Dashing Through the Snow

We had this beautiful snow on Friday!  And fortunately, I didn't have to go outside at all!!!!  Which meant that this could happen............

My Dashing Through the Snow blocks were sewn together.  If you want to know how large it is, The Hubs is holding it up with his arms stretched up above his head and you don't see his feet, so that's how big it is..........real scientifically precise, huh?

The red and white churn dash blocks were made as leader/enders and then set on point with the green.  This was done as a quilt-a-long with Temecula Quilt Company.  They used much smaller pieces and didn't set theirs on point.  You can see a photo of how it was supposed to be done in my last post as Judy showed the Dashing Through the Snow quilt she had made.

I had lots of scraps the right size for 6" churn dashes, so used those instead of cutting smaller pieces.  I have some red/white pieces left and will add some more to make a red/white striped border.

This is my first UFO finish of the year.  Looks a little strange, but that's because it's the back.  I can't show the front yet as this is being done as a mystery quilt for my guild.  Since I am the president, I've called it the 2020 Presidential Mystery Quilt.  I've told them they should plan on hand sewing the binding down on election night while they watch election results (and say prayers of thanks that the election is OVER!)

On Saturday, the roads were cleared, so I made the trip up to Brunswick to sew the day away with the Scrap Attack group.  It was my first meeting with this group and it was really fun and productive.  
Mary brought some leftover half square triangles and made them into this cute table topper.  She also made of couple of potholders from the last of the leftover scraps.

Obviously, she is a little shy!  I have a stash of leftover half square triangles that I may use and copy this.

I completed the sewing on this project............

Meet Delilah!  She is so cute!  And if you want to know how big she is, The Hubs is holding her up with his arms over his head and his feet show, so she's a little shorter than Dashing Through the Snow!  The precise nature of the scientific measurements provided in this blog are astounding aren't they?!

And lest we not forget the real G.O.A T. (greatest of all time) Cici............

Yes, we caught you eating something you shouldn't be!

You know, I made this girl a really nice bed, but she doesn't use it.......purrfurs any blanket or quilt that gets abandoned on a chair or floor whether it's completed or not!

Christi

First Guild Meeting of 2020!

We had our first guild meeting this past Tuesday.  It's always fun to start a new year.  Yours truly was inducted as president (can anyone say, IMPEACHMENT TRIAL!)  They have 2 years to either put up with me or go for impeachment.  

Our program was given by the founder of the Tiny Homes for Veterans project.  He started this project that now has a village of 49 tiny homes for homeless veterans in Kansas City.  They get to move in, have support to get their "stuff", whatever it may be, in order and then they move out to be successful in their lives.  When they leave, they get to take all of the furnishings of the tiny home with them.......furniture, appliances, everything.  Then the home is flipped in 72 hours with new stuff for the next person needing it.  We had made quilts to donate for the beds which each veteran will take with them when they leave.  Here are some of the quilts...........

And some of you may recognize this pattern............Kitchen Sink!  I made this one and it now resides at Aunt Judy's house!

We donated 10 quilts and some afghans.  

We also had a wonderful Show and Tell.............

This one wasn't quilted yet, but the piecing was amazing!

Love Gina's pumpkins and her Kevin the Quilter mystery quilt below!

This is Gina again (she's hiding) behind her Secret Santa quilt from Temecula Quilt Company's Christmas Mystery Quilt from last year.  She made hers in fall colors.  Mine was done in reds and greens.  I still love this quilt!

And this year's Temecula Christmas quilt along was called Dashing Through the Snow..........

I am still working on mine, but am making bigger blocks because I had lots of red scraps that I didn't want to cut down again.  I love how little and cute this is, but hopefully I will end up with something of a more usable size for snuggling!

Also from Temecula Quilt Company.............Tiny Trees!  Mine is pieced, but not quilted yet.  I think there are a couple of other people who did this, so maybe we will have a small forest at our quilt show next fall..........seeing these makes me to get mine finished.

Mary made this for her grandson..........

And Carrie had a UFO finish.

Darling Daughter headed back to school yesterday in the snow and extreme cold for her last semester of college.  She was ready and I think we were too.  Six weeks is a long break.  It is sad to think that this was the last time she will probably be home for any length of time.  

