Last Minute Entry

This is my attempt at free motion quilting for the January FMQ Challenge. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, it had to be completed in January! You can click on the button on my side bar to find out more about the challenge.

Here is a quick shot of the back, you can see all my mistakes better here!

;0)

I have been playing with more scraps. These are test blocks. Think that I may break into special fabric soon! This one is ten inches finished.

This one and the following are 5 inches finished.

(I snitched this photo from Hawthone Thread's Blog, hope they don't mind the free ad.)

Have you seen Pat Bravo's new line. I think that I love every print!

Hope you all are having as much fun sewing as I am.

Blessings,

KT

Scrap Therapy

The past week has been so tiring. Emotionally I am just spent. Nothing extraordinary, just life...people...unloving attitudes. Probably the same stuff you are all dealing with, because I know it is hard for us all.

So, though I had other things on my list for today, I played instead. Don't misunderstand, I called Dee too. She totally gets it. She is going through it too. Same stuff, second verse same as the first.

Last year my word/goal for the year was joy. I have been contemplating how to sum up what I learned, without sounding too negative. What I learned is truly a positive thing, it just looses much in translation.

I fell so short of clearly understanding joy. There was no mastery whatsoever. For quite some time I have found that very discouraging. I finally pulled up my big girl panties and asked myself what the Lord wanted me to learn from the past year.

The main thing that I forgot, was to rest. I need to rest in Jesus daily. Sometimes that is mentally realizing that I don't have to make it happen. He does. Many times that is physically listening to my body and stopping to rest. No one can have joy while tired and stressed to the limit and still trying to do it all.

I can't fix it all.
I can't know where it all is.
I can't clean it all.
I can't teach it all.
I can't cook it all.
I can't sew it all.
I can't be it all.

He didn't create me with the ability to solve it all. My mind is not created to dwell on it all. I will short circuit. My job is to trust Him, and love Him enough to obey His word.

He can fix it.
He knows.
He cleans.
He teaches.
I don't know if He sews, but He is amazing at knitting!
In Him it all came to be.


I need to rest in that. That is my word for the year. Rest. So if the blog goes quiet at times. You know what I am up to!

On a lighter note, I am totally paying penance for laughing at Dee dumping all her scraps on the floor to sort through them!

Shoulder to shoulder Dee, you and me!

Blessings,

KT

Who Ya Gonna Call?

STASH BUSTERS!!!!

One yard for grocery sack that is hanging from the post.

Four yards for rice packs.

Three yards for napkins.

Four yards cut for more grocery sacks. Not gonna sew them now, but will sew them between quilting to break up the pace.


Total stash busted this week=TWELVE YARDS!


Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Blessings,

KT

Courthouse Steps

Today I finished my Court House table runner for the sew along over at i have to say. Thanks Randi for the great motivation to use up some scraps!

At first I was stumped. I needed enough neutrals, and my little pea brain couldn't figure out how to have enough. I just didn't have enough off whites. Then a good online buddy,Leslie, mentioned that she was using gray.

"LIGHT BULB!"

So I mixed my grays and off whites. That is so far from my comfort zone it is scary! I just kept telling myself, it is scrappy. I was so relieved when it actually worked.

For the back, I used strips of the same fabrics. The only exception was the seed packet scrap which is from a fat quarter that was hanging out and lonesome in my stash. I just love how this turned out!

I am linking up with Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story. You can visit all the other wonderful projects by using the cute button on the side bar.

Edit:  WIPs---Same as last week

         Finished---January Sew Along project.

         In progress---practice for January FMQ Challenge

I am adding this to WIP be sure to use the button on the side bar to visit all the great WIPs!

Blessings,

KT

Wee Little Finishes

I have had this beautiful little panel in my to do basket along with all this wonderful fabric for awhile.  The panel was designed by Amy and I bought it through her Etsy shop.  She knew me well enough to know that I am a purple girl, so she gave me a little heads up.  Though she is no longer printing these panels, she has a beautiful array of printed lovelies.  I have bought several.  All are so wonderful that I want to make something to keep with them.  So that is probably why they languish in the selfish pile!  Well, at least this one is free!!  It came with great instructions for this wonderful quilt.  I did swap out one of the blocks for a courthouse steps block, which has a rose fussy cut in the center.

This stacked coins block was part of the pattern, and just to cute to resist. 

Did my usual cop-out and used decorative stitches on my machine to quilt.

Special fabrics on the back.  The middle strip is a scrap that Amy sent as a thank you for nosy interference a suggestion I gave her.  Love it Amy!  The lighter fabric is maybe old enough to be considered vintage?  My quilty partner in crime gave it to me, along with the purple paisley that I used for the binding.  The blue is from a lonely stack that was in an LQS every time I visited.  I noticed the neglected fat quarters over and over, liking them better each time.  Finally I brought them all home, and now they are nearly gone! 

I have discovered that on these little quilts I can make these pockets in the back corners, cut and sand a pinky-sized dowel to fit, and then use a regular picture hanger to hang.  Cheap, easy, and it shows nothing to detract from the quilt.

