Christmas projects

This is one end of a table runner. There is a matching reindeer on the other side. The table topper is finished - holly in the corners and berries in the middle. Thanks Tiff for this fabulous fabric.

Christmas table topper. I think the corners need something. . .maybe some holly leaves.

Torture

Have I got news for the CIA. It's time to throw out water boarding and substitute yoga...yes, I said yoga. After attending an hour long session yesterday morning, I'm convinced that this practice would be much more effective than any other torture method available. I would have given up my deepest darkest secrets to have been able to get out of that room as fast as possible. The terms down dog, ashtanga, and bhujungasana are words that strike terror in me upon hearing them. Who knew that bending over, putting one arm between your legs, putting your other arm around your back and trying to clasp hands was good for you? I say, if you want to shake your own hand in a tricky way, DO IT IN FRONT OF YOU! Make me eat jalepeno peppers, play Perry Como nonstop, let me sleep on the mattress downstairs, but don't make me go to another yoga class. (OK, maybe I'll try it again tomorrow.)

My new storage system

I was complaining (who me?) that I needed more storage in my sewing room, so Paul and I came up with this cheap, quick solution to the problem. The plastic tubs are the same width as the bed, so they are quite spacious. I am going to get 3 more to finish the top shelf. I love it so much I can hardly stand it. The top of my sewing table is no longer a constant mess. Affixing labels to each drawer is my goal for today.

I just finished my morning fruit smoothie and am feeling real good - do kiwis ferment?

Thanks Jen and Brad for reading this. I'm off to the gym. . .

Looking for a Home

This quilt is looking for a really big wall to be hung on. Any takers?

Oh, what fun we had last weekend. Thank you Brad, Karen, Matt, Jen, and anyone else who helped make our visit so much fun. I'm so grateful you have such a wonderful home for us all to congregate in without feeling like we are on top of each other. Having Eileen there was spectacular! Thanks Eileen for making the trip. Now, if I could just get those cheers out of my head. . .

This is a quilt made for my friend Judy whose daughter is having a baby girl. We picked out the fabrics and I think it turned out beautiful!

The week's recap and a quilt

My most recent "Hodpodge" quilt. I'm not sure why I love making these so much, but this is my 3rd one and a 4th is in progress.


Thursday - Rich's birthday and a family outing to Whitewater Pizza. All would have been well had Emily been content with a child portion of Mac and Cheese instead of REALLY wanting an adult portion. That's what I love about her - she is not easily swayed.


Wednesday - teaching Beehives to quilt just may be the most challenging thing I've ever done. Seams that are supposed to be nice and straight but resemble the Eastern seaboard make me want to rip my eyes out. But I do manage some genuine praise when someone actually does something correctly. When they come back in 10 years and show me quilts that are making because I got them started, I'll think - wasn't that a great experience!


Tuesday - (Yes, I know I'm going backwards) - 4 hours with a friend's son fixing our computers. It's so nice to be back in business.


Thursday - (do you know the correct order of the days of the week?) - parent/teacher conferences. Always an interesting experience. I let them do most of the talking and they walk away thinking "what a great conference that was!"


Friday - Went out to lunch with some teachers. One of them has a husband out of work. So to earn money, he goes to garage sales Friday mornings, packs everything up and heads for Pasco WA to sell stuff at a swap meet. Curious, I asked why Pasco? Because the Hispanic population up there LOVES buying his stuff for twice as much as he paid for it. Better go check out this swap meet guys - look for Robert from Boise.
Dug a bush out of the front yard that was dying. It's twin on the other side of the driveway is coming out today. Tried pouring boiling water and vinegar on the weeds (instead of Roundup), but wanted to bed to look good TODAY, so I just dug them out instead of waiting to see if the home remedy really worked. Watched a great movie downloaded from Netflix - Betrayed. A must watch.


Today - I woke up around 5:00 a.m. - I go through these cycles where I sleep like a normal person for a while, and then I only need 5 hours or so a night. I really get a lot accomplished in the 5 hour cycles. Read my 2 favorite blogs from Pasco. Got a quilt ready to go on the longarm today. I've been collecting quilting designs online, so I'm ready to do same major practicing.

Camping in the Arctic

It was off to McCall for probably the last camping trip of the season. I wish I could say that this was our campsite, but unfortunately it was in the middle of a field with a few trees. All the good campgrounds are closed for the season, mainly because only idiots go camping this time of year. You may wonder why I say idiots - - because the temperature was 10 degrees the first night we were there. It went up to a balmy 14 the next night. Thank goodness for Paul Davis space heaters! Although, the highlight was getting to use the men's bathroom because they were painting the women's. But the best part was watching Paul break into a sweat when we went to dinner. We hadn't checked the prices first, and the cheapest thing on the menu was 2 wimpy chicken breasts for $16. I thought he was going to pass out. The lobster was $49. Needless to say, we won't go there again.

The New Couch

Here's the new couch with new pillows, new pictures on the wall, new quilt to go on the new couch. It just needs a whole bunch of family sitting on it!

Thanks again Karen/Brad and Jen/Matt for being such great hosts and letting us invade your homes for the weekend. We had a GREAT time! The ride home was quite treacherous (not) with snow all over the roads (not) but other than that all went well.