Focus in 2017!

I've seen some blogs recently talking about working on 17 projects in 2017. Well, I began my list, even got a pretty template from Kyle to use, but decided it was not for me. First, I couldn't get the template loaded and 17 is a lot to work on.

I am seriously trying to get some focus in my life - it seems with the age of computers, so much digital, social media, emails, everything instantly happening, that I feel compelled to try more than I'm capable of doing at the time. I am one who normally can focus but lately it seems I can't . . . so my goal this year is getting into focus in many areas of my life.

Here is a quilt I made towards the end of 2016 for my niece in Texas whose baby just may be arriving today. We are waiting to hear - a girl we are told.

 Some pretty batiks and machine appliqué with the blanket stitch.

 She wanted a minkee backing so that's what I did - so soft and cuddly!

Instead of putting 17 projects up to work on - which I may throughout the year - I'm going to start with some I'd really like to complete - and of course I have one new one going, too.

My first to finish is below:

This is my Sarah Fielke BOM - Happy Days from 2016. All that is left are the borders and I hope to get those made soon - some large triangles. It was a fun BOM - she had patterns to download and a video every month for us. She is doing another BOM this year - Down the Rabbit Hole - and there is still time to sign up for it. Patterns don't begin coming to you until the end of the month but she does give a cool line drawing to show you. Here is a link: Down the Rabbit Hole. Also, last year's BOM is available in book form just published - she even did three different color ways.

Another quilt to finish is my Flower Pots - already put together, backing purchased, just waiting for this longarmer to get going on it . . . that would be me!

 I got the sashing made last year.

 It's going to be a lot of work with custom quilting.

My next finish I'm looking forward to is my 2014 Di Ford Mystery Quilt, Mountmellick. Alas, I am on the next border and have prep work ready for the next which has some diamond and hexagons to English Paper Piece so it's not a quickie but will be beautiful.

My En Provence with Bonnie Hunter is all cut and ready to stitch. Another finish I hope for this spring. I have a quilt retreat coming up so maybe that will help.
Meanwhile, Happy Stitching in 2017 and I hope you can get your goals met this year!

A Different Month

This is my Dad - he was 94 1/2 when he passed away this month on October 6, 2016. He lived a long full life, loved the Lord, loved his family and enjoyed being the oldest in his family thus far. He still has two siblings in their eighties coming behind him. In fact, all the children in his family made it well into their eighties or nineties.

He loved to sing as did all his family and began a choir at our church when I was growing up. Many people shared with us their love of music because of what he did to encourage others. He continued to play the piano - by ear - even into his nineties. 

He was proud of me for my abilities to sew. He'd tell people of how I made a suit when I was 14 years old and it looked like it was store-bought. Two days before he died I sat with him most of the day, stitching on a quilt, just being there with him.

My quilting has surely been my therapy these last few months as we had to take him to a memory care center for his dementia and severe aortic stenosis. 

However, as long as I could still stitch some, it soothed my soul and mind and continues to help me through difficult days. 

He is well now, with Jesus, my mother and so many others who have gone before him. I feel blest to have had such a wonderful father and be by his side as he drew his last breath here on earth. I've lived 1 1/2 miles from him for 16 years and shared many days with him. 

Here is some other family that was here during this time.

Fortunately almost all our family was here with us for several days - here my son and his wife and daughter and grands!! 

My husband, Papa, and Jake and Lacey!

After my Dad's funeral, we all stopped at Fresh Air Barbecue in Jackson, GA, where we've been going for 50 years or so. So good!! There's still a lot to process and work to be done but I wanted to share this part of my life not really quilt related, but yet it is. 

When I was 14, my parents bought me a top of the line sewing machine for Christmas - A Singer Touch and Sew - with all the bells and whistles of that day. I had learned to sew at age 12 and truly have been stitching ever since!! How blest I was for this gift from them and the encouragement it gave me! 

And here is where it has taken me!

 I have been working on my Di Ford Mountmellick from 2014.

 Two borders have been completed and there are two more to do.

 My Mountmellick.

Just a close up - I like the little hexagons in the corner.

Another block from my Happy Days Sarah Fielke BOM. Only two more blocks and then the border to do.

 This project is a pineapple Christmas quilt. The papers here are from at least 20 years ago and somehow I continued to save them. I drew up the design I wanted to do in Electric Quilt 7.

I'm using many strips that were already cut from a previous project that went by the wayside - it was a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for Christmas. Somehow, I never got more than step 2 done yet all my fabrics were ready for a project so here it is.. . . . . . eventually. . . . not this Christmas!!

Happy Stitching!!

Di Ford Mystery Quilt 2014

Here are some borders of the Di Ford Mountmellick 2014 Mystery Quilt. I now have this appliqué ready for stitching.

The little hexagons went together well and I did use a suggestion from Lisa Bongean in one of her recent posts. She said quilters need to use darker threads so the light thread does not show through so I followed her advice and probably went a couple of shades darker than I might have. It worked! Now the paper is removed and they are 'glued down' with Roxanne's glue to hold them in place while I stitch.

My stems are already stitched.

 Here is a little of the process. I most often have done needle turn appliqué with the freezer paper still on the top to use as my guide - no marking on the fabric, no glue, etc, but you have to continually put your overlay on the block for placement. With the starch appliqué method, you can lay it all out, glue baste in place with tiny dots to hold it down and stitch. I like that part of it.

