I Believe!

I do Believe I have broken a record - THREE finishes in two weeks!  And these two were finished in the last three days - woohoo!!!

I Believe Sampler and En Provence

Full disclosure, these are only finished to the flimsy stage.  Since I don't have a longarm, it is sometimes a while before I'm able to quilt a finished top.  In my book, these are considered finishes :*)

I put the last of 3 borders on my I Believe sampler on Friday.  This was my One Monthly Goal project, as well as my Christmas UFO for January.  You can read earlier posts about this project here.  This is the first bed-size quilt I've ever made from start to finish in one month and I'm dizzy with happiness!!!  I pulled out the little packages of shop hop blocks a few days after Christmas and made a block every day I was at home.

Last week as time was getting close, I powered through by cutting all the pieces for the last three blocks and made piles of half-square triangles, which quickly turned into finished blocks :*)

Then I had to cut up the panel blocks and decide how I wanted to lay all the blocks together - this was an early layout....

At this point, I realized I didn't have as many of the coordinating fabrics in my stash as I had thought, which was a real problem because I needed a good variety of them for sashing all the blocks.  This is an older line and pretty much obsolete.  My friend Joanne came to my rescue by giving me the scraps left over from when she made her version of the quilt... Whew!!!

All of the pieced blocks from the shop hop use only red, green and gold fabrics, so I really took a chance by sashing all the panel blocks with a pretty aqua print from the line which I did have in my stash.  I wanted to pull out that lovely aqua in the background of all the pictures.  It looks more blue here, but it really is a soft pretty aqua - the first picture above is closer to the actual color :*)

I have to say, I love the light it brings into the overall look of the quilt!

I used a gold from my stash for the first inner border, then pulled that aqua back in with a fun stripe from the I Believe line for the second border.  That gorgeous red used for the outer border was one that I had thankfully purchased in yardage when I bought the blocks - it perfectly frames the quilt and pulls everything together.

My second finish is En Provence - Bonnie Hunter's 2016 mystery quilt.  I last left you with the quilt waiting for the pieced borders in this post.  I had to make about 50 more neutral 4-patches in order to have enough to finish the borders.

This afternoon I put the last stitch in this beauty!!!

I really love this design, and the neutral 4-patch border is a big part of what I love.  Bonnie's design seems to float majestically over the surface of the quilt.  I found a bright backing fabric in my stash and hope to have it quilted before too much time passes :*)

And last but certainly not least, Soul Searching is quilted!!!  

This was my Music City guild UFO for January, and Joanne was my savior again by allowing me to use her long arm to quilt it :*)  I can't remember the name of the panto, but it was a simple and fun circle design that worked up quickly...

And, believe it or not, I even managed to squeeze in a few hand stitches too...

This adorable little hummingbird is the center of my 11th Folk Art Album block.  I have to say I was delighted with how it turned out!  I'm also pretty happy to be getting near the end of these blocks :*)

So that's it for my week - how about yours?

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Linking up with the following FUN linky parties - check 'em out!

- One Monthly Goal
- Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching
- Main Crush Monday

- Design Wall Monday

- Monday Making

The Road to En Provence!

I have a completed En Provence block!

I am tickled pink to have this much to show today :*)  I know there are a few of my fellow quilters who were able to keep up better with the clues and have their tops complete.  But I had to let mine sit for a couple of weeks, and then cut/stitched like a maniac this weekend to play catch-up.

First I had to cut lots of quarter-square triangles for both clues .....

We were finally able to cut into our greens for these clues!  I chose to keep my greens very dark, and then used light yellowy-greens instead of the yellow Bonnie called for.  I'm not usually fond of yellow in a quilt (unless it is a yellow quilt !)  Here are the fabrics I used...

I set up a little production line, using Block #7 I Believe Sampler pieces as my leaders/enders....

My plan was to at least get all of my Clue #6 units made - and I did!

Once these #6 units were done, I had all I needed to put a full block together, which of course I shared at the beginning of the post ;*).  And then I got the #7 units halfway sewn as well .....

I couldn't resist stitching a couple of these together to see how the finished units looked...Pretty!!!

Then of course I had to piece at least one sashing section too!

Oooo - I love that touch of magenta in there!  I think I'm going to really like this quilt.  I will have to go back and make a few more of each clue to give me 9 blocks total, but it feels really great to have almost all of the pieces assembled, ready for making the blocks.  I'll keep you posted!!!

Linking up with Bonnie's Linky Party today where you'll find lots of gorgeous En Provence quilt blocks and quilt tops to enjoy - come on over!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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January Goals

Baby, It's COLD outside!!!!

