Monday Meandering 12 - 28 - 2020

We survived our outdoor family Christmas gathering today.  It was held at our son's house.  The freeway was wonderful on the way up.  It only took us 50 minutes to get there. (I always assume an hour or more.) We all arrived around 10:30 in the morning in the hopes that the freeway wouldn't be jammed with travelers on the way home.  Good thought but didn't hold true for the home trip.  We took surface streets. It took us less than 2 hours to get home including picking up a lunch/dinner order on the way home.   

The kids and dogs were having a good time running around.  The kids all seemed to be in fewer clothes than the adults were wearing.  The newest dog, Walter, was really wild trying to keep people throwing the ball for him.  Cassie, one of the old ladies of the group, was happy to chase after a few balls until Walter started chasing her ball too.  Kona was pretty peppy for a dog with a tumor on her hip bone.  At 14 we hope she has a few more months of a decent quality of life. It was good to see her again since she's gone back to live at our daughter's house.  

Did I forget to mention the high was to be 43 but it was in the low 30s when we arrived?  The six adults conversed about what we'd done to stay warm: wool socks, flannel lined pants, hats, and gloves. I don't think it reached the 40s before we left. But it felt warmer in the sun.  After an hour of playing and chatting we all headed to the front deck to begin the present opening. 

It's hard to tell but all the grands are in this picture.  Theo is mostly behind his mom (in the red and purple hat) on the left.  The other adults were hanging out on the other side of the deck. 

The last Christmas present I finished is this fleece hoodie Ellie is wearing above and below. Here's a close up of the snowman design I machine embroidered on it. I bought the hoodie on line from Target but didn't notice there was a seam line coming down from shoulder to bottom ribbing making it difficult to place the little snowman. I wasn't thrilled with the results.  But I was tickled that Ellie immediately put it on.  She might have been getting cold by then. (The color is more accurate on the pic of Ellie wearing it.) Her dress was a wonder of sequins.  If she was in the sun and you were in the wrong place you were getting a glittering reflection right in your eyes!   (Random thought:  why didn't I add wrapping presents and doing the embroidery on my goals list?) 

I have to say I was tickled with the presents I got. I love that my kids ask me what I want for Christmas.  Heaven knows I don't NEED more fabric but I really like what I got. 

On the left are fat quarters personally curated by Jenny.  I love them!  There is a wide variety of colors, prints and all fit the concept of looking like solids from a distance.  I have a plan formulating in my mind.  But it will take a while for it to come to fruition.  The fat quarters on the right are a group I noticed at the Fat Quarter shop and passed on to Kevin when he asked for more suggestions. I have a great idea for these too.  Sneak back to the last post where I showed two blocks I made from new Accuquilt dies.  See that Ohio Star in red, white, and blue? I'm going to make some more blocks from these fabrics.  I am tickled pink with everything I got for Christmas this year.  

And now let's see whether I succeeded with my goals for the week.

12/21/2020

T Shirt Quilt - add the coping strips to last column, get vertical sashing strips on - ✔️

Make blocks for FCQ Equilter -✔️ in progress

Try to finish hand quilting done on very old Christmas quilt -✔️Progress made but not done. There's more to be done then I thought. 

Make more blocks for 2019 BOM quilt - um, nope

Quilt and bind one of my quilts - nothing done Not quite true. I tried to find a backing for any of the quilts needing to be quilted. But nothing was jumping off the shelf ready to go without piecing it. 

And for this week: 

12/28/2020

Continue hand quilting on Christmas Quil

Start working on borders of T shirt quilt 

Sew the red and black blocks together 

Quilt one of my quilts 

I was happy with all the progress I did make but forgot about all the time to prep the presents and today's outing. I fell asleep for several hours once we got home after 2 pm.  I don't think I woke up until 4:30 or so.  Slept. Like. A. Log! So no studio time today.

I'm linking up with my favorite Monday parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, and To Do Tuesday. I'll be back to link up the last two one as it  is available.  Join the fun by checking out these links. 

I'm wishing everyone a week of fun times in their studio or in whatever they plan to do.  And, may be 2021 will lift the burden of Covid from our shoulders.  Stay safe and enjoy what we have. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie