2012 report and 2013 plans

Even though I try very hard to be organized, sometime during the year I lost track of my quilting progress.  As best I can determine, I finished 9 of the UFO’s I listed last year, and on top of that I made two twin-size quilts for my cousin, four Christmas quilts for friends, a banner for church, a banner for my front porch, and did binding for friends.  There might have been a table runner and some small zipper bags too.  Did not keep track of my knitting and I don’t think I did any counted cross-stitch at all.  However I did participate monthly in an Artist’s Trading Card exchange and a postcard exchange.  I dabbled in making cards and some fictional writing too.

My quilting goals for 2013 include finishing up 7 almost-finished quilts, participate in Judy’s Comfort & Joy project (along with my niece), and work with my niece on making a quilt for a gift.  On my Hope-to-Do-in-2013 list are 14 quilts in various stages from an idea, to a kit, to fabrics gathered and blocks begun.  Then there are 7 very old UFO’s that I’m not ready to give up on.  I just need quiet time and energy to continue the work as they are not easy projects.  Lastly, one quilt is being quilted so that will only need binding.  Wait…..have to add the Artist’s Trading Cards and the Postcards I do each month.

In going over all this, I decided also that I will not take on any big knitting projects this year.  The sweater that I am knitting and hope to finish in the next week, took way too much time and money.  I think I will stick to scarves if I do any knitting at all.  I would really love to get back to some counted cross-stitch this year as I have lots of patterns already kitted up.

Now, with all of the above, plus my reading goals from yesterday, plus my volunteer job at church, you will NEVER hear me complain that I am bored.  Life is good and full and fun and I am blessed beyond measure.

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Now for Judy’s Get It Done Challenge -  for January 2013…

1.  Finish knitted sweater

2.  Finish gift quilt top (with niece Becky).

3.  Do ATC and Postcard monthly challenges

4.  Sew bow-tie blocks together.

5.  Sew borders on Riley Blake fabric quilt.

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And of course my last jigsaw puzzle for the holiday season 2012…..

Happy New Year ! ! ! !

Books and a puzzle

It was almost 3:00pm by the time I got home from church and lunch with a group of church friends.  I had one project in mind for the afternoon and I got right to it.  You see, I have a Kindle and I also subscribe to Pixel of Ink which is a daily email which lists free Kindle books.  Well, I knew I had a ton of books on my Kindle that are unread and I don’t even remember why I thought I might like to read them.  So I went to my Kindle account and printed off the list of books I had downloaded in 2012, crossed off those that I read, and then listed the unread ones along with the description (abbreviated) from Amazon.  There were 26 unread books from 2012.   Now my goal is to read these books before downloading any more. 

(Tomorrow I am doing the quilt project inventory – what I finished in 2012 and what I hope to finish in 2013.  My niece, who works full time and has a family to take care of, listed her 2012 finishes and it is very impressive.  I’m retired and my list  will not be any where near as impressive.)

This evening PBS had several wonderful programs on, so I decided to do another puzzle while enjoying good drama.  This puzzle was an easy one.

Changing my mind

Today I put borders on the quilt I am making from the Riley Blake fabric.  I thought the polka dot fabric in the fat quarter bundle would make the perfect border, but now that it is up on the design wall, I’m thinking it is much too busy.  I think I will remove the polka dot border and add a solid color border – taking a color from the fabric – blue or green or gold/orange or dark orange/red.  (I will have to go shopping.)

In my stash I had the perfect backing fabric and when I went to get it out of the drawer, it wasn’t there.  Thinking back I realized that I used it on another quilt.  Now I have to find a backing too.  (More shopping.) 

Not quite a cold

Today I was not feeling 100%.  I don’t have a cold nor the flu, but my throat is a little sore and I have zero energy.

I managed a little cupboard cleaning, some desk work, and a puzzle today.

And now I am going to make some tea and read myself to sleep.

Cold, tired, no sewing

It was very cold at church today where I do my volunteer job.  The boiler was not working and although the pastor put a space heater next to my desk, my legs were toasty but the rest of me was very chilly.

The repairman came in the afternoon and by the time I left, the heat was back on again.

After work I went grocery shopping in the hopes of loading up with enough food to last until after New Year’s Day. 

It looks like a lot of food, but of course after I got home I discovered two things I forgot.  One I will live without and the other is refreshments for the coffee hour at church on Sunday, so it looks like I will have to go to the store again on Saturday.  Whoopee.

Long tiring day for me.  No sewing.  No knitting.  However, sewing and knitting are on my schedule for tomorrow.  (Smile)

Today’s agenda

My niece from Wisconsin has been here for the last several days and after she left this morning I knew I had to get busy at my desk.  There was a pile of mail to go through, bills to pay, and thank-you notes to write. 

It took me much longer than expected and by the time I was through, I felt it was too late to get involved in a sewing or knitting project.  (That’s my lame excuse.)  But I sure had time to start – and finish – another jigsaw puzzle.

Banner pictures

The banner I made for church was displayed tonight at the Christmas Eve service.  I forgot to bring my camera or my iPad to take a picture, but my niece took this picture with her phone.

