I think I have it!

I think I finally have enough novelty prints to make the I Spy quilts I have been planning for so long. When I started collecting fabrics, I never realized that it would take so long or be so hard to find enough different prints. At least the quarter yard I bought of each will be enough to do several quilts in different sizes.

Lately, I have been in a bit of a slump. I have turned really, really lazy; even worse that usual. Not sure how I am going to get around it. I don't feel especially depressed, but I do feel lethargic. When I leave home it gets better, but when I am here...ugh! Maybe I actually miss Mom more than I thought. If that is the case it will be better next month. Mom is due home on April 3.

My youngest son and his lovely wife bought their first home and are due to move in at the end of this month. I am so happy for them!

They just did a report on the news about a driver killed recently. Turns out she was texting and driving and didn't notice the semi truck in front of her. Not a pretty sight and sad because it is so preventable.

I am getting over a really stupid cold. It really just affected my throat. My throat got scratchy; a little at first then quite a bit in the middle. It's so annoying because nothing helps it. But, it is getting better...I think.

Okay, just wanted to throw a couple of thoughts out here.

TTFN
Ginny

Thank you!

Thanks for the kind comments and words of encouragement. Sunny, I have nothing BUT time. The question is why don't I get MORE done? Because I am lazy, that's why. I could be sewing a lot more, but I don't. It is time to get going though. My intentions are to make quilts for each of my children and their spouses in time for their anniversaries this year. I would also like to make a couple of other quilts for my sisters and my mom. We'll see how it goes. A couple of them will be lap quilts so should go together fairly quickly.

As usual I saw in the New Year all alone. Sigh! My husband and mother don't make it past 9 or 10 pm.

DH took me to a movie this weekend. We have so much fun when we go out! Went to see Avatar 3D. Um, I think I prefer 2D. It is cool to see the 3D but it doesn't have the intensity of color and sharpness of the 2D. I didn't think it was worth the extra money. I had the same problems with Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The fuzziness of the 3D gives me a horrible headache. That said, I LOVED Avatar! The imagination of the piece was the best I have seen since Star Wars. More about Pandora please!

I did something toward cleaning out some of my "stuff" today. I searched the house for all the books on CD I have scattered all over. There are many sets missing discs, usually because I listened to them in the car and then in the house. Some are missing the jackets. So, I matched up all the sets I could and I am taking those to the second hand book store to get some credit to buy more books. My goodness! I had no idea there were so many! I love the books on CD for driving down to Chicago; especially when I am all by myself. Mom likes it, too, and it give us something to talk about when we are going somewhere. I even listen to them while I am sewing and stamping. I get more done when I have something to listen to. Time flies!

I have to admit that the craft room got a little messy over the holidays, but I am getting ready to go up there and put things away. Believe it or not, I was sewing right up to Christmas Eve. But I did get everything done and I am proud of myself.

The Miller Christmas Party was wonderful again this year. We have such wonderful traditions that make me happy I belong to this family. Santa comes every year for the little ones. My youngest granddaughter sat on his lap the whole time he was there! Thanks to Bob Gaumont for taking on Santa duty this year. Then we have a white elephant exchange. That is one of my favorite things we do. This year I got a gift box for my exchange. That's all. A gift box. My darling youngest son said, "Take our box, Mom. It is a really good one. It's the one with the curly red bow!". He got me!

Our family also does a charitable donation each year. Anyone who wants can write down the name of a charity and put it in the "hat". We also write down the amount we are willing to contribute. The best part is that this year my charity was drawn. I am proud to say that this year the Miller family donated $1040 to the St. Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain, SD. DH and I have been donating to them ever since his father passed away. Dad was a supporter for a long time before that. I am proud to belong to this family.

Okay, goodnight! I have bored everyone enough now.

TTFN,
Ginny

Christmas 2009

The long awaited day has come and is almost over. What a wonderful day we have had! Everyone made it here safely, the food ended up being good, and we all got wonderful gifts.

My girls were thrilled with their quilts and the little ones with their "snuggies". There is a story that goes with the "snuggies". My youngest granddaughter wanted a zebra snuggie so bad, but they don't make them in kids' versions, the zebra ones that is. So grandma thought she would be clever and make her one. Could I find a pattern online that made sense? No. Could I find a pattern in one of the catalogs? No. So, I made a double layer fleece blanket that we have to call a snuggie. At first I couldn't find the zebra fleece in any of the stores. I finally found it online but wasn't sure it would come in time. It did come though and I got the "snuggie" made in time and she loves it! Contained in this post are photos of all the children with their blankets. Little grandson liked his "roads" snuggie. Especially when he found the wide satin ribbon loop I attached on the back for him. The moment I showed it to him he started rubbing it and the other thumb went right in the mouth. So cute!

I got everything I wanted for Christmas. My family home, loving each other and peace reigning in my home, (now that little grandson is in bed, tee hee). I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

As a final note, youngest granddaughter just said "my snuggie doesn't have SLEEVES". So much for little kids not being aware of things.

TTFN
Ginny

Don't Faint

Don't faint! But, I have completed both quilts! They are far from perfect; the bindings are not the best, but they are completed. This has to be a first for me. Finished and on time. I think I am going to faint. Now I can hardly wait for Christmas!

I still have to sew two fleece blankets for the babies but that I should be able to do in a day or so. And they will be sewn instead of tied. I can just see the little guy untying them just for fun.

