I'm behind. If you came here looking for my last Comfort & Joy block, you won't find it--I know, because I've looked. I hoped the quilting elves would have come in while I slept and got me caught up--after all, it IS the time of the year for elves, right? But no, so sad.
I think most of us who have been working on this project realized it wouldn't be done--as in quilted and bound and ready to use or display--in time for THIS Christmas, although I think there may be one or two over achievers who will put us to shame. I WILL continue to work on the quilt--I think I have two blocks left plus the borders--so if you're interested, check back every now and then. And if you've been watching the progress of the other quilters . . . those other quilters who actually ARE making progress . . . and think you'd like to make the quilt too, I'd encourage you to do so. It's going to be a great quilt someday!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tradition With a Twist
If you live in the United States, you probably know the story of the first Thanksgiving when the Pilgrims and the Native Americans shared a harvest feast, right?
On Thanksgiving morning, before we left our hotel to go to the Wild Child's home, Hubby and I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant--by the way, I wanted to share a couple photos of the beautiful view we had as we ate. In the first photo, off on the horizon on the right side of the photo is the ocean.
This second photo looks toward the rolling foothills and meadows.
How ironic is it that we spent our Thanksgiving holiday lodging at an Indian casino, and dining ON THANKSGIVING at the Indian casino restaurant? We may well go back next Thanksgiving, and if we do, I'm thinking about wearing something like this:
Would that be wrong, do you think? Hey, at least I'm not thinking about strutting around in nothing but my underwear and a Native American headdress!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
It's Beginning to Look . . .
A couple weeks ago, Soccer Son came over to climb up a ladder to the garage rafters and hand boxes of Christmas decorations down to Hubby. There are a lot of boxes stored up there, and in any given year, I may only use about half of the decorations, because I like to change things up and cycle things in and out. And although I may have a few vague ideas in mind before I get started, I don't truly know what I'll use and what I won't until I'm well into decorating.
On this particular day, I stepped out to the garage to greet Soccer Son shortly after he arrived, and Hubby asked, "Is there anything you don't need us to get down for you?"
I thought for a minute, but as usual, I had no idea. Being the smart Alec that I am--and because Hubby really SHOULD know my decorating methods by now--I replied, "Yeah, you can leave the ugly stuff up there."
Soccer Son leaned back against the washing machine, crossed his arms, and said, "My work here is done then."
On this particular day, I stepped out to the garage to greet Soccer Son shortly after he arrived, and Hubby asked, "Is there anything you don't need us to get down for you?"
I thought for a minute, but as usual, I had no idea. Being the smart Alec that I am--and because Hubby really SHOULD know my decorating methods by now--I replied, "Yeah, you can leave the ugly stuff up there."
Soccer Son leaned back against the washing machine, crossed his arms, and said, "My work here is done then."
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Harrington & Hannah, Block 10
From what I've learned of the "old days," there was a time when ladies would sit and visit with one another while working on a piece of hand stitching. Everyone--everyone who was female, anyway--did it, and so it was common practice. Today, it's unusual.
When I went to the Wild Child's home for Thanksgiving, I brought with me the Harrington and Hannah block that I'd prepared a few weeks prior--I knew it was something I could stitch easily while sitting and visiting. But what I didn't think about was that we'd be spending time with people who weren't used to the idea of hand work. Manager Man's mom was very interested in learning about quilting and whatever else I was working on. She told us she'd never really had any hobbies and was thinking she'd like to find something that interested her. She loves pillows and thought maybe she'd like to create pillows. She was familiar with the blanket stitch I was using for the block but she didn't know about the applique process, so I spent a little time explaining to her what I was doing, although we didn't get very far before it was time to help with the dinner. After that, I never did get back to working on the block that afternoon.
Later in the evening, back in our hotel room, I took the block out again and worked on it for a little bit while watching TV, but before long, the day caught up with me and it was time to go to bed.
On the drive home from Eureka, I tried to work on the block again, but it seemed with all the bumps and curves in the road, I was sticking my own fingers with the needle more often than I was sticking the fabric, so soon Harrington and Hannah were put back in my project box.
