Random: last, but not least!

December 31, 2010  I finished the {in the patch} quilt blocks and December 31, 2011 I woke up in that quilt! I recall our last December we barely made our way to settled in N.D.  There were lots adjustments we have to made and lots phone calls from friends and letters arrived for the holiday season. This year, not much have changed, but we are settled in our small apartment and making it a {home} to us.  S and I spent the morning in the kitchen and just making food together. We decided to make banana muffins, so we could freeze some.  We chopped more cabbage to make homemade dumplings. As we both know once school starts we both will want something quick in the stove and get the dinner serve right away.

Snow kept falling since yesterday. Isn't it so pretty? It is fun to see some footprints on it and the sun is out, so some snow melted away! The temperature is in the comfortable setting! We thought we'd take a snowy walk later this afternoon!

{oops} It's a bit {out of control} that I {finally} made my mind to buy the whole roll of batting yesterday. It is 40 yards of the batting. I did my math in head and think that I could make over 15 large quilts from the roll and some baby quilts. Now I just need to find a place to store the box!

The last day of 2011 isn't any different to any other day.  For the new year to come I have made my mind to change many things.The major change of it would be change the lifestyle to a simpler way and live in a quality life rather than quantity of life.

Thank you for all the kind and sweet comments for my last quilt! Thank you for all the visits that you have made to this blog! It means {a lot} to me and I hope you keep coming back!

A happy New Year to you~

xxC

Quilt: {In the patch}

{finally} I finished this {mini nine-patches} quilt! I though I started in last December, but I was wrong. It was started in September 2010, then October 2010, then put away  for sometime, then November pass, December 2010 came then January 2011 then it sat nicely and sweetly in the {w.i.p.} pile for the next 11 months. I have had tought time to decided what the backing fabric should be and how the backing should look like. It was not easy on this one!

I knew wanted something {summer.y} and {clean}. I love the season of the Fall, but you probably don't know I love rainy days and sound of the rain! Growing up I love listening to the raindrops and love typhoons; it is similar to the tornado here, but it won't blow houses away, but it can brings lots rain , strong wind, and cause major damage in the mountain area and typhoon is the only unexpected situation the government and schools would call off . I remember we siblings got to stay home and cuddled under the blankets with a good movie and bento boxes{ lunch boxes} mom made the night before school. Um.. all the good memories!

Finally this week I pieced the backing and pin down the quilt then sat in my sewing room for 4 hours and watched 2 movies! It is done! It was very challenging! The quilt is big on the machine than I expected! I might need a wider table to lay the quilt on or I might need to use a roller?! {suggestions?}  My hands were very sore after the quilting! BUT!  All the hours and work have paid off!!

Woke up on Thursday morning I debated if I should machine binding or hand binding. I went with hand-binding again. It took another 3 hours to bound the whole quilt. Of course I was up for other things during this time.  It was just relaxing had my coffee and had S sat by me and we watched a great movie together.

My inspiration for photography is from this amazing quilt . Thanks to the snow falling on Wednesday night! The bright white snow helped out the photos. I had to jumped up high to get the quilt on the tree and glad no one was around watching me. It was 20 degree without any of my gloves, um.. it was cold! freezing!

I love all the {mini nine patch} within the blocks. This quilt is for {ME}. The last quilt I made for myself was 3 years ago. Recent years, I have been making quilts for friends and S. I wanted a quilt just for {me} and enough to cover my new bed and brighten myself! .Of course I will share with S when she gets up in the early mornings and wanted to snuggled with me before school.

{the quilt finished in 68"x80"}

After machine quilt this giant quilt! I am feeling more comfortable with machine quilting. I have some good senses about stopping the machine and pick it up again. The quilting stitches are pretty equal length now. It is the matter of how do I handle the large quilt now. 

 The shadow on the snow is just simple and calm ! I was glad catch it before I stepped away!

The binding fabric is from my stashes {random and bright}! Finally I got the math for the binding yardage! I used the exact fabric strips this time!

So! This is my last {w.i.p.} in 2011! I have done them all! I will soon start on S' 8th birthday quilt and continue {farmer's wife quilt along} blocks, a quilt for mom's 60th birthday { I have my eye on Anna Marie's Horner's new fabric line, a quilt for my dear friend who will be turning 50  next September then maybe a quilt for myself again?? I will slow down and make a simple plan before 2012 arrives! And you?


