Word of the Year - 2022

 Hello Friends

If you have been reading this for a while, you know that I make a word for the year.  I started this in 2017 as my father was going through some health issues.  My first word was Pause. I was making some health decisions for him and if I paused to think about all of the information, I made better decisions.

Then in 2018 Dad was put on hospice the previous December.  We knew his time was short with us.  I tried to be Mindful of everything I said and did.  I wanted to remember all of our talks. He passed in Aug of 2018.

In 2019 my son graduated from college and I wanted to take him on a trip.  We went to England with my sister.  It was a year of Adventure as I also went to Las Vegas to celebrate a friends 60th birthday.

Then Covid hit March of 2020.  It was also a big year for me as I turned 50. I was hoping it would be a year to Shine.  To meet up with old friends or even make new friends.  Not knowing the pandemic would put a wrench in that.

In 2021, it was a year to find Joy.  We had been on lock down for over a year and there was not a light at the end of the tunnel yet.  I wanted to find some joy in the little things we could do for each other. I tried to join some of the online groups through my guild.  We made a shared block.  It was fun and a good way to think of others and their likes.  I still need to finish my block.  Might turn it into a pillow.

That brings us to this year.  I would like to find the Happy in this year.  Things are opening up, people are gathering (cautiously) again.  It's a good time to find what makes me happy.  Sewing quilts is really close to the top of the list.  With spending time with my family as number one.

If you had a word for the year, what would it be?

Thanks for reading!

Blessings

Amy

Progress

 Hello Friends

Hope you are having a productive year so far.  And if not, that is okay too!  I have weeks where I don't do anything crafty.  And some weeks, that is all I do.  Hoping to find a good balance here soon.  The weather has been cold but not snowy.  We have actually had a few warm days.  If you count 40°F warm. On sunny days, you will usually find me in my sewing room.  That is a messy room I am hoping to get a handle on in the next few weeks.  It's getting hard to find things so it's time to clean and organize.  

I have been working on my Grassy Creek Mystery quilt.  It's a Bonnie K Hunter quilt from last year.  I started it in January after she released what it would look like.  I loved the colors so I thought I would try it.  I had finished the 25 blocks by March and there it sat.  I had to work on the sashing and that is paper pieced.  I was running low on gray fabric so needed to order more.  Then I would get busy with something or nothing else. I was able to finish most of the top.  I am working on the borders but again, needed to order a little more fabric. Here is one of the blocks:

These colors will look great in my bedroom.  The walls are gray so the pop of color will be nice.

Here is the top without the borders.  I have added the skinny green border but I am working on the pieced border now.

I am hoping to have this finished and ready to buy backing fabric by the end of the month. When this top is done I am also hoping to finish this top:

This is the Snowflake quilt by Modern Handcraft.  I have been working on this for a long time and hope to have it done this month to get backing for it also.  My quilter will be busy for me this Spring.

I also need to decide if I am putting borders on my On Ringo Lake quilt.

This was the 2017-2018 winter mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter. Just not sure if I should border it. I might just get backing and send it to my quilter so it can be a finish.

When I need a break from these quilts, I have been working on cutting down my scraps into useable sizes.  I have too much fabric and it's time to start using it!

Well, I think I am doing pretty good on my goal list.  Of course I am like a lot of people and start off the year strong and then sizzle out.  I am hoping to keep my momentum and finish all of my starts.  I am excited to start something new but need these off of the list first.

How do you keep your momentum?  Any tricks or tips are appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings

Amy

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 Hello Friends

Hope you are all ready for the holidays!  I am waiting on a few packages yet.  I want to make the puppies all tie blankets.  Need to get them cut out tonight.  They need to be finished by Friday.  We celebrate our Christmas on Christmas Eve.  I will be off from Friday until Tuesday.  It will be nice to have that time off.  I usually deep clean and put my decorations away.  Maybe I will start tackling the scrap piles.

