MoJo Lost and Found

The last few weeks I lost my MoJo and wasn't sewing much. Of course, since I am the main dish washer in this home and I sliced my sewing finger with a serrated knife last week and couldn't do dishes or sewing, that's my excuse.

So this week I got back my MoJo and have learned to sew without my index finger and got some one else to do do dishes and I actually got some things finished.

One more UFO top to sandwich and bind for my daughter. It is called "Affairs of the Heart". All applique that I have been doing for two years.

So while I couldn't hand sew, I put together some more of the grandmother's garden flowers that I started last year while at my friend Pat's home. I now have 18 of them and will start to sew them down on my dark green fabric. I intend to make a large flower for the center of the quilt.  Another UFO! Alas!  This was supposed to be a year of finishes.

My granddaughter, Amber, helped me turn them and lay out the colors. Each flower has 20 different fabrics in them.  Not sure what color to do for the centers yet.

This is what they looked like on Pat's design wall last year when we had a sewing week.

Then I finished up a My Tweets block. [It's for the birds.]

Now I must really get back to washing those dishes. It is too bad the kids have to go to school.

February Finishes

This weekend I finally finished a Christmas tree skirt that just needed quilting and binding on it. I think my grandson wanted this one for his stash. Will see. I have another top done and needs to be quilted. During the day when Katie is sleeping I am working on the one that daughter wanted.

I also quilted a table topper that I did for a swap for World Wide Quilting Day gift. I count it as finished but can't post a picture until after the gift is recieved and opened on March 16, 2013.

Why I have been busy

Wow its almost been a month since I have posted. I did some more of my ATW blocks and have got two more back. Will take pictures.

Just wanted to say that this is why I have been busy.  Katie is six months old now and a delight. I do not miss the sewing time taking time with my cutie-pie.

Around The World Swap

The Friendship Group is doing an Around the World Swap this spring.  Everyone picks a pattern twelve inch block to make in the other participants fabric.  I have been working on mine.

This is a picture of six of the ones that I have finished. I love the way the corners fit into another element of the pattern, it would be great to have a quilt with this. The pattern is from Quilters Cache, called Carol's star so I thought it was fitting for me to use it.

 Debbe M had a flowered pattern fabric so I used greens with hers. And a fussy cut appliqued flower in the center.

 Jennifer sent a dark green/blue batik forest flower fabric.

 Tricia sent a blueish leaf fabric so I added the gold and some of Jennifers green to hers.

 Linda sent a thirties fabric to combine with the blues and yellows.

Cindy sent a fabric with lots houses and shops that I used as the backgrounds.

 

I have received two back with my eagle fabric.

This is my block made in my fabric.

 

First Finish in 2013

I thought today would be a good time to post my first finish for the challenge of completing 13 UFO's in 2013.  So my first [In the first month - January] on the 13th day is my Queen Minisofine from a mystery quilt from 2011.

This mystery was done on Paper Panache with her mystery Fairy Qyilt Godmother.
Here she is after I finished with the hand quilting.

 The Queen is now up on the wall in my bedroom, I'm afraid the gold wall makes her look more yellow than she is.

 

13 in 2013 UFO Challenge

This coming year my dear daughter-in-law, Donna, and I decided we needed to complete some of our long standing projects that seem to mount each year. So this is the challenge - we will finish one project a month = 12, and one to each other that we won't tell each other. That brings our total to 13.

If you would like to join us, please do, and comment on my site and I will list my finishes as well.  Donna - the deal is on.

JUST TAKES TWO & NEW MYSTERY

I finished the top of it Just Takes Two before I left NC last week.  Loving the red and white and it is a reminder of the family quilt of my mom's that was lost. I will have to decide on a name for it and how to do the borders.  It was a great mystery follow along quilt to do this past year.

Now another mystery for 2013, the Easy Street Quilt by Bonnie Hunter [Quiltville.com]. 

 I have the first step four patches done in golds and browns.  Here is my pile.

 A close up [sorry for the blurriness].

 And a view of the twist on the wrong side of block.

Now off to start step 2, am a few weeks behind on these put hope to catch up.

