Keeping Busy

Today begins a new semester for DH and this is going to be a busy one.  He retired from college teaching 5 1/2 years ago and almost immediately began teaching as an adjunct instructor at the Community college where he had been teaching and at two others, also.  This semester he is teaching 3 classes at the local school, 2 classes at one other and is also working with the music director at the second school to produce a musical.  This is going to be like old times when he taught full-time and put on two plays and one musical each year.  I think our evenings are going to look a lot like this.


This is me with one puppy and one cat, working on the computer and enjoying a quiet evening.  All we need is a remote, coffee, and we can rule the evening.
This past week I did get some time in the studio.

And this is what my design wall looks like now.  I finished sewing all the Crazy Cats blocks together and the center of the top is finished.  I plan three borders for this quilt but will not get back to it until Wednesday.


I did want to show the cats now that they all have faces.  Just like putting the quilting on a quilt top, having the faces on the cats really made them come alive.










































You may have noticed that the dress quilt is back on the wall.  I said I was going to put it up so I could start thinking of how I might want to finish it.  Well, even before I could begin thinking, I got an email from my mother.  She told me that I hadn’t gotten her message when she told me that she really liked the dress quilt and that what she had meant was that she would like to have it.  Well, I think that is a great idea.  However, now I really have to come up with an idea.




So here it is.  I do have some ideas but they are not completely clear and I am not sure how to carry them out.  And one of the other things is that I have no oriental fabrics.  Usually the idea of buying more fabric is exciting but right now I am not sure since I have never used this type of fabric before.  So this will all be an experiment for me……and I guess, a wait for Mother.

edit 1/11/12:  Got a call from Mother and she wants the dress quilt, as is.  She said that she wants to hang is over her bed and thinks it will be easier for her if it isn't quilted (read heavy).  She doesn't even want me to put borders on it.  So I will be putting a hanging sleeve on this "flimsy" this week and sending it on, hopefully, by the weekend.
And then I can get on with the other projects that are waiting for me.  Yea!!

Meanwhile, I have an idea for a new comfort quilt.  I have decided to make one in flannel and this is what I have in my stash.









And this is the idea I have for the quilt.  I hope to be able to start cutting the fabric for this later this week.

Now it is time for you to  check in with Judy to see what other quilters are working on.

The First Day After Christmas

And this is what is going on the design wall today.  If you read this post you already know that this top was not made by me but I won it in a giveaway. 

I am putting it on the wall so I can look at it while I sew this quilt together.

I gave this to DH for Christmas, a box of blocks.  He loved the cats and so I am now ready to put it all together.  This will be my first new quilt of the new year and DH will be warm with his Crazy Cats each night.

Christmas Eve was a personal one for DH and me.  We watched Magoo’s Christmas Carol, again, a DVD of a musical program at the Vatican, and another DVD of a Christmas program with the Lettermen.    All of this was going on while we ate dinner and then opened gifts.

And this is how our gift cradle looked when we began.  This is our collection of gifts from family (living away from  here) and from/to each other. 

 

I am going to show some of the gifts we received. Although I will be referring to our children, please know that we also include the wonderful wives of these sons of ours.

 

DH was really excited when he got this book about the making of Magoo’s Christmas Carol from DS#3.  It has been a family tradition since our middle aged children were very small.  We even used to  watch a really bad VCR tape we made when we realized the major networks were no longer showing it.  We now have a blueray version and all of us can sing the songs along with the show.

 

From DS#2 he got a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  This has also been a family favorite Christmas show: DH plans to use this tree in his office next year.

 

And one of the gifts I gave him was this shirt.  He is known for his t-shirts and this will be the one he will wear when school starts again in January.

 

From DS#2 I got this pancake set.  I love the heart shaped spatula.  I plan to make the pancakes this morning (waiting for DH to get up) but first I will have to figure the Weight Watchers points so I can plan the rest of my day.

 

 

 

 

 

From DH#3 I received these owl gifts: a card, a tea light, a beautiful weaving, and a cookie.

 

I collect owls and these two have gone out of their way to increase my collection (except for the cookie, of course).  In my next post I will share the birthday gift that came with our Christmas package.

 

 

 

 

From my DS and BIL came this calendar.  It is Quilts of Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are certainly not traditional quilts and I am really excited to be looking at them throughout the year.  I would really like to evolve into more arty quilts but really need a lot of inspiration because my mind looks for symmetry almost all the time.

 

 

 

 

So, here we are with an empty cradle.  However tonight our DD and DSIL are coming over to celebrate Christmas with us.  We will have chili, for the men, and oyster stew for we ladies.  Oyster stew was a tradition from my childhood and DD and I love it.  We will also share gifts and each other’s company.  And, maybe, we will watch Magoo’s Christmas Carol, again.

Almost Christmas

And so much going on here.

We have been wrapping gifts.  Like my wrapping table?  When not quilting I find that blank space to be quite helpful.  However, I do have a quilt on the frame so I had to get all the rest of the gifts wrapped so I could get on with my quilting.


Look at this package.  Can you see how the edges match up to complete the picture?  I am thinking that doesn’t happen often and especially not to me.







And the packages are piling up in our “gift cradle.”  Both the doll and Santa have had to migrate up as the packages have arrived.

And what was DH doing while all this “Santa” work was going on? 
Here he is watching a 3D movie.  Doesn’t he look happy?  Believe me he is.





Earlier this week we had the second of my pies: this time a turkey pot pie.






These were really good and will require a return engagement…..after I try something else later this week.




And one more thing I just have to share.  This is a quilt top I won from Chris Ballard. 









16 beautiful dresses made from Asian fabrics.  When I saw the top it reminded me of my grandmother who was a professional seamstress and made the most beautiful clothing.  She also taught sewing for Singer.  Anyway, these dresses are beautiful but I not only got the quilt top but a baggie full of these:

These are 2 1/2” strips of more of the Asian fabric.  Chris said that she made the top about 7 years ago but no longer wanted to finish it.  Right now it is lying on my cutting table but will soon be up on the wall so I can “stare” at it for a while, looking at different ways to make this top into a great quilt.  Thanks, Chris.