Does anyone hand applique anymore?

I used to do a lot of hand applique a few years ago.  That is about all that I did, as far as quilting goes.  I had a yahoo group for Primitive Folk Art Applique as well.  I really enjoyed having that group and sharing my love of applique with others.   I no longer have that group, as there were some problems in the background and I found that I couldn't deal with it anymore.  During the last year of owning the group, I also started doing machine applique, just to keep up with everyone.  After awhile, it just didn't bring me the joy that appliqueing used to.  I always enjoyed hand work and found it relaxing.  I think, now that I look back, that trying to get so many quilts done along with others, just isn't what I want to do.  I want to get back to the basics and enjoyment of the process of hand applique.  It might take me years to complete quilts, but I would enjoy making the quilt more.

I have some fabrics that I bought to do some projects from Blackbird Designs book, 'When the Cold Wind Blows'.  I've been trying to decide on whether to do it by hand or machine.  I think I've finally come to the conclusion that hand is the way to go for me.  Since we will be moving this year, I'm going to start cutting them out and getting them ready for hand work while sitting outside this summer and also for traveling.

The first pic is of Winter Garden.  I have the fabrics all ready to go for it.  It's a large quilt and each block is cut 28 1/2".  That is big!  If anyone has any tips for cutting out such a large background block, please let me know.  This next pic is of a wallhanging in the same book.  It's called Frost on the Ferns.

There is also another quilt in this book that I would love to do.  I don't have a pic of it taken yet, but I have pulled fabrics from my stash.  It's a Christmas quilt and it's called Holly and Mistletoe.  I realized this past Christmas that I don't have any quilts for Christmas, so I may have to start this one too.  It's got some applique blocks and lots of pieced blocks.

I haven't been able to do too much this past weekend, as I had a major flare up of Fibromyalgia.  It's still giving me problems today, but I'm hoping it will subside soon.  It's been in my fingers and hands a lot this weekend, so not doing any hand work.  Just taking it easy and watching 'Ghost Hunters' dvd.

Have I been away for a month?

I didn't realize it's been a month since I've posted.  This has been a stressful month for us here, so I haven't really felt like saying much.  We have been in the military for almost 22 years now and had planned on being in for 26 years.  It seems the military just made some changes and now we have to retire at 24 years.  So we now have a little over 2 years left in the service before we retire.  That still gives us some time to plan some more, but we had put in an extension to stay in Germany for another year.  With that extension in place, we would have had less than a year left when we leave Germany.  Unfortunately, the military won't move you, unless you have a year left.  So we've been worried that we would be here til we retire.  DH has been on the phone, trying to figure out what we can do with all of these changes that have been thrown on us.  Luckily, we just found out that we got our extension canceled and will be leaving here this year.  We have a weight lifted off our shoulders now that we have an idea of what's happening.  We still won't know where we will go next until probably in April.  We are hoping for SouthEast, as we are originally from TN and would like to be near home as we get closer to retirement.  

I'm going to be spending some time working on the house and getting rid of things that we don't want to take with us.  Plus start doing some of the cleaning, etc.  Sort of like a Spring Cleaning.  I've got loads of quilt books and things that I want to list to sell and lots of things that we don't want to take with us.  Sort of like, if you don't love it and it doesn't bring you happiness, lose it.  *S*  

I've also been thinking about my projects and what I might want to work on this year.  I will post about that in another post, hopefully, with pics too.  I just wanted to let everyone know what's been up with me.  

A Finish, A Start and A UFO

Finally, a finish!  Yea!  Those are few and far between for me.  I always seem to have trouble doing the finishing on any project that I start.  I can get the quilt tops done, but not quilted.  Once they are quilted (I have 3 quilted tops that my friend Mary of Quilt Hollow quilted), I have trouble getting the binding sewn on.  I have multiple cross stitched pieces ready to frame and rugs to be bound.  How do you get to that last little thing to get them completed?  This I have to work on.  So I completed my snowman hooked rug.  I got my yarn out and whipped the binding edge and it's done.

I've been seeing so many blogs with Schibbles patterns by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. and they look like so much fun.  My friend, Mary, sent me one of the patterns to get me started.  I had some charm sqaures already and found a set that I had double of.  So I started the Hot Cross Buns Schnibbles pattern.  It's been fun!  

Above, I have them laid out ready to sew the blocks together for the center.  I've been working on it this morning and have my center sewn together now.  Just started cutting out the borders now.  One tip, don't bother with washing those charms.  I've had these charms for so long and I made the mistake of washing them when I first got them.  Now I'm scrambling with some of them to make sure that I can get what I need out of them since they shrank a bit.  Lesson Learned!  I can't wait to get some more Schnibbles patterns and some more charms.  This is quick and fun!

As for my UFO, since I was cutting strips out of stash, I pulled a tote down that had some cut already.  This happened to be pieces that I had cut for a scrap basket quilt out of one of Blackbird Designs books. So I started sewing them together.  I have the 4 patches done, which are a start of the basket block.  I'll share more of them as they grown.

Just look at those scissors with my 4 patches.  I just got those in and love them!  I've seen them on lots of cross stitch patterns by Stacy Nash and always wanted a pair.  I was searching around on primitive websites and came across these.  I just had to order right away.  Aren't they adorable!

Happy Quilting!

New Year, New Stash, New Printer

Happy New Year!  I can't believe we are already in 2010!  Time just seems to be flying these days.  Well, I hope to get more things done this year than I did last year.  I don't have much to show for this past year, as I was in a slump with my hobbies.  Now that I'm back in the saddle again, I've been playing in my sewing room a bit.  I had to organize it again and get things out of it, as it became a catch all this past year.  I've got my cutting table all cleared off and started cutting strips.  I pulled a book out by Kim Diehl and decided on what size strips to cut.  So my drawers are almost full with strips.  I started out cleaning out my scrap basket and then went to my stash.  I decided to take the smaller pieces and some that had been in my stash for awhile and cut into strips.

Since it's been so long since I have had any new fabric stash, I ordered some.  It's here and it's gorgeous! It's Jo Morton fabric.  I pulled out some UFO's and one of them is a Jo Morton pattern.  I almost cut some of my Jo Morton fabric up for strips, but then realized that I needed some of it for a UFO that I had started.  Well, I didn't pull the fabrics that I had used so far out and put with it, so now I'm a bit low a couple of colors.  That is what the reds are in this pic, but not sure if they will be the right color of reds to go with the older Jo Morton fabric that I used.  I may just take the one applique block that I have done and make it into a wall hanging.

Another new thing I got is a new printer.  I've been wanting a wireless printer for awhile now and I decided it was time.  I loved my other printer, but can't find the ink on base here.  I found it downtown, but with the Euro to Dollar exchange rate, it was too much.  I just got it set up and printed some things out today.

Wonderful Gift and Christmas Decorating

I received a wonderful package from my friend, Mary of Quilt Hollow.  She sent me a charm pack of Frosted Memories by Holly Taylor.  I love it!  I've been wanting to do something with Christmas fabrics and this is perfect.  After starting to decorate for Christmas, I realized that I don't have any Christmas Quilts.  I have lots of Fall colored quilts, but nothing to use for my Christmas Decor.  I'm on the lookout for some simple patterns using charm packs, jelly rolls, etc.  So if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.  Mary had the charm pack all wrapped up with white fabric tied with a green ribbon.  Now there is another idea for using some of my stash.  She also sent the cute snowman card with a package of Cinnamon Spice Tea.  Thank You, Mary, for the wonderful package and for thinking of me.

Here are a few pics of my Christmas Decorating.  This is my dining room cabinet with a couple of my Santa's.  I still have a coupe of other Santa's to put out.

Here is a wonderful Rocking Reindeer that I just got.  I usually look for Santa's each year, but when I saw this reindeer, I just had to have him.  I also bought the 3 ornaments in front of him.  They were just too gorgeous to pass up.

This is another new buy for this year.  I found the plate and bird at a local craft shop.  They also have some gorgeous candles there, and I thought it would look nice with this setting.

This is my kitchen window.  The Candle holders were a gift from my Brother and Sister-In-Law a few years ago.  The Santa coffee pot is my favorite.  I found it a few years ago and love him.  The Gingerbread teapot is a gift from my Cousin and I have a matching plate that my Mother sent me.

That's what I've done so far.  We have to get our tree up still.  I was afraid to put it up too early with having a puppy in the house and kitten in the house.  We'll get that up this weekend.  Doug and I have his Squadron Christmas Party tonight at a hotel in Bitburg.  We have our neighbor watching the kids for the night, so we got a room at the hotel for after the party.

I hope everyone has a Wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!  I'm going to start making some plans for things for the New Year and see if I can get more projects done in 2010.

Happy Birthday to my oldest!

Today, my oldest turned 12!  Eek, where did the time go.  One more year and he will be a teenager.  He won't have his party til Saturday, but asked if he could open one present today.  He could barely wait til his Dad got home.  He also asked for a Red Velvet Cake for today.  Well, I got the cake done, but didn't have enough of the powdered sugar to make the icing.  So we wait til tomorrow and I'll get the icing done.  He will also have a Birthday cake for his party, but the Red Velvet is for us here at home.  This is the latest pic I have of him. He usually hides when the camera comes out.  I had to snap this one quick.  He's heading to the bus stop for school.  The only other pic, I got that morning, had his binder covering his face.  He gets that from me!

I've started hearing my projects calling to me again.  So I hope to have something crafty to share soon.  I've also started decorating for Christmas.  It's still a WIP, but once I get my totes from the garage, I can finish up the decorating.

What a rough week last week was....

First, I went shopping in Trier with a neighbor. We had a good time until the last shop we went into. I paid for my items and put my wallet in my purse and left. Only to get to the next place to get a pastry and found my wallet was gone. Yes, I got pick pocketed! I've been to many places in Europe and the States with no problem. We went back to the shop and asked them and they remember me putting it into my purse, as do I. When we started leaving the shop, which is a narrow home decor shop, there was a couple that split up around me. The Husband was walking ever so slowly in front of my and the wife was behind me. I had bought some long leaves, which were wrapped in plastic for a vase, and had them in my hands trying to make sure to not break anything or hit anyone. It was only about 5-10 minutes later that my wallet was gone. So now, I'm having the fun of waiting for new cards, id, licence, etc.

Next thing was Kindergarten started on Tuesday for my youngest, Thomas. Got him on the bus and came in to get to work. Tried to vacuum the den and pulled my back. So for the past week, I've been laying on a heating pad to get my back better. I had so many plans for the week to get done while being home by myself. Nada got done.

Needless to say, nothing quilting, knitting, or fun to post pics of. I will hopefully get to things this week. Let's hope it's a better week.