One of my all time favorite things . . .

Do you have favorites?

Places?

Foods?

Books?

Movies?

Things?

I know, yes to all of that. But today I have an all time favorite thing :)

Your eyes do not deceive you - it's an empty box !!!

Yes !! That's one of my absolute favorite things, an empty box. 

But this is no ordinary, empty box.

It's an empty project box :)

And what was in that box?

My Starry Bright QAL,

 which was hosted by Alida. If you follow Alida's blog, you will see whatever did with their blocks, but probably not until December.

This is my back. I was enjoying that as much as the blocks themselves and you can see some of my machine quilting. I purposefully didn't pay too much attention to direction because I wanted it to be somewhat random, even though I used the same fabric.

 

These are my favorite blocks. Some of the techniques really challenged me and didn't come out quite right, but I felt is was important to finish the project anyway. These, however, did and why I like them so much.

In other news . . . 

  

These are my only snow pictures and from a couple of weeks ago. We've seen some flurries, but that's all. Can you tell I'm disappointed?

I'm ready for it and I know there are quite a few of you out there who aren't. 

This picture doesn't do the full moon justice. It's from my cell phone and though I have a newer phone with a better camera, it can only do so much. But it was beautiful and I had to share.

So that's me for now. Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging in there with me. It's not there there isn't a lot going on, just not in the sewing room as much as I would like.

Wishing you a day filled with kindness.

Verse of the day:

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind towards each other that Christ Jesus had,

so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6 NIVUK

November . . . December . . . Year End Goals

Here are my year end goals:

1. Christmas PJs

- Family #1 - four pairs - four boys

- Family #2 - three pairs - two boys, one girl

- Family #3 - two pairs - two boys

- My son

(10 pairs total)

2. Busy Bee Quilt

- add fourth border

- applique borders

- evaluate and add further borders 

to make queen size quilt

- finish top, sandwich, quilt in January

3. Holly Cottage Quilt

- start assembly

- finish top, quilt in January

4. BOM quilts (four total)

- Finish last blocks, assembly tops, 

quilt in January

- Color Bear

- Color Challenge

- Fall into a Quilt

- Starry Bright

I have about four weeks to finish everything before Christmas, and then a week after.

There are few other things going on that will take some time, but I'm hoping to pull it all out by hour 23 :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with kindness

Verse of the day:

When Jesus spoke again to the people,

he said,

'I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.'

John 8:12 NIVUK

HQAL - November

I had all these great handwork projects to post and forgot to post the blog. I am so sorry for missing this deadline, but here go we . . . HQAL is linked and you can still see what everyone else did. I checked them out, they are some really talented ladies.

The time between the last report and now has just flown by. Make sure to check in with everyone else to see how they are progressing on their projects.

Two more bulky scarves for donations.

This is Witch Hazel. She is a birthday gift for BF. Unfortunately, it was late, but that is how our whole year has gone. We keep not being able to get together.

The embellishments were part of a kit. The project was all done by machine.

Except for her sweet face. I added blush to her cheeks and wooden nose, sewed on all the buttons by hand and did hand embroidery for those sweet eyes. I think she is absolutely adorable.

I went on to make one for myself :)

I also made a scarf for myself :)

Lots of bright colors with the black and I used a triple crochet with a chain between each to get this open look.

Hoping for a few more productive weeks before Christmas and the end of the year.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with kindness.

Verse of the day:

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,

whom you have received from God?

You are not your own;

you were bought at a price.

Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIVUK

Hectic week . . . Weeks

It was a gorgeous day here in NE Ohio when I started writing this blog post, about two weeks ago. As you can see, the leaves were starting to fall. Now most of them are down and were expedited by the 40+ MPH winds during one storm and rain and snow from another. We took advantage of the milder temperatures and spend time outside as long as the cold allows. The temperatures have been in the 30s for the last couple of weeks. No snow on the ground yet, but it's coming.

I have managed some sewing and reorganizing . . . 

My table and work area became so cluttered with supplies and projects I couldn't even think straight and it was starting to keep me from being productive. I can work in clutter for so long and then I just can't think. There were many patterns that just needed put away.

