{ Better Late Then Never They Say }

My Florida dwelling sister has been after me for a quilt and a pair of knit wool socks for more than a year. This is the girl who only wears flip flop type sandals, is allergic to wool and keeps her AC set at 65 degrees because she's always hot. Every knit sock photo I post on Instagram gets a comment such as...."are those mine?" ..." I'm still waiting for my socks". You get the idea.

 

Since wool socks would sit in her drawer, I decided to make her a Christmas quilt that could be brought out at the coolest time of the year, and used for 30 days before being tucked away until the next year.

 

I started early but got distracted with the new house excitement. Quilting was just completed two days before Christmas. She got an IOU for her gift. The label is embroidered and I started hand sewing the binding last night. I'm hoping to have it complete and shipped by next week. Fingers are crossed. Here's a few photos, peeky, peeky. More when she's done. I do hope there's snow when I photograph it.

 

 

{ Welcome 2015 }

It's going to be a great year, I know it! We've got a new house which we're slowly moving in to. A new grandchild will be coming in July. One daughter will be graduating from veterinary school, the first doctor in our family!

 

I know it will be a busy year but I'm determined to find more time for my crafts. I want to complete some quilts that have been on my list for some time and I want to get an early start on next year's Christmas gift knitting. If I start now, I should be ready in time.

 

I'm also continuing my Project 365 for 2015. One photo per day, every day. I was hoping to settle into some theme for this year but that didn't work out. I'll make it up as I go along, borrowing ideas from the Capture Your 365 community and other photo challenge lists that pop up online. I'm aiming to post at least one or two photos per week to their online gallery.

My first entry for 2015:

 

Taken at 8:15am New Year's Day on the front porch steps of our new home.







{ Fraternal Twins }

We've been super busy since we closed on our new home at the end of October. Preoccupied, to say the least. I have been able to squeeze in some sock knitting and some sewing. I just finished these plain socks, knit with my first Crazy Zauberball. I love the colors! If you're the least bit anal about knitting socks that match, this yarn is not for you.

{ A Record Finish }

It's not often that my sock projects get finished so quickly. These were cast on 9/27 and finished up on 10/15. A simple pattern helps, of course. I loved working with this yarn from Cherry Tree Hill yarns, Supersock in Spanish Moss colorway.

{ Best.Day.Ever! }

I think this fabric line has become my new, all-time favorite. The Seaside Stars quilt will be quickly moving up the to-do list. {After gift quilts are finished of course}

 

 

{ In my own defense...this is why I get suckered into buying more fabric.}

It happened again today. I received squishy mail from Stash Addict Quilts. It was the Fat Eighth bundle of Best.Day.Ever! that I mentioned in yesterday's post. I stumbled on their online shop by accident two months ago and have been ordering from them ever since. One reason is their great prices, even without  Deal of the Day pricing, and the other is a special gift that comes with every order......a mini Moda charm pack and a coordinating fat quarter. The first time I ordered with them and I saw the gift  I was thrilled. I really believed it was a one time deal for a new customer. Nope. Each and every order has a sweet little surprise included.

This is the way my recent fabric buying binge happened, all thanks to those $%@& mini charm packs and fat q's:

First order: Layer cake of specially priced Mirabelle by Fig Tree & Co arrived with a gift of 25th and  Pine from Basic Grey.

Second order: Four charm packs of specially priced  25th and Pine arrived with a gift of Weeds by Me & My Sister

Third order: Fat Quarter bundle of Weeds arrived with a gift of Best.Day.Ever! by April Rosenthal

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Fourth order: Fat Eighth bundle of Best.Day.Ever! Just received this morning. I was torn. To open or not to open. I wanted to look at the pretty fabric, just for a moment, yet, I was not sure I was ready to view my special gift. I secretly hoped it would be something flowery or juvenile so I wouldn't be tempted again. Please, I prayed, don't be Miss Kate by Bonnie & Camille. The suspense was too much and I looked.....it was not what I had hoped for. Elementary by Sweetwater. Oh crap, I'm in trouble, again.

{ And the List Goes on......}

Sometimes I don't know what's wrong with me. I keep telling myself that I will not buy any more fabric until I've made a quilt using fabric I already have. Then what happens? Another amazing fabric line is released and I get suckered into purchasing it in one form or another.

The latest fabric crack is Best.Day.Ever! by April Rosenthal for Moda. How great are these colors!

They make me happy just looking at them. The line isn't officially being released until October but one of my favorite online fabric shops, Stash Addict Quilts, was offering pre-cuts. I ordered a Fat Eighth bundle and some coordinating Moda Bella solids from Fat Quarter Shop, another favorite place to shop.

So, my {To-Do} list  just got bigger. I already know the pattern I'll be using, Seaside Stars by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter.

I think I purchased this pattern two years ago but was waiting for just the right fabric. I 'm sure I finally found it. Now I'll have to decide where to slip this project in the line-up. It may be a good quilt to work on during the gray days of winter. Ya think?