Baby, It’s Cold Outside

I’ve been up since 4:30 this morning, and the temperature has been falling like a rock.  And the wind chill is falling, too.  Right now it's –10F … and that’s not as low as it’s going to be later on today.  The only good news that I can find in all this is that the sun is shining and the wind eventually will be dying down so that we won’t get wind chills of –30F or lower when the temperature is at its lowest. We did get some snow last night, but it’s only a light dusting.  There are a few patches of snow out on the street, but most of what I can see is in the landscaping.  I know I’m in the minority but if we have to have such cold weather, couldn’t we at least have some snow to make everything pretty?

If I hadn’t already committed to walk with my neighbor Lois (at the Y of course!!!), I would have just stayed inside today … it’s warm and toasty here, with the fireplace going.  Since I have my exercise out of the way, I’m definitely planning to spend the rest of my day inside, quilting.

Speaking of hand quilting, I’ve got 3 blocks left to quilt.  If my plans for today aren’t foiled, I am hoping to get the quilting completed today … woo hoo!  Of course, I still have to cut and sew on the binding, but if I get the quilting done today, I should be able to get the binding on tomorrow. 

As I walked out the front door to get into Lois’s car, I saw a box on the porch … my amazon.com order came a day early.  I brought it in with me when we got back from walking … who knew that Best Press freezes?  Thankfully it didn’t freeze solid so the bottle didn’t explode.  Thankfully I won’t need it until (hopefully) Friday when I’ll be done with DH’s log cabin and can start cutting fabrics for T#3’s quilt. 

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

Monday Morning Musings

I’ve had a productive morning so far … I went to have blood drawn for a myriad of tests that my doctor ordered last week.  Most of them are routine, but she added a couple of new ones because of my osteopenia.  Thankfully the gal who drew my blood was good at what she does as she only had to make one poke … I can’t tell you the number of times that phlebotomists have had to go exploring in order to find a good vein.    Tomorrow morning is my mammogram … fun times, eh?

It was COLD outside … and it’s not anywhere close to how cold it’s going to be in a couple of days.  Brrrr  I think I’ll stay inside for the rest of the day … and get in some more quilting on DH’s log cabin.  We had some light flurries flying about yesterday afternoon … I had to look to see them most of the time, and there was no accumulation.  I know it seems weird … I hate winter but I love snow.  I guess my reasoning is that if we’re going to have cold temperatures, the least we could do is to have some snow to enjoy.  



Speaking of his log cabin, I wasn’t quite as productive yesterday as I would have liked as I ended up spending more time online than I had planned.  I posted a request for some suggestions on what to use for my Clover Thread Cutter on to the two Facebook quilting group pages … that generated a lot of responses. 

I got a notice that I’ll have to report for jury duty the week of January 20 … I’d like to take my hexie project to work on while sitting and waiting (the last time I was called, I had to sit for two full days until they had selected enough jurors and I was released ).  Since I won’t be able to take in my scissors (I know that TSA permits small scissors to pass through security, but our county courthouse is quite a bit more restrictive and I don’t want to take the risk that my Karen Kay Buckley scissors will be confiscated), I need to have an alternative for cutting thread.  I bought a Clover Thread Cutter at Paducah last year and was looking for how to wear that cutter.  I got some good advice, and thanks to Amazon Prime, I’ll have my leather necklace and jump ring here on Wednesday. 




Speaking of Paducah, because I lamented only being able to spend one day at the show last April, DH generously offered to take me to Paducah for a 2-3 days this year – IF I could find a hotel room.  I found a room in Paducah – $595/person/night.    That ought to be illegal!  I finally found a hotel offering rooms at their normal rates in Marion, IL … about an hour up the road from Paducah.  It’s a little further away than I’d like to be, but all the hotels closer are booked full – or offering rooms at exorbitant rates.



The Ts’ break from swim is just about over.  They’ve got a one-day meet coming up on Saturday, and they’ve got a 3-day meet coming up next weekend.  It’s in Springfield, which is about 90 minutes away, so that means road trip … DH and I will go up early in order to get checked in to our hotel (we’ll take DD’s luggage and get it in their room as well, so all they have to hassle with is their swim gear). 

Since we’ll be going up early, I decided to see if there were any quilt shops in/around Springfield … and there’s one that looks like a shop that is right up my alley!  Lots of prim and repros, lots of extra wide backing fabrics … AND they offer retreats 5-6 times/year.  They’ve got one in March that I will definitely register for.  And they’ve got one the weekend of January 23 … I need to check to see how late they’ll accept registrations since I won’t know until the week of if I’ll be done with my jury duty in time to attend.  I’m so excited!  I think I’ve found my new favorite quilt shop.  It is a good drive to get up there (a little over an hour), but the closest quilt shop to me is over 30 minutes away, so what’s another 30 minutes? 

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

First Slow Stitching Sunday of 2015

 

 

It’s been a quiet, uneventful weekend here at Chez Nana … but that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening.  There’ve been movies watched, football and basketball games watched, and of course there’s been some hand quilting, too. Oh my, when did my hand become an old lady’s hand?  I’m now halfway through the quilting of the outside blocks along the third side … that means I’m over halfway done with these outside blocks.  I had hoped to get them all quilted and this quilt finished by the end of the weekend so I could start cutting fabric for T#3’s quilt tomorrow morning … hopefully I’ll get this quilt finished by midweek.  A lot will depend on how much life “interferes”. 

 

We’ve had a lot of rain the last couple of days … and while it’s been cold, it hasn’t been cold enough to produce the much-dreaded ice.  Snow I would have enjoyed … ice not so much.  It’s going to get colder before it gets warmer, too. Brrrrrr.  At least there’s snow in the forecast.

 

That cold weather in the forecast has caused DH and me to dream of a trip to somewhere warm.  Of course, we’ve been there, done that … and encountered record cold weather.  That put the kibosh on those dreams.  Ha!

 

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

Happy New Year!

 

 

As I predicted, DH and I called it a night long before the new year rolled in … but alas, our “neighbors” (in the next subdivision over) had other plans.  They started shooting off fireworks at around 10:30 … so DH and I gave in and got back up.  As I sat in my recliner, I’d decided I’d had enough of the Christmas tree and decorations … and down they came!  By the time we were done, it was almost midnight … so we saw the new year in after all.  Not exactly the most exciting way to celebrate New Year’s Eve (ha!), but it sure felt good when I got up this morning and saw the house back to “normal”.  I did manage to sleep in to make up for the late night … I made it all the way to 6:15. 

 

There are football games on TV today, so I suspect that DH will tune them in.  This is when I’m especially thankful that we paid for the TV receiver for his hearing aids … he can turn the volume off but still pull the sound directly into his hearing aids.  I’ll be able to quilt alongside him without having to listen to the announcer’s drivel. 

 

Speaking of quilting, I’m well into the outermost blocks of DH’s log cabin.  If I recall correctly, I have 9 or 10 of the blocks done … I imagine that I’ll cross the halfway point some time today (there are 28 outermost blocks).  My original plan was to quilt until Monday when I’d start on the quilt for T#3.  But since I’m getting so close to the finish on this quilt, I may just keep working on it … hopefully it’ll only postpone my start on T#3’s quilt by a day or two. 

 

We have no New Year’s Day celebrations or traditions here at Chez Nana … unless you count watching football (DH) or quilting (me). 

 

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

2014 - A Year in Review

My goodness, where in the world did this year go?    But the calendar clearly says December 31, so it’s time for the year in review.

You all know that I’m a bit (ha!) of a weather geek, and 2014 didn’t disappoint.  We had a cold, snowy winter 2014 … setting a record for the most snow in one day (14”).  I love snow, but even I will admit that is too much.  Thank goodness DH bought a snow blower in November, 2013 … he joked at the time that by purchasing a snow blower, he guaranteed that we wouldn’t be getting any snow the rest of the winter.  ha!

There were a lot of swim meets to attend in 2014.  The Ts swam for the same summer swim team as last year and switched to a new Y swim team this September, one that is a much better fit. They continue to enjoy swimming and continue to do well.  




I didn’t manage to get a lot of quilts finished in 2014.  DD asked me to make a herringbone quilt for their bed.  I admit that I was a little reluctant … she wanted a large quilt in a pattern and fabrics that really aren’t to my taste, and I was afraid that I’d not enjoy the process.  But how could I say no.  I started cutting triangles on April 26 and gifted it on August 18.  I had nothing but trouble with this quilt, which caused the finish to be delayed significantly.  Even with cutting my triangles using my Go cutter, I had troubles with keeping my tips intact (obviously even a cutter can’t help an inaccurate piecer - ha!).  There was a lot of frog stitching … and a few blocks that didn’t make it to the quilt top.  Measuring the top for the borders took almost twice as long as it should have (I don’t have any smooth surface large enough to lay out the quilt to get accurate measurements).  And then there was the backing fiasco, with a considerable delay waiting for the second shipment of extra wide backing.    It turned out that in spite of my initial reluctance and in spite of all the aggravations, I enjoyed making this quilt and was pleased with how it turned out.  Besides, it was worth it all just to see DD’s reaction. 


As soon as I finished up the chevron quilt, I started on T#1’s spiral log cabin.  I began cutting strips on August 17 and gifted the quilt on November 9.  Thankfully this quilt went together more smoothly and finished more quickly than the chevron quilt.


Those two quilts weren’t all that I worked on in 2014.  I started the year with my Storm at Sea in my hoop.  Between the mistake of piecing together the blocks with the papers still on and dealing with the twisting and knotting of my quilting thread, my heart just isn’t in finishing that quilt.  I’m determined, however, to get it finished at some point.

