Baby It's Cold Outside!

 Made a snuggly quilt using a minky blanket that I picked up at Bass Pro Shop recently.

The motif screams camping. I just had to get it! 

I decided to use up leftover Christmas fabrics to turn it into a quilt.

Irish chain pattern is quick to cut and assemble.  I did minimal quilting, spacing six inch apart for the rows.

The rest of the quilt is held together by small stitches that hold a decorative knot in the center square of the nine patch blocks. 

This is the last quilt and project for 2024. Staying warm and resting until the New Year arrives!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Found a double-side black quilted fabric and used scraps from previous Christmas projects for the balls and garland. 

Let's Sew

 

This pattern is from Missouri Star, disappearing four patch. 

The theme is sewing since some of the fabrics have a sewing motif. 

I'll use this in my sewing room to cover my huge roll of batting.

Sorbets!

 

And remembering a cheerful bedroom I had as a teenager. I shared a bedroom with my older sister. After my sister moved out of the house, the bedroom was mine to decorate as I pleased. I told my mom that I wanted an orange and pink room.  

The walls were painted off white/pink, the bedspreads were orange, and the curtains made from sheets that had a cute poppy print of orange and pink flowers. My mom made the curtains. I loved that color combination. It was a cheerful room!

I loved that color combination so much that I decided to make a quilt using those colors. Since I didn't have a pattern in mind to use for the fabrics, I waited until I saw the Blueberry Kisses quilt. I knew that was the pattern for this quilt. As I was working on the quilt, all I could think of were sorbets- cheerful and cool!

The Lone Star

 

I started this quilt in April while taking care of my mom's taxes and taking care of her estate. At times I felt like the lone star, will this ever come together and be done. 

This process of assembling the quilt went faster and with less frustrations than dealing with financial institutions. I knew the quilt would get completed!

The back of the quilt is simple since I feel the front needs all the attention, like alone star.

There is a pattern to the star, just not as pronounced as some lone star patterns. For me this pattern complements the floral fabric used on the back. A field of flowers for my mom, who must have felt like a lone star after the love of her life, my father, had passed. Peace!!

Healing My Soul

 

This is a Sue Pritt kit from her Sweet Seasons collection. When I saw this kit, I knew I had to have it. For some folks, cardinals can represent a lost love one and bring comfort when they see a cardinal. And that is true for me. These cardinals represent my parents. The eyes of another bird in the birdhouse represent my brother who passed away in 2022. 

They will keep me company as I quilt to heal my soul!

Chirps!

My son loves the Sparrow quilt that I made last year. He likes it so much that he asked if I could make him a smaller version for him to hang up in his apartment. 

He wanted the same fabric colors too. Luckily I did have some leftovers, just enough to produce this cutie for him. It will be one of his birthday gifts. 

Son of Egg

 My son-in-law's mother owns a deli in Albany called Son of Egg. She opened it at the start of the pandemic.

Even though his mom is a talented artist, he is the one behind all the art work to the store's Merch. 

At Christmas, I had requested one of their shirts as a Christmas gift thinking I would wear it on hikes. I did wear it once, but then decided to make it into a pillow for my son-in-law as a collection of his artistic works, an anthology. This will be one of his Christmas gifts.

A Pause and Peace

 My mom passed away on January 17, 2024. 

"I hear his voice. The dead whisper to us, they console us, they admonish us. Love more, love better. "-Dylan Thomas.

May she truly be at peace again with my dad, the love of her life. I love you both, thank you!

This was sung at dad's memorial: Camilla Aria from Merry Widow

Life was devoid of meaning

I wandered far and wide

Knowing not where I was going

And drifting with the tide

And then I saw your image

And all at once I knew

The reason for existence was in my love for you

The love that brought salvation

You're trying to deny

I will not let it die

I know my destination

And when our hearts combine

I'll sing in exaltation

That love has made you mine

Snowman Missing His Cowboy Hat

 I made one like this for my daughter for her Christmas gift 2022.  Now there is a second one for my son for his Christmas gift 2024.

It's fun selecting the green fabrics to make up the tree.  My son's tree has different fabrics from my daughter's tree. The beads that represent ornaments are different too; otherwise, the other items are same. 

Star Puzzle

 I love doing puzzles!

And this was my first puzzle of the year! I had taken a screen shot of this star...

...but forgot to make note of the site when I took the screen shot years ago. I tried a google search, but was unable to find the image or site. 

So, Math came into play-- too early in the New Year! Happily, I have some triangle rulers that were of help to figure out that puzzle.

After having fun looking through my stash of fabrics and picking out colorful motifs, I got busy with my ruler and templates that I made.

One of the templates had to be flipped to get the correct direction of right angle triangle for the points; like one does with patterns when sewing clothes. 

I have to admit the seam ripper became my life saver in getting the points to look correct and getting this mini quilt done. 

More mini quilt projects to come this year, with one or two being stars!!