Completed!

I decided to hand quilt this quilt years ago and I finally completed it!  I would work on it then put it away for a year then pull it out – you know how it goes. I do believe my final incentive was that I wanted it for the room we painted last summer. I had never hand quilted a quilt this large before and I can honestly say that I will probably never attempt that again. It is rewarding to look at it now as I do prefer the look of a hand quilting; the hours spent doing it though is crazy!

Here are photos of the completed quilt; I think it looks great with the antique iron headboard and frame.

At any rate it is a good start to the year when you can start checking things off your to-do list. I will get back to my wool applique quilt now and check that off my list next.  I have so many projects I want to start, but my 2016 resolution is to finish projects I have already started and I am sticking to it. 

New Slippers

I decided it was finally time for new slippers. This is my sixth pair of slippers I have made from this pattern, my girls and I have really enjoyed them. This slipper is constructed more like a shoe than a sock.

Below are my old slippers, as you can see I really needed a new pair!  I took the green buttons off the old pair and put them on the new pair. I included photos of the slippers before and after the felting process.

This is a great pattern, you can find it on Ravelry it is the French Press Felted Slippers by Melynda Bernardi. I think you will really enjoy making this easy project, plus they are warm and cute!

Beautiful Day in the Bitterroot

There's a sign of just how dry the summer was. Water levels at Lake Como have receded so much the Forest Service removed the lake's boat dock for the season in early August. My kids and I went out to see the fall leaves and the lake, we were surprised how low it actually was. I guess I really have not taken the time to walk down to the lake in the fall. It was very quiet and peaceful, just a beautiful day! 

Lake Como is an agricultural reservoir for the Bitterroot Irrigation District, which draws water down for irrigators all over the valley.  

Finishing Sunflower Gatherings

I have finally attached the outer border. I have the border applique to cut out and sew on then I am ready to quilt! There are 106 leaves to cut out and sew on so this will be an ongoing project. Below are the photos I took today.

The photo below on the right is another project I started long ago, I am going to try to get the hand quilting finished this month. It will go in one of the newly painted rooms!

 A little candy corn helps any project! 

                                                        

Prairie Sisters Vintage Market

I went to the Prairie Sisters Vintage Market last weekend at Fort Missoula. They had several vendors with vintage goods, antiques, collectibles, retro finds, salvaged goods, vintage clothing and handcrafted items. It was a fun way to spend a beautiful day outdoors.   

I included photos of my purchases for the day. I found this vintage wrought iron magazine rack. A beautiful vintage hand embroidered and crocheted edged table cloth. A crocheted table runner with two matching pieces and a small braided rug. I am looking forward to their next event! 

Time to Decorate for Fall

Do you change things around in your house for fall? I have been looking forward to getting all of my fall decorations out, so to me when school starts...it’s fall. I have a lot of fun decorations and I like to add one new thing every year. I just love the fall colors, leaves, weather, football, cozy cardigans, pumpkin spice lattes, extra blankets and apple everything!

I love the fall colors it makes my house feel warm and happy.

Wow! How Time Flies

It has been a very long time since I updated this blog! I created this blog to get more things done and I did, but I didn’t keep the blog up to date. Last spring my daughter graduated with her Pharm D! We are very proud of her; she is now part of a residency program and has started a very busy life. I was lucky enough to have my youngest daughter home this summer while she was working on an internship. We painted 6 rooms in my house and I am very grateful for her help! It was a very productive summer and I have a new upstairs!

Below are some of the photos of our summer:

I also included a current photo of our beautiful valley – we are currently under hazardous air quality due to the fires in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Sadly, for the last 10 years we have ended every summer with a smoke filled valley.   

Since the air is so bad outside I am ready to start my sewing and knitting projects again. Here is where I left off last February – on the Sunflower Gatherings quilts inner border. I will sew that on now and then proceed to the outer border. 

I am excited to finish this project since I have a newly painted wall to hang this quilt, I can’t wait!