Wishing everyone in Blogland a very . . .

Weight loss journey - 2008 review

Last week our Weight Watchers meeting was cancelled due to the snow, it had been two weeks since my last weigh-in. Since I wasn't a very good girl during the holidays, and my weight had been increasing a little the two weeks before that, I figured the scale would not be nice to me this morning. What a happy surprise to find I'd lost 1.4 pounds, and now weight the least I've weighed it four or five years! I guess walking those three miles through the snow to Starbucks five times in the last 10 days really made a difference.

So - since July 2nd I've lost 26 pounds. Though I wanted to be closer to goal by the end of the year I am happy with what I've achieved.

This morning I resolved to really get back on track and continue the new trend during weigh-ins. Here are my 2009 goals:

1. Achieve my weight loss goal and lifetime Weight Watcher membership. I have between 18 and 20 more pounds to lose.

2. Focus more on eating healthy, with lots more fruits and vegetables included every day.

3. Drink my daily allowance of WATER - coffee counts for WW now but I'd rather it be water.

4. Move more - aiming for 10,000 steps per day. I bought a WW pedometer at the meeting this morning - I'll have Fred measure my stride this afternoon so I can program it to my specifics. I'll start wearing it tomorrow.

5. Do better when it comes to planning meals, choosing at least three or four new recipes out of my many WW cookbooks to try each week.

Since this is my health, these goals are more important than the quilting goals - if I could find a place outside my sewing room to put my ironing board permanently I bet I could increase that daily step total much more easily! At least longarming should help the numbers!

Dates have been added

I thought it would be interesting to add the dates I started each project to my sidebar lists. Take a look if you are interested. The oldest top waiting to be quilted was started in 1989. The oldest unfinished top is a long-term applique project started in 2003.

Goals for 2009

I've actually been thinking about next year's quilting goals for several weeks. Many different ideas have been marching through my brain, and it's hard to know which to choose and which should be discarded for another year. I want to challenge myself, but I also want to be realistic so I don't set myself up for failure.

Setting yearly goals has worked well, but having monthly goals worked well also. So I've decided to give both a try. I'll start with a list of things I want to accomplish in the next 12 months, followed by what I'll focus on in January. I figure if I take smaller bites it will be easier to finish the whole by this time next year. Worth a try, anyway - don't you think? So here's the list I've come up with:

1. Complete a minimum of at least two quilts per month, including quilting, binding and labeling. (The pictures in this post are some of my finished tops waiting to become true quilts.) I will strive for three, but will be happy with two.

2. Make steady progress on my long-term projects. I like the way Judy has listed hers on her sidebar with a bar graph to show the her progress on each one. I'm hoping I can figure out how to do this as I love the graphic, pictorial quality of the progress charts.

3. Use more fabric than I purchase so there is a decrease in the size of my stash - even if it's just a small decrease. I've given up fabric diets - they just don't work for me. I get too much pleasure and joy from bringing new fabric into the house now and then. I've started a weekly fabric journal, and hope to keep better track of yardage bought and used this coming year.

4. Use enough strips, strings, squares, triangles, and bricks from my scrap drawers and boxes so they are no longer stuffed to overflowing. I'll be happy with five or six quilts finished quilts from scraps by the end of the year - though I'll strive for more.

5. Now that I've successfully conquered the major part of my UFO problem, I will start working on the HSY's listed on my sidebar - pronounced "hussies". Almost all my hussies are "brazen" - meaning they are over a year old. I will strive to complete a minimum of 6 quilts in the coming year from this list - though I'd like it to be even more.

6. I will teach myself how to do invisible machine applique, and complete at least three small or one large project using this technique.

7. Learn to use new tools for my longarm - specifically my Circle Lord.

What are your quilting goals for this next year? Please either leave me a comment with the answer or answer on your own blog. If you've never set goals I encourage you to try it this next year - I promise you will accomplish more of you do.

Photo tutorials

I've added a new link to my "Photo Tutorials" website. This tutorial has actually been around for several months - I just now remembered to put in a link! It's really not a tutorial exactly, but between the photos and the text you should be able to make these blocks and/or the quilt is you should want to. This is the quilt I did for my "two color challenge" that Nicole proposed in May of this year.

It has been requested several times that I do a "tutorial" on how I fold my fabric so it stays so neatly on the shelves. Stay tuned - I hope to do that by the end of the week.

2008 accomplishments

I know I've said it many times before - I can't believe how fast this year flew by! I think it must be my age - I know time never passed this quickly when I was younger. And it never passed this quickly when I was working either LOL!

Since the new year is less than 48 hours away I figured this is a good time to look back to see what I accomplished this year quilt-wise. I've been calling each year of the last 6 years "the year of the UFO", but by the end of each year I never seemed to have fewer UFO's than I started with. Granted, the list was different because I'd finish some, but I always seemed to start as many new quilts as I finished. I guess retiring was the key, because I'm really happy with what I accomplished this year.

In terms of my goals:

1. To use more fabric than I purchased - well, I didn't do so good with this one. My shelves and baskets are emptier, which was really my goal - well done there. But I bought several bolts of fabric - 60 yards alone of Kona cotton - a red, a cheddar, and a bone. Plus a 15 yard bolt to use for sashings on my Civil War Diaries and Love Letters quilts. Plus a 50 yard bolt of background for my mid-Century album and Civil War applique quilts. Plus a couple others that escape me, and since I'm at Joseph's house I can't check. So even though my shelves are emptier the bolts sitting on top of them are bigger and more numerous that at the beginning of the year. I must do better with this goal this next year!

