Christmas Program

There is nothing as cute as a pre-school Christmas program. Hayden's was Friday and was darling.

When the doors opened to the chapel Miss H was the first in line to file in. She wasn't shy about it at all and marched down the aisle with confidence.



I love her in this photo.



The Santa hats disappeared after their portion of the program and we were glad to see that Hayden had not removed her bow. She just doesn't like wearing anything in her hair and would rather have worn the bow around her neck like a tie than on her head.

Embroidery

Since taking the machine embroidered/applique Santa class I've been inspired to do some more embroidery. I've had my Bernina 170 with an embroidery attachment about 10 years but never really did much embroidery. The machine requires the designs be on a Bernina card that is inserted into the unit. Over the years that technology has become outdated and most systems now use multi-format cd's and embroidery software.

A couple of years ago I investigated purchasing software that would allow me to join the rest of the embroidery world. The Bernina brand software is incredibly expensive and I didn't feel the expense was worth it for the amount of embroidery I expected to do. I did discover something called Explorations which is geared to the Bernina owner and was able to purchase it at a reasonable price.

I've been playing around with the software and was able to create this holiday themed monogram for Hayden. (click photo for larger view)



Just before I created this Chrystal and I were flipping though a magazine that featured mother-daughter aprons. Chrystal said she and Hayden didn't have any mother/daughter items and a light bulb went off. I used the same design to make Chrystal a sweatshirt too. (can't get this photo to flip properly so you'll have to tilt your head!)



It was fun to do these and I'm hoping that Chrystal doesn't think the one for her is too hokey.

Next up = some handtowels.

Graduation

Our daughter-in-law, Chrystal, has been working toward her bachelor's degree in Medical Technology from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA. The interesting thing about this program is that she was able to do most of her classes via distance learning. Yesterday was graduation on the campus and we were thrilled to be there to cheer her on.

Do you think she was happy to graduate??



Noah and Hayden were proud of their mother!



As were Craig ...


... her sister Heather ...


...and her mom Pam


After graduation we went to Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady & Sons. The food was wonderful - very filling but wonderful. Here are Hayden and Chrys at the restaurant.


The photo of Chrys and Noah at dinner didn't turn out so here's Noah after the graduation.



It was a wonderful day and we are so proud of her accomplishments.

Here comes Santa Claus

Several months ago my friend Janice & I were in a quilt shop and admired an embroidered quilt that was there to be quilted. It was a Jenny Haskins design. We were told that in order to embroider a quilt like that we would need to know how to do multi-hoop designs. Neither of us had ever done that so we signed up for one of their classes that teach how to multi-hoop. Cindy & Judy also expressed an interest in learning the technique so we all attended the class last Monday. Our project was a cute Santa. He required 9 separate hoopings.

Janice and I were able to finish our projects.



It wasn't a smooth project for any of us. Poor Judy had machine problems early on and ended up having to leave her machine with the shop for repair. The rest of us went astray at about the 4th or 5th hooping. After MUCH angst and some brainstorming (plus a good bit of unsewing) we were able to figure out how to get all the parts lined up. Cindy still has some stitching to go and Judy may have to start over now that she has her machine back.

I like Janice's darker background better than mine. You can't see the gold design on my fabric - it just looks kind of yellow in this photo. For some reason the photo makes Janice's Santa look bigger than mine, but they're the same size.

It was fun to do but I think I'll take a bit of an embroidery break before trying a Jenny Haskins design!

Catching up

I haven't had any good (or bad) photos to post lately so I've been neglecting my blog.

We spent Thanksgiving week with Jerry's sister, Annette, and family. They used to live in the SF Bay area but a year or so ago moved to the Ohio/West Virginia border. They have a beautiful home on wonderful grounds. They live in a really small town but do have access to a Big K-mart and a Wal-mart. I couldn't find any fabric stores near them so that area gets crossed off my list of potential home locations.

Annette & Allen have 2 daughters and also joining us was our other Ledbetter niece Niki (Jerry's brother's daughter) visiting from Southern California. Annette & Niki planned out a wonderful menu for Thanksgiving (I was the designated sous chef/dish washer!) They decided we'd graze the entire day. We started with appetizers before noon. An hour or so later was our soup & salad course.