Since this is a tight border, I decided this method would work best.

Above you can see my new Clover iron. No steam, 3 settings and it is small. 

 I have never mastered using the tiny Clover iron many people use so this seems perfect for me. Before, I used a small travel iron I had. I get better control with this. I have my spray starch in the lid with my little stencil brush. Under my muslin is a teflon pressing sheet so my ironing board is not absorbing all the liquid going on the muslin.

Here are some leaves that are starched. I remove the paper (three layers of freezer paper) and press flat again before I glue them onto the background fabric. It is suggested that you rinse the appliqué in water before you proceed to get rid of the glue and starch. Now I have some good handwork to do for a few evenings!! Happy Stitching!

Bible Quilt

Wahoo! I have just finished quilting the Bible Quilt that's been in progress for 16 years!! It's about time, I'd say!!

It's still hanging on the longarm but I was so excited I wanted to share! I know my embroidery is better by waiting but really . . .!!

I still have a hard time deciding how to quilt things with custom and also used about ten different threads to have things blend instead of stand out so much. 

This has been my handwork for the last week in the evenings. 12 little hexagons all ready for my Di Ford Mystery Quilt 2014, Part 3. Slowly but surely. I did enjoy piecing them - they are 1/2" size hexagons (each side) and I used the SewLine glue pen. I also punched a hole into the back of each paper for ease of removing but the glue seems to unstick fairly well.

As recommended by Nancy, I will starch them and remove the papers before I appliqué them to the border fabric. Happy Stitches til next time!

Long Time - No Blogging!

 It looks as though I can never keep up with a BOM project. Here is the Di Ford Mystery quilt from 2014. A few months ago I got the second border done and now am working on the third. Only quilters and appliquérs really have any idea how much time goes into these quilts but we do enjoy the process.

 I do like all the little circles and hexagons in the cornerstone.

 This is another Yellow Brick Road baby quilt made for my niece's baby girl. I've probably made this pattern 15 times or more through the years - so quick and easy but shows off fabrics nicely, too.

 I sewed up all the little scraps and made 3 dolly quilts and gave them for the baby and her older sister pictured below.

 Happy siblings showing off the quilt!! Of course they all have their quilts, too.

 This is another dolly quilt for my granddaughter that I made at Christmas. Really there are two but they are so much alike I'm just showing one. Probably 16" x 24" in size.

 Had some leftover minkee for the back also.

 And then when November rolled around, I decided to join the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, Allietare! Five of six in my small group also made this quilt.

 Each section was really doable and I enjoyed using Bonnie's colors, too.

 This one took a little while but went together well.

 Here is a portion as it hangs on the longarm rail.

A close up - and now I need to add borders and get it quilted. Happy Stitching!!

2014 Coming to a Close

It has been quite a while since I've posted so I will try to catch up before we are in the New Year! In November I went on a mission trip to Nicaragua with a group from our church. We have been sponsoring some children to go to a Christian school there and I was able to meet them in person after corresponding for almost four years.

 This is Angely. . .

 Maria . . .

and Moises, who had been out of school for a while because of some surgery. We found him at his home with his parents and what a blessing to get to see all these precious children!! It was a truly great trip!!

A lady from our church began a Sewing Ministry and Sewing School there and here is the classroom. It is amazing what these students have learned. There were 12 who graduated while we were there and took home their very own sewing machine to be able to have a home business. There was a fashion show with many of the garments they had made.

Here is an example of one dress this lady was finishing up that week for the show.

 Speaking of finishing, I really did complete my quilt top, "Words To Life By," SBOW, from Primitive Gatherings. That was all those hundreds of half square triangles I grumbled about earlier! 

 Here is one more block of my Primitive Garden quilt, also from Primitive Gatherings.

And now as the Di Ford Mystery Quilt has come to a close for 2014, I have completed the first round! Oh well, maybe in 2015 this will become a quilt.

I made this little doll quilt for Lacey who is two and loves her babies! It matches her room.

This is our quilt group (minus Gerry taking the picture) at our Christmas luncheon!

Jake has now turned four - where did the time go??

After 14+ years in the making - I have decided to finish my Bible Quilt (designed by Jan Patek as a BOM). The blocks have been completed for years except for the embroidery/words. Since I do much more hand stitching now, it will be prettier than if I had done it years ago. How's that for making yourself feel good about procrastinating!!?

 And now one last project - my Dear Jane quilt that has also been in the making for 12+ years. This is my first triangle/border block. I found a FB group, Jane Stickle Quilt Group, which is very encouraging and I can see that I might now finish this historic quilt. Here are two websites with great information also:

Dear Jane and

That Quilt, where she gives pictures and step by step instructions on how she made her blocks.

 I've had 65 blocks out of 225 completed for a while. I am setting some new goals to finish this quilt.

 It is VERY challenging at times, some blocks have 45 pieces in them and they measure 4.5" finished.

That's a LOT of tiny pieces. I chose all my center block fabrics years ago and identified them in a layout provided with the EQ Software. I chose to make them just a little brighter than Jane's original quilt, OR, as I say, what hers may have been before fading some over 150 years ago. 

Of course, Christmas was celebrated amidst all of these posts, but now the decorations are put away and I am looking forward to new GOALS for 2015. 

Happy New Year!!