Where did January go?? Usually it is the darkest, coldest, ‘put your head down and slog through it’ month of the year. Yes it is still, dark, still cold, snow is still on the ground, but it has also been filled with beauty–crisp winter days with blue skies so intense that photos just don’t do it justice. I’ll be joining the “We Support You” blog hop on February 5. Here is the schedule:
We’ll show you projects and ideas to support loved ones going through cancer or other medical treatment. The “We Support You” Friendship Quilt Pattern is available for purchase for $12.00 by emailing Madame Samm directly to madamesamm@me.com.
Welcome blog hoppers!! My ‘season’ is Spring and I had an absolutely delightful cross stitch pattern by Brooke Nolan to stitch for my Tammy Bag by Madame Samm. The Tammy bag is the perfect size for a hand stitching project. The ‘pinny’ by Cori Blunt is a perfect accessory for the bag–I will no longer put my pins and needles in arm chairs now that I have this pinny. I starting taking photos outside, hoping that ‘Spring’ would come despite the cold temperatures and snow. However the cold chased me inside to complete them.
The back of the bag has a pocket with a “faux” binding, a convenient place for a pattern. The back of the pinny has a thread catcher and a place to store your needles.
I placed two divided pockets in the interior of the bag to store my scissors, reading glasses and other supplies. I found this lovely aqua gingham in my stash and I knew it would be perfect because each of Brooke Nolan’s designs has some gingham depicted in cross stitch. I was so excited by the prospect of cross stitching again that I stitched all 3 of the remaining seasonal designs and got a good start on the Tammy bags and pinnys for them as well.
Please come back and visit me to see the finished projects. Please visit all of the people on today’s hop:
My word for 2015 is: Concentrate. I realized, after looking back at 2014, that I tried to do too many things and that I tried to be too many people, e.g. mom, quilter, volunteer, blogger, appraiser, design, office manager….. I also realized that I start a great many projects and finish very few. Concentrate is an objective which will hopefully result in more focused efforts on my part in the coming year. Many of my unfinished objects last year remain on my to-do list this year. I hope to whittle down this list, starting in Q1.
1. Flower Strip quilt–the quilting is done, I need to sew the binding and label on.
2. Winding Ways–the quilting is done, I need to sew the binding and label on.
3. 1930’s reproduction quilt–the quilting is done, I need to sew the binding and label on.
4. Quilt the 4 Quilts of Valor tops which I have received.
5. Finish Imperial Blooms, pattern by Sue Spargo (www.suespargo.com).
6. Finish Crimson Tweed, pattern by Sue Spargo.
7. Riley Blake–here is part of my mock-up in EQ7:
I need to re-do some quilting and bind it.
8. Mission Triangles, this is a quilt I have made with the help of our Mission Stitchers group at Onalaska UMC from donated flannel triangles. It will be soft and warm. Here is the EQ7 mockup:
Mission Triangles
The top is done, well almost, I need to put on some borders and quilt it.
9. Log Cabin quilt–the quilting is done, I need to sew the binding and label on.
10. Various mug rugs, place mats, and table runners–the quilting is done, I need to sew the binding and label on.
I think that is enough, for now. I do need to sew a lot of bindings onto quilts–there are a great number of binding tutorials out in blog-land, but I will also write one. One of my goals this past year, and the coming year, has been to improve my bindings. I’ve learned a great deal about binding as I have worked on that goal. Hopefully I will be able to branch out this year to some shaped bindings.
January is an exciting month–I have 3 blog hops scheduled and I will be writing a pattern for my quilt guild’s quilt show quilt. I am looking forward to concentrating this month!!
The Professional Bag was on my bag bucket list. I purchased the pattern several years ago, because of it’s many pockets. I finally made and finished it last spring (notice the green grass and flowers). As I was going through this year’s pictures I found photos of the bag and realized that I had not yet blogged about it. The bag features outer pockets on each end for water bottles or umbrellas, and has two pockets on the front, on of which is zippered, and one pocket on the back. The back also features a very sturdy strap which will secure the bag to a rolling bag.
The inside of the bag has a center pocket, which I padded with soft and stable interfacing. I can carry a small laptop in it or a tablet.
One side of the inside of the bag has two open pockets and one pocket with a hook and loop closure flap. The other side has a pocket for pens, a key fob holder, and a pocket.
All of the pockets have separate purposes and help to keep me organized. For the outer fabric I used Navy Essex Linen and an ikat print. I used the bag throughout the spring and summer, with no issues. The pattern was well written and easy to understand which made it possible to sew in a weekend.
Where did January go?? Usually it is the darkest, coldest, ‘put your head down and slog through it’ month of the year. Yes it is still, dark, still cold, snow is still on the ground, but it has also been filled with beauty–crisp winter days with blue skies so intense that photos just don’t do it justice. I’ll be joining the “We Support You” blog hop on February 5. Here is the schedule:
Lovelli Quilts 