January's Done What's Up for February

Recap - January 2017

1.  Raggedy Ann Baby Quilt.  Goal sandwich and quilt it.  Complete the quilt so we can mail it to our friends in Tennessee that have adopted a sweet baby girl.    Completed and received and they love it.

Here's what they said: 

Lynn! WOW!!!! This is Crew's first hand made item and it took my breath away. I love the theme and the colors...and that you used anchors. This is going to be treasured for so very long. Thank you is not enough, but we are sure blown away by the time and love put into this.

Here is Baby Crew on the back of the quilt. 

2.  Bag Lady #1.    Ernestine - Ronnie Lyn  Complete - Goal Met! 

3. Military Charity Quilt  - Finish quilting and bind.   Completed - Goal Met! 

4. CRQ Guild - Start creating the Challenge block for April Workshop.    I am going to do this in cotton and show them 3 different applique techniques.  Goal is to get started on it.  

Complete - Goal Met!   Here is my Sketch of the block - It is called Sweet Tweet.   :)  

5. UFO - #6  Henrietta Whiskers.  This is my hand pieced quilt. I have blocks 1-6 completed.  

Goal Complete blocks 7-9.  

Block #7

Block #8

Block #9 

And if that's not enough - I kept going and look what I was able to do..... The top is done.  Wow!!  Next time this comes up on the UFO of the month I will start hand quilting it.  I am so happy.   Goal Complete + :)

6. Along with the Random APQ # UFO Buster, I am going to pick a UFO and work on it each month until it is completed then go on to the next.  My first UFO to work on which may take me all year - and that's okay - is the Bear Quilt.  I have been working on it off and on for over 3 years.  I got the blue jay and the quail fused for the corners.  Now I need to work on the Aspen trees and grasses that will go around the bears on the main background.  

Goal for this month:  Trace and fuse on to appropriate fabric all the trees, leaves and grass that will go around the bears on the background.   Goal Met.  I have fused a lot grass and tree's and branches - however until I start assembling it I won't know if I need more of them or not.  

7. Finish the heart place mats by the January CRQ business meeting.  We are supposed to each make two.  I have another cut out in reds.   

Complete - Goal met can't believe I didn't take a picture of my other one - However I do have it in a group photo.  I drew a circle around the two - they are in the center of the picture below. 

Bonus

There is not a specific bonus project for this month.  If I am able to get all of this done, then anything that I can work on beyond this will be a bonus. 

Here are my unscheduled Bonus Items. I took an etching class with my Sister at her RV Park.  Then I figured that was a great gift idea so made another.  Here they are.  The pumpkin one will be the gift.   The flower one I guess I'll hang in my sewing room. 

I had a very productive month and I'm sure it helped having my Sister here as my Sous Chef Quilter.  She doesn't quilt but she'll iron and cut and she will sew blocks together. Every little bit helps right?

So what's up next?  

February 2017

1.  Bag Lady #2.  This is Charlotte - Gloria

2.  Church Raffle Block -  The church where we have our monthly meetings for the CRQ guild is raising money for their building fund.  A few of us have volunteered to make a quilt that can be raffled off to help them.  I am making one of the 20" appliqued blocks.  

Here is the picture of the quilt:  

This is my block.  -It's in the center 3rd block from the top. 

A little hard to see the picture on the pattern was not wonderful.  Here are the fabrics in my kit for my block. The floral fabric is a little more blue than it shows here but it gives you an idea.  This is not due until May - So Goal is to start.  

3.  Monthly UFO #  _______   TBA - and I will do a post on the starting status.  

4.  CRQ Block (Sketch Pictured above)   Goal:  Get almost completely done! 

5. On going UFO - Bear Quilt - Start placement of center which will be the "bed top" with bears, grass and trees. Make additional trees and leaves if needed.  Goal: have 3/4 of top placement arranged and at least partially fused. (some fusing may need to wait for other sections), 

6.  Retreat time.  I have a retreat coming up.  So what do I want to do at the retreat.  I always take enough for 10 weeks so here are some thoughts.  First I want to take the kit that I received at Christmas for my finished scavenger hunt quilt.  

Goal is to finish the top.  Bonus if I do more.  

Next  I will take my very oldest quilt UFO. (2009) It was a quilt as you go - you would think it would be done.  I'm tired of it just sitting there.  It needs 12 blocks added. 6 to each side. I have 6 done - I need to finish 6 blocks and get them sewn together on the top of the quilt.  Then there till be hand stitching on back.  Goal will be to finish and attach the 12 blocks.  

