What are you doing on New Year's Eve?

It seems like everyone is rather quiet this New Years. No sew-along that I could find, so I am having my own little sew-along. Since Hubby went to bed and my son has crashed on the couch, I am cozily ensconced in my sewing room. It is only a -20 F or lower, and a very good evening to stay at home where it is nice and warm.

What am I doing? Why I am watching an Agatha Christie Miss Marple movie, starring Angela Lansbury, in "The Mirror Cracked."  Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Novak are also in the movie and they are a hoot. Besides watching the movie, I am sewing Part 3 of Celtic Solstice and drinking a nice hot "Tom & Jerry."

Twenty minutes ago, Bonnie Hunter announced the winner of the book, "Quilt Improv." It was a give-away on her website. Since I did not win the book guess I will go back to sewing. Tomorrow I will just have to order the book on Amazon.

Hope everyone is having a safe and happy New Year's!!

Hugs, Beth

Happy New Year, 2014 Goals & CS

I'll bet a lot of people are doing the same thing I am -- setting goals for 2014. This year I decided to "Keep It Simple." Last year I set rather energetic goals and you know what - I hardly did any of them. Do I feel guilty --- NO!!!  LOL  So I think small goals each month may be much more doable then thinking about a whole year in advance. Besides, I need to spend time seeing what everyone else is doing!!  TeeHee

In December, I didn't work on anything that was set as a goal, but I did sew pillowcases and a table runner as Christmas presents. I didn't even count the fabric bought for the pillowcases because they were sewn up immediately and given away. That sure doesn't happen too often. Most of the time the fabric has to "age" for a while before being utilized! LOL  

I did get parts 1 & 2 of Celtic Solstice completed and part 3 & 4 has been cut out. Also, the blue triangles for part 5 have been cut out.  I am okay with being a "Turtle." Sometimes we forget to enjoy the process!

I want to wish everyone a very wonderful New Year!!!

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others have gotten done!

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/12/31/get-it-done/

Hugs, Beth

2013 in Review - Finishes and Stash

Used since last report:        0.00 yards
Used year to Date:             62.00 yards

Added since last report:     5.00 yards
Added Year to Date:         104.17 yards

Net Used for 2013:            - 42.17 yards 

2013 wasn't a complete bust. While the stash was in the red, it wasn't too bad a finish. In past years it would have been a whole lot more stash added!! LOL

Some of my flimsies that were finished:

Easy Street - Bonnie K. Hunter Pattern

Dotty Dresden - Original

Diamond Strings- made two of these

Strip Twist - Bonnie K Hunter

Hopscotch, Butterscotch - Bonnie K. Hunter

Blue Ridge Beauty - Bonnie K. Hunter

There were a number of small projects that were full completions but I have piled up a lot of flimsies that need quilting. Guess I had better get my "buns" down stairs and do some quilting. 

Now it is time to think about my goals for 2014. I know that one of my goals is to purchase less fabric. The stash just is not shrinking!! LOL  

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/12/29/stash-report-week-52-2013/

Hugs, Beth

Christmas Blessings

Many Christmas blessings are being sent your way!!! 

My family and I celebrated Christmas together on Saturday. It was fabulous with everyone at home. 

I wish each and everyone that have been visiting with me through the year a most blessed holiday season. 

See you all after Christmas Day!!

Hugs,

Beth

Stash Report & CS Progress

Used since last report:        0.00 yards
Used year to Date:             62.00 yards

Added since last report:     3.00 yards
Added Year to Date:          99.17 yards

Net Used for 2013:            - 37.17 yards 

Well --- I did need to purchase a couple of pieces of Civil War fabric for the January swap. The bargain room at Gruber's Quilt Shop had several good choices and my wonderful "FRIEND", Maureen, just knew that I needed to purchase a couple of extra pieces while I was at it!! LOL So, while I am usually not a Civil War fabric person, I now have a nice variety and after the swap, I will have an even nicer variety. That is my story of why I purchased a total of three yards instead of a yard and a half --- and I am sticking to that story.  VBG

As I was searching through my stash for Civil War fabrics, I came across a piece of fabric that I have been aging for a considerable length of time (from the 70's or early 80's) that I thought was an interesting piece of my quilting history. It was actually made in the good old U.S.A.!!! Joan Kessler for Concord fabrics designed it. PSST -- There are several other pieces from the same era in my stash!! LOL 

It seems like the time is just flying by. Last Saturday, I met my daughter Natalie in Staples, MN. She brought homemade cookies for the residents of the Lakewood Care Center and had scheduled to play the piano in the afternoon. We met for lunch and then went over to Lakewood. The residents and her Grandmother (my MIL) enjoyed the Christmas music a lot. Her Grandmother is 101 years old and just scoots around in her wheel chair and sings to everyone.

