February = The Return of Sunlight

 My mood always lifts when we hit February because the sun is rising higher in the sky and our sunlight hours have increased by almost two hours since the winter solstice on Dec. 21st. We usually get really cold but sunny days in Alaska during the month of February and that is just what we have today. It is minus-six-degrees this morning.

I buckled down last week and finished up the elephant blocks for, "Stomping Ground." There are no other borders in the original design but I am really leaning toward adding a piano key border...so many pretty colors.

On my recent trip to visit my granddaughter I took a couple of small cross stitch projects to work on and got two of these mini Halloween skulls done. Very fun kits from Mill Hill. There are a total of six skulls in the series.

When I got home, I got back to the polar bear piece. I have to stitch six rows of the aqua color on top just like the bottom band. Once I finish all the cross stitching I will add the beading.

And I did a little embroidery on baby Kate's dress. Since the dress just fits I only did a few watermelon slices on the bodice. She was a tentative walker when I arrived and was much less wobbly when I left. She just turned one in January...a very fun age.

I have a quilt retreat in two weeks!!! It almost got cancelled but we managed to get enough participants to make it go. Now I really need to get focused on the projects I will take for the long weekend.

Yes! Projects!

 Just a brief reflection on the,”Year of COVID,” and some of the changes it brought about in my quilting/crafting world.

I discovered Flosstube and quilting videos on YouTube. 

I have been reading the blog, The Polka Dot Chicken, for many years and she turned me onto the mother and daughter team, Chelsea and Pricilla Barnes, who design cross stitch charts and have very creative finishing techniques. From reading Pricilla’s blog, I discovered their Flosstube show that airs every Saturday. 

Since late March 2020, I have had almost no regular live adult interaction with anyone but my husband...I was thrilled to discover their videos. Pretty much, the show rolls forward with all of life’s little speed bumps. It feels so authentic to watch their shows every Saturday. 

Turns out, Priscilla and Chelsea are great friends and business associates with Kimberly Jolly of the Fat Quarter Shop. So that led me to start watching all of the Fat Quarter Shop videos on YouTube.  They do a live Flosstube video every week and also a live quilting video every week.

Talk about going down a rabbit hole! I love the live videos with all their little imperfections. I feel like I am really in the moment with them when I am watching even though I don’t watch them “live.”

The Fat Quarter Shop offers so many free patterns for quilting and cross stitch. I love learning about Kimberly Jolly’s business, especially since I’ve been shopping at her online business for years. She publishes beautiful books for several designers and also has such a talented staff behind the scenes. 

YouTube will suggest other videos for me and that has led me to watch Pat Sloan’s videos which air live, six days a week! 

I could go on listing several more YouTube video channels that I watch regularly...but you get the idea.

Of course these shows have influenced what I am working on currently. Pat Sloan is doing several  Sew Alongs (SALs) and I did get pulled into “Stomping Ground.” I ordered the pattern from Fat Quarter Shop as instant PDF download. I had two elephants done on my last post...

I am taking my time on this project. Cutting out each elephant is the most time consuming step but it sure makes sewing these blocks super quick.

I like to work on my cross stitching whenever I am watching a “Flosstube,” video. I did order some new projects inspired by what I have seen on videos but decided first to start with a  Mill Hill kit that is not an ornament or holiday themed.

It is a mama polar bear with two cubs. It is s full coverage design on perforated paper. It has been waiting long enough for my attention.

I am still working on Bucilla felt kits. I decided to start officially giving my sons and their families a set of Bucilla ornaments every year.

These two identical ornaments are from a vintage kit from 1991, the year my oldest son was born...perfect! 

But I am most happy to share my quilting mojo is still going strong. There was a brief time where I wondered if I would ever stand at my quilting machine again...scary how all the anxiety of being locked down from COVID squelched my creative process. I think I just reached a breaking point with all the election news along with COVID and just turned off the news as much as I could. Watching others create on You Tube helped but so did filling my time with music, audible books and lighthearted videos. (I really enjoyed the "Bridgerton," series on Netflix...read the books years ago. Love the sets, costumes, and especially the point that it is not realistic at all. Very much like a fairytale.)

I approached quilting, “12 Days of Christmas,” a little differently. I basted it all together so I could move to whatever part of the quilt I wanted to tackle. Oddly enough, I did the sashing first as the idea of how to quilt it came to me first. 

