Making binding

Yay! I finally finished this topper!

#SummerSolsticeQAL pattern by Melissa Corry of HappyQuiltingMelissa

I won!

I had a lot of fun blog hopping the past couple of weeks. Two of the blog hops were for Island Batiks with their brand ambassadors: Tammy Silvers' new line "Coastal Mist", and then there was the New Beginnings Blog Hop. Then I went hopping with Fresh Snow Hop from Marian's Seams to Be Sew blog.

I was diligent in following these hops, because I have fallen in love with Island Batiks. And I must have been pretty lucky, because I won a few prizes!

From Maria Michaels Designs, I won a one-year subscription to Quilt Pattern Magazine online. That looks like a great resource and a fun, sharing community of quilters.

Next, Nancy Myers of "Patchwork Breeze" gave away this gorgeous 5-inch "stamp pack" of Sea Canyon by Island Batik. The colors are so beautiful, and I need to narrow down what I want to do with the pack! Island Batik really knows how to do purple, green, and blue right!

Oh yeah, I can't forget the reason that I won! Nancy wanted help naming her design for the New Beginnings challenge quilt that she created. I don't know if I'm great at names, but I do love puns and wordplay. I replied with a few of my ideas, and Nancy's husband read through all the replies/entries, and chose mine: "Dancing DNA". What a fun contest, and I feel honored to name her design!

And finally, I won this little bundle of 1/2-yards of autumn-colored Island Batiks. Look at those camouflaged deer on that pumpkin-orange background! And pine needles and swirls. This one was from Pam Geisel's blog "For Quilts Sake". She is so talented and creative, and it's a lot of fun following her blog. I love seeing what she's up to with each challenge as an Island Batik Ambassador.

And then, sometime in November or December, I won a giveaway from APQ (American Patchwork and Quilting): an archive of their magazines and patterns! How cool is that! It's going to be a great resource and a lot of fun to read all the digital back-issues.

I feel pretty special right now, and I'm so thankful for these wonderful prizes. They've been bright spots in a very snowy winter with my health problems. They make me want to try harder to get up and get through this pile of quilttoppers and quilt them, and also inspire me to practice designing. I would really like to be an ambassador for Island Batik and Bernina some day!

January progress, February's beginning

Happy new year!

Sorry that I'm late in wishing you a great new year! I'm hoping to feel better enough that I can get more done and create some more finishes.

This past month of January, my goal was to finish quilting the two mini ModaLove quilts.

I've also been able to spend more time quilting, more days of this past month, than I have in a very long time. I haven't been feeling well for such a long time, and I'm trying to push through it.

The other part of my goal for January was to finish the quilting on the Autism Swoon for my son. I didn't finish, but I feel like I'm making a lot of progress. 

A couple of weeks ago, after I pulled it out, my son came  this up to me and said "Mom, are you going to finish my quilt now? I really need a bigger quilt before I'm a big teenager!"

I laughed and asked "Did you just remember about it, or did you see that I pulled it out to work on it again?"

"I see you're working on it again! When will it be done?"

He just turned 10, and the baby just turned 3, so that means I've been working on this quilt for just over 3 years. Yikes.

This big quilt is really heavy, because my husband insisted that I use double batting. Not only will it be warm, but it will feel a little like a weighted blanket, which has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in people with autism.

This is great, but it's also made it difficult and slow and energy-zapping to push and pull it through my little Bernina to quilt it. Sometimes it just hasn't been fun, and sometimes I've wanted to cry. I haven't touched it for at least a year or more, because my health problems have zapped my energy and motivation and mental health. I know what's going on now, and trying to get treatment, so I'm determined to finish this quilt!