A Change of Pace

Normally on Sunday, I join the Slow Sunday Stitching gang over at Kathy’s Quilts, but I don’t know if there will be any slow stitching going on here at Chez Nana.  Friday I cut T#3’s fabric into strips and started piecing his quilt.  I’ve got 20 of the 63 blocks under construction.He has always requested his quilt be black, white and gray (he vetoed every suggestion of adding a little bit of color in the “chimneys”).  He didn’t care “how I decorated it” as long as it was gray, black and white.  But after he saw T#1’s spiral log cabin, he wanted his quilt to look like that … in black, white and gray of course.  When he saw me working on Papa’s quilt, he decided that he liked the diamonds formed by the barn raising setting … as long as it was in his 3 requested colors.  And yesterday at the swim meet, I showed him another setting and he voted for it … reminding me that he wants it black, gray and white.    Since the deadline for voting will soon come to a close (when I start putting blocks together), I believe we can declare a winner.  Besides, I like this setting … as much as I like log cabins, I’d like to change things up so they aren’t all the same. Here's my inspiration.

(source: Cherie at http://quiltedjonquil.com/)

T#3’s quilt will have a narrow inner border of the black and a wider outer border of the dark gray. 

I am planning to spend today adding more rounds to the 20 blocks … and maybe I can get started on another 20 blocks? 



Yesterday, there was no sewing at Chez Nana.  Instead we were at the Aquatic Center watching the 3 older Ts swim.  All 3 had a great day, knocking time off their personal bests, and T#2 made Area time on another event (at the end of the Y swim year, those who’ve qualified swim at Area Championships … our Area covers eastern Missouri and downstate Illinois).  Although T#3 totally missed one of his events as he was so engrossed in watching a teammate play on his iPod that he didn’t hear the calls for swimmers to report to the blocks.  All events were finals with the exception of the 50 free … the top 12 swimmers in each age group competed to narrow the pool down to the top 4.  T#1 and T#2 both qualified for the top 12, and T#1 advanced to the “Final Four”.  It was a pretty exciting race as he had to come from behind to win.  And he set a personal best for that event, breaking the 27 second mark by finishing at 26.77.  I was totally wiped out when we got home.  I can’t believe how exhausting those meets are … I guess it’s official: I’m old! 


We’ve got wintery weather (sleet, freezing rain and snow) coming in today.  DH reported that it was starting to sprinkle when he went out to get bagels for breakfast.  Sounds like it might be a perfect day to stay inside and sew, don’t you think? 
 

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

*Now* It’s Done

It took me less time than I’d anticipated to machine stitch the binding to the quilt but more time than I’d anticipated to hand stitch the binding to the back.  When I was still stitching the binding into the second period of the hockey game, I was beginning to wonder if I’d get it done last night … but I persevered and I got it all stitched up as well as washed, dried and ready to be used.  I did have to make a “scrappy” binding … I’m a little reluctant to call it scrappy because it reads as one fabric. 

Today my plan is to cut fabric for T#3’s quilt … I’m hoping that I can get a couple of blocks pieced, too. 



DH felt better yesterday … he’s still feeling pretty puny, but at least it appears that he’s on the mend.  So far, so good on keeping the bug to himself.



We’ve got warmer weather coming … sounds good, right?  Maybe not … it’s going bring with in some freezing rain and sleet this weekend.




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

It's Done!

Well, almost anyway. Right before dinner last night, I took the last stitch on DH's log cabin and got it squared up.
That means today will be spent cutting strips to make the binding and sewing on that binding. I am hoping to bind it in the same red that I used for the "chimney", but I'm not sure if I have enough fabric left. Actually, I'm not sure I have enough of any of the fabrics I used ... I do have enough of the various blues, so I might end up with a "scrappy" binding, which will be a first for me. Luckily they're all so similar that hopefully it won't look to crazy.

Once I get the quilt bound, it'll be time to start cutting into T#3's fabrics. I doubt he remembers that about a year ago he asked me to make him another quilt, but this Nana remembers ... and I'm anxious to get started on his quilt.

DH came down with some kind of digestive bug yesterday ... he spent all but about two hours in bed. I told him that if he shares this, he's going to be sorry! Ha!  He's feeling better today, thankfully.

Thankfully it didn't get quite as cold last night as forecast ... although if I were outside, I'm not sure that I could tell much difference between 2 and 0.  It's going to be cold again today, although not quite as cold as it was yesterday ... and the wind chill won't be quite as brutal. I know that there are some of you who are laughing because your temperatures make ours seem balmy in comparison. Trust me, though, that this is significantly colder weather than we normally see in January. And considering that I have very little, if any, tolerance for cold, what with my Raynaud's, it's especially brutal.  It's times like these that I long for a warm beach ... oh, who am I kidding?  I long to be at the beach every day!  ha!

I can really feel the effects of getting back to walking ... my legs are achey.  It didn't help that we walked a little longer than we usually do.  But I'm going to head back to the Y this morning ... if I don't keep at it, it'd be too easy for me to just give up walking.

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

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