JUST CUTTING UP!

So I popped in to my local quilt store

 and instead of walking out with this $6 piece of fabric

 for the binding which was all that was on my list, 

I ended up with this bundle for a 3-yard quilt because the woman at the cutting counter told me to take it into the restroom and turn out the light!  Yup, it glows in the dark!  But not just weird colors but delicate designs that show off the mushrooms and the white fabric even has fairy ferns that glow!  I just had to have it-including the pattern which will show off large portions of the mushrooms!  That employee is making them rich!

I went to a friend's house and we cut a bunch of fabric strips preparing for Alycia's  Mystery QAL.

And then she wanted me to take home these 'sample' to stage as backgrounds for the Dahlia quilt.  She buys fabric wholesale so really does have a quilt store's worth of fabric.  

She also keeps me busy with QOV tops to quilt!  What  a fabric-perfect day!

 

FANCY HEXAGONS AND DAHLIAS

Only 7 hexagons and 1 half-hexagon away from having all of the blocks I need for this lap robe!  I also have to decide how I am going to attach the blocks to each other.  I'm thinking of a DK weight yarn in dark grey to give the impression of leaded panes but I will have to order the yarn first, if I to do that!

In the studio, I seamed the strips together.  It is 'square' and since I am not impressed with square quilts, I will have to figure out a way to border this to counteract the shape! lol

Next, I picked a project to work on and managed to sew the rest of the flower for the dahlia.  The instructions had me sew the center separately first.  I think that was dumb because now I had to HAND sew it in place!  I no longer do well with hand stitching  due to the psoriatic arthritis on top of the broken wrist and thumb surgery!  And aging.  And MS.  Okay, you get it!  But I powered through it watching a movie and sitting in front of the fireplace and tried to relax through the work!

A few hours later and it was done!  Now I have to decide if I want another row with a bit of greenery.  Then the whole flower will be appliqued to the background fabric-but I will do that by machine!

TABLERUNNER!

I not only added the borders to the table runner,

 I also loaded it up and quilted it!

I did have a bit of an argument with my machine at first.  I almost went on strike but reached a compromise and it went smoothly after that!  ( it did not like the thread I chose for the top!)

I did the coffee swirls panto and now have to wait a few days to bind it because I want just the right shade of light turquoise to bind it and I don't have anything pastel enough!

 

TWO FINISHES

The amazing Granny Square yarn by Red Heart

 resulted in a very pleasing afghan!

I added several rows of borders and am pleased with the results.  Now to concentrate on the hexagons again!

The gingerbread quilt is all done!  

I used the same fabric as the backing for the binding!

  What quilting project will I work on next?!

 

CONNECTING THE BOXES

I sewed a bunch of little charms and 5" squares together to make a table runner!  I will add the borders today and load it up on the frame for quilting!

 I also finished crocheting all of the Granny Squares together and now have several rows of borders to add!  Right now it is about 36" x 48'.  This was three skeins of the All in One Granny Squares from Red Heart.  A very enjoyable project!

QUILTING PLANS

I started digging through old projects that somehow got set aside.

  I found the Dahlia quilt.

I dug out the fabric and pattern for the quilt

 from last year's All Florida Shop Hop.

Another kit I bought during the shop hop (Mar-May 2023).

Some charms and bits for a table runner 

also bought on the Shop Hop.

This one is the oldest unfinished project--almost 4 years old.

  It is time!

I also want to finish this double wedding ring

 that was given to me in the Fall.

A friend gave me some 1/2 strips of rainbow batiks and so instead of working on any of the projects I put on the sewing table, I played on the design wall!  And this soon became...

This!  Easy piecing and it will be together first thing today!  Then I will decide which of the other projects will get worked on

 and in which order!

 

A VISIT TO MY WILDERNES

So many of the banana trees are flourishing despite a few frosted tips already.  There has been flooding again, 

for the fifth year in a row.  They say it is a 50 year cycle

 but I hope this cycle won't last 50 years!

Some of the trees are sending out new flowers--that 12" reddish cone near the top of the photo is the bloom.  The stalk will continue to lengthen and above the flower, there will appear little 'fingers' that will soon form a large bunch of bananas!

