HOPE IN JANUARY!!!!!!!

It is here! The first table runner in the Crenshaw Puppies series is finally available.  

You can get your copy (hard or digital) in my Etsy store.  And if you can wait a little while, all digital patterns will be on sale for 20% off from November 26 thru December 3.  Just click on the image below.

P.S. Thanks to my sweet daughter, Hailey, for her great photography skills!  Love you, sweet girl!

From Studio to Corner

I'm not going to lie, I miss my quilt studio so much!  Moving has been a huge transition in every way.  But my family has been great about trying to help me get back to my quilty stuff.  Fortunately, our new place has a good-sized living room and about 30% has been set aside for my quilting corner.  My daughter even hung up nearly every decoration that was in my studio on to one bit of wall space.  We have yet to find space for my stash, but I am so grateful that this place is big enough for me to be able to work.  God has blessed us!

Just Hope

I only worked on Hope in January today.  I know there are people anxious for it to be done and the pattern to be available.  I admit, I am anxious as well.

Finished up the snowballs and started on the squares.

Finished up the squares and started on the rest. :)

Making More Progress, 15 Minutes at a Time.

Timing myself again today on various projects to see what can be accomplished in 15-minutes intervals. 

Worked on quilting the snowball blocks for the Hope in January table runner.  I got half of them done!

This is my storage box for the next round of the Ostrich Challenge quilt.

I worked on cutting more itty-bitty pieces.

55 pieces cut in 15 minutes.

Trying to fussy cut stripes from a good size length of fabric.  Haven't done that before and was quite tentative, so I only got one done, but it is so cute!!!

What can happen in 15 minutes?

A lot can happen in 15 minutes, which is a good thing when you haven't been able to sew in months.  We are finally getting settled here in Montana, and of course my quilting is one of the last things to be dealt with.  And I won't lie, there are tons of boxes with quilty stuff in them and I have no where to put them.  I guess I just need to get super busy with my quilt making.  And there are so many projects I want to work on!!!  So, I decided to see how many things I can accomplish spending only 15 minutes on each thing...

I started with Hope table runner.  Poor puppy just needed to be stitched down on the black parts.

Success!  Now I just need to quilt the rest of the table runner.

Wanted to make a quilt for someone special and thought this old kit would be perfect.

This simple block might not be as easy as I had hoped.  It appears that some of the pieces in this kit were not cut accurately. :(  I am sure I have scraps to fill in, but for now I will work with the accurate pieces.

I was so thrilled when I bought this kit!  I love Halloween.  I love owls!  Couldn't wait to start on it!

I nearly cried!  The kit came with the wrong panel and it isn't even the same direction.  I am so sad!!!!

Attempt #2 at working on a Halloween quilt.

Woohoo!  This one has everything it needs.  I just need to get some fusible web for the applique.

I have several other things I wanted to work on as well, but I had yet to find all I needed in my boxes.  Fortunately, that changed this evening and I can do a lot more tomorrow.  

Blessings of Abraham Clue 17: Final Results!!!

Here we are with the final clue!  I hope you enjoyed this mystery.  Let me know if you would like me to do another one in the future.

Clue 17 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

I look forward to seeing your results!

Blessings of Abraham Clue 16

Time for school again and summer isn't even over yet.  But we are almost done with this mystery.  There are only 17 clues total.

Clue 16 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, August 11th.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 15

We have made it to Montana and have fallen in love with the area.  We have been blessed in so many ways in just the few days we have been here!  I hope you are all receiving mounds of blessings as well.

Clue 15 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, August 4th.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 14

We are currently in the process of moving to Montana.  I can't begin to tell you all that has been occurring in my life but I ask that you keep my family in your prayers.

Clue 14 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, July 27th.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 13

It's the middle of July and I could use a summer vacation.  What about you?  Have you gathered together as a family and taken a trip?

Clue 13 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, July 21st.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 12

Today is my husband's birthday.  He is a blessing to me and I look forward to growing old with him... to a great age of 118 for me and 122 for him.

Clue 12 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, July 14th.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 11

I can't believe that tomorrow is July!  Where has this year gone?  The older I get, the faster time flies.

Clue 11 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, July 7th.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 10

Summer is officially here!!! I hope everyone is staying nice and cool.

Clue 10 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, June 30th.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 9

Happy Father's Day!!!  God bless all of those amazing men that have stepped up and put their kids (and those of others) first.

Clue 9 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, June 23rd.

