This & That

Keeping My Hands Busy, the I'm Behind...Very Behind Edition

There's no doubt that Christmas is a busy time of year. What I've found this particular year, is that I've been Christmas busy for months. Part of that is what I have to do for my mother, who doesn't drive now, and part of that is just the way my life is evolving right now.

I stitched the tops for these little Christmas pillows last year and finally got them stuffed and finished. I gave a couple to friends and then one to Elise and my bonus daughters (DILs). 

I copied a blog post to make a Project Life editorial page that will go in the "Pieces of My Heart" album under the Holiday tab.

And now, here's where the behind part sets in. I'm behind, as in REALLY behind on this year's Project Life year book pages. 

Don't ask me how this happened because this is the easiest way ever to do a yearly family history,

but it did.

Fortunately, it's also the quickest way to catch up on family history that I've come across.

So in the interest of accountability,

there will be a lot of "year in review" coming up.

Keeping My Hands Busy As Much As I Can

I finished off another crazy quilt block.

This one didn't go as smoothly for me as the first 2 did. The background block pieces didn't sew together to the measurements I needed, and I had to consult with Eric, who is the math nerd in the family, to try to calculate how to make it work with the angles I was given. It was a slog, and in the end, I'm still a little under, but I think I can make it work. 

I also had to consult with a stitching friend to figure out how to make the loose straw around the neck happen. In the end, we decided I had to have a knot behind every strand. Cute, but laborious.

So while things turned out fine, it wasn't a smooth process and I don't think I'll be touting this block as my favorite, but it's D-O-N-E.

I got a little more catch up done on Project Life pages.

You've seen all these stories.

As I was putting these together, I discovered some weeks didn't have very many pictures.

The various templates in the app will accommodate that, but I'm somewhat out of practice taking lots of pictures.

Some weeks I have to be selective and winnow,

...and some weeks I don't. I've been more in the "don't" category lately.

Keeping My Hands Busy This Month

Honestly, it's been a little hard to keep my hands busy for various reasons, mostly because I had a lot of coming and going, and had the surgeries for my melanoma. There will be more on that when my eye is working a little better, and when I can give a more comprehensive story.

Pre-surgery, I did finish up another crazy quilt square. Love the fun stitches I'm able to learn/do on these blocks.

Canning season is winding down. My sister brought me some peppers from her garden and I used them up in a couple of ways.

I did a batch of chili sauce. It's my husband's grandmother's recipe and one of the things I do for love. I finished bottling the as many of the tree peaches we needed as well.

Some spaghetti sauce also happened. Ironically, I don't often use this as sauce for spaghetti. Usually, I add it to some kind of soup, or a pasta sauce I'm making...but not usually spaghetti.

I'm pretty much staying current with Project Life pages.

Pretty sure you've see all these stories.

Again, ad nauseam, I'm going to say this is absolutely the easiest way I've found to actually keep up with my family history.

Adaptable templates to fit the number and spatial orientation of my pictures for the week.

Keeping My Hands Busy in July

There was a little bit of stitching this month, but most of my available free time was spent getting card kits ready for the annual Cackle & Craft, coming up next month.

I did finish off this little ear bud pouch. 

I've had the stitching done for quite a while, but for some reason couldn't make myself go to the fabric store to grab the big closure snap.

I completed a block for a crazy quilt I'm trying out. I've always been fascinated by crazy quilts and the fancy stitching over the seam lines. Several years ago, I made myself a couple of different vests out of crazy quilt blocks, and one of the long-held baby girl quilts I have stashed in a cupboard is done in crazy quilt blocks.

I also finished off another Dragonfly Dreams block.

I had to brush up on my bullion knots for this one. Not a ton to show for the month, but I can guarantee I was busy.

Keeping My Hands Busy During June

A little bit of stitching and a little bit of crafting this month.

Starting with this UFO (unfinished object) from the last Cackle & Craft. Yep, cross it off the list of UFOs. One down......so many more to go.

I also finished off a few squares from the new ongoing project in the Primitive Gatherings wool boxes. 

The project will continue over the course of the next couple of years.

There are 4 new squares in each box that comes every other month. 

Beyond the title of the project.....Dragonfly Dreams....we have no idea how this will be finished.

All the squares are different, but I'm assuming there will be a quilt of some sort at the end of the process.

It's an interesting, very neutral color scheme, which is something I'd never gravitate toward if I was just walking into the quilt store to find a project. I guess for me that's the advantage of getting these boxes. I can try new techniques, stitches and colors I wouldn't consider. 

These block are a lot more labor-intensive than the previous long-term project....maybe you remember my little 6" squares of houses, birds and flowers. Yeah....another unfinished project as of this moment. These pieces finish 10" square, so you can see there's a lot more going on. I could finish a previous project's square in an evening or two. These take several days.

I also broke open a recent Simon Say Stamp card kit. In my opinion, this is one of the best kits they've put out.

The theme was dandelions and the patterned papers in the kit were just gorgeous, and at 8" square, were a little bigger than the usual 6" papers included in the kit. I tried out a mini-slimline design with a few of them.

