Snow, Fun Hair and Christmas Shopping!

We had some snow yesterday and even though it is November, I'm not ready for it. I was in Avon all day and it rained there, but while driving home the rain turned to snow. It was pretty wet and didn't stay on the ground long, but it was snow and no one seems to remember how to drive in it. There were many people driving 35-40 mph while others were driving well over the 65 mph speed limit. It wan't that bad that we couldn't drive close to 65, and I'll never understand why the slow drivers stay in the left lane. Ok, my ranting is over.

Last night, Jack and I went to Ellen's house (my sister-in-law). We had a fun time visiting with Ellen, Sandy, Bernadette and Sam. We played a game called Sequence that was really fun. We're game people and always enjoy learning new ones and last night was no different. What are your favorite games?

I haven't done alot of my own quilting lately, but I do have a picture of a table runner that I made for someone to give to her parents. The runner is pretty simple but I embroidered the couple's names and wedding date and added the appliqued wedding bands. I like how it turned out and I was told that the couple loved it. YEAH!!

Nikki and Quinn were here Friday night and I got a fun picture of Quinn. It is hard to see, but notice the "helicopter hair" that she is sporting. They are standing in front of my Halloween cheater quilt that should have been taken down a couple of weeks ago. Oh well!!!

I finally finished planting my tulip bulbs. I guess it was the snow that made me decide that I had better get my butt in gear and get them into the ground. I put all of these in the front so we should be able to look out the kitchen window and see a sea of red tulips this Spring. (i'm crossing my fingers and saying a little prayer.)

I've started my Christmas shopping. I have to have all of the gifts for my side of the family ready for the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but of course the only ones that I have bought are for other people. I've got a list going so that should help. I really want to get my shopping done early so I don't have to be out in the crowds right before Christmas. I don't care for shopping too much anyway, but get me in the middle of the crowds and I get downright pissy. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

A Quickie....

I don't have the quilt yet, but I do have a great picture of Quinn. (Imagine that!!)

I was cleaning some of the toys, etc. that Quinn has outgrown so they could be stored away. When I got this playtime mat out, she raced over because she LOVES the animal noises it makes. While she was playing, I finished up with the other toys and figured that since she was content I could start to organize fabric. RIGHT!!

I knew that it would just be a matter of time before Quinn started her facination with fabric (she is related to me afterall), but I'm glad to see that at least she has good taste. Here she is wrestling me for my half yard cuts of Mark Lipinski's Black and White Califon fabrics! I guess l'll have to make another quilt for her - either that or make myself one and let her use it.

Time to Slow Down and Catch Up

I decided that I needed to take a few minutes (more like an hour) and try to get organized. I have a lot of loose ends that need tied. I finally send my family's Christmas lists out and decided what I would be taking to the Thanksmas Party. (My family hold Thanksgiving and Christmas together the weekend after Thanksgiving and we each pick one name to determine who we exchange gifts with this year. Of course, we should have had our lists posted to the family about a month ago but I just did it!)

My family also puts together a family calendar and I am in charge of getting them printed. I think I now have everyone's and that I can get them ready for printing. I try to have them done and ready for distribution at the Thanksmas Party, but I haven't always been successful. There have been years in which I don't have everyone's month turned in and there was one year in which the printer combined our calendar with another family's. Imagine my surprise when I turned to July and saw a family protrait of people I didn't recognize. Fortunately for me, I noticed it at the store, but the other family had picked their's up already!

I am working on a couple of quilts, of course but I haven't taken pictures of them yet. Maybe tonight. I also have some really fun pictures of Quinn that I'll post next time. Anyway, that's all for now. I WILL post later!

Have a great week everyone!

And the Winner is.....

We picked the winner for our Breast Cancer 3-Day raffle quilt. The winner is Alicen B. from Norwalk, Ohio. YEAH!!! I have yet to reach Alicen to tell her the good news, but I'll keep trying. The raffle was a great success and I want to thank everyone who purchased a ticket or stopped to chat while I was selling the tickets at the various festivals, etc.

I have been very busy the last couple of weeks. I have worked quite a few hours and I have also been "stomping the pavement" asking for donations to "Girls Night Out" which is a fundraiser for Cancer Services sponsored by Curves and a slew of other businesses. The event takes place on Wednesday, October 29th and I have been told it is very fun. There is entertainment, food, a silent auction, and lots of other fun things.

I haven't gotten near as much quilting done as I had hoped, but maybe that will change soon. I need to finish the guild blocks and get them to Karen ASAP and I want to finish quilting my Pineapple Blossom and get it bound. Of course, there are other UFO's that need work, but I've been sketching and I want to get busy on those. I have also been checking out some blogs that have some awesome quilts that I want to do. Oh, there just isn't enough time.....

My "Quinn Update" includes that fact that she is now mobile! She can crawl pretty well but I think she really wants to walk. Nothing is safe now and I guess that means that I had better keep the pins off the floor!

Looking Through Old Photos

I decided that I needed to clean up some of the photos on my computer and I came across one of my favorite pictures.