Cici is getting used to being an "Only Child" again.  The Hubs was wanting to get rid of this rocker in our bedroom because we never sit in it.  But that's where Cici sleeps at night.  The Hubs doesn't like her "looking" at him while he's sleeping.  I said, "If you're sleeping, how do you know she's looking at you?"  We're keeping the chair.  It's the only piece of furniture that Cici sleeps on other than his desk chair in the basement.  Maybe she just likes to be near him!

Christi

Apartments and Basket Weaving!

We're resting in a hotel in St. Louis this evening............exhausted from looking at apartments with DD today.  We arrived last night, drove around the Central West End of St. Louis (checking out the lighting around different apartments), and saw her office building.  The Hubs was much more interested in the very large concrete silos located between her office and Ikea.

This is a photo of the silos we took while we were driving today.  

DD had made appointments for us at 7 different apartment buildings (one an hour).  In the last demo apartment, we saw the most interesting decoration on the wall.........

To each their own, I guess.

We managed to finish our visits about 45 minutes early and DD immediately directed us to Ikea.  It's so conveniently located.  She found a couch and was looking for a bed with some storage...........

We decided this could be dangerous...........It makes me think of Audrey II, the plant from "Little Shop of Horrors" and it eating Sarah when she was reaching in to find stuff.

The driving wasn't that bad either.  We were using my new Christmas present, a Garmin, that we have named Holly.  I was a little disappointed that it didn't come with all of the quilt shops in the US already programmed into it.

Holly has done a pretty good job, even though she seems to have a little speech impediment............some of her pronunciations have been pretty entertaining.

Last week, I started working on a basket weaving project with Kelsey.  She picked a couple of really difficult patterns that I had never done before.  Our first efforts are on a Celtic Knot basket.  I decided to try it myself before trying to help her.

I had lots of assistance selecting reed..........

 She's sure she's helping!

So here is how the base is started.  She has now progressed further than me, but hopefully I'll catch up soon.

We're heading home tomorrow with a few stops in Columbia on the way.  I think we will all sleep well tonight.
Christi

Last of 2019!

I can't believe I never shared these photos!

We made it up to Iowa on Dec. 13th to see basketball games!  No, I'm not choking Jackson.  Notice I'm standing 2 steps above him to even have a chance to reach him!

I had dropped down a step for the photo with Carter.  They didn't win, but it was fun to see them play.  Hopefully we'll get to one more game this winter.

Some December sewing DID happen...........

I finished another of the barn quilt embroidery blocks.  I think that makes 3, maybe 4 that are complete............still a long way to go.

My Temmecula Quilt Company Tiny Tree was sewn together.  I'm hoping to machine quilt it this month and get it finished.

I helped my mom design some pillows to go with a Christmas quilt she pieced for my sister.  I thought these turned out cute.  Mom has them all finished and the quilt is now quilted, just waiting for Mom to bind it...........so, I guess she's ready for Christmas 2020!

I have decided to make my Farm Girl Vintage my may UFO Challenge for guild in 2020, so decided I should be getting the rest of the blocks cut out.

Cici was supurrvising the cutting.

Apparently she didn't agree with the fabric selection here...........

There was a break in the sewing to be sick with a sinus infection, but I finally got to do some more sewing on New Year's Eve................Christmas Baubles!  I thought this turned out really cute.

Here is the family Christmas photo from my parents house (weekend before Christmas)

 And here is TEAM PLAID........winners of a massive game of Hand & Foot!  There was also a round of Nertz played with about 10 decks of cards, but no one had time to take pictures of it!

Christmas Morning Photos............

 This little guy thought it would be safest to just sleep in the feeder..........first in line for food!

We took care of baby pigs and the neighbors' rabbits since they were out of town......

Hay for everyone!

The Christmas decorations have been put away

 No, Cici was not tucked away in a Christmas box until next year.

DD's kitten, Dory, has spent a lot of time resting.  Her Christmas break has consisted of declawing and being fixed.  Not the best gift, but she is finally starting to perk up and hopefully will enjoy the rest of the holiday before returning to college.

That's all from 2019..............on to 2020!
Christi