Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My daughter and family have left. They were with me for three weeks. We had a fabulous time. I had a moment when they were planning the visit to mourn my unfinished Christmas quilts! Then, I had a reordering of priorities. What is more important? Spending time with my daughter and granddaughters or finishing quilts? So I wrapped them up and called them finished enough!

I managed to almost finish four Christmas quilts. Three were the Holiday Hustle quilts from Sew Lux. One required quilting through the outer border. Done yesterday morning!

One requires all the quilting. My daughter has moved it onto my sewing machine! Done today!

And the third requires the binding sewn down and all the quilting done. I have a bad habit of finishing the quilts just enough so I can sit in the evenings and hand sew the binding. Love!

The fourth quilt is just a sandwich quilted in squares for my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. My daughter took it home with her to finish sewing down the binding. I will give her a month!

Robyn, my daughter, made a pillow for her sister's husband to match the pillow she had made for her sister. Turned out fabulously!!! She is now talking about making one for herself. Love it that she has taken to quilting!

Best wishes for the holiday season! I have used the lesson learned on reordering priorities several times during this holiday. When things start to feel out of control, I take a deep breath and check to see if my priorities are still in the correct order. Family first!

WIP List for 2014

I have joined with Jess of the Elven Garden and Rebecca Lynne to pledge not to buy any fabric for 6 months. That still gives me 9 shopping days. This will be the WIP list I will be working off of.

Top done, backing and batting purchased: Lady of the Lake, Striped Placemats
Squares done, top to be put together: Evermore, Stars, Bee Churn Dash, Bee Wonky Log Cabin
Blocks cut out, some assembly done: Cheese, Celtic Garden, HST Baby Quilt, Green Quilt, Bungle Jungle, Terrain quilt, Joy Christmas tree skirt,
Binding to sew on: Christmas Table Runner, Halloween Table Runner
Material bought and waiting: Norwegian Woods Baby Quilt x 2, Blue Quilt
Need: Quilts x 3
Material bought and keep changing my mind on what to do with it: Urban Cowgirl, some blue yellow material for linked box quilt, Mooshka baby quilt, Serranade, High Street
In drawer and can't stand: Mostly completed wall hanging.
QAL: Sew Lux BOM

I am a Fabriholic

Hi, my name is Pam and I am a fabriholic. I am joining Jess at the Elven Garden and Rebecca of Making Rebecca Lynne and taking the Pledge.

Fabriholics Anonymous Pledge

I pledge to 6 months of fabric fasting between January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014

I am not entirely sure this is a good idea as when I think I am being deprived, I WANT. Need has nothing to do with wants as you will see by my list. I have enough fabric to make all but one of the following quilts on my list. So if I get through a goodly portion I give myself permission to buy material. I am giddy already thinking about it. What a carrot!

WIP Wednesday - Christmas is Coming!

I love Christmas! I love everything about it! The cleaning up the house to bring all the decorations out, making a bigger mess than when you started. Oh yeah! I took my first quilting workshop. I went as the fabric for the project was Winter's Lane, my new favourite this year. I made a table runner. Did not finish it in the evening even though all the pieces were already cut up! Bonus!

Brought it home to quilt it with the invisible thread on the top and the colour on the bottom, to get that I did it by hand look. Did not work for me. So threw some quilting on to hold it steady and the binding. It is now sitting on the table and I will finish it up over the holidays. Kind of my favourite way to finish up projects. Use them while you finish them.

Made a couple of coasters and mug rugs for a Kid's Christmas Craft Fair this weekend. I had plans to also make some coffee cup holders. I have now run out of time so not to be. Oops camera is out of battery life. Pics to follow.

Lady of the Lake still sitting there. Guilt on a chair and she hasn't even said a word.

Finished up my bee blocks but forgot to take pictures. Who does that? A Cathedral Window and 3 house blocks. Sooo glad they were not paper piecing!!!

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

Finish it up Friday - I'm a new Nanny!

My daughter just had her second baby. Another girl! I am so thrilled! I love girls. Actually I just like babies! 8 lbs 9 oz, a nice size but she looks so tiny. A carbon copy of her big sister. Big sister and I had sleepovers. Love having sleepovers! We get up in the morning, have a banana and an orange in bed, and play Snail Bob on my IPad. Best time ever!

So I went to my LQS to buy some girl fabric. A long time family friend is having a baby, and she knows it is a girl. I have loads of fabric but I wanted some Aneela Hoey. And it was on sale!! Bonus! I bought some fat quarters and some yardage for the back, all at 50% off!

I brought it home, cut it into squares for 2 different quilts, sewed and finished  one. Not sure of the original pattern idea of frames, the squares seem kind of small.

The one I finished is small squares sewn together in a diagonal pattern. Love the simplicity and the pattern. The purple of the Posey line is fabulous. I kept it simple for the quilting with straightish line diagonals. It is very mono chromatic. Hope the recipient likes purple!

Baby quilts and instant gratification! My two loves.

I also finished sewing my daughter's baby blanket for her. She wanted flannel and was sewing the quilt sandwich together, not an easy job with an ordinary foot. The drag and shifting of the layers was huge. Nine month pregnant women do not need that aggravation. As if I needed any reminders, I LOVE my walking foot.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday at  Crazy Mom Quilts

WIP Wednesday - a win!!!

A Win!!! First off to say I love this fabric. It is Winter's Lane by Kate & Birdie Paper Company. I was looking them up on line when I noticed they had a draw. And I won!!!

I was already in love with this fabric as I had bought the Holiday Hustle Quilt Kit from Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts in Winter's Lane. Then I bought the panel at my LQS. Now I have enough material to make another quilt! I have made a couple of pillows that need innards, and I was thinking coasters or a table runner or..... I am in love!!! Thank you Kate & Birdie Paper Company.

This is my Simply Solids Bee Block. Not sure how it ended up the way it did as I had not laid out the pieces in this order. I find paper piecing a real challenge.

 My Lady of the Lake is getting closer and closer to a finish. As you may know I was getting very ready for this quilt to be done. So decided I had enough blocks and prepared and sewed the setting blocks. Can you say "My what a tiny quilt you are"? I figure it may cover one leg as a lap quilt. Hmmm, borders to the rescue. I really like them, feels like they finish off the quilt. Love!!!

 So the question is what to use for binding. I am always partial to the Lotus Leaf print .

 Also really like the stripes. What do you think?

I was taking these photos this morning. Looked out on the balcony before leaving for work and there was the quilt still outside! Wet with the morning mist. Note to self, do not take photos before work.

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

WIP Wednesday

October already. How did that happen? I have been working on my brothers quilt. Love the way it turned out. The goal is to get this in the mail by the middle of the month. Just sewing the binding on now!

Went to my LQS and these table runners fell into my basket! One is totally complete and the other is waiting to be quilted. I have never done FMQ so thought these would be fun to play with. The first one just played with zigzag. I quite like the way it turned out. Number 2 I am going to attempt a spider web. Why not, just another form of straight line, right?

Lady of the Lake. Really close to a finish! Like making the backing, sandwiching, quilting and binding are nothing! Oh I love my rose tinted glasses! Tried this quilt with a straight setting as I am very tired of this quilt. Thought I could get away with some borders and call it quits. No dice. Boring. 

So plopped it on point, stunning!

I am re enthused!

As you can see the setting squares still need some tweaking. My brain does not do setting triangles well. I have never ripped so many seams as I did making those little puppies.

So, tired of those triangles I sewed up a baby blanket last night. It was all cut up and now it is a top. Instant gratification and not a seam ripper in site! Heaven!

My condo looks like a batting bomb went off in it as I am "relaxing" the cotton batting over the couch and table. Very Haloweeny!
Linking up to Needle and Thread.
On the personal front I have been grieving. Rob's birthday was last week. How he loved his celebrations! He would call it his birth month and celebrate every day. Prior to that Vancouver hosted Truth and Reconciliation. He would have been intimately involved with this. Oh the joys and sorrows he is missing. I give thanks every day for our life together. I miss him. Grieving.