 

Christmas Tree Skirts

Here are views of two of the Christmas Tree Skirts I have made this year.

 

Daughter Grace wanted a blue and silver for her new white tree. So this is a Judy Niemeyer paper pieced star pattern that I used. It looks better in reality than the picture.

The back side is blue and white snowmen. My daughter took the picture on her kitchen floor. Sorry about my feet in the picture.

This is another one for my son and daughter-in-law in red and black.

And the Stockings were Hung

This summer I worked on making new Christmas stockings for the family. My friend Debbie did the embrodiery of the names for them. GREAT JOB, Debbie.

This past weekend the last of the family were together and so everyone now has their stockings to hang and I can now post the pictures.

My son, Richand, and daughter-in-love, Donna, live in Kirksville, Mo and they have three children. ie. corgies.

 

My daughter in North Carolina has four children and a little maltize.  I am staying with them now taking care of Katie, the newest baby blessing.

 

 

 

Here is a close up of Timothy's.

The girls live in Tenessee and their little dog is Keanu's brother, Harley.

They all seemed to like the stockings. Here is Nana's and Papa's but I don't know where I will be at Christmas yet.

 

Fun Station

 

My grand daughters came to visit me in my quilt/bedroom on Friday night and found me sewing.  They decided to play with the fabric and declared that this was the funnest room ever.  Hannah decided I needed a sign on the door saying that.  So she picked out different fabrics for each letter and the back ground out of their fabric box I had brought for them.

 

After I free cut the letters, they sewed them down with a zig zag stitch.  Both wanted to keep sewing and loved to work the machine. I wrote down all the steps on the wall board for them to follow:  pressure foot down, back stitch, Go, stop, back stitch, cut, snip and lift the pressure foot. Hannah got it quite fast.

Amber wanted to change colors after every letter and was good at the turns.

 

On Saturday, we finished it up, put a backing on, then Hannah sewed on rings to hang it up.  They were both very proud of themselves. Me too.

 

While Amber was sewing, Hannah decided to make some outfits for her beanie babies. I was quite surprised at the creative nature of them.

 

This is a wizard.

Then they decided to play with my dolls.

 

It was declared that it was truly a 'FUN STATION HERE'

 

I did threaten to put a 'CLOSED' sign on the other side, but was just kidding.

 

Row by Row Swap

Yesterday I received back my rows from a friendship group swap that has been working this year. My theme was Owls. Three of my granddaughters like owls in their bedroom so I picked this theme to do a quilt for them.

 

I did the starter row of three bright owls and sent it around to the next person for them to make a row. Then Linda made lots of tree branches in paper piecing and appliqued little owls in the trees. Angela did the HOOT row, so neat and she put hearts on it for the girls.

 

Next came Cindy's row with a long branch with cute bright owls that her daughter's designed for me.  My friend Pat did a row with three trees and three little girls under the trees to represent my three granddaughters, reading and using the hula hoop. [does anyone do the hula hoop any more? showing my age here]

 

Terry did three more owls in my favorite colors and framed them with some bright colored strips.  Her blanket stitch around the tummy's and wings really bring out the stitching. Great job Terry.  The seventh row was by another Cindy and she pieced the blocks in owl fabric.

 

I am very lucky to have such great friends to do this amazing work on the quilt. Thanks so much.

 

 

Katherine

My grand daughter Katherine is more beautiful each and every day.

School and Sewing

My granddaughters started back to school last week and we were happy about it. They were excited to meet their new teachers.

Amber started middle school in sixth grade.

Hannah started third grade.

 

Hannah also started to put the siggy doll quilt together. Oh my, she had a time arranging and re-arranging them.

First we measured our doll and the bed to see how many rows and columns we needed.

 

Then it was this way, Oh no, maybe this way.

 But then I like this one over here, but no, this color is wrong, let's move this one here.

 Hum, no, maybe here.  No, over there, but I don't like that one there. Let's move it.

This was the final layout that we sewed together.

 

Now it will probably be another decision on how to pick out the sashing and binding.  Oh no, then its the back color.  Why does quilting take so long Nana?  Gee, I don't know Hannah!