Then I quilted all the borders of the blocks. 

Finally, I got the block appliqué areas quilted with monopoly thread. So far the Quilting Goddess has seen fit to keep my tension great during all these thread changes. I did change my needle before starting the quilting around the appliqués...very good idea I think.

Just a quick look at a couple of the blocks...

And as I was looking for the original book for this quilt, I discovered another set of appliqué blocks for the  Art to Heart quilt, “I Believe.” I completely forgot I had put them together the last year I was living in Paris.

Looks like I have my first project for the upcoming Material Girls retreat in February. I did all the black blanket stitching on the, “12 Days of Christmas,” on my Bernina 440 which is my Bernina that travels...which means it goes to retreats. A good project to work on a couple of hours a day.

No critter visits lately. The pups and the cat are all doing great which is awesome because they will be going to the pet motel. In a few days I will fly to California  to visit my son and his family...which includes my one and only grandchild...can’t wait!

I am taking a little denim dress to embroider on for her...but making sure it fits first. Nothing fancy...just a few flowers in DMC floss...and maybe a butterfly...and maybe her name...we'll see!

Welcome 2021

The New Year is off to a great start.

Eli is no longer wearing the cone of shame!

A food allergy is the suspected problem. 

He is on a special diet and getting a dose of Zyrtec everyday as he still has a rash on his ears. I have now acquired the new skill of being able to “pill” a cat. It’s actually pretty easy.

And my quilting mojo has returned. 

Yesterday I finished quilting the dark green background spaces. This is the first quilt with appliqué that I have quilted so looking forward to the challenge of outlining all those adorable designs.

I completed one last Bucilla kit for 2020, giving me 10 official finishes.

Cross stitching was the one daily project I managed to keep doing in December.

I started working a on a series of mitten ornaments.

I also decided to join a SAL with Pat Sloan. The pattern is Stomping Ground.

Hard to resist elephants.

I like it when I can finish with a photo of the latest visitors.

These two young bulls spent about an hour roaming our yard last week and would occasionally butt heads. The bull on the left has dropped one of his antlers...wonder if it is in one of my neighbors yards.

Cat Drama

 My cat Eli, has a mysterious health issue so that has put a little damper on my creative mojo.

He is doing great with his floppy cone. He can eat, drink water and get around pretty easily. He has two sores on his face he scratched up so this keeps him from doing more damage. He has a rash and we don’t know why. Otherwise...he seems completely normal and his blood work was perfect. Monday we meet with his doctor to reassess. 

I did finish a set of cross stitch snowmen ornaments that were my last official decorating project for 2020.

This set is from Mill Hill, series two of their Snow Charmers kits. I had done series one at least 15 years ago. I joined both series in a display.

I am still hoping...by Christmas...I will finish making bears to sit in the new helicopter and motorcycle stockings I made this year. 

These little bears are pretty challenging to make. I also need to make three for previous stocking finishes. It is not so fun to hang out in my sewing studio when there are so many pretty lights and decorations in the rest of the house! 

I did get my Christmas newsletter written and Christmas cards were mailed yesterday. I managed to also get the last gift bought yesterday. So...despite no quilting...I have been working on other tasks.

This is a normal scene in my sewing studio. Logan, who is the youngest...always seems to be the last in the pecking order so he is resigned to the carpet when the cat takes over one of the dog beds. Don’t feel too bad for him...sometimes he just goes upstairs to the master bedroom and naps on our bed. 

And yes...my cat really is that big. If you haven’t read about him before, he is a 25lb Maine Coon.

The Final Stocking Post Plus Four Banners

There a few Bucilla stockings in different places...

Three went to our son and his family in California.

The stockings for Zack and his wife, Tina. 

And our granddaughter’s stocking,

I have made three Bucilla wall hangings, two that were with a Nordic theme so I grouped them with three Bucilla stockings that are also have a Nordic theme.

The third banner, a design from Mary Engelbreit.

And the final banner is not a Bucilla product but a quilted banner. 

The banner was a kit gifted to my by my  mother-in-law.

I suppose it fits well with a post about stockings.

Just a quick little chat today!

