Begin as you mean to go on....

That's an expression that I've often used in my life to spur me on when I find myself at the beginning of something new.  Since this is my first Goals post for 2018, it should serve me well today!

Courtesy @texassweettea.com

Like many of you, a new year inspires me to do new things!  To clear out the old, begin the new, set goals, choose how I want to spend that precious year.  Of course, it rarely turns out the way I've planned it, but without a plan I'm doomed from the start :)  I'm definitely a planner, an organizer, a dreamer.  One thing that seems to work for me is to break things down into time and effort segments, then get those pieces on my calendar for the month...

These are the two projects getting all the love right now -

Mint Chocolate Wedding Ring ...
This is one of my oldest UFO's from 2008.  It was a little intimidating to me when I first started it as a relatively new quilter, but I'm really having fun with it this year and will almost be sad when it's done.  There's incredible satisfaction when each block is completed and placed on the design wall...

And yes, Rocky, is still the Snoopervisor Extraordinare of all things that happen around here!!!  

And he continues to take his job as CEO of Foot Warming very seriously....

And yes, he's put on a few pounds LOL!!!

Of course you know I had to join in Bonnie Hunter's newest Mystery Quilt - On Ringo Lake!

Just had to put pieces together to see how these blocks will look!

I loved her color choices and happily went with them, with a few exceptions - blacks instead of browns, and limited my neutrals to soft buttery yellows.  This year's project has literally thousands of pieces, and I'm almost done with them...

400 Flying Geese!!!!

I love all the new challenges, sewalongs, quiltalongs, BOM's - the list of shiny new things to do is always so tempting!  And I always want to do them all.  Joining in is a great way for me to stay on track and gives me that much-needed measure of accountability.  However, my biggest challenge is to limit myself to what I might reasonably be able to accomplish in one year - any of you relate?  Yeh, I thought so LOL!!!

These days, there are many UFO challenges out there and I like to choose one or two that I can combine with the UFO challenge at my Guild.  One of my favorites is Elm Street Quilts' One Monthly Goal

My project this month will be to quilt my Diamonds R Forever top...

This is an old UFO from a Guild class taught by the String Sisters ...

Another Challenge I hope to keep up with is the 2018 FinishAlong, hosted by She Can Quilt....

I'm also planning to join Lyn at What a Hoot! with her 18 in 2018 link up, and I'll hopefully get that list together later this week.  There will also be a few new projects that aren't really new but taken from my Wish List - I can't wait to share them with you!  I'll probably join Pomegranate & Chintz's 6 & 6 in 2018 for these.  Yep, I'm hopeless - join all the joins!!!!

Enjoy your week my friends!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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If You give a Mouse a File .....

And if that Mouse lives in my house....She will probably make a Quilted File Folder!

I look pretty happy here with my first retreat finish, don't I?

Last week I promised you in THIS post that I was planning something fun and happy with my little Mouse so I could join in on The Tartankiwi's fun Woodland Bundle Quiltalong.  Well, I packed up all my supplies ....

Zipper was recycled from an old beach bag!
It's been hanging around for years waiting for me to put it to use.
I love it!!!!

... along with this pattern/tutorial I've been hoarding for ages by Modern Handcraft (you can find the free tutorial HERE) ....

and chose it for my first project while at retreat at Becky's Barn with a couple of my favorite crazy fun friends.  This was a really fun project to do, and perfect for my first project because it went together quickly.  The instructions in the tutorial are clear and easy to follow :*)

First, I had to remove all the old faded pink fabric from around my recycled zipper....

And voila! - Good as new!!!

I love that it is a heavy-duty zipper, perfect for a folder that will get lots of use!

Before long, I had surrounded my little Mouse with a 1/4"hot pink border and then finished out the bottom front with that gorgeous bright blue.  It reminds me of a night at the fair while the fireworks are going off!

Next I added the layers of fabrics I had chosen for the top section ....  The topmost piece here is my inner lining.