When I went to the Wild Child's home for Thanksgiving, I brought with me the Harrington and Hannah block that I'd prepared a few weeks prior--I knew it was something I could stitch easily while sitting and visiting. But what I didn't think about was that we'd be spending time with people who weren't used to the idea of hand work. Manager Man's mom was very interested in learning about quilting and whatever else I was working on. She told us she'd never really had any hobbies and was thinking she'd like to find something that interested her. She loves pillows and thought maybe she'd like to create pillows. She was familiar with the blanket stitch I was using for the block but she didn't know about the applique process, so I spent a little time explaining to her what I was doing, although we didn't get very far before it was time to help with the dinner. After that, I never did get back to working on the block that afternoon.
Later in the evening, back in our hotel room, I took the block out again and worked on it for a little bit while watching TV, but before long, the day caught up with me and it was time to go to bed.
On the drive home from Eureka, I tried to work on the block again, but it seemed with all the bumps and curves in the road, I was sticking my own fingers with the needle more often than I was sticking the fabric, so soon Harrington and Hannah were put back in my project box.
I finally got back to working on that block tonight and finished it. This is the October block--so I'm a month behind again. Where has fall gone?
And with Christmas in sight, catching up with all of these projects isn't going to get any easier!
If you work on hand stitching, do you take your projects traveling with you or do you leave them at home? Most of the time, if I'm going to be gone long enough, I'll take projects with me, but more often than not, I don't seem to be able to get anything done on them unless I'm spending time with other stitchers. Maybe that's why stitching in a social setting used to work for women back in the day.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Evening After . . .
By Friday, Manager Man's parents had gone home, so there were just the four of us. As a last minute thought before getting on the road to the Wild Child's house for Thanksgiving, I'd grabbed a bag of decorative candies left over from last year's gingerbread houses, and I packed them along with everything else we were bringing. Later, when the Wild Child and I talked about what we wanted to do Friday evening, we agreed that decorating gingerbread houses would be a great idea, so she and I picked up a couple gingerbread kits while we were out and about that day.
In past years, the Wild Child and MM had collaborated on decorating houses and Hubby's never had much interest in participating at all. Based on those experiences, we thought what would likely happen this year was that we'd park Hubby in front of the TV while I decorated a house and the Wild Child and MM shared another. Boy were we wrong! The Wild Child picked out a Christmas train kit to decorate and I picked out a house kit. By the time we "glued" the pieces together and were ready to make a quick run to the store for additional decorating candies, MM had pulled a package of graham crackers out of the kitchen cabinet and Hubby sat down to watch. And by the time we returned from the store, they were both happily building their own . . . projects.
First, I'll show you MM's creation--a taxi cab with two chocolate covered marshmallow Santas in the front seat--wearing seatbelts.
The taxi actually started out as a Humvee, but somewhere along the creative path, it morphed into a taxi.
And Hubby made a graham cracker outhouse. With a very happy gingerbread man with huge eyes. I think maybe Hubby hasn't participated in the gingerbread soiree in past years because his creativity has been stiffled by gingerbread KITS. I'm not sure, really, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'll have to give it some thought before next year.
And here's the Wild Child's train--driven by Santa, of course. We found Santa at the store when we went to grab more candy--along with his blue penguin friend, who is riding in thecoal candy car.
And here's my happy and conventional gingerbread house.
But what you can't see from that side is evidence of what can only be a rather disturbed and twisted mind.
Can you see the house come alive with window eyes and a mouth where the door should be? And that's a poor little gummy bear there in the doorway, about to be eaten. So sick, so sad.
If someone was to psychoanalyze the four of us by our gingerbread creations, I think the Wild Child is probably the only one who wouldn't be recommended a long course of therapy. It's been suggested that eating turkey makes a person sleepy; I wonder, though, if eating turkey also makes a person slightly disturbed. Someone should study that.
In past years, the Wild Child and MM had collaborated on decorating houses and Hubby's never had much interest in participating at all. Based on those experiences, we thought what would likely happen this year was that we'd park Hubby in front of the TV while I decorated a house and the Wild Child and MM shared another. Boy were we wrong! The Wild Child picked out a Christmas train kit to decorate and I picked out a house kit. By the time we "glued" the pieces together and were ready to make a quick run to the store for additional decorating candies, MM had pulled a package of graham crackers out of the kitchen cabinet and Hubby sat down to watch. And by the time we returned from the store, they were both happily building their own . . . projects.
First, I'll show you MM's creation--a taxi cab with two chocolate covered marshmallow Santas in the front seat--wearing seatbelts.
