Happy New Year! It’s Monday, which means I was back to work, back to the gym, back to school today. But, I really enjoyed my time off, especially because I was able to spend so much time with Eric. We watched a lot of tv shows we’d recorded, watched all The Godfathers, and have recently been watching Season 4 of The West Wing. I also spent some time reading, as you saw in my last post. For 2010, I’m challenging myself to read 30 books. I hit 20 in 2009, so I think 30 should be do-able.
As you can see above, I also worked on some quilts. I spent an afternoon and quilted the baby quilt. I was able to finish the binding on January 2nd, so it constitutes my first finish of the year!
It felt so good getting this finished. This is for a friend/co-worker’s first baby. His name is Cole.
I love the way these 30s repro prints work together. It was a fun, but simple quilt to make. I used a really nice muslin for the backing and binding. After finishing up this quilt I also pulled out another small quilt I’ve had sitting around awhile. I finished the quilting on it, and just need to hand sew on the binding. So, I should have another quilting finish quite soon. I also plunged in and attempted to do the quilting on another quilt that’s been needing it. But, that one got the better of me. It is just too big and too fiddly to quilt on my machine. So, I’ve set it aside until I can take it to my quilter. One of the things I’d really like to do more of in 2010 is quilt. Once I finish the binding on my Valentine’s Day quilt, that leaves me eight quilts, I think, that are in progress (three of those just need quilting/binding). Plus, there are many many more I’d like to make!
And you may be wondering how I spent my time on the first day of 2010. I love to have a new start on January 1st, so this year I decided it would be And They Sinned. I bought all the GAST threads for this last January during one of the New Year sales. I finally decided on 40ct Elegant Bean for my fabric, and ordered it a while back too. The pattern, of course, I’ve had since it was released. I put my first stitches in while watching the Rose Parade, which is my annual tradition. I love stitching on this piece. It is just wonderful. I almost decided to start at the bottom, just to be different, but in the end I started from the top.
This is how it looked yesterday afternoon. Last night I was able to fill in her face and hands, finish her skirt, and get a start on her wings. The little putti on either side of her now have eyes and lips to go with their crowns. So, they look a bit eerie right now – like Cheshire Cat putti. I will probably put this away until the weekend due to my limited (and sometimes non-existent) stitching time in the evenings during the week. I still have Mele Kalikimaka that I can work on in between. And with regard to my stitching in 2010, I’m just going to play it by ear. It would be great to get some of these WIPs finished, particularly those that have been around awhile. It would be nice to have some things framed too. I keep forgetting about some of my finishes, because they’re hanging in the closet awaiting framing.
The final thing I’d like to do in 2010 with regard to my crafting is to re-teach myself how to knit and do some knitting projects. A very sweet friend gifted me with some lovely yarn, a book on how to knit socks, and some double-pointed needles for my birthday. So, I definitely need to (and can’t wait to) get a start on learning how to knit SOCKS! Plus, I have some gorgeous Twilight-inspired yarn from Sunshine Yarns that is burning a hole in my Vera Bradley wanting to be knit into a scarf. I think that will be my first project!
So, there you have it – what I plan to do in 2010. If you’re really dying to know more, I have some other non-crafting goals listed at the other blog.
Hope everyone had a fabulous start to the new year!
I am grateful for a fresh start.
Yeah for you!! What a cute quilt! Somehow I have collected a few quilt kits & fabric & I really don’t know how to quilt… or sew for that matter. I plan to taking a class here at that Arts & Craft Center I mentioned. That fabric I am planning to make my skirt out of is actually Basic Gray Sultry – I think. I do love Amy Butler fabric though – I redid a chair cushion for Erika – when it arrives I’ll take a pic.
I love your start on ATS – I think I am about that far – sans the angel , but a few of the side motifs are in…oh, where is my stuff!! I heard the seas are rough ( really!!) & things are taking longer. How lucky can we be – now all that is missing is that the stuff goes overboard….it has happened. Ok, its turning out to be a really long comment. Miss you.
Happy New Year Michelle!
The baby quilt is gorgeous! I love the repro fabrics too, and your quilting is as beautiful as your stitching. Congratulations on your finish and your new sampler start. (Your nails are so pretty!)
Lucky baby–what a precious quilt! Yay on the ATS–I’ll be looking forward to see it develop. The cloud, oh, the cloud…..
And the knitting–funny that I’ve been contemplating knitting again. I bought a ruffle-edge scarf pattern on Ravelry and and have it all kitted up; now all I lack is the time.
Happy New Year!
