Christmas spirit 11:23 am
It is with great joy I realize my Christmas spirit has returned. It has been absent for several years; I saw no point in dragging out seasonal decorations for any reason. This year, I find I WANT to do this. (I know some of you will be glad because you’ve worried a little about me. Worry no more!)
More pictures are on my flickr site.
experimenting with quilting 3:05 pm
The third one has been pinned together and I’m ready to begin quilting.
Two of my placemats are finished.
Family 1:30 pm
Scrabble is often a choice when we get together. David tromped Wa and me; she came in second, which, of course, means I was a pitiful last. Losing hardly hurts at all under these circumstances; I enjoyed having these two join me for some time during the Thanksgiving holidays.
Wa selected Ray Charles for our next CD. Before this, we listened to “Lullabies from the Axis of Evil.”
The introduction to that CD says, “Lullabies lead us to the deepest and most fundamental way of communication between human beings. It is where all sharing of ideas and feelings starts. Between mother and child, between father and child. It is a universal culture. And it is amazing to see how many aesthetic similarities, musically and lyrically there are in lullabies from country to country all over the world. The text issues are often the same, so are the musical structures. Differences in scales, language, metaphors and religion cannot cover the fact that in the lullabies, the cultures of the earth meet each other; from this common starting point they grow into diversity.”
I first learned about this CD when I was in Scotland. Alastair told us it came about as a reaction against the labeling of entire countries and peoples as evil. Such a horribly simplistic labeling is not only misleading but covers the real problems in the world. It’s a beautiful CD.
David is experimenting with some magnetic sticks and balls; I’m sitting, appreciating his company. More photos are on my Flickr site.
We had our first snow this morning. Happy Thanksgiving!
My cat loves to roll around on this red rug. This morning I kept snapping pictures and she acted as if she knew what I was doing and kept posing. Often in the past she’d stop or run away, but this time she just kept on rolling around, watching me.
experimenting with quilting 9:32 pm
One placemat is completely finished. And did I ever learn a lot in the process!!!!! By the time I get to the fourth one, I should feel I know a little more about what I’m doing.
A couple more pictures are on my flickr account.
After reading four books from the public library, I’ve found two that will be very helpful so I ordered them from Amazon: The Quilter’s Stitch Bible by Nikki Tinkler and Quilting School by Ann Poe. The other two were interesting, but didn’t have the specific directions I need at this beginning stage.
friends 10:10 am
A Canadian friend sent this to me this morning. All of us were in Scotland to take part in a summer session. This photo brings back many fond memories of a jam-packed two week time of traveling and learning together. I was privileged to be part of this; the three of us in this picture came from the Czech Republic, United States, and Greece, yet we bonded and became a small family during this brief time.
sewing room 7:43 pm
Got my new cutting table! I’m not a member of a discount store, but my friend, Pat, is; she graciously allowed me to benefit from her membership so now I have a new adjustable table that will work perfectly in my sewing room.
Pretty cozy place to work. Now, as I can take time, I’ll be quilting my four placemats. I’m doing this all by hand. I’ve learned how to piece, sew, not iron seams open, not use a hoop, load three stitches on a needle, add a border, stuff with batting, and add the back piece. My first placemat will show all of this…some parts better than others. By the time I get to the last placemat, it should be pretty nice.
Home spaces and home improvement and library and sewing room 9:02 pm
Without buying anything new, I now have a library and a sewing room. (My library used to be my dining room; my sewing room was my study.) This is one picture of one corner of my library. I lugged lots of books to make this change!! Now they’re arranged in sets: children’s, reference, fiction, auto/biography, inspirational. Made a mess before I finished.
After removing three of the bookshelves from this room, plus moving my dad’s desk and chair to another space, I now have a comfy chair, a small table (on which is my current placemat quilting project), plus I can leave my ironing board set up in a corner.
The only thing I need/want to get at this point is an adjustable cutting table. I told one of my friends I put my cutting mat on the ironing board to cut pieces; she didn’t think that sounded very stable. 
Someday a simple sewing machine may be added, but not now. I’m thoroughly enjoying quilting by hand. And just last night I learned to load three quilting stitches onto my needle!! What I’m doing now looks like quilting. Quite amazing.
More pictures are on my flickr site of all the room changes, but they all resulted from my desire to have a sewing space I could leave set up. This resulted in my rearranging practically my whole house!
experimenting with quilting 7:31 pm
This shows the tiny quilting stitches better than the picture below; I wasn’t going to use it, because the color is off. It’s really the green color. Not done…
The quilting directions say NOT to use an embroidery hoop because it’s too small. I am. The quilting directions also say to get a “load” of stitches all at once. I’m not. Also, I learned I was to start in the center (discovered this AFTER I’d started on the stripes to the left).
So far, I’ve not followed three directions. One person said, though, beginners may want to just do one stitch at a time. Ahhhh. I’m allowed. I intend to get a bigger hoop but for now will work with this one. When I saw the “begin in the center” direction, I took the hoop off and moved it to the center. I’ll go back later and finish the stripes.
Also reserved seven quilting books through my local library. When they come, I’ll find out more things I can try.
More photos of my placemats in progress are on my Flickr account for those interested.
Aging and home improvement and red door 7:03 pm
A friend of mine who lives in Florida asked if I’d take some pictures from outside of my new red door. Of course, I’m happy to cooperate!! I’ve posted many more on my Flickr website if anyone else wants to see more.
When I wrote to her today, I said as my hair is greying and “fading,” I seem to prefer red and other bright colors around me. She’s noticed the same about herself and suggested I post that idea on my blog. So here it is.
After much thought…and reading a book, ”Going Gray”…I decided I was no longer going to color my hair. To quote the author, Anne Kreamer, she said the book is about “What I learned about beauty, sex, work, motherhood, authenticity and everything else that really matters.” Quite a mouthful!
My hairdresser is not a happy camper. He still cuts it, but after I went in today for another cut, he disparagingly talked about how my hair doesn’t have body now, because the coloring helped give it volume. I didn’t say anything in response. I know he’d like me to continue to pay him the big bucks to keep it colored and highlighted, while I decided I am currently more interested in authenticity. No criticism intended against anyone else, but for me, that’s my decision.
(My “big thing” today was finishing edging my sidewalk, doing some more raking, and taking three bags to the city refuse…and getting my greying hair cut. Thus, the two pictures as requested by Gail.)
