2015 Accomplishments

I've been reading today's posts about the accomplishments that were achieved in so many of your lives during this year. I decided to take out the blog book I had printed and browse through it. I got quite a bit done this year myself! I believe this had a lot to do with posting my intentions at the beginning of each month starting in July. That was the month that I got a big fat ZERO for accomplishing anything intentioned. But, what it did accomplish was to motivate me into better focus on following thru. 

So, here goes with a recap on 2015:

7 wallhangings

1 afghan

5 quilts, ranging from crib to twin

7 table runners

20 mugrugs and placemats

2 mondo bags

6 pillow cases

1 journal cover

12 charity quilts. 9 only needed bindings to be attached, 2 needed backings to be made and the quilting to be done, and 1 was a QOV quilt that I used my longarm machine to do the quilting on

12+ quilts were quilted on my longarm machine using edge to edge designs for clients

I also have 5 more tops in progress (snowman, BOM batik, BOM mystery, improv triangle, leftovers)

So, it's been a very creative year for me. 

May God bless your new year with creative pursuits that energize you. 

A Few More Projects Done

Constructed a pillow insert for the Wisteria piece. It has triangle corners on the back top edge for being a Wallhanging when that's what I want. 

And I got 17 rows, for a Row Robin, and 7 mug rugs put together and off to the post office. 

I used the method called Jelly Roll Racing to construct this quilt a while back. I quilted it with a gentle overall looping design using Glide thread in a golden color. The binding is actually a Christmas fabric. It harmonizes well with all those colors. I attached it by machine to the back, then did my pressing and brought it to the front. I top stitched it down with my 'heart beat' stitch. I already have an idea of whom will be getting this. 

While I was straightening up all my leftover fabrics I decided to get on with a project I've wanted to do for quite some time. It's to use up all the extra blocks, strips, cut offs, etc that I've saved from making many of my quilts. I determined that I had sufficient pieces from Myriah's quilt to make this 42" square. I may add another border. It would help stabilize the outer edge and give me another solid space for practicing quilting on my longarm machine, Abigail. 

Well this is how far I've gotten and it is 8:48pm Wednesday, December 30, 2015.

May God you with a peace filled evening. 

Luann

Merry Christmas

A Busy Time of the Year

It certainly has been a busy 9 days since my last post. I have very little to show from my sewing and creative activities. 

My snowman quilt top, from a panel I purchased years ago. I fiddled with those mitered borders for more time than I should have. I really don't know why I didn't just sew them on two sides at a time. What was I thinking? The aqua plaid that shows around it is the border from my Poppyfields quilt. I just pinned this to the top. I will enjoy it for the 'winter' season and then finish the quilting and binding. 

My friend Vicky showed us how to make button bouquets at our Wednesday Clubhouse Meeting. They were fast, easy, and fun. I may put these on my 'gifts for others' list. 

And I polished my kitchen floor. Now I need to get the energy to do the rest of the house! 

I had 7 days with some type of event happening. One day had three! I'm a bit worn out.  I enjoy being with all of these people. I just wish they hadn't all decided to have their event on the same week. I'm glad I have the memories, Thanks to everyone that invited me, I love you all!

Merry Christmas

Luann

Second Update for December

It's been a busy week around here. I've been cleaning and organizing in a couple of areas. I've also spent some time preparing a few gifts. 

The Lord's Prayer, a quilted wallhanging for my Secret Sister. 

Learning how to make fabric twine. I chose to zigzag stitch this little trivet piece together. Normally the fabric twine is used when crocheting or knitting, but  I'm always trying something a bit different. 

I received my first Blog Book. It has 205 pages and includes my first 114 posts. A very neat way to have a 'diary' of a blog. If you haven't made one for your blog, you really should look into it. You can choose which posts will be in your book. That helps if you're trying to keep expenses down. They are running sales now till the end of the year. If you need the site, email me, and I'll get the info to you. 

Mug rugs and hotpads just waiting for bindings to be sewn on. 

These are as far as I've gotten on my Improv Triangle quilt. There are four sizes, three within 1" of each other. Then 8 are quite a bit larger. I had this thought that I would just keep adding sides until they were all very close and then I'd trim them to one consistent measurement. My problem came when I realized that I didn't  have the amount of black that I wanted for a background. Now I must decide to go totally out of the box and just let what happens happen. Or choose a substitute, or many, for the black. I wanted the triangles to look as though they were floating. This will be put in a container and left to rest for a bit. I can put it on my list for the quilt guild's UFO Busting Challenge for 2016. 

More insertion lace pieces got to climb into the dye pot this week. Along with,

17 pieces all dyed serendipitously. That just means, I didn't follow the plan I started with. I know many dyers really try hard to get something specific. I usually have a written plan, labels attached, and everything thought out. However, this week I woke up one morning and it was as though someone else had taken over my body. I got to go along for the ride, and I totally enjoyed the entire process. I even shortened my batching time and was pleased with the results. I now have 17 pieces that are just shy of 48" by 40". I tear my cloth at 40" intervals so the shrinkage won't ever put me under a full yard when I'm done with all the hot water washing. 

