{ My Best of 2015 }

I'm excited to be participating in the {Best of 2015} linky party

sponsored by Meadow Mist Designs. I've chosen five posts from the past year

to share with everyone. I hope you enjoy!

I've got the kettle on and as soon as the water boils I'll be settling 

in to read all of your favorite blog posts of 2015.

Sister's Choice Christmas Quilt January 2015

 Red Letter Day October 2015

Noah's Sailboat October 2015

Christmas Flirt December 2015

Scrumptious Baby Quilt December 2015

Happy New Year Everyone!

{ The Final Quilt of 2015 }

I finished my sweet granddaughter's quilt two days before Christmas. With all the other activity going on-----baking , cooking, cleaning ---- I didn't get to make or attach her quilt label. I promised it will get done before the end of January. 

Quilt Details

Finished at 48x48

Fabric: Scrumptious by Bonnie & Camille

Pattern: Scrum-diddly-uptious Baby Quilt from Moda Bake Shop

Batting: Warm & White

I quilted it simply so it would remain nice and soft after washing. She was a hit with Mom.
This is my last quilt finish of 2015.
I'm hoping for a busy and productive 2016!
Happy New Year everyone.

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Up Friday on Monday

{ A Finish, Just in Time }

The one and only handmade Christmas gift {unless you count pillow cases and linen spray} is complete  and on her way to live with my niece in Florida. I've been planning this quilt for her for some time but weddings and new babies kept bumping it down the to-do list.

I used the pattern Charmalade by Pamela Lincoln, a freebie from Moda Bake Shop. I thought the simplicity of this design and its "modern" look were perfect for a 20-something.

I quilted this one myself, just simple straight lines which follow the design. Sometimes, simple is best.

The fabric is {Flirt} by Sandy Gervais for Moda. I love the colors and prints. You can't miss with red & aqua.

The backing and binding are from Bonnie & Camille's{Vintage Modern } line.
Quilt finished at 56x68

P.S. HSTs ~ there are 130 of them in this quilt. That's a lot of trimming!

I'm linking up to:
Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday
and
Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy Weekend Before Christmas!

{ Blogger's Quilt Festival ~Fall 2015~ Small Quilt }

It's time for International Quilt Market which also means it's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted twice a year by the wonderful Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side. This is my second entry, and it goes into the Small Quilt category.

{ It's A Sailboat for this Noah }

Finished at 36x40

Pattern: Sailing Sailing by Glenna Hailey of Hollyhock Quilts

Fabric: Daysail by Bonnie & Camille

(with a teeny bit of Happy Go Lucky thrown in)

Quilted by: Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting

I really wanted to get some photos down at the beach, this being a sailboat

quilt and all. I found a new beach location at sunset one night. I took 

the quilt out but it was so windy and cold that I couldn't get a photo.

The next morning I tried again with not too much more luck. I'm sharing a couple

anyway. At least these photos show the quilting off.

This quilt is being gifted tomorrow to my sweet niece for her baby shower. 

I hope baby Noah sleeps peacefully under his quilt.

I'm also linking up to Finish It Up Friday

on Crazy Mom Quilts
and
Confessions of a Fabric Addict

{ Blogger's Quilt Festival~Fall 2015~Large Quilt }

Yay, it's that time of the year again. All of us who aren't attending International Quilt Market have a place to gather and show off our current creations.  Thank you to Amy of Amy's Creative Side for sponsoring this online festival again.

{ Red Letter Day}

Pattern: Red Letter Day by Camille of Thimble Blossoms

Fabric: Weeds by Me & My Sister Designs

Quilted by Janet of Farmhouse Quilts, Southold, NY 

Finished size 68x68

This entry is in the large quilt category. It was made as a wedding gift for my niece. 

 

I enjoyed everything about making this quilt.... the pattern, the fabric made me happy every moment I sat down to work on it. I'd love to make another, and I just might. Thanks again to Amy for giving me a place to share this with you.

2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival

{ A Scrumptious Baby Quilt }

I've been hoping for someone to have a baby girl. The last two baby quilts I made were for little boys and, though I like boyish fabric, I've been holding on to some perfectly girlie  Scrumptious by Bonnie & Camille, just waiting for the right opportunity to use it.

I have a love affair with all Bonnie and Camille fabric. I can't help it. I think I've had a little of each line from Bliss forward and I'm still hoarding Ruby, I know sometime I''ll cut into it, but not yet.

