We Have A Winner...Another Year Older...

The last week has been a weird one.  We had a good old fashioned winter blizzard with freezing temperatures, lots of snow, school and road closures, and we were basically just snowed in.  Shoveling the snow was a ton of work, but honestly it was fun.  It reminded me of being a kid again snowed in on my grandma's farm.

We had to travel on Saturday for my son's basketball tournament.  The roads were less than great, and this is a major interstate.

But the snow was beautiful in places, and the blue sky for a background was amazing!

Sometimes we are moving so fast that we don't take the time to enjoy the beauty in nature. 

On Monday I celebrated my 45th birthday by sewing some UFO's...This month for the Schibble's Parade it is "your choice."  I thought I'd finish a few I've already started rather than start something new.  This is Bibelot.  When I got it out and started working on it I heard my son tell my husband that I got "that quilt" out again.  The first go around was less then fun, and this one was just about as frustrating as the first time, but I love it and can't wait to get it quilted.

The second one I finished piecing was Summer Day.  Whew...I'm looking forward to some summer days, warm weather and sunshine.  This one was just about complete and then I guess the deadline came and went and I missed it and moved on.  I'm so glad to see this one in one big piece too.

Here is the result of the drawing for the gift certificate to Stitchin' It Up Quilt Shop which just happens to be...

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:40Powered by RANDOM.ORG

mtnquiltr said...

Now I'm retired I can sew when I want to. That is soon to change now I will be caring for a 1 year old part time! I am more productive in the morning .

Congratulations and Happy Stitching!!! --Kristen

Hugs and Kisses Hop...and you can still win!

Some of you may or may not have wondered where I have been for the past couple of weeks.  I actually have been having panic attacks over this Hugs and Kisses Hop.  It is a little known fact that I loathe, dispise, and generally hate paper piecing...or I should say doing paper piecing.  I love looking at finished quilts made with paper piecing.  But paper piecing and I have a long, bad, terrible history together.

You can see by this quilt made circa 1996 that for some reason this lovely snowman quilt is NOT square...it is so crooked that I could not bring myself to finish it.  He would have been cute, and in real life most snowmen don't stand up straight anyway, but it bugged me and remained unfinished.

Now, here is my problem with paper piecing...I hate the fact that I cannot figure out how big to cut the piece of fabric to cover the tiny little piece on the pattern.  It seems that I will cut a huge piece, carefully sew it (ON THE WRONG SIDE), turn it over, iron it, and for some reason although it is massive in size compared to the teeny tiny little piece it is supposed to cover, it misses that line by a half inch or more?!?!  

I decided to look at tutorials, and I took the Carol Doak Craftsy class.  I have watched it so many times in fact I was afraid Craftsy was actually going to call me and tell me that I had used up my time allotted for my class and to stop it! (Did you know they actually have a Craftsy app?)  I'm pretty sure I could turn the sound down on that class and tell you what she is saying word for word for the entire class.  By the way, she also has her own paper and ruler to use for this, which I also purchased because I was sure this time everything would work out.

So, the time has come, I start sewing, carefully cutting my pieces just like Carol tells us to do, measuring exactly like she tells us to...and somehow I end up with this...

I know I folded, flipped, cut, sewed, and pressed just the way she told me to, but alas, it did not turn out the way her perfectly sewn, perfectly square blocks do...and I'm quite certain no one would want a card from me with a paper pieced anything on the front.  I bet you can't wait to see what I actually ended up with...

Is it the four block lap sized quilt I was planning on, no it is not...BUT, it does look like an actual heart and I am pretty impressed with my arrow point (isn't that why most people paper piece, for the points?)  I think it is safe to say that you will not be seeing many more paper pieced projects on my blog...although, does anyone have a cute pattern for a shamrock?  :)

Thanks to Mdm Samm for encouraging me to try it once again.  I've done it and I'm moving on to the ruffles.  Here are the participants for the last day of the Hugs and Kisses Hop. 

Feb 19th

 Lady Bente

iliketoquiltblog.blogspot.com

Lady Kristen

http://meadowbrook-Kristen.blogspot.com/

Lady Linda

catsnqlts2.blogspot.com

Lady Marcy

Madebymeinred.blogspot.com

Lady Susie

www.SusiesSunroom.blogspot.com

Mdm Samm

sewwequilt.com

Oh yes, I haven't drawn the winner for the gift certificate yet, so if you still want to enter you have until tomorrow evening (February 20) at 5 p.m. to do so, you can find the post here.  Happy Hopping and Stitching!!  --Kristen

Sunny Sunday Schnibble Fun

I know I showed this quilt before when I posted it for the Kona hop...but what I didn't share with you is that it was also my Jersey Girl Schnibble by Carrie Nelson for this month.  I still am in love with this quilt, although I haven't started quilting it yet.  I want it to be just right because even though it was bright in my darker photos, it was really bright when I took it outside today.

