Design Wall Monday - December 27, 2021

Good Morning Quilters!  This is the last Monday in the year.  I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress on UFOs this year, but haven’t tallied up the finished quilts to see for sure.   I think I’ll just look at the UFOs that are left and keep on keeping on.

My latest adventure in paring down and sorting through my quilt hobby collections is:  Quilt Magazines!  I love to look through old quilt magazines, and read the articles, look at the old advertisements, fantasize about making a quilt or two from the issue.   However, I have way too many magazines.

The magazines are now separated from the books and sorted into piles by publisher, year and month of issue, etc.  I am amazed at how many I have.  I am pausing to look at the piles and think about how I want to pare them down.  Right now, I’m thinking of just keeping the very old magazines (1980s)) of which I have several publications that are no longer in business and also keeping just one publisher of the newer magazines.  I am thinking of keeping Better Home & Gardens publications (American Patchwork and Quilting).  I will let you know how the culling project goes. 

My only piecing this week has been to make a small quilt to match my recently finished Wedding Ring quilt.  The small quilt (just a top right now) will finish at 14 inches square.  I am sleeping under the bed sized Wedding Ring quilt, and had the thought the other night that I had not made a small version.  So yesterday, I made one.   Here it is:

I don’t think I showed you the finished bed sized quilt when completed.  I will do that next week, I promise.  I am looking forward to starting a new year, and looking at my hobby with fresh enthusiasm.  How do you feel about starting a new year?

Thanks for all of your great posts that you have linked with Design Wall Mondays during 2021.  Mondays are special as we get to visit so many quilters and see what they are making.  Please link back to this blog post from somewhere within your post, and mention Design Wall Monday in your post.  

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Design Wall Monday - December 20, 2021

Good Morning Quilters!  This is the last Monday  before Christmas - are you ready?  I am not, but Christmas comes whether we are ready for it or not, doesn't it?  

In this week, I am reflecting back on the year almost gone, and thinking about the year to come.  Today, I'd like to repeat a post from a Christmas past:

Penny Lane showing me how to Chill

Finding quilting calm in the Christmas season:

(1) 

Work on a project I know.  This season is not the time to learn a complicated new project.  I pull out a familiar project and it brings me peace to move it further along.

(2)

Make space to work.  I don’t have to have the whole quilt room clean and tidy  but I need to have the sewing machine area clear, and the ironing board empty and ready for pressing my seams.  If this is not possible, I find some hand stitching to relax me.

3)

Choose my moments.  Some times in the day are not the best times for me to sew, but I try to seek out a half hour or an hour to sew because I know it feeds my soul.  Easier to do on some days than others.

(4)

Remember that quilting pleasure is about the process....not perfection.  There is so much self-imposed stress in December that it’s best for me to take a deep breath, relax and lose myself in the process of piecing, pressing, cutting, binding  my projects.  It helps me to work on something that has absolutely no time schedule for finishing.  

Two pictures from my home:  Ice Skaters on our coffee table:

In a perfect world, the skaters would have magnets on their feet, and I could put another magnet under the metal tray, and magically move them around.  Alas, they have no magnets, so I just pretend they are skating around their rink.

Our Christmas tree: 

The red and white ribbons and flags are Danish, snowflakes are either crocheted by me, or cut out of paper (scherenschnitte).  Gingerbread man was made by one of our grandsons, years ago.  

This week I'm also making Christmas cookies for our church's Christmas Eve service.  I like to make and bake cookies, but at my age, I can't eat very many, so this is a great solution for me.  I am making 10 dozen cookies (2 dozen of five different kinds).  If I remember, I will take a picture of some of them to show you next week.  Thankfully, there are no calories for me in cookies I give away.

I’m looking forward to your link and seeing what you are doing this Christmas week.  And have you have given any thought to goals for 2022?  Please provide a link back to this particular blog post from somewhere within your current post.  Thank you.  And MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

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Design Wall Monday - December 13, 2021

Design Wall Monday - December 6, 2021

 Good Morning Quilters!

The project I am starting on today is making some pie potholders.  I have this pie novelty fabric that I cut up into separate pies:  

And I also have these quilted circles that were cut from the edges of a bedspread that I repurposed as a round table cover.  I am going to try to use both of these UFOs and make some pads for use at the dining table.  They will be something to put under a hot dish.....or under a pie.  If they get finished, I will show you a picture next Monday.

Here are the quilted circles:

We are privileged to have a special guest all this week.  Our daughter is here from Texas to spend some time with us ahead of Christmas!  She is going to help us decorate the Christmas tree and put up some lights outside.  It is so much fun to have her here.  She really enjoyed getting a real Christmas tree yesterday because big flakes of snow were coming down while she was helping her Dad tie the tree on top of the car.  Her hair was covered with snow.  She doesn't get to experience snowfalls very often in Texas.  It has all melted away now, but she looked so cute with big flakes of snow in her hair.

What are you working on this week?  I am looking forward to seeing what you link up with below.  Please join the Design Wall Linky Party today and then we can go to your blog and read all about your projects.  Thank you to those of you who provide a link back to this blog post from somewhere within your blog post.  And also thank you to all who mention Design Wall Mondays and encourage people to come and visit.  You are my kind of people.  

Hugs, Judy

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