working off depression

Ever get to a point where there doesn't seem to be any joy going on?  Well, that is what is happening here and I'm trying my best to work through it.  What did that get me today?  A mini migraine.  I stopped the full blown, but didn't get anything done today.
I really want to sew.
I am appliqueing a turtle onto the blue background.  Trying to focus and do that does not help lots when things are blurry.  But, piecing is not going to happen.  Maybe a photo later.

I finished my applique of the Hawaiian Turtle.  I think this is going to be framed in brown and then it is going in my bathroom.

Merry Christmas

I'm so thankful to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas! 
I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!

It has been a family day.  I came upstairs a bit ago to clean up the wrapping station and put it back into a sewing studio mode.  :)
My desk is cleaned off.
My pressing table is cleaned off.
My cutting table needs a little more work.
My floor needs vacuuming.
I would like to load a quilt tonight to start on tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow is a full day of sewing for me.  No more cleaning and all focused on family and sewing.  Mostly sewing.  :)

I want a couple more finishes this year, so I start my UFO list off a couple smaller.  Right now, I have 126 logged items.  I finished 34 UFOs in 2012.  I must admit some of those were only 1 on the list, and became 3+.  LOL  But, that feels good to know.  I didn't think I had done that much this year.

Have you been thinking about New Years Resolutions?
I have a bit.
1.  Continue to reduce my UFO listing
2.  Work on something I want -- DIP (Dreams in Progress)
3.  Use up more batting pieces so I can see out of my side window.
4.  Learn more about my embroidery machine.

Not sure if those are all, but those are the key ones at this point.  I'll have to focus and make sure to focus on them.

Have a wonderful rest of the day and year!

No more sewing before Christmas

I feel good this year.  I am not working on something at the last minute.  I have not had any planned projects that are not done.

I made this one for DD's band director.  she loves pink, so I had to add tht in.  In the future, I will be careful to have darker fabric hear the center.

15 minute table runner.  I have 2 of these.  The other one is red in the center.  They are quick, but I think I am going to put batting in the next one.  Flimsy without it.

Made about 20 of these embroidered towels.  Gave them away as fast as I made them, so I didn't get the photos.

What are my plans for the rest of the year?  I hope to work on this tessellation quilt and finish it soon in 2013.  I am also working on cutting out the 2.5" squares of baby clothing.  That project has been on-going for years now and I am making progress, but not quick enough.

I do hope to work on the picking up and cleaning of my studio.  This place has been hit by a bomb.  The wrapping bomb, the completing bom, the put everything in there that doesn't have a home bomb.  LOL

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Working on Christmas gifts

I don't know which person this is going to, but I like the way it turned out.  This was a UFO with only 5 blocks.  I used the 3 here and then below

I used the 2 extra ones and the Jo's club applique.  This was my first applique, so I'm keeping this one.  The echo quilting is the first time I've done that.  It's in our family room on the coffee table.

I have so many Christmas scraps leftover that I decided to make some simple quilt as you go table runners.  I have this one done and the second one almost ready to trim and bind.

Here is the other UFO that was a rail fence.  The problem, the amount of fabric in the bag was not enough to make it a lap quilt.  As it is, it is not all that big.  A nice car quilt.  I used scrap blue fabric for the inner border and then used the Christmas scrap bin to make piano keys that are not the same sizes.  I bound it in the blue.  Not bad for a scrap quilt.  This is for another teacher.

Pillow time

Needed Christmas gifts for DD's teachers.  I had this snowball Christmas quilt started that was from a swap and in order to use it I needed to make more blocks.  But, I decided I didn't like the way they were looking, so I made them into pillows.

I kept this one.  :)

All her teachers have gifts now.  I have a couple other items to make for other folks, and special teachers, but I have the majority of things done!

Yeah me!

String quilts

I've been trying to get these string quilts completed and ready for donation.  I have a couple of places they muight go, but am waiting on one organization that gives to families at Christmas.

These were leftover from the other quilts and are randomly put together.

yellow strings

Red strings

blue strings 

these all matches, so they went together like the little one before

I know I had a pink one too, but have no idea where that photo is.  LOL

Other finishes

I hate throwing anything away.  LOL

speedy strip for a donation quilt

I'm having trouble uploading all the string quilts I've finished, so I will try again later.