The taxi actually started out as a Humvee, but somewhere along the creative path, it morphed into a taxi.
And Hubby made a graham cracker outhouse. With a very happy gingerbread man with huge eyes. I think maybe Hubby hasn't participated in the gingerbread soiree in past years because his creativity has been stiffled by gingerbread KITS. I'm not sure, really, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'll have to give it some thought before next year.
And here's the Wild Child's train--driven by Santa, of course. We found Santa at the store when we went to grab more candy--along with his blue penguin friend, who is riding in the
And here's my happy and conventional gingerbread house.
But what you can't see from that side is evidence of what can only be a rather disturbed and twisted mind.
Can you see the house come alive with window eyes and a mouth where the door should be? And that's a poor little gummy bear there in the doorway, about to be eaten. So sick, so sad.
If someone was to psychoanalyze the four of us by our gingerbread creations, I think the Wild Child is probably the only one who wouldn't be recommended a long course of therapy. It's been suggested that eating turkey makes a person sleepy; I wonder, though, if eating turkey also makes a person slightly disturbed. Someone should study that.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Home Again!
How was your Thanksgiving? We had a wonderful few days with the Wild Child and Manager Man. MM's parents joined us for Thanksgiving and everyone contributed to the meal. The lack of conventional appliances wasn't nearly the challenge we thought it might be. MM's mother brought a couple pies, sweet potato casserole, and salads, and I brought the stuffing, which we cooked in a crockpot. I also picked up some turkey gravy from Trader Joe's, and it was nearly as good as homemade. MM barbecued the turkey (which the Wild Child had brined and then applied a rub to), and the Wild Child made mashed potatoes and cranberry dressing. Before all that though, for appetizers she made an artichoke and arugula dip, stuffed mushrooms, and smoked salmon with dill cream cheese and capers on crackers. Yum! She found several of the recipes she used in the Food Network Thanksgiving magazine, and she carefully picked dishes she could make without a conventional oven or stove top. I was SO proud of her and what she was able to accomplish the first time she hostessed a holiday meal.
Our dinner wasn't fancy or formal, but the food was excellent and the day was spent with family and friends, which is the most important part of Thanksgiving, after all. I'll tell you a little more about our time away in my next post. And although we had a great time, it's still good to be home again!
Our dinner wasn't fancy or formal, but the food was excellent and the day was spent with family and friends, which is the most important part of Thanksgiving, after all. I'll tell you a little more about our time away in my next post. And although we had a great time, it's still good to be home again!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
A Thanksgiving Adventure
Thanksgiving's going to be a little bit different for us this year. For one thing, Soccer Son is married now, and he and his Lovely Wife are honeymooning in Maui. The Wild Child is also gone, living in Eureka, a six-hour drive away. When Hubby and I got around to thinking about how we were going to celebrate Thanksgiving this year with both our children gone, it occurred to us that it might be fun to join Soccer Son and his Lovely Wife in Maui.
Sadly, the bank account didn't agree. So instead, we're setting out Wednesday morning to drive over the river and through the woods--the giant redwoods, that is!--north to Eureka to spend the holiday with the Wild Child and Manager Man. And, as it turns out, Manager Man's parents also thought it would be a good idea, so they'll be arriving sometime on Wednesday too.
I don't THINK the Wild Child minds that we've invited ourselves to her home. Then again, I don't THINK it would matter if she did! Seriously, though, we would have been just as happy to travel to Eureka and take the couple out to dinner, but the Wild Child and Manager Man thought it would be a fun challenge to tackle the holiday meal themselves; after all, while they're not experienced chefs, they both have a lot of experience serving food and drink to customers and even preparing simple meals, so why not?
Well, actually, there are some very obvious answers to the "why not" question. Like the fact that the only oven they have is a toaster oven, if you don't include the microwave. And the fact that they don't have an actual stove top--I think they have a burner or two, but that's about it.
So Manager Man's parents are bringing a barbecue grill.
And we're bringing a second toaster oven. Oh, and they DO have a crockpot; we're bringing a second crockpot. In fact, we're also bringing the dressing to cook in the crockpot.
Cooking Thanksgiving dinner should be a little bit of an adventure, don't you think? I was reminiscing with a woman at my office about how ill equipped we were for cooking when we first started out on our own. Remember not having enough pots and having to make do and be creative? I do! So does my friend. She described cooking potatoes in a coffee maker!
