Newest Toy--new Janome serger

Honestly, I can't think of anything I don't have--that I wanted. Best news: Amy is coming this summer and bringing her serger. We're going to take a class and see what we can do together with them. I'm pretty excited to learn how to operate this very complicated machine. Who else has one? What can you tell me about them? Help!!

Avery

I can't think of anything more fun than spending time with a new member of my family. My (only) great grandchild Avery is a winner!!

Calysta's Quilt

Well, I finished it! As you can see, it's has a checkerboard pattern on the back, and the alternating diamonds on the front. As I believe I said before, Calysta assisted me in picking out the fabrics and color scheme.

A Word about Monsters...

Calysta has spent yesterday and most of today at our home with Mark; Christy is here, too. Today Calysta decided she needed to have a clean work surface as her desk gets pretty "crowded".

She worked on it for about an hour--maybe more. It was quite a long time, especially for such a little girl.

Later Mark and she went out for a while. We noticed the note after they left. It was the highest point in our week, for sure.

Note the exclamation points: they're hearts and the dots below are tiny hearts!!

A little while ago, I need some Scotch tape and there it lay, on her desk. Well, I braved the danger and borrowed it--I think I got away with it because I haven't seen any monsters yet.

When I replaced it, you can be sure I put it back right where she had it...

Something new

I'm making a checkerboard-type quilt for Calysta. It will be composed of alternating squares of these two blocks. The backing will be checkered black and white--the same fabric as the borders of each block. I took her to the store and let her pick out her colors. Her two new favorite colors are black and white--then red and blue. I just completed a T-shirt quilt top and as soon as it is quilted, I'll show that, too. It has the fronts (and some backs) of T-shirts that we have obtained over the time we've known each other (Bobby and I). later...

Interests, Hobbies, Fads, Obsessions...

So, I don't know what I am developing, but I am gaining great interest in a few things: quilt-making, cooking, breadmaking to name a few. These are things I enjoyed in my previous life BW (before work). In my new life PW (post-work, of course--keep up, please), I am returning to things I have always loved. I have taken the opportunity to ponder cooking and my relationship to it. For a reason I think I understand, I have always been reluctant to admit that I enjoyed--maybe even loved--preparing food. The reason, I think, is that my mother hated to cook--and she was really verbal about that, as I'm sure you all remember. Somehow it seemed as though I was not permitted to love something that my own mother hated. I realize that's wrong-thinking and maybe a little stupid, but there it is. Since living a few months PW I realize that since I have the time, I really love watching cooking shows, poring through cookbooks and www.foodnetwork.com recipes as well as others. I have chosen to do this. Bobby says between me and the food network he'll soon lose his feet--there could be worse things I guess--I could have studied famous bank robberies and formed a gang; I could have decided to do "street work"; I could have taken up interior decorating (he would have REALLY hated that, because it's a very expensive hobby). But, no, I was drawn to cooking, breadmaking and quilts. My grandmother Amy Brown made Bobby (my little brother, not my husband, of course--please keep up!) a quilt pieced of 1" squares!! I remember this quilt, and he wouldn't allow me to put it on my bed. I loved that quilt, too. Her sister (what was her name?) made a quilt top for me--hand-pieced it, too--that I quilted many years ago and it has long since worn out. I remember going to Relief Society work meetings and watching the sisters sitting at the quilt frames working. When I was really small, we played under the quilts--it was like playing in a fort--but after I got a little bigger--maybe around 10--they began to teach me how to quilt, too. I really loved that. So, I guess I have been doing this for many years. As my children were growing up, I made a few quilts, but they were utilitarian and made because we were living in the Rocky Mountains, and it was COLD. Although, I have to say, I enjoyed the process. Some of those quilts are still living, I think. So, that's what I'm doing now. Amy encouraged me to join my local quilting groups, and I did that. I have enrolled in a few groups, including the Norman Area Quilters' Guild. I am loving this. Have a great day, all. We have blowing snow outside today the first day of Spring!! I'm hibernating, making bread, preparing a supper dish for a neighbor who had surgery yesterday, and cutting out pieces for my Mystery Quilt group in two weeks. So, I'm having a good, quiet and productive day.

The PJs

Allie's PJs consist of the tops, bottoms and a headband--I think they figured that every princess needs a tiara--even while she's sleeping...

OK That's Done!

Good to have it completed! Now I can start on the PJs for the Princess of Arizona...

Skype

We got a webcam that Bobby uses with his Echolink (Internet-based Ham Radio application) and has a lot of fun with. I have used it on my PC, too, and talked to Allie and Eric. If anyone else has a webcam available to them, you can go to skype.com and download it. I'd love to talk to AND SEE any of my family. Soon I'm going to get my own webcam to go on my monitor--it's fat at the top and Bobby's doesn't clip to it--I have to hold it or try to clip it to something at the precisely correct angle--it's very awkward. Is anybody else interested? Bob, I think we might be able to do a conference call that way.

One-third complete

This is the new Fun & Done quilt I am making. It will fit on a twin or double bed. The long side of this part is the width--so I have eight more rows to go.