Winter Quilts

Yesterday we got our Christmas tree decorated, which completes the little bit of seasonal decorating that I do. We’ve had a fake tree for the past 5 or 6 years but this year I wanted a fresh one. It smells so good…love it….and so does the cat, but that’s a blog for another day. LOL.

I have two quilts that I take out this time of year. One is my Warm Wishes quilt made of flannel. It stays out all winter since it’s the best for keeping me warm on the couch during the cold months.

It’s an easy quilt to make and one of the patterns I actually get done fast. What I love about this pattern is that it looks more complicated than it really is. It only has one pieced block in it…a rail fence (3 rectangles sewn together) which is alternated with a plain square. By turning the rail fence blocks around the plain squares creates the pattern.
Can you see the blocks and how they are turned?

Easy peasy. Not much to cut out and not much sewing.

The other quilt I take out is my Yaya Christmas quilt.

Several years ago when all us Yaya’s were quilting we made birthday blocks for each other based on a fabric theme. I had picked a red/green fabric for them to use…it wasn’t really Christmassy…just red & green. I had the 4 blocks for many years before I decided what I wanted to do with them. When I saw this pattern (can’t remember what it’s called or what book I got it from….sorry) I noticed the plain middle of the blocks could be replaced with pieced blocks…and that’s where my Yaya blocks went.
Here are a couple of them:

Sally Howard machine quilted it and thus completed the friendship spirit of this quilt.

I love having it out as a reminder of the people in my life that I am blessed to know.

Feet Friday

This is a special Feet Friday picture. It’s from the “Back on My Feet” website.
I was watching CNN’s “Heroes” special and one of their finalists was Anne Muhlum. Anne is a young woman of 27 who is an avid runner. She would jog by a homeless shelter (in Philadelphia) every day while on her daily run. The men would wave and smile at her as she passed by….and one day she got an idea. Why not start a running club for the homeless. Their website explains it much better. Anyway, I was impressed. Not only by the idea…it’s unique and creative. But by her age…we’re always told how selfish the younger generation is….obviously that isn’t always the case. And also by the results.
High five, Anne. Keep up the good work!

How Long Does it Take You to Make a Quilt, Part 2 -- Do the Math!

Yesterday I went backwards to explain how long it took to complete a quilt top and why I can’t answer the above question. Today I’m gonna go forward in time and do some math to try to figure out how long it’ll take to make a quilt I’m working on. And yes, I have many quilts going at the same time. Breathe…I know that stresses some of you out…but its how I work. :)

This is a block I finished last month:

Isn’t it adorable? Notice the hand embroidery in it:

Embroidery and appliqué. Lots of HANDwork. I love handwork. But it also equates to lots of time going by to finish something…….LOTS. This particular quilt is a block of the month I’m doing called Butterfly Garden. That means each month I get a little kit in the mail for one block. The idea is you make that one block…in that one month…and thus you aren’t overwhelmed by the whole project and you can keep up! Ha! I got that first kit last July. I just finished it in November. July- November. 5 months = 1 block. There are 9 blocks in this quilt top. 9 x 5 = 45. 45 months. That’s 3.75 years. Yes, years! Just to get the top done. And that’s only if I continue at my current rate of work….and not take off December to do other things…and not be distracted by any life events like grandbabies or weddings …and not get sick…or go on vacation…..or ???
This quilt will need special quilting once it’s done. Would love to hand quilt it. But I could never handle two quilts to hand quilt (anniversary quilt has priority) so I’ll probably have it professionally machine quilted. That’ll be a good thing cuz once that 3.75 years is over with, it should only be another year to have it quilted and bound.

Does this tire you out? LOL!

Not me. Beautiful things can take time. Do take time. And all my quilts are beautiful things.

How Long Does it Take You to Make a Quilt?

I’m often asked “how long does it take to make a quilt?” Oh my….trying to figure that question out is like trying to do this:

I am not the type of quilter who gets an idea and works solely on it for hours a day until its completion. Nope, not at all. It can take months to go from concept to fabric….months to go from fabric to choosing a pattern. The piecing can either go fast or slow depending on my mood and distractions. I might finish the piecing in a week…..or it could take a year. And then there’s the quilting…and binding. See…hard question to answer…too many unknowns.

Let me take you through the process of a top I finished in October. Here it is with my trusted feline helper:


This is my 25th Anniversary quilt......I’ve been married 28 years now. :) Hubby and I went to Scotland/England for our 25th and I knew I wanted to make a quilt to commemorate the trip. I spent the three weeks on vacation getting all kinds of ideas from places we visited.


Wouldn’t some Celtic knot work look great reproduced from these wonderful crosses?

Or how about some interpretation of the architecture of this abbey?

Maybe something geometric inspired by standing stones?

So much inspiration but nothing really grabbed me. That is until the end of the trip when we were driving through the highlands and I was gazing out the window at the mountains (desperately trying to stay distracted from the curvy one lane road we were on) and it hit me – color! I would make a quilt that held all the beautiful color I was seeing on this trip. Woo hoo. Concept – done!.

