A Stitch or Two

Honestly, that's about all I accomplished this month. I did piece the star from the Made in Cherry Quilt Along, but I'm still waffling on background fabric. Just cannot find the piece that looks like it does in my head. I REALLY wanted to use something from my stash, but I'm afraid I'll have to resort to making a purchase. Sigh. I want something rustic and barn wood looking. I have this piece, but I'm not sold on it:

I'm thinking a piece of the sketch in Latte:

or this, which may be too dark...unless I add a black thin border to the star and then I could use the piece I have. The black border is a really good possibility right now. What do you think?

I also pieced the last block for my Western Many Scrappy Trips quilt!

All 110 are now stitched



 and ready to be squared and pieced into the top! I was cutting it close too. This is what the spool looked like when I finished:

I'm trying to sneak in one more small project this afternoon for the Christmas Through the Year project.

Have y'all heard of Darlene's project? She's challenging us to make one Christmas gift every month. Find a box or a spot to stash it all and in December you'll have 12...or more... handmade gifts ready to give and hopefully you won't be up stitching into the wee hours of Christmas morning. One can only hope. :)

She's also postinglots of ideas and tutorials and at the end of the month you can link up and see what everyone else has made. Thanks so much Darlene!

So I stitched up this kitchen towel this morning. I know some ranch wives that'll put this to good use!

Think I need to stitch up another one...for me! :)

Back in the Saddle

At least I hope I am! Goodness! I thought January was supposed to be the slow month! If that's the case, then I'm in a heap of trouble! Good gravy!

My last post was titled : What I am Stitching in 2012. More like, what I am NOT stitching! LOL. I have managed to sneak in a couple of hours, but honestly, it is a sad list. I'll be back tomorrow...I hope, with an update on what I HAVE done.

This post is long overdue. In December I received some precious mail and I have been itching to share it with you since it arrived. My first piece came from clear across the pond...Australia. Dear, sweet, Rosie sent me this amazing package and I am over the moon! Honestly, I made a complete fool out of myself when the postman rang me up and told me I had a package waiting from Australia.


 I may or may not have danced a jig. Out popped this darling bag which tickled me plumb to pieces because I am really into these cute fabric bags lately. Such pretty, soothing colors to brighten up a cold, wintry day in the desert.



And Rosie also included this perfect fat quarter which made its way into my Western Many Scrappy Trips quilt:




And then I pulled out this sweet stocking with the cutest snowman ever. Rosie, you have no idea how much this little stocking means to me. One Christmas, years...and years ago, I made our little girl a Christmas outfit from this very fabric so it brought back precious memories and could not be more perfect!



And then, the icing on the cake! Rosie stitched up this gorgeous little fabric postcard! I love, love, love it! It depicts the canola in full bloom across the road from her. I framed it and it sits on the buffet in our dining room and I smile and think of Rosie every time I walk through the dining room...which is a lot because its in the center of our home.



I am truly touched by your generosity and thoughtful gift my friend.

I also won this amazing stack of fabric from darling Kelly over at Charming Chatter:

This must be the entire line of Wuthering Heights by Moda!  I'm reading the book too...hoe fun is that? Goodness, that is a lot of pretty fabric you sweet, darling Girl! I have a pattern simmering in my head, but I had to cut just a bit from it for my Granny Squares quilt right away...its perfect for that! Thank you so much!

I did not even realize that DD's microbiology books were there until I loaded the photo. Kelly did not send those. grin.

I love adding fabric from bloggy friends into my quilts. Makes them feel like a warm hug from across the miles. Y'all are just the neatest bunch! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to pop in here!

What I'm Stitching in 2012

The piles have been poked through. The boxes have been dumped. New piles have been created. It's a vicious cycle. However, in the spirit of new beginnings...and completions, I have compiled a list of sewing goals. A list of 12...oops, 18... projects I hope to complete. 18 in 12. ;). Some are UFOs, some are new projects and it is a sure thing that this list will continue to grow.

1. Quilt of  Valor - fabric has been collected and I am ready to begin cutting and piecing for our troops. This is an organization close to my heart, even before our son became a Marine. I started out making blocks for Moda's Just One Star program and pillowcases for the VA .Then I made Stockings for Soldiers. Time to start working on quilts.

2. Marine Quilt - Fabric has been bought, but I can not settle on a pattern. I am going to make a quilt for our boy. He has a cammo quilt I made to take with him, but I want to make him one for when he returns home from deployment. He also brought home old cammies that I plan to cut up and make into a quilt.

3. Jungle Baby Quilt - Started last year and only lacks the binding. Hope to make this my first finish of the new year.

4. Road to Spring -  This was a Road to Spring Quilt Along a few years back, but I just made it last year. It's at the quilter's, who is the dearest lady and has become a sweet friend.

5. Scrappy Log Cabin - Jackie has this one as well. Once they are both back, I will be a binding fool.

6. Meadow Friends Strip Quilt with Applique - Fell in love with this line and bought a boatload of it when it was half off. I have a plan so it gets a spot on the list. It's even cuter in person!

7.Flannel Snowman - Just got this to Jackie the other day. Just a 60x60 lap quilt, but I bought the fabric a few years ago and it was an older line then and I never found any coordinating yardage. It took a while for me to find something for the backing and I finally settled on some Minky.

8. Western Skies - Pieced, but I think I want this one custom quilted. I'm joining up with SewCalGal's FMQ project this year and hope to gain enough confidence to tackle this. I may have to find a quilter because it's a king-sized quilt and I'm unsure of whether my home machine will be able to tackle it.

9. 30's Raw Edge Circles Quilt - pieced and ready to be quilted. Another big quilt  (queen-size) and hoping to tackle this myself. I really oughtta start with small projects, but I'm hard headed that way.

10.Western Many Scrappy Trips - Another monster quilt that I am working on. It's a Bonnie Hunter Pattern, but I first saw it on a  sweet friend's blog here. I need 110 blocks. 48 are pieced.

11. Made in Cherry Quilt-Along - Joining in on the fun here. Still working on cutting the squares. I'll be using my vast collection of western fabrics.

12. Scrappy Granny Squares - This poor thing has been deserted, but the blocks I have made still make me happy so I vow to finish this in 2012. I've only made 10 blocks and yes, I will probably end up making it huge. What is it with me and big quilts?

13. 30's Irish Flower Garden - This one has been at Jackie's for a long time. She is learning how to custom quilt, but her customers (me included) aren't giving her any time to do that. This one has hexagon flowers appliqued in the spaces between the triple Irish Chains.

14. Everything from Carrie Nelson. :)

15. Patchwork Wool Quilt - hand quilting needed. Planned on working on this
before Christmas, but Christmas sewing took over.

16. Christmas Quilt - Bought a fat quarter pack of Countdown to Christmas on sale because I was fairly certain I would regret it if I didn't. Still need to settle on a pattern, but I'm so glad I grabbed this up.

17. Charlie Brown Christmas Quilt - should I even add this to the list? The fabric's not even out yet. I've already exceeded 12, but I saw a glimpse of it somewhere when people were posting about Quilt Market and it is a 'must have' in this house. See?

18. Ordered this book to make this quilt.

I am sure that baby quilts and various new projects will be thrown into the mix, but these are the projects that are currently in the hopper and vying for my attention. I am hoping that these will be completed by the end of the year which seems so very far away, but we all know better than that, don't we? If I don't get it all done, I can blame it on Carrie, right?