The pattern I'm using is Scrumdiddlyumptious Baby Quilt which is a free pattern found on Moda Bake Shop There are so many great patterns to choose from for every level of quilter.

This is the first block I pieced. I think I like it! Half the fun of this pattern was picking out the  fabrics.

I'm almost done. After I took this photo I actually finished one more block. Only one more left to go and it'll  be done this weekend. I may even get to baste it.

This one's going to our sweet baby granddaughter, born on July 9th. I can't have her lounging around on her little brother's quilt, can I?

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday even though I'm not quite finished yet.

{ Red Letter Day is Finished.....well, almost }

Last night I finished sewing on the binding, popped her into the washer and dryer and went into the yard to photograph her.

I'm in love! I think this is my favorite quilt yet. I adore everything about it...the fabric, the pattern and the quilting.

The fabric is Weeds by Me and My Sister Designs for Moda and the pattern is Red Letter Day by Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms
The pattern is well written, like all her patterns, and the large blocks worked up quickly. I didn't lose any points {yay!} and most seams matched perfectly.

I used Moda Bella Christmas red for the center block and the binding. I'm usually a bit nervous using red for fear of color bleeding. No problem with the Moda red though. I threw two Shout Color Catchers in the wash just to be sure.

The only thing left to do is sew on the quilt label which I'll get to tonight. I first have to find some straight pins somewhere.
She'll be going to her new home tomorrow, a shower gift for my niece. Dana doesn't really know how lucky she is.....I almost decided to keep her for myself and pick up a blender.

Finished size 68x68

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts

{ Red Letter Day : The First Block }

I've finished four blocks already and number five is cut and ready to sew. I love this pattern ! It really comes together easily. Of course that's only because the instructions on all Thimble Blossom patterns are well written and clear. Even I can't make a mistake.

 

This is the first block I finished and so far, it's my favorite.

 

I really like this fabric line, Weeds by Me & My Sister Designs. I set aside enough fat quarters to make my own Red Letter Day quilt. I may just keep going once the first nine blocks are done.

 

We'll see though since I found out I'm going to be a great- aunt and will have a baby quilt to work on. I can't wait. 

{ Happy 375th Birthday }

Our new hometown turns 375 this year. Southold was first colonized by English settlers in 1640 and was the first English settlement on Long Island. In 2015, in celebration of this milestone, our town is planning many special events. My husband and I have already decided that we're going to spend some time getting to know our town and it's people by attending as many of these events as our schedule will allow. 

 

I've been waiting a long time to move from the city into a small town. As of the 2010 census, Southold has 5,748 residents. The neighborhood in Brooklyn that we come from, Marine Park, has 86,000 residents. It's going to be a huge adjustment for my husband who's spent his entire life living in Brooklyn.

I'm enjoying the deafening quiet, the deer in the yard, nice neighbors, the local IGA market with the friendly cashiers, fresh air, the horses I can see out of my kitchen window, dark night skies full of stars, looking at my fenced off garden and imagining the possibilities this spring, smelling the neighborhood's fireplaces burning. I could keep going.

I'm still trying to convince my other half that this was a good choice for us. I know he's happy to be free from city traffic. {Well, almost. We're still not completely moved in yet and are still shuffling our belongings out there} He's happy with the space we have even though it's not a big house. There's more than enough room for us and our hobbies. I'll even have my own space to sew. I'll be so happy to set up my machine and be able to leave it out. He has more than enough room for his drums and tools.

What more does anyone need?

 

{ It Wouldn't Be Spring Without Some Weeds}

I've been waiting for the perfect project to use my fat quarter bundle of  Weeds, by Me & My Sister Designs. It's been staring at me for months.

 

I bounced between a Swoon quilt for the guest bedroom and Red Letter Day, also by Thimble Blossoms.

 

Red Letter Day won. I paired off 16 fat quarter last weekend and started cutting. The directions are easy to follow and the blocks come together quickly.  They finish around 23 inches.

I'm ready to start sewing the third block. Yay!

 

She'll be a gift for someone special so I'm not going to post any photos of the blocks,

 just in case she happens along this silly blog. I am really happy with the look so far.

 

This fabric line is so much fun to work with. I even have plenty of fat quarters left to make a Red Letter Day for myself. Wait, does anyone actually make a quilt for themselves? Every time I plan one, another quilt to be gifted jumps ahead.

