Sunday, January 1, 2012

Starting the new year off with a quilting bee

I accidentally joined two online bees this year.  I meant to join one, but somehow I found myself as the January block person for a different bee too!  I thought they were the same bee, but in fact, they are hosted by two different people on two different blogs.  How did I let that happen?  Children, I’m sure.  Not being able to focus for more than a few seconds before somebody needs me!  Anyway, this should be interesting!

So I was really sweatin’ my fabric choices for January since this is my first bee and I’m the first to pick.  Then, this beautiful quilt came across in my reader and I was smitten!  It is made by Melissa Burt and posted on the Connecting Threads blog, Notions.   The quilt is called “Wonkytown.”

wonkytown

I went ahead and bought some fabric for the border and back since it was still technically 2011 (for 2012, I have resolved to spend less time looking at fabric online—and buying it—and more time sewing). 

anthology woodland anthology forest

The fabric is by Anthology.  I think it’s called Woodlands. 

I made three tree/house blocks just to see how easy/difficult it was and give better guidance in my preferences for the block.  It was a bit of a challenge to make the blocks,  but I am pretty happy with how they turned out.  I did my first ever embroidery (if you can even call it that) on the sun’s rays in this block:

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When I showed it to my husband, he said, “Isn’t it a little asymmetrical?”  Ha ha, men just don’t understand!

Then I tried another tree block, and this time made it night.

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The fox sleeping in the bush isn’t quite what I envisioned.  The two snow-ball corners of the bush got cut off in the seam allowance, but overall it is an acceptable block.  I plan to put it in a pieced back.

Then I made a house block:

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This one turned out pretty good I think.  I tried to make it on a hill and that’s how it looks to me.

I can’t wait to see what my other bee members come up with!  Melissa, who made the original quilt, hung it on the wall in her daughter’s bedroom.  I was thinking that might be a nice thing to do with this quilt as well since Bea and Esther are moving to a new bedroom this year.  It is much bigger than their old one.

On a personal note…I have been having unbelievable urges to have another baby!  I joke about it all the time, but there is literally a jumbled pile of exersaucers, bumbos, boppies, and a swing at the bottom of our stairs by the front door ready for me to pass on to another person…and it’s been sitting there at least 2 months!  I guess I am not ready to call it quits yet.  The only problem is that I have been having trouble sleeping lately and now take a prescription to sleep.  In November my husband went on a business trip and was gone about a week.  I literally did not sleep for almost 4 days and had to go to urgent care when he returned to get medical intervention!!!!  It turns out that I was taking real Sudafed for a cold, and whatever the active ingredient is, it was making me jittery and unable to sleep.  So, since then I’ve been taking Ambien.  A few nights I haven’t, but usually I am so nervous when I go to bed that I won’t be able to fall asleep that I can’t fall asleep unless I take the prescription.  It is such a dumb problem, but I certainly don’t know how to get around this.

I counted, and I have 7 quilt tops finished that have not been basted or quilted yet.  I am going to see how many I can get finished in January.  I am not going to start any new quilts until they are all completed.  They are:  Greek cross, charmed prints, Chinese coins, Valentine’s quilt, my dad’s flannel quilt, my mom’s denim quilt, and a new one I have almost completed, Little Leaves.   Oh,  and I just remembered,  I have a flannel quilt I made for Bea two or three years ago that I never got around to finishing.  This quilt is huge!  I think it will need to be tied instead of quilted.  So, that makes 8 quilts to finish up first!

Here’s to a happy new year!

6 comments:

  1. Oh No! Two Bees? You are going to be very busy. I guess if you don't sleep, that gives you more time to sew, right? Unfortunately, if I stay up sewing really late, my mind is swimming with new ideas when I do go to bed, and I can't sleep. I'm starting on the FW either today or tomorrow!

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  2. I hate it that you have a sleeping problem. I couldn't sleep last night because my head was swimming with ideas for your bee block! I am so nervous about making something that you/your daughter will like!!!

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  3. Sorry to hear you are still having problems sleeping! But I had to laugh about the pile of baby stuff. I was like that until December. But then I got overwhelmed that I could not get into either my laundry or my shed for too much baby stuff and just had a purge. I even let go of the cot & the double buggy, both of which we were still actively using at the time. But we didn't really NEED to use them, so I can make do without them. It has been so cleansing and now I'm happy with my decision. I'm wondering (for me) how much of it was not wanting to part with the stuff and how much actually WANTING another baby. I'm pretty sure it was just me having a dose of sentamentality. I feel like our family is done but I've been scared to say it because you know what happens when you say something concrete - the opposite always happens! LOL...

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  4. Oh no! I'm guessing Stash Bee was one. Was the other the one on the button? I love your choices and wish I could join in for your month! Looks like fun!

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  5. Jamie, sorry to hear about your sleeping. It's just horrible when you want to sleep and can't. I have to take medicine for restless legs or otherwise there's no chance for me sleeping. Oh, well. I love all the wonderful blocks you've been working on. And, so many quilt tops you have to finish?!?! Wow, you've been busy.

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  6. I'm a Stash Bee mate and now I'm following you! Looks like we're also in Beejeebers together!

    www.mommyforreals.blogspot.com

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Some days the only adult I talk to is my husband...help him keep his sanity by leaving a comment so I have another adult to talk sewing with:) I will make sure to reply!