December 13: Comfort Quilt Quilting

While I was supervising/teaching Rob to serge and sew, I was taking care of quilting a few comfort quilts that have been hanging around waiting for attention.  I also pinned up all the Christmas gift wrapping pillowcases and will serge them tomorrow.  Now I m working on the binding of my own Christmas quilt.  Feels like I have accomplished a good amount today.  Love it when a plan comes together!

December 13: Another Finish

This is Kevin's class project for his 9 credit class.  Each phase of the construction and finishing included learning some different aspects and then applying them to this piece. 

For the moment it is going to be living in our hallway, but I am certain that it will find the perfect place in our new home once we settle in South Dakota.  It is a beautiful piece!

December 12: WOW! So Adorable!

Deb, thank you!  Thank you! 

Deb, one of my dearest friends ever made this for me. Don't know who might have designed it, but I absolutely love it!  I am pretty certain I should have waited for Christmas, but I have never been able to stare at wrapped gifts without the overwhelming desire to peek, besides we don't have a tree to put it under this year.  Colors are perfect -  I can have it out all winter. 

December 12: Carving Today, but Quilting Top Priority

Today is my carving class and I am really looking forward to it.  However, I am in the throes of some fun quilting, so it has taken my focus for the past week.  I am working on a quilt for us and all I have left is the hand stitching of the binding, which I started last night.  Want to have it finished in quick order because several others are calling to me.

Thought I would share my "Just Enough" experiences with you concerning this quilt.  I had just enough...

..batting

..backing

..binding






My original emerald ring had gotten too big to wear, and I had been hating how the height of the setting would always seem to be twisted around and jabbing into my hand so I stopped wearing it.  Kevin would ask about it from time to time, but I just put him off saying "not yet".  Well on Saturday the time had come.  We took my original in and had it reset in a smaller size, somewhat similar but lower height band.  Since all my other jewelry is white gold, we changed to it, as well.   I have been wearing it since we picked up on Saturday evening, and it is delightful.  I am Irish and my birthday is in May so it is my kind of ring.  Guess I am a spoiled, but loved woman.

The other thing of note that comes with a scary photo is that I finally have my red and black flannel shirt.  However it is a nightshirt and black long johns to go with it.  It is extremely cozy but also one size fits all!  As Kevin would say, "I'm styling now!"

December 9: Wonderful, Inspirational Evening

We invited two of the woodworking students out for pizza last night and then promised to show Rachel my HQ.  Rachel delivered her part of our barter.  Isn't it a gorgeous trivet?  It is made of cherry and maple.  (If you recall, I patched up a woodworking apron for her.)

 After a an hour of enjoyable conversation over our pizza, we headed for the apartment. Both Rachel and Chris had been in the apartment when other students lived here.  It felt good to hear them say that it smelled much better and that we had made it a cozy place.  They also shared a few stories that explained all the nail holes in the bathroom wall and a few other things.

We followed that up with the very best part of the evening.  If you know me very well, you know I love to share what I know.  In this case I learned more than I ever expected.   I generally offer to let people who express n interest take a test run on the HQ if I have time to load some fabric.  I planned ahead on this one and put a yard of muslin in with blue thread.  Most people are very anxious about it and use a death grip on the handles, but Rachel and Chris were pretty fearless and talented right out of the gate.

Once they did some test runs the fun really began.   Kevin hinted that maybe I should not push them to do anything else, but they seems so genuinely interested that I just told them to have at.   Rachel started with a continuous line drawing of Chris.  Then Chris followed up with a Rachel.  There was no shyness or hesitation in their efforts.  The person posing stood in the same place each time and could not see what was being done.  The rest of us commented all the way through about different aspects and the laughter was contagious!

They did combined efforts on Kevin and me. They each did 1/2 of each of us and then embellished with tools of our trades.  I will be taking the whole piece to the party at the woodworking school tonight and then I have plans to cut up the individual drawings and give the first two to them and have Kevin build frames for ours.  I am going to serge the edges and mount them in a shadowbox setting. 

Aren't these amazing?  What would happen if they had more practice?  Both of them are finished with school in a couple of days, but the offer is there for them to come back and be creative.  It was really inspiring and freeing for me.

December 8: Snowy Day

 It snowed overnight.  It is not deep and it is not the first snow of the season, but we were in Virginia when the first substantial snow fell.  Just thought you might like to see the view out our front door.

I finished making all the rows for the Twister quilt, but my plan for finishing the top today went amok when Sandi called to say she could not make it over today.  That opened other possibilities, including extra cleaning and then playing with fabric.  I have 7 pillowcases to make and a two-side quilt for Miss Anna Banana.  The pillowcases are used to wrap presents.  The quilt will happen in the next few weeks but it is not a Christmas gift.

 Anna chose the fabrics - she is ONE.  Now I need to think through exactly what is going to happen with them.  I definitely need to add some purple, pink and probably blue.  One side will be all about the princesses.  The other side will be Dora.  I have one side pretty well thought out, the other side will require some thinking.  Of course since it is for a granddaughter, I love the challenge it represents.

Next Tuesday I am going to spend with one of guys from the wood school.  We are going to be sewing panels for his project.  He does not know anything about the sewing machine, so it could be interesting.  I plan to let him cut and sew whatever he feels he is capable of doing.  Expect a photo or two.

I have about 2 hours before I need to get ready for our date.  We are going for pizza with two students from the school.  Then we are coming back here so Rachel can see how the HQ works.  I loaded some muslin that will eventually become a furniture pad so that she can actually try stitching.  I love to mess with people's minds.  lol

December 7: Several Things to Share

Happy ????th Birthday, Deb!  Wish we were in Texas to help you celebrate.  Eat some ice cream for Kevin.  Love you

This morning was all about practicing my carving.  I will let the photos speak for themselves.  Remember that I said it is practice.  lol

This afternoon and evening will be all about putting the rest of the Christmas Twister blocks together. There are only 11 rows of blocks (121) to go, so it is something I can accomplish.  However, since every seam is on the bias, I do need to be focused and remember to be gentle whenever I adjust things.  That has worked for the other rows and the lap size one, but I am a bit nervous about manipulating everything as this thing grows into a queen-size version.  I plan to have it loaded for quilting this weekend, so that will help me stay focused.  The holly on the fabric was my inspiration for the holly that I am carving.


Last night I was Skyping with two of my grandsons and one of my granddaughters.  We have a real routine as they crowd around and try to get my attention. (ages 4, 2 3/4, and 1.  We laugh like crazy, read books, talk about life, and throw lots of kisses.  The younger two even kiss the monitor.  About 5 minutes into our conversation, Dean says something about having to go.  At first I thought he meant did I have to go, but he elaborated.  He said he had some things he needed to take care of and needed to get going.  He then told me that he would call tomorrow if I was not busy and if Grandpa was going to be home.  In the background, my son popped in and said, "What is it that you have to do?"  Dean said something about taking care of business  I was trying not to laugh, but he sounded so grown up.  Is that what we tell him when we sign off?  He is a detail kind of guy.