Lucky 13

Here is my grand finale. I can't believe I met my goal to finish 13 unfinished projects before the end of the year. It's amazing what a little determination can bring. I have had this quilt top laying around for a while now. I made it at one of my quilting retreats. I used a Roman Holiday jelly roll to make the inside and some yardage from the same line for the borders.


I quilted this quilt in concentric squares. I love how turned out.

Here's the back. You can see the quilting better.


I sat and hand stitched the binding while we watched Star Wars this afternoon. We decided to start our New Years party early.

It has been a nice relaxing day. As you can see we haven't taken the Christmas decorations down yet. We will probably do that Saturday. I think this is the longest we have ever left everything up. I just haven't wanted to take them down this year.

A big thanks again to Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studios for this UFO (UnFinishedObjects) challenge. I can't believe how much I was able to get done in the last month. It has been a good lesson for me to see how easy it is to finish my unfinished projects. They are usually almost done and don't take much more effort to have them complete. And finishing a project feels so good! Now I better get back to the fam. We are watching the next Star Wars movie. This could turn into a marathon!

P.S. Look who stopped by last night to try on his new sweater!

A Wee Sweater (#12)

My baby nephew lives less than 10 minutes from my house and I am totally in love with him. He is so cute! I can't get enough of him. Don't tell my sister but I like to pretend that he's mine. Remember, I was there when he was born. I made him a Baby Yoda Sweater when he was still in his mommy's tummy. My sister does not realize how much it means to me that she has put him in that sweater so many times since he was born. She had him in it at his blessing and I was so touched. She still puts him in it, good thing knitting is stretchy! I have been working on a new sweater for him for a while now. I thought he needed a more grown up baby style. I used the same yarn because I think it is a pretty blue and I had a lot left over from his other sweater.


I love cables and wanted to knit him a cabled sweater.

I can't wait to see it on him!

Pattern: Kai Cable Sweater
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots

Needles: size 7

Size: up to 12 months

Eleven

It is getting down to the wire on these UFOs. Here is my latest finish.


I have had this quilt top laying around for years. Seriously. Years.

I love when there isn't enough fabric for the back and you're forced to piece one. Always turns out cuter! I am seaming up a sweater (UFO#12) for my baby nephew as you read this and I will be back soon to show it to you.

10

I made this bag back in May but I never use it because it isn't lined. Well it wasn't until now!



I was pretty much winging it on this one since I didn't have any kind of a pattern. I just measured the bag and went from there. I used hand sewing to attach the liner to the knitting. I had wondered how that would work until I tried it and it wasn't that big of a deal.

Now I can use it! In case you are counting along with me, that is UFO#10.

Christmas Gifts

Now that everyone has opened their Christmas gifts I can reveal a few things I made and gave. This first gift was for my sister, Tina. You probably know her from Needles N Notions. We draw names in my family and I was lucky to get her name this year. Yay!


I made her one of Amy Butler's purse patterns called Stash and Dash bags. I dipped into my special fabric I have been hoarding. This is Amy Butler dot fabric and Heather Bailey Pop Garden fabric. I love how the fussy cut flower looks on this bag.

I have made myself a few of these bags and I love them. They are great to throw a wallet, keys, and a few other things in and go. But my favorite thing to use them for is my current sock knitting project. This bag is the perfect size! I also love the strap so the bag can just hang from your wrist.

I loaded her bag up with some goodies, including this pin cushion I made for her from some of my Hello Betty fabric.

I had to make a tuffet this month for A Year of Schnibbles so I thought I would make it as a gift for her. I used crushed walnut shells to fill it and I love the result. I bought a big bag from a pet store in the bird/reptile section. They weren't what I expected. They look like teeny tiny little pellets. The result is a nice, heavy pin cushion.

I made two sets of these Snow blocks for my two sisters that live nearby. We got together on Christmas Eve and had our traditional lasagna dinner. Yum! The blocks are painted and then I put vinyl lettering on them.

My daughter loved the socks and they seemed to fit well. She didn't want to take them off. She said they were nice and warm and cute too!

Speaking of my little sock lover... She has really taken off in her love of jewelry making. It is so fun to see her excel in a craft that I have no clue about. In the Christmas name drawing she got a teenage girl cousin on my side of the family and a teenage girl cousin on my husband's side. She really wanted to make them each a necklace and earring set. Here is what she came up with. It is so fun to see her designs.

I took a few days off from working on UFOs but I am back to it and should have something completed to share tomorrow. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a very relaxing, enjoyable day. I am soaking up the time with my family before kids have to go back to school and hubby has to go back to work. I love this time of the year.

Merry Christmas

May you enjoy your time with family and friends as we celebrate our Savior's birth.

The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney With Care

Just finished these argyle socks for myself. I took a knitting class at my LYS (quite a while ago) to learn how to do intarsia and the project was these socks. They are knit in a DK weight yarn. Knit Picks Swish (I think).



The leg is knit flat and then joined in the round right before the heel. I knit a short row heel. I haven't knit another since. Needless to say I didn't enjoy it.