The Most Precious Stockings

I was a mom with young boys when I got a chance get away for a long weekend ski trip to Salt Lake City with several girl friends. Like any girls’ trip there was some shopping involved. We were near the Mormon Temple downtown and wandered into a gift shop. Way in the back was a quilting section and hanging on the wall were adorable quilted stockings with little bears in different themed settings: a train, a canoe, an airplane, an angel bear...

I had never seen anything as unique as these stockings...and no quilted stocking design since then has topped the detail of these stockings.

The designer, Jodi G. Warner of Hearthsewn, came out with one new stocking design every year. This was before internet shopping or eBay. I used to write her every year for an update on her designs for the year. She had a little printed catalog. One year I found a booth at the Houston quilt show with her patterns but only that one year. I did have a couple of quilt shops in the San Antonio area but as a mom with young kids I didn’t spend a lot of time quilting. Mostly I collected the patterns.

Our move to Alaska really propelled my quilting progress. Both our sons were in school and I was fortunate to be able to be a stay-at-home mom. I would get an hour or two in the afternoons several days a week to work on projects. 

My first Bear stocking.

I was a very good clothing seamstress but without a work place to dress for, my sewing skills were directed to quilting. These patterns were the best introduction to several quilting techniques. Most of the patterns had a section of patchwork, a section of hand appliqué and a section of paper piecing. And since each section was pretty small I could usually finish one part in a sewing session.

I had to make the bears too! I had to make the dress for the bear and her wings. She and the wings are detachable.

An Airplane Bear...one of the family favorites. The bear has a little parachute attached to his back. (Yes...I had to make that parachute. It’s actually just a little backpack...no real parachute.) He sits in a pocket and is easily removed. I used to hang these stockings on our stairway railing and I often found the bear removed and placed somewhere in the garland...that always made me smile. 

Oh my goodness...the fishing bear is such a fun one! The fish are paper pieced. I was so thrilled to find a wire candy cane to use as a fish hook. I managed to find a little plastic fishing pole at a craft store. This bear is wearing a fishing vest. So many details in each stocking.

It was so exciting to have stocking designs that fit in with our new home in Alaska. I had to make red shirt for this bear. 

The mama bear in the kitchen has to be one of my favorites. The cook stove is paper pieced. The mama bear is wearing an apron complete with a front pocket and  she has a big bow on her head. Searching for all the special buttons was always a challenge.

The gardening bear. I was so thrilled to find the perfect mini rake and shovel. I had to make the little gardening glove for the bear to sit in...it has very short fingers.  I think there was a copyright issue with this design as it disappeared from the designer’s inventory by the next year’s stocking release. (Debbie Mumm had a gardening theme of quilting fabrics and projects that looked exactly like the carrot seed pack about the same time this stocking was released.

Every year I anxiously awaited the new year’s design and I was always amazed. There seemed to be no limit on the adorable scale!

A polar bear in an igloo with a quilt...this screams “Alaska!”

I taught a class at a local quilt shop to make the polar bear stocking so I actually made it three times. 

To commemorate the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City she made a skiing bear...and yes...I made those skis. Popsicle sticks that were soaked in water then shaped to dry, sanding to make the tips and then painting and adding ribbon straps.

Some years were a little more simple in design which was appreciated.

The confectionery bear had a new technique. I had to make the lace. I couldn’t find any peppermint candy buttons in the right size for this stocking so it sat in storage for a while until I found the perfect ones.

Oh...and the ballet bear...I had to make a ballet slipper for the bear to sit inside...definitely a big challenge.

A tricky little mitten to make for snowflake bear.

Bear to the Rescue...a return to a traditional design.

The bear that sits in this red bag is in my workshop...I’m referring to it as I make some new bears.

Sometimes a fabric line from the season would be just perfect.

Another year when I thought a current line of holiday fabric was perfect for the stocking design.

And just this year...after aging nicely in my sewing room...I finally made the last two bear stocking designs.

A very detailed motorcycle to appliqué! This one needs a bear too!

Most of this helicopter is paper pieced.

I am making six new bears so I’ve got a little assembly tray ready to stuff legs and arms while I watch tv in the evening. The bear pattern changed about year six of the stocking designs but I had pre made several of the original bears. Of course I like the new bear design better but it is pretty time consuming to make a tiny bear. I will get them done...someday.

There are no more bear stocking designs from Jodi Warner...she moved on to other things. 

I forgot one!

This bear looks like he is barely holding on! As simple as this stocking looks, I remember it being harder than I expected.