Showing posts with label "I Spy Jar" quilt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label "I Spy Jar" quilt. Show all posts

Thursday, January 5, 2017

2016 (Quilt) Year in Review...

Quote for the Day:
"Make this year so amazing that last year gets jealous!"
~author unknown


Thought I'd do a "year in review" about the quilts I've made/finished in 2016...mainly to refresh my own memory!  I know that I should have done this post before the 5th of January...but...well...you know...whatever...

It looks like my first completion was the quilt I made for my sister, Bev..."Cottage Blossoms"


My sister is so adorable that I'm going to post two pictures of her quilt so you can see her with it, too!  ðŸ˜Š


The second completion was the "Ugly Quilt"...this was a quilt top that was in a bag of quilt tops that was given to me by a friend...I think they had been made by her mom who had passed away.  Anyway, this one had soooooooooooooo many issues (stains, not laying flat, wide seam allowances, raveling fabric, etc., etc., etc.) that I was going to toss it...actually had it hovering over the trash can...when I decided to sandwich it and use it for "practice" while I took online free-motion quilting classes.  It is now a good utility quilt...something to take to the park, game, camping, etc.  It is warm and has been quilted to within an inch of its life...so feel free to abuse it!  LOL


Completion #3...Alex's 3 year birthday quilt..." 'I Spy'/Bug Jar Quilt"...


#4...I finished hand-quilting the "Cottage Rose Baskets" quilt....my first time doing big-stitch quilting...


Probably the one I am most proud of because not only did I design it using EQ7, it was the one that I was most adventurous with and most satisfied with when it came to the free-motion quilting... Completion #5:  "Christmas Stars" made for my son and daughter-in-law...


And last, but not least was Completion #6...."Oh Christmas Tree".  This quilt was actually started about 3 years ago, but I didn't work on the hand-quilting very often, so it was languishing on the UFO list.  I decided to pop it into my hand-quilting frame and had it done in no time... just in time to be hung on the wall.  It was our one and only Christmas tree this year...


This year I have pieced quilt blocks for other projects that I am currently working on, made quilt blocks for our WV Quilt of Valor group, and even ALMOST completed a quilt (I finished up the second half of the binding on January 1st...so unfortunately, it doesn't "count" for 2017!)...but the six listed here are the COMPLETIONS for 2016.

Loretta

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Snowmageddan 2016...



If you live in the United States or Canada, you no doubt have heard about "Jonas", the winter storm that is currently wreaking havoc on the eastern part of the USA.  Where we live in West Virginia was directly in the path of the storm from about 11 AM on Friday till about 5 PM Saturday.

We had plenty of warning about the storm, so I did our normal weekend grocery shopping on Thursday.  The stores were a NIGHTMARE, but I persevered and made it through!  (Trust me, you do NOT want to be in a grocery store in the 24 hours before a storm is predicted!)  Businesses and offices started announcing on Thursday that they would be closed by noon on Friday.  The road crews were on alert and mobilized.  West Virginia and the eastern seaboard were READY!  

Once Andy got home from work on Friday, I knew that neither of us would be going anywhere for a few days.  We were both off of work for the weekend, so there was nothing to do but hunker down and relax and enjoy the forced R & R.  

My plan for the weekend was to spend the majority of it in my sewing room.  I spent Friday cutting out the pieces for a new quilt project...a "jar" quilt made from novelty fabrics...a kind of "I Spy" quilt, but incorporating the jar theme into it.  

Here are all my pieces cut and stacked...


and today I started piecing the quilt on my 1957 Singer Featherweight...


Here's one of the blocks completed...they measure 6.5" x 8.5" unfinished...



This afternoon I ventured outside to take some pictures as the storm was winding down.

This measurement was taken on the sidewalk in front of our house...

 

A view of our property...garage, carport, and house...


Another view of our house...the hump on the right side of this picture is actually one of our vehicles completely covered with snow! 


This was the view from our carport this afternoon as Andy shoveled our driveway...


The view of our street to the north of our house...


...and to the south...


If you were in the path of this storm, I hope that you and your family are all safe!

Loretta