WIP Wednesday

Last night was my first chance to sew since leaving for the beach back in June. It's amazing how time at the machine and some good country music can lift your spirits. I'd been in a funk, but I swear I could feel the stress rolling off my shoulders with each stitch!

It turned out to be quite the productive night as I was able to finish blocks for four of my swap friends. I'm in two right now, TwittterB and a Christmas block swap - but ironically enough the TwitterB block for this month was a Christmas one...LOL! I almost felt like playing Christmas music. :)

The first blocks I finished were for Rene, who's been waiting forever for these. She sent us panels and fabric from Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas and pretty much gave us free reign, which I've decided is very dangerous for me. I'm a perfectionist at heart and that tends to trip me up and delay things.


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Did you see the geese?  Get it?  Six geese a-laying!!!  Bwahahahahahaaa.... oh, I kill me... :)

Next up are block for Tiffany - the only non-Christmas ones of the night.  She sent us some adorable fabric with a forest village on it and asked for not-too-busy nine patches.  I used some solids and a moda marble to keep it crisp and to keep the focus on her fabric.




After dinner, I moved on to blocks for Rachel. She sent us some of the ultra-famous Sherbert Pips, which I had never seen in person. She had gone as far as actually cutting the fabric out for us ahead of time (very impressed!) so these were a breeze to sew together.




Next in line are the blocks I finished for Moira in the 12 Days group.  I'm actually pretty proud of myself on these because the fabric came while I was away.  That means for once, I'm not only on-time but a bit early!!  Woo!! Moira used the same block that Laura had picked out a couple months ago, and I can't blame her - they are fun and oh, so easy! She sent the off-white Christmas fabric and the rest is fabric from my scrap bin. Gotta love the scrap-busting blocks.





And now - on a true Work-in-Progress note, I've made a little progress on my Bethlehem Star quilt. I have the strips cut, but no sewing yet.




This is going to be a monster of a quilt, and I'm so far behind I'm almost ashamed. A group of us are working on it together and I'm about three weeks behind due to a delay in purchasing fabric and then vacation. It will be my main focus for the next little bit because I want to catch up with the others. I'm down to only one set of blocks for a swap - I got fabric from my friend Katherine while I was away, too.

Oh, and in case you missed the posts, I finished my husband's Coffee Quilt and Molly's Quilt while away. Finally, some changes to my ongoing WIP list!!

And - on a parting note - I'm missing the beach terribly.  Re-entry is difficult, and I think it gets more difficult every year.  Here's a parting shot of my family, taken on our last night there.  Until next year, my dear Hatteras....




Enjoy your week!