Patiently working away on all the things...

     So February reached a nice rhythm with the "things" all moving along at a nice pace-- I'll just accept it is never as fast as I'd like. Are there any "quick" hobbies out there? Gardening? Nope. Cooking? Nope. Fishing?  Nope, nope, nope. I really can't think of any, so I'll stick with sewing.

     So I had a finish-- it's a rarer occurrence here than I'd like to admit. And Mother Nature opened up the skies to celebrate!

     This is the Winterville pattern by Thimble Blossoms-- I'm naming mine "Christmasville" as the fabric was Tole Christmas. And since no quilt is really finished without machine embroidery, I'm going to embroider Santa and his sleigh over one of the houses.

     And make a fabulous embroidered label. 

     So I always questioned the sanity of people who take their quilts outside-- I guess I am now in that camp! You should always avoid criticizing what other people-- I've noticed it makes me much more likely to do something myself!

     So I did have a bit of a soggy quilt when I came in, but it dried nicely and just needs a good press.

     For Valentine's Day, my sweetheart gave me roses...

I heavily photographed them for machine embroidery designs!

 And then there were three-- I got a Ribbon Runs Through It block done this week. Finally, one came out to be 12-1/2"... third time IS the charm!

Every block is different, like a snowflake. So it would be hard to make all four at once, especially since the fabrics are somewhat similar. I'm just taking my time. I'm getting better at the double flying geese blocks, and since rows 1-3 are the same as rows 6-8, you can chain piece them at the same time.

I noticed my Winterville star points were pulling apart whenever I lifted the quilt-- fabric gets heavy! So this time, to keep my seams together, I'm going to baste around each block. This quilt is also HUGE!

I was hoping to get the fourth one done before the end of the month, but it's doubtful. The February shipment is late-- I don't know how late, but I really don't want Month 2 to arrive before these are done. It also might arrive on a day when Mr. SFO has to get the mail (I am leaving for a couple of days)-- never a good thing, when those Fat Quarter Shop packages are arriving frequently!

I got the March Birth Month Mug Rug done early-- these are so fun to do. So I wouldn't call myself a jewelry girl, but doing the birthstones in thread has been challenging and rewarding. 

Flowers are always my thing.

This is released early, because I just wanted to make sure my subscribers were able to access is before I leave for Daytona!

    I mentioned I'm lucky enough to be going to the AQS In Daytona for a couple of days next week! Don't be envious-- I'm going to attempt to make a movie of it for you when I get back. My videos at this stage of learning have elements of both comedy and tragedy, so it should be fun to make and watch. 

Here is my hand sewing, all ready for my flights!

    I was admonished for using a screwdriver as a turning tool in the last video-- (only in the nicest way, of course!) So I will have to admit to you, with all the sewing and embroidery skills I have, my project bag is still a Ziploc!!!

    Then my friend Tere made me this awesome bag-- I mean, this beats anything Kimberly Jolly has for all of her cross stitch projects, doesn't it!! It is beautiful... so organized!

 

I am still mostly "forcing" myself to work on the Autumn Sampler-- is that what it comes to for me to finish a project? Torture? So I'm making myself do two lengths of floss per day. I did finally pick up the red and wheat colors I was missing, so that is helping it flow better. Hope to have Witch Girl done after two three-hour flights.

  This time of year is really a mental battle for me to get through-- sewing, sewing, sewing helps, but a few days of warmth would help more. Here is my Florida haircut-- so the hair looks good, but you can probably see how washed up I am!

Hopefully when I come back, I'll be tall and tan and young and lovely once again! Have a great week.

xox

Carol