Winter Stitching Wrap Up

I missed you guys!  I fell of the face of the planet for a week there, but I am hoping life gets back to normal this week.  How better to re-join blogging than by checking projects off the ever growing to-do list?  As you know, I was yet another list maker joining in with FairyFace Design’s Winter Stitching Goals List.  I find things like this to be completely helpful in giving me direction when I am overwhelmed.  To keep the list moving along, I also just joining in with Rhonda's Finish Along....and so far it's working!

Birdie Stitches: Finish the Quilt Top

Done!  I finished my Birdie Stitches top and sent it over to Elisa so she can layer, quilt and bind it for use in her house.  You can hear the whole story here, but in the end I'm super happy to have expanded my embroidery skills and thrilled that Elisa has a quilt she likes.  Win-win.

Brother’s Mixer Cover: Finish it as a Christmas Gift
Done!  I was lucky enough to visit this little mixer cover in my brother's pantry this past march and it's lookin' pretty cute there next to the ice cream maker!  

Sister-In-Law’s Bag: Finish it as a Christmas Gift
Well, I finished a bag, not THE bag.  This 241 Tote was her Christmas gift that was delayed until 2012 as the fabric took nearly 8 weeks to arrive from the states!  Eek!  So, I had to giver her an IOU under the tree.  Anyway, we're both thrilled with this finish.  My mom has already asked for one for herself!  

Blankets of Love: Finish Two Tops, Two Backs, Two Bindings

Done. I really like what Kat is doing with her local organization, so I tried to chip in.  I wanted to make two quilts for her, but the shipping would be nuts given the weight of the batting.  So, I made two tops, two backs and two bindings and Kat assembled and quilted our quilts.  It was my first time doing a DP, which then included a huge learning curve, but I got there eventually!

There was even a third quilt top made as part of our Do. Good Stitches CARE circle!

Bees: Contribute On Time

Done.  I'm in four bees now, a list that is quickly growing to six. I am still completely in love with them.  Let's be honest, though.  I think I've hit the maximum number of bees I can contribute to in any given month.  I won't bore you with all of the photos, of the blocks made, but if you hop over to my flickr page you can see them all!

Swaps: Finish Two Swaps

Done.  I finished my Modern Christmas Table Runner swap with Susan of Canadian Abroad.  Doing just this one project has kicked me off on the table runner path and there have been several more since: one for my Mom, one as a PIF, and one for my SIL!  Oh, Susan, the slippery slope you've put me on!

I also co-organized the Mouthy Stitches swap with Susan and Hadley, which was great fun.  It was my first pouch, first zip, first time organizing a HUGE number of lovely ladies.  We had a great time!  I made this pouch for my partner...and again several more since! 

Quilts: Finish Mod Logs, the Community Quilt and Start Chaos and Scrappy Stars

I fell down a bit in this category.  Mod logs is finished and used every day in our house.

The Community Quilt and Chaos are going no where fast.  They're now officially UFOs...I have to do something about that ASAP.

Scrappy Stars has morphed into Stargazing.  The top and back are finished and off with the lovely Trudi to get quilted.  I can't wait to see what she creates!

International Quilt Festival of Ireland: Finish Cúchulainn 

Done! I am quite happy to have Cúchulainn  finished it and handed it to the festival organizers.

Guest Post: Write One

Done!  I was super excited to contribute to Sarah's tutorial series by submitting a notebook tutorial.  It was my first tutorial...and it took WAY longer than I thought it would.  Still, I love these little cuties!

Off to link up with Sarah.  Hop on over and see what everyone else created this past winter!

Birdies Have Flown The Coop

As you might remember, I have recently finished my Birdie Stitches top.  Although I was completely happy with the colors, fabrics, stitching in this quilt, it just was not singing to me.  I could never figure out why it did not make my heart flutter.  The plan was to finish it off and donate it to Project Linus as it's a lovely quilt...just for someone else.  

That is...until I saw this:  

You're on, Miss Elisa!  Everyone wins!  Elisa gets a top she likes, I am THRILLED it will be wanted and cared for and Project Linus gets a donation.  Fantastic!  I happily packed up Birdie Stitches and popped it into the post.  Well, it arrived at Elisa's recently and it seems to be settling in nicely.  I can't wait to see where you take this, Elisa.  Thank you so much for giving it a warm welcome to a happy home.  Pop on over to Postpartum Quilter later today (due to the time difference) and you can hear all about our Birdies' migration and new family.

Birdie Stitches: Top Finished

As you may know, I have a love/hate relationship with my Birdie Stitches blocks.  I love, love, loved them in Jan through May, but then became a little disillusioned in June through December.  I kept stitching because I can not stop once I commit, but with each month I was getting more and more unsure what I would do with the finished quilt.

