HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE

 

 

 I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy, and is looking forward to a new adventure in 2021!   DH and I are having a quiet night at home.We rarely celebrated the new years, as he worked shift-work for our first few years of marriage, and we chose to have Christmas to spend with family, as most of his fellow workers wanted to celebrate the new year in style.

 

I managed to complete a final quilt before the end of the year.  I used a 3 yard quilt pattern called "Harmony" from the "Easy Does It" book by Fabric Cafe.  I found 2 cute farm fabrics, one with pigs and one with chickens, and added a bright orange fabric.

 

This will find a home in the new year, adding to the donation quilts from our guild.
  

My final stash report is finished, and I am in the black, but my New Year's resolution is to try to use more of my stash in 2021!

 

 FINAL STASH REPORT 2020

Fabric used this week  17.625 yard
Fabric used to date   119.875
Fabric added this week  0 yards
Fabric added year to date  78 yards

Net fabric used 2020   41.875 yards!

HAPPY BOXING DAY

 We had a wonderful Christmas day.  We started by spending 2+ hours on Skype, watching the excitement of the morning at our younger son's home.  Our grandson, who will be 6 next month was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.  He read all the tags on the gifts, and then helped everyone unwrap them!  He loved everything, from the smallest item to the clothing.  His little sister, who turned 2 in September, finally figured out how to unwrap her gifts.  She has been playing with baby dolls, both at home and at daycare, so we gave her a doll crib, with an attached highchair on one end.  I made a foam mattress for it, covered in flannel, and crocheted a blanket for her doll.  She was a busy girl, tucking the baby in, singing a song, then waking her up and feeding her in the high chair.  Apparently, when it was time for her to go to bed, she had to have the doll crib moved into her room before she would go to sleep!

We spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies, and talking to friends and family.  We miss seeing our southern friends, but we are happy they are keeping safe and healthy.

I made roast beef, with roasted potatoes, brussel sprouts and a small version of my turnip (rutabaga) and apple casserole.  It was a lazy day.

We had a green Christmas, as we have had rain for a few days, but during the night, the temperature dropped and we have a lovely white covering of snow everywhere this morning!

I started another quilt, using a 3 yard quilt pattern.  I have the blocks completed, and hope to get the top sewn together today.  

DH decided that today was a good day to defrost our small chest freezer, so we took the time to make a good inventory of all the items as we returned them.  They are also a bit more organized, so it should be easier to find things, I hope!

Pictures to follow later.......

TRYING TO COMPLETE ONE MORE......

 I have been stitching Easy Breezy scrappy blocks, following Bonnie Hunter's annual scrap challenge block for 2020-21.

These are a few leftover blocks, so I guess I'll make some more!  I'm still not seeing much of a reduction in my 2 inch leftover strip bin!

I have been doing some simple free-motion quilting.  I started by stitching a curve in each rectangular piece, using white thread.  Then I stitched leaf shapes in the light and dark rows of squares, using two different variegated threads, with the same thread in all the light squares, and the second colour in all the dark ones.  Both threads were from Superior Threads, one Rainbow, and the other was Fantastico, both shiny trilobal poly thread!

This is one of the sets of four blocks, with the dark squares forming an X, and the light squares forming a square.

The first narrow light green border was quilted with a leaf motif, using Superior Thread Twist thread in a light green and light neutral twist.  I like the way it adds a little sparkle to the motif.

 I have the binding prepared, so as soon as I figure out how I'd like to quilt the final border, I'll get it added, so I can have some evening TV stitching.

I was busy in the kitchen yesterday.  I made a huge pop of Pasta Fagioli soup, and DH baked biscuits to go with it for dinner.  I have 5 containers of soup, chilling in the refrigerator, to be stored in the freezer later today.  I had made a large batch of pastry, as I had promised a pan of "Marzipan Bars", using DH's grandmother's recipe, and it starts with a layer of pastry in an 8 inch pan.  Since I had the pastry ready to roll out, DH found a jar or mincemeat, and I made some mini tarts as well.  Since it will only be 2 for the holidays, I thought that was enough, as we are getting less excercise as the cold weather sets in.  We have had a bit of snow, but it has melted after each dusting, and we had rain most of yesterday.  But we are guaranteed snow in the near future.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy Christmas and looking forward to being vaccinated in the new year!