Kinda wishing now I hadn't put the white at the top - it will get lots of touches and will be impossible to keep clean.  *sigh*

I proudly hung my new Mouse File Folder on the light over my machine where I sewed at retreat to spur me on to finish even more projects.  On the last day of the retreat, we were all packed up and ready to leave when Sheila comes strolling over to my station with her hands behind her back ... When she brought her hands to the front, she was holding my file folder!  ..... which she had stolen the day before .... and I hadn't even noticed!!!!  What can I say?  By that time I had shifted my focus to work on Moon Over Meowmi and forgot all about my poor little Mouse...

Now that I'm home, my folder has already been put to good use!

And at our Guild meeting this week, it held my new On-The-Go Project Bag patterns for those who ordered one :*)

FYI - I'm working on getting these available on the blog, but if you're interested in the meantime, drop me an email and I'll send you a PDF copy for just $6.00!

My next Woodland Bundle project is going to be very similar .... If my Mom is reading this, then she will know she is about to get a fun new gift :*)

Are you sewing along in the Woodland Bundle QAL?  Juliet at The Tartankiwi is so talented, and her patterns are always so well done.  You don't have to worry about running into problems - they sew up like butter!  And if you go over to her Etsy shop now, you can get the entire set of ALL FOUR Woodland creatures - in FOUR different sizes! - for SALE during the duration of the QAL!  Then you can join in to win some fun prizes!!!

I think my Bunny will be next to come out to play after the Squirrel - he's too darn adorable to sit alone for long!  

But to be honest, I can't be totally sure what my plan will be, because someone has taken control of my planning calendar ....

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Linking up with the following fun parties:

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

August Hopes and Dreams .....

Since life has been so busy lately, I'm leaning toward calling my plans for August more like hopes and dreams LOL!  We have a trip to Carolina planned this month for our niece's wedding and a nice visit with the kids and grandkids (and my sweet Mom!), which will carve out a good chunk of the month.

I did manage to finish up my July OMG - "Moon Over Meowmi" - but failed to find the time to write up a blog post so I could join the linky party :(  Oh well, I guess I would rather have the finish than the blog post, right?  Always look on the positive!!!

Of course, "finished" is a relative term, since this is only to the flimsy stage, which is all the farther I was prepared to take it for now.  There are already several quilting projects in process, and they have to be cleared before I can do this one.  As I said HERE when I posted the project as my July OMG, this project was begun way back in 2013, almost to the day, so to have it this far after sitting for 3 years is a WIN in my book!

I got down to business with this project at a quilt retreat last week.  The background fabric is a hand-dye by Colorways by Vicki Welsh.  I purchased both the pattern and that piece of fabric from Vicki.  The next piece that I thought would be critical to the success of Meowmi was the black.  Did I want a solid, flat black, or maybe a fun and funky print?  I never dreamed I would end up going with a slinky, shiny, glossy black that is anything but cotton!  Can you see the shiny black pattern fabric in this picture below?  It is a glorious fabric!!!  I have absolutely no idea what kind of material it is.

I came across it in my Miscellaneous Fabrics drawer while looking for the iridescent gauze remnant I had picked up several years ago and put back for the moon.  I keep things like Minkee and rayons, etc, in that drawer, fabrics I don't ever look for but sometimes happen upon in a remnant sale or at Goodwill - like a magpie, if it shines and glitters I'm hooked LOL!  I ended up falling hard for the black for my cats.  I even love that it frays a little on the edges making it look more like fur!

I really wanted a piece of white fake fur for the bellies, but didn't have time to shop before going off to retreat.  I was lamenting about this when Carole pops up and says did you say white fake fur?  I don't have fake fur, but I do have a nice while fluffy fabric with lots of texture - would that work?  Would it ever!

This white is just fluffy enough against the slick black - it's perfect!  We were all pretty amazed that someone "happened" to have the exact fabric I needed for my project - and enough of it that she could share with me :)  That was fun!!!

The iridescent gauze I had saved ended up working well for the moon, but I had to add a shiny silver behind it to make it show up enough.  It still needs a good trim, but I want to quilt it first.  See how sparkly and moon-like it is?

