Tuesday, December 31, 2019

December Monthly Mini and other small stuff

Once again, just squeaking under the wire. The ball will be dropping on Time Square in just minutes (in my time zone), and December will be gone. If you recall the little Jen Kingwell Postcard Project pattern I shared in my last post, this is what came of playing with that on a few late nights when I needed fabric therapy. This will be linked with Wendy at The Constant Quilter blog, for our final monthly minis of this year.

The fabrics were gleaned from some red/black pieces my retreat buddy gave me, and the backgrounds came from a Primitive Gatherings charm pack of a new line.  It finished at about 10" x 12".
Some of it is a bit wonky--I had some issues with the cutting. The templates that came with the pattern were great in all ways but one. In the photo to the right you can see the corners that are to match up. I've drawn arrows to the corners that gave me trouble. The smaller triangle has a rounded edge, while the matching edge of the larger triangle is beveled, as are all the other corners that match up. If I had been willing to mark all of the little dots in the corners and match them up that way, it might have come together more easily, but I am lazy about making and matching dots, so I suffered without them. And the rounded corner was difficult to cut, even with a small rotary cutter. I might have thought it was just an anomaly on my set, but I had purchased two sets and they were both the same.

The top did get finished with my December Circa 1880 small quilt, but knew I would have a harder time getting this one quilted than I would the Postcard Project, so this one is still a flimsy.
I had planned to make the outer border in red or green, but those black backgrounds on the stars needed some company.


Is this a familiar sight to anyone else? I let my cutting mat on my sewing room cutting table get very hacked up before deciding I should request a new one on my Christmas wishlist. I have already turned it around and the other side is not much better, so I will cut the sides that don't get as chewed up into smaller cutting mats to be taken to retreats and sew-ins, and I will replace this with the new one Santa delivered. 


First I need to remove the piles of things around the edges--and this photo was taken after I had actually cleaned most of it off. :)

The last day of December brought such a nice surprise in my mailbox. Many of you have sewn along with the Temecula Tiny Tree SAL. I longed to join in, but knew it wasn't going to happen for me this year. Well, my good blogging buddy, Sarah (at sarahdidit blog), posted that she was making 5 of them, to have some to gift. 
I was thrilled to find that I was the recipient of one of those trees. Isn't it fun? I have been sick for the last 5 days, and this was such a day brightener! Thank you, Sarah. One can never have too many Christmas quilts, or quilts from friends!

Also, in my initial post I forgot to include this sweet mug rug that arrived from my pal Wendy at The Constant Quilter blog. It came during the holidays and I had already put it to work. Thus, when writing my post it was covered with my mug (that is what a mug rug is for, after all) and I failed to add it here. That is now remedied. Many thanks, Wendy!

I have been very absent from blogland lately. I miss keeping up with everyone's blogs. I hope I have more time for it in the new year! Hope you all have a great beginning to a new decade!
Until next time,
Janet O.

27 comments:

  1. Happy New Year from the same time zone! Love your triangle project as a final finish--I did not get near my sewing machine today. Happy that your stitching time, however precious, is still occurring in fits and starts! Here's to more time with needle and thread in 2020!

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  2. Your postcard quilt is lovely. Cutting on the circle--yikes--that must have been a bear, My cutting mat is also worn and needs to be replaced--it is usually covered with fabrics or projects--I need to make it more of a priority, My blog has been sorely neglected, I tell myself I am going to more attentive,

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  3. Happy New Year/Decade!! I am spending my nect to last night at home b4 we go on our Mission. Had to stitch into the NEW YEAR!!
    Bonnie gave us a new Mystery Part to work on until Friday. About half done Sewing the first half of the Flying geese.

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  4. oh janet, sending get well vibes your way...lovely little mini even with the "issues" that only you notice no doubt...and i agree about the black border...so thankful for another year and you as my friend!

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  5. Happy New year! Always fun to see what you are up to....even with those rounded pieces. Your trees turned out very cute. I had hopes of putting a tree sample together this year....there is always next year:)

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  6. Another fabulous little gem. Perfect for December! I've been wanting to make a "Thousand Pyramids" mini and you have now provided the inspiration! I posted a bit late this month as I was busy helping to bring our 3rd grandson into the world. What a miracle! Happy New Year to you and your family and I wish you loads of quilting time in 2020. Thanks for sticking with me through the minis!

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  7. Happy New Year! I hope you are feeling better today! I like your little quilts and how lucky for you to receive the Christmas tree quilt. Interesting observation about the templates. Your little postcard project looks great!

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  8. Happy New Year. You have some really sweet finishes. Hugs

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  9. Happy New Year, Janet :-) Your new minis are lovely as is the gifted Tiny Tree. Sarah did a beautiful job with it and what a sweet gift! Prayers for God's comfort and peace through out the each day of the new year.

