NewFO In, OldFO Finished!

Have you heard of the 2012 NewFO project?  Barbara at Cat Patches realized that she doesn’t have enough UFOs, so her challenge is to start a NewUFO every month.  Sounds good to me!

My NewFO for January is this cute snowman stitchery pillow (I won this pillow from Cathy at Big Lake Quilter.  I worked on it on our Hawaiian vacation.  I tried embroidery last year and wasn’t good at it.  So I tried it again this year.  Ta-dah! All better! 

Haha.  Okay, I googled the Back Stitch.  It looks so much nicer and it’s super easy to do.  I still have to learn how to make a French Knot.  This pattern called for a piece of muslin behind the white fabric, but I used Kona white because that’s what I had.  You stitch through both pieces of fabric.  It’s so soft and plush!  Sweet trick to make your embroidery look so much better!

Today is Talk to Me Tuesday, so check out my video.  I show off my Christmas Quilt that I finally FINISHED! I show some close-ups of the quilting.  Forgive my voice, I've been nasally and congested all weekend :(
(I think you have to come to the blog to watch the video)

Thanks for stopping by :)

January FMQ Challenge

Holy cow, how is it the end of January already?!  I thought December went by fast, but January is on a mission!

I've been practicing the January FMQ Challenge hosted by SewCalGal.  Frances Moore challenged us with free-motion leaves.  At first I practiced on my white board with a dry erase marker.

Then I decided "what the heck, I'm just gonna practice on my quilt!"

I'm too lazy/busy/overwhelmed/responsibly working on UFO's/impatient to make quilt sandwiches just for practice sake.  I'd rather just make a quilt.

This is my H&I's quilt.  It's a Floating UFO. No plan. No destination.  It just hangs around until I decide what is going to happen.  Perfect for this project!  I picked a block in the middle.  I picked some variegated Aurifil thread and went to town!

Hey, I like it! It's a very thick thread (Aurifil Mako Cotton Variegated Thread in Fiesta).  It says 50MT, but I can't figure out what that means by looking at Aurifil's website. It broke on me a few times, so I think I need to use a larger needle.  Look at these gorgeous stitches:

I love the texture it gives this quilt.  Between the quilting and the backing, this is going to be the softest quilt ever :) I just did the one H (or I, depending on which way you hold the quilt!).  I think I am going to try Frances' Elements on a different block this month.  I have 30 blocks, which will make a perfect FMQ Sampler.

I think they actually look like leaves :)

Tomorrow is my birthday.   Nothing  special planned. 

If I could, I would take the day off work and sit on the beach.

But I already did that too many times this month. 

Commute. Work. Read blogs. Eat healthy. Make dinner with the hubs.

Maybe quilt a little bit if there's time. 

And be thankful for my bloggy friends.  

That's you.

<3

Hi Friends!

We're back from Hawaii! 

I did a lot of this

With a bit of this

Ate a ton of these!

Looked at lots of these!

And I bought a little bit of fabric :)

It was tough work!  :)  Just kidding.  When I came home I joined Talk to Me Tuesdays and made this cute video.  It's about joining "12 for 2012 Challenge." If you'd like to check out more crafty videos, go to Talk to Me Tuesdays at livejournal.  It was fun and surprisingly easy to make and I think I'll be making more!



I have an interview tomorrow morning for a promotion at work.  I don't think I'll get it, but cross your fingers for me just in case! School starts on Thursday and this Friday is...

Go to Crafty Vegas Mom to sign up!