January has been a busy month

Month 1 of the Lynette Anderson BOM is done! Well, almost, there is some more embroidery to finish this piece. What a lot of work for one month; it kept me busy that's for sure. Lots of fits and starts and seam ripping and plotting and planning! 

Lynette's quilt calls for nine patches made of nine different fabrics. These blocks finish at 3 inches so I was sewing 1 1/2 inch squares together and I was not happy with the results. The Quilt Show forum I joined suggested using Billie Lauder's method for making nine patches. I got much better results with this method and think I have sufficient variety in my blocks to make an interesting border. 

Have you tried Billie Lauder's way of making nine patches before? The video is from 2011, so this has been around awhile. Sometimes a reminder is good, don't you think?

Had some wooly thread from an embroidery shop and couched it around the outline of sheep. Aren't they cute? I like their little legs, too. 

Can't wait for the February instructions to arrive; I'm ready!

I've been making bags like crazy, too. This one features a cowgirl that I printed on fabric then embellished with beads and embroidery. Vintage lace, buttons, and patchwork for extra goodness.

Another bag, this one with hand embroidery of my own design. 

One wintry afternoon I sat in front of the kitchen fire and embroidered and dreamed of summer. I love pink, coral, and green together.

A few more totebags. No embellishments, the fabrics are enough. These bags are great for toting projects around. They easily hold sock knitting, embroidery, or applique projects.

My great-nephew Max came to visit over Christmas vacation and we had a wonderful day together. This is a pizza we made. Max enjoys baking so we made the dough ourselves. Let me know if you would like the recipe. This is the best dough and sauce I've ever made. Oh, it makes me drool just to think of it!

Max also made white bread that day. Luckily, the recipe made two loaves so he got to take one home to his family.

While waiting for the dough to rise we played board games. What a fun day, thanks Max!

2015-off with a bang!

Do you recognize this quilt or the designer? It is Lynette Anderson, of course. The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims is presenting this quilt called My Country House as the Block of the Month quilt for 2015. The pattern is free for Quilt Show members for the whole year. Each month instructions for a new section of the quilt will be available. Usually there is a free video that goes along with the monthly instructions that gives extra help in making the blocks. 

When I decided to make this quilt my initial thought was to do the center house, the patchwork border, and the vine and flower border only. Then I started looking more closely at other details of this quilt and they appeal to me so much that I want to make the whole quilt. I especially love the vine and heart at the top. 

I've been shopping for similar fabrics at Marden's and even found a jelly roll of Lynette Anderson fabrics that really helped me with color selection. Her color palette is really not what I usually work with so I didn't think I would have anything in my stash that would work. Surprisingly, when brought home my fabrics from Mardens and compared them to my stash, I was able to pull a few pieces that will work. Actually, some of my choices are brighter than Lynette's but that is what makes a quilt so individual, isn't it? 

Month 1 is the house block and the surrounding patchwork, so quite a bit to do in January. I'm not attempting needle turn applique. I'm being realistic about how much time I want to devote to this project. I'm doing fusible applique, some raw edge and some not. I'm using some clear thread to sew the applique pieces and some with thread to match the fabric. All of the embroidery details I will do by hand because that is the part I really enjoy! 

Here are two blocks from a four block wall hanging I am working on. Fusible applique with machine stitching around the details. These hens and rooster were really fun to put together. The pattern is from McCall's Scrap Quilts 2013. I'm ready to machine quilt the top but...well, see the above project...

Did I show you this? I don't think so. I was working on this crazy quilt block before Christmas and it has gotten lost in the pile. I hand dyed the peach and green fabrics. I used an antique hankie in the upper corner. I've added some more stitching on the left but no photo yet. I really like these peach and green colors. The image for photo on fabric is from the Graphics Fairy. 

Last but not least, I joined Tacoma Lakes Quilt group this month! I was a member, in fact president of the PTQG chapter, back when I was a librarian in Bowdoinham, more than six years ago. I was warmly welcomed back into the fold by this dynamic group of ladies last week. Andrea nominated me for lifetime membership and I was voted in! Thank you, thank you, I'm really honored! You can see photos of the group (and me!) at http://tacomalakesquilters.blogspot.com/

So, 2015 is off with a bang for me and I hope it is for you, too.