Silent Sunday

With Every Good Wish For A Merry Christmas

My best wishes for the happiest Christmas that you have ever known,

and may this day and all your days

be flooded with the sunshine of love and sweet friendship.

A Little Knitting And Crochet

I finished a baby boy set not long ago, so I've been working on one for a baby girl in-between working on Christmas gifts.  Just one more little sock to go and this set will be finished!

For this set I used the Basic Baby Hat pattern and Susan B. Anderson's Jelly Bean Baby Socks pattern.  My instructions for the crocheted blanket edge can be found HERE.

Silent Sunday

Sewing Gifts For The Holidays

There's probably a little too much truth here, but if the world's most interesting man can do it, so can I!

Silent Sunday

Snow Day!

Just when we were starting to think the big storm was going to miss us completely...it hit!  Today is a snow day and I'm planning on spending the day in my sewing room stitching up a storm!  Not only do I have numerous projects of my own to finish before Christmas, but yesterday I also agreed to finish a project for someone else before Christmas.  Less than 2 weeks...can I do it?

Silent Sunday

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies - Find the recipe HERE

Blogging At Christmastime

Blogging at Christmastime is HARD!  I'm doing plenty of sewing, but nothing that I'll be able to show until after the holidays, so bare with me if posts are few and far between this month.  With that said, I can show these little stockings that I just finished for the granddog and grandcat.  Apparently Santa will leave treats for the good doggies and kitties if they have their own stockings to hang!  Who knew?

Silent Sunday

Holiday Shortbread Tidbits - Find the recipe HERE

Singer 293B

Just look at what a little elbow grease, sewing machine oil, and carnauba wax can do!  I knew this machine had potential, but I never dreamed it would clean up this nicely.  Mechanically all it took was a little oil, new belt, needle, and a tension adjustment and it was sewing a beautiful straight stitch!

Flannel Finish!

The $5 bundle of flannel scraps that I bought last month has been turned into a nice cozy quilt!  It's the perfect quilt for a teen, so it will be donated to our local foster care program.

Another "New" Machine

I'm not quite sure if I found this "new" machine or if it found me, but either way this Singer 293B has come to live with me by way of a good friend.  It definitely needs a good cleaning and some TLC, but it certainly has potential!

Silent Sunday

Hello, Old Friend!

Most of my blog posts over the past few weeks were scheduled before my surgery, so not all posts have been appearing in real time.  It seems like forever since I've actually spent any quality time in my sewing room.  Now that I'm feeling better, I'm finally getting caught up with work and housework, so I felt like I could do a little stitching the other day.  It was just like sitting down with a long lost friend!  It's nice to be getting back to normal around here!

Silent Sunday

Aged To Perfection!

This quilt has been a long time in the making!  The nine patches were from a guild swap from way back.  Then over two years ago Terry (Terry's Treasures) started a Scrappy Stars Sew Along, so I decided to use the nine patches for the star centers.  I finished the top in a reasonable amount of time, but as usual, I had to let it age in the "to quilt" pile before I could finish it.  This past week I decided it has waited long enough to be quilted, so here it is, all finished and aged to perfection!    

Little Boy Blue

I love knitting and crocheting baby things!  They are usually easy and fast to finish, plus it's always good to have a few extra on hand for when you need a quick baby gift!

Silent Sunday

Squiggle Square!

Lori over at The Inbox Jaunt has some pretty amazing free motion quilting tutorials.  Most are a little more complex than what I like to do, but when I saw The Squiggle Square I thought it would be an easy allover motif if I just enlarged it.  I was right...I think it worked beautifully on this one patch charity quilt!

Under $20!

From the little $5 bundle of flannel that I showed a couple of weeks ago, I was able to get this 40" x 55" disappearing 9 patch quilt top!  There's enough red left for the binding and my LQS just happened to be having a sale, so I picked up some plain black flannel for the backing.  By the time it's all done, the total cost for this fun quilt will be under $20!

Silent Sunday

Zombie

I sure picked the right project for my recovery...I've been like a zombie working on this zombie blanket for two weeks!  Yes, it took me two weeks to finish a blanket that would normally take me about two hours.  I never thought that something as simple as a little throat surgery would take so much out of me, but thankfully the worst is over and I'm feeling much more like myself these days!