Did you do any sewing for Christmas gifts?  I actually did!  I made a few zipper bags for some friends.  It felt good to sew again!

I took my time.  They were more work than I thought they would be but it was good work.  Felt so good to be back at the sewing machine.  I hope this is what I needed to jump start my motivation.  I have lots of fabric that needs to be cut into useable sizes.  That is my winter project.

And just for fun.  I had the girls a few weeks ago.  Here they are all cuddled together.  They really are the best of friends.

That is all I have for you this year.  I want to thank you all for reading my blog and commenting.  It really means a lot to me!  Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and whatever else you celebrate.  Hope you can enjoy the magic of the season.

Here's hoping for a safe and wonderful 2022!

Blessings!

Amy

Goals for 2022

 Hello Friends

Sorry it has been so long since I posted something.  I have been busy with other projects around the house and not sewing as much as I would like to.  Hopefully that will change after the holidays.

I did repaint the dining room.  It really feels more homey now.  Will hopefully put in wood laminate flooring this Spring.  Pushed it out a season so we could have carpeting one more year for Christmas.

Mika is doing well.  She has grown so fast and is over 56# already. She is so long!  Roxy and her are the best of friends.  The only makes I am doing for Christmas this year are blankets for the dogs.  I have made them all tie blankets in the past and it's time for new ones.  Mika has chewed hers already.  Thankfully she is out of the chewing stage.

My mom and sister and I get together to bake for the holidays every year.  This year we made a few things ahead of time so we weren't rushed with what was left to make.  Mom had spent a week in the hospital in early November.  She is fine, just a dialysis water retention issue.  She is still getting her strength back.  She made Santa face cookies and Snickerdoodles. I made Can't leave 'em alone bars, Kix cereal treats and Cornflake treats.

I also made vanilla flavored and almond flavored Spritz cookies.  I love to make Spritz.  I have a battery operated press that takes no time at all.

Do you have any family traditions?  I would love to hear about them.

I did get my trees up and decorated.  Still cleaning that up but hope to fully finish this week.  The grand puppies are coming to stay over on Friday through the weekend so their parents can go to a concert.  I can't wait!

I am working on my word of the year for 2022.  No ideas yet but I am sure something will come.  I am also working on my goal list for next year.  Right now it looks like this:

1. Finish On Ringo Lake- needs backing and quilting
2. Finish Grassy Creek-needs more piecing
3. Finish Unity- needs to be taken apart and remeasured
4. Make 3 scrappy quilts for gift closet
5. Make the Scandinavian flags quilts-there are 5 just need to decide on size
6. Finish all little projects that were started or need fixing-there a quite a few

I think those are some goals I can really do.  I hope!  Do you have any goals?  Sewing or other?  I have a list of house update goals also:

1. Flooring in dining room and living room
2. Paint the kitchen
3. Paint the kitchen cupboards
4. Asphalt the driveway

These are manageable for me and just my income.  There are other things I would like to do but they may have to wait.  These 4 are top priority right now.

That is all I have for you today.  I may check in towards the end of the year if time allows.  If not, I hope you enjoy your holidays. Thank you for reading!

Blessings

Amy

Moment of Zen - a quilt finish

 Hello Friends

I am sharing my latest finish with you today.  I have been working on this quilt for a while now.  I read the blog Jo's Country Junction daily.  She offers recipes, patterns and an inside to living in Iowa.  I am only a few hours away from her and hope to meet her someday.  I am inspired by her blog everyday. This quilt is called Moment of Zen.  Jo writes about it on her blog.  It was published in American Patchwork and Quilting.  Here is my version:

This is before the quilting.  I used the same fabric line that Jo did.  It's called Cider by Moda and I bought it at Fat Quarter Shop.  They don't have much of the fabric line left but check it out.  I wish I would have bought 2 bundles.  I just love this line!  If you notice, some of the fabric is in the Grunge line.  That is another favorite.  I used the cream Grunge for the backing and binding.  I really need to work on taking better pictures.

