Quick coat update

This weekend I actually made progress on the coat! It is looking so adorable. It does not have arms yet, nor a lining, and the collar is only pinned on but it is beginning to take shape. I was so afraid to start it because I spent a fair amount of money on the fabric. It just finally occurred to me that I had better at least try to sew it because I've already cut out the pieces and she'll probably be too big to wear it next year.

Never fear, in Ohio she could be wearing it until May.

Crafty Progress

Yes, I've made progress! And don't fall out of your chair, but I have photos.

Without further ado, the crafty accomplishments:

The Boy's third Ohio Star block is complete. I am not crazy about the color. It's too piney. I picked this print because he refers to all coniferous trees as "Christmas Trees", which of course I find adorable. In case you can't tell, the tiny white dots on the green fabric are little pine trees.




I also finally finished the little mini-quilt I made in a class last year. It is just a nine patch and isn't all that impressive but I gave it to The Girl to use as a doll blanket. She immediately declared it a puppy blanket, and here it is gracing one of her favorite puppies:

And here is a top view:

And the really big super-wow news...I finished quilting The Girl's quilt. Woohoo! This is me rounding the final corner:

And the folded quilt in all it's glory on the couch:

I am a little scared to bind it. The pink stripes extend out further than the white so there will be a lot of corners. But I bet when I'm done I will have finally mastered binding!

Guild Night

Last night was guild night. Like usual, I left early. I just am such an old lady I can't stay to the end.

Anyway. It was dues night and I paid my yearly dues. They asked for volunteers for tons of different things, and I have to say I felt rather guilty not to volunteer for anything. Ok, I have a full time job and two children under the age of five. I am not crawling around under the burden of extra time to give away. But I do have the urge to get to know more people and it seems volunteering would be a good way to accomplish that goal. So. Are there any quilt guild jobs out there that I can do without having to show up for an endless array of extra meetings? Is there anything I can do in fifteen minutes or less?

Oh, and The Girl has an ear infection. My poor baby. After two nights of a lot of crying and quite a lot of clinginess during the day I figured it was time for the doc to take a look. Let that be a lesson to you. Mommy's instincts are rarely wrong.

Excitement

I have several exciting things to report. And no, I don't have any photos to share. I wish I did. But posting from lunch at work prevents that.

Exciting thing #1 - I have a secret sister! I went to the quilt shop Tuesday night and we received our secret sister assignments. I am so excited to pick something out for her. I'm thinking that since the next meeting will be in February it should be Valentine-oriented. Or maybe presidential.

Exciting thing #2 - I received this quarter's mail order from Angry Chicken. It is counted cross stitch, and I am not in to that. But getting the packet was still a thrill. I'm trying to figure out the secret word so I can get a bonus gift. We'll see if I can manage it.

Exciting thing #3 - I realized this week that I am almost three quarters of the way through quilting the border on The Girl's quilt.

Last exciting thing...it's Friday!! Thank goodness. The Husband took today off to paint The Boy's bedroom. It used to be a full-room underwater scene, even on the ceiling. I'm a little sad to see it go. The Boy is getting too old too fast. He'll start kindergarten in the fall. I am definitely going to have hysterics over that.

Rehash of 2006 Crafty Conquests

Another year is behind us, so it's time to look back and see what I accomplished. Here is the list, in no particular order. Sorry there aren't pictures, you know I'm too lazy for that.

• Crocheted purse


• Knitted Sweater


• Jumper dress for The Girl


• Tinkerbell Costume


• Peter Pan Costume


• Blisswork Nap Quilt


• Table Cloth & runner for my sister


• Reupholstered two chair seat cushions

And now it's time for some forward thought. Here are some goals for the current year:

• Actually sew the curtain for the kitchen


• Actually sew the winter coat for The Girl


• Complete quilting and bind The Girl's quilt


• Complete a quilt top for The Boy


• Complete a quilt for the in-law's 40th anniversary


• Complete one quilt (could be one of those above) to enter in a show

I don't think my skills are yet show quality but I still want to enter one. Just to see it in a show, I guess, and see how the process goes.

Santa was good to me!

Christmas Recovery is well-underway at our house. Most of the toys have been sprung from their maximum-security packaging and the house is still littered with the contents of Santa's bag. But I did get all the wrapping paper bits thrown out, and many of the boxes recycled.

So, what did Santa (i.e., The Husband) bring me?

Jinny Beyer's book, Quiltmaking by Hand, which can be purchased at her website.

The hilarious movie "Raising Arizona", starring Nicholas Cage

A Nano Ipod - cool. I didn't even ask for that!

A variety of quilt marking pencils, as The Husband didn't know that I meant actual colored pencils when I asked for colored pencils

A watch (which I really needed)

"Wicked" and "Confessions of an evil step sister", both by the same guy but I don't recall his name.

An extra bowl for my KitchenAid mixer

And a new cookie baking sheet (I only had one, which can get pretty tedious).

Quite the haul. I'm already reading Wicked and I think it is good writing but I am so sad for little Febula (sp?). I hope I don't feel this way for the whole book because it is kind of depressing.

I am in the process of formulating a list of 2006's crafty accomplishments. Unfortunately The Girl's quilt will not be one of my conquests, but it will be done soon. I am about 1/3 of the way through quilting the border.

Happy New Year to all!!!

Elf Name

Hey Everyone! I have an elf name.

Christmas Elf Name My Christmas Elf Name is Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com

I hope everyone had a great holiday. Merry Christmas!

Cool Magazines

The other day my Grandma gave me an armful of quilting magazines that she saved from the eighties. I have one thing to say: awesome. It's been really fun looking through them, though I have to say, desktop publishing must have done a lot for the magazine business. Today's magazine equivalents are so much more professional looking and...I think the word I'm looking for is glossy.

This is my favorite cover:

In case you can't read it, it's "Quilting Today: The International Quilt Magazine", issue #16 from Dec 1989. It is the newest magazine she gave me, the rest really are from the eighties, not the last lingering breath of it.

I did a quick search and sadly it seems Quilting Today no longer exists. It merged with another magazine called Traditional Quiltworks and sometime last year went under.