Fighting a cold!

      I had a really bad cold all last week-- my first one in about four years! I'm one of just a couple of people I know who never came down with Covid-- I attribute this to my strong Scottish Highlander genes. So I don't get sick often and when I do, I don't tend to lie down to it-- lying down never makes me feel better anyway. I was able to pretty much plough ahead, with just a few nights of not feeling like doing my hand stitching. My family did complain that I was a grouch all week-- so if this post is saltier than usual, forgive me!

    I'm sure you've seen this all over the place, but I managed to get the borders done and finish up the Winter Twist free stitch-a-long. Many of us have had sub-zero temps in the northeast-- so I will tell you I went out and took ONE picture and came right back in... yes, that's REAL SNOW.

      I've loved seeing your finished tops in the private Facebook group and you've inspired me to go ahead and do something unusual with mine this time-- actually finish it! I will admit on my blog but no where else that my other three seasons have never been taken beyond this point.

     I just launched myself right into free motion quilting without even practicing first-- swirls, of course! When digitizing swirls, there is every opportunity to go back and "fix" them-- that's why free motion frustrates me-- so again, this year, I let go of perfection and just did it! (I guess my word of the year would be: FAIL. heehee) Since I let go of expectations, I'm really having fun. I currently have the animals done with just the borders to go.

    I quilted right next to each animal-- that is what gives their little bodies a "puff" like you see in the bear.  I am making little x-s in the tiny checkered sashing. The piecing was really heavy in that area, but the quilting has really nailed it down. It looks great! The back--not so much. My tension was really bad on the deer-- no way am I picking it out though. I'm taking it as one big learning experience.

     I love taking the things in the embroidery as inspiration-- you can see I quilted in some extra fiddleheads. Looks like the ermine saw his shadow in this picture! I am planning on having this completely quilted by next week, so come back for a look.

    Zela's baby quilt got a nice label in one of the Happy Mail quilt blocks and it is off to the long-armer. This sounds extremely lazy, but I'm also just paying to have the binding stitched on. I want finished projects this year and the price to do it was super reasonable. I was hoping to gift it before Valentine's Day, but they needed three weeks.

     I finished another Lori Holt Prairie Meadow quilt block. You notice how wrinkly it is-- these appliques are made by stitching the shapes to stabilizer and turning them-- they are super heavy-- that middle area has seven layers of fabric! I tried cutting some fabric out on one of the other blocks, but I really wasn't happy with that either, because some of the seams are still super heavy, and when I ironed it, they telescoped through. This is going to be one of those projects where, by the very last block, you then know the best way of doing it!

    I'm going to spend the next two weeks pinning up two blocks to take away with me to Florida. If I could get them both done, that would really push this project forward. Goal is: on my bed, by my birthday.

     Then-- the Barn Star Sampler has begun! This quilt is from a book by Shelley Cavanna-- absolutely everyone is doing this. The minute I saw it last summer, I jumped on it-- I love a star! I'm so glad I did-- Martingale Press went out of business, and all you can get right now is a PDF from the author. She is reprinting on her own, but I don't think the books will be out until March.

I'm using Fat Quarter Shop's timeline, which is a year to make it. I was pretty excited to start, but I promised I'd finish ARRTI first, so I allowed myself to photoshop up a color study.

     This probably looks weird to you, but I've been inspired by Robin Pickens color studies (visit her blog to see what she does with the various stitch-a-longs online, like Moda "Blockheads" and "Sewcialites" on Fat Quarter Shop) and just let go of the idea that each piece around the block has to be the same fabric. I really want to use the project to experiment with color. I'm using the Basic Grey Nutmeg and Cider fabrics.

     I really loved my sketch with just the grunge solids, but I want to work in some of the prints from these collections, so I'm going softly with them to start. The wilder prints might be better on some of the smaller blocks-- or I might just replace some of the smaller blocks with just a print-- the quilt has a lot going on! I'm excited for this one. It promises to be an adventure.

    So... did I finish ARRTI like I said I would before beginning the Barn Star?

NOPE!

I know you come back each week to hear me complain

and to see the same photos of no progress on this project each week-- so here it is!

   One small step for mankind... I did get that diagonal sewn. It's just the borders, baby. I would have gone outside to take a picture of the completed center, but after the Winter Twist photo shoot, I decided against it. Today is measure for the borders day-- do or die. It's 100" long-- the lack of floor space in this new house is a good excuse to stick this in a drawer for three years.

     Last, but not least-- my little cross stitches both came along! 

    The Fat Quarter Shop free pattern Love Note got some filling in... 

    It will make a good mindless pastime for the plane, where I don't have to refer to a chart and be bumping elbows for three hours.

     Then last is the Lori Holt Stitch Cards Set O-- I was able to pass by sets A-M without a problem, but those little sheepies and the cute mini sampler and house got me! I bet I could finish it this week and them I'm going to just buy a simple wood frame and call it an FFO.

     Here is the back of the project-- you can see it's much neater than the current state of my house. I was well enough to sew this week, but not near well enough to lift a finger and to make dinner or tidy up. No projects today-- it has to be a clean up day in this establishment, I'm afraid!

Have a great week!

xox

Carol