First Finish 2012!

My little wall hanging is part of a calendar series.  This one is for January and I finished him this morning

It has raw edge applique and free motion stitching.  I probably should have gone a little more vibrant on his scarf but I was determined to use only scraps that I had (or scraps I could snag from my sister).  Now that I have completed something new I have to finish something old.  Looks like the binding is going on my niece's quilt tonight.  She has been waiting for the quilt for 3 years.  (I am a crappy aunt and godmother!)

It snowed here last night and into the early morning.  I think there is about 4 inches which I believe is going to be topped with some freezing rain.  Lovely.  I guess I need to get my boots on and shovel the sidewalk before there is a lawsuit...

A little free motion practice

I am participating in the 2012 Free-Motion Challenge on SewCalGal's blog.  This is my version of the first challenge.

The task was to make leaves in a continuous pattern.  I used black thread to make the pattern stand out so that I could look at my stitch length.  My stitches are consistent but the quality of the leaves are marginal.  Had I done the leaves in a pale pink thread, I think they would have looked decent.  I free motion frequently but tend to do either a stipple or large meander.  I intentionally slowed my speed and concentrated on stitch length.  All in all, an "ok" practice.

Just a little something to keep me busy

I don't like to sew at night.  I am usually not terribly alert and a needle through a fingernail is not what I want to jolt me awake!   I like to keep my hands busy when I am watching television so I either crochet or knit.  (If I am doing some kind of needlework I am not cramming chips or cookies in my mouth.)  I have been making these darling crochet ruffle scarves.

The pattern is from Lion Brand and the scarf is made with their Homespun yarn.  Here is a link to the pattern.  I have made it with different yarns, slight variations in stitches, etc.  Every one is very pretty.  I have sold several and gave several as gifts at Christmas.  The picture makes it look very "lumpy" to wear but not so.  It works beautifully if you make a long loop, shove the ends through the loop and then wrestle with it a little to get the loop close to your neck.  It provides lots of fabric around your neck and just a small amount of bulk at the top of your coat or jacket.  One of the best things is that the scarves make up very quickly (it takes me two nights to make one).  If you crochet, try it.  Bet you can't make just one!!

Made a decision

Because I love it so, I am not taking down this tree

...at least not until Valentine's Day.  Or maybe I will throw on some hearts and baby's breath keep it up until St. Patrick's Day.  Or maybe I will put on some green shamrocks and keep it up until Easter.  Or perhaps I will trim it with eggs and spring flowers and keep it up until Memorial Day.  Or I could just keep it up until...

Quick trip with my sister

This morning my sister and I made a very early morning trip to Burkholder's to take advantage of the last few days of their customer appreciation sale.  Mr. Martin saw us looking at the Moda fat quarter bundles and surprised us by offering an additional discount if we took 4 bundles.  Well, you don't have to tell us twice!  Between the two of us we purchased 100 fat quarters.  Here are the two bundles of 25 that I chose.

They also had a large number of patterns that were only a dollar a piece.  I chose these.

I may wait for a while to make the mitten runner but I really want to make the batik snowflake wall hanging as soon as I can.  I picked up the sunflower pattern for Emily as they are her favorite flower.  The Quilt Soup pattern will look darling in my daughter in law's kitchen.  That may end up being a Christmas gift next year.  I could not pass up the small Holy Family penny rug.

Jodi at Pleasant Home is doing a month long series on scrap quilting.  It is just the push I need to use up some scraps.  The first one I am going to try is Freda's picnic quilt.  If you don't already read Jodi's blog, pop over and check it out.  Jodi has a beautiful blog and I am certain you will enjoy reading it!

Goals

Just thought I would mention that it is COLD, y'all!  I enjoy a nip in the air but this is a shock to my system.  (I am, of course, a delicate flower...)

Now that I have finished complaining about the temperature, I am going to tell you about my list of things I hope to do in 2012.  I used to be extremely goal oriented back in the day when I was in sales and worked for a terrific company that rewarded their employees for reaching certain goals.  Now, not so much.  I enjoy my job but it doesn't have the stress (or rewards) that come with working in sales.  At any rate, my goal setting skills have diminished over the years but I do have some things in mind for my sewing studio for 2012.

1.  Clean and organize (and keep it that way!)  Yes, I do realize that is awfully vague for a goal but it's the best I can do at this point.
2.  Photograph groupings of fabrics for my purse/tote/quilt making business
3.  Finally finish my sister's quilt and put the binding on my niece's quilt. (The quilt has been finished to that point for 3 years.  What is up with me and binding?!)
4.  Use up some of the fabric in my ridiculous number of scrap bins and actually make 2 scrap quilts.
5.  Make 12 Christmas runners prior to November.  They really don't take that long and why I wait to the very last minute is beyond me.
6.  Limit "custom" work to only two products per month during the first 10 months of the year AND no more that 10 between November 1st and December 10th.  No more Christmas Eve deliveries to customers and making myself and my family crazy!
7.  Etsy shop - seriously.
8.  For every new project, finish an old WIP.  I have so many projects that just need to be quilted...and I actually really enjoy quilting.  I need to get them quilted before my sister sells her long arm which she is threatening to do.
9.  Paper piece something.  I hate the thought of wasting fabric but I would love to make a mariner's compass and the only way that is going to happen is if I learn to paper piece and embrace the process.
10.  I took a photo of Mount Rainier about 10 years ago that I want to re-create in a landscape quilt.  It is time to stop looking at it on my project board and make that quilt!

I think all of these goals are attainable and that is the idea behind goal setting.  Now it needs to be determined if I am a slacker or champion goal setter!