Recap of 2012

It has been a busy year!

I can't believe that this past January I finished my first quilt! Literally, I finished hand quilting it New Years Eve and finished the binding a few weeks later. It was done completely by hand and is queen sized. It took me almost 2 years to finish and now I am a full fledged quilt and fabric addict.

There have also been a lot of things in my personal life. A lot of trials and tribulations, and I am hoping and praying with everything in me that 2013 will be better and full of even more quilts! My boyfriend is still struggling with medical problems, and I have to admit that at this point I am feeling very hopeless for a solution, but I am trying very hard to stay positive for him. I know this blog is mostly about quilting, but it also gives me a chance to vent and get things off my mind. I won't go into details about his issues because I know he wouldn't want me to. He is a very private person and I will respect that, but if you are the praying type please say a few prayers for him and for me, for strength and patience. And if you aren't the praying type please just send positive thoughts our way! I appreciate it :)

I don't have good pictures of all the quilts or projects that I have completed this year (that is one of my New Year Resolutions, get more and better pictures!) but some of my favorites I have compiled into a quick collage just as a small recap of what I have accomplished this year.

I have so many things I want to do next year! See my post HERE I know this list will continue to grow as the year progresses so I tried to keep it rather short for the moment! The three things I am most excited to finish are my Farmer's Wife Quilt (I may or may not make the full 111 blocks, haven't made up my mind yet), my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt (You can see some of my flowers in the collage above) and of course my Weekender bag!

Keep checking back to see what I get into in 2013!

Goals for 2013

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I sure have been busy the past couple weeks, and as much as I love Christmas and the holidays I am glad the largest part of it is over! I need a break from my break!

I have so many WIPs going on right now its overwhelming. I am trying to make lists of what I need to do, and what I want to do, especially next year.

Here is the list of current WIP:
1) Weekender bag- I still have to finish quilting the top panels and cut out the lining fabric and start putting the bag together. I made the piping last week.
2) Snowman quilt- I am still chugging away at the embroidery on these panels. Its going to take a while to get this completely done, but I am determined to finish it before next winter, lol
3) Scrappy Log Cabin- I started yet another project earlier this week. I had purchased some barn panels at the same time as the snowman panels, and although I am not doing any embroidery on these I started cutting fat quarters and sewing blocks on Christmas. I needed another project like I need a hole in the head!
4) Butterscotch Cake throw- This top is finished, and has been for months. It is waiting patiently for backing and quilting to commence.
5) Flower Garden quilt- I still need to buy some more hexagon templates to finish making the flowers and decide on the background fabric. I am not sure if I want to use Kona Snow or a Thirties colored solid. And since this is all being done by hand it may not even be a 2013 finish!
6) Farmer's Wife quilt- This may possibly be a perpetual work in progress. I'm not sure it will EVER be finished. I had intended on making all 111 blocks but now I am rethinking that...

Here is a list of things I WANT to do in 2013:
1) Sidebraid quilt- I ordered fabric for this before Christmas and just ordered the solid yesterday. It should be here next week. I am using this pattern.
2) Merry Go Round Quilt- I have been stacking up fabrics for this quilt for MONTHS. I have the template and the fabric for the top, but I just couldn't bring myself to start cutting all those 2 1/2 inch strips.
3) I Spy quilt- I have also had the fabric for this for several months. I am planning on using ABC 123 from American Jane and the soft book pages as the I Spy parts
4) Swoon quilt- I started quilting a little late to really be on the bandwagon for all the awesome quilts, but this is definitely on the list of quilts I want to accomplish this year
5) Picnic quilt pattern- I have yet to make a jelly roll quilt. I bought Scrapbasket Sensations as one of my first quilting books and I just ordered a jelly roll of Cherry Christmas by Aneela Hoey during Fat Quartershop's Year End Sale to make the cover quilt from this book. You can buy the book HERE and Fat Quartershop still has some Cherry Christmas jelly rolls on sale HERE.

Christmas is almost here

I have been even busier than usual lately. Between getting ready for Christmas and just every day obstacles I am exhausted. We have been having a lot of obstacles lately. My boyfriend is back in the hospital, as well as my grandmother. That is where I've spent most of my day today. It looks like some of Christmas Day will be spent there. My grandmother should be home (hopefully) before then, but my boyfriend was being admitted today.

I am hoping to get some sewing accomplished this evening to help take my mind off everything and to complete a few last minute Christmas gifts. A few days ago I tried my hand at some adorable zippy pouches and I am addicted. I bought some bright fat quarters and pretty colored zips today and plan on turning them into an arsenal of adorable gifts. My boyfriend bought his mother and sisters some various small items to carry in their purses or cars (think hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray etc) My boyfriend is very practical and believes in always being prepared. I believe things should also be cute! So I am going to put together some of the zippy pouches for their practical presents to go in to make them even more practical and organized and CUTE!

Weekender Bag

I got my main panels finished. I plan on doing an entire post on this bag later but couldn't help but post a few pictures. I have another couple things I will be posting later this week too. I will be doing a longer post on all the table runners I have been working on. But for now check out all that wonderful Weekender goodness! I'm already in love with this bag!

What I've Been Working On

This post is going to be really heavy on pictures and light on words. I have lots to share. I've been a little lax in my blogging. And once again I apologize for the somewhat bad pictures. When it is dark at 5 in the evenings and its mostly rainy it is hard to get the lighting right!

The Broken Dishes tablerunner I am still working on. I am debating on adding a border. What do you think?

My French General table runner, and as much as I completely LOVE this it is going away as a Christmas gift.

My Fellowship table runner, it is also going away as a Christmas gift

And here are some of my Farmer's Wife blocks, I haven't been posting much about them lately, it is hard to find time to squeeze them in since they are for me only. Especially at this time of the year when I am busy making so many gifts. It is hard to justify making something that is for me only. But with that being said, I have 53 of the blocks done so far! Its hard to believe I am almost half way there! These aren't all of the pictures, I thought I would save some for a later post too ;) (Oh and the basket blocks STILL don't have handles, whoops!)

New Fabric

Tomorrow I will have an update on projects I've been working on, but first let me show you some of the new fabrics I got over the weekend! (Sorry for the bad lighting, its been dreary and rainy here for days, and that makes for bad pictures!)

This is for my flower garden quilt, I definitely needed more green in it, its a fat quarter from Chloe's Closet line

Some more fat quarters for a log cabin quilt I plan to start some day.

And some Paniers De Fleur yardage from French General for a table runner. I finished it right after I bought this!

Check back tomorrow to see what I've been working on!

More Christmas Presents and a Baby Quilt

It seems like the only thing I am getting accomplished lately is baby quilts and Christmas presents i.e. table runners (which I really do love making by the way). There is one majorly awesome thing about both table runners and baby quilts. They are fast. They come together quickly, and I can quilt them up in no time. I always feel like I am making progress, unlike when I am doing a larger quilt and start to wonder if I will ever really finish it. (I'm sure many of you know the feeling!)

I love using charm packs to make table runners, most of the time I cut them into 2.5 inch squares and just sew them together in a nice scrappy look, but I have been experimenting with different designs and layouts, and later this week I should have another post about the table runner I am in the process of making right now. I am super excited about it!