2. To have less than 10 unfinished tops on my list by the end of the year - I'm very happy with the results of this goal. I started the year with close to 30 unfinished tops. This has been reduced to nine long-term projects, 4 of which were started this year. Only one unfinished top (other than long-term projects ) remains from the beginning of the year - the project I showed in yesterday's post.

3. Make at least three quilts from my scrap bins - I completed 5! Unfortunately the bins are fuller than ever!

4. Reduce the number of unquilted flimsies to less than 20. As you can see I didn't do that but that's OK. When I wrote this goal I forgot that all the finished tops that were unfinished tops at the beginning of the year would be added to the list! I did reduce the list by a total of 28 quilts - that's more than two finished quilts per month. I'm very happy with that result! Several I thought would be finished aren't, but several others that I thought I wouldn't complete are completed. That makes me a happy quilted.

5. Finish organizing all of my scraps - Done! Everything is stripped, squared, triangled, bricked or otherwise cut into usable sizes and shapes and sorted into the appropriate plastic drawers and boxes. I gave out when I had a small number of scraps left, so I sent them off to another blogger who put them to good use making charity quilts. I was also crumbed out, so I tossed the rest of my crumbs. This set off such a flurry of comments objecting, so I've since found a happy recipient of all the crumbs I produce.

In addition to the above I started and finished one quilt during the year - Lily Abigail's baby quilt. I also turned two VERY old stitchery projects into finished pillows. Lastly, I pieced a backing for every finished top, pressed them all, and hung each top and backing together in my longarm room closet - all ready to be quilted.

I hope everyone else reviews their accomplishments for the year - I find these posts very interesting. Tomorrow, as 2008 winds down into history, I hope to post goals for 2009. If not tomorrow then Thursday at the latest.

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve celebration everyone!

************

Gratitudes:

1. My love of fabric and sewing, plus the skills I've developed over the years, that have enriched my life so very much.

2. All the wonderful people I've met through quilting over the years, both near and far.

3. My wonderful Tangled Thread friends - I love you all!

4. My kind, patient, and understanding husband, who has put up with my fabric and quilt obsession for many, many years even though he doesn't understand it at all.

5. My marvelous kids, their spouses, and grandkids, who are always happy to receive another quilt!

One final finished flimsy for 2008

The double four-patch top is now finished. As it turned out I wasn't able to piece the backing tonight so that must wait for Wednesday. I like how this turned out. Normally I would have made the borders wider, but it was already a little bigger than the requested size for a hotel hope quilt so I didn't want to make it much bigger. I hope to get this quilt and the two postage stamp quilts quilted by the end of this coming weekend, and bound if possible. Greeting the new year with three finished quilts in the first week would be great.

My first quilty goal for 2009

Remember these round robin blocks? I posted about them during my second month of blogging. I loved the blocks, but needed to figure out a way to tie the blue block in the upper left corner to the other blocks. I read everyone's suggestions and pondered all the ideas. I finally tucked it away into a drawer. It resurfaced several times this year when one of my goals was for as many of my unfinished tops to become finished flimsies as possible. I achieved that goal, with the exception of several long-term applique projects. Except for this set of blocks. The last time I got it out I took out the basting stitches in order to remove the blocks from the round robin grid, and took the two bear paw blocks apart. I played around with them a bit and then put them away in a drawer once again.

My design wall looked too bare after the double four patch was removed - I needed to fill it with something. So I removed these from the drawer and started playing. Suddenly I think I may be getting somewhere. This is the first time I've found an arrangement that's started to please me. I always knew I'd have to add some filler strips and a few more blocks. I decided the blue block would make a marvelous label for the back, on which I can list who made which blocks. I'm starting to get inspired.

So . . . my first quilty goal for 2009 is to make this into a finished top by the end of January and a finished quilt by the end of March. Doable? I think so!

Sunday Stash Report

This week was a "you use some, you buy some" sort of week. I did OK, considering that I didn't sew all week until yesterday. The package I ordered the week before arrived, however, so if I'd not sewn yesterday I would have moved considerably backwards - not the way I want to go!

I finished sewing the fabrics shown in this post into "new fabric" for quilt backs. When finished I wound it onto an empty bolt core, then counted the folds - two folds are approximately one yard. So this bolt of backing - now stored on top of one of the cabinets, used approximately 24 yards. Even though it's not yet made into a quilt I'm calling it busted because it is off the shelves and ready to become quilt backs in no time at all. By the end of the day today I'm hoping the double four patch top will be finished and I'll have constructed a backing for it from this bolt. If you have large pieces of fabric that you don't want to use for anything else, and you don't mind scrappy backs, then I suggest you do this also. Sure clears off the shelves quickly!

