Monday, January 9, 2023

Thank you for Coming!

Happy New Year and Happy January!  Thank you for visiting.
I love the fresh start of a new year.  I don't even mind that it is January. All I need is a cozy quilt, a quilt book and some good movies.
Here is the full quilt I made in 2005.   It is not big, but just big enough to cover me up on the couch.
The baskets are 3" finished.   I swapped them with my Illinois friend, Sheila.
 Here is the rough pattern I use if you want to try sewing some.
I can not thank you all enough for  continuing support of my DWR quilt.  It really has been a labor of love.  I did take out the center (with a new seam ripper)
Under my bright sewing light, I actually could see that these browns were just slightly different and went with the other browns. 
Live and learn.
Here is the backing with a hidden seam.
It is hard to see the seam on the back, but there is one.
I basted it last week while watching the nonsense in Congress.
I spent the weekend machine quilting it in the ditch to stabilize it.
  This year I'm practising Dry January, which means no Friday Cosmopolitan and no wine.  I'm getting pretty good at mocktails.  Kombucha with fruit is my favorite evening drink. (second favorite)
I'm having lots of fun thinking about the houses I'm making for  Corrine's and Cecile's 2023 Quilt Along.  See details here.
I'm planning a rural farm scene and will be making a horse house, or barn next.

So blog friends, how are you keeping up with your blog reading?  I am having a challenge since Bloglovin is gone.  I have built a list on my home blog page and I also check my blogger dashboard reading list, but it is more challenging.  

When boggers leave a comment, I am adding them to my blog homepage. 

Thank you for visiting and I wish you a Peaceful Happy New Year!
xo







26 comments:

Rose Marie said...

Happy New Year! Your DWR is going to be a beauty! Will you be hand quilting it?

Wendy Currie said...

Happy New Year!
Good for you for taking the time to fix your double wedding ring quilt, it’s beautiful and so inspiring! I really enjoyed my visit to your blog 😊

Julierose said...

Your houses are just so cute!!
Happy New Year to you and yours,,,
hugs, Julierose

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Barb. Always love seeing what you're working on.

Rachel said...

Sorry I posted as Anonymous. It's really me.

Susie H said...

Haha! I was just reading Lori @ Humble Quilts is joining in on the House QAL too. After looking it over, I've decided to sit this one out. Your houses are adorable but that DWR is so inspiring. Have you considered jumping over to Feedly for blog reading? After Bloglovin became such a disaster, I switched and haven't been sorry. Was it a pain to switch? I won't lie -- yes, but worth it. Happy 2023!

JustGail said...

Bummer on having to change that center DWR block. I'd probably do the same. I can overlook a lot of errors, but there are some things that I can't ignore. It's probably cold comfort that at least you saw that before it was quilted. It will be gorgeous when done.

I'm of no help with blog reading and feeds. I have a few blogs bookmarked on the browser. Then I use their sidebar lists for more blogs. Not sure what I'll do if those blogs ever disappear!

Nann said...

Good for you on that seam match -- it's like hanging wallpaper. I have several books by Robert Shaw but not that one. Hmm...do I need to do an Alibris search? Glad you got the DWR block straightened out. Thanks for the link to the QAL (I can practice my French). When Bloglovin' got bogged down more often than not a friend recommended Feedly. So far that's working for me.

loulee said...

Happy New Year. Your baskets and your DWR are lovely.

Anonymous said...

Happy new year to you my friend! I can’t wait to see your horse house. 😂😂😂

Anonymous said...

It’s just me Diane butterflythreadsquilting @gmail.com but my phone doesn’t seem to know me anymore. Sigh.

gladiquilts said...

Your DWR quilt is fabulous - looking forward to seeing the quilting as it should show up quite well on those solids. Your house quilt is looking good too! I bookmark all the blogs I follow - one list for those I check every few days and another list for those I check every few weeks. I may not respond to some in the most timely manner and sometimes I check and there’s nothing new, but the system works well for me. Wishing you a peaceful and joyful new year, full of stitching magic!😊

Anonymous said...

Barb, please have a fabulous and creative 2023. Healthy too! Miss you and your creativity and exuberance!

Angie said...

Love the basket quilt - that's a LOT of three inch blocks! We are doing Dry-uary, too. I'll have to look for some kombucha mocktails; so far I've just been enjoying tea time in the late afternoon.

Deborah said...

Happy New Year. I miss Bloglovin too. I am trying to use Feedly but it only lets me follow 100 blogs for free. That is a bit annoying but better than none at all.