I also found this AMAZING piece of blue-green slinky fabric that I had picked up thinking I might make an infinity scarf out of it.  It worked perfectly for the bowl the cats are sitting on....  and who needs a silly old scarf when you can create an amazing bowl for cats to sit on?  Am I right?

I had a terrible time deciding what to use for the rim of the bowl.  I originally had a sparkly brick red piece, but I melted it on the iron - the retreat's iron!  Thankfully it came off okay :*)  I finally went with a wonderful blue grunge that looks a little like pottery. Everyone says the swirls in the bowl fabric look like fish figures :*)

As for the leaves, I decided to go with a variety of green cotton prints and batiks to change up the texture.  The tree is a gorgeous brown/black batik, so I think it all works well together.  The leaves will be 3D and will branch out beyond the binding when the quilt is done.

For someone who is not an art quilter, this quilt was a fun challenge for me!

This was my first retreat away from home since Rocky came to live with us, and I was a little worried about how he would handle it.  He's used to me being in and out all day, and tagging along at my heels wherever I am in the house.  As luck would have it, My Guy also had business meetings several nights that week, so Rocky spent two days alone from 6am to about 10pm.  My Guy said he almost attacked him when he walked in the door in the evenings LOL!!!  Here he is begging him not to leave him again ....

I was curious to see how he would treat me when I came home.  Gypsy used to very pointedly ignore me for a day or two just to make sure I knew how displeased she was with my deplorable behavior.  But Rocky's sweet nature doesn't seem to have space for such airs and punishments... he was delighted to see me!  For the next two days, he barely let me out of his sight....

I couldn't even read without him right there demanding my complete attention!  What a little sweetheart he is :*)

So that was it for July - wow did it ever go by at the speed of light, right?  As for August, my Guild UFO number this month is #3, and that means that my August OMG project will be my Patchwork Snowman Table Runner kit by Shabby Fabrics. 

I love that this is a new project - not even pulled out of the bag yet!  I realize that some don't consider an unstarted project a UFO, but for me if it has been sitting on my shelf kitted up (by me or someone else), then it is a UFO and needs to get DONE!

I love the colors in this kit and look forward to having a Christmas finish this early in the year :*)

There's also a bonus project I'd like to finish - it's one of those that I mentioned clogging up the quilting queue ....

This is my August Calendar Quilt - it's only been in the works for a couple of years LOL!  I got it appliqued and fused down last July, and had every hope of getting it quilted this July but that obviously didn't happen.  This is as far as I've gotten...

These quilts designed by Kim Schaefer have the cutest little details!  This little bee will have to be quilted in a light color so his head will show up :*)

I'd love to finish it this week if possible so I can enjoy it on the wall for a while this year.  And since the September quilt hasn't even been started, it might get to stay on the wall until October :*)  After this one, the Blooming Nine Patch (BNP) is next in the queue for quilting.  I want to finish that one SO badly!!!!

I'm linking up with Quilting is More Fun than Housework for this week's Oh Scrap! party!

Julie over at The Crafty Quilter also has a fun UFO linkup party ....

And I'm also going on over to Red Letter Quilts to join the linky fun there!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Fluttering and Sparkling .....

This has already been a very busy summer - is it even officially summer yet?  Well, it feels like summer with the 90-degree days we've been having here in Nashville! 

Time for blogging has been hard to carve out, but I've got lots going on to share with you.  A couple of finishes, several projects in the works, and a few that are still in the design stage.  For instance....

This cuter-than-stinkin'-cute Tuffet Pincushion just happened to get made and now sparkles up the studio quite nicely .....

One day soon I hope to make one of those wonderful full-size Tuffets that I've been seeing in blogland, but in the meantime I bought a kit at Mountain Quiltfest to make this adorable little pincushion, and I couldn't be more smitten!  It was surprisingly easy and fun to make as well :*)

I started with lots of bright and happy scraps from my Kaffe and Philip Jacobs stash ....

Then I added a little bling ....

These are drawer pulls from the local hardware store.  You can get much more inexpensive ones of course, but I just fell in love with these sparklers and couldn't resist.  As everyone knows, I'm pretty much a lot like a magpie - a real sucker for anything bright and shiny LOL!

