12/30/05

Last night, I did get the black fabric cut for the mystery quilt that will happen on Sunday. Tomorrow, we're planning to make pillowcases.
Had the holdiay party for work tonight, and did a white elephant exchange. I came home with a nice desk organizer - almost ended up with a Chippendales calendar! Nothing quilty or sewing happened today.

California Contingency

Back to work today - busy after the 3 day weekend. The California gang of 3 had arrived by the time I got home. Fixed chicken drumsticks, baked potatoes, wax beans, stewed tomatoes, and beets for dinner. Opened their presents after dinner. No quilting today, but the girls loved their pillowcases and want to learn to make them, so we'll be doing that one of these evenings.

Tossed some of yesterday's work

In the light of day, this morning, I found that the black fabric which had been given to me, was thin enough to throw a cat through, so it went into the trash. All those sashing and cornerstone units for that matching game quilt!
I'm going to get into the mystery quilt from Planet Patchwork on New Year's Day, and had to run to the quilt shop for a couple colors.
I bought enough black to get going on the sashings again. I've decided to not do the cornerstones. I dug out the novelty blocks and started sashing them. I have almost half of the top together. Company arrives tomorrow for a week or ten days, so don't know how much I'll be getting done for a while.

Christmas Day

Quilting - I was busy sorting strips for sashing this morning, and glanced at my watch 30 minutes before church was to start. Woke Ray up and hit the shower. We made it in time. Kids were over for dinner and the afternoon. Ray gave me a $100. GC to JoAnn's, so I'll have fun spending that. I did press some strips, and put them together with some black fabric that will be the sashing for a novelty block quilt. I've made colorful cornerstones, and am strip cutting them into units. I have 5 cross wise cornerstone/sashing strips done. 11 more to go. One of my friends gave me a 12 drawer wheeled cart that I'll be using for my beading suppplies. I got that put together today and loaded with beads.

Angels - can't think of one, today of all days!

Placemats done!

Quilting - I put the bias binding onto the second placemat and finished it off this morning before work. Wrapped it tonight, so my Christmas wrapping is done! I started my name tag for the quilting retreat in February - I really like how it's coming out.

Angel - because of Hippa regulations, I can't say what today's angel was about, but it made me feel good! :-)

Closer to finished

Quilting - Tonight, I finished sewing the binding on the first placemat. I had sewn to one side last night, and hand sewed it to the other side tonight, so one placemat is done! I went to the other PM and put all those little ending threads from the back side onto a needle, so I could knot and bury them. That's done. I have just the binding to put on and I'll be done with my last Christmas gift.

Angel - one of the patients on my unit died today, and instead of calling the social worker to be with the family for the funeral home stuff, working through the crying, etc., I did it myself, as I knew the social worker was overloaded and hadn't been feeling well. It put me a little behind in my routine, but by the end of the day, I was caught up. It really felt good to give him that gift!

Second wind last night

I decided that I would at least wind my new thread onto the bobbin so I would be ready to go this morning before work, but once I sat down at the machine, I finished the tiny bit of quilting that still needed to be done on the placemats in the neutral color. I then proceeded to mark and cut my bias binding and pressed that before bed. I still need to get it onto the placemats, and there are all those thread tails on the back of the PMs that need to be threaded and buried. I'm really pleased with how this project is looking, and hope I can figure out how to post pictures soon.

New thread

Quilting - I had planned to cut the bias binding for the placemats tonight, but I have no energy - still coughing from the bug a week and a half ago. I did stop by the LQS after work and pick the remainder of the swap blocks that were due me and bought some cream colored thread. Choir rehearsal was short tonight. Only about half the choir was there, and we were all coughing. I took a charity crib quilt for Connie for Sojourner Center.

Angels - I let a few people into heavy traffic on the way home from work, but I do that so often, it can probably no longer count as an angel. I did do one thing that is a questionable angel. I had hidden Ray's vehicle keys so he couldn't drive while he was still on narcotics after his surgery. He had asked me to drive our big vehicle today so he could the little car. He's been off the Percocet, so I dug his little car keys out of hiding and put the on the rack. He never knew there weren't there all the time. I saved him the grief of being upset about me taking control, but it's still a questionable angel. I did receive an angel today, though! Debbie brought me something that she saw at a craft show and had to buy for me. It's a glass front shadow box wall hanging, with a hanging spool of thread in it and a saying - "May the threads of our friendship never be broken". I've already hung it in the sewing room.

Getting started with a quilt journal

Quilting - I've decided that I'll get more quilting done if I make myself accountable for how much or little I do each day. It's too easy to play games on the computer, waste time, and have absolutely nothing to show for it.

Angel deeds -I also plan to track little 'angel' things that I do for others - things that they may not even know who did them, or be able to return them, so they have to be passed forward.

While I'm planning to use this journal mostly starting in 2006, I may as well get some practice in! :-) This morning, I finished the quilting on two placemats that I'll be giving a friend for Christmas. My bobbin alarm was beeping, as I got to the end, but I had enough! Note to myself - buy some more neutral colored thread. It's 6:00 am, and time to get ready for work.