McTavishing Week 4

This week I have been working on this quilt using the McTavishing design...it has been a tiring week, but I have been able to stitch some on this quilt....I am making headway...I try and quilt at least 15 to 30 minutes a day or more if I have the time...I have used tons of thread and had many bobbin changes....I have 2 1/2 sections left to complete and then this quilt will be finished...it is for Jazmine to lug around outside when she is playing or on a picnic...she loves bears so I am using the care bare fabric that I had on hand...I have loads of this stuff and it feels good to use some of it up...

I am linking up over here with Amy who is running this challenge for the month of March...my stitching of this particular motif has greatly improved since the start of the challenge...I have also learned to back track pretty good...still need to improve in that area though...linking up here:

until next time keep those needles stitching,
Wendy

FNSI....The Results....

 This is what I worked on during the FNSI this past Friday night....I created my own stitching pattern and then started the stitching...only a sneak peek as this is for a swap....when it arrives to its new home I will do a post about it...all in all a great time....

Wendy

More Practice....

squares....one McTavishing and one with paisley style....I like how both of these turned out and they are now bound and ready to use as little mug rugs...these squares measure 8" square and make a pretty good size for a mug rug...you could also use them in the kitchen to set hot dishes on if you wanted to...now on to another project with McTavishing for the week...remember to keep those needles stitching...
Wendy

A Little Crochet....

 is good for the soul along with some awesome green tea...I have been working on more crochet this past week as it seems to be so soothing for me...and it won't be long before it is too hot to handle large projects of yarn...I am steadily working on my white rose blanket and hope to have it finished soon and will show the progress for that later...

however, today I wanted to show a new project I am working on....this is my raindrop blanket using Lucy's of Attic24's newest tutorial...she made a wonderful pillow with this stitch and I decided I wanted to do a lapghan with this new yarn I am trying (more on that in another post soon)...the colors are a bit off as it has been grey and rainy here when I took these pics...they are really vibrant colors...I am liking how quickly this stitch is to work and am looking forward to this colorful blanket to work up...until next time keep those hooks flying...
Wendy

A Pillow...

from my practice piece for this week...I filled in a large circle with McTavishing and then used pebbles to fill in the outer corners and the small strip between the corners....sorry for the not so good pic...rainy and grey here all weekend and this morning as well...I will try and get a better pic when the rain ceases...after doing the quilting I thought a small pillow would be the way to finish this one up...I think it turned out well...the back has butterflies since my dd loves anything with butterflies....

I am linking up with Amy over here if you would like to go on over and check out what everyone else was up to this past week...

this has been a great challenge and I have seen major improvement in my stitching of this pattern...until next time keep those needles stitching...
Wendy

A Finish....

From a practice block...this little mug rug was made using the block I used as practice for this weeks McTavishing...I am loving how this design makes the quilting look so good...I plan to use this in a quilt I hope to start quilting this week...just need the thread to start...it is a Christmas quilt that has been languishing for some time now...hopefully I will get a start on that this week...I am linking up with Amy here as she has issued this months quilting challenge to be learning to mctavish or improving your mctavishing...for me it is a new learning curve....I have seen this design and have even watched videos for some time on this stitch and just have not put it to use...now is the time...

Now I have a sweet little mug rug and I am so pleased with how it turned out...since this challenge runs the whole month with the idea of learning and improving, I think my next project will be a table runner....small, yet big enough for lots of practice on this stitch...come back on next Monday to see how I have used this lovely filler stitch...
Wendy

A Nice Change....

I just wanted to take a moment and thank my youngest daughter for updating the look of my blog...I think she did an awesome job of it! Thank you Bliss for all your hard work to make the changes for me I so appreciate and love you for it! If you get a chance stop by her blog and say hello as she is new to blogging and has started a crochet blog...a recent pic of mom and Bliss together...another thing I wanted to share was that my mom and dad celebrated 60 years of marriage on March 1, 2014!!!!!! How awesome is that! What a great example for not only us but for future generations as well...congrats again mom and dad!
Wendy

McTavishing Part 2...

Well it has been grey and rainy all day here today...I spent a little time finishing the piece I was working on yesterday...first I ran out of red thread and could not find any red in all of the thread that I have...

I did come across a brown that goes a bit with it so I used that instead...of course I had to change how I was going to finish this piece because of that...but I think it turned out ok in the end since it is just a practice piece...what do you think? I am calling this one finished since the red thread is out...