Here is a clump of bananas that is growing well on its stalk.

  They take four months to ripen!

The Maple trees are already putting out their little squirrel ears!  Maple leaves start and end their journey in such a pretty color!

You can see how strange this area looks compared to a few years ago when it was all green mowed grass.  Now most of the Pine and Maple trees are gone from the area.  The bare tree on the left is a Cypress which loses its needles over the winter but it is alive and well for it is a swamp dweller!  If you look closely, you can see an egret in the center of the photo in the water.

They are among the many birds which are thrilled with the additional wetlands!  We try to enjoy the changes for a number of reasons.  We do have to admit to seeing the beauty!

These are the flowers on one stalk from an aloe plant.

We have so many aloe planted around the bases of palm trees

 so the flowers are appreciated year round.

The Camellias continue to bloom-this one is about 6' across.

 A real show-off!

The morning started off with heavy rain but by noon the sun was out and it hit 80F and it was hard to let the weather so unappreciated so we savored a good visit.

MORE HAT EXPERIMENTS

I worked on these hats while we were out and about yesterday.

I am trying to adjust the tension to make hats that are bigger to also fit men.  I have the right numbers on the red hat for the length and width but I do not like the *stripe!  I will have to work on the numbers to make the stripe narrower and closer to the brim!  There's always math when it comes to designing! 

 The cream hat is for a woman; 

 I have added a faux cable to echo the classic cabled beanie.

  It works for me! 

 I need to get my faux leather labels out

 and start adding them to the hats again for the finishing touch! 

I will be home today so I am going to be gathering quilt projects and UFO's to complete in the studio !

(*Yes, I will be ripping back the red hat so that it is arranged the way I think it should be!)

 

QUIET STITCHES

A few more hats happened....

I made the dishcloth for the day and the rest of the day? 

 I worked on my computer! 

 A friend and I are making a new church directory.  

Today I will be running some errands with Bill but I hope to be able to sit outside on my pretty lounge later 

since it is supposed to hit 70* with sunshine!

 

A DISHCLOTH A DAY...

I joined a dishcloth-a-day blog hop from here

 and each morning and throughout the day, I work on it.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3.  This one was was harder until I found the rhythm

 and then it as enjoyable!  I got all done and looked at the picture of it and realized the top bump on the right was done wrong because it didn't match the other side!  

The ridge between rows was missing ! 

 I did rip it out and do it again!

See-now it is symmetrical!  You can still join the party; 

it is good for sharpening your crochet skills!

 

GOLDILOCKS SEWING!

Can you see the problem with the NICU incubator blankets

 I made yesterday?!  

The first one I made (bottom) was too large.  I corrected my math and the second one (top) was too small! By then I was in a panic!  I started with a clean piece of paper and and looked at the blanket and found out what I was doing wrong!  It was the double folded envelope hem.  I needed to add only one width of the hem allowance not two because it was folded over itself.  The one that was too small, I didn't add the seam allowance for both sides....just my brain and math having a slight disagreement! 

 The blue one is just right! 

 You can be sure I wrote all the directions so when I make the other two today, I won't have to invent the wheel again!

   

The fabrics are cute and I believe they (the hospital) will still use the odd blankets, I am sure  hoping!

And I am glad I ended the studio time on a win

 since I have more to make! lol

 

A FRESH BEGINNING!

Dishcloths and hats were made.

I finished the quilting at the frame for the gingerbread top.

I broke up some glass to put in the tumbler-

and this is some I started last  week!  

I put all of the Christmas decorations away except for these three 'winter' things on the table in the fireplace room. 

 Because it pleases me.  

The house is all cleaned, laundry done

 and today I will be making the NICU incubator blankies!

And doing some more spinning.

 

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS!

This is what I will be doing today! 

 I like to spend NewYear'sDay doing each of the activities that are my creative outlets!    I have finally found the sweet formula for the beanies on the circular knitting machine, in the far back is the wool and silk blend roving I will be spinning, I will be crocheting some more dishcloths and spend time doing the quilt from Merry Mayhem when they release the new 'clues' every hour! 

 That should keep me busy!

Have a happy new year, blog friends!