Day 31 of 2024

The third and last kit to be cut is nearly done. 

I still need to cut the background fabric, 

cut a few more of the white pieces, 

and make a final decision among three choices for C2, not shown here. 

I think I can put that decision off

 until I am in the assembly phase of construction. 

At that point I will audition the three and make a choice.

 

Day 30 of 2024

Quilt kit number two is all cut.

 

Day 29 of 2024

The main thing that keeps me from working on a particular quilt project

 is not being able to sew little bits at a time. 

I love selecting the fabrics for a quilt. 

Sometimes I will even get them washed. 

The next two bits are what hang me up - pressing and cutting. 

The pressing part is tedious, but the cutting takes a lot of concentration

 to make sure it gets done right. 

This is not really possible when time is short.

Recently I have gotten the fabrics ready for three quilts. 

Today I started cutting. 

I will be making "kits" for these quilts 

so I am able to sit down and sew when time permits.

The above project is the 2024 Temperature Quilt. 

I got all the background, roofs for houses and tree parts cut today.

 

Day 28 of 2024

Do you ever have one of those days? 

You know, the ones in which you have one thing you have to do

 and then almost forget to make sure that thing is done? 

Well, for me that was taking a decent picture for today, 

not that this one is much better than what is on my camera roll. 

And then to top it off I miss my normal "post it by" time. 

So here is my uninspired picture, 

posted with the wrong date at the top, 

with a disclaimer  at the bottom designating date taken 

even though it's definitely in the photo.

(photo taken 1-28-2024)

 

Day 27 of 2024

I've found a few earlier, but in these remaining socks, 

there are no matches.

 There are more loads to come so there are still 

possibilities of more matched socks.

 

Day 26 of 2024

I can't tell you how much extra time it took me to serge the edges

 of my fabrics in preparation for washing. 

I guess dusting the lint from the machine

 somehow messed up the threading. 

A couple tries of fixing didn't work,

 and I ended up having to rethread the whole thing.

 It works fine now but it might have been a little quicker

 if I had not been stubborn

 and refused to get up to find my long-nosed tweezers.

 

Day 25 of 2024

I auditioned fabrics to fill in the gaps in the palette

 for my Sew Along quilt. 

Tomorrow I will serge the edges, prewash and press.

I can't wait to get started.

 

Day 24 of 2024

I'm participating in two sew alongs this February. 

One of them begins Saturday with the fabric cutting. 

This means that I need to have my fabric all selected, 

washed and pressed in just a couple days. 

I was having a hard time with the decisions that needed to be made

 so I recruited Little E and M to give me their opinions. 

This is the main combo that was the winner 

until I figured out that I don't have enough of the dark gray

 for that fabric to be the background. 

So I gave the daughters one more option that I had not mentioned before

 and it became the new winner. 

As I progress on this quilt, I will be sure to show you what I'm up to.

 

Day 23 of 2024

This quilt top found me on Sunday 

as Fireball and I visited the antique mall we used to frequent

 when we were working on the Old House. 

It has some issues with a major spill of unknown origin, 

a giant hole and a few seams that need work. 

I really love the pink and navy combination though 

and the price was very reasonable for a top in this condition, 

so I brought it home with me. 

I'm thinking of using the leaf print

 to replace the blocks with the largest spills. 

Some of the smaller ones might get a little appliqué.

Day 22 of 2024

I spent a good portion of the day with a sick child 

(not shown here, resting in his room) 

and two sleeping cats.

 

Day 21 of 2024

Per request, here is a picture of the quilt at the top of the stairs. 

I'm sure I've posted about it before but couldn't find it on the blog. 

This was a group effort with two quilty friends. 

We each made 3 X 24 different 3 inch blocks. 

We each kept one of each of our own 

and then received one each of the other two sets of 24 blocks. 

The result was 72 different blocks for each of us to make whatever we wanted. 

Each project came out differently. 

Here is a close up of some of the blocks.

 

Day 20 of 2023

Each January Fireball and I visit the Home Show at the fairgrounds. 

It's always freezing and I always seem to see quilt patterns

 in things that are not quilts. 

This year was no different.

 

Day 19 of 2024

I'm taking small steps to clean up the house. 

Today I cleared the stairs that are always the depository

 for all things that have homes upstairs.

 

Day 18 of 2024

Yesterday I thought this was one of the quilts

 I had picked up at an antique mall or estate sale. 

This morning I saw this embroidery on the corner

 and remembered that it came from the Old House. 

The name and date are deceiving

 because one might think it was the name of the maker

 and the date she made it. 

That cannot be the case because the name here is Fireball's mother

 and the date is just one year after she was born.

 Years ago she gave me a couple of quilt tops

 that she said her grandmother made,

 so I am going to guess that it was that same grandmother

 that made this quilt for Fireball's mother when she was a baby.

 

Day 17 of 2024

This old quilt is getting a spa treatment today. 

