Wordless Wednesday

15 Minute Challenge - 11/29

With Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving preparations, I didn't get in 15 minutes a day of sewing or crafting, but when I did get time in it was more than just 15 minutes.

Tuesday - worked on stacked coins

Wednesday - made pies (we had a pie making party and made pumpkin cheesecake, apple pie, cherry pie, and pumpkin pie)

Thursday - ate lots of turkey

Friday - ate leftovers

Saturday - cut out stockings

Sunday - started on knitted cowl

Monday - worked on knitted cowl; sewed sashing on stacked coin quilt

No pictures of my projects yet.  I'll get to those this week.  To join in the challenge or to see what everyone has been doing be sure to check out the 15 minute challenge at Life in Pieces.

Favorite Things Friday

My favorite this week is getting a Christmas tree!  We went today and cut one down.

We haven't done that in about 20 years.  So today, we went to a Christmas tree farm about 30 miles from our house.   We looked at about 100 trees before we settled on one.  We cut it down and carried it out and put it up in our house.  I'll post pictures when it's decorated.

To see other favorites this week, check out Quilting In My Pyjamas.

As a side note, this is my 402nd post.  I meant to post this on the 400th post, but missed.

Wordless Wednesday

15 minute challenge - Nov. 22

This was a much better week. for me.  I finished the top for Rocket Man, made two pillow covers, and started on the girl baby quilt.

Tuesday - worked on Rocket Man quilt (still needs borders)

Wednesday - added a border to rocketman

Thursday - cut strips for stacked coin quilt

Friday - made two pillow covers; sorted fabric for coin quilt

Saturday - Nothing

Sunday - made two rows (columns?) for stacked coin quilt

Monday - Nothing, again

Not a bad week.  

To check out how others made out this week, check out Life In Pieces.

My goals for next week:

   Finish stacked coin quilt

   Cut out stockings

   Start working on other Christmas gifts

Pillow talk

I covered two throw pillows on Friday.  I used the leftover fabric from my pinwheel sampler quilt.  I'm pleased with them.  I'm also pleased to know that I could make other covers for the holidays if I wanted to.  I probably won't do it this year; but it's an option.

The following is another picture taken by my budding photographer.   (I don't mean for him to get the camera, but sometimes I forget to put it away.

Note Dad's feet ...

Favorite Things Friday

Just to stay in tune with Shay's theme .. I'm going mushy .. my favorite thing this week is my husband, well actually one of his attributes.

He loves, loves, loves sappy movies, or he would say romantic comedies, perhaps chick flicks is more like it.  His favorite channels on TV are Lifetime and Hallmark.  He saves all the Christmas movies -- the sappy ones, not the classics (though he might save those too).

I enjoy the movies, but not as much or as often as he does.  On some Saturday afternoons, you can catch him watching movie, after movie, after movie from Lifetime.

His favorite movies (not Lifetime movies) are: Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth), While You Were Sleeping, Love Actually, Braveheart (what?!?), Where the Heart Is, Return to Me, Definitely Maybe.  You get the picture.   (I had to throw Braveheart in because he said it was one of his favorites -- doesn't fit the genre though.)

I mean, how many of you have a husband who wants to watch the second DVD of Pride and Prejudice for the 10,000th time? or who would want to sit through Gone With The Wind?!

He is amazing. and funny. I love him. and all his quirks.

Make sure you check out Quilting in My Pyjamas to see what other people consider their favorites.

Yesterday and Today

A year ago today, my Uncle Dick died (he was my mom's only brother).  Here is a picture of him, the way I remember him.

I am a little sad and a little mad at myself for not making a greater effort to see him when I lived on the east coast.  But you can't go back and things are what they are.

Wordless Wednesday

15 Minute Challenge - Nov 15

I feel like I did pretty well this week, thought you can't tell by the days.  Looks like only three out of seven, but I didn't keep records.  I'll go back to keeping track this week.

Tuesday - ??
Wednesday - ??
Thursday - ??
Friday - nada
Saturday - finished out of time quilt top
Sunday - made six nine patches for rocket man
Monday - finished rocket man blocks; sewed two rows together

To see how everyone else did this week, check out Life in Pieces.

The end

I was trying to participate in NaBloPoMo (unofficially), but I decided tonight that I'm not that interesting and I don't have that much to say.  So I'm not going to try to post every day this month (I already missed last Thursday).  

That being said, I've been sewing some more and my new baby quilt is coming together.

In case you were wondering, I'm making this quilt and the next one which is a baby girl quilt for a co-worker who decided not to find out the sex of the baby.  Rather than going neutral, I decided to make two quilts and to wait for the baby to come before giving it to her.  I'm not sure I have backing for it, but I do have the borders and maybe binding too.

Early Thanksgiving

The turkeys are so inexpensive at the grocery store that I decided they were too good to pass up.  We got our turkey for Thanksgiving, but our freezer is too small for more than one so we had turkey today.  I made sweet potatoes with Lipton onion soup mix, Stove Top stuffing, broccoli and cauliflower, and gravy .. now I'm cooking the bones in a pot to have soup later this week.  I'm feeling very domestic.

I finally decided what to do for the boy baby quilt I'm making.  Here's the first block.  I'm using the same fabric for another boy quilt I made a year ago.

I'm excited to have a plan.  This is the first nine patch I've made.

I'm also going to make a girl baby quilt and for that I'm making a stacked coin quilt.

Out of Time

I wasn't sure what I was going to post about today.  I had thought about various things, like my earliest memory, my favorite cousin, etc., but hadn't decided upon anything.  Then after cleaning up after dinner, I read for an hour, and then sewed for what was supposed to be an hour (ended up being 1.5 hours).

And in that 1.5 hours, I finished Out of Time.  Here it is!