Once that was done I shifted the fabric left on that one shelf to other shelves, leaving me an entire empty shelf. I've not seen an empty shelf for a LONG time, so I know I'm using more fabric that I am purchasing - hooray! I was very happy to shift all the fabrics from these two baskets onto the shelf, thus freeing up space on my floor so I could move the string tub out of the closet. These are all the fabrics that Eileen Trestain OK'd for my mid-19th century album quilt, and since that's one of my longterm projects I need to keep them separate. There is more room on that shelf, so I need to take her book in hand to find other reproduction fabrics in my stash that also fit into that era. I feel so much better about the room now - one basket emptied, another basket holding the two quilts that are waiting for binding to be finished, with the string tub in it's proper place at the end of the island with the second basket on top. And I still see empty spaces on my stash shelves that weren't there before!

Good thing, however, as 22 yards of new fabric came at the beginning of the week. Thanks to Kathie I learned that Tara at Sew Unique Creations has many reproduction fabrics at $5 per yard, including an entire line I'd not seen before. There was just nothing to do but order half-yard pieces of the entire collection, plus two yard pieces of a great black, cheddar, and double pink. These will go with me to class on Tuesday - hopefully Eileen will OK all of them for my Civil War Quilt quilts.

So - net stashbusting effort for this week is another two yards used. Net stashbusting efforts for the year - I don't have any numbers, but my shelves and baskets are emptier than they were at the beginning of the year so I'm guessing I may have actually accomplished some stash busting after all. It may be that most of that fabric is hanging in the closet with the 30 flimsies waiting to be quilted - I made a back for every quilt needing to be quilted. I still consider that fabric busted even if the quilt is finished - after all, it's in use, right?

Sewing at last! Plus a little blog reading thrown in

I'm sure on a crazy sleep schedule - not sure why. I got up about 3:45 to go to the bathroom, and couldn't go back to sleep. I finally gave up about 4:20 and got out of bed. I needed to be quiet so Fred could sleep so I parked myself on the couch and read blogs on the laptop. Fred got up a little before six so we had some doughy cinnamon rolls (see Disaster! post) for breakfast and then really got going for the day. I made a pot of coffee and retired to the sewing room, where I spent most of the day constructing "new fabric" for quilt backs. More on that tomorrow when I post my stash report.

Once the quilt back "fabric" was finished I did a bit of rearranging in the sewing room. Hooray - things are better! More about that in tomorrow's post also. I heated a multitude of leftovers for our dinner - sure helped make room in the refrigerator! - and then moved on to the next project.

Remember these double four patches that I started at Quilt Camp in early November and finished a few days later? I'd found a stack of 4 1/2" squares cut from 19th century reproductions that I decided needed to be four patches. When I got home from camp I turned all the 4 1/2" squares from their plastic shoebox into four patches also. Then I robbed all the lights from the box of 4" squares and added a few more trimmed down from the drawer of 5" squares. When I was done I had 108 blocks total - exactly the number needed for a Hotel Hope quilt. (Of course - when I put them on the wall today I found three blocks with four patches turned the wrong direction LOL!)

I think these blocks have aged long enough. They need to be made into a finished quilt top if for no other reason so I can deduct the fabric from my stash count. I decided it would be easier to arrange the blocks if I moved the big board into the hall so I could use the entire design wall. Does the room ever feel bigger without that board in there! Sure wish I could keep it elsewhere for good, but somehow I don't think it would be a good idea to block the hall closet and partially block the door to the computer room for any length of time. At least we've got enough space to get into the room, but we'd better not need any towels, wash cloths, paper towels, toilet paper, spare light bulbs or anything else in that closet until this top is done - hopefully by tomorrow night!

The day after

I didn't kid myself about yesterday - I knew I still had stuff to do and wouldn't be able to get back to quilting. I was right. The day was spent running a couple errands, making gravy from turkey drippings (Fred and I are the only gravy eaters, so I didn't bother to make it on Christmas), and making turkey soup from the leftovers. There was lots of straightening up to do around the house - nothing major, just returning lots of things to the places they belonged.

Now that the stockings were down I returned the quilt to the table - I really missed having it there! That left a very bare wall under the quilt rack in the entry so I went looking for something to fill it. Surprise! I completely forgot about several of the quilts I finished this year. This one fits perfectly - I wonder how the stockings would have looked in front of this quilt? I also found the Thimbleberries "Winter Dazzle" that I finished this summer. It was to go on top of the treadle machine. Whoops! I guess there is always next year.

By last evening I was caught up - finally! I spend the last 30 minutes before bed doing a bit of straightening in the sewing room. I intend to spend most of the day there today. I don't even need to cook, thanks to a refrigerator of leftovers!

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Gratitudes:

1. The aroma of a pot of freshly brewed coffee

2. A wonderful day with all our kids and kidlets

3. The calm after a storm

4. An entire day to sew!

Happy White Christmas!

Wishing each and every one of you - no matter what your faith or nationality - a wonderful, happy holiday season. Thank you so much for visiting my blog - I appreciate each and every one of you.

(And especially those of you who leave a comment now and then!)

One Participant Needed

I have my third participant. Thank you to the others for your interest. Maybe next time!

I posted a "Pay It Forward" back in the fall. One person has had to drop out so I have space for one more participant. So please leave me a comment if you would like to receive something handmade by me in the new year.

