Do you want a scoop?

We owned the world's oldest ice cream scoop. It was of some odd metallic material that seemed to rub off the scoop onto the ice cream. Most unappetizing. The last time we had ice cream I told Noah that on the next gift giving occasion I sure would like a new ice cream scoop. Well, for my birthday I received not one but EIGHT ice cream scoops! Craig said he visited a bunch of kitchenware stores in the area to get a proper assortment. (yes I know the smallest one is probably really supposed to be a melon baller, but it's the perfect Hayden sized scoop.)



We tried out several of them to scoop the ice cream to go with my birthday cake. (click photos for larger view)



If you ever need an ice cream scoop, give me a call. I can probably help you out!

Birthday girl

Today I celebrate my 57th birthday. My brother Claude left me a happy birthday message this morning and stated he knew that it was a significant birthday what with me turning 60. He thinks he's such a card, but all I have to do is remind him that he's 4 years older than me and that usually shuts him up.

Here I am blowing out the candles on some long ago birthday cake. That's my good friend Liz on the left with the birthday hat on. I'm pretty sure the guy on the far right - the one in the striped shirt - is the aforementioned Claude (you know, the guy that will always be FOUR years older than me.)(click photo for larger view)



Liz and I both moved out of Detroit as adults and it has been years since I've seen her. Liz, I know you've visited my blog in the past and if you're reading this, please drop me a note. I miss you!

My big plans for the day are to eat junk. I've been dieting for several months but tonight I plan to have pizza and cake & ice cream.

We have a name

After much more angst than it deserved, I finally decided on a name for my Darned Quilt: Orange Fizz.

Now, I need to get busy on some of my other UFO's.

The family expands

On Friday my nephew Kevin (my brother Ed's son) became a Dad for the first time when his son Ronin was born. I think this photo of father and son is so sweet.


Ronin weighed 9lb 10oz and was a bit over 22 inches long. This photo of him with his Grandmother Rosemary shows how big he is!



Kevin got Rosemary's red hair (although it's sure hard to tell in the photo)so it's a possibility that Ronin will also be a redhead.

More on naming quilt

I've had lots of great suggestions for naming my darned quilt. I hadn't considered the cosmic aspect of the work and the suggested names that related to that aspect made me look at the work differently.

Jerry gave me a humorous suggestion that keeps sounding better and better to me: "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" I wonder if I'd be sorry using that name.

Please help name me

I can't believe I've actually finished something. I picked up this unfinished project last week and am surprised I actually got it done. (and yes I did end up mitering the border)

(click for larger view)


As I mentioned in my earlier post about this work I started it in a Quilt University class called Darned Quilts with Dena Crain. In order to make the circles (which Dena calls Bubbles) I cut out the shapes and then used same sized circles cut from elsewhere in the quilt to plug the holes. The circles/bubbles are sewn in using the darning stitch on the sewing machine.

I first considered naming this "Those Darned Bubbles" but now am not sure I really like that name. Now I'm considering "Bubblicious" or "Tiny Bubbles" or "A Bit of the Bubbly" What do you think? I open to any and all suggestions!

Old projects

One of my goals this year is to "stop starting projects and start finishing some" To that end I pulled out a project that's about a year and a half old.

I started this in a Quilt University class called Darned Quilts by Dena Crain. It was the first session of the class and I was amazed at the wonderful quilts that resulted. All I accomplished by the end of the 4 week class was to construct the background. I pieced it out of fabrics that I dyed in another QU class.

Last week I sat down and embellished the background - adding the ribbons, rickrack and embroidery stitches. Then, I cut the circles out of the quilt (Dena calls them bubbles) and swapped them out - plugging the holes with a same sized circle from another location. The circles are stitched in using the machine's darning stitch - thus the name Darned Quilts.

I think I'm going to redo the border. Now that it's on I think I should have mitered the corners. What do you think? (click for larger view)




Here's a detail.



I think I'm going to name this "Those Darned Bubbles" but I'm not 100% sure yet. Dena recommends just some simple curved line quilting - which suits me just fine.

Another project I've been working on is an outfit for Hayden. Chrystal, the kids, and Chrys' folks are going to Disney World over the upcoming 3 day Martin Luther King holiday. I found this Disney princess fabric and decided to make something for her to wear on the trip. We tried it on over the top she was already wearing - it doesn't really have pinkish/orangish fabric at the neckline. The photo doesn't show the top's bottom border which is made of the same fabric as the yoke. I also made a pair of pants from the yoke/border fabric.



What have YOU been working on?

Grandkids

I have not been doing any sewing or quilting to speak of so instead of sewing photos, I'll just be forced to post photos of those beautiful grandchildren of ours!

