Snow Day!

 Well, it could have been another pajama day here.  I did get dressed for work, and then we decided to close.  We've had snow all day.  It's white outside from top to bottom.

There was snow in the sewing room today as well...........

I am in love with this snowflake pattern.  You could do it in one color like this, of 4 colors, or totally scrappy.  I think I would make this again, but either do it scrappy, or in a red/gray colorway.  The blue didn't come across as rich in the photo as it is in person.  The blue was an older fabric, I know because it was only 36" instead of 44".  I had enough to do this quilt and make the binding with just a few scrap pieces left.  So, it was a good use of a piece of fabric.

This was also set together with borders today.

This was the Morewood Mystery that I started last summer or fall (I can't even remember for sure).  I thought I would really like it because I followed their colors and I liked all the fabrics, but I'm not too in love with this design.  I'm hoping it grows on me once it's quilted.

Other than sewing room activities, we've mostly spent the day watching Willow and Cici antagonize each other since Willow has been staying in mostly.  We've also been watching the birds at our feeder.  We have lots of finches, a male and female cardinal, and one bluebird who is pretty bossy.  Willow and Cici take turns sitting in the window seat to watch them.

It's also fun to watch Willow play in the snow outside.  She keeps trying to catch it when she kicks it up as she walks through it.  She usually comes in with a snow beard.

Stay warm!

Christi

Happy Valentine's Day aka Pajama Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Due to the extreme cold temps (the dishwasher didn't run last night because it was frozen - due to someone's removing a little door covering on the side of the house - Willow!), and everything is cancelled.............also, it's now snowing - we're supposed to get 3-5".  So, I showered, did my hair and put on clean pj's to spend the day in!

While most everything here was cancelled for the past week, some of us did keep our regular work and piano lesson schedules............there were actually events at the community center!  And, since everything was cancelled, this was a great opportunity for piano students to have more time to practice!

Willow has been spending more time inside due to the cold.......not that she minds the cold, but it's a great excuse to let her in.

She is definitely a big beautiful girl at 6.5 months old.  She loves a good massage.  I usually start my morning with a dog massage.  She especially likes to have her paws rubbed.  You can be sitting anywhere (I'm not kidding, bathroom even!) and she will come and hold out a front paw for a massage.

I know you're all waiting for a sports update........... our favorite heptathlete has been out of commission due to mono (he was suffering from it at the meet where he placed 2nd overall......they're saying that's why the 1000 meters kicked him in the pants).  He's hoping to get back to competing the last weekend of the month.  

And in basketball, the regular season is over.  We did watch or listen whenever Jackson was playing.

Even Cici enjoyed the games!

We were able to stream from the computer and put it up on the big tv for Cici.  And, the hubs concocted a new "game food" for our enjoyment.

He did those big waffle fries in the air fryer, then layered on smoked pulled pork, bbq sauce, shredded cheese, nuked it a little, then added green onions and sour cream!  Delicious!

In quilting news..........

My parents visited to deliver our half beef, and my mom brought fabric from my cousin to make a table runner.  I designed it, cut it out, she sewed it, and I quilted it before they left..............sorry, no finished photo!

I also pieced this table runner.  It is the February Stashbuster on the Hen and Chicks Studio website.  They offer a free pattern each month.  It turned out a little busy, but I was using up the black music instrument fabric and the neutral is sheet music.  I'm hoping to like it a little better after it's quilted.

I have the January Stashbuster totally completed.  It was called Just a Little Dotty.

It was a snowball style pattern.  I used up some leftover snowman charm squares for the snowballs and had fun quilting it with mittens!

And keeping the winter theme going, I finished this wall hanging.  It is now quilted and bound and awaiting it's space on the wall next Christmas.  I used the fabric coloring techniques I learned at a class I took well over a year ago.

And more winter..........I'm participating in the Snowflake quilt along with Sew Sweet Quilt Shop.  I chose to do the 2-color quilt in blue and white.

