Merry Christmas

A Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

This and That

This weekend I watched the Georgia-Florida football game and increased my quantity of gray hairs.  To be so far ahead and then win by only three points was truly an “edge of the chair” four hours.  Go Dawgs!

I live in a very small town about twenty miles from Athens, GA.  We have spent our late summer weeks in the middle of a very hot and often nasty political campaign.  Our local newspaper editor has sided with the liberals and has not been unbiased about who he is supporting nor have the feature writers in their columns.  It would be so nice if the newspaper could just present the true facts of each canidate and let the people vote for who they want to.

I enjoy television.  Living alone I find that it is something to do to pass the time especially at night.  Of course I usually have some handwork in my lap or have the laptop in my lap.  But this TV season it is just hard to fine shows that I enjoy or have an interest in.   I am not interested in The Real Housewives of whatever town they live in, nor do I enjoy Survival or Amazing Race type programs.  And my goodness the so called comedy programs I do not even think about watching those.  I like programs that have a story line with a beginning and an ending.  I lean more toward the mystery TV programs.  And I love Downton Abby and will be so glad when it returns.

Books are my life savers.  I love to read and I like to take my time reading a book and savor every word. Currently I am reading Sycamore Row by John Grisham and I think it will be a good read.  I just finished reading Changing Shadows by Phillip Herman, a new author.  Really enjoyed the story line and I like his writing style.

Quilting is my passion and currently I am in the process of making a quilt for a sweet three year old.  She is a family friend and this quilt was requested by one of my children to give to her for Christmas.

My last comment is on Daylight Saving time.  I really wish they would just select one or the other and stick with it all year.  It would simplify life.

Family Quilts

I quilt on Monday's with a group at our local Methodist Church.  We have all types of quilts brought into us to quilt.  Honestly some of them are so ugly you want to run out the door with them and throw them into the dumpster.  Many of them are so worn until the fabric starts tearing as you quilt.  But I have learned that each of these quilt have a story to tell and most of them were pieced by a family member who was loved and respected by the now owner of the quilt top.

This quilt top came into us by way of a middle aged lady who said it was pieced by her grandmother and great aunt.  It is one of the few things this lady has that belonged to her grandmother so it is indeed a special treasure. 

Our group quilted the top and when we spoke with the owner about the binding she started telling us where in her home the quilt would be on display on a quilt rack.  The bedroom is decorated in antiques and the iron bed is painted black.  In this quilt there are a few solid black blocks and a few printed black blocks.  The owner asked if we could sew a binding in black to coordinate with her bedroom decor.  I found the perfect binding, a small black and white print.  In this picture the binding has not been sewn to the back but you can see how it just brings everything together and tones down the bright pinks and blues.

Wish I could have shown you the full quilt but in my household now there is only one person with only two arms.  It is truly a sweet quilt and I know the owner with consider it a family treasure.

Back To Quilting

I haven’t blogged in the past month mainly because I had nothing to show or say.  I have been very busy trying to get my yard in shape for the winter.  Shrubs and trees have been trimmed and shaped.  Rocks have been moved in order to reduce the size of a flower bed by my mailbox and thirty bags of mulch have been spread in flower beds.  Because of the excessive spring and summer rains we now have excessive ant beds in the yard so I have been aggressively dealing with those little stinging creatures.  All quilting was stopped.

Yesterday I finally went to the sewing room and was successful in sewing a SOAR bag.  Our church helps support a mission project in Mexico.  Each fall SOAR bags are sewn by volunteers.  These bags are approximately 13 x 17 with drawstrings and marked with a child’s age and gender.  Our church members then take a bag or bags and fill them with gifts for that child.  Sometimes in December the bags are collected and transported to Mexico and given to children as Christmas gifts.  Most of the children live in small remote villages in Mexico.  I am going to try and make bags for next Christmas and the bag I just finished yesterday was a sample to see if I could follow the sewing directions I was given.  With a few modifications I can make it work.   

Fabric for a quilt is sitting on the cutting table and I am now motivated to get started planning and cutting into it for the next quilt.

Gatlinburg Trip, Again

I had posted a blog earlier this month about my visit with my daughter to Gatlinburg and had "borrowed" two pictures from a State of Tn. website.  It was not a happy experience, the borrowing, not the trip.  I apparently have brought some type of adware into my computer and now every picture that comes up on my computer  has an icon in the left corner showing a small black circle with a white magnifying glass.  When you hover over the magnifying glass you bring up an ad from some source that I have never heard of.  I have run virus protection and nothing shows up as a virus.  I will have to wait until one of the younger generation comes to visit and let them see if they can resolve the issue.

Back to my Gatlinburg trip, it was wonderful.  I did not have to worry about driving, making wrong turns or finding a place to eat or stay.  It was all taken care of.  Gatlinburg is a busy city but the surrounding mountains are beautiful.  On our return trip we came home through the Smokey Mountain National Park and it was breathtakingly beautiful.  One of the best things about the trip was we stopped at three quilt stores. 

