Deer Wall Hanging!

Last night I worked on finishing up the Deer Wall Hanging for my husband's boss for Christmas. I had the binding and hanging sleeve done, but needed to trim all the threads and fray check any places I thought needed it. It actually turned out better than I expected. I used a tan King Tut thread in the tan part and brown King Tut on the deer and borders. I used a brown Bottomline as the back is the same as the borders.
This is probably the closest to the real colors of the wall hanging, though I had a lot of light on it last night when I was trying to take pictures. Paul made a dowel hanger to put through the hanging sleeve, but it is still drying. He used a dark cherry stain and I think it's going to be gorgeous with this one. Usually he uses a golden oak or something along those lines.

I did small stippling on the tan and the deer. It was very intricate and I had to slow the machine down a lot ot be able to get my motions and stitch length correct.

From a ways away you can't even tell that it's quilted. I just love the pictures within a picture that Chris Bumps patterns create. I also love using batiks for them, but it's very hard to find the solid color batiks in the right colors. I had been to four different shops in town and not found what I wanted before Paul and I drove out to Mistletoe Ranch to find the right ones and even there we were limited to about 2 selections in the colors we wanted. Paul picked them out, so I'm glad he was a part of it. His Christmas party is Fri. night, so I'll get it wrapped up and ready to gift yet this week.

Here's a close up of quilting I did on the background and trees and deer. It's not nearly this yellow in person, but I suppose that's how the macro on my camera portrays it.

I was also able to work on binding another quilt, but I can't sit at my machine as long as I used to, so I finally gave up and went and relaxed in front of the TV with some hand work. This could be a long month if I can't sew for more than an hour at a time!

Thanksgiving weekend!

This was a busy Thanksgiving Weekend! Paul and I went to my parents Wed. night. Thanksgiving day we went to my bro & SIL's house for a wonderful meal. The guys all went hunting in the morning and afternoon. My sweet niece spent the night at my parents as her parents and Paul were going hunting the next morning. Uncle Paul had to read her a good night story. She was really into Uncle Paul this weekend... it was Uncle Paul's turkey, Uncle Paul's pie, and she was going hunting with Uncle Paul. It was so cute! Uncle Paul even found one of her Christmas presents when he was shopping Fri. night, so I'm sure it'll always be known as the gift Uncle Paul gave me! Paul got two does on Fri. morning, so we headed back as he wanted to spend the weekend at home. We did a bit of shopping on both Fri & Sat.

Friday night I joined friends Jenn, Showna, Heidi, and Gaila as we sewed at Gaila's house. We had lots of fun sewing, chatting, and eating. Gaila gave us each a little coin purse she had made from the last Groovy Girls club. I think it's so super cute. Mine ended up being perfect for my camera, so it's found a place in my purse.

There's a pocket on each side of it.

This weekend Paul and I cleaned, organized, and moved furniture before setting up the Pack and Play for our Little Miss to sleep in. It was a bit tricky to set up, but with Paul's help and reading the directions, we got it done. We also went shopping for a stroller/car seat, so we were busy this weekend. I'm looking forward to another relaxing weekend getting things done next weekend. We have Paul's Christmas party next weekend and an online baby shower, but otherwise, we don't have any plans to travel! Thanks to the Jen's for this awesome Pack N Play! We're going to get so much use out of it.

Baby Shower

Last weekend my good friend Jenn hosted a baby shower for me and our little Miss. Family and friends joined me for the afternoon at Jenn's. It was such a nice shower and we received a lot of nice gifts. I haven't gotten them all put away, so I pulled a few off the top of the pile and took pictures last night.
My friend Karen and her son Brandon gave us an SDSU Sweatshirt jacket and hat. Brandon is going to SDSU and Karen said he's always looking to buy stuff for our baby. I went to State, so I was really excited! Go Jacks!

My quilty friend Cindy, who I've worked with at the last two quilt shops gave us this flannel raggy quilt. I absolutely love it and it's so warm and fuzzy. I haven't made many raggy quilts, so I love having one made for us.

My friend Lindsey gave us this cute Cowgirl Tuff outfit. It's so super cute and perfect for our little cowgirl.

Mom made this swaddling wrap. She's so clever when it comes to figuring things out and whipping them up on the serger.

