February NewFO Challenge!

*** Tomorrow is Leap Day .... come back for a Giveaway!!! ***

I just love Barbara’s NewFOChallenge!  I’ve been keeping my nose to the grindstone getting those UFO’s finished, and that feels great – 2 this month!.  But it’s so nice to have permission to start something new and exciting in between those older, tired projects!

So what did I decide to start this month?  Winter Wonderland by Crabapple Hill.

I know – this is not on the NewFO list I put together earlier in the year… =^..^=  What can I say?  I changed my mind!!!  Isn’t that the prerogative of all quilters?  If not, it should be.  Just sayin’…..

The first time I saw this quilt hanging in a shop I was awestruck!  Even in the traditional redwork it was just stunning.  I, of course, am doing my quilt in blues – surprised anyone?  Since I got hooked on Promises & Borders and found out how relaxing stitchery can be in the evening when I am catching up on my TV shows, I decided I needed another stitchery project to keep me occupied in between the monthly postings of P&B.

When I first thought I'd like to start this for my NewFO, I thought I was going to have to go buy a lot of white fabric for the background, and that kind of stopped me in my tracks.  You may recall the fabric binge spree expedition I went on during my last two retreats?  Well, the last thing I wanted to do was buy more fabric!!!  But then I went to my stash just on the off chance I might have something that would work, and lo and behold!  What did I find but this lovely white with snowflakes that I had bought on sale last year!  And I have about 6 yards of it, so it will be plenty for the project - Whoohoo!!!!

Now THIS is why I buy so much when I find it on sale!  No buying fabric for me for this quilt & I am doing the happy dance!!!!

I am using the Sulky 12wt embroidery thread for the first time and I just love it!  No trying to separate strands and getting them frayed in the process.  No strands twisting up so that it shows up thicker or thinner in places.  No untangling skeins, or rewrapping them on teeny-tiny cards to keep them from tangling.  I'm telling you, this stuff's the bomb!!!  And I love the bright royal blue color of course!

I also wanted to show you a little of the FMQ quilting I’ve done on the March Calendar quilt today.  It's not perfect of course, but I love playing with FMQ!

I realized this morning that I’d better get busy on getting this quilted and bound since tomorrow is the last day of February.  Yikes that flew by pretty quickly!  I’m almost finished with the quilting, just need to quilt around the squares on the sides and then bind it by machine.  I’ll use a decorative stitch to dress up the binding a bit, but I really do not feel the need to hand-stitch this one. 

Here it is before quilting.....

Have a lovely evening & don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the Leap Day Giveaway & Blog Hop!  I have a giveaway planned that I think you’ll like!

Hugs & Blessings,

Teresa

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