(I do however reserve the right to change my mind on this project being taken.) 

I am also bringing a couple of my Row by Row kits to work on.  I have plenty of them.  

Bonus

I want to try a doing one of the "Project Quilting" challenges.  If I can do one or both of those and complete them, that would definitely be a bonus.  Also I would like to quilt one or more quilts a month to catch them up, getting that done, would be a bonus.  Doing more on the UFO's that I've listed, that will be a bonus.  So I'm leaving myself open to extra credit - my blog - my rules.  

I will keep you posted on how I do.

Have a Blessed Day!  

Lynn 

Dexter and Henrietta

I am on a roll and I am loving it.  My random UFO for the month has been Henrietta Whiskers my hand pieced quilt.  As you can see I am making some really great progress this month.  Here is where I ended up last night before I stopped. 

So when I started this month - my goal for the month was to get at the last 3 blocks done. 
At one point, I wasn't sure I was going to get that much done. Well the clouds lifted and the wind blew in the right direction.  As you can see I got the 3 blocks done.   

So I kept going. I next sewed blocks 1-6 below together.  Then the blocks above 7-9 together.  

And then I prepared the wool birds and stars that will go into the borders.  

Then I cut out the borders and started sewing them together.  

You know the squirrel's name is Henrietta. Are you wondering yet where Dexter comes into this?  It comes from Netflix!  Normally I listen to books on tape while I sew and quilt.  But while I've been doing all this hand work I have been sitting in a comfy place in my living room.  Doggies at my side, binge watching Netflix. I ran out of episodes in some of my other standby shows Criminal Minds, NCIS...so I started looking for other series I could get into and ran across "Dexter".   


Dexter is a forensic technician specializing in blood spatter pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have slipped through the cracks of the justice system.   
 Above in Blue comes from Wikipedia. 
What makes it more intense is that his Sister is a homicide detective, working right next to him daily.  

My Doggies are loving the extra cuddle time - I'm getting to enjoy a great new series of shows and in the process my UFO is getting close to becoming a flimsy.   
I have one more border to go as you can see in the picture at the top, before I can put the remaining birds and stars on.  And I am hoping since I have a couple more days that hubby will be golfing left in the month that I really can finish this top into a flimsy.  And the bonus is that this UFO is on my UFO list twice this year so next time it comes up I will be hand quilting it.  YAY!!!!  Could I possibly finish a whole UFO this year.  The year is starting off really well.  

Have a Blessed Day!
Lynn 

Henrietta the Wooly Squirrel

My Wooly Squirrel is Henrietta Whiskers. I have been working on her for a long time but she is getting so much closer to being done.  Yay.  This is my UFO for the month and my goal was to at least get the last 3 blocks done.  Blocks 7 - 9.   As of last night I have blocks 7 and 9 completed 9except buttons for eyes) and block 8 is 90% done.  I just need to do the panes in the window.  Since this is hand pieced I of course will be hand quilting this too.  So even when the borders are on I still have my work cut out for me, but having all the blocks done just give me the light at the end of the tunnel feeling.  This is block 7 to the left and block 9 below. 

And here is block #8.  

They will next be joined together with 1-6 

Now you know what I've been working on for the last few days.  I have been hand stitching and watching shows and movies on Netflix.  
None of the blocks have been sewn together and since the month is not over yet - that will be next.  Then I can get the borders on with a little more applique and then the hand quilting.  Not all of this will happen this month, however I have this UFO listed 2 times this year in hope of getting closer to getting it done.  
Have a Blessed  Day!
Lynn 

Reflecting Pumpkins

Unscheduled, finished projects are always a bonus.  Even if they aren't a planned bonus project for the month in the goals list.  

I realized one of my friends birthday's is way closer than I knew or remembered.  So all the sudden I did the " what can I do? "  thought process.  After taking the etching class, I got the idea I could make her an etched mirror with the items I know she likes.  Her and I both like working with wool and like doing the primitive stuff.  So pumpkins, sunflowers and crows are the answer.  Here is what I came up with.  

It's hard to get a good picture of these mirrors, because you're trying not to get in the picture but get the detail too. 

I saw a picture in one of my primitive magazines that spurred this picture, however most of this I drew myself.  Which is an accomplishment because I was never an artist that way.  My Mom was an artist and could draw pretty much everything and paint it in any medium you could think of.  I can do the sewing and cooking and painting, my Mom could do, however, I didn't get the natural drawing talent.  But as I get a little older,  I am getting better. 

