Official Bloggy Welcome to 2025!

We made it safely to Florida on Wednesday and Thursday; have spent the intervening days getting things situated and comfortable. And now it is time to get serious about blogging! I really piddled out last year; I hope to do better.

I have always like the beginnings - beginnings of months, of years, of projects. The fresh new days of 2025 are pumping me full of ideas and projects and plans - many of which are sewing/quilting projects and plans.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, however, I need to review 2024. Typically, I use one collage to do this, but as we are ending a whole, entire year, I made two.

This first collage represents my highlights for December. I tell you, I did so very little sewing! It saddens me just a tiny bit to think of those projects which were left unfinished. However, all the fun and fellowship I did have most assuredly makes up for it. And you can see from the snapshots in these pictures, people play a very big role.

TOP ROW: I will reiterate here what I've said often in the blog posts I've made since summer - we remodeled and updated our upstairs. These three pics show the three sleeping bedrooms - master bedroom, then bedroom 2, and bedroom 3. We remodeled in this order. The master bedroom was technically the project we set out to do, but it quickly became evident that in order to do it properly, the others would have to be dealt with as well. Bedroom 2 was formerly the long arm room, so major things had to happen which forced my involving the sewing room. Yikes! It was all so very daunting!

Bedroom 3 didn't get so much of a remodel as it did a severe clearing out. We had used this room as a catch-all, and it had gotten to the point that even walking into the room was an athletic endeavor. 

All three rooms still have some small things that need tending to. Art for the walls; hang a ceiling fan; install a TV on a wall mount; continued purging in that third bedroom - these would all be a healthy start.

MIDDLE ROW: Granddaughters took lots and lots of our time, which we never find to be a problem! Reagan and Cate are such darling girls, and we take so much joy in watching them develop and grow. Reagan is 3 months; Cate is 26 months. Cate is such a good little helper when Reagan is around, as illustrated in that center photo.

BOTTOM ROW: The first picture was taken at a family luncheon in Hillsboro - extended family on my mother's side joined us for fun and frivolity. My cousin and her husband are in the foreground, then my two aunts are behind them. That's me way in the distance. *grin*

The middle picture shows the one sewing project I finished in December - a Mondo bag to gift to Helen in our Frankfort Girls gift exchange. This may be about the 6th one of these I've made, so you'd think I would have finished it in a timely manner. Uh-uh. Nope. I was topstitching the night before the party. Geesh.

The last picture is of the Frienzies. We only had 5 present, but it was so much fun. We did a Progressive Day. We seem to always be so busy that when we do get together, we never get to truly visit with one another. So we devoted the entire day to connecting. We started with brunch at my house at 9am, then went to Pam's for coffee, tea and games. After that, we went to Susan's for lunch and a quickie project; then off to Hettie's for after-dinner drinks and dessert. It was a wonderful day, as we ended about 4pm. We got to see each other's houses decorated for Christmas, and we really took the time to enjoy the company. I hope we do this again next year!

Well, I have that other collage, but looking at the length of this post, I think it'd be a good idea to hold it off until tomorrow.

Happy New Year, Quilty Friends!

Jayne

December Wrap Up

It was not especially productive in the sewing realm, but December was full of family, fun and frivolity. My December collage contains more non-quilting things than usual, and I am perfectly okay with that. Let's get into it, shall we?

TOP ROW: I quilted and bound the pretty pink single 9-patch quilt that was made for granddaughter Cate. And speaking of Cate, look at those sweet little 'tootsies' tucked up while Grandpa Kevin holds her close. The final photo is a close up of the hand quilting project I continue to work on in odd, spare moments.

MIDDLE ROW: Christmas with our daughters occurred on the 17th; as the day wore on, Baby Cate had had just about all the reveling she could handle, so Grandpa and I worked at trying to calm her down. In the center is the Mondo Bag I made for the gift exchange with the Frankfort Girls. And the last photo is of kitties Rocky and Betty, grandcats who stayed for a week over Christmas. They were entertained by the birds at the feeder out our kitchen window.

