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.

Not Much to Show

 The above picture shows that I've done a bit of stitching.  Not much, just a bit.  This is a birthday card, made for a friend.  I used to try to make them for everyone, but the past couple of years?  I just don't seem to make the time.

Instead, I do crazy stuff like clean the rain gutters, hoping that this will be another bonanza year for rain.  hahaha!  Anyway, when I was in Missouri, my son had just finished cleaning out his gutters and filling them with Gutter Stuff.  It is a triangular wedge that keeps leaves from entering the gutters, and allows water to rush through and flow as it should.  I bought some at Home Depot, then found it to be much more affordable on Amazon.  Of course it was.

 This is the "before" of my gutters.  They'd been cleaned about 2 months ago, and it's not yet time for leaves to drop.  Then again, the camphor tree drops leaves year round.

 Here is the "during" shot.  I have one high area that I just couldn't reach with the regular ladder.  After I hoisted the extension ladder up against the house, I realized that it was just too heavy and awkward to use.  My son had to help me attack this part of the gutter system.

 Here is the result, with the gutterstuff newly installed.  I am hopeful that the days and dollars invested into this project were worthwhile.  It also says it discourages mosquito breeding.  We've had more mosquitos this year than the past 5 years combined.  Anything to combat mosquitos is worth a try.

As to the quilt I was quilting for Daytona?  It shrunk so much that it no longer fit the size requirements.  Isn't that the way of it?  The quilt is finished.  Or was, until I realized that one side swoops in.  I need to take out the stitching and try again, to make it square.  Perhaps, eventually, I'll have a picture worth sharing.

In the meantime, I've been cleaning, cleaning, trying to prepare for the holidays.  hahaha!
or perhaps I should say ho ho ho!

Lots to do between now and then.  Stitch faster!  Stitch faster!

Still Quilting

In my last post, I mentioned a quilt I am trying to finish to hit the 10/18 deadline for AQS Daytona.  I am still quilting.  I average about 2 hours/day on this quilt, and I'm just about halfway through.  I'm going to have to ramp it up if it's going to be finished before the end of this week!!

In the meantime, I've done a few other things.  Like Block of the Month, for guild.  I designed a pumpkin block for October.  The response was delightful!

 Look at that pumpkin patch!!  The blocks are about 8.5" unfinished.  The winner is going to have a lot of fun with these!

 For November, I gave them a foundation square and a piece of red silk.  We're going to try crazy quilting.  I sold all of the silk/foundation pieces that I brought with me.  If everyone brings their block back?  Someone is going to have a wonderful project!!!

As I said, I've been quilting steadily on a quilt.  But the crazy quilting messed up my space pretty quickly.  As I was trying to put things to right, I ran across a project from a Jean Wells class at least 2 or 3 years ago, if not longer.  It was done, except for the facing.  No time like the present to finish it, right?  Right!

I put the little quilt face down, right sides together, on the facing fabric, then cut.

 I pinned the edges, then stitched it in place.

 I drew around a box lid, then cut out the space, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.  I turned it right-side out, pressed, and stitched down the raw edge.

 Once the stitching was done, I flipped it over.  Cute!!  It's approximately the size of a piece of paper.

And in other news, I cut my hair and donated it.

And I guess that's going to do it.  Back to working on that quilt.  Quilt faster!  Quilt faster!!  Goals are good.

October!

So, let's see.  When last I left you, I was leaving Ohio and headed to Missouri.  I rented a car and drove from Cleveland south, then across Indiana, Illinois, and into St. Louis.  I spent a night in Illinois, as I was exhausted from looking at all that corn.

SO. MUCH. CORN.

I was happy when I finally knew I was near my destination:

 Was I there to see the arch?  Oh, no, not at all.  I was there to see my granddaughter again!