With the larger paper size, I got 32 cards just using the patterned papers. I think that might be a record.

There was also a dimensional embossing folder included that I'm in the process of playing with, so another 6 cards will be added to that total when I get them done.

These were the first slimline cards I tried my hand making. It seemed like an awful lot of real estate at first, but the 8" papers were perfect for the fronts. Again, getting things pre-packaged like these kits helps me try new things I wouldn't necessarily try on my own.

And truth in advertising, you can see the photo board I photograph my cards and other projects on. I have several of these and they're just so handy for stuff like this.

Keeping My Hands Busy, the May Edition

I'd like to say I got huge quantities of creative things done in the past month, and I suppose I can't complain because things did happen. It's just that I keep telling myself there should be more to show for it.

This was a long unfinished project that is finally completed. It was supposed to be a little pillow, but I chose to make it flat to put on a little clipboard.

It was a kit from Midway Wool, and the pattern itself is from Sunflower Patterns. I can't seem to locate them in a Google search.

This is a small project from a recent Primitive Gatherings wool box. I'm really grateful when these small projects come through. This one whipped up in an afternoon and gave me that instant gratification feeling of accomplishing something start to finish.

In case you're wondering what it is....it's a thread catcher. All the little tail ends of threads go in there so they don't end up all over the floor. Cute and utilitarian.

Then there was this. Angelic choruses literally sang when I put the last binding stitch in these quilts.

These are the quilts for Jack and Leo. Jack's is stitched in grey....

and has the grey back and binding.

Leo's is stitched in navy and backed/bound in navy.

I had enough hourglass squares left over that I was able to put a little decorative element on the back side, which was kind of fun and adds some interest, I think. That makes me current with all my grandchild baby quilts. I know of no others I need to be working on at present.....right kids? Right?

Keeping My Hands Busy

It's been a long time since I had the time or inclination to stitch.

I finished off a couple of 6" block from Primitive Gatherings Everlasting series. 

The stitches around the perimeter were problematic for me. It's hard to get them even when nothing is printed on the fabric for you to follow.

The leaves on these blocks sometimes have embellishing stitches and sometimes don't. I'm putting something on all of them...just for fun.

Again....stitching free hand on the outside is so difficult, but these were easier than the triangle ones on the other block.

I have a few more of these to get done before I can turn these blocks into a quilt. 

I am also current for this year on Project Life pages.

You've see most of these stories up close and personal either here or on my IG feed.

I've put off a couple, though.

And will tell them when I'm ready.

For now, it brings me such joy to see all these stories told and gathered.

 

Keeping My Hands Busy, the Fabric and Paper Edition

Bit by bit, little by little, sometimes agonizingly slowly,

I finally managed to finish this quilt block. It's by far and away the most involved wool appliqué I've ever done, and I'm not sad to have it behind me. I'm on to a block with a squirrel.

I finished off a couple of partially-done card kits.

Both had beautiful papers in their own way,

so very little embellishment was required to finish them off. I did have some holographic paper and punched some hearts from it.

I've tried to stay pretty caught up with the annual 25 Days of Tags event hosted on Tracey McNeely's blog.

This is always a fun series to play along with.

The projects are small-scale, so there isn't a huge time commitment involved.

Sometimes the inspiration is direct and obvious,

and other times it takes a swerve around. 

Sometimes they're a little fancier, 

And sometimes deceptively simple. Either way, it's fun to feel creative, and since I know the holidays will bring a crafting dry spell, it's nice to get some time in now.

 

Keeping My Hands Busy, the Electronic Edition

I've been working my way through recent My Modern Story prompts in the Project Life app. It's not often I get them done in the week they are assigned. Most of the time I have to let them roll around in my head a while before the inspiration and thoughts come. Sometimes I'll tweak the prompt a little to take a slant that's a better fit for me.

This prompt was about things I wanted to have happen in 5 years.

This one was asked if I believe in miracles.

And this was about something that's taking a good share of my focus right now.

I finished going through blog posts from 2009.

Some of these posts I haven't seen since I published them,

and they've brought back some interesting, and at times funny memories.

It's amazing to me that I'm able to do this kind of documenting through an app on my phone.

Keeping My Hands and Phone Busy

Things have been really, really busy. Mostly I've been busy canning because that's just the time of year it is. 

I finished a 6" block from a recent Primitive Gatherings wool box. 

Honestly, I just haven't been in the mood to stitch for whatever reason.

I've been more focused on these Project Life editorial pages. This was a prompt from the My Modern Story IG account about dealing with stress.

I also finished pulling the Stuff I Know posts off my blog,

and I've been going through older blog posts, picking and choosing some to put into this editorial format for printing. 

This one was actually one of my favorites about my own personality and refers to the Biblical story of Mary and Martha, not that other Martha.

Just snippets of life as it was several years ago.

Lots and lots of memories with these.

I've also stayed current with the Project Life pages. 

So easy to do.

Between this daily life documenting and my personal daily journal, it's about 10 minutes a day.

For me, that's a pretty small time commitment to create a family history.

I'm sounding like a broken record now, aren't I?

I love all these stories.