Bonnie Hunter's En Provence mystery quilt is DONE!!

Now I am working on finishing Carolina Crossroads.  This was hard to lay out.  I made the same number of each of the units. Red, Yellow, Black, and Blue (the colors from the Superman print for the back.) There are the same number of the two different kinds of blocks.  I didn't follow any pattern of putting them together, however, because there were so many fabrics.  It maybe would have been easier if I had.

I just bought a stripology ruler after hearing how much Bonnie Hunter liked hers.  So far is is making cutting up my scraps easier.  I bought it through Amazon.

I also made a label for my En Provence quilt that was Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt this year.  It is in the wrong corner to be right side up for my garden/ bicycle pic on the back, but I forgot all about a label until I only had one corner left.  So, rather than take out my binding, I decided to live with it upside down.  I used Superior's Bottom Line thread for the lettering and am happy with the results.  It took me much longer than it should have because I couldn't get my fonts into embird on either of my computers.  On windows 10 it worked, and I couldn't get the fonts to load on my windows 8, so much time wasting.

I am trying to do a machine embroidery item once a month, even it it is something small and simple.

January's mug mat

Yes, that is a bird.  I find my biggest problem is trying to decide what to do.  My new phrase is,

 "Just do something! It doesn't matter what."

February's pot holder

I am not sure why it is turned.

February 1, 2017

I said I would post progress on the infamous 20 year old cross stitch angel.  It doesn't look like a whole look of progress, but there is. I got the tip from my friend Susie to make a grid 10x10 on the linen.  That helps in counting a bunch.  It is not the quality of my previous works, but once it is on the wall maybe it won't be noticeable.

January 24, 2017

A biopsy of a spot on my ankle.  turned into a removal of skin cancer.  I was told it would take 30 minutes and a couple of stitches.  It did take less than 30 minutes, but I think 9 stitches is more than a couple.  :)

January 16, 2016

I have been binge reading.  My living room is sunny and I have a quilt and a comfortable chair that I love.  When the temperature is below zero, it is the perfect place to be. I have read 8 books in these first 16 days.  This is my first year that I didn't set some goals.  Nevertheless, I am committed to eating healthy and exercising.

I have finished the top of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, En Provence, inspired by her trip to France. I started on Friday, November 25,2016.  She revealed what it would look like on January 1, 2017.

I like it and used everything from my own fabric stash except for some lavenders that my friend, Marge Laferriere gave me.

I don't have a big enough space to lay it out to photograph it.  It's 90" x 90".  I bought 2 yards of fabric for the back with bicycles in a garden.  I will use other pieces from what is leftover from the front.

January 2, 2017

I always start the year out with a few blog posts and then they dwindle off as the year goes on.  We'll see how it all goes in 2017.  I  need a more efficient way of doing it all.  I want to spend less time on the computer and more time doing other things, so that is my excuse.

I started these cross stitch pictures many many years ago.  I bought the frames and suede mats when I was working at Deck the Walls, so I am thinking it was about 20 years ago.

This has been hanging on my living room wall off and on for the last 20 years.  I got it out for Christmas this year. It is called Angel of Freedom.

Angel of  Freedom

I have decided to finish its mate this year and have decided to keep track of my progress monthly as a motivator. These cold snowy days are perfect for working on it.  It look a great deal of time to find a hoop and needles to say nothing of the floss needed.  My floss is a huge tangled mess.  I started to organize it, but then quit because I don't see more hand cross stitch in my future.  I will continue to do hand stitching, but not cross stitch.   I will leave tat kind of embroidery to my embroidery machine.

One of the quilts I finished in 2016 is this split nine patch.  I tried some new things with the machine quilting and I am happy with it.  I had kind of forgotten until Mom came for Christmas and raved about it.

split nine patch

Bonnie Hunter's leaders and enders project for 2013-2014

I really admire people who can take such nice pictures of their quilts. I think I will try to improve my photo taking skills this year.  Once again another thing that will take time from my quilting.  :)  I will also try to take pictures of the things that I make, so I can look back at the year and see what I have accomplished.  I tried a spreadsheet like some of the ladies on stashbusters, but once again I was spending more time documenting my progress than making progress.