It may not appear too bad in the picture but it is pretty yellowed 

and just gives off the vibe that it isn't very clean. 

I hope to improve the situation. 

The picture on the left is right after I ran a tub of water with Orvus soap

 and swished the quilt around and got it ready to soak. 

The water is already turning yellow. 

The picture on the right is after a few hours of soaking. 

The water has turned a much darker yellow gold, no swishing required. 

I have since drained the water, rinsed the quilt 

and run a new tub of clear water with Orvus to let more soaking happen.

I'll keep you updated.

 

Day 16 of 2024

It has been very cold here. 

Frost is forming on my windows.

 

Day 15 of 2024

 I was able to get the puzzle finished today as I had intended. 

I worked on it between laundry loads, or more accurately, 

I was able to get the laundry done

 between long sessions of working on the puzzle.

 

Day 14 of 2024

 

I suggested doing a floor puzzle with the girls today. 

Easy and fast. 

I told GB#2 where to find them

 and she came back with her choice of a 1000 piece puzzle. 

Not exactly what I suggested, but we started it anyway. 

I've done this one before but don't mind doing it again. 

She started with the yellow birds and I took the red. 

She had more done than I did when she had to leave. 

I've worked on it more since she's been gone. 

I expect to finish it tomorrow. 

Day 13 of 2024

We had some extra time today

 which I thought might be a good time to fill with some crafting. 

GB#2 was eager to join me. 

The first giant rosette she made was from a predesigned pattern. 

The second and third ones she made were all her ideas. 

I am so proud of this girl for trusting herself and having the confidence

 to create something all her own. 

 

Day 12 of 2024

I've always liked the idea of a temperature project. 

I've seen lovely knitted temperature blankets

 and beautiful temperature quilts,

 but none have ever seemed like something I could love

 and stick to like this one.

 This is the year I will make a temperature quilt. 

I've selected all my fabrics

 and have washed the ones that weren't already washed. 

I am making a few modifications to the pattern

 and will show those as I get to them.

 

Day 11 of 2024

I'm so glad someone finally did this. 

This is inside one of a chain of Supercenters. 

If you are not familiar with them, 

they have a full grocery store, clothing, hardware, office supplies, toys, etc. 

In other words, they have anything you could want and they are huge. 

I'm sure there will be plenty of people 

taking advantage of a little rest

 to get them through the rest of their shopping trip.

 

Day 10 of 2024

Fireball and I have been out of state for the past few days

 and we brought home an uninvited guest. 

Fireball is isolating in the sunroom during the day. 

I've got plenty to do in the rest of the house, 

but when I'm sitting down to knit or use my computer, 

this will be my view. 

If you haven't seen my placeholder pictures on the last few days' posts, 

go take a look for a few blasts from the past before they get replaced. 

I'll be working on those posts tomorrow.

EDIT: Placeholders are gone. The pictures taken on the appropriate days are posted.

 

Day 9 of 2024

Goodbye, Nevada, until next time.

And before we leave Las Vegas and go home, 

I want to note this one thing I've never seen before that is so smart. 

Do you see the little lights above the cars in this parking garage? 

Those red and green lights are not just pretty decorations for Christmas. 

They indicate whether a spot is full or available. 

So helpful! 

I wish every parking garage would have them.

 

Day 8 of 2024

Our very helpful check-in agent was also able

 to confirm for me that this was indeed Chihuly glass. 

I wanted to make sure to get a picture but was certain that waiting

 until tomorrow morning would be another bad idea. 

Our flight leaves at 6:00 AM which means arrive by 4:00, 

leave the hotel by 3:30 to get there and return the rental car. 

I imagine we will only be getting a couple hours of sleep.

 

Day 7 of 2024

When we checked in yesterday

 we saw this big beautiful area that was decorated with a Nutcracker theme. 

The agent that helped us with check-in remarked 

that we were lucky it was still up and that we got to see it. 

We got back from our party so late, 

we decided to take a look in the morning. 

I had a funny feeling that this might not be the best decision. 

This morning when we walked through this area, sure enough, 

there were cranes everywhere taking it all apart. 

There were Christmas trees that were half undecorated. 

This was the best I could do to get a shot without a crane in it. 

It was really beautiful regardless.

 

Day 6 of 2024

Fireball and I are visiting Las Vegas for a few days. 

A family member is having a very special birthday

 and we have events to attend all weekend. 

This is the view we came back to after tonight's party.

 

Day 5 of 2024

It's time for new nails. 

It's not Christmas anymore but it is certainly still winter, 

so I picked polar bears and snowflakes.

 

Day 4 of 2024

Tonight's activity: 

Follow the prompts and draw and embellish this birdy.

 

Day 3 of 2024

New-to-me, washed and crisply pressed.

 

Day 2 of 2024

Tonight I'm reading a cookbook, a calendar and a quilt pattern.

 

Day 1 of 2024

I'm starting the year off with breakfast for dinner.

Happy New Year! 

Let's do this.