Big plans!

Hello blog friends!  It's been too long!  I have many things that have been keeping me from posting, most of them are not good. We have had our share of personal trials, medical issues and just plain old stress!   

We are ready for some changes this year, and have decided to make a major move to Southern Utah! Think Zion's and Bryce canyons and Tuacahn, Utahs Broadway in the Desert.   We are all getting really excited, and have made several trips to Saint George to look for houses. We found one we really like, so now it's time to get serious about selling our home. We love our home, and so this is not an easy choice, but this will be a good thing for our family. Plus we want to downsize our house and get rid of some of the yard work and cleaning so we can hike and run and enjoy the fabulous weather that Southern Utah is famous for. Yeah more time for sewing and stitching too!!  

Me and my kids at Bryce Canyon. This was the trip that got our noggins thinking about moving!  

Here are some things I've worked on since my last post. 

This is "Pomegrante Table Runner" by Ginger Sanchez. It has been in my stash for a super long time so I don't know if the pattern is still in print. I used silk matka for the background fabric and it drapes beautifully. When I took this to guild, the owner of our local quilt store said no one was buying that fabric so she had taken it home and put it in her garage!  Several people talked her into bringing it back to the store so they could use it for backgrounds. True story!

I was gifted this kit several years ago and finished this table topper up at a retreat this Fall. It only took one day to sew together. It's called "Abundantly Blessed" by Cotton way. I have made this twice but forgot to photograph the second one before I gave it away. Darn!

At Christmas time, I had a little sewing party for some friends, and we made this project. This is "Christmas Mouse" by Brenda Gervais. I sewed the bodies up before hand and then when everyone came, we stuffed them and gave them

personality. I had a tub of tea dye made up that we brushed the mice with and we baked them. It was a day complete with food, chocolate and laughter!  I couldn't find the rope twine for the tail so we used a chenille pipe cleaner and wrapped it with chenille trim to give it some fullness. It was a great day!  

I put this Halloween quilt together at the same retreat that I went too. It's one that has been in my stash for a while as well. It is called "Its Halloween" by Village Dry Goods. 

I apologize for the plastic on this frame but it is packed away and won't be out until after the move. This is "For Thine is the Trick or the Treat" by Prairie Moon. I stitched on this at a retreat in Yellowstone. The fabric and the thead conversion were from Shepherds bush and the fabric was especially dyed for their store. 

This is a bag I made for my mom for Christmas. She is in two quilt guilds and often needs to haul supplies around. This has an ironing mat, a cutting mat, and a place for a rotary cover.  You can string pearl cotton spools on the ribbon in the center and all of the other essentials are there too. You could even put a quilt inside to take to show and tell. It's called "My Favorite Sewing Bag" by Kansas Troubles. It was a total pain in the behind to make, but I will do anything for my mom!  

My mom does wondeful things for me too!  She made me this darling quilt for Christmas!  I love it so much and I actually had the pattern to make in my stash. It's called "Wonky Winter" by Pine Mountain Designs. I can cross that one off my list now!  

This is called "Blessed Harvest" by Brenda Gervais and I made this for a friend whose birthday was in November. 

Here is another version that has been sitting by my sewing table for 3 months. I should spend 15 mins and finish it up!  Maybe after this post I will do it!  Does anyone else have these projects sitting around? Why are they so hard to get to?

This is another project in the works. It is Called "Gather the Passing Seasons" by Kathy Schmitz. The little quilts will be finished and will hang in the center of the frame with Velcro. We started this in guild 2 years ago and I've been holding off because I wanted to hand appliqué the motifs. Well my hand appliqué skills have not caught up to my desire to have this done. So I've resorted to fuseable web. For something so small, I think it's fine to cheat!  

On my Q-snaps I have Blackbird's "Bird in Hand" pincushion. Oh I thought this would be a fast thing to stitch and wouldn't take much time. Who am I kidding?  I don't seem to have any cross stitching projects that don't take a lot of time. I ripped out a couple of rows on the bird last night because I used a different skein of floss there and it looked too light. I hope I can finish this up this week, as I am anxious to move on to other things. 

One last thing to share. I started this project the minute I got it in the mail. This is from Primitive quilts and projects Spring 2013 and it's called "Stars in the Garden."  This is my first hexie project and they are only 1/4" in size. So finished this quilt will be 13" x 15".  I kitted up a star at a time and kept this by my bed with a little box of thread and scissors. Every night when I would wait for everyone to gather for prayers, I would sew a hexie or two on a star. Well of course after 2 years I should have this done, but I don't, so I moved it to my sewing room and I am auditioning fabrics for the filler blocks. I want to get this finished up this year so it can hang in my new house. 

That's all for now my friends!  Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping  by.  Enjoy the day!