Working on Quilt #117 - the Thanksgiving Cross Stitch quilt

I am busy working on the Thanksgiving quilt. The top is done with the houses top border and the maple leaf bottom border. For the sides, I did a free form strips and small squares with two left over maple leaves on the side borders. It ended up being a humongus quilt, about 85 x 90 inches. I said to Becky, my quilt partner and co-conspirator (also daughter) - "How did this one get so big?" Her reply was "Because you kept adding things to it, Mom." On Saturday, I monogrammed our signatures on the back, Becky and I. Here they are. Also a date which reads: "Thanksgiving 2014."

Then I hauled the quilt and all the necessary supplies, pins, scissors, iron, and my sorry self up to the attic (remember I am still doing stairs on my bum) and began pinning. By the end of Monday night, the quilt was pinned.

So now I have to decide whether or not to baste this monster of a quilt before I start quilting. I am of two minds, 1) it's extra work - why do it? Just suffer thru the pins and 2) if I baste it, I avoid the pins while quilting and I will have the cross stitch squares already basted before I have to hand tack them. That would be nice. We are headed to California in two days so I doubt I will have any time to work on it before we leave so I will mull it over on my mini-vacation. Time for dinner. Happy quilting!

Foot surgery - check that one off the list; rehabilitation, ummmm, still working on it....

The good new is that we are six weeks into the rehab and I have only one more week to go before the huge cast comes off, I have had two so far, one green and the current one blue:

The contraption you see is my best friend, Zippy, my knee scooter, which has enabled me to get almost everywhere in the house. Unfortunately, Zippy does not climb stairs so I am navigating them on my bum. The last picture is me in my wheelchair, still smiling as you can see. I will not say this has been easy. Some things have been downright tough but the pain was not too great, the doctor says things are progressing nicely and it is almost over. Once the cast comes off, I am four weeks in a clunky old boot and then - freedom! I will be able to drive again by April 1. Whooppee! Once I conquered going up and down the stairs on my seat, my world really opened up. I had been basically living on the first floor but step climbing meant sleeping in my own bed and ... wait for it... getting back to the sewing machine. I starting doing a bit of piecing again the 4th week and have just today finished the 27 little houses that go across the top of the Thanksgiving quilt. I am now working on the 27 autumn leaves for the bottom of the quilt. Then I will put on the side border and the top will be done. I will monogram the back next. Maybe by that time, the boot will be off and I can think about getting it pinned. Maybe I can pin it in the attic as it should be warmer by then and I will be able to walk. Life is good.

Back in the Saddle Again!

Quilt hiatus is over but quilting will not resume full speed ahead unfortunately. I promised myself at least a month off after the Christmas quilts were finished and delivered on Thanksgiving Day and even went a bit beyond as I did not get back to my sewing machine until this week. However, I have a foot surgery scheduled for this coming Monday, January 13 - severe Ostheoarthritis in my right foot - so the resurgence is short lived. I did have time, over the last few days, to put together the first five house blocks of the border for the Thanksgiving cross stitch quilt. Becky cross stitched the corners some time ago and I was puzzled for a long time about how I was going to incorporate patchwork with them but I think it worked out okay! Here is a close up of the houses themselves.

So, this is it for now. This weekend will be spent getting the rest of my "2Do" list done in preparation for the surgery. Those of you who know me, know I have a big old multistory house but I will be living on the ground floor for awhile until I can handle steps. Here is my "bedroom" all set up in the breakfast nook for my stay downstairs. I will be sleeping amid George's cookbooks and should certainly have sweet dreams!

Notice the cat on the bed. Vinnie thinks a bedroom downstairs is the best home improvement we have made for years! I am sure he will be my good buddy during the recuperation. Last but not least, a nice article in the local newspaper about the quilt project. My 15 minutes of fame, I guess! http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourhempfield/yourhempfieldmore/5195839-87/quilts-leiner-christmas#axzz2ogHfm0JT Bye for now!

Sewing marathon with Becky - pictures of the Thanksgiving quilt

The Thanksgiving quilt is shaping up after my sewing weekend with daughter Becky. Here are two pictures. Next I will put on the pieced border with cross stitched corner. Let's see... it is the end of March...yep, I should have it done by Thanksgiving!

Lexie, one of Beck's two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, inspects the quilt for flaws in the above picture. And that gorgeous sewer is my daughter, Becky. Believe it or not, I once had hair that color. She looks very much like me at that age.

Steve wants to learn to sew too. He must have really like the sound of the sewing machine. He stayed curled up at our feet the entire time!

Road to California detoured to the Road to Plano, Texas

Well, the Road to California is all quilted - it took 65 hours in all - and the edges are bound. The "special feature" to be unveiled after the quilt is given, is also finished and ready to be put on. This was all accomplished by March 8th so with two weeks left before the California trip and delivery date of the quilt, I took off for five days to visit Becky in Texas. My hands really needed the rest so it was a good time to get away for awhile but we haven't been idle in Texas, oh no!

Last December, George and I gave both of our daughters sewing machines. Now that they had homes of their own, and talents to boot, it was time they learned to use a sewing machine. So Becky and I planned a trip for me during her spring break. We had blocks all cross-stitched ready for a Thanksgiving quilt and we wanted to make the quilt top. Additionally, Becky, who is a champion cross stitcher, had some projects of her own she wanted to get done on the machine. I arrived on Friday night and after a nice Mexican dinner, we discussed the plans for the projects.

Saturday morning, we started with a travel bag and a handbag made from Becky's husbands ACU's - Todd is in the Texas National Guard. What fun to recycle the uniforms and make something meaningful. Next came quilted Christmas stockings that Becky had cross stitched the fronts of. That was enough for one day and we headed to bed at a reasonable hours.

Sunday, day two, we started on the Thanksgiving quilt top and two days later, it was done. We always draw a plan first but somewhere along the way, we threw the plan out the door and go with our guts. We made a trip to a fabric store (one of four trips this week) and purchased fabric for the pieced borders which I will finish later. We decided that was about as far as we could go on this project (after two late nights) and moved on to the next one.

Tuesday, Day four, we made a key chain and two luggage tags from ACU's again and did some teaching/learning on the sewing machine, which by the way, Becky has mastered very quickly. I taught her how to monogram and applique as well. In between all these projects, we have had time to watch some movies, visit some three month old twins, and eat great food.

Now it is time to go home. The visit has been memorable, the company wonderful. I love spending time with my daughters each and this month, I am so lucky to see Becky twice - she will be going to California for Wyatt's first birthday in just eight days as well!

I also had the opportunity to take some digital photos of other quilts I have made, which now belong to Becky. I will be posting them when I get time. They are a genuine timeline of how my quilting has progressed over the last 30 years.

Talk to you soon!