For any reader who doesn't know how it works, here goes -

I am one of the three people who committed that I'd participate in a "Pay It Forward" last fall. This meant that the person to whom I committed Julie will send me a hand made gift sometime in the next 6-12 months (or sooner if she can). She sent me a beautiful fabric basket, which I posted about shortly after it came.

In turn I promise to send a hand made gift sometime in the next 6-12 months to the first three people who comment and commit themselves to playing. Note - just to make sure there is no misunderstanding - I already have two - I just need one more. In order to play you must post the "Pay It Forward" message to your own blog, and promise to send handmade gifts to the first three people who leave you a comment committing themselves to playing along.

(I sure hope that makes sense - if it doesn't and you're not sure how this works just ask me.)

Disaster strikes!

The cinnamon rolls had been in the oven about 5 minutes - at my best guess. They'd had their "oven spring" where they jump in size as they get hot, but hadn't cooked enough for the "spring" to be baked in.

Suddenly the power went out. Then it came back on. Then it went out again. It came back on again. It went out. This time it didn't come back on. Called the kids to see if I could finish baking them there. We were running around getting ready to head out the door when the power came back on.

I put them back in the oven to finish baking but the damage was done. They've shrunk to half the height they should be - one to two inches instead of 3 to 4 inches. Fred and I just did a taste test - no way are these going to be given as gifts. (If you click on the picture you can see how badly they shrunk in height. Maybe this is a hidden good thing - I'm now much less likely to eat them and screw up my diet!)

I guess our friends at Applebee's will have to wait another week for their Christmas present - and I guess it will be New Year's rolls!

Yum yum! Part 2

The dough has risen twice so I've punched it down and rolled it out. If you want BIG rolls then make the rectangle narrower in width.

I melt a whole cube of butter - these are NOT diet rolls - to spread on the dough.

Add lots of granulated sugar. Does anyone else still have ancient Tupperware like mine - or any avocado colored kitchen utensils LOL?

Sprinkle lots of good quality cinnamon over the butter and sugar.

Sometimes I add raisins - dark or golden - or currents. This time I'm trying pecans - I've not done that before. Sure wish I'd chopped the pecans BEFORE I put the pastry cloth and dough on the breadboard!

Carefully roll up the dough.

Slice and put the slices in the pan. If you want bigger rolls (see above) make your slices much fatter. My pans were made many years ago by my father - a very skilled sheet metal mechanic - for my mother. Thirty-two slices fit exactly so I shape and cut the dough accordingly. When all are sliced and in the pan they are ready now for one last rising. A warm place is needed for that. At our house I've found the best place is on the counter in the bathroom - just turn the heat up to 80 and close the door. Fred hates that I use more electricity to do this but he likes the rolls too much to complain.

My hero!

Fred's not normally the wuss - he works out diligently 3-4 days a week and I sit on my butt - but he's stayed inside since the snow began, other than a couple trips to the mailbox and I'm the one that's traipsing around and having a ball. So I was surprised when he said he was going out to shovel snow. And we don't even have a proper snow shovel. He wanted to be sure UPS or the mail carrier could get to the door with packages. (How did he know I have fabric coming today or tomorrow? He doesn't know I went a bit nuts ordering but it will probably be hard to hide it when it arrives since he's out of school LOL!) He came in for awhile - I thought he was finished - but he's back out there again. I've been whining about running out of toilet paper but he's working on the walk to the front door - that's not going to help us get to the Costco!

I talked to Rick this morning and he said he made it to Fred Meyer successfully yesterday, and that the CRV drove beautifully in this stuff. Good to hear as we need to venture the mile and a half to Costco very soon - we have only 6 rolls left! I can make do if we run out of many things but not that!

Tangled Threads is supposed to meet today at Kathi's, but she emailed all of us this morning and said we east town girls shouldn't try coming over to their side of town. She and Ted drove around their neighborhood and slid even with 4-wheel drive and slow speed.

Only two more sleeps until Christmas!

They're rising - soon the house will smell SO good!

I have a perfectly good Kitchen Aid mixer and bread machine, but I just love making breads by hand. If you've never kneaded bread dough I highly recommend it - it's a marvelous stress reliever! Cinnamon rolls must be treated somewhat gently, but bread can have the stuffing pounded out of it and it just makes it better.

Equal time for Sophie!

Chelsea sent some great pictures this evening. They are an hour away to the southwest and apparently got the worst of the storm. An additional 7 1/2" arrived last night and today, giving them a total of 16 1/2"! And no - her nose isn't red from the cold - rather from a tumble she took before today.

Sorry, but I'm breaking my promise!

I know - I promised I wouldn't talk about the weather - but I just can't help it! When it comes to snow I'm just a child at heart. This is only the third time in 34 years that we've had snow like this. Usually when we have any at all it's about two or three inches followed by freezing rain. All I want to do is sit and look at it, and walk in it, and run in it, and catch snowflakes with my tongue. I'm going to make a snow angel this afternoon and have Fred take my picture!

We now have over 10". I walked to Starbucks again this morning - a great workout. The only place to walk was on the street - the snow beside the road was knee deep and hard to walk in because there is a layer of ice with snow on top and below. Sometimes I broke through and sometimes I didn't - that plays havoc with balance!

