Finished 2015 - Welcome 2016!

We welcomed in 2016 with our annual dinner with the neighbors and friends.  For the last few years we have walked next door for prime rib dinner with many delicious side dishes.  I took a healthy dip with chips.  I don't know the name of the dip but here is the recipe.

 

1 can of white hominy, drained

1 can of black eyed peas, drained

green onion sliced thin, using some of the green

grape tomatoes sliced into edible pieces

Kraft Zesty Italian dressing, lite or fat free

Dorito scoops

 

Mix ingredients together adding as much green onion as you like.  Some green onions are very strong and some are mild.  Taste as you mix ingredients together.  It is better if you can leave it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.  If you are in a hurry, you certainly can throw it all together and eat immediately. 

 

After dinner we played the bowling game on Xbox 360 which was great because it makes you get up and move after eating.  Since my husband had to get up early this morning for work, we headed home at 9:30.  We were old-fogies and were in bed by 10pm.

 

Are you asking yourself what 2016 has in-store for us?  I know I am and I want to have a little say in how my year takes shape.  I am setting a few resolutions:

 

1.  Take care of my health.

2.  Take more Handi Quilter Pro Stitcher Training by attending Quilter's Academy.

3.  Work on finishing UFO's quilts, one a month.

4.  Complete a minimum of three (3) Quilts of Valor.

5.  Clean and organize sewing room.

 

What are your new resolutions or goals?  Do you set realistic goals or big hairy audacious goals that really stretch your abilities?  I tried sticking with realistic goals this year and will be tracking them so I can check them off my list as the year progresses.

 

So here is a view of my very messy sewing area.  I have been cutting out Allietare, Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt. 

Here's another view of the same space.  This what I will be working on organizing, sorting, labeling,

and cleaning.  There just isn't enough elbow space to work. 

 

I hope you will leave me a message with some of your goals for 2016.  I love hearing from all of you.

 

Enjoy the first day of 2016!

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

 

 

Monday Design Wall

Good Morning!  What a Monday morning we are having here in Illinois!  Freezing rain is falling along with winds gusting to 40 miles an hour.  As I sit here at my kitchen island looking out the back door, ice is forming on the deck and wire fencing.  The weatherman is predicting 1/4" to 1/2" of ice coating forming on everything.  I am just praying that we don't loose power.  We may also receive about an inch of snow.  We are spoiled here as we have had a pretty mild winter to this point.

Yesterday we had a quiet day at home after having a large Christmas gathering here on Christmas Day.  We served about 14 family and friends dinner and later played dominoes.

After getting home from church yesterday, I spent the day cutting fabric for Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt, Allietare.  You can find the free pattern and directions HERE.  I worked on cutting the 296 half-square triangles for Clue #1 using the constant grey and neutrals.

 As I am cutting the neutrals, I was also cutting the 2" x 4 1/2" rectangles for Clue#2 and the 3 1/2" x 7 1/2" rectangles for Clue #3.  Some of the neutrals I pulled out to use were less than a fat quarter of fabric.  After cutting the above units, if there was any fabric leftover, I cut it up to fit my storage system, i.e. odd size strips go in the string bin,  2" square, 1 1/2" squares and crumbs.

 

I am really excited to be using up some of the fabric and not returning it to my drawers.  First of all, its exciting to have stash that you can pull from (its taken a long time to get to this point).  Second, I like when I use up a piece of fabric (makes room to go shopping).  Third, I have enjoyed seeing the wide selection of neutrals I have been collecting.  I try to be frugal when shopping and only by fabric with a purpose to go with a specific pattern or project.  Neutrals are my one "freebie" when shopping.  This means, I allow myself to always myself to shop for neutrals without guilt.

 

My sewing/texting buddy, Cathy and I have agreed to work on this Mystery quilt together.  We have swapped fabrics.  She also helped me out by giving me the constant grey for the project as a Christmas present.  She was traveling and visiting her daughters out West and was shop hopping.  I was so excited about receiving the fabric as I was being a good girl, staying home and finishing customer quilts.  She is farther along than I am on the quilt but its not a race.  I want to enjoy the experience.  My goal it to have the clues cut out before going to a quilting weekend on January 15th.  My plan is to quilt on customer quilts during the day and work on cutting in the evenings.  Yesterday I made great progress.  The advantage of being behind, I have all the clues printed and can cut all the neutrals at once for each clue.  I don't think I have ever cut a whole quilt out before starting to sew. 

 

Today I am joining Quiltville's Bonnie Hunter's Monday Linkup, Monday Making at Love, Laugh, Quilt, Cynthia at Oh Scrap! and Judy at Patchwork Times. 

 

Have a marvelous Monday!  Be safe out there as you travel in this wintery mix of weather.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry