New FO - December

Well this is the last New FO.  At least until we catch up on our UFO's and WIP's.  Is that possible for a quilter.  :)


We didn't have Doll quilt swap this month so that isn't one of my New FO's - However I did create a couple other things this month. 


1.  I made a table runner.

2.  I made a needle keep for a friends birthday.  She likes to do red work so I put  a couple of skeins of red DMC  and some embroidery needles inside.

3.  I made a curtain for a sliding glass door.

4.  And low and behold after many many years of sewing I learned how to make pillow cases - So I made 2 pillow cases. 

And since I'm just now getting back into some routines I can't remember for sure if I started these in November or December but I definitely finished them in December so I am posting the finished picture of my Bird Mug rugs that I did all the thread painting and quilting on.  :) 

Thanks so much to Barbara at Cat Patches for hosting this fun New FO give away for so long.  It's been a great way to connect and keep us creating.  Thank you. 


Lynn

And Time Goes by...

Well not sure what has happened but as a new retiree, I feel like I have less time than I used to.  Or is it that because I have more time, I'm not as structured with my time.  I sleep in, I don't have to finish anything by a certain time.  I find myself saying oh no biggie I'll do that tomorrow.  :)  After all isn't that what retirement is supposed to be about. 
 But really - a lot has gone on and - we have been very busy - I just haven't got it posted.  I haven't even taken the time to post for the New FO's - Or the Let's Book it - Or anything really.  So here goes I'm going to try to catch up on what all is happening and then we'll see if I can keep this going.  :) 
Non sewing news:  We have traveled around a lot.  Living in a new state, we have had fun traveling around and seeing the sites. So much so that we traded in our big 4x4 Dodge Ram for a  more fuel efficient Hyundai Sonata. 

We've been to Las Vegas several times including a stay there with my Sister when she flew in from Oregon for my Birthday week.  We went to the Jersey Boys show here - It was awesome.

And since Laughlin NV, right across the river from Bullhead City AZ where we live is a gambling/vaction/resort area right next to Lake Mohave and Lake Mead recreational area - we have gone to several concerts, and sporting events including Rodeos, Bull Riding, Monster trucks...

We've gone to Hoover Dam - Wow that is awesome sight to see. Amazing what they did so many years ago with out the use of modern machinery. 

We've been to Yuma AZ to visit family, (and saw the Yuma Territorial Prision- sorry no pictures), Phoenix AZ a couple of times to visit family and friends. And then local places to sight see and just familiarize ourselves with whats available to us. Laughlin NV, (right across the river from us)  Kingman AZ, Lake Havasu City, Needles CA, Golden Shores, Topock, Search Light. 
Along with our travels we've also been fixing up our home, new awnings and roof repair thanks to a very rare "Micro Burst" class one hurricane that hit us only a couple of weeks after we moved here.

All better and fixed now. They removed the old swap cooler that hadn't worked in years and redid the roof, and we had new awnings put up. And now we even have Chirstmas lights up. 

It took about 2 1/2 months before it was fixed. Lots of repairs in the area and in Phoenix so we were on a waiting list.  

We've also had plumbing repairs, so many that we are on a first name basis and thinking of inviting the plumber for a BBQ.   LOL   New gas lines, a new electrical box, and the list goes on. So  this week we finally did something cosmetic. We put in new carpet in the bedrooms and living room.  And new vinyl in the bathrooms.  Here's a peek of the carpet and vinyl together. 

So where does the sewing come in - well sometimes if feels like it has taken the back burner, but I have managed to accomplish a few things.  I've joined a guild and have been doing some charity quilts for it, along with some projects they have offered. Here is one of the Projects we did.  This is a Judy Niemeyer quilt pattern.
Tea Leaf Table Runner 

Then also I do a weekly Sit n Sew at the Local Quilt Shop (Fabrics Unlimited) and have been getting into some other classes through them.  I have been using the Tuesday class to work on some of my many UFO's, trying to work through them one at a time. And then I'm also trying to practice and work on my Free Motion Quilting. So I'll show some of that too. 
The Birds are applique then used my free motion foot practicing and adding some "thread play" to give them some detail. 

UFO's I'm working on currently: 

One of the other ladies that comes to the Tuesday sit n sew needed to get this quilt top finished and was having trouble and then got called away and had to leave for an hour or so. So the shop owner and I took her blocks and got them all sewn together for her while she was gone.  She was so happy and thankful for all the help.  :)  It's done in Halloween fabric. 

Next are my Doll Quilts for the Monthly swap that I haven't posted here yet:  

Other random things I've done in the last few 

months. 

Above is the 1st row of a baby quilt I'm making for my new great grandson who's going to be here in February sometime. This pattern was offered by AJ Padilla as block of the month.  And the wall hanging above it was also a pattern that I got from AJ Padilla.  

Below is a class I took at the local Quit Shop (Fabrics Unlimited) its a pattern by Toni Whittney. 

Below is a runner that I made from a Table runner book called "More of my Runners"  by Disa Designs  

I got it at my local Quilt Store:  Fabrics Unlimited Fort Mohave Az 

This only summarizes - both in life and in sewing but at least this catches up on the majority of what has happened in my first 5 months of retirement in my new home.  I'm hoping that now I can keep on top of these posts which and in turn will also keep me focused on what I want to accomplish. Which means that one of my next posts will be my plans and goals for the upcoming year.  

If you made it this far - thanks for stopping by and reading to the end.  

Blessings, Lynn