January finish for OMG

Woohooo.....I finished my January OMG.  What a great feeling.  Here is my wall hanging all ready to hang.

And here is the label....so it is official!

Now to ponder what goal to set for February.  Hmmmmmm

Bricks, Cobblestones and Pebbles clue #2

So far I am keeping up with the Gyleen's Bricks, Cobblestones and Pebbles mystery quilt.  Clue #2 is out.  Here are mine..

I'm making a small dent into my hand dye scraps.  I love their suede like texture.  I'm not sure if you can really see that from my pics since I'm not the greatest photographer.  You'll just have to take my word for it.....They are really yummy in person.

Piecefully yours,

Paula

Slow stitching and weaving Sunday

Whole lot a slow stitchin going on this weekend.  First thing on the docket was the first block for the 2016 Mystery BOM from Buttermilk Basin.  Stacy West from BB is such a creative and talented designer.  I just love her designs.  You too can join in the fun!  I am trying to stick with my New Years goals of simplifying life.  So that means using up fabric from my stash....I think I have stumbled on some that works just fine......I'm going with a very deep burgundy color scheme.   Instead of a wool moon I used a clay moon button that has been in my button box just waiting for its perfect home.  I think he has finally found it.  Linking up to Slow Stitching Sunday here.

Along with some slow stitchin I did a bunch of slow weaving too.  This afternoon I spent a few hours with a bunch of lovely ladies from my Thursday nite knitting group.  We had a Fiber Fun day at Jaquie's house.  It was an afternoon of weaving, knitting and spinning fun.  I brought my little pin loom to play with.  My squares are going to be made into a lovely short sleeved jacket.  

One square down only 71 more to go (giggle).  I'm getting the knack of warping this little loom so soon I will be on a roll....or maybe not.  It is slow stitching Sunday after all.  So this project fits that criterion just perfectly, don't you think?  They are a lot of fun to make...and that's all that counts.

I also learned something new today....my big sister will be so proud!  She is a VERY talented spinner and weaver (and all kinds of other stuff too).  Today I learned how to spin with a drop spindle.  I'm not very good at it just yet, but I think I need to buy a fleece so that I can spin.  It is a ton of fun.  Now I only said I was going to simplify life by using up my fabric stash.  That is until I have a weak moment, and you know that is bound to happen.  I don't have a fiber stash so it's okay to go shopping for that, right? Oh, and I would love one of those really pretty drop spindles too.  Some of them are just so gorgeous.  My new friend Jacquie sent me home with one of her spindles and a bunch of fleece so that I could play. Woohoo...More fun!  Hope you are spending your Sunday doing what you love to do....

Until we meet again...piecefully yours,

Paula

Bricks, Cobblestones, and Pebbles

When hubby and I were at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this past fall we came across the "Odds, Ends, and Leftovers" exhibit submitted by Gyleen Fitzgerald.  Such charming and fun quilts.  I decided then that I really needed to make one of those quilts.  They are the perfect quilt for those of us who have more scraps than we know what to do with.

Now, it just so happens that Gyleen has just started the Bricks, Cobblestones and Pebbles Mid-January 2016 Mystery.  I feel like I just won powerball....two of my favorite things.  Mysteries and scrappy quilts.  So I've decided to join in the fun.  We'll be posting our progress on FB.

Here is my starting point.....

This is a small pile of my hand dyed scraps.  This bunch is a bunch of Ricky Tims' hand dyes.  The are wonderful.  I'm also using some Cherrywood scraps....also scrumptious.  And some of my own hand dyed fabric (not so wonderful but a ton of fun to make).

This is clue 1 of the mystery.....

Stay tuned for clue number two.  Due out later this month...

Until we meet again,

Paula 

Slow Stitchin Sunday

Today is the perfect slow stitching day.  It has been pouring here in New England all day long.  Perfect for sitting in my comfy chair with a nice cup of hot chocolate and needle and thread in hand.  Marvin and Lily are hanging with hubby while we are sitting here watching the playoff football games and the golf tournament in Hawaii.  The ocean views on the golf course are unbelievably beautiful.  I'll just pretend that that is the view outside of my sewing room window. Works for me (giggle).

Here's Marvin and hubby watching the Seattle/Vikings game....

And Lily and hubby watching the Redskins/Packers game...Lily is not as much of a football fan as Marvin...

