Finishing!

It's hard to believe we are at the end of the year!  I wanted to quickly post and share with you the finishes that I have done the past couple of months.  I've waited quite awhile to get these quilts back from the quilter, but it was worth the wait.  I've been binding away and my fingerprint is worn off now.  (I'm not kidding...I had to use my thumbprint to get into the park at Universal Studios, because the machine could not recognize my fingerprint!)

A close up of the quilting.  This is a pattern by Quilt Soup called Sunny Disposition.  It will be a fun, bright quilt to display in the Spring and Summer.

This quilt was for my daughter for Christmas.  It has minky on the back and is so soft!  I think we may fight over this one when watching movies. 

A close up of the quilting.  Love those flowers!

This is my Amish Quilt.  This is a Sunshine and Shadow pattern of my own design based off of one I saw in Pennsylvania.  I have to say that I was a little stunned when I saw how my quilter chose to quilt this one.  It's not at all traditional, which is what I wanted...however the quilting is really beautiful and it's growing on me.  I am planning on doing some Amish stitching designs to hang next to this in my downstairs.

This is a quilt that I did during a reteat a few years ago.  A nice easy design from Pat Sloan, and it's from the book, I Can't Believe I'm Quilting. 

This is my favorite of the bunch.  I saw this in an American Patchwork magazine several years ago  It reminds me of Williamsburg.  I especially love the little star in the center of the quilt.  This one was a great addition to my holiday decorating this year.

A close up of the tiny star and the beautiful quilting.

Over the holiday break I got up the nerve to finish my Random Thoughts by Drawn Thread.  I decided to line it with some Heat and Bond light, and then add a cotton backing instead of stitching it the way the pattern suggested.  It added some weight, and it seems to hang better on the wall.  I'm happy to have this one out of the closet.

I also finished my strawberry sampler.  This is a terrible picture, but it turned out cute, and will look great with my wool strawberries that I display in June.

I finished this button sampler into a pillow today.  I'm not sure if I love the way I finished this one, but it's better done than perfect.  My daughter got the new Caroline doll for Christmas and she wanted you all to see it.  She is my favorite.  I will be sewing a lot of clothes for her this year.

I made a few Abbey Bags over the holidays.  These make wonderful gifts.  I can't decide which one I like best. 

My mom gifted me with this darling project tote, which was filled with fabric and books.  I just love it!  I'll really be styling when I take projects places now!

Here is a close up of the pincushion!  Isn't it sweet?

Another dear friend, Kathryn (no blog) made me this wonderful pincushion. I have it sitting by sewing chair. 

We have been traveling again.  My husband likes to take all of his vacations in the Fall and Winter time, so we headed off to Florida to visit my brother.  We went to Universal Studios for 3 days, and saw Mannheim Steamroller in concert and the Harry Potter park!  Wow is it ever cool.  I cannot believe the details that they put into the castle, Hogwarts and the village, Hogmeade.  We've been watching all of the Harry Potter movies over the break.  I wish I would have had time to do that before we left...I probably would have appreciated even more of the details.

Having a Butterbeer in Hogsmeade.  Yum!

My daughter and her cousins enjoying 86 degree weather.  The snow makes it look cold! 

Here is one of the amazing details of the castle.  There are tiny pinholes with fiberoptic lights in each one.  The pillar magically writes the name of the ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and then it disappears again.  It's probably something I would have missed if I hadn't been waiting for my kids to meet me.

My son got his Eagle Scout award this month.  I am so very proud of him and all of his efforts to get this award.  The man he choose to give his mentor pin to is Scott Monson, brother to Thomas S. Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   He is a wonderful leader and did so much to help the boys in scouting.

Here are few things I'm working on this week.  I'm going to make these Shepherd's Bush bags into pillows for the couch.  Originally they were finished into bags to put dried flowers in, but I think they need a refresh.  Also a punch needle pattern that has been started a couple of years.  I have something fun in mind to finish this off.  I'll share next time.

I bought the wool this week to start this beautiful wool quilt.  It's called Pennies from Heaven.  I'm working on getting it cut out.  It will take a while to complete but will be well worth the effort.

I've got to find a way to finish this project.  I'm thinking of a rolling pin, like Becky did in her Fall finish. She did a fabulous job.

I joined Nicola's Scarlet Letter SAL.  I'm so thrilled to be a part of it.  I'm still trying to decide on a bigger sampler, but for now I'm stitching ABCD 1817.  It's a miniature sampler, and it is the perfect start for me. 

