Snow in New Mexico

Well, we went up to Denver, Colorado for the holidays and no snow.  We come home and uh huh, snow.  1-2 inches of snow doesn't seem like much to those who may live in higher elevations, but to us here in the south end of New Mexico, it is a novelty.  Our dogs loved it and it was perfect for that winter snowman we used to make when we were kids.

It was also a perfect day to stay inside, knit by the fire and just enjoy it.  I'm looking forward to the new year and what it may hold.  The New quilts I hope to be making, and more new patterns to find and make.  I'm trying to finish a Lone Star quilt now and will post when it is finished. 
Happy New Year everyone and enjoy it wherever you are.   

Christmas Bag

I finished this bag this morning for a friend for Christmas.  She loves oriental fabrics and this just suited her perfectly.  I used three different fabrics (pockets on the inside are third fabric) and put the brown handles on  using tabs.  I quilted over the geisha girls with gold metallic thread and also used gold metallic thread along the top edge where the fabics change from brown to gold and to topstitch the top edge.  The directions were a bit challenging to follow, but I think it came out nice and know that she will like it.  Now, on to another Christmas gift.  Whew!  It's really busy around here - must be Christmas.

Bible Totes

I made this first little tote recently for a friend's daughter.  Another friend saw it and asked me to make one for her granddaughter.  They both loved them.  They are simple, easy to make and can be personalized with embroidery.   I found them so much fun to make that I made one for myself in Christmas fabrics.  Of course, I couldn't just make a simple bag. Instead I elected to embroider each of them, but I think it adds a special touch to them and those pre-teens just love these.

These little totes are just the right size for your bible and the outside pockets allow you to carry small items, like cell phones, etc.  I found the pattern in my latest Better Homes and Gardens Creative Collection, American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, "More Fast & Fabulous Quilting Ideas."  I challenge you to make one - bet you can't do just one! 

If you click on the pictures, you will be able to see the details.

Quilt Retreat

What a great time we had at our recent Guild Retreat.  We spent four days in the beautiful mountains above Cloudcroft and sewed and sewed.  It was a wonderful get-away.  We laughed, ate, shared stories, laughed some more, ate and occasionally we even got some sleep.  I think the best part was the sharing of ideas, seeing other quilts come together and no phones, no t.v.    The registration blocks were fun to see all together and a mulligan stew that was also a give-away.  The secret gift was such a surprise and let's not forget that Friday night mugging.  How fun was that!  The tops that got fnished were out of this world.  I will post pictures  Two major events this month have both energized and exhausted me.  My mind races to the next project, while my body screams - rest!  I can't wait to get started on the next quilt. 

Sew Many Visions

I know, I know, it has been months since I last posted, but now that I'm back on my feet again, it's time to get back to keeping up to date on things and moving forward.

This weekend has been one of fun, sharing and learning, as our Guild sponsored a Trunk Show and Class with Vicki Arnold of Sew Many Visions. It was such a delight to have her as our guest and the project was so much fun. If you're looking for easy and fun patterns, visit her web page at http://sewmanyvisons.com She had so many great patterns to offer, I have to be honest, it was hard to decide which one to buy first and which one to make first. I'm currently working on the "Four Seasons" Fall version (the class we took this weekend) and when complete will post a picture.

Meeting Vicki Arnold is like catching up with an old girlfriend. She's down to earth, funny and such a great teacher. She also sponsors quilt retreats for those looking for a great place to just get away in the mountains of New Mexico. You can get more information on the retreats she offers at http://piecefulpines.com/

Pay It Forward

I received this wonderful, beautiful table runner yesterday from Emma of Sampguita Quilts. I was the lucky winner of her Pay It Forward in August. I feel so blessed to have this beautiful table runner in my home. Emma I owe you something special.

Sadly, no one signed up to get a gift from me from that Pay It Forward post in August. But, if someone wants to go back and read the post and then leave a comment, I will check back in a couple of days and you too can win a beauty from my quilting world.

VIPs or UFOs

For my birthday this year, my husband announced that he was going to start working on building the cabinets and storage for my sewing room that we had been discussing for ...oh, I don't know...some time. You can imagine how excited I was to hear that I would finally have nice storage for all the fabric, rulers, books, quilts, and quilting things I've collected over the years. I mean what girl doesn't want more places to store more fabric and quilting goodies? As with any other building project we have undertaken over the years, I knew this meant I needed to start clearing the room and do some serious Spring cleaning.