Chantal said...

Your little salt-shaker-gone-snowman is so cute! I had a fabric that wasn't exactly the same colour on the wrong side and I didn't notice (since it was a solid colour) that every now and again I sewed the wrong side up. When the quilt was all done and the light hit it at a certain angle you could see the difference. Oh well, sew and learn! Your DWR is amazing though. It was worth the task of removing the bad one. Great job on the seam for the back fabric. I can't find it. Good for you for going dry in January. Bravo! All the best in the new year. ;^)

Lori said...

Happy New Year! What color thread are you using for the DWR? It's amazing! Good job with that backing too!

I'm switched to feedly for blog reading. So annoying to have to change.

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

It's always so great to see a post from you. The basket quilt is so timeless. Your DWR is just amazing, powerful, beautiful! Can't wait to see how you quilt it. What a great wedding gift. I miss Bloglovin too but I just have a reading list on Blogger, and put most of the blogs I follow, on my sidebar on my blog. I don't keep up as well as I used to. All part of trying to limit social media a little, but I do really like reading quilting blogs!

The Cozy Quilter said...

The blogs I follow are in my sidebar. I update the list every so often to add new ones I find interesting. I just love the DWR quilt. Are you going to add some hand quilting after the in the ditch quilting is done? When is the wedding?
I need to make a list of projects I want to finish …I did this last year and crossed a few off the list. There are lots of books to read too…sigh…just not enough to time.
I made a whole bunch of those little baskets at one time. Many of them were added to a quilt I made at BIQR. So fun to make.
Happy New Year.

Linda Swanekamp said...

I was just thinking this morning I have to finish the oh my stars swap block quilt. I was planning on pulling it out, and your blog shows up! Trying to get back on track after a rough end to the year.

Ruth said...

I have been a very neglectful blogger lately and didn't even know that Bloglovin was closed. It just said there was a problem whenever I tried to get into it. Anyway, I just posted a quilt made with the 9-patches from the swap that you organized - about time, huh? I also used your Baptist fan stencil to quilt it! Your basket quilt is adorable! I need to get to work on a basket quilt kit that I purchased at a garage sale for $10. It is from a shop in Texas that I used to shop at & participate in a quilt class taught by Betsy Chutchian. The kit is for a quilt by Betsy published in American Patchwork & Quilting and it looks like it has all the necessary fabrics including the backing! What a deal! I want to make it this year. Happy New Year!

Janet O. said...

I always look forward to the cozy, slower pace of January. And I used to look forward to my annual retreat, but they haven't held it since 2020. :(
That is a great basket quilt--so many little baskets. makes me think of the little basket quilt you sent me in our swap. It is on display year round in my living room.
That is such a great DWR quilt. Kudos for switching out the center, if it was really bothering you. Better now that having it eat at you later!
Excellent matching on the backing seam.
I have been strong on my "No New Starts" pledge to myself, so I didn't join Cecile's SAL. And I have a house quilt in my UFO pile that is all cut out. I need to make a block now and then.
I guess I am doing Dry January, too. But I do every month dry, so nothing new there for me. LOL Looks like you are creating some wonderful mocktails.
I have just always read blogs from my blogger dashboard. I had Bloglovin' on my sidebar for other people to use to follow, if they chose. I don't know if I will put a Feedly link in its place or not.
Wishing you a joyous New Year!

Barbara said...

I think of January as a month to re-set and enjoy! Your basket quilt is so sweet--wow! 3" blocks! That is quite the repair on your DWR. The backing is fantastic and you did a great job matching--can't even tell where your seam is. Looking forward to seeing your house quilt!

Raewyn said...

Ahhh so Bloglovin is officially gone? I have signed up with Feedly as I like being able to mark as read/unread/and etc/etc but really should try to keep my sidebar a little more up-to-date for times like this. I always wonder if it takes too long for a blog to load with so many things on the sidebar? Anyway, your DWR looks great - you will be happy that you have redone the centre even though it took some looking to spot the error. The wonky little houses are vert cute.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

It is frustrating with Bloglovin having problems. It does work sometimes. But other times, it tends to link wrong posts to a blogger. I have copied links in a folder so I don't have to rely on any website, but that doesn't tell you when there is a new post. Feedly also works, but I really liked Bloglovin better.

QuiltGranma said...

Having lost sew many blogs last year it is hard to find my friends again. It is good to have found YOU again, and have put you as well as others in my favorites... star at the top of the page... so I can find you again.