And The Winners Are...

Yes, much to my surprise, my summer tote bag won a blue ribbon in the miscellaneous category!

Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild 2014 Exhibit

I have just one last slideshow from the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's 2014 Exhibit.  This one shows individual photos of each entry.  Enjoy!

Silent Sunday

Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild 2014 Exhibit - Colors of Cancer

As a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society, guild members were asked to design a small art quilt using colored fabric representing specific cancer awareness colors (such as pink for breast cancer) There were 16 quilts entered in this project, all of which were sold at $25 each, raising $400 for our local ACS!

Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild 2014 Exhibit, Challenge Category

The challenge for the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's exhibit this year was to make a quilt showing one, any combination, or all of the elements...Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water.  I think those who entered did a great job representing the theme!

Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's 2014 Exhibit

As promised, here is a slideshow presentation of the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's 2014 Exhibit.  Awards will be handed out at this evening's guild meeting to all the winners, but honestly, I think everyone who entered is a winner...all of the quilts were just beautiful this year!

Silent Sunday

$5 Price Tag

I'm not sure just how much flannel is in this scrap bundle that I found at Sew Green in Ithaca, NY, but I can tell by the feel of it that I should be able to cut enough 6" squares out of it to make a kid sized Disappearing 9 Patch quilt.  Even if I have to add some fabric to it, I can't beat the $5 price tag for the start of a great charity quilt!

Zombie Recovery

Anyone who knows me (even a little) knows that The Walking Dead is my favorite TV show.  Considering the season premier was last Sunday and that I'm actually feeling a lot like a zombie right now, a zombie blanket seemed to be the perfect project to start my recovery with.  My surgery went well and I will have a very sore throat for a week or so, but I'm thinking the worst is about over (I hope).  Post-op instructions say nothing strenuous for 2 weeks, so I'm going to have lots of guilt free stitching time.  Maybe I will make it through that big pile of fleece and yarn!

On The Needles

If the long range winter forecast for our neck of the woods is correct, heavy wool socks are going to be on everyone's wish list this Christmas!  This Chunky Socks Pattern uses bulky yarn and size 6 needles, so they knit up in no time too!

Silent Sunday

Popsicles, NetFlix, And Blankets

First thing Monday morning I will be going into the hospital for throat surgery.  Apparently when I had my tonsils out 40+ years ago the doctor left some tissue behind and now it's causing problems, so lucky me...I get to have my tonsils out twice. (Don't believe that "all the ice-cream you can eat" myth either...it's not true.  It says right at the top of my post-op instructions, "no dairy".)  Anyway, I am all prepared for a few days of sofa time.  I have a freezer full of popsicles, a long list of chick flicks in my NetFlix streaming list, and because it drives me crazy to sit and do nothing...a pile of fleece blankets ready and waiting for crocheted edgings.  I'm hoping all will last a lot longer than it takes for me to recover!

Quilter's Emergency Kit

Quilter's Emergency Kits...every quilter should have one on hand at all times!  Find the free printout to make your own Quilter's Emergency Kit HERE.

Plus Flowers

I think I may like this "flowery" version of the plus quilt even more than the "manly" version that I made a couple of weeks ago.  Doesn't it look like pink flowers sprinkled across the green background? I backed this one with a pretty rose print flannel that I had in my stash, so it will be cozy and warm too!

Silent Sunday

Practice To Pillow

Remember this free motion practice piece that I did with my two oldest granddaughters a few weeks ago?  They did such a good job that I had to do something with it, so I backed it with some color coordinated fabric and turned it into a fun pillow.  Now we just need to get together and do a little more practicing, so that each of us can have a pillow!

Finished!

I've hardly picked up my knitting needles at all this summer, but now that the days are getting shorter and I'm not spending as much time outside, I have more time to knit.  This baby hat and sock set has been waiting patiently to be finished since last winter, so just an hour of knitting and I was able to finish up and now I'm ready to move on to a new project!

For this set I used the Basic Baby Hat pattern and Susan B. Anderson's Jelly Bean Baby Socks pattern.