These are bound and ready to go to their new homes.  You can tell these aren't mine, they are red.  (Remember I am a purple girl.) 

Yup, that one is mine!

I really like all the little pieces.  I even enjoyed sewing the red.  Feels good to slip a few OOP scraps into a gift.

I can only show you the back of mine.  Otherwise I would be giving away secrets.  Theirs is pretty much the same, only the stripes are going horizontally.  I like the horizontal better, but cut one of the pieces wrong.  Used it on mine so I wouldn't have to re-cut....hey, it was late!!!  More OOP fabric for the tags.  Theirs are the same print, but in green. 

Oh, and the last thing I finished, apparently, is being thankful for a mild winter.  Our temperature is 18 degrees with a wind chill of 7.  Topped off with icy roads.  I think I'll stay in and sew tonight.

Be sure to visit the other Sew & Tell Friday Finishes by using the super cute button on the side bar.  I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Up Friday as well.  Grab a mug of something warm and enjoy!

Blessings,

KT

This and That

Being the start of the new year, I wanted to establish some quilting goals to keep me on track.  My most important goal is to provide each of my immediate family with their own quilt.  Secondly, I really want to improve my free motion quilting skills.  Lastly, I want to have fun sewing, and not be hurried to get things off my plate!  Lately I have wanted to clear my small projects bin.  I started working on it over the holidays.  Just because I am a little burnt out on large quilts anyway right now.

Just need to finish up this mug rug to match my sewing machine cover.  I have plenty of rainbow strips left over from making coasters.  So I made a couple extra.

I am giving one to a good friend locally, and the other one will fly off to parts undisclosed to an on-line friend.  That is all I can say, other than you can be sure they aren't for me...look at all that red!

1.  My small projects bin isn't so full...

Especially since I am about to finish up my "Quilting Process Mini".  Check back Friday for a reveal and a giveaway.

2. Grandma's Peacock---this is to be finished January for sure!  Still find the beautiful FMQ pattern that Dee drew for me intimidating.  I will do it though!

3.  Freshcut Quilt---loosing steam since there is no way for me to quilt it at home.  We are house hunting, so spending the cash to have it quilted is not acceptable right now either. 

(My yellows are not photographing well today.  This is a soft buttery yellow!)

4.  Hunky Dory Double Hourglass quilt---no new piecing.

5.  Masculine Bento---not even started.

6.  FMQ Challenge---fabrics selected.  I think that I am going to make my blocks into a quilt as you go quilt at the end of the year.  This year's quilty goal is to build some FMQ muscles!!

7.  Strawberry Quilt---not even started.

8.  Finish Orange Pinwheel Top.

9.  Finish Sew Bee It Top.

I am going to add this to Works in Progress Wednesday. Be sure to Use the button on the side baar to check out the other goodies linking up there. 

 Hopefully I can get these all done this year!

Blessings,

KT

Fast Finish

See the Paducah on the front?  I am wanting to go back!

Let me just begin by saying...I love Pinterest!  I found this iPad case tutorial on Pinterest.  Just to prove that Pinning isn't a total waist of time.  I made one.  Well, I guess I wanted a case too.  Now I am also following the blog this came from, The Polkadot Chair.  She has great stuff going on over there. 

Anyhow, Treasure and I got an iPad for Christmas.  I wanted fabric love for it.  Treasure didn't want to be seen carrying around a floral, quilty, girly, mess.  Go figure!  Keep in mind girls, if I made the worlds girly-est quilt for our bed he would be fine with it.  He would tell you he married a girl, and he expects her to be one!  (I really love this man!)  So when he drew the line at a floral case, it was really easy to respect.

The dimensions for the case were great.  There is just enough room that the iPad fits even with the Targus folio that we have for it.  Since we keep it in a sturdy folio, I was less concerned about protection.  Instead of the materials called for, I used scraps that I had on hand.  Fusible batting ironed to the outer pieces, and regular batting basted to the minki liner. 

I also swapped out the ribbon tie for something a little more...manly.  Don't tell Treasure that is a girls hairband!  The button was Grandma's.

I just love the black minki lining.  The Main fabric is Hometown by Sweetwater for moda.  Perfect because we love to travel, and quite manly.  The secondary fabric is basicgrey curio for moda, with just a nod to the girl using the iPad too.

The back is a bit of a mess up.  Once I got the back together (after ripping the zipper out at least once) I realized that the words were going to be upside down.  I just flipped the piece.  Only problem, now the zipper opens from the bottom up.  I am pretending not to notice because upside down words would have bothered me more, and I was not sewing that zipper AGAIN.

After finishing two big quilts in time for Christmas (I neglected to get a picture of my Mother-in Love's finished quilt), I was needing some small projects.  This fit the bill nicely.  I will have another to share as soon as I have time to hand sew the binding.  I will also have a giveaway coming up soon.  I think it will be a good one.

Be sure to use the button on the side bar to visit all the other finishes at Amy's.  I am also going to link up with crazy mom quilts for the first time.  Love those finishes.

Blessings,

KT