That's it for me for this year.  Thank you so much to all of those who helped me with my dyeing issues on the last post.  I've decided to leave my sampler the way it is, and I've already sent it to the framers.  I'll show pictures when it returns.

Thank you to all that leave comments and brighten my day.  I wish you all happy stitching and quilting in 2013!

To Dye or Not to Dye...I need your help!

Hi to all my blog friends.  I'm so glad that you came to visit today.  I am doing a little happy dance, as I just finished my Weeping Tree sampler.  So now that it's done, I'm wondering if it needs some antiquing.    I am in need of your opinion.  This is stitched on 32 count cream fabric, and I'm wondering if I should dip this in some dye.  I've never dyed a finished piece before, so I welcome you thoughts.  I like it the way it looks now, but I'm wondering if it has a 1990's look, instead of a 1843 look.  

Here is a close up of the little sheep made out of an eyelet variation.  So fun to stitch. 

Take a look at that bird next to my initials.  Funny story about him.  I was outside stitching in the warm sun, when I decided I needed a little refreshment.  So I went to take a drink from my water glass that had been sweating in the summer sun, and plop!...A big sweat drop of water dropped on my pattern.  I didn't get too worried about it, I just brushed it off, and kept stitching.  Later I discovered that the ink had run from my pattern onto my fabric!  Yikes, I was in full panic!  I scrubbed on it, I used a tide pen on it, I tried just about everything I could think of, but to no avail.  There was a faded gray ink spot soiling my fabric..so the bird was the idea I came up to cover it up, and it worked out pretty well I think.

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The Weeping Tree Sampler, by the City Stitcher.  Stitched with suggested colors on 32 count cream fabric.  Now on to other things that happended in October.

Last month I won a giveaway from Marly over at Sampler's and Santa's.  Wow, this was a wonderful package to receive!  Thanks so much Marly.  Go over and visit her...she inspires and entertains like no other. 

I had a fun pincushion making day, with my friend Kathryn (no blog).  Kathryn gifted me with the pincushion on the right, and then together we made the others.  This is the Acorn Pincushion pattern by Crabapple Hill.  What a great way to spend the day!

We went on a family vacation last month, and we spent the day on Daytona beach, playing in the sand with my brother's family, and watching...

the amazing Thunderbirds, and many other great aerobatic feats.  Now people in Daytona, Florida have the right idea.  What a perfect way to watch an airshow!  Forget about hot tarmacs, this was actually fun.

The next day we sailed on a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. Best vacation EVER!   If you are not a fan of  cruising, (I'm usually in this category), then you really need to try Disney.  They do everything right.  My kids can't wait to go again.  We enjoyed a perfect day on Disney's private island. 

We became pirates for a night, and helped to save the ship.   We posed for a picture with the amazing Mike Super who has a Super de duper magic show, and is a really nice guy too.  All of the shows were amazing.  The best thing about this trip is seeing my son smile the whole time.  He enjoyed every minute of this trip and spent a lot of time hanging out with other kids in the teen lounge.   

My daughter smiled a lot too.  She went sleuthing.  The Disney Dream has this really fun sleuthing activity, where you register a card at this computer screen, and then you run around the ship holding your card up to the pictures.  Sensors in the paintings interact with you in a personal way, animating a unique mystery right before your eyes.  It was incredible.  I can't believe the fun things they have to offer. We swam, ate, and relaxed.  What could be better than that?  More stitching I guess...not a lot of that happened.

As it's so hard to leave something that great, Disney doesn't say goodbye, the characters sing, "See you real soon".  Thanks for visiting my blog today.  I appreciate each and every one of your comments and especially your advice.  I'll see you again in blogland real soon too.  Happy Stitching.

Remember when...

Hi dear blog friends.  How are you all doing?  My life certainly has not been my own the past few month, but in between all the hustle and bustle I've managed to get a few stitches into my linen and some sewing done.  Let's see if you can remember any of these old samplers from the past.  At the moment I'm working on a sampler called, "The Weeping Tree" by the City Stitcher.  It's an oldie, but a goodie from 1995.  I know it's pathetic, but the house took me most of the summer to construct.  I was shocked that I used a whole skein of DMC floss on the brick mortar!  I'm feeling like my mojo is returning while working on this.  Probably because it's stitched on 32 count, and is really easy on the eyes. 

