Yesterdays blog post crashed. This morning only one photo posted so I’ll start over. This is not a very good start to 2023.
Remember this book?
I chose this quilt as my New Years Day project.
I used 1-1/2” strips instead of 2-1/2” strips – after I just got done whining about all the 2-1/2” strips I have but I’m making a table topper and not a quilt.
I always have so much help in the sewing room, don’t I?
Colton matches! I believe Martingale’s book sale is still going on – you might want to check out this book and the other strip book I showed. I’m going to keep working with strips for awhile – some easy piecing while I watch Netflix. Right now I’m watching Derry Girls and finding myself laughing out loud!!
It was a nice day yesterday to walk in the grove – which meant walking on top of the hard snowbanks.
Oh, I like it! Sew on…
Happy New Year Mary! Wishing you and Rick good health and joy in 2023.
I love the new project you chose. And it looks like you have a wonderful helper! Colton is one beautiful kitty! ❤️
Love the pictures of your kitty helper!! I am interested in knowing what size you are making your table topper? I love doing small projects like table runners, toppers & wall hangings. Our snow here has all melted & we have gotten some rain & are expecting more rain tonight. So now everything is just a soggy, muddy mess.
Debra – don’t know size just yet – have to make more sections and then try it. Won’t matter – easy to make any size you might want.
Love the Colton pictures. Have fun making the table topper. My new project will be a quilt for our first grandchild. The baby is due at the beginning of February so probably won’t have it done in time to take it when we meet him or her for the first time. Happy New Year.
I love the colors in your new project! I also have help when I am sewing ….sometimes too much but I love having the company!
Colton looks like my cat “Mister”.
I love Derry Girls too !
Mary I don’t know how many noticed your notebook by your sewing machine but I love the saying!
“Never take beer to a job Interview “, it doesn’t say anything about taking it to the sewing room! LOL
Love the quilt your doing and the colors. Sorry that I made such wisecracks about your post. I should know better that you don’t leave us hanging out there.
Glad you were able to make the post happen again.
Start going to doctor appts this week for knee replacement on January 16. Got clearance on my foot to do what I want and listen to my body when it’s too much. Doc said if it hurts while your doing it it’s ok and see what tomorrow is telling you if you need to back off. Not a good thing to tell me as I have a high tolerance to pain. But I will be careful.
Rita – Never Take A Beer To A Job Interview can be found in our very first charm book from 2010 – more on that coming soon! I forget how closely you guys watch my pictures – haha!
Happy New Year, Mary!! I love the pictures of your feline companion! They certainly know how to relax!!
I’m in the midst of making another strip quilt too. I’m using coffee filters as the paper backing, cut in quarters, then sewn back together in a circle after removing the papers. They come off very easily. Most of my strips are 1 to 2 inches wide, so they vary. Some of the wider ones I cut thinner though. I machine appliqué the circles to a background of tiny multi-colored dots on white. It is a fun project and uses a LOT of scraps!!
I envy those who can watch tv shows or listen to an audio book while they sew. I can’t concentrate on either so I just plain sew and listen to music. Otherwise I am using my seam ripper too much.
Mary, I am going to do Corey Yoders mystery block of the month and that uses a jelly roll. It’s on her blog Coriander quilts. She shows a mock up of the strips on the blocks that she will issue each month for free. It is a way I can use some floral brighter color 2 1/2” strips I have.
Kathy – I think that’s a great idea – I also have many jelly rolls to use up, too
I’m planning to join in on Corey Yoder’s mystery quilt, too. I have the blocks made for the mystery quilt using her Buttercup and Slate fabric line. That is the quilt I’ve chosen to finish the quilt top that is on my list of things to sew for January. All the sashing pieces are cut out. Sure would be nice to have the top ready for my LAQ before Corey starts her next mystery. I really like her directions and she does a rather short, usually under 15 to 20 minute coordinating You Tube video with such good step-by-step instructions. I love the colors in her next fabric collection so plan to copy cat her quilt. Can’t wait to see what you creative people come up with!
I like your colors better than the ones in the book. It is going to be so pretty. Do you make a gigantic mess when you work with scraps? I adore scrap quilts but I always create a huge mess when I start working with them. Of course, I don’t have a Colton so maybe he would keep me tidier. HaHa
Wishing you a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year!
Sue – yes, working with scraps is a mess but not so much when you use Bonnie’s system of strips saved in sizes in containers. I cut scraps every now and then and put them in separate containers. I just pulled my 1-1/2” container and picked out the colors I wanted. When I say I’m overrun with 2-1/2” strips, that means I have MANY full containers!!!
We loved Derry Girls. We actually started again and rewatched the whole series and got even more laughs out of it. Love the colours of your table topper and can’t wait to see how it comes together.
Brenda – I’m going to watch Derry Girls again tonight with the FB game on muted so I can do both.
Happy New Year to Mary and all you blog readers! May 2023 bring good health and happiness for all. I believe Colton has done his best to warm our hearts and make us smile. Thanks for sharing him and all your furry companions. Cheers!
We made a quick trip to New Jersey to see family. Went through Indiana Christmas Day and have NEVER seen so many cars and trucks in the ditches. Made trip there and back without incident. But we did feel sorry for truckers who were trying to get home on Christmas Day. Came home to driveway which had been plowed but still had new drifts. And now it’s started another round of snow — on the edge of 8″ to 12″ prediction. Hoping it’s less.
Since you mentioned books on sale, quiltinaday.com is having a sale on your book, Fresh Start Quilts, if anyone is interested. I’m ordering my copy today.
Wishing everyone a safe and healthy new year.
Lynne – thank you for that info – I hope readers take note!
That Hazel. What a trooper. I was wondering what kind of pattern and colorway you would go with. This helps me to have an eye for other looks outside of my usual picks. I have always been drawn to Jan Patek designs so that is why I probably am drawn to this one. Thanks for the great images. You have a knack for telling a story with text as well as images.
Like the colors of your strip quilt. I started that show also.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year! I love your quilt so far. That book looks like a good one.
I got covid from hubby right before Christmas. The Iowa family still came for the week (she’s a nurse and said it was safe once the fever was gone). Hubby had to clean and disinfect the house for their visit. He’s had to do a lot of household chores this year. We had a great week long visit.
Now I get to wash bedding and clean Sally hair off of everything. They only brought one dog and our cats were relieved. They tolerate Sally as she steers clear. The two doxies think cats are for chasing.
Tomorrow is my sewing day and I’m trying to figure out which project to start. Too many to choose from!
Take care!
Looking fearfully cold outside you neck of the wood!! California is cold (for us) with much needed rain coming this week! We are still on drought restrictions and because of lack of water in the Colorado River we are having stricter restrictions coming in 2023! So we would love love love to see snow packed like this in the Sierra Nevadans which would give us water for the summer. Anybody else exhausted today? I can’t believe the energy you have Mary to sew! I guess it is due to my stress level as I have had roof leaks, (new roof costing a fortune replaced this summer, patio cover leaks,( replaced in September 2022, new double gates just installed in October that are now warping, and redo on my family room needing workman to come in repair their mistakes. Question: ” Does anybody do the work that they are being paid for?” I decided to take a nap and then go into my sewing room and just start tidying up for projects that I want to do. This will de stress me a ton. COTTON IT’S WHAT A BODY NEEDS!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND THANK YOU MARY FOR YOUR LOVE AND INSPTIRATION!! Carolyn Barnett
Carolyn – your home issues sound pretty serious and pretty irritating – would be to me! No, nobody really wants to do the work anymore. And if you can actually find someone to come and look at the problem it’s unlikely they’ll ever come back to do it. My experience. Don’t builders have any guarantees on their work? I would love to build another garage for Red but can’t get anybody to do it. I feel your pain.
Looks like a very helpful boy!! He does blend in well with the colors you are using.
I think I’m losing it!!
I don’t see a book titled Don’t take beer to a job interview. In any pictures. I checked the earlier post too.
Your colors look great with Colton.
I shoveled snow this morning. About 1”. Then went out to dance lessons….ice, thick ice all over the car and walk. Fords use to be cold blooded, nowadays they warm up pretty fast.
