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Anyone out there...is this thing on?

Google has announced it is doing away with reader, which is where I read all my blogs, so what is a girl to do?  I have made the switch to Bloglovin since you are taking away my friend reader.  Guess what, Bloglovin is pretty cool and it actually works better!  Just a heads up in case you were wondering what to do without reader to read your blogs.  Even has an phone ap.  Score!

On the home front, it is just crazy busy around here.  Little sewing is getting done.  Oh, I have projects, they are just not mine LOL

A couple finishes for my shop. 

Adding a personal message on a quilt I sold from my shop.  This was such a fun touch; she requested I embroider it, but I made it very clear that embroidery is NOT my thing...though that puts the little spark in my mind, that maybe I should try it again.  : )

Took this sweet one to see her favorite group!  A bit excited she was! lol

It was a pretty good show and I fit right in with all the other 40something moms taking their teen daughters to see Adam Lavine....of course it was only because our daughters wanted to go, right?  : )

Plaid blocks for DGS March 

On the frame right now.

And truthfully on the blog front I am so uninspired to keep on blogging here in this space.  It just kind of hangs over my head as another thing I should do, and not one I want to be doing anymore, hence the lack of posts lately.  

I might be back, we will see.

January

Wow, I cannot believe how fast this month has flown by.   I look back at my calendar on the wall and every night of the week but Tuesdays there has been something to do and somewhere to be.

The Boy has been playing basketball for the first time and hubs has been his coach.  Hubs who happily coaches soccer, but himself has never had a love for basketball or even played other than a game of HORSE, stepped up to coach; otherwise there would not have been a team for The Boy to play on.  Way to step up!!  I think they are both having fun hee hee

Miss H has been practicing for a play, A Year with Frog and Toad thru a local community theater.  Opening night is tomorrow!  So excited to see her in the role of a mole...yup a mole!  Should be pretty cute!

In between all the practices and real life, I have been eeking out some quilting time for me and for others.  I take lots of pictures, but mostly post them on Instagram anymore, it is so easy!  I am @denisequilts over there if you want to follow me.  Even did a quilt along you may have heard about #scrappytripalong!  

Following a tutorial at quiltville.com ...if you haven't tried this yet, you must!  Practically instant gratification!

My helper was trying to be funny...sticking her tongue out over the top of the quilt, etc. 

Here I had asked her to turn around so I could get a pix of the back of the quilt....a bit of a smarty pants this one!  Wonder where she gets it?! lol

Along with the gang from EMQG we put this top together for QuiltCon charity project and then I brought it home and quilted it, bound it, and sent it on its way to Austin TX. 

I first quilted it in light grey regular quilt length stitches, then went back over it in long colored stitches for an almost hand quilted look.  

One done for Nancy...she wanted circles to match the fabric, circles, swirls and some loops all give this quilt some amazing texture.  Thanks Nancy, it was fun!

Cats on the beach...lol

Some wolves...

There were a couple others in here too, but I missed out on taking pix of those before they went back to their makers.  

I joined a paper piecing quilt along, all the blocks are sewing related and at the end of the year there will be enough to make a sewing themed quilt. 

I also signed up to do a craft fair in March 23, so that should keep me busy making goodies to sell.  

I will keep you posted on that!  If you like shabby chic home goods, this is the place to go!

Off to pick up the girl child from her last play practice before the big night, TTFN

End of 2012

I might as well jump on the "what did I do all year?" bandwagon.  It has been interesting to see what I really have accomplished all year quilt wise.  So much time goes into each quilt from the planning to the binding, it is amazing how much I can get done.  Especially owning a longarm now!  That makes all the difference!!

I am seriously lacking in finished pictures of all my projects though.  I give them away meaning to take a picture before I do and then (insert head slap here) I realize I never took the photo.  Frustrating!  And taking them with my phone just does not cut it! : )

Good thing my dear sweet hubs bought me a new camera for Christmas!  It has some really cool features like panorama...this one is so fun...see...

 Caught in the act of "Just Dance" ing together! 