Some of you will remember my little Bertie's Year January wall quilt which I did several years ago.  I made all 12 of them and change them out each month.  Thank you Bonnie Sullivan for such wonderful designs :*)  Poor little Bertie will go to any lengths to make friends, even with a snowman in the depths of winter!  Unlike Bertie, I am staying inside!  My grandson asked if I made a snowman out of the snowfall we got this morning, and I told him I never even stuck the tip of my nose out the door.  He laughed at that :*)

In these frigid temps, I think it is in our DNA to be thoughtful about survival and eating well to stay healthy.  One of my goals for 2017 is to learn to cook more healthy meals.  (Well, basically, to learn how to cook period LOL!!!). We are both at the age where many foods bother us for one reason or another.  My Guy especially suffers reactions to MSG, and there are few packaged or processed food items that don't contain it.  We've found it in foods we would never have suspected!  Most gravies of course, and anything with flavorings, extracts, enzymes, etc.  Even crackers, bread and last week a bag of shredded Parmesan cheese!  For New Year's Day, I challenged myself to try one of the recipes I've been collecting - Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie....

It was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!

Now that's what I call "comfort food"!!!!  And it didn't take a village to put it together either.  I diced some celery and onions, as well as the turkey, and then all I had to do was gather the other ingredients and have them ready to add when needed.  One of my favorite things about this dish is that it cooks in my cast iron skillet!

I used the leftover turkey I had frozen from Thanksgiving.  Although it was really, really good, the dark parts of the turkey kept it from being a perfect meal.  Next time I will use fresh chicken breasts instead.  We loved it and will definitely be making it again!  You can get the recipe HERE if you are interested in trying it out yourself :*)

This first week brought my first finish of 2017!

This is a Kismet Trinket Box, a Sara Lawson (Sew Sweetness) design, and although it was not an easy sew, it wasn't too terribly difficult either.  Anyone with at least intermediate bag sewing skills should be able to make one.  There are six sizes/shapes in the pattern - this one is the Large Square box.

I made this as a birthday gift for my friend Susie who is a real-live artist, so I had to chose fabric worthy of her, right?  Jane Sassaman fabrics can always be counted on to give that extra "wow" factor!  These are two that I picked up when Jane came to our guild last September.  I have to say, there are few things that make me happier than working with beautiful fabrics like these!!!  You can be sure that I plan to follow this one up with one of my own!  Here is a quick peek at the back as well ....

Today I cut all the pieces for Block #6 of the I Believe Sampler UFO project and they are ready to be pieced as soon as I hit the "Send" button here!  First I had to repair my "oops" from yesterday on Block #5 - I'm sure you'll all be relieved to know that the bottom left unit is now correctly oriented :*)

Getting this top pieced together and ready for quilting will be my One Monthly Goal project for January.  You can see lots of other UFO's in various stages of construction HERE at the amazing Elm Street Quilts!

And Bonnie Hunter revealed her En Provence mystery quilt on January 1!!!!!!

©Bonnie Hunter - En Provence

I'm looking forward to getting back to this project!  I was caught up through Clue #5....

But then it had to sit for the past week.  I've begun cutting the pieces for #6, and hope to have them sewn by the end of the weekend.  If I'm really diligent I should have Clue #7 cut and started as well.

I've only made half the number of units called for in Bonnie's clues - mainly because I wanted to be sure I liked the quilt enough to work that hard on it - Bonnie never designs easy quilts!  Now that I know I like the design enough to finish making the quilt, I have to make a decision about the size I want it to be.  I really don't need more large quilts, so I'll stick with my original intention of just making a large throw.  I'm only going to have enough units to make 8 blocks, so my plan is to make one more block and lay them out 3x3 for a 70"-ish square throw.  I think that'll work!!!

Rocky is pretty much worn to a frazzle with all the extra workload lately.  He's demanding extra naps and treats. With good help so hard to find, I'm pretty much caving in to his demands.  I just hope he doesn't ask for a raise because he already gets top dollar!

My guild UFO number was #11, which is for me to quilt my Soul Searching top.

I finished the top in September 2014 at Runaway Quilters Retreat.  I suppose it's about time to get 'er done!!!

PS - for some reason my email account stopped allowing me to send out replies to your comments yesterday!  I apologize for not letting you know in person how much I love hearing from you, and I promise to have My Guy working on it first thing tomorrow!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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How I said Goodbye to 2016 .....

