Happy New Year!

How is it possible that 2006 is over? I don't make resolutions, but I hope that I can accomplish some things this year.

I'd like to lose weight. My friend June and I have been lamenting that we need to lose weight by October before a crew reunion for the USS Grant, a submarine our husbands were on together.

I need to keep my studio more organized. Right now it's difficult to work in the clutter.

I need to get more sewing done. I have all this fabric and all these ideas, but I just don't seem to get going on it. My quilt guild is having a UFO busting challenge. We're to bring a UFO to the January meeting and pledge to finish it by the February meeting and so on. We'll see how good I am at keeping up! I think I'll take my Adam's Apple quilt.


I want to add more leaves to the trees before I can think about basting it for quilting so I should get going on it.

Not doing much work

I haven't been in my sewing room for a week or so, expect for a brief visit on Christmas Eve to fix Noah's Buddy. Buddy is a square of flannel fabric backed with a satiny fabric. One corner has two 'ears' sticking out and diagonally from that corner there are two 'tails.' Noah drags Buddy with him everywhere and after 5 years Buddy is showing some wear. I've done several patch jobs trying to fix worn spots and had to make an additional repair on Christmas Eve. Pretty soon Buddy will be beyond fixing. If Noah is anything like Craig, he'll be taking Buddy to college with him!

Noah and I are going to make a similar item sometime soon for his new sibling that is due in June. Yep, we're going to be grandparents again! I can't wait to cuddle the new baby! The big ultrasound is scheduled for January 18 and if the baby cooperates we'll know the sex. Isn't technology great?

Chrystal's birthday

Today is Chrystal's birthday. I know she hates having her special day so close to Christmas. We had dinner with them tonight & Chrystal's mom & brother stopped by for cake & ice cream.

This is what I made for her birthday.



I actually finished this a month or so ago and, of course, couldn't post it because it would ruin the surprise. I used an Eileen Sullivan paper piecing pattern. It's actually supposed to be a rectangle, but I tried something different for the borders. The first attempt border design was a failure, but I think the final result turned out okay.

I started this at our state guild retreat in October and it was strange to me the number of people who seemed surprised that I was making something for my daughter in law. More than one person said 'you must really like her.' I guess not everyone likes their in-laws.

Happy Birthday Chrystal!

He was lucky

Craig had a motorcycle accident tonight. He was merging on the freeway, looking over his shoulder for oncoming traffic. When he looked forward again he discovered that traffic was coming to a sudden stop. He hit his brakes, the bike dropped and he ended up going head over heels on the roadway. Luckily he wears lots of protective gear - helmet (this is a helmet optional state) gloves, boots, protective leather pants and jacket. He ended up with a low level separated shoulder and a badly sprained ankle.

By the looks of his helmet, he would have had some serious injuries if he'd been bareheaded. We're counting our blessings.

Getting ready for Christmas

I purchased a pre-baked gingerbread tree kit for us to work on with Noah. The kit also included the icing and decorations for the tree. Initially Noah wasn't too interested in working on it because he said he didn't like the way the gingerbread smelled.




Once I got the icing all prepared and started working on the tree he got more interested in the project.



















It was hard to sit him down for a photo with the completed project because he was too hyped up from all the sugar in the icing he licked off his fingers!

Another WIP Wednesday

Years ago - late 1980's - my mother asked me if I'd make her some embellished beaded and sequined Christmas ornaments. I ordered some kits from a company called Crackerbox. I gave her the ones I completed and stuck the other kits in a drawer. I've moved those kits 5 or 6 times and always put them in the same drawer in the same desk. Last week I decided I'd try to assemble one. I just finished it tonight and only because I cut a few corners and fudged the instructions a bit. I figure it took about 10 hours. Now I know why I left them in the drawer for so long. These buggers take a lot of work!




I was going to send it to my mother, but since she doesn't really decorate for Christmas anymore I decided to keep it for myself!