I have a little progress to show on Shores.  I used several colors of red silk on the fish in block 12, instead of making them all one color.  I like the variation it provided.  I'm taking this on vacation in a few weeks, and hopefully I can finish up another block or two.

I'm still working on the Toy Chest.  I took a class on how to finish this piece, and I want to get this done soon, so I can apply what I've learned.  The horse has just about done me in.  It's over one... need I say more?

I started this on one of our summer travels.  Prairie Moon's, For Thine is the Trick and the Treat.  Shepherds Bush had this fabric dyed especially for their shop, and I think it's perfect.  I know that this won't be done this Halloween, but it should be fun to work on during the Fall season.

My quilt guild has been doing a wool ornament class.  We receive several ornies a month to complete.  So far mine are cut out, and that's about as far as I've gotten.  They are really cute done in person, and if I can only keep up, I'll have a really cute feather tree filled with unique wool ornaments in the year 2014.

I am also hosting a block exchange at my quilt guild.  We are making 24 blocks per month.  Here is a stack of exchanged blocks and some I am working on.  These will be for the quilt, Idaho Farm Girl, by Kim Diehl

I was invited by a couple of friends to work on this quilt by Needl' Love.  Of course, I don't have any willpower whatsoever, and I told them to count me in.  I love the colors of this quilt, and can't wait for some time to work on it. 

 I stitched this sampler last winter, and never put it on my blog.  I think this is my favorite Fall sampler, and the frame is stunning.  I can't remember the designer, but if anyone is interested, I'll find the pattern and the name.

I stitched this sampler way back in the 90's, when large count fabrics were all the rage.  I originally  finished it into a wall hanging, but over the years I tired of it.  One day I decided to frame it and I love the way it looks now.  A new frame is a good way to freshen up an old piece.

This is a really old sampler from Oberlin Designs.  I changed quite a bit on this piece.  The fabric, the floss... I added buttons, and silk ribbon pumpkins.  It's bright, but I love this sampler still.

My table is sporting Bent Creek's Fall Snapper.  Also a darling owl that my friend made for me.  It's from the Pumpkin Patch Needl' Love book. 

Now for family happenings.  In July, my daughter celebrated her 11th birthday.  She wanted to have a gymnastics party and watch the new American Girl movie, McKenna.  All the girls brought their dolls.  Wow!  Was it ever cute.  She had a  sleep over with her cousins afterwards....which lasted 3 days, because they were having so much fun.  I'm such a pushover!

We traveled to San Diego for my cousins wedding at the end of July.  It was a gorgeous day in the bay area.  My kids look grumpy here because we were getting ready to fly home soon.   This is the San Diego Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  You can read more about temples here and here.   

My nephew got married at the South Jordan temple a few weeks later.  This is my fabulous brother (the nicest anesthesiologist in the state), his wife, their son, and new daughter in law.  Another beautiful day with the family.

After a weekend in Arizona (no pictures on that trip), we took a very quick trip that was less than 24 hours, to Colorado to visit my husbands 91 year old granddad.  He is amazing.  He still lives at home, cooks his own food, and does most everything for himself.  He taught me how to make English soft boiled eggs.  The lovely lady in the purple shirt is my husbands wonderful sister.  We love traveling with her, and she tempted us to visit the Redwoods the next weekend...

which we did, because we are crazy, and we just can't get enough adventure!  The kids and I flew to Portland, where we were met by my husband.  Then we drove down the coast to Crescent City, (took us about 9 hours), where we enjoyed the Redwoods for one day.  After wearing ourselves out hiking, and sleeping on cots, we  were up at 5:30 AM and made another 9 hour trip down to Oakland California to fly home.  That's how most of our trips have been this summer...2-3 days at most.  It's so fun but wears one out!

There has been much happening at home too.  This is the new Brigham City Temple that was just dedicated a week ago.  One early morning I took my young women group from church to see the bride room.  It's one of prettiest that I have ever been in.  What an amazing experience it has been to have this structure being built in our small town.  We are so blessed as a community.

To celebrate the temple open house, 4000 kids from the temple district practiced for months for a big pageant that they performed for their parents and church leaders.  Yes, I was involved with every one of those practices.  My son was one of the soldiers in this swing number celebrating the military hospital that was here during WWII.  My son danced with a really cute girl!  I was so impressed with his performance.

There wasn't a dry eye in the audience as we celebrated this great country we live in and the new temple in our midst.  

Enjoy a wonderful Saturday wherever you are.  May you enjoy time with your family and have many creative moments too.