So I'm sure we'll do fine, and I think it will be fun. And, of course, the most important thing is that we'll all be together. Still, it doesn't hurt that if things go terribly wrong, we'll be lodging in a hotel/casino where I suspect food and drink is available 24 hours a day.
I'll be away from the computer for a few days, which means I'll be away from all of you too. I'll "see" you here again sometime over the weekend when we get home again. In the meantime, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Sadly, the bank account didn't agree. So instead, we're setting out Wednesday morning to drive over the river and through the woods--the giant redwoods, that is!--north to Eureka to spend the holiday with the Wild Child and Manager Man. And, as it turns out, Manager Man's parents also thought it would be a good idea, so they'll be arriving sometime on Wednesday too.
I don't THINK the Wild Child minds that we've invited ourselves to her home. Then again, I don't THINK it would matter if she did! Seriously, though, we would have been just as happy to travel to Eureka and take the couple out to dinner, but the Wild Child and Manager Man thought it would be a fun challenge to tackle the holiday meal themselves; after all, while they're not experienced chefs, they both have a lot of experience serving food and drink to customers and even preparing simple meals, so why not?
Well, actually, there are some very obvious answers to the "why not" question. Like the fact that the only oven they have is a toaster oven, if you don't include the microwave. And the fact that they don't have an actual stove top--I think they have a burner or two, but that's about it.
So Manager Man's parents are bringing a barbecue grill.
And we're bringing a second toaster oven. Oh, and they DO have a crockpot; we're bringing a second crockpot. In fact, we're also bringing the dressing to cook in the crockpot.
Cooking Thanksgiving dinner should be a little bit of an adventure, don't you think? I was reminiscing with a woman at my office about how ill equipped we were for cooking when we first started out on our own. Remember not having enough pots and having to make do and be creative? I do! So does my friend. She described cooking potatoes in a coffee maker!
So I'm sure we'll do fine, and I think it will be fun. And, of course, the most important thing is that we'll all be together. Still, it doesn't hurt that if things go terribly wrong, we'll be lodging in a hotel/casino where I suspect food and drink is available 24 hours a day.
I'll be away from the computer for a few days, which means I'll be away from all of you too. I'll "see" you here again sometime over the weekend when we get home again. In the meantime, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
I'm Going to Need a Bigger Table
The Christmas Chaos quilt top is done, and if this thing is going to be a table topper, I'm going to need a bigger table.
I laid it out on our king-sized bed, just to get an idea about size, and as you can see, it covers the top and then some. How did that happen?
When I first came up with the idea for this quilt and was calculating size, I had a straight set in mind, and I planned to make it either three blocks by three blocks or four blocks by four blocks. Then I turned the blocks on point and added more blocks. Instead of 16 blocks, I needed 18 blocks. And sashing to tame it. So it kind of grew when I wasn't paying attention.
And, as you can see, I went with the white sashing. Like a number of you, my heart said go red, but when I thought about it more, I realized the red wouldn't contrast enough to break up all of those crazy patterns in the blocks, so in the end, I went with white and used the red in the cornerstones. And I'm happy with the lattice effect the white gives it too.
I'm not quite sure where I'll use this once it's done, but I have a few options--none of which involve putting it on top of a table. I was hoping to finish the piecing and get it pin basted this past weekend, but it just didn't happen; maybe next weekend. I realize it's been awhile since I quilted something; there's a lot of satisfaction in sewing on a binding and knowing you're just about done with a large project, isn't there?
I laid it out on our king-sized bed, just to get an idea about size, and as you can see, it covers the top and then some. How did that happen?
When I first came up with the idea for this quilt and was calculating size, I had a straight set in mind, and I planned to make it either three blocks by three blocks or four blocks by four blocks. Then I turned the blocks on point and added more blocks. Instead of 16 blocks, I needed 18 blocks. And sashing to tame it. So it kind of grew when I wasn't paying attention.
And, as you can see, I went with the white sashing. Like a number of you, my heart said go red, but when I thought about it more, I realized the red wouldn't contrast enough to break up all of those crazy patterns in the blocks, so in the end, I went with white and used the red in the cornerstones. And I'm happy with the lattice effect the white gives it too.