Natalie and her Grandma Pearl

Over the last couple of weeks, I have finished Parts 1 & 2 of the mystery by Bonnie Hunter, Celtic Solstice.

Part 1 of CS

Part 2 of CS

Christmas is coming so fast. We celebrate next weekend and it should be fun with a whole house full of people. In celebration, even my Christmas Cactus has been putting out buds and started blooming!

I would like to wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Christmas!!!

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/12/15/stash-report-week-50-2013/

Also check out:

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/12/celtic-solstice-mystery-monday-link-up_4572.html

Hugs, Beth

Celtic Solstice - Part 1

What fun that the Celtic Solstice mystery has finally started. I do have all of my "Peaky and Spike" units cut. Sunday evening I sewed a few units together on my sweet little Nina. They are turning out perfect. I am using Bonnie's color pallet, only in a little bit deeper more autumn colors. Think I am going to like this one a lot. Course I loved both Orca Bay and Easy Street.

Today I am going to put Season 1 of Downton Abbey in the DVD player and sew away. Hope to finish sewing all the units while Hubby is gone playing cards with his buddies! LOL

Have taken the time to view the color choices of others. Wow, there are some great ones. Be sure to check out: http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/12/celtic-solstice-mystery-monday-link-up-1.html

Hugs, Beth

Stash Report

Used since last report:        1.00 yards
Used year to Date:             62.00 yards

Added since last report:     0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:          96.17 yards

Net Used for 2013:            - 34.17 yards 

Last Monday was sewing at my home with two of my friends. Mary worked on the most adorable pinwheel blocks. Maureen and I worked on aprons for our sewing machines. We had some free machine embroidery that we wanted to use on the pockets of the aprons. I actually get to report fabric used since the apron is totally complete!! LOL (Usually projects get left close to completion but not totally complete.)  

Mary's pinwheel blocks

Maureen's sewing machine apron with the cutest sewing machine fabric.

Sewing machine apron for Nina, my Singer 99.

Thanksgiving day started out with a light snow. Since we live in the country, it always looks so serene and peaceful. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with our family. Of course there was too much food and everyone was stuffed. As a way to keep from vegetating in front of the idiot box (TV), we went bowling. The guys beat the ladies royally (we did not have any handicap set for the ladies - that is my excuse and I am sticking with that!!)  Our daughter Natalie and family from Fargo, ND, left on Friday morning. Our son was out with friends and we spent a quiet day with our youngest daughter. Brenda left Saturday morning for Minneapolis. Amazing how quiet it gets when everyone has left --- but I get to go quilt!!! LOL

View off the back deck Thursday morning. Quiet and serene!!

Thanksgiving is past and now the race is on for Christmas. If others are like me, the week before Christmas is when I get most of my shopping done.

Friday morning the first step to Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice mystery was published. Since then, I have slowly been cutting my peaky part of  "Peaky and Spike" (Doreen Speckman named the units more years ago then I care to remember). The 3 1/2" strips have been cut of the blue fabrics for the spikes. Hope to have them all cut this morning.

Peaky units.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful week!!

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/12/01/stash-report-week-48-2013/

Hugs, Beth

Stash Report

Used since last report:        0.00 yards
Used year to Date:             61.00 yards

Added since last report:     5.00 yards
Added Year to Date:          96.17 yards

Net Used for 2013:            - 35.17 yards  

I am claiming that it is my friend Maureen's fault that I added more fabric. She is always willing to be so helpful!! LOL On Monday, we met at Gruber's Quilt Shop for Sew-Sew Monday. The plan was to sew up our aprons for our sewing machines. Well --- we didn't finish the aprons but Maureen did go in search of more fabric to make more sewing machine aprons for gifts. She spotted some fabric that she thought I would just have to have. Guess what??? Yes, I did find fabric that just needed to be purchased for covers and aprons for some of my machines. Honest -- I was not intending to get anything!! LOL The focus fabric is just too much fun with the thread, scissors, and other accessories. The button fabric and pin fabric just had to come home also. The green is a fun accent color.

The rest of the week was spent trying to solve internet issues. Turns out the wireless modem router bit the dust.  It is amazing how many steps it took to get me back up and running. I sure didn't realize how much I depend on the internet and I especially missed my email and reading blogs, and following Pinterest. My -- how times have changed.

Getting impatient for the newest mystery by Bonnie Hunter to start. Not many days left until we get the first set of instructions. Count down has started ------

Here's hoping that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/11/24/stash-report-week-47-2013/

Hugs, Beth

Stash Report

Used since last report:        0.00 yards
Used year to Date:             61.00 yards

Added since last report:     4.50 yards
Added Year to Date:          91.17 yards

Net Used for 2013:           - 30.17 yards  

For the last week, we were grand-doggy sitting. Zoe, our daughter Brenda's dog, shadowed me the entire week. I couldn't get her to stay in just one spot in the sewing room, so I couldn't get a lot done. At least that is my excuse for lack of progress! LOL 

Another week of enhancing the stash. Two of the yards that I purchased are for an in process quilt project. The bottom fabric in the picture below is perfect to go with the machine embroidered blocks I did this summer. There are still some more blocks to embroider. Also, I have been sorting through the stash for fabrics that coordinate with both the blocks and the fabric for the quilt. The top fabrics are neutrals that are always useful.

Looking forward to this years Quiltville Mystery. Have managed to pull all of the colors for "Celtic Solstice" mystery by Bonnie Hunter (see: http://quiltville.blogspot.com/p/celtic-solstice-mystery.html ). So far it appears that I have everything needed in my stash, so should not have to purchase anything!! Guess, we'll have to wait and see. LOL

The "boys" have been out deer hunting. Hubby shot two last night. We really miss it if we have no venison. Since the deer in the area feed on soy beans and corn, it is very good meat with hardly any wild taste.

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/11/10/stash-report-week-45-2013/

Hugs, Beth

Stash, Retreat & Nina

Used since last report:        0.00 yards
Used year to Date:             61.00 yards

Added since last report:   15.50 yards
Added Year to Date:          86.67 yards

Net Used for 2013:          - 25.67 yards

Boy, Oh Boy!!! The stash report is looking sad but I just had to do it! LOL  The Country Caboose had an Anniversary Sale with 30% off. In the last couple of years, I have used a lot of neutrals up, so the sale was the perfect time to replenish my neutral stash.  Thirteen and a half yards should keep me going for a while. I also added two yards of Civil War fabrics for swapping in January. 

Besides all of the purchases, I received my squishy of postage stamp squares from the postage stamp swap. What fun to receive these packages. Hubby always brings the packages in and then asks "what did I buy him?". I did very nicely offer to share with him. I don't think he was impressed!! LOL  Already using some of the squares for leaders/enders.

Last weekend, I was at retreat at Bugbee Hive Resort in Paynesville, MN. This was the third year I have attended this retreat and as usual, it was a fun time. Some of the ladies finished wonderful flimsies. The bottom picture is Lois with her quilt made with the "10-Minute Block" and I think I have to try this. It is a great stash buster and super easy. This retreat includes scrapbookers. I was sitting with a group of digital scrapbookers. They were very cute, but "toooooo" quiet, since they were working on their computers with ear buds plugged in most of the time. Must have to do something about that!!   VBG

While at the retreat, I sewed more blocks for my neutral "Strip Twist" quilt by Bonnie Hunter, basket blocks for a basket quilt, and string blocks for "Talkin' Turkey" from the book "String Fling" by Bonnie Hunter. Made some nice progress.

Bonnie Hunter has posted her fabric suggestions for this years mystery quilt,Celtic Solstice.   Since the requirements have posted, there has been discussion about, "who plans to use their vintage sewing machines to sew the mystery?" Well, I decided to dig little Nina out of storage and get her set-up to sew. I bought her at an auction for $25.00 a number of years ago and everything was there and worked. I did spend some time oiling, cleaning, changing needles, and setting the tension on Saturday. Nina is a 1931 Singer 99, which is a three-quarter size head. People have confused the Singer 99 with a Featherweight, but she is definitely not a Featherweight (weights a lot and is larger). Instead of a foot petal, she had a knee control that inserts into the side of the case. Nina is a sweet little lady and I am looking forward to sewing on her.

