2012 In Review

If someone had told me on the 1st of September that by year end I would have finished 19 quilting projects and started a quilting blog... well, I don't know how I would have reacted exactly! But, life has a way of surprising a person. One thing I have learned in my 50+ years is that good things can come from bad. Every so often you get a wake-up call and all we can control in life is how we react. Easier said than done I know, but it helps to keep it in mind. Sometimes life really IS what you make it.

At any rate, here I am. A finisher after all these years. And, a blogger too. Who knew?

I read about Kelsey Sews 100 Day Hustle shortly after I decided it was time to start quilting again. Talk about perfect timing! I dusted off my UFO Collection, turned on my sewing machine for the 1st time in 3 years and set 20 ambitious goals. I'm proud to say that I finished 15 of them. I'm carrying over 3 goals to Q1 2013 - learn to FMQ, make 3 more stockings and finish my Four Patch and Friends quilt. The other 2 will wait until later in the year to be done.  You can read more about my finishes on my 100 Day Hustle Progress page above.

Here is a mosaic of my fall finishes. 16 are UFOs and the other 3 are projects that I started and finished this fall. You can see details including date started, pattern and size about each quilt on my Finished Quilts 2012 page above.

I really enjoy blogging. A LOT! I've learned so much and met so many wonderfully talented people over the last 3 months. I like the mechanics of deciding what to write about, taking pictures and being mindful of my quilting decisions. I guess I am a person who needs external motivation to get things done - some structure to keep me focused, but not a set schedule. I've always enjoyed setting goals but this feels so different. I hope I feel the same way at the end of 2013.

I'll be posting soon about my goals for 2013 and how I'm going to get my UFO Collection under control. As I've written before - I love Mondays, the 1st day of a new month and I am absolutely giddy about the start of a new year. It's time for New Year's Resolutions where ALL things are possible! It's going to be a BIG week ahead...

Quilt Room Reveal

OK... Here is my quilt room ready for lots of creating finishing in 2013!  One of my last goals to spruce up my room was:

4.  Use the wall space in the sewing corner to hang shelves, peg board, cork board, thread rack and other units to get stuff off the table. And, make it look pretty too.  Before...

and After!

A couple of cork boards, a white board (I write myself notes constantly!), a drawer unit full of notions and some fun words I found at Ben Franklin last week filled up my sewing corner nicely. I LOVE having my sewing table clear, but I'm sure it won't last long.

What do you think of my spiffy new chair? My son broke the arm off his desk chair, so I moved my old one downstairs and ordered this white one. No more cat hair or threads to either cover with a towel or burn through lint rollers to keep clean! The back is mesh and the seat is nylon. I like it - a lot!

Here's a tour around the rest of the room. Backing up a bit you can see my ironing board and my closet. And my $5 Walmart torch lamp that I cannot sew without. I also use the portable OTT lamp you see on my sewing table at night. Older eyes...

Remember this photo from an earlier post? It's still looking good in there.

Next we have an item that my husband and I do NOT agree upon... but I was laid up with my broken leg and didn't see it until it was too late. This exercise unit is HUGE! I was actually told I would hardly notice it... LOL. It has been known to store fabric, quilt tops and act as temporary hanging storage for dress shirts waiting to be pressed. Can you sew, press AND work your abs in your quilting space?

The bed is a trundle so we can create a big guest bed in here or 2 twins if needed. After our son goes to college it will probably be moved downstairs along with the Ab Monster. Then I'll have a huge design wall!

Here is my cutting table flanked by UFO storage. I can't wait to free up a few of these drawers in 2013! I do my major cutting in the kitchen but this works great for trimming blocks and other quick stuff. I've got 2 things left to go on the wall - my thread rack and a peg board for my rulers. I'm debating about 3 locations for the pegboard, once I figure that out I'll hang the thread in one of the other spots.

Almost done - swinging around to my design wall...

and storage shelves. I still have have sorting to do here but I can live with it.

There you have it! I feel so lucky to have this room and am inspired to get in there and sew the rest of the day away.

My last quilt room goal is also done. I will be blogging about this tomorrow when I wrap up 2012 and look ahead to 2013.  I'm linking up to Sew Darn Crafty@Sew Many Ways.

7.  Update my UFO list for 2013 with location and next step for each UFO.

Last Friday Finish of 2012!

Sew Many Santas is done! Another very old UFO... and my first attempt at hand quilting. I'm glad I opted for the hand quilting as I think it adds a really nice touch to this project. I just finished sewing on the eyes this morning (wanted natural light) and I am in LOVE with this little quilt. These Santas might have to join my snowmen collection for the winter as I'm not going to want to put them away any time soon.