Blessings of Abraham Clue 8

I hope all is going well for everyone this month and that we are learning to reap the blessings that are set aside for us.

Clue 8 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, June 16th.

Slow and Steady...

I've been home from the hospital for a week now and I'm pleased to report I'm doing better.  Thank you, all, who have been praying.  I have gone from constant asthma attacks with no relief by meds, to only two to three attacks each day that are relieved with my rescue inhaler.  So, I'm over the moon with that bit of progress!!!  I still don't have much energy to speak of, but I'm trying to accomplish things here and there and build my strength back up.  The turning point for my breathing came after a desperate attempt by my sweet hubby.  He went to Wal-mart and bought an essential oil diffuser and some oil that had eucalyptus and other known oils for breathing and set it up next to my bed.  It really did the trick, so if you are an asthma suffer, or congested from illness or seasonal allergies (as my hubby has been), I suggest you give it a try.

Yesterday, my family set up a bit of a sewing area for me in my room so that I can try to be productive if my energy rises.  I love my family!!!  They know it drives me up a wall not being productive. 

I did manage to sew on a button for the hubby yesterday. 

I also worked on some binding.  I had tried the day before but the thread was just not working well.  I always prefer to use hand quilting thread for the binding and I didn't have any in purple.  So, hubby went to the store for me to get some.  After removing the other thread, the binding started going a lot better.  I gave myself a 15" goal on it.  I did a bit more, but wow, I'm amazed at how worn out I was afterwards.  But it was a good tired...an "I accomplished something" tired.

My goals for today are to cut the fabric for the backing of the mystery quilt and to finish another 15" of that binding.

And speaking of the mystery quilt.  If you haven't been looking at the clues, here are some more of the results from the last few weeks.

In other, non-quilty news.  I have started watching "Outlander" now that it is on Netflix.  With exception of the nudity, I'm completely falling in love with it.  I had intended to read the books first, but this seems to be a better plan at the moment. 

We also tried something new.  Our favorite grocery place is Aldi and they now have delivery.  We gave it a try and none of us in the house has a single negative thing to say.  It was wonderful!  I've tried the Wal-mart pick up service and it was fair.  But the Aldi experience was amazing!!!  If you are under the weather, or too busy making someone a quilt, I truly recommend giving it a try!

Deciding on fabrics for Ostrich

It took me awhile to decide on the design for Round 4 of the Ostrich Challenge.  Then, I needed to decide on the fabrics.  I started by laying out all the fabrics from my stash that I thought might be usable in the quilt at some point.

This particular design calls for a clear light, medium and dark.  So, I utilized the gray scale feature on my phone to alter the image so that I could be sure I was close in the organization of the value.

I'm not going to lie.  This step took like three days (only because I'm still healing).  But at least it was progress.

Next, I chose the fabrics I preferred for the light.  Since I had already done the math, I knew how much I would need for each value.  The ones on the left were the ones I liked, but I didn't have enough of any of them and I really didn't want this round to be scrappy.  So, what does a girl do?  I went to my stash that I'm using for On Ringo Lake (Bonnie Hunter) and found two optional fabrics.

I continued to weed out the medium and dark fabrics as well , knowing I couldn't use medium or large prints, ones that had too much color variation in them, or ones that weren't enough yardage.

After that, I auditioned each and every combination of the remaining fabrics.  And this was my final choice.  I always find it interesting when it ends up being different than what I had originally thought it might be.  It is the dark fabric that I hadn't planned on choosing, but I liked it best in the end.

Don't have the energy to cut it up yet.  But at least I know what is waiting for me.

Ostrich Challenge Round 5: "Seeing Stars"

With everything going on, I actually forgot to post what Round 5 is all about!  Please forgive me!!!

Now, on to the fifth round...

Round 5 is “Seeing Stars”.   Heavenly skies, astrology, astronomy, the dizziness of being bonked on the head, whatever this title means to you, let it shine gloriously in this round.

As a reminder, if you need to add a small border to separate your rounds from each other, that is okay.  Do keep in mind that with each round, this quilt will continue to grow quite a bit, which might concern those that don't use a long arm machine to quilt.  

Don't forget to share pics on my FB page of your results.  I have no doubt that they will inspire a lot of people!  It is never to late to get started or post your accomplishments.  And don't forget to add the hashtag listed below to make it easier for all of us to follow your creative genius. 

The next round will be posted July 21st.  We will have plenty of time to finish this round and even get caught up if we need to.

