These are the last projects I finished in 2019, just in time for Christmas...Well, mostly finished! 

The left over fabrics from the Vintage Holiday Stars Christmas quilt were put to use to make 3 new Christmas table toppers. 

The last two Vintage Holiday charm packs in my stash along with part of a Little Ruby charm pack were used to make another simple patchwork Christmas quilt. I only have a very little bit of scraps left over from the fat quarter bundle and charm packs I had in my stash. I love it when I can find a way to use every little last bit of a collection. I didn't have time to get the quilt top quilted before Christmas, so it has been added to my pile of projects to get finished in 2020. 

And one more to add to the 2020 pile is my Winter Suburbia quilt. I LOVE this one so much and can't wait to get it finished so I can hang it up in my living room. 

I want to thank all of you who take the time to read and comment on my blog. Your encouragement and your kindness is never taken for granted. 

Heres to a new year...

A new beginning...

Fill your year with JOY!

Happy New Year 2020!! 🥳

These are the last projects I finished in 2019, just in time for Christmas...Well, mostly finished! 

The left over fabrics from the Vintage Holiday Stars Christmas quilt were put to use to make 3 new Christmas table toppers. 

The last two Vintage Holiday charm packs in my stash along with part of a Little Ruby charm pack were used to make another simple patchwork Christmas quilt. I only have a very little bit of scraps left over from the fat quarter bundle and charm packs I had in my stash. I love it when I can find a way to use every little last bit of a collection. I didn't have time to get the quilt top quilted before Christmas, so it has been added to my pile of projects to get finished in 2020. 

And one more to add to the 2020 pile is my Winter Suburbia quilt. I LOVE this one so much and can't wait to get it finished so I can hang it up in my living room. 

I want to thank all of you who take the time to read and comment on my blog. Your encouragement and your kindness is never taken for granted. 

Heres to a new year...

A new beginning...

Fill your year with JOY!

Happy New Year 2020!! 🥳

I did a terrible job at taking pictures of our Christmas gatherings. I was holding Bennett every chance I could get, so that's my excuse. 😉I did make a point to get a picture of Russ' mom with Bennett...

and pictures of Haley with the Kansas City Chiefs onesies we bought for Bennett. 

Russ continued to "penable" my love of fountain pens and ink, by adding a Visconti Breeze to my pen collection, and Diamine Blue Pearl and Iroshizuku Tsutsuji to my ink collection. 

I bought Russ a gazebo tent room for us to use while camping.  This will come in handy when we want a place to get away from the bugs.

The day after Christmas, we ran away for a couple of days to Des Moines. We were to go to Texas for a week with the camper, but Russ' job didn't shut down like they usually do for the holidays. We decided to save the vacation days to go to Texas in February or March when it will be a bit warmer. We had a very nice time in Des Moines shopping and just being together. We took advantage of some good after Christmas sales and dreamed about other things, like a Jeep Gladiator...It most likely will never happen, but it was fun to dream. 😊

I hope you all had a sweet and tender Christmas with your family and loved ones...

I did a terrible job at taking pictures of our Christmas gatherings. I was holding Bennett every chance I could get, so that's my excuse. 😉I did make a point to get a picture of Russ' mom with Bennett...

and pictures of Haley with the Kansas City Chiefs onesies we bought for Bennett. 

Russ continued to "penable" my love of fountain pens and ink, by adding a Visconti Breeze to my pen collection, and Diamine Blue Pearl and Iroshizuku Tsutsuji to my ink collection. 

I bought Russ a gazebo tent room for us to use while camping.  This will come in handy when we want a place to get away from the bugs.

The day after Christmas, we ran away for a couple of days to Des Moines. We were to go to Texas for a week with the camper, but Russ' job didn't shut down like they usually do for the holidays. We decided to save the vacation days to go to Texas in February or March when it will be a bit warmer. We had a very nice time in Des Moines shopping and just being together. We took advantage of some good after Christmas sales and dreamed about other things, like a Jeep Gladiator...It most likely will never happen, but it was fun to dream. 😊

I hope you all had a sweet and tender Christmas with your family and loved ones...

Getting ready for Christmas!! 

I really love this fabric...

All ready to snuggle under while we wait for Chrismas Day!

Getting ready for Christmas!! 

I really love this fabric...

All ready to snuggle under while we wait for Chrismas Day!

I promise, this will not turn into a blog about my grandchildren, however, I had to show you Bennett's hair!! I am hoping it stays red! 

This panel is an older line by Cotton and Steel called Sleep Tight. I have been waiting for a boy to quilt it up!

The backing print is hard to see, but it is white with the alphabet letters scattered all over. I added orphan flying geese to give it some more interest. 

This will be Bennett's quilt when he comes to visit Grandma's house. 🥰

One more picture of the wee babe and now I am done! 

For now. 😉

I promise, this will not turn into a blog about my grandchildren, however, I had to show you Bennett's hair!! I am hoping it stays red! 

