Happy New Year 2016

Happy New year to you all!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, mine was a little flat as I was a little bit off colour for some reason between Christmas Eve to probably New Year's Eve, had a bit of a temperature, aching legs and I slept way too much. Now that the tree is down and the decorations stored I now feel ready to get back to normal!

I had great plans to finish up lots of small projects over the holidays but in actual fact, all I did was sew a button on my DH's jacket, finished sewing the binding on this utility quilt and made a cover for my new stand mixer, not really what I had in mind.

Double sectioned pocket on the back...

Big single pocket on the front...

Like everyone else the run up to Christmas was a little hectic, I shipped off some lovely boxes of my hand made soaps to customers, the traditional tartan boxes were much appreciated.

I managed to get all of my promised quilts finished and even got a couple of quilts ahead...

Surf on a lovely 'half hexie' baby quilt

Jessie's Swirls on a jelly roll type quilt.

Freemotion hand guided quilting of feathers and swirls on this lovely diagonal fourpatch quilt

This modern Christmas quilt is a kit from the US, little panels and four patches with a border of trees with scarves, it's very busy. Not a lot was going to show on the front, as the busy backing fabric was a little short, with Anna's permission I chose a matching red solid for the back which really did show off the quilting.

Last year I took part in a small online swap with a few 'would be' digitisers, we each designed a snowflake, sent our design to Kari who then made all of the designs available to all of the participants. This is the first quilt since then that I could have used the snowflakes on, the back really showed them off.

I designed another wreath of Christmas lights with baubles and alternated this block between the snowflakes

I quilted swirls in the sashings and roughly outlined the tree trunks to take in a bit of fullness and quilted a big freestyle holly and ribbon wreath around the whole border....

This green Hexie quilt was specially made by Maria as a gift for a new baby whose room had green leaves on the walls, I was asked to quilt leaves and Witchery symbols.

I freemotion quilted a freestyle leaf border and various symbols including stars, suns, moons, hearts, a hatchet for protection, swirls for energy, etc, etc. I was also asked to do a full binding on this quilt, this is the quilt featured in the binding tutorial at the top of this page....at present I only offer a half binding service to my clients. This quilt has already been delivered as the baby is already here, in Denmark....

Remember this quilt, I showed it back in April, I bought the top in a Thrift store in Paducah, Kentucky. The first photo shows it as a quilt top pictured in the house of Gayle Kaler, (Lady Mayoress of Paducah), where we stayed during our visit. It looked like it had been washed as the edges were a little tattered so I trimmed them straight. I chose a digitized design synonymous with Paducah, 'Dogwoods' by Anne Bright Designs.

It's a perfect souvenir of my trip to Paducah this year, it was great to reflect and remember happy times while sewing down the binding.

Does anyone know the name of this block?

Thank you to Mereth and Annie for naming the block, it's a Texas Star....

I know there are customer quilts still on my SD card that I haven't shown yet, when I come across them I will insert them in future posts, as time allows...

OK, now back to work!

It is the night before Christmas.....

As we all wind down at Christmas, there comes a time when you can do no more even if it isn't all done. That's the time when the presents are wrapped, the turkey is stuffed (mines in the Aga for the next twelve hours), the house is warm and the tempo changes slightly.  It's Christmas Eve.....however you celebrate, I wish you health wealth and happiness of the season and through out 2014. See you in a few days with some quilty customer updates....

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

  

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

  

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

  

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

  

"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!

On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

  

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

  

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

  

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

  

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

  

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

  

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

  

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!

                                                                 By Clement Clarke Moore

A Shepherd's Convention???

There's a collection of shepherds crooks and walking sticks left at my front door, I think the shepherds are having a meeting to see who gets Saturday night off?

Of course this is my DH's stick collection but this one is my favourite, carved from burr elm.....it was a Christmas gift a few years ago.

Merry Christmas Everyone.....

A Christmas message for you all!

A bit of play time...

My Grandaughter Fieron and I had a day to ourselves today... we were having a bit of a play day .... I found a pattern for a Christmas wallhanging over on Quilting Gallery ..... mine is still a work in progress, I think I'll needle turn my fabric.....

But Fireon's are raw edge fused applique and are already sewn down with a glittery thread..... Fieron got to use Grandma's electric sewing machine to zigzag the strings herself and she cut out some of the fabric circles on the 'Go' cutter ...... we hope to get the borders cut and attached very soon.