Beautiful quilt! Congrats on getting that finished — fantastic! Love ATS too, of course. I’m trying not to look too hard. lol! Knitting is another thing I want to do too, but I just keep not doing it. Every time I pick it up again, I have to remember how. lol! Have fun with all you’re planning to do!
Great quilt! You’re so multi-talented it’s amazing! Love your start on ATS!
Cole has a new cute quilt! It came out lovely!
Great start on ATS. I’ll be rooting you on…that project is a monster!
I’m hoping to get back into knitting more this year…especially socks.
Coles quilt looks great Michelle… he’s one lucky baby. Congrats on your start of ATS. It will be fun following your progress on this sampler.
Happy New Year!
The quilt for Cole looks wonderful!
I’m looking forward to watching you stitch ATS! I think that will keep you busy for a bit! 🙂
If you’re already hearing the yarn begging to be knit into something, you definitely will be a knitter! Take a beginning class…it really is helpful.
The quilt is so pretty—I just love the blues–so soothing.
Great baby quilt! It is darling.
And I’m behind 100% with the ATS start. Fair warning – I will hate you forever if you finish before I do! lol
Twilight inspired yarn? please share!! I love And They Sinned but it’s too big for me to contemplate. I’ll look forward to seeing your progress throughout the year.
What a cute quilt! And I’m looking forward to seeing your progress on And They Sinned… it’s a great design
Happy new year Michelle !!!
I wonder how you can do all these things: after all days are only 24 hours 😉
Tha quilt os really beautiful !!! you are very talented !!!
What a darling quilt, well done! And nice start on ATS – look forward to seeing that one grow.
What a sweet quilt, love it. You are much farther along on ATS than me, I just got a bit of the border done.
Hope your new year is full of crafting time, especially since you are going to start knitting too ;-).
Very cute quilts! I’m wondering is there is something going around because, even though I love stitching, I have this very restless need to quilt and it seems like I’m reading that more and more on the blogs.
Love your start on ATS. That has to be my most favorite stitch I’ve ever done!
That quilt is darling! Have fun with all your crafty endeavors…looking forward to seeing them unfold 🙂
Congrats on the beautiful quilt finish Michelle!! I’m sure your friend will love it (I know I would). Great start on ATS. I have a confession… I started it today too. I’m so bad! LOL! 🙂
Happy New Year, Michelle!
What a beautiful baby quilt – I just love the fabric you chose.
Wow, I am impressed by your stiching choice – ATS is a great piece and I look forward to watching your progress on this one.
This quilt is just too cute. What a wonderful gift this is.
And oh, you started And They Sinned. Could there be a better start for the first of January? I love this piece very much and have seen it finished on several blogs. It’s gorgeous. Good luck with it.
What a great, newsy post Michelle! The baby quilt is so wonderful; I absolutely love the colors and the prints on the fabric. What a special gift!
I’m not a quilter but I certainly appreciate the time and talent it takes to create one.
Enjoy working on ATS. It will be a stunner on 40 count fabric and I found it so much fun to work on (of course I did not do mine on 40). I’ll really enjoy watching your progress.
I bet you enjoyed every minute spent quilting that wonderful blue baby quilt! It’s beautiful and Cole is one lucky little boy. 🙂
I love the quilt! Beautiful job, Michelle! Love the new start, too.
Lovely finish on the baby quilt! And I love And They Sinned!! I look forward to watching that one. Happy New Year, Michelle!
I knew that baby quilt would be adorable!! Fabulous job on that Michelle. Love it. And your new start is lovely!
What a fantastic project to start for the new year. Good luck with the knitting. Be careful with the socks… they’re addicting! LOL
The baby quilt! It is too pretty and what a cherished thing it will be.
I am so impressed you started And They Sinned. The part you finished reminds me of the Prayers of the Faithful in mass when the reader holds up his/her hands and says, “Lord, hear our prayers.” Very cool. I never noticed that about the design before.
Looking forward to all of your 2010 stitching news!
I just love your stitching! I started the ATS about 5 years ago and got to the 3rd page and stopped, now I’m not sure I could even see it with my vision. Anyway, just wanted to let you know. You can correspond with me at scrappypats@aol.com
Pat
What a great first finish for the year! The quilt turned out beautifully. I can’t even begin to fathom the amount of work that goes into making a quilt. Not to mention the fact that I’m not terribly handy with a sewing machine at this point. I really should do my machine a little more justice, since I bought a pretty decent Husqvarna just a couple of years ago. It’s not very fancy, but it’s a heck of a lot nicer than the basic Brother I bought from WalMart years ago! 🙂 I’d like to tackle some of my WIPs this year, too. And maybe save up some money to get a couple of things framed. Who knows? It’s a new year, full of new possibilities!