HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, 2008 is upon us. It is getting windier and windier here. So, not fireworks with the burn ban that is in effect.
I've been working on Clue #3. I have only 10 of the 80 completed, but all the pieces are ready to sew together. The rest will be done tomorrow.
Wishing everyone a Fabulous 2008!

Carolina Crossings Step #2 done

Well, I finished the Step #2 of the mystery.

I've got most of the pieces for Step #3 done, just need to put them together. That might still happen tonight, but might not too.

It is good to sew. I've had lots of interruptions, but I've been sewing on and off all day long. I would have thought I'd been further along, but I am slowing down in my old age. LOL

Carolina Crossings

I working on step 2. Not as leader/ender, but just sewing them. I am using only scraps, so some of them are one or two alike. That will give lots of variety. I'm hoping this red, white and blue scrappy is pretty. If I have anything, I have lots of red and blue scraps. Maybe I will have a little more room in the scraps drawers when this is finished. I don't cut up my scraps until I am ready to use them, so I don't have lots of strips of different sizes. I'm cutting as I go along. It is interesting how things are coming together.
I have 50 of 100 done. Hoping to get them finished and caught up before the next clue.

More sewing & quilting

I'm having fun again.

I've got about 1/3 of the sub units for Step 2 of Carolina Crossings done. I could have more done if I'd just sit and sew it.

But, I'm trying to get my kitchen curtains finished. I ran into a problem, so now it might be tomorrow before they are done. :(

I made a block for a love quilt. I need to get to the post office to get it mailed off. Maybe tomorrow morning.

More finishes

Finally finished my step 1 for Bonnie's mystery ! It is a long process for me. I've not been sewing like normal, so I was slow in making the 100 rail fence 3.5" blocks. LOL I have them done and am on my way to step 2. They are 100 9 patches. LOL Bonnie has already posted Step 4, so I am behind.

I did finish another pillow. This is a baseball pillow. LOL

Now on to making a love quilt block. I need to get it cut out and started tonight. Maybe I'll even get it done. :)

Pillow talk

These are towels I made for neighbors
This is a pillow for the neighbor girl
This is the pillow DD talked me into for her room. Like she needs another pillow. LOL
A cheetah and hot pink pillow for another friend's daughter.
Guess I'm into pillows today. LOL

Winter Solstic

One of my on-line groups has a Winter Solstic exchange. I actually should have opened this on Saturday, but I've not been home enough to do that. So, I opened it today. We had certain things we needed to find and package for our partner.

Look what I got.

To help me enjoy winter, I have a snowman vest to make and a Claus from Oz to put together.

Her winter celebration memory included soup when company came, so I have some vegetable soup mix. It is getting colder here, so I will be enjoying that.

The item only for me is a coaster with a tea cup in the center and has my name embroidered on the bottom, and it has a favorite color of lavendar on it.

The promis of a new year has some wonderful springy fabric, carrot seads and cardinal climber seeds. My DD will LOVE to help me plant them in the spring.

My something to give away is some home sweet home buttons. I get to keep one and give one away. I'm thinking I might just make a PC and send it on to a friend.

My recycled (used book) and recyclable gift was the book "Buried in Quilts" and "What I learned from god While Quilting" I love to read, so these will be used and I'll figure out when to pass them on. They were wrapped in wonderful Christmas fabric.

My quilty thing was a pincushion basket with spools of thread around it. I've seen this pattern, but have not made one. It was wrapped in green fabric and tied with this beautiful blue ribbon.

My "green" bag is a black bag from Fred Meyer.

I also received a star Christmas ornament.

Wow, I was a lucky person to receive this gift.

Weekly Update

Well, it is Sunday report time again. It is so much fun for Judy L. to have one spot for us to go and see what everyone is doing.


I had a busy week. Most of it was making redwork towels for teachers and staff. I also made some other gifts like the coasters and tote bags.


The friend I made the ladybug quilt for is home and recovering on the couch and is covered with love in the quilt. That makes me feel good to have spent a weekend working on it.


I finished the label for The birthday quilt that we sent to Aunti Elizabeth. She received it and was so happy. She is 90 years old and cold all the time. She is so enjoying wrapping up in the quilt and hugging on the pillows each night.


I did cut out 16 no sew scarves and didn't get photos of the finished products. The Brownies enjoyed making these. The animal print I used was just not what I will use again, but they loved them. Made another one today for one of DD's friends.


I made it through the week without buying fabric. I feel good that I made through the week. :)

Wishing EVERYONE a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Remember the reason for the season.