I did fall once - when I plowed through to the side of the overpass so I could take this picture for the blog - of course! I was too close to the freeway sign - it filled a bunch of the screen so I stepped backwards so I could move the the right. Picture this now - my right foot broke through the ice so I'm stuck to my knee, while the left foot is on top of the ice and about 10" higher. Sat right down on my fanny and couldn't get up. Managed to turn over but couldn't get to my knees because one was way higher than the other. Of course by now I'm laughing hysterically trying to stand up. Must have been quite an amusing picture for the few cars that went by! Finally managed to get to my feet but it took a few minutes.


Here is a picture of the surface of one of the major north-south aterials - and this is after the snow plow has been through a few times! All the roads looked like this - or worse. The freeway wasn't much better. Only a little traffic out and about. Good thing - the only place to walk was in the street - everywhere else the snow was just WAY too deep.

The coffee was so good it was really worth it. Figured I got enough of a workout I had a Venti 2% Peppermint Mocha Twist - probably half my daily points allowance. Oh well - I don't think we'll get to WW on Christmas Eve morning to weigh in anyway! When I got home I decided to make a snow angel - would you believe I've never done that? Fred thought it was extremely silly and stupid but I didn't care. And here I thought I was smiling - I guess I was just too cold! - and once again had to struggle to stand up, even with Fred's help LOL! You can tell how excited he was to have his picture taken!

More snow pictures - I just can't help myself. I love, love, love this! Though it's certainly playing havoc with travelers - the airport has been closed for 3 days now and hundreds of people are stranded. We may very well be celebrating Christmas with our kids sometime later in the week.

Hooray - I'm finished!

The last of the Winter stoneware is out of the attic and into the kitchen and dining room. The babies have come out of the attic. They were really happy to be released from the big tubs - it was hard to breathe in there because the air was so stale. None of these babies have seen the light of day for years and years. Now that I have grandkids I think it's time to make some new seasonally appropriate outfits for the Cabbage Patch kids - I must have at least 20 different clothing patterns in my filing cabinet!

Now tomorrow I can focus on the cinnamon rolls. And maybe drag all the wrapping paper out of the attic and get busy on gifts? I hope I can use all of it - I'm getting very tired of the same paper year after year. When all the kids want is books, CD's, video games, DVD's and gift cards, one doesn't go through wrapping paper very quickly. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to shop for toddlers - I know I overbought and will have to put a few things away for birthdays. And most everything is bigger than anything I've wrapped for years - and will use lots and lots of paper LOL!

Well, it's snowing again - we're supposed to get 2-4 more inches by tomorrow morning, then snow showers Monday and Tuesday. It's not supposed to warm up until Christmas Eve. I'll be thrilled if the roads are clear but the rest of the ground and the trees are still covered. This is my 62nd Christmas, and I've never had a white one yet. But I always hope . . . .

It's finally looking like Christmas!

I don't ever remember being so late with my Christmas decorating. I finally finished the tree when I got back from Starbucks yesterday. We've been collecting ornaments for 40 years now - and have literally hundreds of them. Fred always says I don't need to put them all on the tree - I disagree! It just doesn't look right to me without them. This time there are even more on the big tree, because I didn't set up the smaller tree in the family room. I'm seldom in there - too busy sewing - and Fred doesn't care. I set aside about 2 dozen ornaments this year - things like the plastic M&M ornaments that came on the top of tubes of M&M's in stockings. I set aside a few I made - duplicates of some that are already on the tree. I've done this the last couple years - I'll let the kids look through them on Christmas to take what they want. Other than the ones I made, these are decorations that mean more to them than to us. Whatever is left will go to Goodwill - but it's just a drop in the bucket! I've not bought a single ornament this year - I can't remember the last time that happened. Oh well - there are still a couple days left to shop - if our roads clear!

Our big tree in the living room. If you'd like see and read about some of the ornaments go to this post and this one.

I did things a bit differently to the fireplace this year. I tucked an old garland at the back of the mantel, and hung the Merry Christmas needlepoint above. (It was above the piano in prior years.) Now that I see this picture I realize the needlepoint needs to be moved up a bit, but I've not gotten around to find a hammer. I just hung it on the hooks for the smaller picture that usually hangs there.

I hung the stockings differently this year also. I'm not at all sure I like them with the quilt behind them. I still need to get out a few bears and dolls for the bench.


Here is what they looked like last year. What do you think? Should the quilt go back onto the dining room table where it has always been before?


I didn't want to struggle putting the big garland over the archway to the dining room so I put it above the window instead. It wasn't any easier - it still fell down at least a dozen times while I was trying to "fluff" it. You an see the little feather tree that sits on the treadle machine too. It has more ornaments on it too, for the same reason.

I got a great deal on a table arrangement at Fred Meyer. This is the first time this table cloth has been used since the table quilt was finished. I think it's seen better days - I think it needs to be retired. Just in time for after-Christmas sales!

I wanted Christmas dishes for so long - and started collecting them once the kids graduated from college and Pfaltzgraff came out with this pattern. I call them my "winter dishes" and we use them until Valentine's Day. Don't really go with the blue kitchen do they? They usually come out the weekend after Thanksgiving - boy, am I late getting my act together this year!