Some of my finishes from 2012....that lack of picture taking thing again...I am missing 3 finishes.

 

Some of the ones I quilted for others this year...such a fun learning process!

 

Bee blocks from this year...I think I caught pix of most of them. 

 

 

Most importantly are the snippets of what the fam did all year...just a few!  We had birthdays, got chickens, had a blast in band, joined theater, played soccer, much, much more and the best of all we all loved on each other!  Good times!

 

Goodbye 2012, here is to another great year!

 

 

 

 

December

 

A few Christmas projects...

 

Our tree hunting group...

it was like herding cats with all those kids!

 

 

 

This might have been our Christmas card picture had I gotten around to doing them this year.

 

 

Our giant tree...it is what happens when a 10-yo picks it out. : )

 

 Merry Christmas All!

End of November

 

Some fun quilting on my Vintage Holiday quilt

 

 

 



 

More fun quilting on I Spy quilt for October doGoodStitches Harmony group.  Getting up close and personal with this one while quilting I saw so many adorable fabrics...some kiddo thru Project Linus is going to get such a kick with this one.

 

 

 

I really need to get a full shot of this quilt for Linda, it turned out fabulous if I do say so myself : )  Wood grain quilting on the borders in bright light looks so cool...plus is so fun to do.

 

 

 Orange peel quilting on this Christmas present using this tutorial.  Perfect for patchy quilts like this.

More straight line meander and some other stitches in EMQG challenge quilt from a long, long time ago...it is in the binding process now, which may take me a while : )

 

 

 

Some gratuitous pix of the fam too....when everyone is actually home at the same time : )  It does not happen often anymore.  

 

I threatened to use this one on our Christmas cards this year...and might actually do it if only The Boy's eyes were open...still might as I am getting down to the wire to get cards done.  : )

 

Or maybe this one...

 

 

Seem to see a pattern here....little brother, big sister = head lock LOL

 

 

 

Vote for me

Remember this QAL I joined?

And finished this quilt...

 

I finished in the top 10!  Whoo hoo!

 

Now I need you lovely followers to go vote for me so I can finish in the top 3!

 

Pretty Please?!?!

 

Pile O Fabric Let the Voting Begin!

 

Happy Halloween!!

 

 

 

Groovy finish...

Well just in the knick of time I finished, totally finished this baby!  It was supposed to be finished in time for a special girls birthday oh, on the 5th of the month, but hey almost 20 days late is better than never! LOL

This is how far I had gotten by her birthday : )

Sorry for the somewhat blurry pictures, my poor camera is slowly dying....that would be a great Christmas present (hint, hint!)

This quilt challenged me in so many ways!  Lining up all the 3-1/2 in pieces and using solid fabrics, which I almost never use, took a lot of seam ripping.  I found I could not watch Netflix while piecing like I usually do, I really had to pay attention on this one or I would, say sew an entire row wrong...not that I did that or anything : )   Laying it out row by row took some creativity as my usual design wall was not large enough, so I had it going on 2 walls.

 

 



Miss H had drawn this amazing hand in art class and I used this as my quilting inspiration. 

So thankful once again for my longarm....I could NEVER have done this on my little domestic machine!

This is what it looked like yesterday evening....such a fun one to quilt!

This bright blue patch in the collage says "made with love for HMW love mama"  I realize now that I forgot to date it...opps!

 

The colors are of Miss H's choosing as earlier this year we repainted her room and have slowly been redoing it into a more "grown up" room since she was turning 13.   I had purchased all the fabric, but where it is grey I was originally going to put an apple green for a pop of color, but "someone" insisted on grey and I am so glad she did. 

Here it is all finished.  I bound it in scraps from the quilt.  Washed late last night and ready to be put in place on Miss H's bed.  I ran out between rain showers this morning and hung it over the fence as no one else is home to be my holder upper.

A hint of the back which is a sheet and some Chevrons, which match her curtains and bed skirt. 

Linking up with the Totally Groovy QAL

Now off to work!