Niki made a delicious butternut squash/roasted red pepper soup that she carefully plated for maximum impact.



We followed up with the traditional turkey a bit later and concluded the day with a late evening dessert session. All in all a wonderful day and pleasant week.

Monochromatic challenge

The art group I recently joined just had a monochromatic challenge. I came late to the group and didn't have much time to complete my piece. I had an idea but it didn't quite come out like I'd envisioned.




I used a quilt fuse type product to sew the 2" squares together as I couldn't see myself sewing all those squares in the traditional manner. I stitched the tree with a gray variegated thread and then used paint and inks to do the leaves etc.

All of the quilts were really cool. I neglected to ask permission to post photos of everyone else's quilts and deleted my earlier post that included those photos.

Art that Works

I recently joined a small art group called Art that Works (ATW) This group has been working together for several years and has had a number of really interesting challenges. They're at the tail end of a monochromatic challenge and I am working on a really small piece so I have something to reveal at the next meeting.

A year-long challenge has just started. We will make one or more pieces based on photos taken at the local historic site Charles Towne Landing; the original settlement location of Charleston, SC. As I understand it, the resulting quilts will be exhibited at Founder's Hall on the grounds.

A couple of weeks ago we all met up at the Landing to take photos. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed our walk though the park. It had been over 20 years since I was last at the park and I was amazed at how different it looked.

There is a new (to me) modern visitor's center (click photos for larger view)



One of the things I love about the south is the oak trees - especially the ones that grow in interesting configurations.



We all thought this view of the stream looked like a marbling project.




I found some of the fencing very interesting.





There are a few replica buildings on the grounds



There is even a small zoo/animal preserve.






I have a couple of ideas for the quilt I'll be making. Hopefully I'll be able to translate my idea in fabric.

Field Trip

Hayden's pre-school class made a trip to West Farm yesterday. They had a busy morning of activities. (click photos for larger view)

She got to pick out her own pumpkin...


...which she and mommy decorated with paint and stickers



She got to feed the cow and the sheep




We went on a hayride



and she ran through the haybale maze



It's hard to get all the kids to pose for a photo



But more fun saying "CHEESE" when mommy is there.



At dinner we always ask the kids what the best part of their day was. When we asked Hayden what the best was for her she said it was the bouncy ball at the farm.








It was a fun day.

Georgia Quilt Show

I attended the Georgia Quilt Show in the Atlanta area over the weekend. The quilts on display were lovely. The registration materials said that photos would not be allowed at the show so I did not take my camera. Turns out the limit on photos was only for a couple of special exhibitions, including the Hoffman Challenge.

I snagged these photos from the show website.

This was the Best of Show quilt. Lots of heavy quilting on this.

Serengeti at Twilight by Leona Harden


I liked this quilt of the young girl on the beach.

Beach Baby by Molly Samuels



This was the first quilt one saw upon entering the show. It was really cool and caused a bit of a traffic jam at the entrance.

The Moment of Inspiration by Sandy Curran


I didn't take any classes but did attend a lecture on dyeing fabric in the microwave. It was interesting and I'm going to give it a try.

In the past they did the Georgia Quilt Show every other year but they announced they'll be doing the show again next year October 20-22.

Random thoughts on a fall day

I spent the weekend at the state quilters guild annual retreat. Participants can either take a class from one of our state's talented teachers or set up in a bring your own project room. I went the BYOP route but didn't really get much accomplished. I took my camera and it never left my suitcase. I promise you that a lot of great work was done over the weekend (by others!)I just won't be able to prove it! The weather was great and I think everyone had a wonderful time.

I've been in a creative funk lately. Hopefully I'll get past that soon.

Also this past weekend was my 41st high school reunion which I was not able to attend.








I've seen photos from the reunion on several Facebook pages and it was fun to pick out old friends in the photos.

Redford High School in Detroit was a good place to go to school back in the '60's but the entire Detroit school system has been plagued by problems over the years. Redford was closed a couple of years ago and the last I heard there is a plan to develop the property into a shopping area. Redford's brush with greatness includes graduating George C. Scott and the actor Michael Dunn - google him for a photo - bet you recognize him (oh, and me too!)

It looks like summer has finally left South Carolina. We had such a hot humid summer and I think many of us had given up hope on cooler weather arriving.

