I've worked bits and pieces while being snowed (really more like frozen in).
Another Christmas ufo finish


I actually went outside to take some pictures. It's very cold today, and the sun is shining but tonight whatever melted will all refreeze.
My son has been using my sled from when I was a girl. Here in North Carolina we don't get much use for it, maybe a couple of years. My Dad fixed it up repainted it and gave it to me several years ago and my kids now use it.

Nothing is more fun than to throw snowballs at Mom


My husband made sure the bird feeders were filled up so we've had lots of visitors.

Another ufo done. Some left over charm squares and fabric from stash. I don't think there is anything more fun than stripes cut diagonally for binding.


This is from the local news stations website: "Like we have been saying over the past few days, this storm does have the potential to shut things down for a few days so make sure you are where you want to be all weekend by Friday at midnight since it will be unwise to be on the roads over the course of the weekend."

Other than being a horribly constructed sentence, it looks like I'll be getting lots of sewing in. Last week it was in the 60's and I've seen flocks of robins recently, I am ready for spring, not more winter!

A round pizza cardboard, some strips I pulled from the trash and voila!
I've been seeing so many projects using strips and there will probably be lots more out there in the coming months. Thanks so much Stephanie www.loftcreations.blogspot.com for having this challenge. I have more strips I'm working on but it feels good to get a little something completed and all in one day!

Melanie www.jellybeanangel2.blogspot.com and I are doing the Christmas Story together. Sorry I didn't post yesterday Melanie. All those little 1 1/2 inch squares and strips. Sometimes I have a problem with accuracy. I need to remember that with strips that are 1 1/2 inches even being a smidgen off will make a difference. Wish me luck getting them all together! I haven't done much applique in the past, but I'me really enjoying this so far.

Has anyone ever used fusible fleece as batting? A woman who works at one of the local quilt shops showed me a quilt she used it on and highly recommeneded it. Any thoughts on fusible fleece?

I realized it's been a week since I've posted. I've spent most of my sewing time cleaning up my sewing room so that I don't have to shift piles of scraps, fabrics and assorted other things to use my cutting board.
I've come up with a few things I want to work on the first part of the year. I've started on The Christmas Story that I won in Carrie's www.apassionforapplique.blogspot.com , giveaway in December.
I'm using my bag of french fabric scraps that I purchased last year. These aren't what I typically use so it should be interesting in a good way hopefully.

I've finished 2 tops and need to quilt them. Leftovers from Christmas that will have to be for Christmas 2010.
I've also been doing a lot of tracing so that when I finish one redwork block I have another ready to go. The first I hope to finish is The Rabbits Prefer Embroidery Pattern by Bunny Hill.
Oh and my daughter brought this home from Art at school. It really made my week.

Opam and awol pif-ers

I'm joining in on the OPAM challenge again this year that Kris www.tagalongteddies.blogspot.com , and Peg are having www.happyinquilting.blogspot.com . I really enjoyed playing along last year and it did push me to finish a few ufo's a couple of months.

Last year I signed up to participate in Amanda's www.scrandasmusings.blogspot.com , Pay it Forward. It's coming time to send my pif's out and so far 2 of my pif buddies have stopped blogging and I haven't heard back from them. So I assume they are out. Now I don't want to let Amanda down and I still have 3 months to finish. So if you think you'd might like doing a pif, let me know.
Here are the rules:The rules for the Pay it Forward are like this:
•Three people will be chosen to participate when they leave a comment on this post asking to join (I'll obviously choose the first three)
•You then agree to post a similar announcement to this on your blog, asking three more people to join in, etc
•You will create a hand-made item for your three people sometime over the next 12 months.
Seems simple enough - so this is how it works. Amanda will send one hand-made item to the three people who have signed up with her (I'm one of them);I will send one hand-made item to the three people who sign up with the challenge via my blog; then the three people who sign up with me will send hand-made items to each of the three people who sign up with them. And so on. Get it?

I haven't posted in a while. But I wanted to show the beautiful sscs gifts I received from Kerry www.kerryswainscottage.typepad.com in the sscs swap. Everything was wrapped in fabric and looked so pretty. I absolutely love the table runner. Such pretty fabric and done in variegated thread and believe me, this is the most perfect tiny stitching. I love these little scissors and the buttons on them. What a clever idea - since I am always misplacing my scissors this is just what a needed. Thank you so much Kerry and also to you Donna www.chookyblue.blogspot.com , for hosting.

We had a lovely holiday. Lots of company. My in-laws visited with their 3 little ones (4,3 and 1). What fun to be around small children again, especially since mine are teenagers now. I think they had fun playing with them. One day we went to a fantastic childrens museum and in one of their displays they had these - cages for teenagers?!
I'm way behind on my blog reading. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.