Needles and Pens

... on my challenge list, that is. Of course I've managed to create a few more this year, but with the motivation of the Patchwork Times UFO Challenge , the pile is considerably smaller now! The last three on my list were all finished this week. My December challenge was the Perfect Pouches kit that I won in a FabShopHop several years ago: Embarrassingly easy to finish. I don't know why these have waited around for so long! Beautiful fabrics by Peggy Toole for Robert Kaufman: And now for the last of the catching-up. I finally got around to my April project, finishing "Seasons of the Heart," a 2009 BOM designed by Sandi Anderson of A Legacy of Stitches . I finished all the blocks on time (fusible applique, blanket-stitched by hand), but then got hung up on the setting and never finished -- until now. Finally decided to just set them together without sashings and make another wall hanging. My first quilt done completely in homespun. For the quilting, I ju...

One more little bit of Christmas inspiration came over me this week, and I actually finished my last 2009 Seasons of the Heart Block-of-the-Month block, the December Gift: I'm pretty sure this is a first for me, to finish a block-of-the-month program, relatively on time. Many thanks to Sandi, from A Legacy of Stitches , for so generously sharing her designs for 2009. Can't wait to see them in a finished quilt! Sandi has already begun two new Block-of-the-Month programs for 2010, which you can access by becoming a member of her Yahoo group . I doubt I'll keep up as well this year, but I'm definitely saving the patterns, even if just for "someday." Now, to decide on a layout for my "Seasons" quilt... When I wrote this post earlier today, I completely forgot that it's Friday, and I should have linked up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday . (Where did the week go?) While I'm at it, I might as well share another little project I finished to...

Honestly, if not for the motivation of Amy's Sew & Tell Friday , I wouldn't have sewn a stitch this week. I worked a lot of hours, and Hancock's was busy . Lots of people sewing for the holidays, taking advantage of all the sales on right now. With week two, I learned that standing on your feet for eight hours cutting fabric (seriously, it has been almost non-stop) is very physically demanding. Oh, my aching hands and feet! Thankfully, I have today off for a little rest, and a bit easier schedule next week. Just have to get through working the weekend. A trip to the Athlete's Foot for a pair of good walking shoes is definitely on my to-do list today... Anyway, despite the aches and pains, I had Sew & Tell on my mind all week. There was very little of me left in the evenings for sewing, but I was determined to finish something . On Wednesday night, I cut out and fused the pieces for the November Seasons of the Heart block-of-the-month, and last night, I did the ...

As promised, it's time for the Pay it Forward Giveaway, so I won't keep you in suspense any longer... ...the winner is... ... Chris H.!!! And it's her birthday, too! Happy birthday, Chris! I'll be contacting you shortly for your address, so I can send off your Halloween fat quarters. Congratulations! Now the really ironic thing about this is, when my name was drawn for the Pay it Forward giveaway -- it was my birthday, too! Maybe birthdays bring a little extra luck? I want to again thank everyone for entering, and especially for all the nice comments you left. I hope we can all keep in touch. We'll definitely have to do this again sometime! :o) Just one more thing before I go, in keeping with the Halloween theme. Here's my Seasons of the Heart block for October, a Jack 'o Lantern! Ten blocks down, two more to go...

Only one day left to enter the Pay it Forward Halloween Giveaway . I'll be drawing for a winner tomorrow! Many thanks to those who have entered, and an extra special thank you to my friend, Jean, for helping to spread the word. If you haven't ever visited Jean's blog , I highly recommend stopping by for a look at her beautiful quilts! :o) Meanwhile, a quick update on the Seasons of the Heart Block-of-the-Month . Last I posted on this, I had finished the blocks for May and June. Since then, I've been managing (amazingly) to keep up and have finished a few more... The July Watermelon block: August Apples: And a Back-to-School chalkboard for September: The October block is next on my quilting to-do list, so hopefully I'll have a picture of that one to share soon. I love how these little blocks are coming along, and I've been having a lot of fun playing with different layouts for the finished quilt. To think I may actually finish a block-of-the-month project on time...

Despite a lot of craziness and distraction in my life right now (and thanks to a lot of pushing and encouragement from my quilting friends), I have finished another two blocks from the Seasons of the Heart Block-of-the-Month . These will make it into a quilt one day... ...the June star block, finished last night... ...and the May Grandmother's Flower Garden block, finished a couple of weeks ago... ...Slowly but surely, I'm catching up! ;o)

It's been SO long since I've posted! I've been thinking about writing an update, including all the events since my last post, but the thought was just too overwhelming. So much has happened in two short months. May flew by with birthdays, my daughter's confirmation, my brother-in-law's homecoming from Iraq, all the activities that come with the end of another school year, and the beginnings of a nagging ache in my neck and shoulder that severely limited my computer time. And then there was June, a complete blur. There were more birthdays, my son's first piano recital, a new addition to the pet menagerie (Emily has a new bunny), and babysitting my now-9-month-old grandson, when I wasn't totally incapacitated. The nagging ache developed into a badly pinched nerve in my neck, followed by doctor visits, pain meds, chiropractor adjustments, and finally ended in a four-day hospital stay with pneumonia, of all things. This was a truly scary experience which drained...

Just finished my March shamrock block from Sandi's "Seasons of the Heart" block-of-the-month over at A Legacy of Stitches : My Irish great-grandma would be pleased. ;o) I've been feeling pretty uninspired lately, but when the March BOM pattern arrived in my inbox, it lit a much-needed spark in me, and I had to get started on it right away. Thanks, Sandi, for these fun patterns! This may be one BOM I'll actually finish!

Here is my February block for the " Seasons of the Heart " block-of-the-month, designed by Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches . For some reason, I could not get to sleep last night, so I decided to "just pick out the fabrics" for the new BOM. Before I knew it, the pieces were fused and I was blanket-stitching away. LoL These little block patterns are so cute and fun to work on. Thanks so much, Sandi, for sharing them with us!

It was a busy day today, visiting out-of-town relatives, but I wanted to take a minute to share a photo of an appliqued quilt block that I finished yesterday: This is the first in a 2009 Block of the Month (BOM) series, Seasons of the Heart , designed by Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches . Sandi has created a block to represent each month of the year, designed for fusible applique. The edges are blanket-stitched by hand and the details are embroidered. I want my finished quilt to have a warm, country feeling, so I plan to use various homespuns for my block backgrounds. When I saw this cute little snowman, I just couldn't resist joining in. I'm really looking forward to more of her patterns. Thanks, Sandi!