Our flowergirl Emily has grown up and I hadn't seen her in a while, so it was great to see her and her mom at the shower. Emily picked out this stuffed bunny that is so soft and cuddly.

Jenn's mom Tracy made us a cute scrapbooked picture album. It's super cute and so much work went into it. She made one for each grandma as well. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I appreciate all the work that goes into them, so I'm excited to take pictures and put in it.

This is one of the monthly pages.

The most special gift was made by my Aunt Jane. She crocheted this baptismal gown and bonnet for our little girl. It's so delicate and absolutely beautiful. I can't wait for our little girl to wear it. She also gave us a receiving blanket my grandma had made and a bonnet that both mom and her had worn. She always comes up with the most special gifts.

The shower was absolutely amazing and Jenn did an awesome job with games and treats. It was all purple and brown themed. She made us a signature baby quilt as well, but I'll have to show it when it's finished. It was so nice to have so many of my friends and family come. My co-workers are having a shower after the baby comes and there's one planned for my hometown afterwards as well. My online friends are throwing one this Sunday for me and I'm so looking forward to it as well.   This little miss will be here before I know it!

Christmas cactus

I think my Christmas cactus is messed up. It's blooming at Thanksgiving!
Paul got to come home last night, so he surprised me! It was nice to have him home a day early and for 5 days! We'll leave earlier for my parents now & he'll get to hunt tomorrow. I did get the quilt on my frame quilted. He took a nap. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Sewing Retreat Weekend

This weekend was so much fun! I was able to get away and have a fun sewing weekend with my mom and two friends. Mom and I left early Friday afternoon and met Michelle and Darlene in Hill City. We were going to Darlene's house, but because of the roads up the hill, we had to drive in, in a 4-wheel drive. We loaded all our stuff in Michelle's vehicle and headed up the hill. It's in the Black Hills and the roads were snow packed and slick after you got off the main roads. We arrived and got unloaded and started sewing while supper cooked. I decided to work on a quilt top that I've been putting off for a while because I couldn't decide which fabric to use for sashing. The girls helped me decide and I got it all sashed and the borders on that night. I didn't get any pictures to share, but the sashing totally made the quilt and I was so excited to have the top finished.
Saturday morning I took the top to work with me and picked out threads to quilt it with. Luckily I was able to find just what I wanted. I worked till 2 and then headed back to Hill City. The girls watched the sewing shows and lounged and took naps before I got back. They say they sewed for a couple hours too... but I don't think I missed much sewing time by working.
Saturday afternoon I worked on my sewing themed quilt. I've wanted to do it for a couple months, but just wasn't sure about the last 3 fabrics. I finally found them and got it cut out and ready to sew at retreat. This is a quilt for me to snuggle with in the hospital and at home, so it's a throw size. I love all the sewing/crafty fabrics in it. I was able to finish it about 8 Sat. night. It still needs 2 borders, which I have cut out, but can add at home without using the design wall.

Since Darlene has a whole wall with foam board/flannel on it for a design wall, I layed out my Cowgirls One Block Wonder. I started with the boots in the lower corner, then legs, bodies, faces, and hats going through the center, the horses on the outsides, and the cactus green at the bottom. The blue and red kind of spiral in the middle and I love how it turned out. I wasn't so sure the last time I layed it out, as all I could see was tan/brown. Now it's spread out a bit more. Everyone went to bed, but I worked on sewing the blocks into strips and finished about midnight. It felt so good to have them in strips.

Sunday morning we had omelets in a bag. They turned out to be so good and super easy. We'll definately be doing that again. Not much for clean up either. The girls made the 10 min. tablerunners, though we kept track and they were more like 45 min. tablerunners. There might be only 10 min. of sewing in them, but the prep work and pressing take longer. They were all finished by the time we had to leave Sun.

Michelle made the fall leaves tablerunner, Darlene made the apples one, and mom made the sewing themed one. They all turned out so cute. I have the fabric for mine, but wanted to get the OBW sewn together, so I skipped the project.
  
I spent the morning sewing the OBW together and was able to get it all done before we had to pack up and leave for home. It was a lot of fun sewing with the girls and I accomplished my goal - 3 completed tops by the end of the weekend. I can't wait to get them all quilted up now.

