Merry Christmas!

Dear Santa -

I've been good all year.
OK, most of the time.
Well, once in a while.
Never mind, I'll buy my own stuff.

Brown Sugar Stitchers Christmas Party

Yesterday we had our annual Christmas Party...our guild gift this year was a pillowcase with the guild name on one side and personalized with the individual's name on the other. We had a small group this year (probably something to do with the way the holiday fell this year and proximity to Christmas), only 18, so I "volunteered" to embroider the names of everyone on the pillowcases. Why pillowcases? When we turn in quilts for shows and exhibits, we ask members to put them in pillowcases to protect the quilts from dust. We get quilts in paper bags, trash bags, boxes, and worst of all, nothing. (Always me, because I always forget. In California, we don't put the quilts in anything, so I'm in the habit of just bringing my quilt.)

The party was fun, as always. We met at Murphy's , the service was great, the food was excellent, the Bloody Mary delicious!

The winner of our raffle, donated by KiwiQuilts, was Joyce Turk.

The winner of our raffle quilt was Ali Reeves of Marietta! We hope she and her family will enjoy the quilt for many years to come!

 

I dream of a world where I'm in charge, chocolate makes you skinny, and everything is always 75% off. 

Moody Blues

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Which is what makes a Block of the Month so appealing. You work on one block of the quilt each month (usually for a period of 8 - 12 months) and at the end of a year, ta-da! You've got a finished top! I have sooooooo many unfinished BOM's...many still in their unopened packages. And yet - I signed up for another!  Do not ask me why I didn't just work on one of the gazillion I already have. I'm not crazy about this pattern, but I wanted to do something that wasn't paper piecing and something different than what I usually do, colorwise. It's good to step outside your comfort zone, yes?

The finished quilt is called Asteria, by Tiffany Hayes. I got it from Quilting by the Bay in Panama City, Florida. I finished the first and second blocks today.  The blocks on the bottom left are me just fooling around with the layout and thinking about making another quilt as I do this one.

 
 

Let's be bad and save Santa a trip!

Need Not Be Present To Win...

...but turns out you do need to be present to sew. Who knew? There's always hand work, of course, but then I really would never get anything finished.

The trip to Australia/New Zealand was fantastic. Every day was a new adventure. If forced to choose one favorite event, it would be climbing to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  About four hours, 1332 steps to the top, 134 metres (about 440 feet) high. I was terrified!

Second equally favorite moment - as we came through the tunnel in New Zealand, the bus driver played "What a Wonderful World."  I had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat on the last drawn out note of "woooooorrrrlllllllddddddd."

And yes, I found quilt shops in Australia and New Zealand! (Of Course!) Fabric is EXPENSIVE...about $22 a metre (little more than a yard).

I came back from Australia with no chance to recover from jet lag - The Brown Sugar Stitchers Quilt Show opened at the AUC Woodruff Library. We hung over 70 quilts, and the opening was great. So great that the library asked if we could extend the show until May, 2014! Atlanta friends who are interested, let's go to lunch and then see the show!

111 James P. Brawley Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA.
Library Hours to view the exhibit:
Monday-Thursday
9:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Saturday
Noon to 6:00 PM

Then I had jury duty for two and half weeks on a murder trial - couldn't believe I was selected! It was awful! I thought my liberal California butt would be excused by our conservative local Law and Order court by lunch time, but alas, 'twas not to be. I had PTSD after that trial. Just starting to recover.

But this is a blog about quilting...I've gotten a few things done. Here's an update from September to now...

Just before I left for Australia, I completed my block for the outgoing East Cobb Quilt Guild President's Quilt:

The quilt was designed by incoming president Ben Hollingsworth, and it is beautiful. I didn't get a picture of the completed quilt at guild meeting on Friday, but will post when I get one. Also, I was installed as Third Vice President - Membership on Friday.

New friend Bobbie got a shoe quilt wallhanging for her birthday:

And I finished piecing the Waterfalls top I started in Montana. I want to use it as a teaching sample.

All this traveling has been fun, but I have really missed having time to sew. I have three trips planned in 2014, but I'm not going to add any big trips (little weekend trips to quilt shows don't count), no matter what comes up. No, really.

 

Dear Sleep: I know we had problems when I was younger...but I love you now.

 

My bed is way more comfortable in the morning than it is at night.