Welcome to December??

 

December??  What happened to November … or the other 10 months of the year, for that matter?  Time is really flying by!  I imagine December will really fly by as there are only 4-5 days where we don’t have something scheduled. 

 

My Sunday didn’t turn out quite the way I planned it.  My intention was to put up the tree and then work on my Martha Washington’s Flower Garden blocks.  Instead of putting up the tree, I decided to go check the status of the DH’s log cabin quilt and ended up finishing up the last 9 blocks and started piecing the top.  I discovered, much to my chagrin, that the new Bernina quarter inch foot produces a slightly more accurate quarter inch seam than my old … I assumed that since they were both manufactured by Bernina that they’d sew up the same size seam … and we all know what happens when we assume, right?  Although I suppose that it’s entirely possible that the flange on my new one allows me to sew a more accurate quarter inch seam, so that it might be more a matter of operator error?  At any rate, as you can imagine, it doesn’t take a lot of difference to add up when there are 13 pieces in each block.  And since there are 13 pieces in each block and since almost half the finished blocks are a bit smaller, I decided to use them all, tweaking them to fit together.  In hindsight, I probably should have rethought that plan, but I’ve got 6 of the 9 rows pieced together and since this quilt is for DH and will be used a lot (he’s a cover hog, so we each have a quilt to curl up in on the bed … this will be his bed quilt), I’m going to make it work.  Once I’ve got it quilted and washed, I doubt anyone will notice … I’m sure that DH won’t.    I had hoped to take a picture of my progress, but I don’t have enough floor space in the sewing room to lay the top out … not to mention that it was a cloudy, dreary day yesterday when I called it a day in the sewing room.  Here’s a reminder … a photo I took last July (I took the photo as I unpacked from retreat where I started piecing the blocks, so forgive the wrinkles).I’m setting the blocks in a barn-raising pattern.  I had originally planned to do a star setting, but there won’t be enough floor space in the living room to lay out the blocks so I can piece them accurately.  DH is happier with a more traditional setting, and I don’t think you can ever go wrong with a log cabin set in a barn-raising pattern.  I do hope to make a log cabin using the star setting … perhaps on a wall quilt?  In spite of my detour, I did get some more work done on my MWFG.

 

Since I didn’t get the tree up yesterday, today is the day … DH and I got the tree upstairs and set up/lit (that’s always a battle!) … now I just need to decorate the tree and put up the Christmas décor.  For some reason, I’m just not very motivated to decorate for Christmas this year (kind of like with Halloween/Fall/Thanksgiving decorating), but I know I’ll regret not doing so at some point.  Since I’ve got a few other non-quilting chores to do today, I think I’ll just get them all crossed off my list today.  I’m hoping that I can get into the sewing room later on this afternoon … or work some more on my MWFG blocks. 

 

Most of you know by now that I’m a bit of a weather geek … and yesterday certainly was right up this weather geek’s alley.  We hit a record high of 72 … and two hours later, our temperatures were flirting with the 30s.  We had sleet/freezing rain overnight/this morning with a low of 28 with more ice in the forecast … a winter weather advisory until noon.  It’s weather like this that makes me wish we could find a job for DSIL somewhere south … way south and near a beach, of course!

 

Here are a couple of pictures taken at Thanksgiving.  The first is a picture of my dad with his great-grandkids, taken after Thanksgiving dinner.  That’s my sister’s grandson there on the far left … the other four are my grands.  The second is a picture of me with my two sisters.

 

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy