January 4, 2013

When I last posted, I was a couple of semesters into completing my degree.  It is now 1.5 years later and I'm half through my internship and will be graduating in May, 2013.  The degree is a master's in Mental Health Counseling. I think of this blog often and even MORE often, I think of sewing and of finishing projects.  Despite still being in school and all the complications of life, I've decided that this is the year to finish projects.  Time to get on with it already and besides, I want to start some new projects or perhaps take a quilting class for fun, I've got to at least get through some of the UFOs in my pile.

I'm hoping that there will be some readers out there in same boat and we can encourage each other along.  If not, then I'll be here on my own, attempting to sew :-) ...

If I can figure out how, I'll post a list of projects and cross them out as they are completed.  Not all will be completed this year, but my goal is to complete at least 4 quilts (small or large) and 2 other projects.

I do have to report that my sewing room is MUCH more orderly than the last picture.  I got rid of some furniture and and now it is a bit easier to move around in here, although still a bit of a challenge.  I have one more week of winter break so here is what I want to accomplish here in the sewing room, besides resurrecting a project or two:

• dust
• make curtains for the window (okay, so it's only been 3 years since we had the window replaced!)
• make a curtain for the white cabinet (took the doors off about a year ago, and planned to cover with a curtain)
• get projects organized

So, here's to a new year and hopefully, a lot of stitching!

Can't leave a post without some kind of photo, so here's my DH and our little Shatzie having a snuggle ...

August 2

Here I am, for my annual post ... ha, ha! I started going to school full time back in January and so, am even further behind in all my various sewing projects. But, I dream about it and now have a few weeks off from school, so I'm working on getting this mess cleaned up and organized ... shocking and unbelievable ... the state of my sewing corner ... The stuff in the basket and bag in the lower left hand corner of this picture is school work, so that has started to take over what little space I do have. I know this could look so much better though. I think it needs to so I have some motivation to spend time in that corner.

I call this room "the sewing room," even though I hardly ever sew here ... it's where I do my homework for school, pay the bills, read e-mail, etc., and where the guests sleep (can't imagine that happening any time soon!) ...
Anyway, so here I sit, with my little dog, Pippin (what'cha doing mom?), feeling overwhelmed, but wanting to be able to sew again ...... let's see what happens!
Tonight I'm invited to go over and sew with some friends ... might be a good first step go getting on track!

Back, again!

OMG! How quickly time goes by between my posts. I STILL haven't finished organizing my sewing room/office/guest room ... that's why I haven't been back. I've been feeling guilty about not getting anything done. Now isn't that ridiculous??

Thought I'd stop by, visit some other blogs and at least say hello world!
It's been a busy Spring, I am making ever so slow progress in my sewing room. But I just made a pretty big fabric commitment to making some pillow cases, so I'll be working on those this coming week.

In the meantime, thought I'd share a few pretty pics from the last few weeks ...

Lady slippers ... love that name!
Bleeding Heart ... one of my Spring time favorites!


And a very brave Chickadee who sat there for longest time posing for me ...

Evidence of a year

When I was writing yesterday, it occurred to me that Audrey, the baby mentioned in my one and only blog post last year is now 13 months old and walking!

Here's a photo from her birthday party a month ago ... time really flies for babies!
Here she is with her mom and dad, Jessica and Victor. They live in Canada now, so we have less opportunity to see them, but thankfully for on-line apps like Facebook, we can see photos and videos. How did we live without the internet? Hard to imagine!Debbie

A year goes by ...

Wow! Nearly a year since I've blogged! A ton has happened and a lot is still the same, I'm ready to keep on movin' forward! Happy 2010, everyone!

I finished some projects last year, but not as much as I'd hoped. It is my goal for this year to either finish or re-invent all projects I have going. My other goal is to start designing my own projects rather than just focusing on recreating other people's things. Not that there's anything wrong with using other people patterns, but I have so many ideas that I never actually use that it's bugging me.

The most significant thing has happened as far as sewing and quilting goes is that I've reorganized my sewing room, not once, but twice! Yikes! And I'm still working on finishing up the second time. I will report back, with pictures on this under taking. I'm really into to purging, purging, purging things I've been saving for no good reason!

