover no matter how small the space.  I had a piece of the blue 5" x the width of fabric and still managed to miss a corner.  Seriously???   Sad, but true.

I only did two colours for this block, because the block in the book seemed unbalanced to me as far as colour placement. See the little floral print?  The top and bottom pieces are actually covering two spaces. I tried this in hopes of reducing some bulk in the centre.  It worked well. I've circled where I did this.  I figure I can fudge it a bit.  It is my quilt after all : )

I think it's a keeper.

p.s.  Do NOT attempt this block after 9:00 p.m.  (trust me on this one)

I am loving the texture on my cowl.  Just 19 more rounds and I can cast off and start wearing this thing.  Now if we only had snow......

The physical work I have been doing this week, is  inventory at the shoppe where I work.  Katja is always dreaming of new ways to display the store.  We made some major changes this year.  We moved the cash desk, moved the cutting table, and the 10 foot, 100 year old Hudson's Bay counter. Who's idea was that! After 2 and a half days of counting and arranging, it looks great.  Here are a few shots of some displays.

We have pillows hanging around,

a block of the month using Kate Spain's terrain, and room for new samples coming soon......

a pile of pre-cuts with their yardage,

We moved the Christmas fabrics into the sale bin.  For all you regular customers, now is your chance to get some lovely fabrics for next year or maybe some backings for tops you have made.  We re-open Friday.  See you there.

A NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone.  2011 was a blur, so I am hoping for a bit slower pace in 2012. I spent New Years eve working on my Eternity scarf.  I'm happy with the way it's coming.

The Merino wool is lovely to work with.  The brown one is not as far along but is coming too.  These scarves are so nice to knit that I think all the girlies on my Christmas list will get one of these next year. I may need one in every colour as well : )

The solids are going to be a scrappy baby quilt based on one I saw on flickr.  Solids are huge right now, not to mention affordable , so between these and some scraps, I should have a cute quilt in no time.

The next Moda club is on the 21st of this month so I need to get cracking.  One project is pieced and this layer cake is going to be the other one.  Hometown by Sweetwater.  Love it.

I was looking back through my photos of finished quilts from this past year and I thought I would hopefully leave you with some inspiration.  Enjoy

FINISH ONE, START TWO?

I've been enjoying these unstructured days and doing some knitting.  I made this hat for our next little arrival in April. It's called the flour sack hat ( for obvious reasons. )  I love how when the corners get tied, they look like little ears.

 For Christmas, my daughter gave me this lovely skein of wool and the pretty needles with wooden ends.
Not sure yet what this will become, but I think I will look through my books, and start something today.

Also, Donna gave me this amazing skein of 100% Merino superwash that her daughter Janine hand painted.  Be still my heart :)  I know exactly what this is going to be.  My daughter wants a skein of this, and my Mother thought it was lovely too. Hmmmmm, I may be giving Donna a call.

While floating around Ravelry, I saw this awesome scarf and knew I needed to make it. It uses several different stitches to give it lots of texture.  It's long enough to double up on those really cold days so I can stay warm.

Won't it be lovely done up in the hand painted wool? It would look great in the brown too so I think I will start both today.  Idle hands ya know.......

Lastly, I did another farmers wife block yesterday. Slow and steady is my motto for this quilt. I saw one person who turned the blocks she had done so far into a baby quilt and it looked wonderful. I guess I could do that if I get tired of this, but I am hoping to persevere.

Anyway, I have about 400 stitches to cast on, so if you'll excuse me I am going to melt into the couch for a while. Have a fantastic New Years!

LEFTOVERS

Today was left over day, and because of that, I had some time to myself to sew.This little panel is left over from last year.  Here's what I've done so far.  These stars are a bit tricky to do because of the weird angles.

Lots of fabric is needed to cover the area, but these stars are all about using it up : )

Also, I can't resist showing you a couple of pictures.  Little Scarlet was as good as gold all day. Here she is peeking in her stocking.

Next year there will be two little ones.  I am so looking forward to this spring when we will welcome a new little life.

Hope you had a lovely Christmas.

WHY NOT? WEDNESDAY AND A BREAK

This week I thought, "Why not a head start" ? I haven't done much sewing for myself that is specifically Christmas.  This  panel has been kicking around for a while so I decided to do a little something with it.  I am going to get a head start on next years Christmas preparations while I am still in the mood.

I added a couple of co-ordinating prints and am excited to get started today. My stocking isn't done yet so I hope to finish that too.

This is a little hat I finished up yesterday.  It was meant to have knitted bobbles on it, but I decided on some jingle bells instead.  I hope Scarlet will keep it on her head.  It sort of "tinkles".

Also, I am going to take a bit of a break from the computer.  We all need a time of rest . I'm going to focus on my family over the holidays. ( and maybe squeeze in some sewing)

Resting in Hope means, laying down the smaller story of human struggle, and fully embracing the larger story of God's love.   (tkfm)

Merry Christmas to you and yours .

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY...

If at first you don't succeed.............cover it up with a forklift!
I have been itching for weeks to get back at my farmers wife blocks.  I had a tiny bit of time today to sew, so I chose to work on this.  Block #15-Buzzard's Roost

My buddy is placed there for a reason.  I'm not sure what happened in that corner, but I am not redoing it.  A little sashing will fix that : )   Also, I am working on a stocking made out of scraps from Etchings. Not sure if it will happen or not, but there's still time.

Have a wonderful week.