Checking in

Hello! I'm still not getting much accomplished quilting wise. Today was the first day in weeks that I have sewn anything. I made little trees!

I made these 5 trees to complete the swap my sister and I have going. We decided we have run out of steam on the project and this would be our final round. I can't wait to see what she has done with mine. And I hope she likes what I did for the final round. I hope the simplicity of the final round tones it down just a bit. I like it, and I think she will.

A few finishes

A dear friend quilted this for me! I finished the binding and it has been donated to a local home for children.

It is a jelly roll race quilt. I love the bright solids. Here is the back. I just used up some random fabric I had in my stash and I tried to pick boy-ish fabrics in case a boy quilt was needed.

I was invited to a co-worker's baby shower. I had the top of this quilt pieced already. I found the cute floral print for the back and added her name. I love how this turned out and my coworker seemed pleased as well. I need to keep several pieced baby quilt tops in hand for just such occasions! 

Also a nice bonus--I used what I had on hand and I quilted it myself! 

I found this doll pattern on a facebook group. I thought it was so cute! They are pretty quick to make too.

I ran across this bat pattern from bitofwhimsydolls.com. It is the sweetest bat!! I made this one for my daughter. She has now requested that I make one for each of her friends. She has already picked out all the fabrics! I better get busy!!

I made a tote bag. I read a million different tutorials and patterns and then decided to wing it. I messed up on the straps, but maybe I can buy some big funky buttons or something to cover up my mistake. I was gifted a big bag of home decor fabrics. The only thing I can ever think to make with that type of fabric is tote bags. I need to come up with some other ideas because I barely used any of the fabric to make this tote bag. 

The other side:

I finally put my blocks together for last year's mystery quilt for my guild. I loved making this pattern. However I am not in love with my color choices. I am happy to have the top together though and 

maybe someday you'll see it completely finished! 

frustration

I haven't posted in a long time it seems. Mostly I am frustrated with myself. Ahh...it is who I am... I have these ups and downs. I cannot seem to get motivated with sewing anything, however there are lots of things I want to finish up and lots of new projects I want to start. And so I am frustrated. I know that I really need to sit down and prioritize. Perhaps I will make a list of 5 WIPS and start there.

For 2016 I decided I wanted to do a Smash Book. If you aren't familiar, a Smash Book is kind of a "no rules scrapbook" basically. I did a little scrapbooking several years ago, but got bored with that and got rid of a lot of my stuff. I don't want to do all the fancy scrapping stuff...just want to keep it simple, thus the Smash Book. However, it takes me so long to do just one page, even though it is super simple. I do enjoy the process though. I am just making pages with stuff I do. I made a page about taking my new dog to the vet, a page about the snow, pages about my recent trip to the beach, etc. I am keeping up so far, but we'll see for how long. I know if I get too far behind I will get frustrated and give it up.

I mentioned my new dog. Well, he just appeared, and I am guessing he came from wherever the cat that appeared on Halloween night 2015, Squishy, came from, because the two of them seem to know each other and get along well. My new dog, Jack, does not get along very well with my cat that I've had since 2010, Tangerine. Or maybe it is that she doesn't appreciate him, or Squishy. So yes, I now have 4 pets. 2 cats and 2 dogs. I am not taking in any more strays!!! We tried to find Jack's owners but no one will claim him. I love that dog though, so since I have taken him to the vet I am officially declaring him mine. No one claimed Squishy the cat either, and he was also taken to the vet and officially a member of our family now. We believe someone near by must have moved and left them behind, although we have no proof of that. They are both very loyal and don't seem to want to leave. Anyway, having that many pets is quite a handful and keeps me busy, but they are all good pets and good company.

January is almost over. Maybe February will pull me out of this slump I am in.....let's hope so!