Cutting it close!

I finally have managed to complete my March challenge for the "Lovely Year of Finishes"!  I had started a second quilt from the last MysteryQuilts4Military - code named Glint.  I planned to finish my red, white and green version of it for the Feb. finish, but mis-sewed a number of the blocks, and just ran out of time.  I hoped to finish it this month, but I found that working on my second Glint quilt was enough of a challenge.  I finally got the top finished last night, too late to take a pic (my husband assists me with the pics, and he was much too tired to stand up, leave alone hold up a quilt for photography!)
Sew, here's the teal and cream version of Glint:

In the written pattern, the suggestion was for a border made up of HSTs - and I planned to finish it that way, with a few strips of the 3 different fabrics used for the quilt.  Unfortunately I cut all of the strips at 2 1/2", and then cut the squares for the HSTs at 2 1/2" as well - and there's no way that they'll sew up to 2  1/2" squares.....and I had no cream fabric left to cut up.  SO, the border is just fabric strips, in various lengths for some interest.  It's nice to have this top done finally!  I'm starting to amass quite the pile of tops too - so, one of these months, I'll dedicate my month to quilting and binding a few quilts - but not April - I have 2 new quilts started, and one of them will be my April project - you'll have to check here to see which one I choose!

I promised you some cards...

I have to quickly share a few cards - tomorrow is National Quilting Day, and there are bound to be some quilt-themed projects occupying this space, so I thought I'd better get the cards posted while I have the chance.
I went to a card-making workshop with a friend a few weeks ago - I definitely needed a card-making "kick in the butt", and the workshop helped me in that department!  We made 4 cards, but one has already been sent out, and another one is for someone special (and they read my blog), so it has to stay under wraps for the time being.

The first one used a stamp set that is available for a very limited time - and I chose this image because I think it resembles a Tardis, and a few of my kids are Dr. Who fans.  The second card is a little more traditional - and it's fairly simple, but at the same time has a lot going on.  The card front is embossed; then 2 panels are punched with border punches.  The small ovals are added on top of the larger ones, and then the stamped butterflies are cut out.  The butterflies are stamped in one of the 3 colours already used on the card; then 3 smaller flowers are punched out and added to a butterfly of a different colour.  I didn't put a sentiment on it - that makes it easier to use for a variety of occasions.

Now that the cards are posted, I can get ready for my NQD project - check back later to see what I made!

Another Mystery Quilt...

I'm still committed to finishing a few quilting projects this year - I'm just not doing so terribly well yet.  I totally missed the deadline for posting my January challenge; I posted my Feb. challenge pic, and even posted my mid-way progress pics here on my blog (as directed)...  Unfortunately, I totally mixed up 2 VERY similar blocks, and ended up sewing 12 blocks with the wrong center blocks.  Needless to say, I didn't get my Feb. project finished!  Now it's March - and I'm once again very optimistic that I'll get a project done, and it should be fairly easy - it's a repeat of the mystery quilt that I worked so hard on for last month.  At least, this time I won't make the same block mistake!  I am planning to finish February's project too - I've taken all of the wrong squares out of the blocks, and some of them are already re-sewn.
So, here's a pic of the March blocks in progress:

And, I promise to post some card pics soon!  I haven't made very many in the past 2 months (I'm so thankful for my stash of already-made cards!) - but, I have lots of inspiration pics, and it shouldn't take me long to pull a few together!

There's progress!

As part of the Lovely Year of Finishes, I'm posting pics of the progress I'm making toward getting this MysteryQuilts4Military quilt finished (it's about time - the next mystery will be starting next month!  So, I've finally finished step #5 - only 2 to go - yippee!  So, here's the proof: 

I'm hoping to finish step #6 before Friday night, so keep an eye on this space!

February "Lovely Year of Finishes" project

A few weeks ago, I signed up with Melissa over at http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/ - she and another quilting friend decided to challenge quilters to finish one quilting project per month in 2013.  The idea sounded like a great one, so I put my name down, and then promptly missed the first deadline!  I really didn't want to do that again, so I'm posting this right now.
I belong to a group of ladies that create quilts for injured military members; one of the members designs quilts, and then releases the steps for making the quilt one step at a time, usually every week.  The last quilt was just before Christmas, and I was SO crazy busy with all sorts of things, so I didn't get much more than the first 2 steps done.
I FINALLY had some time today to finish step# 4, and have decided to finish this quilt in February.  Now that I've told you all about it, I need you to keep after me to finish it this month!  My quilt will be going to Quilts of Valor, a Canadian organization that provides comfort quilts for wounded Canadian servicemen and women.  I chose to use red, white and green for my fabric colours (the Mystery Quilts 4 Military is an American organization, so their quilts tend to be designed for red, white and blue quilts).  The picture is of the Step #4 blocks - they're all done, and I've started block #5 (of 7), so I should be able to get the quilt done.....hope that isn't wishful thinking!   The next quilt mystery will be going up next month sometime.
Anyway, here is step #4 completed:

We have a visitor!

Some of you may know that hubby and I have long been "sheep people" - at one time we farmed and had 150+ ewes (before lambing!), and were hoping to expand.  Unfortunately, that didn't work out - so, we sold the flock, sold the farm and moved into town.
Shortly after that, one of our former neighbours offered hubby a job, working on his beef and chicken farm - a job that he's had ever since.  Two or three years ago, hubby asked his boss if he'd be able to rent a bit of land from him, so that we could have a few sheep again - and the answer was "yes".  We purchased 3 ewes, and the 2 lambs that came with them, and settled them into their new home.  Last year, we waited with bated breath, but even though it appeared that a lamb or two might make an appearance, nothing happened.  Then,  on Saturday, hubby came home, beaming, and showed me the camera-phone video of our first set of twins!  All was well....   Then, yesterday morning, the boss phoned to say that we had another set of twins - yippee!  However, there were a few concerns about the one little lamb - she has 2 obvious "defects", and we have no way of knowing if there are others that haven't shown up yet...  Tonight, hubby came home, quite concerned, because mama has decided that she's not going to accept this little girl - won't let her nurse, butts her out of the way, etc. - and with her being on the farm, and us in town, we didn't have a lot of options, aside from bringing her home.  So, she's going to live in a box in our family room for a few days, until we can come up with a better option...   and our cat is having NOTHING to do with it!
In case you've never seen an adorable little lamb, here's a pic:

There's nothing wrong with her lungs!  Hope she'll let us get a bit of sleep tonight!

Placemats!

Our quilt guild meets the 2nd Monday night of the month, so that would make today quilt guild night.  At our last meeting, we were asked to make placemats for our local Meals on Wheels, so they could hand them out to their clients with their Valentine's Day meals.  I managed to make 4 - 2 before the meeting, and finished the other 2 after I came home.  Of course, I forgot to take pics of the first 2, but they were the same (only different) as the 2 pictured here.  I used a "Reunion" charm pack and my Twister tool to make them (first time using the Twister tool)....  I think that 5 charms for one placemat were too many - they were a little wide - so, the next time I make new ones, I'll only use 3 or 4.  I found a red print for the upper and lower borders, and a red-on-cream for the backing and binding.  Of course you want to see them, so here they are:

I just might put up a card or two for my next post - just to keep you on your toes!