I machine quilted the sashing using my 1/4 foot edge to stabilize the quilt before I started the hand quilting. After I was about halfway done with the hand work I attached the binding and hand sewed it down because the extra "stuff" was starting to get in my way. I should have done that right away as it made handling the top much easier for me.

I had a lot of fun doing the beards. Each Santa has a different pattern on his beard and I just went with it... no pre-planning or drawing them out.

I used jingle bells on 5 Santas and some old shank buttons from my collection on the other 4.

The eyes are teeny 1/8" buttons I found at fabric.com. The finishing touches of the buttons and the bells are just so cute. Love them.

The straight lines were tedious to quilt at first because I was trying to be way too perfect! Once I "loosened" up and reminded myself that no one is going to study them closely but me it got a lot more enjoyable.

The pattern for this project is Sew Many Santas from the book "Quick Country Christmas Quilts" by Debbie Mumm. I started this project in 2002... it's an oldie but a goodie.

This quilted tree ornament also comes from this book, I made a bunch of them one year for a family gift exchange.

I'm linking up to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop@Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Link a Finish Friday@Richard and Tanya Quilts and TGIFF@Sparrow In Flight.

Merry Christmas!

Since we spent the last two days with my side of the family celebrating Christmas, today is a between day for us. My daughter and her boyfriend left in the early afternoon to go home as she will be at work tonight and tomorrow. I can't say I've ever done 4 loads of laundry on Christmas Eve!  In a bit my husband, son & I will be watching either "Elf" or "A Christmas Story" together and will watch the other one later in the week. Tomorrow we will go celebrate with the in-laws.

I've got one Christmas stocking done... and 3 in progress. I'm using the "Christmas Patchwork Stockings" pattern by Thimbleberries and I'm using Thimbleberries fabrics as well. The other 3 stockings are pieced, one is square patches, one is HSTs set on the diagonal and one is HSTs set as pinwheels. I'm linking up to Patricia's Christmas Stocking Hang Out over at Quilting Lines.

 I love this themed fabric and will be using it for the back of the other stockings.

I want to wish this to each and every one of you!  Enjoy every minute of this wonderful season...

UFO#14 "Find a Match" is Done

I had a happy afternoon yesterday quilting this bright and cheerful quilt. I can't remember our last sunny day. Literally, it has been that gloomy! This quilt makes me smile and I can't wait to get it in the mail on Monday. It's going to an adorable 2.5 year old boy and I hope he will have a lot of fun matching the charms, working on his colors and learning some new words.

"Find a Match" is from a September 2009 issue of Quick Quilts magazine. This quilt used 49 pairs of charms which I remember having a great time picking out. I wanted a mix of boyish prints and bright colors. The little boy I'm sending it to isn't the same one I had in mind when I started this in 2009... thank goodness for a streak of baby boys in the family!

I picked the dog backing print because there is a much loved black lab in the family. And, it's just doggone cute. {Sorry, couldn't resist the bad pun}

I took a few close-ups of some of the charms. Love the little monsters on black, the car print on aqua at the top and the little frogs on lily pads on the bottom left corner.

The obligatory sports balls and the "Moon-Beamers" van next to the black vinyl records are some of my favorites. Check out the map charm too.

I like the alphabet print, the crazy cords at the bottom and the pops of orange. Oh, and there is the match to the vinyl records and the lily pads! 

This quilt is also one of my 100 Day Hustle goals. 12 down - 8 to go.

Lucky #13 UFO Finish

Last night I was up late catching up on some DVR TV and hand sewing binding which I'm thinking will be my habit every night this week. I'm holding off on starting to decorate the house until after I finish up my "short" list of quilting projects. Is everyone else having a hard time limiting your computer time this week due to all of the fantastic giveaways? I had no idea that Giveaway Day was so gigantic!  My Monday goals were untouched and that's a bad way to start a busy week.

UFO finish #13 is made from yet another This & That pattern called "Evening Star". I used 2 charm packs of Tamarack Grove by Holly Taylor for Moda when I pieced this in 2009. It's a dreary morning so the pics are are not the best, I'll try again on a bright day and update.

I really love these rich colors. The fabrics that look brownish here are actually deep eggplant purple. This topper is a perfect fit for my "Up North" family room decor.

Speaking of a perfect fit here's a full disclosure whoopsy where these reds are not even close. That intersection must have been a real doozy if I ended up having to accept that as my best shot! Or maybe it was the green pine bough in that point blending into the green square? OK, go away Inner Critic - it is DONE.

Lastly, isn't this checkerboard border the cutest thing ever on my Santa quilt?

