A Christmas Design Wall

It was June of this year. Hot. Bright sun. Long days.

My quilty friend, JP, and I decided to make Christmas tree skirts. JP and I get together every Monday to quilt and in June decided to do a mutual project.

I was happy to get such an early start on these two skirts. I knew that they would be done well before Christmas. (Can you tell something is coming?)

Last year I had made a Christmas tree skirt for Noel Heart. You can read the story here and see the gorgeous quilt. I finished it right before Christmas, but it took real hustle to do it.

This year, I said with satisfaction, I’ll finish way before the Thanksgiving holiday. In our house, at Thanksgiving, I give each of my kids a Christmas decoration for the house. It’s a tradition I’m carrying forth from my Mom.

Fast forward to after Thanksgiving. Say, this past week. I finally finished the skirt for Nancy Drew. Phew! But, at least it’s done!

The photos are a little light or dark, depending on which one you look at. It was night. I was using my "good" camera. It tends to make pictures that are not the correct brightness (or darkness)!

This is the back, but both sides can be used for under the tree.

I'm hooking up with the parties on the right column! You won't be sorry if you go and visit each of them. There are a lot of creative quilters out  there!

Don't miss my Christmas Carol Countdown 2014. It started on Monday and will continue to Christmas Eve. Lots of great carols, stories and videos. You do not want to miss it this year! Just click on the badge on the top right each day!

A Fantastic Garage Find!

Isn’t life serendipitous sometimes? I had a moment the other day…

1964 Ford Galaxie

A little background would help. I have a husband. He has a project car, (Definition: a car that sits with all its parts removed). We have a garage. His project car resides in our garage. (See? A quilting blog you can finally show your husband! boyfriend! etc!)

Now don’t get me wrong here. I don’t want anyone jumping to conclusions or anything other thing. The car is a boat. It is so big that when you sit in the driver’s seat, you can’t lean over and touch the passenger door. It has personality. I love that car!

My husband’s car and its various, multitudinous parts occupy most of the garage. I have a quilt room which occupies a bedroom plus a closet and floor-space in another bedroom. You see? He and I both have “hobbies” and understand the necessity of space for such hobbies.

And now back to the story…a while back my husband came in from the garage with a couple of old boxes. He thought they were mine. I didn’t recognize them. I opened the first box and looked in at the eggs of the Golden Goose, the coins at the end of the rainbow, the flower wreath of horse racing.

I wrote Siggie Blocks on the box.

There were quilt blocks made by my Aunt Marie (of Marie’s Marvelous Makings). I had totally forgotten that I had her quilt blocks in the garage. The first box I opened were signature blocks. Over 300 of them!

The other box contained…a surprise for you lovely readers. I will writing a post about Box #2 in the future!

And now, I present a (very) few of those blocks!

I love the blue on the end with its nubbies!

Such a nice variety of browns!

Notice the third is a real 30s print

I love everyone of these red ones.

I had to ponder for a few months of what I wanted to do with them. I don’t belong to a guild where friends would sign the blocks. I don’t have 300 friends, much less 30. I could make a mini-quilt of siggie blocks of my friends. I don’t have a huge family who could sign blocks. You can see my dilemma.

It must have been one of those glorious days where everything went right and birds were singing. I realized what I was going to do! I am going to write all of my favorite books, one for each block.

I am addicted to reading. I’ve read ever since I learned how to read in school! A group of middle-school friends of mine went on a vacation to a lovely resort one summer, with two moms along. We had fun with the activities at the resort. But the major part of our days were spent reading!

I was thrilled to start writing down the books. My all-time favorite: To Kill A Mockingbird. Books that I bought for 45 cents from Scholastic when I was in middle-school that I read over and over. My favorite: Jennifer. My beloved Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden of my elementary school years. High school books brought me The Chronicles of Narnia and The Von Trapp Family Singers. Jack Weyland was my favorite author in college. My favorite book of his: Charly. Biographies of ordinary people in extraordinary times: The Bielski Brothers.