We packed up to leave early because mom and I were going to a baby shower thrown for me, by my friend Jenn. Jenn and Gaila did an awesome job of hosting and were so wonderful to me. My friends and family that came gave us some awesome gifts and we really enjoyed the party. I'll have to take some pictures of a few gifts. I left them all in their bags until Paul has a chance to look at them. The most special gift was a hand crocheted baptismal gown made by my Aunt Jane. It's just so delicate and beautiful and I can't wait for her to wear it. Jenn made me a signature quilt too which is awesome. It's purple and brown and simply awesome! I love siggy quilts.
When I got home, I unloaded everything and relaxed for a while, but at 8 I couldn't just go to bed, so I went down to cut the batting for the quilt I want to quilt this week. I cut the batting, then I thought well maybe I'll just load the backing, so I got that done and figured I might as well load the batting and top too. I got those done and it still wasn't 9, so I put the thread and bobbin in and practiced. I couldn't just practice, because the practice came out perfect with no adjustments. I started quilting and did the top row and then did another row. They both looked awesome, but I was tired and my eyes hurt, so I called it a night. I'm so looking forward to finishing the quilting on this one, so I can show it off.
All in all, I got 20 hours of sewing time in this weekend and I'm already even for hours with the last two months. I can't wait to see how many  hours I get this month. I'll be quilting away!

One Block Wonder Cowgirls

I finished sewing the cowgirls one block wonder strips together tonight. I love how it's turning out now that I changed it up a bit. Hopefully I'll be able to get all the strips sewn together in the morning.
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Sewing quilt top done!

Today I got the sewing themed quilt top done. It still needs borders but the fabric is at home.

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Mom's Tablerunner

Mom finished the first project at retreat! It's a 10 min. Tablerunner.

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Block Roll-ups

Last night was another super productive night! I got all the foods prepped to make Omelets in a bag for Sunday's breakfast,  packed my suitcase, and finally packed the final projects for the weekend. Then I made two block roll-ups, one for me and one for a friend. I love how they turned out, even though they could have been a bit longer, but I think they'll work great. They made up pretty quickly and the only worry I had was whether I'd run out of hot glue.

Here's one rolled out and one rolled up. The fabric is one of my favorites. It matches the fabric line I used for the bags and other stuff I showed yesterday.

I also put the hanging sleeve and binding on the wall hanging for Paul's boss's Christmas present. I've started working on the hand stitching and should be done this weekend sometime. It turned out awesome! I'll show pictures when it's done. The party is 2 weeks from tonight and I'm not waiting till the last minute to finish it! I also made another block of the irish chain type block. I made this one too big, but in a different way and I like it a lot better! I looked up the measurements and I think I have it figured out now. I'm taking it along on the retreat this weekend and hope to get some input from mom and friends about how they think it should go together.
I'm off work early today to pick up mom and we'll be heading to our friends for the sewing retreat weekend. I do have to work on Sat., but it's my last day at the shop until after baby comes, so I don't want to miss it. It's Sewing Club day. I'm really looking forward to getting some of these projects done. When I say done, they are all tops that I would like to complete. I'm taking 8 -10 projects and have a goal of finishing at least 3 -4 tops. We'll see what I get done, when I'm sewing the night away. Have a great weekend. Hopefully I'll have lots to show next week.

Sewing the Night Away

It's fairly regular for me to sew in the evenings, but with Paul gone so much, I find I'm getting more done than ever before. Although I'm also more tired now, so I have to motivate myself. I kicked into gear last night after Survivor was finished. I always think I can accomplish way more than there is time to do. I started by finishing the other 4 bags for retreat gifts. I now have 6 bags done. I decided one would be part of a gift for another friend.

But one little bag just isn't enough of a gift for her, so I made this tote bage out of the leftover fabric. It's pretty big, but I figure she'll find a way to use it for her sewing stuff.

This is an up close of the "girls" on the fabric. I had three different pieces of this fabric line and mom did too. We bought it 2-3 years ago on the sale rack at the store. I've made her and I each a jacket, a recyclable bag for me, a sewing apron, and now a tote and 6 sewing bags out of it. All I have left is some of the sewing "words" fabric. I have an idea to use it for a block roll up, so hopefully I can get it done tonight. Then I think it will make the perfect gift, a tote bag, mini bag, sewing apron, block roll-up, and a quilty gift certificate. As a quilty friend would you like this gift? Who knows you just might get it!