When December came, I finished off my last block and happily put them all away in a little stack.  I was thinking I would give the entire stack to Project Linus as I really think they will make a great quilt for a pre-teen girl.

But then with a bit of nudging from you guys, promises that I'll fall in love once I finish the top AND with Sarah's Winter Stitching Goals, I FINALLY sat down to piece the top of Birdie Stitches.

You know, I'm pleased with it right now.  Not pleased enough to layer and quilt it, but I like it enough that I would absolutely think about coming back in a few months to finish it off as a gift (or even still for Project Linus).  You guys were right...new happiness did come with the finished quilt top.  Thanks for the nudge!  xx

Birdie Stitches: Finishing off Blocks

'Fess up.  Was yesterday your first day back at work?  You guys are cracking me up!  I had nearly 4 times as many visitors to Fluffy Sheep Quilting yesterday as I do on a normal day and the only reason I can think of is that we are all returning to work, but want to be home stitching.  Well, best of luck readjusting to the work day and I hope we all make it through our first week with sanity.  I love that you're all visiting when you need a break! xx


I am participating in FairyFace Design's Winter Stitching Goals right now.  Sarah keeps threatening  suggesting we do a mid-point check in to assess where currently stand.  This makes me nervous to no end, so I'm trying to check projects off my list ASAP.  

For the past 9 months I have been embroidering Birdie Stitches blocks.  My goal was therefore to:


"...make up a June template [because I didn't like the one that was suggested in the stitch-a-long], tweak my October block to make me happier and complete the November and December blocks.  I want the top finished in January or February as I have all of the materials and its pretty straight forward"


Finally I have finished embroidering my blocks and am ready to piece a top together.  As many of you already know, I have enjoyed this stitch-a-long, but am tried of it and ready to see it finished.  I'm sure I will make a quilt top, but it will sit as a UFO for a while until I am inspired again.  I don't want to finish this off begrudgingly.  

October was OK when it was finished, but it needed a little something more.  Someone suggested adding in leaves, and that did the trick.  I think I needed a darker color in there.  I tried like crazy to get a witch on a broom, but the stitching had to be so fine and delicate that I am just not skilled enough. Anyway, we'll call it done.

June.  I hated the June template that came with our stitch-a-long, so I skipped the month.  The same was true of August, but I took the birdies on vacation to dive/snorkel and I was happy with that.  Thought about what I'd stitch for the past six months, but was uninspired.  My brother suggested that maybe the birdies had chicks in June, so I tired to stitch a little family.  It looks pretty elementary, but I was running out of green floss to finish off the tree!  Again, we'll call it done.

November again needed a little more.  With just the turkey and the birdie it was a little lacking in color and something to integrate the two little birds.  So, I tossed in a little grass.  It's better, but I wish I thought of that before hand to distribute the colors a bit better.  A blue or yellow bird would have been nice in the green grass.  Oh well. 


And December was finished not long ago.  So, that's it!  I'm done stitching and need to just get the top finished off.  A little sashing and a border won't take long, so I'll check this off the Winter goals list in no time!  

Birdie Stitches: December

Since I am traveling this holiday, I brought along a little embroidery to keep my hands busy.

Finished off my Birdie Stitches for December just in time!  I really enjoyed stitching this when we settled down for the evening.  Now I wish I brought my empty June block to finish off too. 

I finaly (FINALLY) have an idea for a June scene, thank goodness.  I am getting a little tired of this Birdie Stitches project, so finishing off that last block would be fantastic.  Looking forward to a finished top in no time :)

Birdie Stitches: November & Moving Photos

It is still November, right? Finished just in time! Since I do not have my sewing machine up and purring, I did a little embroidery on the November Birdie Stitches block.  You know, when these started (Jan - May) I really liked the burst of color in each block, the detail and the variety of things for your eye to look at.  The October and November templates are pretty dull in my opinion. Uninspired and blah.  I will have to go back and spruce them up a bit. Anyway, here we are for now:

In other news, the move is slowly coming along well. The sewing room was packed and has been transported to the new house. It is not unpacked, but will be this upcoming weekend.  It's so sad to see my little projects all wrapped up like this!

This herd of cows will be our neighbors. I was super excited...until Susan got me a little nervous about the noises they make.  Fingers crossed this is a quiet herd!

And finally, lucky number 11 is our winner for the Mod Logs pattern giveaway.  Marcia, of Run to Mama, will receive my (slightly used) copy of the pattern.  I am really excited to see what colors she chooses to use!

Birdie Stitches: October

I love October.  I love the leaves changing color, the crisp weather and Halloween.  It is possibly my favorite month of the year.  So, here is this month's Birdie Stitches block:

Its kind of cute, but I something is missing.  Something that captures the fall season.  A little flash or color?  I can not figure out what it is, but am open for suggestions if you have one to share?