A possibility for 2016, put these up for sale in an Etsy shop. Hardest part, parting with any of them. I just love the textures and interplay between the colors when I "free style"!  Now there's a new word for us cloth dyers. We can say we were 'free styling'. Works for me. 

And I did say I was cleaning and organizing. 

Packaged batting and a container of cut offs. 

Just a few of the thread choices. 

Larger pieces to be used for backings. And some emptied shelves! 

George and I went to lunch at Middleton Place this week. The weather has been beautiful and we are determined to enjoy it. This is a nice place to have lunch, take a carriage ride, tour the house and grounds, and stroll the property. And YES, I did get startled by an alligator, again! 

This wasn't the one, but probably a relative!

If you are in my neighborhood, drop by. I'd love to visit with you. My door is always open. 

May God bless each of you with happy memories and loved ones to remember them with. 

Merry Christmas,

Luann

Progress Report

This is the center medallion for the Mystery Quiltalong.

And my Batik BOM top is ready for quilting. 

Put up these nifty lights on the screen porch. 

Painted several shelves for the powder room.

 I've been quilting up some yardage that I plan to make into mug rugs for gift giving.  

And I got these cut for an improv triangle quilt. 

There are several other projects in the works that I'll post pictures of in the upcoming weeks. 

My main focus for December is to enjoy, and share, what Jesus has done for each and ever person on earth. My hope for everyone is that they will accept His free gift of eternal life with Him. 

May God bless your life with people who care enough to not be politically correct,

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Final November Review

Do you remember when I was making these with my hand dyed fabric samples?

The other day while I was at Home Depot, I was given this by the Glidden Representative. 

I've already used it to help me choose colors for the shelves in the guest bath. I really like those little dots of paint they put on the top of the can.

We spent a couple of days down on the beach. I like collecting images as much as shell fragments. 

A large piece of drift wood. 

Cool looking barnacles and moss on old dock pieces. 

And my shells all piled together.

On the way home we stopped by The Screen Door Restaurant, on James Island, for some yummy food. Everything on the menu sounded terrific. I opted for chicken and waffle with peach molasses. Oh my, was it delicious. Hubby got shrimp and Gechee boy grits. I will try them next time as the texture was more coarse like riced-potatoes. I'm not fond of the usual way you get grits, but these were good. 

And for the creative side of things:

3 table runners have bindings done and are ready for gift giving. 

Mondo bag #1 got a proper strap. 

Mondo bag #2 got a little reworking. I took the bottom seam apart far enough to put binding on each seam so it can now be turned to either side and used. I then attached the straps. 

I put bindings on the 8 stitch outs I did so they can be used as mug rugs, or pot holders. They would even be good for under a plant that might get over watered. 

And for my Grandkids, some pillowcases. 

These were all done with each kids favorite colors. 

Aren't they all just adorable? I guess that's Gramma talk for, I sure love these kids!

In looking over my intention list for November, I see that I completed many of my intentions. I also have added and completed several items. But, alas, there are quite a few that are still in the unfinished stage. 

That's what life's all about, isn't it? You choose what you intend to focus on. Your month unfolds. You get some things accomplished. You do things that weren't even on your mind at the beginning of the month. You realize time has passed and important things have been accomplished and those that weren't, were not as important as you may have thought. You make new decisions for your next month, and move forward. And that's just the way it goes for me. How about you? 

May God bless you with His Peace as we approach Christmas. 

Luann

Third Week of November

Not much time got spent in my sewing room this week. I attended several meetings and had some appointments that couldn't be postponed any longer. 

I did get a few things accomplished. 

Two quilts were long armed for clients. 

This is a 'red' turning twenty pattern. I quilted it with a daisy design. 

And this precious one got a small sized meander. 

I did a little stitching on a needle holder

I took the center star block apart. The points would have gotten nipped off when I put it into the settings. After pressing the pieces I found that they were just a smidge off.  I checked the paper print out I had for the diamond and found out that it was not accurate. I recut all of the pieces and followed the directions very carefully. I'm very pleased with my new center block for the Batik quilt. 

It trimmed up beautifully and is flat.

The replacement of our floor joists, subflooring, etc etc in the laundry room and guest bathroom is completed. I asked for a kitchen sink as I wanted to be able to use it for dyeing fabric. 

This sink will be perfect for ice dyeing.  

Tonight we have our Thanksgiving Dinner at church. I'm bringing my specialties: veggie and fruit trays!

I'm so thankful our local grocery store always has them available. Yep, you guessed it! I'm not much of a cook, in fact if it weren't for DH loving to cook I'd probably be at ideal weight, or depleted monetarily. 

Lots of company coming in next week, so I'm guessing my creative time will be curtailed. Oh well, I can always carry those projects over for another month. I'm going to enjoy the people in my life while I have them. I hope you do the same. 

May God bless you with loved ones to share your time with,

Luann