Musings from a scrap quilter and grandma about quilting and grandchildren, and whatever seems pertinent at the time.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
New Years Eve Quilting
Our NYE celebration tonight will consist of Beef Kabobs for dinner and watching the Bears beat the Packers on TV tonight! I've been going through quilt magazines in the evenings, tearing out the patterns/info I want to keep and tossing the rest. It's a good job to do while watching tv, especially football. I have some from the past two nights that are waiting to be filed into sleeves and added to a notebook. It's taken me years to come up with a good system for these and I think this is it -- so much easier to page through a notebook or two or three than the hundreds of magazines. And, I'm trying to be very selective -- I don't want to save something I know I will never make. Some I save will just be a jumping off point of an idea, but the rest will be real possibilities. I have some printouts from the 'net that I have saved also. I'm being very selective there too.
Happy New Year everyone. Be safe.
Gratitudes:
A phone call from a friend.
A nice relaxing quilty day.
Quietly seeing the year out, looking forward to the new one coming in.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Getting Ready for the New Year
Friday, December 29, 2006
Ringing in the New Year
I spent an hour at the doctor's office this morning only to find that the problem with my "underneath quilting" finger is just more arthritis and probably a high degree of inflammation. All I know for sure is that it hurts and I can't hand quilt with it! So, tomorrow I start on some new high-dose prednisone type stuff for a week -- hopefully that will take care of the problem. I can live with stiff fingers -- all my other ones are anyway but they don't really hurt, this one does!
I've been thinking about my New Year's Resolutions for at least the last month. I try to make realistic ones -- yeah, I'd like to finish every ufo I have, but that's not going to happen in one year even if I worked on nothing but ufo's! I posted them on the right (hopefully!). I can combine a couple -- like learning everything I can on the longarm with finishing the 12 tops -- I think I probably have close to 12 finished tops, but if not, I will! I'm looking forward to doing more of Judy's Hour a Day quilts -- it's nice to use up stash and fun to work along with others in Blogland. I want to actually do a couple of Bonnie's scrap quilts with my already cut scrap strips -- I love most of the ones on her site, but have only done the Pineapple Blossom. I have a few different leaders/enders projects started (because I get bored doing the same ones), so I want to finish at least one of those. And I want to do at least 15 minutes a day of quilt related things -- getting organized enough that I just need to go in and sit down and sew or quilt. I'll be counting getting everything organized in the 15 minutes a day -- sometimes you just need to clean everything off to get something new started.
I'm not dieting anymore -- I spent months losing 10 pounds, gained it all back plus some when Bill was sick. I'm only going to work on exercising every day -- when I stop exercising, I start gaining, so the key for me is getting on that treadmill everyday, or lifting weights.
I'm trying to plan my menus at least a week in advance -- it is so much nicer to know what I'm fixing for dinner in the morning instead of throwing something together at the last minute. Tonight I'm trying a new to me recipe -- Winter Beef Stew from the 2007 Kraft Foods Calendar for January.
So, those are my ideas for the new year. I need to go up and spend my 15 minutes today counting and recording my ufo's -- I've accepted the UFO Challenge for 2007 on Dusting Your Stash on Yahoo, so I need to have a baseline!
Hope everyone has a Happy, Healthy New Year.
Gratitudes:
1. Having a good relationship with my doctor -- he knows he can tease me and we can both laugh about it. (And I can tease him also!)
2. Looking forward to 2007 with anticipation and not dread.
3. Stopping at the local pharmacy for the first time and being pleasantly surprised by the caring attitude of the pharmacists.
4. Having a menu planned.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Merry Christmas
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Snowmen
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Cookie Day
My beautiful grandchildren on cookie day -- in their new, monogrammed aprons, courtesy of grandma, of course!
We had a lot of fun, and grandma came home totally worn out! vbg
Grandpa, however, managed to wire two new overhead lights in the suspended ceiling in the basement to give me more light over the area that will be filled with my new longarm soon. He also put a new outlet in another wall so I can actually use the treadmill again (and boy do I need to get back on it soon).
I did manage to get the binding sewn on Gratitude, but not yet stitched down. I only did the ditch quilting so far on it, but decided to bind it and pin the label on so I can wrap it and give it to Bill for Christmas. After I get some practice under my belt on the Gammill, I'll finish the rest of the quilting on it. So, sewing the binding down will be the project this week.
BTW -- girlfriend loved the needlepunch Santa picture!
Gratitudes:
Bill is feeling better every day.
It was his idea to add more light to the basement area and he didn't waste time getting the job done.
Spending the day with Steph, Aaron and the kids.
The Bears managed to pull one out of their hat today, after almost giving it away!
Light traffic on the drive up and back to WI today.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
My Christmas Gift
Anyway -- in the meantime we've been discussing a longarm purchase, but I didn't want to talk about it while he's been sick -- I surely wouldn't be able to concentrate on quilting if he were seriously ill. I have been in touch with the Gammill dealer in Janesville, WI -- which is just over an hour from us, and they have called and sent brochures, sales lit, etc. The latest was a sales flyer for an additional $500 in merchandise with the purchase of a machine, with an end date of Dec. 20. So... yesterday after getting the good news on the ct scan, and the fact that Bill felt fairly well yesterday, he asked if I was going to order the machine online or go up there. I said go up there, sometime before the 20th. He said how about this afternoon. We did. My new Gammill Classic Plus longarm machine will be delivered January 11! I'm so excited I can't stop smiling -- and Bill feels better today, too!
Gratitudes:
1. I think Bill is on the mend.
2. I have started quilting Gratitudes and will have it done for Christmas. Now you know why I want to give it to Bill. He is the best husband.
3. I have an incentive to get the basement area cleared out and cleaned up for the new machine!
4. This really is a dream come true.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Another Christmas gift finished
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Look at this Beautiful Baby!
Gratitudes:
New babies.
Doctors who seem to know we need answers.
Bill had a much better day today.
The electric heater in the computer room -- boy the basement is cold!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Finally, a finish
Quilted it on Friday and yesterday got the binding stitched down and the hanging sleeve on -- it is a finished Christmas gift!
Today I worked entirely on the needlepunch project I have going -- it too is a Christmas gift -- still need to get one more floss color and finish the background.
And, yesterday I also cleaned up the sewing tables, sorted another shelf of fabric in the cabinet and refolded a whole bunch of it, leaving me with a new pile for scraps that needs to be cut and put into the various drawers. And, I pressed "Gratitudes" and cut the batting, but decided to buy a fabric for the background for 50% off at the lqs next Saturday instead of piecing one. I want to finish it to give to Bill for Christmas and that will make 5 quilts I finished for Christmas gifts this year! 4 for sure!
Gratitudes:
1. The birds have found the seed and the Juncos are back.
2. The fireplace in the kitchen -- I spent all afternoon sitting at the table watching the Bears game and needlepunching and it was warm and toasty.
3. Creamed chicken and biscuits for dinner tonight -- something easy because I'm feeling lazy!
4. The roads are cleared of snow, and most of the driveway ice has melted off in the sun.