The Schnibbles parade isn't until tomorrow, but I am so excited to see how everyone interpreted this pattern.  I have a few left over half square triangles and some extra fabric...I'm thinking a table runner would be fun too.

As long as I was outside and the sun and snow were so nice I decided to try again with this...

The wind had done such fun things with the snow, and I couldn't have made the drifts more perfect if I had tried.

All the felt and wool are chosen for the next one, and I think the big game is the perfect time to start it.  I'm linking with Sew Mama Sew Little gifts of love challenge and Sew Many Ways.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Don't Let The Door Stop You

For a long time now I have wanted to make the little gingerbread cottage from Betz White's Craftsy class, Fab Felt.  I enrolled I think last year, but never got the cottage made.  I always kind of thought that making it for Valentine's Day would be more my speed and this worked out perfectly for the Don't Let The Door Stop You Hop.  I live in a tiny house so it would not make sense to make a large door stop.  I do, however, have a door that is constantly slamming shut...so here was my chance to make my little cottage.

I used a combination of wool and wool felt for my door stop.

I decided it needed a little more on the back rather than just another window.

The shingles were a lot of fun to make, and the way they are cut actually make lining them up to look like shingles easy.  I'm thinking this project would be fun for a number of holidays...St. Patricks Day, Easter, Fourth of July...neverending possibilities.  To make this more of a door stop I added a 3/4" piece of wood to the bottom before stuffing...thanks to my husband for cutting it perfectly!

Thank you Mdm Samm and Carla for all the encouragement and ideas.  Here are today's participants...Happy Stitching and Hopping!!  --Kristen
January 30th

Just Let Me Quilt
 
Quilted Delights
 
Meadowbrook (You are here)
 
Hill Valley Quilter
 
Pampered Pettit
 
Life in the Scrapatch
 
Seams To Be Sew

Friday Night Sewing, Grow Your Blog, And A Giveaway!

I love sewing on Friday nights.  It is the end of the week, sometimes there are great classic movies on TV, and it makes Saturday morning feel promising when I actually finish something or get a good start on a project the evening before.

I made this 20 inch block a year ago and could never really decide what to do with it.  Then suddenly I knew...a large pillow.  This project worked out perfectly (although photographing pillows is always difficult) as the pillow forms were 1/2 price this week!

I made an envelope back with minky, which was interesting to sew, and it is just wonderful.  This way I can switch out the pillow form if I ever get it back again from my son (he informed me it is the perfect size to use when gaming).

I had a little more time this evening to work on a Valentine embroidery piece...looks like I have a great start on tomorrow's projects.

Welcome if you are participating in the Grow Your Blog hop.  You can find a list of the over 500 participants here.  To make a cold and snowy weekend (actually we are expecting blizzard conditions) a little more exciting for me, I am giving away a $25 gift certificate to Stitchin' It Up Quilt Shop.  Just leave me a comment of when your favorite time of the week is to work on your hobby.  If you are a follower, leave me another comment letting me know that for a second chance to win.  The giveaway will close on February 15.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Cleaning Up

This weekend I decided before I could start anything new I had to work on something that was started and all over the place.  After all, it is easier to move stacks of blocks than it is to move stacks of triangles, squares, and other small oddities right?

The bright colors looked so nice in the snow...

but it was so cold outside I almost froze my fingers picking them up again. ;)  I will learn someday.

I have 41 of the 48 blocks finished and I am just not sure about that one (rather ugly) fabric, so I may just cut the new seven star blocks and get them together.  Afterall, this quilt does not need to sit for another year waiting for me to decide if I can use that fabric or not.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

KONA Blog Hop

The other night I showed you my half square triangles that I was working on and was bound and determined they would be finished today...well, here they are.

It was a no brainer for me to do this blog hop.  I love Kona fabrics, I love their colors, and I love how I can use them.  I bought 9 fat quarters for this quilt trying to see if on my own I could come up with a gradiation in the color that would make these blocks pop...and in my own mind I think I may have.  I am so excited about this quilt.  My husband was a little upset when I started this and said he would NOT like it...well tonight I loved his reaction to it.  He said this just may be one of his favorite quilts of mine (he would rather I use bright fabrics, and this one fits the bill).  I cannot wait to get it quilted.

Thanks to Madame Samm and Carol for leading us on this hop, and Kona and Auriful for sponsoring it.  Here are the rest of the participants for today.

January 13

Creatin’ In The Sticks

Meadowbrook

Cathy’s Chatter

Selina Quilts

Sew Fresh Quilts

The Sassy Quilter

Happy Hopping and Happy Stitching!!