And this is what I was working on.....another block from At home in the garden.  Once I finish this one up then I will only have one more left.  Wooohoooo!  I think I am really in the home stretch now.  Check out what others are doing for Slow Stitching Sunday.

The lighting is a bit wonky, but I think you get the idea.  Hope you are enjoying a lazy Sunday too!  

Until we meet again,

Paula

January UFO

My sister (Mary) shared with me that she just joined in the OMG fun.  So I decided that I needed to investigate OMG myself to see what the fun was all about.  I am so excited!

Thank you, Heidi for creating this wonderful avenue to help me finish some of the bazillion projects that I have in progress.  To say my UFOs are out of control would be an understatement.  Can anyone else out there relate? (giggle)  How wonderful too to be able to see what other quilters have going on in their quilty lives.

I've decided for my January UFO that I would pick one of my smaller unfinished projects so that I would be more likely to succeed in this endeavor....baby steps.  I'm hoping that I will really get on a roll and achieve each of my monthly goals.  But if I falter, I'm sure my fellow quilters will inspire me to keep on track.

My goal for January is to quilt and bind this little wall hanging.

Back in the garden on Slow Stitchin' Sunday

Last January I attended Quilt St. George and had the most wonderful time attending Norma Whaley's wool applique class.  She is such a gifted quilt designer.  I just love all of her patterns.  We learned her method of wool applique while making "At Home in the Garden".

Here it is one year later and I am still working on the quilt that I started then.  Truth be told I am still working on many quilts that I have started over this past year.  There are just so many quilts that I encounter that just speak to me.  They are all saying....make me! Make me!  And I can just not resist.  How can I disappoint them.  They all need to be made.

Now....I am making great progress on this quilt.  I only have 3 blocks left to applique.  So I decided what better way to spend Slow Stitching Sunday than working on this wonderful little quilt.  So here is the block I am working on now....

what better way to spend a chilly New England day...than working on some wool applique!

Until we meet again,

Paula

Working on keeping it simple

Today I started working on my goal of "Keeping it simple and smile".  I anticipate that my phrase will encompass many areas of my life.  Today I decided that life would be much simpler if I worked on "decluttering" our kitchen.  I recently started reading a book called "The Life-changing Magic of Tyding up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing."  Some time back I received an email from Amazon with book suggestions that I might find interesting.  It caught my eye when I read "clear the clutter and find the calm motivated mind set it can inspire".  I'm still working my way through the book but was anxious to find that "calm motivated mind set" .  Who wouldn't want that?  So I decided to start on my way to de-cluttering.

The timing is perfect because Big Brother Big Sister will be in my neck of the woods on Monday to accept donations of clothing, toys or kitchen items.  That certainly puts a smile on my face and I'd like to think on theirs as well.  BBBS comes through our town on a monthly basis to accept donations so I hope to continue my decluttering on a regular basis.  According to my Tyding up book, a time frame of a year is reasonable for achieving your goal.  Seems reasonable to me.

I figure less clutter will lead to less time spent on housework and more time to stitch or knit or weave or read.  That certainly puts a smile on my face 😍.

Happy 2016!

I've spent quite a bit of time pondering the coming of the new year.  Typically people come up with New Years resolutions that they vow to follow in the coming year.  It has been my experience that these resolutions often include 1) Starting a new diet to shed unwanted pounds 2) Saving more $ and spending less and 3) trying to be a nicer or kinder individual.  Now, the problem with New Years resolutions is that one's efforts tend to last through January and the go down hill from there.  So I have been pondering how I would like to handle this New Year's custom.

One of my sisters (Mary) sent me a wonderful blog post from Kathy Quilts in which Kathy reflected on her accomplishments in 2015 rather than focus on what she wants to tackle in 2016.  I love the idea of focusing on what one has accomplished.  Especially when we tend to resolve to accomplish way more than what is really possible.  When one comes up with a lengthy list of resolutions, one is bound to fall short of these expectations.  Mainly because life happens and we can not pre-plan for everything that is going to occur on our life's journey.

I haven't done the best job this year when it comes to recording my creative accomplishments, so I won't be following Kathy's lead as far as reflecting on my accomplishments for 2015.  But I think I would like to do that for Jan. 1, 2017.  So rather than have resolutions or reflections for 2016, I have decided to focus on a phrase this year.......Keep it simple and smile.

Now how can I fall short of my goals if I just "Keep it simple and smile". And in doing so, maybe I'll be able to put a smile on your face too.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy 2016....until we meet again,

Paula