Last 2016 WIPs Be Gone

Here is my last WIP Be Gone for 2016:
And it isn't even mine -  a dear friends UFO that I took over when she was clearing out fabric bins to make room at her summer home years ago.  I just couldn't let it get tossed.  I've added the white fabric matting and the outside border.  I'd like to find a teeny sampan to place on the river, then sandwich and do some quilting.  Setting a goal of Jan 15th - we get together on the 17th.  Wish me time.

Over 50% done with the next round of part 1 of Bliss.  Five more to go.  It's the slow process of EPP.

Signed up to take part in Judy's http://patchworktimes.com Quiltathon and her UFO challenge.  She plans one weekend a month to sew all out.  And her UFO challenge has us pick 12 UFOs to work on - one a month.  And if that wasn't enough, I signed on with Persimmons and Chintz for her 17 in 2017 which gets us trying to make significant progress on 17 UFOs (12 will be the ones I picked for Judy's challenge.  Insert WIPs in place of all those UFOs and that's what I'll be reporting on in the coming new year on my weekend WIPs Be Gone post. I'll hope your join me for the linky party then (no party this week, still sort of on vacation) to share what's moving forward in your sewing studios.  Who knows we even may have a giveaway or two.




Some of This; Some of That

I was busy today.  Did my part 5 of En Provence.  Since I'm doing a smaller version, didn't take me long to do these.  This is my treadle sewing project. Going well so far. I'm linking to Bonnie  at her Part 5 post.

Completed four more curved hexies.  Here's a photo of the first three.




As I had three bags of scrap bits of fabric and batting, I made myself a pillow for Ms Juki.  The chair I have sits me too low.  I used 1/2 yard of fabric  for this.
Now I"m sitting much more comfortable. Just have to sandwich another quilt to put it to use.

I dumped the rest of that St. Anne scrap bag onto my cutting table - now this is going to be a real challenge to put together another baby quilt top. It will be my third baby quilt top from that one bag! I'm naming it In the City to inspire some way to put it together.

That's all for now.  Found another quilt I made this year. That brings my total of quilts and tops to 35.  How did I miss that one?

2016 Review

As there are only 5 days left of 2016, thought I'd do a bit of review to see what I've done quilt wise in the past year.  For the de-stashing, I only used 1/10th of a yard last week - working mostly with St. Anne fabrics.  My  YTD total is 55.63 yards.   A little more than half of what my goal was.  I hope in 2017 to again reach 100 yards used by making less tops for St. Annes and more backs for the tops I have to quilt.  I'll just quilt for St Anne's and let the other members have fun putting tops together.  

So what did I make?

Going through the blog archives, I found I had 19 finishes (no photo of one). I'm surprised - that's more than one a month.  Of those, I kept three. Then there were the tops:

for a total of 34 finishes and tops.  I guess it was a busy year - lol.  I find quilting so soothing and fun - takes the stress right out of life even if it's just for the time I am working in the sewing room. Then there are all of you who post and invite us to be part of your quilting life.  Thank you. God's blessing in the coming New Year.  May you always have time to quilt.


Coming Off the Design Wall on Monday

My Christmas day sewing totaled 3 seams and a sleeve (hand stitched) on a wall hanging for a friend.

Coming off one of the design walls is the baby quilt top.  Just needed two seams and pressing to get it done.

I've started on the back by taking a bag of scraps of flannel and putting that together to then sandwich this quilt.  But that will be done by St. Anne members at our workshop in the second week of January.  So far two people have signed up.  And one is coming to the regular meeting so I can show her how to attach a sleeve on the quilt she won - the Nativity panel.  Lisa already has a rod for it.


On the design wall is the third seam.  I can tell I already want to halve the white flannel print to make it the size of the bear strip.  I'll just keep adding strips and a border to make it big enough for the LOVE quilt.  Needs to be a 40" square.

As to hand stitching, I only got two curved hexagons prepped and sewn.

