I know a lot of you have had the winter blues this year with lots of snow. My heart goes out to you living in the northwest who seem to not be getting a break from the snow. Fortunately (don't say it!) we have been very lucky here in the northeast with very little snow thus far.
But what I mean by Winter Blues here are some of the projects I have been working on the past month. I seem to be working with a lot of blue.. must be the season. I hope to get the binding on this tabletopper I made for my coffee table. This is from a pattern by Primitive Gatherings.
It will go well with my snowman pillows which I made two years ago. These are my own design.
I used my favorite method for HST (half square triangles) - the Star Singles hst paper by Spinning Star. I can make 8 HSTs with each paper and they come out very accurate. Easy peasey!
Unfortunately this 28" x 28" table topper did not go together as 'easy peasy' as it should have. Can you see the problem here? Well, I didn't see it until I had it all pieced together... obviously not paying attention! My husband said that it still looked like a snowflake (he's so sweet), but I knew if I didn't fix it, it would always bother me. I know you understand. :-)
That error resulted in some of this....
Once I got it sewn together correctly, I free motion quilted swirls in the blue patch area and machine stitched 1/4" in the white areas.
I also have been working on some blue and white applique. These are the first two blocks of the 1857 Album Quilt by Sentimental Stitches. I have been seeing these blocks posted to Instagram and finally (caved ) joined in. I can't say I am going to make all 80+ blocks, but these first two have been fun. I have wanted to make a blue and white quilt for awhile. This seemed to fit the bill.. we'll see how it goes.
Sentimental Stitches post the patterns (3-4 a month) on their blog and you can also purchase previous month's blocks on their online store.
That is my January update. Where did the first month of the year go??
Oh... I have one more January update to show.
If you follow me on Instragram you have already seen this, but I can't help sharing again because I am such a proud aunt. The top photo is of my nephew, Chris, who worked in the Whitehouse for the Obama administration. About 2 weeks before the end of his term, appointees were invited to have photos taken with the president. So cool!
The bottom photo includes my brother, sister-in-law, my niece Brigit (far right), my nephew Sean (far left) and Chris's girlfriend.
Happy Stitching!
Deb
I am linking up at Kathy's Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching since that is what I plan to do the rest of the day!
Love your snowy projects! I'm a huge fan of blues and white.
ReplyDeleteAll the blues. Does make a person think of winter. Love those snowman pillows.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great moment for your nephew and family! I love all your blue projects and especially your snowman pillows. You'll have to share those at Tuesday Archives this week. (Our theme is: SNOWMEN) PS: At first I thought that was my car buried in snow. JK!! But there are cars around town buried like that!!
ReplyDeleteWinter Blues is beautiful for these cold and snowy months as well as those cute snowmen. The applique blocks are going to wonderful to work on especially if a nor'easter comes your way.
ReplyDeleteYour Winter Blues is very pretty. I love those snowmen also. What wonderful pictures with President Obama.
ReplyDeleteso much blue and all lovely liking the swirls you have used have tried to draw them for having a go at as my quilting leaves a lot to be desired. Applique looks lovely too, another technique I have yet to learn, need to be at least 30 years younger if I am going to be able to achieve all that I wold lke to do. What a lovely job working for Pesident Obama and have a photo to remember those days I so admire him and his lovely wife
ReplyDeleteI love your vintage photo - reminds me of the 1966 blizzard in illinois.
ReplyDeleteYour blue and white quilt is pretty - nice quilting too!
Love those Winter Blues! I especially love the applique blocks. I think these blocks are stunning in blues. Congratulations to your nephew and I hope he continues to work in Washington.
ReplyDeleteThe Winter Blues table topper is wonderful! I'm inspired by that idea...
ReplyDeleteUsing blue & white for the 1857 Album blocks is a great idea, too! Would you believe I'm a fan of blue & white? Congrats to your nephew - how awesome to have had a job at the White House!
Always happy to see your beautiful applique - these two are no exception. Wonderful than your nephew had the time working in the White House and got to have his photograph taken with President Obama.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I love all the blues and I do remember clearing off my car when it had over a foot of snow on it. My niece's husband is returning to CA after working for the Obama administration. I'm glad your nephew had this experience as it will be with him all of his life. Wow!
ReplyDeleteYour blue and white applique is gorgeous! One of the best versions of that pattern I've seen so far!
ReplyDeleteYour quilt projects look fantastic! I love all the blues.
ReplyDeleteLooks good Debbie Harry! Greetings from a very sweet Oasis!
ReplyDelete