At dancing lessons, my friend and I have a very hard time doing the turns. Today everyone turned the correct way but us. We didn’t realize it till the next turn and saw we were carrying on in the wrong direction. By then we’re laughing so hard we couldn’t join in. Think…Lucy and Ethel. 😂😂
Jo, I couldn’t find the beer reference for awhile either. It’s to the left of Colton in the first picture of him. The book looks spiral bound. Turn the picture sideways.
Jo – oh, Lucy and Ethel! Now that’s a visual, isn’t it? I didn’t know you were taking dance lessons – what kind, square dance? Sounds pretty fun. The page you can’t find is from our first charm book and I’m remaking it for our $5 Friday this month. You guys are too funny!
Now I see it! Thanks
We are taking line dancing. The instructor is a friend we worked with 50 years ago. It’s a lot of fun, but challenges the memory banks.
Jo – wish I could take it with you!!!
I like your colors and your coordinating “helper”. Both of mine “ help”, too. Squeak had her 11 1/2 year check up yesterday. She is doing well. We can’t believe she will be 12 in July.
In the high 50’s today. I worked on New Member name tags for our quilt guild. I will make a cinnamon coffee cake for the Welcome on Saturday 1/14. Fun.
Sewing room cleaning tomorrow. We have a new great nephew 12/30/22 so I better get stitching.👶🏻
When I was a kid in Illinois, my little brother and I walked on the hard snowbanks. Your blog brings back sweet memories. Thank you, Mary.
Maybe Colton is trying to tell you that he is a “star” and he is entitled to extra attention.
Colton looks like our Emma, she’s been gone for many years now. She hated me due to the medicine that we had to give her briefly lol, but she never forgot! But she loved Al. She had the same longish gray hair that she liked to share and she was very content to sleep on my Bernina when ever possible.
I think your hard snow is going to be a GREAT base for the freezing rain we have coming. What a mess that will be. Well, not for me as I am not venturing outside to walk – I am confined to the treadmill. In mid December we went for our daily morning 2 mile walk and I slipped, leg forward and did the splits. I do NOT recommend. Luckily, we were only 2 blocks from home, I didn’t break anything and didn’t hit my head but holy cow did it ever hurt; I was sure I had ripped my hamstring – I did, but I don’t think I detached anything. I created a huge amount of drama by trying to stand so I could walk home and kept fainting when I stood and my BP dropped. This freaked out the neighbor who had stopped and eventually gave me a ride home. I am sure he thought I had hit my head, but the way I had landed my head was the farthest from the ground. I was also very annoyed with myself – my cleats were at home, by the door, instead of on my feet. I am doing quite well, I hobbled around for 5 days and my derriere to mid calf bruises have changed to green, but I am up to speed on the treadmill. But going for a walk outside with any snow/ice pack….still gives me great anxiety. So. Treadmill it is!
This is my PSA – be extra careful on the ice/packed snow. Wear the cleats. Use sand and salt. Don’t trust the snow covering possible ice!
Sherry – I’ll bet you were very very sore! I bought hiking poles last summer and I don’t go to the barn without one in my hand. The ice is very treacherous and I just cannot be laid up for any reason!!! Walking through the grove on top of the hard snowbanks will be out of the question if we get ice on top. Ugh. Colton is a pest! He’s bothering me right now as I’m trying to type!!!
I like the quilt you are working on from the Strip Quilt book. I may just have to make that one!
Mary, the Deery Girls cracked me up too! You’ll have to watch the actors participate in an episode of “the Great British Baking Show” (or whatever it’s called). That was pretty funny too.
Jan. 3, 2023! In NW Iowa it’s a Winter storm warning…no travel….snowing heavy….it’s moisture we need! Sewing and crafting and bookwork on my agenda. We are suppose to have 4 inches by noon and wind. Happy New Year everyone!
I had an email this morning from Martingale that they are going out of business. Huge shock to me, i just ordered a couple of books from them. A friend from church moved out there a few years ago to become their editor, Jennifer Keltner.
Anyway – everything is 55% off if anyone is looking for quilt books.
Mary aren’t they your publisher? Have you heard this?
Other publishing news = American Patchwork and Quilting is discontinuing Quilt Sampler and Quilts and More. Another friend worked there but has lost her job.
Big news in the quilt world. A little sad that some of my favorites will no longer be printing new material.