A potential UFO (but hopefully not)

One thing I love to work on in the summer months is embroidery. It is a lightweight craft that travels easily and can really be done almost anywhere. I've been really wanting a sampler embroidery type quilt for a while and have wanted to keep it a simple black and white.

So when I needed a quick project to take with me on a day trip I decided to whip up a block and see what I could do with it. I used my quilting stencils as my design and made the blocks rather large. Pictured is actually the second block that I've been working on. I finished the first one a while back and have been making steady progress on this one.

It is so easy and is a nice relaxing project to work on while sitting in the grass now that the days are getting warm enough for me to be outside. I have yet to decide how large this will end up being, but I'm kinda making it up as I go.

As for it's potential to be a UFO, that will come once the top is finished and I will have to work on actually quilting it. That's where a lot of my quilts go through a UFO phase. But someday it will get done, it's all a matter of when.

A quilt in progress...

So I am the only one planning for Christmas already? I hope not. With my husband retiring from the military and starting his second career, money is going to be tight and our already limited budget is about to get more limited. I want to give my family a nice Christmas, so I have started my shopping now and get a few things here and there as I can afford them.

My favorite gifts to give are always the handmade ones. This year I am making one person a quilt with hand stitched lighthouses at the center of each block. This is the first one I have almost finished. There are two more embroidery blocks to finish and then to start adding borders and piecing.

There will be a total of eight lighthouses, so I have to come up with something for the center of my nine block quilt. I'm actually kind of excited to see how this one turns out. It's been a while since I've done a quilt like this. It should be done before Christmas, and I am planning quilts for at least one other person, so lets see how this all turns out!