In the last 10 min.or so of sewing last night I worked on this teal/purple project. I'm trying to finish up another UFO, so I can use the batiks I have left for other quilts. I bought a lot of fabric almost 2 years ago to make a queen size quilt with the bear fabric as the border. I was going to do a bunch of big 12.5" thangles blocks, but I decided I didn't want to do that. I really don't like the stars I was going to make. So I'm making up blocks and sashing to put between them. I tried one block last night and it's too small and I don't like how it's made, so I'll remake it different, but I need an opinion on which fabric to use for sashing. I'm leaning more toward the one on the left for the saching.

This is a close-up of the one on the left.

And the one on the right.

Do you like the dots?  I also considered using the light teal where the dots are, the dark purple on the right where the lt. teal is, and using the muted purple as the sashing, but I'm just not sure. Any thoughts or suggestions?  I don't care how big this one ends up, I just want to get it made and out of my sewing room. It's been 2 long years in the making and I want it finished. Plus, all that excess fabric is calling out to be used in something else.

Yesterday I received the prettiest little girl outfit from my co-worker friend Sandy. She can't make it to my shower on Sunday, so she brought it down early so I could open it. She's patiently waiting for her 11th grandchild to arrive today. She said it has some purple on it. I said yeah, but it's pink! I'm so excited to have a girl and dress her in pink.

Tonight I'll be getting ready for the weekend sewing retreat with friends. I have to prep the stuff to make Omelets in a bag for breakfast/brunch for Sun. Then I'll work on the block roll-ups, pack my clothes, and finally add the final touches to my packing of projects. I have at least 8 already packed, so we'll go from there as to what else needs packed.

Sewing Bags

Tonight I quilted enough fabric to make 6 sewing bags. I'm sewing with friends this weekend and wanted a little gift to give them. I got two completely done and have 4 that just need to have the corners cut out and sewn. I feel so productive as I also packed stuff for the weekend! I'm really looking forward to a weekend of sewing with friends before the baby is born. I was also able to get organized on a project I've been wanting to get at for some time. Hopefully I'll get a good start on it this weekend. I pulled the fabric, so now I need to make a pattern and get to work.
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UFO SewDown Results

The UFO Sew Down 2010 is officially over and those who participated were pretty successful! There were a lot of new projects made as well, but everyone seemed to be motivated to get their projects done. I know I did more new projects than UFO's, but I did work on several UFO's I might not have worked on otherwise.

Jennifer -  12 projects for 30 points
Deb - 5 projects for 33 points
Regina - 13 projects for 39 points
Moneik - 32 projects for 58 points

I'll be sending out a gift to each of the participants! Thanks for joining me on this fun and creative sewing adventure. I'll host another one in the spring when I need motivation to get sewing again. Someone might have to give me a push if I'm not sewing!

Finally Friday - Hunters Widow Weekend!

It's finally Friday and I've so been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time. It's Hunters Widow Weekend and normally mom and I go off on an adventure, usually related to quilting. This year however, we're going to a quilting retreat next weekend and we decided to forgo our trip shop hopping to ND until a later time. So we're going to my parents house to sew. I'm looking forward to it as it's so relaxing being there and not going anywhere, except to church. Paul will meet me there and go hunting with my dad, bro & SIL. He has 3 deer tags and 2 turkey tags to fill, so hopefully with some luck he'll get a few this weekend.

This week I worked on the wall hanging for his boss for Christmas. I finished cutting out the deer head on Wed. night, put the borders on it, and loaded it on the frame. I'm going to stipped the brown with a dark verigated brown and the yellow/tan with a verigated thread of the same. I'm doing the brown first, but because of the size of the wall hanging and the detail, I've slowed the machine down and am working slowly. Those who know me, know this is highly unusual. I love to go fast and get it done, but for this one, I really want to do some super small stippling on the deer, so it's pretty intriquate work.

I got the top border and about 6" on both side borders done Wed. night.

I'm loving how it is turning out. The color in these pictures is probably more true to the real colors than the first picture.

I did a small portion of the horns and I need to slow the machine down even more to get a better stitch length for how fast I can move and not get off the brown.

So far I'm really pleased with how it is turning out and I can't wait to finish it. I may even make another one if I can find background material I like.
This weekend I'll be working on the Crown Royal quilt for my little bro. I have a pattern and brought a bunch of the bags with me to work on, so I should be able to make some progress.