Toe Tapping uplifting music from the past

 I was reading my email from Sentimental Stitches and she talked about a song that her parents had taught her and she taught her son, etc.  She wasn't the only one.  I also was taught that song and so I played the song and it brought back happy memories.  It's a song that has a good meaning but just listening to the music made me want to move my body and smile.  Soon I found myself singing along with it.  THEN I discovered that what I was taught was the song was really just the refrain and chorus.  Go figure.  Listen to it if you wish and read the words.  The music might be a bit campy for today but the message in the song is certainly appropriate and it fits my word for 2021.  It made me happy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCN893hzueQ&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=jamjar30002000

Remember yesterday when I showed block 7 of Simple Yet Elegant?  I knew I had enough leaves since I had laid it all out.  STILL it took me 20 minutes to find where ONE leaf went.  I took off the paper backing and was in the middle of fusing down the leaves when I discovered I couldn't find TWO!  What?!!  I found one fast since it was stuck to another one.  Static electricity will do that sometimes.  I thought the other one had done the same but nope.  Couldn't find it.  20 minutes later, when I had decided why am I wasting time looking for something that I could just do over in less than 1 minute.  Then I found it.  Static electricity had struck again but this time it had stuck the leaf to the lid of the plastic bin that I had kept the project in.  It wasn't until I had thrown out all the paper backs that I discovered the leaf was stuck by static electricity to the BACK of the lid.  So I quickly fused it down.  So this is what the first/top row will look like (minus the sashings).  

I still have to sew the leaves block as well as the bird block down but that will happen after I finish the test project and my fingers get back to normal.  Hand stitching makes them stiff as well as after doing a lot of it for a long time my finger tips get really sensitive so I need to take periodic breaks.  I guess that means it is time to do some piecing and not applique work.  :)

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day and let that little light shine and remember that you got this!  Let 2021 be YOUR year. 

Hugs!

Taking a time out - Quilter's style

 It seems that my odd sleeping pattern is back with me for a bit.  Even though I did everything I could think of two nights ago to get some sleep, it didn't work.  I took Ibuprofen, turned on soothing nature music, turned off the lights, etc.  Nothing worked and my knee continued to keep me awake.  Last night, however, was similar but different enough that I got some sleep.  I went to bed but was up again after 2 hours of sleep.  I mean I was wide awake and knew I would not get back to sleep for a little bit.  What would I do?

I decided that I should just get up.  I didn't want to work on my test pattern because I knew I didn't have enough fabric for it if I messed it up so I went to another UFO.  I looked for fabrics to make one of the blocks in the Simple but Elegant blocks.  I found it, traced the applique pieces and fused them to the fabric.  Then, at 2 a.m. I sat down and cut them all out.  By the time I was done I was ready to go back to bed for a bit.  Four hours later I woke up and wondered if I had cut enough leaves for the pattern.  I also knew that I wouldn't get any more sleep unless I could verify I had enough leaves cut out.  What to do?

I had to pull out my master layout for block 7 to make sure the leaves and fabric I had chosen were ok.  Normally I might not question myself but when you are doing this around 5 a.m. you start to question yourself.  I laid out everything and am pleased with how it will look.

As you can see, it is just a rough outline but it is enough to tell me that I had cut out enough leaves  and I liked the red I had chosen for the buds.  By the way, when I say cut out enough leaves, you can interpret that to mean I hadn't misplaced any between the time I had cut them out and the time I woke up again.  :)

Today or tomorrow I will have to get back into the sewing room to match up DMC floss for stitching as well as put away the fabrics I had pulled out looking for the green.  I am trying to keep the shelves somewhat organized ( tougher than you might think) and know that I can't be too lazy.  I did find a video that you might be interested in.  Quilt Addicts Anonymous and Stephanie talks about how she folds her quilts for display on her shelves.  She also says that we shouldn't forget to refold the quilts approximately once a year so that the crease lines don't become permanent.  If you are interested to see what she has to say, go to her YouTube page and watch her video.

https://www.quiltaddictsanonymous.com/2021/01/how-to-fold-quilts-to-fit-your-shelves-perfectly/ 

This is one way that I stay productive (or semi productive) when taking a time out from actual quilting or crafting.  I have time to give my fingers a little bit of a break from stitching but can still stay a little focused on projects.  At the very least, I get to see crafty eye candy which is always welcome.  With this little break from stitching, my mind as well as my fingers, are rejuvenated and by the end of the week I will be stitching on some UFOs, BOMs, and starting other BOMs.  

I hope everybody has a great day!

Hugs.

A Bit of History

 This is just a quick small post.  While I was working on the test pattern for The Quilt Pattern Magazine, I was listening to YouTube  and I wondered if anybody else had seen it or would like to see it so I am putting the link to it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VuqN1xEfeM&ab_channel=MaryFons

That's it for now.  My hands are bothering me since I have been doing a lot of stitching on the test pattern so it is Ibuprofen time and bedtime.  Everybody have a good night and I'll post again telling you which of the 2021 BOMs I am working on next.

A New Wall Hanging Idea

 I was putting away some of my tops that I had finished, aka flimsies, when a new idea popped into my mind.  Don't you hate it when you have an idea that wakes you up in the middle of the night, or day, and stays in your mind until you write it down.  This is that attempt.  Of course it is not MY fault.  Oh no!  I'm blaming that mischievous Declan.  I think he snuck out in the middle of the night and visited some of his dragon friends.  I know that the Jaelyn clan is having a big gathering soon.

I'll introduce you to each of their relatives as they arrive.  I can't wait to see them because each have their own name and personalities.  I'm sure that most of you know some of those names.  Names like Mushu (from Mulan), Draco from Dragonheart, Smaug,  St. George and the Dragon, the lollipop dragon from Lollipop Dragon:  The Magic Lollipop Adventure, Elliot from Pete's Dragon, and of course the most famous of all (or at least the most well known)...Puff the Magic Dragon.

Also, I'm not sure that everybody knows that there are different markings on dragons.  Most of the time people just think in colors like green, blue, silver, gold, black, etc.  I have it on good faith that Jaelyn's family has lots of different markings.  Some look like animal prints and some more traditional.  You'll see.

Now that I have them out of my head, let me show you what else I've worked on.  I might have shown some of them before but I'll repeat just to make sure.

These first two photos were kits from Jordan Fabrics.  The light colored one I like but think I would like it better if it had another dark color fabric instead of the ornament fabric.  Don't get me wrong, I like the ornament fabric but I don't think it is enough contrast to the other fabric.

This kit has a nicely defined dark and light fabric and I think it is much better.

Here is my Covid-ville 2020 wall hanging.  You might need to click on it a bit to see the outer border is fabric of small pebbles.  It will go on hold now until I figure out what I want the back and binding to be.  Once again, it might go into the Christmas in July category. 

This last picture is not a quilt but it IS craft related.  My friend, Deb Johnson from Our Time to Quilt IO group, made this ornament.  I think she is so talented to be able to do it and has a sense of humor since she put a Covid mask on it.  His name is Hank (or Henry) and he'll hang out with George my guardian dragon.  Hank and George are named after my twin uncles who were hilarious and to this day I'm not sure who was the instigator for trouble making...Hank, George, or my mother!

Well that is it for now.  Time to get back to working on my blocks for my test pattern.  Obviously I can't share pix yet with you for that but I believe it is scheduled to be printed in May and then I can show you.

BOM sites

 <after getting Declan out of my chair>

Declan is sneaky isn't he.  Don't worry, he's too cute to get in to much trouble but if he takes a bite out of my new electric throw he will be in MAJOR trouble.  Guess that means I will have to keep him supplied with hot chocolate, mint, and candy.

I saw a list of BOMs in my NewCyberQuilters group that Karin had posted but I'm having trouble posting it here.  She gave me permission to share it so I think the only way I can do that, due to my limited computer skills, is to just share the links.  If they don't work, my apologizes.  There should be enough information that you can cut and paste the website and go there that way.