Those are my husband's fingers and legs in the picture. :).

Now I need to get fabric for the borders, binding, and backing (also need some more batting ..).  I want to get started on another quilt tomorrow and maybe a couple of Christmas things I've been thinking about.  or perhaps some pillows.  It's times like this I wish I had a sewing room so I could pull things out and plan, instead of having to plan in my head ..

Favorite Things Friday

Today is Veteran's Day in the US and so veteran's are my favorite thing today.  We have a few in the family: my three uncles (WWII), my grandfather (WWI), my brother-in-law (career army with several tours in Vietnam), my cousin (reserves), my husband (army), my son (army with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan), and my several of my nephews, not to mention some grandnephews and probably others that I've forgotten.

Oliff, Schallert & Wagner

I almost forgot to link up to Shay at Quilting in My Pyjamas .. please click here to see what other favorites other people have.

Wordless Wednesday

Spam

I got my first spam on my blog today.  I know I'm weird, but it was kind of exciting.  However, that being said, I am going to put my captcha back on.

15 Minute Challenge - 11/8/11

I finally did some sewing this week, hooray!!

Tuesday - nothing
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - nothing
Friday - sewed triangles together
Saturday - nothing
Sunday - finished making blocks for double hourglass quilt (out of time); sewed two rows of blocks together
Monday - nothing

Although I didn't spend 15 minutes a day, I did spend more than 15 minutes on the days I did sew.  I'm hoping to finish the main part of the quilt top this week and get started on some other projects, maybe some Christmas gifts.

And pop on over to Kate's 15 minute challenge to see what other bloggers are doing this week, craftiness-wise.

Eagle Harbor Web

I used to stop by and visit the Eagle Harbor Web, http://www.eagleharborweb.net/, daily to read what George had to say and what was new in Eagle Harbor.  I loved the pictures he would post during his walkabouts.  And honestly, when he would sail for the summer, I was always a little sad because I knew I wouldn't see anything new for a while.  Boy, that sounds stupid now, doesn't it.

The chairs in front of George's house in Eagle Harbor.

I don't remember George at all from when I was young -- I remember his two daughters -- and that they were the cutest little girls.  At one point, I "dated" one of his nephews, Alan.  I thought it was true love, but he stopped writing to me, I think it was after I was hanging out with another boy at the bonfire.  I guess it wasn't meant to be.

When I started going back to the Harbor (I think it was 2004), you would know that George was out sailing if the "gone sailing" sign was posted in front of his house.  Of course, you could always tell he was home if his van was out front.  

When I was very young, there was a doctor who owned George's house.  I can remember seeing him sitting in the window. Then Mrs. Hite bought the house.  I stole some logs from her for a bonfire on the beach when I was 13 .. she probably would have given them to me if I had asked.  And then sometime between when I was 13 and when I was an adult, the house became George's.  I wonder who will be sitting in front of the window now ..

I will miss George.

Progress

I finally did some sewing this weekend.  I finished all my double hourglass blocks.  On Thursday night, I sewed the triangles together.

I've sewn the first two rows together now and will probably finish the top this week.  It's pretty small.  Will either be a baby quilt or a lap quilt.  I still need to get the border, backing, and binding.

Badlands

This summer, on our way back from Michigan.  We stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Painted Canyon.  On the drive out, we drove over the canyon at night and it was pretty dramatic so we decided we HAD to stop on the way back.

 The two Pauls.

 

I don't know nearly enough about our National Parks; even the really big ones.  I learned, from when we went to Muir Woods National Monument, that it takes longer to designate an area as a National Park  v. a National Monument.  I have no idea how many National Parks there are in the US, but I haven't been to very many of them.  I think I will put something about National Parks on my 2012 list.

Favorite Things Friday

I'm having trouble coming up with one favorite this week ..

here are a few things that make me smile

.. hearing my favorite song on the radio, over and over and over again.
.. having dinner, but not having to cook it. (thanks Brieanna)
.. finding change.
.. eating chocolate chip cookies (homemade ones especially)
.. having a smooth commute
.. helping Weezer drink from a water bottle
.. pictures of light houses
.. the smell of rain
.. a hot shower
.. reading weekend wishes, here
.. the Beatles
.. a good baseball game (like game 6 of the World Series this year).
.. my husband (it's his birthday tomorrow).

For some more interesting favorites, check out Quilting in My Pyjamas.

Keeping my eyes on the ball

In the past month, one of my NY co-workers died and the husband of another NY co-worker was killed in a car accident.  This should make me stop and think about what's important in life yet I feel like I haven't stopped for long enough.  Maybe because they are so far away and I don't/didn't have contact with them on a daily basis?

But, I'm trying to remember that so much of the stuff I deal with on a daily basis isn't important and I need to focus on what is important.  The people in my life.  From the ones that I am close to, to the those who I barely know.  From those I have fun with, to those I don't want to be around.  They all matter more than all the other crap.

So that's it for deep thoughts today.

Wordless Wednesday

Hoover Dam

While I was in Las Vegas, I went to see the Hoover Dam.  I didn't realize it was so close; just 30 miles away.  It was pretty amazing.  and on a beautiful day too!  It was a little warm but better than too cold.

This is the Hoover Dam Bypass .. it has another name, but that name is even longer -- amazingly, the bridge took longer to build than the dam.  It was finished in 2010, more than 70 years after the dam was finished.

This looks fake.

The lake on the other side of the dam.

The Nevada/Arizona border.  If it had been on the ground, I would have straddled the state line and been in two places at one time.  As it is, I was (in two places at one time), but it didn't look really cool.

Lisa, checking it out.

our feet, by the moon.

Definitely in Nevada.

The Hoover Dam from the bypass.

still in Nevada.