Catching up

I still feel like I'm playing catch up and trying to get in to a normal routine after the move.  Things are looking better every day and feeling more and more normal.  :)

I forgot to share this with you before...but look at this beauty!

This machine belonged to a woman in the neighborhood I grew up in (I'm sure she was the original owner).  Then a few years ago, it was given to another neighbor and family friend.  She used it for a while as a TV stand before giving it to my mom.  :)  Then this summer, my mom gave it to me!!  (you can click the picture for a larger picture)

(I just noticed Smokey in the picture.  LOL)

It's in really good shape...just needs some cleaning (the machine is really dusty) and the belt is off the track.  One day I will spend some time figuring out how to get this baby up and running again.  It just seems like an incredible task at the moment.  :/

Here is something exciting to share!  My Snow Days quilt won a first place ribbon at our local quilt show!  I was very pleasantly surprised!  I also won a cash prize, which I had no idea there were cash prizes!  I don't know how much though until I go to the next guild meeting. :)

We recently had about 25 people over for dinner from my husband's office.  It's such beautiful weather here, that I knew we could eat outside on our porch.  I rented tables and chairs and made these cute little center pieces.  I found the idea for the flowers on Pinterest!  The napkins are made from a "bandanna" type fabric.  After I sewed them all up, I thought, "I could have just bought red bandannas!"  LOL

When I finally had a day to spend sewing, I was sort of lost and could not decide what I should work on.  I finally decided I NEEDED to pull out an old UFO and get 'er finished up.  After moving and unpacking all my "stuff," it was reaffirmed to me that I NEED to finish up some of these projects!

This is an old Thimbleberries Club project...maybe 2009?  Truthfully, I wasn't a big fan of the final quilt...and that was part of why it got put aside.  I do love the sampler blocks, I just remember I didn't like the pre-printed "applique" pieces that were to be added in.  (you can google it to see the final product)  I don't even know where my pre-printed fabric is.  Here is Smokey...helping me decide what to do with these 12 blocks....

 This is the fabric I have available, leftover from the block of the month kits....and also the stack of six inch sampler blocks that were made each month too.  Hmmm....what to do, what to do?  I will figure something out to make it work.  I really do not want to purchase any extra fabric to finish this project!

Stay tuned to see what I come up with!

Snowman Block of the Month

Back in January, I signed up for this Block of the Month from Primitive Gatherings called "Warm Winter Blessings."  I didn't have any other BOM's going, so I figured what the heck, I love snowmen and the navy blue really appealed to me...and it's playing with wool!  What's not to love?!  I honestly can't tell you when the program started...before we left Delaware, I'm sure.  I had a scare or two during the move because we had to use a "general delivery" address for over a month and at least one package was delayed for quite some time.  But thankfully, they've all shown up and I've stayed caught up!  

These little blocks are great car projects and with all the driving we've done over the last few weeks, it was the perfect time to work on them!

Here are all six blocks to date...three more to go!

We have a new computer and I don't have my photo editing software uploaded yet...so forgive the wonky picture.  LOL  This is one of my favorites!

Or maybe this is my favorite.  Truthfully...I love them all!

This is a picture of the finished quilt.  The designer calls for using fusible to place the wool pieces on the background before stitching....but I think that just makes things too thick and heavy when working with wool.  I've used 505 spray for many projects and love the results.  Then I did a primitive stitch around each wool piece.  So fun, I can't wait for the next kit!

This is the reason for our recent -quick- trip to California this last weekend.  This is my new nephew, Jaxon!  He's three weeks old and just adorable.  I'm so glad I got to meet him.  I hope he doesn't grow too much before I see him again!