LeMons report

It was quite a weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC. The 24 Hours of LeMons organizers have a slick operation going. They put on these races all over the country and give adult men (and women) an opportunity to fulfil a childhood fantasy of driving a race car.

On Friday each car had to go through a technical inspection to make sure the car met specs. Even though our car was purchased from a previous LeMons team and had raced before, it failed its first inspection. The team was directed to correct some welding on the roll bar. Luckily the guys in the campsite next door had both the necessary welding equipment and a guy willing to do the welding in exchange for a case of beer. There was a party atmosphere throughout the weekend and teams helped each other out any way they could. (click photos for a larger view)



Part of the fun of the race is picking a theme for the car and decorating it. Some themes were funny.



A couple made a political statement.



Our guys paid homage to a scene in the old 70's movie, Dirty Harry, where a school bus was hijacked. They painted the car school bus yellow and striped and lettered it like the one in the movie. The car number was the same as that on the bus. It turns out that having a bright yellow car was an advantage to the spectators. It made it much easier to watch the car on the track.



103 teams registered for this weekend's race. A couple of the teams didn't make it to the start line, but I'm guessing there were 100 cars that started the race.
The assembly of team Terminally Confused was Craig's idea and he served as captain so he had the honor of beginning the race. They decided that each of the 5 drivers would put in 45 minutes behind the wheel and then they'd change out. They later extended the drive time because each driver thought 45 minutes was too short.



Each guy was exhilarated after his turn behind the wheel and Jerry was no exception.





I love this photo of the team watching while Jerry was driving.



During Craig's 2nd time behind the wheel the brakes decided to quit working. He spun out at about 70mph which apparently rattled him. (it didn't do much for his mom either!) The car was pushed off the track and they fixed the issue in about 20 minutes.

Later the inside mirror came loose and was beating the driver, Taan, in the head so they had to pull off the track to fix that.



By the end of day 1 the tires were well worn.



They'd brought a 2nd set of new tires and put them on the car Saturday night. Turned out it was the perfect thing to do as it rained on Sunday and the new tires were great in the rain. We'd ended day 1 in 41st place and by noon on Sunday had moved up to 35th. Not bad for first time racers.

Unfortunately things kind of went downhill after noon on Sunday. There was an oil issue, a minor collision (no injuries thank goodness) and the last nail in the coffin- a problem with the lug nuts on one of the wheels. The last problem was not fixable as the lugs were stripped. Sadly they ended up pulling out of the race about 90 minutes before the end. Even so, they ended up in 51st place. I left the course at noon on Sunday to come home. I told Craig that the reason things fell apart Sunday afternoon was because I wasn't there to cheer them on! Next time I'll have to stay through the entire race.

All in all it was a great showing for a rookie team. They are already planning the next race (in February) and are using this race as a learning experience.

24 Hours of LeMons

After a couple of months of preparation Jerry, Craig and several co-workers have finally reached the weekend of the 24 Hours of LeMons race. This is a race for cars with a value of $500 or less. (the $500 limit does not include the required safety equipment) Today was spent getting the necessary safety inspections, etc and tomorrow is the first day of actual racing.

Beach vacation

We have just returned from a glorious week in Myrtle Beach. We stayed at Ocean Lakes which is a family oriented resort that has accommodations varying from traditional campsites to elevated beach homes. Since I don't do camping we rented a beach house. Our friends, John & June, Jim & Susie, and Ned and Linda rented homes nearby.

We have all vacationed together in the past and somehow our times together evolved into Pirate events. In honor of that I made each couple a pirate quilt.

Here are the guys with their quilts: L-R: John, Jerry, Jim & Ned (click photos for larger view)



Then the girls: June, Susie, Me & Linda



I haven't quite figured out what prompted this photo:



Craig, Chrystal & the kids were able to come up last Saturday & Sunday and then again yesterday. The kids loved the beach. Noah enjoyed the water while Hayden just wanted to dig in the sand. At one point she even flopped down to make sand angels on the beach and had such a grin on her face while doing it.

The week was wonderful and the weather could not have been more perfect. Days spent on the beach and evenings spent driving around Ocean Lakes in a golf cart are my idea of paradise. We're already planning next year's trip.