I kept writing until I couldn’t think of anymore. I kept writing until I had listed 252 books! Using 252 blocks would give me a beautiful queen quilt for my full-size bed.

My only quandary now is how to write the names on the blocks. It would take a daunting amount of time to embroider each book’s name. I’m thinking of writing the names with Pigma Pens. I have very nice handwriting, by the way.

Do you have any ideas of how to “write” names on the blocks? I’m not adverse to anything you suggest and I would dearly love to hear suggestions!

I’m hooking up with these lovely linky parties that have many talented and amazing quilters sharing what they are working on. You can go to anyone you choose by clicking on the sidebars on the right!

Gasp! New Years and New Goals!

Okay, okay, so maybe I'm panicking more than I should. Take a deep breath. Whew. Much better. If anyone gets in a tizzy about New Years goals, I suggest a paper bag.

Nope, Better, Getting Close, Now You've Got It!

         

Then again, I heard a new piece of advice. Have any of you watched Call the Midwife series on
PBS? Netflix has both seasons. It's a gem...a must-see. I'm working through the second season. The episode I watched, a mid-wife was helping a woman going through labor to calm down. Her advice: Recite the 23rd Psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd..." but take a deep breath between each line. The woman doesn't know the psalm, so the midwife suggests reciting a song with deep breaths stating she doesn't see why that wouldn't work. The woman starts singing, "Catch a falling star, Put it in your pocket..."  You might want to try this if you're over-wrought.

But I digress... Really are they going to put this on my headstone?

I'll be terribly truthful here. Now wait, I'm always terribly truthful. So why do I have to say this to start off?

I have always made New Year's Goals. Sometimes the same goals many, many years in a row. Like losing weight, saying my prayers daily, writing in a journal, reading scriptures daily. Those are the Top Four. And, not to brag, I have finally gotten to the point of saying my prayers daily and reading the scriptures daily. (After a decade or so!) Does writing a blog count as a journal? And I did lose 30 pounds 2 years ago, but have gained back 20 of it. Sniff. Sniff. Do I smell a repetitive New Years Goal in the making?

Sarah, over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, shared her NYGs and asked for others to chime in. I love to chime! (because I'm a ding dong?) Oh my, my humor today is taking on a fourth grade mentality. Of course I have three fourth graders on my caseload!

Keeping it quilty, here is what I hope am going to accomplish this year! Tally Ho!

PS: My links are in light blue. I haven't figured out how to change the link color.

Quilts To Finish

Log Cabin Wedding Quilt

10 Squares a Month

Progress 40/75 (not sure if it is 75)

Quilt Spider Web

Quilt Bricks and Stepping Stones

Upcoming Quilts

Continue on UFO's list

Next UFO: Farmer's Wife!
I have done 94 blocks--17 to go!

Modus Operandi!

Do not buy new fabric, except as needed
to finish a UFO.

New Things to Try

Keeping a Stash Count
because I love lists and numbers

Make two quilts for Phoenix Quilts
because my Dad was a firefighter

Keep up with A Lovely Finish 2014

Hopefully
Fingers Crossed!

I would like to have 50 followers by 12/31/14

Blog 3-4 times per week

And there you have it folks. My goals. And my dreams. I'm excited! I have to remember to be realistic because I work during the school year and my pace is slow. I'm also have a limited "up time" every day.

There are some really great blogs yesterday and today talking about New Years Goals. I'm hooking up with the wonderful Sandy at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Fresh Sewing Day I highly recommend checking out all of the other linked blogs there. Their buttons are in the right column.

God Bless.

Where in the World is Quilting Nonnie?

 Can you believe I'm home every day, all day, on summer vacation and haven't had time to post in my blog?

Me, in earlier years, spending my summer vacation in my favorite past time.

 Dig the crazy couch, the cool hair do--can you guess the year? Answer at bottom of post.

