Debra’s Birthday Gift(s)

Posted on January 2, 2007 by Suzanne

My sister turned 30 a week before Christmas. I mentioned it at the time. I’m finally now able to post about her gift from my MOm and I, as it finally got opened. I sent the box Priority, but it didn’t arrive until the day after she and her family left for their Christmas vacation. Luckily, they had a neighbor looking for it, so it was kept safe until her return.

On her birthday, my Mom sent her flowers at work — the card said "Gift 1 of 30."

Yup. We sent her 30 presents.

Here’s a picture of the 29 presents we wrapped and mailed to her in all of their wrapped glory:

Some were silly (a bustier purse), some were scrounged from around our houses (a tin for candy), some were really nice (a framed picture of her son), some were antique (well, old anyway — my Mom sent her the really old Cooky Book that she used to use when we were kids). Some were practical (tissues, lotion, batteries, etc…), some were just for fun (crayons and a pad of paper, a book about Marshmallow Peeps).

Some were handmade — an embroidered dishtowel that my mom had made, and a postcard that I made for her.

She loves sunflowers, so I made one with 30 sunflower petals and her initial. I wish I had stitched around the edge of the letter to make it stand out better — live and learn, I guess. She got a little sack with 30 pennies in it, and several things had 30 pieces of candy in them. We had fun putting it together for her, and I think she had fun opening it and contemplating all of her goodies.

ABCs of Quilting

Posted on January 1, 2007 by Suzanne

Oh boy! An alphabet meme! The entire Quilt Studio webring was tagged by Debra, so here’s mine. Couldn’t resist this one. Plus, I saw another alphabet meme on somebody else’s blog earlier, so I’ve got that one to do some day soon, too!

A- Artist? Is this supposed to be artist I most admire? Most emulate? Wish I could be? I’ll go with admire: Jane Sassaman. I love her work.

B- Best Blogging Buddies? I’m so new at this — I’m not sure I can answer this one (yet)!

C- Crazy or Sane Quilting? Well, my husband would say that all quilting is crazy, but I would have to answer this one "sane". I admire crazy quilting, but it’s not something that I have a desire to do.

D- Dyeing or Stamping? Neither — I’ve wanted to do some dyeing, but am leery of what is required to really do it and be successful.

E- Essential Item? Only one? Computer…….

F- Favorite Fabrics? All of it? It would be easier to say what I don’t like — muddied tones, not crazy about 30s, and orientals don’t do much for me.

G- Great Quilt Design? My favorite block is Churn Dash. I love wholecloths and I would dearly love to do some more appliqué work.

H- Hand or Machine Quilt? Machine quilting, definitely. Though I admire hand quilting, and wish I could do it well and without hand pain.

I- Indispensable Notion? Seam ripper.

J- Janome or Bernina? Bernina.

K- Kits or Original Designs? Both. Original is best, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the occasional kit.

L- Life in the Studio is? Sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating.

M- Most Projects Made in One Year? No idea. A lot.

N- Number of Gadgets? I’m supposed to count these things? You are kidding, right?

O- OH, I wish I hadn’t. . . . .? Cut my finger with my rotary cutter. I think it’s been 3 years? I’ll have the scar (and the memory…) forever, I’m afraid.

P- Pet Peeves about Quilting? Can’t really think of any. Quilting is my passion, and I enjoy the process as much as I enjoy the finished product. I’m sure that tomorrow I’ll think of something that frustrates me, but nothing is coming at the moment!

Q- Quilt Show? Haven’t been to Houston — yet….so for now, it’s a tie between Machine Quilter’s Showcase and Machine Quilter’s Exposition.

R- Reason to Rip Out? Yes, I’m crazy. Yes, I rip out quilting, a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever ripped out an entire quilt, but I’ve removed lots of quilting in the past 5 years. Mostly it’s tension problems, but it’s also often design problems.

S- Sewing or Knitting? Sewing. Although, knitting is kind of fun, too.

T- Tag, You’re It! I don’t think I know anybody else to tag! If you are reading and haven’t done it, please consider yourself tagged! Oh hey — CarlaB — you’re it!

U- FOs? Too numerous too count.

V- Vexing Quilt Pattern? Y seams.

W- Wishlist Item? More hours in the day.

X- Xtra Fabric you will never use? None of it is extra — it’s all part of my palette. That’s my story, anyway.

Y- Your Biggest Goof? Again — only one? I try to look at goofs as opportunities. I think my most recent goof, though, was rolling up a pair of scissors in a customer quilt. Thankfully the hole only went through the top layer and was relatively easy to repair.

Z- Zip! And it’s finished? For some reason this one has me stumped. One of the fastest things I make is a layer of minkee, a layer of batting, a layer of colorful print — quilt it with a fast allover, and you’ve got a really cozy kid snuggler.

