Bits 'N Pieces

This has been a very good week.  I completed my 10th finish of the year and checked off another UFO, leaving only five on the list.  "Bits 'N Pieces" is done!

Quilting this one was not a good experience.  (I was going to say that it was a huge challenge, or maybe a real hassle, or maybe even a pain in the neck, but I'm trying not to be too negative.)  First, I spent an hour trying to get the tension right.  I was trying to use a light grey thread on top and black thread on the bottom, but it was not working at all.  I knew it would be better to use the same thread on the top and bottom for the tension to work out.  My friend Faye at Mimi's Passions told me to think about using chartreuse or orange thread.  Now, why didn't I think of that?  I'm always suggesting that to other people, but I didn't think of it for myself.

You know what?  I really liked the orange!

Then, I had a lot of trouble stitching through all those layers.  In some spots with all the slashing apart and sewing back together, there were so many thicknesses it was really difficult to get smooth curves or keep the needle going without it getting hung up.   To top it all off, I managed to do this - 

Take my advice.  Don't do that.

I felt better once I decided on a binding color (with the help of Hubby) and I knew I was almost done.

Hand stitching the binding down is my favorite part of making a quilt!

Now that it's finished I really love this quilt.  There are so many fun fabrics in it, from plaids and selvedge edges .....

..... to thirties prints .....

..... to juvenile prints.

Even watermelon!

So, tonight I'm sitting back and enjoying my accomplishments (when I'm not doing a happy dance!)

I haven't kept a quilt for us in a long time, so I'm looking forward to snuggling up in this one, drinking coffee, and reading a book.  

I may just do that every morning!

If you want to see how the blocks were made look at this blog entry then read this one.

I'm linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Can I bet a Whoop Whoop?
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Teal Update (Alright......Purple, Too)

I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Well, that's only because (as with all things quilty) I have to do it my own way.  The challenge is to make one or more blocks of the color chosen for each month then put all of them together into one big rainbow quilt.  The goal I have set for myself is to make an entire charity quilt each month using that month's color.  That's a big challenge, but I'm excited about it.

Last month's teal blocks are now in a top and it's basted! 

I tortured myself with this quilt, trying to make it more interesting.  I had the whole first row put together with half-inch sashing strips .....

..... then decided it would be too much work, plus it really didn't make that much difference, and I ripped them all out.

It's times like this that I'm happy I have my trusty tool made by my friend Jack the Seam Ripper.  I want to buy a bunch of them just because they're so pretty!

I used a print from my stash for the backing.  I had bought three yards of it from The Fat Quarter Shop a while back, and forgot I had it.  It's from the Dim Dots collection by Michael Miller.  

(That stash really does come in handy sometimes!  Please tell Hubby that!)

As you know the January color was purple and I made string blocks.  I have made some progress there as well.  Hmmm, I didn't realize until I started typing that I also tortured myself trying to make this one more interesting.   I wanted to make a piano key border (really just want to use up every bit of purple I can!) ..... 

..... but it was just not working.   Someone suggested it was the orange border that wasn't working.  Not so.  I love the way it looks.  Plus it brings out the orange in the white print.

I decided on a final border using one of the purple fabrics and called it done.

This one is basted, too!

The March color will be announced tomorrow, so I need to get busy quilting or I will end up with a ton of UFO's at the end of the year.   You know what?  That is so not gonna happen!

I am linking up with So Scrappy's Linky Party.  Check it out.  There will be a bunch of teal projects there.

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A Happy Christmas!

Christmas this year has been a little different.  I wanted to stay ahead of the Fibromyalgia Monster so I decided to not decorate the house.  Surprisingly, I didn't even feel guilty about it.  In order to keep this post in the holiday spirit I will share with you a picture of our tree from last year!

It's a little out of the ordinary too, I know, but I kinda like to fit life into my own mold!

We celebrated Christmas at Adam and Brandy's house a few days early and had a wonderful time.  The food was delicious, the company delightful, and the grands were really excited about their gifts.  

Technology ruled the day.  Noah loved his super-duper headphones....

.....and Gavin and Aidan were surprised with their iPad mini's.  

Six and a half year old Aidan exclaimed, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" when he realized what it was.  By the end of the evening he was snapping pics with it and emailing them to us!  I woke up the next morning to a text message from him asking me if I wanted to Face Time with him!  

We got to open presents, too!  

This iArm that Adam and Brandy gave to Hubby was the best present of the day!  Too funny!!

Even though this Christmas was unlike other years, the best part of it was unchanged -- focusing on and spending time with people we love.

Normally I don't make any gifts for Christmas.  I find it much too stressful.  Besides that, when I do make a gift for someone, I just can't wait that long to give it to them!  This year I did make several things (probably because I saved so much time by not decorating!)  I'll show you those next time.  In the meantime, if you want to see the rest of our Christmas photos you can find them here on my Flickr page.