Moving my blog to: Wabi Sabi Quilts

Hello fellow quilting bloggers, 

With the new year just around the corner, I'm simplifying a bit and starting fresh with a few things.... including in terms of blogs... 

I will be blogging at Wabi Sabi Quilts now.  Nothing spectacular, just a fresh start - feels sort of like beginning a new journal.  I love new beginnings!

I really appreciate the quilting/blogging community and I sure hope many of you will visit me over in my new blogging digs!

Best wishes and Happy New Year! 

xo
Cynthia 

Steps to the Altar - finished!

Finally finished Kaela and Joe's wedding quilt - Steps to the Altar, from an old 1930's Ruby McKim pattern.  Yay!  Five months off and on in the making.

I quilted in the ditch around the blocks:

Then checkerboard in the pieced blocks:

Then free motion wreathes in the alternate blocks - very free - not staying in the lines exactly, but overall it worked.  I feel like I finally got the hang of it about 15 blocks in to the process!

I used 60 weight cotton in the bobbin and nylon monofilament in the needle.  Quilters Dream Cotton batting in the "Select" mid-weight.

The only problem with this quilt is.... after I had pieced the blocks, I tried to match the muslin for the plain alternate blocks.  Wellllll the lighting in my local quilt shop isn't great, and it isn't great in my sewing room either - because as you can see, not a great match... but... it's a vintage-y looking quilt anyway right?  It looks better in person than in photos, and I believe over time with lots of use and washings the difference will be even less an issue.

I first blogged about this quilt here and give directions for making the blocks here.  

Now...... time to make toffee.... wrap presents.... do all those non-quilting related holiday tasks.... Mrs. Santa, time to get busy!

Flags of the American Revolution - part 4 - stars and Whiskey Rebellion

This month for the quilt-along we worked on some star setting (filler) blocks...

I was going for very scrappy, with chambray blue, beige, and celery green.

... and the Whiskey Rebellion block - which seemed to be my constant companion all month - dense with applique!

And in other news:

This 51 pound puppy is giving us fits... eating her third or fourth (who's counting?) bed...

We've had our first snow...

Finally basted Kaela and Joe's wedding (um, Christmas) quilt top (Steps to the Altar)...  

Made WAY too many pies for Thanksgiving.... 

And now here we are, December already!  Can't wait to see what Lori has in store for us this month... I am really enjoying the quilt-along - the built in deadline pressure, and seeing how everyone else interprets the blocks.  Go over to Humble Quilts to check it out!