Here's some of the beauty that inspired me:



Once I got home I knew I would need to order a stash of batiks (hand dyed fabrics that are rich in color) right away. Fabric – done! I was on a roll…not even a month had gone by.

Next was the search for a pattern. I had one in mind already and started working on it right away. Since it required a new skill I made several practice blocks. This is where my roll came to a screeching halt. These blocks were hard for me…and super time consuming. Knowing how freakishly slow I am I decided I needed to find a different pattern if I was ever going to see this quilt done in my lifetime. Unfortunately nothing else seemed right. Nothing. This part of the process took over a year. I finally just settled on a pattern I liked, one that would showcase the color…which was what this quilt was suppose to be about anyway. Pattern – done!

Piecing blocks went fairly fast…fast in Cindy time. :) I was done with the blocks within a couple of months. Next was to complete the top but I needed fabric for the setting triangles and didn’t have enough of any one color in my stash of batiks…besides I didn’t want to repeat a color…I wanted something different. Uh oh….another search begins….and another year goes by. Finally, as of October, the top is done. Piecing – done!

This brings us to present day. We’ve gone from September 2005 to October 2008. But am I done? Nope. Still have to quilt this baby. And I decided at the beginning that this special quilt will be hand quilted – HAND quilted. So give me another 3 years or so and I should be done.

How long does it take for me to make a quilt? Who knows. :)

Make Me Laugh Monday

I have seen many funny "Make Me Laugh Monday" posts over at jennyonthespot (go check her out...she's a crack up on any day). And Tink has joined in a couple of times. So I decided I would post a hilarious sight hubby and I saw on our vacation this past summer to upstate New York. We were driving on that other road you see, when we passed by this one....of course, with camera in hand we had to back up and take photos!


What 'cha think? Someone enjoy too many beers before getting on the painting machine? :)

Thanksgiving Relaxation

This year our son’s fiancee asked if she could host Thanksgiving. You mean not have to clean my house, not have to cook, not have to find extra seating, not have to clean up afterwards and not need a 12 hour night of sleep to recuperate from it all? Took me all of 3 seconds to respond with a hearty YOU BET! The result was that yesterday was a wonderful relaxing day for me to enjoy my kiddo’s, their loved ones, the grand boys and Faith’s bff Brittany.

Faith did great job…set such a pretty table…not something that happens at my house! The food was perfect…we were treated to her family’s recipe of sweet & sour red cabbage…plus the regular items of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry chutney, stuffing, salad, biscuits and Brittany’s garlic green beans….oh and Dennis’ famous homemade pumpkin pie! Daniel was in charge of cocktails and made us nummy peach Bellini’s and a Sangria that I even liked. Faith had a cold and still managed to pull off the day.


Here is our hostess with the mostess busy with last minute food:

The gravy was really nummy...I wonder what her secret was?

Dennis and I did our best to help...I with the dishes and Dennis with his usual chore of deboning the turkey...notice who is watching Dennis very intently. :)

And right when I'm relaxing with a full tummy a strange urge overcomes me.....???

Requisite napping to end the evening:

David's Dedication

Last Sunday we went to participate in our grandson David’s dedication at Jenn & Jon’s church. I love dedications. I don’t even have to know the little one being dedicated. I just love the whole idea of them.

Ted Weis (from an article on bible.org) explains dedications better than I can. So here is a little excerpt for those reading who don’t really know what a dedication is about:

“Children are a gift from God. Psalm 127:3 proclaims that "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." As believers we are called to recognize that children belong first and foremost to God. God in his goodness gives children as gifts to parents. They not only have the awesome responsibility of caring for this gift, but also the wonderful privilege of enjoying the gift. Because children belong to God and are given by grace as gifts to parents, it is only proper and appropriate that children be dedicated back to God.
Dedicating a child acknowledges God's sovereignty not only over the child, but also Mom and Dad. Parents present their child before God and His people asking for grace and wisdom in carrying out their responsibilities. Parents also come praying that their child might one day trust Jesus Christ as Savior for the forgiveness of sin.”



David with Mommy....he's pooped out from all the excitement.....missing the reception of cookies and punch.

Nana with Liam.....who is not missing the cookies and punch! :)

Back at home.....Liam being silly with David while they are playing on the floor. David laughs at the silly things Liam does....which totally encourages a 3 year old to be even sillier!

The day is drawing to a close and little ones are getting tired....oh....and the big 'uns are getting tired too!

Hubby and I had a nice time being part of the newest generations dedication to the Lord.

Feet Friday

What do you think? Some ancient torture devise?

"B" for barbaric....barely sane.....bimbo.....bonkers.......boeotian.......beastly......brain dead.......backwards......bastinade.......bogus......blimey, I can't stop!!!!! LOL!

Whose idea was this anyway?

Notes to self:

You are NOT 10 years old anymore.

Your body can NOT handle the bumps and jolts of sliding down a flight of stairs.

You WILL pay for it the next day.

Your hubby told you not to try it...you may want to listen next time.