I finished this table runner in January this year - one of my first UFO finishes. The blocks were made in 1992! I think it looks great on the coffee table. The sleigh looks a little lonely though - I think I need to put some greenery, etc. around it. And I need to make a couple little bears to sit with the big one. I used to sell these in two sizes - made hundreds of the little ones from beautiful wool coating fabric and sold them for $7.50 each - but over the years I've given away every last one of the little ones. One of these days, when I'm tired of making quilts . . . I still have lots of coating fabric in the attic . . . . You can see one of the newly finished pillows from UFO blocks on the couch.

Wishing all of you and yours a marvelously happy and healthy holiday season!

We are so blessed . . .

More than ever the focus of the season needs to be on giving.

I usually indulge in a frenzy of grocery shopping this time of year - not sure why since I need to cook only one holiday meal now instead of three or four. I guess it's become a habit. I make sure I have fresh yeast, butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon because I need to bake several batches of my cinnamon rolls. (For the recipe and photo instructions click here and here.)

Because of our dire weather predictions I really stocked up this year. The refrigerator is absolutely stuffed. After shopping earlier in the week I reorganized it and cleaned it out. I think I know where everything is - at least I hope I do! I wonder where I'll put the turkey to thaw come tomorrow? Our weather is certainly cold enough, so I can probably put the ham in the garage. The pantry overflows also - at least it did until I removed a couple cans yesterday. (This pantry is one of my favorite things about our past kitchen remodel - I just couldn't resist posting all the pictures.) And this doesn't even include the deep cupboard on top which holds - among many other things - the 18 boxes of Wheat Chex that Fred bought as they always have a great sale on this, his favorite cereal, every December. This is more or less organized - though it seems I can never find what I want without looking behind both sides of the swinging center section.

The freezer is absolutely stuffed too, as is the freezer on the refrigerator. And it desperately needs organization too - I don't know what's all in here or where it is. A job for right after Christmas. With our weather so cold I don't have to worry about things thawing - I'll just have to bundle up with coat, hat and gloves!

With so many people suffering from job layoffs, unemployment, and our struggling economy, I feel so blessed that I don't have to worry about feeding my family. I dig deeper than usual every time I pass a Salvation Army bell ringer or am asked to donate to a food drive. There are so very many people suffering. Christmas is all about giving - we worked so hard to teach our children that as they were growing up. I pray that times will get better soon, and all those doing without will find relief.

************

Gratitudes:

1. A secure job for Fred and a good pension for me

2. Good jobs for both our kids

3. The beautiful world I see out the window

4. Christmas music - all our favorites - ring out all day from the stereo

Stash report

I neglected to post a stash report last week - I was so busy making quilt backs that I just forgot. I used a whole bunch of fabric - probably at least 6-8 yards making the two quilt backs. I used lots more - or will use lots more very soon - to make "new fabric" for quilt backs. I eliminated an entire stack in my cabinet and part of another stack. The remaining "new backing fabric" will partially fill up the space, but I should have any empty spot with now stack at all - hooray!

On the other hand, I seem to be able to go only so long without bringing new fabric into the house. And the sales have been so great the past week or so! I've not bought any primitive fabrics for at least a couple years as I've been focused on 19th century reproductions. I just couldn't pass up these bargains from Fat Quarter Shop. Jelly rolls at half price and layer cakes at a great discount. So i bought 2 Jelly Rolls and three Layer Cakes of Linda Brannock's latest line - Miss Jump's Scrapbag. I bought other stuff too - but since it's not yet arrived I'm not counting it!

So - a net reduction - for this week at least!

Stashbusting and quilt backs

Making quilt backs is a great way to bust stash - as long as one doesn't care if the back of the quilt coordinates with the front, or if part of the back doesn't coordinate with the other parts. This method could of course be used with coordinating fabrics - but since my goal was to use old fabric that would most likely never find it's way into a quilt top - I went with totally random and uncoordinated. At the same time my goal was to clear out as much of a shelf in by fabric cabinet as I could. In the past I've used Bonnie's 10" square method with several quilts, but until I catch up that is just too slow for me. This way makes backs faster than you can imagine.

First I pulled out the entire stack of 'fabrics to be used for backs". Many of these had small - or large pieces (see the story of the 2" squares mentioned a few posts back) cut out of one or both ends. I straightened the ends, and stripped out the part I cut off. Then I trimmed off the selvage. Most pieces measured 21" from the fold to the edge after trimming. A few of the oldest fabrics were a bit wider, and some measured only 20". As I trimmed I stacked the pieces according to widths. Some were big pieces, and some were small - sometimes only 1/4 yard - once I straightened the edge. No matter - they all work for backs.

Once I trimmed a stack I started sewing them together along the crosswise cut. This doesn't look like much in the picture because these were pieces little more than 1/4 yard each.I sewed until all the fabrics of the same width were sewn together into a long piece of "new fabric". Then I cut the "new fabric" into the appropriate lengths needed for the quilt backs. I always put horizontal seams on my back now that I have a longarm - they roll better on the rails this way. For the two postage stamp quilts I needed 3 strips of 80" and 3 strips of 69". I cut the proper width strips, stitch them together and press the seams. The backs are quite a bit longer than needed when done this way - that's OK - I just trim off the excess after quilting and put the remainder back to become part of another quilt back in the near future. Some of the fabric combinations may look a little crazy - I don't care. These backs are for quilts that will be used up - everyday bed quilts for us or the kids and charity quilts - not for heirloom creations.

