Lookie! Lookie!

Another finish for the year!  Completed my Tis the Season Stitch-Along and can now join the others in the Some Kind of Wonderful round!  Woot!

Thanks, Lauri, for holding this up on a breezy day!

My friends Ann and Lisa are going to be shocked - the next round.... involves.... APPLIQUE!  I've been saving Teresa of Fabric Therapy's Glue Stitck Applique tutorial, and she makes it look so easy so I'm diving in and getting my feet wet!

Hope all of you stay along for the ride and share any advice along the way!

Stitches!
Elisa

Quiltin' Done!

Woot! Finished quilting my TIS SAL! Just have to bind & label, and I'm done! Can't play the next round with the other girls until I've completed this one!

Just stitched in the ditch, but I like it! Will share when the whole quilt is complete.

Happy Stitchin'
Elisa

By the way, my friend Allie-Oops, is a genius! Followed her advice in basting the quilt, and my backing was perfectly smooth! http://allie-oopssweethappylife.blogspot.com/2011/09/undone.html

I'm Stitching! I'm Stitching!

I love this SAL and have loved spending my evenings stitching away.  Here is the completed top.  I'm not sure I'm keen on how the borders turned out - got a little too fancy.  Think I should've left out the smaller "circles" border and went right from cranberry to green.

I missed the deadline (Sept 30th) but I'm plugging away - Chooky won't let me join round 3 until I'm done.  Round 3 is Anni Down's Some Kind of Wonderful and, probably much to my friend Ann R.'s amusement, is filled with the "A" word!  Guess I'm going to learn applique!

Stop back in a day or two and I'll share how I achieved the perfect 1/4" border/sashing.  Very neat!

Tis the Season - Blocks Done!

Woo hoo!  Just 2 weeks behind but I finished block 12 and the label! 

My least favorite block turned out to be my favorite one!

Santa looks wonky but the block is actually square!

The goal is for all of us to have it assembled and quilted by end of September.  Oh well!  Late again!

Happy Stitching!
Elisa

And Still She Waits....

Second full day without power. Sitting in a wi-fi free coffee shop checking emails and blogging.

Able to get some stitching done. Here is my July block for my Tis the Season SAL - finished via candlelight. Too bad I can't run my iron but flame, as they did In the old days!

Rumor has it power is supposed to return tonight, but we've seen no one from the power company & they need to replace 1 pole and 2 transformers. At least the weather is on my side!

Happy Labor Day!

Elisa

Back to Work

Today is the last day of my vacation. I had tons to do and major, life-altering decisions to make. I did none of it and time is running out. Disappointed? No. Which is funny since time-management could be my creed. I guess I just needed seven days to de-stress and relax enough... silence life enough.... to enjoy the sound of peace for a change. Funny that when I finally have a clear head it's time to return to work!

Isn't this pretty? It's St. Martha's Episcopal Church in Detroit, MI. I snapped this while out waymarking. The Ford Cemetery is out front - final resting place of Henry and Clara Ford (and many of their relatives).

I am making great headway on my Tis the Season blocks (if you get a chance, click the TIS button on the left. Many of my fellow quilters are finishing their tops and quilting - they're all so different!). I have 1/3 of the 12th block to complete and then the wreath label before I can sew them all together. I'm glad the humidity has receded so it's comfortable enough to sit and stitch.

Once I finish these blocks I can focus on Birdie Stitches next. Next year I'm only participating in one BOM.

Happy Stitching!
Elisa

Utterly Crap-tastic!

I heard "crap-tastic" for the first time today and had to chuckle. Yep, that would be today!

A local landmark burned down overnight (come to the local state fair to see the world's largest stove!), someone poisoned my grapevines, my nephew spilled his grandfather's beer all over my flip flops & bag, my cat vomitted in my good shoes, and I think I have poison ivy.

So, to cheer myself up, I'm eating Edy's Gourmet Slow-Churned French Silk ice cream, listening to the crickets, and looking at pics from my weekend. This is from Lower Huron Metropark.

On the bright side, I'm tracing my last two Tis the Season SAL blocks, and hope to share shortly!

Hoping tomorrow isn't another "Monday"!

Elisa

July Tis the Season SAL

Phew! Completed my July blocks! I would've posted it yesterday, but it was overcast (pics still came out darker than reality - hmmph).

11 blocks completed - 1 block and 1 stitched label to go!

Now onto Birdie Stitches!

Happy Stitchin'
Elisa

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Ok, picking myself up and brushing myself off. I've had some great emails over the closing of my Borders bookstore. Thank you, everyone. So, trying to look on the bright side, let's see if I can get something done. What do you think?

Tis the Season SAL?

Repro 9-patch table runner?

Schnibbles quilt?

Or finally cut into my black and whites?

Tis the Season Block 9

Wow! Can't believe I've completed 9 already! I'm all caught up for June in my Tis The Season QAL. If you get a chance, click the sidebar and visit the incredible work completed by the rest of the group!

Happy Stitching!
Elisa

My Embroidery Kits

Have I mentioned how much I'm loving my BOMs? That is one of the most fabulous surprises when I started to follow quilt blogs - BOM groups and free patterns! Luckily I decided early on that I can't participate in everything (even though I really, really want to join that Farmer's Wife Flickr group - control, girlfriend!)
I have been saving patterns for one day... And have joined in a few. I really do feel they've enriched my life and made me re-think my methods. I've learned SO much and they've really motivated me to finish some projects for myself!
A friend asked me how I keep track of all the different embroidery BOMs (I have several embroidery samplers in progress and I'm LOVING my Tis the Season and Birdie Stitches!) and I told her I have a kit for each project.

For each project, I have a Ziploc bag with floss, needles (note those wonderful Bohin #7 embroidery needles I bought from Raspberry Rabbit), scissors, tea tin (for thread snips) and index card. That index card is most important:

Each card contains the project name, start and end date (on back), motif, number of strands, stitch type, and floss number. It will also note floss source, sashing measurement, embellishments ("fill apples with French knots"), make/color of background fabrics, etc. For my Tis the Season, one card will last the entire project. For Birdie Stitches, where motifs/colors change monthly, I'll make a new one each month.
This way, I can pick up and work on any kit at any time without worrying about accidentally deviating from my original game plan. At the end of the project, I'll file away the card; if I decide later to make a stand-alone project, I can pull out my card for later reference.
If you get a chance, visit Tis and Birdie and see all the fabulous work these ladies have already completed! I'm hoping to post my June blocks this weekend.
Happy Stitching!
Elisa