HUNTING FOR CHRISTMAS

 For several years, we have spent Christmas in Florida.  We have time to get together with friends, go carolling, make some extra Christmas goodies for some of our older neighbours etc.  Of course, most of my quilts and decorations are there.

This is our first year for a long time, we are spending Christmas in Canada.  We are getting re-aquainted with snow, but have only had a bit so far.  We had planned on spending the holidays with our son and his family, but due to rising Covid 19 numbers, we have been asked to stay home, which we totally agree to do!

Yesterday, I went searching the top shelf of my linen closet, and I found 2 Christmas quilts that I had forgotten.  Looking through my files, I discovered that they were made in 1993 and 1994.

The wreath was made from a pattern by Eleanor Burns, and was one of the first patterns that I tried!  The first two were made as gifts for family members, and this one was mine to keep!

It is currently hanging over our sofa in the living room.

I'm not sure what pattern I used to make the second wreath quilt.  Maybe someone will remember the maker.  It is hanging in our hall, making the main floor of our small house look really festive.

I wasn't as good at recording the information about the quilts I have made when I was first quilting.  I was always anxious to get to the next project.  At least I remembered to take pictures! 

I have a file on my computer for each year, and then number the projects as I complete them each year.  I have my final quilt for the year, (I think), in my sewing machine and have just begun the machine quilting!  The blocks were made using the "Easy Breezy" block designed by Bonnie Hunter for the annual leader and ender challenge.

Now I should hunt through my recipes, and find a holiday treat or two to make for just the two of us!

Yes, I'm Still Quilting

 I have been quilting from time to time, even though I have become a bad blogger!

My latest finish is called "Covid Queen", and was a 4 part mystery project from my quilt guild, Limestone Quilters Guild in Kingston ON.

I was given a package of fat quarter, and used almost the whole pack to make the quilt and backing.  The colours are a bit off, as we were unable to photograph the quilt outdoors.  The collection was various dark browns, barn red colours, some olive green, and some neutrals.  It looks much better in person, and someday I may be able to do a shoot outside in natural light!
 

I also just finished machine quilting 4 baby quilts that were prepared by members of our "Community Quilts Group".  Everyone enjoys all the parts of quilting, except the machine quilting, and hand stitching the bindings.  I am an exception, as I enjoy all aspects.  For me it was 4 1/2 days of stitching at my machine, and hand sewing in the evenings while I watch TV with DH (my "dear husband").

He has missed entertaining at local nursing homes and senior residences, as Covid 19 has limited the visitors, and also the number of residents that can gather at a time.  We are hoping that he can return to this favourite activity next year sometime, after vaccinations are completed, and life returns to the "new normal".

 My guild has been having Zoom meetings, and we have been enjoying this new way of getting together, with interesting presenters from all over North America.  We also had a Zoom sew-day, with a good turn-out of members.   We were asked to "mute" when our machines were running, but we had fun sharing all the  projects, chatting, asking for helpful opinions, and talking about our lives.  We hope to have an online workshop or two in the new year.  We have our next quilt show planned in 2022, so we can share items that can be made for the boutique.

STASH REPORT 2020

Fabric used year to date  119.875 yards

Fabric added year to date  60.375 yards

Net used   59.5 yards

We have decided to spend Christmas at home, as our province has asked us to stay in our own households.  We had hoped to go to our son's  home in Kitchener, but this is a safer option for all of us.  Our grandkids are used to seeing us using Skype, and they have done this each Christmas since they were born.  We have "dinner" with them every Wednesday, and another visit on Sunday morning.  Hopefully next winter we can all return to our normal holiday activities.

I'll try to get back in the blogging groove again......