the last of the Christmas quilts 2016

I think this is the last of the pictures
that I haven't yet shared...

Christmas-y quilts for the grandkiddos!
The Grinch quilt for the ten-year-old:

back of the Grinch quilt

Micky and friends for the three-year-old:

back of the Mickey & friends quilt

Charlie & friends for the five-year-old:

back of Charlie & friends

And finally, a little quilt for the two-year-old great-niece -
Christmas cows 😀 :

back of the Christmas cows

That wraps up the last of the secret sewing/quilting from 2016... 
unless I come across more pictures on my FOUND camera!!

I have been cutting fabric strips for the next quilt project.  
And a little embroidery stitching has been happening, too!

The grandkiddos are all here tonight for a SLEEPOVER! 
Fun, fun! Though we're still awaiting the arrival of snow.
Originally when we planned this over-nighter, we
talked about going sled riding tonight 
(instead we took a walk in the Spring-like weather).

Hope your week has been nice,
and happy stitching!!

quilty Christmas gift for my momma

Sharing another quilty finish from last year...

It had been a while since I'd made a quilt as a gift for my Mom,
so when I attended the One Stop Shop Hop (in Dayton, Ohio) last October and saw a shop sample made with Chickadee fabric, I immediately knew it would be perfect for my mother.

I purchased the kit mid-October, I stitched it together at a retreat mid-November, quilted it after Thanksgiving, and mailed it on it's way to arrive for Christmas! 

 close up of hand-guided, long-arm quilting 
"Merry Christmas Mom" and holly leaves meandering

 One of the last stitches in the binding:

 The finished quilt, picture taken late night:

The coloring is a little off, but I do like the finish.  And, she absolutely LOVED it!

For inquiring minds:  the fabric line was called Chickadees and Berries, 
and I purchased the kit from Creative Fires Quilt & Stove Shop, Springfield, Ohio.

sharing meandering and the case of the misplaced camera

I've misplaced my camera...
not calling it lost just yet.
Without my camera, I seem just a bit, oh I don't know - unfocused. 
Yes, that was an intended pun.  Unfocused 😂
But I know that I haven't shared this quilt yet:

It's another by Janet for a niece for Christmas.
Just adorable.  Now I think I'll have to put a 30's quilt on my 'someday list'.

Here's a close up of some of the fabrics:

Perfect to quilt over! and I'm sure the niece loved it!

I also have a couple of my own quilts to share - 
but next time...
I really need to find the misplaced camera!
It's my way of documenting my fun/work,
and keeping me organized. 

Hope you all have had a great day!

What a beautiful storm

I may have mentioned before that I 
LOVE Winter...
I snapped this picture this past Wednesday morning:

Snowy and blustery... but clear, blue skies...
just love it all! 🙂
And I MAY have been told this before -
more than once:

Funny, I think.  But I do love the snow and cold.
Snow storms and bitter temps means a little more stitching time here, usually.  So maybe that's why I like the snow?

I've not been working on my own quilts much, but finishing up some customer meanderings.
Janet asked me to meander over these two quilts for her twin nephews:

 I didn't realize they were actually TWIN quilts until I put the photos here!!! lol  EXACT twins for twins!

and a couple of closeups:

Funny, that I didn't realize they were EXACTLY the same quilt made twice, until after I'd quilted and returned them to her, and put the pictures here.  I did load one with the green stars at the top, and the other with the green stars at the bottom, so they didn't seem the same when I meandered over them.

She's such a perfect piecer and presser - its always a pleasure to meander over her quilts!
(I also have another quilt of hers finished and ready to give her, so I'll share it next time, after I get it to her on Monday.)

And I'll finish with pictures of my Christmas tree - 
first the family trek over hill and dale to find the perfect tree:

family tree trek 2016 - that's our tree behind the group

And how it stands right now, with lights and berries and popcorn:

Ladder and ornament trunk at the ready!!!
Thanks for visiting, and I hope you all are staying safe, 
toasty warm and getting in some stitches!!

End of October - THE COUNTDOWN

Oh my goodness, time is surely flying!
Can you believe, only four weeks until Thanksgiving & 
eight weeks until Christmas???!!!
I can not!
I don't know about you, but I'm not really a count down type of person
with my calendar filled with daily tasks to accomplish and check off.
I'm more the Down-to-Crunch-Time, Give-Me-A-Deadline type.
Though I do have more than a few projects to get done 
in the dwindling amount of time before the end of the year!