I also did quite a bit of piecing on other quilts as well.  I have all 42 blocks ready to go for a quilt for our bed (the colors are washed out … the blue is more of a navy blue).

I put together a log cabin for DH and have the majority of the quilting done.

I’m also in the middle of piecing together some 14” pineapple blocks. 

And of course there’s my ongoing (never-ending?) hexie project. 

I mustn't forget my leaders and enders project.  I'm piecing together 2-patches from 2.5" squares of Minick and Simpson’s Midwinter Reds (most of which were leftovers from an earlier project).  They’ll eventually be pieced into 16-patches and joined with some strips to form a Primitive Picnic quilt.  I made a small lap quilt in 2012 using Kansas Troubles fabrics … … I’m hoping to be able to have enough fabric to make a large lap quilt this time.


We did a fair amount of traveling in 2014, between traveling to out-of-town swim meets and traveling to our favorite spot in the world.  We spent almost 2 weeks in Hilton Head in May, another 2 weeks there in September, and went back for a week in November. 

Wishing you and yours a very


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

Sore Slow Sunday Stitching

 

 

I don’t know if I’ve pulled a muscle (that’s really what it feels like) … but I’ve got tenderness in my right abdomen (mostly just below the rib cage).  If it is a pulled muscle, I must have aggravated it while painting and made it worse by leaning over the side of my recliner to grab my iPad several times while quilting yesterday (no room on the end table next to my recliner, so I’ve always just laid it on the floor next to my chair).  The tenderness came on slowly yesterday … by dinnertime, I was experiencing some pain when standing up straight, breathing deeply, etc.  By bedtime, I was unable to find a comfortable sleeping position. I got up and figured I might as well do a little quilting … sitting upright in my recliner is a comfortable position.  After a few hours of quilting, I finally was able to fall asleep in my recliner … but not for long.    Thankfully I have a doctor’s appointment Tuesday afternoon … hopefully I can nurse this along until then.

 

The upside is that I’m able to make progress on DH’s quilt … although truth be told, I’d rather be painfree.  Once again, the fabrics are washed out in this picture … I took this with my iPhone in the middle of the night last night.If I’m counting correctly (I’m counting in my head instead of getting up and counting blocks), I have 35 blocks left to quilt … all that’s left are single outer blocks all the way around, except for one side where there are two outer blocks … there are 63 blocks in the quilt.  I fully expect to get past the halfway point today … hopefully I won’t be up most all night quilting tonight. 

 

It seems impossible that in just 4 days, we’ll be in 2015.    Where in the world did 2014 go?  That means I’ve got a mere 4 days to think about what I’ve accomplished in 2014 and what I’d like to accomplish in 2015. 

 

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

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

If that doesn’t sum up my life, I sure don’t know what does.   

Once again, my plans have changed.  Today DH and I were to head up to my sister’s for the weekend to join them at her grandson’s baptism tomorrow.  But I was feeling pretty puny yesterday (a cold) and she wasn’t feeling any better (gastroparesis), so we decided to cancel our trip up.  I will be honest and say that I’m not all that much disappointed.  December has been such a busy month, and I have been longing for a couple of days in a row where we didn’t have/need to go somewhere or do something.

Yesterday we met up with extended family (DD and her family, DSIL’s parents, and his sister and brother-in-law) to celebrate DSIL’s birthday.  DD and DSIL went to go shopping (he asked for cash for Christmas and for his birthday), which gave his sister the perfect opportunity to surprise them for Christmas … she wanted to repaint their bedroom.  DD has been wanting to repaint that room since the day they moved in, especially after I made that quilt for their bed.  I was drafted to help so they could be sure that the room would be done by the time that DD and DSIL returned … my job was to supervise T#1 and T#2 in their first attempt to paint (load their rollers, check for drips, etc.).  I thought that wouldn’t be too taxing, given how I felt.  WRONG!  When I got home, I felt like I’d been run over by a Mack truck … and if it’s possible, I feel even more so this morning!    But it’s worth it given DD’s reaction (DSIL’s sister sent me a video of DD as she walked into their bedroom and saw it).  Here’s how it looked when I left (forgive the blurriness ... the photo was taken with DSIL's sister's iPhone).  (And yesterday’s experience has definitely reaffirmed my decision to hire out any repainting here at Chez Nana!  Ha!)

Obviously, I will be having the quiet, relaxing (aka lazy) day that I’d longed for … I don’t think I could do much of anything today even if I wanted to!  Of course, I’m not too wiped out to be able to pick up my needle and thread this morning … and I think there will be a movie or two watched, too.  I put in a few stitches yesterday evening … I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … I’m making progress, slowly but surely.  I plan to continue to work on this until the 5th when I plan to start cutting fabric to make T#3’s new quilt.  I’d like to have the quilting completed on DH’s quilt by then, but it’ll depend on how much I can get done in the next week … there isn’t a whole lot on my schedule between now and then, but we all know what happens to my plans, right? 

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