so far so good

Well I managed to keep my New Year's resolution at least through January and bust some stash. :o) I resolved to work on Christmas presents the weekend closest to the 25th each month so I will be better situated this December.

These are finished except for the binding. I found this pattern in one of my Whimsicals pattern books, Pastimes. It has been on my list to make since I got the book. I really love the way they turned out. I'm not sure who I am going to give them to, but I have quite a few friends who I think would like them. I might even keep one for myself. ;c)
I also added lining with pockets to the larger felted purses I have been knitting. This will make them much more useful. I now have 2 of these and 3 of the small version tucked away for gifts.
Everything I made came from my stash. It feels great to have such a good head start on Christmas and get rid of some fabric at the same time!

some progress made

I'm working really hard to get out of my slump. I pulled out a UFO this week that was all pinned and sandwiched and started machine quilting it. I worked about an hour on it on Wednesday which made me feel pretty good. I have it laying across my ironing board so I will continue to work on it before starting any new quilt project. I'll post a picture when I finish.

Notice I put the stress on the quilt project. It hasn't kept me from starting new knitting projects. It was really cold last week and since I have been working from home for the last 8 years I have not really had much need to go out in bad weather. Now that we have moved I have to drive to work and then walk from the parking garage to the office. I found that I really need a hat so I started one yesterday. I finished up the knitting this morning and wanted to get it felted so I can wear it tomorrow. I had a few of the purses laying around that had been knit but not felted so I figured I would do it all at once. Here is everything shaped and drying. I have my purses shaped on computer programming books covered with a cotton dish towels and the hat is on a wadded up ball of plastic bags. I have been having a great time with all this knitting. I just need to find a felted mitten pattern so I can make a pair to go with my hat.

I have a new project I have been thinking about in my "spare" time. While checking out a Teddy Bear shop on our trip to New Jersey after Christmas (which I try to do whenever I travel :o)) I found this really cool feather tree with fence. I agonized over it since it would be out for such a short time each year, but finally let DH talk me into it by promising myself I would decorate if for year round then change it up for Christmas. I have had a few ideas of primitive decorations that I could make to put on it, but haven't really come up with anything I love yet. It is currently sitting on the end of my kitchen counter with one lone teddy on it and a couple sitting under it. I have found a spot upstairs where kittens are not allowed to go and am looking for a low table to hold it permanently. As soon as I finish quilting my UFO I am going to make a quilt to go under it then start on ornaments. Anyone have any ideas for neat ornaments?

Happy Birthday to my Mom who had a really good post-chemotherapy checkup on Friday. :o)

my scattered self

I am not sure what is wrong with me in this new year. I think it may be a combination of things. My mom finishing her chemotherapy, but not knowing really where things are going from here on. Having my company suddenly decide to change their vacation policy when I am months away from getting 6 additional days each year and now I will never get any more. Having both of the kids home for the holidays and then they leave again. And having so many projects I want to do, but most of my time having to be spent on things that have to be done. Basically we are 12 days into the new year and I have completed nothing except starting a new stash. I have yet to even minimally deplete the fabric stash and I have started collecting wool yarn. I am hooked on felting knit items. There are sales. Need I say more? This is a little purse I made for a friend at Christmas. Isn't it cute? I love miniatures. I have since made 3 more in blues when I should have been making Christmas presents. :c\ I have no one to give them to, but I felt like making them. I now have an entire selection of yarn to make probably dozens more.

Last night I came into my sewing, computer room and was going to do a quick post and then make some more Heartstring blocks for Nancy, but I sat down and started reading the blogs I subscribe to. (You guys are quite chatty lately finishing up your projects.) I just kept reading, then chatted online for a while with a friend who has moved away then picked up a book to read ..... I just can't seem to get motivated. I was in the right room and everything. I have always been a list person. If it is listed I do it just for the thrill of crossing it off, but lists aren't even helping.