BOTTOM ROW: Just before Christmas we had a frigid weather system that left us with temps in the negative numbers and about 5" of snow. We were basically house-bound - by choice - for two days, before venturing out on Christmas Day. The center pic is my Scrappy Red 9-Patch that is finally entirely pieced and currently on the long-arm - yippee!! And  finally, the last pic is from Christmas afternoon at my sister's house. We are full up on little people this year! This Santa-hat-clad child is Archie, my sister's grandson, wrapped in his mother's arms and taking in all the sights and sounds of the day. 

Today, as I mentioned above, I finally put the Scrappy Red 9-Patch on the long arm, and I am nearly finished quilting it. I interrupted the quilting to get my walk in, and now to write this post. I will get back to it shortly.

Still working on the goals for the new year, as well as some doable goals for this month. Maybe tomorrow? We shall see.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Goodbye December and Goodbye 2021

I have taken a week off from blog posting, and I won't apologize for that. Since Christmas, it has been a week of resting, planning, and puttering. We've stayed up late; slept in; worked a puzzle; watched old movies; and spent a day antiquing.

I did feel compelled, however, to post one last time in 2021 - share my monthly round-up - wish everyone a happy new year - share some ideas for '22 - so here we go.

Top Row: December began with my hosting the Frienzies for a Christmas Brunch. Not all were able to attend, but those who did had a good time visiting, making candles, eating, and playing games. DH and I attended Immersive Van Gogh in Columbus. The quote says "There is nothing more truly satisfying that to love people." The exhibit was wonderful, and we hope similar shows come to Columbus soon. The final picture in the top row is my one finished flimsy of the month, Lunch Box Social. It was on my goals list for the year, so I am glad to report that finish.

Middle Row: We celebrated Christmas a week early with two of our three children. The girls came with their guys for brunch and a day of fun. Besides eating and gifting, my mom helped us make homemade noodles, and then the daughters made some candy treats using pretzels, Hershey Kisses and M&Ms.The center picture is a festive star block that I turned into a pillow. The daughters finish out the row; this picture was taken at the aforementioned Christmas.

Bottom Row: Making pillows was a theme for the month. This red and white checked pillow is made with red fabric found in my grandmother's quilting stash, and I gifted the pillow to dear friend and quilting pal, Sharon. The last picture shows the other star pillow, along with one I made years ago. In the middle of the bottom row is the 1000-piece puzzle I worked to completion in 2 days. I don't do puzzles often because when one is out, I do little else. 

Planning for 2022 has been paramount on my mind for several days. I definitely hope to do more on the long arm machine. That would be huge to get a big bunch of quilt tops turned into quilts this year. Another definite is to work on a few UFOs that I've accumulated around here. I have several I am determined to finish. Details in coming days. 

Have a safe New Year's Eve! We are off to celebrate with friends for the evening. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

December Roundup

A couple of factors have played into my tardiness in getting this blog going in the new year. 

One, DH's computer is on the fritz, so he's using mine. 

Two, I had that sinus infection that kept be pretty well out of commission.

Things might just be turning around here, at last, so I am going to proceed with an attempt to catch up on old business items - first among them, the December collage.

It is always fun to look back at the month just past to see how much (or how little) I've packed into it. For December, what felt like a very slow month, we ended up having more to share than I expected.

Top Row: The first day of the month gave us our first snow of the year, and it was gorgeous! It was a very heavy, wet snow, and it stuck to the branches beautifully. I continued cranking out the churn dash blocks as I prepared for the eventual block exchange with the Frankfort Girls on the 18th. And secret Christmas sewing was ongoing; I made several zipper bags for girlfriends.

