I finished 29 quilty projects last year (not including masks, aprons, & a couple of pillow cases). I also had 20 blog posts! Not bad considering I have worked a full time job, outside of my home, all year long. Not all of my makes/finishes were quilts, but a finish is a finish is a finish, am I right? You might can tell my favorite was Scrappy Trips since I made 3 quilts + a couple of table toppers. Here they all are in reverse order. Enjoy!
A Thread for Life
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17 NIV
Dare I call myself a blogger if I let two months pass between posts? And I was doing so good for awhile.
Anyway, hi! How have you been? Me, I have been busy w/work and life.
I’ve also been doing some sewing and quite a bit of quilting. I did really well the first part of the year, working on one project at a time for the most part. BUT, I haven’t really followed that rule as of late. And honestly I can’t tell if I’m more or less productive so I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Here are my makes since I last posted.
I was inspired by my favorite apron to make these, so I copied it a little and winged it a lot. The loops at teh waist are for hand towels.
A scrappy trips table topper. This is an awesome pic if I say so myself.
This little ghostie wall hanging was a kit I had for at least 4 years. It was so simple I felt silly for not making it sooner.
I made these 2 pumpkin wall hangings/table toppers. I realize they resemble apples but they are orange and one is made w/pumpkin fabric, so there! 😉 I combined a couple of patterns to make these. I got the measurement of the pumpkin and the stem from Patchwork Pumpkin Block by Farm Girl Vintage and the rest from Pumpkin Wall Hanging on Quilters Cache.
I finally finished the Build A Quilt quilt. I say finally because as I was quilting it, Esperanza locked up on me. Thankfully, w/my son’s help, we were able to get her off and back on the frame w/o taking the quilt completely off. Missouri Sewing Machine Company had her all fixed up in less than a week’s time.
My latest finish is this wee quilt, 30″ x 36″, made from cutoffs of my niece’s quilt. It reminds me of Origami Cranes.
I swore I wouldn’t make another mask…until I saw Svetlana’s video tutorial for 3d masks. This is the simplest mask I’ve made and the only style I’ll make from now on.
And these are my works in progress.
A patchwork runner for my dresser, designed by me. I stitched in the ditch and now I’m adding hand quilting. It’s the hand quilting that is keeping this in the WIP status. I’m making quicker progress than I thought I would though.
The next wip is from this book. I have several quilts in this book marked to make.
This one is called Fall Frolic and is primarily made w/Thimbleberries fabrics. It is also currently on the quilt frame.
And on deck, waiting to be quilted is Winter Quilt.
It is a free-form block project from this book. I adore this book and I have even more quilts marked to make in it!
Besides quilting, I did a couple of home improvements, but my absolute fave is the fireplace makeover. What do you think?
Another thing I’ve been doing a lot of lately is cooking! I started a low carb/keto lifestyle in mid August. I have since lost approximately 15 lbs. I’ve done more baking in the last few months than I have in my entire life. Most of the recipes I’ve made are from Wholesome Yum which I found on Pinterest. I had a completely keto Thanksgiving which consisted of roasted Cornish Hens, spinach balls, cauliflower mac & cheese, keto fathead dinner rolls, and sugarfree pumpkin cheesecake. But a couple of my fave go-to recipes are fathead pizza crust and chaffles.
And now I’m ready for Christmas!
And here’s a close up of my Starburst Tree Skirt.
If you made it all the way down here, good on you! Thanks for stopping by! Until next time, (hopefully it won’t be 2 mos from now), God bless you, Happy Stitchin’, and Happy Holidays!
A Thread for Life
Think on These Things Amos R. Wells
No Way to Christ
Once, during a revival, a minister was hailed by a young man who asked, “Can you tell me the way to Christ?” The minister’s reply was astonishing; “No, I cannot tell you the way to Christ.” “But I thought you were a minister,” the young man stammered; “I beg your pardon.” “I am a minister,” was the answer. “Well then,” the young man urged, “I don’t see why you cannot tell the way to Christ.” “Because,” the minister said earnestly, “there is no way to Christ. Christ Himself is the Way. Christ is here. All you have to do is to believe Him, and you have Him.”
