2018 A Pretty Good Year!

2018 Was a "pretty" good year

I have visited a few blogs this week and saw this Linky Party hosted by Meadow Mist Designs. I decided it would be a good idea to share some of my linkys all in one place. For my benefit more than anyone else's.  I checked my stats.. I don't have lots of followers, nor many comments. More views than anything else. But that's ok with me. This blog is my "thing".

1.   MOST COMMENTS:    14 comments and 586 views. 

Dick and Jane, 5 yard quilt was one of the projects on my UFO list. The top is completed and I recently purchased fabric for backing. One of my Go-to long arm quilters is "going South" for a couple of months, so that means I need to get on the list of my other favorite quilter. Christmas is a busy time for all, and she has many family and Church obligations. So, it needs to be done.

2. Most Views:  861

Pink Stuff was just a post about some sewing I did. Maybe it was the cute pillowcase tunic I made for my great granddaughter. Or maybe viewers are just drawn to the title PINK STUFF!

My Favorite..

My QOV project  This is my favorite collection of posts about a specific project.  The quilt of valor quilt was a labor of love and commitment.  I started this quilt using a pattern I found on line and a long held and jelly roll.  You can read about this quilt here

The reason it is my favorite blog post, is that as I blogged about the problems I was having, lots of fellow bloggers reached out to me with suggestions and encouragement. It was because of these responses that I persevered and now the top is done. Thanks to all, but especially Julie at Pink Doxies! She had a similar tutorial on her blog, and took the time to email me extra encouragement and a "kick in the pants"  -" you can do it" attitude. I needed that!!

This year I participated in all 12 OMG challenges at Elm Street Quilts. So I will document them here also
January - Cil  String Blocks

 February - Olie and Lena wall hangings

March - CiL Blocks  Blue Hunter Stars

April - Snow Flurries

May - cut fabric for "Intertwined"  from Tag collection for DS

and the quilt done!

June - Binding on DD 's quilt

and done!


















July - 4-patch border on En Provence

August - Begin Loose Threads Challenge due in November

September - Trace designs for Thursday Stitcher's Christmas exchange. At least 6

October - CiL Blocks  8 of Adult I Spy blocks

November - get 1/2 of Rick Rack Nines rows assembled. 

December - CiL block drive   Flying Home

And that's all for this photo heavy post. Thanks for allowing me this time and this platform. One of my goals for 2019 is to be more organized in my blogging and documentation. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Have a Blessed New Year

I am linking up with Meadow Mist Designs'  Best of 2018 Linky Party!

A quilt top finished and donated. Challenge completed.

All People Quilt -  Final UFO Challenge for 2018.  Jelly Jive top - get it DONE!

  This is the quilt top that I finished at a retreat and just could not get back to it. I don't like it! My friends like it, one even offered me some fabric for binding.  So I was determined to "git'r done!"
And these next two pictures are of the completed quilt.

I ordered some wide backing. Never having used that before, I made a math error and so I inserted a bit of the binding fabric to make it work. I think it looks alright!

My friend quilted it for me, in a pink thread and I think that is good too! I decided to donate it to our local libraries "silent auction" in November. I recently received this letter from the library foundation.  My quilt brought $50 and in all, the library received $2,150.50 in proceeds. I am disappointed, that more was not given to the auction. But a UFO is done, someone has a new quilt I hope they love and some dollars were received by our library. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

December OMG finish

My OMG Goal for December was to finish at least 8 blocks to contribute to the CiL Nove-Dec block drive. 

It's December 15th and  well, the 8 flying geese blocks for CiL are done. This was the November and December block for the CiL Block Drive.  See the post here.

I am not happy with them. Some measure 12.5" and some are just a sliver shy of 12.5".  I had real trouble with fabric selection and even a worse time getting the individual geese blocks to come out at 3.5" x 6.5" unfinished.

I am putting them in the mail this week to Kat at Kat and Cat Quilts with a note of apology and permission to use them on the back of a quilt or to just toss them.

I took this photo Saturday December 12th.  And I know Patty won't have the OMG Finish Link up ready until the last week of December, but my next 2 weeks are really busy with family and Christmas prep. Also our daughter is coming home for this next week, her birthday is tomorrow the 16th. So this post will be on hold until I can link up with the December OMG link up.

ps:  It is 2:30 am on the 26th. I can't sleep, for some reason, so I am in my office space and thought I would check to see if maybe Patty had scheduled the linkup post for the December finish. Yes, she did. So I will post this and link up. 
I hope your past few days were wonderful. May the new year bring you and your family peace and many blessings!


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

A Final Entry to Finish It Up Friday!

A Final Finish for December!