This panel is an older line by Cotton and Steel called Sleep Tight. I have been waiting for a boy to quilt it up!

The backing print is hard to see, but it is white with the alphabet letters scattered all over. I added orphan flying geese to give it some more interest. 

This will be Bennett's quilt when he comes to visit Grandma's house. 🥰

One more picture of the wee babe and now I am done! 

For now. 😉

We received an early Christmas present yesterday!! 

Bennett Russell, born 3 weeks early, weighing in at 5 1/2 pounds.

I had the privilege to be there when he entered the world and to hear his first cry. 

We are smitten...

We received an early Christmas present yesterday!! 

Bennett Russell, born 3 weeks early, weighing in at 5 1/2 pounds.

I had the privilege to be there when he entered the world and to hear his first cry. 

We are smitten...

I purchased Village by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co several years ago when there was a sew-along happening in the blogosphere. I didn't have time to join in, but I wanted to make one. Then other great quilt ideas jumped into the line and this one got pushed farther back. You know how it is...One of the bloggers I read (I can't remember who! *blush*) recently finished hers and it inspired me to get it out and get it done! 

These are the original charm packs of Bonnie and Camille I pulled from my stockpile for this project, however, when it came time to open them and mix them up, I couldn't make myself open the Scrumptious charm pack. It went back into my stash with the other two Scrumptious charm packs to be used for a project I haven't fully decided on yet. 

I replaced it with Little Snippets, instead. 

I like to chain piece. It makes piecing blocks so much quicker and you can save a lot of thread. I began with the roofs and then began construction (see what I did there? 😆) on the houses.  

Pretty little houses all in a row...

My BIG tip for this quilt. Pin or use Clover Wonder clips to stabilize the rows to each other before sewing them together. Even though I was very careful, some stretching happened and my rows were not going together well at all! I took them apart, measured to make sure they were all the same length, and they were, so I knew I had to pin or clip them together to keep them lined up correctly, which is what I should have done in the first place. I was being lazy and I paid for it. When I used the Clover clips, the rows went together perfectly with no issues. So pin, pin, pin or clip, clip, clip! 

It's a scrappy one!! Maybe a bit too scrappy? I would do some things differently next time. For example, for some of the houses, I would use the same fabric for the square above the door as the sides of the house to make it a little less scrappy. It is what it is. ☺️

 Now that Thanksgiving is over we will be decorating our home for Chrismas today and I need to get my Christmas quilt quilted and soon! 

Anyone going Black Friday shopping today??

I purchased Village by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co several years ago when there was a sew-along happening in the blogosphere. I didn't have time to join in, but I wanted to make one. Then other great quilt ideas jumped into the line and this one got pushed farther back. You know how it is...One of the bloggers I read (I can't remember who! *blush*) recently finished hers and it inspired me to get it out and get it done! 

These are the original charm packs of Bonnie and Camille I pulled from my stockpile for this project, however, when it came time to open them and mix them up, I couldn't make myself open the Scrumptious charm pack. It went back into my stash with the other two Scrumptious charm packs to be used for a project I haven't fully decided on yet. 

I replaced it with Little Snippets, instead. 

I like to chain piece. It makes piecing blocks so much quicker and you can save a lot of thread. I began with the roofs and then began construction (see what I did there? 😆) on the houses.  

Pretty little houses all in a row...

My BIG tip for this quilt. Pin or use Clover Wonder clips to stabilize the rows to each other before sewing them together. Even though I was very careful, some stretching happened and my rows were not going together well at all! I took them apart, measured to make sure they were all the same length, and they were, so I knew I had to pin or clip them together to keep them lined up correctly, which is what I should have done in the first place. I was being lazy and I paid for it. When I used the Clover clips, the rows went together perfectly with no issues. So pin, pin, pin or clip, clip, clip! 

It's a scrappy one!! Maybe a bit too scrappy? I would do some things differently next time. For example, for some of the houses, I would use the same fabric for the square above the door as the sides of the house to make it a little less scrappy. It is what it is. ☺️

 Now that Thanksgiving is over we will be decorating our home for Chrismas today and I need to get my Christmas quilt quilted and soon! 

Anyone going Black Friday shopping today??

Remember when I mentioned in my last post how I was going to reward myself with a fast and easy quilt out of Vintage Holiday?

And I was not going to overthink about it??

Here it is!!

Pattern:  No Point Stars by Allison @ Cluck Cluck Sew

I need to get it basted and quilted before Christmas!! 

Remember when I mentioned in my last post how I was going to reward myself with a fast and easy quilt out of Vintage Holiday?

And I was not going to overthink about it??

Here it is!!

Pattern:  No Point Stars by Allison @ Cluck Cluck Sew

I need to get it basted and quilted before Christmas!! 