M is for Museum

Posted on December 30, 2006 by Suzanne

I started writing a really sappy letter reflecting on the past year, but decided that it was really too silly to publish. Instead, I’m going to show you a picture of what we did this week. The main event was a trip to the Field Museum so that we could see the real Sue. We were able to see the replica and the accompanying exhibit last year when it was in Cedar Falls, IA. I’m not sure how impressed the boys were by the real thing. The crowds were a little overwhelming, so that may have factored into their impression of the experience. So, here is proof that we actually did see Sue (along with a gazillion other people…)

The part that I think they liked the best was the Underground Adventure exhibit — visitors are "shrunk" to 1/100th of their original size and get to go underground and experience dirt and bugs from that point of view. They had some really amazing creatures in the exhibit. I won’t post any here, because they are really kind of gross when viewed at that scale.

To get a sense of it, though, here is a picture of the boys with an acorn that has sprouted — the shoot going up, the root going down.

Only one thing in particular caught my eye in terms of wanting to a photo to remember it for future art ideas — I wish, though, that I had written down where exactly I was in the museum. I think it was somewhere in the Evolving Planet exhibit, somewhere back before the time of the dinosaurs. Something about these leaves really grabbed me. I think the photo is pretty good, too. I love my new camera….

Well, it has taken me nearly all afternoon to get these last 2 pictures to upload. Don’t know what’s wrong with the connection. And now it is time for me to go — my in-laws are coming to play games with the boys while the DH and I go see the new 007 movie! Can’t wait! Just got back — it was wonderful — I thought I published this, but apparently I just saved it as a draft. Oops!

H is for Hero

Posted on December 29, 2006 by Suzanne

One of my favorite Christmas presents was this Willow Tree figurine. It is called Hero.

It was a gift from my mother. It was very unexpected and very touching.

We recently lost my grandpa — he served in WWII. I am honored to have this beautiful piece, in memory of him, and as a reminder of the sacrifices that are still being made by men and women. Not just the ones that serve in our Armed Forces, but also the ones that are left behind.

B is For

Posted on December 28, 2006 by Suzanne

I’ll try to keep this list shorter than the "A" list from last week. I’m going to be away from my computer for a few days, so thought I’d get some posts lined up to publish automatically while I’m gone.

So here’s the "B" list:

Blue — My second favorite color (after red). The color of my car, and the color of the bottom half of my usual "uniform" — I wear blue jeans nearly every day.

Book — I love to read. My favorite author is Lois McMaster Bujold. I enjoy mysteries, science ficition, fantasy, and my guilty pleasure is reading really silly romances that are entirely predictable. But I don’t do that very often. I am also the author of a self-published machine quilting book, who is working on her second book and probably ought to quit procrastinating since her self-imposed deadline is looming closer and closer.

Ballerina — Don’t most little girls dream of being a ballerina? I did take ballet lessons for many years. Tap, and jazz, too. I enjoyed doing it, but I quit because I wanted to join the marching band (to be near a "boy") — what a silly thing that was. I would have been better off staying with dance. Not that I would have been a ballerina, but maybe I’d be in better shape!

Barn — I live in a really cool house with a green steel roof — it looks a lot like a barn. And someday, when we finish re-siding and paint it red — it really will look like a barn!

Birthday — In case anybody was wondering, my birthday is June 24. In my opinion, this is pretty much the ideal date for a birthday, as it is 6 months from Christmas. This is in part based on the fact that my sister’s birthday is exactly a week before Christmas and she wasn’t too keen on that growing up.

Blonde — I am naturally blonde, and am a little disappointed at how much darker my hair has gotten over the years. I have resorted to highlights in recent years, and really wish my hair was the color of Katie’s fur (the puppy picture up that the top-right…). And while I find that most blonde jokes are really quite offensive, I have been known to have "blonde moments" and to even admit to having had them….

Boys — I’m pretty lucky that I get to live with the boys that are inhabiting my house. The big boy is quite nice to me (even when he is teasing me and making fun of me…) and the 2 little boys (who are getting to be not-so-little) are good kids. They may all drive me crazy some days, but I know that are actually all pretty wonderful.

Broccoli — One of my favorite vegetables. I was not aware, though, that broccoli is a member of the cabbage family. (I paged through the dictionary to find "B" words to try to shake loose some ideas).

Brownie — One of my favorite desserts. I have rarely made them from scratch, though. Our latest favorite is a mix from Sam’s Club — Triple Chocolate Chunk. I think it’s Hershey’s brand of brownies. Well, maybe Betty Crocker with Hershey’s products? Here’s my secret for a really yummy, fudgy brownie: keep the pan of brownies in the refrigerator. Refrigerated brownies are the best.

Well, I think that’s enough for today’s list. Have a beautiful day!