Applique

I took an applique class with my friend Lorena.  After doing the practice piece, which isn't something you can use to make anything with....I pulled the Hawaiian applique I bought on vacation this summer.  I finished the applique part and need to figure out how to hand quilt it.  I enjoyed working with the batik. It does not fray as easily.  :)

UFO Finish

This was an ostrich round robin and I finished it for the BAMC High Risk Pregnancy Clinic.  I don't like the embroidery on it, but the rest is OK.  This is UFO #9 from Liz's challenge.

No sewing, but cleaning

Well, I have such a mess with non quilting things in this room that I have to figure out what to do.  I folded lots of fabric to try and get it all in the cabinets.  I wish I had the right size of shelving to get all of it in the right colored pile.

UFO Challenge

Liz is having a wonderful UFO challenge and I have my list for it.
1. 4 patches flowers/white (93)
2. Baby clothing quilt – boy
3. Baby clothing quilt -- girl
4. Batik 9” – 9-patches (45)
5. Bug Jar Quilt
6.Christmas 6 inch squares
7. Circular Bullseyes (6)
8. Horse Panel quilt
9. Ostrich round robin
10. String blocks (17)

This month Liz chose item #9.  The Ostrich round robin.  Well, I like what was there until I screwed it up with embroidery work that didn't work out so well, so now I need to figure out what to do with it.  LOL

Off to find the UFO and the others so I can put them all in one place.

I've been working school/band/girl scouts/PTC items instead of doing things I love.  The rest of today and tomorrow is supposed to be my time.

Crazy week

First of all, this week was mostly with me at school for band uniforms or at the doctor for ear problems.  One good thing about doctor offices is I take things to work on.

I finished the binding on a Jo's Club Quilt (I don't know where I put it, so I can't show a photo)

Started this binding and had about 6 inches and finished it last night.  This will go to the Wilford Hall medical center high risk pregnancy clinic.

Today DD and DH wanted to go on a road trip, so I hurried and put the binding on this.  Wish I'd had 2 of them done.  I could have finished the other one too.  LOL  This is going to a daughter of a vet in the community.  I need to make 2 boys quilts and a infant girl quilt.  A friend said she'd do one of the boy quilts.

the other night we were headed home and it stopped raining and look what we saw.  Not quite as pretty as Hawaii, but still beautiful.  I'm told from other angles it was a double rainbow.

I hope to get some pants hemmed for the band this weekend.

I hope to get my ear to stop hurting.

Fun

From fabric I had to trim to make the blocks the right size.  I was using pre-cut strips that were about half an inch too big.  I couldn't let it go to waste.  I need to work on how to decorate the outside.

Finished the binding on this little quilt for the Wilford Hall high risk medical ward.

I'm quilting the flowered quilt today.  Almost done with it, but this foot starts of ache when I stand too long or sit too long or or or....

I looked under the cutting table.  Mistake.  I keep finding UFOs that I've pulled and staged and forgot about the staging area.  :(  So, I am putting them back in the UFO cabinet and will pull when I am ready. 

Found some more string blocks.  :(  Guess I need to sew them together quickly and get all the string blocks out of here.  Maybe I can make that into the baby quilt I need since there are pink center strips.

Small quilting group

Today was DH's 62nd birthday.  He gave me a present and said it was OK for me to go to my quilt group.  I had not been quilting since April, so this was a HUGE treat for me!

I had the pleasure of quilting with friends today.  I decided it was a day to sew together string blocks.  I've had these here from heartstrings for quite awhile, so it is more than time.  They qualify for UFOs.

Red blocks

Yellow blocks.  This one needs some borders.  Trying to figure out if I can use it for a boy's quilt or not.  Guess it depends on the border.  :)

Not enough to go with another set, so this will be a tiny baby quilt and I'll add some green borders to it. 

These matched, so I added them all together.  I added a dark green border to this and will show when I get it quilted.

More blue centered blocks.  I think this will need some blue borders.

This was all the leftover blocks from the others I put together today and the purple ones.  there weren't enough to make an all purple quilt.

I love this quilt.  Judy is so precise in her piecing.  I want to make one of these in blue, green and white.