https://ajpadilla.com/

https://lisabongean.com/2020/08/18/new-for-2021-stitch-along-read-all-about-itk/

https://kimlapacek.com/2020/12/an-old-school-block-of-the-month-2021.html

http://www.fandominstitches.com/

https://www.buttermilkbasin.com/

http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2020/10/flora-delanica-1-french-rose.html

https://val-laird.blogspot.com/

https://www.piecingthepastquilts.com/grandmas-hearth-signup

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2020/12/2021-pieced-bom-hands-all-around.html

https://www.ilovetomakequilts.com/home-is-quilt-along.html

https://www.tuning-my-heart.com/blog/introducing-the-2021-BOM

https://patchworkinspirations.fr/?p=4825

https://www.patchworkgilde.de/aktivitaeten/sew-along-2021-0

https://www.stephjacobsondesigns.com/p/2021-modern-hst-bom.html

https://pumpkinpatchbc.com/blog/

https://patternsbyjen.blogspot.com/2020/12/announcing-2021-monthly-color-challenge.html

http://www.pinetreequiltersguildofmuskoka.com/block-of-the-month/

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/quilt-along-calendar

https://jacquelynnesteves.com/my-hometown-bom/?ck_subscriber_id=1047614845

https://nancyzieman.com/blog/

http://www.elefantz.com/p/posies-block-of-month-2021.html

https://canadianquilter.com/news/new-row-of-the-month-quilt-along/

https://countrylanequilts.com/mystery-quilt.html

https://scrapquiltandstitch.blogspot.com/

https://suzyssitcom.com/2020/08/join-the-seagull-paradise-sew-along.html

https://blog.fatquartershop.com/2021-serendipity-quilt-along/

https://abyquilts.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/2021-bom-preview/

https://www.calicopatch.net/sew-much-joy-stitch-a-long-bock-of-the-month-snowman-quilt.htm

https://snugglesquilts.com/block-of-the-month/

https://kathrynkerr.com/

https://www.createwithclaudia.com/2020/11/stars-of-the-prairie-mystery-quilt/

https://suzyssitcom.com/

http://www.limeleaves.biz/

https://fortheloveofgeese.com/tree-of-life-qal-free-2/

http://www.mississaugaquiltersguild.ca/block-of-the-month.html

https://www.hollyhillquiltdesigns.com/

https://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/

https://blog.fatquartershop.com/announcing-the-best-friends-quilt-along/

https://www.justletmequilt.com/

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/quilt-along-calendar

https://www.bitsandpiecesbyjoan.com/

https://marcusmentions.com/2020/12/holiday-greetings-to-all/#.X-roGBYxlPY

https://www.calicopatch.net/potted-petals-mystery-stitch-a-long-wool-applique.htm

http://everydaystitches.com/?p=1444&fbclid=IwAR3DlYP8VvSFGayX3eilQDU8KKQx75HoEqPGCyDci3FJTlydEP1zpGZ3vjk

https://www.makingscrappyquilts.com/whats-new/

https://lifeandpeacequiltco.mailchimpsites.com/square-peg-qal-2021

https://bumbleberrystitches.com/2020/01/20/winter-blues-blog-hop/

https://quilterstrek.com/?page_id=9829

https://saidwithlove.com.au/sew-alongs/boho-heart-quilt-along/

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/log-cabin-love

I hope that this list helps and, once again, my apologies for not being computer savvy enough to get it in a better format, etc.

Happy Stitching!

This episode is brought to you by ME! Declan!

 Oops.  Must not speak so loudly in case Ms. Elfkins figures out that I'm at her computer.  I only mean to help her since she is so busy with trying to organize her life for 2021.  I don't know how you humans do it.  Your lives get so complicated at times.  Take us Reindeer for instance.  We eat and poop and eat some more.  Oh yeah, and go visit EVERYBODY once a year.  Well we do a couple of other things like go meet our paparazzi admirers a couple of times a year.  It's tough but no where near as complicated as Humans.  So perhaps you should try to take it a bit easier in 2021.  What?  Who am I?  Oh.  Elfkins forgot to post my picture with the rest.  Here I am.

 I'm the scout.  I try to hide but I have to come out and speak up sometimes.  Do you know what Elfkins has been doing?  She's been being busy and not slowing down for retirement.  I'll have to talk to her about that.  Oh yes, she gets to stitch all day if she wants to.  That takes some planning to have it all set up.

Last night she stitched on her test pattern, stitched on some leaves for her Simple But Elegant blocks, pulled out more blocks to work on today and contemplated on whether or not she will do binding today.  That wasn't all.  She also took 100 stitches in her mini owl HAED cross stitch and started to stitch on her Midieval Shelf HAED.  She didn't get her 100 stitches in but it's a start.  I did approve, however, of her taking a nap.  I almost swiped her overstuffed pillow she made and her electric throw myself.  Mmmmm.  She was so snuggled in on the love seat and all warm under that throw.  Just thinking of it is making me want to take my nap now also.