 These take time and had little of that in the previous week.  I hope to get more done this coming week. What about you?  Doing any hand stitching or piecing this week?  Or maybe machine quilting?  I plan to do my Part 5 of En Provence tomorrow. Leave me a comment to let me know how you spent your quilty moments. Blessings!

Rejoice!

Our Savior is born!

Merry Christmas to you and all your loved ones!

Near Christmas WIPs Be Gone

I've made some real progress on the new baby quilt top.  A reminder - all these scraps were in the same bag, so that's what I have to work with.  Only 4 more blocks to sew.
The letters were colored by children at out June Church Festival.  I have no control over those either or I would darken that "E".  Have just a bit more shopping to do tomorrow and then a few pans of cookies and I'll be ready for Christmas.  How about you?  No linky this week as I figure everyone is busy getting ready.  Leave a comment if you have time.  To all of you, Merry Christmas!


Some of This; Some of That

First - destashing.  I'm working with small pieces, so small number generated for this week.  What with Bliss hexagons, En Provence units, test block, new baby quilt, and leaders and enders, I've used up about a yard of fabric. Then there was the back of the last baby quilt, so there was another 1.16 yards. My new YTD total is 55.63 yards.

Up on my design wall is a new baby quilt top:

These are again fabrics which I pulled out of a St. Anne's scrap bag.  I'm trying to use them up. I'm finding using the companion angle ruler and strips quite quick and easy to make the hourglass units. These blocks are 6 1/2" unfinished made from 3 1/2" strips.  Off to see what else is in that bag.

I'm linking to Judy's UFO Challenge for 2017.  Needed to make a list of 12 WIPs. And I've decided to do Meredithe's 17 in 2017 also (I've added 5 at the end of the first list - no, I'm not doing 29 -LOL. Button on the side bar).  Here are my twelve for Judy's Challenge:
1.  Finish this top from Karen at Faeries and Fibres QAL

2.  Finish making the blocks of this scrap log cabin.


 3. Make more blocks of Anna's Garden

4. Complete my Easy Street top

 5. Quilt my Riverside quilt  (also making this my 17 ufos in 2017 project for three weeks as there is much to do) as well as my March UFO for Judy's challenge.

 6. Add leaves to the nine baskets blocks

7. Finish this fourth Benjamin Briggs block.

8. Make the remaining two baskets in the center block of LE

 9. Make more blocks in this Blog Hop project  all blocks made as of 2/28/17!

10.  Sandwich and quilt my Mod Block Lotto quilt


 11. Sandwich and quilt the my Carolina Christmas top


12.  Make more string blocks - need 8 more.   all made and quilt top completed!

The five more for the 17 for 2017 challenge  (hers are every 3 weeks and is asking only for significant progress:
13.  Bonnie's En Provence

14.  Carol's December BOM win    four blocks made for the four too small and top assembled.

15.  Japanese placemats

16.  Crumb block quilt   crumb top assembled and ready to sandwich and quilt.

17  Women's Voices top.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Okay I finished hand stitching the first seven hexagons for my Bliss quilt. I've started on the next round of twelve.  These will go slower as one of the hexagons is 6 pieces. Here's the first three that I've made: 


To keep the pieces together I'm cutting one hexagon at a time and placing the pieces in a snack bag. I don't know why the fabric in the pink and green hexies looked blurred.  Here on the right is how it really looks.   Cameras!  Ugh.

Again, Julie's videos have been invaluable in showing me how to put these together. Go here to see them.  Her ruler is great for making the curved pieces. I bought it as a birthday present to myself. My DH always wants me to get something I want and say it is from him.  I'm agreeable - lol.

