Christmas at our house

We really don't celebrate Christmas. it's not that we're against it....but if we want something...we just go buy it. so we don't need 'presents'. there are no little kids in the house....and they are the ones who 'make' Christmas. we have no decorations or outside lights or blow up Santas in the yard.

We only have this....

A little 2 foot white tree that i had in the studio. i looked at it the other day and figured i should take it to the house and put it on the coffee table. made a tree skirt from a piece of red fabric.  there are some embroidered ornaments on there, too, but you can't see them well. notice there are presents. LOL

Since we had a tree i asked hubby if he wanted to get presents to put under the tree...just for kicks. so the rules were that we each spend about $20 on the other person and get little silly things and wrap them up. we will wait till Christmas morning to open. hubby says we will have hot chocolate with peppermint marshmallows while opening. LOL

His pile to me is on the right....he used pretty wrapping paper....and there are lots of presents.  

My pile to him is on the left....wrapped with brown paper and tissue paper. LOL  and his pile to me is bigger than my pile to him....so i have to go get a few more things. after all...we want to be fair. hahahaha

Think we need to get presents for the dog, too?

Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Later

Neutral 1600 inch quilt

Sometimes i forget to show you what i've been doing. just running 100 mph. i quilted up a few smallish quilts that i had in the cabinet for me.

I put this together along the lines of the 1600 inch quilt pattern. don't know how many inches i had....just cut a bunch of neutral fabrics at 2.5 inches and put them together.

And i had that dark brown stripe that was bought for something else but didn't work there so i used it for the border here. it has gold threads in it.

The quilting is just a mish-mash of stuff. some swirls....some feathers...some wiggly and straight lines in the border. it was a 'get er done' moment. LOL

I do enjoy the way these quilts come together. i wish i had more stash that i could use this way.

This one still needs the binding on it....in fact, there are 3 quilts sitting on the table waiting for binding. sigh!!

Today is going to be a busy day....going to town for errands....calling for lumber pricing...packing up once again to leave in the morning. but i believe after this weedends trip i will be home for the month of january at least. i need to get back to my routine.

Stay warm and stay safe.

Later

Bathroom facelift

Let's face it....we all need a little facelift now and then. the bathroom at the Duck needed major work. i gutted it out and then called in the experts to re-do it. this last Saturday and Sunday was facelift day.

First we had to take out the multiple layers of floors....most of them rotted. i believe we counted 6 layers with ceramic tile, stick on tiles, couple linoleums, some parquet...sheesh! This is Bill....he is the brother of my contractor. he got the floor destruction job.

This is Rick....my construction guru....this guy is a gem....he does it all. he is cutting the 2x4's for the new wall. i moved one wall out 2 feet into the next room (where he is working) and moved the wall on the other side out and took over the little bit of hallway. this made the bathroom much larger.

Now we have most of the floor out. it was amazing down there....LOL.  at some point, previous owners totally cut out a joist on either end...so it was supporting nothing. to compensate....they stood up a 2x4 under it in the basement. pipes were wired to the unsupporting piece of joist. and, yes, these ladders are simply sitting on the joists. the guys just climbed up like monkeys and no one fell through the floor to the basement. but Thomas cut his hand every day....first thing....he was always bleeding. LOL  he says it happens to him a lot and it doesn't phase him any more. i believe he needs safety lessons.

Finally it was cleaned up enough to start getting the plywood down on the floor.

I loved it when the new walls went up. it looked so much bigger and i could just envision what it would look like when it was all finished. ..... some day.

I had them construct a wide shower area. i wanted it wheelchair accessable in case we needed that feature in the future. the doorway is wide enough to wheel in, turn, and roll into the shower.

There is a partial wall for the shower...about 6 foot tall. the top of it will be enclosed with glass blocks. the color scheme in the bathroom will be cool greens and blues....think Hawaii...water and greenery.

The doorway is a wide 36 inches. you enter through the next room....which will be the office. but since i closed up the hall to make the bath larger....it was the only option. and i am ok with that. after all...it is my place and i can do what i want. LOL  if someone doesn't like it...they can go across the alley and use the bathroom at Pizza Hut. hahahahahaha

I am so excited that this much has been done. i have already found the toilet that i want. and am looking for a sink. i have 44 inches of space for a sink. i just have to decide what kind i want. the space on the left of the doorway will have a cabinet with shelves to hold towels and such and drawers for extra storage. i will hang a mirror over the sink and some hanging lights. i am giving consideration to tiling a 'rug' in front of the sink. but if i do that....then an actual rug will cover it up. so i think i need to do some tile design right in front of the door when you step in. ideas are forming.