It is a great feeling about {accomplished} things from the year round {to-do} list and able to see some  cross off marks. {I feel lighter}! Although I gained so much weight physically! The lightness is from the things that have been cross off and been {done}. One of my commit professor met with me about my work before school ended. He mentioned to me that I get bored easily and have new ideas all the time, but he asked me try to stick with one idea and develop into something that will excited me again. My interpretation on that is {focus}! I need to learn to {focus} on each project I created and each duty that I am in! I am pushing that limited and it has been a pretty good impact since! I am smile and glad! Happy Friday to you all~ I am sitting in my living room and watching the snow falling at this moment!

xxC

Random: Nothing better

Nothing better than open the email and saw all the holiday handmade traveled thousand miles away and arrived with smiles in the pictures and all the treats are devoured according to the email. We are getting our days back to the normal swing of things. I found my long waiting letter in my mail box this morning and reminded myself I needed to {reply} it A.S.A.P.! S is getting anxious to get mail in her personal mail box. I need to make it a priority this afternoon. Our greens are very healthy and happy! Check it out! It is bigger than my hand now! Things are check off and some are still need to get done here! Last night the snow fell and stay for the first time in this winter season! It is amazing! We are loving the change of color and stay indoor just relax!

xxC

Wednesday: in and about

Have you ever start a list for each day then cross out the task when you finish? I used to have a {to-do} list, but it is rather a year around list, not daily! This morning, I sat in the kitchen table and started my first daily list. The reason for that is lately I have been forgetting things when I was in the store or forgot things that need to be taken care of. 

Finally, last night we have had some flurries, but it melted away this morning. I open a window to let the cool airline and that felt really nice! My friend and I talked about making caramel corns when school is in break, so today she came and we made some! Our home is in the smell of sugar and fresh wood. I can't literary describe the smell, but really GOOD! Almost a {spring} smell in the air. Last night, finally I finished the backing for the quilt. It took me some time to pin down and of course my helper was more than willing to give me a hand. She rolled around it and told me it is a funny feeling to have so many { poky thing-y} around the body!  Tonight I would love to start quilting it and take some hours to finish rather than rush done!

It is really quiet around our living community! Holiday lights are still surrounding the housings area, but we took down our decorations today and set our home back to the calm and quiet place. I am preparing myself ; school will be start soon and will be busy and might face some unexpected situations. Preparing maybe snow will fall anytime and we might have a late and terrible winter/spring.  However, until the snow falls, I will enjoy as much as I can.

Today is another day that is great in and about! We accompanies each other for the activities and enjoy the relax holiday break home with each other!

xxC

{downsizing}

With some help from a friend. The wood was cut in a day and half assembled! I {hammed} my index finger that night, so I decided to leave the units till the next day. What I like about this project is that I am able to custom made all the sizes that fit into the space I need. The lumber wasn't expensive compared the ones that I saw in the furniture store.

Majority of the stashes are in and some in the other side of storage boxes, such as the 30's fat quarters that I have been collecting and some prints that is out of prints that I keep.

I made many fabric box {link up a tutorial that I wrote a while back}. These boxes are great for toys, fabric, trims, and patterns. I also made top two long and skinny ones for the fat quarters that I bought over the time.

With some suggestions: the storage unit has {legs} that are above the floor. It is nice, so any dust won't get in to the fabric right away.

Our room is downsizing with storage units now! I gave S another book shelf since she needs more space for new books and her craft supplies. The room actually is wider than it was before. We can {walk} through between the wall and the table now! It is amazing how a little rearrangement can change and make the life easier.  I would love to build a bench library storage for S and make a long sitting cushion for her. It is on my 2012 { to-do} list.

This is the holiday {gift} I gave myself this year! Not much, but this is what I really need! I can't be more happier! I knew I will rearrange the fabric again, but now! Life is good!

I used the left wood scraps made a smaller unit for note books and paper and stationary. I need to build some smaller boxes to so I can toss the paper boxes away. The older storage unit is full of flannels and as you can see here the printer is living under the fabric piles now. I am speechless with the amount of fabric I actually {have}. The room smells in fresh wood and best of all we love being in the room with music and the sound for sewing machine.

 

Yesterday I unscrewed the older hand built storage unit. I plan on reuse the wood and build a better storage unit next week when the shop opens and the friend is back from the vacation. I am not able to change the blades by myself since they need a lot of tools to remove.  The woodworking is a new adventure for me. As I am having better knowledge and understanding how to function the equipments I keep thinking I can do that! I can make that. One of my goal is making a sewing table before I move away! Some old wood would be lovely for the table top! Some storage unit under the table would be great such as a space for store sewing machine and the tools! 

xxC

The morning

Woke up in the bright light that came in to the bedroom. I though I was late for the day, but it was 7:30a.m. I peeked through the blinds and saw the sky was in different colors and  surrounded with different clouds.  Quickly, I put my coat on without having my hair done and teeth brush. Away I went outside and captured these beautiful sky. Not sure when I started paying attentions to the sky, but I always love the look in the sky and its beauty.

Morning came and have gone! With help from my friend. I transported the shelves unit home from wood shop! I am so {happy} and S was helping me getting all the fabric on the shelves all morning.  Originally it took three shelving units, but now most of them are all in one! Today, my { to-do} list is getting this space organized then I will be starting sewing again.



xxC