There is a great truth in this story. Too often we go blundering around in our search for Christ, trying numerous paths, all of which prove to be blind alleys. We try the path of philosophy. We try the path of human counsellors. We try the path of good deeds. We try the path of our own will power. And none of these lead to Christ. Now why not cease from all these vain trials and try Christ Himself? Why not go to Him, and not to any substitute for Him? Why not simply say, “I am here, my Savior, and You are here. I yield myself to You. Lord, what will You have me to do?” No one ever came to Jesus in that spirit and failed to find Him.
Pray- Our blessed Redeemer, we know that You are seeking us more earnestly than any of us can be seeking You. Come to us, Lord Jesus, and make us Your own, today, tomorrow, the next day, and forever. Amen.
These are the things I made in 2019, but not necessarily in this order. Most are finished but a few are works in progress.
This Legendary quilt and throw pillow for a dear friend. And it was quilted by another dear friend, Katy.
This is my version of the popular Starburst Tree Skirt. I used my 10-degree wedge ruler and finished it differently than the tutorial suggested. I was so excited to dress my tree with it this year!
A second tree skirt. It adorned the office tree this year.
I made this quilt for baby Rowan at church. The colors for his quilt were inspired by the shower invitations.
This gem was made for a cousin whom I promised a quilt to 3 years ago. I’m relieved to have finally made and gifted it this year!
This thriller is for me! Meadowland is a quilt that was on my list for over a year. It’s still in the flimsy state and I plan to quilt this one myself on someone’s longarm.
I made these I Heart America pillows as decor for the Patriotic holidays. It’s a free pattern too. I practiced ruler quilting on them.
I took a Which Quilt Block Are You? quiz twice and came up with Jacob’s Ladder, so I made two. I practiced ruler quilting on it as well. It’s hanging on the wall of my sewing room.
This is a paper-pieced quilt I got from a magazine back in 2012 before I even knew how to paper-piece. It hangs on the wall of my work office. I had it quilted at Quilting Is My Therapy.
This Mini Maker Station is a free project by Lillyella. It’s been on the list for quite some time even though I hardly ever do handwork. But I am now prepared to do some if/when the need/desire arises.
This is another free project by Lillyella that has been on my list for some time. The Undercover Maker Mat.
My first Quilt of Valor. This is a pattern I designed a couple of years ago. It’s called Straits and Arrows and it is FREE by clicking the link or in the sidebar of my blog. Download your FREE copy today! Check out how Katy finished it.
This next quilt is for one of my nieces. This particular niece got a very elementary version of a quilt back in 2011 when I first started quilting; one made of 10″ squares. I’ve been meaning to make her another since then. Well, here it is! It’s a pattern called Heirloom by Pat Bravo. It’s going to be a gift for her 9th birthday in April. I dropped it off at the quilter on Tuesday.
This little top I put together w/a fraction of the cut-offs from Heirloom. It’s crib size and still a flimsy. There was A LOT of “waste” from the Heirloom quilt. Believe it or not, I probably still have enough to make another large lap quilt the size of Heirloom.
This is the top and backing of a fat quarter challenge quilt I’m making for Quilts Beyond Borders.
These are the first two blocks of Angela Walters Build A Quilt. It’s basically a block of the month. I chose the Urban Grid colorway. I’m super excited about this!
And lastly, this is a commissioned project. It will be a quilted anniversary pillow.
I believe that’s everything. I’m satisfied w/the amount of making I did in 2019. I am thankful and always look forward to any time I get to spend stitching.
May 2020 be a year full of blessings and stitching for you ALL!
A Thread for Life
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 2Cor 5:17-20
A Quilted Passion 