School is out

Got the last (forgotten people) towels done in time to take to school yesterday morning, so all was well.

We had fun passing them out. DD singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" all through the halls.

Then, I received more postcards from my swap. Aren't they all beautiful? These are from the last 2 years of swapping.

I'm hoping to get all presents wrapped and a quilt loaded on the long arm today.

Teacher gifts

I spent most of the week making towels for teachers
they are all red work towels.
Some are going to the staff and teachers DD has had in the past.

But they are all wrapped, candy cane and gift tag in place.

Then, she decided she wanted to give something to the cafeteria and custodial staff. So WE made coasters. DD did the pressing and organizing of the colors. I cut and sewed.

I'd made these totes before, and we filled them for 3 special teachers.

The 4th one goes to her main teacher.

So, I busted stash of towels and a little of Christmas fabrics. Since tomorrow is a half day of school, maybe I'll get some other things done.

Teacher towels

I embroidered 23 teacher towels yesterday. I need a couple more, but ran out of towels. LOL I had that many in the house. I think I bought too many over the year. We folded them and wrapped them with ribbon last night. DH suggested candy canes and chocolate. So, I should do that tonight after scouts.

I gave the ladybug quilt to a teacher that is going to get it to Shelly, so I hope it is OK for her.

Here is the label Vicki put together for me for Aunti Elizabeth's quilt.

Sunday Reporting

Well, it is that time again, to report my doings this week for the Judy L update report.
I feel like I've been productive this week, not like some weeks in the past. LOL
I've not bought fabric this week, so my stash has gone down. Everything I did this week was from stash or were gifts from a secret Santa.
I finished a ladybug quilt for a friend that just found out she is diabetic and has been having horrible problems, including surgery. She needed a quilt fast, so I used some blocks from my secret Santa to make it quick. I did it all this weekend. (I'm trying something new to link to the page where I've shown a photo. Let's hope it works.)
I've finished my blue and white Christmas quilt that was a UFO from a few years past. I really like this quilt. I have enjoyed it since I completed it. It is on my couch in the family room.
I made some heartstrings this week for the heartstrings anniversary quilt.
I finished a birthday quilt for Aunti Elizabeth from birthday blocks from a swap at least 3 years ago. So, this was another UFO that is completed. This is a pretty quilt that Vicki helped me make the label for. Thanks, Vicki!
I got 4 prayer squares ready to be tied by my Mom while at the doctors and I made a few yoyos and yoyo hearts.
I feel like I've accomplished some things this week.

ladybug top

Well, look what I finished today.

Blue Christmas

Here is the finished Blue Christmas quilt, and I'm going to be able to keep it. Isn't it beautiful. I got the blocks from the SFQ group a few years ago. I shopped for the alternating fabric a year ago at the retreat in PA. I finally found the border fabric this year (it is in the center of some of the squares. I think the white sets it off.

I'm happy with it.

Shelly's Ladybugs

Well, you know those pinwheels in my secret santa package? Welllll, they also had ladybugs in them! Wow, I was going to make a pattern with the pinwheels and plain fabric, and I had enough pinwheels and ladybugs to put a top together. I'm in the process of that right now.

The Misfits secret Santa opening

OK, I am trying my best to get this this opened. LOL The scissors won't even cut through all the tape - she must have used an industrial tape to make sure it won't explode in the PO. LOL



It's opened. Woo Hoo. There is a letter inside. Apparently my Secret Santa decided to goad me into making comments on the group. LOL How easily I am manipulated.



My first one is not wrapped and I got some yummy looking Chocolates. They are mine -- no one else gets them. (So, there!) She was going to send the hand dipped in chocolate coconut creams, but that would have been the downfall of my DH, so she just sent me the chocolates. THANK YOU!!!



My something handmade -- she says not from her is a beautiful wall hanging. I love it! It has Santa in the center of stars. These look lots like the stars Marianne made on my retirement quilt. Did you just happen to find them like that? They are hand quilted. Wow, I don't have a hand quilted Christmas wall hanging. Now to find where to hang it up. Beautiful and fun. Of course, the stars are red, my favorite color. It was tied with a 2.5" strip -- are you taking after Kim? LOL DH says - wow, that is nice.



