Happy New Year! We decided not to procrastinate and started our new a little early. Something sweet found itself under our tree on Christmas Eve (as I hinted to earlier)… Pepper, a 5 1/2 lb, 5 month old dilute calico adopted our family on Christmas Eve.
I was a little nervous, as I have never lived with a cat. So far, she is so stinking sweet, we should have called her Sugar. The little quilt lover made herself right at home with us.
I have managed to get back to my quilt lab to put finishing touches on some projects, and move others that direction.
My first finish is gift of some new wheelchair arm bags, and a mini-quilt frame with quilt. They make their way to my Grandmother in St. Louis later this month. She is a Cardinal baseball fan. It’s hard to tell, but the background of the paper-pieced bird is quilted with baseballs. (Shhh. Don’t tell. I used “artistic license” on the paper piecing and used fabric marker to create the black detailing. Those pieces were just too small…)
Another finish is decorating my table with my Children’s wish for snow. I set the table for leftovers tonight! Indian Food. Yum. I really like the way these four blocks turned out. The blocks were from a row-by-row kit I bought a couple of summers ago. I turned them on point, added narrow sashing, and set them with a batik background and border. (Never underestimate the possibilities!) The quilting was done with a pattern called “Jessica’s snowflake” by Nancy Haacke, Wasatch Quilting. I loved the description on the pattern;
“Jessica’s snowflakes originated when Jessica wanted snowflakes on her quilt that were structured with six sides, as she learned in her molecular studies class, that real snowflakes always have six sides! True story.”
Well, Jessica IS correct! If anyone is a geek like me, or even if you aren’t, look it up and brush up on these crystalline beauties! Any snowflake with other than sixfold symmetry, is an impostor! Check out this fun science article from Jon Hamilton on NPR, All Things Considered, “What’s Wrong With This Snowflake?”.
I completed the scientifically correct ensemble with some embroidered hemstitch napkins decorated with an ombré style embroidery design from Urban Threads, called “Let it Snow”. If you are into embroidery, check them out each month for a new freebie! This month’s is for pet lovers.
Note: All Christmas Lego & crafting chaos has been ingeniously hidden outside of the camera field of view!
I don’t have any more finishes to share, but did load and begin quilting my April Showers, Falling Charms quilt, and cut the pieces for a new Quick Curve table runner. My New Year’s Resolution is to put together at least one quilt class this year. I plan to combine all of the tips and tricks I have learned on the curve-it-up quilt, and share those with others! Who knows, if you aren’t already an expert, maybe I will see you in class!
Dueling Threads 