Since I have them on hand I'm using Beth Ferrier's Wash Away Applique Sheets and use the 2" templates from Love Patchwork & Quilting.  They print so nicely in my inkjet printer.  When I've used them all up, I probably will buy some of Julia's or make some more.  So that's what I've been working on.  I'll have to take some time to make my WIP list (I refused to call them UFOs - that's for the ones I haven't seen in ages). Then I'll link to Judy at Patchwork Times whose hosting a UFO Challenge again this year.  Oh, and I'm all caught up with my units for En Provence - did those yesterday.
That really isn't black in there - they are just the darkest purple I had - believe called eggplant.


Take a bit of time to quilt or hand stitch today.  It will give you a few peaceful moments during this busy Christmas season to contemplate the "reason for the season".  Blessings as we start the Fourth Week of Advent.

Third December WIPs Be Gone

I finished a baby quilt.  These go fast because they're so small - 30" square for the NICU at the regional hospital.
 If you're interested, I'm posting the pattern for this Double Sawtooth one block quilt under my free patterns tab.
The fabric is so cute I wanted to keep it intact. I made the top way back in April when our Guild had a sew day for making baby tops.  I think the fabric is by Michael Miller.
 I free motion quilted the center from left to right,
and added freezer paper stars in the corner blocks.

I'm linking to Michelle's Let's Make Baby quilts and a few others you'll find under my linky party tab.
I hope you find a few moments to sew today during this busy season - it's so peaceful when we do.

What are you up to?  Link up and I'll come by to see.

Off the Design Wall

Off my design wall and already given away is the Nativity panel.  We had an Anointing of the Sick mass and afterwards a small reception.  Over fifty people came.  Since this is the season for giving - we had a few door prizes. This quilt was one of them.  The lady who won it was thrilled!

 I'm glad the Star of the East showed up.
The back is a reindeer motif print.
 This quilt really was quilted - just didn't show up on the back much.

Today I started on unit 3 of the En Provence mystery. Half done:

Our weather has cooled  and further colder temps are expected later this week - not as much as the rest of the country.  I went out to my patio and found a rare sighting.
 No, it wasn't crocus coming up through the snow.
One of my DH's cactus has decided to bloom.  The wonders of the plant world.

Slow Sunday Stitching

I've been working on this today:
 This is the center of part 1 of Julia Wood's Bliss. You can find it here.  The first part of the  center is on the cover.   I've prepped the first seven hexies.
I've got two of the hexies assembled.  When all six are done, I'll add them to the center one. It's nice to have a hexie hand stitching project again.  I'm linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.  See the button under the tab linky parties above.

As for destashing, all I can count is the fabric for Bliss about 1/4 yard and a couple of leaders and enders blocks.  So adding a 1/3rd yard to last week's total.  I've moved to 53.80 yards YTD stashed.

Second December WIPs Be Gone

Got the embellishments done:
 Some bling in the sky
And a golden halo for baby Jesus - that was part of my  hand quilting this week.
All my En Provence units are done. Ready for part 3.  I've quilted another baby quilt.  Now to get on with the binding.  May you find some quilty time this weekend as we moving into the third week of Advent.

Some of This, Some of That

Look what a lovely gift we got!

Thank you so much, Marcia.  We've never had a live wreath before and it is such a treat.  Smells wonderful and looks so pretty at night with the lights on.  We're have days in the 60s and lows in the 40s so Frank hung it outside so it will lasts a good long while.

I've destashed another 1/2 yard what with Bonnie's mystery and my leaders and enders. The new YTD total is 53.47 yards.
Just a few though as I've been quilting that Christmas quilt which is now done and bound.
I just need to add embellishments and a label. Then I'll take a front on photo. Yeah! My two goals are met before the 9th.  And progress has been made on part 2 of En Provence:
I have a pile of pieces cut for these tri-rec blocks. Whenever I walk into that room I'll chain a few.  It's so funny.  I sat down at my Bernina to machine bind the quilt and I kept reaching for the wheel to start a seam. How quickly one gets into a routine.

Have a blessed day!

SAHRR Round 5 and 6

  Ready to show rounds 5 and 6. Actually, the prompt for 5 was make 4 of something. So I chose four patch, and actually since that made my q...