Finally a Finish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I have finished something.  My carolers can finally sing. 

And I am continuing on my merry way, working on my BOMs.  I have finished Delight on my Gail Pan Christmas Wishes:

This maybe my most favorite quilt when I am done.  Now if I ever get done....

Because I keep starting new things like this...

I would have gotten farther on this one, but naturally the piece of fabric I was going to use for the sashing was theeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssss much too short to do the vertical piece.  So now I am in hunt and decide mode. 

I will probably not get much sewing done this weekend because we have tickets to the V8 Supercar race (Australia's version of NASCAR for my American friends) on Sunday and I want to try to go see New Moon sometime on Saturday.  Go Team Edward!!!

Maybe I will get more done on Monday after a break.  Fresh view and all that.  We can only hope!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend whatever you get up to!!!

Ripping and Tearing

I think I have been doing more seam ripping than I have sewing this week.  That and tearing my hair out!! As long as I only get the gray ones, I guess it is OK.
I have been working on trying to catch up on my Calico Cut-Ups BOM . I am threatening to turn it into a six or nine month quilt.  Some of the instructions are not real clear and some of the blocks are a wee bit daunting. I am also about to run out of one of the colors I am using, so that may sway my decision even more. We shall see--here is what I have done so far:

I also started to quilt my carolers wallhanging.  UGH!!! I just got through unpicking all that I did.  With all the little seams, it is very hard to do a nice smooth curve.  I am thinking I may have to break down and see if I can do a little hand quilting.  OH DEAR!!! And can I finish by the end of the month if I do.  Maybe a combination.  We shall see.

I also started another project--YES I AM CRAZY!!!! Well, I went to the grocery store and I saw some really yummy looking cherries--BUT--they were $30 a kilogram (2.2 pounds)--SO--I left them there. Then I came home and made this pie instead:

                                      

                                               

It will last a lot longer and won't stick to my hips, so it is probably a better pie to make anyway.  I am going to make a few more different varieties and then decide what they will become. 

So hopefully I have done enough boo boos and finished unpicking for the rest of the week (hee hee hee hee) and I will be able to get something accomplished!!!!!!

And Joy  is back from vacation!!!! Yay!!! Well, I am glad anyway--she may still want to be on vacation.  Instant whine feedback is very helpful when you are making boo boos.  So it is going to be a great week!!!

For everyone out there!!! Have a good one, A-

Happy Monday!!!!

Is that some kind of oxymoron or something? Not sure, but (knock on wood) my Monday is going pretty good.  I hope everyone had a nice weekend.  Mine was a peaceful, stay at home one.  Good for getting some sewing done. I managed to get three of my November blocks done.  It is scary--only one more month to go. I am going to have a lot of quilts to quilt at the beginning of the year.  Should I start new BOMs next year? Probably shouldn't, but probably will.

Natural Wonders

Harmony Village

Sundrop Critters

And I finished the top of my caroler wallhanging.

I didn't stop there, but those are all the photos for now.  I have started working on catching up on some of my other BOMs and I am trying to decide which Among the Gum Trees designs to start and, and, and... I think I should remove the word start from my vocabulary.  

Oh well, it is all fun--and it if isn't it goes in the UFO pile for awhile.

Have a great week everyone!!!!!

Back to Normal--Whatever That Is?

The evil inspection lady is gone!!!! YaY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually she is not evil, I just get all stressed before she gets here, so now I can chill. Maybe a nap is in order??????????

And the Retreat is over. It was fun, but a bit frustrating at times. I learned my lesson about "inexpensive" thread quite awhile ago, but since I have had my supplies packed since the June retreat I was still in possession of quite a few of them. I got the flu right before the last one so I couldn't go. Needless to say--thread painting was interrupted quite frequently by broken thread, broken needles, wadded up thread, cursing, etc. At one point the knob came off the side and almost an entire spool of thread started spilling out the side of my machine. I almost had a nervous breakdown. Fortunately our fearless leader operated on her and all was well. Finally I gave up and decided to work on my alternate project. That didn't work well either. I was not happy with one of the fabrics after I started putting things together. Ugh!!! So I spent quite a bit of time watching other people sew and deciding that there were quite a few new patterns that I was going to have to buy.
So, speaking of our fearless leader and very able assistant:

Michelle and Nikki from Handcrafters House

Landscapes were being created

New machines were being broken in

Tote bags were being whipped up

And hopefully--this is what my frog will look like when I get new thread and muster up the courage to keep going. This is the one that Michelle did. It is one of her original patterns from Raggedy Stitches.

That is all for now. I did manage to find some fabric that I think will work well as a background for my last couple of Harmony BOM blocks. I am going to fiddle and see how I can make it not so obvious. That I think will be todays trial. And then on to my carolers. I really need to finish them. Really I do!!! Hope you are all having a great week. Til later, A-

Must pack-----------

I should not be sitting here--I should be packing for retreat---but I had to say "Have a Great Weekend!" I am not taking the laptop--I will probably have withdrawals, but I will get a lot more sewing done if I leave it at home. I will survive right? Right!!!

So on that note--I hope everyone gets lots of sewing done and many other fun things too!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

ps-i finished my nametag--YAY!!!!!

pps-I really am going to go pack now!!!

This Month is Flying by

Well I have managed to get caught up on 4 of my many BOMs that I have started. It is only a small dent in the list, but I will not stress. It is supposed to be fun right? I should not stress right??? I still have two months left to get there right???
I will concentrate on the positive. Four is good. Here is my Harmony Village BOM: Silly me picked up all the pieces before I finished the October blocks, but I really did do them. Really--see--here they are:I have a serious background fabric issue. I don't have enough for Nov and Oct blocks and a search online reveals that is discontinued. I have found every other color available but naturally not the one I need. I will have to figure out something. But for now I am caught up. Yippee!!!!

And I finished the October block for Come Over to My House. My neighborhood has some trees.

So these two, plus the Sundrop Critters kitties and Debbie Mumm's Natural Wonders makes four. I am caught up on four!!!!!! And I must be happy with that because now I have to finish getting this pile of pieces ready to go on RETREAT this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Hopefully it will become a cute little thread painted tree frog before the weekend is over. Or at least well on the way to becoming a cute little thread painted tree frog. I am pretty sure it will take longer than a weekend. Especially since it is chock full of techniques that I have never attempted before. It will be fun right???? Of course it will!!!!! I am so excited. I missed the one that I signed up for in June because I had the flu, so I was happy when a spot opened up in this one. It is supposed to be the most fun anyway. Halloween theme, etc. I must hurry up and make a nametag for the contest. Nothing like waiting til the last minute.

Just one thing that casts an icky shadow over it all. It is rental inspection time again. Three days after I return from a relaxing retreat. Three days after I leave the house to DH and DS for a weekend. Ugh!!! Has it been three months already. It is not fair--how is a creative soul supposed to create if they have to do housework all the time? I will do my best to put it out of my mind until Monday. I will try anyway. Very very hard!!!

Later all, A-

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