Anyway, the most significant project I finished this past year was WallFlowers by Waltzing with Bears here's a photo of it hanging at my guild's quilt show last October:
Lots to talk about. I hope to reconnect with a lot of quilters out there in cyber land. Hope everyone has a truly happy and prosperous 2010!

Debbie

Time goes by ...

I'm continually amazed at how time can fly by and I don't get around to blogging or even quilting! It was an interesting Fall and even more interesting December. Most was good, some was dramatic (a tree fell on our house during the Northeast's big ice storm in December) and some was just kind of there ...

I'm back to focusing on quilting and enjoying every minute of it. I am hoping to join a sewing group and intend to begin attending my local quilt guild meetings again. This is the year that the guild has it's show and I'd really like to have some items to display and perhaps even participate in the show in other ways.

I have been doing some quilting and wanted to share a baby quilt I made in the Fall for my new grand-niece, Audrey. This was a sweet little pattern that included nine embroidery blocks. I wanted to use very cheerful colors for the setting, so I used a packet of 1930's fabrics I purchased a few years ago. The pattern is called "Baby's Day" and is published by Waltzing With Bears.

My favorite embroidery block:
And, here's a photo of the wee-one, Audrey. Born on December 2nd:
Well, I'm off to sew! Talk with you later!
Debbie

Nashville, TN

I guess I lied. Well, not really. I just ran out of time. I had planned on posting pictures and story about "Birds of a Feather," I didn't get around to it. If you haven't heard of this book, you can check out the book on Amazon ... here's the link:
Take a look ... I promise I'll post the blocks I've completed when I get home.

So, where am I? Well, Nashville, Tennessee, of course! Actually, this is a very strange place for me to be. I'm not much of a country music fan ... shhhhh ... don't tell anyone ... that's a very blasphemous thing to say here. I don't hate it or anything, just never acquired the taste for it. More of a rock and roll or classical music girl.

Anyway, we're here for a reunion of my DH's Army units ... the 7/17th Air Calvary ... and this year we ended up Nashville. I love to go to new places, so I always have a good time and it's great to see the women that I've come to know and love over the years.

We went on a bus tour of Nashville today and of course, we stopped at the Ryman Auditorium, so I thought I'd share a picture of my debut at the Ryman ...
I visited a couple of quilts shops when I was here. I highly recommend both of them, so if you're ever in the area, stop by ... here are the links: Quilter's Attic and The Quilting Squares Quilt Shop. Very friendly folks!

We're off to dinner ... see ya'll later!

How creative am I, really?

I generally think of myself as being a creative person. And, I always thought that if I didn't have to work, I'd be creating all day long. Designing new quilts, finishing projects, designing those tote bags I've had running around in my head for ever and all those little Christmas ornaments that peep from the corner of that oh so creative spot in my brain.

But, I haven't done any of it! I haven't been working for more than two months now and what original thing have I created? Nothing. Sure, I'm job searching, interviewing, etc., but I have plenty of extra time and I still daydream about those creative things, but I don't sit down and actually do them.

I think what I'm discovering is that creativity is also work. Daydreaming isn't enough.

So, my plan. Add one hour of creative time per day ... dream the dream and act on it. One hour a day!

More to come ...

By the way, the kitchen curtains didn't get made (surprise, surprise). I broke down and hung the cow curtains. And, now that it is nearly time to put up the Fall curtains (these are already made, thank God!), it's time to move on and think about other things. Enough of curtains for now.

I will post tomorrow about Birds of a Feather ... 'til then, night-night!

Debbie

I'm back!

Hey there everyone in blogland, I'm back! Maybe you didn't notice that I was gone and, in reality, I never left. I just haven't blogged. Life took a curious turn for me ... I was laid-off from my job, so my life has turned into a big job search. It's been nearly two months now, got some job hunting irons in fire and hopefully one of them will pan out.


In the meantime, I have been quilting. I finished two small projects and have started a new block of the month. I'm also "working" on (quotation marks because I have the fabric and know what I plan to do) new kitchen curtains. Not the bird houses I designed ever so long ago ... anyway, you'll see. I'm going to get these done this week and will post here. (My poor husband is tired of the bare windows in the kitchen ... I promised to get these done or else I'll have to hang the old cow curtains that I so tired of ... ugh!)