OK enough complaining.Nancy. I did manage to get a few blocks made for you. I will send them off on Tuesday. Send me some motivational thoughts and I will try to get some more done before the mail goes out. Misty and Dusky approved them for you and added a little kitty fur for their charitable contribution. :oD

round 6

This was my last round, applique. I finished it the night before I had to go to exchange them so I didn't get a chance to post a picture. This was so delightfully 30's that I had to do something to compliment. I had originally wanted to do an entire border of either baskets or butterflies. With the sun on the top I didn't feel that I could do anything along the top. If I had done something along the sides it would have added more beside the sun and I didn't like the idea of that either. I don't know where the idea for the fence came from. I think I got it in the shower. For some reason that's where I do most of my thinking. ;o) The size wouldn't lend itself easily to just the fence so added the gate in the center so I could vary the size of the center picket. I then added both some butterflies and flowers that would have been in the baskets if I had done a basket border. I like it and the person who owns it seemed very pleased.

round 5

Mine.

Final.

round 4

Mine.

Final.

round 3

Mine.

Final.

round 2

Mine.

Final.

round 1

My contribution.

The end result.

round robin revisited

On December 12th my quilt group from the town I moved from had our Christmas party. We had a pot luck, secret santa and Round Robin reveal. It was a great time and I didn't forget that I promised you all the final products from our Round Robin quilts. I was very impressed with how they all came out. Here is how mine started.

Here is the finished quilt.

We had a really good time looking at them and figuring who did which border. Everyone seemed very pleased with their finished product and we were all impressed with how much everyone really stretched themselves.

i need a vacation from my vacation

Happy New Year Everyone!!!
It has been so long since I posted. I have really meant to, but Christmas has just taken all of my time. I have made a resolution this year so this won't happen to me again this coming Christmas. I have resolved to spend the 25th of each month (or the Saturday closest to it) making Christmas presents. Hopefully, next holiday season I will have all of the handmade things complete long before the day, so I can sit back, relax and enjoy the season.
I have tons of pictures to show, including the completed round robins we revealed at our quilting Christmas party.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Mine, although hectic, was very enjoyable. A friend and I always volunteer to do the Adopt-a-Family for our office. A lot of our coworkers choose to donate money instead of gifts so we end up doing a lot of shopping. This year we adopted 2 families and a Senior which was new for us. The Senior said she wanted the gifts delivered by the Salvation Army instead of us so we had to get hers together quickly and to them by the 12th for delivery. We were sorry that we hadn't spent more on her because by the time the donations were all in we ended up with a lot for the other families.
My mom, who is being treated for ovarian cancer, ended up in the hospital a couple of weeks before Christmas. The chemotherapy had depleted her resistance so she got some sort of infection. This put her behind on her shopping so I helped her out a little while we were out shopping for our families. It was also her turn to have the big extended family Christmas, but she didn't feel up to it so we had it here. She was feeling much better by then and is doing very well now.
DD is now living in Denver. Bad year to move to Denver if you want to come home for Christmas. It didn't really turn out to be much of a problem for her because they had a Nutcracker performance on the 24th so she couldn't fly out until Christmas day anyway. She made it out with no problems, but we were worried. A couple of years ago she was living in Indianapolis and flew home the day of the freak 19 inch Midwestern snowstorm. She arrived 12 hours later than she was supposed to and her bags didn't arrive for 3 more days. She learned a valuable lesson about packing a certain amount of necessities into carry on bags. She had no clean clothes and O MY GOODNESS no cell phone charger. If you have ever had to live with a teenage girl who has no cell phone and nothing to wear I think you may have some idea of what we went through. :-D
DD wanted to open presents actually on Christmas and her plane didn't get in until 4:30 pm. So after the extended family Christmas and while DH and DS went to get her I trimmed the tree. By the time we were halfway through opening presents I was exhausted. DD got quite the chuckle out of the fact that I was saying I was ready for bed at about 7:30. I have always been a night person and for me to be up until at least midnight is pretty normal.
We got up the next morning and went to my sister's for yet another Christmas with her family and my parents. Then left early the next day to drive to New Jersey where DH's parents have moved in with one of his sisters. The traffic on the way down was horrible. I think everyone else was headed home after the holidays. The way back wasn't bad, but I feel like I didn't have any vacation at all.
DD and DS were both at friend's houses for New Years Eve so DH and I were home alone. We stayed up until about 12:05 am and then went to bed. Neither of us has really gotten out of our own way today and now we have to go back to work tomorrow. :o( Somewhere in there I used some vacation days...... I wish I felt rested.