From the Sewing Room........

 

I have been working on a Bonnie Hunter pattern called Bitcoin.  It uses 1.5" strips that are sewn together in pairs and then cut apart and resewn to make ladders.  It's a great way to use up scraps.......anything goes!  I have been working on these in between other things and have decided to put 80 coins in each ladder and try to get 35 or so ladders.  This would make the quilt 70" x 80".  I finished 6 more ladders and I think that makes my total ladders about 16.  I hang them in the TBQ closet when they are done.  Esme loves to play with them, so the closet is a good place to keep them away from her.

She has found a new napping place in the sewing room, on this quilt that is folded by the machine waiting for it's binding to be sewn on.  I was about to attempt to steal the quilt and sew the binding on...

So, that hasn't happened yet.  I'll have to be sneaky and get it done when she's not looking.

And for those who are wondering about Cici because she hasn't been pictured in the blog lately.........

She is more active than ever.  I think she is the instigator in several of the things that Esme gets in trouble for.  What are older siblings for!  She is not much for having her photo taken, so she's happy to have Esme share the load of creating blog-worthy photos.

Some hand sewing has happened.  These 2 table runners are complete...........2 UFO's to check off the list!  They are the same pattern from the Table Runner Bliss book.  One is done in Christmas colors and one for Halloween.

And, embroidery for another block for the Appalachian Memories quilt was completed, pressed, and trimmed!

So now there are 9 blocks completed.  Only 3 to go.........OR............we could just stop at 9.

But I really like the 3 remaining block patterns, so I'll probably stick it out and finish.

I'll have to set up the light and clear plastic tub to get another block traced to work on soon.

Christi

The Human Drama of Athletic Competition

 The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat............The Human Drama of Athletic Competition....... I remember hearing this on TV during the Olympics.  I can't remember the name of the commentator who used to say it, but it was said at the start of every broadcast.  

We traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa to see Carter compete in the Heptathlon.  Seven events over 2 days.  We were in the UNI Dome, and it was nice and toasty inside, while temps outside were well below zero.  

The first event was the 60 M dash...........not Carter's best event.

Carter is the one in the middle, and yes, they are all wearing UNI Panther purple.  Due to illness, etc., none of the other schools brought men to compete in the multi event.  

And you can see that he placed last, but the times were extremely close.  When scoring a heptathlon or decathlon, each event is scored based on the time, height, or distance, so placing is not as important as getting the best time you can get.  This was a PR (personal record) for Carter.

Next up, long jump.

His best jump was 7.37meters, which was over a foot longer than his previous best, so another PR and 2nd place.  His dad, a former state long jumper, was pretty excited.

Then it was shot put.  He threw 11.35meters which was close to his best, and good enough for 3rd place.

Then it was high jump.  This was his specialty in high school.  Thanks to Covid shutting down his senior season, I had never seen him high jump in person.  

It was truly amazing.  He won clearing 2.05 meters which was another PR, topping his high school record.  This thrilled his mom, a state high jumper in high school.

This was the end of the first day of competition and he was in first place overall.  At some point during the day, he was injured.......

and he was enjoying making goofy faces.

The next day started with the hurdles which he won with a time of 8.38 and another personal record.  Then it was pole vault. 

He jumped 3.85 meters and placed second.  That left just the 1000 meter run and he was still in first place overall.  Well, he really wanted to win, so he did.  It was an amazing run.  And he won it by a lot.  So, he won the heptathlon with 5326 points.  

I'm sure his success was due to his large fan club in attendance.  Of course, you shouldn't see his dad in this photo below as he was playing hooky,  "taking his mom to a doctor's appointment" instead of being at school.  The appointment just happened to be in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

We had a lot of fun cheering him on.

Christi

Back Home!

 Well, we made it back home safe and sound.  And for those who were worried about poor Willow, she is feeling much better.  She even hopped into the car while we were unloading it.  I think she was on the mend before we left because she had been out "exploring" something..........

Why she has to "explore" with the top of her head, ears, and all the way up to her armpits is beyond me.

Since she had a cold, we didn't want to give her a bath, so we just waited for the mud to dry really well, and then brushed it out of her.

She was definitely starting to feel like her playful self again........

She even trapped Esme in the bathroom with me.

Esme has taken to hiding out in Sarah's room when I am in the sewing room.  That way she knows if I head downstairs and she can trail behind in her "puppy" way.

So, we had a wonderful time on our trip.  I delivered 6 quilted items to my mom so she has plenty of binding work to do now.  David and I stopped at Cuts and Bolts in Chillicothe on the way up.  I was a little embarrassed to walk in at 4:55pm when they were getting ready to close up, but they didn't seem to mind.  I found a backing for Carmyn's quilt, and cleaned a bolt of black fabric up for them (I always try to  help out by cleaning off a slim bolt!), and a cute fat quarter that I just WANTED.  The black and backing were NEEDS.

