Out With The Old, In With The New

As this year ends, a new one begins.
Happy New Year.
Jeri

Another Pincushion

Since I am not sewing this month (except for quilting JoAnna's quilt) I have found myself looking through quilt magazines and patterns for quilts I would like to make next year. I think I am up to seventy-five. LOL. There are so many nice patterns out there it makes you want to live forever.
Bonnie Hunter has a mystery quilt in progress at http://quiltville.com/carolinachristmas.shtml.
I want to make it later in the year. I am quilting one of her quilts now. Her Scrappy Bargello http://quiltville.com/scrapbargello.shtml was easy to make. You can use any size squares and you have a nice size quilt in no time.
We had decided not to go to the Jacksonville show next year (2010) as we are going to Houston, my quilt guild show, the show in Trenton, the World Quilt Show again and Linda's quilt guild show. Plus any other show close to home. But Bonnie Hunter is coming to the Jacksonville show and I want to see her. JoAnna took a class from her is Colorado and said it was nice class.
I do not know how many quilters started out life in homemake economics class making clothes but I did not. That came later. It is not my choice of sewing but I made all my children's clothes when they were little. I also made a few things for myself. I was looking around on the McCall's website and found the cutest patterns. One is a dress that could be made longer for a New Year's Eve dress in black or red http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5973.htm?search=m5973&page=1. The other pattern was by a designer/pattern maker called Marfu, an Italian designer. It is a cape that could be made into an evening jacket. Take a look at it at http://www.mccallpattern.com/web/shop.cgi?search=f2029&TI=42000&M=&pageSize=12&s.search.all.x=49&s.search.all.y=12. I do not know if I will be making any clothes this year but I did like these patterns.

I have made another pincushion. I made it and did not like the height so I took it apart with my handy-dandy seam ripper and decreased the height. It is about 2 1/2 inches in height. It was about 4 inches in height.

Will I make it again? Yes, but I would make it wider/rounder. This project offered me the chance to make hexagons for the first time. I enjoyed that. I can see a Grandmother's Garden quilt in my future.

This is my first Christmas gift for 2009. I have wanted this since my friend JoAnna told me about it.

This is my second Christmas gift. I had a 50% off from JoAnn's and could not find anything I wanted to buy. I had wanted to buy this book last summer but I didn't. But since I went to my big stitch class I have had the urge to quilt my daughter's Girl Scout quilt I made her. I put a lot of patches on it (front and back) so handquilting is the answer.
I made my Christmas list and mailed it to Santa. My wants and wishes will not cost him a penny. Just changing the minds and hearts of others. I want/wish for world communication. I do not think we will ever have world peace. But we can have world communication. Talk. Talk. Talk.

So, this Christmas season talk to your neighbor.

Happy Holidays.
Jeri.

Old Friends

It is my favorite time of the year. I love the holidays-from Halloween to New Years. I love everything about it. The shopping is the best. I do not shop any other time of the year but I love looking at all the things in the shops. And (forgive me all English teachers but and had to go here) the smells. I adore the smells. I lavish the smells. I worship the smells. Cinnamon and nutmeg and sugar. Yes, I can smell sugar. The chocolate. The pecans. The coconuts. This sounds like a cake.
Oh, well. I can smell a cake cooking in my oven tonight.
Every year I wish for a Christmas quilt. Last year I said I was going to make one. Never did.
Although I did see a Red and White Snowball Challenge on Fat Cat Quilts blog. I missed the cut off for the swap date. Maybe next year.

I love this quilt. It is a free pattern from Timeless Treasures http://www.candysfabricshop.com/projects/Tree.pdf. I have seen this pattern made up three times and each time I always think of adding trinkets to it to make it look more festive. I love it.

Very little sewing is going on in my house at this time. I am not working on any projects. I am looking and planning for next year. But no real sewing. I am however, quilting a quilt I made for my friend JoAnna last year about this time when she moved to Colorado. Well, she is back in Florida and just bought a new house. Congratulations JoAnna. I hope to have it quilted by Christmas.
As you can see from the picture the seam ripper is my best friend once again. It is an off and on love affair. I tried to eyeball my sewing from corner to corner and made a royal mess of things. I know I have to use blue painter's tape and use a longer stitch. But I wanted to try something quick and easy. Now it is going to take me longer. I sewed four rows hoping and wishing that the lines would somehow straighten up with each new row. No such luck. They just looked worse with each row I added.
I also used fusible batting. The verdict is still out on that one.
I wish everyone a joyous holiday and a Happy New Year.
Jeri