Here are the two small projects:

This was from a class I took on Flag Day in June (the 14th) ... very fun and very quick. The poem is embroidered:

This was from a class I took last summer (wool applique on cotton background), but never finished ... completed it up before 7/4 of this year:
Both projects are hand quilted.

I'm also working on making another one of these Scrappy Flags ... got this pattern from an episode of Simply Quilts on HGTV ... I made and finished this one last year, it hangs in the livingroom:

The half square triangles for the new quilt are made and squared up and ready to be sewn into stripes ... smooth sailing from here on out. I'll explain what the second quilts is for later when I show you the finished project ...

The block of the month is "Birds of a Feather" you may have heard of the book ... I love, love, LOVE this project and am really enjoying working on it. More about this in a couple of days.

Okay, enough for now, I'm off to visit other blogs and say hello ... I've missed visiting with you all, hope you stop by!

One final photo ... my flower gardens are a disaster this year, but my pots are doing great ... nasturtiums, blue lobelia and spikey grass-like plant (whatever that is called).
Debbie

My Favorite Tree

There are many trees that I love, but this one, is special. I love to watch it move through the seasons. This tree, stands strong through all weather, good and bad, it is a very a strong and determined tree. Here it is today with it's spring leaves finally unfurling:

It was my birthday recently (happy birthday to me) ... here's a couple of photos from the "big" celebration (well, we like our celebrations small, what can I say ... it was a wonderful birthday).

Lee and Pip singing "Happy Birthday" to me ... Bailey was singing as well, he was sitting on the floor, and I didn't get his picture (sorry Bailey!):
And here's my birthday ice cream adorned with a cute little candle and candle holder from Angela (thanks Angela!):
Quilting?? Oh yeah, this is a blog about quilting ... I nearly forgot! Only kidding! Right now, I'm basting the border pieces for Aster Blast and I've started a new project ... more about that, next time! :-)

Visit to Pickity Place

One of my favorite places to go, especially in the Spring, is Pickity Place in Mason, NH. I went there recently with my friends Marie and Angela. We had a wonderful meal (all meals are made with fresh herbs from their gardens) and then had a walk through the gift shop and gardens.

Here we are enjoying our lunch:

This was a special birthday treat for me ... thanks again, Angela and Marie! I had a wonderful time!

We all had Beef Wellington ... yummy! And the dessert ... lemon cake with blueberry sauce in the center and a lemon flavored whipped cream ... YUMMY!
The flower was from their garden and edible ... I did eat mine, because I am a mildly brave person as far as food goes ... it tasted like grass to me, and they always seem to taste like that for some reason. I guess I don't have the most sophisticated palate ... :-D

The cottage at Pickity Place was used in the illustrations for the Little Golden Books version of Little Red Riding Hood.


The big bad wolf is still waiting for Red (sleeping under a quilt, of course!):

Here are a few glimpses of the grounds ... it really is beautiful there ... even though we had a cold and rainy day.

Signs of Spring II

Finally, some quilting news ... I've completed the Signs of Spring wall hanging. This was begun ever so long ago ... when we were still under deep snow! It's now hanging in the planned space in the kitchen adding some Spring cheer on a cold and rainy day.


I haven't had a chance to decorate around it yet, so here's the wall hanging by itself:

One of the things I loved about making this was the embroidery! I learned to love sewing by doing embroidery and crewel work when I was young ... as I recall it all started at around age 9 or 10. I can remember sitting on the beach in the summer and stitching away. Doing the embroidery on this project brought those memories back. I also remember reading and laying on the beach all slathered up with baby oil. Ahhh! The glorious 70's!

Anyway, a couple of my favorite stitches were of course, the Lazy Daisy stitch and French Knots! I guess that's why all the memories came flooding back ... here's the detail:
What a sweet little face ...
Happy Spring!

Mythological Creature in Rural New Hampshire!

On Thursday, May 1st the mythological "Dachsicorn" was spotted in rural New Hampshire. This animal, long thought to be an old-wives tale, was spotted and captured on camera by a resident of southwestern New Hampshire.

The story goes that this creature was infamous for a loud, dog-like, barking noise, it's desire to "taste" it's prey by continuously licking their hands or neck (or any bare skin) and it's insatiable lust for belly rubs.

