Early Christmas

I think I mentioned before that we were having an early Christmas, since Kurt and family will be in San Diego on December 25. Sunday was the day that everyone came up with that would work for all. We started with an early brunch, and feasted for a while and then moved on to presents. I think the four grandchildren were very pleased with what they got. The nightgowns, pajamas, and fleece throw were quite a hit. I was very gratified by the pleasure our sons and their wives displayed when they saw their completed quilts. I also made them a set of matching pillow cases.

The first picture is of Kurt and Tonya. Both DILs had chosen the colors that they wanted for their quilts, but for the most part, I chose the fabrics.

This is our older son Kevin and his wife Marion. Theirs was the first French Braid quilt that I made.

I consider myself very, very fortunate. Both families live close to us, and we have a very good relationship. To make it even better, they have given us four beautiful, darling grandchildren.

Well, back to our day together. Cold weather and snow was in the forecast, and that's exactly what transpired. Wind came with it, so it was really cold. The kids did go out in the backyard with one DIL though, and made a snowman. It has remained cold, so the snowman is intact, and it looks like it will be for several more days yet. More snow is forecast for tomorrow.

Have you ever played the game Catch Phrase? We played that later in the day, and it's a fun game. The funny thing about that is the night before we were frantically hunting for the game so we could get it out, and we absolutely could not find it. So we went up to the store and bought another one, thinking that we could take it back if the first one surfaced. Well, first thing the next morning I walked into the room where I sew, and there it was sitting on the table in plain sight! We had opened every cupboard, looked under beds, and in every imaginable place, including the toy box, which is right beside where I found it! Talk about feeling foolish!

Presents for DGC

It seems to have become tradition that I make nightgowns for Christmas for our DGDs and something for each of the boys. The Oregon Ducks throw is for Tanner, and he will love watching sports on TV and covering up with that. Anson is the little guy, and I chose an AWFUL fabric to work with. I had a pattern that needed a stretchable neckband, so i got this waffly (rhymes with awful :-) ) fabric that was very cute but stretches so much, and it was horrible to work with. I don't think he'll be able to wear them very long, because even though I preshrunk the fabric, the top especially seems to shrink up when it is washed. Alas, why are my lessons always learned the hard way.

For the girls, however, I am very happy with the nightgowns. Tylee will get the one with the little doggies, because she is just nuts about dogs and cats. Aubrey gets the one with the purple butterflies because she loves butterflies and the color purple.

So now, with those all done, I can wrap the last of the presents for the DGC. I still need to put the labels on the French Braid quilts for our sons and their wives. I printed them out on the computer, but I hate doing labels, so once again, I have put it off until the last minute almost. I guess I just don't feel very creative, so they are just a big pain. I haven't labeled my Winter Wonderland either, and need to do that very soon.

Okay, I'm off to wrap presents. I wish you a great Wednesday.

Latest quilting adventures

I have been working for several months on king-sized French Braid quilts for our two sons and their wives. The wives were involved in choosing approximately the first three of each of the two main colored fabrics, and then I went and finished on my own. The first one I made was the aqua/brown quilt. I bought a medley of six fabrics from Keepsake Quilts, and my one DIL really liked it, so I ordered more of the fabric, and then rounded out with more fabrics.

On the other quilt, my other DIL and I went to a quilt shop sale and picked out a few fabrics, and I went to the huge Fabric Depot in Portland and got most of the rest. The piecing was the easy part, even with them being king-sized.

The quilting was a huge challenge because I was having so many problems with my Juki sewing machine. After repeated (at least five) trips to the repair shop, the machine still skipped horribly, so in desperation, I bought a Janome 1600P, I think it is. This machine works like a dream, and is, essentially, pretty much like the Juki, just a straight stitch machine.


The quilting is shown below. I used a stencil for the actual braid components. The center large squares and the cables on the dividing rows are patterns I traced and needled onto Golden Threads paper. The rest of the quilting is freehand.

This is a Thanksgiving table topper my friend and I both decided to make. It was such fun, and is fusible applique. The pattern came from the Fabric Trends magazine.

What a beautiful day!

September has been fantastic so far. We love it when it's cool, and it has been that. Today was supposed to be 78, but it didn't reach that. Our weather will be warming up again though.

We got out for a walk this morning before coming home and tackling the house cleaning. How is it that two people can get it dirty so quickly? Anyway, with that and grocery shopping, pulling weeds, etc., I haven't gotten much sewing done today.

Yesterday was much more productive with my quilting. I have two more borders to put on the French Braid quilt for second son and DIL. I have gotten a lot of piecing done while my Juki has been in the shop. This evening I plan on finishing the pillowcases that will go with the quilt. I like to use my leftover fabrics for the backing, and that means I need to have the pillowcases and binding made BEFORE I start putting the back together. I have made that mistake before of needing binding and wanting to make pillowcases and had no fabric.

We really enjoyed the UCLA/Tennessee football game on Monday night. Our favorite is pro football, which starts tomorrow evening, but we like college also, especially if it includes the Oregon Ducks!!