Another gift of Love

I am one lucky woman to have family they love me so much that they send flowers to celebrate this BIG birthday.  These are from my baby sister, Edwina and her husband John.  I call her my "baby sister" but she has always felt like my "first born" as there is eleven years difference in our ages.  Thanks you baby sister and brother in law.  I am going to have a beautiful weekend birthday.

Special Birthday Wishes

Tomorrow is a special birthday for me.  One of those "BIG" ones.  I received these today from somebody I love very much.  She and her husband were so sweet and thoughtful to send them to me as she has been going through some serious health issues.  Thanks to both for remembering this special birthday. 

Another Finished Quilt Top

Another finished quilt top.  Many of these fabrics I won in a drawing.  Red, black, gray--GO GEORGIA BULLDOGS!

Sunday Change of Plans

I had intentions of going to church this morning but awoke with a migraine headache.  A bummer as my headaches only hurt a little but my eyes can only see bright zigzag lines and stars.  Only one thing to do, go crawl back into the bed which I did.  After sleeping another hour I was able to see but felt totally drained.  I had another cup of hot tea and a piece of cinnamon toast as I have heard that cinnamon is good for high cholesterol.

I have been working on a red, white, black and gray quilt.  I have to sew on the top borders and it will be ready to start quilting.  Pictures to follow.

This Week

This Week

This week has been an interesting week.  July 22 is nine months since my beloved sweet man died.  I thought it would be a depressing day but instead it was a day of more accepting of the events that led to his death.  I have gone over and over the decisions I made the last week of his life and I can now accept that the right decisions were made that were best for him.  I will always love him and have good, loving memories of our fifty-six years together.  He was just the best husband any woman could ever want and I feel so blessed that he chose me to be his wife and the mother of our wonderful children.

 

Monday I opened up our quilting space for our Monday quilt group.  We finished up one quilt and put another quilt on one of the frames.  It was the third Monday of the month and that means we go out to eat.  Had a tasty lunch at Sugar and Spice, a local eatery in the back of our downtown drug store.  I love their delicious chicken salad plate with fresh fruit and pasta salad.   We quilted until almost three and just had so much fun.  These ladies are truly my dear, dear friends.

 

Tuesday I went to my Nicholson quilt group, another group of dear friends.  I have been working on some Dresden plate blocks.  Actually they are Dresden plate fan blocks using five wedges.  These were left over from another Dresden plate quilt.  We played around with the blocks trying to see what looked best and I think we decided the wavy, drunkard path, design is best for the blocks that I will have.

 

Monday I had a call from my doctor’s office informing me my cholesterol was “horrible”.  Since my body cannot handle the statin drugs I have to try and control it with diet and exercise.  Honestly, I have not been very good at doing either since my DH died.  So I am back to walking and watching everything I eat and making much better choices. 

 

Today, Wednesday, I start working on a 50^th birthday dinner for our number 3 child.  When I think about having three of our four children fifty or older I suddenly feel older.  But we will have fun gathering together as a family and celebrating.

 

I hope you have a happy day and get to spend time in your quilt room.

Another UFO Finished

I loved making this quilt even when it seemed to take forever.  Life always had me doing something else.  But it is finished.  This is from the Be Attitudes book by Nancy Halvorsen.  I like to give my quilts "names" on the label and I named this one "Words to Live By". 

Unexpected Winner

 

 

I was so excited to be the winner of the above book from Vicke Welsh  at http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/field_trips_in_fiber/.  Paula Nadelstern has always been one of my favorite quilter and I look forward to reading every word of her book.

Thanks Vicke.

A Birthday Present

 This is a quilt that I made as a birthday present for one sweet blue eyed boy.  Now to get it quilted.

What are you Reading?

I love author C. J. Box and especially his Joe Pickett series.  This is the newest book that just came out and today I purchased it for my Kindle.  Cannot wait to get into it as I know it will be another winner.  If you have not read this author I would suggest you start with book one of the Joe Pickett series and read in order.  The descriptions of the Wyoming scenery makes you feel like you are right there.

Fabric for New Quilt

 

As you can see from this photo there are blue, green and brown fabrics on the design wall ready to be cut for the next quilt.  An odd combination for a quilt?  Think blue background, brown owl and limb, green leaves.  Check back in a few weeks and maybe, that is a big maybe, I will have some of the blocks sewn together.

Design Wall January 28 2013

 

These are the Swoon quilt blocks that I have been working on.  It started with one yard of fabric a friend brought me from Hawaii.  It will definitely have a Hawaiian  theme.

Finished Quilt 2013

This is the first quilt I completed in 2013.  The fabrics were from one of my sweet daughters and I added a few from my stash.  I love this quilt block and it was so much fun to sew.  Enjoy.

Happy New Year