Happy Thanksgiving and November's recap

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends. 

I am thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives.  My gratitudes are typically expressed each morning upon waking and when I retire when the day is done.   So I try to live each day with gratitude in my heart.  Some other be phrases to use and I think are appropriate is:

be focused,
be unique,
be nice,
be on time! (a personal pet peeve of mine),
be true to yourself and to others,
be persistent,
be  loyal,
be your best,
and most of all........ BE CREATIVE!

This bouquet of flowers lasted over 2 weeks.  My DH gave them to me for my uh hum...th  Birthday on the 10th.  He surprised me with having them on the dining room table when I returned home on the 9th from my guild meeting in Glens Falls.  The roses didn't last as long and were shabby after the first week, but the rest lasted quite a while and I thought of the photo Mom took of her bouquet and thought this would be a terrific bookmark for moi and a reminder of that love when I read each night.  ;)







The November's goals I had were to:

1- Quilt Wee Wander Baby Blanket ( no intention declared for this yet, just to have it done and on hand.) I'm attributing this project as my ALYOF project with Melissa and H20 girl at Fiber of all sorts.  FINISHED!!! including a blank label to attach when I know where it's going.   Used a minkee plush fabric on the back with a variegated thread.  Photos below......
2- Quilt the Horse quilt PGD#1 made for the boy in Nicaragua. Also, I need to cut the binding so she can learn the binding making technique at one of our upcoming sewing sessions.    It's layered but not stitched a bit yet.  This will be moved to December's ALYOF project.
3- Quilt and Bind the Community Project quilt for WFQG.  Nada-zip, this will stay on my list for December
4- Make two stuffed animal quilts for CVQG.  Check!  Photos shared here.....
5- Do something for myself, this will be my wild card.   Check!  Made a table runner with leaves scattered on the center panel for that sofa table.  A nice easy finish.
6- Help PGD#1 finish her pillow she started with the cupcake kids. Almost done and it is too cute. She's planning on giving this to her Mom for her Birthday on the 22nd. Will be done this week! I'll post and share photos after the finish.   Check! 
7- Mend the vinyl on my Brother in Law's snap on weather protector for his backhoe. Hopefully right after I get off this computer. Edited 11/4- Attempted without success, but now I can cross this one off my list.  Check!
8- For Slow stitching Sundays I want need to start another cross stitch project. Maybe another small one like the recent finish, a Shepherds Bush Christmas fob.  Started a Lizzie Kate winter alphabet.  Planning on getting one square stitched each week -minimum! shown below...



Plush minkee used on backing.
Had an issue of that "fringing" effect so
had to rip out and redo with a thin bat between.
 




My favorite part of the panel ......
 

For next month's challenge....
It's laying on top of the sewing area to quilt in
December for the ALYOF challenge!
 

Started on November  13, 2014
using the threads called for.

So all in all, I'm content and feeling inspired to continue more.  Don't get me wrong I still have numerous UFOs pigs and plenty to get done on my lists, but if I can just keep all of these balls in the air and now focus on some exercise each day to boot and I'll be feeling mighty grand. 


Enjoy your blessings,
Jane





 

Scraps, a Fat Quarter and a Hunk of Fabric

Yep, that makes me extremely happy.  Some scraps, a fat quarter and a half yard hunk of yellow fabric is how much I've used in the past several days.  ;~)  Doesn't take much to make me happy does it.  LOL!
The yellow patchwork doll blanket is 20" x 16", a perfect doll blanket size.  Many of the floral purple scraps were pulled to unify this quilt and I choose to let them flow in a diagonal design.  Most of these scraps were from an Irish chain colorwash quilt I made around the turn of the century.  Imagine that!  All of these languishing in my scrap basket, it's time to set them free into the world.
For the backing I used some minkee scraps.  It's those bits you cut off around the perimeer and were narrow so I had to piece them with a centered seam.  Now it's a cuddly and very tactile element that's finished.  Of course there is still plenty of that to use.

I forgot how much fun it was doing these smaller projects.  While I was working on them I also had an epiphany.  Considering that recent baby quilt that I finished this past month, the Wee Wander one that I'm not yet sure where it's going, I plan on making a doll blanket out of it's scraps to go with it for the little girl who gets it.    Figure it'll be a beautiful gift a quilt for baby and her dollies.  She'll love her babies with the same blanket "Mommy" had. 
After I meet more of my self-imposed deadlines, I'll get to that - promise!
I did mention this to my Mom and she thought it was a fantastic idea.
Thanks for the endorsement Mom.  (see insanity is a genetic theme with in our family line. lol)

This litlle quilt measures 16 inches square, rather large for that little bee,
but I just know the recipient will have a doll or two that would love to use it  too..



In case you missed the stuffed animal, it's a cute little bee.  So many children scream when a bee buzzes around them that I hope this lil' one will foster kindness and a sense of respect and hopefully even a love toward these creatures, which we all know are a necessity for all of mankind.

It also has embroidered eyes and doesn't have any removeable buttons so it will be safe for any child.

 

That fabric mentioned is just the amount used up on those stuffed animal and doll quilts I've worked on.  The two yellow and purple quilt combinations are totally done and I'm currently working on the third which is totally scrappy and made up of 2 1/2" squares.  Again making it a comfortable 20" x16" quilt.   


What do you think of this scrappy mess?   I have some dark brown minkee scraps I thought for the baking and perhaps using a bright green for a binding.  There is a frog in my studio that wants a covering.








This past Saturday it was time for our circle of friends quilting group gathering.  Since we got together at a local fire station that has with plenty of space I have to add, 3 items that were pieced and awaiting quilting got layered for that next step, QUILTING.    I also was able to cut binding for all three of these as well as cut up that yellow half yard fabic into 2 1/2" strips so I could humpjump with some of my scraps while doing other projects.  Then before you knew it, I had a doll quilt finished. 

They were:
1-  A fall themed table runner that I utilized the fabric print with some quick borders slapped on.  Thanks Gina for the idea to KISS (keep it simple stupid  silly).
2- The twin size horse quilt for PGD#1's charity quilt for that young man in Nicaragua.
3- A charity quilt double-queen size for my quilt guild in Glens Falls.

I had trouble doing the last one and it may need to get relayered with a wider table set up, we'll see.   Hopefully, I'll get the first two quilted in the next week before Thanksgiving so there will be some easy hand stitching around while I finish the binding especially while we have family and friends stopping by for the Holiday. 

TTFN,
Jane