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  

We had a lovely Christmas and, as is our habit, a nice, quiet New Year's.  Although we have no family near us, we are surrounded by good friends and fun things to do during the holidays.  I was especially happy to have a few days filled with nothing but puttering in my studio - it was heaven!!!  I managed to finish out the year by cranking out a few little Christmas projects and even a couple of finishes.

My favorite finish is Hello Mr. Moon - I made two of these!  One was a gift for my sister and the other I am keeping for us. =^..^=

This adorable little quilt is designed by Teri Henderson Tope, and you can find the free pattern at Bernina's We All Sew site.  I loved the freedom of the "messy" outlining she calls for around the cat and moon, and it was great fun learning how to do the swirly quilting design in the background.

I also made these Christmas Tree mug rugs for my Quiltfest group, using my buddy Kevin the Quilter's tutorial but eliminating the bottom row of the tree so they would be small enough to fit.  Thanks Kevin!!! 

The blue one is for Belinda who shares my love for all things BLUE!!!  (Yes, I have a blue one cut out for me too!)  And Joanne is my bird-loving friend, so hers has a beautiful seasonal bird fabric on the back.

This was a really fun project, challenging myself to use only my crumb scraps for the pieces.

I even pulled from my brown crumb jar for the tree trunks... who knew there could be so many colors of brown?????

One more of my Folk Art Album blocks is finished....

This is the 10th Folk Art Album block completed!  I have enjoyed this hand Applique project, especially finding ways to make it a little bit special...

Can you tell that I used metallic thread for the red buds?  I also added those french knot clusters in the center of the three-leaf section that looked a little boring to me before.  I have to admit, I'm ready to be done with this project.  Only 2 more - this one is next up for stitching.  Don't you just adore that hummingbird???

I shared my January Christmas UFO project, I Believe, with you in THIS previous post.  Since then I have finished two more blocks ....

I Believe Block #4

I Believe Block #5 - Yikes!!!!

Of course, as soon as I pulled this photo into Blogger, I saw the mistake!!!  That will have to get fixed first thing tomorrow morning :*)

In order to finish this top assembly in January (from start to finish!), I've committed to making a block per day on the days I am at home.  This week has been impossible - I've had activities every day!  Starting this weekend, this project and my En Provence blocks will be getting lots of love :*)  I'll share more about my thoughts on EP in my next post.

En Provence Clue #5 complete

Some friends are coming over to sew tomorrow, so I need to go get things set up.  As I type, it has begun to snow, so hopefully we won't get "snowed" out!  Actually, we're not expecting anything more than perhaps an inch at the most.  I'll be back this weekend to share my January goals with you.

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Happily Productive!

It's so nice when I am able to get almost everything on my To-Do list accomplished in any given week, but especially this week given that we are so close to Christmas!  I finished up several hand-made Christmas gifts this week and wrapped them up, ready to ship off to my loved ones!

And I am happy to report that my Clue #4 tri-rec units are completed for Bonnie's En Provence Mystery Quilt (EPMQ)!

And I did them right the first time LOL!!!  Actually, I really enjoyed stitching up these units.  Because we had just finished making them for Clue #2, my mind was already in tri-recs mode and I was able to crank them out with no problems.  And what joy to work with these rich purples!!!!

I'm now caught up on all the EPMQ clues so far, as you can see from my completed Clue #3 dark/light purple 4-patches shown in the above picture.  Bear in mind again that I am only doing half the units Bonnie calls for because I am just planning to make a lap-size quilt - unless I end up loving it of course, in which case I have plenty of fabric to make a bigger quilt :*)

Since the 4-patches were so scrappy this time, I only cut one strip off of each of my purples, so it didn't make sense to use my Sizzix cutter for the strips.

However, I did use it to cross-cut the sections for the 4 patches -

How nice to be able to have all of them cut with one simple turn of the handle!  I love turning my 4-patches over so I can admire the cute little swirls on the back (smiles!)

I'll be linking up with my fellow mystery quilters over at Bonnie's Monday Linky Party - click HERE to come over and see all the En Provence loveliness!

And for those of you who are still hanging around, I bet you are hoping for a picture of Rocky - right?  Well, here is Mr. Snoopervisor hard at work making sure I get that perfect 1/4" seam on the strips for the 4-patches...

I think he really likes the vibration of the machine, because he only gets up there when I am actually sewing.  After all that hard work, he decided to take a well-deserved nap - I spied two adorable little sets of kitty toes and an impressively furry tail sticking out from under my foyer quilt rack...

 I think he likes to take naps under there because the heat vent under the quilts makes it toasty warm :*)  He's actually inside the quilt there - that cat sure does love him a quilt!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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