I am overwhelmed by the number of folks joining into FMQ Friday.  I would like to respond to all of you who took the time to comment, but life is getting in the way.  We just had a great weekend with my family in Dublin (without internet).  I only get to see them 3 times a year, so this was a really great weekend for us.  Anyway, I will try my best to respond to you today!

Happy Winnings & Birdie Stitches: September

I'm a lucky, lucky girl!  I was chosen as a giveaway winner by Carina at Carina's Craft Blog and the Polka and Bloom shop.  I love her embroidery patterns.  I am the new, super-excited owner of these beautiful patterns.  Thanks, Carina!

Speaking of embroidery...I was out camping this past weekend.  Seeing as its the beginning of a new month, I thought it would be great timing to bring my September Birdie Stitches with me.  I had a great time stitching this while traveling.  Even had a few curious friends took a stab at stitching, which was super cool. 

I really like this month's template with the changing leaves.  However, when I finished it I realized it looks a lot like a tree on fire instead of a tree with changing leaves.  So it goes.  The colors still make me happy.

WIP Update: running like crazy....but in a good way

Things are busy here at Fluffy Sheep Quilting, but that is how we like it.  Right?  Here's the WIP news:

Sign ups for a Goodie Swap, hosted here at Fluffy Sheep Quilting, opened as of yesterday. We will each make a mug rug and a goodie of our choice (such as a pin cushion or a needle book....or any item of our choice) for two swap partners and get two in return. I would love to have all of you participate, so go to this post and leave a comment if you are interested in playing along.  Awww, come on.  You know you want too :)

Lattice Illusions is indeed moving along. It is layered and the quilting finished. I did a simple stitch in the ditch to not take away from the lines/corners in the piecing. This is my first attempt at stich in the ditch and I am not entirely thrilled with it, but I made peace with that.  The binding is 75% hand stitched on, so hopefully you will see a finished quilt posted later this week.

I am still playing catch up for the Birdie Stitches BOM from Little Miss Shabby.  I recently finished the snorkeling August block, but still need to design and stitch a June block.  Hopefully that will be done before the September block is released.  Eeeekkk!  The pressure!!!

Our Community Quilt is moving again. The Kona Snow I needed has arrived (hooray Simply Solids!) so I could finish the back. I still have to piece the 4 corners and then attach the two remaining strips of binding to finish the top. with any luck, this will be layered over the weekend. I can not wait to start quilting this beauty.  Being the optomist I am, I already have the binding ready to go. I better finish it now, huh? :)

I am sorry for such a wonky picture. I promise it does look good. I had it on the clothes line and the sun was setting (hurry!  hurry!), but it is so big it would slip off of the line when I went to take the photo.  You only see about 2/3 of it here.  And, after watching my struggle, I had a little "help", which was no help at all.

The Sew Bee Blissful quilting bee (hosted by Sew Happy Geek) has officially kicked off.  I finished my first two blocks and shipped them off to our Queen Bee, Jenna.  I hope she likes them!

As usual on a Wednesday, I am linking up with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday, and Someday Crafts Whatever Goes Wednesday.

Birdie Stitches: August

And here it is....the eagerly anticipated (well, by me anyway) August Birdie Stitches block.  The normal down-loadable August template just did not speak to me, so I wanted to take the opportunity to an August scene that often reflects my own holiday and insert my personality into this project.   I am so pleased!

I am nearly on schedule with this stitch along, but still have June to sketch and stitch.  It's going to be a camping birdie :)

Sketching Birdies

As you already know, I enjoying the Birdie Stitches block of the month stitch along.  The templates are cute and I enjoy having something to embroider when watching movies or traveling. 

Now that I am more comfortable in my stitching, I want to add a bit more of my personality into this project. I have decided to draw my own templates for the June and August blocks to better reflect how I like to spend the summer.  This is a large jump for me as I am not an artist.  I like to color (yes, with crayons) what someone else has drawn, but that's the limit of my "talent". 

One of my favorite things to do in August or September is to go scuba diving or snorkeling.  So, here is my attempt at a snorkeling birdie.  I love him :)  The photo looks a little fuzzy and I don't know why.  If you click on it the fuzz will disappear.

I can not wait to see how the camping June birdie turns out!

WIP Update: Stitching Like Mad

This has been a very busy sewing week for me.  I am excited about what I have accomplished.

Finished:

This week we completed our Japanese Fabric Swap.  We are very excited to receive our charm packs and a few folks are already posting finished projects using them!  For now, I am just happy to pet, look and imagine what I will create.  This week I will be adding a Japanese Fabric Swap tab to Fluffy Sheep Quilting. It's nearly ready for prime time!

