Little accomplishments

I was AWOL the better part of November, preparing for a craft show. It went well, and now it is over and I can set my sights on finishing up what I hoped to finish by the end of the year. Some things are Christmas gifts, some are not.

Today I finished up a quilt that is a gift for a friend "just because" - it just so happens that it will be sent off around Christmas. Since it is a surprise (well -the person knows they are getting a quilt, just not what it looks like) -I will just show you a little tiny peek...


OK - that's it.
Today I finished the top by adding the borders and was able to set it aside and work on another project - finishing up the Block of the Month for the Munchkin. Tonight I got two more blocks done on that - bringing me to 8 of 12... and after that I will still need to piece the sashing and borders. This will probably be a birthday quilt for his 5th birthday in February.

I struggled a bit with block 8 -block 7 went together nicely. I am doing this scrappily, so the most time consuming part of each block is picking the fabrics and making sure I have enough to do the block. The sashing and pieced border are supposed to come from these same fabrics, and you cut them as you go along. I have not had large enough pieces to be able to do that for all the fabrics, and will supplement with more scraps for the borders when I get to that point. It is using up a lot of odds and ends though - which is really fun. The truth will be when I lay it all out and see what the overall crazy effect is! I think all the white in the outer part of the blocks and in the sashing will really tie it all together.


And since I have not posted a picture of my boys in a while - here's the Munchkin and Hubby with the first batting lesson!!!

Turtle of the Day - was 'I've been "Elfed"'

Exhibit One: The Evidence

This mysterious package was in my mailbox this evening.

What we do know is that it contained a beautiful pair of turtle earrings, possibly from Trimingham's in Bermuda (if we go by the box) - but then again that might have just been for protection during mailing.

What we don't know is who it is from, or even from where it was mailed.

There was no card, no return address, and even the stamp cancellations were blurred and incomplete.

Belive me -I checked.

And I don't recognize the handwriting.

So I've been "elfed" -a mysterious benefactor sent me an early Christmas gift.

Thanks - whoever you are!!!

Invisible Hearts

I can't show a picture of what I am currently working on - because it is part of a gift and I don't want to ruin the surprise. I've been working on this since March - and have managed to keep the secret this long... which is stellar for me. Usually I can't last that long.

Anyway - the project involves appliquéing hearts on quilt blocks - lots and lots of hearts. 42 blocks - 42 hearts. Gold and red hearts blanket stitched with contrasting gold or red embroidery floss. The hearts were easy to cut - which is why I decided against mixing hearts and stars, which was my original plan. Stars were just too fussy to cut out.

4 hours and 2 stuck fingers later - I have 30 of 42 done. Enough to assemble the quilt part of this project (it is a quilt and 4 wall hangings).

Ya Gotta Have Heart, right!?!?

Turtle of the Day - Secret Shopper

Lazy Sister Sue went to the AQS quilt show in Nashville a few weeks ago, and before she left she kept asking if I had a wish list of stuff I wanted her to get for me down there. I really did not have much, but she said it was more fun to shop with a purpose in a big show like that, so I rattled off a few ideas for her to keep an eye out for.

It turns out she was actually on a mission for someone else, and doing some Secret Shopping. I got a fun surprise package in the mail a few days after she got home, which included these turtles, and this whole other pile of goodies.

The chenille cutter is one thing I mentioned I needed, since I bought a pattern for a chenille jacket on my one woman five shop hop in July. And I had been looking for the Java House Just in Cases pattern for a while, since I wanted to make the turtle case for LSS and I. I just was trying to avoid exorbitant shipping fees.

The rest was a great surprise! When I first opened the package I saw an envelope with my name on it - I set that aside to read later and dove right into the Pajama Quilter book. As I lifted that out, there was another envelope with my name on it - different hand writing. Hmmm - strange... so I sat down and opened the cards before digging further into the box. The secret was then revealed and explained - what fun!!!

These kinds of secrets are fun... which is why I am going to keep the identity of Secret Buddy between SB, LSS and I. Although the two of them conspiring on things could be dangerous.

Thanks!