This past weekend I went to Chicago to babysit the littlest ones. My DD and her hubby went to the Bears/Packers game. DD is, of course, a Packers fan and had to sit in the middle of a group of Bears season ticket holders. They had a great time and I really enjoyed watching the babes.

I will post photos of the quilts here and then I am going to sign off until after Christmas. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy holiday season.

TTFN,
Ginny

Getting There

So, I actually finished the purple quilt! The binding was a little harder than I expected and I'm just a little nervous about binding the second one. Procrastinating royally is more like it. I really need to get going so I can finish in time. But, I have until Christmas evening, so....! LOL I am waiting for an order of fleece to come in so I can do a blanket for youngest granddaughter's gift. Of all things she wants a zebra snuggie! It was impossible to find the zebra fleece locally so I had to order online. Sure hope it gets here in time!

Mom had the surgery a week ago to remove the hardware from her elbow. She is doing well and I take her in tomorrow to get the staples out. She is using the arm very well and we hope she'll be able to finally put the accident behind her.

I had the most wonderful chat with DH tonight. He told me that he thought I was "gorgeous" when he met me. If he weren't sick with a cold I would kiss him to pieces. I love that he felt that way as I have always thought of myself as plain.

Okay, enough smarmy stuff. Don't have much else to say except goodnite!

TTFN,
Ginny

Cheating

So, okay, I cheated a little on the quilts. I have taken them to a shop to be machine quilted. It was really intimidating at the thought of trying to put it all through my short arm machine. This way, I at least know they will be done in time for Christmas. Somehow I erased the last photos of Emma's quilt. Darn it! Oh, well, when I get it back from the shop I will take more.

We're all doing well. Mom continues to improve. We took a trip to the mall yesterday and walked from one end to the other and back. She did remarkably well! We even got a little shopping done.

Tomorrow she and I are going down to DS the elder's home for my granddaughter's birthday party. She is 7 today and getting so grownup. I can't wait to see everyone. All my children and grandchildren will be there and we'll be together again on Christmas Day. Love it!

Guess that's all I have to say. It's been almost a month so I thought I had better check in. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

TTFN,
Ginny

Moving Along

I am almost finished with the next quilt top! Unreal...me? I want to post a photo of the next quilt, but I am waiting until I have added the borders. I hope my middle granddaughter likes it. She declared herself a tomboy and the quilt has a blue and yellow floral fabric as the main fabric and inspiration. Blue and yellow are one of my favorite color combinations. Cool, sunny, serene...all at the same time. There is also quite a bit of white.

Life continues to improve on a steady basis. Mom is feeling better and stronger now. Her strength is still weak on the left wrist but the elbow is flexing good as new.

The children and their families are well. We are about to celebrate my middle granddaughter's 7th birthday. They are growing up so fast!

Our holidays are shaping up to be fairly quiet this year. And for the first time, I am okay with that. I think I am finally over the empty nest thing...my youngest is only almost 30. Took long enough.

Okay, until I have the new quilt ready for photos I am signing off.

TTFN,
Ginny

I DID it!

Here of photos of the quilt top. I finished it tonight! I am so happy I'm dancing on air. Can you tell things are going well? No more chatter, I just wanted to say hi and get these photos up because for once in my life I am actually finishing a project.

Procrastination

Well, I still haven't accomplished a whole lot. I find myself avoiding certain things and I'm not sure why. I hope my motivation kicks in soon.

Yesterday I went to the restaurant where we are hosting our son's rehearsal dinner. I hadn't been there before and I was really surprised at how lovely it is. It is an Italian themed restaurant and I was pleased with the decor. We are having our dinner in an area set apart from the main dining room by a half-wall made of rocks. The set apart area is decorated like an old fashioned Italian street; complete with apartment windows above the storefronts. A clothesline is stretched across the upper part of the space reaching from one window to the other side and is hung with actual clothes. The restaurant calls it the "laundry" room. LOL! The wedding is less than a month away now and things are starting to get exciting. I am looking forward to seeing all my son's high school buddies. They hung out here at our house quite a lot in the summers, working on Mike's black van, "Stella".

I am going to try quilting for the first time since very early in my marriage. Way back then I made my parents a quilt out of fabric I had used to make clothes when I still lived at home. It wasn't very well made but they used it so much. My mother still has it and it is starting to fall apart, but we put it on our living room floor for the babies to crawl around on. I bought some diecut fabric shapes to make each grandchild a quilt and I plan to applique them. It is starting to look a bit daunting as the first quilt shape is a scottie dog and there are so many shart points. I am not sure how to do this but I am going to try to use fusible webbing and then machine applique them on. If anyone has any tips, I would really appreciate them.

Today I went to the cow chip art fair. What do I mean by cow chip? It is a dried cow patty, yes it is manure, that people throw for distance. The one who throws the furthest wins. The annual labor day weekend Cow Chip Throw is the biggest thing to happen all year in our 2 small towns. There is a parade, the art fair (great shopping), lots of food, bands, demonstrations and, of course, the cow chip throwing contest. I live near Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin. There are actually two towns that are divided by a street; Sauk City and Prairie du Sac. I used to love to watch the throwing, but it is exceptionally hot this year and there are definitely hazards to the spectators. Seating is either in the covered small bleachers on trailers or lawn chairs in the open. The throwers are not always able to keep their throw inside the boundries and they can fly off to hit spectators. A wet cow pie is soft and smooshie but a dried one is hard and lethal. You really don't want to get hit!

Well, I will close for now. Have a great holiday weekend!