Big and Beautiful

Ooh, it's raining! I love the rain the way that only a native San Diegan can. It's like a miracle--water from the sky! It's expected to keep up for a while--yay! Not like our reservoirs are going to overflow or anything, but even a couple of inches makes a difference.Ain't it just lovely? (I can too say that--I didn't make it!) The patterns called "Turning 20" and I'm told it works up fast. (Here's a link to various pictures of Turning 20 Quilts) Pat sewed this up and I couldn't look away.
I volunteered to make a cross back for this particularly large prayer quilt. It's going to a fire victim (no, we don't know which family yet) and our fearless leader decided that larger quilts would be the order of the day so people could snuggle up together with it. That's what we did after the Cedar Fires. Well, this one was so big that it threw off our regular back maker. As it was modern and made with gorgeous Asian fabrics, how could I keep my hot little hands off of it? So here's the back--well, a close-up anyway. As you quilt makers know, the back's even bigger than the top!
Stashbuster Alert! I went through my Asian fabrics box and used up anything that would work with it (the butterflies on blue and the turquoise were mine.)
I worked on it at our regular Friday meeting and finished it at home on my sweet Little Darling. Note the table it's sitting in. No, that's no typo--it's IN the table. This baby is made for the Singer Featherweight and it's just like the one my Grammie used to use. My parents' friends, Jerry and Carlene, had an extra one (?!) and sent it my way. How blessed am I? And take a look at the scraps I scored! Gotta go. Gotta sew!

New Year's Eve Revisited

Here's my New Year's Eve food list: shopping and cooking. Yes, I was a busy little puppy! I love having people over and I like cooking (by the way, don't bother with that noodle pudding--Bethie's is much better!) Most of my recipes came from Elegant but Easy--some of which are neither elegant nor easy. However, the punch, the green stuff, the cake, and the devilled eggs came out okay. DH didn't like the eggs, but other people did, so there!

Saw "The Waterhorse" tonight--very good. Have only done a little sewing on my Christmas Tree Farm while waiting at the doctor's office. So, how come they ask you to come 15 minutes early and still take you late?

Whew, I'm a little jumbled. I promise to take my camera to quilting tomorrow. I might even take pictures! Good night and God bless.

Regular People

Until I sort out my iPhoto misbehavior, I'll just have to show you old pictures. This is a prayer quilt entitled "Colorstorm." I love to put wild colors together in simple patterns. I'm frankly not sure how many of this pattern I've made, but it sure uses up scraps!

In other news: my house is reasonably tidy and my regular sewing machine (an Elna that really needs a name) just went to the shop. This might just be how regular people live. No, wait, regular people have a couch. Oh, well.

Unearthing the Sewing Machine

As my studio is the place where everything goes when I'm tidying for guests, it's always the last room cleaned. (Read as Rarely Ever TIDY) And guess where the guys went on Christmas Eve to watch the game? You got it in one! My studio. At least the stocking stuffers were hidden (under the laundry) and no unmentionables were in sight!
As for my work...
Yes, yes, I know Christmas won't be for another 363, but maybe my Christmas quilt will be done by then. It's simple, a Stitched Scraps pattern, that I've been using as leaders and enders for several months. Also, I got out my Oriental Lanterns to get some progress on it. My daughter claimed this one long ago. I suppose she'd like to sleep under it some day!

Merry, Merry!

Merry Christmas, everyone! My DH did real good for his little wifey this year. There's a new store in Seaport Village called The Cabbage Tree that sells all New Zealand made stuff. He bought me the necklace and the wall piece I liked so much. We went to NZ in 2004 and I LOVED it, so these pieces bring back happy memories.
Look what Cathy With a C gave me! Tons of little scraps. Is it a Christmas gift to a dear friend or a revenge hit on a bitter enemy? No, Cathy never does mean stuff... although we do kid her about being a dictator at PQM when she's left in charge! Now that all the prep work of Christmas is over, sorting scraps sounds kinda fun.

Pretty Ornaments

Yes, I made all but the glass ornaments. No, I didn't make any of them this year. This is the way displayed ornaments that I made. That way they don't get lost on the Christmas tree. Now I've got to get back to Christmas Eve Clean-Up!

Super-Fast!

Mountain Girl (pictured below) went together in a hurry-flurry! I'd been wanting to experiment with this Disappearing Nine-Patch Pattern ever since I spotted the photo-tutorial on Life is a Stitch. I chose the fabric, cut, sewed, and finished this top all today at our prayer quilt meeting. It's going to Nolie, who is dealing with a scary mass on her liver--please lift her up in prayer. She likes the great outdoors, so this seemed remarkably appropriate.
Here's a detail of the mountaineering fabric.

Movie to recommend: An Inconvenient Truth

Another Tote Completed

Yay! Another tote completed. The yellow and blue theme is based on somebody else's preferences--I won't say whom as there is a remote chance she might see it. (really, really remote!) I'm so pleased that I was able to make this out of stash fabrics and not shop for more. (Stashbuster Alert!)Today I went to the drapery store and got estimates on drapes for four rooms in our house. If we go ahead with only one, that's still progress! For those who are interested, there's a 15% off labor sale at Calico Corners until the 28th. I sure hope that will help light a fire under my DH.

Geck-O!

This little lizard was one of the patterns I offered to my Girl Scouts for their cross-stitch class. Of course, they chose the more complicated patterns! But I made this guy up, figuring I could include him in a quilt sooner or later. He's a cutie pie, but needs a name. Any suggestions?

On the right you'll notice a couple mile-a-minute blocks. I have no idea what will happen to them, but they're such a great thing to work on when you're having an off day--no thought required!

Miss Mousie

This little cross-stitch piece was given me by Debbie when her cross-stitch store went out of business. I think it's Hunca Munca from Beatrix Potter's Two Bad Mice. I'm featuring it in a scrap quilt that I'm titling Miss Mousie.
The flying geese you see here were made by Cathy with a C. She didn't need them for her quilt, so graciously donated them to moi, the Scrap Queen. I found fabric that I liked with them and, voila! Stars! There will be a total of 11 star blocks plus Miss Mousie herself.

A friend sent me this link: it has got to be the funniest Christmas carol mix-up I think I've ever heard. I highly recommend clicking for a good laugh!