The last day of the year and a finish!

Woohoo! I finished the Mystery Monday's #4 that was hosted by Little Bits of This and That! I had messed up the seam allowance and had to restart. Then, my surgery kept me from sewing for a while - but now the wall hanging top is complete and I am really happy with it. I will have to take it to the quilter; it is too big for my 40 year old White brand machine. Nevertheless, I am glad it is done. What do you think?

The end of 2012 and the start of 2013

So, 2012 has been full of challenges. A diagnosis of Parkinson's in the spring and shoulder surgery to (unsuccessfully) repair my rotator cuff in December. The kids are going off in their own directions. Realizing that retirement is approaching. Health checks for hubby. A lot of transitions - plus more on the horizon.

I made a project list for 2013. For me, it is ambitious considering that I will continue to work full time and have to learn how to cope with new, physical challenges. I hope the first item is actually completed this year but it depends how fast I can sew the binding, (I am about half way finished). The only other thing I must finish this year is a scrapbook calendar. I should get it done in time, but if not, I can finish it a month at a time!

Without any further delay, here is my project list for 2013.

Projects to finish in 2013

1. Finish binding Retro quilt
2. Quilt and bind Purple Craze quilt
3. Bind Lil' Twister quilt
4. Finish sewing, cutting, and piecing green Lil' Twister quilt. Quilt and bind it.
5. Finish piecing Mystery Monday wall hanging. Quilt and bind it.
6. Participate in Ten Sisters BOM throughout the year. Two blocks per month. Not sure which size yet, lap quilt or twin.
7. Make Bargello place mats to learn technique.
8. Get starch and make Hidden Wells quilt with fall-colors fabrics.
9. Make shadow quilt with Tic Tac charm pack.
10. Work on Matt's and Dan's t-shirt quilts.

Non-quilting projects
1. Finish Dan's Scout scrapbook.
2. Finish Australia scrapbook.
3. Finish SmashBook for Ireland trip.
4. Begin boys' childhood scrapbooks.
5. Make Christmas cards. Must find new pattern idea.
6. Continue researching our family tree.

Resolutions:

1. Eat healthier.
2. Minimize snacking.
3. Exercise (walk mostly) more.

The list is exhausting - but in a good way! :-)

Flower Doodle fabric!

My Flower Doodle fabric arrived in the mail today. It's so pretty! I know a lot of people would say it is gaudy but I think it is so vibrant and exciting. I'm really not sure which pieces are my favorite, but I'm leaning towards the semi-solid color Tic Tac fabrics. I'm joining a block of the month group starting in January. It's supposed to be a modern take on traditional blocks. I'm hoping the new fabric will look good with these updated patterns. What do you think of this fabric line?

Comfort Pillowcases for Sandy Hook

     I just finished 4 pillowcases for the survivors of Sandy Hook. My co-workers were so generous in giving me a comfort basket (since I am recovering from my surgery) that it just seemed natural to use some of those goodies for someone else. Included in my basket were four yards of material. They were brightly patterned dots, stripes, and a flower/paisley type design. The cuts were just extra long enough that I was able to get four pillowcases out of them! I'll drop them in the mail tomorrow. Especially now, it just feels like the right thing to do.

 

     I've had a little time to work on my retro quilt also. It is very slow going. I estimated that I have about 340+ inches of binding to sew and I've gotten about 50+ inches done! There's still a long way to go. Also, I'd like the boys to help me cut my fabric backing for the purple crazed quilt. I have trouble spreading out the fabric with my bad shoulder. I measured and will need two 2-yard cuts to have enough backing. I plan to save some of the extra purple fabric for the binding and for backing on a smaller quilt called "Heartfelt." That pattern is a Lymphoma support quilt and the colors are lime and purple! The rest of the purple fabric will be donated to the Home Ec department at school. They should be able to make some (maybe 3?) pillowcases out of it by adding some coordinating fabric.

     It is time to get dinner started! Merry Christmas if I don't get back here before then!

Another shadow quilt pic

Don't mind the background mess! I needed to put this somewhere that I had a more neutral background to show off the colors. Our comforter was the best option. Here is the color setup that I am considering for the shadow quilt. What do you think?

Planning out the shadow quilt

Last night, I got it in my head that I had to start planning out my shadow quilt. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, but it's suddenly become important to do NOW and not put off. I am sure everyone gets that feeling sometimes! :-) I received a set of charms from Andover; it was the TicTac line by Kim Schaefer. All 48 colors were included in the charm pack, so it is perfect for a graduated color scheme. Now it's just a matter of deciding if I'm going to go strictly light to dark or if I'm going to sort the colors within each spectrum and try to put each color block in the order of the rainbow. To be honest, I'm leaning towards the second option. Here's a picture of the fabrics. It is my first arrangement of the colors. I am not completely happy with it. I am planning to arrange the shadow blocks in a 6 x 8 rectangle. I expect the finished blocks to be about 10 inches square. If you have any suggestions on how to rearrange these colors, please feel free to leave a reply.

I got mail!

Today there was a lot of mail. I expected the usual Christmas cards and a couple Amazon packages, but had almost forgotten about a couple blog prizes. The first package was from sew.darn.quilt. It was a set of snowman coasters (or mug rugs). The second package was from Quilt to the Edge. It contained six beautiful fabrics in green, red, and white plus a Heartfelt quilting pattern.


Thanks to Carolyn and Martha for the goodies!

And good news! I am allowed to start sewing again! Okay, so it has to be in small bits, 10 - 15 minutes at a time, but that means I can work on binding my retro quilt again. I can't use the sewing machine yet - the angle isn't right - but soon, I think.