That was the majority of what I got done yesterday in the sewing room.  I did a little stitching on my UFO of the month "Henrietta  Whiskers"  while I watched TV.  I got 3 square in a square blocks done and 4 squares sewn in a row.  I'll be working on that more today I think and so I'll show more of that later.  

My Sister and Brother in Law are only here for 2 more days.  They will be leaving early Thursday morning so not sure if we will be doing something with them today or not.  I know we are going to dinner tomorrow - but we may be doing that today as well.  

. 

Have a Blessed day doing something you want to do   Lynn

Ernestine - Ronnie Lyn

Yesterday was a nice relaxing day.  Randi came over we each were doing some stitching.  She worked on an embroidery and I worked on the binding on the military quilt while watching a movie.  "Blended"  It's a cute romantic comedy, with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.  Then while we were doing that, she cooked us dinner.  Baked Chicken, White Rice with Gravy and Green Beans with Tomatoes in them. Yummy.  Chicken and rice is one of my favorite meals and one that I always asked for on my Birthday each year.  So it is always one that my Sis knows is a treat for me and is why she made for us.  

After dinner and a little more visiting they headed back to their place and we kicked back and watched some football and I worked on finishing the first Bag Lady - Ernestine.  Her other name is Ronnie Lyn and you can ready about the 2nd name to my Bag Ladies here.   

I think there is going to be a little link up for the Bag Ladies each month but I'm not sure where and how that will work, once I figure that out I'll let you know. This will be the next one up for next month.  (If I can hold off until then)  This is Charlotte - Gloria. 

Today the guys are going golfing - so my Sis will come over and I think we are going to work on some glass/mirror etching.  Last Monday we took a class at her RV park clubhouse and learned how to do it, and I decided I wanted to do another one as a gift.  So I think we'll work on that today.  I offered to show her how to paint using ink and gel and she didn't bite so I guess it will be mirror etching.  :)  

Here is the one I made while taking the class. 

Well that's about it for now.  Have a Blessed Day doing something you want.    Lynn   

Almost There

I have two "Almost There's", that I'm very happy about, but for different reasons.  The first one is the best of the two.  My Sister and I have a package that is "almost there" to it's destination.  YAY!  

We made a quilt together for a very special little baby girl that has been adopted by friends of ours.  They are so over the moon with their new little baby and it's so awesome that Sis and I actually were able to give them something that we both made - especially since my Sister is not a quilter.  She did all of the embroidery blocks and I did the piecing and quilting. With the exception of the back, She cut 90% of the squares for the back and we both sewed them together.  According to USPS - it is scheduled to be there on in a couple of days. (The pattern for these blocks was part of a free pattern offered by Kaaren Johnson of the Painted Quilt) 

We had lots of left overs so we did a patchwork back. 

Here is my Sister Randi. 

And Me

The other "Almost There" is not near as exciting, however it is a happy moment too.  One of our guilds agreed to make 12  -  63" x 87" quilts for a new Veteran home that is opening in our area to rehabilitate veterans with chemical dependency issues.  Well since so many needed to be made and quilted I ended up having to make and quilt it myself.  This wasn't made with any type of pattern and frankly I don't like how it turned out.  I think that is another reason I just want it to be done and over with it.  I didn't do anything fancy on the quilting, and since I was quilting it on my little domestic machine, I just did wavy lines. I am very happy that as of yesterday the quilt is made and quilted and the binding is on.  I just need to do the hand stitching of the binding. So I am almost there with it too. 

I'm pretty sure I'll be working on that for an evening or two.  

Have a Blessed Day!

Lynn 

Needle Book Archive

I noticed that the Tuesday Archive Link up this week is needle books.  It's kinda funny how timing is because I was just looking into my needle books because we're getting ready to teach them at one of our guilds.  I have several more than this, however here are a few from over the years. 

These have pockets on the left  to store floss, thread and scissors. The right side is made of wool for your needles and pins.

The Needle Book below is one that I did a Needle Keep/Book Tutorial for on my blog, if you are interested.  

And the below - are some needle books I made for my friends as gifts one year. 

This is one I made for a gift for my friends birthday.  

it was fun looking back on my posts of Needle books, thanks Val for the link up party. 

Have a Blessed Day. 

Lynn