#KCDIOstrichChallenge

Blessings of Abraham Clue 7

Happy June!!!!  A time for weddings and flowers and days in the cool water.  It is also the month I get another year older, and I'm grateful for that blessing.

Clue 7 is available, just click on the tab above for the mystery quilt page and you will find the links listed there. 

The next clue will be available Sunday, June 9th.

Illness and quilting, or lack thereof.

At home...

Wow, it has been a crazy two weeks here and so little to show for it.  As you know, I went to a quilting retreat with my daughter and we had a great time!  However, there were a few germs somewhere in the air and by the time I was ready to leave, I had a bit of a sore throat.  By Monday it was a cough.  Hailey felt poorly by Sunday night and then my hubby was feeling bad by Tuesday.  Before I continue, let me give you a bit of a background history of myself.  I have chronic asthma.  Now, keep in mind that I do everything I can and have managed my asthma extremely well.  As a matter of fact, it has been so well maintained that I seldom use a rescue inhaler and it had been several years since I needed breathing treatments with a nebulizer.  Even still, the smallest of ailments for someone else can be dire for those with other issues.  By Thursday, I was suffering with coughing and breathing.  My inhaler wasn't working and my meds for breathing treatments had expired.  My heart was working way over time trying to keep my lungs working.  So, to the ER for me.  Tests, tests, tests, diagnosis of bronchitis, tons of meds, back home to heal.  Well, that wasn't good enough sadly.  Lungs were getting worse, heart was working even harder, and while I have had the odd occasion of feeling so sick I wanted to die, this was the first time I thought it was possible.  No amount of inhalers or breathing treatments or anything else was working,  I felt like I was suffocating.  I'm not going to lie, I was truly terrified.  Back to the ER on Monday night.  More tests, more meds, more problems, etc.  In the end, viral, bacterial and fungal infections were to rear their ugly heads.  Only able to sleep two hours a day due to constant monitoring and medication schedules (which seemed to be changed up often).  We had IV problems as well, did I mention I'm afraid of needles already?  Oh well, the staff was nice.  I am finally back home.  However, my room has been stripped of nearly everything that can move.  I am not allowed to do anything for at least three weeks, including climbing the stairs to go to my studio.  The meds are still round the clock and of course they are all on different schedules.  I have already lost two weeks of quilt related work time and now I have at least three more weeks of work to lose.  My daughter did better than me and only lost half of her work hours.  My husband, on the other hand, lost a full week of work.  Due to so many meds, our insurance didn't cover the majority of them.  Now, here me when I say I'm not complaining at all.  I'm stating facts as they are right now.  I'm grateful to be home again.  I'm grateful that I'm marginally better.  I'm grateful that I can watch quilty YouTube videos.  One could say that I can at least do some hand work while in the bed.  But have you ever tried to accurately use a small needle when you have the shakes from round the clock breathing treatments?  I did sew on two beads last night for my Ostrich Quilt and I'm not going to tell you how many times or how painfully I poked myself in the process.  I needed to do it though.  I needed to feel in control of something, anything, at all.  I have only two more that need to be on and I will try to do them today.  I know it will make me happy to have that round finished up and photographed. (I did it, see pics below! Do you know what the beads represent?)  The next round I need to audition some fabric for, so that I can definitely do.  And since I'm only using stuff from my stash, I don't have to feel bad about not being able to shop.  The other projects I want to work on require using a rotary blade...I think that is probably a no-no right now. LOL.  I'm praying that the treatments grow fewer and further between so that I can at least get 5 minutes done a day instead of my 15 minutes.  So, as I said, I'm not complaining.  I have no ill will toward anyone.  However, I do wish to make a brief public service announcement that if you are sick at all, please stay away from others!  You don't know what hardship you might be forcing on others.  IF, and I mean IF, someone went to the retreat knowing they were sick, but didn't think it was that big of a deal and didn't want to lose out on the money they spent... can I just say the money we have lost and are continuing to lose is a much greater amount.  Overall, I'm saying just be mindful of others, please.  Now, I've posted some pics of my last week below.  Some might be a bit graphic, so feel free to not look at them.  And my prayers for all of you are that you are well and get lots of quilty stuff done this week.

Opal is showing off the completed round!

Close up of left side.

Close up of top side.

Close up of left side.

Close up of bottom side.

Now for the not fun stuff....

Houston, we have a problem!

Better with this one... until it wasn't.

Gotta keep your spirits up.

Trying to make things fun.

My amazing support system!  He never left my side!

The reason I lost several pounds.