I caught them both in pensive poses the other day. Noah is at the stage where he puts on a forced smile when posing for a photo so I tried to catch him unaware. He has a bunch of freckles like I used to! (click on photos for larger view)



Hayden and Grandpa were watching Dora the explorer when I got her photo. She likes Dora a lot but Grandpa is less taken with the show. He'll do anything for his 'baby girl' though so he even answers the questions Dora asks!

Merry Christmas!

Noah, Hayden and Santa join me in wishing you a Merry Christmas. (photo clickable for larger view)

The karate kid

While we were in New York we missed seeing Noah test for his purple belt in Karate. Craig started Karate back when he was in 8th grade and, except for a few years off while he was in college, has continued his training since. Until recently Noah had no interest in training with Craig. Now that he has started he's enjoying it a lot. He passed his test and is now the proud owner of a purple belt. (click on photo for larger view of my two handsome guys)

New York days 3 and 4

The rain finally stopped by Friday morning. We were lucky. A lot of New England got quite a snow/ice storm. At least it was only rain in NYC.

Before leaving Charleston we discussed what museums we might like to visit and decided that the Metropolitan Museum of Art would be our choice. We hopped on the subway to the Upper West Side. The Museum is on the East side of Central Park so we walked through the park to the Museum. Our path took us by the Castle. It's really a cool building. (click on photos for larger view)



We spent several hours in the Met and could have spent even more if my feet were not screaming at me. I especially enjoy seeing the paintings from the impressionists. If you're never been to the museum, it's more than just paintings. I always enjoy the Egyptian exhibit. Jerry likes the armor from medieval times. The costume exhibit was closed for renovation which was a disappointment to me.


We took the train back down the west side and made a visit to Mood Fabrics at 37th & 7th.




If you are a Project Runway fan, I don't need to tell you about Mood. If you're not a fan, Mood is where the contestants shop for the supplies to make whatever garment is required for that week's challenge. There are a couple of floors of fabric - all on rolls and arranged by fabric type.



There are also shelves and shelves of ribbons and trims. (this photo shows only a small portion of them)



I didn't purchase anything except for a Mood tote bag. As we were getting on the elevator to leave (Mood is on the 3rd floor of the building) a guy was there holding a Mood bag. When he told me they were for sale, I hurried back to get one for myself. Once we were several blocks away I realized that I should have also purchased a bag for my friend Sheila but in my haste I just wasn't thinking. Sheila, if you're reading this, I'm sorry I didn't get you one too!

While walking back up to our hotel, we passed the Parsons School, also an important part of Project Runway. Guess it's obvious I enjoy that show!



Since the rain had finally stopped we decided Friday night would be a good time to get photos of the tree at Rockefeller Center. Apparently everyone else in New York had the same idea! It was getting really cold, but that didn't keep people indoors.





The line of people waiting to skate on the rink seemed to stretch for several blocks. The rink is really rather small so not a lot of people can skate at the same time.



The cold weather remained on Saturday. We only walked around town a bit since we had to leave Saturday afternoon. On the trip home we did not get a sleeper car. Jerry wasn't able to get any sleep on the train. I was able to get a few hours of sleep, but the car was very overheated so it made it difficult to get comfortable.

As we were pulling out of Penn Station we talked about what an enjoyable trip it was and decided we needed to do it again sometime. Jerry said he'd want to do it in better weather, but I think the whole allure of the trip is to be in New York at Christmastime.

New York day 2

Our Thursday in New York was cold and wet. The rain just didn't want to stop and the umbrellas we bought from a street vendor were not very sturdy.

I convinced Jerry that he'd LOVE a trip to Manhattan's quilt shop The City Quilter so we hopped on the subway to the shop. I really liked the shop. It was bright and carried a more contemporary assortment of fabric. I don't think I saw one bolt of reproduction fabric - which is just fine with me! I purchased a New York themed pattern and a couple of NY theme fat quarters just because it seemed appropriate. (click photos for larger view)



From the quilt shop we walked up to Macy's and went in this time. I wanted to visit Santa's display. It was far less elaborate than I remember from back in the 80s when we lived here, but it was still fun to see.

After Macy's we walked up 5th to the Empire State Building. Along the way we passed a church that was once Norman Vincent Peale's church home. Tied all long the iron fences circling the church were these 'ribbons of peace.' They made an impressive display.



These photos of the Empire State Building were taken especially for 2 people who requested them - Noah and my quilting friend Melissa.





We had no desire to travel to the observation deck - especially since it was very overcast. We did go into the lobby to see the decorations.