Some finishes that I can finally show.   Our Loose Thread Challenges for 2018 were revealed at our Christmas party. We each drew from a brown paper bag -  a "shape", 2 colors and a "technique".  I selected  "Farm Animal", Red & Pink, and for a technique, Crazy Quilting.
This is the finished project:

Pink and Red Pig  with embroidered "parts names" and various stitches around the edges of each piece. It was very fun!  I did a small grid quilting in the background.

The backing was discovered at a quilt store about 2 hours from home, and there is a hidden zipper under the red heart piece.  I am happy with it. 


I did get 3 potato bags and 2 bowl cozies made for Christmas gifts. I will be adding in some packets of soup mix and a homemade tree ornament.

 Potato bags and the bowl cozies, upside down so you can see the outside. The teal colored one is for our daughter.

The same potato bags with the cozy turned right side up so you can see the inside. The one with the beer bottles is for our son.  It matches the backing in the quilt he got for his 50th Birthday!

I am linking this post up to Amanda Jean's final Finish It Up Friday!  I will miss reading her blog, seeing her amazing quilts and learning from her tutorials. I am glad the blog will remain up for reference. And I will continue to follow her on Instagram. 


I will continue to follow the bloggers I have discovered on Finish It Up Friday...you are bookmarked!  And I will post at Finished or Not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, and a few others as I discover them.  Thanks to all quilt bloggers!  You make my early morning meanderings so enjoyable. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Finished or Not Friday

Some finishes that I can finally show.   Our Challenges for 2018 were revealed at our Christmas party. We each drew from brown paper bag -  a "shape", 2 colors and a "technique".  I selected  "Farm Animal", Red & Pink, and for a technique, Crazy Quilting.
This is the finished project:

Pink and Red Pig  with embroidered "parts names" and various stitched around the edges of each piece. It was very fun!  I did a small grid quilting in the background.

The backing was discovered at a quilt store about 2 hours from home, and there is a hidden zipper under the red heart piece.  I am happy with it. 


I did get 3 potato bags and 2 bowl cozies made for Christmas gifts. I will be adding in some packets of soup mix and a homemade tree ornament.

 Potato bags and the bowl cozies, upside down so you can see the outside. The teal colored one is for our daughter.

same potato bags with the cozied turned right side up so you can see the inside. The one with the beer bottles is for our son.  It matches the backing in the quilt he got for his 50th Bday!


I am still working on flying geese blocks and having a difficult time. I am not sure why?

My great nephew had his first birthday party last Saturday and the Wednesday before, his grandpa (my brother) had a heart attack. All are in MN.  My brother looks pretty good, don't ya think?( in the middle in the back)

Smash cakes are the best!  Hooray!!!

I also have been working on these little fun projects.  A friend was making them and said she had found the idea on Pinterest. I dug around in my yarn scraps, Mr Busy cut 2 toilet paper rolls into 3/4" circles and I went to town. I thought I needed 10.  I have since recounted my kids and grands and great grands and spouses and significant others and need 12 + 2 if I want 2 for our own tree. I have already gifted 2 to our youngest granddaughter and her fiance. They were here for Thanksgiving and so I sent 2 home with them. They are in Loveland CO and hope to have a real tree this year.

I have 5 that need to be sent to AZ and 4 that need to stay here and one to go home with our daughter when she comes for her birthday and early Christmas on the 15th. So I have at least 4 more to make.



Thanks all, oh there was a "squirrel" project...but I'll share that a bit later. 😃

I'm linking up at Busy Hands Quilts : Finished or Not Friday!


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

CiL Blocks for November and December OMG Link Up

My OMG for December is to finish 8 of these blocks and get them sent off to Kat.

I am struggling with the contrast of the purples and what is in my stash. I love purple. It is one of my favorite colors!   But soft lavender and purple grays are scarce in my stash.

Here is the link to CiL Blocks for November and December. From Kat and Cat Quilts.

 I see aqua and even green in this photo. But I know that colors are often skewed when shared online. Kat says purple grays, soft spring purples.    I decided to cut my stash. It this a solid or a print?  I think it reads solid.  But then when I assembled it, I used it in both places.  UUGGG!  Guess in my eyes, it depended on what fabric it was used with!

 Here is the silvery lavender with a darker purple print. I think it will be OK?

Unhappy with my stash and scraps, but got several units shown below.

 Off to the fabric store I went in search of solids.  I have mostly medium prints, it seems! I did not buy a lot and the leftovers will go in my version of the scrap savers system.

Now I am on to finish eight blocks and get them off to Kat before the end of the year. I am hoping that my rather drab blocks with fit well with some others to make beautiful quilts. It seems that Kat and her angel helpers work magic with the blocks that are sent in.  I have enjoyed my participation in the CiL drive for all of 2018.  I plan to participate again in 2019.


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

I'm linking up at Elm Street Quilts in the December OMG Link Up.