The gray lines that go through the diamonds are done after as a duplicate stitch. Then you seam up the back of the leg to close it off. There were lots of ends to weave in on these socks, but I did them as I knit so I wouldn't be overwhelmed in the end.

I think they turned out pretty cute! And just in time to count them as UFO #9. Four more UFO's by the end of the year and I will have met my goal. Yay!

I asked my daughter to be my model, but now she won't take them off. Little does she know that there is a pair of hand knit knee high socks under the tree for her. I love having someone with small feet that loves my hand knit socks!

Meet the Snowman Family!

My husband played by Dad Snowman...



Me played by Mom Snowman...


My daughter played by Sister Snowman...

My son played by Brother Snowman...

Together they make the Snowman Family...

I started these snowmen over a year ago. My friend had made countless snowman families for all her family and her husband's family. I thought they were so cute so we got together and while she worked on some new family members, I worked on my little family. I pulled them out about three weeks ago and all they were, were cut out pieces of flannel and felt. My friend came over to my house a few times over the past few weeks and we both tried to finish these long time UFOs (she worked on the ones for her family and I worked on these). I ended up doing a lot after she went home too. These little cuties were very time consuming and dangerous (hot glue gun) to make. Lots and lots of hand stitching and detail. By the way, remind me next time when using glitter glue to go slower and that it doesn't dry in a minute. What a mess! All that time and pain is why I am counting these as #5, #6, #7, and #8 for the Joy in the New Year challenge.

I wrapped them up separately and put them under our tree for my husband and kids to open on Christmas. Yep, I had to do all that work in secret. Not easy!

*Yes, my husband has strict instructions not to read my blog.

Let it Snow

Here is UFO #4! I appliqued the snowflake and then layered, quilted, and bound this baby. I am hand binding all of these quilts. Being pressed for time I am a little tempted to do a machine binding but I like the look of a hand sewn binding so much better. So I am taking the time to hand bind these quilts.

I had hoped that after finishing this one that it would magically start snowing and that I could lay it on the freshly fallen snow for pictures. Alas, this was not to be and I had to settle for the kitchen table. I was hoping for a white Christmas like last year but it looks like it will probably just be a wet Christmas.

Because I am on this crazy UFO kick, some things have fallen by the wayside this Christmas. We did not send out a Christmas card/newsletter this year. And I was really hoping to make cookie plates to hand out to neighbors and friends but it came down to a matter of time. And all I have time for right now is UFOs and my normal duties as a wife and mother. The cookie I will miss the most this year is the sugar cookies that we make every year and sit down and decorate together as a family. It is a recipe I grew up with and for me, they taste like Christmas.

See you tomorrow when I show you my completed UFOs #5, #6, #7, and #8. Awe, yeah!!

Another Finish

Yea! I finished a very long time UFO! (that makes #3)


This is an Alex Anderson pattern that I got years ago from a quilt calendar that I bought. I really liked this quilt and decided to make it. I didn't stray much from the original colors because I liked them so much and they matched my living room.

Like I had said in a previous post, I had the top done but could never find a suitable fabric for the borders. Then I came across this pretty border fabric from the Simple Abundance line and bought it with this quilt in mind. I brought it home and it matched perfectly! I was so delighted.

I made the last stitch on the binding and then took it outside for a photo shoot. Around here you gotta snap fast before it starts raining again. I brought it inside and laid it on the couch and next thing I know my daughter was snuggling under it. I am glad it's loved already.

Joy in the New Year...

...stress in this one. It really is my own fault for signing up to finish 13 UFOs by the end of the year. Yep, you heard me right, 13. Yes, I know there are only 13 days left in 2009. I'm an over achiever. I figured if I picked a big number I would accomplish more than if I picked a reasonable number, even if I didn't reach my goal. But I am SO determined to reach my goal. I wish I could count all the secret Christmas projects I have been doing but I started them after the challenge started. Bummer! And I have been so busy with secret Christmas projects that I haven't been able to spend much time on my UFOs. But I am pretty much done with that now. Yea!

I can now devote more time to Jacquie's Joy in the New Year challenge. I give you UFO #2. (yep, I am only on #2) I finished this table runner last year but never put a binding on it. I couldn't find a fabric I liked. But I found the perfect fabric at JoAnns and the rest is history.

Because my daughter doesn't read my blog, I can show you the knee high socks I knit for her. They are wrapped and under the tree and I can't wait to see her face when she unwraps them. Here's hoping they fit!

I feel SO lucky to have won one of the Schnibbles prizes for November. I won the $50 gift certificate from The Fat Quarter Shop! I ordered right away because I couldn't wait to snatch up some Simple Abundance for myself. Thanks so much Sherri, Sinta, and the Fat Quarter Shop!! By the way, I did find a great red fabric for the binding of my November Schnibbles quilt but it is going to have to wait for this UFO craziness to be over since it does not qualify.

I have been a little quiet on here lately because I can't show you anything I have worked on because of secret Christmas stuff. But I am going to have to be on here a lot more over the next two weeks if I am going to make my goal. Wish me luck!!