Her face was a bit rashy when I first arrived, but by the time I left?  It had cleared up.  I think she was rubbing her face on a spit up cloth, looking for her next meal.  ;)

My primary task was to babysit, while my son took my DIL out for a birthday dinner.  The little miss was a perfect angel.

I took some family portrait photos for them.  Aren't they a beautiful family?

The next day, we took the wee one to her first estate sale.  She slept through the whole thing!!

 So, hmmm.  That catches us up to mid-September.  Has there been quilting since them?  Yes, some, but not a lot.

I am currently trying to finish a quilt to enter in the AQS Daytona show.  The deadline is in 2 weeks.  I think.  I'm not sure.  I've been busy quilting.  I am hopeful that I will finish the quilt, but I am concerned that it may shrink so much with the quilting that it will be too small to qualify.  oh well.

I do have a personal quilt plus a group quilt entered into PIQF.  Hopefully I'll get to Santa Clara in a few weeks to see them hang.  Goals, and all that.

Right!  And I guess that's going to do it for now.  Happy Quilting!!

Here and There and Back Again

ohmygoodness!  Have I not posted since my first visit to meet my little granddaughter?!  hmmm.  Well, I guess I've been a bit busy.  I was home for one week, before heading back to the mid-West.

During that week, guild met.  I've got a few months left of my Block of the Month commitment.  Par usual, I tossed together this month's block in the days preceding the meeting.  The response to September's Jacob's Ladder was not as enthusiastic as I had hoped.

 Perhaps October's pumpkin will attract more participants.  The applique is easier than it looks, with only 7 pieces, all curves, except for the stem.  I'm not sure I could have made anything easier than that.

 Before we left, quilts were delivered for the Tulare County Fair.  My friend Judie generously took care of both delivery and retrieval of my entries.  "Broken Shell Beach," made by 10 members of Sew Eclectic took top Professional honors with a BOS rosette.

 My quilt, "Shalom" also showed well.  Both of these quilts have been accepted into PIQF, so if you want to see them in person, I suggest you plan a trip to Santa Clara in October.  That's what I'm doing.

My friend Wendy and I traveled to Ohio on Sept 9, to visit our good friend Pat.  She left CA two years ago.  Finally, finally we were able to coordinate a visit to see her in her new environment.

Here we are, at Lake Erie:

 When Pat asked what we wanted to do, I'd asked, "Well, what is there to do?"  This was my first visit to Ohio, so I had no idea.  When she mentioned Lake Erie, well, I've never dipped a toe in a great lake before.  Let's do it!

As a thank you, Wendy and I did a bit of decorating in Pat's house.  It was painted a pale grey and white, that is just not Pat.  When she said, "I wish it was purple, " well, Wendy said, "We can paint it!"

 And so we did.  Isn't this so much better?  If you know Pat, you know that this is now her happy place.

Well, this post is getting a bit long, so I'll pick up with it again  in the morning.

Since I've returned home, I've been trying to get my sewing space under control.  Yesterday, I made enough progress to be able to get some machine quilting done.  I am trying to hit a deadline for entry that comes in October.  I don't have much time, but perhaps I'll hit this one.  Goals are good!

Happy Quilting!!

zoom, zoom!

After a whirlwind weekend trip to meet our newest granddaughter, we are back in the valley.  zoom, zoom!

 Such a precious bundle!  We were more than content to just watch her sleep.  :)

 We weren't there for long, but we were there long enough to catch some local color.  hahaha!  The street signs have accents!

Other than meeting our granddaughter, not much has happened since my last post.  I finished the first collage,

 and started a second.  I have plenty of the same scraps still in the pile, so I'm going to try and do something a bit different with this one.  We'll see what happens.  Notice the little stars?  I found those at the bottom of the box.  I'm not sure what I fussy-cut them for, but they're perfect.

And I guess that's all I have for now.  I've begun the hand-quilting on another project, as well as set a goal to finish machine quilting one that is half done.  Perhaps I'll have one of them done in time to enter the next AQS quilt show.  Goals are good!