And this picture was posted on our church’s Facebook page – also from tonight’s service.

Neither picture shows the true colors or the quilting.  And the shower curtain rod needs to be upgraded to a nice brass rod.  However, it looked beautiful and I was happy with my work.

Merry Christmas .

New Book

In order to have a good reference for my knitting needs, I recently purchased this book.  Yesterday I had the chance to read through the whole book and am pleased with the instructions, pictures, and the way the book is organized.

(I tried to post this from my iPad and was unsuccessful.  I could post the words, but the pictures did not post.  I have much to learn on my iPad.)

Gifts

My niece gave me this adorable snowman decoration.  I love his bow tie and his hat decoration of thread spools.

A friend from church made up a very special package of hand-made soaps wrapped in vintage wallpaper.  The paper is from a kitchen in Iowa and is 72 years old.  She also put it in a very nice Pyrex container!

Very carefully I unwrapped one of the soaps to see the paper better.  Please note that it says “washable” on the edge.

Very thoughtful and original gifts ! ! !

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I finished my first jigsaw puzzle of this holiday season.

This is a puzzle from the Dollar Store.  I like them because they are small and fit easily on my dining room table – 500 pieces – and they interlock.  There is also a pattern to the pieces – a long shape next to a short shape – which makes it easier for me to find similarly colored pieces.  I line up the longs and shorts and try to fit them one after the other.  Eventually the right one fits.  Some people would not think that was fun, but to me it is an enjoyable challenge.

Family Christmas

Our family celebrated Christmas today because it was the best day for all of us to gather in one place.  I think I counted 25 people – and we all have a wonderful time enjoying each other’s company and watching the two little ones play.  There was good food, laughter, and clever stocking presents. 

During the late afternoon, I looked in the living room (my niece’s home) and it was all dark except for the lights on the Christmas tree. 

I haven’t put up a tree in several years but after seeing her tree, I decided that next year I will make the effort.  There is nothing as magical as a Christmas tree all lit up and sparkling in a dark room.

Feeling blessed with a terrific family, I will put this day in my Happy Memories.

Snow?

After all the dire warnings of a major snow storm coming my way last night, this was the scene out my front door this morning.  The snow blew so hard that it blew right past me.

After my hair appointment this morning, I did some last minute shopping for gifts and also some last minute grocery shopping. 

There were 28 stocking stuffer gifts to organize and wrap.

After cleaning up the kitchen, I was tired and decided to start the annual Christmas/New Years jigsaw puzzle marathon.

Binding done

I put the last stitch in my binding project (friend’s quilt) tonight.

Today’s activities included a trip to the grocery store to get food for our family gathering on Saturday, a stop at the bank machine, a visit to my nail tech to get red nails for Christmas,  another session at the dentist, and plenty of binding stitching.

Do you like the color of my nails?

Do you wear a thimble?  I cannot sew without a thimble and this Clover leather thimble is my all time favorite.

The snow predictions for our area have not happened so far.  It has rained a lot today but it was much too warm for snow.  It is starting to get colder so maybe I will wake up to snow.

Binding

One thing I like about doing the hand work on binding is that the quilt covers my legs while I work, keeping me cozy and warm.

White Christmas was on TV tonight and kept me company while I sewed on this quilt made by a friend.

Weather predictions are for snow tomorrow night.  The driveway plowing service put bright pink stakes along my driveway edges.  Right now the grass is still green.  Will it all be covered with snow after tomorrow night? 

Today’s details

After working at church today, I had a dental appointment.

It was a mouth numbing experience!

This time there was no chatty woman in the waiting room, however, when I stopped at Walgreen’s on the way home, a woman stopped me and asked me what I thought was the best shoe insert for her aching heal.  She explained in detail about her foot experiences, good and bad, her workout routine, the fact that she just had her second baby, and the kinds of shoes she has been buying.  On and on she talked.  I kept saying, “well, good luck” and trying to walk away, but she followed me and continued talking.

So my day consisted of volunteer work, dental work, wacky woman, and finally getting home where I spent the evening paying bills.   The day was OK, but as a quilter, I would rather have been sewing!

Progress

All the blocks are sewn together and I call that Progress!

Now I have to decide on a border (or not) and figure out a backing.

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Here is another picture of my Christmas decorations…….two wonderful gifts from dear friends – a quilt and a counted cross-stitch Santa pillow. 

Tonight is our Bee Christmas party.  We will eat well, have lots of chatter & laughter, and share Show-and-Tell.  Can’t get any better than that ! ! !

Reveal

Yes, someone guessed a dresser.  It is an unfinished three-drawer dresser/chest from Ikea.  It is real wood, nicely made, but came in a box in a lot of pieces.  It was not easy to put together.

It is for extra storage at my card-making section of the basement.

It needs to be stained or finished or painted, but that will happen after the holidays.  It now houses ribbons and other small items.

Did I put it together?  Oh my NO.  Fortunately for me, my cousin and her husband are here visiting.  She helped me move it from the Ikea warehouse section to my car, and he put it together while I sang, “It’s so nice to have a man around the house.”