We walked back to our hotel (we're staying at the Doubletree in Times Square) and after resting a bit we attended the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Hanging in the lobby of Radio City was a Swarovski crystal chandelier. The photo doesn't do it justice. It sparkled brilliantly.




When we lived in NY we would attend the show on Christmas Day. Since we didn't have family in the area it was a great way to spend the day. As always the Rockettes were such fun to watch. Their high kicking is spectacular.

It rained even harder Thursday night than during the day so we still don't have good photos of the tree at Rockefeller Center. By the end of the day my feet were killing me. Sure wish there was a spa in the hotel. A foot and leg massage would be great.

Start Spreading the News

Greetings from New York! Jerry and I left Charleston late Tuesday night aboard Amtrak bound for New York. We arrived here at about 11 am Wednesday morning. We had a sleeper car and boy do they make those things compact! During the day there are two chairs for seating. The two chairs convert into the bottom bunk and the top bunk is pulled down from the ceiling. (photos are clickable for larger view)

The room is equipped with a fold down sink and a toilet, but the toilet has no partition or curtain around it. It's just there next to one of the seats. The reddish brown items on the left in this photo are the sink (in the closed position) and the toilet (under the towel) also closed. Even though we've been married for 36 years, there are still things I like to keep a mystery, thus I did not use the in room toilet!



Neither one of us slept all that well, but it still beats sitting up in a coach seat all night.

Our first visit upon arrival was to Tiffany's. Jerry has a Tiffany watch that has needed a battery for over a year. The local stores won't replace it because of how they would need to open the case. The Tiffany repair guy had it done in a matter of minutes and at no charge.

Right next to Tiffany's is Trump Tower. We had to stop in and see the decorations. The wall behind the Christmas Tree has flowing water tricking down it.


On our walk down 5th Ave. we stopped at St. Patrick's. The photos we took there didn't turn out very well, but it's always an awe inspiring place.


We walked down 5th Ave. to 34th Street to see the decorated windows at the various stores. I don't think they were as impressive as some I've seen in past years, but the fact it was raining quite a bit may have affected our enjoyment of them. Lord & Taylor's windows were nice. I took several photos of them, but it's hard to see the detail in the photos.



Tonight we went to see Spamalot. It was a silly musical - anything from the Monty Python crew is - but we had fun.

We're both really tired - it has been a long 2 days, but we're still planning a full day tomorrow.

Christmas is in the air

Today the TTT (Trailer Trash Tuesday) gang met for a Christmas lunch and gift exchange. My gift to the gang was beaded scissors fobs.
I tried to make each one different, although a couple of them sure look similar.


We had such fun opening our presents! Karen gave everyone a handmade tote bag. Joanne also had bags on the mind and monogrammed each of us a "green" shopping bag (which actually happened to be red). Sheila made us each a coffee cup cuff so we won't burn ourselves when we visit the coffee shop. She also gave us yummy cookies to enjoy with our coffee. Frances gave pretty kitchen towels and homemade party mix. Virginia's gift was a cute sign for the sewing room. Betsy made delicious homemade candy (which most of us sampled immediately). Janice & Cindy combined with decorated kitchen towels, boxes of tea, and cute socks. Judy made us each a beautiful mirror. In addition Betsy had a special gift for me but I'll have to post of photo before I can describe it.

We were in Savannah this past weekend while Jerry and our friend John ran the Savannah River Bridge run. Jerry did okay on the race, but his Achilles tendon problem flared up after the race so we didn't get to walk around Savannah like we'd hoped to.

Tonight we leave for New York City. We're taking Amtrak, which will be a new experience. We'll be staying at a hotel in Times Square. Thursday night we have tickets to see the Radio City Christmas Show. That's the only fixed event on our schedule. Hopefully we'll be able to see all the decorated store windows. Back in the 80's when we lived in New York we made it a tradition to go to the Radio City show and see the windows on Christmas Day every year. It will be fun to do it again.

See ya when we get back!

Positive Attitudes

I try to have a positive attitude, but don't think I always succeed. I had an encounter yesterday that made me realize I need to work at it a little harder.

I was in a local department store and saw someone I thought I knew. I approached her and it was Linda, someone I knew way back in the 70's when we were stationed in Scotland. We'd crossed paths a few times since here in Charleston.

A bit over a year ago Linda's husband had a horrible accident. He was swimming in one of our local lakes and was attacked by an alligator. One of his arms was ripped completely off. He only survived because of a group picnicking at the lake. Several in the group were nurses and they helped to keep him alive until help arrived. When the story hit the news I knew it was Linda's husband and I've wondered how he's been doing.