Here's a view of the creature at rest:
Note that it's bed is in need of cleaning ... the Dachsicorn was also infamous for it's lack of tidiness. Also note it's chubby and cute physique ... this trait was intended to catch it's victims off guard in order to procure treats and even more belly rubs! Pure evil!

A close-up view of the beast:
Be on your guard!

Spring has sprung! Subtitle: Support Hose for Greyhounds

Where does the time go? I wrote on Monday about my wonderful Pay It Forward gift that I received from Jacquie (that I'm still enjoying immensely) ... had other things to write about, but the week slipped away and here it is, Saturday evening.

Well, better late than never, I suppose!

So where does the time go? Well, first of all. I've finished all but the binding of Signs of Spring. I plan to finish this tonight and will (hopefully) show you tomorrow.

Otherwise, I've not been doing that much quilting ... but I have been walking, walking and walking some more ... here's my walking companion.

This is Jolene and as you can see she had a bandage on her leg. Jolene has arthritis in her back legs and was having trouble getting up the stairs of the deck and into the house. She scraped her legs on the steps and had to be bandaged for a couple of weeks. She's doing much better ... no more bandage and, with the help of daily aspirin, is feeling much better. In the meantime, we're walking more ... twice a day ... down to the lake (or further) and back ... good exercise for both of us!

We're experimenting with "support hose" or leggings to try to protect her legs ... I made these from an old pair of leggings ... they fall off when we go walking, but I'm experimenting with the design. She's much happier without them at the moment. Maybe it's the color ... maybe She's worried that all the other dogs are going to make fun of her for wearing stockings ... she looks pretty mortified in the photo ... ("oh mom!").
In the meantime, Spring is finally here ... here's a daffodil in our garden ... (thank you for the bulbs, Dan!) ...And some down the road ...A neighbor's forsythia ...
I love that yellow and green ... so bright and happy!
And Laurel Lake, with beautiful Mt Monadnock in the distance ...
It's a beautiful place to walk every day!

Package in the Mail!

I think I'm the luckiest quilting blogger in the world! I just read on Jacquie's blog that her Pay it Forward challenge gifts were ready and then, what was waiting for me when I got home??? A wonderful package! Here's the beautifully wrapped package ... with real ribbon, that, of course, I saved. Actually I saved the paper too ... I don't usually do this, but I really liked the paper!

And the surprise! A beautiful tea-cup wall-hanging! Designed and made by Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio.
I joined her Pay it Forward a little bit ago and was so thrilled to be selected as a recipient because I love her creations! What Jacquie didn't know is that I also love tea cups. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I have some beautiful old cups that I cherish AND I was planning on putting some out this Spring. I haven't done the Spring decorating in the kitchen yet, but when I do, I will show you how I use her quilt and the tea cups ...

I love it!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Jacquie included this cheery pincushion too ... how delightful ... I've already started using it!
Thank you again, Jacquie!

Maple Leaf Memories

Like many quilters, I have a pile of UFOs. I have a goal to finish them ALL this year. Ambitious, I know, but it makes me so happy to finish projects!

This is a project that I love, love, love ... I'm dying to finish it, have it quilted (I typically only hand quilt, so I plan to send bigger quilts out to be quilted) and use it on my bed!

This is called Maple Leaf Memories. From a class that I took year ago ... isn't it scrumptious?!?
Fall is my favorite season ... there is nothing that I love more than the changing of the leaves ... I had so much fun making each of these blocks ... it was so exciting to see how each one would come out. I actually made more blocks than I needed ... so I have a half dozen orphan blocks!

Here's a more detailed view (my sock-clad toes included):
So, if I love this quilt so much, what is the problem? It's the border ... the flying geese ... I have to make 60 of these 4 goose units ... I've made 34 ... I'm getting there, but they are time consuming and I find that I can only stand making them for so long. Every week, I tell myself that I'll make two a day, but it doesn't happen. BTW, there will be a thin red border between the maple leaves and the flying geese and the another thin red border on the outside of the flying geese ... love those flying Dutchmen in the corners.
Anyway. My goal ... is to be done with the flying geese, and have it all assembled by the end of April! I know I can do it ... so here we go ... I guess I'd better make a few today ... :-) ... okay, here I go ... what's that? ... is that the laundry calling me? ... oh what, I think one of the dogs needs to go out ...