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/11/03/stash-report-week-44-2013/

Hugs, Beth

Open Sewing & Ten-Minute Table Runner

At Gruber's Quilt Shop in Waite Park (suburb of St. Cloud), Minnesota, there is open sewing on the third Monday of each month. Today was one of those fun days of sewing when we not only had a great time visiting, eating lunch, and sewing but Teresa of Gruber's gave us a challenge. The shop supplied the fabric to make a "Ten-Minute Table Runner" if we were willing to be timed to see how long it actually took us to sew one of the table runners. Well, my friend Maureen finished first at twelve minutes. There were six of us that had taken up the challenge.

Mary sewing her table runner.

Maureen squaring up the end of her table runner.

Bev pressing her table runner

From left to right: Bev, Mary, Diane, *Me*, Maureen, Rosie with our finished table runners.

Everyone had a fun day but here they are looking all together too serious!! LOL Can't let that happen for long! 

Hope you all had as fun a day as I did.

 Hugs, Beth

Stash & Snow

Used since last report:        0.00 yards
Used year to Date:            61.00 yards

Added since last report:     7.00 yards
Added Year to Date:         71.17 yards

Net Used for 2013:            - 10.17 yards 

I did add seven yards of background fabrics for "Lollipop Trees" by Kim McClean. Having a problem holding off starting the quilt because there are other projects to finish first but I couldn't resist purchasing the background fabrics. I love to do needle-turn hand applique but may just do invisible machine applique on this one.

Lollipop Trees by Kim McClean

There are no finished projects to report. Have been cutting "Talkin' Turkey" by Bonnie Hunter. This is a project that I plan to work on at retreat. Also, trying to have several other projects cut out and ready to go. After all, need to make sure I do not run out of things to do at retreat!! LOL Seems like I always have way more projects with then I need.

It is snowing in Minnesota and is so pretty - especially since this snow will not last. Here is a view off my front porch on this wonderful Sunday, October 20th. 

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/10/06/stash-report-week-40-2013/

Hugs, Beth

Stash Report & Quilt Show

Used since last report:        0.00 yards
Used year to Date:            61.00 yards

Added since last report:    15.00 yards
Added Year to Date:          64.17 yards

Net Used for 2013:             - 3.17 yards

I sure made up for last week. Either I was a very good girl or a very naughty girl!! Haven't decided yet. Between a trip to the quilt shops in Brainerd, MN, and our St. Cloud Heritage Quilters quilt show, I managed to add fifteen yards to the stash.

A few weeks back I had purchased a FQ Bundle of a fabric line called Collage. When I was at Country Fabrics in Brainerd, I purchased more of a few of the fabrics from the collection for borders and binding. The gray print is for a main border. 

Course, I also had to purchase a couple of other fabrics to enhance the stash. The white with black was from Country Fabrics. Who can resist a good white/black fabric?? Guess I can't. I also just had to purchase the wonderful colorful stripe from Colorz in Brainerd. Stripes are always such a good addition.

To top some off the fabric purchases, very nice friends just had to tell me there was a deal on Kaffe Fassett fabrics in one of the vendor booths at our quilt show. Who just had to trot over to the booth and check it out?? Three guesses and the first two just do not count!! LOL Here are the wonderful Kaffe fabrics that I just had to add - I needed it!  Right!! 

Then I added a little pattern for twelve inch Halloween little quilt for my wire hanger and a couple of fun fabrics - just cause! The two fabrics are actually a border print. 

We wrapped up our quilt show today. While I enjoy the show a lot, I am sure glad that it is only every two years. We had around 500 quilts in the show. Some were small art quilts but so very interesting.

Here are samples of some of the quilts. I should have had more pictures but when I got to the show today, I found I had forgotten my camera. BooHoo!! So I have to make do with the few pictures I took on Saturday.

Favorite scrap quilt.

Fun use of stripe fabrics.

This wallhanging was all 1/2 inch finished squares.

Quilt made by Chris Hoover (Whirligig Designs) of Downton Abbey fabrics by Andover.

The show went down so fast and smoothly. The organizers did an awesome job. Guess I am already looking forward to the next show in two years.

Thank you for stopping by and make sure you hop over to Patchwork Times and see what others are doing.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/10/06/stash-report-week-40-2013/

Hugs, Beth