Best of 2019

It's fun to look back at the end of the year and see some of the projects that were completed and goals that were met. Although 2019 will go down in many books as a year of both good things and bad things (like any year does), I would have to say that for us, personally, it's been a good year.

2019 saw the loss of some friends, a number of medical operations for Bruce (removal of arm sarcomas, with good results each time) and me (carpal tunnel surgery - no more numb hands!) and the removal of our beloved apricot tree.

But we had great times with the family and saw everyone - even those out of state -  at some point in the year. The grandkids are all healthy, happy and growing strong, our adult children all have new (this year) and better jobs, and some even have new homes. We had a banner year with our garden and got several little projects around the house taken care of. We hope that 2020 brings more of the ups and none of the downs!

Before I get to my quilting recap, I'd like to show you the finishes I had this week. Instead of making one huge quilt of the 9" Rainbow Scrap Challenge string blocks, I ended up making two quilts which will be donated to Quilts for Kids.  First is the yellow, orange, pink and red one.

The other is the blues, green and purple quilt. Both measure 40.5" x 49" and were quilted with a loopy design on my machine.  These were Goals #13 and 14 in my 4th Quarter Finish-Along list, which you can see here.

And last but not least is the kitty quilt for our grandcats. It's nothing much to speak of, but used lots of leftover pieces and scraps on both the front and back. It measures about 42x48".

That brings my total quilt finishes to 32 for the year. However, I basted, quilted and bound dozens more for Quilts for Kids, quilts that were pieced by others. Additionally, I made a half dozen kennel quilts for cats, 3 zip pouches, about 8-10 pillowcases, a pressing mat, ironing board cover, pajama bottoms, and dozens of blocks that were either sent to others or are currently residing in my sewing room orphanage. All in all, very productive year!

Oh! Now that my hands are no longer perpetually numb, I have gotten back into embroidery a little. This little dishtowel (which needs a good pressing) was finished on Christmas Morning as Bruce and I listened to The Nutcracker on vinyl. I'll take this little tea towel with us to Arizona in February to give to my sister-in-law.  It was a little pattern and kit I bought about a year ago at a local quilt shop, but I didn't save any of the information once I finished it. I’ve tried searching for it online, unsuccessfully.

Here, then, is a collage of my "Best Nine" quilts of 2019. Actually, they aren't necessarily my best nine, but more my favorite-ish nine.

From top, L-R: "Gumdrops" selvage and fabric tumblers, Red String Stars, Lattice Birds, Saguaro Sunset, Crumbcakes, Blossoms and Spokes, Stringing in the Rain, Newport Butterflies, and Good Fortune.

Honorable Mentions go to Midnight Scrappy Stars and Kitchen Sink - because they were both so much fun to make!!

Have a Happy New Year’s Eve, and I’ll see you in 2020!

Linking up to Scrappy Saturday at Angela’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Hooray - Blogger is Fixed

FINALLY!  We are once again receiving comments in our email. YAY! I always love and appreciate your comments and am so happy that Blogger has restored our ability to receive and respond to them. Blogging without two-way conversations is like living in a vacuum, so let the chatter commence!

Last week I said that I’d finished all my regular teal/aqua blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. But that didn’t mean I was finished with the color yet. A few years ago I had purchased a charm pack of Kate Spain’s HORIZON line and I decided that it was time to do something with it, since it was mainly aqua.  So I whipped out some additional scraps and an oatmeal-colored neutral (not my fave) and whipped up this baby quilt top:

After this picture, I fixed that wonky bottom border and then pieced a backing. And that’s as far as I’ll take it for now. It will be a quick process to baste and quilt it for donation when the time comes.

While checking out Pinterest or Instagram (sorry, can’t even remember where let alone who) I saw a great block that used scrappy crumb blocks. Since I’ve been making 6.5” scrappy crumbs all year without a plan, it was good to finally have the perfect plan for them:

I just sashed them with a black 1.5” strip, and they will finish at 13”. So, as time permits, I’ll go back and begin combining the smaller crumb blocks into these larger blocks. Going forward into next year, I’ll make the smaller blocks (or finish up a color) in sets of 4.  With what I have already, they could be assembled into a baby quilt, but I would prefer to go bigger. So, that’s the plan for these crumbs.

And there is lots more aqua inspiration over at Angela’s Scrappy Saturday. Come join us!

And speaking of baby quilts, AB Baby was gifted to my step-daughter Stacy on Tuesday afternoon, just before she left for her OB doctor appointment.  The doctor told her she was already dilated to a 3, and the next day (Wednesday the 20th), she felt achey and unsettled. Then the labor started and WHAM! Baby Evie was born within a couple hours. She came so quick (18 minutes after Stacy got to the hospital), that no epidural was even given. And here is the little cutie herself:

Isn’t she adorable? I love the little cap with a bow that the hospital uses to keep their heads warm!  Mom and baby (6 lb. 13 oz) are back at home and doing great.

The preparation for my trip to Kenya (leaving July 8) is continuing. This week we had another online meeting/travel training. We won’t be taking any blow dryers or curling irons, so I think I’ll get my hair trimmed again just to keep it short and simple. And after price shopping for the required malaria pills, I was able to get them (21 days’ worth) for $50.60 instead of $125+. Our Kenyan visas have been approved, and all our plane flight seating assignments have been secured. Oh, and I got some support hose (YUK) for the loooong flights.

I also prepped some handwork (embroidery) for the long plane flights. Last month when Cousin Kim and I went to the quilt show, I bought a few 8x10 (ish) embroidered designs. This week I cut and stabilized some fabric, then pressed the designs on. This is a new-to-me product by Adorn-it, and one is just supposed to stitch through the design layer. Then the design sheet melts away with a quick soaking. We’ll see how that works - it was an alternative to marking the design directly on the fabric.

All I have left to do now are pull the threads to bring along. My granddaughter Lauren, whom I’ll be sitting with on the flights, loves flamingoes. So I’m hoping she takes an interest and maybe even give embroidery a try. Just in case she wants to, I’m packing two designs and two hoops.  Muahahahaha.  Method to my madness.....


And finally, more work on Groovy Guitars happened.
I had originally planned to do an all red border, but didn’t have enough of the red - or any other single color for that matter. So, the border was constructed of all the colors except purple.

Here it is in all its carnival-like goodness.

All the machine appliqué is complete. I even did all the large round circles on the machine.

All that’s left to do by hand are the 24 small yellow circles (on the blue and red headstocks) and the three small green circles on the small middle-isn guitar.









Here are some close-ups.

My goal is to have the hand stitching done before I leave for Kenya. Then when I return, I’ll still have about 10 days left in July in which to finish the quilt by layering, quilting and binding. My plan right now is to quilt the background in a black stipple. The guitars will need quilting, too, but I’m not certain yet how I’ll proceed there. Certainly I’ll match the thread to the colors. And then just perhaps some shape echoing or simple crosshatch.

Thanks for dropping by!

Crazy Quilt Quarterly - Winter Issue Now Available

The winter 2015 Issue of Crazy Quilt Quarterly is now available at Magcloud, here.  You may order the magazine as a digital download, or (as I prefer) a hard copy (beautiful quality!!), or both.

This issue has loads of great winter embellishment pictures and tutorials (as well as seasonal holiday ideas) to use in your crazy quilting, embroidery, art quilting and more. It is a unique and beautiful publication, and the only one that showcases the beautiful art of crazy quilting. I hope all crazy quilters out there will support this gorgeous and energetic resource, and that other artists, quilters and embroiderers will discover its beauty and wealth of ideas to apply to their own art as well.

Hugs,