It was a 2 day track meet (more on the track meet in the next post), so the evening of the first day we went to Joanns and Bed, Bath and Beyond before enjoying dinner at the Olive Garden......chosen by our track star and his friend who joined us.  I stocked up on rotary cutting blades, sewing machine needles,  and picked up a pillow form I needed.  At Bed, Bath, and Beyond I found a curtain rod and curtain clips to hang quilts in the hallway.............

This set up will allow me to hang a variety of different sizes of quilts.  I started with my Farm Girl Challenge quilt from last year.  You can see that it has been folded up for awhile.

After Carter was finished on Friday, we headed for home, but found the quilt shop we had tried to visit last year only to find it closed.  Lulijunie's is located just outside of Cedar Falls.  The sign said it was open on Thursdays and Saturdays.  It was FRIDAY, but she was there so I poked my head in and she said it was fine to come in.  It's a small shop but full of Civil War and some 30's fabrics.  I selected 2 reds from the sale bin.  They will be "auditioning" as binding for my spool quilt when it gets quilted.

We finished our journey home this morning with a stop at H&M in Jamesport to pick up some spices and oatmeal, and somehow candy made it into the bag.  Over breakfast at my parents' house, they wanted to know what we were looking for and I said free pets, of course.  The Amish usually have some in cages in the yard.  My dad thought it would be too cold for them to be out and I said they would probably have them in the store.

We were searching for the items on my list when I was sure I heard a "Meow".  David told me it was just a door squeaking, but he was WRONG!

These 2 looked like the most playful things ever.  I texted this photo to my dad and he asked which one I got.  My response, "Well, I couldn't take one and leave one all by itself."  So, they are both still there.  I think 2 cats are probably enough for this house.

Things are unpacked, laundry started, and I baked a chocolate oatmeal cake...........because I couldn't quite fit all the bag of oatmeal from the Amish store into my container until I used a cup of it in the cake.  I just couldn't have the little bit left in the bag!

Christi

Spoolin' and 2021 Quilt Stats

 So many people have posted their quilting "stats" for 2021, so I thought I'd join in.  I had 19 projects on my UFO list at the beginning of 2021.  All but 3 were totally finished, so I carried 3 over to 2022.  My 2022 UFO list has 15 things on it, 3 that were carried over and 12 that were started but not completed in the same year.  In 2021, I started 38 new projects and I finished 26 of them!  So, I am starting 2022 with fewer UFO's than I did in 2021.  Yeah!  

Of the 15 UFO's, 5 were hanging in the TBQ closet waiting to be quilted at the beginning of the year.  And, as of this post, 3 of those have been quilted, and one more project has moved to the TBQ closet.  Two new projects have been started and one of those is also hanging in the TBQ closet.  So, the year is off to a good start.  

One of the projects in the TBQ closet is my spool quilt.  

This was a guild exchange and we showed our spool tops at the January meeting.  (a couple people missed the meeting, so showed theirs on our guild facebook page)  

Below is Carrie's..........she claimed there was a top and bottom and had a time figuring out which way she wanted it photographed!  After that, the whole top/bottom thing became a lot of fun with each quilt.

Judy put together 4 spools and I think she plans to hang it in her sewing room.

This was Beth's quilt..........

And Karen got a little crazy and turned some on their sides.

And Becky added a colorful border to hers.

And some other things I really liked from show and tell at our meeting..........

Mary's wall hanging.

Becky's cardinal.........

And Judy's cat wall hanging......

I probably won't be posting any more this week.  Sickness seems to have hit everywhere, schools are closed, all of my piano students have canceled.  So we are taking off and heading north to the University of Northern Iowa for a 2-day indoor track meet to see my nephew compete in the heptathlon.  I know, how crazy to head to northern Iowa in January.......we should be going someplace warm.  Oh well.  

Christi

Dirty Dog - Sick Dog

A few days into the new year, Willow had some fun playing and digging in the mud.  She was very confused as to why I wouldn't let her inside when she looked like this.  

She just got back from a trip to the vet (she and the hubs stopped by my work to report in).  She just hasn't been herself and was coughing, hasn't been eating as much as normal, and didn't seem to feel well.  I know what you're thinking.....COVID!

Well, it's not.  Nor is it anything more than a cold.  She now has antibiotics and steriods to take.  The interesting thing is that her brother (pup from the same litter) was at the vet at the same time and David says they could have been twins except for the fact that he was about 25 lbs heavier.  I asked what Willow thought of him, and apparently there was some sibling conflict as she growled at him.

Willow's illness has been very concerning to Esme.........can't you tell!  David has started referring to her as my new puppy.  He says she follows me around the house and stays close to me at all times.  She's also a very good lap kitty (puppy).  

Cici, Esme, and I have started a new quilting project.  These are the blocks for the Ruby Jubilee Mystery Quilt that Quiltmaker Magazine is doing to celebrate their 40th year.  All of the blocks are from Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps column.  These are the blocks from the Jan/Feb issue.

And I saw a little more basketball last week.  This is Kody, younger brother to Kyle, also a piano student.  He's a 5th grader playing on the junior high team.  They didn't win, but it was fun to see them play.

Christi