I'm not quite sure where I'll use this once it's done, but I have a few options--none of which involve putting it on top of a table. I was hoping to finish the piecing and get it pin basted this past weekend, but it just didn't happen; maybe next weekend. I realize it's been awhile since I quilted something; there's a lot of satisfaction in sewing on a binding and knowing you're just about done with a large project, isn't there?
Monday, November 19, 2012
More Crafts
Sunday was largely a day of organizing things around the house. I packed away my summer clothes and got out the winter ones. I separated all the Christmas "stuff" that had been accumulating in the computer room into categories: decorations, craft supplies, and gifts. Decorations were moved to a cupboard for a week or so until it's time to get them out. Gifts were moved into the Wild Child's former room. That left all the Christmas craft supplies. I thought it was probably time to get going on a couple.
I purchased a snowman form at Hobby Lobby several weeks ago. The success of the gingerbread men arrangements gave me the idea of making him into a table arrangement, so on Sunday, I built a snowman. That sign he's holding says "Believe"--hard to see in this photo, I know. This guy will be going to another home eventually, but I'll enjoy him for now. (He still needs some battery operated Christmas lights, as I learned from Imelda and the gingerbread men arrangement!)
Next, I planted a forest. Something I saw in a magazine gave me the idea, so I've been gathering stryofoam cones of different heights and sheet moss (actually sold as moss tablerunners) over the last couple of weeks, using all the 40% off coupons I could find!
The glass candlesticks were mostly thrift store finds. Next time you see these trees, I think they'll be on my livingroom mantle.
(In case you want to make something similar, the tallest cone was around 19" and the shortest was about 8". To cover the five cones, I used two pieces of moss--one tablerunner that was 14" x 48" and one that was around 16" x 18".)
I still have several other Christmas crafts to work on, but I'm happy to have completed these two, except for a few finishing touches. All in all, it's been a fairly productive weekend!
I purchased a snowman form at Hobby Lobby several weeks ago. The success of the gingerbread men arrangements gave me the idea of making him into a table arrangement, so on Sunday, I built a snowman. That sign he's holding says "Believe"--hard to see in this photo, I know. This guy will be going to another home eventually, but I'll enjoy him for now. (He still needs some battery operated Christmas lights, as I learned from Imelda and the gingerbread men arrangement!)
Next, I planted a forest. Something I saw in a magazine gave me the idea, so I've been gathering stryofoam cones of different heights and sheet moss (actually sold as moss tablerunners) over the last couple of weeks, using all the 40% off coupons I could find!
The glass candlesticks were mostly thrift store finds. Next time you see these trees, I think they'll be on my livingroom mantle.
(In case you want to make something similar, the tallest cone was around 19" and the shortest was about 8". To cover the five cones, I used two pieces of moss--one tablerunner that was 14" x 48" and one that was around 16" x 18".)
I still have several other Christmas crafts to work on, but I'm happy to have completed these two, except for a few finishing touches. All in all, it's been a fairly productive weekend!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Arts and Crafts Day
I didn't get very much sewing done on Saturday but I did get a few other things accomplished that needed doing. I finally consigned most of the pumpkins to the green waste bin, except for a few that I gesso'd and glittered for the Thanksgiving table. Also for the table, I made these canning jar candles:
When Imelda and I went to Apple Hill a few weeks ago. we saw something a little bit similar that gave us the idea, so before our last gathering of our stitchery friends, she and I made "candles" for everyone. These actually use those flickery battery operated "candles" that look reasonably lifelike. I used some scrapbooking paper decorations, ribbon, bells, and artificial leaves and flowers to make them a little more attractive and put rocks and potpourri in the bottoms to cover the bases of the "candles."
Now that I've cleaned up the mess I made as a result of my "creativity," I think it's time to make myself a cup of hot chocolate and think about getting ready for bed. There's a lot more to do tomorrow--there always is!
When Imelda and I went to Apple Hill a few weeks ago. we saw something a little bit similar that gave us the idea, so before our last gathering of our stitchery friends, she and I made "candles" for everyone. These actually use those flickery battery operated "candles" that look reasonably lifelike. I used some scrapbooking paper decorations, ribbon, bells, and artificial leaves and flowers to make them a little more attractive and put rocks and potpourri in the bottoms to cover the bases of the "candles."
Now that I've cleaned up the mess I made as a result of my "creativity," I think it's time to make myself a cup of hot chocolate and think about getting ready for bed. There's a lot more to do tomorrow--there always is!
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