Finishing Work

I tend to be one of those people who loves to embroider, cross stitch, and piece quilts and then they sit and wait for a day when I can finish more than one thing.  Today was that day...

Pillows, ornaments, and wall hangings were on the agenda.  The weather has been off today, and I had to take what I could get for photos in between rain showers.

This Christmas Wishes to All pillow was made using a free embroidery pattern from Anni Downs and the pillow pattern is by Gail Pan.

This ornament is from a Little House Needleworks pattern (do you see a theme here with these projects?)

 
My Kathy Schmitz snowman is finally complete and ready to hang.  There are 12 monthly kits, and I can't wait to finish one for this summer.  I'm thinking I had better start June now so I can hopefully hang it in July.

My sewing room is looking a little bit better now, and hopefully there will continue to be more action in there in the coming weeks.  I'm feeling better about my Christmas decorating today after finishing these projects, after all Christmas is only seven months from today.  (I can hear the groans, but instead of saying I'm behind, it sounds better to say I'm ahead of the game).  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Right Before My Very Eyes

I decided this week before I started anything new I had to finish something.  There were just too many things lying around my sewing room, either cut out and no piecing, others with some piecing, and then still more that are pieced and just need to be quilted.  I have all kinds of projects I want to start, especially now that summer is right around the corner, and I will have vacation time and waiting for my son time to work on them.  

I decided the first thing I should finish is my Schnibbles X-Rated.  I don't even remember cutting this out, but I did, and all the pieces were right there staring at me.  At least I thought they were until I started sewing and realized something was missing, and it was not a little something, it was a big something.  Every night when I would go to my sewing room I would search for 34 pieces that I knew I had cut for the borders, but they were no where to be found.  I actually started to question if I was losing my mind or had suddenly stopped for some reason, maybe because I had run out of fabric. I knew I had had two layers cakes so that couldn't have been the case. I kept sewing and the closer I got to needing those pieces the more frustrated I became.  Yesterday I finally ordered another layer cake and went back to work...

So the quilt is now a flimsy and I can't add the borders, and then as I am sitting at my sewing machine sewing the last row on I see it.  I remember where my extra border pieces went...

Up on my design wall is this mini medallion quilt.  Now I remember, all those extra pieces were perfect for this quilt.  Note to self, even if I think it is a scrap, it may not be, and if it is in a neat little stack with a whole bunch of other pieces I will not use it until I make sure it isn't for something else.  The funny thing is, the whole time I was sewing I was deciding how to quilt the mini on the design wall.  I guess the fabrics look completely different when used in larger pieces compared to tiny ones.  I scare myself sometimes.  Well, enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.  And an added note...something happened with comments and my email, they don't always show up there, so I'm not ignoring you, I just may not see it right away.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen

Have You Ever Had a Dream?

I have dreamed of going to Quilt Market for over 20 years.  Twenty years of watching it come and go and not being able to attend.  This year my dream came true, I actually got the opportunity to attend Quilt Market and all I can saw is WOW!  It was invigorating, inspiring, educational, and overwhelming all at once.  Everything you could ever want for quilting, it was there.  At one point we just had to stop and sit down because everything all in one place was almost too much for a person to take in.  I'm sure the seasoned veterans could laugh at the expression on my face because yes, I was the deer in the headlights!

I had planned to take photos, but I didn't.  There wasn't enough time, but I did think to get one of the doors opening up to the most wonderful displays of creativity.  My drive to create is renewed, I'm inspired again, and I'm ready to get back to my wonderful sewing room to make some of those dreams reality.

My message today is this, don't ever give up on something if it is really what you want.  Am I completely there yet, no, but after 20 years of waiting, I finally got to do something I actually was beginning to think would never happen.  I keep reminding myself, it is all in the journey, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen