Sweet Hearts - The Last One!

This being December 31 it is the last day of the year, my last blog for 2013, and also the last heart block to be made for the Sweet Heart quilt.  First, I wanted to thank all my readers for a wonderful year.  I have enjoyed sharing my quilting journey with you and loved hearing all your comments.  I also have to thank all of my fellow bloggers that have inspired and encouraged me over the past year.

So here is my last Sweet Heart.

I think it looks beautiful sewn into the quilt.  The last block of 365.

I am so happy to have completed this quilt.  Thank you to Francoise for initiating this 365 day project of making one heart a day.  It has been incredibly fun!  You can check out some other Sweet Heart bloggers on the Sweet Heart blog.

As I look across the surface of this quilt I see birthdays, anniversaries, tragedies, and holidays - some mentioned in this blog, some not.  I took these heart blocks with me everywhere - in the car, on vacation, etc.  Some days it was the only stitching I did, but I enjoyed every one and that it kept me on track - marking the calendar with a heart a day.  

In later posts I will show you the Sweet Heart quilts also done by Dawn & Marie.  They were a little ahead of me and got their quilts done a little sooner.  But we have had a great time talking about our 'hearts'. Now onto the borders!  .. and of course the quilting.  Maybe I can quilt a heart a day in 2014!?

I want to wish you and your family the healthiest and happiest New Year!  I can't wait to see what you all do in 2014!

Happy New Year!

Deb

Holiday Catch Up!

Well Christmas is over and while we really enjoyed the holiday and the time away, it is always good to be back home.  I have quite a bit of blog reading to catch up on! 

It was good to have the stitching time that long rides in the car give me.  I was able to get caught up on my Sweet Hearts and finish the Candy Cane Bouquet.

Today I am getting the last few rows of Sweet Hearts sewn together and added to the quilt as we wind down to the last couple of days of the year and the last couple of Sweet Heart blocks!

The red berries are now all sewn onto the Candy Cane bouquet wall hanging and I even added a frond at the base of the urn.  I guess no one will know that the bottom of the urn was crooked.... opps.  But quilters always find a way to correct their 'challenges' in a creative way!  Now just to decide whether to hand or machine quilt this....

I think this lovely poinsettia fabric would be great on the back.

Now here is another Christmas project I made this year.. but couldn't share because it was a surprise!

This table runner is based on the quilt Pines & Presents from McCall's Quilting Nov/Dec issue.  It is machine pieced, machine quilted with some hand big-stitch quilting. 

Perfect Scissors were the perfect quilting gift from a quilting friend.  Can't wait to use these!  Hope Santa brought you some new toys!

Happy End-of-the-Year Stitching!

Deb

Family, Stitching, and a big Christmas Tree!

We made our annual trip to New York yesterday to have a holiday lunch with my family.  It is always great to get together with family you don't see often enough at this time of year.  It was a wonderful, balmy 63 degrees in the city yesterday, which made it very comfortable compared to some years when we froze!

This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is spectacular!

So were the crowds!

My nephew, Chris (with the beard), didn't seem to enjoy the crowds.

Getting through Times Square was equally challenging at the end of the day!  Just a few thousand people on the streets.  Driving was slow!

I made two Sweet Hearts yesterday (because I am alittle behind!)  This one is in honor of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree!

And this one in honor of the Winter Solstice - although it felt more like Spring!

Me and my DH

Wishing all my blog friends a wonderful Christmas!

Deb

Sweet Hearts Update and an Arrival!

An update on the Sweet Heart quilts is way overdue!  I tried to take the best picture possible but now that we are nearing the end (only 13 more blocks to go!) it is really hard to show the entire quilt.

So I have draped it over the couch in our family room.

Here is a photo from the other angle.  Now you know that there has to be a cat under there!!

Oh!  Guess who??

Lucy never misses an opportunity to pose for the camera or, more accurately, to get on my quilt!

I also asked Dawn to send me a photo of her Sweet Hearts quilt.  She just needs to finish the indigo hearts in that one section.  I think she is really close to being done!  Looks fantastic in rainbow colors!

The biggest news this week however was the arrival of a baby boy for my co-worker Jaime and her husband Tony and the grandson of fellow quilter Karin.  Remember the monkey baby quilt?  Dylan arrived just short of midnight on Sunday, weighing 8 lbs, 6 oz.  Here he is just 14 hours old. It's been a very long time since I held a baby that small!

Now that is a Sweet Heart!!!!!

Happy Stitching!

Deb

Christmas is Coming Fast!

I have been  busy sewing... and not doing much blogging.  But since I am stuck in the house today because of a snow storm that will bring us 5 - 10 inches of snow in the Northeast, I thought I would take a few minutes to share.

I wanted to show you the Oak & Reel Christmas table topper from last year.  Remember this?  I was so happy to finally get this done last year after (uh-hmmmm... too many years).  Now it is on my dining room table with my old fashioned Santas, my little pinecone elves, and bottle trees.  I am so pleased every time I walk by.  Sometimes finishing is really worth it!!!!  Should have done this years ago!

Here is an update on the Candy Cane Bouquet.  The fronds are all completed and I am working on the embroidered stems that will hold the red wool berries.

A snow day before Christmas arrives can only mean one thing... well maybe two.  I will put down the needle long enough to do some baking.

Hope you enjoy your day - whatever it holds for you.

Even if it means just hiding under a warm blanket.

Happy Stitching!

Deb