I'm Baaack...

Hi all.  It's me again.  I know I've been MIA for awhile now.  Went through a little depression, and just wasn't up to blogging.  I've been quilting though.  We all know that quilting is good therapy.  I'm back to my usual self and should be good to go now.

I've got a few projects to share with you all.  Hope you're all in the mood for picture overload.  :o)

First, after spending a year and a half on and off with my Farmer's Wife quilt, with the months of August and September pretty much focusing on that solely to get 'er done for our upcoming show in March, I needed a quick and easy project.  Here is Cuzco.

 

 

Isn't it pretty.  I used a jelly roll from Kate Spain's line (Cuzco, duh) and had a blast.  This pattern was from the book Jelly Roll Dreams by Pam and Nicky Lintott.  It was exactly what I was looking for as far as a fast and easy project.

Next, I had precut strips for log cabin blocks in Civil War fabrics that I bought at Houston in November 2012.  I put those together for a table topper.

 

Love those fabrics.

Then, this past November, I bought myself an early Christmas present.  A Baby Lock Ellissimo Gold II.

I wasn't in the market for a new sewing/embroidery machine as my Designer Diamond works perfectly fine...but I fell in love with the camera feature for embroidery placement.  You see, I want to be able to quilt using my embroidery machine, and with Baby Lock's camera feature for P-E-R-F-E-C-T placement, it takes all the frustration, angst and time out of having to perfectly hoop your project.  I'm in LOVE!  Only thing is, I now have a Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond and all it's accessories for sale.  Anyone in the market?  LOL.

Anyway, my first embroidery project?  My log cabin table topper!

 

 

Let's put it this way...I quilted this baby the DAY AFTER I bought my Baby Lock.  It turned out PERFECT in record time.  Yes, I had to hoop it 12 times (for each of the 12 blocks), but there was no down time involved in having to place it in the hoop exactly.  I just hooped it however it landed, and the camera found the center perfectly EVERY TIME.  Can you tell I'm excited?  LOL.  Yes, I still need to put the binding on it.  :o)  By the way, I digitized the quilting motif using EQ's new EQ Stitch program.  I highly recommend it -- especially for beginners.

Then, with the coming of the New Year (Happy and Healthy New Year Everyone!), I realized after attending a party at a friend's home in late December, that I absolutely have no, none, nada, Christmas projects/quilts made by me in my own home.  Yep, I guess everything Christmas I've ever made has been given to family and friends.  Well this year is the year to spoil myself.  I have officially declared the year 2014 -- Christmas Throughout the Year.  Especially since I have three bins full of Christmas fabric!  Soooo, I am aiming to make one project a month for the entire year.  Then I shall have 12 wonderful, fun projects to decorate my home with at Christmas this coming year.  So, if you love looking at Christmas projects no matter what time of the year, this is likely the place to find some.  *giggle*

My first project?  Why yes, I have it right here...

The 12 Days of Christmas.  The past two days have been so fun embroidering the blocks and putting it together.  Yes, I used my EQ program to design the quilt.  Love that program.  And just to let you know (disclaimer, here), I am not affiliated in any way with any of the products I have linked.  I just wanted to share the information with you in case you are interested in learning more about them.  :o)

Anyway, back to my 12 Days project.  Got the top done in only two days...even taking my time.  But I found I had several strips left of my rail fence borders...soooo...

I cut them up and now have 68 units ready for another project.  I'm imagining making opposite units to make them into 9-patches.  Needless to say, I'll be spending some time today playing in EQ coming up with another Christmas project for next month using 9-patches.  *grin*

May you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year,
Suzy