My dog, Bambi, and reading my favorite author, Dick Francis

Well, I didn't spend every day reading...besides that couch is long gone! Where would I read? Okay, down to business. Why, you the faithful reader ask haven't you been in blog land? Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego Quilting Nonnie?

First Excuse Reason:
It's 19 days until I go back to work. And that is not my Whoop Whoop!

Second Excuse:
Somebody "didn't see me" and smacked into my car. We've been valiantly living with one car. Two are being put back in running order by my genius hubby, Wizard of the High Order of Car Repairedness.

Third Excuse:
Kitty! Need I say more? Why yes, I can (and will)! After undergoing four name changes, she has finally been christened Kaiju. Japanese translation: Big Monster. The way she storms with her big paws through the house scattering everything in front of her, she definitely qualifies for Monster. With her paws, it looks like she is going to be Big.

Kaiju! Do not climb the design wall!

Bad Kitty! Do not eat the pins!

Plus, when I sit down and she climbs up in my lap and falls asleep. Then I'm stuck there until she wakes up, so I can't get as much done. (Guess where she's at right now?)

Oh, darn! Here I am stuck here doing nothing till kitty wakes up. Hmm, where's that mahjong game?

Fourth Excuse:
Quilting as much as possible before my halcyon days of summer are through.



Fifth Excuse:
Yummy vegetables and their maintenance.

Lovely tomatoes!

Fantastic Peter Pan Squash!

Sixth Excuse:
Finding a gardener to take care of overgrown bushes and weeding! (see above pictures for proof).

The bush that took over the world!

Step One: Ignore weeds. Step Two: Oooh and ahhh at flowers.

Now the big question is: Does anybody want a yard job??? Very little experience needed except for deathly thoughts towards weeds!

Seventh Excuse:
Correcting mistakes in quilting:

Guess the mistake here!

I found that my spool quilt was supposed to be 6.5 x 4.5. I had made the blocks 4.5 x 4.5. I have to add 2 more strips to each spool. Since the strips are all used, I have to rip apart some spools to add to other spools. And make more white side strips.





Eighth Excuse:
Cleaning, routine-ing and house-ing:

Summer has been split between the Q activity and getting the house in order. My goal is to have everything clutter-free, everything having a place so that I can maintain during school year. I've got the kitchen, my part of cleaning bathrooms and living room done. I'm more than halfway through the spare room. It was (is) a huge task because its real name is: "If you don't know what to do with something, just throw it in the spare room on top of bed or any pile you like!"

I have also been chaining routines so that the first step starts a chain and makes sure many things get done: Get up (which is a gargantuan task), take meds,  feed demanding animals, shower get dressed, eat breakfast whilst reading scriptures, daily prayer, scoop cat litter and the voila! my day has started and all things that were needful got done.

Also trying to habit-ize regular cleaning of house. Can you by any stretch of the imagination see that I am an organizer, a inveterate list maker? Here's the weekly afterschool routine:



It is so difficult, as everyone who lives and breathes will attest, I'm bushed after work. I hope that forming chains will make things run more regularly.

That was a BIG eighth reason!

Ninth Excuse:
Creating budgeting routine. 'Nuff said!

And in the meantime...lovely family!

Noel Heart and Firstest take part in Rugged Maniac

Victory is Ours. Firstest does his version of the Happy Dance. Noel Heart on left, her cousin on right.

What is it about my two daughters that they are drawn to mud? (see post here)

For more whoopty do, check out other adventures at Confessions of A Fabric Addict. The link is in the right sidebar.

** Date of first picture: 1994, but I do believe the couch was from the decade before. I was its third or fourth owner. It's really true, they don't pay teachers very well!

Spring Quilts & Spoons

I am re-posting this blog entry from almost a year ago. I have just finished the flimsy that I am going to give to Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo. You can see my post about it here. I thought that for today's Let Be Social I would share this with you. It's mostly about people who have chronic illnesses and an amazing piece, The Spoon Theory, written about how you explain that to others.