And lastly......who cares? IT WAS FUN!!! Let's do it again....this time with better equipment. Maybe we'll go faster. :)

Hobbies

What is a hobby? The Webster 1828 dictionary has 4 definitions:

1. A strong active horse, of middle size, said to have been originally from Ireland. Really? That’s interesting. Didn’t know that.
2. A stick, or figure of a horse, on which a boy rides. Ok.
3. Any favorite object; that which a person pursues with zeal or delight. Oh, oh…that’s me and my quilting, for sure!
4. A stupid fellow. Ah, now this one I found very interesting. Shhh…we won’t name names! LOL!

A more modern dictionary just has one definition: a pursuit outside ones regular occupation engaged in for relaxation. This is probably what we all think of, right?


I know there are tons of hobbies out there and an equal number of opinions about the value of each pursuit. I can’t tell you the number of times folks have said to me that they just can’t understand how I like to cut up fabric into lots of little pieces and painstakingly sew them back together again for hours and hours. Heck, one can go to Wal-Mart and get a quilt for $40…why bother? Cuz, I LOVE IT!

Some of my delights:


I have to admit to my own….uh….judgments opinions…about hobbies. My hubby is a WOW gamer. And I have caught myself asking him on more than one occasion, “How can you sit around and play that game for hours and hours?” I just don’t get it. But, he LOVES IT! And of course, one must game with one's favorite beverage! :)


I remember when our kids were teens and I took them to a Mycological Society Show! for a learning experience…a.k.a. field trip. Our daughter took a friend along. None of the kids understood how a sane person would study fungi for hours and hours…surely this is what happened to you when you got OLD. Nope kids…they just LOVE IT!

Despite my occasional bout with being miffed at certain people for their hobby, I do love them. I believe strongly in hobbies. Everyone needs ‘em. They are stress reducers. They are social outlets. They save marriages. They educate us. They make us laugh. They make us proud. They bring us friends. Who wouldn't want one?
What’s your hobby?

Pretty Things

Tink and I went shopping today. I needed some fabric for a couple of Christmas gifts I'm making. I did find the fabric I was looking for but a quick side trip into a fun store..."just to look around"...ended with a spur of the moment purchase of this fun lamp! It has the colors I have in my living room plus the quirky whimsy that I love. I'd call it an early Christmas present to myself but I want something else.....guess we just have to chalk it up to simply a case of the wants. :)

Here she (yes, she) is in her new home:

Took another pic with the lights off so you could see the lamp colors better.

Felted Bags

Years ago a good friend gave me a beautiful handmade felted bag. I was amazed (again!) at how creative and talented she is and thankful that I got to be a recipient of that talent.

My knitting skills at the time were scarce. I made scarves out of the bulky yarns so that any mistakes were hidden! One winter I made about 8 of them…they ended up being used as “ribbon” on gifts….see, I was “green” before it was hip to be “green”….used to just be called frugal.

Anyway. My knitting skills haven’t really changed but my confidence has so I decided to tackle felted bags myself this year. I bought Eva Wiechman’s book “Pursenality Plus”. So many cute bags! I tried a beginner pattern and was surprised how quickly it knitted up. My friend had to talk me through a couple of things I didn’t understand…..why do beginner patterns assume you know things??? And I had to knit away from my cat who has this obsession with real wool and will not stop trying to snitch it. A week at my Dad’s gave the perfect opportunity to get the bag done.

Here it is before its felted:

I felt so proud of myself that I went out and bought more wool for a second bag. Another week at Dad’s and voila, number two done.

Now it was time for the felting process. Easy peasy. And look how cute they turned out:

I still can’t believe I knitted and felted two bags in a month. Not generally my speed. I speak of finishing my projects in terms of years to make not months and totally not weeks.

Now hubby wants a felted hat. Woo hoo! :)

Feet Friday

Celebrating!

Happy Birthday sweet friend!

Wordless Wednesday - Friends

Anne, I have loved you as long as I can remember. I need you.

Anne of Green Gables is one of my all time favorite stories. I have to confess I have never read the books….gasp, I know. But I love the show. We must have watched it a dozen times while the kids were growing up. It’s the perfect love story...the perfect coming of age story…the perfect family story….just the perfect story. One of my favorite quotes is “Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it”….can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that to myself as I was going to sleep at night. We all need to hear it when the day is just crappy!

Yesterday hubby and I went to Seattle to see “The Drowsy Chaperone” at the 5th Avenue Theatre. It was an interesting show….a musical within a comedy; the playbill said….a type of show we’ve never seen before in our years of attending. How does this relate to Anne of Green Gables, you ask? Guess who was the main character? Jonathan Crombie…or better know to Green Gable fans as Gilbert Blythe. Oh the memories. I’d say he has aged well, don’t you?

Nooooooo!

I went to the grocery store once I got home from Dad's to refill the frig with healthy food....lots of vege. Only to find THOSE evil orbs! Its like the Borg in Star Trek...resistance is futile!!! I *must* buy them....2 boxes please.

Getting rid of the couch potatoness I earned while away will just have to wait. These evil orbs only come out this time of year....healthy eating can happen any ole' time.

Feet Friday

Taking Dad's dog, Passion, for a walk on a beautiful fall day. Both of us got off the couch! :)

When Not At Home

A simple math equation:

THIS:

+ THIS:

= THIS:


Oh dear!