 

Happy sewing!

 

 

 

 

 

{ A little slicing and a little sewing }

Last night I finally got around to cutting up the charms for the  patchwork pillow made from Whitewashed Cottage.

 

I even sewed three of the rows together. {of course, after taking a ridiculous amount of time laying out the 2 1/2" squares into a pleasing design.}

 

 

It took me two rows to figure out a foolproof way to be sure the chain-pieced pairs were put together in the right order. Sometimes I struggle with the obvious, like closing a box top with the alternating up-down on the flaps. It usually takes three tries before I get it right. Makes me laugh every time.

 



{ A New, Easy Project ? }

Yesterday I was looking at our guest bedroom, which is serving as our bedroom currently, and planning the rest of the decor. The walls are painted Gentle Rain {gray}and the carpet is also gray. The trim is white, the curtains are pale gray sheers and the furniture is white. I'm going for a cottage-y look for the spring and summer. I plan on making a traditional churn dash quilt for the bed using Whitewashed Cottage by Me & My Sisters for Moda. I already grabbed five charm packs when Stash Addict Quilts had them on their daily special.
 { Exactly when I'll get to this is unknown }

 

While I wait, I thought I'd like to try making a pillow. I found a great tutorial for making an envelope backed  pillow covering at Crazy Mom Quilts.  It doesn't look too hard.

I grabbed one of the charm packs and will start picking out charms for a simple patchwork pillow. I'm planning on a 9x9 grid of 2 1/2" squares for a finished pillow size of 18". I'm looking forward to trying something I haven't done before. Wish me luck.

 

{ Some Things Take Forever. }

Like my Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Block of the Month...................for 2012!!!  Geez, I just finished the last 12 inch block last week. This wasn't the only quilty project I was sewing , it just kept getting pushed aside while I worked on other things.

 

 

 

This is the first BOM that I signed up for and I made a really poor showing. I had all good intentions to make each block as it arrived but stuff happened.

 

Anyway, I purchased the finishing kit and the backing so now I have to get moving and finish this baby up. For those that don't know, the fabric is Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille. I love their fabrics.

 

I'm hoping it won't be too long before I show the finished quilt top. Is 2016 too far away?

{ The Great Blizzard of 2015 }

 

Holy crap, we got a lot of snow in Southold! In fact, the entire North Fork of Long Island got a lot of snow.

 

 

 

You really can't tell how much from this Waterlogue watercolor conversion. Here's a couple from the clean up yesterday.

 

 

 

The foot prints ( actually, entire lower leg prints) on the right are mine. I had to wade through the snow to get to the house and the snow shovel. Before the snowblower could be started up we had an hour of digging a path from the street to the garage.

 

After we finished shoveling, blowing and digging out, we pulled out two folding chairs and sat in the sun with a cup of coffee and tea.  It was 19 degrees but felt like 70 in the sun. Perfect.



{ A New Tropical Home }

The Sister's Choice Christmas quilt made it to sunny Florida on Friday. I got a call from my sister that night saying how much she loves her quilt. I asked for a photo of it when she had the chance. This is what she sent me on Saturday.

 

 

I guess it really doesn't matter that this quilt went to live in Florida. The temperature challenged can still appreciate a handmade quilt. Especially when it's made with love.

{ Sister's Choice for My Sister }

Well, she's washed, dried and folded. All ready to be boxed and shipped to her new home in Florida.

 

I'm so happy with the finished quilt. I enjoyed working with the pattern, Sister's Choice, which I though was an appropriate Christmas quilt design. With the stars and all. And the name,too.

 

It was a very user friendly pattern and it was free, which makes it even better. I used Moda Bella solids in Christmas Green, Burgundy and Snow. The backing, I can't remember the details. It does blend nicely with Snow and it has pretty Christmassy gold in the print. The quilting was done with a gold thread {love, love, love} in a swirly, ornament pattern. It finished at 54x66.

 

Photo overload to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little note about quilt labels. . . . . when I started quilting and I was looking for information on the internet nearly all resources mentioned being sure to label all quilts so that years down the road, maybe even generations later, there would be a history of who made the quilt, when, for whom and for what occasion Up until I made my niece's {Come Sail Away} quilt I had handwritten my labels and attached them using various styles and methods.

This is my second embroidered label and I love throwing in something extra special at the end of the project.

It's not perfect, but it's wrought by my hand.