I am loving this filler stitch and cannot wait to use it on a quilt...will be making a few smaller items first just to improve my stitching...

Amy has issued a challenge for the month of March to learn or improve your McTavishing... you can go here to see what everyone else is doing with this lovely stitch or to join the challenge with us...it is always good to see what others are doing and know that you are not alone in your learning curve...challenges such as this gathers us in one place to encourage each other to continue on...
Wendy

Practicing....

This was the first time since I was sick that I sat at the sewing machine...I practiced drawing first and then hit the machine...the drawing is better than the actual machine work this time...it is going to take some time to get this right...also my machine had stitch problems as well......

I have added more to this sample since this photo was made yesterday....I will do another post when I finish the project...

I am linking up with Amy here for this challenge...hope you will join us as we learn and improve this stitch throughout the month of March...until next time, 
Wendy

You can go to the next post up and see how this turned out...:)

McTavishing Week 4

Well this is week 4 of the McTavishing fmq quilt along over on Amy's blog...you can go here and check out all the others who are participating in this project...I have been working on this play quilt for Jazmine...I have used tons of thread and went through so many bobbin changes it is unreal! But, I am having lots of fun and my stitching has undergone great improvement...I was hoping to be finished this week, but it will be a bit longer before I am finished with all the quilting...here is my progress so far....this quilt will fit a junior toddler bed and can be taken outside to sit and lay on during picnics and such...

My machine is not designed for quilting large size quilts and I have to pull and push really hard to get this thing under the needle as I finish each section...the opening is only 7" total from the needle to where the throat is no longer open on this machine and it gets really crowded under there!...I am not complaining though as I am making do with a great machine...I have been thinking of going to a larger size machine though, just for the ease of quilting...keep those needles stitching,
Wendy

The Last Snow Fall...

We had was right before I went into the hospital...I am just now finally getting around to posting the pics I took that night...a good thing I did as it was all gone the next morning...still pretty though...

This is a very old apple tree on my dads property....I just love how it looks with snow on the winter limbs...it has the best tasting apples during the fall....

 This is a big granddaddy pine tree across the street from where we live...I just love how the ice and snow hangs on the little needles of this big old tree...it was stunning to look at...

 This pic has a eerie feeling to it...like something you would see out on a lonely stretch of highway or something...yet this was in the backyard...I don't know why it looks partly red in the pic, but I really do like it...it was covered in ice and snow as well...

 A nice clump of monkey grass coated down with snow...I was freezing by this time and am surprised that it was not blurry as I was shaking so hard...

My oldest daughter and I knew if we did not get pics right then all the beauty would be gone by morning...and it was...by 8am there was no trace of snow or ice left...just lots of puddles of water and the creek and pond over flowing....was pretty while it lasted though...I have not forgot about the 700th post giveaway...I am trying to decide what I want to give away first...so stay tuned, hopefully by the first of the week I will have decided and will post about it...Keep those needles busy...
Wendy

Winner of GYBP...

We have a winner for the Grow Your Blog Party....a big shout out to :

 Thistle Cove Farm said...

congratulations on 25 years...hurray! visiting via Vicki's GYBParty and enjoyed your post and getting to know you.

February 1, 2014 at 6:43 PM

 

Congrats on your win...email is coming shortly for your info...thank you to all those who came by to visit during the blog hop...Stop back by tomorrow for my 700th post giveaway....

wendy

A Finish....

 Actually two finishes...the shawl is now finished and ready to wear after damp stretching...I am so glad to have this one finished so that I can begin to wear these lovely colors...

this shawl is so snuggly and so very soft...I am thinking of making more shawls in different colorways of this particular yarn...I am so in love with how it works up and the feel of it....I also made this valentine bunting...the colors are off though as the red is really red not orange red...I do like how it turned out though...

