New Year's Eve Challenge!

Well I join the New Year's Eve Challenge on Finn's Blog back in August. Here's the original blog post - I managed to finish 2 of the 7 that I listed there. The Japanese Kanji Quilt and the Scrappy Starstruck quilt were both Christmas gifts and I'm glad they are finished. The other 5 are still high on my list to finish, but alas will not be finished by NYE 2008.

I must say though that I am glad to have finished 2 of those UFOs (along with 2 other UFOs that were given as Christmas gifts).

All in all I finished 8 UFOs in 2008 as well as 2 other quilts that were started this year. I also finished several purses/tote bags in 2008. Hopefully I will be able to finish even more in 2009. I am certainly raring to go! How about you?

New Projects on the Horizon & 2008 Stashbusting!!

I have been rearranging my sewing studio this weekend as well as pulling fabrics for new projects. The studio is in a workable state right now, but not organized quite yet. I'm still in the process of putting things away and have rearranged some of the furniture. I'm very happy right now with the new setup as I have alot of room to move in the center of the room. I am still searching for the perfect spot for my ironing board though LOL

While putting fabric away, I pulled fabric for 2 mysteries as well as another project I wanted to start before the new year. I had pulled fabrics for a Christmas mystery, but hadn't gotten around to taking the picture. The mystery has been posted and I have peeked at the "end" and I love the quilt. So I will cut the fabrics out and try to get the top made over the next few days. Here's the fabrics I chose for that mystery.

Also, Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame is starting a new mystery on New Year's Eve. I love Bonnie's mysteries and I was thrilled when she chose pink as her main color for this new Double Delight mystery. I love pink and am looking forward to cutting thee fabrics up.

I also have been wanting to make the Split Decision quilt since I saw it on Darlene's blog. So I pulled out my Bistro Jelly Roll as well as a "wheat" jelly roll and cut enough rectangles to make 80 blocks. This should make a very generous lap quilt.

Today I also managed to reach my 2008 Stashbusting Goal! I cut borders for a finished top center as well as the 2 Jelly Rolls which threw me over the top of my 150 yard goal. I consider stash to be busted as soon as I cut it out for a pattern as it cannot then go back into the stash. That's my story and I'm sticking to it :) So as of right now I have busted 153.5 yards from the stash. I also added very little fabric this year since I was on the No-Buy List over at Stashbuster.

Boy do I feel good right now :)

Yet Another Love Quilt Received!!

I quilted a love quilt for a dear friend in Iowa that has been going thru Chemo treatments. The blocks were made by friends in #quiltchat and I quilted the quilt. Now that our friend has received the quilt I can post pictures on my blog :)

SSCS Swap!!

Well being that it's Christmas Day, I was finally able to open up my SSCS package all the way from Liz in Australia. She sent me a lovely Christmas table runner and the most adorable bag that folds up into a small pouch (I am sooo in love with the Loralie Ladies). I love everything Liz!!! Thank you sooo much, and thank you Chookyble for setting up the swap. I'm looking forward to next year :)

Here's what I sent to Julie in New Zealand. This tote was very very hard to let go, but Julie is very happy with it and that makes me very happy :)

Merry Christmas........the gifts are done!!!!

Well family was due to arrive at 4pm and I put the last stitches into the binding of the last quilt at 3:30pm. Took quick photos, wrapped them and hopped into the shower. While I was in the shower 1/2 of our company arrived LOL. Everything I made was very well received :)

Here's my daughter's quilt. This has been 2 years in the making. I stitched out the blocks in December/January 2007 and got the top assembled that May (intending to give it to her on her 14th birthday - she got the top for her birthday LOL) and actually loaded it onto the fram at one point but wound up taking it off the frame to quilt something more pressing at the time.

I also managed to get the logo she designed for her "club" digitized by my friend Melissa and stitched it out onto a black fleece jacket. She was tickled pink with that (I think she was almost more excited about the jacket than she was her new laptop LOL).

This is the quilt that my Mother-in-Law started in a class we took 4 or 5 years ago. She made one of the blocks and then handed it over to me to finish for her LOL. I finished the top at retreat this past fall and got it quilted and bound for her for Christmas. She was so excited I thought she was gonna cry. Now she mentioned bringing another of the quilts she started in a miscellaneous class we took together over for me to finish. LOL

Here's the quilt I finished for my uncle. The border fabric is camoflauge with footballs and the backing is a combination of camo flannel and football flannel. He loves to watch football and used to go hunting alot when he was younger. He's very happy with it :)

And this is the quilt I finished for my cousin. He's 11 years older than me but we have been pretty close since I was a teen. He is also my daughter's godfather.I remember when I was a kid we used to listen to Beatles records (yes albums.....vinyl) in the living room at his house. Those were the days! Hence the Beatles fabric on the back. He just loves the wild lime green with the blacks & whites.

Boy am I glad that Christmas is over for the year. I need a break LOL

I hope evryone had a very Merry Christmas :)

Things I've Done....

I've seen this meme on a few blogs and had to do it too. Feel free to join in :)

PS - The things I've done are in bold :)

1. Started my own blog - Obviously :)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band - Queen Anne's County High Marching band :)
4. Visited Hawaii - not yet, but I have a friend that moved there this year and I hope to be able to visit her soon :)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world - Both :)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo - in the car as well as the shower :)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch - The art of quilting
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - from Munich to Berlin, Germany
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - SHHHHHH
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - One of the highlighs of that trip :)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke - only after a few too many drinks LOL
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - Dachau in 1990
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - Too many to count
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - Too many to count
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone - Way too many to count
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant - Oh what a fun experience!!