Currently In Progress:

I finished the top for Lattice Illusions this week.  I am simply thrilled to have reached this milestone.  The back and binding are ready to go.  Tomorrow I will layer it and get to quilting.  I think I have a quilting plan that is mostly stitch in the ditch in the center three panels and a cross-hatch in the border "tiles".  We'll see how it goes, anyway. 

I am still playing catch up for the Birdie Stitches BOM from Little Miss Shabby.  I have the January to May blocks finished, but not June.  I finished the July block earlier this week and have to jump in on August.  I want to put a little more of my own personality into this block calendar, so I'd like to re-design the June block to be a camping picture and the August block to be a snorkeling/diving scene.  I'll work on that this week.

My biggest source of pride this week is the near completion of our Community Quilt top.  I ran out of fabric and am waiting for more to arrive.  Once its here, I can finish the corner blocks, stitch on the final two borders (which are already pieced) and finish the back.  When layered I will (somehow) quilt this with straight lines so as to not detract from the piecing pattern.  The Kona Papaya binding arrived today.  I am really in love with the yellows in this quilt, so I wanted to highlight them in the binding.

I sent off my charms for the Rainbow Charm Swap 2 at Ellison Lane Quilts.  I am looking forward to seeing what lovely packet I get in return.

The Sew Bee Blissful quilting bee (hosted by Sew Happy Geek) has just started.  I am happy to be part of this, my first, quilting bee.  Come back tomorrow for a more detailed post!

As usual on a Wednesday, I am linking up with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday, and Someday Crafts Whatever Goes Wednesday.

Birdie Stitches: January

I have just finished stitching my January Birdie Stitches block.  I like this block just fine, but like the spring blocks a bit more with their flowery detail.  Still, I am pleased to have it finished and am ready to start in on the August block.  Just in time, right?

In other good news, I finished making the binding and the back for Lattice Illusions.  It's basic, so I'll spare you the details until the unveiling of the finished quilt.  I will head to the local quilt shop on Thursday to get the batting and layer the quilt.  I have a quilting plan (I think) that is primarily stitch in the ditch in the center panel and diagonal cross hatch through the borders.  I am looking forward to getting started!

My posting schedule is a bit odd due to my extended holiday, so this post will be linked both with Sew Happy Geek's Manic Monday and Canoe Ridge Creation's Sew Modern Monday linky and Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday.  I'll be back to normal (with any luck) next week.

Birdie Stitches: July

I did not sew much this weekend because we had visors from Friday to Sunday.  Although it is always nice to see your friends and have a jam-packed weekend, it does not always lend itself to quilting, does it?  I did have one finish, though!

Ta da!  I finished my July Birdie Stitches block this weekend.  This certainly is more American-themed than my other blocks, but it makes me happy.  The 4th is one of my favorite holidays. 

I am still running a bit behind this stitch-a-long (hosted by Little Miss Shabby) because I joined in several months late.  My January and June blocks remain on the to-do list, so I will start one of those cuties this week.

As usual on Tuesday, I'm linking up with Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday.

Birdie Stitches: May

This weekend was spectacular - the sun was out and it was warm!  We went camping with friends at a traditional Irish music festival and had a tons of fun.  The camp site was great - a lovely field of hay next to three beautiful horses with a view of the sea and cliffs.  Spectacular.  It was the perfect way to enjoy the weather with good friends. 

Onto stitching: I finished my May Birdie Stitches block this weekend.  I really like this block because of the flowers, so I truly enjoyed the time  I spent stitching away.  I did use two shades of green for the flower stems and I think that worked out just fine. 

The July block was just posted, so I will hop onto that this week. It is cute too with fireworks and sparklers, which should also be fun.  I still have to stitch January and June, but they will come in time.

As on any other Monday, I am linking up with Canoe Ridge and Sew Happy Geek linky parties.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend too!

One, Two, Three Little Birdies

Briefly, I picked out my fabric for the Japanese Import Fabric Swap!  It's pretty cute :) You can page down to yesterday's post for more information on the swap if you'd like to join in. 

Over the weekend I found blue and green embroidery floss!  I dove right in to finish my February and March Birdie Stitches blocks.  I'm very happy with how they turned out.  Embroidery is new to me, so I am still learning. I am confident with larger pieces like the birds and the rainbow, but need practice on the little hearts and flowers - really on anything small and round.  It will come with time.     So, here is February....

 And March....

I was pretty happy with my progress, so I started (and finished) April too.  It's fully stitched, but I still need to rinse off the water soluble marker, dry it and press.  You get the idea, though.

So fun!  I will print out January and May this week and I will be caught up in no time!

Head over to Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story. There is always something inspirational there....