After a bit of a battle between my desire and my budget, I decided to splurge since the pincushion will be something I see and enjoy every day.

Of course, I have to keep it in a drawer except when I'm actually sewing because of this little guy....

Rocky helping me practice my free-motion feathers -
"Mom, make your curves nice and smooth, like my perfect little kitty toes ... "
=^..^=

He's pretty much declared himself King of the Studio, and if I'm sewing, then he's right there snoopervising, up close and very personal ....

.... dangerously up close!  And if there is even one pin in sight, he'll zero in on it and have it in his mouth before I can stop him.  I've taken to using one of those magnetic wands on the floor before I leave the room so he doesn't find a stray one.  Sheesh!!!

As for the "Fluttering" I mentioned earlier, here is my latest new start ....

In-Flight Monarch Butterfly
design by Debra Gabel @ Zebra Designs

I posted HERE in September 2012 that I had purchased these patterns and hoped to begin work on them.  2012!!!!  Sheesh again!!!

My friend Pat and I have been talking about getting together and playing with these blocks for well over a year, and every time we plan a playdate something comes along to spoil our fun.  She's already fused down 5 of her blocks waiting on me to get started!  This past week, we finally put a date on the calendar and refused to let anything stop us.  We had a lovely day!!!!

I used Lara Buccella's (BuzzinBumble) applique technique from her new book, Crafted Applique, and I just love the results.  No fraying edges, and I can tell that they won't fray even after I stitch them down.  Nice!  This is the perfect project for this technique, because there are lots of little fiddly pieces ...

Some of these stems are smaller than 1/8" wide!

The edges look a little rough, but that is because I used serrated scissors to cut the pieces and they grabbed the edges a bit.  With my next block, I'll use a sharp pair of sheers.  I'm really excited to finally get my first block done, and can't wait to start the next one.

One more project is not even really started yet ...

I've pulled these fabrics to make another See-n-Go project bag.  I was inspired by this amazing Kaffe Fassett print called Corsage ...

I'm going to be teaching some friends how to make this bag in a few weeks, so I wanted to make a new one to refresh my memory on all the little details.  Not to mention that I can't have enough of them LOL!!!  (If you would like to make a See-N-Go Project bag of your own, you can go HERE to find out how to get the free pattern!)

Finally, I have two finishes to share ....

My mini Fractured Seahorse has been labeled, bound and hung on its standing frame, and now graces our living room so we can enjoy it every day!  I chose this deliciously curvy hot pink that somehow reminded me of the Little Mermaid :*)

I like to sew the label into the binding so I only have to hand-sew 2 sides - and it's more secure!

And Calypso also got its binding sewn down.  I chose to do a small flange of the red in the fold of the binding to give a little pop of color between the border and the binding.....(it's not crooked, that's just the way it is draped over the chair arm).

This one also resides in our living room now as well - doesn't it look wonderful with our claret-colored furniture?

Finally, I thought you might like a quick peek at my current Design Wall ....

It's a hodge-podge of lots of little projects in the works.  Unfortunately, pictures on this wall are never great - the lighting is bad in that area of the studio, but you get the idea.
-  Top left - blocks for Cool Diehl, a set of blocks I'm putting together from a Kim Diehl design.  I'm using Kim's fabrics too and loving the way it is coming together!
-  Top right - a block gifted to me by my friend Carol Ann, waiting for it to tell me what it wants to be
-  Middle left - In-Flight Monarch Butterfly
-  Middle right - Whoooooo's Your Daddy?
-  Bottom left - a partial of my Diamonds are Forever
-  Bottom right - two See-N-Go Project bags in the planning stage

I spent last weekend sandwiching a couple of large quilt tops to be free-motion quilted on my domestic machine.  I started quilting one of them this week, but since I don't want this post to drag on too long, I'll come back and share some pretty pictures in a few days.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Linking up with the following fun parties:
Design Wall Monday
Oh Scrap!
Let's Bee Social
Tuesday Linky Party
Scraptastic Tuesday