I bought this jungle animal print early last year thinking would be a good feature fabric for a baby quilt. I started to pull solid scraps that matched it from my solid stash. Then I remembered a quilt idea had seen recently at See Kim Sew , she calls it a Low Volume Baby Quilt. Its pretty, with grays and a splash of color that coordinates with the print on the backing. I thought about replicating it, but then I remembered my gray stash fabrics are in a holding pattern for Grassy Creek. I decided to just do a “Postcards from Sweden” front – assorted bright HSTs and the print on the backing. I used the accuquilt to cut all the triangles, I needed about 300, and chain pieced them together. Now they are covering the design wall, waiting for shuffling and balancing.

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I got the Holiday Square BOM block done. It was a little fiddly, I really had to pay attention to the wood graining on the fabric. I don’t like the way the embellishments that came with the block look. They are inkjet printed, and just look flat, a bit blurry. I’m also not a big fan of raw edge appliqué with wonder-under. It reminds me of the raw edge that we used to do in the 80’s, when it was held on to the background with puffy paint (shudder). I am going to add my own embellishments with embroidery and turned edge appliqué. I also have a whole bunch of snow flake buttons that I bought for a different quilt project and didn’t use. I did finish the Halloween figs block the other night too.

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I recently watched a few Floss Tube videos about total coverage Cross stitching. I am fascinated by this technique of working on the diagonal and “parking” the threads while using a different color. I have spent some time looking at Heaven and Earth Designs a lot of time, dreaming about making one of their designs. But in real life, I doubt I would finish one of their beautiful masterpieces. I have to finish the Cat first, and then the Teresa Kogut sampler is next. The ‘Pet all the Dogs’ sampler that started the resurgence of the cross stitching around here.

The 6th Clue for Grassy Creek was released today, lots of gray and neutrals, sigh. I am caught up with the clues though, so maybe these will be the last of the gray. We finished using the gold, and a lot of green and red, we shall see. I’m thinking one or two more clues, maybe some more sub-blocks. I need to dig through the stash to find some more variety for the string blocks.

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The borders are done on the Farm Charm #1 quilt top. The fabric was delivered on Saturday, and sewn on Sunday. I also completed clue 4 of the Grassy Creek Mystery quilt. I am having some trouble with the gray and neutral combo. It is dull, and this time of the year I am craving color, warm colors, bright colors. Maybe that’s why it seems like more work. I finished the hungry animal alphabet quilt today, it is bright and cheerful. I think I have a tossed alphabet letters pantograph that would work to quilt it with.

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This week I also want to get the Holiday Snow village BOM done. The new/next one will be here in two weeks, so I want to get moving on that one. I did get a bit more appliqué done on the Halloween Figs quilt block. As I get more of the cross stitch done on Bright eyes, I take a break and appliqué another petal – only seven more to go. The cat head pattern is pretty intense at times, it is hard to get any bit of rhythm going. Too much start, stop, change color, loose place, find place and make a stitch. I am working with a post it note and multiple markers, but still get lost. I have even tried leaving needles threaded and picking the threads up as I go, but some of the stitches are too far apart, or the threads get tangled (annoying). I have loosened my personal “neat backside stitching rules” a bit for this project. I will take up to a 1/4 inch jump stitch, if it’ll save me from tying off and re-starting a thread. I am making progress though.

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Yesterday I buckled down and made the little nine patches for clue 5 of Grassy Creek. I ended up cutting too many strips, but I did get a lot of variety, wouldn’t you know it though, one set of matching pieces. I still have to make the flying geese and the red pieces, but its only Wednesday, so there is time.

I was reading a few blogs today and started following a blog hop about New Years Stitching Resolutions. Carla at Creatin’ in the Sticks got it together. Lots of good intentions and ideas for the new year to be read about. Me, I think I am going to keep on keeping on. I may come up with a “word” for 2021, but long term goals aren’t my thing, I am more of a day by day minded person.

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Yesterday was border day. I finished the final borders on the BOM Botanica. They were relatively easy, because I had made the pieced blocks in the corners at the beginning of the BOM. In fact I had forgotten about them, and when the pattern read “use the blocks made in month 3” I admit I had a small panic attack. But they were there, in the bin of all the things Botanica. I have a small pile of scraps left from this top, they will join the scraps that live in the 365 block project bin (2017 UFO).

I got the borders on the Savannah quilt, simple enough at 6 inch wide. I like how it frames the quilt top, keeping it soft looking. The Zebra print binding will look cute too.

Next up was Farm Charm top #1. I had four of the animal prints left from the panel, and I wanted to use them in the border. They were two horizontal and two vertical prints, 5 x 7 -ish in size. I used a scrap of paper (old school) to figure out how to use them and with a few rechecks, a bit of pinning and partial seeming, I got it to work. The Farm Charm #2 top has to wait until Monday for its borders, as the fabric isn’t here yet. I am planning on a red inner border and the same print as #1 for the outer border. That top needed something to separate the whiteness of the blocks and the white background of the border. I am hoping I have enough to use for a binding too.