One More Plus

I had so much fun putting together the plus quilt for my father-in-law that I thought I would try one that is a little more girly.  I'm using a rose print flannel that I have in my stash as my inspiration...pink flowers and green leaves,  If all turns out the way I hope it will, I'll use the rose print flannel for the backing.

Silent Sunday

Warm And Cozy

Here's the scrap quilt that I have been working on for my father-in-law all quilted and bound.  The flannel back really makes it a warm cozy quilt and from the sounds of the long range forecast, a warm cozy quilt is going to come in handy this winter!  

Reject

This was actually my first attempt for my Colors of Cancer quilt, but I got a little carried away with my design and it turned out to be too big for the challenge.  I liked it too much to scrap it, so I went ahead and finished it anyway.  I'm happy things turned out they way they did, because this little quilt now adds a bright spot in my sewing room.

Colors of Cancer

Another challenge for this year's Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's exhibit was to make a small quilt using an awareness color from any type of cancer in honor or in memory of someone who has suffered from the disease.  These quilts are all for sale during the month of the exhibit with all profits going to the American Cancer Society.

Unfortunately, I have too many family members and friends who have had to battle cancer to just pick one to represent, so I decided to make a small version of my Elements challenge quilt using 1" squares of as many colors as possible.  I titled my quilt, Too Many Colors.

Silent Sunday

Challenge

The challenge for the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's exhibit this year was to make a quilt representing one, any combination, or all of the elements.  I chose to represent fire and earth with my quilt, Sunrise Around the World, but when I showed it to my husband he said it looked like an aerial view of a jungle explosion.  I guess either way you look at it I accomplished my goal!

Shortbread Cookie Bites

 

It doesn't get any better or any easier than a simple shortbread cookie!

Shortbread Cookie Bites

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add flour and continue to mix until mixture forms a soft dough (it will be crumbly at first, but keep mixing and it will form a dough). Form dough into a ball with your hands. Roll dough 1/4-inch thick on a surface dusted with flour with a well-dusted rolling pin. Cut into 1" squares (I use a pizza cutter) and place on prepared baking sheets prick centers with a fork (I use a small three prong seafood fork). Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until cookies are pale golden brown. Let cool on baking sheets.

If desired, melt 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips with 1/2 tablespoon shortening and pour into a shallow bowl or saucer; dip the bottom of each cookie into the melted chocolate, scraping off the excess.  Place cookie chocolate side up on parchment paper until chocolate is set. 

Silent Sunday

We Will Never Forget

From Scraps To Quilt Top

My father-in-law's scraps are now a top!  It turned out to be a small throw size, about 40x50...just the right size for using while lounging in the lazy-boy! Now to get it on the frame and quilted.

Silent Sunday

I Have To Share...

I just have to share this news report about the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's upcoming exhibit.  My friend, Kate, did such a wonderful job of explaining the heart and soul of our guild.  (You will also get a sneak peek at exhibit which opens this Friday!)

Scraps

My father-in-law has been doing a little cleaning out this summer and during the process he found a small tote of his late wife's fabric scraps, so he asked if I could use them.  She wasn't a quilter, but did do quite a bit of sewing back in the day.  When I opened the tote I recognized most of the scraps as placemats, curtains, pillows, slip covers, and other items that she had made for their home over the years.  It didn't take me long to decide that I needed to make a quilt for my father-in-law with these scraps.  There's not a lot to work with, but I think I have enough to make a small throw.  There's even a large piece of flannel that will make the perfect backing!

Silent Sunday

Exhibit Time!

It's that time again...the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's Exhibit 2014 is just around the corner!  My entries are all ready for drop-off on Saturday and then we will start hanging the exhibit on Monday.  Opening night is Friday, September 5 from 7:00-9:00 and then the exhibit is open daily from 2:00-5:00.  Admission is free so if you are in the Wellsboro area be sure to stop at the Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center and see all the quilts!

Free Motion Fun!

Our two oldest granddaughters, spent a couple of very wet rainy days with us this weekend.  While listing off some inside activities, I asked if they would like to try some free motion quilting.  I was answered by two resounding yeses!  I loaded the frame with white muslin and put some variegated thread in the machine and turned them loose!  I think they are FM naturals or maybe it's just that kids have no fear and will try just about anything?   Either way, they have definitely inspired me to try something different from my usual meander or loops and swirls!