Middle Row: We downsized our Christmas tree and as well as all the decorating, after we cancelled the big gathering with my extended family. On the 19th we had our girls here along with my mother, for a small, intimate celebration. I attempted to quilt some quilts for gifts, but the long-arm was uncooperative; I had two issues: timing (which is fixed thanks to Terry's DH, Mark.) The second issue is as yet unfixed - speed control. It has one speed -  supersonic! (Hoping to fix that on Saturday.) I love my stack of red and white quilts - still displayed on the shelf. *smile*

Bottom Row: Additional secret sewing included this festive pillow. One not-so-welcome dilemma that December brought us was this sink-hole in our driveway. We are filling it with gravel and rocks; before January is out, we will be replacing the entire culvert - $$$ - yikes! The collage ends with a picture of my sweetie and me - celebrating on New Year's Eve, in our grubby, old everyday duds and all by ourselves. No party this year, doggone it. We brought out a 1000-piece puzzle (shown in an earlier post), ate pizza and watched old movies. Very low-key, just like nearly everything this past year.

I would normally be posting goals for the new month, but since it is also a whole new year I am working up a bigger list; that will soon be coming.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Farewell 2017

This is my (hopefully brief) wrap up for 2017. First, Charley Brown and Snoopy - I just love the Peanuts gang. The waning year has been a good one - I have no complaints of any sort. The blessings are plentiful, and I am grateful.

I did finish the borders on the last UFO quilt top late last night. I am really pleased that I had the fortitude to stay with my goal of completing a UFO each month all year long. That sort of discipline is not my strongest trait.

Below are some random pics of my Large Tumblers quilt top. It is made with very scrappy Kaffe Fasset fabrics from my stash. The quilt top measures roughly 64"x 80" - a nice long quilt for a single bed. That darkest picture at the bottom was taken last night when lighting was poor.

I have to distinguish between large tumblers and small tumblers because I made two quilts with my template in two sizes - 3 inches and 5 inches. I was mostly just playing around when I made those first few tumblers, but then it seemed like a good idea to turn them into something useful, so now I have two tumbler quilt tops waiting to be quilted. Unplanned, but very much a good thing.

Today, I am looking back not just at the whole of 2017, but specifically December. As I attempt to wrap up both the month and the year, I put together this collage of December highlights.

The first picture is of my nephew Donnie, his wife Elisa and their new son, Elliot, born on the 28th. I was betting she'd deliver early, but nope! He came right on his due date and weighed in at 9.36lbs. A big'n! He is also long at over 21". Next is my very quick and easy table runner, a kit purchased in Holmes County/Amish Country. Then there's me with my wonderful gift - the Tin Lizzie long arm quilting machine.

The second row is of a WIP (work in progress) made with Roman Holiday scraps. I will try to finish it up soon. The train picture in the middle is a reminder of a fun night out we had with our friends the Ludwigs and their son, daughter and spouses; 8 of us in total. The Cincinnati Dinner Train was a true dining experience! The blue and white blocks are a preview of quilts Sharon P. and I are going to make in the new year.

The bottom row shows the really recent stuff. First, Emma finally has her wall hanging. I am so pleased with how it turned out, and I know she loves it. The pillows are a gift I gave my mom. The patchwork fronts are actually pockets and I tucked books into them. Of course, the final picture is the December UFO, Large Tumblers.

I have been mulling over some plans for the new year. We already know I am NOT going to focus so heavily on finishing UFOs, but I may tackle 3 or 4 as the months pass. I am eager to dive into some new fabrics I have acquired, as well as create quilts with the ample stash of old fabrics I treasure so much. Early this new year, I will post some goals and plans. It helps to do that so that I maintain my focus. I am too easily sidetracked, as evidenced by what I worked on this morning.

I have the attention span of a squirrel. This sewing room needs a major clearing out and straightening up. I need to be getting familiar with my long arm machine. I need to get a couple of appetizers made for the New Year's Eve party we are going to tonight. I ought to run a load or two of laundry. What do I do?? I ignore all that (typical Jayne behavior) and pull out a stack of scrappy stash fabrics and make this block. Teaching this dog any new tricks seems futile, at this point.

I will provide details soon on the pattern and how I became distracted - I need to finish up this last post of 2017, and get going on that to-do list!! Happy celebrating, wherever you are! And as always,

Happy Quilting, Friends!