I was all set for some compromise because of how I had to trim the Santas down because of my wonky beginning quilter piecing in 2002, but the quilting gods smiled on me because it fit perfectly. Go figure! Again, sorry for a not great photo.

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday@Freshly Pieced.

Thank You Mr. Postman

For bringing me this...

Black Fabric, Hand Quilting Thread & Needles

 and this...

Binding Fabric - Check out the Owned & Operated line!  LOL!!

 plus this...

My 50% off JoAnn.com Black Friday Threads

so that I can add the last 2 borders and start hand quilting this...

 

bind this...

quilt this...

 and this...

ALL in time for Christmas!  Ready...Set...SEW!

I'm linking up to Freemotion by the River.

A Finish That is NOT a UFO

Tucker and I have a good morning routine. After he has breakfast at 7:00 he snags my sewing chair for a morning snooze while I drink my coffee and use the computer in another room. This was the look I got when I claimed it was my turn this morning...

Oh I Think NOT!

I conceded gracefully, did some tidying up and settled down with some hand binding to watch the Vikings lose to the Packers. Can I tell you how I adore Adrian Peterson? Love him. 

Instead of posting about UFOs today I'm going to show you a finish on my family room table. But before that, let's talk about what has adorned that table for several years. My first quilt!

I took a beginning quilting class in January 2002 during our first winter here in northern Minnesota. We were given a copy of "Start Quilting with Alex Anderson" and had our choice of 3 quilts to make: Rail Fence, Flying Geese or Friendship Star. All 5 of us picked Rail Fence, in my case because it had no HSTs and I'm guessing I wasn't alone. We were turned loose in the quilt shop to pick a border print that we loved. Great advice that I still use today! Then our teacher worked with each of us to choose 3 color families and 3 values in each family. Let's just say there were bolts of fabric everywhere. Good times. I still love that border fabric and this quilt.  

One of the Other Crafts (per my blog title) that I enjoy is making mosaics. Here is a close-up of a tray made of tiles cut from dishes and a center cut from a dinner plate. I got into mosaics in 2004 and for a couple of years I sold mosaic tiles on eBay. One day next spring I will show you my mosaic room in our garage, projects I've made and my stash of dishes. You will laugh, because I have LOTS of dishes.  

Batik Pinwheels is finish #13 and is not a UFO. This was the project I started when I began quilting again after my 3 year hiatus in September. I bought this as a kit from my LQS within the last year thinking it might jump start my quilting mo-jo. The pattern is "A Little Twist" by This & That.

Beautiful batiks and simple quilting. I'm looking forward to trying this pattern again in a different palette as I really like it. And, it's a perfect fit for this table.

On a side note, I'm kind of fascinated by how the angle of the two photos of the quilts on the same table makes the table look like it's two different colors. Into the light (Rail Fence) is golden light and with the light at my back/side (Batik Topper) is pale light. I've got so much to learn about photography.

I'm linking up to UFO Sunday@The Free Motion Quilting Project and Sew Darn Crafty@Sew Many Ways.

Quilt Room Organization

A clean, functional and creatively organized quilting space is something worth striving for, but the reality is that quilting is one messy activity!  And, whether you quilt on your dining room table, in a closet like I did for 7 years (quite happily I might add) or in a room dedicated to quilting it is really hard to keep your quilting space tidy and organized on a daily basis. Quilting takes a lot of space. You need a place to cut, a place to press and of course a place to sew. You use many tools and of course lots of fabric. Not to mention books/patterns, batting, thread, etc.

With that in mind, I want to accomplish these things in my quilt room before the end of the year.  I'll be adding a new page to my blog to keep track of my progress like I am with my 100 Day Hustle goals. Having a point of reference has really helped me keep on track.

1.  Reorganize this closet. Right now there are things in here that belong elsewhere in the house and I can free up space for more quilting storage.

2.  Clear off two shelves on this bookcase for additional storage.

3.  Sort through the quilting books and patterns in the pastel bins on the bookshelves. Label each bin for easy reference.

4.  Use the wall space in the sewing corner to hang shelves, peg board, cork board, thread rack and other units to get stuff off the table. And, make it look pretty too.

5.  Sort out miscellaneous storage like the plastic bins and baskets in the picture above.

6.  Decide on a design wall solution. The floor isn't it!

7.  Update my UFO list for 2013 with location and next step for each UFO.

I'm making binding today and will be doing some hand sewing during the football game tonight.  WIP-WIP-UFO-UFO going from left to right.

I found one more table runner in my UFO collection and thought I might as well add it to the current pile.  Mistletoe Manor is the fabric line and it's a Little Charmers II pattern.