January 2017 Quilt Update

Any links that you click in this post will open in a DIFFERENT window, allowing you to continue reading this without losing the page.

The previous 2016 monthly update links are located at the end of this entry.  I hope that you make it that far.

Goals:  I am no longer even attempting to comment on those that were not touched.  They'll just stay on the list until they are achieved, even though life jumps in front of them now and then.

Easy Street (ES) - quilted, bound -  Partially quilted - machine is in time out
Old Tobacco Road (OTR)  - quilted and bound -

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - quilted and bound -  Quilted by Allison, needs binding
Mad City Mama (MCM) - quilted and bound - Quilted by Allison, needs binding
Weed Whacker (WW) backing/binding made, quilted and bound -
En Provence (EP) - Clue 7, binding/label made, quilted and bound -
BOM (pink) backing/label made, quilted and bound -

1st -  It's another month and a NEW YEAR all at the same time.  Does this make you reevaluate?  It sure does do that to me.  I don't really go for resolutions per se, but I do think evaluations and goals are always good.  I'm going to continue working on UFO's this year and include more time in the kitchen along with working on being a bit healthier this year.  Certainly can't hurt, right?  I hope you have all done a bit of introspection as well and have some goals for yourself too.  Let's make the world better together.

Our New Year surprise from Bonnie Hunter this morning is the reveal of En Provence.  I take a few minutes to play with a block layout before heading out to spend time with my sweetie.  I tried the magenta in place of the yellow, but I really just like the yellow and went with a slightly paler one and am using a constant.  I like it.

Mugstateer Day

Once a month the Mugstateers meet for a morning of coffee and a day of friends and fun at Fabric Fanatics in Plano.  Today is the day for January.  I am stoked and super happy to be having a day out before I leave town on the 18th.  First up:  coffee at the 1418 Coffeehouse.  Allison found this place for us during our Judy Niemeyer classes last year and it has become a bit of a habit.

I arrive early but am soon joined by my fellow ladies.  Ah, best friends are something to treasure indeed.

En Provence - Clue 7 and Finale - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

Happy New Year!  I KNEW IT!!  I had told my bestie, Allison, that the reveal would happen today even though we just had a clue 2 days ago.  (To see the blog post for Clue 6, please click this LINK - it will open another window and you won't lose the linky here) Obviously, just like everyone else, I went running for my units to see what the block would look like.  I even did a quick trial run laying the magenta under the block, but I'm happy to say, the yellow suits me fine.  I AM, however, going to use a constant, lighter yellow.  Fun times ahead now and oh so much to do still but today is a day with my Mister so that's all I can do right now.  Tomorrow is another day.

Papa Bear Slipper Tutorial

My dear, sweet Mister wanted a pair of slippers and we searched all over the stores for what he wanted.  It appears that all slipper makers now believe that men want to go outside in their slippers and have put hard/walking soles on them.  That is NOT what he wanted and so I went through all the patterns I bought a few years ago when I had planned on making some.  As luck would have it, I found one for Papa Bear Slippers by Cool Cat Creations.  After showing it to him, he agreed that they would work.  Now fast forward to this week.

First things first:  A trip to the store for the fusible fleece and some sherpa for the lining.  Yeah, zippers are on sale too and I have an upcoming project for them along with the magnets.  Gotta get out of here.

Guild Night - Land O'Lakes in Lewisville

Wow, it's been one of those days.  After working all morning on some slippers for my sweetie, going to airport to spend a 3 hour layover with my daughter, getting and delivering groceries to my mother-in-law . . .  I have arrived at the guild meeting.  Tonight I make it official and join.  Visiting has been fun but I'm ready to jump in and be an active member.  What does that mean?  Goodness, but I have no idea.  It just sounded good in my ear so I wrote it.

I am parked next to Allison and we are able to enter together and try to get to all the different tables before the meeting starts.  I also want to eat a little something as dinner has been a bit elusive today.  After depositing my things where I want to sit, the membership table is my first stop.  Done - and I have a new nametag to prove it.

I peek at the "freebie" table and find a stack of bandanas that will go home with me.  At the craft show in December I saw aprons made out of them and want to see if I can figure it out.  Could be a possible retreat project.

Two Days of Friendship

As I roll over in bed and open my eyes, I see that it is 6:30 and my sweet man has just left for work.  Allison is due here at 7:30 and I'm woefully behind on being ready.  Springing forth from bed - well as much as a 58 year old woman can spring - I start dashing around, sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, finding the guest room, and generally making the house presentable for company.  She calls and says that she is running late so I tackle the mountain of wadded up yellow scraps that I left on the ironing board last night when I emptied a gallon bag of them.  Press, press, press and I just barely finish as she arrives.  Whew ---   I help her bring her things in and as she shows me what she did with the container Elisabeth gave us, I grab mine and do the same.  Different perspectives on use.  A quick picture is sent to Elisabeth so she knows how much we love them.  Oh, and that we miss her today.

Christmas Shams after Christmas

In December of 2015 I finished my first Christmas quilt and it went on my bed.  Ah, my heart just swooned.  I knew it needed pillows to set it off so I found some that I had bought ages ago (seriously - back in 1995 and still in the wrappers) to go with an Ohio Star quilt I was working on then and haven't touched since.  Out they came and my bed was a delight.  However, I knew at some point I would want those if I did finish the Ohio Star (and I'm happy to say I am working on it) and that knowledge resulted in planning some shams to match this wonderful quilt.