Catching Up (Again)!

I’m not sure where the time goes - seems like this year has flown by!  I keep snapping photos of projects with the intention of posting but then weeks go by and a post never seems to materialize. I have lots of catching up to do!

Earlier this year (Easter Sunday, to be exact) I finished The Village quilt.  It was gifted to a wonderful friend that hosted my daughter for four months while she completed her last optometry rotation in Kansas City.  It was such a fun quilt to make - I think I might have to make another one for me one of these days.

I finally finished my 2021 Quiltville Mystery top at a retreat in July.  I decided to go with an alternative setting I borrowed from a post I saw on Facebook since I wasn't a huge fan of Bonnie's final layout. My color choices turned out to be a bit odd when all together, but I’m okay with it. I think I will let this obe be my last - I don’t intend to get sucked into the mystery fervor this year.  I just have too many other things I’d rather work on!

I will save my latest adventures in rug hooking for another post to avoid this one getting insanely long. My most recent quilt-related trip was to Primitive Gatherings, a.k.a. Quilter’s Heaven.  I managed to get quite a bit accomplished while there.  I worked on my Oh Say Can You Sew, completing steps two and three, and then worked a bit on my Stars All Around summer block project.

I also got started on Moda’s Letters to Santa stitch-along. These words are so fun to make but eat up considerably more fabric than I expected.  I had to do a little web-surfing and order more so “Christmas” can match “Merry”. The fabric arrived over the weekend and is starched and ready to go if I get any sewing time this weekend.

That’s enough for this time around. I am determined to not let another six months lapse before my next post!

December 2021 Wrap-up

Where did 2021 go?  I can’t believe it’s already 2022.  It’s crazy how a pandemic can cause time to both drag and speed by simultaneously. The past year was crazy busy between work, resuming many in-person events, and having the opportunity (too many opportunities) to participate in workshops and programs via Zoom.  I definitely need to exercise more self control when it comes to signing up for online activities this year!

I have a lot of catching up to do - I actually made a lot of progress on various projects last year - but to keep this post from getting too far out of hand I will limit my update to December activities.  I started the month with back-to-back retreats which gave me time to put together a St. Louis Blues t-shirt quilt for my future son-in-law and to finish assembling the Christmas tree lap quilt I started at the end of 2020.

I finished stitching the binding on this one around 10 PM on the 23rd, just in time to get it wrapped and under the tree for our celebration on Christmas Eve.  I’m happy to report that he seemed to really like it!

I still need to quilt this one, but with the holidays over it may sit until next year.  I have a tough time working on Christmas projects outside of December.

My second December retreat was Primitive Gatherings’ Naughty & Nice event.  It was my second trip to The Gathering - the first was an impromptu decision to go for the first week they were officially open in August after hearing (to my amazement) that they had lots of openings.  I couldn’t resist going back when I heard that Lisa was planning to have the place decorated with red & white quilts.  It was a wonderful event!  The Gathering (which is an awesome retreat facility) was gorgeous!

We worked on several fun projects, including  a gingham quilt that I loved so much I bought it in three colors. I finished a queen-sized version of the black & white while there and quilted it over the Christmas break.  

We also took a tour of a small craft cheese factory, a fantastic antique/home dec shop, and of Lisa’s house.  It was a great week and I can’t wait to return!

I’m working on my goals for 2022 and may try to join the PhD in 2022. I made great progress on my 2021 list, but have quite the backlog of tops that need quilted and quilts that need bound.  All will be on my list for this year!