What do you think....want me to come over and tear out your bathroom so you can re-do it? LOL

This coming Saturday and Sunday the guys are coming back to tear out the kitchen cabinets and rebuild the wall between the kitchen and dining room. more fun! i wanted to leave the cabinets in place and work around them but decided it just won't work. i had already removed the cabinet that was on top of the stove and one in a corner. the kitchen is rather small so it has to be reconfigured.

Later

Ditto

OK...2 more hours and 1 more baby quilt.  this top was made from some charm squares and pink and floral flannel. it was more a case of  'use up this stuff'. LOL  it's about 38x56. baby cuddle size.

I used the same free form design that i used on the last one. this is a practice for the next quilt coming up.

The backing is a flannel backed satin that i had left over from making a jacket about a jillion years ago. i used the satin side for the outside. it quilted up just beautifully.

I used a Glide pink thread for the top and a Bottom Line pale yellow for the back.

OK...i'm done for the day now here at the studio. i'm hungry and headed for the house and some of those chicken enchiladas from last night's dinner.

Then i have to make numerous loafs of cushaw squash bread and persimmon cookies for a party tomorrow evening. and pack for my trip to the Duck this weekend.

See you Tuesday

3 Hours in the Studio

Don't blog for 4 days....then you can't shut me up. hahahahahah

I came to the studio this morning with no plan....a "me" day.  woohoo!!  So, in 3 hours i quilted this. i was playing with a bunch of primary color scraps one day and cut out a bunch of rectangles and this is what happened.

It hasn't been sitting here very long but it was small enough to do quickly. about 36x58"

I did a freehand design on it. loaded it the long way and it went quickly.

I used a King Tut thread for the top...called Joseph's Coat. it has a whole rainbow of colors...pink, red, blue, green, yellow, purple. and for the bottom used a pale green by So Fine. my machine likes that combination of threads.

There were lots of  extra benefits with this quilt. i got to claim 2.5 yards in the StashBusting for the backing and binding. although the binding won't go on till later.

This will be the binding.

I got 4 yards of selvages from the backing.

A couple of pieces for the strip box

A bit for the scraps box

And some batting scraps for my friend, Sharon

Nothing goes to waste....recycling at its finest. LOL

What can you do in 3 hours in your studio?

Later

Christmas quilt and present wrapping

Why is it that this time of year is so harried?  why do we feel the need to get things done 'before the end of the year'? after all....there will just be more days following December. whoever invented the calendar system....i don't think they did us any favors. why do we have to celebrate some happening at a particular time? why can't Christmas be in March if we want to? Why can't Thanksgiving be in July? why do we need end of year deadlines? i have too many questions and no answers.

So, along with most of the rest of the world....i am behind in my self-imposed deadlines. i am seriously considering throwing away my calendars and saying....it will be done when it gets done....whenever.

My sister has a quilt that she uses this time of year and likes to put it on her bed the beginning of November. she wanted the quilt re-worked so she took it all apart and gave it to me to requilt. i had it in plenty of time for the November deadline but didn't get there. but it is finally finished. it is a large one.

Here is the top ... it is large squares in red, greens and blues.

And here is the back ... just a plain dark green.

I had some issues with this. the fabrics were really stretchy and the batting was really thick. but i persevered and all is well. there are a couple pleats and it will need some trimming....but done is done. and i am sure my sis will be happy to get her Christmas quilt back and on her bed.  all she has to do is put the binding on. LOL

I have a Christmas party tomorrow evening with my quilt group. we all get a bit crazy and have a great time laughing and enjoying each other's company and eating and playing games. i usually get everyone a little gift. it is really hard to figure out what to get for 10 people....i usually get the same thing for everyone. this year there are 3 little things. but nothing that can be wrapped easily. what was i thinking?  so, first i scrounged the studio for boxes.   i don't use wrapping paper...it just gets thrown away so why buy something to throw it away. so i decided to wrap with fabric. have you ever tried that? hahahahahaha  it doesn't 'hold still' like paper and doesn't crease easily like paper. sheesh!!  after a couple boxes i decided i could use scotch tape on it. then by the time i figured out how i could wrap successfully......i was on the last box. perhaps i'll remember this for next year....probably not. LOL

But they are kind of pretty....if you don't look too close.

