Twisted Happy Blocks

Since I finished the first top last night, today I'm working on a twisted version.



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Progress

I finished the blocks and got the top assembled. Tomorrow, I'll work on the Twisted version BUT I earned the right to sleep late!



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I'm sewing!

HeartStrings is having a virtual sew-in New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and I decided to get an early start.

I haven't used my design wall since the move in April but felt I really needed it up to help keep track of which novelty squares I'd used and which colors I needed to use for framing squares so I took over the area at the top of the stairs outside my sewing room for the next couple days - there's a bathroom behind that door but luckily, we have others.

And look who was sitting outside my room keeping an eye on my progress until Keith went to bed about 10 minutes ago.

I had a lot of fun meeting Suzanne for lunch today - don't worry Deb, I didn't talk about you TOO much! Again, if you have a chance to meet fellow bloggers/quilters in person, make the time - it's well worth it.

Keith and I have been slipping and sliding on the ice the last week and I was betting he'd go down first but instead on my way to catch the light rail to meet Suzanne, I fell this morning. Nothing that a little Aleve won't take care of but I was glad no one saw me go down.

Now, I'm heading back up to the sewing room - I've got at least another few hours of work left in me!


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I don't do well with failure

These may be a little hard to see so go ahead and click on them to enlarge.

I don't like having an idea that doesn't turn out as well as I have it pictured in my head so I decided to try these two postcards again. Since I liked the snowflake so much I used the same background and am doing the same embroidery stitches in the snow. I also changed the direction of this first one and put it on point. Looks like fireworks doesn't it??
I haven't stitched the snow in this one on the left yet but I decided to try to add snowflakes on the reject - I hate to waste my efforts too so I have a habit of trying to add to something that's not working. This looks a little better so the reject might just show up in someone's mail box even through it's certainly not my best effort.
And just so you don't think I'm more creative than I am....when I was looking for the beads for the snowflake I saw these iron-on crystal packets....both the above cards came with the crystal design already in place and all I had to do was press them to my postcard. They were $2-3 dollars and then on sale at Joann's so I thought they were worth a try.

By the way, all these postcards have the same blue background although it looks black in some photos. The second photo shows the truest color.


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If you ever have the chance....

If you ever have the chance to meet an online friend in person - please don't pass it up. Today I met Cecile (and her husband and son) at a local coffee shop and had the best time. I got to see one of her quilts and a knitted scarf and sweater she'd made for her son. She even gave me some knitting pointers so if I can manage to retrain myself - I might actually knit a bit faster.

Tomorrow, I'm going to meet Suzanne for lunch at the Mall of America too. Keith is amazed that I actually have 2 social events planned in two days.

I had a great walk this afternoon to and from the coffee shop and when I got home, I had postcards in the mailbox from our family exchange. Usually we just exchange one card per month but for December we made it optional to make and send cards to everyone. This first one is from my Aunt and the second one is from my sister, Deb.


I also decided to remake the two postcards I wasn't happy with, using the split background and the embroidery stitches in the snow since I was so pleased with how the snowflake card turned out.


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Playing with postcards

I decided that the snow portion of my postcard needed texture so I randomly stitched it with white perle cotton. All photos should enlarge if you click them.

And I loved how it turned out.

I decided to try a couple really simple ones using iron on crystals but I'm not too impressed with my stitches on the year - maybe I need to do it smaller. I may need to do another beaded one since I'm not really happy with how these are turning out.




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Anniversary

Today I celebrate my 3rd blogging anniversary. Three years of sharing my quilting, travels, and little bits of family life and meeting other quilters from all over.

Thanks for visiting me and for all the feedback and encouragement you provide.


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Brunch, a movie, dinner at home

Why is it when we have company we seem to go from planning one meal to the next?? We took the kids to brunch at Hell's Kitchen this morning. Chris liked the chandelier with all the knives in the background. Then a movie, then a couple quiet hours before it was time to cook dinner. They'll leave tomorrow afternoon - maybe I'll think about sewing on Monday!



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Shopping/games

Although shopping isn't top on my list, we took the Light Rail to the Mall of America today. I did find a new Jim Shore figure to add to the two I bought last year. When we got home, a game of Scrabble - not a favorite of the kids!

I'm getting a little antsy to spend some time piecing or quilting but the kids will be leaving on Sunday afternoon and until then, I'll focus on spending time with them. Come January, Keith will be traveling and I'll have plenty of time for quilting.


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It was Merry

Click photo to enlarge

I did miss the walk because I was cooking but Chris and Becky got to walk a bit this afternoon with Keith in between eating French Toast (another tradition) for breakfast and a big turkey dinner.

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Good times!

Chesty watching for Chris.

Chris & Becky arrive and we break out the Champagne.
Homemade (from scratch) cookie platter.
Our Christmas Eve picnic.
Looking at family photos after dinner.
A father/son moment.
The only thing missing was Adam and he called to say Merry Christmas on his way home from work.


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It's Christmas Eve!

I've been in the kitchen all morning cooking and have a break now before I start baking the cookies (you know that dough has to sit in the fridge for hours!).

My journal page today was about previous years when we lived in FL and Keith's dad was still alive. We'd always have a big family dinner and open presents at his parents' house.
But my favorite tradition is our Christmas Eve picnic. The potato salad and devil eggs are made, I'll start baking the cookies in an hour, Keith bought the sandwich fixings this morning so now we'll just wait for Chris and Becky to arrive - hopefully around 5:30PM if all goes well.


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A finish

A top pieced by Barbara in FL for HeartStrings and quilted last month is done. I did the hand stitching on the binding tonight. That makes 6 of the 10 quilted last month that are bound and finished and 4 left to do. The binding is machine stitched onto quilt #7 and I'll work on it as time allows over the next few days.

Some line dancing in the teal squares.

Swirls in the piano key border.


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Beading

I'd intended to make some more happy blocks today but decided to play with postcards instead. I'd was going to make a snowflake for my January card to exchange with family and one of my cousin's daughters wanted to know how to do beading on postcards so I took some time to photograph my steps.

I won't share all the photos here but here's the card in progress. I might make several if I can find different designs I like.




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Random items from my day

In keeping with my attempt to capture the sights (and sounds) of Minneapolis, I snapped a couple shots last night of the snow plows. It can get noisy and it always seems like they start work in the middle of the night but since I wasn't asleep it didn't bother me.

Is there anything better on a very cold morning (-13 degrees) than sipping tea with breakfast and a good book right in a patch of sunlight? My kitchen gets great sun in the morning.
Speaking of tea - my mug of the day was this one I bought on my trip to Toronto.

Doesn't Chesty look beautiful after his trip to the Beauty Parlor?

And finally, when I got home this evening I had a package waiting from Grace. I love Tim Horton's and was upset when I found out that they had mugs and I hadn't bought one on one of my two trips to Canada this year....and now I have one. Thanks Grace!


So now that I've bored you with my day - I have a question. How many of you blog about those little things from your life that you want to remember/document but that aren't particularly interesting to other people?

For me it goes back to my blog being not just a way to interact with other quilters but it being a way to document the things in my life. And I actually sewed today too - Happy Blocks were cut out and pieced and I made and machine stitched a binding on a HeartStrings quilt.


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