I will leave you all now since she probably has enough caffeine in her to notice me typing this.  Let's face it, hooves aren't the quietest except on snow.  Have a good 2021 everybody and remember Shhhhh.  Don't tell her I am posting this.  She'll find out eventually anyway.  Now for me to snuggle down with hot chocolate and her electric throw.

New Years Eve

 It's finally here.  The last day of 2020!  Actually it is much like any other day but we'll give it a shout out of it's own.  Or perhaps I'll wait until tomorrow when 2021 actually starts.

It's a cold day here.  Feels in the low 30s and rainy.  At least I don't have to go out and can stay inside.  Today is also the day I can show you one of the test patterns that I did.  It's called Loves Times Three.  It's small but I did it in all pinks.  

Wait.  The Reindeer Clan wanted to say good bye since they are going to hibernate until maybe July.  So for one final appearance we have:

Chad:

Fritz:

Hiram:

and Suzie:

Have a great and safe New Years everybody!!!!!!

Winding down 2020

 Just a short post to ask "Are you glad 2020 is coming to a close"?  I have mixed feelings on it but overall it hasn't been too bad.  Yes I know COVID curtailed a lot of my plans but overall I still think I came out ahead.

I didn't think I did a lot but over all I did.  I retired!  Number one on my list.  That, of course, enabled me to do more crafting.  So what else did I do?  I moved!  Some thought this was unexpected but for YEARS I had been saying that I would move after all of my immediate family passed away.  That happened so when I retired I also moved to Arkansas!  BEST move EVER.  I missed my friends in Illinois but we do keep in touch via social media and I kept my same phone number and email so it's not like they don't know how to keep in touch with me.

I also managed to meet my weight loss goal.  I actually lost a little more weight last week so now I am hovering between 179 and 181.  Considering that I weighed over 300 less than a year ago I am proud of my accomplishment.  The only problem with the weight loss is the "nothing fits any more".  It's a good thing I don't go out a lot, especially with COVID now, so I don't have to worry about it.

I have managed to get some UFO's done.  Those are craft projects that were started but not finished.  I am so enjoying having time to craft.  Being at home is NOT a problem.  I change out my projects and keep some out so I remember to work on them.  Today I bought a flannel sheet and put it up on the wall for a design wall.  This will be one way for me to remember to work on certain projects.  The design wall isn't perfect and I will be working on THAT in 2021 also.    So to inspire me is a UFO that I have been working on for years.  LeFleur!

Before that I had my house blocks for Corona-ville up.

That's it for now.  I will post tomorrow with some things I want to do in 2021.  I might even include a LONG list of BOMs for 2021.  See you on New Years Eve!

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas everybody!  I haven't done any stitching or crafting for the last couple of days so I could enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  My friend Dan came over, and will be here today also, to share a meal with me.  

I gave Dan his pillow and he gave it a big hug so I do believe that he likes it.  That, of course, put a big smile on my face.  

The menu was a simple one but I think it turned out great.  Not many leftovers which is good since we will have more today.  

Only a little bit of the ham was left over as well as a little bit of corn bread with honey butter.  The cornbread will come out today.

Of course dessert time was candy and cookie time.  Santa had some also (with milk) so now it will be leftovers today.

My menu today, Christmas Day, will be Rock Cornish Hens.  I'll roast potatoes, carrots, and onions with them when I bake the hens.  I will also bring out what was left of the corn bread and serve it again today with honey butter.

That's about it for now.  I'm getting sleepy again so that is my que to stop writing.  Have a great and safe holiday.

Four Days and Counting

 I did some more work on some projects and made some decisions.  Will they be Christmas presents?  A couple of them will be but they won't be mailed until after Christmas.  Still I'm happy to have made progress on them

I have finally decided on which layout for the two log cabins that I did.  One is in a lighter colorway and I thought I'd like it a bunch more than I do.  These were kits from Jordan Fabrics and the pattern suggestions did not include a border but I think I want a border on them.

First up is the lighter colored fabric log cabin.

Because there isn't a clear or well defined darker portion of the log cabin, in my opinion, to stand out more, I'm going to use the above layout and keep it more traditional.  Any suggestions on border color and how many borders?

This next one is better.  It has a more distinct darker color on the outer row so I am going to chose this layout for it.