A day or 2 ago we got our first Christmas card. good grief. i am not even in the Christmas mood yet....a card this early just seemed wrong somehow. do you send cards? have you sent them already?

Saturday morning really early i am leaving for the Duck to meet the contractor that will re-do my bathroom walls and floor.  i hope it warms up enough to stay and do a bit of work myself. i hate cold. but when i get back...probably tuesday...i should have pics of new walls and a floor. woohoo!!

Till then....stay warm and start thinking about that Christmas thing. LOL

Later

2012 Judy Laquidara UFO Challenge

It is time to think about quilting in 2012. JudyL of http://www.patchworktimes.com/  is once again overseeing an UFO monthly challenge...and, of course, i signed up.

This year i managed to meet the challenge obligations each month....and i don't anticipate any problems with December either. so, let's ramp it up a notch...shall we?   this year i mainly used quilt tops that only needed quilting for my monthly challenges. but i think in 2012 i will use the projects that are in those dreaded plastic boxes .... in various stages of completion.

Some have been marinating for YEARS.   here is my list for next years projects.

#1  Tube blocks. this is actually a new project. it has only been in the box a matter of days. i learned this technique and wanted to try it and write it down before i forgot it. turnes out i LIKE it....so it became a box project. i have made 18 blocks so far and saved the fabrics to finish the top. we'll see how large it winds up.

#2  Shadow Quilt    I found this in a book by the same name. i have 1 block pieced and several cut out. i need 25 9" blocks for the center of the quilt and 40  4.5" blocks for the border.  it goes quick so this is do-able.

#3  Flower Fracture      Another book i found and decided i wanted to make one. the center fracture is finished...just need to do the pieced border and the final border.  this has been waiting for me for a year or so.

#4  Scrap strip blocks.  these are simply strip blocks using up scraps. i have lots of strips already cut and several blocks started. i will just piece them together and then trim them all down to match in size. another simple plan.

#5  Old Glory    this is a pattern from McCalls Quilting magazine, June 2007    i have lots of blocks pieced but many more to go. some are cut out.  i took this box out once last year....looked at it....and put it back. i was having trouble figuring out what was what. hopefully i can finally get this together in 2012.

#6   Heritage Medallion    i found this picture in Quilters Newsletter Magazine..Jan/Feb 1996   i don't have the pattern but it looks pretty straight forward. i plan to paper piece many of the blocks and have paper patterns copied and ready. i am using 3 books for the blocks....300 paper pieced quilt blocks by Carol Doak; Radiant NY Beauties by Valori Wells; and, 50 Fabulous paper Pieced Stars by Carol doak.  this is quite a project....Heaven help me.

#7  Nantucket Knots   this is a pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop...June 2006  it will be red, white and blue. all pieces are cut....lots of blocks are pieced. many, many more need to be pieced. but it can be chain pieced easily. this is a box that sat in my 'room' at my sister's house....in the closet....for many years. the idea was to work on it when i went over there. that lasted about 2...maybe 3 times....LOL   gotta get it done.

#8  Tsunami    this is a strip tease quilt pattern.  i have a few strips pieced.....lots of work to do here.

#9  Snowball variation blocks   This is an EQ block.  the plan is a 100x100" quilt alternating snowball blocks with 9 patch. i have lots of blocks made and pieces cut. just need to get a-stitchin'

#10  Winter Games   pattern found in Fabric Trends magazine  Winter 2007   i have 3 blocks pieced and all pieces cut.

#11  Roosters    i love this fabric. i need 25 blocks and a pieced border. i have 10 blocks and fabric.

#12  Split 9 patch   this was to be a 102x120" quilt ...we'll see.  LOL  i have several blocks pieced and some fabric in a box.  not sure i still have enough.

So, there are my planned UFO projects for next year. i have no illusions here...this will be a mighty tough year to accomplish. although i fully plan on finishing them all....if i get the project out of the box and into the 'to be quilted' cabinet as a top....i will consider it completed for that month. some of these are going to be tough.

SO, in 2012 if you don't see my at quilt shows....or around the neighborhood....you know where i will be....in the studio....working on this mess. hahahahahahahaha

Later