Lucy & Cookie, some QoV blocks done

My honey was up and out early on Monday (12/30) for golf here at SCCL and I was out early to go grocery shopping.  I wanted to get everything I need to make food for our New Year’s Day brunch….and I think I got it.  

I was home by 10:30 (after stops at CVS and the library as well) and had a lovely, long talk with Janice (who’s currently in Connecticut with Dennis….celebrating the holidays (and Dennis’s retirement) with their families)).  I finally had breakfast at NOON and made it to my studio before 1 PM.  

Until Michael got home, I worked on quilting the second baby quilt and also sewing more on my potential new QoV pattern.  Michael got home around 3 PM and it was so beautiful out that we both retired to the lanair for a long time to enjoy the weather and our books (Debbie – I look at and re-read that x-stitch EVERY time I go out there….so beautiful……so perfect!!!)  We weren't the only ones enjoying the sun:

a big yawn

I headed back to the studio after that, and managed to finish the second quilt:  

I thought the quilting on the first one was a tiny bit too loose…..and on the second one it is a bit too dense….maybe I’ll be Goldilocks on the 3^rd one and get it just right  :~).  

Before retiring from the studio for the night, I also finished 8 new QoV blocks:  

Please weigh in on these arrangements and tell me which one you like better (labeled blue or red):

blue

red

waffles, quilting started on baby quilts

It was a red letter day for my honey on Sunday (12/29) as I made waffles for the first time in MONTHS!!!  

I actually made the yeast dough Saturday night

and Michael tried cooking bacon in the oven....not sure that was a win

yum!!

yum!!

He was moaning as he ate, and pronounced everything excellent!  He cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast, allowing me to head to my computer and finally get my blog out.  After that, I dropped back to quilting.  

I have those 4 manatee print tops for baby quilts, so I loaded up over 5 yards of backing fabric and started quilting them:  

see the fish in the design???  I thought it was perfect

These quilts (and the 3 QoV I just finished quilting) will be part of my 2020 production….as that’s when they will be totally completed.  So, it’s a good time to sum up some of what I accomplished this year.  It’s easy to base my quilting stuff on what I did on the longarm….of course I still have over a dozen tops that I completed this year….but I don’t keep track of them until they are quilted and bound.  Anyway, I completed 62 quilts on my longarm (12 on Miss Scarlett, and 50 on my new machine)…..I think that is a respectable number considering that I didn’t have a longarm at all for 6 – 7 weeks…..and Michael and I spent 3 weeks in Tahiti, chasing a total eclipse of the sun  :~).  

Of those 62 quilts, 8 were for BEDS=DREAMS, 24 were customer quilts, 1 was completed (the first quilt sandwich on my new longarm), then cut up and serged on the edges and those were donated to the shelter for dog/cat beds, 4 were gifts to others, 10 were Quilts of Valor, 3 were quilts Michael and I kept (a pool table cover…..the second quilt I did on my new machine…..a quilt for our bed….and the recently quilted tree skirt  :~), and 12 were ones I quilted for donation to various other charities.  So, other than the customer quilts….I also made the tops for those completed quilts.  I’m pleased with what I got done….but you know me….always have grandiose plans to do even more in 2020!  

I got the first baby quilt completed, and loaded up the second.  I decided I loved the quilting pattern, but wanted to make it denser on the second quilt:  

I spent all day doing that, as well as cutting and piecing for one strata: 

for a new QoV pattern I want to try out.  

Michael had the last of the ham/gruyere cheese roll-ups for dinner and said they were just as good as right out of the oven! 

And no surprise to me, Trump policies on tariffs don’t work:   President 

Donald Trump’s strategy to use import tariffs to protect and boost U.S. manufacturers backfired and led to job losses and higher prices, according to a Federal Reserve study released  this week.  

“We find that the 2018 tariffs are associated with relative reductions in 

manufacturing employment and relative increases in producer prices,” concluded Fed 

economists Aaron Flaaen and Justin Pierce, in an academic paper.  While the tariffs did 

reduce competition for some industries in the domestic U.S. market, this was more than 

offset by the effects of rising input costs and retaliatory tariffs, the study found.   “While 

the longer-term effects of the tariffs may differ from those that we estimate here, the 

results indicate that the tariffs, thus far, have not led to increased activity in the U.S. 

manufacturing sector,” the study said.  Tit-for-tat trade retaliation is an idea best relegated 

to the past, given the presence of globally interconnected supply chains, the Fed 

researchers found.

labels done, new leftover quilt started

Michael left before 9 AM on Saturday (12/28) for golfing here at SCCL, and I took the time to make a big breakfast for myself:  

I made it to the studio by 10 AM and spent a good bit of time trying to create a new label for my QoV’s for 2020.  When I thought I had it set, I stitched it out:  

and then made another and another:  

While they were stitching, I worked on reclaiming the backing from the 3 QoV’s and by the time my honey got home, I was all set:  

a tidy pile of scraps and a pile of batting strips for dog beds

We both sat out on the lanair for a couple of hours after that as the temperature was absolutely gorgeous.  

We had leftover soup for dinner and then my honey wanted to watch the Clemson/Ohio game….so I stayed in my studio….looking in nooks and crannies and drawers and scrap buckets to expland the blocks on the design wall…even though it is very dark….I love it:  

first expanding that on point square in the center

then deciding to change the spacing a bit

I found a scrap of this gorgeous Christmas fabric to add in...wish I had a bunch more

then several blocks that go colorwise....but have to have inches added

and a few more small leftover blocks found

adding fabric to the smaller blocks on top

and on the bottom

I just have a bit more to fill in...but have to go through my scrap drawers once again.  The bad thing about this is....it doesn't really help my stash report as I am using leftover bits and pieces....which I'm sure were already counted as part of the first project ever done with them!  Oh wel....by the time I was done it was 10 PM and I was ready for bed.

*** MMR - Michael's Movie Reviews ***

Black Water: I just saw one of the most frightening movies ever! It had no creatures, no ghosts, no creepy clowns, but it scared the living daylights out of me. This movie is about corporate greed and what a company with no conscience can do to a town of 70,000 people. Dupont (better living through chemistry) has been knowingly polluting the water of this town for decades and finally a lone attorney takes on the task of suing them; and what a battle it is. Remember Teflon? That is just one of the monsters in this film. PS4A is another. We have in our bodies chemicals that will never leave, all brought to us by our corporate fiends! The town was polluted for decades and the case goes on for decades . Mark Ruffalo stars as the beleaguered attorney fighting for justice. A great and sobering film. Highly recommended. I give it 5 fat quarters out of 5.

done quilting 3 QoV's

My honey was up and out Friday morning (12/27) for a routine dermatology appointment.  I was in my studio by 9 AM, ready to kick off quilting again.  

I was going great guns until around 1 PM, when I ran into a problem with linking my pattern rows together.  THANK GOODNESS for the Facebook  group for my machine….I posted a question and had an answer in less than 5 minutes so that I could continue stitching out.  

I finished quilting: 

then worked on getting all 3 QoV’s cleaned up and off of my frame…

And just like that.....

BING: 

BANG: 

BOOM:  

I now have 3 quilts on the to-be-bound pile!!  As well as a pile of scraps to reclaim:

Speaking of QoV’s, I have a tiny bit more information about the last recipient.  Sandy P (the 94 year old veteran) sent an email to TWENTY-THREE of his family and friends to tell them about the quilt he received.  He was so excited to receive it…makes my heart all warm inside  :~).  THAT is what makes me want to make a HUNDRED MORE!!!!

Michael and I had leftovers for dinner and watched TV while I knit the rest of the evening.

3rd QoV on frame, more ham/cheese croissants, new sweater

Thursday (12/26) dawned VERY cold…but the sun was out and it was another beautiful morning.  

I called our appliance repair shop and they had someone at our house by lunchtime.  Our igniter has expired once again, and our repairman also fixed one of our burners.  That took quite a bit of time, but I was finally downstairs by 1 PM…just as Michael took off to practice up at the golf course.  

I got my third and last quilt top basted:

only a tiny inch between quilts

Yes…it is just like the second one…this pattern makes 2 at once for the most efficient use of my fabric.  I decided I would just use the same quilting pattern as on the second one as well, so it was just a matter of loading up the bobbins and kicking it off:  

I really need to get busy on more QoV tops....as this is the last one I had available to quilt!!

I spent a good bit of time in the afternoon writing out a sympathy card....it is very hard to write one when you don't know the person very well....but it is finally done and in the mail.  I also started to write our yearly missive.....but only got through January & February!  

The rest of the time was spent quilting and I am about 1/2 way done, but at 5 PM I finally headed upstairs for a reprise of our Christmas dinner.  

I still had homemade puff pastry dough leftover, so made ham/gruyere cheese croissants once again:  

My word…..those things are just scrumptious!!!  I had a bit of leftover dough, so spread that with butter and cinnamon/sugar and baked them up for Michael.  

We snuggled on the couch and watched cooking shows the rest of the night.  I know I told you I was almost done with a sweater vest for AJ…I finally bound off and got the ends all sewn in and it is blocking on the kitchen island:

And here's a bit more holiday cuteness:

Merry Christmas 2019

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  

We had a great morning……didn’t get up until almost 8 AM!  We made a half recipe of cinnamon buns (trying out a potential new recipe for New Year’s Day Brunch!): 

basked in the sun:

opened presents: 

and SKYPE’d with AJ:  

After that Michael and Cookie went for a walk (where Michael got some cute pics of decorations): 

Santa on one side

snowmen on the other

and here they are at night:

I got a new program set up for the second QoV:  

We spent much of the afternoon in the studio…quilting, running emails: 

sleeping: 

and watching movies on TV.  

We opened presents about every 3 hours:  

And thanks to Pat for her embroidering-on-clothing expertise, Michael got 2 new sweatshirts:  

By the time I went upstairs to fix our puffy things for dinner….quilting was done on the second QoV (only one more to go!): 

When Inez was here forBAKING WITH INEZ - 2019, I never got puff pastry made....but I did manage to pull it together after she left.  It's been in the freezer since then....waiting for the perfect recipe...and Christmas puffy things made an appearance:

I rolled it out

cut into triangles

added mustard

ham

gruyere cheese

and rolled them up crescent roll style

And here's where we ran into a problem.  I set our oven for 400 degrees....but 190 degrees was as hot as it would get (we'll definitely have to get that fixed before our New Year's Day Brunch!!) .....so....toaster oven to the rescue:

yum!!!  Especially with our traditional champagne

I have not yet written our Christmas letter, so we didn’t do the traditional addressing of our Christmas cards….instead we ate fun things and watched fun movies and snuggled together and really…just had the perfect Christmas day……we say it all the time….we are SO LUCKY!!