Here Comes Christmas!

I spent the past 24 hours in the kitchen, cooking up a storm.  The boys and their families arrived in time for a bit of feasting.  These are our local "kids," though the youngest cannot be seen.  She's safe in a "bouncer," on the floor between her parents.

 I caught this picture of my favorite 2 year old, modeling her latest sweater-wear, knitted by dear friend Ann H.  Beautiful!!  She has been wearing them since their arrival.  Favorite clothes, we all have them!

 Last weekend, my husband was at a Men's Retreat.  I fired up the Tiara, figured out how to fix the tension, and got this quilt quilted.  It had been basted for months.  Not only quilted, but completely finished.  Hurrah!

 It's nearly invisible, but I quilted Scripture in the green strips.  It is for a friend, who has been terribly ill.  It's yet to be delivered, as she's been too ill for visitors.  Hopefully a snuggle with quilted prayers will help a bit.

Other than that, I continue to work on some special items for Christmas.  Once they are finished, I'll do the "big" reveal.

I pray that you all had a Thanksgiving filled with blessings, and that you are preparing for Christmas with hope and joy.

Now, back to the Studio for me, for the rest of the day.  yay!

I Forgot!

I also completed my challenge quilt, for the guild.  The challenge was as follows:  Make a 12 x 12" block depicting something you see "Around Town."  The initial description had been something one would see along a street downtown, but the parameters seemed to loosen with each passing month.  There were 8 quilts completed.  Here are the beginnings of mine.  I needed something simple, yet to the point.

 I'm not sure you can see it, if you just glance at the quilt, but the background shows the Sierras.  They are always there, looming 30 miles away, but with the haze of most days?  You can barely make them out.  I've taken quite a collection of pictures over the years, but this one?  Definitely showed that I was in town when I took it.  The name of my quilt is "A View from 198."

And that's all I have for you at this time.
Back to stitching.  Stitch faster!  Stitch faster!!

Two Finishes

Since I returned from retreat, I've been busy, busy.  Last week, I was able to finish binding two baby quilts that I quilted while at retreat.  Here is the first:

 Here is the second:

Both quilts were made from leftovers of other baby quilts.  If you think I've made a lot of baby quilts, you are correct.

I also put together the block of the month for December, inspired by the leaves at Wonder Valley.

Here is the block for December, made in "Fall" colors.

The block for November was a crazy quilt block.  I was concerned that the amount of handwork included on the block would decrease participation.

 I was quite pleased to find that I was mistaken.  Look at the wonderful blocks that were turned in!

Since then, I've been doing more crazy-quilt-type work.  I can't show you what I'm working on yet, not until I am finished.  I have a few weeks of work ahead of me, if it's going to be ready before Christmas.  Goals are good!

I hope you all are looking forward to a meaningful Thanksgiving next week.  I doubt I'll be posting much.  My days seem to be overly full with things not related to computer work.

And with that, I'd best get back to stitching.  Goals are good!!

Successful Retreat

 This past weekend was our Valley Oak Quilt Guild retreat at Wonder Valley.  wonderful!!  Four days of sewing...no laundry, no cooking.  Absolute bliss!  Fewer people than usual attended, so that meant that those of us who were there had plenty of space.  Here is my workspace:  an 8' table, plus my Sew-Ezi table to hold my machine.

 I always have trouble deciding what to bring.  I brought 4 boxes of thread, along with BINS full of fabric and projects.  Deciding what to work on is always a challenge.

The first thing I did was finish three postcards that have been half-done on my sewing table for  months.

 The above card was made using a linen purchased at an estate sale.  I think it came out very cute.

 These next two were leftovers from various projects.  I love using the scraps, rather than tossing them.

I also finished Day's End, my umbrellas quilt.  I redid the facing, and it looks square now.  It's still too small for any AQS show, but it makes me happy, and that's the main reason for quilting, right?  right!

 The quilt was based on my photo, taken in Oceanside, CA, a few years ago.  I was very careful with my machine quilting, but in the close-up?  I suddenly notice a tension error.  grrr.  It's just going to have to be fine, because I'm not going to take it apart again to fix it.  That's just too much work.  It is what it is.

Here is the close-up.  I am particularly happy with the chairs.

And that's it for now, though several other things were worked on and finished over the weekend.  Stay tuned.