Getting Things Done – Two More Finishes

I’ve moved two more projects from the Unfinished Projects to the Completed Projects list on my 2011 – The Year of Getting Things Done page (click on link up top.)

First, is this crocheted beaded Christmas tree garland:

I had first tried to photograph the garland on the holly bushes in front of our house, but the shots weren't coming out like I wanted.

I made two of these garlands a couple of years ago and then one again last year, but that still wasn’t enough garland to go all the way around from the top of the tree down to the bottom.   I’m pretty sure with this additional garland we should have enough.

The pattern for the garland can be found in White Christmas in Thread Crochet by Kathryn A. Clark put out by Leisure Arts.   The pattern book is available here.

And the second finish is this child-sized Flying Zebra quilt.

It has the same backing as the Flying Zebra baby quilt I made for Bama Bound Quilts.

I tried something different for the quilt label this time.  For the baby quilt, I printed off an iron-on label that I ironed on to white fabric and then hand-sewed on, but for this one, I decided to embroider the label.

I’m not completely satisfied with the neatness of my printing, but this will probably be how I label future quilts.

Ten more projects on my Unfinished Projects list to finish before the end of 2011.  Not counting of course, the secret Christmas projects that still need to be completed.

And this Friday night might just be a good night to get another one checked off the list as it’s time for August’s Friday Night Sew-In.

Sign-ups are over at Handmade by Heidi.  Clicking on the logo will take you there.

Quilt Tops and Mystery Plots

Originally I had only cut enough of the flying zebra fabric to make a baby quilt.  But when I realized I had enough left to turn the rest of it into two more child-sized quilts if I added a couple of horizontal strips in a coordinating fabric between the repeating print sections, I decided to go ahead and a make up three quilt tops.

Due to my sewing machine having some stitching issues and requiring not one but two trips to the repair shop (it’s still acting up), I didn’t get these done last week as I’d planned.  I finished the last top yesterday morning.

Here’s the baby quilt top.  It measures 51”X51”.

Each child-sized quilt tops measure 40”x60”.

I’m planning a hand-basting blitz over the next few days to get these ready to quilt.

As mentioned in this post, once it’s quilted and bound, the baby quilt will be going to Bama Bound Quilts for the tornado quilt victims in the Tuscaloosa area.  One of the two child-sized will be donated locally.   But I’ve decided to keep the second one to have for any visiting little ones to use during their stay.

Now… for the mystery part of this post:

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read a good mystery.  My current favourites:  The Bewitching mystery series by Madelyn Alt, The Aunt Dimity books by Nancy Atherton, The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert and The Victorian Mysteries by Robin Page (written by Susan Wittig Albert and her husband Bill) just to name a few.  Oh and of course, anything by that grand old dame of mystery writers… Agatha Christie.

Now it also goes without saying that I also love fabrics, sewing and quilting.  So when I discovered a way to combine the two, you know that I had to jump right in.

Quilting is Murder is a unique twist on the ever popular blog hop.  Starting on May 1^st and continuing for 9 weeks a new chapter of the mystery is posted.   The chapters are available to anyone who wants to read them, but the real fun comes when you register to become a detective.

Once you’re registered, you can log in and access the list of 18 shops that are participating this time round.  Once you’ve visited each shop and collected all the clues, you’ll be entered into that week’s prize drawing.  And if you complete 5 of the nine weeks, you’ll then be entered into the Grand Prize drawing.

I registered the first week of May but there’s 7 more weeks to go, if you’d like to play along as well.  Oh and for my readers living in Canada, you’ll be pleased to know that one of the shops participating, Sew Sisters, is Canadian owned and operated.  They have both an on-line shop and a retail shop.

A mystery to solve, clues to gather and fabric to browse, now that’s what I call a winning combination.   At least, I can sure hope it makes a winning combination because if the first two weeks are any indication… I wouldn’t mind winning, nope, I wouldn’t mind in the least.