First Picture.......

.... taken with the new camera.

Here's a close up of one of the kitties.....I think this is the best picture I've ever taken of her. She's not my biggest fan so she stays away....but the zoom on this camera is great and allowed me to get her picture without her knowing it LOL

Merry Christmas to Me!

Well this year hubby and I got smart and decided to go shopping this weekend for our Christmas gifts to each other. He wanted a new Bluetooth headset for his cell phone (which he got along with a new PS3 game) and I wanted a new digital camera.


Although I love the Digital SLR cameras, I just cannot justify buying one for my limited photographic needs. I'd been looking at a nice Fuji camera, but then I saw the Nikon P80 and fell in love! So after going to 7 different stores we finally found one in stock and the battery is charging up right now :) And one of the best things is that it uses the same battery as my other Nikon (which I dropped a couple years ago and broke) so I have a spare battery as well!!!


I can't wait to start snapping pictures!!!

Another Secret Santa Gift.....

One of the Secret Santa gifts I made has now been received and opened. One of the gifts was to be "Something in your partner's favorite color". My partner's favorite colors are blue and green so I made her this.......

It's a Mini Charm Party tote and was so much fun to make. It is absolutely adorable!

Lotsa Holiday Gifts Finished!

Well I managed to finish all to gifts for friends and delivered them all today. I still have family quilts to finish by Christmas Day but I am feeling good about it :)

Here's what I delivered today:

A fabric basket from this tutorial for my boss. She always "steals" my pretty colored pens, so I put a set of colorful pens in the basket for her :)

Desk Delis and matching napkins for 2 of my co workers. We always have lunch together in the office so I thought pretty lunch bags would be appropriate and appreciated :)

Fleece blankets for the others in the office. One is a bicyclist, another is a former music teacher and the other rides a scooter and loves dogs. I gave fleece blankets last year to others in the office and they were quite a hit :)

Fabric baskets from the same tutorial filled with bags of coffee for my nail tech and my hair dresser. Both of them live on java so I thought they would be happy with these :)

A Runaround Bag using "Bratz" style fabric for my nail tech's young daughter who is a very girly girl and loves Bratz and purses. I think she'll enjoy it :)

Yet Another Purse!

Here's today's project......a Mini Miranda bag from Lazy Girl Designs. What a great little purse! Very easy to make. I can see myself making more of these! Thos one is for my daughter's friend as a secret santa gift at school. The girls are 15 years old and they seem to like the purses :)

#Quiltchat Stocking Swap

Today was the opening for the annual Stocking Swap in #quiltchat

Here's what I received from romika in Australia......

A lovely stocking made from a vintage quilt....lots of FQs....ornaments....a shopping bag....note pad...journal....DVD....soap.....calendar.....and CHOCOLATE!!!

Thanks romika!!! I love it!!!

And here's the stocking I sent to Minnesota....I sure hope Marie likes it :)

Misfit Secret Santa!!!

I just opened my Secret Santa box from one of my yahoo groups and I'm thrilled with all the goodies. Here's what we were to send and what I got:

#1 - Something Homemade - Fabrics hand dyed by my partner, including a lovely piece of light fabric "dyed" with rust :)

#2 - Something from your Stash - A pattern from New Zealand, can't wait to try this one out :)

#3 - Something in your Partner's Favorite Color - A Fat Quarter that's pink & green (my 2 favorite colors) :)

#4 - One Item of your choice - a big candle with a wrapper made by my partner from recycled wool and handmade soap - they both smell wonderful!

#5 - Your Favorite Recipe - Gingerbread People, written on the CUTEST pillow :)

#6 - A Handmade Ornament - a lovely bag made from recycled felted wool, pinecones, metallic floss and paints. This is just wonderful and I can't wait to add it to the tree :)

There was also a piece of lovely vintage cotton ontop of the wrapped gifties :)

Thank you soooo much Kathy!! I love everything :)

A Couple of Swap Blocks

I finished a couple of blocks for the applique swap I'm in (the swap is getting close to being finished). The first is an alien bug. I'm tickled pink with the way it turned out and I have also now fallen in love with hot fix crystals!

The second block was a shoe theme. I decided to do a pink hiking boot. The blocks will go into a quilt for a lovely young lady from Australia and what young lady wouldn't love a pink boot?? Hehehe

Lunchbag for a Red Hatter!

Tonight is my mom's Holiday party with her Red Hat Society chapter and they always do a gift exchange. I made her this bag last night and she filled it with some bags of coffee. Not a bad gift and it all came from stash :)

New Napkins for the Table

Well I misplaced the napkins I bought last year, so I bit the bullet and made new ones for the table today. In the process I busted 4 yards of stash :) Gotta love that!

So I now have 8 new reversible napkins for my Thanksgiving table :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their turkey, mine will be out of the oven momentarily.

A UFO Topped!

Well I went into the studio this afternoon and saw a stack of blocks sitting there waiting to become a quilt top. So I decided to do just that :)

These are from a Black & White Churn Dash swap that I participated in last year. I decided to set them using the BQ2 pattern and I really love the effect. I'll be using this pattern again to set 12" finished blocks :)