Friday finish - Handquilting the cowboy quilt

 I have been working on this for quite a while. Hand quilting for me is never a fast thing. Unless I'm too weeks away from Christmas and I was hoping to get this done as a gift.

back view of hand quilting

Then there is plenty of pressure to get it done. I made it by the skin of my teeth or should I say the

callus on my pointer finger.

 

The intended recipients were able to know that what they have seen me work on for so long was always intended for them. :) That brought a smile that made it all worth while. Unfortunately they didn't get to hold on to it yet. I still have to hand stitch down the binding. But in comparison to the quilting part that shouldn't take long at all.

On Christmas Eve

I'm all snuggled in with my family. My mystery blocks for this week are complete. There is a soft snow outside the window. Life couldn't get much better, unless you maybe add hot chocolate.


We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas! May you spend time with loved ones.

Straight to the point

Today I am going to be completely honest with you. I make a TON of mistakes. This week is no different. I got the directions for the pieces on Friday and then had a busy weekend. I didn't have the chance to get started on piecing until Monday. But that wasn't the only thing on my mind, so I did not focus completely. I read and re-read the instructions again quickly and started on the piecing. I was off to the races.

I am having trouble getting my photo's true to color. In real life this has more of a red look.

I was disappointed with how my points were turning out. What was I doing differently? Was it my cutting? Was it that I was racing to get to the next thing on my list? Was it my seam allowance?  I decided that it would be okay to have a point or two cut off. The colors of this quilt were picked especially for a friend, who is going to love the quilt regardless of a point. So I plugged on and they got better as I went.

So I finished all 128. BUT WAIT! I don't need that many. I only needed 64. So in the long run I have plenty of pieces that points are not cut off. But I also see seam ripping in my future, or more piecing. Have you ever made such a foolish mistake?

Mental note: Listen to Bonnie, "It's not a race! It's NOT a race!" Maybe if I say it enough it will stick.

As for this post, it is meant to show my own mistakes. It does not reflect on the mystery in anyway. The mystery I love! My mistake not so much!

Sometimes

Sometimes what I start on Friday takes me the rest of the week to complete. Sometimes it takes me longer. We will not discuss the unfinished quilts that may children will find one day. As for now I have been determined to keep up with the Easy Street Mystery. After all I could use a little excitement/mystery, and what I find in the laundry is just not cutting it.

Can I just say this mystery is so aptly named. Because this morning I sent the kids to school and got started. By lunch time I  had my 64 completed blocks. Hooray for a finish! Now on to the rest of my "To Do List"

Can I just tell my family there is more to do here and go back to quilting?

Enjoying the mystery

At this time of year there is so many things to stress over. The good news is that the mystery quilt along with Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville is NOT one of those things. In fact I look forward to it all week long.

When I got the second step on Friday, I started right away. I forewarned my husband that I would not be leaving my pj's for the day, but I could be found at my sewing machine. If you lived close enough you would hear the sound of Christmas songs playing, and my sewing machine humming. We will not discuss my singing capabilities or lack of. But I may have mistakenly missed the telephone ringing as I was fully engrossed in what I was doing.

 Flying geese have been a bit of a challenge for me. I always seem to cut off that top point. I have used the easy angle ruler before, but not the companion ruler. I watched Bonnie's video and just decided to go with it.

 So glad that I did. I have few that are not perfect. But neither am I. The picture doesn't truly showcase the color, the pieces are more purple in real life.

 I may not know the finial result of this quilt. As of right now I am completely okay with that. I am loving seeing my colors and each piece come together. Now if I can just stick to this platter of quilt pieces and not platters of cookies. I will be fantastic the whole season long.

P.S - If you haven't started yet, jump in at anytime, and do what you can. I have to say there is a huge group of quilters participating and each one is so different and unique. It's wonderful to see all the inspiration out there. Not to mention that everyone is so sweet and supportive with their comments. I could just (((((hug you all))))).