And she was worried about the way she wrapped the gifts. LOL Interesting design and great use of masking tape. :)


ooooh look at these neat note cards were inside. They have different Christmasy things on the front. They were wrapped in red fabric. Now, what could be better than fabric for wrapping paper?



more red fabric. Oh boy, I received Marti Michell perfect patchwork templates. Kim has been telling me about these. Now, I bet Marianne asked Kim about these and Kim started talking about them and I said I didn't have them. Hummm, was there some help in getting these gifts? LOL They are perfect. I need to make some of those 54-40 blocks and keep delaying. Now I don't have a reason. Wow!



another beautiful red wrapped gift. I wonder if folks are really tired of me complaining about now doing applique? LOL I received "applique 12 easy ways" by Elly Sienkiewicz. LOL Now, I guess I'm going to have to try it. LOL Yes, I know it is sideways, but I'm not going to turn it now!

It was floppy and started to come apart, so I opened it quickly. LOL For my 6th gift, I got some lovely pinwheels with buttons in the center. They are red, of course, and white. Now, I thought that they might become UFOs, but not the case. I remembered that the blue and white Christmas quilt I just finished was special to me and I was going to give it away. But, now I have red and white blocks I can whip up a quilt for the friend that is in the hospital. Yea! Perfect timing.

Look at all the wrapping paper, I love the red. I'm going to be using it all. Thank you!

Wow, I am lucky with what I got from my secret Santa -- THANK YOU Marianne!!!!

This was fun, and I hope Marianne was not too stressed out. I know she did a WONDERFUL job with my presents.

Now to play today. It is windy and cold here in central Texas. Yuck!

Christmas quilt

Well, I got the blue and white quilt quilted, and the binding is on ready to be sewn down while DH is in the dentist. I had thought this was going to be mine, but it might end up being a lady who just found out she was diabetic and is in the hospital after a surgery on her leg.

Productive day

Well, I've not "completed" anything today, but I did lots of somethings. LOL

I made a couple more of step 1 of Bonnie's Mystery.

I finished 2 string blocks to be mailed off for the Heartstrings anniversary quilt.

I made the backing of the blue and white Christmas quilt. It is loaded on the long arm and ready to quilt. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet, but need to get it done in the morning.

DH has dental surgery tomorrow, and I don't have a quilt to work on. :(

I also did some putting away and cleaning up of the sewing area. It is almost clean. Still have some things to go, but it is better than before.

I received my secret Santa gift and I AM afraid of what is in it. LOL

Birthday Quilt

I finished the binding on the birthday quilt last night while waiting to go into the Christmas play for DD. Imagine me standing in line and sewing the binding on. Lay the quilt over the railing, have DS hold the bag to collect the clips and get the thread when needed. Sew away. LOL I'm in a time crunch. LOL

Today I did more red hat towels. Would you believe I forgot to take a photo of them? :( They were a big hit at the red hat event.

I made a healing heart for a friend, and forgot that photo too. What is wrong with me????

Oh, I wrapped a Christmas gift and can't post a photo of it, but I used 2 yds of material. :)

I've been cleaning up my room by putting away the fabric I used this weekend at the sew-in.

Busy day

As always, I was busy today.

I had a doctors appointment and was put on blood pressure medicine. Hoping that will be a good thing for me. It was stressing me out not know what was going on.

So, while at the doctor, I put the ties in for Mom to pray and tie on the prayer squares.

I made a few heart yoyos with the new yo yo makers. They are so tiny. I need to try some of the larger makers.

I made the backing and loaded the birthday quilt. Need to get it quilted tonight and then I'll have something to work on while DS is at the doctor tomorrow.

I got it quilted and ready for binding tomorrow.

Thought I'd better post before moving forward.

Here we are ready to go to the Christmas party.

Sunday happenings

Update for Judy L for the week.
Didn't get much done this week. If you look back, you can see the results.
I made 4 Prayer squares for the church. They used up 4 UFO blocks, and all from my stash.
I put the borders on my Christmas Quilt.
I made 60 of the first step of Bonnie Hunters myster
I started to get the backing done for the birthday quilt.
Did the QWL quilting and a binding this week.

Everything I did was from stash, and I didn't buy anything this week. DH did ask about fabric for Christmas, so my stash will probably be increasing.

QWL

another QWL done.

Saturday workings

Prayer Quilt. Mom will do the ties.
Joel's handquilted Care Bears
Wanda's sunbonnet sue
Lana's Santa without scrolling. Lana's Santa. Doesn't the scrolling look good.

I got the borders on MY Christmas quilt. Now to get the backing done and quilted soon.

Lana's quilt top she finished, it was supposed to be a log cabin. LOL

Prayer & Squares. Mom will tie these too.