Once I made backs for the postage stamp quilts I stalled out - too many things needing done for Christmas. So the rest of the stack waits in the sewing room, where I'll prepare more "new" fabric after Christmas. When I finish the first of the two postage stamp quilts I'll post a picture of the back - that will help you visualize this better.

Catching up - thanks to the snow!

Not only am I behind with my blog reading, I'm also way behind with my posting. Hopefully that will change today. I have a bunch of posts in my head and a bunch of photos waiting in a folder called "temporary", where I store photos for the blog until I use them in posts. Lots easier than trying to remember which folders I put them all into. (I learned not to end a sentence with a preposition - I bet you did too - but I don't seem to care any more. Do you?)

It snowed all day yesterday from early morning to late evening. I walked to Starbucks again to meet Kim - I've been eating so much I needed to build up exercise points LOL! (Right now I've used my extra points for the week with three more days to go, plus the 11 exercise points I earned, and I'm two points in the red. Not a good way to lose weight - but at least I'm back to tracking!) When I returned I finished the rest of the Christmas decorating and then plunked myself on the couch to read blogs and watch the snow. What a pleasant way to spend a beautiful afternoon and evening! Fred measured for the last time a little after 9:00 p.m. -we had nine inches then. We had some freezing rain in the night, and now there is a crust of ice on top of the 9" of snow. We aren't going ANYWHERE today!

This is the most snow we've had in 5 years come January - could you hear me squealing and happy dancing? I'm sure you are sick of hearing about the weather but I can't resist - I adore snow and see it so seldom.

So I promise not to mention it again. I'll really try not too! But I can't resist posting a few more pictures, including some cute grandkid pics!

Still here!

We are still getting snow - it's so pretty! There was so much this morning that the roads were pretty treacherous. So I walked to Starbucks and earned myself several Weight Watcher activity points. (Good thing - weigh-in's the last two weeks have not been great - I've gained a total of .6 pounds.) In the second picture - taken of the golf course between us and Starbucks - you can see big clumps of snow falling.

The main roads were clear by mid- morning, so I went shopping after lunch. Each day the snow has been pretty much gone by mid-afternoon.
We're supposed to get more tonight, and then tomorrow through Sunday there is a possibility of 6-10" more, plus freezing rain on top of that. I guess the fact that it's melting each day isn't a bad thing. It's really iffy if we will head to Oregon tomorrow for a belated celebration of our daughter-in-law's birthday. That may have to wait until after Christmas!

Snow!

Not a great picture from my phone - and the amount of snow will look very puny to those of you who get snow every winter. For us snow lovers, however, this is enough to thrill us. Seems like we get even this much only once in every 3-5 years. It's still falling - I can hear my mother saying "ol' Mother Nature is shaking her feather bed!"

The "S" word!

The weather folks have been telling us for at least 5 days that we were to get more snow. Everyone around us got lots - several inches at our son's house and enough in the school district where DH works that he's had no school since Tuesday. But all we had was VERY low temperatures for us - the high teens in the day time and low teens at night. We got snow - tiny little pellets that looked like that pellet ice cream and blew away almost as fast as it fell. I was SO disappointed.

Then yesterday the temperature started to rise. It got above freezing for the first time in almost a week. And this morning about 6:30 a.m., as I was heading to Starbucks and then to watch Joseph, it really started to snow. It's still above freezing - 34 - so finally the flakes a huge and feathery and it's piling up on the ground and trees. I'm ecstatic! Fred is home so I called him, told him how to use the camera, and asked that he take pictures for my blog. He hardly ever takes pictures so hopefully he got some good ones that I can post when I get home! In the meantime I'm going to try taking some with my cell phone.

Stay tuned!

Welcome To Quilter Blogs

If you are like me you already read so many quilting blogs that it's almost impossible to keep up and still have time to sew. Nevertheless, I'm always looking for new blogs - one never knows when a newly discovered blog will fast become a favorite.

Here is another great source of quilting blogs. Over 100 blogs are listed What's even nicer is that on this site one can see highlights of many posts on many different blogs. If you'd like them to include your blog just send them an email with your blog URL.

Thanks, Kathie, for bringing this site to our attention!

Another postage stamp top completed

Tuesday night I ripped out the incorrect stitching, but I didn't have a chance to work on the top until today. I did put all the blocks, sashing, and cornerstones on the design wall to make sure I stitched it correctly this time. It isn't exactly the same as the Evelyn Sloppy quilt, but that's OK - this is how I envisioned it when I first got the idea from the picture of her quilt. I've never made sashing and cornerstones like this before, and I really like how it looks. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I used this setting again sometime. This top took 24 blocks - exactly how many I had. How's that for luck - since I certainly didn't plan for it to happen! The borders are wider than I would usually make, but I had to make them that wide in order for the quilt to be the required size for Hotel Hope quilts.

Now I'm finishing backings for both this top and the top I finished last Monday, as well as for the one top hanging in my closet that has no backing. So I should have a good stash report on Sunday - hooray!