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  10. Happy New Year Janet! Your little minis are adorable and the tree from Sarah is awesome--love the background fabric she chose. I hate marking those little dots too, but if I'm hand piecing they are necessary, unfortunately. I just cut a bunch of those type of triangles out (much larger!) using my Baby Go die so they are very accurate and I still have trouble getting them to come out perfect--those two bias edges are tricky! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with a ton of stuff on my cutting table. It's the reason I suffer with a bad area on my mat for months because turning or flipping is such an effort--haha!

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  11. Hoping that you feel better soon! Maybe that lovely gift was JUST the medicine you needed. Happy New Year!!

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  12. A perfect little mini quilt for December, I love it! I do hope you feel much better soon. Lovely gifts from Sarah and Wendy too, it seems we can never have too many mug rugs and there's always a space for a sweet Christmas tree quilt. I'd thought briefly about making one, but that's as far as it got. Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  13. Oh, I love the first quilt with all the different reds. It turned out so cute. Wow! I'd like a friend like Sarah. My poor little tree has yet to be quilted. Sorry you have been ill. I had a root canal recently so I consider that my seasonal illness. Hope you start feeling better. I finished cutting out an easy project this morning and I was thinking how it probably is past time for a new cutting mat. My mother gave me this mat in the late 80's so it's really old. It was given to her as a gift and she never used it so she passed it along.

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  14. Happy New Year. Another adorable mini which will be perfect for anytime not just December. I sliced up a mat pretty much once. Mostly because I wasn't good about keeping a sharp blade. But they do wear out. You recieved some lovely gifts that I'm sure brightened your day.

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  15. Another mini treasure. Are you going to continue through this year doing the same?

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  16. Your postcard pyramids quilt is so fun. Love the colors you chose.
    I think you are very lucky to have a Santa who brings you quilting-related items like a great, new cutting mat. Santa ignores my requests for anything related to quilting. Ha.
    Such sweet gifts from your blogging friends!

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  17. Your minis are so adorable! The pyramid one reminds me of little Christmas trees! And I especially love the one with the stars - I love the simplicity, and your choice of colors is quite striking. I like the way your friend set the Tiny Tree, I think the background really makes it. Oh, and here's a suggestion to save wear on your new cutting mat: When cutting small pieces, try using a good piece of your old mat on top of your new one. Easy to pick up and turn, as well. Happy New Year!

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  18. That Circa 1880 quilt is beautiful! Wonderful quilty gifts too....Sarah chose the perfect fabrics for that Tiny Tree!

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  19. What lovely quilty gifts! I had seen both in different places and I'm so happy that 2 of them are living with you.
    Your new mini has it all - stars - black and high contrast all of my favorite things. You did it! Congratulations on completing the whole year.
    Wow that mat sure does need retiring and I'm glad that santa brought you a new one. happy sewing in 2020!

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  20. You are prioritizing your life and it is okay that your blog isn't at the top. There will come a time where you can post more often.
    So sweet to be thought of with gifts at Christmas. Love that black border on the star quilt.
    May you have many blessings in 2020.

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  21. Happy New Year to you dear Janet. Your red mini is just delightful! How wonderful that your friend gifted you the tree mini & the sweet mug rug is just gorgeous. I hope you are feeling better now Janet. Sending blessings to you across the oceans & the miles. xxx

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  22. There are so many wonderful things in this post! Your little December mini is perfect. What a great idea to cut up your old cutting mat into smaller pieces. I never would have thought of doing that. Lovely gifts from your quilting friends, too! Happy New Year, Janet!

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  23. You were so right on the black; it's a lovely finish!! I love your December mini, too! Yay! I just got back from visiting the California crew and had the opportunity to visit the Temecula Quilt Co. *and* Primitive Gatherings! I got a cute kit (leftover from one of their monthly kits) from TQC. I thought of you while I was in there! That quilt from Sarah is wonderful! What sweetness! :)

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  24. Darling quilt for December. I was puzzled by the templates? Why bother with that awkward shaping? Just do regular way, stitch seams and trim excess later if it is too bulky. I don't believe in making things harder than they have to be!

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  25. Love your little mini - reminds me of trees in the snowy woods at night. Your Circa 1880 quilt top is so nice and you definitely had the right idea with black for the border. I too like being able to pivot like that and make a different decision. Lovely gifts from your quilty friends too. Happy New Year!

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  26. Friends are great for cheering us up on dreary days. Your red Christmas tree quilt is really cute. Agree with you on never having too many Christmas quilts. Cheers to you! Sandi

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  27. Dearest friend, I hope all is well!! I am also absent from blog land too for awhile as I took on a full time job with the US Census!! 40 hour a week jobs are for young folks!! Miss ya!!

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