Here I am sewing on the blocks while watching their Friday live friendly chat on Facebook.  

Well, the dishwasher is running now.  There is a plan for lunch.  So, I guess I'm heading up to the sewing room for the day!

Christi

Last Installment of the Mini Vacation (and Quilt Show and Tell)

Sunday morning arrived (after a night of interrupted sleep due to some noisy hotel neighbors.  We grabbed a quick breakfast and turned southward.  We stopped at a Hy-Vee for some grocery shopping (hey, we only have Walmart in Marshall), and then grabbed lunch at a cafe in Brookfield and made it home to see Willow.  She had been left out of her pen for the entire weekend and we wondered how she did.  She was there waiting happily to greet us.  We gave her a much needed bath and then she crashed on the couch.

So that pretty much ends our mini vacation!  I'll take a moment to show you some of my quilting projects.

This baby quilt is the first thing I quilted on my long arm and the flower wall hanging is the second. The baby quilt was an edge to edge daisy pantograph.  The flower has a little custom work and some free motion.  Notice the butterfly quilted into the upper left of the flower.

My Aunt Carol Ann received the flower for her 85th birthday.

This is a table topper that I did some custom work on.  And below is the first large quilt I quilted.  It was an edge to edge design of swirls.  I donated it to our guild's charity project.

And then I was in the mood for hearts.........

I quilted it with and edge to edge heart design and made it into a pillow.  This reminded David of Conversation Hearts.  He thought I should quilt words in all the hearts.  

 Close up of the quilting.  This has been mailed to my cousin for her birthday on the 25th.

Christi

Mini Vacation Part 3

 The Saga Continues............

Saturday morning dawned and we were off to visit a couple of quilt shops in Cedar Falls.  When we arrived at the first, we found it closed.  This was the second stop, Crazy to Quilt Shop.  

And inside.............

Full to the brim with many glorious aisles to explore.  And when you run out of display space........

Hang quilts on the ceiling.  When I pointed this out to the hubs, he said, "Don't get any ideas."  

Remember when I said that we learned that fabric prices increase the further north you go?  I didn't actually purchase anything here.  It was just fun to look!

We had thought to tour the John Deere plant/museum in Waterloo since Cedar Falls and Waterloo are basically one city, but it was closed.  So I had done some internet digging and found the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum which was OPEN!

The Five Sullivan Brothers had enlisted in the Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and were all stationed together on the USS Juneau when it went down.  The museum features all Iowa Veterans from all wars.  It was well put together and we enjoyed it.

Here you can read about the Sullivan Brothers.

I turned the hubs loose with the tank.

There was also a science and technology museum attached.  We didn't spend as much time in it.  One can only appreciate so much in a museum.

And here is a Deere for my dear!

And what museum would be complete without some quilts!

And a sewing machine...........

Then we met up with my parents, and sister and brother-in-law for a late lunch before heading to.........

THE UNI DOME!

Plenty of room for social distancing!

This was Carter's first college meet and his first time competing in pole vault.  In fact, it was his first time going over the actual bar because they practice going over a bungy cord!

And he's over!

Not too sure about the leg form on some of these!

But look at the definition of the shoulder muscles.........wouldn't he be amazing with a rotary cutter and some fabric!

And he ran the 60 meters.

He told us the evening before that this was not his race and he would probably finish dead last.  He made the finals.........and then finished dead last in the finals.

And another time over the pole vault........the form is improving.

For those wondering about this past week's track meet where he competed in the heptathlon - 7 events - pole vault, shot put, long jump, high jump, 60 meters, 60 meter high hurdles, and 1000 meters - he finished second over all.  He won the high jump, and set personal records in the long jump and pole vault.  So pretty good start for the multi-athlete.

After the track meet, we all went over to my sister's friends home for supper.  Augie and Tonya graciously showed us around their home and large shop they are working on and fed us an amazing supper.  The hubs made sure I got her recipes!

Then it was back to the hotel where some very loud people woke us up at 2 am.  

Christi