Posting Through the Superbowl #1: Woolen Doings

I don't usually watch the Superbowl unless my team (the NY Giants) are playing and they didn't even come close this year!  Compounding things, my DH and I usually do our monthly warehouse club shopping at the end or beginning of the month.  We had a performance to go to yesterday so today was the day to get it done.  We expected a glut of people at the stores but I guess most people had prepared for their parties early because the stores were relatively empty.  So now that the shopping is done and all the groceries have been put away, I can relax, blog and quilt!  Oh, and watch Downton Abbey!!

There will be three posts today: some on my doings during the past week, my "Get It Done" challenge recap and (hopefully) a report on the Slow Sunday Stitching I hope to work on once the first two posts are done.

Having finally gotten a new Christmas quilt to the flimsie stage (see "High Strung +2" posted here), I had also put on the project list for this year a couple of wool ornament kits that I want to do as a personal block-of-the-month project:

Since this was the last week of the month I needed to get started! So here's block 1:

I'm machine stitching these with Perle Cotton #12 having learned from Rosie McCready DeLeon's website that #12 Perle is similar to working with two strands of embroidery floss.  For me the advantage of using Perle is getting to do that by machine.  This is helpful since I've already got another hand work embroidery project going for Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching (and that will be a separate post today). 

Also on the wool and Block of the Month list is getting back to my Heart & Home BOM.  I had started the blocks back in March 2012 to participate in Sinta Borland's "BOM Rehab" challenge (her blog is Pink Pincushion).  The kits had been purchased that year from Primitive Gatherings so have been percolating since then which is why I want to get it back underway and hopefully finished this year.  I pulled out the stash of kits and the next block (#8 of 12) is this one.

The wool appliques are stitched onto backgrounds of Japanese Taupe fabrics using wool thread.  I had been able to stash a bunch of Aurifil Lana wool back when I started this.  When I pulled out the kits, I found that I actually also needed to finish the detail stitching on the last block so was pleased to also get that done.

 

With the first two projects needing so much stitching done, I was only able to get the last of the wool projects started.  When I finished my "High Strung +2" quilt top, I got started on a new project: "Vintage Cherries For Valentines" based on design from the same book.  Here's the original design from the book:

and mine so far...

When I saw the quilt in the book the color palette reminded me of chocolate candy and Valentine's Day.  That in turn reminded me that last year had I bought a wool table topper pattern on Ebay. I loved the opportunity to do another wool project and welcomed the opportunity to work it in with the other projects I've got going. 

As you can see, I only got as far as tracing out the templates onto freezer paper and starting to pull some stash for it.  I have high hopes to get both the "Cherries" quilt and this little table topper completed by Valentines Day or shortly after.  I have (yet) another wool project I've long wanted to get up on the dock and hopefully once this last one is finished, I will be able to start on that one.  Nothing like working with wool in the winter!

P.S.  As I publish this, it looks like it's the second quarter and the score is tied for the game. Ok, I may not be watching but I am interested in what's going on!