How do you do The Countdown?
By the number of sewing and quilting projects remaining to accomplish?
EG:  Only this quilted table runner to finish before turkey day,
and only three more quilts to piece, quilt and bind before end of the year???
Chuckling to myself here - my example is not far off that last mark,
as I really do have a whole lot of quilting on my list to get accomplished before the end of the year. 

So while I'm slowly plugging along with my own projects,
but I have had the pleasure of quilting for others!
I can't show the first couple, because they are mutual friends and read this blog,
but I can show what
Janet has finished from her countdown list, for her great nephews!
A cute Mickey and Minnie:

 And another cutie - Snoopy and Woodstock

And when I got those two quilted tops back to her, 
she had THREE more ready for me to meander over!

So, how about you?
Are you ready for the upcoming countdown?
And how do you tackle your project timeline?

Happy end of October!  Hope your Autumn is full of pleasant times,
and not just Crunch Time!

quilting in the heat

Welcome to Autumn!!!
I love all the seasons and the changes brought by each.
I always think that my favorite season is the one that's here now...
then the next season comes in and it's my favorite! lol
89 degrees and humid here today, so definitely NOT Autumn-like.
In preparation for the change of seasons, 
I've not changed out a single bed quilt or quilted wall hanging, either.
With all the heat, it just doesn't feel like the time to do the change over to Fall.
But still nice to have the warmth and sunshine,
even at more than 15 degrees above normal.

My machine quilting slows down a little because of 
the aforementioned heat and humidity -
as my long arm machine is in the back sun room.
But just beautiful, early in the morning:

Even with the extreme heat, 
I do have a couple of customer quilts to show for the last few weeks, though.
First is a baby quilt that I got to meander over for Janet:

Just perfectly made and oh, so cute!!!

The second quilt is a larger-than-king-sized that I got to quilt for Jackie:

Flannels front and back.  And it was so large that it was hard to photograph - I had to take it out to the back deck!

It's pictured a little in the shadows, so the colors are a little dulled in the brighter areas, but you can see the great fabrics used.  She used the Disappearing Nine Patch pattern.

That's all for today... Hope you've had a nice welcome to the first of Autumn!!

more quilting and meandering fun

Have I ever mentioned that I love my job? 
Earning a living, 
being creative and 
doing something I love, all at the same time!
The job that isn't really a job 
is that I get to quilt over the most adorable fabric creations, ever!
This past week I did a couple more 'jobs'...
fun times with fabric and threads!!! 
The first one to share is an adorable quilt for a baby arriving soon,
from her Great-grandma Louise!

 
With the sweetest hand embroidered roses throughout:

Next, I got to meander over this one:

Almost king-sized, for a son from his momma, Jackie!

It was made of flannels and oh, so soft.

I also worked on some of my own creations, and I'll share those at a later date.
The sun is shining and the humidity is relatively low, so I'm heading to the pool with the grand-kiddos!

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

 

quilting to share

Here's another baby quilt that
I didn't get shared in the last couple of months
(when I was having blog-access-troubles).

Well, actually, it was TWO baby quilts that I was
able to meander over...
But since the two were exactly the same, 
I guess I didn't think I needed a picture of BOTH of them. LOL
So here's a picture of the ONE that I did photograph!!:
THE cutest little Owl families!!!

Just adorable fabric! and wonderful piecing by Janet, too!

I've also been working on a couple of commission quilts -
so no sharing those right now...
One for an June anniversary gift, 
and the second for a wedding in August.
Such fun sewing and quilting!
And a little pool-side fun with the Grands, thrown in also!

Last of the missing quilt posts...

I think!!
Finishing up with Patty's quilts from December gifting;
reminder - she used the table-decor bandanas from her
50th wedding anniversary party and made quilts for each of her
grandchildren as memories of their help
in hosting the special party for their grandparents.
She made herself this one -
s small lap quilt with Autumn colors and bittersweet berries:

 

Then after Christmas,
she decided she wanted to use up the rest of the bandanas
and made herself a bed-sized quilt:

So sweet that she made EIGHT memory quilts!! I just love how she used the wedding anniversary bandana decor!

Continuation

of the missing quilted quilt posts.

More from Patty -
These were from mid-December;
she used the Bandanas from the table decor
from her 50th wedding anniversary party,
and incorporated them into quilts for her grandchildren...
She chose fabric to go with the bandanas that fit each of their interests.
Great idea, and I'm sure SO special for each of the grandchildren
for memories of their grandparents' 50th anniversary
that they helped in planning!!!
Pinwheels, bandanas, Republicans, and flowers:

 Rail Fences, Bandanas and Patriotic:

 Rail Fences, bandanas and musical notes:

 Finally, The Stack!:

Are they not just SO sweet??