Also, I got the December Halloween figs BOMs done. I still have to finish the appliqué one from November, but lately my hand stitching is cross stitching. I have been making headway on the Cat Head. The real name of the pattern is “bright eyes”, but Cat Head is more descriptive for now.

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Today is Christmas Eve. I have all my gifts made, wrapped, given/sent/received. I didn’t send any cards this year. Kinda lost faith in the PO to deliver, and got a bit lazy, finally rationalized that I was helping the PO by not giving them any more stuff to deliver this month. I am seeing year end tallies on blogs I read and I’m starting to do an inventory of my own. I updated my master Quilt list and I am up to 265 lifetime quilts, give or take a few. I learned how to quilt in 1984, hand sewing, using cardboard templates, I made a pillow out of my patchwork. In 1991 I took my first modern quilting class and made an Irish chain baby quilt using a rotary cutter and ruler. I know my mom still has the quilt, not sure what happened to the pillow though.

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For something completely different. Yesterday I made a pajama shirt with the L890. It was fun and easy. I used the serger to seam the seams, and then switched the threads and needles to hem it with the coverstitch. No swear words were uttered, really. This was a pretty simple pattern, raglan sleeves and a V neck collar. I’m not too happy with the design of the collar, it probably would have looked better with a ribbing. I may even make the pants to match later this week.

I also hemmed not one, but two pairs of jeans for myself. On my 790, as the denim was thick, and it needed a simple straight stitch. I found I was out of the golden jeans stitch thread, and my blues were too bright, black was to dark. Then I saw a bobbin that was just right, except that it was embroidery thread. I went with it, after all it was 100% polyester and a 40 weight. I think it’ll be fine. I have another pair of pants that I hemmed using rayon embroidery thread a few years ago, and that thread is holding up well. I’m happy I have two new pairs of jeans to wear too. I am blessed with a 28″ inseam, so every pair of pants I buy needs shortening by an inch or two.

I finished the center of the Savannah quilt top last Friday. I ordered a yard of the aqua colored print for an outer border and a ½ yard of the Zebra stripe for the binding. Who knows when that will get here. The mail is running so slowly. I sent my mom a package on November 30th, “knowing” it would definitely get there in time for Christmas. According to the tracking, it should be delivered tomorrow, the 22nd. Sigh. This quilt used up the entire charm pack, and a bit of the Thicket quilt scraps. I still have a half panel of the animal print left, so it didn’t make much of a dent in the stash. This week I want to finish the Botanica quilt top, as the fabric for that quilt is in the house. Also, have to finish the appliqué blocks from last months Halloween figs BOM. Oh, and the Holiday snow village BOM block. And clue four of the Grassy Creek mystery, which I haven’t even pulled fabric for. I still want to make a batch of biscotti for Christmas too. Busy week ahead.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday today. She has a pretty needlepoint angel tree topper to share.

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I started cutting out the squares from this panel, The Hungry Animal Alphabet sampler, to make a throw quilt. I saw the free pattern on Just Let Me Quilt, back in November and I really liked the character of the animals pictured, so I bought a panel. Then some yardage fell into my cart from this Riley Blake line, and the rest is history.

The panel squares are all the same size, the pattern calls for cutting them to 7 ½ inches square, but I want to use as much of them as possible, so I cut them to 8 inches square. Look how cute the S block is, Sheep, suitcases, sunflowers, snow, saddle shoes etc.

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I got all the green sashing cut, but I am waiting on the yellow for the corner stones. It should be here next week. I put everything in a bag and pulled out the panel of Savannah animals, the charm pack that goes with it and the pattern I thought I was going to use. Well, the pattern seems to go with a different panel from this line, as the main animal blocks are not the same size as those in the pattern. To make it more fun, the giraffe is a tall rectangle. I decided to do some improv piecing and practice my partial seams. Its working out pretty well.

This Cat head cross stitch was in the same bin as the floral one I completed in November. I have been stitching on it everyday. I wish I had a before picture, but when I restarted it, there was only one eye, no nose and very little fill of the left ear. It’s also a piece done on linen, lots of shading, even colors with two different strands of floss. It reminds me of my cat, Sharkie, who has been gone for a long time now. I think I started this piece in 1995, as that’s when the magazine is dated from. It’s a Mary Hickmont pattern, she used to publish a magazine called New Stitches. She is on Facebook now, and the magazine ended with issue 261. This cat is from issue 51. She is still making and selling her cross stitch designs on Etsy at MaryHickmottDesigns She has really lovely designs, also Black work and Hardinger. I have a bunch of old magazines that I saved. I should go through them and re-find the ones I like.

I got the Farm charm top together, I’m just waiting for a yard of the strawberry color to come in, and I’ll add borders. The other Farm Charm quilt top needs a border too. Speaking of borders, I got the final installment of the Botanica BOM quilt yesterday. I also got the first installment of the Holiday square BOM, and notification that the Halloween figs December block has been shipped (I still have one block left from November to do). I went from a clear plate to overflowing. Let’s not forget clue 4 for the Bonnie Hunter Grassy Creek quilt is out tomorrow.

Just Keep Sewing, just keep sewing.

Be Kind