See all that white fabric in the background...that is a special white on white project that I have been working on...the reveal will be soon I hope...the other fabric next to it is for my 2014 Crazy Quilt Journal project that is in the works as well...a post for that is coming later also...we had more snow the night before last....I do have pics to show, but dd will have to transfer them from her camera to mine...it was so beautiful and all melted and gone by morning....now I am super ready for spring to be here....how about you...keep those needles stitching...

ps/ I just realized this is my 700th post....stay tuned for a giveaway coming to celebrate!
wendy

FNWF...RESULTS

First, let me say a big thank you for all the lovely comments and emails of prayers that I have received from all my bloggy friends...it has truly blessed my heart...thanking God that I am well, just run down at the moment...loads of tests and an action plan for the next few weeks...all is well and I am slowly getting my strength back...thank you for all the love you showered me with...It has been slow going since I came home from the hospital...not much in the crafty department going on around here...not until my strength returns in full...but it is so much better now than last week...I did however work on this shawl that I had started a few weeks ago...since I cannot sit at the machine, I decided to do a little mindless crochet...these colors are so very me...and the thread is so soft and cuddly and warm...this shawl is made from the top down, a first for me...I am very much enjoying the process and see  more of these in the future...the yarn is Lion Brand Amazing, and let me tell you it lives up to its name...a closeup of the lovely colors that run through this skein of yarn....oh so yummy!

Hope you are having a blessed and wonderful day...I know I am...
Wendy

Been....

In the hospital since Monday...will be taking a small break and will be back soon...
wendy

Going Red in February....

Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined.

Wear Red. Raise Your Voice.

Go Red on National Wear Red Day®

February 7th, 2014

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This  is something near and dear to my heart…my mom has congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation…she has had a heart condition since she was a young girl of 14…she is now 79 yrs. young…please donate to the American Heart Association so that we can help find better treatments for those with this disease which kills so many women…make sure to get your yearly checkup, even if you think nothing is wrong…a heart attack is a silent killer….it can also cause a stroke…it can and does happen without warning…With your help, we can end the No.1 killer of our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends. Please go here to read about it and participate in fund raising for this great cause...who knows one day it may be you or someone you know and love who needs help...we as women need to take a stand for heart disease.... even though it is the number one killer among women, breast cancer gets more awareness than heart disease...research and methods have come a long way towards treating this disease...yet every minute of the day thousands of women all over the world die from heart disease related illnesses... even if you cannot give donations of money, please wear red on Feb. 7th of 2014 to show your support of heart disease awareness...

Wendy

FNSI...and Snow/Ice!!!

 I am late posting my FNSI, so sorry about that...I will get to that in a moment...it is 4degrees here as I type this post! So very cold and I do mean cold...living in the south you do not expect this type of cold!!! The above pic is of the roadway....

 My poor feet have not been warm for three days now...double the socks has not helped either...we had ice and snow on yesterday, three inches!

 What a mess...my niece wrecked her car because of ice on the roads...two young men helped get her car out of the ditch and bring it to my moms house...her mom sent an ambulance to get her as she was having severe pain in her left side...my daughter Bliss rode in the ambulance to the hospital with her...the ambulance slid off into a ditch because of another car out on the icy road...they were unharmed, thank the Lord...but it was a very trying time yesterday...

 the weathermen missed it big time here on yesterday...it was supposed to be a light dusting of snow and no ice...yet the ice came and then the snow...the interstate was backed up for hundreds of miles, with people abandoning their cars to get somewhere safe for the night...today has been no better...no more snow, but the ice is still on the roads and the national guard is trying to sand the roads down so they are usable...it is so very cold and slippery under all the snow...

 The pond iced over and then the snow fell...see those lovely tree shapes made by the ice....

I am sooooo over winter! I want spring to come now, thank you...

 The smaller pond in front of moms house....love the snow on the rocks...looks lovely...

 Riddick walking about in the snow...freezing his poor little feet...

 Riddick and Ruby...they were shivering so much....

 Whizzer...this is his first time to see snow and he did not really like it at all...

 Jazmine's first time with snow as well...she did not really like it at all...especially when her uncle c threw a snowball at her...made her mad, it was so very funny...

 Riddick running around in the snow like crazy now...

 Now his paws are beginning to freeze up on him...I had to take him in and rub them with warm water and a warm towel...my poor sweet boy...and every single time someone went out, he was right there with them...then we had to do the process all over again...

nothing is open and even if it were you cannot get on the roads to drive anywhere as they are all closed...I want the sun to come out and the snow and ice to go...come on warmth and comfort....come on spring, I am truly over winter...now for the FNSI...I have had this jellyroll of "Bliss" forever and a day...I actually had three and this is the last one...I still have a fq set though...anyhow, on Friday night this is what I worked on...these strips became...

these...next they will be cut into 2 1/2 inch strips and then sewn into squares...stay tuned for progress on these in the next few days.

I have also crocheted some since the snow and ice...I will post about those soon...hope you are warm if you live in the cold areas and staying cool if it is hot in your neck of the woods...
Wendy