Here it is finished:

I had it quilted by a new to me quilter named Sarah.  She runs a shop about 15 minutes away from me.  I love the quilting and hope to be using her services again.  I made this for my friend Leah for her wedding.  She loved it!  Hope you do too!

I have not been making much else.  I do have about 3 that need finishing.  I would like to get at least one of them done before starting anything new.  I really don't like having UFOs around.  How many is too many for you?  Do you complete a quilt one at a time or do you have multiples going at once?  I do get bored sometimes and start new things.  I think I really enjoy cutting the quilt out and binding the finished quilt.  The sewing it all together, not so much.  Is that weird?  I think it is. :)

Maybe I can change that this month.  It is National Sewing Month starting today!  Hope I can sneak in some time daily to sew something.  Better start planning what to tackle first.

Feel free to send me pictures of what you are working on too!

Blessings!

Amy

Summer 2021

 Hello Friends

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer.  It has been humid here but not too bad.  Glad I have the a/c though.  Just a little update on what I have been doing in the past few weeks.  My back door had a bad railing.  It was rusted at the bottom so it was not very safe.  My mom had a hard time getting up the steps with it.

If you look to the bottom of this picture you can see the rust.  My dad had put in the white fencing to prevent his last dog from putting her head in the railing.  And the white board on top was for them to put their bags/boxes of groceries on to help get them in the house.

Now I have a new and improved railing.  It is sturdy and just what was needed.

I can't wait until I can afford to side the house.  It is in my 10 year plan and I have owned the home for 3 years.  It will happen soon. I hope.

In other news, my son bought his first car.  He has had 2 other cars but I have bought those.  His last car was a 2006 and was good for college.  He just upgraded to a 2019 Hyundai Tucson.  I am so happy for him.

The puppies seem to like it too!

In sewing news, I have been quilting a baby quilt and my friends wedding quilt is back from the quilter.  Stay turned for pictures of finished quilts soon!

Blessings

Amy

Not much sewing going on

 Hello Friends

Thought I would give a little update on what has been going on in my life and why there isn't much sewing happening.  I am in the middle of house projects.  Still have a lot to do but I am doing a little at a time.  My front flower beds looked terrible.  The weeds were so high!

I worked in the early morning before the sun was too high.  It was very hot and humid outside. This only took about an hour and a half.

I decided to plant some hydrangeas.  They are a white/pink variety.  Can't wait to have flowers.

I also pulled the weeds in the flower bed to the right of this picture.  And I mulched.  Didn't get a picture of the weeds before.  But it does look a lot nicer.

With the temperatures so high, I have not felt like sewing.  And of course I have too much on my plate in that aspect.  I have lots of fabric and patterns just sitting waiting to become a quilt.  Just no desire right now.  Then, Lori Holt is doing her Red Sampler Quilt Along and I have decided to try it too.  I don't care much for red so I am making mine in blue.  I have finally gathered the fabric and hope to sit and get the blocks cut out soon.  And a friend asked me to pattern test for her.  Just got that fabric on Friday.  Need to get that going this week.

Oh, and did I mention my sister will have a big birthday on Saturday and the whole family is coming to my house to celebrate?  I love it though.  It will be a lot of work but it is so worth it.

And in other news:  I have a new grandpuppy!

A few weeks ago my son was Facetiming me and said he had something important to tell me.  He moved the phone and showed me this beautiful puppy.  Her name is Mika and she is 13 weeks old and completely blind.  She is living her best puppy life.  She doesn't know she can't see because she never could.  It is fun to watch her follow the voices she is familiar with.  We had to stop Facetiming last week because when she hears my voice she gets confused as to why she can't feel me and then she cries.  I can't wait to have her over to my house this weekend.  Big sister Roxy is not so sure of her yet but is trying to adjust.

That is about all I have for you at this time.  I hope my sewing mojo appears soon so I can share more with you.

Enjoy the longest day of the year!  It's all downhill after today. :)

Blessings

Amy