Some things just needed a home and organized. I pulled this tower from the basement and re-purposed it with my basic sewing needs, like thread, scissors, empty bobbins, scrap vortex, etc. Things that don't have to be out on the table all the time.

I've spent time working on the second Witch Hazel. I'm made this one for me :)

Since I've already done one, the second one went together much faster :) 

I will tell you that two inch half square triangles are a real pain to sew. Fortunately, the way this is put together, a lot of the flaws get buried in the seam allowance.

Wednesday's monthly sewing class had me learning how to do pin-tucking. It's fun and easy. Not sure how much I'll use the technique, especially since the specialty foot was over $20.00. I finished the applique and block assembly at home this week, as well as get the next two blocks for next months class prepared.

I worked on a scarf for myself during the evenings. It's done :)

Today is another dreary day, cold and wet. We're a weekend before thanksgiving. I can hardly believe it's the middle of November and five weeks to Christmas.

Recently some fun stuff came in the mail. I was introduced over the summer to a designer by the name of Cherie Payne. She designed a lot of primitive quilts, stitchery and dolls. Unfortunately, she is now deceased and finding any of her patterns is difficult and expensive. 

I belong to a Facebook group that supports her designs and memory. A sale came up on eBay and I was able to make several purchases.

This first group of patterns only went for $22 for the whole lot !!!

Do you remember these? I remember selling them at Joann Fabrics many (many) years ago.

I've always loved making dolls, so these are right up my alley.

I also found this book on Amazon.

I also got my order of a couple of wool wall hanging kits. Now I'm trying to decide if I gift them or keep them?

And this wonderful find at the library used book sale . . . 25 cents!!!

I don't feel as productive as I would like to be, but all in all I'm getting things done. I hope you are doing so as well. Soon we'll be discussing plans for 2019 . . . 

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with kindness.

Verse of the day:

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

2 Corinthians 9:14 NIVUK

October . . . November . . .

(image from Yahoo)

October . . . November . . .

dare I say it?

December . . . 

This year has just flown by. It's been a very busy year here in my part of the world. So now it's time to start thinking about the holidays, the end of the year projects.

(image from Yahoo)

It's not necessarily time to make a Christmas list and check it twice, but it is time to make end of the year lists to make sure we get all of our goals accomplished.

I looked back to January to see if I made a list for annual goals. 

I didn't, so I guess I don't have to worry about what I didn't get done and I can just keep moving forward.

I do need to decide what I'm going to finish working on for the next few weeks.

Here are my year end goals:

1. Christmas PJs

- Family #1 - four pairs - four boys

- Family #2 - three pairs - two boys, one girl

- Family #3 - two pairs - two boys

- My son

(10 pairs total)

2. Busy Bee Quilt

- add fourth border

- applique borders

- evaluate and add further borders 

to make queen size quilt

- finish top, sandwich, quilt in January

3. Holly Cottage Quilt

- start assembly

- finish top, quilt in January

4. BOM quilts 

- Finish last blocks, assembly tops, 

quilt in January

- Color Bear

- Color Challenge

- Fall into a Quilt

- Starry Bright

(four total)

So those are my goals for the next two months.

Now for how I did last week, October 29, 2018:

1. Witch Hazel DONE

- begin sewing

- work on second half

2. Scarf DONE, delivered

- finish the fourth scarf

3. Download November patterns DONE

I managed also to get the Halloween decorations purged and put away. Thanksgiving/autumn are out and up and I did some purging there too. The things I'm no longer using or ever planning to use again I will donate to Goodwill. They are all still in good condition and someone else should have the opportunity to use them.

The rest of this week will be busy. Helping out at Bible Study on Monday with childcare, Tuesday is study, Wednesday and Friday Newton has doctor appointments to round out the year and Thursday Mom has a doctor appointment. 

I've been called and requested for an inventory job in December, but that's closer to mid-month. That means I'll have to be conscientious of my time in the meantime so I can continue to be productive and get things done and delivered as needed. Mom is already getting plans arranged for the holidays.

So that's it for now. Hope you all had a good productive week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a week filled with kindness.

Verse of the day:

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 NIVUK