In the Spring this year, Quilting Gallery had its weekly "contest" with the theme of Spring Quilts. It's a fun thing to do every week. There is a theme each week and you can post a quilt you've made that meets the theme. During the week, anyone can vote for their top three favorites. At the end of the week, a winner is announced and a nice prize is given.

With the Spring Theme, I looked through my quilts. I don't have many quilts in my "body of quilts," so it was easy to look through all of them. I found the quilt below that is called Purple Hugs.

 With all the lovely flower prints, I think it definitely welcomes in Spring.

I made this quilt in Spring of 2012. We moved to our house eight years ago. The neighbors across the street became good friends. There was the Mom & Dad & P their adult daughter. P lives with them because they need her help in keeping their lives in order.

Close Up of Purple Hugs

Three years ago, P was diagnosed with MS. She was 30 years old. She has a great sense of humor and, more often than not, when she comes over to visit it is to laugh. She makes fun of herself and her decreasing abilities. She would hate me for saying this, but she is a model of grace.

When she got her diagnosis, I wanted to make her a quilt. Her favorite color is purple, could you tell? I started looking at patterns with an eye for ones that would be simple and quick to put together. I wanted her to have it soonest.

I went through my stash and started pulling out purples, greens, and pinks. I love purple and green together! I'm not a purple person, but I was grateful I had enough for the quilt. Some of the fabric dated back to my Aunt Marie's stash.

Since I didn't have the money to send it to a LAQ, I decided to tie it. I am always worried that someone will like a quilt less because it is tied. Silly me. It turned out beautifully.

P loves her quilt and mentions it now and again. I'm glad she does. She's a wonderful person.

Many of you, like me, have known or had friends who have chronic illnesses. There are those of you who live "up close and personal" with someone living with this. The two people I have been close to are my neighbor, P, and my mom.

I've written about my mom before (link above). She got breast cancer when she was 42 and I was just graduating from high school. She never fully recovered. The cancer just kept attacking different parts of her body. Twelve years later she died. P reminds me of my mom. Mom always lived on the sunny side of the street, even when it stormed. Her cancer robbed her of her immune system. It robbed her of her energy and ability to have a vibrant life. Hers is not an unusual story in cancer-dom or in chronic diseases.

Mom had to choose her activities carefully. If she decided to go shopping, or over to friends for dinner, take in a movie, she would be down in bed for at least two days.

A few years back I came across a touching piece written by a woman, Christine, who has Lupus. One day while having lunch with a very dear, long-time friend who asked her what it was like to have Lupus. After the years they had known each other, Christine was amazed that her friend had no idea what her life was like. She cast about for some way to explain what it was like to live with Lupus, then she had a brilliant inspiration. She picked up spoons from the table and used them to teach her friend. From that instance, she had found a way to describe living with a chronic illness.

The Spoon Theory stuck a chord with me because it described my mom. I have passed it on to many people in my life who could use it. Whether it be because they need to understand they're not alone or because people say "you don't look sick," I want them to read it.

I cannot download it, or print it, but I can give you the link where to find it. I hope you will read it. Maybe you:

• know someone who has a chronic illness
• had or have a relative who is dealing with chronic illness
• you've had someone tell you or someone you know that they "don't look sick."
• you get judged when you get out of your car after you parked in the handicapped zone
• have friends who are unsupportive because you can't come to the party, or go shopping, etc
• have a chronic disease

Pass the link on to someone. Read it for comfort. Read it for understanding of someone you know.

But, please, read it.

The Spoon Theory



Photo credit: Silver Spoon, by Believe Creations, taken April 6, 2008. CCC license

Whoop! Whoop! Friday

Hurrah for Friday! Hurrah for only 40 teaching days left in the school year!

I've been gone from BlogLand for a couple of weeks. It's the Spring Cleaning of the Mind. Yes, I have been occupied in the .... P word.... It's true, my friends, I have been Prioritizing things in my life. Has anyone noticed that everyone has too little time? I heard of a famous astrophysicist who has spent the last 40 years of his life trying to adjust the space-time consortium so that there will be eight days a week, resulting in a three day weekend. Not only that, but he is within a few years of getting a 28 hour day. I know it's true because I read it on the internet! That makes it true, doesn't it?


