It’s really hard to believe – but I am just about ready for the Christmas  (presents all wrapped and under the tree.  This year everyone gets a homemade gift!) The only things left to do are a ‘lick and a promise’ house cleaning and baking a dessert for tomorrow evening.  Our Christmas is celebrated in three different celebrations.

Tom and I will open our gifts on Christmas Eve after an early Mass and dinner out.  Christmas Day is spent at my in-laws.  On Thursday my son and daughter and all the grandchildren will gather at our house.  Cramming everything into one day just was too much stress.  So we decided to celebrate on the three different days.

Since I had some extra time, I decided to treat myself and work on projects that had no deadline.  What better than one or two of the UFO’s that seem to multiply in my storeroom.  I started with a  machine applique from Quilt Sampler.   The pattern is from the local featured quilt shop, Calico Gals.  Some of the applique was done. Now it is closer to being finished.

I normally have a machine and hand project going at the same time.

Finally, I’ve been able to get back to some of the UFO’s in my stash. Each year I vow to finish them – but seem to just add more projects to the box than I actually do finish. This wall-hanging has been ‘crying’ to be hung on the wall in my family room, for some time now.  Featured in the Spring/Summer 2005 issue of Quilt Sampler, it was designed by Calico Gals Quilt Shop in Syracuse NY.

'From the Field'

I did get as far as fusing the applique pieces, but never got around to the machine applique part of the quit.   I normally like to hand applique.  It’s so relaxing as well as portable.   I can pick up a block and take it on a road trip or work on it while enjoying a summer afternoon on the back deck. I really like this pattern but haven’t done much machine applique.  Off to my library to find some help.  A while back I took a class from Sue Nichols on her Raw Edge Applique technique.  I pulled out the book – practiced some same stitching.

Blanket Stitch - Double/Single

My Bernina has two choices of blanket stitch.  I think the single stitch will be best for this piece especially around the flowers.  Possibly, the double stitch will add a little more interest to the vase.  We’ll see what it asks me for when I get to that element.

Inside and Outside Points; Curves

And now I’m on my way to begin working on the actual wall-hanging.

We recently  returned from a visit to New York City with my son and his family.  It was the first visit to the ‘Big Apple’ for my granddaughters so we focused the two day trip on the most noteworthy tourist attractions;  Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Ground Zero etc.

One of our side trips included the New York Public Library.  Since I got my ‘ Nook”  a couple of years ago, I have downloaded most of my eBooks from our local library.  I took advantage of this trip to the city to get a NYC library card so that I could access their extensive database also.

The library was first opened to the public in 1911.    According to a 2009 article published in the New York Times, “The New York Public Library, with its headquarters at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, encompasses four major research libraries and 87 branches, a total of 20 million books, 50 million cataloged items and a growing demand in this recession for loaner laptops and other free services. Only the Library of Congress and the British Library are larger. But even the Fifth Avenue landmark by itself is a marvel of big numbers. It is undergoing a $1.2 billion makeover in preparation for its 100th birthday. Built from 1899 to 1911, it cost $9 million, contains 530,000 cubic feet of white Vermont marble and 125 miles of shelving, and opened with an inventory of one million items. ”  Amazing!

My husband was taking some picture of the library architecture when I noticed the scroll work on the windows.  What a perfect applique pattern.  I had him take a picture for me.  I’d love to draft a pattern for this.

Can’t believe it, but the 2011 Raffle Quilt for the Thumbstall Quilt Guild is completely finished. It’s been a long year of planning and putting it together – but the final result is more than worth it.  Now all that’s left to do is show it at various venues and sell the tickets!  One of our members, Marion, who is a master long arm quilter just finished the quilting.  She used a leaf pattern in the center of the quilt.

Leaf Detail

Detail of applique border

and meandered the applique borders, outlining the applique itself.  Just beautiful!

The border is an original design by another guild member, Sandi.

I just received the finished quilt today and couldn’t help but spread it out on the bed.

Understated Elegance

My husband liked it so much that he insisted on buying the first tickets!

Well sort of – but only a day trip.  Since our camper was totaled last December, cancelling our winter trip, we haven’t done much traveling.  But now that the warmer weather is just around the corner, we’re planning on taking more day trips in Central New York.

Today was a perfect excuse for the first one this year.  We picked up my new car, a Ford Fusion, and just had to take it on a road trip.

We decided on a drive to the Finger Lakes, specifically Seneca Lake wine country.  We’ll be hosting a nature photo tour of Finger Lakes Wineries this summer and needed to line up some of the photo shoots.

So of course I packed up my current applique project to take along. Any hand work, especially needle turn applique is so portable and easy to bring along on any kind of car trip.  I like to work on projects while riding or whenever my photographer husband ‘finds’ the perfect picture and just has to stop.

Everything neatly fits into a small satchel that can easily fit in my purse.

The weather could have been a little warmer.  The temperature seems to be stuck in the 20′s lately(should be in the 40′s this time of year).  It was a mostly sunny day with only had a few snow flurries to accompany us; not the multiple ‘inches’ of snow that we’ve had to contend with lately.

Yes I did drive the car off the lot but turned over the driving to my husband after our stop for lunch.  I needed to make sure that I could comfortably quilt in the car.  I was pleased that the passenger door has two decent receptacles to hold my quilting notions.  What luck!

I thought when I took this car for a test drive that  it was perfect for me as a driver and now I’ve found that is also fits my needs as a passenger whose passion is ‘quilting’!