It was during this initial phase of sorting, identifying and clearing things from the room, that I realized I had more UFO's than I cared to think about. You know, those pesky little reminders of projects started, yet not quite finished. This got me to thinking (that can't be good). Why do we call them UFO's anyway? Why not call them VIPs or PhDs and give them more importance in our stack of things to do.. I mean, really now, you wouldn't ignore a VIP or forget being introduced to a person who held a PhD, would you? Imagine how few UnFinished Objects we'd have if we started thinking of them as Very Important Projects or Projects Half Done? So, I vowed that while hubby was working on his birthday promise to me that I would start finishing my VIPs and PhDs and get them finished.

How many VIPs do you have in your life? What plans do you have for them?

Cozy

Does your sewing machine collect dust? Do you find yourself having to clean it more often? Do you feel like all the dust bunnies in the neighborhood congregate at your house on your sewing machine? Why not create a sewing machine cozy?

I know, it seems my machine doesn't get turned off long enough these days to bother to cover it, but believe me when I say it is worth it to take time out and make a machine cozy. For example, did you know that you should clean your machine after every 8 hours of use? Now for me that's every day. With a cozy cover, it reduces at least some of those dust bunnies who love to gather around the top and sides. I still have to use the tiny hose and vacumn and clean my machine, probably more than most, but at least I'm not chasing dust every day. I made this one for my daughter and quilted it myself, but you can make them with pre-quilted fabric as well. The pockets are designed to hold whatever you want close at hand; scissors, etc., and the pattern is a simple one and soooooo easy to make. If you're interested in receiving this pattern, just place a comment and send me your email address and I'd be glad to send it on to you. I will try to put it into a PDF file so I can email the instructions. Think about how cozy your machine will feel if you wrap it in a quilt of its own. Wouldn't it be fun to coordinate your cozy with your sewing room? Ok, maybe everyone isn't as crazy as I am about coordinating everything, but you get the idea.

Simple Challenge

It was a challenge for me to finish this little quilt, but it is finally done. For some reason, my brain just can't "keep it simple" when it comes to my quilting. I have done simple, easy to do quilts before, so why did this one challenge me so? Maybe because it was a special order for someone? Maybe I was trying to be too orderly? I mean, after all, what is random placement? It should have been simple to just place whatever came next. Not me, I had to arrange and re-arrange the pieces until I saw order in their placement, and yet, I wanted it to look random.

Ok, it's time to go back to therapy and do another quilt from a brown bag again. I remember the time I placed the pieces to a quilt I was making in a brown paper bag and told myself, to take whatever piece came next and just use it. I had such a hard time with that concept. It's suppose to be a freeing experience, not having to think about placement. Not for me it wasn't. I struggled to make myself use whatever came out of that paper bag, each and every time. I felt compelled to evaluate its placement. But, alas, I did make it through the bag and finished that quilt and it really did come out beautifully. So, there really is something to be said for random placement and letting go of the need to put it all in some kind of order.

I mean, I'm a fun gal, I like spontaneity so why not in my quilting. Ok, I shall challenge myself to do that once again on my next project. Let go, let it freely come together and..now, where did I put that brown bag?

Finished at Last

Today, I finally get to start my quilting for Valentine's Day.. yes, Valentine's Day. It's not that far away and I need to get some things made fast. Over the holidays, I finished up three quilts for our prayer quilt ministry which will be given to the recipients tomorrow. I am always touched when I hear how appreciative the recipients are of these quilts of love and their gratefulness for receiving one. I am thankful that I have the ability, means and support to make a quilt of love for someone else. When I think about my own trivial problems sometimes , and then get a request for a quilt for someone who is really in need, I am humbled and reminded that my world is blessed, and thankful that I have the ability to get up each day and make another quilt or something quilty. Here's a picture of the two latest ones. I did the one on the left and the 0ther one was done by another member in our ministry. Her pattern was a simple 9-patch believe it or not. It's one of those cut and reassemble blocks that I just love doing. She'll be teaching the group how to do it at our meeting in February.

Change is Good - Right?

Today, I've decided it's a New Year and change is a good thing. I'm a Patriotic girl at heart and since most of my quilts and quilty things are also Patriotic in nature, I've decided on some changes for my Blog. Hang in there, I'm still a work in progress, but eventually I will decide on what to change and what to leave alone. Besides, it's more interesting when you see different things each time...right? I mean blogs are like fabric, the more I see the more I want....LOL The more I have the more I can create.