A fun surprise

We are regulars at Applebee's, eating there at least once a week. Because we come in so often we are assured of great service and usually special attention. Last night, however was a little more than expected. When Brian the bartender brought me my Long Island it had this really cute Quilt Shop ornament hanging from the straw. I just looked at him and said, "OK Brian, don't tell me you've been out looking for Christmas ornaments!" He gave me a "you've got to be kidding" look and then glanced at Susan, who was sitting on the stool next to Fred. Susan used to be a waitress there before she graduated and started teaching first grade. She and her husband are also regulars on the same night as we come in. She'd seen this at Joann's and said she just had to get it for me. What a very fun surprise!

Now - if only I can find the time to start decorating the tree!

Whoops! It's "Rip It" time!

I was reading blogs on Sunday, and saw this picture on one of Nicole's posts. It immediately spoke to me, telling me this was the perfect way to set the extra 24 postage stamp blocks. So I started sewing them together yesterday. As I was pressing the first two rows I realized immediately that something was wrong.

Quilter's Dyslexia strikes again. Obviously I need to take a better look at the picture of this quilt. A MUCH better look. So I've pulled this book from the shelf (Forty Fabulous Quick Cut Quilts by Evelyn Sloppy) and placed it on the cutting table - I figure I'd better have it right in front of me or there's no hope at all of duplicating this setting.

Now to get out my reverse sewing machine!

(Double whoops! Guess it's a good thing I got a pedicure last Saturday LOL!)

Charity Top Completed

After all this time I should be able to better estimate how quickly I can finish something. My goals for last weekend look really amusing right now - I sewed all weekend and still didn't finish this charity top, much less get any other tops quilted. Turning the postage stamp blocks into giant churn dashes took a LONG time. I just finished adding the borders about 30 minutes ago. I still need to piece a backing.

So - one day late - here is my weekly stash report. I bought nothing! I was tempted several times but didn't cave in. As far as usage - I estimate the fabric needed to complete this top - churn dashes, sashing and borders is approximately 3-4 yards. So this week I have a net loss - hooray!

Much to my surprise, when stitching the rows of 6, 2" squares together, I completed 24 additional blocks above the 20 needed for this quilt. So I have plenty left for a second charity quilt. I'm going to put those together in a slightly different manner - one that should - hopefully, any way - take less time that it took to finish this one.

And I still have hundreds and hundreds of 2" squares. I think this time I'll create some 4-patches while using them as leader-enders.

Tangled Threads Christmas - 2008

An evening with friends - just the best!

Our Tangled Threads quilting group has been together for almost 23 years, and it's been my great privilege to be part of this group for over 21 of those years. Over the years a few members have moved away, and others have joined to take their places. We are each other's best friends. I can't imagine my life without these wonderful ladies. We meet once a week to visit and stitch - any week without that time together seems empty. For nearly ten years now we've gathered in early December to celebrate a holiday dinner together. The first few years Lanny and Kim cooked their signature prime rib and twice baked potatoes. These days - with most of us attending weekly weight watcher meetings - we've gone healthier - as long as one doesn't count all the melted butter and bread! The menu has revolved around Dungeness crab - in my mind the tastiest crab of all - from our own Pacific northwest. In spite of the solemn faces - I guess everyone was too hungry to smile! - we had a marvelous evening together.

My Christmas wish for all my friends in Blogland is that you can experience the blessings and joy of belonging to such a wonderful group of women.

Hmmm . . . I think this will be OK

I'm still not sure about this sashing. I wanted something to bring some life to the top. I tried a much brighter orange Moda Marble but it was too bright - took all the attention away from the blocks. I like this sashing, but now the whole quilt looks just a bit dull. Now that I see this much finished I wish I'd used a whiter background fabric for the pseudo-churn dashes. Oh well - I'm not ripping. This is a charity quilt, and I'm sure someone will love it. Now to finish 16 more blocks and then get it all together into a top.

We were supposed to head to Newberg tomorrow to celebrate Chelsea's birthday, but Sophie has started running a fever. Sure hope it's not the same stuff that brought Joseph's other grandma down for the last two and a half weeks! So I guess I have the entire weekend to sew after all. Hopefully I can finish this top, make a back for it, and get at least three or four quilts quilted. A tall order - I will actually be happy if I can get half of that done!

Not much quilting this week

It's been another Joseph week - and at 20 months he's a ton of fun to watch but he really doesn't give me a chance to sew while I'm with him. My eyes haven't been up to appliqué so all I really wanted to do when I had the chance was some mindless machine sewing.

Remember those 2" squares? (If you've not read the story of why I have hundreds and hundreds of 2" squares to use up, there are three links at the bottom of this post that tell the story..) I've been sewing lights and darks into pairs as my leader-ender project - and the drawer of squares seemed bottomless. Doing something with them seemed like the perfect project for a couple hours of mindless sewing last night. So I dumped out the bin where I'd been putting the pairs, and was amazed at how much I've accomplished. I'd even sewn together lots of strips of 6 squares, and sewn enough of those together to make five blocks. I dug some OLD darks and lights from my stash - the light is a pin dot from the 80's! - and started framing the large squares, turning them into modified churn dash blocks. I got the idea from one of Judy's Hour-a-Day quilts - thanks Judy! I really like how this is looking. I'm hoping to have time this weekend to finish the quilt top - it will be just perfect for charity.

My weight loss report isn't that great this week - too much holiday I guess. Up one pound. It could have been lots worse!