The Weather and a Win

 

The big news here, as well as just about everywhere else in North America, is the weather.  This is what it looked like outside our front door this morning.  It never even got close to a high of freezing.  Bob and I were very content to stay inside with the pups.  Schools will be closed tomorrow and we are not planning to do anything away from home either.  I’m not sure if driving to my Tuesday gathering will be feasible or not.  We’ll see.

 

Earlier in the week, the weather was quite nice and I was able to join my Tuesday quilting group, attend my first Guild meeting since August, and then spend even more time with my once-a-month applique group on Thursday.  We knew the weather was going to roll in Friday evening, so Bob treated me to brunch Friday morning at a restaurant that was new to us.  It was delicious.  This turned out to be my busiest week in a long time. 

 

The Guild speaker was an independent fabric rep who had lots of giveaways at the end of his talk and I won a fat quarter bundle from Timeless Treasures.  I also received lots of hugs from friends I hadn’t seen in months.

 

Quilting continues at a slow pace on my tumbler quilt and EPP project.  I also started work on this month’s anti-ouch pouches. 

 

Another 500 piece puzzle finish.  I am fond of butterflies.  The puzzle was loaned to me by Julia.

Decision Made

With the help of blog friends Wanda, Karen, Linda and Astrid, I was able to make a decision about border treatment for my Scrappy Meets Thrift Challenge quilt.  Just one more proof that I get by much better with the help of my friends!  The fabric is ordered and will hopefully be on its way soon.

Meanwhile, quilting continues slowly on my red and white tumbler quilt.

I also finished another batch of Anti-Ouch Pouches this week.  I will have 17 to hand over to the Guild Wednesday.

In other news, my doctor prescribed an at-home medical test kit for me.  It shipped from a city 50 miles southeast of us.  From there it went to Dallas, 200+ miles to our north.  From there it went to Atlanta, more than 900 miles away.  It finally reached us nine days after it was shipped!

Moving Along on Projects

The last of the big hexie flowers is complete and I am pulling charm squares for the leaves. 

Also, I began working on another anti-ouch pouch.  I picked up four kits when I was with the Tuesday sewing group.  It was a relief to join them again.  We had a group of about 7 members out of 12 present.  Not bad, considering travel and seasonal illness issues.

 I’ve resumed quilting my red and white tumbler quilt.  Now my machine is acting persnickety.  It trucks along just fine for a while, then acts up by creating loopy stitches on top or a break in the bobbin.  Even so, I’ve managed to make some progress.  I've decided to go with another small meander.

 

Julia brought some puzzles over when we had our Christmas gathering.  This one had 500 pieces and went together quickly.

Bob has been in South Texas since Thursday.  One of his brothers passed this morning after a long struggle with several health issues.

 

Time to (Hopefully) Re-Join the Dance

We finally got to enjoy Christmas with family Saturday.  First there was extended family scheduling to navigate.  Then Bob and I got sick.  Then Julia got sick.  It was worth the wait though and we had a wonderful day.  Actually, with my leg break September 2 and then my bout with bronchitis, the last quarter of 2025 left me feeling pretty disconnected with friends.  Time to get back in a more active rhythm of life.  Christmas decorations are mostly put away.

I pin hasted this tumbler quilt and thought I knew how I wanted to quilt it, but ended up ripping out the part I had done.  It’s been so long since I sat at the quilting machine, I’ve become very rusty.

Two more hexie flowers are complete.  One last “big” one to go then the smaller clusters and leaves start.

My 2025 handwork ort jar isn't quite full.  I've switched to a finer thread for my English Paper Piecing.  We'll see how 2026 goes.

My orchid from several birthdays ago and my amaryllis from my most recent one are still holding their blooms.  Good thing.  My Christmas cacti did not have a good season.  I think they may need some TLC.

Today my Tuesday group will gather and I’m really looking forward do seeing everyone.

 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  As I write this post, it is 79 degrees and golfers are wearing shorts.  I always wonder about the men playing golf on Christmas afternoon.  Are they escaping from kitchen clean-up duties after the festivities?

 

My blog has been silent for a while.  Bob and I have both been fighting bronchitis and there were several days when all I wanted to do was snuggle under a quilt in my comfy chair.  Because of the severity of his symptoms and underlying medical issues, we took Bob to ER to be sure he didn’t have pneumonia (he didn't).  We are both better, and expecting Julia and Aidan on Sunday for a joint celebration for Christmas and Bob’s birthday.

 

On the quilting/sewing front…

 

 I finished 11 anti-ouch pouches.  These have lots of long, straight seams that allow for mindless sewing.  It was just what I needed as my energy began to return. These are made of flannel.

 

My collection of hexie flowers for Homage to Mutti has grown some more.  I believe the pattern calls for one more set of the large flowers, and then I begin work on smaller ones and leaves.

 

My Scrappy Meets Thrift Challenge project is a top, and I am still thinking about a border.  This fabric is available, but I’m not sure.  Thoughts appreciated.

 

In other news…

 

Our area is not known for fall colors, but this year has been better than most.  This was our Red Oak tree when it began to change. 

 

A few weeks later it had turned to a nice Longhorn burnt orange.

 

We made it to two holiday gatherings before bronchitis hit.  One party included a visit from a special guest.

 

 

 

 

An Extra Busy Time of Year

Every year I’m caught off guard by how much the busyness of the season drains my energy and cuts into my quilting time.  Consequently, there is very little progress to show since my last post, and I think this week will be at least as busy with PT three times, a dentist appointment, and two parties, one of which is out of town. 

 

My collection of hexie flowers for my Homage to Mutti project has grown to 10.  I have to pace myself on these or my hand starts to hurt.  I want to delay getting another shot in my thumb for as long as I possibly can. 

 

Some assembly has also begun on my Thrift Meets Scrappy Challenge. 

 

My brother-in-law in Wisconsin sent this picture to me Sunday before last.  He headed south the next day and spent some time with us on his way to far South Texas where he will stay through the end of March.  I can't say I blame him.

 

Here is a fairly recent picture of Ollie in my lap.  He was so sleepy he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Some Stitching, Some Prepping, and Lots of Eating

More hexie flowers are complete for my Homage to Mutti project.  The circle of flowers is put together in thirds, so I will need three of each flower.  I’m getting faster at doing them, but that only helps if I sit down and start stitching. 

 

I did spend a lot of time since my last post prepping these little critters.  I hope that helps speed things along.

 

Like Wanda, I’m having trouble remembering what day of the week it is.  Thanksgiving was especially relaxing for me this year, and as usual, I ate too much.  Julia hosted and I only had to prepare two sides.  She did a lovely job.  

I was in a minority of one all day.  Everyone else at the table is supporting Texas A&M in tonight’s game and I was the target of a lot of good-natured teasing.  A&M has an extremely strong team this year.  I’m staying loyal to my Longhorns, though, and wearing my burnt orange today.  Hook’em!

 

Today also happens to be my birthday, one of those ending in “5.”  One of the goodies I received was this amaryllis.  It’s sitting next to the orchid I was gifted several birthdays ago.  This is the first wax-coated amaryllis I’ve had and I hope it blooms for me. 

 

These blooms are on a three-year-old minature rose bush.  I was surprised to see them this late in the year.