This picture was taken when Nikki was a freshman at UC. She had a home rowing meet and a bunch of my family came to watch, including my mom. As you can see in the picture, it was a nasty, cold, windy, and rainy day and the race never took place but we sure had fun. While we were waiting for the weather to clear up and a decision to be made about the race, we all ventured over to the boat storage area to "get out of the elements." Now, imagine us all bundled up in coats, scarves, gloves, etc. and Mom using her walker to climb a substanial hill to reach the building. It was pretty funny and Nikki's teammates were impressed that Mom was still there. They started calling her "Hard Core Grandma." When you say it now, it sounds a bit pornographic, doesn't it, but we all laughed about it and had a good time. That was the only opportunity that Mom had to see Nikki race, and even though it never materialized, it sure makes for a wonderful memory!

On the sewing front, I have Homecoming sashes to finish up and I also want to work on my guild BOM, so I guess I should get busy - or maybe I'll just continue looking at pictures and sew tomorrow:)

Whoo Hoo...Twice in One Week

Ok, get your minds out of the gutter. I'm talking about the fact that I have posted two times in one week!

I finished all six sets of pink and brown blocks for my swap and they were mailed out this afternoon. It will be fun to get the other blocks and put the quilt together. Here is one of each of the 6" blocks that I made. I worked early this morning (5:30 - 10:30) and then had a lunch meeting at 11:30 that lasted until almost 2:00; but when I got home, I spent a little time going through my fabric to see what I want to work on next. I decided that I want to get the guild BOM done before the next meeting. If we have the top together we get a prize, and even though that is not a big deal to me, I think I had better get it done before I end up putting it in a tub for nobody knows how long!

Guess what! I have a couple of pictures of Quinn to share. First of all, she loves her swing in the tree. Jack and Lynn put this up a couple of weeks ago and I love to put her in it. It is great entertainment for her as well as us. I don't think Nikki has been here when we've had her in it, so I have to make sure that we use it the next time she is here because she'll get a kick out of it.

The child really works up an appetite on the swing and I think she could just about eat anything. If this isn't a sign that she's teething, I don't know what is! Actually, I figure that I could just smear her food on the edges of the high chair and not even bother trying to feed her with a spoon. This seems to be much more efficient, don't you think?

If you haven't had the opportunity to read Judy Laquidara's blog today, you really should. It is quite an inspirational entry today! Follow the link on the left to her blog and enjoy.

I'm off to sleep. Enjoy whatever you do!

I really do complete some things....

I know that I may not post very often, but I do get some projects completed every once in a while! I've been working on some UFOs and am finally seeing some progress. I completed an old BOM from a couple of years ago (ok I'm sure it's more like 5 or 6 years ago, but who's counting?). This was a Quilts and Kreations BOM and it was all in batiks. I really liked the project when I was piecing the blocks, but I put it aside until I decided what layout I wanted and then it was put aside to decide how to quilt it. I finally decided to do an all-over meander and be done with it. It is bound and already given away (as are all the quilts that I am showing here)!

The next two quilts are king sized and they were really fun to make, but I knew they would be a pain to quilt so they just got set aside. There was no real destination for them when I started, but of course once I got them out to work on again, the decision was easy. A friend of mine belongs to a church which is raising money for their maintance and repair fund. I sold these to her to sell in the auction. I was really pleased at how well they turned out and am sorry that I don't own them anymore. Oh well, I know they were used for a good cause.

The first quilt is a single block Carpenter's Star, which was very quick and easy to make. The second quilt is just a couple of blocks that I liked together. I don't really have a name for it, but I like it. I know the pictures are not great, but I was home by myself and couldn't figure out any other way to take the pictures. I don't have any place to hang something this large (106" x 106") which is what I can do with some smaller quilts. Does anybody have suggestions on better ways to take pictures of really large quilts when you are alone?

The last quilt here is the one that I made for Jack's son David and his fiance Rachel. I gave it to them at the shower this past Saturday. This one is large also, about 101" x 101", and was quick to make. They had registered for a comforter that had the same colors as this one, but the one they chose had circles on the fabric. I decided that I didn't want to work with circles, so I went with squares instead. I knew that Rachel wanted a quilt but that she didn't want one that was too feminine looking. I think this design is pretty "gender neutral." I like this design and I think I will make one for me to keep. Now I just have to decide on colors!

I have taken the plunge and decided to enter a swap. (Thanks Kare. It was your exeriences with swaps that made me decide to do it.) The swap is for 6" blocks made in browns and pinks (no 9 patches). I have four sets completed and can do as many as 6. I will decide after updating this blog if I'm going to do more, but I probably will, since I don't really have to have them mailed out until Monday.) I'll take pictures of my blocks and post them later.

Ok, I'm off to look at my brown and pink fabrics and decide what I'm going to do. Or maybe I'll just go watch the rest of the Indians game. They just scored 6 in the 5th inning and that was fun! I always find this time of year a bit sad because the baseball season is coming to a close and I am not a fan of basketball.

Have a great night everyone!