Once again the pattern was a kit from Jordan Fabrics and no border was mentioned.  I will put a border on this too but not sure yet what colors.

I did finish the reindeer Merry Christmas stitching.  It is all stitched down and now I have a hard decision to make.

Do I make it into a wall hanging or do I make it into a long pillow for the couch or some place else?  I could also make it into a table runner.  Decisions...decisions...decisions.  What do you think?  I probably won't finish it until sometime in 2021 but it is a good start.  Do you remember the reindeer names?  From Right to Left....

Chad

Suzie

Declan

Hiram

and Fritz.

You didn't meet Fritz before.  He is somewhat shy around social media but get him going at the Christmas Party!   Watch out!.  Rumor has it that he has hidden cameras in his antlers and that he uses it to his advantage.  Careful how much egg nog you have or more importantly, keep Fritz away from the egg nog.  Unless you want to see him dance Lord of the Rings.  He's getting better at it.  He makes it for a full 5 minutes before his legs get all tangled up.

The other progress I have to share with you is an idea for my friend Janine.  When Janine had some health issues and had to go into a nursing home for rehab, her family got rid of 99% of all the quilted stuff I had given her.  She asked me if I could make her something else.  Janine is a cat fanatic.  She can't have her cats any more and the family took them to a shelter also.  Soooo, I found these funky cats and thought of Janine.  I am putting one on a pillow and then I'll send down the pillows to her.  If they make it to her (with COVID I'm not sure) then I will send more.  

These are the first two.  I almost have them ready to put together.  I will mail them to her in January.  This first one is stitched down already so I will probably work on it a bit tomorrow to make it a pillow.

This second one will be stitched down by the weekend.  Janine used to crochet so I thought the cat playing with the yarn would appeal to her.

I have two more designs that I picked out that I could make more pillows out of.  These will be small enough she could put them on her bed if she wants or even in her wheel chair to lean against, etc.  What do you think?

That's it for tonight.  It is 11 p.m. (Central) so I am going to try and turn off my bran and get some sleep.  Have a great day and be safe.

Hugs to all.

Five days and Counting

Five days until Christmas and counting has begun.  You know about the counting don't you?  That's when you look at what you wanted to get done by Christmas and then look at what you GOT done and THEN look at what you have left.  Don't despair.   There is still time to get some things done  Perhaps you need to look at what you wanted to get done and change what it looks like.  Did you  need ALL those sections to that quilt?  Could you cut some out and it would still look great.  Perhaps you don't need to do a quilt but perhaps a pillow that they can cuddle with?  

That was one of my changes.  I need to do a quilt for a friend but it's not going to happen.  Actually it hasn't happened for about 10 years now so in 2021 I will try to change how I envisioned it before and see what can be done.  Perhaps a quilt will not be what it will end up as for so many things have changed in those 10 years.

I did, however, get one pillow done which I thought was cute.  This will be a present given out on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  Then I'll make one for myself because I think it is cute and it sure did feel good on my back when I sat in the rocking chair.  LOL.

I already have some projects that I started at the last minute which will carry me through the end of December.  I have to so much done on a project before it lets me put it aside until later.  I think by February I should be able to put the holiday projects away until July.  Why July?  You've heard of Christmas in July before right?  That's my reasoning anyway.  Don't worry though.  I will still be crafting.  

I had mentioned before that I wanted to pick up on my cross stitch again in 2021.  That required me to get a bit organized and now I am ALMOST done with that.  This is my stash of DMC floss.  You might think it is a lot, and you'd be right, but it is not all that I have.  As I mentioned, this is my stash.  I have projects that are kitted up waiting for me to work on them.  Most of them are from Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) and average around 60 colors in each one.  I did not count in those colors.  :)

This first picture is what I have organized so far.

This second picture shows what else I have to file away into my stash.  Sounds like a plan for Christmas Day or New Years Eve, etc.

Have you guessed how much floss I have?  What you see here is 934 skeins of floss.   I would estimate that I have about another 240 skins that are kitted up in projects.  You might think that is enough, but I know from experience that I will find a new project that I will want to do and when I kit it up there will be MORE floss that I will need.  LOL.  Such is the life of a crafter.

If I don't get a chance to post again before Christmas, I hope you all have a merry and safe holiday.  It doesn't matter if you celebrate it or not.  I will always wish you a great and safe day.  Live it well for you never know when it will be your last.