New Year's Eve and a Last Finish for 2013

I finally finished sewing the rows of "Long Road Home" together today while watching The Walking Dead marathon.

I love this quilt (a swap with my quilting buddies) and I can't wait to get the backing sorted out and get it quilted.  I think I'll quilt it myself with diagonal lines so I can use it in the new year. I have more packing to do before that luxury though.  My plan is still to get to Santa Fe by the end of January/beginning of February so I best get a move on the remaining things (mostly the dreaded cleaning out the attic).

No plans for tonight--well except for the zombie watching and Skype-ing with the family in Michigan and Mr. SBQ and the cats in Santa Fe.

For all those Remy fans out there (especially Nancy), here's a Remy photo to take you into the new year.

Happy New Year to all and Happy Quilting in 2014!

"I'm not supposed to be on the table....but I'm too cute to move."

Design Floor

Taking advantage of my four sewing helpers being in Santa Fe, I've had this quilt-in-progress spread out on the living room floor for a few days.  (It also helps that nearly all the furniture is in Santa Fe too).  There is no way the cats' would've left this alone for two seconds without rearranging the blocks.

[sorry for the dark photo--I'll get a better one when it's finished & not night & not overcast]

This was a fun fabric swap that my quilt friends and I did a couple of years back. The pattern is "Long Road Home" by Red Crinoline Quilts.  My friends and I swapped the neutral alternating blocks and strips of shirtings and dark/mediums for the pieced blocks.  I think this was the fourth fabric swap we did and I also think I'm the last one to finish up this quilt.  Instead of a red solid for the setting triangles, I'm using a yummy purple tone-on-tone floral.  This is a warm and cozy looking quilt--perfect for cold winter nights.

Have you done a fabric swap with friends?  It's a great way to make quilts that call for lots of different fabrics.  It's also a great way to use fabrics that are a bit outside of your box. It's also helpful to have a math wizard in your swap.  We had Kristie, who figured out the math and created charts with participants, how many strips of fabric to cut, etc.

More tomorrow. I need to get busy on my Christmas cards before Christmas is over LOL.

Fun Stuff for a Monday

Weekends go by way too fast.  I have too many things I would rather be doing than dragging myself to work for another week.  But of course, work pays the bills so I will muddle through.

Here are some random fun quilty things that will keep me entertained this week. 

Minick & Simpson's Charlevoix fabric.   I have a project in the works with this and I just love this summery wonderful fabric.  It reminds me of Michigan and how much I wish I was there for the summer instead of hot-lanta.

Charlevoix is a resort town on Lake Michigan in northern Michigan.  Michigan is famous for its cherries and the National Cherry Festival is held in northern Michigan in July. 

This fabric also makes me hungry for cherry pie.

I am in LOVE with this pattern by my good friend Pat Wys of Silver Thimble Quilt Co.

Log cabin blocks on point with alternating blocks.  This quilt is stunning in person with a large assortment of scrappy reds, pinks, and creams.  I am planning a different colorway for mine and am pondering whether to start it now or be good and finish some projects I have in the works already. Oh I can't decide!!!!  What do you think??









As if the possibility of starting that quilt wasn't enough, I also have this pile of wonderful new project goodness hanging out and tempting me. Some friends of mine and I do fabric swaps.  It's a great way to make a really scrappy quilt with a large assortment of fabrics.  This is our fourth swap and it's for the Bonnie Blue Quilt pattern called "The Long Road Home."  

Please don't ask to see the quilts from the other three swaps because well...I haven't finished started those yet....

We traded fabrics on Friday at Silver Thimble club. I loved seeing all the different ways we each packaged up the trade.  Look at the cute paper bag with the little fabric tie. Some bags have all the pieces separated into other little bags.  Some of the fabric is folded so you can see all the different fabrics.  My package is on the bottom left. I like to recycle plastic bags--most of my bags were from Fat Quarter Shop purchases.  Hmmm what does that say about me?  LOL!

Brrrr!

Was it supposed to be this cold in Georgia? It was 19F this AM when I was out at dark-thirty to work at Starbucks!!!! It is only a whopping 27F now. Edgar Poe is sleeping in the sunlight, Morpheus is "helping" me type, Gomez has not moved from the heat vent, and Stella is prowling around looking for trouble or someplace warm, I'm not sure which.

I know we are all tired of the holidays but I know a few of you out there will enjoy these (belated) photos of the cats and their presents (and commentary):

Morpheus: "Hey she didn't even bother to wrap the presents this year"

Gomez: "How are we supposed to open this box?"
Edgar: "Hey let me see!!!"
Gomez: "I think this one is mine."
Stella: "Are you sure? I think the biggest present should be for the smallest cat"
Gomez: "JUST WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED!!!!!!"
Gomez: "Don't even think about it Stella!"
Stella: "Fine! I like this mitten better anyway and this mouse too"

After Stella and Gomez wore themselves out playing with the toys and fighting with each other only a little, Edgar and Morph did get to play too. They all had fun playing in the box and with the paper bags too. Thank you to Purrfect Play for making handmade, giant, organic, catnip-filled toys.

Has anyone made new year's resolutions? I decided to skip the resolutions this year--they are always the same anyway. Lose weight, eat healthy, blah blah blah. Quilters always want to use up their stash too. To start out, my sewing buddies and I are doing a reproduction fabric swap to make Bonnie Hunter's 16-patch and pinwheels quilt.

Here's my darks/mediums and the lights. Seventeen fat quarters of each! That's a lot of fabric! Did it look like I made a dent in my Civil War stash----No!