Yesterday Linda told me how well Bill is doing. All through our conversation she stressed how lucky they were that he survived and pointed out that good things came from the experience - like hearing from old friends they'd lost touch with. His job was waiting for him when he was ready to return to work (only 7 weeks after the accident!) She was amazed that the story became more than a local one. She couldn't figure out why a news station in Minnesota would find much interest in an alligator story from South Carolina. Apparently they were approached to tell (and sell) their story to several broadcast venues, but declined to do so as they wanted to keep private.

I was just amazed at how positive they seem and I'm sure that attitude contributed to his quick recovery. Now, when I find myself thinking non-positive thoughts I need to remember Linda & Bill.

You can read about the incident here

Confused little girl?

Remember my joke entry in our guild's quilt challenge?


Hayden saw it in my sewing room today and immediately pointed at the construction worker and proclaimed "Daddy!" Now, I think Craig is good looking, but he'd be the first to admit he's not quite this buff. We've been laughing all day as she points to it and calls out 'Daddy.'

Thanksgivings past

As I was chopping onions for the stuffing this morning, I was remembering Thanksgivings past.

In 1972 we spent our first married Thanksgiving in Dunoon, Scotland - a charming small town on the banks of the Firth of Clyde.



Jerry was stationed there aboard the submarine tender USS Canopus. This photo isn't the Canopus, but a previous tender tied up just as the Canopus was.



Four days after our wedding in September '72, Jerry left to report to his ship leaving me in Detroit until the Navy would approve my travel to join him. Come early November when we were still waiting for approval my step-father decided he'd just buy me the airline ticket. He was probably getting sick of me underfoot at his house! I arrived the day before Thanksgiving. Luckily a shipmate had invited us to spend the holiday with them. I spent the day in a daze. I was jetlagged in this damp cold country living in a house with no heat and I was freezing! The couple hosting dinner did have a traditional turkey, but dessert was coconut creme pie. Now, I love coconut creme pie, but where was the pumpkin pie??

When we returned to the states Jerry was stationed aboard various submarines. For a number of years he spent the holidays at sea. The wives often would gather together to spend the day. We would have a potluck style dinner and it would usually be a madhouse with all the kids running around. Those were actually fun times.

When Craig was in high school and Jerry was on shore duty, we decided to have non traditional Thanksgivings. Craig & Jerry would pull out the cookbooks and come up with themed dinners. For example one year we had Moroccan food. It was good, but I don't think Craig's friend Steve, who spent the holiday with us that year, enjoyed it very much. He was probably wondering "where is the pumpkin pie?!"

When we lived in California we were often able to spend the holiday with Jerry's brother & sister or with my dad. It's always nice to spend the day with family.

This year we are having turkey because Jerry won it. We're not turkey lovers so I probably would not have purchased one for today.

I hope you all have wonderful memories of Thanksgivings past and that you have many more memorable Thanksgivings ahead of you.

TTT gang cracks up

Yesterday the TTT gang took a road trip. We traveled to Aiken South Carolina to see a quilt show displayed at the Aiken Historical Museum. Aiken is about 2 hours from Charleston so we made a day of it - stopping for lunch along the way and making a visit to a quilt shop as well.

We posed for a photo on the steps of the museum. Unfortunately as we were posing I lost my balance on the step and nearly knocked over an urn of flowers. Betsy caught the reaction to my slip. That's me bent over laughing. Behind me (left to right) are Cindy, Joanne (holding her head in her hand),Karen (in the brown sweater), Sheila (partially hidden behind Karen)Judy (in black) Janet (in front in orange sweater) and Maureen (in red). Janice is the headless person in green way back behind Judy & Maureen. (click on photo for larger view)



We always manage to have a good laugh when we're together!

What a difference a day makes

A while back I posted about the vine that grows over the pergola on our back deck. I don't know what the vine is, but it has a pretty blue/purple flower and grows thickly enough to shade the chairs under the pergola.




The other night we had an unseasonable freeze. We usually don't get a hard freeze like it until after Christmas. Unfortunately, the vine didn't like the cold weather!



The vine died off from the cold last year as well but came back strongly in the spring. I sure hope it comes back as nicely next year.

My 15 minutes

I took part in last year's journal quilt project and my quilt was displayed at the Houston, Chicago, and Long Beach quilt shows. (here's a photo of the quilt)




My friend Judy came across a VidCast about the journal quilts and mine was included! I don't have a direct link to the VidCast, but you can see it if you: 1. click here 2. click on "new VidCasts" on the left and then 3. click on Journal Quilts Part 2. My quilt is discussed about half way through.

For those of you that are not quilters, the narrator, Karey Bresnhan, is a huge force in the quilt community and is highly respected. Hearing her say such good things about my quilt is a real honor.