Thursday, January 31, 2008

Finally, a finish

I finally put the borders on my Carolina Crossroads quilt today. I used Bonnie's no-math method for the first time and they turned out great, so she has yet another convert! I still need to put together a backing and the binding, but at least the top is done. I want to do the backing and binding and keep them with the top so that when I finally get back to longarming I can just grab the next in line and go!
Speaking of longarming, I bought Dawn Ramirez' Pajama Quilter DVD because Mary was having too much fun with hers! And I can say that now I know why -- what a fabulous find. Dawn has lots of tips for beginners and beyond on machine quilting freehand. I even went out and bought a bigger whiteboard so I could actually practice easier (instead of having to erase every foot!)

My quilt guild's newsletter editor had to give up the job this month because of other commitments, so I volunteered to finish the year (which just started). I was actually going to volunteer last year when they were filling offices, but Nel had already said she would do it again. She's done a great job. But I'm looking forward to the work. It makes me focus on quilty stuff and it's actually a lot of fun. I used to be the editor a few years back.

JR got his stitches out yesterday afternoon and is cone-head free now! He's still "letting" us carry him upstairs, but he can actually do it himself. We're supposed to keep him from jumping and running around for 3 months -- yeah, like that's going to be an easy job! We can take him out on a leash for now, so that helps some. Thankfully, the weather is too cold for him to be out running around anyway.

Steve is doing well this week, his first of radiation and chemo. They've given me the dates I'll be driving him to Madison, which are not that many -- he really has found out what super friends he has -- these guys are even taking days off work to share in the driving duties.

Gratitudes:
Witnessing the impact my son has made on the lives of others. If we're lucky, we only know the impact we've made on our own families in the end and can only imagine the impact we've made on other's lives. Steve's finding out now and it's blowing us all away!

10 comments :

scraphappy said...

Wow! What a great quilt. It makes me feel guilty that mine is still sitting sadly lacking borders. I love the way you blend so many greens together. It ties everything else together so well.

Beth said...

I think yours is the prettiest Crossroads I have seen to date. I love how the stars show up..nice contrast. Great job!

~Bren~ said...

Your quilt turned out gorgeous!
What a blessing to hear that Steve is doing well. You are right, I think we never know how many lives we touch.
I love Stockholm's coconut cream pie!!!

The Calico Quilter said...

Your quilt is lovely, congratulations to you - you did a beautiful job. Best wishes to Steve; I am sure that I am only one of many voices in the quilt blogosphere rooting for him.

Lindah said...

Beautiful quilt, Joanne! I'm looking forward to finishing my CC as soon as I finish my 2 committed quilts. Ok, you and Mary have convinced me. I'm going to get the Ramirez CDs.
So good to hear that things are going well with your son. How wonderful to have all that support!

Kristie said...

Your quilt is beautiful, I love how you did the borders, I will have to try that sometime.

Glad JR is doing better, I'm sure you have been worried about him.

Hope all goes well with Steve. That is very nice that everyone is helping out. That is when you know who your friends really are.
Kristie

Purple Pam said...

Your Carolina Crossroads is great. I like Bonnie's border treatment, too. Glad things are moving in a positive direction for you and your family.

Melanie said...

Love the quilt--- JR Made it!!!!

Mary Johnson said...

Your mystery quilt looks wonderful! Great job.

I'm glad you like the PJ quilter DVD too... I found lots of inspiration in it.

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

It is a great finish!!! And look how busy you have been with your wonderful family too! You are lucky to live so close to them.

Cheers!

Evelyn