Super Karen!

OMG, I'm a Super Hero! LOL. Is this not the coolest thing? OK, enough time wasted. I almost have the baby quilt #3 top completely pieced. I'd work at finishing it tonight, but I don't have the backing material yet. So I have some time.

Bran and I were supposed to totally clean our bedroom today, but we didn't get that done. Instead the weather turned cold and I bundled up and watched Dr. Zhivago. I'd REALLY like that movie if the costuming/makeup wasn't so 60's. It's too bad that so much of modern fashion influences any period piece, no matter what decade made.

So, enough blogging and back to work! Super Karen to the JOB!!! lol.

Baby Quilt #2

Well, I finished baby quilt #2 yesterday and started working on baby quilt #3. I really need to work on a baby girl quilt for Thomas and Stephanie, but I have triangles left from the last quilt, so I'm using them now. I've ordered some very cool backing for the baby girl quilt. I guess I'll start working on that quilt when the material comes in. I've also ordered some backing for baby quilt #3 - I just hope the backing fabric looks as good with the pieced front as I think it will. Oh well, if it doesn't I'll use it for something else. Crap - I just remembered I need to order more quilt batting.

Back

Ok, I know I haven't posted in a while, but I'm baaAAAaaaack. lol. My lack of posting isn't because I haven't completed anything recently, but more because I've been too lazy to document what I have finished.

Well I'm here to change that. In the last year I've had a number of friends and family announce that they were pregnant. Even though this depresses me a little (Bran and I have been trying for a little while), I'm very happy for each one of them. Their announcements have prompted me to start quilting again. I've finished a couple of quilts and they're on the way to baby showers and new parents.

I had to do some research on quilting though. I've pieced and number of quilts but have never been very happy with the quilting part. After a little bit of research I purchased myself a quilting/darning foot for my crappy sewing machine and started practicing on a quilt I pieced years ago, but never quilted. When I was happy with the results I moved on to the baby quilts. I'm very excited and pleased with my results and am now as just as happy quilting as I am piecing. Here's to many many more quilts!

I still need to finish Aunt Diane's doll. Her son, Thomas, announced that he and his wife, Stephanie, are having a baby. Diane is going to want that doll finished soon I'm sure. Besides I don't think she's overjoyed that I'm taking my time. However, I'm doing all the work for free - so she can just wait! lol.

Reupholstered

I took a break from watching the Olympics 24/7 with my husband today to reupholster my piano bench. Over the last 20 years or so it had gotten pretty abused looking. I'm really not surprised that it got so bad looking since it's moved about 5 times and 3 states in the last 20 years. So here it is - before and after. I think it looks pretty good!

Today I also pressed the fabric for the piece I'm working on as a Christmas gift this year and got it attached to it's stretcher bars. I was going to see if I couldn't copy the design of this piece since I think it would look very nice done in soft colors as a shabby chic piece, or even in more earthy tones for my taste. Alas - I'm not sure if it's possible to copy this piece so it might just be a one of a kind in my repertoire of handcrafts.

This week I spent some time purchasing some fabric. I'm kinda in the quilting mood again. Actually, I'm more in the piecing mood and less in the quilting part. Lol. It might be possible to talk my husband into a quilting machine - but I'm not going to work that yet...

Presently Again

So I finally got this cross-stitch in the mail and off to Jim! This is the piece I finished about 2 months ago...I was going to send it for Halloween, but I love giving gifts (almost as much as I love getting gifts) so I couldn't wait to send it. Then I found out that Jim's birthday was this month...perfect reason to send it! So, here it is!

I haven't gotten very much done this month. Maybe I have too many things going at once - but I haven't worked on any of them so that's not really an excuse for not finishing anything. lol. So, I guess I need to decide to work on something and focus on that for a little while.

Funny thing - me talking about having too many things going on at once because I'm thinking about learning how to play the viola da gamba. I play the viola - and no they're not that much alike despite the similarities in their names. Now I have to find someone in the area that may be able to help me. I understand that there was a woman that played the viola da gamba in the area before Katrina - but everyone I've talked to recently isn't sure if she's even around any longer. I've got a couple of numbers to see if I can't track someone down, so I guess I'll make that my next project - finding someone that can help me learn how to play the viola da gamba.

Ginger

Independence Day 2008 is a sad day for my family. My husband's aunt passed away from cancer this morning. She was very loved by family and friends, of which there are many. May you be happier where you are now, Ginger.

Early Holiday

Bran and I had the day off today. Nothing like a four day weekend to get you all caught up on sleep and laundry! Ok, so I didn't do much sleeping, but I am doing laundry and I spent some time reading. I used to LOVE to read! I still do, I just don't read as much as I used to.

Also completed today was patching Diane's doll! Yay! She's completely patched and cleaned. Next step is undies and stockings. I'm still planning on making the corset/stand that I wrote about last post.

Speaking of dolls, I got to thinking this morning about all the green ware in my garage. I need to start cleaning and firing some porcelain. I so hate cleaning green ware though, and I'm too OC to let someone else do it for me. Guess I'll have to suffer through and get to cleaning. I've got a couple of Santa's I started cleaning last year. Maybe I'll pull those guys out and see how much work is left on them. Getting started on Santa now isn't such a bad idea - then he'll be done by Christmas time. At least that's the plan.

Earlier this morning I spent some more time scanning and posting family photographs to Flickr. The one posted to this blog entry is of my grandmother, taken in 1923, when she was 18 years old. Isn't she a cutie? There are some beautiful photographs of her. Of course I think all photographs of her are beautiful. Have I ever mentioned that she is one of my favorite people? Thinking about her makes me smile. Not to leave other friends and family out, I love them all, but there was some special bond between my grandmother Spore and me.