Lana has been working on this Chief quilt for awhile, and it is so worth it!  She is almost done with the top.

Stash update

I've not really done one of these in months.  Summer took over and life has finally let me sew a bit more.  DH asked me how old I would be if I used up everything in my cabinets.  I just laughed at him. Oh my

This is my stash report

Used this Week: 5.9 yards

Used year to Date: 207.99 yards

Added this Week: 0 yards

Added Year to Date: 35 yards (I went to Hawaii)

Net Used for 2012: 172.99 yards

I think this is right.  I might have a formula problem in my spreadsheet that I need to find, but this is close.

Working on baby quilts

This is one of those speedy quilts.  I used the scraps from my novelty drawer.  I think the next one I do will be have the squares between the strips.  Notice I used the leftover bindings I keep for this binding.  What fun.

A friend made this and I just quilted it.  The big blocks have cute bear saying quilted in them.

I have a couple more baby quilts that have bindings being done.  One horsey quilt in the car for when DH is driving or I'm waiting on the kids.  One more speedy strip quilt that is by my chair that I work on when I'm watching TV.

I quilted a Jo Morton quilt that has been sitting around for too long.  I need to get that binding ready to replace one of the other ones when it was done.

I was given some flowered fabric today and decided that instead of starting a new quilt with it that I would use the flowered 4 patches and use this fabric as the large outside border.  That is ready to quilt.  I'd already sewn the 4 patches together,  This is another UFO.  Now I need to find the backing fabric for that one.

I'm also working on a string quilt with red centers.  I hope to give this one and the flowered one to a soldier that just moved into the area.  His home was built by extreme homes (I think that is the one) and he has a newborn.  They have 4 kids, so I was trying to get 4 quilts done quickly.  I am using up some of the string quilt blocks.

All this when I found out I need to immobilize my right foot.  LOL  So, I'm sewing left footed.

DD turned 13 today

I never understand why a photo that has been cropped and rotated won't rotate.  If anyone has the secret, please let me know.  :(

DD is now officially a teen.  She wanted a purse to carry things in at school, especially books.  So, I had a test model and this is what I made last night.  Using some string blocks in her colors -- blue and teal and aqua --this has 4 pockets on the inside and two pockets on the outside that have the magnetic snaps on them.  It was lots of thicknesses to sew through, but she loves it.  Used one UFO string block and made the rest out of my scrap drawers.  Had to pull one fabric from the cabinet for the inside lining, so nothing bought.  That's a good project. 

Why was it over a month from the last post?

We went on a family vacation.  DH retired after 42 years of civil service and his dream vacation was to go to Hawaii.  We visited 2 islands.  This is the beach where we were most of the time.  You could see this view from most of the cabins at Bellows AFS on Oahu, HI.

 Wiamea Waterfalls required a hike in to see it.  But it was wonderful to swim in and beautiful to watch.

What happens in Hawaii when it has rained a bit?  BEAUTIFUL rainbows.

I tried to load more, but the computer upchucked, so I'll stop and maybe try again later.

21 days in paradise means loads of photos.

A long time UFO done

Kim sent this to me.  WE were both doing the Let's Blame Trudy quilt with Jean MaDan and Kim got further than I did.  :)  She sent it to me to finish off and give to charity.  So, I finally did it.  We think this was 2006?  It is going to a man with ALS to raffle off.

Tesselation

Not been working on much lately.  Earaches are the pits.  But, it is better and I got borders on a small baby quilt and started borders on another quilt. 

This tesselation quilt is lots of walking back and forth from the design wall and I get bored.  LOL  So, it is taking too much time.  Everyone seems to like the green batik I did for the border.  I ended up completing the flower into the border.  I can see that some of my placement of fabrics could have been better, but it is what it is and I'm not changing it now. :)

Grand Canyon trip

We've been on vacation.  This is DD and i at the Grand Canyon.  :)

 I think DD is getting tired of all the photos.  LOL  She is not so happy to have her picture taken.

DH has been looking at harley Davidson Bikes.  Here he is trying one out.  We stopped at lots of locations to just see and get a T-shirt for him.

The three of us at the Grand Canyon. 

there is a river down there.