finishing up for the holidays

the adorable sweater i've been knitting for the last 5 months is not going to work out. i have this vision in my head (and yes, i told snappy it) that if i send it, then i will be the aunt who made the pink bunny suit.



so this is what i'm making instead. same yarns: blue cotton and silvery gray bamboo/silk blend....what's left of them anyways, made into a cute stocking cap for my nephew. this bit of blue is actually a different dye lot, but was NOT marked as such. so when the last bit of knitting to the dang sweater is the front, along the top of the sleeves, shoulders and neckline...a different shade of obvious blue is not a good thing.

last week, while i was home sick as a dog after my whirlwind trips to california and washington, d.c., i finally finished stitching the binding to my wonky log cabin that i did with quilt dad's quilt along earlier this fall. i had it sewn on, but not turned and handstitched for a couple of months. i know...shame on me... but i was doing good things! QOVs instead!

quilt front

click on these pictures to see the fabrics better. the tree fabrics are just too cool and i'm glad i finally got to make my christmas quilt after purchasing the tree fabrics 6 years ago.

quilt back

i'm proud to say that this quilt is almost entirely made from stash fabrics. i bought a fat quarter each of a red and a blue fabric and about 3/4 yard of another red fabric to use in here. when i bought all the other fabrics over the years, i did not expect to do a log cabin and need more variations. i still think i should have had one more white or blue to mix in, but i love it. even if my first attempt at free-motion quilting needs a lot more practice. oh - and i bought the white kona cotton for the sashing since i was out of plain white. that same white kona was also used in 2 more quilts and i have a 6" wide piece left of my 6 yards.

now, i only have one more quilt to make before christmas. two if i count boo's cat-in-the-hat quilt that i swear i started handquilting again last week. it's just coming along slowly. and i'm knitting a baby blanket for my best friend's baby due in late december/early january.

wonky progress

so i'm making progress on my wonky log cabin xmas quilt for john's quilt along. the top and backing are pieced, it's all sandwiched and look!!!

me attempting to machine quilt...

i'm doing a loop-de-loop quilting on this one. i had really planned on doing some neat tree quilting with a christmas light stitching on the border of whatever i made with these fabrics. i've had the border stencil for a few years and the tree one since last year's houston international quilt festival. oh well. another time...



so as you can see, some of my loops are great and others are not so great. i wasn't going to use this picture on any posts, but boo took this one and the one of me at my machine. how could i turn down my sweet 7-yr old budding photographer? umm....you don't.... :)

and holy cow! look at the dust/lint bunnies below!!



all this from one single little quilt. this wonky quilt is not that big. it's about 56-58 inches square if i remembered how big my border fabric is...i could do calculations correctly... long day. i don't want to think anymore!

but - i talked to my best friend tonight. he's another sailor and i've known him forever. they found out that they're having a little girl!!! apparently, she was not shy during this ultrasound. so, now i've got to get cranking and finish the blanket i'm knitting for this little one. and the xmas present for my nephew...and the mini quilt for my in-laws...

sooooo hard....

not to buy any fabric right now.... i'm participating in the september fabshophop and i see so many fabrics and patterns and cool tools i want to snag. but i can't. i have to be good so i can spend my money at the international quilt show in 2 1/2 weeks. my hubby and my MIL will be with me this year, so i may get good things from them BUT i may have to limit myself at the same time because of my hubby. ooh. dilemma.

and the inter-gem show is the weekend before the inter-quilt show. shoot! must save...must save... trying to buy house... although, i do have some fabulous bright/deep blue hayunes on lay-a-way with my favorite gem cutter and i plan on picking them up at the october show. too bad they're loose and not set yet so i can't wear them to the mfah's fall bash later that night.

at least i'm doing some xmas fabric stash busting with john's quilt-along. lots o' fabrics that have been taking up storage tub space for 4-5+ years. i'd say it made room for new fabrics at the quilt show, but i've already filled that space. *gasp!!!* i know. i'm bad. i have an addiction i tell ya!

MIL's mini quilt - WIP

MIL's mini quilt - WIP
Originally uploaded by greeneyedsilversmith

alright folks.... i said i'd post a picture of my first paper piecing experience, so here it is!

originally, it was only supposed to have the skinny black border and the woven border. but my dingbat self trimmed it to finished size instead of adding the seam allowance. i sandwiched it last night and am using the solid green fabric for the backing and will bind it in the same rust-colored leaf print that is the outer border.

should i add a sleeve/pocket for hanging? or just leave it? i have no idea how she'll hang it or do whatever it is that she'll do with it.

one set of my in-laws live in kansas and literally across the street from a farm. it's gorgeous in the snow - all that unspoiled white to look at from your kitchen window. they also live in a flight path to the nearby airport. AND my MIL works for cessna, my FIL retired from there and works contract work for airplane tire companies. they're plane kind of people, so i embroidered a little plane in the sky. my hubby loves that i did that.

speaking of the hubby... snappy is trying to compare my quilting obsession (after i told him i'm joining the quilt-a-long with quilt dad) with his "love" of paintball. how is that a good comparison?! he shoots people, comes home a paint-covered mess and only has hours of cleaning and red welts/bruises to show for it. i, on the other hand, have tangible works of textile art to hold and wrap around me, to comfort the worthy people and servicemembers and make people smile. hmm.... i'm just not seeing it....

here i go again

so now i think i'm joining quilt dad's wonky quilt-a-long. am i a glutton for punishment?! do i not already know i cannot do as many block swaps and mini quilt swaps this month due to multiple birthday's in my house (must plan 7 yr old birthday party....) and i have oh let's see....2 current knitting projects...1 QOV started... 2 quilt tops that need backs for myself...1 kid's quilt in hoop and sitting next to living room tv.... 1 mini paper-pieced mini quilt for my MIL*... plus a whole bunch of other things, such as finishing my illustration and getting the items together for my etsy shop.

um. yeah.

but maybe i'll use my christmas fabric that i've had sitting in plastic bins (i have more for various things in my storage unit. note to self: check on said storage unit this week since i forgot to cover items on weekend and there is construction to repair hurricane damage...) for the past 5+ years. i've never known what pattern to make in the first place. i have TONS of the fabrics. they're taking up lots o' space. who needs 4 yards each of two color variations of the same modern tree print? me apparently.

so tonight, i guess i'm pulling out the christmas fabric and taking inventory to see if that's what i'm using. i vow not to buy fabric for this one. unless it's backing or binding and i absolutely positively cannot find SOMETHING in my stash that will work.

*update on this paper-pieced mini... i'm a complete dingbat...when i finished it and went to trim it, seam allowances were not anywhere on the brain. until i made that last cut with the rotary cutter. i trimmed it to the finished size. nice. so now it's getting a third border. pictures later.