Summer Moon was a block of the month I started last April. I was super excited to make this one! I dove right in and cut everything out. I got it all organized and wrote extensive notes on post-it notes in the book. I quickly sewed the first two months blocks and then...

I was over it...

I'm not the only one who does this, right?? 🤷‍♀️ 

 The setup for Summer Moon's block of the month program has you make 3 different blocks in 3 different sizes. So actually, there were 9 blocks to make in a month. This was part of the reason I stalled. I was overwhelmed to the point where I seriously considered scrapping it altogether. If I hadn't had all the pieces already cut out, I probably would have. Instead, I set it aside until I was ready to tackle it again. 

Last week, I decided to test the waters and make one block in all three sizes. It went together fairly painlessly and I gained my confidence back. I made a few more, and a few more after that. Several days later, they were all finished. Really! It took far less time to finish that I thought! I find it to be true about a lot of things, the actual job takes far less time than what I think it will. I overthink about far too many things and psych myself out. 

Now that the blocks were finished the next step was to get them all framed. The cleverness of how this quilt is assembled is what made me want to make it in the first place. And, now I was really loving this project again and excited to see them completed.

I don't even mind that I lost a few points on some of the stars. 

And here they all are!!

Until I am ready to baste and quilt it, I am leaving the blocks unassembled.  

As a reward, I am going to break open the Vintage Holiday fat quarter bundle 

to make a quick and easy Christmas quilt.🎄😄 No overthinking allowed!

Summer Moon was a block of the month I started last April. I was super excited to make this one! I dove right in and cut everything out. I got it all organized and wrote extensive notes on post-it notes in the book. I quickly sewed the first two months blocks and then...

I was over it...

I'm not the only one who does this, right?? 🤷‍♀️ 

 The setup for Summer Moon's block of the month program has you make 3 different blocks in 3 different sizes. So actually, there were 9 blocks to make in a month. This was part of the reason I stalled. I was overwhelmed to the point where I seriously considered scrapping it altogether. If I hadn't had all the pieces already cut out, I probably would have. Instead, I set it aside until I was ready to tackle it again. 

Last week, I decided to test the waters and make one block in all three sizes. It went together fairly painlessly and I gained my confidence back. I made a few more, and a few more after that. Several days later, they were all finished. Really! It took far less time to finish that I thought! I find it to be true about a lot of things, the actual job takes far less time than what I think it will. I overthink about far too many things and psych myself out. 

Now that the blocks were finished the next step was to get them all framed. The cleverness of how this quilt is assembled is what made me want to make it in the first place. And, now I was really loving this project again and excited to see them completed.

I don't even mind that I lost a few points on some of the stars. 

And here they all are!!

Until I am ready to baste and quilt it, I am leaving the blocks unassembled.  

As a reward, I am going to break open the Vintage Holiday fat quarter bundle 

to make a quick and easy Christmas quilt.🎄😄 No overthinking allowed!

 iMac is now retired...

For the past 10 years, my iMac has never given me any trouble. None. The only thing wrong with it is  it's outdated and hasn't been able to be updated since 2015. When I bought my MacBook Pro 4 years ago, it became my main machine, while my iMac was mainly used for streaming TV shows while I sewed. For the last couple of years that had become a frustrating endeavor. Nothing was clear and often the computer would freeze. Time for a change...

Now I have a Roku stick to stream Netflix and Amazon Prime on a Sony monitor. It has made watching TV a much better experience. 

I am not ready to fully let the iMac go. It can still do computer things, it just can't do heavy graphics, so it got moved to the upstairs office. 

And speaking of retirement...

I retired in July. It seemed silly to make a fuss when I had only been working for 5 years and part-time, at that, so I never mentioned it. That's the reason why I have been able to get so much sewing done lately. I miss the ladies and the creative energy from the shop, but I am so happy to be home again. My days are filled with keeping the home, sewing, and Bible studies with my church friends. 

I am content, happy...

and grateful.

 iMac is now retired...

For the past 10 years, my iMac has never given me any trouble. None. The only thing wrong with it is  it's outdated and hasn't been able to be updated since 2015. When I bought my MacBook Pro 4 years ago, it became my main machine, while my iMac was mainly used for streaming TV shows while I sewed. For the last couple of years that had become a frustrating endeavor. Nothing was clear and often the computer would freeze. Time for a change...

Now I have a Roku stick to stream Netflix and Amazon Prime on a Sony monitor. It has made watching TV a much better experience. 

I am not ready to fully let the iMac go. It can still do computer things, it just can't do heavy graphics, so it got moved to the upstairs office. 

And speaking of retirement...

I retired in July. It seemed silly to make a fuss when I had only been working for 5 years and part-time, at that, so I never mentioned it. That's the reason why I have been able to get so much sewing done lately. I miss the ladies and the creative energy from the shop, but I am so happy to be home again. My days are filled with keeping the home, sewing, and Bible studies with my church friends. 

I am content, happy...

and grateful.