I've only been blogging for a few months but I love it. I have loved writing since I was in second grade where my career ambitions were to be a mail carrier and an author. What started out as writing about quilting amazingly turned into an unexpected joy. With Spring Cleaning of the Mind I knew I needed to keep writing both my blogs. I still haven't figured all the nuts and bolts, time being the biggie, but I don't want my love of writing to die out.

That alone could be the whoop, whoop, but it isn't. Or there's another.

Okay doke. The main event.

Every March in schools around here, the children celebrate Read Across America. Dr. Seuss' birthday is the annual event day. Kids bring Dr. Seuss books, teachers read them, kids write about their favorite Seuss books. One of my favorite activities is the guided drawing that second graders do. The teacher shows the kids how to draw the Cat in the Hat on the board, and the kids draw. The results are delightful. I've taken pictures over the years and they are a hoot!

I've keep the pictures in their own folder with the ambition of making a quilt with blocks of 2nd grader's drawings of the Cat in the Hat.

Feast your eyes on just a few examples!

While pondering the design of the quilt, I've been trying to figure out what to use as a background. I'm planning on doing a quilt painting or old-fashioned machine embroidery to make each cat. I learned how to do it in 1979, before computerized anything!

To do that, you drop the feed dogs  and set the zigzag for whatever size you need. With the fabric in a hoop, you guide the hoop under the needle and make the picture. It's like a variation of machine quilting.

A month ago, my sisty ugler came down for a visit. She brought me her quilting stash. (Read post here) A few days later, as I gleefully went through the bins I came upon this:

 A tote bag from Read Across America. And what color is the background?? Turquoise! Perfection! Now I know what the background of the blocks will be. I'm especially pleased because turquoise is my new favorite color.

This will be fun! when I get around to it.

I'm hooking up with Sarah over at Confessions of a Quilt Addict. You can click on the badge in the right column to get there. Drop in and see what others are whooping about.

Another Thursday Thing: Sew Thinky

I've been wanting to join in on the Sew Thinky at Mommy's Naptime. This is Week 8 and the question this week is "Who do you like to sew for the most?"

My first thought was ME. The next was my family. But truly, the real answer is I love to quilt for my grandchildren and my husband.

I made a scrappy quilt from Bonnie Hunter's site at Quiltville. It's called Bricks and Stepping Stones. After the blocks were done, I did the layout on the floor and it looked so terrific. The "bricks" had come from my Aunt Marie's stash. I got very revved up!

Then something horribly, black magically went wrong. *gulp* You might want to remove the children from the room! I sewed all the blocks together just like in the picture on the left below. But when I put the finished top on the design board it wasn't the same! It looked awful. It wasn't cohesive. What had I done? What went so terribly wrong???

I see, I just clicked on the file right before this one! This is the Bricks and Stepping Stones laid out on the floor.

Then my hubby/hero walked in the room. He said, "That looks very nice. I really like that quilt." I managed to snarl out of the side of my mouth, "Then you can have it!" I'm nothing if not gracious.

He loved the quilt. He wanted my quilt. He said it was his favorite kind of quilt. It reminded him of his Great-Aunt Kitty's quilts (whom he adores).

So now you can see why I love to make quilts for my hubby.

Then there's the time I made Sweetie a quilt for her newly painted in a new house bedroom. I had made the curtains and later I made the quilt. I had to wait about a year before I gave it to her. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift, but she was in love with High School Musical and wanted a bedspread of that. A year later she got the quilt. Nancy Drew called me up and said that Sweetie wanted to tell me something. Sweetie shouted, "I LOVE THE QUILT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I LOVE IT." It melted my heart.

Sweetie on her first day of school that year.

And that is why I like making quilts for my grandchildren.