Snow Stitching!

How many of you are covered up in snow?  Here in Nashville, we received a record 6-7 inches of snow yesterday - very rare for these parts.  And it's beautiful!!!  No ice.... just soft, blindingly white, puffy and fluffy SNOW!

I think it's interesting that the two projects I had planned to work on this weekend are the blue Twinkle Stars for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (first photo above), and Bertie's Year - December.

Angela at SoScrappy posted a fun tutorial for these beautiful Twinkle Star blocks on her blog as the January block for the RSC Column-Along she is doing this year.  I saw Sharon's beautiful blocks on her post at Vrooman's Quilts last week and fell in love!  So much so that, although I had other projects planned to be working on, I immediately had to to pull fabrics and print out the pattern right then and there!  I chose blues and whites that made me think of snow - maybe my bones were telling me the white stuff was coming our way? :*)

I managed to complete four blocks last week ....

..... and today I plan to put them together into a winter-themed runner for our kitchen bar.

Believe it or not, this was my very first time ever to use Tri-Recs rulers.  I've had the rulers forever, but always avoided them.  I was even tempted to paper piece these; Angela very kindly gave us a link to the foundation patterns in her wonderful tutorial.  But I decided to be adventurous and was rewarded with a fun afternoon of piecing.  I can't wait to finish this runner and enjoy it in my kitchen!

Yesterday, I finally pulled poor little December Bertie out of the bag and started work on her.

She was part of a BOM project for me in 2014, and this was the only month I did not finish up last year.  I felt really sorry for her, being so neglected.  I put her on my guild's UFO Challenge list so I could make sure she got finished this year in time for Christmas, and was delighted when her number was called for January!

These kits were laser-cut fusible applique, so all I had to do was peel away the paper, place them on the background and fuse.  Easy-peasy!  Then I stitched the applique pieces down, using either a straight stitch or a buttonhole stitch... Leaving me with lots of strings to tie off :*)

Last night I caught up on a few episodes of The Good Wife and worked the embroidery embellishments....

I also got all the half-square triangles made and assembled for the border.

Tomorrow I'll join Kathy's gang for some Slow Sunday Stitching as I handstitch the border embroidery while watching the NFL Playoff games with My Guy.  Our Panthers are playing for the Conference title, and of course if they win, they will go to the Super Bowl!!!  Exciting times my friends :*)

We are settled in for a long, solitary weekend.  One of my favorite things to do on cold, snowy winter days is to work jigsaw puzzles! I have this one set out to play with this weekend when I'm not stitching.

After New Year's while I was too sick to do much else beside sit, I did this one ....

Maybe I should have waited until this week LOL!!!

How well I remember the days when my children were small and they almost vibrated in their excitement to get outside and play in the stuff!  We didn't get a lot of snow in south-eastern North Carolina, so it was an exciting event when a storm dropped anything more than half an inch.  I had to go dig out a couple of my favorite memories from their childhood to share with you ....

Joshua in front of our house
circa 1980

 I bundled them up as if it were a North Dakota blizzard!!!

Christy in front yard
circa 1978
Probably one of my favorite pics of her childhood ever!!!

Notice in both pictures that there is only a small patch of snow for them to play in.  It almost always melted quickly, so they had to get out there and make the most of it!  Of course, they were out there maybe ten minutes before they were crying to come back in again, dripping water and snow all over the floor LOL!!!  In and out, in and out, for as long as the patches of snow lasted.  Those were good times :*)

Hoping you are finding ways to enjoy the snow if Jonas visited your neck of the woods!  My snowbird friends are sending us pictures of sunny Florida.  I'm not sure I'll be speaking to them when they return.... =^..^=

Also linking up:

DesignWall Monday

Tuesday Linky

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=