January Happy Stitching

This January has been a strange month for me. We've had greater than anticipated levels of snow. Our wildlife - the deer, elk, moose, antelope - literally have no source of feed because everything is covered with more than four feet of snow. They come to the doorstep, eating rose bushes and thorny bushes because that's the only thing available. It's heartbreaking!

 

I've had three friends who have experienced the passing of their fathers. I have dealt with my own family trials. And I fret about my husband who has to travel on slick, snowy, wintry roads.

And then there's the change in administration in D.C., but I won't even go there.

So what am I doing to distract my mind? Going to my happy place, of course. My sewing studio!!!

I have completed three quilt tops, and quilted another. It just needs the binding to get a complete finish on it.  I've taken an online class, have refrained from buying (too much) new fabric, and I have gone through my stash to take an inventory of Quilts-I-Want-To-Make-Someday-And-Actually-Have-Fabric-To-Make-Them.

I did get this top pieced together. The fabric for the backing is lying below. It's on my To Do List for this week to get it quilted and bound. I've had this pattern and fabric for about three years, so it seemed to be a good time to get 'er made!  Oh - and you can see on my design wall, I actually have another scrappy quilt assembled and ready to sew on some sashing strips.

I've also been working on Pat Sloan's 182 Day Solstice QAL.  Just finished Block 6. Here's how they are coming together:

So far, so good! It is always interesting to fully trust a Mystery QAL. It goes against my nature - I want to see what the finished product is, and I want to see it now. Having to wait is a killer.


Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up to:
Main Crush Monday
Linky Tuesday 

Post Wedding Quilting

It's been three weeks since our daughter's wedding, and I'm just now getting back into the swing of things. It didn't help that I was drawn back into the job I retired from last May. But that's another story.

My story right now is that I am super pleased at the entire wedding week. We got them married, everyone had a great time, and we have excellent memories to carry us forward. How can you beat that? 

This is a photo of my immediate family - my son and his girlfriend on the left, my husband, me, and then Jessica and Charlie, the beautiful/handsome couple. They were married in the mountains north of here on October 1, an iffy time of year at the 7,000-foot elevation. But everything worked out.

So, I am beginning to take customer quilts again, and work on my own things a little bit. In fact, I got a quilt top all pieced together this week! I cut out the blocks and worked a little at a time sewing them up as I was recovering from my knee replacement this past March. I look forward to quilting it up into a real quilt soon!

The lighting is not so great on this, but I took the pattern off a little video tutorial from Missouri Star Quilts. Using a jelly roll of Kate Spain's Canyon fabrics, I'm partial to the way it turned out. I had to be careful laying it out, though, because those bright magenta fabrics really 'pop' and I swear I rearranged them about a zillion times before I simply threw in the hat and said, "That's fine." Do you ever do that? Geez.

We are experiencing the collision of Fall with Winter in my part of the state.  The trees are absolutely gorgeous this year, but we have a good amount of snow in the high country (like where the wedding was held, lol!).  I'm winterizing the gardens and yard, I've organized my sewing studio, and I am READY to bring on winter. After all, what a great time for sewing and quilting!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
Linky Tuesday 
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop!

Loving this winter!

Living in the mountains near a ski resort, you'd think I'd celebrate snow. I do, in a way, but I have lived here for 28 years (my goodness, that's a long time!) and as my bones grow older, and the winters seem colder, I look less and less forward to winter.

Most winters, except this winter.  This winter has proven to be the best ever. We have had relatively few snow storms, it's been cold, but not sub-zero cold for days on end, and the sun has shone most every day! There is lots of snow on the mountain tops and only about a foot left in the valley. A very mild winter indeed.

But aside from the weather aspect of this winter, I have been so busy sewing and quilting and learning and growing and thinking and planning and formulating - I just love it!  I've branched out from my nine to five job to create an independent business of my own. In the summer and fall I am very busy with my desk job and some associated travel, so winter and spring are mine for creating.

What have I been working on this week? I finished a little table runner and a non-traditional baby blanket. 

Free motion quilting another table runner is on the docket today. And the excitement of the week is that I am ready to load my first quilt on my new long arm machine and have my way with it. (Insert "Squeals of Delight" and "Trepidations of Fright")  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  But I've prepared for this. Last year I pieced together my Christmas Quilt, which turned out rather large, too large for me to want to run it through my domestic machine.  It's made from Christmas scraps picked up on sale over the years and is the perfect choice for my first quilting project because if it turns out totally horrid, it's mine and I won't care.

So, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone today. Which is good - it keeps the brain active and alert, and it also keeps me from snacking, always a great benefit! 

What do you have planned for this week?

Bearing Down For The Storm

Such a crazy winter this has been! We live in a ski resort area and we essentially have no snow in the valley. Very odd, considering it's the third week of January.

But this week the weather forecasters are predicting a foot or two of snow, and we are all rejoicing. But, the snow didn't come last night. Maybe today?  I didn't think I'd ever 'wish' for tons of snow, but we are this year. A winter without snow shoveling is just plain weird.

Maybe by speaking out this way the Snow Gods will unleash their fury and dump on us today. Maybe....

In the mean time, but an excellent time to QUILT!